Chapter 26

“B-Brother.”

I laid down proudly on Allen’s knee, who collapsed next to me.

“It’s too much to lie in bed, so I’m going to lie down on your leg.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to sleep now…”

Allen looked at me with a surprised look, and he didn’t even seem to recognize that I am already lying on his leg.

As expected, a fool is always a fool.

“Come on, are you really asleep? Are you sick or something?”

“No. I’m just sleeping for a while, so you can’t tell anyone about this.”

I showed this to him because he’s the brother who protected my mom and I.

My secret power. This is the only fact that only the Grand Duke knows.

“Well, what do you mean? Huh!”

“And I’m not… If you want to protect people, you have to be stronger. Silly brother. Good night.”

“Now, wait, Bebe…”

“I wish you were in front of me when I opened my eyes again…”

He spat out and whined towards me, but then I closed my eyes slowly.

It’s been a long time since I used my power in front of others and telling my secret. But I’m not afraid at all. Because I saw his eyes while he hugged me.

Harris treated her brother like an idiot, but I saw a bit of his aura.

He was stronger than anyone else.

And I’m not afraid. So I smiled and closed my eyes.

See you in a little while.

That’s how I fell asleep in a sullen way.

As soon as Bebe fell asleep, Allen’s face turned white.

“Bebe! Bebe! Bebe!”

Bebe, who seemed weak enough to collapse, suddenly used a lot of strength and fell down. He couldn’t believe she really fell asleep.

Allen held Bebe lying on his leg in surprise and shook the child vigorously.

“Bebe!”

Meanwhile, Cecilia, who warmed up first in the drawing room, jumped into the room.

“Oh, my God. What’s going on here? M-My Lady?”

She wanted to follow them right after, but the people in the parlor, including Cecilia, were still lying on the floor and could not get up.

Only Cecilia overcame the power in an instant and entered the room.

However, as Cecilia entered the room at Allen’s scream, her face turned pale.

She quickly grabbed Bebe’s arm lying on the floor.

“M-My Lady… My Lady?”

Cecilia’s hands trembled for fear that her Lady had gone wrong. Fortunately, Bebe was just sleeping in Allen’s arms.

“Ha… Lord, she must be sleeping.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Only then did Allen, who was screaming as if the world was collapsing, came to his senses.

Allen, who leaned over Bebe’s nose, sighed in relief, whether he believed Cecilia’s words or not.

“I thought I was in trouble. I’m glad. I’m glad.”

Allen’s lips had turned blue, as if the shock still lingered.

Only after confirming that Bebe was fine did Cecilia look around. And what she saw was an assassin lying on the floor.

“A-Assassin! What’s going on here? Y-Young Master!”

“I don’t know, there was an assassin… and Bebe defeated them all. And then I fell down.”

“Ah… ah… I can’t just let the other people come here- I can’t leave those two alone… ”

Cecilia’s legs were shaking because it was the first time she had seen an assassin as a nanny in the Grand Duchy.

Cecilia, holding a nearby silver tray in her hand, managed to get up from her seat and hit the assassins on the head once in a while.

Slap, slap, slap.

When the assassins still didn’t wake up even though there was a loud noise, Cecilia was relieved only then.

“Fortunately, Young Master, I guess they’re not pretending to faint.”

“Really… Did Bebe… Did Bebe defeat them?”

It was then…

As Cecilia came in, someone stepped inside through the door that she had left open.

“What’s going on here?”

* * *

The room was filled with cold energy as if the surroundings would freeze right away.

The thick atmosphere caused people to freeze.

Allen, who never collapsed in the presence of power, and Cecilia, who was immune to magic, also collapsed.

“I thought my strength and other people’s energy filled the Grand Duchy, but it was Bebe.”

“Dad, Bebe is…”

Meanwhile, Allen managed to speak up as if to tell the Grand Duke what had happened to her. But he held Bebe in Allen’s arms without giving him a single glance. As if this had happened frequently, he held the expressionless child and laid her next to his mother.

Sitting on the floor, Allen managed to move his shaky legs to the bed.

“Can you get up, Allen?”

“… Bebe…. will she be alright?”

“You don’t have to worry.”

“B-But…”

The Grand Duke relaxed a little when he saw his son, who would normally have given in to his power and would not have even thought of getting up, barely get up and come next to him.

Only then did Allen stand up straight and make eye contact with him.

“Is she going to be alright? Did you… did you know that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, that. Did you know that?”

“There was a side effect whenever Bebe used her strength. And Allen, you don’t have to worry, either. Didn’t I tell you something before this kid collapsed?”

Only then did Allen, who was moving his mouth as if he had a lot of questions, close his mouth. The Grand Duke smiled timidly at his son.

“So there’s nothing to worry about. But you have to tell me about this situation, Allen. How did this happen?”

Allen, who had been looking to see if Bebe was okay for a long time, nodded as if he had been waiting for it.

“Be honest with me? Or…”

“I’ll be honest.”

But Allen couldn’t open his mouth easily, because everyone in the Grand Duchy loves Harris. It was because of the concern that Bebe might be harmed after talking about what happened earlier.

“Tell me everything. I’ll listen and judge after.”

The Grand Duke, who knew roughly what Allen was worried about, pressed further. Then Allen opened his mouth slowly.

“She was just adjusting her clothes, but Harris picked a fight with Bebe.”

“Come to think of it, it was today. Today was the day we decided to match Bebe’s clothes.”

“Yes! But she ignored everything and just got her size measured. Bebe suddenly said, ‘Mom!’ and tried to run away, but Harris stopped her.”

“…”

“She seemed in a hurry, so I brought Bebe here, and there were assassins, and I stopped them from running, but…”

The Grand Duke stroked Allen’s hair firmly.

“After that, Bebe put her strength to it.”

Allen, who hid what Harris had done as much as he could, spat out everything that had happened and looked at the Grand Duke.

Will he be angry?

He didn’t care if his father was angry at him. But what he said…

He was just afraid that Bebe would be in an awkward situation, so Allen only rolled his eyes after a long time.

At that time, the Grand Duke gave his son a short smile.

“Both of you did well.”

“Did we really do a good job?”

“Of course.”

Only then did Allen smile as brightly as usual.

“How fortunate. Dad, will Bebe be all right?”

“You don’t have to worry. She’s a strong child.”

“Well, if she’s… then it’s like that. She’s always right.”

Nevertheless, Allen’s eyes were shaking. Looking at Bebe lying on the bed, Allen pursed his lips and covered Bebe with a blanket.

“I said I’d protect her, but I couldn’t…”

“But you did a good job. You are still young after all, Allen.”

“…Bebe is so strong.”

“Allen.”

The Grand Duke shook his head at the sight of Allen, who kept turning everything into his fault.

But it doesn’t make him feel better. He opened his mouth to speak.

“…I’ll protect her next time, so that Bebe doesn’t fall down.”

“Huh?”

“So I should be strong. Dad, I’m going to be good at training starting today.”

Allen’s eyes became vibrant.

“I’ll… I’ll protect her. I won’t let Bebe fall again.”

There were many things he didn’t understand, but Allen was determined to do so. Bebe acted just like how he was as a child.

She hid her heart tightly. She used to keep her mind at a distance that she had to keep his distance.

That’s why he fell in love with Bebe rather than Harris, who said he was his real sibling. During his childhood, he lost his mother and his world changed.

The always happy Grand Duke did not even talk to them so as not to hurt each other.

‘Because I was the last one to see her.’

Allen’s face hardened as if he remembered that day.

Allen’s mother, Grand Duchess Ellinson, was kidnapped in her wagon. And it was Allen who was there until the end. The rest of the family went to a nearby pond while the wagon stopped for a short break, and Allen stayed there with his mother.

But the sudden appearance of the assassins threw Allen out of the carriage and kidnapped the Grand Duchess from their wagon.

Allen quickly found his father, but he couldn’t follow the carriage due to their children.

That’s because of the anxiety that there might be another assassin. The knights of the Grand Duchy hurried off to find the wagon, but nothing could be found.

“If my power was stronger, my mother wouldn’t have been like that.”