Episode 6

“…”

Suddenly, As clamped his mouth shut.

He stood still as if frozen in place, seemingly caught off guard. Slowly, he turned his head.

“… I…”

The boy took a deep breath and continued.

“I was rude. Please forget what I just said.”

“Huh? Uh, okay.”

It didn’t seem like he had been rude, though.

I tilted my head in confusion but decided to let it go since As insisted.

Then, at that very moment—

‘Oh no!’

I suddenly realized what I had been making under my hands.

‘…This is basically capsicum stew!’

I clutched my head in despair.

Maybe it was because I had been half-distracted while cooking.

Relying on pure instinct, I had ended up making a stew with a ton of pepper, just out of habit.

When I’m alone, I usually make spicy food that suits my own tastes, and that habit had come out.

‘I wanted to make something mild because As is here!’

Panicking as I looked at the completed stew, I scrambled to grab a new pot and exclaimed,

“As! Wait just a moment! I’ll make a proper breakfast for you!”

“…Isn’t the stew already finished?”

As glanced at the pot on the stove, looking a little perplexed.

As I pulled out some soup stock from the fridge, I awkwardly laughed.

“This is… um, really spicy. It probably won’t suit your taste.”

The people here typically preferred greasy, rich flavors and were weak to spiciness.

Especially children.

But contrary to my thoughts, As calmly replied,

“It’s fine. I can handle spicy food.”

“But…”

“So, there’s no need to go through the trouble of preparing something else.”

But this stew was tailored to my taste, so it would definitely be too spicy for a kid…

I kept glancing at As with concern.

However, As was so insistent that I had no choice but to put the new pot down.

As I ladled the stew into bowls, As helped set the table beside me.

I watched him closely as he worked.

For a child, his movements were surprisingly skilled.

‘Could he have done a lot of housework before?’

Could he not be from a noble family after all?

I made various speculations, but unless As decided to answer, I would never know for sure.

I stopped guessing and focused on observing how he ate the stew.

Apparently, he hadn’t been lying about handling spicy food—As ate the stew without a hint of discomfort.

Relieved, I ate my own bowl while making light conversation with him. As responded, not overly chatty but not disinterested either.

And so, our breakfast came to a peaceful end.

As I cleared the dishes, I asked him,

“As, would you like some tea?”

“…Tea?”

“Yeah, do you like dew tea?”

As handed me the dishes, and when I asked again, after a moment of silence, he responded softly.

“…I do like it.”

“Then let’s have tea together.”

Humming a little tune, I set the water to boil and prepared two cups of tea.

The tea was soon ready.

As and I sat facing each other in the living room, enjoying our tea time.

From the fragrant cups, white steam gently rose, and from the half-open window came the distant sound of chirping birds.

It was a peaceful, lazy time.

I glanced up and saw that As, too, seemed to have relaxed, his face visibly softer in the quiet.

Taking advantage of the moment, I cautiously asked,

“As, is it okay for you to stay here?”

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a particularly positive answer.

I would have been thrilled even if he had just said, “It’s not bad.”

But his answer caught me off guard.

“I like it.”

“W-What…?”

“This is the second best time of my life.”

His voice became quieter, almost as if he were talking to himself, but I heard it clearly.

I felt such relief that I nearly lost my grip on the teacup.

I tightened my hold to avoid spilling it.

“I’m so glad to hear that… I was really worried.”

A boy who had been so guarded and wary of both me and this place was now telling me that this was the second best time of his life!

‘Even if it’s not completely true, it’s still nice to hear him say that.’

A deep sense of emotion filled me, like watching a wild animal show a small sign of trust.

Smiling broadly, I spoke again.

“As long as you’re comfortable, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like.”

But as I said that, I suddenly hesitated.

A strange feeling of unease began to creep up from my chest.

Is it normal to want to do so much for someone I just met?

‘…It’s only been a day since we’ve spent time together.’

So why do I feel such a strong urge to care for him, to give him everything?

As I pondered this, I bit my lip.

…Truthfully, I might already know the reason.

The reason I keep feeling drawn to this boy.

‘Because As reminds me of Akes.’

Maybe that’s why.

I couldn’t do anything for Akes, so I want to make up for it by doing things for As, who resembles him.

“…Ainra?”

Maybe my stiffened expression seemed odd.

As, who had been quietly sipping his tea, called out to me.

I snapped out of my thoughts.

The warmth of the teacup in my hand once again spread through my fingers.

“Hm?”

I looked up and met his eyes, but after a brief moment, As shook his head and looked away.

“It’s nothing.”

“Haha, okay then.”

I leaned back into the sofa.

As I took a sip of tea, the bittersweet warmth flowed down my throat, filling my body with a pleasant heat.

I savored the comfort for a moment, but then a question suddenly came to mind.

“By the way, As, do you know someone named Harnen?”

The small hand holding the teacup paused.

As’s red eyes turned back to me.

“…Why do you ask about him?”

“Oh, just curious. I wondered if you knew him. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Instead of answering, As quietly brought the cup to his lips again.

Thinking he wouldn’t respond, I also took another sip of tea—when I heard his voice.

“He doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

“Huh?”

“But I don’t think he’s a good person either.”

“W-What?”

I stared at As, confused by his cryptic answer, but he simply continued drinking his tea with a calm expression, offering no further explanation.

‘Is he teasing me?’

Children do like to joke around, after all.

‘Well, whether he knows or doesn’t know, it doesn’t really matter.’

I can always ask Harnen later.

Shrugging my shoulders, I stopped overthinking.

For now, I just wanted to enjoy the warmth of this moment.

* * *

“So, you haven’t found the body?”

A cold voice filled the office.

The two knights standing in front of the man hung their heads.

“We apologize, Your Grace.”

“We have no excuses.”

“Then of course you have none! Do you think it makes sense that Bahar’s knights couldn’t even kill a mere child properly?!”

Bang! The man threw a flowerpot between the two knights, smashing it against the wall.

The knights immediately shut their mouths and knelt down swiftly.

“Useless fools!”

Another decoration flew through the air.

The man—Grand Duke Bahar—was still venting his rage when there was a knock at the door, followed by a voice from outside.

“Your Grace, it’s Dante.”

“…Come in.”

Grand Duke Bahar, his tone slightly calmer, slumped into his chair.

While the knights secretly sighed in relief, a figure cloaked in a deep purple robe entered through the open door.

Dante briefly glanced at the knights kneeling on the floor, then bowed toward Grand Duke Bahar.

“Your Grace.”

“Yes, Dante. What is it? Weren’t you on leave?”

Grand Duke Bahar eyed Dante curiously.

Dante, who had successfully regressed Archduke Akes de Serenia to his ten-year-old self, had been rewarded generously for his achievement and granted ten days of leave.

It was strange that he had returned of his own accord after only a few days.

As if aware of the Grand Duke’s curiosity, Dante bowed his head even lower and spoke.

“How could I enjoy my leave when Your Grace still has concerns weighing on your mind?”

“You smooth talker.”

Grand Duke Bahar chuckled lightly, tilting his head.

“So, do you know what’s been troubling me?”

“You haven’t found the body of Archduke Serenia, have you?”

“That’s right.”

“I know where he is.”