Held in Lyandro's arms, I arrived at the entrance of the training ground. Even before entering, the sound of the wind cutting through the air could be heard.
"It seems he's still training."
Putting my feet on the ground, I immediately ran into the training ground. At the edge of the training ground, in an empty field, Oscar was swinging a wooden sword. His entire body was drenched in sweat and sand, having been at it for a long time. Unlike his usual smiling face, Oscar's expression was blank as he swung his sword.
'A face I've never seen before.'
Focused on his training, he didn't even notice me watching.
Finally, I called out his name, and he turned to look at me with wide eyes. Clang. His grip must have loosened, as Oscar dropped his sword. I laughed and waved both hands, walking towards Oscar. However,
Oscar suddenly started running away.
'Why is he running away all of a sudden?'
Stunned, I watched him for a moment before starting to chase after him. Of course, with my short legs, I couldn't catch up to Oscar.
Huff, huff. Despite running with all my might, I couldn't catch up. Oscar was gradually becoming a dot and disappearing. Stumbling, I tripped over a rock and fell.
Tears welled up in my eyes from the pain. I sniffled for a moment before wiping my tears with my sleeve.
'I have a second chance at life; I can't cry just because I fell.'
My knee stung, probably from the fall.
As I struggled to get up, a dark shadow fell over me. Looking up, I saw Oscar staring down at me with a worried expression.
"Take my hand and stand up."
I grabbed Oscar's outstretched hand without hesitation. He flinched and shuddered. As soon as I stood up, Oscar tried to let go of my hand. I grabbed his hand even tighter with my other hand.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
I stared at Oscar intently. He couldn't hide his awkwardness and looked away from my gaze.
"Oscar, do you hate me now?"
"That's impossible, Mabel. How could I hate you?"
"Then why are you running away?"
Oscar hesitated, then sighed and looked up at me. His green eyes, moist with tears, trembled.
"I… don't have the qualifications."
I looked up at Oscar with a pout.
'If he says he doesn't have the qualifications because he couldn't protect me after promising to, I'll have to hit him.'
Just as I thought that, Oscar answered.
"I said I would protect you, but I couldn't."
How could he say exactly what I expected? I clenched my fist and punched Oscar's shoulder.
Oscar called out, startled. I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.
"You're a fool." (You're a fool.)
"An idiot. A moron. A fool. Oscar, you're really a fool." (A fool. A moron. An idiot. Oscar, you're really a fool.)
"Where did you learn such words? You shouldn't use such bad words."
"Why can't I use them! I want to use them!"
I shouted stubbornly, and Oscar's eyes widened. Perhaps because I had never thrown a tantrum like this before, he was surprised.
"Is there a law that only older brothers should protect younger sisters? Younger sisters can protect their older brothers too!"
I grabbed Oscar's hands with both of mine. His hands were rough from swinging his sword for so long. How many times had he swung his sword, blaming himself while I was unconscious? I felt uncomfortable.
"…Family members protect each other."
In fact, I was angry at myself. It was natural for Oscar to avoid me because I hadn't given him any reason to trust me. Unlike Oscar, who always showered me with affection, I had always felt burdened and avoided him. It was a bad thing to do to both my father and Oscar. Though I was speaking to Oscar, I was also speaking to myself. Don't avoid.
For some reason, Oscar couldn't continue and took a deep breath. Then, after a moment, he enveloped me in a warm embrace. Despite the smell of sweat from swinging his sword, it wasn't a problem. I laughed and hugged Oscar's waist.
"I'll protect you too, Oscar." (I'll protect you too, Oscar.)
We held each other tightly until Lysandro, who had come to look for me, called out. That's how I got my first real older brother, even though he was younger than me by ten years. *** As soon as I entered the office, two pairs of eyes fixed on me. The poor Gustav and my father. I got straight to the point.
"Make Eidan my bodyguard." (Make Eidan my bodyguard.)
Father's face turned pale with shock. But it was only for a moment. He composed himself and smiled kindly.
"Did you enjoy your meal, Mabel?"
"Make Eidan my bodyguard."
I wasn't going to fall for his cheap tactics. Father groaned and rubbed his forehead.
"That's difficult, Mabel."
"Eidan is called the Demon of Develin for his cruel massacres, that is…"
Father frowned slightly, finding it hard to convey the concept of death to a child. He glanced at Gustav, trying to pass the responsibility. Gustav made a pained expression, sighed, and sat down in front of me, matching my eye level.
"Your Majesty, Eidan is a very dangerous person. He has hurt many people. We can't have such a person by your side."
Gustav's effort to soften the message was evident. I smiled brightly and destroyed the adults' attempt to protect me.
"I won't kill anyone. So it's fine!" (I won't kill anyone. So it's fine!)
Seeing the two of them at a loss for words, I added,
"And if Eidan wasn't there, we wouldn't have caught Sysero. His contributions should be recognized. Treat him with respect." (And if Eidan wasn't there, we wouldn't have caught Sysero. His contributions should be recognized. Treat him with respect.)
Gustav and Father froze at my principled statement. I thought they were considering my words, but that wasn't the case.
"My daughter is too smart for her own good, Gustav."
"…She's a genius of the century."
"Enjoy it, Your Majesty."
They were focusing on a completely different point!
I stomped my foot, and they finally returned to reality. I ran over and grabbed Father's sleeve, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
"Are you not going to give him to me?"
"…I'll listen. I'll listen to anything. Eidan or anything else, it's yours, Mabel."
Despite the strong opposition, the agreement came surprisingly quickly. *** There was one condition for Eidan to become my bodyguard: he had to stay within Lysandro's line of sight at all times. Since I had no plans to do anything suspicious, this condition wasn't a problem. I chose the garden as the official meeting place with Eidan. I waited with Yangyi for Eidan to arrive.
[You awakened too early, Mabel.]
'You mean the healing ability?'
[Yes. It's still too much for your body. But there is some good news.]
[Your active divine power has increased, so… you can bring me to the palace! I can now break through the palace's barrier!]
Yangyi's eyes sparkled with excitement. It reminded me of a cat rubbing against me, and I chuckled.
[Why are you laughing! Am I funny?!]
"No. Let's go, Yangyi. We're going to the palace now."
[Finally, we're escaping this wretched forest life!]
Seeing Yangyi jump around in joy, my heart ached. He had been pretending to be fine, but he must have been uncomfortable living in the forest.
Yangyi, who had been excited, suddenly stopped and glared at me. Or rather, at something behind me. Turning around, I saw Eidan standing there.
Yangyi growled and took a step back.
[Evil aura detected!!! Mabel, run!]
I ignored Yangyi's panic and looked up at Eidan.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
His dark hair, eyes as red as freshly drawn blood, and the same indifferent gaze from the first day we met. I offered him a seat on the bench, but he took a step back to refuse. I shrugged and sat down. Then I asked the question I was most curious about.
It was a sentence without a subject or object, but I knew he would understand. As expected, Eidan didn't flinch.
"When the rats first appeared, I planted a trace. It led to your