Smoke rose as the mansion began to burn in earnest.
Weâll talk about it later, so I grabbed Kiverin and left the mansion.
The flames had engulfed nearly half of the mansion.
As the knight said, heavy raindrops began to wet the ground.
Less worrying about going to the forest, I took a seat at a reasonable distance from Kiverin.
I laughed as Kiverin picked up a large leaf and placed it on my head like an umbrella.
âIt rides well.â
Itâs good that I made a mistake, but it twisted the original properly.
I rubbed my rain-drenched cheeks and muttered.
âWill I get a divorce because I ruined the mansion owned by the Duke?â
What if he asks for a repair fee?
What if Kiverin is locked up in another mansion again?
âDivorce, huh?â
Kiverinâs eyes wide open.
Kiverin mumbled something with his lips clenched, but was buried by the fast-growing sound of the carriage.
I could hear the footsteps of people, if there were servants watching the mansion from a place out of my sight.
And.
âKiverin!â
It was a Winter Nectarian.
âLet go! I will go in myself!â
Winter tried to escape the maids who discouraged her and entered the mansion.
I pat Kiverinâs back slightly.
âGo ahead.â
Kiverin turned to me.
I shook my head, meaning to go alone.
If my parents-in-law are a better person than I thought, Kiverin may not become a scumbag.
Of course, my parents were trash everywhere.
Kiverin grows fine and I grow strong.
Yeah, thatâs perfect. After all, walking alone is the best way to go down the road.
The farther away Kiverin was, the louder the sound of rain.
I thought I might catch a cold before Kiverin, but at first a shadow fell.
â⊠Huh?â
Raising my head, I saw a man with a very handsome face turned upside down.
The man had the same silver hair as Kiverin.
He looked like he was in his late 20s, and the place where his right arm should be is empty.
There was a faint bitter scent that came from smoking.
Oh, I know who you are.
It was Menelik Nectarian, Kiverinâs biological father.
He opened his mouth
âWere you injured?â
A terrifyingly low voice broke through the sound of the rain and reached my ear.
I was nervous, so I replied a little late.
â⊠Uh, no.â
Then he held out the umbrella he was holding.
âYou listen. As you can see, itâs burning.â
I accidentally took an umbrella with both hands. It weighed quite a bit.
Then Menelik took me in one arm.
What?
I didnât know it meant sharing an umbrella, so I panicked and then my hand slipped.
Suddenly, the umbrella wobbled and struck Menelik on the head.
âOuch.â
âOh, sorry!â
Cheria, who should grow up strong, makes such a mistake!
My face got hot.
Menelik had dynamic eyes that were not sure if he was really sick or bearable.
His face was as calm as if he had just woken up.
âItâs okay. Thanks to you, I woke up.â
Hey, Donât get madâŠ
I mustered up the courage to look at Menelik.
Menelikâs eyes were pale golden green.
It was quite different from Kiverinâs golden eyes, which had a clear presence even from a distance.
I didnât know much about Menelik Nectarian.
In the novel, Menelik never went out except when the Pope insulted Winterâs homeland.
As a result, in social circles, saying that the true owner of the Duke was Winter was treated as a fact.
On the other hand, there was speculation that Menelik would have taken all the titles that the male lead in the novel had won had he not lost his arm.
He was the youngest swordmaster of the Empire, and the Hero who was ruler of the buried dark city.
âI⊠, I canât get closeâŠâ
At the sound of Winterâs crying voice, Menelikâs head turned at the same time.
Menelik walked over to Winter holding me.
Winter took a half step back, avoiding Kiverin, facing the pouring rain.
âThey said, no, Iâm hurting you. Itâs all my fault. So IâŠ.â
âI, I am fine.â
Winterâs face twisted at Kiverinâs answer.
She bit her lips tightly.
It was also unreasonable to narrow the distance at once.
I tugged on Menelikâs clothes.
âPut me down, please.â
âWhat?â
âI will walk with the young master.â
Menelik dropped me off.
I grabbed my umbrella and ran to Kiverin.
â⊠Okay, well, donât worry about me.â
Menelik, suddenly hit by the rain, muttered absurdly behind me.
I knew that my father-in-law could stand a little rain, so I quickly put an umbrella on Kiverin.
âYou will catch a cold, young master.â
Kiverin blinked.
The raindrops hanging from the silver eyelashes rolled down quietly.
âIâm okay.â
Kiverin said as before.
I pressed my forehead to Kiverinâs wet forehead.
âYou canât say itâs okay for me. I have reliable shoulders that can embrace a young master.â
âUh, whereâs the trustâŠâ
âJust say so and wait.â
ââŠâŠâ
I felt the hem of my clothes being pulled, and looked down.
Kiverinâs little hand was holding my clothes.
Menelik, who grabbed the umbrella from the servant, called for Winter.
âI just have to go back.â
Menelik put an umbrella over her and put his face in front of her nose, but Winter was still dazed.
I thought for a moment and called Winter.
âMother?â
Some shock therapy worked.
This time she responded immediately.
âYou call me thatâŠâ
âWhy donât you ask? How did the fire happen, and how did we escape?â
Winter clicked her tongue.
âI bought you from Count Mayall, who was desperate for not being able to sell his child, but I donât want you to be treated as an equal. Itâs never too late to hear that.â
ââŠâŠ.â
âDonât stand still and get into the carriage.â
Winter, who had come to her senses, blinked in the direction of the carriage.
The inside of the carriage was very warm, unlike the outside where the rain and wind blew.
While warming up with Kiverin, Menelik came in.
As soon as Menelik closed the door, the carriage departed.
Are the three of us going?
âWhat about mother?â
âShe will come later. The temple warns that the closer Winter gets to Kiverin, the worse Kiverinâs condition will be.â
ââŠâŠâ
âOf course it could be a lie. I usually disliked the Duke, so maybe itâs just a joke.â
ââŠâŠ.â
Menelik, who had been rummaging through his arms like a habit, made a sound and put it back in.
I could guess how Menelik was usually doing.
There were no children in the Dukeâs house, so he would have only smoked cigarettes every day.
Menelik looked at my expression and smiled.
âBut what if that thing is true? What if the dogs of the temple were right?â
ââŠâŠ â
âWell, thatâs it. Itâs hard to gamble with children. But we are not good parents.â
Suddenly, I turned to Kiverin.
Kiverin looked at Menelik with a doll-like expressionless face, then felt my gaze and turned his head slightly.
Soon, the expressionless face made me smile like a lie.
He turned to Menelik again, and he smiled.
Both seemed to reassure me.
What⊠Do I look like Iâm afraid? Really?
There was no mirror in the carriage, so I rubbed my pitiful cheek.
When I finally met and talked to Menelik Nectarian, my impression was, âI donât know who he isâ.
Actually, this is normal.
Neither Winter nor Menelik were characters in the novel, so there were many aspects.
The carriage quickly drove off the slope. It did not rattle as the carriage belonged to the wealthiest family in the empire.
Having tasted this capital, running away from home can only be a last resortâŠ
As Kiverin began to nod, the light outside the window gradually became brighter.
Lights that had been successive gathered at a certain point, revealing a Duke residence.
It was a huge gothic-style mansion that looked like it would appear as an illustration in a childrenâs book.
However, it was not likely that a princess or a prince would live there.
It felt like a beast was about to pop out of a curse, losing most of it and all that was left was money.
I smell money.
Not at the townhouse level?
Without realizing it, I stuck my nose to the window and looked through it.