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“Sera, when’s Heli Hyung gonna come?”
“I hope Oppa comes soon.”
Like small petals, the twins’ fingers were intertwined as their hands were clasped together, and they waited for Helios more earnestly than ever.
The more the clock ticked, the more their minds were filled with worry and the more they paced back and forth.
“His Majesty will be here soon. So, please don’t worry and wait.”
Hearing this eased RosĂ© and Ferre’s worries, but in truth, Sera herself was anxious to the point that she gulped dryly.
The little squirrel in the basket was slowly getting weaker and weaker.
After Sera and the children found the squirrel in the forest, they immediately went to find a doctor. There was one on stand-by, in case of an accident during today’s hunting competition.
However, the doctor who examined the squirrel only shook his head heavily.
“It’s a baby squirrel and its body is small, but it has already lost too much blood. Truthfully, it’s going to be difficult at this rate, but if it’s divine power
”
RosĂ© and Ferre thought of Helios as soon as they heard the mention of ‘divine power’, and they hurriedly sought him out. However, they must have taken too long to get there.
His Majesty had already led the nobles back into the woods, and so they couldn’t meet him.
It would have been alright if there were one or two priests here who could use divine power, but couldn’t come to the hunting grounds because this was a place where living beings were being killed.
Inevitably, Rosé and Ferre had to go to the Star Palace and wait for Helios there. It had already been more than half an hour from the time that he was supposed to come back, but he had yet to arrive.
“Sera, what if Baby Squirrel dies?”
Rosé asked sorrowfully, her emerald eyes glistening with tears.
The doctor had hastily bandaged the little squirrel’s wound again, but it was already soaked with blood.
“Don’t die, Baby Squirrel. We’ll pray for you.”
“Yeah. Heli Oppa’s gonna come and save you in a little while. Hang in there even if it hurts, Baby Squirrel.”
“Please hang in there, Baby Squirrel.”
The twins whispered with tears in their eyes. Sera gently patted their small backs, sympathizing with them as they prayed earnestly.
‘What should I do?’
Sera watched the crying children, asking herself if she perhaps made the wrong call here.
It’s good that they did not ignore the little one as it was dying. However, if it doesn’t survive, Sera’s decision as their tutor to take the baby squirrel with them might just give the twins more unwarranted wounds in their hearts.
Perhaps it would have been better to have entrusted the baby squirrel to the maids of the palace, even if the twins begged to stay with it. If only to spare them the moment that it passes on.
Soon, the doorknob rattled. As though with the intuition of a ghost, both RosĂ© and Ferre noticed Helios’ arrival.
The twins picked up the basket, carefully so that the baby squirrel inside wouldn’t be jostled.
Without having the time to take off his hunting attire, Helios arrived, panting. His eyes immediately gravitated towards the children and Sera, who were rushing towards him.
The little basket and the little one inside caught his eye.
“Heli Oppa
”
“Heli Hyung
”
After they had waited so long, Helios had finally come, and the twins gasped out towards him.
“Oppa, this baby squirrel is dying!”
“Please help
 Hyung!”
“The doctor said it won’t survive unless it gets healed with divine power!”
Rosé and Ferre urgently begged Helios.
And true enough, Helios realized how urgent the situation was. Without asking for any more details as to why a baby squirrel was all the way here in the Star Palace, he quickly took the basket.
“Save it please, Oppa.”
“I think the baby squirrel is in a lot of pain, Hyung.”
When he took the basket from them, Rosé, Ferre and Sera all looked at him expectantly.
He hovered one hand over the squirrel, then stopped near its tail.
“It may take some time, but it’s going to be alright.”
His low voice instantly reassured the children. Helios unwound the tight bandage over the deep cut on its tail, then he soon infused the wound with divine power.
Bright, golden waves spread over the wound.
“Hyung, the squirrel looks like it’s getting better!”
“The squirrel looks like it’s getting healthier again!”
As Rosé and Ferre shouted, the squirrel visibly looked as if it was regaining its vitality as more divine power was infused into it.
Sera, who stood there silently, breathed out a sigh of relief after seeing this.
“All done.”
After Helios infused it with more divine power even when the wound had already closed up, he slowly withdrew his hand.
Everyone watched worriedly, waiting to see if the squirrel would wake up.
“Squeak—”
It was feeble, but the squirrel’s cry could be heard clearly.
Rosé and Ferre looked at each other with their eyes wide open.
Sera’s eyes likewise widened, and her gaze met with Helios’.
“Squeak— Squeak—!”
This time, the squirrel cried out even louder. Its long, soft brown tail wiggled.
“It’s about
 to wake up
!”
Sera was also impressed to hear the little one’s small voice.
“Oh? Oh!”
“Oppa!”
Rosé and Ferre stuttered, but they did not forget to utter their exclamations.
In no time, the baby squirrel wagged its tail energetically and rose to its feet inside the small basket.
“It’s up!”
“Hyung saved it!”
Rosé and Ferre raised their arms in celebration.
“Squeak— Squeak— Squeak—!”
Reinvigorated, the squirrel was so lively that no one would have guessed what it had gone through just now.
As it wagged its tail, the squirrel quickly got out of the basket, then immediately clumped on the children, who both cried out with “Gah!” and “Kyaah!” at the same time.
The squirrel climbed as far as Ferre’s head, and it looked directly at Sera and clung to her right away.
“Oh my!”
It went on to climb atop her shoulder, and it soon tickled her cheek with its tail.
Afterwards, this swift little one jumped straight towards Helios. As it crossed his broad shoulders, it soon burrowed itself into his shirt.
As he was delighted by the situation, a refreshing smile found its way onto his lips.
“Squeak— Squeak— Squeak—!”
Still, the little one seemed to be more partial to the twins, who were the first to take action to save it.
It escaped out of Helios’ sleeve, then it used its short legs to climb up once more towards the hands of RosĂ© and Ferre.
“I think it knows that me and Ferre saved it!”
Rosé giggled, happy to see the little one on her hand.
“So cute!”
Ferre leaned down to get closer to the squirrel that leapt onto his hand, patting it.
Watching from behind them, Sera swept one hand over her face, feeling relieved. After being so nervous earlier, she could feel the tension leaving her body.
“It seems like you were very worried for the squirrel?”
Helios, who was standing next to her, asked softly.
Sera turned to face him.
“It’s true that I was worried about the squirrel, but
 More than that
! I was thinking of the worst-case scenario, and I was very worried about Their Highnesses
”
Sera honestly explained. Then, she asked afterwards.
“What about you, Your Majesty?’
Right now, the usual relaxed smile was there on his lips. However, Sera nonetheless asked as she remembered his exhausted appearance when he came through that door earlier.
“Me?”
Sera nodded.
“I’m thinking of doing away with the hunting competition starting next year.”
Sighing as he seemingly joked, Helios shook his head.
It must have been tough out there for him today. Sera glanced towards Rosé and Ferre for a moment, checking whether they were looking this way.
But since they weren’t, she quickly opened one drawer and took out a small caramel bite, which had been wrapped individually.
“Their Highnesses RosĂ© and Ferre have already brushed their teeth, so I’m giving this to you in secret. Thank you very much for saving the baby squirrel, Your Majesty.”
Sera gave him the caramel bite.
Didn’t she say that sweets have the power to comfort you when you’re feeling down? Helios immediately noticed that Sera was trying to comfort him, just as she did that day in the past.
After rolling the caramel a few times with his fingers, he then unwrapped it and brought it to his lips.
It was nothing special.
Even so, Helios could feel a peculiar tickle in his chest.