âIn fact, instead of kissing me, he might kill me because of this accident.â
[My life is saved just by saying that.]
Everyone looked at Leilaâs words strangely. As if they had seen something hideousâŠ
âSo, please. Huh? Iâll grant each one of you a wish! So letâs keep it a secret. Donât you think that itâs okay? You guys are the only ones who need to keep quiet.â
ââŠâ
âSighâŠâ
âKalix, Griffith⊠I know you guys almost died, but⊠still, please?â
ââŠI donât care.â Kalix answered after some consideration.
â⊠If youâre saying so,â Griffith agreed.
âI canât! Did you hit your head with a knife? Just think about it! You just woke up so youâre not thinking.â
âThis guy⊠Youâre not going to be quiet?â
Romeo got angry, but Lelia yelled furiously.
ââŠâ
Romeo, breathing furiously as before, left the room.
âThat idiot⊠I dare not become his CaptainâŠâ
Lelia muttered a little and Oscar grabbed Lelia by the arm to calm her down.
âOh, my God. Calm down⊠Well, Iâm sorry⊠Romeo is strange in the first placeâŠâ
âWell, Iâll put up with him.â
Kalix, who was listening to their conversation, said, âHey, the one who just left. Why does he call you âCaptainâ? Why are you pretending to be the boss?â
âIâm not pretending to be the boss here⊠they just want to do that. They wanted to call me that. What do you want me to do?â Lelia answered curtly.
[Of course I had Romeo to call me that in personâŠ]
Kalix stared at Lelia. Lelia also gave him a sullen look.
For a momentâŠ
No way.
âKalix, donât tell me-â
âIâll call you Captain, too.â
Itâs too late now.
Lelia grimaced.
âYou said they wanted to call you captain. I want to call you that, so Iâll call you. You donât have any complaints, do you?
âNoâŠ.â
Leila wanted to take back her words from earlier.
It was then when Griffith grinned and said, âSo do I.â
âNoâŠâ
[Why on earth⊠What the hell!]
[This is not what I was expectingâŠ..]
Eventually, Leila has turned four heroes, who would defeat the dragon in the future, into her subordinates.
I canât say, âFour moreâŠâ
The remaining heroes were the people who had never stayed in this temple when they were young.
Lelia lay back on the bed, wondering what to do.
[I donât know anymore⊠what can I do when they want to call me their captain?]
Once she returned to her home country, she would never see them again. Prince Leo will officially die right after returning home.
***
When the victims of the incident asked to keep what happened a secret, the priests wondered what a windfall this was. The high ranking priests visited Lelia, Kalix and Griffith in person and bowed their heads.
âWe will never let this happen again in the future, and we will maintain your safety thoroughly and investigate to find the culprit soon. We will do some investigation.â
Lelia snorted at their words.
They said that they would investigate thoroughly, but nothing was revealed in the end. It was done by a high ranking priest in agreement with the Emperor of Ascard.
The only witness at that time was the victim, Kalix Ascard.
Kalix shouldâve known by then who did that to him when he saw a wolf turning into fine sand.
[You were trying to kill a child. You b*****s!]
Before Lelia returns to her home country, she wants to tell Kalix that if he goes back to his home country, he should immediately abandon the throne, go out and become a mercenary. He is someone who can be the best.
Anyways, there was peace again after the incident.
Lelia just goofed around in her room for a few days, the priests couldnât even ask them to attend the prayer and bowed their heads like sinners, no matter what Lelia did.
If thereâs anything uncomfortableâŠ
[Why do these kids keep coming to my room to play?]
All four of them used to gather in her room in the morning. Just as if they were going to work.
Naturally, they did not attend prayer either, and somehow ended up sleeping separately and being together all day.
It was for a whileâŠ
Soon they ordered a priest to put a bed in Leliaâs room.
Fortunately, instead of the bedroom with Leliaâs bed, they put the bed in the empty room next to it.
[Oh my God, itâs so uncomfortable!]
[Crazy people, Iâm a woman!]
She couldnât tell the truth, so she had to keep this secret in her stomach.
From that day on, strange and uncomfortable cohabitation began with the four elementary school kidsâŠ
***
Leila wanted to stay away from them even during mealtime.
Since she woke up early, she hurried to wash up quickly and headed to the dining hall for breakfast.
âHmmâŠ.â Lelia hummed because she felt good when she was alone, separated from those leeches, who followed her for many days now.
Lelia entered the dining hall and sat on an empty seat. Even though it was early, some children were eating.
She sat down and waited a while, soon the servants brought the meal.
It was a savory soup filled with fresh salad with blanched beef, hot bread, mushrooms and vegetables, and meat.
[I donât feel like I want to go back and live here my whole life.]
It couldnât be this good because they provided three full meals a day. In addition, the nutrients were perfectly considered and prepared.
Light breakfast, reassuring lunch, and gorgeous dinner.
Besides, you can come and eat more rice anytime you want. It doesnât matter if she eats five meals a day.
[I should eat as much as I can here and stay healthy.]
[I didnât eat a lot when I was young, so I need to eat properly and enough now. I wonât be able to eat properly after IÂ go back.]
Lelia began to eat a big meal, and thanks to her concentration on food, she could not feel the eyes of the children around her.
âThatâs himâŠâ
âI heard they call her Captain.â
âThe Crown Prince of Auraria.â
âHeâs so coolâŠâ
The girls looked at Lelia, whispering. And after Lelia finished her meal, she started eating desserts and drinks served by the servant.
âHi?â
ââŠâ Lelia turned her head in surprise.
A pretty girl was sitting next to Lelia and smiling.
[PrettyâŠ]
Lelia greeted the girl unknowingly, âHi.â
âThe Crown Prince of Auraria, right?â
âUm⊠UhâŠâ Lelia felt nervous for a moment.
âAre you the royal from the Aurarian Empire?â
When young royals were gathered in the neutral zone of the temple, they calculated the average age of the young royals from each country. And they asked to choose the age at which most children would be taken and send the rest away.
The Emperor of Auraria screamed when he realized that his son was just the right age.
âThose dogs! F****ng dogs!â
But after sending Lelia, he became very calm. Having found a reason and a substitute, the emperor examined the list of royals who would spend time with Lelia. First of all, people who have seen the princeâs face should not be sent.
Fortunately, as he had overprotected and carried his son in arms since he was young, not many children knew his sonâs face. The emperor picked out the children of the lowest ranking aristocrats and sent them with Lelia.
Knowing that, Lelia avoided the girlâs gaze just in case. She didnât want to show her face in detail.
[But the crown prince and I have similar hair and eyesâŠ]
It wonât be a big problem later on. In the first place, the emperor and the prince will die if she goes back home safely.
âI am from the Empire of Nicea. My father is Count Cherndez.â
âOh, really?â
Knowing that she wasnât from Auraria, Lelia looked at the girl again with delight.
Lelia smiled brightly, and the girl blushed for a moment.
âUh⊠well, I just wanted to be close to you. They are usually with boysâŠâ
âOh, they?â
âYeah, the ones who call you Captain.â
âWellâŠâ
Lelia shrugged her shoulders as if it were nothing. She felt like she has become a great personality.
[Even though I am an elementary school student.]
Lelia felt a little bit pathetic about herself, who had been upset for a while, but she did not express herself and smiled at her girl. She wanted to maintain a good image in front of the other kids, she didnât care about the four guys, who were her subordinates.
A kind of sweet, serious and nice image?
âHey, butâŠâ
âWhat? You can ask me anything you want to ask.â
âDid Griffith ever tell you about me?â
âHuh?â
âWell, actually⊠Griffith is my fiance.â
ââŠâ
[Oh, thatâs what had happened?]
Lelia said after a moment of thought, âI donât have deep personal conversation with himâŠApart from being my friend, I donât even tend to be humble⊠â
It was then that the big door of the dining hall burst open.
âCaptain!â
Lelia saw Kalix waving at her from a distance, and the other three.
[You all are up already, leeches.]
âLetâs talk about it next time. Hello.â
The girl sitting next to Lelia stood up and left in surprise. The girls, who were talking, waiting for their turn, almost cried in the corner.
âHey, you. Why did you come here alone? What a surprise to not find you in the room!â Kalix came near and said, smashing Lelia on the back.
âŠ
[You should either call me Captain or just call me off, just one!]