/
“No, kid? What…This Mister didn’t bring you out for that reason….”
“Phew.”
As Enoch frowned in bewilderment, Lilith let out a sigh.
“Just do that.”
“Lilith?”
“I kept saying that we should be friends, but he said no. Well, then there’s nothing I can do. You’re a servant, do the toy you mentioned earlier.”
“Ung, okay.”
When Lilith tapped his shoulder as if he were being generous, Cheshire nodded willingly.
Enoch’s eyes widened.
“Princess, what do you mean by that? What do you mean toys to people?”
“I’m going to make you do a very annoying and difficult job, are you going to do everything? Because you’re a toy?”
Looking at his daughter’s face, ignoring his words and smiling like a villain, Enoch’s mouth widened.
“Ung, as long as you give me food and a place to sleep.”
“Okay. I’m going to order something amazing as soon as I get home. Is that okay?”
“Ung, do it.”
“Princess!”
“I’m going to draw a very scary jellyfish.”
“Jellyfish?”
“Yeah. You can’t sleep until you draw 10 jellyfish with me. Can you do it?”
“Yeah, okay.”
Cheshire nodded obediently, and Enoch, who was about to intervene, paused.
‘No, what did she say all of a sudden?’
Maybe Lilith knew Cheshire, who was suspicious of goodwill for no reason.
So she was playing with words so that Cheshire wouldn’t feel burdened.
“And don’t leave any of this, eat it up. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Lilith secretly moved her lips to show that she was satisfied.
‘…I’m going crazy, really. Whose daughter is it?’
Enoch smiled at his daughter’s face.
* * *
When we ‘sneaked’ back home.
There were unexpected visitors waiting in my room.
It was Leon and Theo.
“Who is that kid?”
Leon looked at me, holding Cheshire’s hand, and asked bluntly.
“Hello, brothers. This is Cheshire.”
“Cheshire?”
“Yeah, Princes.”
Dad stepped in.
“Lilith friend who will stay here from today. His name is Cheshire.”
“What? He’s staying here? Which family is he from?”
Dad was silent for a moment at Theo’s question.
“Oh, hmm. He’s a commoner. For now.”
“….”
“….”
Leon and Theo looked at Cheshire in surprise at the same time.
Cheshire turned his head away as if their gaze was burdensome.
“Uncle, later…I’m going to tell Grandfather that Lilith’s friend is here. So until then, don’t tell anyone and just play quietly. You can do it, right?”
If he says he picked up someone else’s illegitimate child, their Grandfather will collapse by grabbing the back of his neck.
The twins nodded when asked not to say first because they were worried about their grandfather’s blood pressure.
“Hey, Kid.”
“Ung?”
Leon looked very closely at my and Cheshire’s hands, which we held tight for some reason.
“…You said you were going to catch a spider with me when you go out today.”
“Oh, did I? Yes!”
Then, suddenly, he pulled my hand away from where I was holding Cheshire.
“Let’s go.”
“Ung. Should we go with Cheshire too?”
“….”
Silence fell at my words.
Leon’s silent face was full of dissatisfaction.
“W, why? Can’t we all get together?”
“Aren’t you and I supposed to do it together?”
“That’s true, but… There’s also Cheshire, so let’s go together.”
“….”
Leon’s hand, holding my hand, tightened.
‘Something is strange? What’s wrong with Leon?’
I was bewildered.
Again, the twins and Cheshire in the original were very close.
Theo was more affectionate to Cheshire than anyone else, and Leon was sometimes angry but always took care of Cheshire.
Even though they know all of Cheshire’s origins.
So I thought that even if I didn’t come forward, the kids would naturally get close to each other—.
‘Why are you so hostile?’
I wondered as I looked at Leon’s expression, which almost glared at Cheshire.
Theo intervened in the frozen atmosphere.
“Shall we say hello? Did you say Cheshire? I am Theo Antrace. Twelve…”
Theo, who tried to shake hands as he approached Cheshire, stopped.
He sniffed. Then he wiggled at the end of his nose.
“What’s wrong, brother?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
When I asked, Theo laughed awkwardly.
Soon Leon snorted.
“It smells. from him.”
“Ung?”
I don’t know? Sniff, I smelled it. The musty smell of the basement lingered faintly on Cheshire.
Cheshire was embarrassed by all the people looking at him, so he lowered his eyes and took a step back.
“Ah, yes. Cheshire is going to wash up with Uncle. Play with Lilith first, guys.”
Dad quickly intervened, grabbed Cheshire’s hand, and left the room.
I immediately asked Leon.
“Brother, why are you doing this to Cheshire?”
“What do you mean?”
“You keep staring at him and say it terribly. And what if you openly say it smells?”
“I said it because it smells.”
“Even so, it’s embarrassing to say that out loud!”
“….”
“Don’t tell me, it’s not because Cheshire is a commoner, right?”
“What does that have to do with it? I just said it smells.”
“Uh, stop.”
Theo, who came between us, looked at me and smiled awkwardly.
“That’s right, Lilith. It has nothing to do with that. Leon usually talks to anyone like this.”
“It’s a bad habit…Don’t do that to Cheshire.”
As I said this, Leon wrinkled his eyebrows and shouted loudly.
“Hey!”
“What…”
“Are you on his side now?”
“What are you saying? What side?”
“You went out to see art, and out of the blue, what kind of friend did you bring? Does he really live here?”
“Ung. Cheshire has nowhere to go….”
“Ha…”
“What makes brother doesn’t like him so much? Tell me, tell me now.”
“….”
“Brother?”
“I don’t know!”
Leon groaned and shouted and then left the room with a thumping sound.
I just blinked in surprise.
‘What’s wrong with him…?’
* * *
“Now, shall we take a bath?”
As soon as the bath was ready, Enoch took off his clothes.
Cheshire was absurd in Enoch, who looked down proudly with a towel around his lower abdomen.
Don’t tell me they’re going to take a bath together.
“I can take a bath by myself.”
“It’s going to be hard to clean. Mister also needs someone to clean my back.”
He couldn’t believe it.
A nobleman who will never wash his own body with his own hands will wash the stinky commoners by hand.
“Do you hate it?”
“….”
However, Cheshire couldn’t refuse Enoch’s offer, which was deeply disappointing.
He even gives him food and a place to sleep, so what can he do?
Finally, as he nodded his head slightly, Enoch smiled.
“Come on, hurray!”
Enoch paused as he took off Cheshire’s old, dirty clothes.
A reddish bruise covered the entire skinny body.
“….”
“….”
Enoch, who had been silent for a while, smiled bitterly and led Cheshire into the bath.
“Wow, how long has it been? My daughter hates it when I ask her to wash up with me. She’s still small, but she has been washing herself since a year ago.”
“…You washed together before that?”
“Right?”
…It’s strange. Cheshire thought there was something peculiar about this father and daughter.
Surprised by the skillful hand that washed me, Cheshire cautiously opened her mouth.
“Mister.”
“Hmm?”
“Didn’t my father tell you to kill me?”
“…What?”
Cheshire laughed when he saw how confused Enoch was.
“I know. Because of that Mister’s daughter, I’m alive now. I saw a lot of commoners brag about their lives to look good in the eyes of aristocrats.”
“….”
“Well, if they get tired of it, they’ll be kicked out and die.”
Enoch swallowed a sigh as he looked at Cheshire, speaking bluntly.
“Mister, I have one request.”
“What?”
“If your daughter gets tired of me, can’t you just use me as a servant for a while without killing me?”
“….”
“It sounds shameless, but please give me a little salary. When I’m old enough to find a job outside, I’ll go out as soon as I can and live quietly without being noticed.”
Cheshire spoke without interruption as if he had been prepared.
It looked like he was prepared to say something like this all along—an eleven years old child.
“Cheshire.”
“Yes.”
“Children don’t have to work.”
“….”
“I didn’t bring you here to pay you and I don’t want to please my daughter. If you had a separate place to go, I would have sent it to you.”
Cheshire looked up at Enoch. He didn’t seem to be lying.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“Hmm, even if weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have pretended not to know. Me and my daughter.”
“….”
“Still, if you feel uncomfortable and have doubts about me. May I ask you a favor, too?”
Enoch pretended to be troubled and opened his lips.
“Because my daughter is people with power, she has to go to the training center soon. I was worried about sending her alone, but I think I’ll be relieved if you go with her.”
Cheshire was surprised.
Although he was people with power, he never thought that he would be able to go to a training center.
“…I can’t go because I have no status.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll be your guardian. Then you can enter the training center.”
“Yes?”
Cheshire’s face, which had been expressionless, lit up with surprise.
His words said a favor, but Cheshire was thankful.
If he only gets the badge of powerful people, even if he leaves this house someday, he can live like a human being.
‘Why?’
Excessive favor from a great person with a high position, which is also called a noble above the nobility—.
‘It’s probably because of that child. She’s loved by her father.’
Cheshire said feeling a little depressed.
“…Thank you.”
“Well.”
Enoch played with Cheshire’s foamy head. Horns rose from both sides of his head.
“Boy.”
Enoch grinned.
“You’re still handsome like this.”