Then he pursed his lips and asked, scratching his head.
âWhy? You donât like it?â
âYou have to say something that makes sense.â
âWhat else doesnât make sense?â
âYou really crazy. Iâve seen that kid three times today, noââ
Axion, frowning, pointed to the door Cheshire had left and added.
âFour times. I saw it four times.â
âYou can adopt him and see him more from now on.â
âWow. I really canât communicate with you.â
Axion opened his mouth wide as he looked at Enoch, who was stubborn.
Enoch let out a long sigh.
âDonât you feel sorry for the child?â
âWhat does that have to do with me?â
âHa. His father, who has beaten, starved, and done all the bad things so far to him, now says he will take the child backâŠ.â
ââŠ.â
âItâs not because he really changed his mind. He just wanted to use it based on his childâs rank.â
Yeah. It was.
He was angry when he saw the Marquis Onyx and wanted to send him to another world.
But thatâs it.
Axion couldnât understand why he had to have such a conversation with Enoch.
âYouâre not even going to get married. Of course, there is no heir.â
âSo what?â
âIf you die, doesnât Libre disappear?â
âYeah. I donât think it matters? Should I even think about my family disappearing after I die?â
Itâs over when he dies, so what?
Enoch, who was staring into Axionâs determined eyes, sighed again.
âOur vice commander⊠Who will be by your side when you get old and retire and get sick?â
ââŠ.â
âYou have no children. You will die alone and lonelyâŠ.â
âHey.â
Axion gently closed his eyes and gnashed his teeth.
Like it or not, Enoch continued.
âI have tears in my eyes when I think of you, who lived a lonely life and will eventually go to the grave, my friend.â
âWhoo.â
âNo, wait. I wonder if thereâs anyone who can dig a grave for you?â
Axion jumped to his feet.
Enoch looked up at him.
âStop talking nonsense.â
âAxion.â
Knock knock.
Axion knocked on the child soldier enlistment papers he had placed on the table.
âIâve done the work that the negligent commander entrusted me. Iâve done everything here, so check it out.â
âReally think about it. Itâs just a matter of filing the paperwork, and itâll pass in one day.â
âDonât call me unless itâs official. Enough then.â
âHey, hey!â
Axion left without looking back.
Enoch, who had risen after hesitating to catch him, flopped again and sat down.
âUgh.â
Cheshire came to mind as Enoch wiped his dry face while tilting his head.
Itâs okay if itâs not Uncle.
He understood what that meant.
âThis is really.â
Enoch laughed and rubbed his forehead.
ââŠIâm going crazy.â
* * *
âHaa.â
Isnât this going to burn the ground?
I was sitting in the corner of the training ground and playing with the dirt with a twig, and I tapped my mouth.
I should stop sighing.
âNo, but!â
Iâm dying of frustration, so what should I do?
Cheshire was stubborn.
He said that he had no intention of becoming the son of this family, even if he had to go back to the Marquis family.
âWhy is this happening?â
A problem that wouldnât have been necessary to keep in mind if only the original work were followedâ.
âItâs me who has changed. Iâm the only one?â
But again, itâs not because of me.
Donât tell me, Cheshire to me? I imagined it embarrassingly, but I hit it very badly.
I was thinking about solving this situation when suddenly a big shadow fell next to me.
It was Axion.
He looked around the training ground and asked me.
âWhat are you doing here?â
âJust thinkingâŠâ
âWhy. Because of Cheshire?â
âYes. Cheshireâs Dad is going to take Cheshire. Heâs a bad guyâŠâ
ââŠ.â
Axion looked at me blankly and didnât answer.
I sighed again and looked at the training ground where our family soldiers were training in full swing.
âBut why is Uncle here?â
âWhere is Cheshire?â
âI donât know. Where else has he disappeared?â
âHaa.â
Why is he sighing? I looked up at Axion while crouching down, and he said,
âLilith.â
âYes~â
ââŠCan you dig my grave later?â
âYes?â
What are you talking about out of the blue?
As I frowned, Axion added, flustered.
âNo, well. You can dig it together while digging for your fatherâs.â
âYes?â
I was puzzled, but I nodded since he was worried that no one could dig a grave for him.
âAll right.â
âAre you digging?â
âYes, well. Itâs not difficult, either. Iâll dig it for you while I dig it for DadâŠ.â
âYeah. Thank youâŠâ
Axion seemed unwilling to say something even though I had promised him.
We looked at each other and sighed at the same time.
âHaaa.â
âWhoo.â
* * *
A week passed by in the blink of an eye.
My heart sank when I received Ricoâs letter.
[The Marquis of Onyx received the right to negotiate reasonable access from the Imperial Personal Affairs Bureau.
It seems that it is difficult to meet the child at will before the inspection results of the paternity certificate come out, so he applied for the right to reasonable access, even temporarily.]
Now, the Marquis of Onyx can come to our house and meet Cheshire at any time.
If the complaint results are confirmed, he might be able to take Cheshire legally.
[Fortunately, the period of review of the complaint seems to be quite long.
About two weeks?
The Marquis didnât clearly state the reason for hiding the child in the complaint.
The inspection would go faster if he told the truth and said that it was hard for him to show his face because he was physically abused and ashamed.
Well, that statement would be embarrassing.]
Should I say this is fortunate?
Anyway, I have two weeks left.
âLilith, calm down. Letâs think of a way to save Cheshire from the Marquis.â
I bit my nails hard.
Is there any other way than to make Cheshire my Dadâs adopted son?
âEung, there isnât.â
There really isnât.
Even if there is, can I think of it in two weeks?
So, first of all, I was persuading Cheshire by following him all week.
Of course, Cheshire was an iron wall.
âAre your nails tasty?â
âAh, Uncle!â
As I was biting my nails while watching Cheshire training, Axion approached me.
âCheshire, are you done?â
âNot yet.â
âWhoo.â
Axion sat next to me as I nervously trembled.
âYou are also very sincere. He said he would never be your fatherâs adopted son, so why donât you just give up?â
âNo. They said that there is no tree that cannot be felled by taking ten hits.â
âStop hitting it. He wonât fall for it. He says he can do it as long as itâs not your father.â
âYes?â
I was surprised. Why?
Axion shrugged his shoulders and said.
âDonât you know your father acted harshly? I think heâs sick of it?â
âHuh!â
Was it like that?
When I opened my mouth wide, Axion smiled at me.
âSo you didnât know. Your fatherâs personality is really dirty.â
âI, itâs not like thatâŠâ
âNo. Itâs really dirty. Look, what the reason am I here now?â
âHmm.â
Axion had been at my house for work all week.
When a child soldier enlists, it is customary for each military commander to provide personal training for a certain period of timeâ.
âPhew, why does Dad keep leaving his job to Uncle?â
Thatâs right. It was my Dad who had to teach Cheshire and Gerard himself.
For some reason, Axion has been struggling with Cheshire all week at my training ground, replacing my Dad.
âIâm sorryâŠâ
âIt was your father who has a bad personality, so why are you apologizing?â
âHmm. Still, you were very close with CheshireâŠ. Our Cheshire is nice, isnât it?â
I raised my chin and said, looking at Cheshire, who was too busy swinging his sword.
âAbout what?â
âHihi.â
After laughing so long, I became sullen again.
âUncle, you know.â
âYeah.â
âI. I donât want to part ways with Cheshire⊠But more than that, I hate Cheshire going to the Marquisâ houseâŠ.â
ââŠ.â
âWhen he goes to that house, he will remember all the bad things. Cheshire was always right there, and I heard him curse. It must have been hell for CheshireâŠ.â
I pulled my finger under my teary eyes, fearing that I would cry.
âNo, why are you crying again?â
âUh.â
Axion wiped away my wet tears with his fingers.
It was a very kind touch. Then, I felt that he suddenly paused.
ââŠ?â
Looking to the side, Axion was looking at Cheshire with a stiff face.
No, not Cheshire.
âAhhhh, heâs here again!â
What is it? It was Marquis Onyx who came to visit Cheshire without stopping.
I jumped up.
But then stop.
I couldnât reach them.
The Marquis must have brought the right to negotiate a reasonable access.
So, now I couldnât separate them even if I went and stopped them.
âWhat should I doâŠâ
The Marquis and Cheshire stood there and talked for a while.
I couldnât hear the contents, but quite a long time had passed.
I only stomped my feet.
At that time, the Marquis suddenly grabbed Cheshireâs arm tightly.
âWhat is that!â
Cheshire struck it off.
However, the Marquis took out a piece of paper from his bosom and held it in front of Chesierâs eyes.
âAh, that crazy guy!â
It will be the right to negotiate reasonable access.
Seeing that, Chesierâs head returned to me weakly.
We made eye contact in the distance.
Cheshire soon threw away his sword and slowly followed the Marquis.
âN, no! Wait!â
Speaking of reasonable access rights, they can probably meet at one time only a few hours.
But I hate that even moreâ.
So I ran towards Cheshire.
âCheshire!!â
It was then.
Axion quickly passed me first.
ââŠ?â
He shouted as he walked toward them.
âWhere are you going now?â
The Marquis and Cheshire looked back.
âAh, Your Excellency, Duke of Libre. Please excuse me during the trainingâŠ.â
The Marquis shamelessly offered the right to reasonable access but paused.
Axion wrapped his arm around Cheshireâs shoulderâ.