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“Dada!” The girls, who were giggling and playing with each other, handed Davey a half-eaten cookie.
“You’re giving it to me?” Davey asked.
“It’s tasty!”
“Hehe!”
Realizing what Red Ribbon was trying to say, Davey took the cookie. She flailed about excitedly, and the girls stared up at him with sparkling eyes. They wanted to see when he was going to eat it.
“You girls are so sweet,” Davey praised.
As he unhesitantly munched on the cookie because he found them to be so adorably thoughtful, Red Ribbon happily giggled and hugged his neck to give him kisses all over.
Knock knock.
“Your Highness, it is Amy.”
Davey stopped himself from squirming at Red Ribbon’s adorable nature, which he could never get tired of. He then heard a knock at the door. He coughed awkwardly and wiped the smile from his face. “Ahem, what is it?”
“You have a visitor.”
“Without a message? Did they throw their manners out the window?”
“That is… It is Princess Winley.”
“What? Where is she right now? Lead the way!”
There were always exceptions. Amy didn’t say anything for a while, as if she was a little bewildered by Davey’s confident shout.
* * *
“Big brother!” The green-haired girl, who was admiring the small but elegant garden, ran into Davey’s arms as soon as she saw him.
“Have you been well?” Davey asked. It had been almost six months since they had last seen each other. The last time they had met was just as Davey was leaving for the territory.
“I really missed you, Big brother.”
“Yes, yes. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Davey patted Winley on the back and stroked her head. As she blushed and looked up at him, she slightly pushed him away. She said, “You’re mean. How could you not even send a letter?”
“Haha, sorry. I was a little busy.”
“Hmph… I’m letting it slide because of the territory’s situation, so consider yourself lucky,” Winley said.
“Anyway, where’s Baris?”
“He is…” Winley slightly frowned and squinted. Then, she gasped with sparkling eyes, as if she had found something interesting. “However, Big brother, who are those children…?”
Winley had just now noticed Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon, who were clinging onto Davey’s back and hiding behind him. She couldn’t help but smile at the two girls, who peeked out from behind Davey with nervous faces. Winley exclaimed, “T—They’re so cute!”
“Woah!”
“Kyak!”
Winley immediately ran over and hugged them, so Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon flailed around in surprise. But they couldn’t escape from Winley’s arms as she screamed about how cute they were. Winley also rubbed her cheeks against theirs.
“Dada!”
“Nooo!”
The girls seemed to like it only when Davey did it; he guessed that there was a difference between a parent and a stranger.
“Let’s go in now.” Davey stopped Winley after seeing the girls’ look for help.
Regaining control, Winley backed up from the children. “Hm… I must’ve gone crazy for a second.” She kept glancing over at them like she would hug them for days without letting go if she got the chance. As she put aside her desires and followed Davey into the drawing room, her eyes sparkled as she saw the children cautiously reach for the cookies. She asked, “My! So cute! Big brother, who are these children? Residents?”
“They are under my care,” Davey replied.
“Yours?”
“They are my daughters.”
“Oh my…” Winley shook her head in disbelief. “You are doing something new every time I see you, Big brother. Really…”
“There’s a reason I have to take care of these kids.”
“Then, I don’t have anything to say…” Winley was soon distracted by the nervous glances of the children, who were playing with each other in such a cute way. She opened her arms while panting. “H—Hey kids, do you want to come into my arms?”
“Um…”
There was no way the children would go. Winley couldn’t help but frown as the girls hid inside Davey’s arms.
“Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon, you have to be nice to your sister.” As Davey stroked their heads while smiling, the children hesitantly went to Winley and handed her the cookie they were holding. It was as if they were trying to make Davey happy.
“Coookieee…”
“This is for me? Really? Kyak!”
‘Does she like it so much that she has to scream?’
“Uh…”
“Eeh…”
Unable to hold back, Winley hugged them and rubbed her cheek against theirs. Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon squirmed with a faint frown on their faces. Winley cooed, “You guys are so cute! Hey, do you want to follow me home?”
“Noo!”
This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
“Dada!” The children declined Winley’s offer instantly. They were explicitly showing their unhappiness.
Davey couldn’t help but sigh at Winley, who was still screaming about how cute the children were despite their refusal. He soon asked Winley while swirling his teacup, which was filled with the black tea that the ladies-in-waiting had served them. “Anyway, how did you come here? I know you’re busy in your territory.”
“Big brother, you… The territory has become pretty quiet now, since the barbarians haven’t been too rowdy recently. Keep up with the news, would you?”
“Haha, sorry.” Davey wouldn’t have been this slow if they had exchanged letters or something, but he had been pretty busy.
“My, I was so shocked. I was so worried when you said you were coming to this wasteland… I never expected your business to succeed so much… And I also saw dwarves in the village.”
“I’m getting some help from them.”
“Wow… Aren’t dwarves known for not coming out to the outside world? It’s the first time I’ve seen a dwarf in my life.”
Aside from Winley, the people on the territory were also constantly looking at the dwarves as if they were fascinating creatures. They were all taken by surprise. Of course, they’ll get used to it since the dwarves were going to live here for a while.
“I would like to host you, but the territory’s current state still isn’t great… It’s going to take a few more months until everything is settled.”
“I can’t complain; I’m the one who suddenly came. To be honest with you, the reason I’m here is…” Winley trailed off with a bitter face. Her happiness from before was nowhere to be seen. She now looked worried and solemn about some kind of secret. “Big brother.”
“Hm?” Davey replied.
“The power of the stigmata… Can you use it?”
“The power of the stigmata?” Davey calmly asked.
Winley began speaking with mixed feelings. “I know that I shouldn’t ask this of you when you are really busy…”
“It’s okay. Tell me.”
Davey had only been in possession of the stigmata for a short while, since he only got it after waking up from his coma. But he was confident that he could make the impossible possible for his younger sister. ‘What’s stopping me from helping?’
As Davey urged her to speak, Winley brought it up reluctantly. “I’m so sorry, Big brother…”
“Man, don’t be so hesitant and just tell me. I’ll help you even if it’s impossible.”
Perhaps Winley was assured by Davey’s words, because she began weeping in his arms. She let out all of the sorrow that she had been keeping to herself. “Big brother… Someone I’m fond of is struggling with their life… Even the priests and doctors have given up…”
A weird sensation came over Davey as he heard Winley’s teary voice. He asked, “Even the priests and the doctors gave up?”
“Yes… So, I thought maybe something could be done with the power of the stigmata…”
‘This feeling.’ Davey felt like something serious had happened.
30. The Signs of a Plague
Winley, who burst into tears in Davey’s arms, only stopped crying after she was completely exhausted. Comforted by Davey’s presence after being so emotionally distressed for a long time, she eventually collapsed from dehydration and fell asleep, and Davey had no choice but to lay her down.
Davey would have to learn about the details some other time. He murmured to himself, “She’s probably worn out. She must have been struggling with this for a long time… Leave her be. It seemed like it was a long journey here.”
The Ordem Territory, the territory where Winley and Baris were from, was pretty far from here. She must have been pretty tired if she had traveled here for days without rest. That was probably how much she treasured the person. Davey felt a slight fever as he stroked her forehead while she was asleep.
[Restore]
Winley looked much more comfortable than before after Davey cast a healing spell with his leftover strength.
“Hwoo…”
“Is Sister sick?”
Perhaps Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon instinctively felt that Winley was sick from looking at Winley asleep. They followed Davey in and asked with a frown, like they had already forgotten that they had rejected her affection just a few moments ago.
“She should be fine after a good rest. Let’s leave her be so that she can sleep well, okay?” Davey spoke to the girls.
“It’s not good to be sick. Red Ribbon is going to stay beside her!” Red Ribbon climbed onto the bed and fell asleep while holding Winley close.
Blue Ribbon also climbed into the opposite side of the bed carefully, and closed her eyes while hugging Winley.
Davey normally wouldn’t have allowed it, but the girls were balls of energy that naturally released spirit power, holy power, or mana. It seemed that their presence would undeniably help Winley regain her strength. He watched Winley sleep, then left the room after Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon completely fell asleep too.