This was training meant to help Trees who lived only in the Forest adapt to the outside world, and it usually started after they had awakened their abilities.
However, it was also a place to showcase products before they were sold to noble families.
Today, Heinrich participated in the salon where the highest nobles of the Axelferion Empire gathered.
The silver-haired Heinrich, who wore a childrenâs frock coat and a luxurious shirt, had a lovely appearance.
âYou are a very beautiful boy. Do you possess a lot of magic?â
The Marquis of Hilberg, with a swallowâs mustache, looked at Heinrich and asked.
âHeinrich is the only special level 1 Tree in our forest, Marquis.â
The socialization manager of the trees, Julius, responded very politely. But there was a sense of pride that could not be hidden in his tone and expression.
âHis magical potential is so powerful that it is difficult for his young body to control it. Thatâs why he wears this magic suppressor.â
Suddenly, Julius put his hand on the earring, and Heinrich slightly flinched and shifted his head. Annoyance flashed across his face for a moment, but it was only for a moment.
In the salon, Heinrich, strangely, did not frown once. As if faithful to the role of âa good and talented childâ.
âVery interesting, very interesting⊠Heâs the perfect age to be the youngest in our family.â
Heinrich seemed to like him so much, so Marquis Hilberg gently stroked the boyâs head.
ââŠâ
Henrich didnât answer. Instead, he quietly accepted his hand and smiled.
* * *
âThis is unfortunate. Damn it!â
Heinrich, who came out of the salon and got into the carriage, let the temper he had been holding back explode.
As if tired, the boy placed the back of his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes.
âWhy did you touch me?â
He really hated being touched by anyone.
Only one personâs touch was allowed by the boy. Annette.
âI feel tired. Letâs go back to the Forest right now.â
Julius smiled softly as he looked at the boy with deep blue eyes under long blond hair.
âThere is still one place left, Heinrich.â
âI showed up here and there like a beast in a pet shop for two weeks! I am exhausted.â
Unlike the other children in the forest, Heinrich had a lot of nobles who were interested in him.
Trees were classified into 9 levels according to their awakening ability, but Heinrich was currently the only level 1 tree.
That was not all. He was also a special level 1, with the emphasis on âspecialâ.
A higher level means higher potential.
The nobles, of course, wanted the most talented child to be their trophy.
âI told you the schedule wasnât over yet, Heinrich.â
Julius smiled softly, but there somehow seemed to be a threat.
Heinrichâs breathing, which was rough like a cat that had touched the water, became quiet.
Instead, the boy gently lifted his eyelids. The purple eyes shone brightly from the thin folds. The boy whispered softly.
âIs it okay if I get hurt?â
ââŠâŠ.â
Juliusâs expression stiffened for a moment.
What memory did he recall?
The last socialization training that ended in blood.
He was the one who felt extreme shame from the situation that ruined the precious first-level financial resources.
Juliusâ face softened again.
ââŠIf you donât like it that much, thereâs nothing I can do about it.â
Then he looked straight ahead and said to the driver.
âThe destination is the Forest. Letâs just go back.â
âYes!â
At that moment, along with the driverâs loud answer, the sound of horse hooves erupted with ease.
The boy rolled his eyes from the back seat with a tired face.
âAnnette, I miss you.â
It was the first time he hadnât seen her in such a long time since he got to know her.
The last two weeks have been such a terrible time. Tired and exhausted, Heinrich wanted to do just one thing as soon as he returned to the forest.
To hold Annette in his arms and smell her.
It was Heinrichâs favorite thing to do.
Howeverâ
Returning to the forest after two weeks, Heinrich witnessed a shocking sight.
Annette was holding the hand of a dirty boy.
It wasnât right.
The feeling of betrayal was as if he fought a two-year war with blood, sweat and tears, only to return and discover his wife had an affair and was holding another manâs hand.
Although, he was only an 11-year-old child. And it wasnât even a war, he was only half the height of a grown man.
Anyway, Annette laughed so brightly in such a serious situation.
âItâs a new friend! Say hello, Heinrich.â
Heinrichâs inner self made another sort of face.
ââŠFriend? Who wants to be friends?â
âWhat a beast-like bastard.â
He just felt bad upon meeting the red eyes under the black hair.
It must have been dirty in the first place, but it feels bad to just wipe it off and pretend itâs dry.
Unlike his beanpod view of Annette, Sislin did not live up to Heinrchâs standard of hygiene.
Heinrich frowned. He was just jealous of the two of them holding hands.
âItâs dirty. Savage.â
* * *
Squeak.
Suddenly, a loud sound rang in my ear.
It was the sound of Heinrich raising his doom flag.
âItâs worse than dirty!â
âItâs even worse than the original?!â
I couldnât believe it.
âHow can you say such a thing to such a cute baby?â
I looked at Sislin with trembling pupils (probably fully covered by bean pods).
Then I said to Heinrich with an almost teary face.
ââŠYou canât say such bad things, Heinrich.â
Such a scary mouth.
Even in the original story, Heinrichâs attitude and way of speaking was always rude and arrogant, which always stimulated Sislin and caused even more ruin.
When I read it as a novel, to be honest, I really liked characters of that kind.
I was drawn to arrogant and rude characters.
Butâ
It was hard to see my favorite steadily earning âfuture painâ right in front of my eyes.
âIâm not friends with filthy bastards.â
Ah. Please, stop it.
But that damned chihuahua didnât know how to kill his temper.
Only Heinrich was smirking; then finally, he approached and pushed Sislin.
âMy sister is mine, go away.â
âHeinrich!â
I thought about it and stopped him.
During this time, Heinrich pretty much monopolized me in the Forest. It was always my responsibility to take care of Heinrich, who was particularly sensitive and picky and had the tendency to hide his face from everyone.
Was that why?
Heinrich looked like an angry boss cat seeing a new cat coming into his territory.
Since it was Sislin, who had low self-esteem and was an introvert, he would probably be shocked by Heinrichâs behavior.
âI canâtâŠâ
However, my expectations and Sislinâs reaction were completely different.
Sislin wasnât pushed back, rather he held my hand tighter and looked at Heinrich.
Then he asked quietly, blinking his ruby-red eyes.
âWhy is Annette yours?â
ââŠâ
When Sislin asked the question too calmly, for a moment, Heinrich seemed to be speechless, unlike his usual confident self.
ââŠThat, that!â
Heinrichâs ears turned red.
âBecause Iâm going to marry Sister when I grow up!â
I was surprised when I heard it.
I didnât agree to that!
Sislin looked at Heinrich motionlessly no matter how much he ânyan-nyangedâ in front of him.
(T/N: likening him to a hissing cat.)
Then he calmly responded.
âUsually, sisters and brothers canât get married to each other.â
ââŠ!â
Heinrichâs purple eyes blinked in shock.
He blinked as if there had been a brief cognitive dissonance. Then he hurriedly grabbed my sleeve and asked seriously.
âSister, is that true? If I call you sister, we wonât be able to get married?â
ââŠUh, well.â
I shifted my eyes in embarrassment.
âChildren, do you think thatâs the only reason we canât get married?â
When I didnât give a clear answer, Heinrich turned the arrow, hurriedly pointing at Sislin with his index finger.
âBut why doesnât that bastard call you Sister? He must be younger than 12!â
In the woods, my age, 12, was the oldest.
I was only ten fingers plus two, but I was the oldest here.
And Sislin and Heinrich were 11 years old each.
âHmm, that protest is justified.â
He just called me Annette, and I enjoyed hearing it, so I left it alone⊠If you insist on such injusticeâŠ
For the sake of peace, this part needs to be sorted out.
âHeinrich is right. It would be better for Sislin to call me âsisterâ.â
Sislin looked at me with his red eyes through black hair. Then, he gently buried his head that smelled good on my shoulder and closed his eyes.
He whispered in a voice sweet as a ripe berry, his face blushing.
âSisterâŠâ
In an instant, my face glowed like cherry candy. Crazy, he would seduce all the ânoonasâ in the world.
âSo cute. Our baby.â
Heinrich, who had been looking at him, finally sat down on his seat and burst out in anger.
ââŠHey, just call her the way you used to!!!â
* * *
I managed to soothe Heinrich, who was not able to overcome his temper, and sent him down to the living room.
He made a fuss when parting with me, till I said, âIâll put you to bed today, I promise.â
Heinrich particularly liked the way I put him to sleep, so he asked me over and over again, âReally?â
Then he looked back and left the room like a cat leaving behind a delicious fish.
âWhewâŠâ
I thought that something great had happened.
I pat Sislinâs shoulder and whisper.
âHe talks like that, but he has a good heart.â
Even though he was mean towards you in the original.
âItâs because there are so many wounds in his heart, like you, Sislin.â
If he had only received love when growing up, he wouldnât have become such a jealous personality.
I understand all of Heinrichâs narrative, but from Sislinâs point of view, he would view him as a very mean child.
âFirst impressions of each other turned out to be the worst. How do I go about doing this?â
As I was thinking deeply, Sislin, who was still sitting in the chair, asked me.
âAnnette⊠Heinrich, do you like him?
âYes.â
In response to my answer that was without hesitation, Sislin slowly lowered his eyes and spoke with a darkened face.
ââŠI see.â
It was then.
Tachakâ
A presence was heard outside the door.
Uh, thatâs weird? The only people who knew about this room were me, Sislin, and Heinrich.
Did Heinrich return?
I walked slowly, opened the door, and looked out into the hallway.
Shasha-sakâ
Then I quickly saw a shadow spinning around the corner of the hallway, and I swallowed my saliva.
âHeinrich?â
No reply returned.
âThis is not a place to stay for long.â
No matter how spacious the mansion was, there were surprisingly little places to hide. There were a lot of children and there were a lot of eyes, so if you stayed in one place for a long time, you could be caught at any time.
It had only been a few days, but it would be safer to move.
âIn three days, I have to decide where to hide Sislin.â
I thought further and quickly shook my head.
âNo. The sooner the better⊠Yes, weâre moving tomorrow.â