Book 1 Chapter 985

985.

Thanks to Elena's actions, the Noble Family Council was literally turned upside down after the social party.

The disgraced families furiously declared that they would protest to Jerron.

“I thought she had calmed down, but she's still the same.”

“Where would that personality go?”

As Lis said with a bitter smile, Torua, who was sitting in front of the crib, shrugged his shoulders.

“I'm worried that there are too many protests, and Lady Elena might be in trouble.”

Emira, who was in the same room, said, and Celia responded.

“Don’t worry. Senior Elena won’t even bat an eye.”

“Right. She’ll probably wonder if a dog is barking somewhere?”

Torua echoed Celia's words.

“Won’t she be scolded by the family elders?”

“It seems they gave up on her a long time ago?”

As Leo gave a bitter smile, Emira let out an exclamation.

“Wow, I’m so jealous.”

“Don’t be jealous of being given up on by your family.”

Celia said with a deep sigh.

Lis, who had been listening to the conversation, said.

“Still, Elena has changed a lot. She’s angry because a junior was insulted, not because she's in a bad mood.”

“It won’t be entirely because of Kyle, though.”

Torua smiled faintly.

“She must have fulfilled her responsibility as the acting chairman of Lumerun and a 5th-year student. The student representing the school is being ignored, so you wouldn't just stand by, would you? She must have judged that it was better to handle it herself.”

“Senior Elena…”

Celia wore a slightly moved expression.

“Well. The biggest reason is probably that they are hostile to Sir Leo.”

It was already widely known that there were movements in the Noble Family Council to condemn and keep Archy in check.

Torua, who had been talking about Elena, pulled out a picture book.

Then he approached the crib and began to read.

“Once upon a time, a long, long time ago. Specifically, 5000 years ago…”

Leo, who had been watching him, said.

“Senior Torua.”

“Why are you calling me?”

“Where did you get that picture book?”

“Lady Reina gave it to me. She said Sir Leo loved this picture book when he was little and she read it to him a lot?”

“I don’t remember, of course.”

Of course, he remembered it clearly.

It was the story of the great heroes who saved the world from Erebus.

It was a picture book that completely omitted the story of Kyle, which Leo truly hated.

Every time it was read, Leo would react violently, but Reina mistakenly thought he liked that reaction and only read that picture book to him.

Eventually, after he gave up and stopped reacting, Leo was finally freed from that story.

At the appearance of a picture book that held some memories for him, Leo said.

“Now that it's known that Sir Kyle also existed, shouldn't we instill an accurate historical perspective from a young age?”

“It’s okay, it’s just a picture book.”

Meanwhile, Celia and Emira stood next to Torua, their eyes sparkling.

“So cute.”

“I know right! I want to pinch her cheeks.”

Torua wore a slightly smug expression at their reactions.

“They are my daughters, so they will surely be great beauties like me!”

“Can I hold them?”

“Of course.”

Torua handed his twin daughters to Celia and Emira, respectively.

“Uwaaaaaah!”

When held by Celia, the older twin, Lirua, who had been whimpering, burst into tears.

Then her younger sister, Lishia, who had been held by Emira, also burst into tears.

As the babies cried, Celia and Emira didn't know what to do.

“Oh dear. They must still cry when held by strangers.”

Torua gave a bitter smile and held his daughters in both arms.

Then the twins immediately stopped crying.

At that sight, Celia’s shoulders slumped.

Torua, who was comforting his daughters, tilted his head and approached Leo.

And he handed him the daughters.

“Leo, you try holding them too.”

Seeing Torua forcibly pushing his daughters onto him, Leo held the twins in both arms.

“Kyakkle-kyakkle!”

“Abua! Aaa!”

Then, unlike with Celia and Emira, the twins smiled brightly and liked it.

“Why only Leo…!”

As Celia wore an indignant expression, Torua stroked his chin.

“Oho! Oho! They are indeed my daughters. They know how to pick a proper benefactor for the future!”

Torua, beaming, said.

“Lirua, Lishia. This is Uncle Leo. You must remember him, okay? Since he’s the king of a country, if you need money for magic experiments later, go to him, act cute, and extract research funds. Understood?”

Leo shook his head, looking at Torua attempting early education.

“Leo. Can I hold her one more time!”

At Celia’s words, Leo tried to hand over Lirua, who was in his left arm.

But Celia, remembering that Lirua had cried when held by her a moment ago, took Lishia, who was in his right arm.

However, Lishia also burst into tears.

On the other hand, Lirua, who was held in Leo's arms, was calm despite her sister crying.

Torua took his daughter from a tearful Celia and said.

“Hmm. As expected, they draw a line with their unhelpful aunt. My daughters are smart.”

“Ugh! Why am I unhelpful?!”

“If my daughters say they want to do magic experiments in the future, will you contribute money?”

“Lirua and Lishia are people of Zerdinger and will learn swordsmanship, so why would they do magic experiments!”

“Look at that, look at that. How can her words be exactly like the children’s father?”

Torua clicked his tongue, tsk-tsk.

“So how will you be able to marry into a magic family? Even if your future child born between you and Abad wants to do magic experiments, you'll say, ‘You inherited Zerdinger’s blood, so you must learn the sword!’ won't you?”

“Ugh. Th-that…”

“Torua. It’s not even confirmed that Celia will marry Abad yet, is it?”

At that moment, Lis, who had been listening to the conversation, said with his usual smile.

Of course, his eyes weren’t smiling.

“And we don’t know if Rwalin will even permit it.”

At that, Torua said.

“Celia. Forgiveness is easier than permission. So try to be like me.”

“That is absolutely not allowed.”

As Lis spoke sternly, Torua stared intently at Lis.

“Wow. This guy is really shameless, isn’t he? He says forgiveness is easier than permission himself… Mmph-mmph-mmph?!”

“Ahem.”

Lis, who had hastily clapped a hand over Torua’s mouth, cleared his throat.

And said.

“Now. It’s getting late, so you should all go home.”

“Celia! That guy, your brother, he said to me!”

“Alright. I'm sorry! So please just stop!”

Lis was at his wit's end with Torua.

Leo chuckled and lowered Lirua, who was in his arms, into the crib.

“Abu! Ababa!”

Lirua clenched and unclenched her small hands, waving them at Leo.

Leo mumbled quietly, just loud enough for Lirua to hear.

“You mustn’t be like your dad and mom, okay?”

“Abua?”

Leo, who waved back at Lirua, took Celia and Emira and left the room.

“Brother Lis. You unexpectedly had a sneaky side.”

“Good students are often good at keeping secrets.”

Leo chuckled and replied to Emira’s words.

Celia, who would usually flare up, said nothing this time.

“Then Sister Celia too?”

“Absolutely not!”

Celia shouted back, her face bright red.

‘If I tease her too, she’ll really get angry, won’t she?’

Leo, who had been muttering to himself, suddenly stopped walking as he passed the window.

And he silently stared out the window.

“…”

“Leo, is something wrong?”

As Celia made a puzzled expression, Leo shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

Leo moved on.

‘It feels like there's some unsettling movement.’

A strange sensation stimulated his nerves.

A sensation like tickling the brain.

This was not like supersensitivity.

It was a completely different sense that only Leo possessed.

If Arion’s supersensitivity was about collecting evidence to accurately grasp a situation, Leo’s sense of detecting danger was closer to inferring by reading the atmosphere.

Unlike supersensitivity, which accurately grasps the situation, this sense was vague, so it was often wrong.

However, Leo could ascertain the truth of a threat through countless experiences of crossing the line of death.

Leo sent Celia and Emira to their rooms and returned to his own room.

Melina was in the room.

“Lord Leo.”

“Is something moving?”

“Yes. It seems there are people with malicious intent towards Student Kyle. We don’t know the exact details yet, but…”

“Tartaros probably intervened.”

Leo said, pulling and loosening his tie.

Melina looked at Leo and said.

“We should take immediate action…”

“No. Let it be.”

“Pardon?”

Melina’s eyes widened.

“Let's see how they act. And how Kyle responds.”

Thud-

Leo sat on the sofa and continued.

“Kyle will solve the problem without much difficulty. He’s grown too big to need me to take care of even this.”

It might be a bit cold, but Leo trusted Kyle’s capabilities.

Besides, he couldn't keep taking care of him forever.

Now was the time for him to move forward on his own, based on his experiences so far.

‘It’s not just Kyle.’

Leo thought of the seeds of heroes he had chosen.

‘They’re still greenhorns, but…’

Even so, all of them had already sprouted.

Now was the time to wait for them to bloom.

“It’s a bit harsh. He’s still young, though.”

Melina gave a bitter smile.

“But it can’t be helped. If they want to be adults, they should be treated like adults.”

“Hoo-hoo.”

“Even if it’s a bit harsh… it might be the destiny of those who will bear the burden of the era.”

Leo looked out the window.

The cold moonlight captivated his eyes.

‘It’s getting hard to wait. So hurry up and come. Greenhorns.’

The day he could entrust his back was not far off.

Leo had that thought.

***

Eliza yawned lazily.

She had been quite tired today.

It was exhausting to hold back from punishing those who spoke impudent words.

‘He’s not a child anymore, though.’

The cost of rash remarks could simply be dealt with politically.

It was Eliza's usual thought that there was no need to get excited and create tiresome situations.

The problem was that when the target was Kyle, things changed.

‘I lost my composure too easily.’

Eliza sighed deeply, remembering Kyle, who had tried to cheer her up throughout the party.

At that moment.

Knock-knock-

A knock was heard at the door.

‘Is it Father?’

“Eliza. It's me, are you asleep?”

‘Kyle?’

Eliza was slightly flustered by Kyle’s late-night visit to her room.

But she feigned composure and replied.

“I’m not asleep, why?”

“Can I come into your room?”

Eliza checked her attire.

Ordinary pajamas.

It wasn't a sight she couldn't show, but should she reveal such a disheveled, private appearance?

‘No, more than that, he’s brazenly trying to enter the room I’m staying in right now, isn’t he?’

Eliza’s eyes twitched.

‘Ha? Oh, so he’s a man, is he? But even if we’re an acknowledged couple, isn’t he being too casual?’

Despite frowning, Eliza sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and folded her arms.

Then, returning to her usual haughty expression, she said.

“Come in.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Kyle entered the room.

He was still dressed in the same attire he wore to the party earlier.

“Ah, you’re already ready for bed, sorry.”

Kyle showed a slightly apologetic expression.

“What brings you here in the middle of the night?”

“There’s something I need to do with you.”

“Something to do?”

“Yes. It’s important.”

“Kyle. No matter how much you and I are…”

“Sorry, I’m just going to take off my coat.”

“What? Wha-what?!”

Eliza, who was about to scold Kyle, jumped up, her face bright red.

“Don’t act like you’re in a hurry! We’re still students and…!”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I’m just taking off my coat.”

Kyle stared at Eliza with wide, blank eyes.

And he said.

“I just came to tell you what I thought about how the Hergin family might move in this Noble Family Council and get your permission.”

“…Father delegated that to you.”

“Even so, I still need to get final permission.”

“Not from Father?”

“Yeah. Because my job in the future is to help you, right? Well, he might be my father-in-law, but you're still my superior.”

Kyle shrugged his shoulders.

Then he started to grin.

“By the way, what exactly were you thinking, Lady Eliza? Did you perhaps think I was going to do something lewd? What an imagination!”

Kyle chuckled, teasing Eliza.

In fact, he teased her, fully prepared to be hit.

It was Kyle's own consideration to make her flare up and relieve her embarrassing thoughts.

Normally, Eliza would have enthusiastically whipped him.

But Eliza merely bowed her head, her ears red, and her shoulders trembling.

Kyle flinched at the sight.

‘Wow, what the heck. Why is her reaction so cute?’

Kyle composed himself, thinking that if he didn't, something big might happen.

‘By the way… It’s probably better not to mention that some families might target me in the Noble Family Council, right?’

Kyle sighed deeply, recalling the things caught in his intelligence network.

If he mentioned it for no reason, Eliza might explode.

‘As expected, it’s better if I handle it quietly.’