CICN 123

Chapter 123

Evi stared blankly at the forest, and Irene followed her gaze.

But the summer night forest was quiet, nothing particularly remarkable.

“What’s wrong?”

“I hear something.”

“Something? What kind of sound…?”

“Well… it sounds like someone calling…”

At Evi’s words, Irene’s face went pale.

“What is it? A ghost?”

“That sounds like a ghost. There aren’t any in our estate forest, you know.”

Ruschka teased Irene, but she also turned her attention toward the direction Evi was looking.

However, aside from the sound of the wind and insects, there was nothing unusual.

As all three listened carefully, Ruschka’s older brothers glanced over, as if to ask what was going on.

“Evi says she heard something in the forest.”

“Really?”

The brothers moved closer to the forest to listen, but they didn’t hear anything strange.

“You might hear some animal footsteps or low growls sometimes, but nothing unusual.”

The brothers, still unattached to any official order, lived in the family as apprentice knights.

Yet all of them were capable enough that they wouldn’t be ashamed to join a recognized knight order immediately.

They were sensitive to presence and had good hearing, but still couldn’t detect anything unusual.

Despite that, Evi couldn’t take her eyes off the forest.

“Here, eat this first.”

Ruschka, who had been rolling small baby potatoes on the iron plate, scooped some into a bowl in front of Evi.

Evi poked one of the buttery-smelling potatoes with a fork, blew on it, and took a bite.

“Ah, hot…!”

As she chewed, the soft, fluffy texture of the potato blended with the aroma and taste of butter, along with a slight sweetness.

“Delicious! It’s sweet!”

“Right? It’s easy to make, but really tasty, isn’t it?”

Evi’s eyes widened, and Ruschka shrugged.

Then she placed some of the potatoes she had separately cooked in front of Irene.

“I’m not really into sweet potatoes…”

“Yours doesn’t have sugar. Try it.”

Irene looked at Ruschka suspiciously but carefully tasted the potato.

“Oh, really.”

Unlike Evi’s, Irene’s had no sugar, just a bit more salt.

“You eat cake well, but you really dislike sweet potatoes or other vegetables.”

“How did you know?”

“How wouldn’t I? You don’t usually touch them, so it’s obvious.”

Irene had hidden it well enough that even her parents hardly noticed. Yet Ruschka had figured it out.

‘Scary…’

Irene glared at Ruschka, thinking she’d need to be careful.

Regardless, the potatoes were delicious.

Normally, they would eat dinner, chat, play, and then go to bed at an appropriate time. But since it felt like tonight was the last night, no one wanted to leave the tent.

Even the apprentice knights had come after hearing the news, and the area around the tent was bustling like a normal daytime training ground.

Naturally, the apprentice knights ended up…

“Aim for the neck!”

“Trip him!”

They split into teams, using the excuse of sparring to have competitions.

Elsewhere, they might have bet money, but the Ragselve Marquess household was strict about that.

So the apprentices had to bet something else.

“Tomorrow’s ice cream depends on you! Go for it!”

“Defeat him and 10 eggs are waiting for you!”

For a family known as the empire’s finest knight lineage, the stakes were surprisingly modest.

Then the eldest brother, Ein, shouted:

“Winner gets a steak cooked by Ruschka!”

“Waaah!”

Among the cheers, Ruschka shouted, “Who said that?!” but no one paid attention.

Evi, Irene, and Arsel placed the fish they had caught earlier on wooden skewers by the campfire.

Seeing that, Ruschka said that wouldn’t be enough and brought salt and pepper, sprinkling them over the fish despite the heat.

“Alright, it looks done now.”

She handed it to Evi, who carefully tore off a piece of the meatiest part and said happily:

“I want to live with Ruschka forever.”

Hearing that, Arsel, who was arranging the other fish, froze.

“…Evi, the Kaylen family has plenty of fish too.”

Ruschka, teasingly sticking out her tongue, said:

“Hmph, how can a person live on fish alone? You’ve tasted the milk, cheese, and butter from our ranch, haven’t you?”

“Our family’s ranch is also excellent.”

Even though it was long past the age to argue whose house was better, the two continued to bicker about their family’s ranches, orchards, fields, and rivers.

Finally, trying to settle the argument, Ruschka said firmly:

“Whatever. I can make it delicious anyway. Right, Evi? So just stay at our house.”

Normally, she might have been cautious, but she said this while handing Evi a slightly toasted marshmallow into her mouth.

Warm, sweet, and soft, Evi couldn’t help but blow on it and eat it happily.

She unconsciously nodded.

‘The director once told me to be careful around people who keep giving you delicious things…’

Ah, whatever. Ruschka is fine.

Evi thought and happily finished the marshmallow Ruschka handed her.

Ruschka smiled like a winner.

“See? If you can’t do as well as me, stay quiet.”

Arsel, who had been quiet until then, sparked with determination at those words.

Meanwhile, Ruschka herself was surprised at what she had just said.

‘Have I ever said something like this in front of Arsel before?’

People always considered Arsel excellent, so Ruschka usually said so herself before anyone else did, making it easier to speak freely without worrying about him.

Somehow, she had naturally assumed she was worse than Arsel.

But just now, she boldly claimed she was better.

At that moment, the second brother, Eric, jumped in playfully between Arsel and Ruschka:

“What’s going on? Sparks are flying here!”

Irene, looking exasperated, replied:

“They’re fighting, both thinking they’re better.”

“Really? Then let’s settle this like men, in a brute way.”

Eric turned and shouted to the apprentice knights around the campfire:

“Hey! Ruschka and Arsel are going to have a match!”

By the campfire, everyone sat in a circle.

Naturally, Arsel and Ruschka were in the center, rolling up their sleeves and ready to wrestle.

“Ruschka! If you lose, you can’t be Ragselve!”

The shout, whether encouragement or threat, made Ruschka frown.

Most people were cheering for Ruschka, which was expected. This was the Ragselve Marquess house, after all.

Even when the crowd overwhelmingly supports one side, Arsel showed no signs of backing down.

Evi moved closer to sit by Arsel’s clothes that he had taken off.

“Huh? Evi?”

She had expected to support Ruschka after the marshmallow incident.

“Evi, you said you wanted to live at our house!”

“Hehe… yeah, but Arsel doesn’t have any support, so I’ll cheer for him now. And…”

Evi gestured for Arsel to let her whisper in his ear.

As Arsel leaned closer, her small hand reached his ear.

Then, in a small, secretive whisper, she said:

“Ruschka is great, but Arsel is great too.”

Ah, that’s what she wanted to say.

Arsel smirked and nodded, then spoke loudly so Ruschka could hear:

“Evi said that, so I have to win.”

“What? What did Evi say?”

“Why would I tell you? Are you ready? Let’s start.”

“Hey! That’s unfair!”

Seeing Ruschka fuming, Irene moved closer and asked:

“Evi, what did you really say?”

“I just… said Arsel is great too…”

She tilted her head, wondering if she had said something wrong. Irene laughed and hugged Evi.

“Our Evi is guilty. Let those fools fight it out themselves.”

Irene handed the marshmallows she brought to Evi. Her smile carried the pride of a victor.

Finally, the match between Arsel and Ruschka began.

Twenty minutes later

“Those stubborn brats…”

Eric sighed, watching the two boys glaring at each other.

Most people couldn’t last five minutes in a physical fight, but these two, gasping for breath, refused to fall and continued to stare each other down.

‘Why on earth are they making such a fuss?’