TLB 14

Chapter 14

Horne asked in confusion.

“Child. Why are you calling me Mother?”

“…Pardon?”

Why was I calling her Mother? Just now, my brother Saldir called her Mother… I blinked in surprise. Huh? Did I call her the wrong thing? Is she not my mother? Should I have called her General instead?

“Mommy!”

“…Excuse me?”

“You should call me Mommy, not act all grown-up when you’re just a baby! Albrecht! Saldir!”

…Ah.

While I stood there stunned, unable to hide my expression, Horne Sielcar—my mother—called out to Albrecht and Saldir.

“Did you two tell this baby to say something like ‘Mother’ in the name of etiquette? To this precious little one who just opened her eyes to the world?!”

“No way. Me? To our cute little youngest, our darling goat? Never.”

“Absolutely not.”

Saldir and Albrecht immediately denied it. But the Duchess let out a sharp snort. Then she looked down at me in her arms again.

“Oh, my baby! How scared you must’ve been in this filthy, frightening underground prison! Why did our adorable fire spirit even come down to this place for interrogating criminals! And waking up only to look after her nanny?! Ahhh, really. Our little one is so clever and dignified…!”

“M-Mother.”

The delicate impression I had at first had long since vanished. The woman before me was overwhelmingly strong. She held enough charisma and actual strength to control everyone here. And those around her respected her deeply.

“Come. Let’s eat together, with your mommy. Your favorite nanny will come too!”

“Wait—Mother!”

Albrecht called out, but Horne paid him no mind and approached the iron bars. Her gaze softened as she looked at the melted bars.

“Our little fairy melted the bars herself just to take care of her nanny. Truly amazing. Our fire fairy! We’ll have to show these bars to Grandpa later.”

“…Y-Yes.”

Grandpa? I have a grandfather? I tilted my head in puzzlement. At that moment, Horne let out a dramatically exaggerated “Wow!”

“I told them to bring you some soup that’s easy to eat. You’ll eat and then sleep well, yes?”

“U-Um… yes.”

“Nanny inside, come out now.”

Faced with such commanding presence, I nodded quietly. Hebe, who was still inside the bars, did the same. At Horne’s order, she quickly stepped out and approached me. Horne gently transferred me into Hebe’s arms.

“Both of you go back to your room. Have your meal. I’ll join you soon, hmm? I’ll sing a lullaby to my lovely fairy.”

“Ah, thank you, madam… milady…”

Hebe sobbed with emotion as she tightly embraced me. As I moved from Horne’s arms into Hebe’s, I couldn’t hide my relief. I wrapped my arms tightly around Hebe’s neck.

“Hebe… thank goodness… really, thank… mmm.”

Oops. I hadn’t even spoken that much, but I could feel my tongue getting lazy. I guess I really was still a child. I tried to keep my pronunciation neat, but I ended up speaking in a slightly clumsy, babyish tone.

From the distance, I heard Saldir whispering, “Mmm, our little goat. She must be tired. Needs a nap. So cute, right, brother?” But for the sake of my dignity, I made sure not to look in that direction.

Soon, I left the dungeon in Hebe’s arms.

I probably wouldn’t hear Horne’s lullaby after all. I was far too sleepy.

Right after Berdette disappeared with her nanny, Horne’s expression changed in an instant. The affectionate mother who had fussed over her youngest daughter was gone. In her place was a stern, cold face. Everyone there recognized it as the true face of General Horne Sielcar.

She furrowed her brows slightly and glared at Periot. Her eyes gleamed with killing intent.

“Gag that woman and lock her up. She might try to take her own life.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The knights of Sielcar responded with even more discipline than before. They rushed toward Periot. Trembling, she tried to resist, but one knight forcefully shoved a cloth into her mouth before she could. Muffled screams followed as Periot was dragged deeper into the underground dungeon.

But Horne, Albrecht, and Saldir showed no reaction. As if they were watching seconds tick by on a clock or the wind blowing past—utterly calm and unfazed.

Then Horne turned to Albrecht and asked:

“The maids said our little fairy took something from that woman’s medical bag.”

“I received it. The incense that woman burned near Berdette… and this hornet-shaped brooch.”

Albrecht stepped forward and presented the evidence. Horne swiftly examined them. Picking up one of the incense sticks, she smelled it. Her eyes flared the moment the scent reached her nose.

“This damned… Soul-Binding Incense.”

She muttered through gritted teeth. Then, the incense in her hand burst into flames. Strangely, it burned with no smoke—just a white glow. In mere seconds, it was completely incinerated, leaving nothing behind. It had burned at a temperature far beyond normal fire.

“…I was such a fool.”

Horne looked at her sons and spoke briefly.

“She was my youngest, and my first daughter… I only wished she would walk the warrior’s path later in life. So I avoided testing her abilities or teaching her martial arts, even if her powers were late to bloom. I thought it was fine. I didn’t even realize this cursed incense was being burned right inside our home.”

“No, Mother. We didn’t know how to deal with such a large age gap either. That’s why we failed to pay attention. If anything, we cherished her too much… and so everyone in the household ended up keeping a distance.”

“How utterly foolish. But now that we’ve gotten her back, we won’t repeat the same mistake. Love your sister properly, both of you.”

At their mother’s earnest words, Albrecht and Saldir nodded solemnly. Horne looked at them once more to drive the point home, then turned to the two brooches placed beside the incense.

“Wait a moment. These hornet-shaped brooches… they look familiar.”

After a moment of thought, her eyes lit up as she turned to Albrecht.

“…It seems our little one really did accomplish something big.”

“Ma’am?”

“This hornet shape—it’s the same one a suspicious group has been using lately. I think I saw it in one of the recent law enforcement reports.”

Immediately, Saldir and Albrecht focused their attention on Horne. With a snap of her fingers, one of the female knights standing behind her brought forward a document. Horne opened it to show her sons.

“There was a report about a shady cult performing illegal religious activity. They used this symbol to build a church. Doesn’t it look the same?”

After checking the report, they fell silent. The brooch’s design was identical.

“I will begin an investigation immediately.”

Albrecht bowed deeply. His posture was one of respect and obedience. Horne nodded at him and again spoke to both her sons.

“Our little goat has done something tremendous. Praise her for uncovering this, and don’t forget to praise yourselves for helping her.”

She then approached Saldir and Albrecht, spread her arms, and hugged them tightly, placing a kiss on each of their temples.