CHAPTER 66……………….
Ethan’s gaze, which had been fixed on me, swept the surroundings as well. Soon his red eyes landed on Sordim, who was cradled in Seraan’s arms.
“That— isn’t that a mermaid? Why is a beast in the palace—!”
Ethan’s hand reflexively moved to the sword at his waist. Even in the torrential rain, the red aura rippling from his blade was clearly visible.
I forced my trembling legs to move and stepped in front of Sordim.
“No! He’s not a mermaid. He’s not— I can explain!”
The hand gripping the sword trembled. Hesitant, it moved away from the blade. Still, the rippling aura didn’t die down.
“…Are you all right? Lord Kinyaxis said you were in danger.”
So Kinya must have made it safely to a secure place.
Kinya is safe. At that realization, the remaining strength in my already-wobbly legs drained away completely.
“That’s a relief….”
“Are you okay?”
Seeing me collapse weakly, Ethan hurried over, his voice cutting between us.
“Go see your incompetent subordinate. If his sword had gone in one more inch, he’d be dead,” Luce said, nodding toward the main residence.
I slapped his arm down and soothed Ethan.
“Sir Kroyt. Don’t take Luce’s words to heart. Focus on the fact that Lord Reil is safe, that’s what matters.”
“…I’m ashamed.”
Ethan bowed his head. His lips were pursed so tightly they had gone pale as he apologized to me.
“No, Sir Kroyt. It was such a sudden attack! Please don’t be too hard on Lord Reil.”
He came back from the brink of death — it would be cruel to treat him like some extra punishment exercise.
Maybe my earnest plea worked; Ethan’s expression softened a little as he raised his head.
He stared at me for a moment, then made a resolute promise.
“This will never happen again. I will make sure of it.”
“Yes. Please take care of that. Go to Lord Reil now.”
Ethan moved his gaze to Sordim in Seraan’s arms.
“That beast—”
“I’ll explain once the situation’s under control. That ‘mermaid’ — no, that human’s identity is vouched for by Seraan Drekier!” I invoked Drekier’s name, and only then did Ethan relax and sheath his sword.
“Then I’ll take custody of the suspect.”
Ethan strode over to the person in custody and mercilessly grabbed the back of his neck, hauling him roughly along.
Hey, that could kill him. Don’t you have to keep him alive to interrogate?
As if reading my thought, Ethan added grimly to reassure me.
“I’ll spare his life, so don’t worry. I have no intention of killing him easily.”
“I— I see….”
It was a terrifying thing to say, but the man didn’t seem worth our pity anyway. Even unconscious, he instinctively sputtered and trembled as if feeling the urge to live, but without any success — he’d only been struck and knocked out by Ethan’s hand.
Ethan led the culprit through the rain toward the main residence.
“…Sir Kroyt, could you have one put over your head too?” I asked.
Luce snapped his fingers. With a crisp click, a barrier of magic formed above Ethan’s head.
“Surprising. I thought you’d refuse.”
“I don’t like it,” he said.
He admitted it so unreservedly it was almost ridiculous.
“Then why did you put it on him?”
“You asked me to.”
…What. That answer? The magician, who had a knack for flustering people, surprised me again.
I glanced at him, startled by how easily his ambiguous reply could be misread. Luce had his usual composed face.
I turned my head, suddenly embarrassed. I rubbed the itchy back of my neck to break his gaze.
Looking toward the lake, I could still see Seraan and Sordim holding each other. Seraan’s affection for the sleeping Sordim remained steadfast even in the downpour.
Seraan pressed his lips to Sordim’s forehead. It was the kind of careful, soft touch a parent gives a sleeping child for fear of waking them.
“My mother used to do that to me when I was little, too.”
Watching that scene, my brows knitted tight. If someone asked why I wore such a face at that moving sight, there’d be only one answer: I felt tears welling up.
“Why does your face look like that?” Luce asked, oblivious to others’ empathy levels, peering at my expression.
“Just… I miss my family.” I sniffed.
I miss my mother. Sniff.
I’d been so busy since entering the palace that my correspondence had been only a few letters. I needed to look for a place to live with Mom, plan which restaurants to take her to—
I swore I’d go home as soon as the founding festival ended.
Because I was missing my mother, watching Seraan and Sordim’s touching reunion with dry eyes was hard. Eventually I turned away — and immediately caught Luce’s eye. Was he still watching me?
I felt a wave of embarrassment at the thought that he’d seen me desperately rolling my eyes to hold back tears.
“Why are you looking at me like that…?”
“Do you want to be family with me?”
“What, what?”
If he’d asked that out of the blue, I’d have jumped to a pretty scandalous misunderstanding.
Fortunately, before my brain could run wild with lewd imagination, Luce added the rest of his sentence.
“I mean, be family. With me.”
A phrase like a bomb that stopped my inner thoughts cold.
“Uh….”
I stammered for a long moment, then told Luce the fact he’d overlooked.
“I’m eighteen, but I’m still legally a minor. My birthday’s in two months.”
“Oh?”
So what was he going to say? That wasn’t enough.
“Yes. And under imperial law, a minor can’t marry without parental consent.”
“I see.”
“Right. And my mother would not approve of my marrying early.”
“Why are you telling me that?”
“Are you kidding? You just proposed to me! In such an inappropriate situation! I’m politely turning you down!”
I’d been about to explode in rage, but I remembered there were sleeping children nearby and forced myself to lower my voice. Luce tilted his head with that same composed look. His innocent expression made me even angrier.
“When did I ever propose to you?”
“If ‘becoming family’ isn’t a proposal, then what is it? Short of marriage, there’s no way two unrelated people can become family!”
“Can’t we just do it? I want to be family with you.”
This was maddening. I felt like I was talking to a wall.
I pounded my chest. I felt like lashing out at something.
“I don’t know what change of heart you had, but being family isn’t something you can do just because you want to! Don’t you know what family means? It’s either bloodline or a legal connection. If one word could make everyone in the empire family, then wouldn’t everyone be family?”
“Maybe.”
“They are! The only way to make family is through marriage—”
“Then we can marry in two months.”
This was infuriating. What is wrong with you!
I finally shouted. Whether Leti was nearby or not, at that moment nothing else mattered.
“Just…”
“Just? Who proposes like that?”
“I want to have a family too.”
“…Hey. You—.”
Suddenly I felt like I was the bad guy.
Luce smiled forlornly. Or maybe my eyes were putting a filter over him and making it look that way.
Come to think of it, he said he had no family. More than that — last time I heard, his family had once tried to kill him because of magic.
“A person who believes in me and is always on my side.”
His low voice quoted a line that sounded familiar.
“A person who believes in me and is always on my side. Someone who won’t abandon me even if everyone else turns their backs. I needed someone like that.”
“Maybe I want that too,” I said.
Okay. Let’s calm down. Getting more worked up will only hurt me.
Start from the beginning, think logically. I took Luce’s hand.
“Alright. Luce, the one who wants to be family with me?”
“…Why are you holding my hand?”
“To have a sincere connection. But more importantly, why did you suddenly want a family? When we first met you asked me what family meant; you didn’t even know how to define it. So why declare you want to make a family now?”
That was the fundamental question. He’d asked about family the day we met because he had no idea how to define it. I was curious why he suddenly wanted to create one.
He glanced at the lake and answered briefly.
“I wanted one.”
Hmm. It was just a whim. The reason was simpler than I thought.
“Skipping ahead for now. Next question — why me? Fine, you decided you want to make a family. Why choose me as someone to be your family? Of all the people — even within the palace there’s hundreds, thousands.”
Luce seemed to sort his thoughts. Even he didn’t seem to have a convincing reason.
After a short while he moved his red lips.
“…You said you needed family. You said you needed someone who always believes in you and is on your side.”
“—So our interests align, and we’ll be that for each other?”
Luce nodded. It made sense. It would be nice to be someone each of us needed. But there was a problematic fact.
“But I already have family.”
“Can’t you add more if you already have some?”
“No. It’s not that, but… there’s no need to add more, right?”
To put it plainly and coldly — while Luce may need family, I don’t need any more.
“Why don’t you find someone else?”
“Tiresome.”
He answered instantly with no hesitation. I was stunned. Is this person serious about forming a family? He sounded so half-hearted.
“Family is something you build with effort! Who expects someone to want it but not try for it?”
“Here I am. I don’t want to search. You do it. Be my family.”
And so the second round of talking to a wall began.
“Isn’t it curiosity or a desire to explore what family means?” I offered.
“Even if that’s the case, what’s the problem?”
“Be honest. Saying you want family is an excuse to make me your assistant, right?”
“I’d even accept you as my assistant.”
Tired of the repetitive back-and-forth, I decided to play an ace.
“What do I get out of becoming family with you?”
