Chapter 10

"…Princess? Lili? What does our princess have to apologize for?"

I heard Father's flustered voice.

I couldn't even lift my head, afraid that Grandfather's terrifying gaze might be visible, and I just clung tightly to the hem of Father's pants.

"Father, please relax. The child is scared, isn't she?"

"Shut up."

Grandfather only replied coldly.

Soon, a shadow fell over me, who was bowing my head deeply.

When I cautiously raised my eyes, I saw Grandfather's face right in front of me, his knees bent.

He stretched out his hand toward me with a blank expression.

'Could he be about to hit me?'

I could have avoided the slowly approaching hand, but I just squeezed my eyes shut.

'...Huh?'

Then, I opened my eyes again as I felt a gentle warmth on my cheek.

'What, what is this?'

Pinch.

I blinked, looking at Grandfather with a dazed expression, as his hand gently pinched my cheek without hurting me.

Grandfather held my soft cheek, and he was trembling for some reason.

It was a very subtle movement, but it was there.

"A... "

As I gazed into Grandfather's blue eyes, which were just like Father's, I realized something.

This gaze, and this trembling...

I know!

This is exactly the same reaction I had when I saw the adorable kittens when Jimmy's three-colored cat gave birth!

"Kuk."

I heard Father's soft laugh from above.

'Is... is Grandfather finding me cute?'

Regaining my wits, which I had lost due to tension, I quickly cleared my throat.

"H, Grandfather!"

I can easily say "Grandfather" now that my tongue has grown, but...

I deliberately made it sound cute.

"I'm Lili! I'm seven!"

I greeted shyly.

Grandfather swallowed hard, and I could see his Adam's apple move significantly.

I smiled shyly and approached Grandfather, snuggling into his embrace.

"Grandfather... I'm glad to meet you."

"......"

Stiff as a board, Grandfather eventually pulled me into a hug and slowly stood up.

Grandfather, who is as tall as Father, held me and looked into my eyes from close up.

"...Yes. I'm your grandfather."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around Grandfather's neck.

He smelled just like Father.

* * *

The three, who had not seen each other for seven years, talked for a very long time about what had happened in the meantime.

It seemed that Father and Grandfather still had more to talk about, so I went out with Aunt.

We were on our way to Aunt's room.

"Phew."

I was holding Aunt's hand and trying to keep up with my short legs when she suddenly stopped.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I walked a bit too fast. I'm just too excited right now."

"No, it's okay!"

I marveled at Aunt, who was smiling kindly.

'Wow, she's really beautiful... Not the main character, but maybe she has the protagonist's sibling bonus?'

Aunt, who married into the Antresse family, was a noble lady with a graceful beauty.

Aunt suddenly looked at me intently and then covered her mouth, choking back tears.

"Oh, Lili. How can there be such an angelic child?"

"No, Aunt is much more beautiful and angelic..."

"What?"

Aunt laughed as she saw me rubbing my cheek against her hand.

Then she murmured wistfully.

"You know, I was more worried about you than Enoch. Such a small, cute, and weak child... "

"......"

"...It's hard to believe that you lived a hard life. From now on, you must only wear good clothes and eat good food. You must, because you are a Rubenstein."

No...

Life in the cottage in the mountains with Father wasn't that bad.

Father just said I did the laundry, which made it sound worse.

Aunt seemed to think I had been doing hard labor in some rural area, eating roots.

"Oops, look at me. Let's hurry, Lili. I'll introduce you to your cousins."

"Cousins?"

"Yes. My two sons. They are twins. They are very mischievous, but they are good boys. They always sang about wanting a younger sister. They will like you a lot."

The moment I heard "twins," I was so surprised that I stopped in my tracks.

'Right, Aunt's sons must be the Antresse princes.'

The Antresse twins.

Nephews of Enoch Rubenstein, one of whom becomes a paladin and the other a swordsman.

'And...'

I swallowed hard, looking at Aunt's happy face.

'...In this novel where people die all the time, they are both supposed to die.'

The twins were among the few characters who had won Ceshire's heart.

When they died, Ceshire almost went mad.

"Well, our Theo is a bit weak, which is a worry."

"Oh, that, I see."

Aunt's worried comment made me dazed.

Theo. Theo Antresse...

The name of the one who dies first.

"Kids, look who's here!"

Aunt opened the door to the room.

Two boys, who had been lying on the table looking bored, suddenly lifted their heads.

'Wow, they look like they were copied and pasted.'

I had expected this, as it's often said that they look identical.

They were exact copies.

"Wow! She really came?"

"What? She's so small?"

The two quickly got off their chairs and approached me, tilting their heads curiously.

One to the left, one to the right.

'They even act similarly...'

Golden hair like honey, and blue eyes like mine.

The twins, dressed in fine clothes, had the air of noble young lords.

But their faces were full of mischief.

"They look so alike, don't they? To be honest, if they decide to trick me, even I can't tell them apart."

Aunt shook her head and introduced me to the twins.

"Leon, Theo. Your uncle just came back. This cute little one is your cousin. Her name is Lili."

"Wow, Lili? Nice to meet you. I'm Theo Antresse. I'm twelve."

Theo, who had a blue earring on his left ear, leaned in close to me with an excited expression.

'You... '

Theo, who was supposed to become a paladin, seemed to have a kind personality, just like in the original story.

Theo, who got angry on Ceshire's behalf whenever someone questioned his unclear origins...

Theo, who always sensed when Ceshire was sad and comforted him delicately...

'I would have followed him like a brother, too.'

Theo died of a congenital rare disease the spring after he received his knighthood.

If I count the years, it's probably less than four years away.

"I'm glad to meet you too, big brother! I'm seven, and my name is Lili!"

Feeling a bit sorry for him, I grabbed Theo's fingers with my small hand and greeted him warmly.

"Ah... Ahem."

Theo, blushing but pleased, looked at Aunt, who was standing next to him.

Aunt nodded with a smile, and Theo awkwardly patted my head.

"Ah, so cute..."

"Ahem."

"Ha ha ha... Leon, you should greet Lili too."

Aunt, who had been watching us with a warm smile, spoke.

Leon, who had a red earring in his right ear, was hiding behind Aunt, looking at me with curious eyes.

"...She's seven but so small. She's a fool. I was really big when I was seven."

"What? Calling your younger sister a fool?"

Leon, who seemed embarrassed, pulled on Aunt's skirt and pretended to be distracted.

"Lili, even though the twins look the same, their personalities are completely different. Theo is kind and gentle. Leon is very mischievous, which is a worry."

"What about me? Ow!"

Aunt gave a playful tap to the mischievous boy who was circling around her and then rubbed her forehead, looking tired.

"Leon, behave. Speak more politely. How many times have I told you that girls won't like you if you act like this? How long ago was it when you caught a tarantula and scared Lady Valerie? Do you want to get scolded again?"

"That was because Erica Valerie said she liked spiders."

"You said you liked insects to get close to her, but no girl really likes hairy tarantulas!"

Raising children is hard...

I sighed as I watched Aunt, who looked awkwardly amused.

Leon, who was supposed to become a swordsman, was mischievous and spoke bluntly, often clashing with Ceshire.

Of course, it wasn't out of malice. Leon, who cared for Ceshire more than anyone.

Even as he was being scolded by Aunt, Leon kept glancing at me. Our eyes kept meeting.

'Oh, this crazy novel where half the characters die is now real...'

Seeing the young, mischievous twelve-year-old Leon, I couldn't help but recall a scene from the original story.

"Blood poured from the wound. Ceshire held the gasping Leon in his trembling arms.

'Le, Leon. Big brother... You can't die like this. Please, pull yourself together.'

'Kuk. Ah, idiot. Are you crying? Don't cry... You're a boy, don't be a wimp.'

'Ha, ha. Just, hold on a bit. Big brother, please... '

'This brat only calls me big brother when it's time to die. You, I saved you... Don't die like an idiot, kuk.'

'Big, big brother... Big brother!!'

'...Please, come back alive.'

With his last request, the light of life faded from Leon Antresse's eyes."

'Wow, I feel like crying again.'

A large-scale demon extermination battle that appears in the second volume of the original.

Leon dies there.

He takes the attack meant for Ceshire, who was about to be ambushed.

The way it was written was so touching that I remember using two boxes of tissues while reading it.

'Really, a crazy novel with no side character welfare!'

I found myself approaching Leon and grabbing the hem of his pants.

What a handsome and pitiful guy.

"Big brother... I'm so glad to meet you. Let's be good friends. We can catch spiders together."

"......"

"Hehe, I like tarantulas..."

I said shyly, holding the hem of Leon's clothes.

I want to be friends.

For some reason, Leon just stared at me, who had approached him.

"O, big brother?"

Then, Leon, who had been looking at me with a dangerous expression, suddenly reached out his hand.

He then grabbed my plump cheek and—

"......?"

—pinched it!

"A, ouch!"

So hard that I almost cried!

"O, oh my! Leon!"

"Ah! Hey, Leon! How can you pinch so hard!"