Chapter 28

"No, kid? What... I didn't bring you out for that reason..."

"Phew."

Enoch looked flabbergasted and fidgeted, while Lilith let out a deep sigh.

"Do it that way."

"Lilith?"

"I've been asking you to be my friend, but you keep saying no. If that's the case, there's nothing I can do, right? Fine, I'll be your servant, and I'll play with the toys I mentioned earlier."

"Okay, I understand."

Lilith patted Cheshire's shoulder as if doing him a favor, and Cheshire nodded readily.

Enoch's eyes widened.

"Princess, what do you mean by that? Calling someone a toy?"

"I'm going to make you do very, very annoying and tiring tasks, and you'll do them all, right? Because you're a toy?"

Enoch's mouth dropped open as she watched her daughter's face, which was grinning like a villain.

"Yeah. As long as you feed me and let me sleep."

"Alright. As soon as we get home, I'll make you do something huge, is that okay?"

"Yeah. Make me."

"Princess!"

"I'm going to draw a very scary jellyfish."

"Jellyfish?"

"Yeah. You can't sleep until we draw ten jellyfish pictures together. Can you do it?"

"Yeah, I can."

Cheshire nodded obediently, and Enoch, who was about to interject, was taken aback.

'What did she suddenly say?'

It seemed that Lilith had noticed Cheshire's wariness of her inexplicable kindness.

So, she was playing word games to make Cheshire feel less burdened.

"And don't leave any of this. Eat it all, got it?"

"Got it."

Lilith seemed satisfied and secretly smiled.

'...I'm going to go crazy. Who is her father?'

Enoch laughed at her daughter's face.

* * *

When we quietly returned home.

Unexpected visitors were waiting in my room.

Leon and Theo.

"Who are you?"

Leon asked curtly, seeing me holding Cheshire's hand tightly.

"Brothers, say hello. This is Cheshire."

"Cheshire?"

"Yeah, princes."

Dad interjected.

"From today, Lilith's friend will be staying here. His name is Cheshire."

"Really? Staying here? Which family are you from?"

In response to Theo's question, Dad paused for a moment before answering.

"Um, he's a commoner. For now."

"..."

"..."

Leon and Theo looked at Cheshire in surprise at the same time.

Feeling the gaze uncomfortable, Cheshire turned his head away.

"Uncle will tell Grandpa that Lilith's friend has come. So, don't tell anyone until then and play quietly, okay?"

If Grandpa found out that we had picked up a bastard from another family, he would probably collapse.

Worried about Grandpa's blood pressure, I instructed the twins not to say anything, and they nodded.

"Hey, kid."

"Yeah?"

Leon stared intently at my hand, which was holding Cheshire's.

"...Didn't we agree to catch spiders together when you come back today?"

"Oh, did we? Yeah!"

Then, he suddenly pulled my hand away from Cheshire and dragged me.

"Let's go."

"Yeah. Should Cheshire come with us?"

"..."

Silence fell at my words.

Leon's face was full of dissatisfaction.

"Why? Why can't we all go together?"

"We agreed to do it just the two of us, didn't we?"

"But... Cheshire is here, so we should go together."

"..."

Leon's grip on my hand tightened.

'What's wrong? Why is Leon acting like this?'

I was bewildered.

To reiterate, in the original story, the twins and Cheshire were very close.

Theo was more affectionate to Cheshire than anyone else, and Leon, though grumbling, always took care of Cheshire.

Even knowing Cheshire's background.

So, I thought they would naturally become friends without my intervention...

'Why are they so hostile?'

I was puzzled as I observed Leon's almost glaring expression.

The frozen atmosphere was broken by Theo.

"Should we introduce ourselves? You're Cheshire, right? I'm Theo Antres. I'm twelve..."

Theo approached Cheshire to shake his hand but hesitated.

Sniff. Then he twitched his nose.

"What's wrong, brother?"

"No, nothing."

When I asked, Theo laughed awkwardly.

Leon then blurted out.

"He smells."

"Huh?"

I didn't notice, but when I sniffed, indeed, there was a faint musty basement smell on Cheshire.

Feeling the gathered gazes embarrassing, Cheshire blushed and looked down, taking a step back.

"Oh, right. Cheshire, you need to go take a bath with Uncle. Play with Lilith for now, kids."

Dad quickly intervened, took Cheshire's hand, and left the room.

I immediately asked Leon.

"Brother, why are you treating Cheshire like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"You keep glaring and speaking harshly. And you said he smells right out loud. How embarrassing!"

"Of course, I said it because he smells."

"Even so, saying it so bluntly is embarrassing!"

"..."

"Surely it's not because Cheshire is a commoner, right?"

"What does that have to do with it? I just said it because he smells."

"Okay, stop it."

Theo, who had interjected between us, smiled awkwardly at me.

"You're right, Lilith. It has nothing to do with that. Leon just speaks to everyone like this."

"That's a bad habit... Don't do it to Cheshire."

As I said this, Leon's eyebrows twitched, and he shouted.

"Hey!"

"What...?"

"Are you taking his side now?"

"What? Taking sides?"

"Out of nowhere, you brought back a friend from a museum. Is he really going to live here?"

"Yeah. Cheshire has nowhere to go..."

"Huh."

"Brother, does something bother you? You need to say it. Come on, say it."

"..."

"Brother?"

"I don't know!"

Leon grumbled and shouted, then stomped out of the room.

I blinked in surprise.

'Why is he acting like this...?'

* * *

"Let's take a bath, shall we?"

As soon as the bath was ready, Enoch stripped off his clothes.

Wearing only a towel around his waist, he looked down at himself proudly, leaving Cheshire flabbergasted.

Does he mean to bathe together?

"I can bathe by myself."

"It's hard to reach all the corners. I'll scrub your back for you."

It was hard to believe.

A noble, who had never washed his own body, was offering to wash a smelly commoner.

"Do you not want to?"

"..."

However, Cheshire couldn't refuse Enoch's sincere offer.

Since he was offering food and a place to stay, what could he do? In the end, he nodded slightly, and Enoch smiled.

"Alright, hooray!"

The moment Cheshire's old, dirty clothes were taken off, Enoch paused.

His emaciated body was covered in bruises.

"..."

"..."

After a long silence, Enoch smiled bitterly and led Cheshire into the bath.

"Wow, it's been a while. My daughter hates it when I suggest bathing together. She started bathing alone a year ago, saying she's grown up."

"...Did you bathe together before that?"

"Yeah?"

...It was strange. Cheshire thought there was something peculiar about this father and daughter.

Feeling puzzled by the skilled hands washing his body, Cheshire cautiously spoke.

"Uncle."

"Hmm."

"Did your father not tell you to kill me?"

"...What?"

Seeing Enoch's surprised face, Cheshire sneered.

"I know. I'm alive now because of your daughter. I've seen many commoners who live well because they please the nobles."

"..."

"Well, they usually get kicked out and die when they get tired of them."

Watching Cheshire speak calmly, Enoch swallowed a sigh.

"Uncle, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"If your daughter gets tired of me, can you let me work as a servant instead of killing me?"

"..."

"Even a small salary would be fine. When I'm old enough to find a job outside, I'll leave and live quietly without drawing attention."

Cheshire spoke fluently, as if he had prepared it. An eleven-year-old.

"Cheshire."

"Yes."

"Children don't need to work."

"..."

"I didn't bring you here to exploit you or to please my daughter. If you had somewhere else to go, I would have sent you there."

Cheshire looked up at Enoch steadily. He didn't seem to be lying.

"Why are you doing so much for me?"

"Well, even if it wasn't you, I wouldn't have ignored it. Neither I nor my daughter would."

"..."

"But if you still feel uncomfortable and doubt me, I have a favor to ask too."

Enoch pretended to think, pursing his lips.

"My daughter is a talented person and will soon go to a training facility. I was worried about sending her alone, but if you go with her, I'll feel better."

Cheshire was surprised.

He was a talented person himself, but he never thought he could go to a training facility.

"...I can't go because I have no status."

"Don't worry about that. I'll become your guardian, and then you can enroll."

"Really?"

A look of surprise appeared on Cheshire's usually expressionless face.

It was a favor, but to Cheshire, it was a blessing.

If he could get a talent badge, he could live a decent life even if he left this house someday.

'Why?'

The excessive kindness from a person of high status, even a noble, was puzzling.

'It must be because of that child. She is loved by her father.'

Cheshire felt a bit melancholic and said,

"...Thank you."

"For what?"

Enoch playfully messed up Cheshire's soapy head, making horns appear on both sides.

"Brat."

Enoch chuckled.

"You still look good like this."