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Chapter 6
“How about it? Be my friend—”
“I don’t want to.”
Antonio, who thought it was only natural that his offer would be accepted, was stunned by Herwin’s indifferent rejection.
“Y-you’re saying no to me? Don’t you know who I am? I’m Antonio of Count Trevin’s house!”
“Apologize.”
As Antonio puffed with anger, Herwin cut him off.
“What?”
“Apologize. Because of you, the ants died.”
Lucia, who had been staring helplessly at the dead ants, turned her head and blankly looked at Herwin.
“You’re telling me to apologize over some stupid ants?”
“Yes. Lucia’s sad because they died.”
Antonio exhaled in disbelief and looked at Lucia. The idea of apologizing over some insignificant little girl was ridiculous.
“What are you waiting for, apologize already…”
When Herwin pressed him again, Lucia tugged at his sleeve.
“Let’s just go.”
The gloomy look she had earlier was gone—Lucia had returned to her usual self.
“Will you be okay?”
“Yeah. I’m a little sad, but since you got angry for me, I’m fine.”
“…Alright, then.”
Herwin helped her up, and they walked away together.
“Hey, you!”
Seeing the two ignore him and slowly walk away, Antonio shouted at the top of his lungs. When they turned back, he was fuming and pointing at Herwin.
“I’m not done talking yet! Where do you think you’re going?!”
“What, are you finally going to apologize?”
“Who said anything about apologizing?!”
“Then why’d you call me? I told you, I’m not going to be your friend.”
When things didn’t go his way, Antonio’s fury peaked. His face flushed red, but then he suddenly sneered.
“Son of one of the four ducal families, yet you just trail after some girl all the time.”
Herwin, who had been about to leave, stopped cold.
“Am I wrong? You act like her servant, doing whatever that girl says. Oh—don’t tell me you’re actually a girl?”
Herwin’s crimson eyes flashed with a chilling glare. Antonio instinctively stepped back, and one of his followers whispered to him.
“Antonio, the Pheneus family only has sons.”
“R-right, of course! He just looks girly, I got confused for a second.”
Embarrassed at his mistake, Antonio cleared his throat, trying to recover his dignity.
Herwin’s glare was still sharp and murderous.
“Ahem. If that’s not it… then do you like her or something?”
Thump.
Herwin’s heart dropped. Antonio had just thrown out a wild guess, but Herwin’s flustered face and red cheeks gave him away. Antonio’s lips curled into a sly grin.
“I knew it. That explains why you’re acting so weird.”
He let out a mocking laugh.
“Hey everyone! The young master of House Pheneus likes that girl!”
“They say the two of them are a couple!”
Antonio’s friends chimed in, joining in the teasing.
Thump, thump, thump.
Herwin’s heart pounded unpleasantly, just like when he was teased for looking like a girl back when he was younger.
He hated being mocked—loathed it with all his being. The incidents from the north had left him with lasting trauma.
Herwin clenched his fists and shouted.
“Shut up! Who says I like her?! Me and Lucia—we’re not like that!”
His voice boomed, silencing the mocking chorus in an instant.
The kids hesitated for a moment, then snickered again.
“Why so mad? It’s because it’s true, isn’t it?”
“It’s not!”
“Sure, sure, that’s what someone would say if it was true.”
The more he reacted, the louder the teasing got. It wouldn’t stop, and it clawed at his old wounds.
His breath caught in his throat, and nausea began to rise.
Just as Herwin gathered his courage to speak again, Lucia—who had been quietly watching—suddenly spoke first.
“Then what about you three? Do you like each other?”
She pointed at Antonio and his two companions.
“You guys are always hanging around together. So are you all a couple too?”
The three boys froze, stammering incoherently. Lucia grinned mischievously.
“See? I knew it.”
The momentum flipped instantly to her side. Herwin, seeing the atmosphere shift so dramatically, shut his mouth. His pounding heartbeat slowly began to calm.
People nearby, drawn by the noise, started to gather, which only made Antonio and his lackeys panic.
Then one of them suddenly shouted:
“N-no way! Not me!”
“M-me neither!”
With that, two of them bolted, leaving Antonio all alone.
Left without his backup, Antonio looked around nervously as the crowd whispered about him. His face crumpled.
Lucia smugly folded her arms.
Unable to bear it, Antonio burst into tears and ran away.
“Ahahaha! Herwin, did you see that?”
Herwin gazed quietly at Lucia, who was laughing brightly.
His heart, which had just calmed, started beating faster again. But unlike before—when it was only scary and suffocating—this time, it tingled with warmth and a strange excitement.
Herwin’s earlobes were now burning red.
Of course, no one noticed. Not even Herwin himself.
Back at Count Agnes’s estate, Herwin and Lucia headed for their usual playroom.
Lucia was humming happily, but Herwin followed behind with a shadowed expression.
The events at the park weighed on his mind—specifically, Lucia’s reaction.
He had denied liking her out of panic. It wasn’t true.
Not “liking” her the way those kids meant, as a girl—but yes, he did like her, as a friend.
He worried if his words might have hurt her.
“Herwin! Let’s play with this today!”
Lucia handed him a toy. Instead of taking it, he stayed still and spoke up.
“Lucia.”
“Mm?”
“Were you… upset at me earlier?”
“Earlier? Why would I be upset?”
“I said… that I didn’t like you.”
Lucia blinked, thinking for a moment. Her brow furrowed slightly.
“Oh! You mean when that Antonio kid teased us?”
“Yeah… were you hurt?”
“Nope.”
She shook her head firmly. That should have been a relief, yet something about her response unsettled him.
“Why not?”
“Well… because you do like me.”
“Wh-what?”
“I like you, and you like me. Right?”
Herwin froze, but then realized what she meant.
Her “like” was friendship. Not the same “like” he had been flustered about.
“And besides, you really hate being teased. I could tell. You always get mad when someone says stuff about you. And even if you hated me, it’d be fine. I’d still like you!”
Lucia beamed, showing her teeth, before turning her attention back to the toy.
Herwin stood there, staring at her brown hair swaying gently.
The same tingling he had felt at the park returned… along with a vague, confusing discomfort.
“How strange…”
“Herwin! Come play already!”
“O-okay! Coming!”
Ignoring his racing heart, Herwin dashed toward her.
Later, Lucia hummed as she fiddled with the things she had placed inside a music box. The pretty tune came from a gift she had received at the New Year’s party when she was five.
Sitting on the sofa, Herwin asked curiously:
“Lucia, what do you even keep in there?”
“It’s a secret—even from you, Herwin!”
“Tch, what, will it kill you to tell me?”
When she hugged the music box tightly, refusing to show him, Herwin grumbled.
“What’s the big deal? It’s just a treasure box. Of course she has things she values.”
Lucas, reading nearby, replied without looking up from his book.
“Since she’s into bugs these days, it’s probably full of insect corpses. Back when she was into leaves, that’s all she kept in there.”
Brrr—
Just imagining bugs inside made Herwin’s skin crawl.
“They’re not bugs. They’re my treasures.”
“See? Look at her reaction—it is bugs.”
Lucia puffed her cheeks in protest.
Knock knock—
“Come in.”
At Lucas’s words, a maid entered and bowed.
“The Count requests the presence of the young masters and the young lady.”
“Father? All of us?”
The maid nodded. The three children exchanged puzzled looks. Why call them all together all of a sudden?
Following the maid, they headed to a room—and before the door was even fully open, they heard Henry crying.
“Henry!”
Worried something had happened, Herwin rushed inside.
“Huh?”
“Wait—that person…”
The children froze. In the room, holding the sobbing Henry awkwardly, was a familiar figure.
“This is troublesome… Henry, don’t you really remember me?”
The one holding Henry was none other than Hail. Seeing that long-missed face after a year and a half, Herwin gaped, dazed, and slowly approached.
“…Dad?”
Startled, Hail finally noticed Herwin and broke into a wide smile.
“My boy! You’ve grown so much.”
“…You’re really Dad?”
“Of course. Who else could I be? Let’s see how much my son has grown.”
With the same handsome face as before, Hail lifted Herwin up into his arms with a warm smile.
“Wow, you’re much heavier now! And taller too, I see?”
“It’s Dad… it’s really Dad!”
Herwin’s eyes widened in awe before he shouted with joy and hugged Hail’s neck tightly.
“Hahaha, I’m glad you still remember me. Henry didn’t recognize me, so I worried you wouldn’t either.”
“Well, you left when he was barely two. It can’t be helped. He’ll get used to your face soon.”
For once, Scarlet was smiling a true smile—not the weary ones of before. At last, their family was whole again.
Lucas, recalling faint memories, clapped his hands.
“Ah, I thought so. You really are Duke Pheneus.”
“Duke Pheneus… so he’s Herwin’s dad?”
“Yeah, don’t you remember him?”
“Hmm… maybe I saw him once. He looks just like Herwin.”
“Well, of course. He’s Herwin’s father.”
Lucia couldn’t remember the short time she had spent with Hail at all.
“Dad! Are you staying with us now? Did you defeat all the monsters?”
“Yes, I’ve finished subduing them and came straight back.”
“Yay! That’s amazing!”
“From now on, our whole family will return north and live together like before.”
“…What?”
Herwin’s bright face froze as though he had misheard. Scarlet tilted her head.
“Aren’t you happy? You begged to see your father again.”
“I am happy to be with Dad, but…”
Herwin trailed off, staring at the floor. By the door, the Agnes siblings whispered among themselves.
“So… we’re leaving here?”
“Yes. Of course—we’re going home.”
“…”
Herwin’s feelings were tangled. He was overjoyed to have his real father back, to finally live with his whole family again. And yet… he couldn’t smile.
“What? Is there something on my face?”
Lucia, meeting Herwin’s eyes, touched her own cheek.
If he returned north, he wouldn’t be able to see Lucia anymore. That thought filled Herwin with a heavy sense of loss.
