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Chapter 4
The child was giggling as she stroked Thunder’s mane.
Luce was, for a brief moment, genuinely shocked.
Thunder was notoriously temperamental—so much so that even Luce had never once managed such intimate contact with him.
“What’s with this suspicious little kid?”
Just as Luce narrowed his eyes—
“That’s right! I am suspicious!”
The little girl puffed out her shoulders proudly, like a puppy that had just succeeded in a hunting game.
Then she pulled out something so tiny it was barely visible—a small thorn—from her pocket.
“I have something to tell you! Actually, I treated Thunder!”
“…What are you?”
“I’m Coco! And look, I even have the thorn as proof!”
“…Coco? Why does that name sound so familiar? Whatever. Let me see.”
Trying to hide her pounding heart, Coco stretched out her hand.
“That’s a thorn that got stuck while he was hurriedly eating out on the distant plains. It’s uniquely shaped—if you show it to Luce, he’ll recognize it.”
Just as Thunder had said, Luce’s pupils widened the moment he received the thorn.
“Huh? This thorn is…”
It was exactly as Thunder had described.
“It doesn’t exist in this region. It only grows on a peculiar flower found in the plains of the region where Luce studied abroad.”
As Luce recalled Thunder’s words, Dot examined Thunder’s mouth with a magnifying glass and let out a brief exclamation.
“The young lady is correct. There is an extremely tiny wound on his tongue, as though pricked by a thorn. And…”
Thunder was pressed snugly against Coco’s side.
Anyone could see they had formed a bond.
“And judging by appearances, it certainly seems the young lady treated Sir Thunder.”
The situation turned unfavorable in an instant, and Patricia’s face paled.
“There’s no need for excuses,” Luce said coldly.
Under his fierce gaze, Patricia hurriedly dropped to the floor.
“I—I’m sorry!”
“For what, exactly?”
“I got greedy for praise and…”
“Oh?”
Luce tilted his head mischievously.
“You lied to me. You’d better be prepared to pay the price.”
“I—I’m sorry…”
He shot Patricia an icy look before turning to Coco.
“Enough noise. You—was it Coco?”
“Yes! I’m Coco!”
Coco turned her eyes away from the trembling Patricia.
It can’t be helped. If I want to meet big sister, I have to be a naughty puppy!
Thunder had told her.
No one would believe something like, “Coco treated Thunder.”
So the two of them had put their heads together.
And like a proper naughty puppy, she had come up with a bad plan.
“Hmph. Quite ambitious, aren’t you? So who are you? A maid? A veterinarian?”
The atmosphere instantly turned tense.
Luce tilted his head and patted Dot’s shoulder.
“What’s with that face? Dot, is she your daughter or something?”
At that moment, Dot finally broke his silence.
“L-Lord Luce… I hesitate to say this, but…”
“Hm?”
“The young lady here is neither a maid nor a veterinarian. And certainly not my daughter. I’m not even married.”
“Then what is she?”
“…She is the youngest daughter of this house.”
Luce’s face turned bright red.
“…No way. That old man… He’s insane. That crazy old geezer. At his age, having a ch-child—”
Dot frantically waved his hands.
“What? N-No, that’s not it! It’s only been about a week since you returned from your ten-year study abroad, so it seems the news didn’t reach you!”
“What? Explain properly.”
“Well…”
Dot explained the details.
By the time he finished, Luce’s mouth was hanging wide open, revealing his bright red uvula.
“Now that you mention it, I think I heard something about it. Didn’t seem important, so I forgot. So you’re telling me this scruffy kid is our future youngest?”
Coco shook her head.
“No!”
“Then what’s going on?”
“My sacred mark hasn’t manifested yet, so I’m going to be kicked out soon!”
“…What?”
“But it’s okay. I earned merit today!”
Luce clicked his tongue knowingly.
“Ahh, I see. You saved Thunder because you don’t want to be thrown out of the family. Right?”
“…”
“You used your head, I’ll give you that. But pulling out one thorn isn’t enough to get you adopted. I’m not even married, and I don’t have any authority anyway. Adoption into the family requires agreement between my father and the council of elders.”
But instead of looking disappointed, Coco’s eyes sparkled.
She even placed her hands on her hips and looked up at Luce boldly.
“Um, not adoption!”
“Huh? Then what?”
“My wish is to meet Lady Chloe!”
Luce’s jaw dropped.
“…Huh? Did I mishear? Who?”
Who was Chloe Ardos?
The third daughter of the Ardos ducal house.
But in society, she was often called a dreadful villainess.
Her prickly personality—and the fact that she had manifested as a ‘dark mage,’ wielding darkness, which the Empire shunned—played a large part in that.
And one year ago—
After her beloved dog died, she had completely lost her mind.
She had dyed the entire annex where she stayed in darkness.
And yet…
“They said that if you perform a great deed, you can meet a direct family member.”
“No, I mean…”
“So please, let me meet Lady Chloe!”
…This tiny little thing wanted to meet that dangerous Chloe?
Coco puffed out her round little belly proudly—
Like a plump ball of yarn drawn with colored pencils.
* * *
A few hours later.
Rubbing his stiff eyes, Luce entered Dot’s examination room.
“Dot, did that scruffy kid make it safely to Chloe?”
“Yes. A maid just took her.”
“Wow. What a bold little scruff. I don’t know why, but she’s walking straight into danger.”
Chloe was a notorious, universally acknowledged troublemaker.
And recently, she had even begun experiencing signs of power rampage.
“Hey, keep that up and you’ll die. Your mana core is already more than half destroyed.”
When ability users overused their powers and their mana core shattered, they would go berserk—and die.
Chloe was well aware of that.
And yet she did nothing, simply lying there like a corpse.
“So… what does that have to do with you?”
“Hey. Even if we’re not exactly close, I’m still your brother. I’m wor—”
“Leave while I’m still asking nicely.”
Luce shook his head inwardly.
“If she gets kicked out by Chloe, I’ll have to go pick up that little scruff.”
