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chapter 63
“…Hmm?”
Leto first fiddled with his own ears.
“My little puppy! My pretty little puppy! Coochie coochie coo!”
“Kyaa! Grandma’s eating my cheeks!”
“Nom nom nom! Coochie coochie, coochie coochie coo!”
“Haha! That tickles!”
It was undoubtedly the warm laughter of a grandmother and her granddaughter, yet Leto couldn’t understand why that laughter somehow evoked images of hell.
“Oh, are you only going to give kisses to Grandma?”
“I’ll give them to Grandpa too!”
“You wanted to see Grandpa too, right? This old man even cried just wanting to see our pretty princess…”
“You shouldn’t cry. Otherwise, Grandma will tease you for being cute again.”
“Of course. If you cry, this granny will torment you even more and make you cry again.”
After joyfully reuniting with her beloved granddaughter, Grandma turned her head.
“…….”
Their eyes met, and this time, Leto pressed his temples with a confused sigh. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the hallucinations.
“Noah, my bride.”
“Yes, my husband.”
Noah answered with a gentleness in her voice that Leto had never heard before.
His husband, constantly denying reality, seemed pitiful but also adorably foolish.
Normally, Leto would have dashed over, clinging to her, saying, “You called me husband? So you were happy to marry me? Should we get married again?”
But Leto wasn’t in the right state of mind for that now.
“I need to go to the hospital. Just like you said, something seems wrong with my ears and head.”
“I thought so all along.”
Unfortunately, this time it wasn’t just in his imagination.
“Honey.”
Noah confessed in a tender voice.
“You haven’t met them before, right? They’re our grandmother and grandfather.”
“Our grandma is the boss!”
Clare approached, grinning, and took Leto’s hand, leading him toward Grandma.
Step by step.
With every step closer, Leto kept denying it.
It couldn’t be.
No, it wouldn’t be.
He had finally gotten the long-awaited meeting with the grandmother of the people he loved.
And yet…
“So you’re my grandson-in-law.”
A sinister laugh shook Leto’s mind violently.
“I think this is the first time we’ve greeted each other like this.”
“…….”
“An old person’s hand is outstretched, looking a bit awkward, don’t you think?”
Leto stared blankly at the wrinkled hand held out before him.
Since their marriage, his eyes, usually filled with happiness, had dried up completely for the first time.
Just like that morning when he had danced with Captain Adbello.
“…Grandma.”
Leto spoke in a trembling voice.
“Could you use that hand to knock me out?”
“That won’t do.”
Grandma grabbed the hand of her long-awaited grandson-in-law firmly.
“…Brother-in-law.”
Clare, watching the scene, asked curiously,
“Are you crying?”
“I’m usually not someone who cries easily…”
Leto’s moist red eyes swirled sadly.
“Today… I feel like crying for some reason…”
“Why? Are you upset because of Grandma?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Grandma explained gently.
“You’re crying because meeting this granny is so moving.”
“My brother-in-law is unexpectedly soft-hearted.”
“…Sniff.”
Unable to contain his emotions, Leto hid his eyes against his empty arm. The dampening of his sleeve was no illusion.
“Nice to meet you.”
Ignoring hierarchy entirely, Grandma revealed her name first.
“Gloria Adbello.”
Her name was exactly the same as the superior Leto had always scolded as ‘that old hag.’
Gloria Adbello.
Her existence was almost mythical.
The former head of the Adbello family who had caused the mage tower explosion, second in the royal military hierarchy, the inventor of the first personal warship, and one of the founders of the Special Ship Command.
The other founder was Major General Leto Oceanus.
But right now, she was just a grandmother wanting to give her granddaughters anything she could.
“Wow, it’s beautiful…!”
“Pretty, isn’t it? I bought these star candies from the Kingdom of Klence.”
Gloria had collected small gifts here and there while traveling and presented them to Clare. Beyond this, there was a mountain of gifts prepared in the entry hall.
“So they’re pretty because they’re stars!”
Clare’s round eyes sparkled at the new discovery.
Popping open a lid, she distributed the tiny star candies to each family member.
“Big sister!”
Clare gave some to Noah, who had just entered the living room.
“You got star candies from Grandma?”
“Yes! She gave me so many gifts besides this.”
“Why did you come down alone?”
Gloria gestured toward the empty side next to Noah.
“The little one?”
“Grandma, don’t call me that here too.”
Noah, munching on a candy, looked up at her.
Gloria chuckled at the sight.
“Even though she’s married, she already sides with her husband.”
“I just want to be on his side for now.”
Noah smiled bitterly, recalling Leto who had been laid down in bed earlier.
“Was it really that shocking…?”
“Brother-in-law, are you sick?”
“Something I ate didn’t sit well.”
Leto had thrown up all of the dinner he had just eaten and collapsed.
He had expected the shock of learning Captain Adbello was his grandmother.
But he didn’t expect him to be this devastated.
“Sorry, really…”
“You should have said something earlier.”
As Noah scolded him, she hadn’t expected such an extreme reaction.
“Think about all the trouble he’s caused me so far.”
Noah still remembered considering whether to choke Leto in his sleep.
“…Even so, seeing him asleep makes him look adorable and endearing.”
Noah shyly praised her husband in thought.
“…….”
For the first time, As felt a longing for independence.
“Indeed, honeymoon life is honeymoon life.”
“I understand that feeling too. When they look pretty asleep, everything is forgiven.”
Gloria giggled while watching her husband. Biscuit quietly smiled.
“…Well, I’ll talk to him tomorrow anyway.”
Gloria held a family meeting after a long time.
“Arti has arrived, right?”
The topic was about the eldest grandson, Auster Adbello, who had become Tenebre against the family’s opposition.
As soon as the name was mentioned, As’s expression stiffened.
“…But Clare.”
Biscuit, who had been quiet until now, asked Clare,
“Can I see some of your wedding photos?”
“Sure! But there are so many.”
“Then pick a few where you look the best and show me. Our little puppy has an artistic eye, so I’m looking forward to it.”
“Well, I am a bit of an artist!”
Clare smiled broadly at her grandfather’s praise and quickly ran upstairs.
“I’ll follow her.”
As followed her.
Watching this happily, Biscuit turned his gaze back, now serious and devoid of a smile.
“…It’s a problem that the brat came, but what bothers me more is that he showed up as Tenebre.”
“You were worried about that too, General.”
“It’s not entirely unexpected.”
Gloria and Biscuit’s thoughts aligned with Leto’s.
“They’re trying to find a traitor in the army.”
It was a situation worthy of suspicion. Every recent incident was linked to the military.
However, what made them uneasy was something else.
“Are they suspecting the navy?”
Biscuit’s voice was filled with concern.
“But I don’t think it’s just that.”
“I agree.”
Gloria nodded.
The young king is wise.
And cunning.
Sending Tenebre to the south wasn’t a simple decision.
There must have been the intent to find a traitor. Yet another purpose was hidden in that action.
“…To keep them in check.”
Gloria, smiling wryly, scoffed at the young king’s actions.
“Noah.”
Gloria asked Noah,
“You know why the Adbellos hate Tenebre, right?”
“Yes.”
Noah nodded in response.
“A hundred years ago, Adbello made the kingdom of Adlabor the strongest. The successive kings feared Adbello…”
“…And that’s why they created Tenebre.”
The reason Tenebre is called the king’s dog.
The rumors of the Adbello family’s hatred for Tenebre.
It all traces back a hundred years.
“The idiots tried to steal Adbello’s secrets using Tenebre, not realizing their place.”
Adbello turned a small kingdom into a hegemonic power.
He forced neighboring powers to their knees, provided them with formidable military strength, and freely shared technology for the nation.
But the return was jealousy, fear, and greedy betrayal toward Adbello.
“The Adlabor royal family tried to extract Adbello’s secrets using Tenebre. That attempt continues even now.”
“And my brother became Tenebre.”
“I can understand why the king sent Tenebre south. The intent to check us is also understandable.”
But why send an agent from the Adbello lineage?
And why did that brat become Tenebre?
To understand, one thing was essential.
“Catch Arti…”
Gloria muttered solemnly.
“We’ll have to beat him like a rat.”
That brother was truly doomed.
Noah made the sign of the cross, praying for his doomed brother’s safety in advance.
Having eaten too much, vomited, and even developed a fever, Leto only regained his wits the next morning.
For one reason only.
To go to work.
“I think I had a nightmare…”
Struggling to gather himself, Leto sat on the bed and recalled the increasingly vivid memories of the previous night.
He had returned home cheerfully, only to face terrifying hallucinations of a demon calling him the grandson-in-law.
“It was scary…”
Overnight, Leto had grown haggard and weak. Holding Noah’s hand tightly, he muttered.
Feeling sorry for him, Noah gently stroked Leto’s cheek with her free hand.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes…”
Leto nodded, lips slightly downturned.
Then he buried his face in Noah’s shoulder and whined.
“Noah…”
“Yes?”
“Downstairs… is Captain there?”
“…Yes.”
“Can I cry…?”
“Grandma would tease you more.”
Resigned, Leto left the room.
