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Chapter 32
I was sprawled across that broad chest.
“…?”
When I lifted my head, my eyes met a pair of dark eyes full of embarrassment.
“Mi-mi-mi… sorry… I-I didn’t mean to…”
“…”
“I was just… hiding to watch over you in case something dangerous happened…”
His lips moved hesitantly, and a deep, resonant voice flowed out. Suddenly, I felt the thick palm pressing firmly against my back.
Ah, so that’s it.
Blaine Winterwald had popped out suddenly like a flying squirrel.
“I… I’m sorry. You must still be scared of me.”
“…”
“Are… you hurt anywhere?”
The formidable-looking old man who had me on his stomach looked helpless.
‘Huh?’
Maybe it’s because I’m seeing him from above, but…
‘He’s not that scary.’
On the first day, I had thought he might devour me at any moment.
Blaine Winterwald’s large frame, thick eyebrows, sunken eyes, and beard covering his chin and upper lip gave him a stern, imposing appearance.
Someone you’d instinctively look away from on the street.
But on closer inspection, his eyes…
‘They’re like a teddy bear’s.’
They were as clear and gentle as Theo’s.
It reminded me of the wooden bear figurine he had given me as a reward before.
‘And…’
I pressed down on the hat that had nearly flown off.
‘This hat and clothes…’
I vaguely suspected that Blaine might have prepared them for me.
“Did you get my note?”
“I… did.”
The old man replied like a creaky wooden doll, lacking lubrication.
I wriggled up to under his chin.
“Then… you forgive me for running off without saying goodbye back then?”
“…It’s not you who should apologize. I startled you, a little crumb, and made you cry…”
Blaine shifted slightly. I jumped down from his broad chest and crouched next to him, meeting his gaze.
“…By the way, little one, I heard something serious happened to you.”
“Oh, the marching ceremony?”
“I was wondering if you’re alright. Of course, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine…”
Hmm.
“This isn’t a demand. If you don’t want to talk, just keep your mouth shut and turn your head. I’ll understand…”
Hearing him say this now felt a bit awkward.
‘Grandpa seems shy for someone his size.’
He seemed really timid—more than Theo.
His fat, muscular arms looked almost painfully intimidating.
“I’m totally fine!”
“That’s a relief…”
The old man puckered his lips. His eyes were glistening, on the verge of tears.
“That’s good…”
“Oh my.”
Pat pat. He must have been very shocked.
Blaine, catching his breath, pulled out Theo’s nap blanket and poked gently at my eyes… hmm, on closer look, it was a large handkerchief.
‘Still… it’s good he held back his tears, given his size.’
Of course… I didn’t know that Blaine had no tears left to shed after crying so hard over Elisa’s accident.
Then, from afar, Aisa approached holding Theo’s hand.
“Oh my, Mr. Blaine! I was wondering when you’d show up. About Lilin’s dress and hat… may I ask what stitching technique you used for the embroidery?”
“Huh?”
The clothes and hat… Blaine made them?
I lifted the hat that had been shading my face and inspected it.
Theo, who had approached, spotted the towering old man and his eyes sparkled.
“Grandpa made this hat? And Theo’s too?”
“Lilin, Mr. Blaine is the most skilled craftsman in the Winterwald family.”
“Woooow!”
Amazing!
‘I thought someone else had ordered it from a Winterwald craftsman!’
And the craftsman was right here!
‘Well, the wooden doll must have been purchased, though!’
My mental wall crumbled.
Maybe because I was seeing him up close, or imagining him hunched over, carefully stitching cute embroidery.
Blaine no longer felt threatening or scary. He had also been trying to meet my eye level as much as possible.
‘And I can really feel how much he likes me!’
Theo seemed to feel the same. He was wriggling up onto Blaine’s large knee, clearly sensing his warm affection.
“It’s dangerous if you fall…”
The flustered old man quickly placed Theo on his arm.
“Kya!”
Theo’s eyes widened at the sudden height.
“….”
Then came Blaine’s warm gaze toward me.
I blinked and tilted my head.
“There’s no room here?”
Grandpa’s arms were full because of Theo.
“The best seat is right here…”
The “best seat”…
I narrowed my eyes, realizing what he meant, and raised my arms.
“….”
Without hesitation, Blaine lifted me onto his shoulder. Then he stood up.
“Woooo! Piggyback!”
“Don’t move too much or you’ll fall.”
“The view is amazing, Theo! I can see the whole forest!”
I watched the vast forest and lake from the stiff shoulders of the nervous old man.
‘It really feels like Refi Village.’
Dad used to give me piggyback rides like this too.
I was ecstatic.
Afterward, the three of us played in the dirt nearby.
“Hey, hey! Want to make this together?”
We patted dirt on the back of our hands, then pulled the hand away to create a round “house”!
“Ta-da! It looks like a toad house!”
Theo loved this game ever since I taught it to him.
‘I don’t know where he learned it, but it’s fun.’
“….”
Pud-pud.
Watching quietly, Blaine built a huge toad house beside me.
“Wow… that’s huge. Theo could even sleep inside.”
“Huh?”
After making around a hundred toad houses, we collected shiny, pretty stones!
“Want to try tossing stones into the lake?”
I tossed stones that made soft plops on the calm surface.
Blaine exhaled through his nose and threw a big rock into the lake.
“Amazing… seventeen skips…”
It works even with a boulder.
“Want to try finding four-leaf clovers?”
Swoosh swoosh.
“Wow! Only three-leaf ones, but I like it!”
Because rings, bracelets, necklaces, and headbands appeared in an instant!
“No mushrooms… they make me sneeze!”
I clutched Blaine’s huge hand tightly with Theo. I was thrilled to play with an adult again after so long.
“Grandpa, will you keep playing with me from now on? Um, I mean…”
“….”
“Be my friend!”
It was so much fun!
A scary-looking exterior, but soft and gentle inside—Grandpa!
The strong-looking trapezius muscles of the old man tensed. Blaine Winterwald’s slightly flushed face nodded heavily.
A few days later, at night
Calec returned to the mansion, rubbing his tired brow as he headed to his study.
He had been busy nonstop for days dealing with the aftermath of the marching ceremony incident and preparing for the upcoming Fourth Dukes’ Council.
‘That Summerrain idiot has caused such a headache.’
Just thinking that the Fourth Dukes’ Council might be held at Winterwald made his head throb.
‘What on earth are they looking for?’
Publicly, it was said that the Summerrain Duke was too ill to host the Fourth Dukes’ Council.
But it was common knowledge that the head of the house was distracted searching for something.
‘I can’t tell.’
Thinking of that face always rambling nonsense with such zeal made him irritated. There was no rival like this rival.
Of course, there was another reason Calec decided to host the council despite the hassle.
‘Didn’t the mages from the Mage Tower also say they’d attend?’
The mages would observe briefly due to the autumn hunting festival.
They were investigating whether the Mage Tower was involved in the marching ceremony incident, but there had been no significant progress.
Since the Mage Tower was such a closed-off organization, the investigation was difficult.
‘If I host the council, I can make the list of mages to invite.’
This would be an opportunity to bring the mages out.
As he walked through the corridor, organizing his thoughts, Calec suddenly stopped.
“Wait.”
Albert, the mansion’s butler following behind, stepped forward politely.
“Lord, is something wrong?”
