PNA~29

 Chapter 29

“Where are you going?”

“Hm? Nowhere.”

“Then why did you stand up—?”

“I need to see you off. Take care.”

‘Mr. Stalker.’

Erne’s eyes seemed to say exactly that. This was already the fourth day her sharp tone continued.

Wizard reluctantly got to his feet, his expression glum.

“Our meetings seem to be getting shorter.”

“The longer they are, the more exhausted Shuknen becomes.”

“I’m fine, Teacher.”

Erne bit her lip and turned her head. She couldn’t blame Shuknen for being considerate.

“Safe travels.”

She gave a curt nod to Wizard, as if she hadn’t heard the child at all.

“But Ellen… I haven’t finished my tea yet…”

“That’s your third cup already.”

“Well then, I have something urgent I need to consult with you about Shuknen—”

“I’ll prepare a detailed lifestyle report about him and give it to you by tomorrow.”

“…No, it’s not about that. It’s just, raising a child alone, there are things I’d like to ask—”

“Enough. Please leave.”

Erne was firm. Wizard, realizing his excuses weren’t working, looked resigned. His reluctant steps moved slower than ever.

“…Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Perhaps because he couldn’t respond properly to Erne that day,

her misunderstanding continued to grow.

It had already been four days of Erne pushing him away like this.

He could’ve told her the truth, but there was a reason he hadn’t actively clarified the stalker misunderstanding.

‘The teacher sat on the swing reading a book today.’

‘Today she bought apples at the market instead of tomatoes.’

‘Nothing suspicious happened in the market today.’

Though he had retrieved the flyers searching for Erne, just in case, he had stationed several knights of the ducal house around the princess.

It was all for her safety.

Wizard wasn’t a stalker, but listening to the detailed reports about Erne, he couldn’t easily explain himself. Because he was feeling guilty.

‘So this is what they mean when they say the thief feels the guilt first.’

Inside the carriage, Wizard wore a permanently crumpled expression.

“Father is seriously dumb.”

Across from him, Shuknen sat with arms crossed, glaring at him in disbelief.

Wizard’s brow twitched at the cheeky, sharp-tongued tone.

“Where did you learn to talk like that?”

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I said it was from you.”

“Of course not. I always speak politely.”

Faced with his shameless father, Shuknen hesitated for a moment.

Should he support this relationship between his teacher and father, or should he warn his teacher to run away while she still could?

Despite his age, Shuknen was oddly mature.

“I told you to win her over—not to make her want to run away every time she sees you.”

“Well…”

For once, Wizard was flustered. Nothing Shuknen said was wrong.

“I like Teacher. I want to become a family with her.”

“Shuknen.”

Shuknen emphasized the word family.

“Why are you so slow at getting things done? You never do anything right.”

“And you haven’t exactly been a reliable middleman.”

“What’s the point if I do well and you don’t?”

Sparks flew between the father and son. In the air between them crackled a fierce tension.

Neither was willing to yield.

Wizard’s son, as always, lacked even a shred of childish cuteness.

Where had he even picked up that tone, like a boss scolding a subordinate? Wizard’s sighs grew deeper by the day.

Watching Wizard behave even more immaturely than himself, Shuknen was genuinely worried.

If you’re going to give advice, you should at least listen when someone tries to help you. Stubborn old man!

Fuming, Shuknen glared at Wizard with a pout.

“Truce.”

“Fine. I accept.”

In the end, it was Wizard, the adult, who stepped back, ending their standoff.

Shuknen also promptly accepted the truce, as if he had been waiting for it.

“It’s just going to take time to fix everything after you messed up from the start.”

“You could’ve avoided this if you didn’t mess up in the first place.”

“I said it’s a truce.”

“Yeah.”

No matter what Wizard said, Shuknen didn’t seem interested in playing nice.

His son’s sarcasm wasn’t pleasant to hear.

But as Wizard’s cold voice reminded him of the truce, Shuknen nodded obediently.

“By the way, Teacher’s illness… it can be cured, right?”

“Yes. I’ll make sure she recovers.”

“Is her heart weak like mine?”

“That’s what they say. We’ll need to find the root cause first. Don’t worry too much.”

Wizard’s unexpectedly gentle tone brought a sheen of tears to Shuknen’s eyes.

If he gave a different answer than what Erne believed to be correct, he might cry.

Then… how does she deal with being in pain? Shuknen placed his hand over his chest and fell deep into thought.

Thump-thump. His heart beat in a steady rhythm.

It used to be so faint he couldn’t even feel it.

He had gotten better. So Teacher would surely get better too.

Shuknen chose to think positively.

But there was one thing that still bothered him.

“Do you think Teacher hates you because of me?”

“What? Of course not.”

Wizard gave a dry laugh, shaking his head.

“If I wasn’t around, you’d probably be married by now.”

At that, Wizard’s face hardened. The thoughts coming from that tiny head were shameless beyond belief.

He let out a deep sigh and pressed down on Shuknen’s head.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“…Take your hand off.”

“My marriage isn’t being held up because of you. If people say the Duke of Douglas’s engagement was blocked by a five-year-old noble brat, well… that’s just an embarrassment on their part.”

It was his own version of comfort, wrapped in arrogance.

Wizard’s unique way of reassuring his anxious son.

“Just take your hand off, Father.”

But Shuknen was far too rational for a child.

Face red with frustration, he desperately tried to pry Wizard’s big hand off his head.

Struggle struggle. As the flailing under his palm intensified, Wizard clicked his tongue and withdrew.

“You could at least pretend to be touched.”

“Don’t touch me.”

“……”

“You’re gross.”

Shuknen glared at Wizard’s large hand as if it were diseased, then shook his head vigorously in disgust.

“Only Teacher Ellen is allowed to touch me.”

This little punk… Wizard’s expression turned murderous in an instant.

Shuknen seemed determined to provoke his jealousy further.

“Oh right, she never pats you, does she?”

“……”

“She kisses me every day. She even hugs me.”

“……”

“Hmph. Stalker.”

Three direct hits in a row—each one a home run. Wizard, now tattered and bruised, clutched his chest, glaring at his son.

The brat was getting more insufferable as he grew.

“All those stories about you being popular with women were lies, weren’t they?”

Realizing their truce was over, Wizard scowled at the nonstop attacks.

“There used to be ladies lining up behind me, squealing just to see my face.”

“Lies. And besides, Teacher Ellen isn’t even impressed by your face.”

“……”

Wizard thought to himself that his chest really did hurt today. Still, determined to protect his pride, he spoke.

“Ellen will…”

“……”

“She’ll come to my side.”

“How?”

Even after being mistaken for a stalker? Shuknen eyed him suspiciously, but Wizard only responded with a cynical smirk, as if he had a secret plan.

For the first time in a while, seeing his father smile like that, Shuknen thought maybe—just maybe—he had an ace up his sleeve.

‘Right. Father has a plan after all!’

That is, until Wizard held up his index finger in front of Shuknen’s face.

“Your finger?”

“Father. Are you insane?”

He had been foolish to trust him. Shuknen recoiled in horror.

He didn’t want to be anywhere near that twitching finger.

Completely unfazed, Wizard wiggled his bent finger and grinned.

“With just this one finger, I can win her over.”

Just wait, Shuknen.

Wizard declared boldly, twirling his shiny index finger through the air with confidence.

But that confidence was his greatest delusion of all.