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Chapter 38
“…You were awake?”
Calypse hurriedly sat back down, embarrassed.
Lucas had simply wanted to say what he wanted to, regardless of whether he was asleep or awake, but before Calypse could even offer an apology, he realized he’d only been speaking in overly serious tones, making him clear his throat awkwardly.
“Ah. I thought you were sleeping.”
“I woke up in the middle.”
“When?”
“When you came in, Dad.”
“….”
So that meant he’d basically heard everything.
Calypse muttered with a sigh.
“You’re a light sleeper.”
“You have to be to protect me.”
But Lucas’s casual reply made Calypse’s heart sink once more.
“Hmm.”
One of his eyebrows rose instinctively.
It was time to speak.
After hesitating briefly, Calypse looked into his son’s eyes and began.
“This is about Marquis Lillis.”
“…….”
“If you had told me earlier, I would have smashed that marquis’s head in, no matter the heir exam. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Dad said 5,000 gold was too expensive, so he wouldn’t bring me along.”
“What?”
“The marquis said that. He said that.”
Calypse was about to ask if he’d really believed that, but Lucas squinted and muttered.
“This happened when I was three.”
Ah. Of course. He couldn’t blame him for believing such nonsense.
How hard could it have been for a three-year-old child? Thinking of that hurt his heart.
‘I’ll have to slowly make that marquis pay over five years.’
Calypse cursed Marquis Lillis in his mind, bowing his head. Even now, a sense of crushing self-blame overflowed.
The more pitiful truth was that Lucas, despite all the hardships he had endured, seemed more normal than himself.
“But it’s okay now. Actually, I already understood everything. After all, I’m Prince Crost.”
“…You don’t need to force yourself to understand. You can hate me as much as you want. I’ll take it all.”
“It was just that I was scared at the dinner table and reacted impulsively. Even though I’m Prince Crost, there are still scary things, right?”
Fidgeting.
Lucas lifted himself from his prone position, raising his eyebrows.
“Dad. So…how can you say that?”
Calypse, who had been bowing his head, raised his gaze.
“What do you mean?”
“That you don’t care what happens to the world? Seriously, is that something a duke should say?”
“I lost everyone because I meddled too much in worldly affairs. I’m just saying I won’t do that anymore.”
“Prince Crost?”
He was saying he’d now focus on parenting, but his son didn’t seem satisfied and questioned him relentlessly.
“Prince Crost is human too.”
“But…”
“I have no reason to live now, except for you and Aisha.”
Lucas frowned deeply.
“But I spent five years thinking only about the Crost family!”
Sleeping Aisha sprawled and yawned widely.
Lucas, lowering his voice as much as possible so she wouldn’t wake, still looked exasperated.
“I survived because I’m Crost. The direct line of Crost doesn’t break, I survived in that cage for five years…”
Calypse was at a loss for words.
“If the head of the family, the Crost Duke, says Crost isn’t anything special, what am I supposed to be after surviving all that?”
“Lucas.”
“So let’s protect both of us.”
A tiny fist rose into the air.
He clenched it so tightly that his pinky stuck out stiffly.
Calypse, unsure of what to do, narrowed his eyes—
“Damn it. Really.”
Lucas, frustrated, got up and forcibly held his father’s pinky, making a vow.
“We’ll become stronger, both me and Aisha.”
“…….”
“We’ll protect others and ourselves too. It’s not just you protecting everyone.”
“…….”
“Keep your promise.”
At those resolute words, Calypse finally saw his son clearly.
Lucas was not just a child.
He had endured human cruelty and exploitation, yet knew how to care for those weaker than himself—the responsibility of being Crost. He was someone worthy of the divine ability given to a “little god.”
“By my life, I swear.”
There was no reason for him to refuse.
“Hmmnya~.”
The bed felt unusually warm.
The Crost family mansion kept the interiors warm to prepare for the cold, but today, it felt…heartwarmingly cozy.
Kororong—
Opening his eyes to Lucas’s soft snoring, he realized that someone had been holding his hand, curled like a baby caterpillar.
‘Not once did he let go while sleeping.’
Typical tsundere.
Last night, he had angrily said, “Do you think I’m doing this because I like it?! Even if I’m locked up, Marquis Lillis is near us! I can’t let him go!”—and forced him to bed.
“…People would think I’m Lucas’s sister.”
Haah—
Yawning lazily, he froze.
There was another large arm, besides Lucas’s hand.
Long, slender, muscled, with massive hands.
Thick, long fingers, with calluses from holding many sword sheaths.
…Besides Lucas and me, who else is here? Could it really be Marquis Lillis?
Absurd, but it was even more absurd to see an adult man’s arm in the bed.
Rolling over to check, Lucas frowned and gripped his hand tightly.
‘Damn it.’
He’d have to wait until the maid arrived to move.
He craned his neck to peek anyway—
“Hmm?”
On top of Lucas’s curled-up head, a man’s face was asleep.
“…The three of us are sleeping in the same bed?”
When did this man even join?
Anyway, he finally understood why it was unusually warm that morning.
‘Waking up in Dad’s and brother’s arms is really warm.’
“Mm.”
Hum-hum—
Seeing both of them, a little song escaped his lips.
It felt like a safe cave within another cave, where a baby bat was being protected.
‘…Does that analogy even make sense?’
His heart tingled—not exactly giddy, more like a purring cat’s soft vibrations.
He had never felt this before and found it hard to put into words.
‘How do I explain this situation?’
Just then—knock knock.
The maid entered, eyes wide at the sight.
“What a harmonious family…er, masters, you’re still asleep. I’ll bring breakfast later.”
The answer had come quickly from an unexpected place.
Yes.
They were family.
Meanwhile, in the Queen’s Palace of the Frozen Kingdom.
“Has Nox arrived?”
Queen Grace asked, and the man shook his head.
“He won’t be able to come; the entire northern region is in chaos. Marquis Lillis kidnapped Prince Crost.”
“What?”
Grace, examining a paper with a detailed drawing of a monster, widened her eyes.
“What’s this story? Who kidnapped whom?”
The most recent news she had heard was that Prince Lucas had been rescued.
“They say the Lillis family is finished. They even sold the kidnapped prince as a slave. Then they faked his disappearance.”
“…Good heavens. Did they do it to make my son the heir? That marquis is insane.”
“Exactly.”
“The bastard would make perfect prey for the Raptor of Corruption.”
Grace sat down with a “tsk” sound.
The Raptor of Corruption is a large, quadrupedal beast that lives in northern regions in packs.
Then the woman beside the man added,
“By the way, that’s not the only reason Nox can’t come.”
“What else? How dare he skip the empress’s gathering.”
“He’s busy fulfilling Aisha’s bucket list!”
“Aisha?”
The name…
Queen Grace, blinking her green eyes, recalled Nox’s words from the last meeting.
‘She walks with squeaky steps, has arrows stuck in both her heads, and her eyes cover half her face. She’s a tiny child.’
At that time, Nox had been serious.
So serious that during his explanation, his monocle glowed so brightly it almost blinded the other members.
“…At that point, she’s not even human. Isn’t she a fairy?”
Queen Grace muttered dreamily.
In her mind, a little winged fairy with arrowheads for hair was flying everywhere.
