Saying so, he held out his fist in front of me while trying to explain the reason for blocking the way.
Seemingly asking for my hand, I glanced at his face for a little and eventually stretched out my hands toward him. Then, Cain placed a small caramel on the palm of my hand.
“What’s this…?”
“A gift to a good adult?”
“Yes?”
“Or, should it be a gift for my talented fiancée?”
I stared at his smile as he smiled and moved his gaze to the caramel he placed on my hand.
Looking at the gold wrapping paper embedded with red letters, it seemed that it was a limited edition caramel sold at the most famous bakery in Aren. Lily also said that it was difficult to get because they only produce about fifty pieces a day.
“I was told from the Young Lady’s maid that you especially like this, so I hope you like the gift.”
At Cain’s words, I gazed at caramel as if possessed.
I could not hate it.
The fact that Cain got this caramel, which was hard to get, just because I like it…
Seeing his smiling face, my clenched fist strengthened.
゚· : * ✧ * :· ゚
When I saw the caramel that he gave me, my heart kept pounding.
Should I just eat it…?
Yeah, would it not bother me less if I just eat it?
With that thought, I was going to remove the wrapping paper at any moment, but in the end, I could not even touch the wrapping paper. Even though I could just eat it or throw it away, I was dumbfounded by myself, who could not actually do that.
…Could it be that I cannot eat it because Cain gave it to me?
“No. No matter how obsessed I was with that face, this is too much…”
“That older sister, I don’t think she’s a bad person. Do you think so, too?”
My voice that was about to rise was stopped by Enni’s small voice. Turning my head towards the source of the voice, I found Enni and Ed sitting in the shade of a large zelkova tree.
Oh, they were there.
As I raised my hand to say hello, I could see Ed’s ferocious face. After noticing it for a moment, I missed the timing to intervene between the two of them, and they continued.
“Enni, how many times have I told you! Don’t be naive.”
“Bu, but that sister…!”
“There’s no but. So, don’t eat that stuff anymore.”
“….”
“It’s strange when you think about it. Why is she giving food to us, who threw stones…”
“Because I’m cute?”
“Euaakk—!”
Surprised by the sound of my voice behind his back, Ed fell forward. Meanwhile, I waved my hand towards Enni, who smiled brightly at me.
Edgar stood up immediately and shouted with an angry face.
“What are you doing, auntie!”
Auntie… No, calm down. He is a child, a child.
He was also a child who had been hurt by Baron Jo Malone, who was making a mess in the village of the shapeshifters and creating distrust of humans.
Ed’s way of speaking, which had not changed in the slightest, made me angry. Nonetheless, I calmly took a deep breath and continued.
“Well, who talks behind someone’s back like that in an empty place? That’s a very bad habit, you know?”
“What’s wrong with saying bad guys are bad?”
“Wrong! I’m not a bad guy!”
“Ha, are there any bad guys who say that they’re bad?”
…No, is there such a thing as early education in this world? What are the kids talking about?
I swallowed my admiration that was not really an admiration at the sight of Ed with his arms folded and his head turned quickly. Though he, too, must have thought that it was strange that I, who had been refuting my words, did not say anything. His eyes, who had been turning his head pretending not to care, glanced at me.
I smiled casually at Ed like that.
“That’s right. So, don’t trust anyone, Ed.”
“….”
“And, Enni is your only sister, so don’t be rude to her.”
I got up from my squatting position and patted my knee.
Ed paused as if bewildered by my sudden attitude. At the same time, Enni’s tiny hand carefully reached my finger. I glanced down at her and asked the little girl who was staring at me with anxious eyes.
“Sister, where are you going?”
“Hmm, to catch the bad guy…?”
“What?”
“Well, of course, I’m not the one who’ll do it. It’s Cain.”
I glanced at him with a playful smile. Suddenly, Enni’s ears abruptly perked up. Even Ed, who had been staring at me from a distance apart, hid behind me with a face full of fear.
“Ed…?”
“It’s him.”
“What?”
“It’s the footsteps of the guy who took Noya!”
…Took Noya?
Obviously, Noya was in danger of being sold in an illegal trafficking transaction, but…
“Didn’t you say Noya was missing?”
“That was the sound. After hearing that strange sound of shoes, Noya disappeared…!”
“It’s here.”
After finishing his words, Ed quickly shut his mouth at the sound of a voice over the wall. His face, which rarely seemed frightened, was full of tension. It was a slender voice, just like a mosquito crying.
The children did not let go of their hands holding the hem of my dress despite the voice of a man who could not even imagine having a scary image.
At that moment, a man’s shadow appeared through the open gate.