‘I’m sure he didn’t call me <mine>, this Gwanggong?’
I shifted my eyes away from Sislin’s chest.
‘Well, I must have heard it wrong.’
How could such an ominous flag be raised?
I tried my best to clear my brain (?) but ended up maintaining a dazed state.
“Damn it, uck! Ugh…”
In the field, Avilus coughed. Seeing that painful moans were intermingled from time to time, it seemed difficult to bear.
At this rate, he was going to kill that man.
I lifted my head and looked at Sislin.
“Sisl, stop and release him.”
The boy’s strained eyes softened when he looked at me.
“…He tried to hurt Annette. Such a person must be killed.”
—You’re too extreme, Mr. Gwang.
‘When did you grow so tall?’
Even though he was wearing a suppressant, he had such destructive power, I knew that he would eventually be called the ‘Prince of War’, but—
‘Now I can feel it little by little.’
It felt different from when I was protecting him from Viscount Puterio.
‘Children grow up fast…’
Sislin was also changing.
But, that didn’t mean an 11-year-old should kill someone.
I raised my index finger and said sharply.
“Sisl, 11-year-olds shouldn’t use the expression ‘killing people’. Of course, you can’t kill people! With exceptions…”
My last two words were said very softly. Of course I hate killing people, but—
‘He did something to deserve it.’
I’d like to give him a tight slap.
I glanced at Avilus.
‘…Uh, will he die if he hits him more?’
Enough was done.
Ummm, any more was definitely bad for education.
“Why… Can’t I just kill him?”
“Then you’re a bad kid!”
Sislin’s shoulders drooped like a wet puppy.
“…Yes.”
Thud!
At that moment, the aura that was engulfing Avilus disappeared, and he fell to the floor.
“Damn it, ugh.”
Avilus seemed to be very confused.
‘Of course.’
I was also surprised to see such an extraordinary ability.
In any case, this special level 1 was stronger than Avilus, even if he wore magic suppressors.
I believed in that and provoked him, but Sislin was even stronger than I expected, so Avilus himself must have felt it.
‘The fact that he couldn’t stand up to him.’
Even so, we couldn’t fight with all our might here.
Then the forest would be noisy.
Gerard wanted this to be as quiet as possible.
As I stepped forward in front of Sislin, I said;
“Now go. The deal is over.”
“…Damn it.”
At my words, Avilus wiped his nosebleed with his hands, then looked at us in turn.
There was murderous intent in those eyes. Surprisingly.
“I will make you regret this moment with tears of blood.”
‘No, how can you say such scary things to kids?’
“See you later, you rats.”
With typical villainous lines, Avilus vanished like the wind.
I looked at the space he disappeared from and folded my arms quietly.
“—Hmp.”
It seemed that it had been successfully resolved.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to Sislin and smiled brightly.
“Shall we go too, Sislin?”
“……”
The boy nodded quietly.
***
‘I think the light here is broken.’
It was a little dark.
I was walking side by side with Sislin through a dimly lit corridor.
Sislin looked as if he had many questions he wanted to ask me.
‘It’s understandable… He must have heard all of that conversation while in hiding. ‘
But, cautiously, he didn’t ask me about this or that in haste.
‘He’s waiting for me to tell him first.’
There were too many things Sislin had seen and heard to keep silent.
In the end, I opened my mouth first.
“Sisl, do you want to know what happened? Do you want me to tell you?”
“…Tell me.”
As if waiting, Sislin answered so.
Okay.
‘If I don’t tell him, my baby will be worried and anxious alone.’
“What happened—”
I explained the whole story, starting with the cigarette case (of course, I didn’t say anything about the black jewel, I only described it as the prince’s ‘cherished item’). Then about Gerard’s application for adoption, and even the rough details of the negotiations I proposed.
“—So, it’s all over now. I’ll be staying in the Forest. What do you think, isn’t it nice?”
I smiled broadly and asked Sislin.
“……”
Sislin bowed his head.
‘Ah, my baby, you’re gloomy again!’
‘Why aren’t you happy?’
I thought he would be happy because we would remain together…
“Annette.”
“Yes?”
Sislin raised his head and looked at me. And, he spoke so maturely that I couldn’t even imagine it coming out of Sislin’s mouth.
“You must have been worried and scared by yourself.”
“……”
A warm hand wrapped around one of my cheeks.
In an instant, my heart melted. The heart that was hardened like armor while fighting and defending against Gerard.
And only then did I realize. That I was very worried, anxious, and sometimes scared by myself.
“Annette.”
As if reading my expression, Sislin embraced me deeply in his arms.
How could this hug be so warm? I thought he was just a child.
“If something like this happens in the future, please tell me.”