***
After the white marten disappeared, wagging its cute little tail from side to side, Laphiren gritted his teeth as he squeezed Pompom hard enough to crush it.
“When did I ever allow you to sit in on my lessons?”
—Ah, sorry.
Then, astonishingly, Pompom began to glow, and the light spread rapidly all around them. Before long, that light revealed a mountain range covered in eternal snow.
Kiraxus brushed the snow off his head and greeted Laphiren with an easygoing smile.
—I was curious whether my daughter-in-law was learning well. I also thought I’d keep an eye on you to make sure you weren’t bullying her.
“I’m not bullying her. If you do this one more time, I’ll go to the head of the family and tell him I refuse to take responsibility for her education.”
—Sorry, sorry. I won’t do it again.
“Did you tell the Little lady that you can watch from your side?”
—Mm, no.
“Then I’ll tell her myself.”
Laphiren’s expression turned fierce.
Perhaps Kiraxus knew he had done something wrong, because he merely shrugged without putting up any particular resistance.
He was still displeased, but it was rare for Kiraxus to apologize so obediently, so Laphiren decided to let it go for now.
“So…… are you in Yanterosa right now?”
—Yeah. I can’t seem to find Lord Idaho anywhere.
“That’s understandable, considering he was the captain of the knights. He gave up his position as captain and shut himself away as an act of remorse for failing to protect Lady Ariadne, so he’ll be difficult to find.”
—Mm, right. But I want to go back soon and see my daughter-in-law.
Kiraxus’s eyes curved.
Watching him, Laphiren felt goosebumps rise all over his body and gripped Pompom tightly.
“Don’t do anything crazy!”
—What crazy thing?
“Like blowing up the mountain range! Or making all the snow piled up there evaporate and getting rid of Lord Idaho’s camouflage! Or burning down the trees!”
Every single one of those things was exactly the sort of thing Kiraxus would do.
And right now, Kiraxus definitely has the ‘dead eyes of someone who has nothing fun to do.’
—I suppose I’d have to do something like that to make Lord Idaho come out and kick me in the ass……
“If you do, I’ll tell the Little lady everything.”
—That would be troublesome. You’re competent, and you’re Father’s trusted aide, so I can’t just get rid of you.
Kiraxus’s tone was casual as he ran a hand through his hair, but to Laphiren, he sounded like someone whose patience was just about to run out.
—Should I draw a grand magic circle that summons every single snow leopard living in this mountain range……
“That would be the most peaceful method, at least.”
It would be unfortunate for the snow leopards that had been living peacefully in their habitat, but surely that was still better than having the snow evaporated or the entire Yanterosa Mountain Range burned to the ground.
The name of the beastkin Kiraxus was currently searching for was Salones Rue Idaho.
He was the captain of Driblyane’s knight order, , and…… once, he had been Ariadne’s closest comrade.
***
“I’m sure you heard our conversation. You can come out now, Lord.”
A moment later, Kiraxus casually severed the magic connecting him to Pompom and spoke in a friendly voice.
Grrr.
A low, threatening growl came from somewhere far away, as if telling him to go away. Kiraxus easily recognized it as the cry of someone he knew well.
‘Florin absolutely needs the Idaho family as her backing.’
If the Idaho family, a prestigious and loyal family of the Mage Empire, stepped forward…… no one in this life would dare gossip carelessly about that child’s origins.
Florin had pure-white silver hair, while Salones had silver hair tinged with blue, but in any case, they had their silver hair in common.
The Idaho family would be able to protect Florin in high society.
‘She was more precious to me than anything in the world, yet the world looked down on that child.’
Kiraxus was not foolish. He had no intention of letting the same thing happen twice. If Lord Idaho continued refusing until the very end, he could even forcibly drag him away like a beast and erase his will.
The magic that turned a target into a puppet was convenient. Even now, if he followed his own desires, he wanted to do exactly that, but……
‘No. Florin needs someone who can properly be a mother to her.’
Even if he was this stubborn, once he met the child just once, Lord Idaho would change his mind.
“Salones.”
Suppressing the irritation that suddenly surged within him, Kiraxus deliberately softened his tone.
Judging by the rustling of the dry bushes at the edge of the snow-covered area, Idaho was nearby.
“There’s a child whom the Count needs to protect once more. She’s a child Ari left behind.”
It was a blatant lie.
But did he really need to know the truth?
If he revealed everything, he would have to confess how far into the future he had lived and what he had experienced, and Kiraxus had absolutely no desire to do that.
A future that had disappeared was simply gone. There was no reason to dig it up again. He was changing the present, little by little……
The same future would not come again.
After Florin died from Dice addiction, hundreds, then thousands of Gates suddenly opened. It took only a single week for monsters pouring in from other dimensions to destroy the world.
Every weapon the Tower had developed over the years was used to fight the monsters they had never seen before…… but it was not enough. No matter how many they killed, new Gates opened faster than they could close them.
If it had been a time when the long war with the Holy Empire had made it so that every citizen knew how to handle a gun or a sword, perhaps they might have managed somehow.
But the Gate crisis happened at a time when the long war between the Holy Empire and the Mage Empire had ended, and everyone was longing for peace.
A time when people tilled the earth with rakes instead of holding guns, and carried sacks of fertilizer instead of swords. Right when people all across the world were trying to overcome the scars of war and become happy again……
Kiraxus shook his head slightly, erasing the scenes that only he alone in this world remembered.
It would be all right to forget them. There was no reason for such a thing to happen again.
“The One shall come to you from the lowest place.”
After reciting a passage from scripture, a gigantic snow leopard finally appeared before Kiraxus.
The enormous snow leopard was large enough to block out the sun, and the fierce dominant pheromones it emitted made it seem like the master of this mountain range.
“Let’s go back. Go and see what Ari left behind.”
Salones, who had given his loyalty to Ariadne alone, let out a mournful cry.
From now on, it was time to persuade him.
***
These days, the atmosphere in the Driblyane estate is much better than before.
After Lady Ariadne’s death, the servants had been so cautious that they practically had to be careful even about breathing. But after the tiny Florin entered the family as their daughter-in-law, the air within the family had become a little lighter.
On top of that, rumors that Florin had some sort of mysterious special ability and had even found the gift Lady Ariadne had hidden away had already made five full rounds around the estate.
To be honest, at first, quite a few people had thought, ‘Even so, she’s still an albino……’
But as time passed, such opinions gradually disappeared.
Florin had foreseen surprise attacks no fewer than five times.
Since it was the common way of thinking among people of the Mage Empire that ability naturally came before one’s origins, there were now hardly any people who spoke badly of Florin.
No, it had gone so far that a ‘Florin Appreciation Committee’ had even formed to actively praise her.
And the core members of that committee were none other than the people every servant living in the estate wanted to stay on good terms with so they could get at least one snack from them……
The influential figures of this age of extreme hunger.
The head chef and the cooks.
“Lady Florin is truly something special! She always cleans her plate so nicely!”
“That’s right. It really makes me want to work harder, you know? She even sent us cards yesterday and the day before, saying how much she enjoyed the meals!”
“How many of the esteemed people actually understand our situation? The fact that she knows how much a few kind words mean to us is truly remarkable.”
“I fell for Lady Florin when I saw her scolding Young Master Gerd! I still remember it!”
Gerd, as well as the other heirs who had carelessly thrown away food until now, were singled out and punished by the Great Lady.
Although extravagance was considered an appropriate virtue for a Driblyane heir, she had judged that throwing food into the trash right in front of the people who had prepared it was something they deserved to be scolded for.
It was also meant to comfort the servants who had been hurt by their behavior all this time.
The fact that the Great Lady had taken the servants’ side and punished the heirs meant that the Little lady’s actions had been right.
The fact that the Little lady, despite being unable to take human form, had stood her ground without bowing even slightly before Gerd and firmly scolded him had also been exaggerated and embellished quite a bit.
“Tonight! The banquet is finally here!”
Amid all that, the news of the ‘Welcome Banquet for the Little lady’ being held was a huge issue for all the Driblyane servants.
“I’m finally going to eat until I’m full for once. The Great Lady is so generous that she always tells us to eat all the food left over after the banquet.”
“I’m really looking forward to it!”
“About the Little lady…… She’s such a gracious person. I heard Lord Kiraxus brought her here?”
“That’s right. They say her origins are a secret, but there must be some circumstances that only the nobles know about.”
“Maybe she’s actually the daughter of a very prestigious family, and that’s why it’s a secret? Think about it from a different angle!”
“That might be it. It’s only because Lord Kiraxus hasn’t told us everything. The high-ranking people probably all know the details anyway, so why would they have any reason to tell us?”
“Exactly. Someone with such a wonderful character must surely be the daughter of a noble family.”
There were some misunderstandings mixed in, but since they were favorable ones, there was no reason to correct them.
The estate, which had become lively again after so long, was filled with laughter blooming here and there.
Except for one place.
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