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Chapter 88
Karha, making a vow to Chesa, appeared delighted.
He laughed as he caught the fragrance of freesias.
"Where did you get these flowers?"
"I picked them."
"Is that so?"
Karha, who had been playing with Chesa using the freesias, let out a tremendous yawn.
"Ah... I'm so exhausted."
Wrapped in ‌‌‌‌‌bandages, he collapsed onto the bed with a soft thud.
Then he rolled his body to the side and faced Chesa.
Karha chuckled and ‌‌‌‌patted the space beside him with his palm.
"Come here, little ‌‌‌one. Let's sleep together with your brother."
Chesa's eyes widened in surprise.
It was the first time Karha had said such a thing.
Noticing ‌‌‌her shock, Karha mumbled somewhat sheepishly.
"Kieran and Belzeon sleep holding the little one ‌‌‌‌whenever they have the chance."
So he was curious too.
Kieran had always frequented ‌‌Chesa's bedroom without restraint.
And since the runaway incident, Belzeon had often slept beside Chesa as well.
Thus, Chesa rarely ‌‌‌slept alone these days.
"I'd like that."
There was no reason she couldn't fall asleep with Karha in such circumstances.
And Karha had endured a difficult ordeal today.
In truth, I didn't want to leave him alone. ‌‌
Chesa ‌‌lay facing Karha.
Karha drew her ‌‌into his embrace.
The scent of medicinal herbs and salve clung to him, and Chesa found herself pitying him even more.
Karha buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply.
"You're warm, soft, and you always... smell like flowers."
That's why I love it, Karha murmured slowly.
His voice was already half-drowsy.
Despite his heavy eyes, Karha continued to whisper.
As though he couldn't bear it if he ‌‌‌didn't speak now.
He whispered as though he would suffocate if he didn't pour ‌‌out this welling affection.
"How did a little ‌one like you come ‌‌‌‌to House of Basilian? When I first heard Kieran say he was bringing home a sister, I wasn't interested at all."
Small, fragile things feared House of Basilian.
I thought that no matter what child was brought here, they would never suit the name Basilian.
"But you... I liked you from the moment I first saw you. Do you remember, little one? You were watching us from the window."
Chesa remembered too. ‌
The moment when the three brothers of House of Basilian had returned and met her for the first time.
In that moment, Chesa felt as though an arrow had pierced her heart.
It was a peculiar sensation.
"Mother mentioned it. She said there was a fourth child in her womb. If the baby had been ‌‌‌‌born, ‌‌‌I think they would have resembled ‌‌‌you."
Realizing what he had said, Karha quickly added more.
"I just mean... right now the baby is our..."
A faint smile spread across his face. ‌‌
"...family."
His eyes slowly ‌‌‌closed.
He stirred as though trying to lift his eyelids, but they remained heavy as stone, immovable.
Karha murmured with his eyes still shut.
"That's right, little one..."
With that final whisper, Karha ‌‌‌‌surrendered completely to sleep.
The sound of his breathing—steady and rhythmic—filled the silence.
Chesa gazed quietly at the sleeping boy.
Family.
The ‌‌‌‌word clung to her ears with unusual persistence, refusing to fade.
Chesa found herself silently repeating the brief word over and over.
It was a meaningless act.
Yet knowing it was foolish, she savored it anyway, turning the word ‌‌over in her mouth, tasting the sweetness that emerged from chewing it thoroughly.
Then, following Karha into ‌‌‌‌slumber, she drifted into sleep.
It ‌‌was a restful, pleasant ‌‌sleep.

***
Crack!
A massive hand swept across my cheek without hesitation.
My head snapped to the side from the force of the blow, and my body staggered backward several steps.
Yet I quickly steadied myself.
I approached the ‌‌Marquis again and bowed my head.
"What exactly do ‌‌‌‌you know ‌how to ‌‌do!"
Marquis Nemea bellowed with thunderous fury.
His voice seethed with barely contained rage.
"You couldn't even manage one task as Security Force Commander...!"
A great commotion had erupted in the Capital.
Prince Skaya had ‌‌quarreled with House of Basilian, and ‌‌was arrested as a heretic by the Holy Knight Order.
It was not an incident a mere Security Force Commander could have prevented.
Yet Marquis Nemea blamed it entirely on me.
He raged that I should have mediated the situation somehow in my capacity as Security Force Commander.
"My sincerest apologies, Marquis."
I could not ‌‌‌even meet my father's eyes, repeating only the same words. ‌‌‌
There were no other words permitted to me.
Only after striking my cheek several more times did the Marquis's anger subside.
He clicked his tongue in displeasure and settled onto the sofa.
"Abandon your post as Security Force Commander for now. Go accompany House of Basilian's Pure Child Prayer Ceremony as an escort."
"...!"
"While you're there, build connections with those Basilian dogs and report back to me regularly."
I bit my lip.
I took ‌‌‌considerable pride in my work as Security Force Commander.
I had only just begun to grow close with my subordinates....
To abandon my duties and become an escort for House of Basilian.
It was called an escort, but in truth, it meant surveillance, did it not.
I wanted to refuse.
Yet I could not fathom ‌‌‌‌how to speak in a way that would make my father even slightly less angry.
Marquis Nemea, seated on the sofa, had eyes blazing with intensity.
"How that serpent managed to manipulate both the Emperor and the Duchess, I cannot fathom. Nothing I say seems to reach them!"
He had mentioned several times that Count Basilian seemed suspicious, that even the Holy Empire appeared to be watching him.
Yet those who ‌‌‌‌were ordinarily sharp-minded became fools when it came to matters concerning Basilian.
Both ‌‌the Emperor and Duchess Ibroyel sided with Basilian without exception.
For Marquis Nemea, it was maddening.
"I myself must keep watch ‌‌‌on that man."
Watching the Marquis's fury, I gave up trying to speak.
Nothing I said would matter.
As always, I simply obeyed quietly.
"I shall prepare at once."
"Let me see."
"Yes."
As Theo turned to leave, a disapproving click of the tongue followed in his wake.
Theo pretended not to hear and quietly exited the room.
Walking slowly down the corridor, I noticed someone waiting across from me.
"...Theo."
A woman with short, dark brown hair and a muscular frame as sturdy as Theo's own. ‌‌
She was Sionel Nemea, the heir and eldest daughter of the Nemea Marquis Family.
Unlike Theo, who occupied an ambiguous position, Sionel had solidified her standing, earning titles such as the lioness of Nemea and junior marquess.
She had already secured her place in the Capital's political circles after receiving the position of commander of the Royal Knight Order.
Watching such a magnificent person, far beyond comparison ‌to myself, Theo smiled faintly.
"Sister."
Sionel noticed Theo's puffy cheeks.
Theo quickly covered his cheeks with his hand.
"I apologize—Father was angry because I was inexperienced in my duties as Security Force commander."
"...I see."
At Theo's ‌‌‌words defending their father, Sionel said ‌‌‌‌‌nothing.
She simply led Theo to her room and applied an ice pack to his face.
"Are you going to escort the Basilian Count Estate?"
"Yes. Still, everyone there seems kind, so I think the escort work will be enjoyable. I'm just worried I ‌‌might be a burden to them."
Theo rubbed the ice pack against his cheek with a soft crunching sound as he murmured.
"I have... a foolish side, after all."
"I've ‌‌‌told you this repeatedly, Theo."
Sionel scolded him with a piercing gaze.
"You're ‌‌‌‌not ‌‌‌foolish—you're kind."
"...."
"And your kindness is something incomparable to anything else, the most ‌‌‌‌precious and valuable thing of all."
But no one sees it that way.
Theo swallowed the words rising from within.
Everyone loved those who sparkled brilliantly.
Just as Father said, someone foolish like me ‌‌‌‌was merely easy prey to exploit.
"You're ‌‌‌‌worried. About Basilian, of all people...."
Sionel sighed, watching Theo with his bear-like stubbornness.
"The Count is simply far too silver-tongued."
She had phrased it elegantly, but it was an insult toward the Count.
She was concerned that Theo would be manipulated by the Count's serpent's tongue.
There was also the matter of their brief visit to the Eastern Region in the past.
Theo understood well what she was worried about.
But this time seemed like it might be different.
Theo opened his mouth, recalling the boy and the ‌‌‌‌infant he had met.
"By the way, Sister. It's about the Youngest Daughter that Count Basilian recently brought into the household."

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team ‌and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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