Louis swallowed hard.
Him breaking his promise with his brother Emperor to use the pendant was not the only thing that made his heart tremble, the atmosphere inside the palace was also strange.
'Where did he go?'
He couldn't be quiet like this.
Louis cautiously crept into a small space next to a column in the office, covering his mouth with both hands.
Suddenly, he heard the door open with a creaking sound.
'Who entered?'
Is he my brother, His Majesty?
If not, another battle would break out between the wizards and the Awakened because of him.
While he was very afraid, he covered his mouth with his small hands until his cheeks turned red from holding his breath.
"Get out."
It was the voice of his brother, the Emperor!
Louis sighed in relief and nodded.
There was his handsome brother, looking more tired than usual.
“Louis, why are you here?”
They were words of reprimand, but at that moment, the feeling of relief was stronger, so the boy ran and ran to cling to his brother's leg.
A tear rolled from his eyes.
When he heard his teacher crying, the shock the boy felt was great.
When he saw his brother, the only family he had left, his feelings were relieved.
While he was crying, soiling his luxury pants with tears and snot, he heard a sigh from the top of his head.
Then he felt his body rising.
His brother had put his hands under his armpits and held him up high.
“Louis.”
Casey's head hurt.
He couldn't miss his little brother's feeling.
When he opened the office door, he immediately knew that Louis was there.
He motioned to the knights who were waiting to report to move away.
Then he closed the door and approached, only to find this troublemaker running towards him with tears and snot.
'What should I do with this little one?'
After having to endure the appearance of his childhood mental attack gate, he sighed as he looked at his little brother who looked even more pitiful.
Did he use the emergency method that I had instructed him to use only in urgent cases because he felt sad after being harshly expelled?
He couldn't kick him out harshly now, so he picked him up and sat him on his knees, so the boy could cling to him and cry fervently.
The warmth of his body.
His little heartbeat.
“Louis.”
Except for the sound of sobbing, his little brother couldn't speak.
A small and precious being.
He was a cruel man, but his brother's quiet tears were painful.
“I won't scold you.
But if you use it in non-emergency situations, you may not be able to use it later.”
Louis shook his head several times, as if to say that he would not do it again.
Casey decided to stop there.
Instead, he pulled his brother out of his embrace and wiped his reddened cheeks with his hand.
They were wet.
This baby didn't cry so easily.
Did he come here because he had something to say?
Louis quickly wiped away his tears as he stroked his cheeks.
Then he took out a writing instrument from his pocket and began writing.
─ My teacher is sick.
“Duchess?”
Casey frowned heavily.
Thinking of the witches who were screaming like ferocious beasts today, it seemed like it was not a fake illness.
But on the other hand, it didn't seem like that cold Duchess would really break down.
Under the current suspicious circumstances, he was probably secretly hoping for the second possibility.
'But she's really sick.'
When he saw his silence, Louis grabbed his little dress and shook it hastily, as if asking him to read his writing.
─ I have bled a lot.
My brother, the Emperor, made her suffer.
“I didn't mean it.”
These words were also annoying.
He remembered the Duchess who stood still while receiving his attack.
Even though she spoke cold and annoying words, ignoring Louis's life, why didn't she avoid the attack?
And the most annoying.
'Her injury is because of my strength…'
He felt his heart beating alarmingly at the thought of that woman being injured.
What does it matter if she gets hurt?
In that hostile atmosphere, what more should he have done?
─ She was sad.
Casey stared at a sentence that seemed to have been written and erased by Louis, then ruffled his little brother's hair.
“Lying is not good.”
─ That's real!
Don't get angry.
Don't quarrel.
Casey felt that his little brother, who seemed to be trying to please both parties, was more pitiful.
"Your teacher and I are not on good terms at all, so don't care about everything.
Always covering up your teacher's mistakes is not a good thing.
That woman did not try to save you."
Because a moment of inattention like this could have claimed the life of a child who could not protect himf.
When he remembered that moment, he felt angry again, but a small hand wrote a sentence very quickly.
─ My teacher tried to save me.
What is this now?
─ She extended her hand to me.
But I couldn't speak!
He said she tried to save him.
But that doesn't make sense.
Isn't the Duchess a great witch who can cast spells in an instant if she wants?
Although she is a fire mage and lacks the accuracy of non-offensive spells, if she had wanted to, she could have saved him easily.
Whether with an offensive spell or using a teleportation spell that disappears in an instant.
─ My teacher is nice.
Affectionate.
The other wizards treat me well too.
He frowned but did not stop the child's writing.
Instead, he carefully observed his brother's diary that he wanted to share with him.
─ There is a lot of delicious food.
I couldn't eat oysters well, so my teacher shucked them and fed me.
That woman.
In Luis's sparkling eyes, there was a deep affection for his teacher that he had never seen before.
Something that makes a person weak.
Passion, accumulated warmth, heart.
These things.
'Is she manipulating a little boy?'
Or are his suspicions correct, and there is something strange about Duchess Ariel?
Is she really giving her heart to her student?
But Louis was clearly in good shape.
He had already heard reports that his treatment had improved, his clothes were clean and his expression was normal.
'He doesn't seem afraid, but interested.'
So, was this really a misunderstanding?
Did you really try to save him?
But why did she talk like that and not try to justify herf?
─ My brother.
He could not scold the child who wrote this title as before, nor could he tell him to be careful and not fall into these delusions.
He remembered again the fragments of his shattered consciousness.
Someone saved him.
Wavy red hair.
And that face.
The face of someone who cannot be there.
And the person who can confirm his suspicions is right in front of him.
Little children don't lie, and especially his little brother wouldn't deceive him, he believed.
“Louis.”
Towards the child who looked at him with sparkling expectation, he asked:
“Last night, was your teacher in the palace?”
Louis' heart trembled.
What does his brother, His Majesty the Emperor, know and why is he asking?
Why is this important?
He remembered how Lucy the cat repeatedly urged him to come back.
And the sound of crying he heard when he returned after hesitation.
'This.'
I don't have to say.
Louis was quick-witted.
He didn't know why this was important, but he felt that telling the truth now would lead to something that couldn't be undone.
A long time ago.
'My beautiful son.
You should be the only one who knows.'
Just as his beautiful mother whispered to the very little prince, holding his hand as she told scary stories.
I'm sorry, my brother, Your Majesty the Emperor.
He couldn't quite lie.
His heart was beating strongly.
─ I don't know.
I was asleep.
His brother Emperor's eyes looking at him calmly were more frightening today than ever before.
How much time has passed?
"Good."
His body was suddenly lifted and then placed on the ground.
Louis looked at him with a pleading look as he unintentionally got down from his brother, His Majesty's knees.
Will the two get along now?
Did I do the right thing?
“I see what you mean.”
The feeling of his hand gently running through his hair was good.
Just like his teacher's hand.
“I will secretly send you to the Duchess’s palace via the knights.
Do not use it again unless it is an emergency.”
Louis nodded sadly.
Even if he scolded him, how wonderful it would have been if he could say that he was happy to see his brother, His Majesty the Emperor.
Today too, his desire to speak was filling his little chest.