He Likes Me a Lot More Than I Thought!

“Hic….!”

When I gasped in surprise, Shuel also stepped back with his mouth wide open.

He took a few more steps back before I could recover from my shock, his eyes were wide open,  and blinked a couple of times.

Oh, that scared me. I was really surprised.

I took a deep breath before sitting up carefully. 

Thanks to Shuel stepping backwards a while ago, he didn’t make eye contact right on my nose like before. 

Shuel, whose cheeks were tinted red, stood about a meter away from me with his large eyes wide open.

I was at a loss for words as I gazed at those pink-hued eyes that held no speck of hostility. 

Shuel wriggled his fingers, shyly peeking at me. 

tl: HES SO CUTE-

pr: death by cuteness, what a way to die.

As our eyes met, it was only then I remembered what Shuel had said.

…Did he say hello?

To me?

“W-well. Hello…”

“Huh? Ah, yeah!”

Shuel blushed at my awkward greeting and smiled broadly.

While I was still in a daze by that sparkling appearance, Shuel opened his mouth and exclaimed. 

“Oh, thank you for your help yesterday! So you were a good person after all? I only expressed it with my eyes, so how did you know what I was thinking? D-did you hear it? That’s amazing!”

My mind went blank at how fast Shuel was firing his questions at me.

Wow, the tone of your voice is really high pitched. 

I was stunned for a moment, then came back to my senses from Shuel’s smiling face.

Why…why are you so radiant, kid?

Clearly I was embarrassed, because I had thought there would be tantrums and whinings.

do not repost our translations. read only at droppedinks.wordpress.com

No matter how brief the exposure to abuse he had experienced, it was still enough to cause trauma. 

I didn’t expect him to be so bright even after experiencing situations where he was treated like an object.

He was a well loved and bubbly child, but how can he break his guard so quickly?

Was this really the kid I saw back then?

“Shu….?”

“Oh, yes!”

An enthusiastic answer to a soft question. 

I was taken off guard and Shuel laughed. Exposing his two front teeth that were missing.

No wonder his pronunciation was a little off. So it was because of that…

No, no, wait a minute!

“It’s not something you should be happy about.”

I replied abruptly, regretting it in the next second but then bit my lips.

He was just seven years old. A sheltered young master who grew up only receiving love without witnessing any darkness.  

To Shuel, this house seemed to be the home of the kind people who had saved him.

But it could never be. 

My parents will throw away this child at any moment if he bothers them, and the servants here would be more concerned about my safety than the child. 

Fortunately I was on the safer end, but I absolutely had no intentions of using him as a human shield. 

The current seven years old Shuel will need to mature, at least for now. It was cruel but it had to be done.

Until he passes through this terrible household and safely enters his parents’ embrace.

“The other adults didn’t bring you here to save you. I’m helping you now, but that doesn’t mean I can protect you all the time. It’s a secret that you’re here.”

A dark truth was better than a flimsy lie. It is cruel but it was for the best.

He had to know that he couldn’t act childish here. 

“Oh…”

Listening to my words, the smile on Shuel’s face disappeared. As I was about to continue speaking, I paused from the child’s faint sigh. 

Given that I was trying to have a serious talk, my voice was low pitched, and it sounded like I was annoyed.

It was the kind of tone that children would be afraid of.

I frowned slightly at the sight of him opening his mouth from surprise.

A-are you going to cry?

Oh, I hate crying children. I can’t handle them.

For now, as the temporary guardian of this child, my hand reached out to pat him on the shoulder in case he cried, but Shuel’s face was only briefly lowered.

“I see!”

For some reason, he was very energetic.

No, I appreciate you taking this matter seriously but why am I having trouble believing you?

“You are currently in danger.”  

“Yeah! You said it was a secret from the other adults, right? I’ll keep it safe!”

“No, it’s not the same as playing hide-and-seek at home…”

“Oh, right. What’s your name?”

I got frustrated with the innocent change of topic. I had definitely said it was Arwen yesterday. Have you already forgotten?

“…Arwen.”

“Arwen! That’s a pretty name! How old are you? I’m seven years old! Are you the same age as me?”

Age. Well, I’m probably about twenty years older than you.

I almost spilled out my thoughts but fortunately I held it back before I replied. 

“…Nine years old. No, that is not the problem, Shuel.”

“Huck! N-nine years old?!”

I was about to discuss a different topic, but immediately forgot about it and momentarily grieved.

No, was it that surprising that I was nine years old?

“Y-you are older than me…? I thought you were the same age…”

The boy’s bubbly face had turned sullen. 

I was speechless as I witnessed him covering his red face and wriggling his fingertips, acting shy. 

He’ll have to get familiar with me in order to get out of this place.

All of a sudden, Shuel shut his mouth.

At this rate, I don’t think he’d be able to converse a word until I spoke to him first.

Of course if I was leading the conversation, it would be a quick chatter considering I was not that sociable.

…Fine.

I let out a small sigh and spoke to Shuel.

“Actually, I’m seven years old. Me.”

“Really?”

The child’s eyes immediately widened at my words.

I watched with half-opened eyes as those pink orbs sparkled like fireworks.

Perhaps because he was still a child, he believed it without a doubt…

“But why did you say you were nine?”

…No, he didn’t believe me at all.

A cold sweat went down my neck. What was I supposed to answer when you asked me why?

Time continues to flow even as I was painfully agonising on how to answer. Shuel kept staring at me with those bright eyes that screamed ‘why’, so I finally opened my mouth to answer.

“Just.”

“Just?”

“Yup. Just because”

Please let it slide.

Shuel giggled as I turned around and dodged his gaze.

“Were you embarrassed?”

Well, that’s right but not in the way you think it is. You baby.

“It’s okay. If you sleep for another thousand nights, you will become an adult!”

Who the hell gave him such false information.

Like a child, Shuel changed his demeanour quickly. I watched as he babbled out information – it’s my birthday soon, I like pudding, etc – and smiled with unfocused eyes.  

I’m sure he was trying to say something more.

This is why I don’t like children. He was easily distracted, noisy, and couldn’t concentrate on one thing at a time.

They’re cute and lovely, but I don’t think I could handle an annoying child.

It was my fault, so I’ll figure it out somehow, however…

‘Am I able to take a child like this to the capital?’

Naturally, it was inevitable for me to have such doubts.

＊  ＊  ＊

Shuel’s parents rushed to the countryside to reunite with their child but had died from a carriage accident.

And I, who was protecting Shuel Sebrirua, is responsible for delivering this child safely to his parents. 

In order to do that, we need to prevent the deaths of the Duke and Duchess of Sebrirua…

‘Well.’

I would need to stop the carriage from falling off the cliff.

If it was an assassination or an ordinary accident, I could try changing the plot.

It was impossible to prevent accidents caused by natural disasters that may occur anywhere, and it was even more impossible to fill all the cliffs in the Broschte territory.

It was also very risky to send a letter to the Duke and Duchess informing them of Shuel’s whereabouts. 

I couldn’t guarantee that I could send a letter without my parents’ knowledge. If the letter also gets leaked out and the Duke’s enemies get a hold of Shuel’s whereabouts, Shuel could be in even more danger.

In that case, there is only one option. 

‘We have to travel up to the Capital.’

The Duke and Duchess of Sebrirua, who originally resided in the duchy, travelled to the Capital after their son’s abduction.

As news tends to circulate in the Capital, they thought it would be easier to track their son from there.

Shuel got kidnapped when he secretly snuck out while hiding his identity, and the people who kidnapped Shuel were ordinary human traffickers.

do not repost our translations. read only at droppedinks.wordpress.com

They thought they could gain a hefty profit from Shuel’s pretty appearance, but when they heard the news of the disappearance of the young master of Sebrirua, they became frightened and handed Shuel over to an orphanage. 

It would have been better to hand him over to the Duke’s residence if they felt anxious. Then, I wouldn’t be suffering right now.

I took a deep breath due to my sudden burst of anger. First off, that was not the point.

‘When will the Duke and Duchess of Sebrirua die?’

I shut my eyes tightly and tried to remember the event.

First, I remembered that it was raining heavily.

It was written that the ground became muddy because of that, so it was harder for the carriage to travel.

In this country I lived in, the Maynard Kingdom, it was similar to Korea, where the rainy season comes during the summer.

Apart from that, it didn’t rain as often except for a few brief showers.

Since the rainy season has yet to start, the deaths of the Duke and Duchess of Sebrirua may not have occurred yet…

I glanced at the calendar anxiously.

It was almost the end of June. Summer was fast approaching.

‘The rainy season will start in about two weeks…’

The Broschte estate was quite far from the Capital.

It will take about two weeks traveling by horse-drawn carriage, so the possibility that the duke and his wife had already left the Capital cannot be ruled out.

They rushed to find their son and recklessly drove the carriage, so their speed was even faster.

If they had already departed, the story would have already been out of my hands, so I need to know exactly when they would arrive.

I start rummaging through my memories again. I’ve read it several times but it wasn’t enough that I could recall everything in detail.

Let’s see, surely they said something right before their deaths…

“I hope it will be the best birthday present for you, Shuel.”

Right. Birthday!