SRNVW 06

“I want to live with both Auntie and Uncle!”

Not Auntie or Uncle.

Both—what a completely unexpected choice!

“That’s not….”
“Why can’t all three of us live together? Waaahhh. I like both of you. Hic….”

The tears welling in her big eyes came spilling down.

Her sorrowful crying didn’t stop for a long time.

After crying and crying like that, Artea eventually fell asleep as if she had passed out.

She was a literal bombshell.

“…….”
“…….”

I had thought about either coldly responding to Erios when he came to find me and said he couldn’t let the child stay, or trying to persuade him.

But I never expected Artea to pull something like this.

Without realizing it, I blankly turned to look at Erios.

Then my eyes met his, as he had already been looking at me.

‘What do you think Artea is thinking?’

Thankfully, I didn’t actually say that out loud.

You need to think for yourself and come to your own conclusion, Bellona Sortis. Why on earth did you look at Erios just now?

I sharply turned my head away.

Acting as though I were relying on Erios—the man I thought I’d never see again—was unbelievably frustrating.

‘More importantly… what am I supposed to do now?’

I feel more troubled than when I couldn’t see the back page of the Magic Tower exam. Damn it.

For now, Erios and I laid Artea down on the bed for a while.

Watching the child go back and forth, changing her choice, crying because she didn’t want to part with either her aunt or her uncle—it was enough to drain the soul from me.

“…….”
“…….”

With the bed between us, both Erios and I plopped down.

I repeatedly brushed my hair back from my face. I felt like I’d aged ten years.

“Artea must be confused too.”

Erios’s low voice rang out from beside me.

The room had grown quiet after everyone else had been dismissed, which only made me focus more on his voice.

“There’s one thing I really want to say isn’t true. That I… didn’t care about Artea. That’s really not it.”
“…Okay.”

Thinking about it, the way this jerk looked at Artea and spoke to her didn’t seem like an act.

He had always been shameless, and maybe his acting skills had improved since I last saw him.

But Erios wasn’t that amazing.

No, actually—it was because he was amazing that I couldn’t suspect him.

Look at how many things this guy is already good at. If he had that kind of talent too, it would honestly make no sense.

“Then why did Artea say she wanted to live with Auntie? She definitely made it sound like it was her own choice when she came to me. She said it was running away from home.”
“I only heard that the child suddenly disappeared and that she was here.”
“So you really have no idea?”
“I’m only saying I won’t speak carelessly.”

Erios looked like he was choosing his words carefully, but in the end, he let out a long sigh.

“I really don’t know. The last time I saw her before leaving for the subjugation, she did say she didn’t want to be apart from me. But otherwise… she seemed about the same.”

We talked back and forth, trying to figure out the cause, but neither of us knew.

I had only properly known Artea for a few days at most, and if Erios knew the reason, then she probably wouldn’t have run away in the first place.

“Are you sure she used the word ‘run away’ correctly?”
“Do you really think I’d lie in a situation like this?”

In the end, all we could do was guess.

“Maybe Artea got excited reading a fairy tale about running away from home. Maybe she thought running away sounded cool. Maybe she simply interpreted it as going on a picnic away from home.”
“You really interpret things however you want.”
“If I wanted to think worse, I’d say you kidnapped Artea and filled her head with bad things about me.”
“Oh, really? Go ahead, say one more word.”
“I didn’t say that’s what I thought.”

No matter how famous I was as a magical tool artisan, the truth was that I was still lacking if I were to stand against the Killiet Ducal House.

If he really wanted to play dirty, there were countless ways he could have.

But Erios hadn’t tried to corner me either.

‘At the end of the day, it’s because I’m Artea’s aunt.’

Just like I didn’t want to conclude that Erios found Artea bothersome and wanted to get rid of her.

Regardless of the things I disliked about him, in matters like this, he at least had common sense.

“After my brother and sister-in-law passed away, Artea has been anxious the entire time.”

I recalled that from the information I had gathered in my own way, I had already come to the conclusion that Artea was deeply unstable.

And I could confirm with my own eyes that it was true.

“A-Auntie!”
“Uncle!”
“Where are you?”

Artea had cried so hard I was worried she’d get dehydrated.

But even though she seemed deeply asleep, she couldn’t stay asleep for long and woke up again.

And every time, she kept looking for both of us.

Her expression would crumple like she was about to cry again….

In the end, Erios and I stayed side by side next to Artea.

“Auntie’s right here.”
“Uncle will stay by Artea’s side too.”

One hand holding me, one hand holding Erios.

With her tiny, insignificant little hands, Artea clung tightly to both of us.

As though she believed that was the only way we wouldn’t disappear while she slept.

Even then, she couldn’t fully relax—only after we reassured her over and over that we would both stay did she finally fall asleep again.

“Ugh….”

Erios, who had been gently patting Artea’s stomach as she whimpered from what seemed like a nightmare, spoke.

“Sorry, but I think I need to stay here for a while.”

No matter how much it was for his niece, staying at his ex-girlfriend’s house?

But I couldn’t object. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen Artea’s condition.

“The Knight of Dawn looks absolutely miserable. Maybe you should’ve stayed by her side earlier?”
“I had no choice because of the subjugation. I could only come now because it’s in the final stages.”

My brother-in-law had died to monsters in battle after going in place of an injured Erios.

Of course, exterminating monsters was necessary to keep Artea—and humanity—safe.

But wasn’t Erios’s obsession with the subjugation, and with raising Artea, really just him struggling to fill his brother’s empty place?

“Maybe you should’ve come looking for Artea sooner yourself.”

The night grew deeper.

I even ordered the servants waiting outside the room to leave.

Artea was asleep, and only the two of us remained.

“No matter if I’m Artea’s aunt, showing up at my ex-boyfriend’s home is still unpleasant to look at.”

Maybe that was why I finally found the courage to be a little honest.

“What if the woman who becomes the duchess hates Artea because of that? Calling in your ex-girlfriend for no reason. Even if she has her own children, she’d probably already be wary, thinking Artea would always come first.”
“I won’t marry anyone who opposes Artea.”
“Yeah, I know. But people’s hearts change. Maybe the future duchess would adore Artea at first, but once she has her own child, who knows?”

What I really thought was, Not just the duchess—even your heart might change too.

But I didn’t bother saying that out loud.

‘When I dated you, I thought it would last forever too.’

Well, I wasn’t trying to criticize Erios or some duchess who didn’t even exist yet.

People change.

‘When people asked if it wouldn’t be awkward if we broke up, or said becoming double in-laws was a bit much, I used to think that if we were getting married anyway, wouldn’t it be better for our families to be even closer?’

Erios looked deep in thought.

Worried it might sound like I was blaming everything on him, I added jokingly,

“Well, that’s not the only reason. I have to get married too someday, you know? Even if it’s because of my niece, who’d like their fiancée visiting her ex-boyfriend’s house?”

Not that I actually had any intention of getting married.

“I see. Then I suppose me being in your house right now isn’t exactly ideal either.”
“It can’t be helped.”
“Then I’ll leave as soon as morning comes.”

Would it really be okay to let Erios go like this?

Artea hated being apart from her uncle this much.

But sending Artea right back to Erios didn’t feel right either.

‘I understand the problem, but I have no idea what the solution is.’

Still, Erios said he understood why I couldn’t send Artea back with him.

“For now, I think it’s right for Artea to stay with you. Like you said, we don’t know what happened at the ducal estate. And Artea seems anxious without you.”

I didn’t expect such a stubborn bastard to accept it so easily.

Still… it was honestly a relief that he said it first.

“Yeah. I understand now that your feelings for Artea aren’t shallow.”

I thought his pride alone would keep him from giving her up.

But unexpectedly… he really did cherish Artea.

“When you have time, come see Artea again.”
“Yeah. Thank you.”

Calm. Mature.

That was the Erios Killiet everyone knew—the Knight of Dawn.

But I knew… a slightly different side of him.

‘He keeps pretending he’s the only adult here. How annoying.’

There was no benefit to having an ex-lover under the same roof, so get lost. Leave Artea behind and disappear.

Sure, I had said that.

But for some reason, part of me disliked how obediently Erios accepted my harsh words.

‘Since when were you this nice?’

Was he hiding behind that mask of the Knight of Dawn, swallowing all his own pain?

‘…Well, it’s been years since we broke up. Not my problem.’

But even though I knew Erios well, I also felt like maybe… I didn’t know him at all.

There was no way that bastard would act this meek and nice.

And I learned exactly how quickly Erios intended to keep what was basically just a polite statement—“Come see Artea again”—the very next day.

“Miss! Duke Killiet has moved in next door!”
“…What?”

Still in my pajamas, I rushed out to the terrace.

“Hello.”

And over in the neighboring garden, I saw Erios Killiet enjoying tea time.

…Is he insane?