SRNVW 03

Chapter 3 ….

Did I hear that wrong?

“Then what’s this?”

But the topic of conversation right now was the toy, and there were too many complications to question her about that immediately.

I had only just managed to calm her down by changing the subject to toys.

Still… Artea ran away from home. She might’ve exaggerated because she’s a child… but I want to check anything even slightly suspicious.

Just moments ago, when I pressed her about whether she had come here alone, she burst into tears.

Even now, I could hear the faint unevenness in her breathing.

Don’t rush. Ask slowly so you don’t scare her. Now isn’t the time!

If she started crying again, she might truly shut her heart to me.

I knew absolutely nothing about dealing with children, but I had at least learned something from what just happened.

I wasn’t planning to send her straight back to the ducal house anyway.

Until I grasped the situation to some degree, I had no intention of contacting them.

What if she was being abused? What if she was being neglected? My mind was already tangled with worries.

Suppressing the urge to press her about what she meant, I forced a bright smile.

Let’s make it clearer that I don’t dislike her.

“This is a magic wand that makes soap bubbles.”

“Soap bubbles?”

“Mm-hmm. If you press this… ta-da.”

Pyororong.

From the tip of the wand, a soap bubble shimmered into existence, glowing brilliantly like a rainbow.

“Huh?”

The moment a mesmerized light began to fill Artea’s damp eyes, I pressed the button firmly.

Dozens of bubbles shot out at once.

Glittering spheres filled with radiance surrounded her completely.

It was a world of light.

“Wooooow!”

She gasped in wonder, stretching out her hands eagerly to touch them, a lively smile spreading across her face.

The sparkling bubbles vanished the instant they met her fingers, but I immediately created more.

“More! Do more!”

Chasing the drifting bubbles, Artea ran down the hallway with quick little steps.

As if she’d never cried at all, her footsteps were as light as the bubbles floating in the air.

“Well then, shall we try an even bigger bubble party?”

“Yes! Yes!”

The place I led Artea to was the bathroom.

To be honest, when I first met her I was too flustered to notice… but Artea was terribly grubby.

As if she had rolled across the ground collecting every speck of dust. Dust clung to her clothes, and thick mud was caked onto her black shoes.

“What did you call this again?”

“Soap bubbles.”

“Ah-ha! Soap bubbles, soap bubbles… This is amazing! It’s fun! Do more!”

Good. The quick-witted servants had already filled the tub with water.

When I dissolved the softly colored bath bomb into the tub, Artea’s eyes lit up with awe once again.

“It feels like I came to a rainbow world! It’s so pretty and cute and cool! Auntie, you’re the most amazing in the whole world!”

Beaming with excitement and joy, she looked up at me, eyes sparkling.

All the preparation was worth it. Before I knew it, my own expression had softened, and I let out a quiet laugh.

“Auntie, are you a magician?”

A magician? Well, I am—from the Magic Tower, after all. Though technically soap bubbles aren’t exactly magic.

“It’s magic just for Artea.”

She grinned as though she had gained the entire world, stretching out both arms.

“Do you like the soap bubbles?”

“Yes! So, so, so much!”

“You can make bubbles too. Here, if you press this—”

“Kyahhhh!”

Excited, Artea let out a high-pitched squeal like a dolphin.

“I’ve never been this happy in my life!”

I nearly burst out laughing and quickly turned my head away.

She’s only lived six years—what does she mean, ‘in my life’?

A tiny child barely half an adult’s height talking about her “life” was ridiculous and trivial.

And yet… that ridiculous triviality didn’t feel bad at all.

In the air filled with drifting foam, Artea looked genuinely happy, so I decided not to comment on it.

I liked soap bubbles when I was little too. I’m glad Artea likes them just as much.

I hadn’t expected that making a bubble wand would help so much with bathing her.

Thanks to it, getting her into the bathroom had been easy.

But that wasn’t the end.

I had to undress her—and more importantly, properly wash her and deal with whatever sticky mess was tangled in her hair.

“I’m a magician now too!”

Thankfully, the wand was just the right size for Artea’s hands.

While she busily made bubbles in delight, I called in the head maid and another maid—both experienced in raising children.

“Now then, come here.”

“No!”

Artea, who had been completely absorbed in the bubbles until now, suddenly lifted her chin sharply.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Lady Artea, but your hair is very dirty—”

“I’m not saying I won’t wash!”

She declared firmly, lips shaped like a tiny chick’s beak.

“I want to wash with Auntie!”

“I’m not very good at washing children…”

“That’s okay. If it’s not Auntie, I don’t want to. Auntie.”

I had never bathed a child in my life.

And Artea was especially grimy today…

I wasn’t confident, but even as she played with the wand, I noticed something—

The cat doll clutched tightly in her hand.

Even amidst all the excitement, she had never once let it go.

“Alright. It might be a little uncomfortable, but let’s both do our best.”

“Mm!”

The maid looked worried, but I nodded firmly.

The fleeting anxiety that had crossed Artea’s bubble-flushed face earlier still bothered me.

I hate washing myself—it’s such a hassle.

“Hehe!”

Splash!

Each time she kicked the water, foam flew into the air, and she burst into laughter.

“What’s this that goes ‘bogol bogol’?”

“It’s called bath powder. When it touches water, it melts and makes bubbles.”

Thankfully, she loved the bubbles.

Even though I washed her slowly and clumsily, she didn’t fuss or complain.

If she were any younger, I never could’ve done this.

I gently stroked her hair.

If things had still been tense like before, she wouldn’t have allowed me to touch her head.

But now, even as I carefully worked through her tangled hair, she simply smiled brightly.

She must feel more at ease now.

She had suddenly appeared, thrown everyone into chaos, and talked nonsense about me raising her.

But no matter what—Artea was just a child.

“…Mmm.”

“Artea?”

We had just finished bathing, but once we left the bathroom, her movements and speech were slower than before.

She didn’t seem upset, but…

I had tried my best, yet I was still worried.

“Children often become sensitive, sulky, or quiet when they’re sleepy,” the head maid explained softly.

“So she’s not sick.”

Fortunately, her words eased my concern.

I approached Artea, exhausted from doing something so unfamiliar.

“Artea, aren’t you sleepy?”

“Mmm. I’m okay.”

Okay? You can barely keep your eyes open.

“Auntie, I want to stay with you.”

There was a faint note of clinginess in her tone.

Was she still uncomfortable around everyone except me?

It’s admirable how she stubbornly grips my sleeve with such a tiny hand…

I gently wrapped my hand around hers first.

My back hurt from bending down to her height, but that was nothing.

“I was just about to take a nap too.”

She must be tired.

Even if she boldly declared she’d run away, she must’ve been tense the entire way here.

For now, she needs proper rest.

Since it was still daytime, I drew the curtains closed and lay down beside her.

The afternoon sun was warm, but too bright for a child’s nap.

Wrapped snugly in soft blankets, Artea lay with her tiny mouth slightly open.

“Auntie.”

Her violet eyes opened and closed slowly.

They were filled entirely with me.

“Thank you for making soap bubbles… and the magic wand. And the foam… and for washing me…”

She must be sleepy—why doesn’t she just sleep? Does she need me beside her?

As I carefully lay down next to her, she continued.

“And, and…”

But her next words didn’t come right away.

Thinking she had finally drifted off, I gently stroked her hair.

But she just needed a little more time.

Burying her face into the pillow, she murmured softly,

“Thank you for saying you like me…”

It was so quiet I almost missed it.

“……”

I felt I should say something, but my lips parted without sound.

Yet the tips of her ears were flushed red, and her tiny restless fingers gave me courage.

“Yes. Auntie was happy that you came to see me too.”

I stayed by her side until her breathing became slow and steady.

Thankfully, my niece fell into a deep sleep before long.

Naturally—coming all the way from the ducal estate would exhaust anyone.

Erios Killiet.

Though I lay beside her, I didn’t take a nap as I had said.

I was tired too, after everything that had happened.

But looking at her sleeping face—like an angel—my anger gradually rose.

That bastard. He said he’d raise Artea well, and this is what happens? She runs away from home?

I needed to find out what was happening at the Killiet ducal estate.

1. What had happened at the Killiet estate

2. Whether they knew Artea was missing

3. The current atmosphere there

4. Artea’s reputation

5. Information about Duke Killiet

I swiftly wrote the list on a memo pad.

Then I quietly formed a bird from magic and sent the note flying outside.

First, gather basic information. Then, more detailed reports.

“Artea disappeared?”

At that very moment, out on a monster subjugation battlefield, Erios received the thunderous news.