chapter 13
“Nini! You shouldn’t talk like that!”
Soles scolded her sharply, his face turning pale.
“That’s really rude!”
“But Grandpa says it a lot…”
“When has Grandpa ever said that?”
Nivellia puffed her lips in protest, looking wronged. But this time, Soles didn’t soften his stern expression.
In the end, Nivellia apologized.
“Sorry…”
“It’s okay. It’s our fault for bothering a busy Nini.”
Al smiled and reached out to pat her head, saying it was fine—but Nivellia swiftly dodged his hand with nimble movements.
“Don’t touch Nini’s head.”
Only certain people were allowed to touch Nivellia’s head.
Because patting someone’s head meant, I’m higher than you in rank.
And Nivellia still considered Al and Rubens beneath her.
“She’s really something.”
Even after being rejected, Al just laughed cheerfully.
“So, what were you doing?”
Rubens walked over to the table where the children had been gathered. A large name dictionary lay open.
“It’s a dictionary of names?”
“We were in the middle of choosing a name for him. He doesn’t have one, so we decided to make one.”
“Huh?”
Rubens tilted his head, puzzled, then looked at the boy with confusion.
“But you do have a name. Rima told us.”
“Rima?”
“She’s a girl from the orphanage you were at. My father said he’d sponsor her, so we brought her to our house.”
Rubens explained that she had pink hair.
“She said to pass along her greetings since we were coming to see you today.”
At those words, the boy’s expression twisted subtly.
But only Nivellia—who had turned back to check on him—and Al—who had been watching Nivellia and ended up noticing—caught it.
“If he already has a name, maybe we don’t need to make one.”
Soles sounded a little disappointed.
“Rubens. Rima? What did she say his name was?”
“It was a really cool name. It meant ‘lion,’ but…”
The moment he heard that, the boy remembered what Rima had once told him.
“Hey, your hair looks like a shiny golden lion!”
“Le—! How about it? Cool, right?”
“Actually, it’s a bit longer. Le…”
But before he could fully recall the name she had given him, his thoughts were suddenly cut off.
A small hand tightly holding his.
The boy looked down slightly.
“No!”
Nivellia gripped his hand firmly.
“The wolf is a wolf! Not a lion!”
“……”
“Wolf, you can’t be a lion, okay? Nini will find you a name right away!”
Struggling, Nivellia climbed onto the chair by herself and began flipping through the dictionary.
But since she couldn’t read, there wasn’t much she could do.
“Brother! Brotheeer!”
In the end, she called Soles over, whining for him to read things for her.
“Find a name for the wolf!”
“Alright, calm down. And don’t stand on the chair with your shoes on.”
“Should we help too?”
“Nini, I can read too! I’ll help.”
Before long, all the children were absorbed in finding a new name for the boy.
Meanwhile, the boy himself—the one who would receive the name—could only stand apart and watch.
They were clearly choosing a name for him, yet somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to join them.
They were all noble children, born into privilege.
He was just a skinny orphan who had learned nothing.
A sad thought held his feet in place—he didn’t belong with them.
“Wolf!”
But Nivellia grabbed him.
His feet, which had felt as heavy as iron, lifted easily.
“Hehe, we found one!”
The children, now gathered on the floor instead of around the table, had written down wolf-related names on a piece of paper.
Nivellia pointed to the first one.
“Arep!”
“That’s read as ‘Hirpa.’ Arep is this one.”
Correcting her confidently wrong reading, Soles pointed to another name.
“This one is Arep.”
“Arep…”
The boy tried saying it.
For some reason, it felt right—like a missing puzzle piece falling into place.
“Arep.”
He said it again, more firmly.
“Seems like you like it.”
Al explained the meaning.
“That name belonged to a wolf who fought alongside Grandpa Ardorez in the Krepatna War about 40 years ago.”
Forty years ago—
The world had been plagued by monstrous creatures called demons, a disaster that killed all living things.
The heroes who ended that disaster were Saint Muniel and Holy Knight Ardorez.
Just as Saint Muniel had raised the white cat “Nini,” Ardorez had kept a golden-furred wolf named “Arep” by his side.
“Arep means ‘golden wolf.’ After the Krepatna War, a lot of people started using that name.”
“Now that I think about it, it suits you. Your hair is blond too!”
Rubens grinned.
The boy unconsciously touched his hair.
At the orphanage, the teachers used to yank his hair and sneer, “Wouldn’t it be nice if all that were real gold?”
Because of that, he had never liked his hair color. Even remembering it made his scalp ache.
“Look, Wolf!”
Nivellia grabbed a strand of her silver hair and showed it to him.
“Nini is white, and the wolf is yellow.”
“……”
“They’re all cool colors!”
The boy’s red eyes trembled softly as he looked at Nivellia, who was grinning brightly.
At that same time—
While the children were busy finding the boy’s new name,
Duke Kalarof Daygladis was speaking with Muniel in the reception room.
“Thank you. Thanks to you both, his condition has improved greatly.”
“That’s a relief. When will you return to your territory?”
“Probably not until summer.”
“Then until then, we will also—”
As their conversation continued, Muniel set down her half-finished tea.
“…Ralph.”
Kalarof was a father. With a strong, muscular build befitting a swordsman, he was tall and imposing.
Yet Muniel still treated him like a child.
Kalarof didn’t mind being called by a nickname.
If anything, he was grateful to still have someone he could rely on at his age.
“Did you bring another child from the orphanage, besides the one I asked for?”
But sometimes, when she guessed things he had never mentioned—like a fortune-teller—it sent chills down his spine.
“…How did you know?”
“My dear, no matter how old I get, I am still a saint.”
“Does that child have holy power?”
Muniel was known in imperial history as the strongest—and most fearsome—saint.
To her, sensing whether someone nearby possessed holy power was effortless.
She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, as if uncertain.
“…It’s a bit ambiguous. But there is some power.”
Too greedy to be called holy power, too crude to be called magic.
And too insignificant to even properly call it “power.”
“In truth, I also felt that the child was unusual.”
Kalarof said,
“He blocked my path and demanded that I take him with me, claiming he would be useful. I was quite taken aback.”
“And yet you brought him.”
Muniel sounded slightly surprised.
“That’s quite unlike you.”
“I admit it. Normally, I would never have brought him. I would have simply supported the orphanage.”
“……”
“But his hair…”
Kalarof’s red eyes narrowed.
“It was the same color as that person’s.”
That pink hair.
The same color as someone he could no longer see—someone he missed dearly.
Muniel, who had been listening quietly, asked,
“You didn’t bring the child today? You had him in the carriage yesterday.”
“You knew that as well?”
“I told you not to underestimate a saint.”
“I intended to bring him. But he declined, saying he was fine. It seemed he understood my situation.”
“If you only plan to sponsor him, it’s better to keep some distance.”
It might be cruel to the child, but it was better than letting him misunderstand.
Muniel gave a bitter smile—then suddenly chuckled.
When Kalarof asked why, she waved it off.
“…It just reminded me of a story I read when I was young. It’s quite similar to what you just said.”
She began recounting the story.
“It was a bit childish, but interesting. There was also a young, wealthy duke who adopted a child from an orphanage…”
Mid-sentence, her expression froze.
“…Lady Muniel?”
Sensing something was wrong, Kalarof called out to her.
To him, she was more of a parent than his own.
He had never seen her like this—she always smiled warmly.
Now, she looked as if she had just witnessed the world collapsing.
“Grandmaaa!”
Knock knock!
At that moment, a cheerful voice broke the silence from outside the closed door.
“Nini is here! Nini!”
“Father, we’re here too.”
Rubens’ voice followed.
Only then did Muniel regain herself slightly and give Kalarof a reassuring smile.
“Shall I call a physician?”
“No… just give me a moment alone. Just a moment. I think I need to sort out my thoughts.”
“Understood.”
“Please keep the children occupied for a bit. I’ll come out soon.”
Kalarof nodded and opened the door.
“Grandm—!”
Nivellia, who had been shouting excitedly, immediately clamped her mouth shut the moment she saw the large, unfamiliar man before her.
“……”
Then, tightly holding the boy’s hand, she hid behind Soles.
