Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

Even holding two people at once, he looked fine.

He was friendly, overcoming my slight nervousness.

“Eve.”

Aedis bowed his head and pressed his forehead to mine.

“I am so sorry that I am late. Did you wait long?”

The voice was sweet with a lot of warmth.

He stared at me with deep-sea blue eyes. Even just meeting his gaze, my heart was pounding.

“Why…… why do you look at me like that?”

“Nothing.”

“…….”

“I wonder how it would feel if the wife cried because of me.”

“…… what?”

After making the weird remark, he smiled beautifully with his long eyebrows.

“Of course I won’t, though.”

Are you kidding me?

After a moment’s silence, Aedis calmly turned his head.

“Regen, there’s something you want to say.”

“Ah yes! Please let me down!”

Regen had already stopped crying. I don’t know if I was the only one who remembered him as a crybaby.

Regen slid down from Aedis’ arms and opened his mouth, moving his hand.

“Well, Your Grace.”

“…… yes.”

I nodded slightly, and Aedis sat me down.

No, it’s not that much different from sitting on his lap like before.

“Your Grace is someone not deserving of me”

With Regen’s words, I furrowed my eyebrows and tried to respond.

“That’s not…….”

Regen quickly added, as if he had more to say.

“So, I mean.”

“…….”

“Uh, uh, uh…….”

I knew what Regen was trying to say. However, it was not easy as he had never spoken out before. Regen was red to his ears.

I didn’t want Regen to cry again, so I asked first.

“Can I call you by your first name?”

He stared at me with red eyes twinkling like stars and soft like pudding. Regen then nodded his head.

“…… Regen.”

I finally called him!

Regen looked at me laughing after crying, and I laughed along with him. He even hugged me with his small hands.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I will never make you cry because of me again.”

“…….”

“I will make you happy.”

I replied a little sullenly.

“It’s okay for me to cry a hundred more times from now on, so don’t feel burdened like that.”

He can just run around like he used to.

As soon as I called his name, I got greedy, so I gently stroked Regen’s hair. Regen had been quiet but soon rubbed his cheek on my lap.

“I’d love to.”

It was a whisper, but I could hear it clearly both in my ears and in Aedis’ ears.

* * *

I was going to stay by Regen’s side until evening, but at Sarah’s suggestion, I reluctantly went to check on my disciple’s well-being.

Eleonora was staying in an art gallery that Shaula and I had destroyed.

It was said that he asked for only the meat the wolf would eat but had no other requirements.

Even Sarah didn’t know how to treat Eleonora.

It was a place where employees didn’t often come in and out, so the wolf, who had been hanging around without being vigilant, sniffed me and ran to me.

“Hi. How have you been?”

As soon as the wolf saw me, it lay flat and showed me its belly. It seemed to be turning into a dog. But it was cute though, so it’s okay.

As soon as he saw me, Eleonora took off his bandages and opened his mouth with a sullen face.

“Master.”

“Why are you here?”

“I don’t want to have contact with humans. Master, is it worth living?”

What. Is it worth living? Are you arguing?

Eleonora looked at my pale face and explained.

“I’m not arguing.”

“Then?”

Eleonora avoided my gaze.

“…… Master. It feels a little different.”

“Well, it could be between us, right? We haven’t met in a while.”

“No. Not that.”

“What.”

Eleonora’s lips twitched several times, before he finally sighed.

“It’s just nice to see.”

“…….”

I don’t know what you want to say.

I caressed the wolf’s belly and waited silently for more. Eleonora called me over and over again because he felt frustrated that he couldn’t explain clearly.

“Master. Master.”

“What.”

Eleonora didn’t seem to care about my sudden outburst.

He looked around anxiously, then lowered his head tightly and put it into my ear.

“Don’t take too much of what I said before. I said that I thought you would die, and that it would be effective if it was painful.”

“…….”

“Okay?”

Why was he suddenly like this?

Eleonora didn’t stop there, but he timidly encouraged me.

“There will be no other way. The Lord cares about the Master whether she gets blown away or breaks if touched, but he will find something.”

“What’s going on? It looks bad.”

“I think I spoke too much.”

“…….”

Eleonora’s voice got smaller and smaller.

“…… you keep overlapping. With the former master.”

“…….”

“It’s not good. Of course, it also means that the odds of success have increased.”

Eleonora groaned and covered his head.

“Ah really. Let’s say that the master died and awakened. But what if it takes too long to awaken? In the meantime, won’t the Lord kill me?”

…… Was that the problem?

Now, I glared at Eleonora, who was afraid of his future with Aedis.

“You don’t know how Aedis will act if I die right now, so you’re saying I should not die?”

“Master, you don’t know! What a monster the Lord is!”

Eleonora cried out.

“…… But it will be less than Eleonora’s previous master.”

“I knew that too, so I told Master that you should die once, but…… I must have been wrong.”

Eleonora let out a deep sigh, and only the sound of his unfamiliar voice came.

“Please save me, Master. I can feel the Lord’s murderous energy here too.”

“I have no intention of dying.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“…….”

I ignored Eleonora and turned around.

“Master!”

I didn’t even want to respond to him when I realized that he wasn’t worried about me with pure intentions.

How can he say he’s my disciple?

“Master!”

I’m going to go eat dinner.

* * *

It was only after I had dinner with Regen and had bathed and prepared for bed that Aedis and I had a chance to talk alone.

“Aedis, I’m talking about Eleonora.”

“I’ve been thinking about what to do with him, Eve.”

“…….”

…… It was really impactful.

It wouldn’t have looked good to Aedis if he had asked me to die.

I shut my mouth and Aedis came over with a towel.

“I’ll dry your hair.”

I wanted to see Aedis quickly, so I just wiped off the water, and it seemed that it was still wet. I changed the topic of conversation as I felt his touch drying my hair.

“Aedis, what did you talk about when you followed Regen earlier?”

“I said you were calling him.”

“…….”

“Regen hopes that he will be of help somehow. Even if he acts as bait.”

I furrowed my eyebrows.

“I’ll have to keep an eye on Regen.”

“I don’t know about that.”

Huh?

As I tilted my head, Aedis’ voice sounded from behind me.

“I’m more concerned about the wife than Regen.”

“I am not going to die.”

I told Eleonora the same thing I just said. Sadly, Aedis didn’t seem to believe me as much as Eleonora did.

I turned around and faced Aedis.

“Come on, let’s link our fingers and promise.”

“…….”

Aedis was bewildered with my sudden action, but he followed my movements.

“Don’t get hurt.”

“Yes. I won’t get hurt and I won’t die.”

I enthusiastically reassured Aedis. My disciple might be nervous, but not my husband.

Aedis finished drying my hair.

We talked until I fell asleep, and I closed my eyes with satisfaction while cradled in Aedis’ arms.

Tap.

…… huh?

A sudden cold breeze touched my cheek and I opened my eyes.

Why am I standing? Is it a dream? But it is really vivid?

The humid air and the gloomy atmosphere were enough to feel real.

Tap.

I rubbed my cheek.

What water…….

As I raised my head, the ceiling of the Cyclamen Castle was visible in the distance.

Tap.

I lowered my head again and checked the palms that were wiping my cheeks. It wasn’t water. It was something bright red.

Blood?

“How did you get into my dream?”

Then suddenly a man with an angelic face appeared. Kadan spoke calmly, with a surprised look. He was not even allowed to enter this city. In reality, that is.

I wondered what kind of nonsense dream I was having, but Kadan smiled.

“Does Sister-in-law like to play with dolls, too?”

“…….”

“Isn’t this the perfect stage for a play?”

“…….”

“Ah~ I hope the day to go in person comes sooner~ I’ve already figured out the internal structure~”

In the dark, my vision became accustomed to seeing more and more things.

Or the cobweb that covered the castle.

“Sister-in-law, didn’t you learn that spying is a bad habit? Of course, even if Sister-in-law has something to give me, it feels bad to peek into someone’s head like this. To be honest, I was a little scared, too. For about three seconds?”

“…….”

“You have to sneak peek like Regen, huh? Aren’t you looking too openly? It is a plan that we have carefully crafted since then.”

Plan? What plan?

…… Any plans to make the castle look like this? But the ban was not lifted.

“Come on, let’s stop watching. Huh? Our versatile sister-in-law. Let’s meet in real life? I will wake up from my dream, too.”

Kadan muttered to himself then waved his hand. My vision darkened again.

Blink, blink.

As I lifted my eyelids, I saw the ceiling again. But I could see the canopy of the bed and Aedis asleep next to me.

I rubbed my cheek, there was nothing.

…… It felt similar to when I had seen Aedis’ past.

A feeling of seeing something that I shouldn’t have seen.