Chapter 55

It was probably the bravest thing Lyssel had ever done.

"I can?"

"Yes. It's no trouble."

Mercifully, Ether broke into a bright smile and nodded, and Lyssel had a servant bring out a simple spread.

Until then, Lyssel went back to going through paperwork, and Ether sat quietly reading the book Lyssel had just given him.

A cool breeze drifted in through the half-open window.

The truth was, at first, Ether hadn't been able to handle the atmosphere around Lyssel at all.

With Iberin there'd never been so much as a quiet beat — Lyssel wasn't like that.

When Ether kept reading his face and visibly struggling, Lyssel had said it to him first one day.

"I'm not naturally warm. I can't force myself to act close, and I can't smile on cue. The Lecashe direct line has always been like this. You'll just have to consider yourself lucky."

After that, Ether stopped tiptoeing around him quite as much.

He just seemed to understand.

That people like this existed — and that maybe he himself had almost ended up like Lyssel too.

Watching what Iberin did with him, he'd also figured out that if he did it like that, maybe they'd get a little closer.

Now Ether didn't find Lyssel scary all the way through.

Just then, the book in Ether's hands slid quietly down.

His head tipped back.

He'd dozed off in the hush.

Lyssel snatched the falling book out of the air smoothly and laid Ether down on the sofa.

A little later, a maid appeared, set the snacks down quietly on the table, and left.

The maid smiled to herself for no reason, somehow, at how warm and soft the atmosphere felt.

And right at the door she ran into Iberin and Rozelia, who'd come looking for Lyssel and Ether.

"Hm? What are you smiling about, Marsha?"

"Oh. I was just happy, because His Highness and the young master seem to have gotten much closer."

"Really? What happened?"

"After the lesson, His Highness was the one who said to bring out some tea things."

"Whaaat? Seriously? That's huge!"

"The young master's asleep right now, though."

Rozelia was surprised too.

"His Highness himself told you to have tea?"

"Yes — I'm telling you."

"Wow. He just hounds me nonstop!"

Rozelia raised her voice, full of mock outrage.

It read less like she was hurt and more like she was jealous. She went pattering off, threw the office door open, and burst out,

"Hey, if you don't tell me let's have tea next training too, I'm seriously going to sulk!"

Lyssel blinked, thrown, and Ether jolted upright at the noise.

"…Have some now."

Of course, Lyssel composed himself in no time and said it slowly, eyeing the tea, which hadn't gone cold yet.

"Not now!"

Rozelia wasn't the least bit afraid of Lyssel.

Sometimes the way she pushed it was honestly remarkable, but Lyssel never held it against her.

"Understood."

"……."

"You should still have some now."

"…If you're asking nicely, pay me in cash."

"Then don't have any."

Iberin couldn't help laughing — it was ridiculous.

What kind of comedy sketch was this?

"Hmph. I'll have some, of course I will. Lady Iberin, eat with me!"

Iberin and Rotte were just about the only people Rozelia ever talked to without an edge.

---

Lyssel ripped a huge tree out of the Forest of the World Tree, roots and all, and replanted it.

It was so massive the whole stretch of weed-choked ground was covered by its shadow.

She wasn't sure the undergrowth would actually die — but the stuff that kept growing back no matter how many times they cut it shriveled completely within two days.

"Yes!"

The staff clapped and cheered.

After all, the staff had been the ones putting the most work into clearing the undergrowth.

While he was at it, Lyssel uprooted another tree and planted it in the patch of weed-choked ground inside the estate to handle that too. Now the staff didn't have to pour their energy into the undergrowth either.

They pulled out the rest of the weeds, and this time, none of it grew back.

Then they moved the Cheongyang peppers and the egg trees over to the now-empty plot.

Eggs growing on a tree was on its own bizarre, but it was also the one she was most excited about.

If they could just get it working, it meant eggs as a side dish every day.

But the joy was short-lived — Iberin caught a brutal fever.

"Nngh."

She couldn't even open her eyes properly, and groaned through the night.

Everyone stayed by her side, day in and day out.

Rozelia held Iberin's hand, trying to work loose whatever felt blocked, however she could — but it wasn't easy.

If she could only hurry up and figure out how to use her holy power…

"You said I had loads of holy power — so why can't I use it? You lied, didn't you?"

"I didn't."

"Then why can't I use it!"

"…Because it's really the god's power."

"What? Then is what the priests in the capital use fake?"

"It's not fake."

"What is it then! Tell me properly!"

Rozelia was beside herself.

She wanted to break her holy power open so she could heal Iberin, and when that didn't go the way she wanted, she'd been taking it out on Lyssel.

But Lyssel was more upset than anyone.

He was the one who'd kidnapped Rozelia in the first place, on the grounds that she had a lot of holy power.

"At first I just thought you had powerful holy power latent in you."

"And?"

"But the purity is different."

"Purity?"

"Yes. The priests I saw when I went to the capital could use holy power, but the purity of theirs was strikingly low. The priests themselves can't tell the difference, of course, so they'd never know."

"…This body's at that level?"

"That level. Which is probably why it's so slow to come out. I can't say for certain yet, of course. What the cause is."

While training Rozelia, Lyssel had looked into whether there'd ever been a case like hers.

But there was no record at all, like someone had deliberately scrubbed it.

The Aleta Holy Empire hadn't seen a Saintess or a Holy Son in thousands of years.

For the first time, Lyssel let himself doubt it.

Had there really been none?

"Boohoo. I hate seeing you in pain, Lady Iberin."

Rozelia whined and slumped down across Iberin's hand.

Lyssel watched her quietly for a moment, then let his eyes drift shut.

---

There was nothing for it — every time Iberin got sick, the estate sank into the same heavy gloom.

That was how precious she'd become to all of them.

"Am I a baby again?"

So once Iberin had collapsed and woken back up, she got the newborn treatment, and even walking around was put on hold.

She still had a low fever, but she wasn't collapsing or losing consciousness or unable to get up.

Even so, Iberin couldn't get off the bed.

"Yes. Iberin, baby. Drink this warm tea, quickly."

"Mommy, have some cookies too."

"This is Rozel's favorite cake, and I'm letting you have it."

Rotte and the kids were pressed close on either side of her.

"Slowly."

Lyssel was no different.

"Drink the tea first, then the snacks."

"Mommy, ahh-h!"

"This one first!"

Ether wanted to feed her his favorite cookies himself,

Rozel was pushing the cake on her first,

and Lyssel kept slipping in with a piece of fruit on the side.

"I do have hands."

"Whaaat, so you're not gonna eat it?"

"I am… I just don't know which one to eat first."

"This one!"

"Mine!"

"……."

Hands shot up to her mouth from every direction, each one insisting hers should go first.

"Move."

Rozelia threatened the Lecashe father-and-son with a wickedly bright look in her eye.

"You move, Big Sis."

At first he'd looked ready to fold, but Ether wasn't backing down anymore either.

"Rozelia."

"What."

"I'll pay you to step away."

"……Pay?"

Even Lyssel was perfectly willing to whip out cash to eliminate the enemy.

"Yes. A hundred thousand gold."

"…What a low blow, hitting me right in my weakness?!"

"What're you going to do, then?"

"I'd still pick Lady Iberin over money!"

So she was supposed to be flattered she'd beat out money for first place?

Iberin laughed awkwardly.

Ever since she'd collapsed and come around, it felt like everything short of literally rocking her in their arms had been done to her.

There'd always been a bit of an over-the-top streak around her, but it just kept escalating.

"All three of you, quiet."

It had been one sentence, but the effect was startling.

Three mouths snapped shut like clams.

"…Why so dramatic about it."

"She told us to be quiet."

"Yes — be quiet."

Truthfully, quiet was better than watching them bicker.

So the three of them, mouths firmly shut, each held out what they wanted her to eat, without a word.

"…Hah."

A small, defeated laugh slipped out of her before she could stop it.

---

She was going to have to live inside the fuss for a while.

Iberin gave up and just accepted all of it.

In the end, it was because she'd gotten sick.

"Oh, right — how are the crops doing?"

It had only been two days, but the place was the Forest of the World Tree, after all.

She asked just in case — and sure enough.

"They've grown a lot. You'll be shocked when you see them."

"Can I go look?"

"I'll carry you on my back!"

Ether immediately offered his back.

He was so much shorter that her legs were going to drag.

"Pfft."

A snort cut in from the side.

Rozelia.

"What're you laughing at?"

"You can't piggyback her with that height, shorty."

"…Hey. You can't carry her either!"

"I'll hold her in my arms!"

"I'll hold her too!"

"Nope, I thought of it first, so you go away!"

Here we go again.

Iberin pressed a hand to her throbbing temple — and just then,

Lyssel came over and quietly turned his back to her.

"Climb on."

Being held by Rozelia or Ether wasn't exactly a good look for a grown woman, so this round she picked Lyssel.

"Sorry to bother you, then."

The moment Iberin settled onto Lyssel's back, the two kids who'd been fighting over carrying her whipped around with thunderous expressions and started whining at him.