Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

Aedis laughed for a long time before finally saying it.

“My familiar heard someone call my wife’s name near the Emerald Gate. Two people. They seem lost.”

“Two?”

“One has red hair.”

I could guess the person with red hair who was looking for me.

The other would be Charlie.

But why only two?

“Are you their attendant? A carriage?”

Aedis shook his head, indicating that there was nothing but the two of them.

Aha. So that’s why Mother sent a reply.

The distance from the capital to the north was considerable, so I was worried about Mother who called Monica by her first name.

This would be the first time for her to go to the North, so I didn’t know what confidence it was.

“And she was very upset that she lost the gift she was going to give to the wife.”

“…..”

“I tried to search for it by sending a familiar, but they couldn’t find it because they didn’t know what it looked like.”

The change in Monica, who never looked at other people’s eyes, and Mother who opened her heart to such Monica, everything was amazing. I paused.

No, if you don’t know what it looks like, it’s only natural that you can’t find it……

“Aedis, bring out your familiar.”

For some reason, Aedis’ familiar would seem severely overworked and abused now.

I stood.

If they were wandering around without a carriage, it’d be better to bring them quickly with movement magic before the sun sets.

Monica and Charlie have known me since childhood.

It worried me that they wanted to arrive even a day earlier on an unfamiliar trip alone.

As I continued to stretch, Aedis said.

“Take Shaula with you.”

“Um? What about you?”

“I think it would be better for me to stay here.”

I thought of the nobles who were scared of Aedis on the day the imperial ball was held.

Of course, the situation was not different for an ordinary person.

That’s why Aedis was trying to be considerate.

Not to anyone else, but my friends.

Well, like Paimon, I want to put Monica in the ranks of ‘just acquaintances.’

In any case, the two of them will probably visit me on my birthday next year, and since they’ve met Aedis before, they should have been prepared.

“The two of them came all the way to the North without an attendant, but now that they are afraid, there is no way they would run away. Still, I’ll make sure to bring Shaula. She seemed to want to get some fresh air.”

I grabbed Aedis’ hand.

He was meekly drawn by my hand.

***

It had been an hour since they walked around looking only at the ground, and Charlie felt her neck getting stiff.

She lifted her head for a moment and rubbed her neck, when someone popped out in front of Monica, who was a few steps ahead.

“Monica!”

Charlie quickly pulled Monica and made their distance apart.

She was a large woman, as if she was able to subdue even famous knights with one hand.

Her whole body was hard, so it didn’t seem like there was any weakness.

Charlie didn’t even notice that the woman was approaching before she revealed herself.

It meant that she was stronger than Charlie.

Her dilated pupils were reminiscent of wild animals.

Her rich, fuzzy hair, a subtle mix of gray and blue, looked like a beast’s mane.

She soon opened her mouth, and if she hadn’t spoken, someone would have mistaken her for the werewolf of legend.

“Your Grace! Here it is!”

While Charlie paused at the name of Your Grace, she heard an answer.

“Good job, Shaula.”

Charlie stared in embarrassment at Maevia, who poked her head out from behind the dog-like woman.

“Eve?”

Mayvia waved her hand warmly.

“Is it really just the two of you? Wasn’t it difficult to come this far?”

The soft voice seemed to melt everything away.

Feeling the tension release spontaneously, Charlie sighed.

“Is that Eve’s person? Must have been fun. And how did Eve find us?”

As if waiting for the question to appear, it was when Maevia was about to show off her husband’s abilities.

Monica swiveled her head from Shaula to Maevia a few times before she asked a question.

“Maevia, what is this jock-like thing?”

Bragging about her husband was stopped before it even started, so Maevia replied a little sarcastically.

“It’s Shaula, my escort.”

“Your Grace, aren’t you introducing me too carelessly?”

“What more do you want as my escort?”

“You have to say that I’m X-ing strong.”

“…… You too, get some etiquette training with the Lord.”

Monica muttered when Shaula groaned at that advice.

“It’s kind of familiar.”

Maevia and Shaula looked at Monica at the same time.

“With Shaula?”

Monica thought deeply, and spit it out involuntarily.

“Looks like there was a similar face on the wanted notice sent from the Kingdom of Ayla……Are you sure it’s okay to have that kind of person around you?”

For a moment, Maevia’s face hardened.

Maevia had heard at least briefly about Shaula’s past activities.

– I a bit…… killed people a bit?

– Beasts?

– A bit of a magician, and a few people at the same time.

Deciding that it was dangerous at this rate, Maevia gave Monica a dazzling smile like never before.

“You must be mistaken, Monica. Shaula is my escort knight who was selected through a rigorous process.”

Monica’s name oozed through her red lips, sweet as honey.

It was the first time Monica stuttered, as Monica was never so sweet.

“Yes, it could be.”

After she had successfully stopped Monica’s thoughts, Maevia greeted the two again.

“Nice to see you after a long time, Monica. Charlie, too. I will tell you the details after we get to the castle.”

Charlie was happy, but Monica refused with a sad face.

“Go first with Charlie. I have something to find. I don’t know where I dropped it, but I’m sure it’s still around here.”

Maevia acted like she didn’t know.

“Did you lose something? But what if someone already found it and took it?”

“Then the thief would be dead. Because I asked the magician of the tower to cast a spell so that if anyone other than me touched it, their limbs would be twisted.”

“What?! Is this the first time I’ve heard of it?”

Charlie, whose limbs would have been twisted if she had found the gift before Monica, was astonished.

Maevia asked.

“The sun is setting soon, can you find it by yourself? Or should I ask my super talented husband to help me?”

“Did the Grand Duke also come with you?”

There was a strange sense of disappointment on Monica’s face.

Whether she knew it or not, Maevia smiled as she closed her eyes.

“I wanted to get him to help me, not a familiar….. but he’ll be back soon.”

Monica felt her mood subside somewhat, even though she had met Maevia, whom she had missed so much.

Maevia was within Monica’s reach.

Yet she felt distant.

In fact, she always was.

She shone alone like a star in the sky with a face like the goddess of spring and flowers.

Monica knew she would never give a chance to anyone forever.

‘I must have forgotten. What I said would mean nothing to Maevia.’

Monica cleared her mind with bitterness.

A smile like a flower bud that blooms in spring blossomed on Maevia’s lips.

“Oh, Aedis.”

Charlie unknowingly dropped her sword.

There was a man at the end of Maevia’s gaze.

Jet black hair.

Long, infinitely blue eyes like a harbinger of the end.

He had a terrifying impression, as if the Devil, which was clearly defined as evil on earth, had been transferred as it was.

On the contrary, his natural beauty only doubled the fear.

Charlie thought of Maevia and tried to calm her own heart, but it wasn’t easy.

Although she saw him at the imperial ball, she still couldn’t get used to his appearance.

It was also questionable how a man bearing such a huge sense of intimidation could disguise himself as a mere old man.

Suddenly, Monica opened her mouth.

“Your Grace.”

Maevia’s eyelashes fluttered.

It was because Monica’s voice calling out to her husband was mixed with the sound of grinding teeth.

“You must be the luckiest man in the world.”

A gleam flashed in Aedis’ eyes.

“Why do you say I’m lucky?”

“You took her so easily without knowing anything about Maevia.”

“Um, Monica?”

“…… Excuse me.”

It was a blunt, rude apology.

But it was the best she could do for Monica, who rarely bends.

Of course, she was entirely conscious of Maevia.

That was clearly visible in Aedis’ eyes.

“I will take it as a compliment.”

“…..”

“Certainly, I think I’m luckier than Lady.”

Monica bit her lips with fear and anger.

The reason that man treated her with courtesy was that she was Maevia’s guest.

There was no other reason.