Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 25

Chapter 25

"Good job."

Kali praised Leo and roughly ruffled his round head. Leo's dark, round eyes stared up at Kali blankly.

I thought I heard a faint groan in the distance.

"You've got a strong will. With proper training, you could be useful."

Leo's head swayed with each of Kali's pats. But he didn't seem to mind—a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

I really don't get it. He was scared of Kali just moments ago.

"Oh?"

Kali and Leo even started whispering to each other. I shook my head and walked ahead, supporting the neglected Regina.

I'll just ignore them.

"Leo?"

Regina stopped, worried about her younger brother who wasn't following.

"Kali will take care of him—he'll come along. We have more walking to do—are you okay?"

"Yes. I didn't injure my legs."

"Let's keep going."

I thought ignoring it was the best policy, but was that the wrong answer?

Years later, as I reflected on Leo's character—having grown into an excellent assassin and shadow knight—I would learn that Leo's first kills were the men from that alley on the day we met.

And I'd hear it from him directly.

"No wonder! Kali's not the type to whisper with someone he just met. What were you two muttering about?! And Kali didn't even stop you...! And you took it all at face value!! Ugh, this is infuriating!!"

"...Should I leave?"

"Go! Get out! Seeing your face makes me think of that brat and I get mad!"

Unable to foresee the future, we made our way back to the villa.

When Regina realized she was heading to the Algenprina ducal villa, there was a brief incident where she tried to run away, saying someone like her couldn't possibly become a servant of the ducal house, but Regina and Leo made it safely to the villa.

I left Regina and Leo with Julia and headed straight to the kitchen.

Getting to eat one dessert is such a hassle.

As I trudged to the kitchen, I found an unexpected visitor.

"Sier?"

It was Sier, looking half-dead as he ate a late meal.

"Want to be the heir?"

"What?"

"Want to be Duke?"

"No."

He answered without a moment's hesitation. Duke? Heir? I didn't want to carry such heavy responsibilities.

"Ha... I'm tired."

Sier, now eighteen, had become genuinely busy. He'd been busy last year too, but this year was worse—so much so that I hardly saw his face.

It started when Dad began taking Sier everywhere. It didn't seem bad at first, and Sier followed enthusiastically, but now he seemed to have hit his physical limit.

"Why are there so many people to meet?"

I pushed the plate closer to Sier, who was picking at his food, urging him to eat properly.

"Research is fun, and training is fun, but trying to digest both at the same time is not."

"What research?"

"Magic circle research. We're returning to the ducal estate soon."

At the mention of research, Sier's eyes lit up. He was a born scholar, but when it came to physical tasks, he handled those well too.

"You know the protective magic on the castle, right?"

"Of course."

Since you never knew when a crazy mage might launch a wide-scale terror attack, casting protective magic on buildings was the first step toward ensuring safety.

That's why protective magic was standard not only on mansions but also on shops and restaurants.

It was like a security system—a way of advertising, "We're protecting your safety with this level of defense!"

And naturally, the Algenprina ducal estate also had magic circles installed—and quite a lot of them.

"While we've been away for two years, they've reorganized the magic circles."

The number of magic circles in the ducal estate was uncountable. Probably only Dad knew where they all were.

"I've been so busy studying and memorizing them all that I barely slept. I wonder what was even created—it's not like it's a fortress..."

"Fortress?!"

"Father is probably hoping someone attacks first. Otherwise, he wouldn't have installed those kinds of magic circles. No—it's best if no one attacks at all. I can't even keep track of where everything is. But since they're already installed, I kind of want to try them out. A siege... do you think I'll get to see one before I die?"

Sier kept muttering frightening things without pause, so I pushed my share of dessert toward him.

I need to stuff him full of food—starting with a proper meal and ending with dessert. He's losing his mind.

"Anyway, where did you go? You're not in your lounging clothes."

"I went down to the village to catch Kali."

Sier clicked his tongue knowingly.

"Come to think of it, once we return to the main estate, you'll have to show your face around too—parties, parties, parties..."

"Yeah, probably. I can't avoid socializing."

"You'd better keep Kali in check beforehand."

"Keep him in check from what?"

"If you just hide him away, that will raise suspicion, so he'll have to show his face too... but he'll definitely stick to your side and glare at everyone around you, so I'm a bit worried."

"What are you talking about? He's not a puppy with separation anxiety. Even Bibi is more independent than that!"

Sier stared at me with a tired, Tibetan-fox-like expression.

"Can't hold him, can't push him away."

Sier's interpretation of Kali had some flaws.

Kali doesn't just glare at the people around me—he glares at me too. I've already shed a whole bowl's worth of tears trying not to lose staring contests with him.

"Anyway, for a while, whether it's the main estate or the villa, things will be chaotic. Outsiders will come and go frequently, so be on guard at least a little."

Looking closely at Sier's face as he said that, I could see deep, unresolved fatigue—not just from a few sleepless nights, but exhaustion that had accumulated over a long time.

"Why? Did something get on my face?"

"No, just... you look really tired. Are you sleeping at all?"

"I am. Don't worry."

Even though he knew I wasn't asking about sleep hours, Sier deflected.

Sier's fog no longer burst out when he fell into deep sleep. But his own mind was another matter—he often lost sleep due to excessive worry.

"Don't believe me? It's true. Thanks to Bibi, I sleep well."

"Bibi?"

Why is Bibi suddenly coming up here?

"Kalipr's flames must have gotten boring—he comes to my room often these days."

So that's where he's been sleeping lately—Sier's room.

"I collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep like I'd passed out, and suddenly I heard a strange sound. Like a smacking noise."

Sier laughed out loud as he recalled the moment.

"I opened my eyes and the room was filled with fog. I thought, 'Oh no, I'm screwed,' but a white fluffball kept darting past me. It hit my cheek with its tail—that hurt. Anyway, I was dazed, wondering what it was, and Bibi... ate all the fog."

Bibi had clear preferences. He'd rub against Kali begging for fire, then when he got bored, he'd go to Kaelen or Mom.

"Since I didn't have to worry about the fog spreading outside, I slept well."

I could provide snacks like sweet potatoes, but magic wasn't something I could supply.

I'd been relieved that Bibi managed to get food on his own, but I never expected this kind of positive side effect.

"He ate it so deliciously that I almost wondered what it tasted like."

"Right. He eats it as happily as dried sweet potatoes. Too bad—I wish I could give Bibi magical snacks too!!"

Once, Bibi had bitten my club.

Even though I knew the Goblin Club was unbreakable, having seen Bibi eat magic more than once, I couldn't help but be startled.

Of course, it came out without a scratch.

"But seriously, take him back."

"Huh? Why?"

"I'm not a kid anymore, and these days my fog doesn't spread when I sleep. But Bibi seems to think fog automatically comes out when I fall asleep. He wants to eat it, but since no fog appears, he climbs onto the blanket and presses down on my chest—I almost suffocated."

"Puhaha!"

To Bibi, Sier was like a fog vending machine that only operated at night.

"Bibi's really smart. He'll probably figure out on his own that no more fog is coming. If he keeps coming to you anyway, it means he likes you, Brother."

I rested my chin on my hand and grinned—Sier smirked back. When he smiles like that, he's the spitting image of Irein.

Of course, if I said that out loud, he'd be disgusted and flip out.

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