Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 8

Chapter 8

Even when we're having a normal conversation, he always has to say things like this.

Forcibly twisting a mana circuit means shaving off your shinbone, attaching it to your ribs, then stretching and trimming your ribs to fit into your shinbone.

In other words, it's insane nonsense.

Ugh, that gives me chills. Who twists someone's mana circuit just because they don't like their unique magic?

-It's a joke. You know that, right? Senté's throwing another fit. I'm going to go back to work now, okay? Hari, don't get sick. Contact me if anything happens?

"Yeah. You too, Brother."

When the communication orb cut off, the tension eased. Irein is a really good brother to me, but you never know where he might go off the rails, so I can't let my guard down.

After talking with Irein, I lay down briefly to catch up on sleep, and before I knew it, it was lunchtime. Caught by Sier, who barged into my room saying it was time to eat, I headed to the garden.

As we walked toward the table set up under a large tree, Sier asked.

"What did brother say?"

"It was Senté who contacted us."

"Ah... brother's adjutant?"

"Yeah. Brother was working and..."

After hearing my full explanation, Sier put his index finger to his temple and spun it around, then made a disgusted face as if he understood.

Maybe because he's the younger brother, Irein particularly liked to mess with Sier.

When Irein stayed at the estate for a while, he'd tease Sier constantly, so much so that Sier once ran away from him for quite some time.

"So, when's he coming?"

"Brother said he can't come for a while."

"Really?!"

He must have been tormented so much that he jumps for joy at the news that he won't be coming.

Oh dear... I looked at Sier with pity.

It seemed Sier hadn't realized yet that the longer Irein stays away, the more intense his pranks become when he returns.

The teasing will only stop when Sier grows tall enough to match Irein's build. That's how it was in my previous life too.

"What about him?"

"Hm?"

"I mean what you were talking about with Mom earlier. Tell me too. I'm curious."

"Oh, that? It wasn't a big deal."

"If it's not a big deal, then tell me!"

"Mom seems to know that kid."

What? How could Mom, who's never even seen him, know him?

Mom definitely reacted strangely when I mentioned the reddish-black eyes.

Are those eyes common? No. Most citizens of the Latarta Empire have light-colored eyes.

Could it be a familiar eye color...? Did our family have ties with the Grand Duke Czerban's house?

"Did he say anything else? Are you going to keep leaving him there? He was so thin. If you bring him, we should feed him plenty. How old is he? Ten?"

"He's probably only a year younger than you."

"What? How do you know that?"

Even I don't know Caelius's age!

As I was about to press Sier for answers, a short scream came from nearby. A maid must have dropped her tray—the sound of breaking teacups followed in succession.

And that familiar sound coming from a distance...

"...Dog?"

A dog?

I listened carefully, and indeed, I could hear a dog barking. And it was very familiar...

"Oh my! A puppy!"

The maids reached out their hands to catch the puppy as it ran around, but the puppy darted about nimbly, evading all their hands.

This time, the puppy came running toward me, its ears flopping. Seeing it, I shot up from my seat and reached out both arms toward the puppy racing toward me.

"Come here! Coochie coo!"

As I stretched out my arms, I felt the puppy's warmth as it nestled into them. An involuntary happy squeal escaped me.

"What? Where did this puppy come from?"

"It's the puppy I met yesterday! How did it get in here?"

Is there a doggy door somewhere?

I stroked the fluffy fur with both hands, then hugged the puppy and approached Sier. The moment he met the eyes of the white, adorable puppy, Sier's face melted into a silly grin.

The puppy is always right. How can anyone ignore this cuteness?

Just then, Sier, who had been carefully petting the puppy with me, suddenly fixed a sharp glare at somewhere in the distance.

"Who's there?"

Sier's cold, low voice was unfamiliar. I followed his gaze toward a large tree.

"Brother?"

"Come out. Unless you want to die."

Sier stepped in front of me, on guard against whatever was ahead. I held the puppy and held my breath behind Sier, but suddenly the puppy whimpered and squirmed.

Thinking it wanted to be put down, I set it on the ground, and it dashed toward the tree Sier had been staring at.

"Ah—?"

Before I could stop it, the puppy ran like the wind and dragged something out from behind the tree with a grunt.

"...Go away."

A young boy's voice came from behind the tree.

'Wait. If that boy is with the puppy, could it be...?'

"Kalipr? Is that you?"

"Hari, you know him?"

"He's the kid I talked to Mom about. The one I saw by the lake."

"What?"

Looking at Caelius, who was tussling with the puppy, I slowly stepped forward. He looked just as tattered as before.

A brutal slaughterer. A mad dark mage. A demonic Grand Duke who would destroy the empire.

Those were the epithets that would later be attached to that child. Too heavy and terrifying a label for that scruffy little kid.

"Kalipr! Do you remember me?"

"..."

"How did you get in here? Is it okay if I come closer?"

As I slowly approached Caelius, I heard Sier's voice from behind, trying to stop me.

"Young lady!! Young master!!"

Hearing the maids' screams, the knights belatedly came running. Startled by the appearance of the burly knights, Caelius picked up the puppy beside him.

Because of the armed knights, Caelius's wariness seemed to spike to maximum.

I waved my hands to shoo the knights away and said.

"Don't come near! Go away!"

"Ah, young lady?"

"Go away! Go away! You're scaring the kid!"

How long has it been since the maids screamed? Why are you only now alerting the guard?

It sent chills down my spine thinking about what might have happened if the intruders weren't a puppy and Caelius.

"Step back. Which unit do you belong to?"

"W-we are from the 3rd Knight Division."

"Just because this is a villa, you've let your guard down? A child this small got right up to the mansion's doorstep, and not one of you noticed?"

"We apologize!!"

"Move. I'll deal with you later."

At Sier's cold words, the knights stepped back, sweating profusely. How on earth did he get in?

"Kalipr!"

"...What."

"How did you get in here?"

I approached Caelius, petting the puppy in his arms, and asked. Those eyes, sharp and trembling with tension, had calmed down somewhat.

"This guy..."

"The puppy?"

"Kept pulling me."

It seemed the puppy had led Caelius here.

"I followed. There's a hole."

"A hole?"

"Under the wall."

So he came in through a doggy hole...?

"Pfft!"

I couldn't help but laugh.

[Breaking News! The worst dark mage in history, brutal slaughterer, Grand Duke Czerban Caelius the Iron-Blooded! Once reportedly crawled through a doggy hole...!]

It felt like such a news headline could actually appear.

"Don't laugh."

"So that's why you're all covered in dirt?"

I carefully reached out and brushed the dirt from Caelius's hair. Glancing at him, he didn't seem to mind.

When we first met, he was like a wildcat.

As I continued brushing the dirt off Caelius's body, I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me.

Turning around, I saw Mom, who had come at some point, covering her mouth with one hand, staring at me in shock. No, more precisely, at Caelius's face.

"Eve...?"

"Mom?"

Mom stared at Caelius's face with a stiff expression.

"Everyone leave."

Sier, having dismissed the maids nearby, supported Mom, who looked like she might collapse at any moment.

"Alive, you say? No, no. That can't be. But..."

Sier helped Mom, who could barely steady herself, sit down in a chair. I gently grabbed the hem of Caelius's clothes and led him to the table.

"Mom! Are you okay?"

Mom, who had gulped down cold tea, carefully looked at Caelius. She clasped her trembling hands together, seemingly trying to hide her agitation.

"...I'm fine. I was just a little surprised. Everyone, sit down."

She'd been reacting strangely even at the meal earlier—what on earth had surprised her so much?

I grabbed the sleeve of the stiffly standing Caelius and said.

"Sit down. Okay? Your legs must hurt."

Caelius hesitated, looking at me, then sat down. He seemed tense the whole time, so I pulled a chair up and sat right next to him.

"I am... Algenprina Rachel. Duchess of Algenprina."

Mom tried to speak, struggling to steady her breathing, but she couldn't hide the tears mixed in her voice.

I tried hard to figure out what was going on. I couldn't understand why Mom was suddenly introducing herself to Caelius.

Mom clearly knows Czerban Caelius. And she was so shocked by the fact that he was alive that she nearly fainted.

This is making me uneasy. How does Mom know Caelius?

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