268th Episode
The next morning.
Ray visited Bella’s house with Jimy.
Lea poked her head out from her room and upon recognizing Ray, she dashed over.
“Gift came!”
Realizing her words were jumbled, Lea quickly corrected herself.
“Older Brother came!”
“Do I look like a gift to you?”
Despite his words, Ray picked up the running Lea.
Lea, clinging onto Ray, asked seriously,
“Brother! Lea has a question!”
“What is it?”
“When are you going on another trip?”
“Are you asking for more presents?”
“I like Brother who brings gifts!”
“We need to tighten your discipline again.”
While saying this, Ray grabbed Lea’s chubby cheeks and gave them a slight shake.
Since it didn’t hurt, Lea giggled happily instead.
Ray placed the cheerful Lea back on the ground and returned with a large doll he had briefly left outside the house. It was the gift he couldn’t give to Lea on his first day back in his hometown because it was too big.
Upon seeing the unexpected surprise, Lea jumped around excitedly.
“It’s a teddy bear!!”
“Hold on, sister.”
Ray tossed the doll lightly.
Lea tried to catch the doll, which was larger than her own body, but lost her balance and rolled across the floor. Still, delighted to have received the gift, Lea grinned widely as she dragged the giant teddy bear back to her room.
Bella approached Ray, watching this scene fondly.
“Our son has come?”
“Yes, Dad came along too.”
After hugging Bella, Ray moved to sit at the table and asked Bella and Jimy,
“How’s Lea? She hasn’t caused any trouble while I was gone?”
Meaning, she didn’t breathe fire or anything of that sort.
During Ray’s last visit before heading to the Imperial Capital, he had witnessed Lea unintentionally breathing fire due to heightened emotions and warned her about it.
Bella exchanged glances with Jimy and shook her head slightly.
“Everything was fine after you left. There was no problem with Lea. But… ever since that incident, Lea has become very afraid of fire.”
When Ray intentionally provoked Lea’s emotions, Lea witnessed flames suddenly erupting and engulfing her brother right before her eyes.
For Lea, who had only ever known love, that experience was incredibly terrifying.
Bella added that ever since then, even small campfires would startle Lea.
It seemed she had developed a trauma, but in Ray’s opinion, it wasn’t entirely bad.
“That’s fortunate.”
Lea shouldn’t reveal her ‘specialness’.
If Lea grew to fear and be cautious of her special abilities, it was actually a good thing.
“Well, are there any other issues with Lea?”
“Her temperature… sometimes rises. Is that okay?”
“Temperature? Rising from Lea?”
“She doesn’t seem sick, but occasionally her body temperature gets higher…”
“Ah… yes, it’s fine.”
Ray sighed inwardly.
From what he had learned, it was relatively rare for ordinary royals to receive a Dragonheart transplant during infancy.
‘Young royals usually practice handling dragon blood with magical devices and such…’
As they grow, the concentration of dragon blood increases, and only then do they undergo the Dragonheart transplantation. That was the norm.
However, Lea had already received a fragment of the Dragonheart as an infant, and now her body was showing signs of being overwhelmed by the excessive dragon blood.
Based on Ray’s assessment through his powers, there was still some capacity left in the Dragonheart implanted in Lea, but it was clear it would overflow within a few years.
‘At least we secured the royal Dragonheart, so that’s a relief.’
Rubbing his forehead, Ray set aside his concerns for now and brought up the topic of war and evacuation.
Upon hearing that they needed to evacuate from Phillip’s County, Bella was understandably bewildered but quickly grasped the situation.
Ray advised Bella to pack her belongings in advance and turned to Jimy.
“Is the Jimy Family still intact?”
“It is. I’ve never been absent from my post.”
“In that case, please arrange for the family to help maintain order during the evacuation.”
“Alright. I’ll coordinate with the Count and ensure everything runs smoothly.”
As they discussed evacuation plans, Lea opened the door holding a piece of paper and approached Ray.
“Brother!”
“What is it?”
“A picture!”
Lea proudly handed Ray the best drawing she had made while he was away.
Lea wanted Ray to praise her artistic skills.
Since showing her drawings to Bella always resulted in enthusiastic reactions like “Our daughter is a genius!”, Lea firmly believed Ray would also give her praise.
With an exasperated expression, Ray took the drawing and frowned as he spoke.
“Lea.”
“Yes!”
“Elves walk on two legs, remember?”
*
By lunchtime, Ray headed to the Manor.
He had a dining appointment with Alesya but was intercepted by Saria at the manor gates.
When Ray mentioned his lunch date with Alesya, Saria personally escorted him to the dining hall, carrying him with both hands.
“My knight…! You’ve come…”
Alesya, upon seeing Ray being carried toward her by Saria, looked disappointed.
She had hoped to dine alone with Ray but reluctantly invited Saria to join.
Understanding Alesya’s feelings, Ray preemptively asked Saria to excuse herself.
Naturally, Saria complied with her beloved nephew’s request.
Though not before planting several kisses on Ray’s face before leaving the dining hall.
Somehow, the meal began.
Seated opposite Alesya, Ray recounted his experiences in the Imperial Capital.
Listening joyfully to Ray’s stories, Alesya gasped when the conversation turned to war.
“So we must abandon the estate…?”
“Don’t worry too much. This has been prepared for quite some time, so all precautions are in place.”
Reassured by Ray’s words, Alesya relaxed.
She trusted Ray and didn’t want their pleasant meal together to be overshadowed by gloom.
“You said we will evacuate to the Osiris Countdom? Then I might finally get to see Florya again!”
“That’s likely. Oh, by the way, is Florya married?”
“Not that I know of. I haven’t heard of Florya entering any betrothal agreements. Looks like Florya has become an old maid!”
Giggling at someone else’s misfortune, Alesya soon realized her own predicament and gasped.
“P, if Florya is an old maid, then I will soon be one too!”
Nobles tend to marry early, and many are paired from birth.
Thus, women in their mid-twenties often faced the label of “old maid.”
This applied to men as well; delaying marriage often led to negative perceptions.
Alarmed, Alesya prompted Ray to chuckle.
But Alesya was genuinely concerned.
“If my knight leaves me as an old maid, what am I supposed to do?”
“Don’t worry too much. These days, there are plenty of families eager to form ties with the Phillip family.”
“Knight of mine! Are you really planning to run away?”
“…I won’t make any matrimonial commitments with anyone else besides our Young Miss.”
Relieved by these words, Alesya softened her expression.
Watching her content smile, Ray felt satisfied and changed the subject.
“Anyway, I’ve received permission from the Count, but there’s something I need to discuss with you regarding Clemens.”
“What is it?”
“Hmm… Well…”
While cutting his meat, Ray continued his story.
Alesya repeatedly nodded like a naive puppy, staring at Ray’s face.
*
Phillip Count announced an evacuation order throughout the county.
The area immediately became bustling as everyone began preparing for evacuation.
Several reliable adult males were selected by Phillip Count to assist in controlling the populace.
Soldiers, knights, and the Jimy Family actively worked to prevent potential chaos.
On the evening of the day the estate truly began to get noisy,
Ray headed home with Luna.
Silence enveloped the space between them.
Although Luna typically wasn’t a chatterbox, Ray found today’s silence unusually heavy.
Quietly walking down the path, Ray and Luna arrived at his house.
Originally Ray’s solo residence, Karen sensed their arrival from outside and opened the door to greet them.
“You’re here?”
Karen warmly pulled them inside with a bright smile.
As Ray followed Karen’s lead, he glanced around his home, surprised at how clean everything remained despite his long absence.
Thanks to Bella and Karen’s diligent care, the furniture gleamed.
Ray felt somewhat complicated emotions stir within him.
Meanwhile, Karen began setting the table with food she had prepared.
“Luna, let’s eat first and then… set up the barrier.”
To ensure this place, precious to Ray, was adequately protected.
Luna agreed to establish a separate protective barrier here.
Karen had conveniently offered to prepare a meal.
Soon, the three sat facing each other at the table.
Karen watched contentedly as Ray ate the food she had prepared, then suddenly remembered the brooch she had gifted Ray and blurted out,
“Ray, did you… still have the brooch I gave you?”
Since Ray’s return to Phillip’s County, Karen hadn’t seen him wearing the brooch.
Noticing Karen’s slightly anxious expression, Ray quickly retrieved the brooch from his inner pocket to show her.
“Of course, I always carry it with me.”
“Good…”
Karen was slightly hurt that Ray kept the brooch tucked away rather than wearing it as decoration.
Still, given its size and somewhat clumsy appearance, she understood why.
Determined, Karen vowed to improve her skills and present Ray with a smaller, prettier brooch imbued with divine power next time.
Having made this decision…
“…Ray.”
“Yeah.”
“Was the brooch originally this shiny…?”
“Huh?”
Looking puzzled, Ray glanced down at the brooch.
Under the dim lighting, it gleamed obnoxiously.
Subtly snatching the brooch from Ray’s hand, Karen examined it closely.
The divine power emanating from the brooch was far stronger than when she had initially gifted it.
“…”
At that moment, Karen fully comprehended the situation.
The brooch she had given as a gift was so poorly crafted that it was practically unusable.
Unable to discard her gift, Ray had asked another cleric to perform additional consecration work on it.
Thus, the brooch Karen had spent weeks crafting with Ray in mind was overshadowed by the unknown cleric’s divine power.
“…”
Though deeply shocked, Karen forced a smile.
Forcing a smile, she soon felt sorrow creeping in, leading tears to gather in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Ray. My skills are just… not good enough…”
Heartbroken, Karen began blaming herself and shedding tears.
Realizing the situation belatedly, Ray broke into a cold sweat and shouted,
“No, wait, it’s not like that…!! It’s a misunderstanding!!”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… sniff…”
“Karen, listen to me!!”
