C 75
"Everything's fine... Enosh."
"Whose body is this, can it easily die? Of course, I'm fine... Although I received some assassination threats from Etham after you became unconscious."
I looked at Enosh for a long time, pretending not to know what was going on behind the scenes.
I held him tightly in my arms and bit my lip.
"Thank God..."
It was lucky that he came out unscathed.
It was lucky that my careless step didn't end in mere tortured hope.
"Hey, are you crying?"
"I'm not crying."
Sniff, sniff.
I buried my face in Enosh's chest a little more.
"Are you crying?"
"It's just because my nose is running."
"This bun dares to use the imperial family as a handkerchief to blow their nose."
Still, Enosh didn't easily release the arm that held me.
I sobbed with my face buried for a while, then looked up, and Enosh chuckled and let out a little laugh.
"What...?!"
"Hey, you're a really ugly bun."
"...You...!"
I glared at Enosh and kept my mouth shut.
"He's handsome, he's so handsome..."
There really was nothing to point out. His sharp eyes curved around.
"Once the greetings are over, won't you give me a chance too, Your Highness?"
"Ah, yes."
Enosh gave me a hug and sat next to me. When I raised my head, a familiar young woman was sitting in front of me.
"It's been a while, Eirin."
"...Unnie Lily?"
Seeing her bloom more splendidly, I involuntarily opened my mouth.
"I missed you, unnie..."
I murmured reflexively, and Lillian laughed. I involuntarily opened my mouth at the sound of her laughter, which sounded like clear bells ringing.
"Even if she's a villain, she must be great..."
Lillian, with beautiful red hair, was brighter than the last time I saw her.
"I missed you, Eirin."
Lillian stretched her arms and took me into her embrace.
"Eirin."
"Yes?"
She opened her mouth while holding me in her arms.
"Thank you for saving His Highness the prince."
"..."
"Thank you for putting your head together and constantly thinking about it."
"Unnie?"
"Thank you for coming back like this."
I felt a little mesmerized by her sincere and friendly voice as she held me in her arms.
"Thanks to the flowers you made, His Highness woke up safely."
"Yes, I'm glad."
While smiling broadly, Lillian looked at me with incomprehension, then sighed and looked up.
"Your Highness, first of all, I would like a daughter like Eirin."
"How beautiful can this bun be..."
Said Enosh, lifting me from Lillian's arms.
"..."
"No, she's beautiful. She's beautiful. I also like all the kids who say they like the lady. It would be nice to adopt the bun and raise her."
Lillian's fierce gaze immediately caught up with him, and Enosh pretended to tease me and said.
"Hey, are you ten years old?"
"Yes, yes."
Enosh smiled and ruffled my hair.
"Hey."
"What?"
"I love you."
"...What?"
Enosh returned me to Lillian's arms as if he were embarrassed after saying that.
"Eirin, I love you too."
"...Really?"
Why are you both like this?
Lillian brushed my cheek with the palm of her hand, feeling a little embarrassed that I seemed embarrassed.
"...I heard that Eirin needs a lot of love to grow."
"Ah..."
"I like adorable Eirin, but I like the Eirin my age even more. Then I can invite you to a tea party."
The last time I remember, Enosh was twelve and Lillian was ten.
So now Enosh would be seventeen and Lillian fifteen.
"Enosh seems a bit too old for that..."
I looked at Enosh.
Yes, he's a bit more grown up now.
"Your eyes seem a bit disrespectful."
"Don't they?"
"No, they are."
"Is that so?"
"That's right, you stupid bun... is adorable too."
Enosh, who had been acting childishly, quickly changed his words. Lillian's expression seemed quite fierce.
"Oh, now that I think about it, Mother and Father said they had something for you."
"His Majesty the Emperor?"
"Yes, stop by there before returning to the duchy."
"Alright."
I nodded, and he looked behind me.
"It's been a while, Lady Sharnae."
"It's been a while, Your Highness the Prince. Lady Daisy."
"So, you came as a guardian today, didn't you? I thought Erno Etham would come."
"Because I won the draw."
Despite the belated interest, Sharnae smiled gently and said, "Yes, it seems there were many applicants, right?"
"Yes, His Excellency the Duke... No, His Excellency the former Duke also applied."
"...Former? Did Duke Etham really do that foolishness?"
Enosh laughed as if it were absurd.
No, how far did the rumors spread that only I didn't know?
"Was I the only one who didn't know I was going to be the new matriarch?"
I didn't know.
Because I was sleeping soundly.
I don't know why I slept so much.
"Dragon's growth..."
Was it really like that?
It was true that it still sounded absurd.
We sat and chatted about various things over tea as before.
They were trivial topics, about how the world had changed and that sometime next year, when Lillian had her coming-of-age ceremony, she would get married.
"By the way, Bun, haven't you seen Lucilion yet?"
"Ah, Lucillion..."
Yes, I didn't notice because I got distracted after returning, but Lucilion was also there.
Has he returned home?
Since the temple was his home and he was the future high priest, I thought he might have already returned.
"No."
It was a bit strange that I didn't have the person who always followed me, but I also knew that he couldn't be with me for the rest of his life.
"Maybe he went home?"
"Home? Do you mean the temple? It didn't seem like he wanted to go back there... I haven't seen him in a year or two, I think."
Enosh said, crossing his arms.
"But it's Lucilion..."
It seemed like they really became friends.
As I nodded with somewhat happy humor, Enosh distorted his face.
"Hey, what else are you thinking?"
"Um, that Lucilion and Enosh became friends?"
"No, what kind of friend acts like this and...?"
"As you say, you provided Sir Lucilion with everything he needed."
"Right."
Anyway, this beggar prince is still acting like a tsundere.
I looked at him with annoyed eyes and nodded.
"Lillian!"
"Why?"
"Why did I say...?"
"Am I wrong, Your Highness?"
"That's not true..."
But unconsciously, the advantage had shifted too much. I could see Lillian sitting on top of Enosh.
Enosh looked back and forth between Lillian and me, then sighed briefly and reclined on the sofa.
"Now that I think about it, the last relic he brought was a heavyweight... Going back into the temple might have been a deal."
"Relic?"
I didn't know what he was talking about, so when I returned the question, Enosh looked at me puzzled.
"Do you know how many Holy Relics or Sacred Stones you absorbed while you were asleep?"
"Sacred Stones?"
If it's a Sacred Stone, isn't it a stone that contains energy contradicting the magic created by priests?
Unlike mana stones that naturally float in the wilderness, Sacred Stones were stones with sacred power that only priests could make or were grown inside the corpses of priests.
"Yes, didn't it amaze you that you survived for so long without eating anything?"
"...I hadn't even thought about it."
I just thought I wasn't hungry because I was in a fantasy world.
As I opened my mouth silently, Enosh laughed as if he had collapsed.
"It seems that the Etham family still hasn't told you anything."
Enosh lightly bit the tip of his lips as if he were a little embarrassed.
"It's a fact I found by searching the ancient texts within the imperial palace, but both magic and sacred power are needed to grow a dragon in its growth period."
"...Yes."
"According to the literature, sacred power is the best prey,
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