IFAHWIPUTML Chapter 25

"I'm going to Veras!"

Chayston discovered Raphel in the hallway, squirming in Rohan's arms.

He was on his way out from Verasielle's room.

Rohan, who'd been desperately trying to calm Raphel down, spotted Chayston and rushed over like he'd just found his savior.

The servants had swarmed in to help soothe Raphel, but it was utterly useless. The child's stubbornness could make a bull step aside in shame.

"My Lord!"

"..."

Rohan shouted at Chayston with a please save me expression.

"Veraaaaas!"

Meanwhile, Raphel flailed his short legs and arms, smacking Rohan repeatedly. Whack, whack. The hits weren't strong, but getting hit in the same spots over and over? That hurt.

Chayston, watching Rohan's near-tears face, sighed and took Raphel from him.

"Let go!"

Raphel's chubby cheeks were puffed up with sulkiness.

"Raphaleon."

Chayston spoke to Raphel in a deliberately stern voice.

Raphel, who'd been relentlessly stubborn, froze at the voice that seemed to chill him to his bones.

"The young lady has injured her leg and is very uncomfortable right now."

"...Veras is hurt?"

"Yes."

"Because of me...?"

Tears instantly pooled in Raphel's clear eyes. His chin trembled pitifully.

Chayston soothed him before he could burst into tears.

"Shh. It's all right. It's not because of you."

"...It's not?"

"That's right. It's not. She'll get better quickly with a little rest, so don't worry."

The tears vanished from Raphel's eyes.

Somehow, Chayston's words carried weight. A power that made it feel like things would truly turn out that way, like a spell.

Perhaps that's why—Raphel, who never listened to anyone except Verasielle, obediently nodded his head.

"Okay! I'll protect Veras!"

Raphel showed his clenched fists to Chayston standing before him.

The child's red eyes shone with determination.

Chayston felt like he'd been struck in the head.

Could a child who trusted her this much, who showed such genuine feelings, really have been abused?

Absolutely not. He'd truly gotten something wrong.

"...Yes. You must stay by the young lady's side and help her."

"Yeah! I can protect her!"

Chayston set down Raphel, whom he'd been holding with a dazed expression.

"Veraaaaas!"

As if he'd been waiting for exactly this moment, Raphel scurried into the room.

"My Lord?"

Rohan called out to the stunned Chayston. Just now, watching his master holding Raphel—it had looked exactly like an uncle with his nephew.

Black hair and red eyes. They resembled each other so much that without transformation magic, anyone would assume they were blood relatives.

"Rohan."

"Yes, My Lord."

Chayston, emerging from his reverie, eyes sharpened.

"Get the antidote as quickly as possible."

If he was mistaken, he needed to correct it immediately.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Apparently she tumbled down trying to save the kid?"

"Wow... Is it because that child is actually the young master?"

"Who knows. Maybe she deliberately put on a show for the Duke. You saw it too—getting carried in like a princess."

The servants gathered in small groups were discussing what had happened at the estate today.

They seemed quite displeased that Verasielle and Raphaleon had been living at the ducal estate under the pretense of being guests.

"That woman's probably no different from the others, right? Either she's after the reward money like everyone else, or she's using her nephew as an excuse to seduce the Duke somehow."

Among them, one woman who seemed the most displeased spoke resentfully.

All eyes focused on her.

"Come on. A noble lady suddenly going to a garbage dump? And picking up a kid there—does that make any sense? Right?"

The woman crossed her arms, speaking sharply.

Her name was Regina. She was a servant who'd been working at the ducal estate for almost three years now.

Pretty among the servants, Regina had common orange hair and brown eyes.

Just turned twenty, she was favored by the head maid and carried considerable influence among the servants.

"Well, yeah... I suppose..."

"Right. What would a noble lady be doing at a garbage dump anyway?"

The servants who'd been watching each other's reactions chimed in one after another.

If they got on Regina's bad side, they might end up assigned to sewer cleaning, which everyone avoided.

"See? That woman must've approached him for the Duke's money, no doubt about it."

Regina smirked and put on a triumphant expression.

With everyone agreeing, Regina felt like her claims were validated, and she opened her mouth with an even more excited face.

"She probably picked up some scrawny kid somewhere and disguised him, thinking no one would notice."

Regina twirled her somewhat-maintained hair as she muttered. Her voice dripped with jealousy and envy.

The servants gathered around her made awkward expressions and just rolled their eyes.

They all had plenty to say but held back. If they brought up the wrong topic, they'd face disadvantages throughout their work.

"Right. How is that child a noble's son?"

"Once the antidote arrives, the lies will all be revealed."

All they could do was agree with Regina's words.

"You there! What are you doing standing around? Get back to work!"

The head maid passing by spotted them gathered together and scolded them.

The servants scattered to their respective positions. Except for Regina.

Regina stood alone in the now-empty spot, chewing over what had just happened.

The image of Verasielle entering the room, held in Chayston's arms.

That scene was stuck in Regina's mind and wouldn't disappear.

"She's showing a weak side to try to manipulate the Duke somehow, but does she think I don't see right through her?"

Regina muttered lowly, clenching her fists tightly.

"The Duke is mine. So I won't let anyone take him away."

"Veras... You can't hurt anymore."

Raphel snuggled into Verasielle's warm embrace. Verasielle hugged the soft child tightly and laughed quietly.

"Of course not."

The baby scent that she felt whenever she held Raphel had the power to soothe her heart.

After the incident with Worden, Verasielle had been stuck in her room, forced to rest.

Even light walks seemed fine, so when she tried to go out to the garden...

'No! Veras hurt, so stay still!'

Raphel had placed both arms on his sides and spoken so fiercely that she'd had to stay in her room.

The little one making such a serious, solemn expression was so adorable she wanted to frame it in a photograph.

After hearing the physician say that it was best to rest as much as possible and minimize movement until her ankle healed, Raphel had changed.

"Raphel will protect! Veras, stay still!"

Even when she tried to move just a little because the water cup was out of reach, Raphel would rush over, saying he'd do it.

'I'll feed you!'

Since her hands weren't injured, drinking water wasn't a problem, but Raphel held the cup to her mouth with his small hands and fed her himself.

Finding this endearing, Verasielle smiled and accepted Raphel's kindness.

If it made Raphel feel better, that was good enough.

After receiving Raphel's devoted nursing care for three days, Verasielle recovered quickly.

"I got better so fast thanks to Raphel. Thank you."

She rubbed her cheek against Raphel's squishy one.

"Hehehe. I'm glad!"

Raphel laughed happily and wrapped his arms around Verasielle's neck.

Verasielle smiled beautifully as she faced Raphel, but she couldn't hide her bitterness.

Each day was passing.

Which meant—there wasn't much time left until she'd have to part with Raphel.

'I wanted to spend a month with Raphel making as many memories as possible...'

Having wasted three days because she'd injured her ankle made it all the more regrettable.

"Veras?"

"Hm?"

At Raphel's call, Verasielle emerged from her thoughts. Then Raphel poked her forehead with his short finger and said:

"Wrinkles!"

"Ah..."

Verasielle groaned softly, realizing belatedly. Her regret must have hardened her expression without her knowing.

"All gone now, right?"

She quickly smiled brightly and gazed at Raphel.

"Yeah!"

At Veras's smile—his favorite thing in the whole world—Raphel beamed with a radiant smile too.

The knight Kai stood before the ducal estate's basement entrance, which no one frequented, avoiding people's eyes.

Something inside his shirt vibrated faintly, projecting a red light.

Kai grasped the basement door handle and turned it. But as he expected, the door was locked.

After a moment's consideration, he reached out his hand, and a sharp claw sprouted from his index finger.

An animal's claw.

He inserted the claw into the long keyhole and scraped downward.

Screeeeech. With a hair-raising sound, the lock mechanism released with a click.

Kai, who'd entered the basement immediately, pulled out the necklace he'd hidden inside his shirt.

A necklace embedded with a red ruby.

When he tapped the vibrating ruby twice with his finger, a very small black object popped out and floated in the air.

[Heizen.]

Soon, a low voice echoed from the black object.

"Yes, my lord."

Heizen, who'd been disguised as Kai, saluted the object and opened his mouth.

Since it was a voice transmission magic tool that could only exchange voices, they couldn't see each other's appearances, but he showed proper courtesy to his master.

It was behavior born from strong loyalty.

[How is it progressing?]

"We're currently waiting for the antidote. From external appearance alone, he possesses the Halos bloodline's legitimacy, but it's not certain yet."

Heizen reported exactly what he'd observed while living as the knight Kai for several days.

Like the 'Raphaleon' they were searching for, the child currently staying at the ducal estate also had red eyes and black hair.

However, without confirming precisely with the antidote, they couldn't move rashly.

[Watch from close by. Preferably very close.]

"As you command."

Heizen knelt on one knee with an unwavering voice.

The magic tool floating in the air made a whirring sound like a flying insect and was sucked back into his necklace.

He tucked the necklace inside his shirt to hide it.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he left the basement and returned to his duties.