Aspeiran pondered deeply and then nodded.

‘He’ll be sad.’

Right. That guy likes being outside an unusual amount.

Suddenly, he recalled Shuria’s expression that seemed to gather all the world’s sorrows whenever she felt sad. A pitiful… and funny face.

‘Should I go visit her if I have time tomorrow?’

Or it would be fine to stop by briefly after the exam is over.

Aspeiran gazed indifferently at the apprentice knights sparring in the middle of the training ground.

The children currently taking the test were the youngest among the apprentice knights. Perhaps that’s why, although they were trying hard, they were still utterly clumsy.

‘Are those kids the last ones?… There’s nothing more to see, so I should get up soon.’

Aspeiran raised his hand to stop the sparring.

At that moment, if Aspeiran had not overheard a secret conversation between two knights, the achievement evaluation would have likely concluded right away.

“Are you going to see Lady Shuria tomorrow?”

Shuria?

Aspeiran’s hand grasped the armrest again. Despite the considerable distance, Aspeiran’s hearing, which surpassed that of ordinary people, allowed him to hear all the conversation clearly.

“Of course I’m going. What about you?”

“I have duty tomorrow… Ah, I wanted to go too. My small and cute little furball lady. I miss her.”

Aspeiran furrowed his brow. What’s with ‘my lady’. As expected, those bastards were intentionally hanging around Shuria.

While Aspeiran suppressed his rising displeasure, another knight chided the one who had been going on about furballs.

“What furball? Are you talking about Lady Shuria? Hey, Lady Shuria is a hamster. That cute one with yellow fur.”

What’s with the hamster now.

Aspeiran finally turned his gaze towards them. By now, other knights had also gathered around them and started expressing their opinions.

“I can’t just listen silently. Lady Shuria is like a newborn puppy!”

“How can she be newborn when Lady Shuria is so dependable? I think she resembles a squirrel. Have you ever given Lady Shuria a food gift? Have you seen how her cheeks puff up?”

“Nah, doesn’t she look more like a small white snow rabbit?”

While thinking it was quite a spectacle, Aspeiran applied each animal and object the knights mentioned to Shuria one by one. Furball, hamster, puppy, squirrel, snow rabbit…

‘Does she… resemble them?’

The small and insignificant appearance did seem to resemble her…

‘No, no. Another useless thought.’

Aspeiran rubbed his face. Ever since he heard his closest confidants saying things like Shuria is cute or whatever the other day, strangely, he found himself recalling Shuria’s face at every opportunity.

It was then, as he was clicking his tongue inwardly at the incomprehensible situation, that one knight’s absurd remark pierced Aspeiran’s ears.

“Hey, do you think Lady Shuria would accept if I asked her out on a date?”

Whisk, Aspeiran’s head turned towards the knights. The bastard who had just spouted that nonsense was being pushed around by the other knights.

“Are you crazy?”

“Come to your senses, it’s unseemly.”

“Why would Lady Shuria go on a date with you, senior?”

“Ugh! Hey, hey, wait! I’m really serious!”

The knight who had become a good punching bag for the others shouted as if feeling wronged.

“Lady Shuria is my perfect ideal type. I’m really thinking about marrying her, I swear!”

Crack.

“My lord!”

Canis, who had been standing guard behind Aspeiran and watching the apprentice knights’ sparring, was shocked.

Aspeiran expressionlessly threw away the armrest he had just torn off.

Precisely in the direction of the one who had been spouting nonsense about ideal types and marriage.

The group of knights who had been chattering away turned pale and stood at attention. Even the apprentice knight children who had just finished sparring looked around nervously.

Aspeiran rose from his seat, his cloak fluttering. Everyone’s tense gazes turned towards the lord who looked extremely displeased.

Aspeiran declared imperiously.

“We’re done for today. Good work, everyone.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Bring a sturdier chair.”

“We will obey your command!”

Leaving behind the bewildered test supervisor, Aspeiran left the training ground. Canis hurriedly followed.

As Canis tried to say something, Aspeiran waved him off.

“I’m going for a short walk before returning. You take care of the apprentice kids and come back.”

“Pardon? But I should escort you…”

“I said go.”

Finally realizing that his lord was in a very bad mood, Canis bowed deeply to see Aspeiran off. Aspeiran walked away without a word.

Only his footprints were neatly imprinted on the snow-white field. However, in contrast to this, Aspeiran’s mind was in complete disarray.

‘Why did I do that?’

Aspeiran reflected on the situation from earlier. When he heard that bastard’s marriage aspirations while babbling away, he suddenly felt irritated, and before he knew it, the chair’s armrest was broken.

It was an incomprehensible change in emotion and impulse.

Yes, come to think of it, this wasn’t the first time he had acted so impulsively.

Lately, he had been feeling good for no reason, then becoming unpleasant, getting unnecessarily irritated, and suddenly getting up from work to go on unnecessary outings.

What on earth was happening to him?

Aspeiran even felt a sense of crisis about this abnormal mental state. It seems he needs to get an examination from Rumel soon…

Thoughts kept chasing one after another. When he suddenly came to his senses, he was already in front of the monster nursery.

Aspeiran gazed blankly at the pergola where Shuria would be sitting. Since he’s come this far, should he just see her face briefly before leaving?

Even before making a decision, his footsteps were already naturally heading in that direction. In the distance, soft wheat-colored hair could be seen dancing gently in the air.

The corners of Aspeiran’s mouth rose slightly. And he suddenly realized.

At the center of all the impulses he had been feeling lately was Shuria, the one he had saved, the one he had named, the one he had tied to his side.

Aspeiran stopped abruptly in his tracks.

Why? What was it about that mere woman.

He was confused. For now, he didn’t want to see her, so Aspeiran tried to turn his steps away.

But at that moment, he heard the sound of rough panting.

In the end, unable to contain his curiosity, Aspeiran peered inside the pergola.

“Hard thing, hard thing… Ugh, why didn’t I bring a hammer?”

“…?”

Shuria was crouched in the corner, panting as she rummaged through a prop box. She was so focused that she didn’t even notice someone had come.

What is she looking for? Aspeiran opened his mouth to call her.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh my goodness!”

Shuria, startled, lost her balance and fell on her bottom as she turned around.

While Aspeiran was hesitating whether to jump over the fence, twitching his hand, a bright smile bloomed on Shuria’s face as she spotted him.

“My lord!”

Shuria hopped over to the fence. Her golden eyes sparkled brilliantly.

As he gazed into that golden light rippling with affection, Aspeiran felt as if his tangled mind, like a knotted thread, was becoming clear.

Shuria spoke in a voice like raindrops bouncing cheerfully.

“I heard you were busy!”

“It ended early. I just stopped by briefly on my way. What were you doing?”

“Ah.”

Shuria looked back at the pergola she had messed up and said sheepishly.

“Well, I was looking for something hard and heavy.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to crack this open.”

Shuria held out something. It was a large walnut.

Fiddling with the walnut, Shuria grumbled.

“You know how sometimes it just won’t crack no matter what? I’m usually someone who can crack hundreds of walnuts with my bare hands, but…”

Her tone suggested she was truly frustrated to death.

Feeling somewhat amused, Aspeiran held out his hand.

“Let me see it.”

Shuria handed over the walnut, albeit with a skeptical look.

Aspeiran held the walnut between his fingers and applied gentle pressure. The walnut cleanly split into two halves.

A gasp escaped Shuria’s lips, as if she might pass out.

With an expressionless face, Aspeiran placed the walnut kernels in Shuria’s hand.

“Eat.”

“M-my lord…!”

Shuria’s eyes, which were already large and round normally, widened to an unbelievable degree. Extremely excited, Shuria bounced up and down exaggeratedly.

“You’re amazing!”

“What is.”

“The walnut! To crack such a hard thing with your bare hands. How did you do it? Did you use aura? Or magic?”

“Of course not. It just splits if you apply force.”

“I couldn’t do it! I’ve been struggling with this all day!”

Shuria stamped her foot as if feeling frustrated. However, soon she chewed on the walnut kernel with a face full of happiness.

“It’s delicious! All that effort was worth it. Would you like one?”

“You eat plenty.”

“Yes. I will obey your command.”

Aspeiran went ahead and cracked a few more walnuts. By then, the irritation and frustration he had been feeling earlier had dissipated like smoke.

Shuria chattered as she quickly ate the walnuts.

“If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t have known this taste. As expected, our lord is powerful, considerate of his subjects’ hardships, great, kind…”

“What are you saying.”

Aspeiran frowned deeply at Shuria’s endless praise. Shuria paused her admiration and gazed up at Aspeiran’s face.

In the past, she would have quietly closed her mouth, thinking Aspeiran was displeased.

But now, after Kiara’s special lesson, she could tell. That wasn’t a displeased face, but an embarrassed one.

Feeling her gaze, Aspeiran asked gruffly.

“What are you looking at.”

“Nothing.”

Shuria giggled and then added playfully.

“I just thought that the lord I serve is indeed the world’s greatest handsome man!”

Shuria smiled brightly as she finished speaking.

Like a flower bud blooming brightly after enduring a long winter, like the sun peeking out after parting the dark clouds following a long snowfall, just like that.

For a moment, Aspeiran’s heart sank with a thud.

“My lord?”

Shuria called out to Aspeiran with wide eyes.

Aspeiran didn’t answer. Instead, he cracked all the remaining walnuts at once, picked out only the kernels and placed them in Shuria’s hand, then abruptly turned his back.

He said brusquely.

“Don’t talk nonsense. I’ll be going now.”

“Oh, oh? Yes! Take care!”

Shuria bowed deeply in farewell, then hurriedly caught the walnuts that were about to spill out.

Because of that, she failed to see. That the tips of Aspeiran’s ears, as he walked away, were tinged with a pale pink.