Askal, who came out to the deck, was looking at the land far away. The doctor grumbled that he came out despite the cold wind blowing.

“Your Excellency, we will arrive in ten minutes.”

A sailor carefully spoke to him as he looked towards the harbor. Askal nodded in acknowledgment.

The ship was diligently cutting through the sea. Meanwhile, the sound of seagulls crying became clearer, and the sound of ship horns announcing departures grew louder.

“Oh? There are people gathered over there.”

The doctor said, pointing to the area near the pier. Askal took out his telescope and brought it to his eye. There, the Artenbach knights, Schmidt, and Rublion were looking at the ship.

“Who is it?”

To him who asked curiously, Askal handed over the telescope. The doctor who discovered Schmidt exclaimed in shock.

“It’s not good to be out in the cold wind!”

Askal snatched the telescope from his grumbling hand. Then he brought it to his eye again.

“Do you like it that much? Enough to smile involuntarily?”

He who was unknowingly smiling cleared his throat and lowered the corners of his mouth.

“…Isn’t she cute?”

“Who? The madam?”

The doctor looked him up and down. Then he turned his head to the opposite side and heaved a deep sigh. It was an action he could take because his master was looking at the pier through the telescope.

“Shouldn’t I not dare to agree that the madam is cute?”

At the clever doctor’s answer, Askal said while still staring at the pier.

“Correct. Only I should be able to call my wife cute.”

The doctor, who had almost fallen into a trap, decided to leave his master alone who was properly infatuated.

Then he left the deck alone, saying he would help prepare for disembarkation. Askal, who had nothing to regret, grinned as he watched the approaching land.

I don’t know if it was just my feeling, but as soon as I saw Askal getting off the ship, I thought he looked thinner. He seemed to have become even paler than when he left for the trial.

“My wife.”

He approached us without trying to hide his smile. Rublion and I hugged Askal tightly, as if to receive all the compensation for the week we spent in anxiety and worry.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

I had promised myself that I wouldn’t be sad or cry even if he couldn’t get off the ship by himself, but seeing him walk out fine made me tear up.

In fact, it seems the answer was predetermined. I would have cried whether he walked out or not.

“Welcome back, Father?”

Rublion was the first to break away from the embrace. The child stood looking at Askal with his hands folded in front properly.

“Yes. I’m back.”

He reached out and stroked Rublion’s head. It was a sight I hadn’t seen in a very long time.

Although I suggested we eat together, Father said he didn’t want to get in between the couple and went to the baron’s residence without looking back. Knowing it was consideration to let us spend time intimately, I felt a lump in my throat for no reason.

After finishing an early dinner, we gathered in Askal’s office and had small talks that we couldn’t have for a while.

Rublion boasted that his shooting skills had improved a bit and he hit the target seven out of ten times. Askal, with his characteristic expressionless face, both praised and urged him to work harder.

“Askal, I prepared something you might like.”

I took out the limited edition butter cookies I bought from a bakery in the shopping district. I had bought them before, enticed by the claim that even people who don’t like sweets eat them well.

“It was hard to buy because it was limited edition. I guess I was lucky when I bought it before.”

“Wasn’t it difficult? If you had told Gaben, he would have found it for you.”

I continued speaking while watching his hand picking up a cookie.

“I wanted to buy it myself. Because it’s a gift for you.”

“I stood in line too.”

Rublion grinned and popped a cookie into his mouth. His cheeks puffed out like cheese, then disappeared with a crisp sound.

“Thank you, my wife.”

Yes. This was the face of Askal I wanted to see. A smile like a fireplace that warms the body in the cold winter.

For this moment, everything was peaceful. The family huddled together on the office sofa, moderately warm tea, and delicious cookies.

“Askal.”

I called him in a subtle voice. Instead of answering, languid eyes gazed at me.

“Won’t you tell us now what happened?”

His slightly drowsy eyes froze in an instant. As if something inevitable had finally come.

“…Wouldn’t it be better to send the child out for a moment?”

“I want to hear it too, Father.”

Rublion, who had been picking only the chocolate from the chocolate cookies next to the butter cookies, dusted off his hands and sat up straight.

“I know why you went to the capital. It’s because that person demanded the Modesto Count title for an absurd reason, and you went to prevent losing it, right?”

Askal nodded slowly.

“I want to know what Father did to protect the family and the house. How you got shot, and why Baron Tirel cried so much.”

“…Really? What did Rimon do?”

“He cried a lot. Saying we had to save Father.”

“Strange guy.”

He chuckled. Then he began to speak, looking alternately at me and Rublion.

“As you know, I won the trial. That person… was about to be killed by an assassin sent by the Crown Prince, and I got shot trying to save him who was on the verge of death.”

Rublion’s face became very serious. I watched the child’s reaction. I wondered if we should continue this story. Although it wasn’t a good relationship, I was concerned about hurting the child since it was about his biological father.

Making my worries seem pointless, Rublion was quite calm.

“You should have just let him get shot.”

The child’s small fists clenched.

“The father who raised me all this time is more precious to me than the person who gave birth to me and then abandoned me.”

I nodded in agreement without realizing it. Then my eyes met Askal’s.

“…Anyway, that’s why I got shot, but as you can see, I’m fine. It’s also thanks to you sending the doctor at the right time, my wife.”

Looking at him giving credit to me, I held Rublion’s hand.

“Rublion helped. He brought Father back in time.”

Askal replied that he must thank Baron Deli, as he was the first person he saw when he woke up. For taking the risk of meeting pirates or encountering storms.

“Then where is that person now?”

To Rublion’s question, Askal thought for a moment before speaking.

“I left him in a place very far from the empire. A place where he can never return.”

“Surely that place isn’t the afterlife, is it?”

“If that’s what you want, I’m willing to make it so.”

“Hehe.”

Rublion grinned broadly. Then he said in a small voice.

“You said he can’t come back. That’s enough. For me.”

Askal, who had been silently watching the child, stood up and hugged Rublion tightly without a word. Seeing the two of them, my heart swelled and I took a sip from my cup.

Askal was lying in the couple’s bedroom where I had slept alone. I, who had returned after staying by Rublion’s side until he fell asleep as usual, approached the bed with a bright smile.

I hesitated as I was about to habitually burrow into his arms. But he spread his arms to make it comfortable for me to snuggle. I hesitated for a moment before carefully lying down using his arm as a pillow.

“Is it okay for me to snuggle? Doesn’t it hurt?”

I spoke, conscious of the bandage wrapped around his abdomen. He emphasized that it was the doctor’s excessive treatment and that it didn’t hurt at all. Then he pulled my hand and placed it on his side.

I was startled and quickly removed my hand, but Askal, finding my reaction amusing, hugged my head tightly.

“How can I not protect you like this.”

He muttered that and then repeatedly kissed the top of my head. My hair must be tickling his face.

“Askal, how about sleeping with Rublion tomorrow? I think he would like it tremendously.”

“Tomorrow…”

He trailed off uncharacteristically. His chin rested on the top of my head without moving.

“My wife, I have somewhere I need to go tomorrow.”

I lifted my head while still in his arms. Then I looked straight into his golden eyes that were dripping with honey.

“Are you perhaps going to the capital?”

“…Yes.”

I thought it might be so. The Crown Prince tried to kill Aron to silence him, but the plan fell through because of Askal.

If I were Askal, I would run to the Crown Prince immediately after getting rid of Aron to negotiate. To tell him not to touch me because I have his weakness.

And as expected, he was planning to go to the capital.

“If the Crown Prince had successfully assassinated him, he would have pointed to Artenbach as the mastermind behind the assassination. At the same time, he would have tried to bring the northern forces under his feet.”

Askal stroked my hair with his hand.

“But the Crown Prince made a fatal mistake. I was shot by the bullet that should have killed Aron.”

“He wouldn’t have expected things to turn out like this.”

“So I’m going to pressure the Crown Prince with the evidence Baron Tirel has gathered and the evidence I have.”

I couldn’t say anything. Because I knew that Askal saying he would meet the Crown Prince was an action for the peace of the North and for the family.

“I understand.”

I gently caressed his face.

“Just remember that I’ll be here waiting for you. Promise me… that you’ll come back soon and safely.”

“I promise, my wife.”

Askal kissed my forehead. The warmth felt so good that I smiled slightly. Then suddenly remembering, I asked.

“What happened to the guard who shot you?”

“He probably became unable to speak forever. Probably.”

A person who was loyal to the royal family but was used and discarded as a consumable. It was a miserable but inevitable result.