The teachers, unaware of Killian’s thoughts, were busy praising his dazzling appearance.

“I… This is my first time seeing a nobleman up close. Are all noble lords this handsome?”

“Oh my, Teacher Lucy, what a thing to say! Our headmaster is also a nobleman.”

“Ah, right! Our headmaster is also a baron. Then… are all high-ranking noble lords this handsome?”

Although he was sitting with his body hunched, the unique aura emanating from Killian’s entire being remained unchanged.

He was born and raised nobly, eventually rising to the highest position among the aristocracy. He was someone who had never once bowed down to please anyone and never would for the rest of his life.

One teacher who had been glancing at Killian all along tilted her head and asked.

“But doesn’t the duke look similar to Jediel?”

“Let’s see… Oh my, you’re right? They do look alike!”

“Nah… Isn’t that just because they’re both handsome? Our Jediel is quite a looker too.”

The teachers were busy rolling their eyes, comparing and analyzing Killian and Jediel’s faces.

“Hmm… Although their hair colors are different, their eyes are both large and clear, their eye color is the same deep blue, and their nose bridges are similarly high!”

“How fascinating. If a stranger saw them, they might think they were father and son.”

At that moment, the listening teachers gasped in surprise.

“Oh my, teacher! You can’t say such things carelessly! Nobles are sensitive about these matters. You might get arrested if you’re not careful.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I take back what I just said! Anyway, they’re both so handsome! Maybe that’s why they seem a bit alike.”

Perhaps having heard the teachers’ chatter, the headmaster who had entered with a tray sat down in front of Killian and said in a loud voice while chuckling.

“Looking at it this way, the duke is handsome, and our Jediel is handsome too, so the two seem to look alike! It’s good to see, very good!”

Everyone sitting at the same table reacted to the headmaster’s words.

“You say I look like Uncle Killian? Like this handsome uncle? Wow…! But what’s a duke?”

“Jediel and I look alike? I’ve never thought about it that way, but really… do we look alike?”

“What? The duke and that little boy? Where on earth… Ah… Their eyes do seem similar…”

At the headmaster’s words, Jediel was delighted, Killian wore a bewildered expression, and Windler was surprised, alternately examining their faces as if looking for differences in a picture.

After lunch, it was time for ball games.

“Young children need time to soak up the sun outside and release their energy sufficiently.”

The headmaster explained diligently to Killian standing beside him.

But Killian wasn’t listening carefully to the headmaster’s explanation. He was too busy following Jediel with his gaze.

‘Ah… You shouldn’t hold it like that! A bit more to the side… Yes! Oh, no!’

Jediel was a bit smaller in build compared to the other children, and his feet were slow and his movements clumsy.

Perhaps because of this, he often stumbled over his own feet and frequently dropped the ball when it came flying towards him.

It was when Killian was watching Jediel struggle with the ball game with a pitying gaze. Their eyes met suddenly.

The child smiled brightly and waved both hands towards Killian. Killian waved back.

At that moment, the ball flew towards Jediel.

“Jediel, the ball! Dodge it!”

Killian shouted in surprise, but it was already too late.

The child tried to turn his body to avoid the incoming ball, but he tripped over his own feet and fell hard. His knee was scraped, and blood formed on the wound.

“Ah… It hurts…”

It hurt so much that tears were about to form, but he held them back. He didn’t want to cry in front of Uncle Killian.

Killian rushed over.

“Jediel! Are you okay?”

“Yes…”

The child tried to force a smile, pretending to be fine, but it wasn’t easy. Deep wrinkles formed between Killian’s brows as he examined the injured knee.

“Oh no, it’s a bad wound! Ah… It must hurt a lot.”

At Killian’s worried words, Jediel burst into the tears he had been holding back.

“Sob… Waaah! Waaah!”

Tears flowed like a waterfall down his small face. The flustered Killian immediately picked up Jediel and began striding.

“Where’s the infirmary?”

“This way.”

The headmaster himself led the way. Windler, who had been standing nearby, reached out towards Killian.

It was a signal to hand the child over to him, but Killian just ignored it and kept walking forward.

Thump thump, Killian’s heart beat anxiously. He was worried sick that the child might be seriously injured, that a big scar might remain. That the child’s feelings might have been hurt.

At that moment, Jediel, cradled in Killian’s broad arms, blushed. He was embarrassed for crying in front of Uncle Killian.

But apart from that, he thought that the uncle’s embrace felt really nice. It smelled good and had a wide, firm feeling. It was definitely different from his mother’s soft and fluffy embrace, but it was still nice.

They arrived at the infirmary before they knew it.

The crying had stopped, but teardrops still hung heavily on his long eyebrows. Killian wiped away the tears and spoke kindly.

“It must hurt a lot, but you’ve been very brave. Now the nurse will make it stop hurting.”

“Yes.”

The nurse treated the child’s knee with skilled hands. She cleaned the wound area with a clean towel, disinfected it, and applied medicine.

The headmaster began explaining with a prideful tone.

“Our nurse has experience working in a general clinic. But most childcare facilities don’t have a nurse. I think this is an area that needs improvement. Children often get sick and injured, you see.”

The aides diligently wrote down the headmaster’s explanation, but Killian himself wasn’t really listening. His mind was filled with worry about Jediel.

There was a gaze carefully observing Killian’s serious expression, and it belonged to Windler.

‘Jediel, who on earth is that child for His Grace to be so concerned? He can’t be a relative? A child of an acquaintance? Could it be… Perhaps… Could it be…!’

And then a series of unrelated thoughts followed. It was an absurdly far-fetched assumption, but it also sounded quite plausible.

‘Could it be… Was it because of Jediel, that child, that His Grace ordered to plan a business associated with this kindergarten? His Grace? Huh… Could it be… Even if that’s the case, why on earth…?’

It was quite a convincing assumption. It seemed like that thought was correct. Windler felt a little proud, thinking he had uncovered Killian’s secret on his own.

After ball game time, it was snack and nap time.

“Once they’ve released enough energy, they need to replenish with snacks and take a rest.”

The headmaster’s additional explanation continued diligently. But only the aides were listening to that explanation.

Killian was nowhere to be seen.

“Where has His Grace gone?”

At the headmaster’s question, the aides also tilted their heads in confusion.

At the same time, Killian was out in the garden with Jediel, sitting on a bench under a tree shade, drinking strawberry milk.

Killian wiped the tear stains remaining on the child’s face with a handkerchief.

“I tried not to cry, but tears came out.”

Jediel said with a sulky expression, pouting his lips. Killian slowly shook his head and consoled him.

“If it hurts, you should cry. If tears come, it’s okay to cry. Crying isn’t a bad thing. It’s much better to cry freely than to hold back tears.”

“But… only little kids cry. Adults don’t cry. I don’t like being a little kid. I want to be an adult.”

It was so cute that the adorable little one was calling himself an adult that Killian almost laughed, but he held it back. It didn’t seem polite to laugh alone in the middle of a somewhat serious conversation.

“Adults cry like children when they’re hurt too. There’s no one in the world who doesn’t cry.”

“Do you cry too, uncle?”

“Yes, I do.”

Surprised by Killian’s answer, Jediel opened his eyes wide and asked again.

“When you’re hurt?”

“Yes. I cry when I’m hurt, when I’m sad… and when I miss someone terribly.”

Killian gazed steadily at Jediel. And he thought of his own brother who looked so much like the child.

That’s when it happened. A ball that had been in a corner rolled over, carried by the wind.

Killian quickly picked up the ball.

“Shall we play ball just the two of us?”

“…”

Jediel hesitated for a moment.

He lacked confidence. He was afraid he might not catch the ball properly again, that he might fall again.

‘But… I want to play with uncle!’

Jediel nodded his head vigorously. And he immediately got into a ready stance.

“First, it’s important not to be afraid of the ball! You must never take your eyes off the ball.”

“Yes, uncle.”

Killian threw the ball slowly and gently towards Jediel. The child, staring at the ball with wide eyes, jumped up and caught it.

“Wow, I caught it!”

Jediel jumped up and down in excitement.

“Now it’s Jediel’s turn. Stand straight facing uncle and throw with both hands as hard as you can. Can you do it?”

“Yes!”

Jediel stood straight as Killian instructed and threw the ball hard with both hands. Though the throw was a bit weak, the ball flew in a straight line and nestled into Killian’s arms.

“Oh, you’re quite good at this, Jediel?”

“Hehe…”

The child, having gained confidence, smiled brightly. And their private ball game continued for a while.

Far away, there was a gaze carefully observing the scene of their friendly ball game, and it belonged to Windler. The complex emotions were clearly visible on his face.

‘Just what… is going on between those two?’