As they neared the bedroom, Lutis let go of the hand he was holding and didn’t rush to run ahead.

Fiddling with the thin paper in his pocket, Lutis lowered his head to meet the child’s eyes.

Wondering what he was going to do, the child quietly looked down at him and pointed a trembling index finger at the slightly open door.

“Th-there…”

So Lutis turned his head in the direction the fingertip was pointing.

“Wahhhh…!”

“…”

Aeli came into view, her face and neck completely flushed red as she wailed and wept.

It was quite unfamiliar even to Lutis to see her hugging the previous Count and Countess, crying like a child.

After all, during the few years he stayed at Mason, it was rare to see her cry more than a handful of times.

‘…Even then, it was more because she couldn’t control her emotions or laughed too much rather than crying out of sadness.’

She had been unable to open her eyes for days and finally came to her senses, so it would be natural to rush to her spouse right away.

Seeing this, there was no way he could interfere.

So Lutis picked up the child who was stamping his feet and trying to open the door with both hands.

“Ap-!”

“Shh.”

“…”

“Just a little…”

Let’s wait a little before going in.

Muttering that, Lutis leaned against the wall next to the door.

It was a long time before the crying stopped.

[This is the timeline separator]

How much time had passed?

Aeli was now on the bed, carefully stroking the head of the child who was hugging her waist tightly and sleeping.

‘He must not have slept well during that time, so it can’t be helped…’

It was only for a moment that she was startled by Lutis and the child who opened the door and entered as soon as she stopped crying.

She was so speechless at the sight of their faces, which had grown gaunt in just a few days, just like her parents.

The father and son, who looked exactly alike, rushed up to her to check on her condition.

[Are you hurting anywhere?] [Mmm, no.] [Are you hungry?] [I’m fine. Did you eat well, Adi?] […] [Adi?] [It… it wasn’t very tasty.]

Because Mommy wasn’t there, it was just like that.

Having said that, she had no choice but to indulge the child who was snuggling into her arms.

Since Lutis had taken him, it seemed he had eaten properly, but perhaps because he was at an age where he was still growing, his face seemed to have lost a little weight.

He also had dark circles under his eyes, probably from not being able to sleep properly.

-This applied not only to the child, but to everyone in the room except Aeli.

For that reason.

Aeli, who woke up late in the afternoon and soon after it was time to sleep again at night, sniffled in embarrassment.

‘I cried too much earlier, it’s hard to breathe because my nose is stuffy.’

As the wheezing breath echoed in the quiet room, Aeli made an embarrassed face.

Even she thought it was a bit much to say this as soon as she woke up, but.

‘…I think I should slowly return once the day breaks.’

That was because she had unintentionally lain down for too long and wasted quite a lot of time.

The suspicion that someone had done this intentionally had already half turned into certainty, and the identity of the culprit was likely the person who had been tormenting them so far.

In this situation, it was not a good response to just hide and hold their breath.

No- it was evident to anyone that they had done this hoping for their deaths, so it might not be bad to take them by surprise while they let their guard down.

The problem was how long it would take until then.

‘If it’s a few weeks, we can somehow hide it by controlling the spread of rumors.’

But any longer than that would be difficult.

Moreover, there was no telling what else might happen during that time, and whether the child could accept this situation.

There were many issues in various ways.

Aeli, who swallowed her saliva, muttered softly.

“So, I mean…”

“You’re saying you’re going to return?”

“-What?”

At that, the Countess – in other words, her mother – who was staring at Aeli, spoke.

As she blinked her eyes in surprise, her mother continued.

“Yes… First, I’ll create a suitable identity for you when you return. It would be nice if we could immediately restore your original status, but that would cause too much of a stir in many ways.”

“…”

“I heard a lot from the Duke and Noel. If someone who was said to be dead suddenly returns alive, it will lead to many misunderstandings.”

They would be interrogated about whether it was black magic or a preservation spell, and there would be constant trials.

In addition, during that period, they would have to endure considerable disrepute and floating rumors.

Aeli unconsciously bowed her head, feeling discouraged. Her mouth closed involuntarily at the sight of the child’s innocent face, still unaware of the world in his sleep.

However, contrary to her own concerns, what flowed from her mother’s mouth was kind reassurance.

“Misunderstandings can be resolved, and even if rumors spread strangely, they will subside over time. Then, your honor will naturally be restored, so there’s no problem.”

“…”

“But if that happens, it will definitely take quite some time to restore your status.”

“…”

“If it were up to me, I’d like you to rest comfortably during that time, but…”

That’s not what you want, right?

At the same time as those words, the bed on one side felt deeply sunken.

With a familiar scent, an indoor dress came into view at the edge of her vision, and Aeli slowly blinked.

“The collateral Lepen Viscount family happens to be quite remote, so rumors don’t easily reach there. We can say you’re a young lady who has been staying inside the mansion due to poor health, as the Viscount and his wife have no children.”

“…”

“Aeli – my child.”

“…Yes.”

“For your mother and father, your happiness comes first, so if there’s something you have to do now, we won’t stop you.”

“…”

“Do what you want to do.”

That’s enough for us.

With those words, two hands were placed on top of hers.

Unable to open her mouth at those warm words.

“…”

Tightly.

She could only silently hold hands in return.

And at dawn that day, Aeli once again boarded the carriage with Lutis and the child.

Unlike the first time, it was a sendoff with so many protective spells layered on – to the point of being overly safe.

[This is the timeline separator]

Raymond Mason. Commonly known as Ray.

The former Count Mason and Aeli’s father stared intently at the back of the carriage moving away.

Beside him, Isabella was also gazing blankly at the sight, just like him.

“…”

Sometime, not too long ago in the past.

There was a time like this.

Since the wedding was being held in Ratliff, she said there was no need to go through the hassle of wearing the wedding dress from here.

[But Mother and Father should be the first to see this! It’s a secret, but I haven’t shown Lutis yet how I look with my hair ornaments and makeup all done like this.]

She insisted on that, putting on the dress with a lot of clean magic and boarding the carriage wearing it.

Even though they would soon visit Ratliff to attend the wedding anyway.

When she had her debutante ball, she stubbornly insisted on wearing flat shoes, saying she hated anything uncomfortable.

The sight of her arguing that it would be fine since the dress was long and wouldn’t be seen was vivid in his mind.

‘But to travel a distance that would take several days even with warping.’

Wearing an uncomfortable dress with her upper body half sticking out of the carriage window, followed by several luggage carriages.

Even after that, when she had her wedding or when her grandson was born, she briefly visited Ratliff.

But that was the last time they had sent off their child.

…That’s what he thought.

But as if a miracle had occurred, they could see their daughter again.

Raymond continued to gaze at the carriage until it became a small dot and was barely visible.

[Papa-!] [Aeli, shall we try walking this far? Alright.] [Papa, ap-,] [Oh my…!]

It seemed like only yesterday when she was barely three feet tall, toddling and throwing herself into his arms.

“When did that little child grow up so much…”

She had already started her own family.

The daughter who seemed like she would always be a child had suddenly taken on the face of a parent, just like him.

So that was why. He didn’t oppose his wife’s opinion to let her do as she wished.

It felt like a small warmth touched the tips of his clenched fist.

[This is the timeline separator]

‘The note given by the person called the godmother… I received it from Lutis earlier.’

As soon as the child returned from the estate to the capital mansion, he dragged them to have an endless feast of snacks under the pretext of teatime, and then headed to the training grounds to see Sioren.

Since he said he was hungry as soon as he got out of the carriage, they had an early dinner – so it wouldn’t be long before the child finished playing and returned.

Aeli sat next to Lutis on the couch in a corner of the bedroom, fidgeting with her hands.

Lutis also seemed tense, with an unusually stiff expression.

‘…It’s not quite right to say it’s unusual, since I’ve been seeing it often lately.’

Anyway, that was the case.

So why were they doing this? There was a lot of backstory here.

Creak-.

“Daddy, Mommy! I also… huh?”

The child, who had been opening the bedroom door with sparkling eyes, as if deeply impressed by Sioren’s improved swordsmanship skills, froze abruptly.

Well, it would be startling to see both parents sitting with an unusual atmosphere, unlike their usual selves.

Aeli, smiling slightly, tried to ignore her pounding heart and opened her mouth.

“Adi, can you come here for a moment?”

“Uh… I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“It’s not that- um. There’s something I want to give you.”

At Aeli’s words, the child, who had approached with a doubtful face, rolled his eyes.

But he must have at least washed up before coming, as his hair was slightly damp from being at the training grounds.

Ignoring the couch right next to them and squeezing in between them, Aeli raised her head.

After briefly exchanging glances with Lutis, she finally spoke.

“Adi, so…”

“Adrian.”

“…”

“…Ah.”

“-Umm. Well…”

No, she was about to say it but Lutis beat her to it.

Except for being a bit stiff, his face looked fine, so she thought it would be okay.

Aeli, who gave an awkward smile at Lutis who had cut off the beginning and end, narrowed her eyes and added.

“So, we wanted to give you a good name, but we spent so much time agonizing over it…”

“…”

“…It’s the name your mother and father gave you. In ancient language, it means sea and giving.”

We hoped that you would live freely like the vast sea, abundantly and leisurely, knowing how to give and receive.

So that you would no longer be lonely.

We wished for you to have a life where you interacted with many people and enjoyed the world to the fullest.

With that thought, Aeli asked the child.

“Do you like it, …Adi?”

Plop.

That’s when the child, who had been blankly looking up at them, scrunched up his face and large teardrops fell.