If it’s not a threat, it’s hard to explain why Kian suddenly held Sicar’s hand affectionately.

Whether he sensed my suspicious gaze or not, Sicar was staring at me intently.

‘Oh, no. Sicar always used to stare at me like this.’

Perhaps intending to ask Sicar about this matter, Kian grabbed the collar of my clothes unexpectedly.

“Mother, please don’t doubt the Duke.”

Well, well. Kian’s words made me startle, as if he were looking deep into my soul.

“Huh? Kian, what’s all this sudden talk about?”

“From now on, I’m going to get along well with the Duke. Mother!”

“Why did you suddenly think of that?”

Although Kian’s thoughts were commendable, I couldn’t easily believe his words because there must be a reason for a child to suddenly change like this…

Kian seemed a bit flustered and scratched his cheek, saying,

“Well, you see…”

Seems like he’s not able to answer quickly again.

Then, suddenly, Sicar intervened.

“I’ve decided to treat him well. So, Kian has also decided to treat me well from now on.”

Sicar said that and raised his hand over Kian’s shoulder, and Kian held onto Sicar’s leg.

“Yes. That’s right. Mother, because the Duke is treating me well, I’ve decided to treat the Duke well too.”

There was a continuous feeling that something was staged in the attitudes of these two people.

So, circling around them, I said,

“Was there something during the walk? Or did the two of you suddenly decide to get along well?”

“You could say it’s the latter. We decided to get along well from now on.”

“Yes, Mother. I fully agree with the Duke’s words.”

“But why does it seem so… unnatural, the way you two are acting.”

The two of them even laughed at each other without being asked, making me unable to easily dispel my suspicions.

So, I pulled Sicar aside and asked,

“Sicar, did you threaten Kian or something?”

“Threats? Do you think that guy is someone who would be threatened by me? Kian is not a child who would succumb to threats from me.”

“But why are you like this? It’s strange that the two of you suddenly changed overnight. Isn’t my suspicion quite reasonable, and you know it too?”

“Both of them are blindly supporting me. It’s just that this mouse doesn’t know how cunning it is. The one who was threatened, in fact, is me.”

“Threatened…? What are you talking about? Did Kian get threatened by you?”

“Well… something like that. If he doesn’t treat you well, he said he won’t open his heart to me.”

What am I hearing again? It can’t be considered a threat.

“How is that a threat? Everyone says things like that. What kind of threat did Kian receive?”

“Well… so, if I don’t treat you well, he won’t open his heart to me.”

I don’t know what to say. That can’t be considered a threat.
“Alright. Instead of that, I’ll consider the term ‘mouse droppings’ as a forbidden word from now on.”

“Forbidden word? Are you planning not to let me use that word from now on? To me?”

“Yeah. As a father of a child, that kind of word is prohibited.”

“If I violate that forbidden word, do I get some kind of punishment?”

I hadn’t thought of a punishment for breaking the rule I just came up with. Since I set the forbidden word, there should be a punishment for Sicar to be cautious. What should the punishment be?

During my contemplation, Sicar, once again, made his characteristic icy smirk.

“For some reason, I feel like I want to receive that punishment and look forward to what it might be.”

“So, you want to guard that punishment like a sword?”

“Well, I’ll do what you want. Rules are rules.”

“Alright. I want you to say, ‘I love you.'”

In that moment, I witnessed Sicar freezing as if he were petrified.

He can’t do that even if he dies, right? It feels like my immunity is already breaking through.

Just a moment ago, Sicar, who seemed like he was about to devour me, turned back to his original position without moving. He sat next to Kian, seemingly absorbed in calmly making clothes.

Until Sicar and I finished cutting all the remaining fabric, Grandma didn’t come, and Kian had fallen into a nap by then.

“Sicar, can’t you go find Grandma and see what happened?”

“The moment I start looking for Grandma, I’ll become an oblivious grandson, right?”

“An oblivious grandson?”

“If you haven’t noticed by now, I don’t know what to say. I just hope the two of us can be alone.”

Is this really happening or is it fake?

“Is that really true?”

“When I was young, Grandma used to do this often. I’ve mentioned it before, but when Grandma wanted my younger sibling, she did this.”

I felt nauseous again, even though I hadn’t eaten anything.

So, to end this conversation, I turned my gaze to Kian, who was sleeping with an impressed expression. Kian was still sleeping, wearing a stern expression.

“Sicar, Kian is making that stern face again?”

Sicar looked at Kian with a solemn expression and said,

“Do you think Kian is having a nightmare?”

“Well, but whenever I see this young Kian sleeping with a stern face, it hurts my heart.”

“But he has improved a lot compared to before, so he’ll be fine soon.”