But by the time I tried to stop them, it seemed too late. The damned Death Knight had appeared again.

“Sicar, please change that setting!”

“It might be better to stay calm here.”

Because I yelled for no reason, another Death Knight appeared. When I thought I couldn’t play anymore in this atmosphere, Kian’s small hands covered my eyes.

At that moment, I remembered something Sicar had said before. He said that allowing Kian to protect me could alleviate his guilt about failing to protect Bali.

So I wanted to instill in Kian the belief that he was perfectly protecting me.

“Isn’t it really not scary when Kian covers my eyes?”

“…Really?”

It wasn’t entirely untrue. When Kian covered my eyes, my heart lightened and some of the fear I felt earlier disappeared.

Kian sounded unsure, but I could hear a hint of joy in his voice.

Imagining Kian, standing behind me and firmly covering my eyes, was too cute. The young protagonist protecting me was quite reliable.

As the surroundings quietened down, Kian slowly removed his hands from my eyes.

“It’s gone now, Mother. If it appears again, I’ll cover your eyes again.”

Whether my words had had an effect or not, Kian’s voice was a bit more forceful. As if he had gained confidence from protecting me once, he felt he could do it again.

Really. Isn’t he so cute and cool?!

But it seemed time to leave this place. It seemed like we would continue to fight, and I would have to spend all day looking at the damned Death Knight.

Of course, every time the Death Knight appeared, Kian gave me confidence that he was protecting me well. But before I fainted, I had to stop.

“Kian. I think we should stop here for today.”

I was worried about disappointing Kian, but he surprised me with a response I hadn’t expected.

“I was thinking the same. I like it when Mother is comfortable.”

He’s moved me again. They say that raising a child is a daily emotional journey, and I felt it. I felt like I was receiving all the love of a child while raising Kian. I felt a lump in my throat.

I stood up and brushed off Kian’s bottom.

“Sicar. Let’s go now.”

Sicar, who had been sitting with an inscrutable expression, got up.

And then, the door to the training room opened and Durion came in.

“Duke. There’s something important to tell you.”

Durion’s voice was very urgent, so I had a hunch. It was the hope that they might have found Bali’s body.

Sicar, who had been whispering with Durion for a moment, nodded a few times and approached me.

“I have to go out for a while.”

Even Sicar, who had been expressionless, seemed to have something on his mind.

Maybe it was because waiting was too frustrating, but after I sent Kian into the mansion first, I ran to the front door and caught Sicar who was about to get into a carriage.

“Sicar. When will you be back? When are you coming back?”

Sicar, who was about to step into the carriage, turned his head and looked at my hand holding his robe.

Ah, I was originally not one to tolerate such things. I quickly released my hand that had been gripping his sleeve.

“Ah, sorry. I was so hurried that I grabbed onto you without realizing.”

Sicar, who had been keeping his gaze on my hand, finally lifted his head to look at me.

“It seems I’ll be late.”

“Can’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“Well, I might be able to find Princess Veronia.”

Because it was something I had been eagerly awaiting, I covered my mouth in surprise with my hand.

“Is that really true?”

“I’m not certain. I hired a finder and they said they found someone similar to Veronia, so I’m just going to check. Don’t worry, I’ve left Bica behind.”

With that, Sicar promptly boarded the carriage.

The thought that I might find Veronia made my heart pound heavily for the first time in a while. Kian would be so happy if we found Veronia.

Even if he doesn’t say it, I’m sure he misses our mother who gave birth to me. I hope I can find Veronia and tell Kian that we found our mother.

As I stepped into the mansion, trying to calm my fluttering heart, I saw Kian coming out after washing his hands. I rushed over to Kian in excitement.

“Kian!”

Then Bica came out with her arms crossed, looked at me with halfclosed eyes, and said.

“Madam, what will happen if you keep running around like that? There are servants here, you should keep your decorum.”

I was about to say okay when Kian glared at Bica with sharp eyes and scolded her.

“Is it okay for a maid like Bica to reprimand the madam in that manner?”

“I’m teaching the madam manners because I am a maid. Master.”

I wouldn’t have minded if she only did it to me, but that was Bica’s personality, so I didn’t really care. However, Kian seemed to find it unbearable.

“A wellmannered maid doesn’t teach the madam. You should learn manners and etiquette first, Bica!”

It was hard to swallow. If we find Veronia, I wouldn’t receive this kind of affection from Kian anymore, would I?

The thought was a little sad, but for Kian’s sake, I fervently hoped that Sicar would find Veronia.