/
Since things were going nowhere, I attempted to reach out my hand first towards the inside of his waist but quickly withdrew it when my fingers met with his, startled.
“Oh…..”
I’d thought that he would raise his voice demanding what I was doing, but Rashid became quiet again instead. As if our fingers hadn’t brushed against each other, he slowly placed his hand on his own sword.
“Are you referring to this?”
“Yes. If, if you could perhaps lay that aside for a slight moment, please.”
“Why?”
“…….”
The expression on his face said that he wasn’t displeased or didn’t want to put it down; he looked sincerely and only curious. Facing the innocent expression that I hadn’t seen in a long time on this man, I chewed on my lips.
“Umm, excuse me, just a speculation, but when you went to see the princess at the palace before, did you have this with you at all times, too?”
“That is a given.”
[Mommyyy!]
“……”
Without a second of hesitation, Rashid replied, and Haniel’s entire body once again slumped down limply.
How scared she must feel!
I, too, wanted to lie down with her, but I was also the only person who could do anything about this rampant lake of misunderstanding.
“….Just, just why?”
“They said she’d like it.”
“What lunat- I mean, ah, whomst?” (T/N: sorry I thought this was funny (?) lol after you read it you can change it to ‘who may that have been?’ or something proper like that :D)
“Tenon.”
“…….”
Let’s not cuss, Catherine.
There is bound to be at least one moron in every household.
When I did not move an inch, my hand supporting my forehead, Rashid must have thought that this was serious. He shrugged.
“Is that not true? He definitely said that there wouldn’t be a single person who would dislike this sword if they saw it.”
“……”
Should I just cuss? I mean, didn’t I have nothing to lose now?
If it wasn’t for Haniel snuggled into my arms, I wouldn’t have been able to predict what would’ve come out of my mouth. I even swallowed down the words that would’ve asked him to go throw that human out—since he was overflowing with an abundance of younger siblings, why couldn’t he?
“Ye-es. It’s quite marvelous. But a child is not just a person.”
“…..That is true.”
“And, it’s very possible that to children, it may feel a bit scary.”
“Why would it?”
“……”
Since everyone was the same here, it looks like things wouldn’t end by throwing out just one of them.
I ended my long, deep sigh by deciding that the first and fourth brothers were definitely excluded from the selection of candidates.
Especially that Tenon or Temon guy whatever, that guy in particular was turning out to be a dangerous character. If Emperor Rashid was the type to be all-around indifferent to everything, Tenon was the contributor who made the situation worse with his clumsy knowledge.
“This sword is invested with the authority of the heavens, that only I can use in this entire continent….”
“I think it feels a bit scary when I look at it, too.”
“……”
“It’s scary, Your Highness.”
Seeming to realize then that this wasn’t going the way he’d expected it to, he stopped boasting about the details of the sword that nobody had even asked about.
Riip. The sound the sheath made as he one-handedly removed it from his waist was noisy, but I didn’t dislike hearing it. I was only rather bewildered by the way he did not peel his eyes from me for a single moment as he flung it to the side.
“Your, Your Highness, you said it was a precious object. You did not have to go so far as to….”
“Are you still afraid?”
“…..sorry?”
“I asked if you were still afraid of me.”
I instinctively shook my head, feeling like if I said yes he would take up his sword again and strike me down.
And if I had to say technically, it had already been some time since he had stopped becoming insanely scary to me.
“…..then what about that.”
“Oh, you mean Reina?”
His gaze, just barely having left me, was now directed to my arms.
I tried gently shaking Haniel, who was stretched out with her wings covering her face.
“Okayy, it’s time to stop sleeping and wake up to….”
[Da, dat’sh shcawy too! Dat! Obuh deuh like dat!]
After opening her eyes into slits and peering through her wings very slightly, she showed her strong rejection that it was still not alright.
I should’ve brought Selene. Without a translator, I had no idea what she was trying to say.
As urgent as it was, I scanned Rashid up and down before discovering the badge hanging off of his shoulder.
“Oh…..”
The design of a black snake intertwining a majestic shield may have been glorious to look at, but it could very well be fearsome in the eyes of a young child.
The snake’s red eyes were especially decorated in gems, too, and made you hesitant, like you were facing the real deal.
“And what’s the problem now?”
“Your Highness.”
How was I supposed to say it this time?
I couldn’t throw a tantrum at him to take it off since my child didn’t like it—put in the middle, I was in an awkward situation.
However, I couldn’t let the child I forcibly persuaded to come here, to be spooked again.
‘I mean, this might be the only chance she gets to get closer to her brother.’
If there weren’t any significant changes between the two today, too, then Haniel would never try to come again, even if I asked.
“You have to tell me what the problem is or I….”
“Ohh, um, the, uh, thing on your shoulder.”
“This?”
With a glance, tilting and turning his head to one side, Rashid finally took hold of the badge on his shoulder. At the same time, when I felt Haniel flinch even with her eyes closed, my lips trembled, too.
“Yes, sir, that. It has quite the look, but….”
“My late mother’s household sent it to me in celebration of the throne. It has protective magic cast on it by the Great Wizard, my uncle, so…”
“It kind of may not suit you, maybe.”
Rip. Before I was even done talking, the shoulder badge was torn off.