Lyriette had collapsed all of a sudden, and I hurried her off to her bedroom.
About five minutes had passed since then.
“Lyriette!”
“Young Master!”
The Duke and Duchess Argent came running, not even bothering with their shoes.
Kluve, the family physician who had been sitting beside the bed, adjusted his glasses and stepped aside.
Edmund quietly examined Lyriette, who lay there with her eyes closed, then pressed Kluve as if demanding an answer.
“Kluve, what happened here? Our daughter collapsing out of nowhere—why on earth…!”
“Please calm yourself, Your Grace. Fortunately, there are no external injuries, nor any major physical issues.”
“Isn’t that all the more troubling! If nothing is wrong, then why did she collapse in the first place!”
Edmund’s question seemed to speak for me as well.
Though I wasn’t a physician and couldn’t know the details in depth,
when I sent mana through her to check her condition, Lyriette seemed fine.
Generally, when something is wrong with the body, the first sign to appear is a disturbance in the flow of one’s mana—and that, at least, remained stable.
“It could be mild anemia, or simply accumulated fatigue. From what I’ve examined, there’s no serious problem, though I do suspect she may have been under some degree of stress.”
“Stress, you say….”
Edmund murmured under his breath, as though something had occurred to him.
Stress.
That was certainly a plausible possibility.
Though more than a month had passed since that day,
Lyriette had been through quite a lot recently.
Above all, a child who normally didn’t move around much had suddenly taken up harsh training and gone out more often than usual—so it was entirely likely that fatigue had built up in her body.
She simply hadn’t shown it outwardly, but perhaps it had quietly condensed into stress all the same.
“Dear, perhaps it’s because of me….”
“It isn’t your fault. If anything, it’s this inadequate father’s—making time every day to visit must have worn her out. She must have worried more than enough as well.”
The Argent couple each tried to shoulder the blame themselves.
Of course, I couldn’t say it wasn’t partly true.
But to me, that didn’t seem like the largest factor.
After all, recalling my recent conversations with Lyriette,
she never once showed signs of struggling in her relationship with the two of them.
If anything, some days she’d say, “Mother gave me an interesting book as a gift,” and other days, “Father told me a fascinating story today.”
She’d only ever mentioned good things about them.
She was such a kind child that she might simply be unable to speak ill of anyone.
But then again, Lyriette had occasionally pouted or complained in front of me, so that didn’t quite seem like the answer either.
So then, if I thought carefully about what could have suddenly caused Lyriette stress,
there was only one answer.
‘Is it me?’
She’d said she found out about my leaving beforehand.
She’d even realized I was hiding it from her.
Perhaps the stress from that had weighed on her mind more than I’d thought.
My hand, resting on my thigh, tightened without meaning to.
“For now, all we can do is monitor her condition. It would be best to refrain from any strenuous activity for a while and focus on recovery. I’ll prepare a tonic to help restore her strength.”
“Thank you, Kluve.”
“Yes. Ah, and it would be good if someone stayed by her side.”
“That would be me—”
Just as Cassdia was about to continue, I cut in first.
“I’ll stay.”
“You’ll stay? Weren’t you supposed to head back tomorrow?”
“When my niece is sick, do you think I could care about something like that? There’s still some time left in the schedule anyway, so it’s fine. Isn’t that right, Ern?”
I asked Ern, who’d been standing quietly in the back, and he nodded.
“That’s right. We can spare at least four days, no problem.”
“Then I’ll stay until I confirm Lyriette has recovered, within those four days, before heading back.”
Under normal circumstances, Edmund would have refused here.
He’d have said he appreciated the thought, but that they would watch over her themselves while I attended to my duties.
But whether it was because of the look in my eyes, or because he judged it best to leave it to me,
he exchanged a glance with Cassdia and, without a word, gave a slow nod.
“Very well. If that’s what you wish….”
“Please take good care of her, Young Master. We’ll come by regularly as well.”
“Of course.”
Having successfully secured the position of Lyriette’s caretaker, I brushed the tangled hair from her forehead as she lay with her eyes closed.
“…….”
I found myself recalling the Snow White story from a picture book I’d read as a child.
As if waiting for a kiss from a beloved prince, Lyriette lay there with her eyes closed so peacefully.
***
“Mmn….”
“Are you awake?”
“…Yes, Uncle.”
About an hour later, Lyriette woke up.
She looked astonishingly calm.
She didn’t glance around in confusion, nor did she seem startled to find herself lying in bed.
“You fainted. Have you perhaps not been sleeping properly lately?”
“I always sleep quite soundly. There’s no need to worry so much.”
“…I see.”
I closed the book I’d been reading and set it on the table, then pulled my chair a little closer to Lyriette.
I reached out to place a hand on her forehead, just to check whether she had a fever, when—
“Ah…!”
“……?”
For some reason, Lyriette flinched and pulled away in surprise.
That reaction startled me even more than it seemed to startle her.
“S-Sorry. You suddenly placed your hand on me, and it startled me….”
“No, it’s fine. This uncle was too careless.”
I kept my tone calm, but privately, I thought it was rather odd.
Normally, even when I placed my hand on her without a word, Lyriette would seem pleased rather than alarmed.
‘What was that reaction just now? Almost like she found it distasteful.’
Could it be,
‘Am I… disliked now?’
Perhaps she was upset that I hadn’t told her about leaving.
It was certainly plausible.
I’d better not approach her too casually for a while.
It wouldn’t do to make her dislike me even more.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“I’m fine. Uncle, haven’t you skipped your own meals while taking care of me?”
“Gilbert just brought me something to eat, so don’t worry.”
Of course, that was a lie.
With Lyriette sick, how could food possibly go down my throat?
But if I didn’t say something like that, she would surely worry.
So I decided to tell a small lie just to get past the moment.
“…I see.”
At that, Lyriette gave me an oddly complicated look.
As though there was something she wanted to say but couldn’t bring herself to.
“Kluve told me you might have been under quite a bit of stress lately. Was there something troubling you?”
“…….”
She was a child who always answered me within a single second.
But today, the silence stretched on unusually long.
I took that silence as an answer in itself.
“…Was it perhaps because of this uncle?”
“What? H-how did you—”
“I know. Whose business would it be, if not mine?”
So it was true, after all.
I lowered my eyes and smiled bitterly.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to be the one to tell you myself, if at all possible—yet you had to hear it from someone else’s mouth.”
“No, it isn’t your fault at all. It’s only because I’m too weak-hearted….”
Weak-hearted.
Of all the people I’d ever known, she was the strongest child by far—what was she even talking about?
“To be honest, I never expected you to feel so much regret over it. I must not have considered your feelings properly.”
“Is it because you thought I was such a good girl?”
“Yes. Perhaps because you were such a good child, some part of me had simply assumed you’d understand, no matter what I did.”
To be precise, even though Lyriette cherished me,
I had thought that was a separate matter from my temporarily disappearing from her sight.
She was strong enough, after all.
I had simply assumed she’d be fine even without me around.
But Lyriette’s words held truth as well.
In a way, I had also assumed she wasn’t the type to voice her regret over something as trivial as my leaving for a while.
Either way, I had ended up shaping Lyriette according to my own assumptions.
That much was undeniably true—and undeniably wrong of me.
“…What kind of person do you think I am, Uncle?”
“A strong, adorable, kind niece.”
“You’re wrong on every count. I’m not particularly strong, nor adorable, nor kind.”
A remark tinged with self-mockery.
Normally, I would have pushed back hard, almost growling in protest.
I’d have listed her virtues one by one, continuing the mental assault until her face flushed red with embarrassment.
But today, I couldn’t bring myself to do that.
The look in Lyriette’s eyes wouldn’t allow it.
As if she had turned inward and examined herself again and again, the depths of the lake within her eyes had grown deeper.
Even I wasn’t foolish enough to throw myself carelessly into waters like that.
“Why do you think that?”
So instead, I asked a question.
For now, I simply wanted to hear the reason why this child was putting herself down so harshly.
“I’ve grown strong enough to beat my brother, but I’m still far from being as strong as you, Uncle.”
“You’ll get there someday. And even now, in my eyes, you’re quite strong enough.”
And, just as I’d said, I wanted to refute each point one by one, directly.
“I-I’m not adorable either, though?”
“At least in this uncle’s eyes, you’re more adorable than anyone else in the world.”
“Hmph….”
She scoffed, but the corners of her mouth seemed to lift ever so slightly.
“I’m not really a kind girl either. Just now, I was sulking at you for wanting to leave me behind.”
“That’s a feeling anyone would have. Even as a child, when a father who used to play with you all day wants a moment alone to rest, you’d sulk over that too.”
There’s a reason the word ‘pampering’ exists.
And children this age ought to be allowed some room to be a little spoiled.
Nothing is quite so bittersweet to an adult’s eyes as a child growing up too soon.
“…Then, Uncle, you don’t dislike me?”
“Of course not.”
“Even if I’m a bad girl who pouts and then grieves alone when you leave?”
“If anything, that makes me glad.”
Pouting like that meant we’d grown that much closer.
And grieving over my absence meant she valued me that much more.
“Then could you indulge a few of my whims?”
“As many as you like.”
“I want to eat.”
“Hm?”
Eat?
That wasn’t something to ask me—that was a matter for the kitchen.
Ah, unless she meant she wanted me to bring the meal to her?
If that was all, it wasn’t difficult in the least.
Ding-ding.
I rang the bell on the table, and the door opened as a maid stepped in.
“Bring a meal for Lyriette.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Before long, the meal arrived.
For the sake of her recovery, it was a modest but wholesome spread built around a light, thin soup.
“Here you go. I was worried you might not have an appetite, but thankfully that isn’t the case.”
I picked up the tray, meaning to set it on Lyriette’s lap with my own hands, when—
“That’s not it, Uncle.”
“Not it?”
Lyriette pushed the tray away and looked up at me with a sulky expression.
Had I made some mistake?
As I blinked in confusion, Lyriette lowered her head as if to hide her reddening cheeks, and added in a voice that trailed off into a mumble.
“F-feed me, please.”
“……What did you say?”
For a moment, I thought my ears had betrayed me.
Wait, so… was she really asking me to pick up the spoon myself and bring the food to her mouth?
“T-that’s my first whim. Please feed me yourself, Uncle.”
“Er, um….”
“…Can’t you?”
As I hesitated, Lyriette looked up at me with pleading eyes.
Something in me shifted at that forlorn, abandoned-kitten look.
“There’s no reason I can’t. Here, open up.”
“Blow on it first, please.”
“R-right.”
I blew softly on the hot soup to cool it down.
Then, as I brought the spoon over, Lyriette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and accepted it demurely.
Whether she truly lacked the strength to eat on her own,
or simply wanted an excuse to be pampered like this, I couldn’t say.
But watching her, I couldn’t help but smile.
“That’s my first whim. For the next four days, please feed me yourself, Uncle.”
“I will.”
Wait, had I ever actually told her I’d be leaving in four days?
I’d mentioned it earlier when Ern was present, but at that time, Lyriette had been—
“And here’s my second whim.”
My train of thought stopped as Lyriette raised her middle finger to join her index finger.
“What is it?”
“For four days, please stay by my side the whole time.”
That was exactly what I’d intended from the start, so it wasn’t difficult at all.
Ern, that guy, could wander around and see the sights on his own well enough anyway.
There was no particular need for me to stick close to him just because he was a guest—
‘Wait. The whole time?’
…Somehow, that particular part felt oddly emphasized.
It probably wasn’t what I thought, but just in case, I asked Lyriette to confirm.
“Lyriette? I’m only asking to be sure, but that ‘whole time’ you mean—”
“Yes, even while sleeping. The bed’s wide enough anyway, so please just sleep with me for these four days.”
“…….”
Just for a brief moment, I genuinely wondered if some little devil had disguised itself as my precious niece and was trying to deceive me.
‘Well, she must just be feeling belatedly lonely.’
Even my little sister in my past life used to pull whims like this well into middle school, after all.