Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 103
“Oh, these troublemakers….”
I sighed upon discovering Alexio, covered head to toe in dirt much like Brizni.
“Come here, you rascal.”
In the original work, Alexio possessed a maturity and gravitas far beyond his years. Brizni’s very nickname for him—”little adult”—spoke volumes. But then, who exactly was this mischievous imp now squirming in my arms with such unbridled energy?
“Put me down!”
“Not until you’ve washed your face. You’ll get dirt in your mouth. …Brizni! Don’t put your hands in your mouth!”
Watching two children was exhausting. Especially when they were both three years old and had just reached peak curiosity and stubbornness. They were infants who couldn’t be left unattended for even a moment without risking some calamity.
I seated Brizni—who was trying to bring her hands to her mouth despite both of them being firmly held in one of mine—at the edge of the fountain and began washing her hands.
“What have they dug up this time, I wonder?”
Surely they hadn’t destroyed Father’s favorite tree again? I felt a flutter of anxiety as I gently wiped the tiny face clean. And once again, I found myself marveling.
Oh, she’s so beautiful. Is it because she’s the heroine of this world, or because she’s Tezebia’s daughter? She looks like a living doll.
“Oh, how adorable. My precious niece…. Alexio!”
And in that brief moment, Alexio had already toddled away in escape.
“Where do you think you’re going, you little scamp.”
I exhaled sharply through my nose. The toddling Alexio suddenly lifted into the air. A faint silver aura enveloped the child, drawing him slowly back toward me. Yet Alexio, suspended in mid-air, showed no fear—only delight, giggling with unbridled joy. Truly fearless. I laughed at myself.
“This isn’t what I trained for….”
After spending two years learning to wield sacred power from Raulus, here I was using it merely for childcare. Well, not that it matters where such skills are applied, as long as they’re useful….
I sighed and finished washing Alexio clean. His clothes were already soiled beyond help, but I made sure to thoroughly wash his sleeves and hands to prevent any dirt from entering his mouth or nose.
[Sniff sniff.]
“What are you sniffing at now?”
Raulus had appeared beside me and was pressing his nose against Brizni. She squealed with delight and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Yay. Lari.”
Even so, despite being merely a pup, Raulus still bore the form of a wolf. My adorable niece was just as fearless as Alexio. Raulus chattered happily.
[I like this child. She radiates such pure energy.]
“Oh no, I just washed her!”
Raulus gently toppled Brizni over and began playing with her. Her red hair, tied in two cute pigtails, mingled with his silver fur as they tumbled across the grass. The child’s bright laughter filled the garden.
“Me too. Me too!”
Alexio, trapped in my arms, thrashed about vigorously, whimpering adorably with his slight lisp.
“I want to play with Bri and Lari too!”
“Alexio can’t. You just got washed.”
“Whimper.”
Tears welled up in those amber eyes in an instant. Oh no. When you make that face—so clever and so utterly adorable—this aunt’s heart just shatters, little one….
Our male lead, whom I had endlessly praised in the original work, was just as impossibly cute as Brizni even in childhood. I finally relented with a sigh and set Alexio down on the grass.
“No rough play, Alexio. Not like last time when you grabbed the rose vines and swung them around. And don’t pull Brizni’s hair….”
“Okay…!”
I remained deeply skeptical. Deeply skeptical indeed. Yet I released the child anyway, his little legs toddling away so adorably that I wanted to scoop him up and embrace him immediately.
Alexio burrowed straight into Raulus’s back. Soon, a red-haired girl, a silver wolf pup, and a black-haired boy formed one large mass rolling across the garden.
It was a peaceful scene. The garden drenched in midday sunlight. Summer flowers blooming brilliantly everywhere. Trees glistening with moisture from the gardener’s midday watering. A small stream cutting delicately across the garden. The children’s crystalline laughter ringing out. A wolf pup with shimmering silver fur that seemed to belong only in fairy tales.
I watched them without taking my eyes away, my heart anxious as I followed behind. Where on earth were these children’s parents, and why had I become the one left behind as their caretaker? Life truly was full of mysteries.
“…Aha.”
But children are adorable, after all. I watched Brizni and Alexio tumble across the lawn, their heads colliding with a sharp crack before they screwed up their faces to cry. I couldn’t help but laugh. Everything was perfect. I wished this peace could stretch on forever without end. I hoped Hades would forget about someone like me entirely.
…And I wished that man would at least write me back.
My thoughts spiraled back to where they always did. The fragile improvement in my mood sank again. I crouched down on the grass and began plucking at the innocent blades one by one.
‘I can’t exactly march into Belgot right now….’
“Yerenika!”
As I was gloomily destroying the garden, I spotted Sergei Lebanon rushing toward me from afar, gasping for breath. I exhaled sharply and got to my feet. Of course—there was no way only three-year-olds had come to the Royal Palace. Sergei Lebanon skidded to a halt before me, doubling over as he caught his breath. I gave him a withering glare.
“Are you wandering around with your eyes closed, Sergei Lebanon? Didn’t your sister and brother-in-law ask you not to take your eyes off them?”
“Huff… Sorry. Pant.”
Beads of sweat dotted Sergei Lebanon’s forehead—evidence of how desperately he’d been searching. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand as he spoke.
“I was just organizing the flower beds those little ones tore up. I didn’t realize how fast such small creatures could move.”
“So they got into Father’s garden again?”
I could already picture Father clutching dead branches for a week, his eyes glistening with tears. I clicked my tongue disapprovingly.
“Where are your sister and brother-in-law?”
“They seem to be meeting with the King.”
“I see. And Fernandis?”
“Over there.”
I spotted Fernandis hurrying after Sergei Lebanon and let out a hollow laugh. Truly, these men showed no talent whatsoever for childcare.
* * *
“You’re leaving again?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you planning to go this time?”
Brizni and Alexio, their clothes and cheeks smeared with grass stains, returned to their respective parents. I handed the two children off to Fernandis and Tezebia one after another as I answered.
“The Temple. It’s been a month since I last went. It’s time to return.”
“Are you planning to go alone again?”
“I don’t mind going alone.”
I shrugged. The place I intended to visit was Raulus’s Temple—the only one in Lebovni. Situated halfway up Mount Halite on the outskirts of the Capital, the Temple was quite a distance from the Royal Palace.
Tezebia spoke with concern etched across her face.
“At least take Sergei Lebanon with you. I can’t help but worry about you going alone.”
“Sergei Lebanon?”
I glanced back at Sergei Lebanon, who was making ridiculous faces while playing with Alexio.
“Ebebebe. Lexi, look at Uncle. Ebebebe-.”
“….”
Who was the three-year-old and who was the twenty-one-year-old youth? I shook my head in disbelief.
“If I take him, it’s obvious what’ll happen. He’ll end up being a nursemaid. I have no intention of babysitting a grown man. Unless he were as cute as Brizni and Lexi….”
“Hey. What do you take me for?”
Sergei Lebanon shot me a sharp look.
“Don’t keep treating your older brother like that reckless brat from a few years ago. I’m a man now too.”
“Older brother? And you’re the one who treats me like a child.”
I scoffed dismissively. True, that ruffian had grown considerably—taller and broader than two years ago, and having just been appointed as a Knight, it was no longer accurate to call him a ‘boy’ even in jest. But that didn’t change the fact that he was still Sergei Lebanon at heart. Dramatic and irritating, a nagging pest.
However, my sister’s thoughts were different.
“No. You should go with Sergei Lebanon, Yerenika.”
Tezebia spoke with firm resolve.
“It’s too dangerous to go alone. Even in Lebovni lands, danger lurks everywhere.”
“Is it overprotection no matter where I go? Why…?”
Strangely, memories of my time in Belgot surfaced. Well, compared to that overprotection back then. I shrugged my shoulders.
“I can protect myself now. Even if there are places using mana tools, I can navigate around them skillfully.”
Two years of pushing my mana sensitivity to its maximum and training in sacred arts had borne abundant fruit. I had progressed to the point where I could walk alone without suddenly collapsing and gasping for breath.
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Yet Tezebia’s expression was genuinely worried.
“You don’t know because you’re unaware, Yeni.”
“Know what?”
“…There are such things. Anyway, go with Sergei Lebanon. The Lebanon Knights Order is training at the foot of Mount Halite right now. Go together and return together.”
“Ugh…”
Even if I agreed, he would probably refuse! I spun around to look at Sergei Lebanon. And I found him wearing the same serious and stern expression as Tezebia.
“I agree with my sister-in-law. Come with me, Yerenika.”
“Why are you both suddenly like this?”
I had been traveling alone just recently…? I looked back and forth between the two of them with great bewilderment, but received no further explanation.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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