I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 55

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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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The Cousin’s Flower Path: How a Hero Was Born — Episode 55
Clop-clop, clop-clop.
The carriage of Count Brodell, carrying Alex and Leo, was pulling away from the estate.
[The Count’s cooking….]
[Sigh.]
Ibek felt the loss of the Count’s dishes keenly, but Alex’s eyes held only Leo.
Leo gazed at the tower receding into the distance with a disappointed expression. He understood that circumstances left no choice, yet leaving so abruptly felt like a small regret.
Seeing Leo like that, Alex quickly spoke.
“Leo, once we reach the Royal Capital, your uncle will take you to even higher places.”
With the crisis between the Count and his second son now almost certain to erupt,
it seemed too much to ask the Brodell household for favors.
“Really?”
“Of course, really!”
At Alex’s words—words he never lied about—Leo broke into a wide smile.
Watching Leo, Alex asked carefully.
“But Leo, weren’t you frightened just now?”
“When your uncle smashed the table and argued with that other person?”
Though Alex had covered his ears so Leo couldn’t hear the words, even a six-year-old understood this was no ordinary situation.
Hehehehe.
At Leo’s candid words, Ibek laughed while Alex scratched his cheek.
“Um. Yeah.”
Leo shook his head quickly.
“I wasn’t scared at all. If Uncle did that, he must have had a reason! All the village elders were like that too.”
Leo remembered the village elders who had fought the merchant trying to trick the children.
And the fear in his uncle’s eyes that he’d glimpsed in the restaurant just now, and the arms that held him tight, afraid he might slip away.
How could he be frightened of something his uncle had done?
There must surely be a reason for it.
So Leo was not afraid.
Because he had the most wonderful uncle in the world, who loved him more than anything!
[Leo’s braver than I expected.]
[It seems like he went through something quite extraordinary today.]
[Is this the future Hero speaking?]
Alex let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“But I am curious why your uncle did that.”
To this, Alex offered an explanation with some care.
He didn’t want to become an uncle who exploded into violence without reason.
“Leo, do you know about Poisonous Mushrooms?”
“I do. Jessi Grandmother said something terrible would happen if I ate one.”
“Right. It seems the cook who prepared today’s meal didn’t know they were poisonous and put them in the dishes.”
Gasp!
Leo stared at Alex with a shocked expression.
“So your uncle noticed first and smashed the table to keep everyone else from eating it. And he warned people because there might be Poisonous Mushrooms in the other dishes too.”
[Hmm, that sounds convincing enough.]
“Oh, I see!”
Leo understood.
“Uncle was afraid because of the Poisonous Mushrooms!”
“…You could tell your uncle was frightened?”
“Yeah. He was shaking.”
At Leo’s words, Alex laughed ruefully. He hadn’t expected Leo to notice that.
“Is your uncle okay now?”
“Your uncle is fine.”
As long as Leo was safe, he was fine with everything.
“But it was a shame about the food getting ruined.”
[That’s right!]
[It looked so delicious!]
Leo smacked his lips, remembering the appetizing spread that had covered the table.
Then.
Leo’s stomach rumbled—gurgle-gurgle.
“Hehe. Uncle, I’m hungry.”
It was only natural. It was evening, and Leo hadn’t eaten a single bite.
[I’m starving too!]
[Let’s grab dinner!]
[What about one of those upscale restaurants we passed on the way here?]
Unfortunately, Alex’s distrust of food had reached its peak, and he didn’t want to feed Leo anything prepared by strangers.
Yet he couldn’t very well skip dinner for the boy either.
‘Cooking myself would fall so short of what the Count’s household serves…’
Alex knew his own culinary limitations well enough.
Though Leo would eat it gladly enough, no doubt.
‘That won’t do.’
So after a brief deliberation, he found himself at
“Well, what brings you here? Leo too!”
the Crow Information Guild’s tavern, where Dein was waiting.
True to his rank as Branch Chief, Dein must have heard that the Count’s carriage was heading this way with Alex and Leo aboard—he was already stationed downstairs.
“Dei—”
Leo had been about to call out happily, but Dein scooped him up first and spun him around in wide circles.
[Right. Calling me by name here would be asking for trouble.]
Ibek chuckled softly, and Leo, caught in Dein’s grip, startled for a moment before dissolving into delighted laughter.
Somehow the tension melted from Alex’s shoulders, and he exhaled quietly.
He hadn’t wanted to come to a tavern while Leo was with him, but right now this was the only place where he truly felt at ease.
Jake and Milo were here somewhere too, though they were likely still adjusting to their new quarters and he didn’t want to intrude.
“We’d like dinner—do you serve food here?”
“Of course! Just give us a moment. Our tavern food’s quite good, actually.”
[I was hoping for a fancy restaurant!]
[Well, if the Branch Chief vouches for it, I suppose we can trust him!]
After taking their order, Dein led Alex and Leo to a corner table.
“Hello there, little one.”
Among the boisterous crowd of regulars, Ben and several familiar guild members who’d been nursing their drinks raised their hands in greeting.
“Uncle’s friends,” Dein said.
Leo grinned widely and bowed politely.
“Hello!”
The tavern hardly seemed to notice the two newcomers, continuing its lively clamor.
Leo marveled at the tavern, seeing it for the first time.
Patrons raised their cups and traded stories merrily, their faces flushed as they burst into boisterous laughter.
“Why, you little—”
“My apologies, friend. You’ve had quite a bit to drink.”
Customers who looked ready to cause trouble were quietly handled by the guild members before Leo could even notice.
Since opening, this was perhaps the safest and most peaceful evening they’d had.
“Dinner is served!”
Steaming dishes were arranged across the table.
Alex tasted a bite first, then placed a portion on Leo’s plate.
Leo’s sky-blue eyes sparkled as he speared a piece of meat with his fork, brought it to his mouth, and chewed happily.
A small smile crossed Alex’s face at the sight.
[Come on, let’s eat while it’s hot!]
[I’m so hungry!]
Prompted by Ibek’s urgency, Alex began eating as well.
“It’s delicious! Uncle Dein, it’s really good!”
[Not bad at all!]
[Being a tavern, it’s got that perfect pairing with drinks!]
“Good? Eat plenty, Leo. If you want anything else, just tell your uncle.”
“Yes!”
Dein broke into a grin at Leo’s endearing response.
He pulled up a chair to join their table, nursing a beer while spinning entertaining tales.
“Wow!”
With good food and engaging stories, Leo seemed to have forgotten all about his troubles at the Count’s house and was thoroughly enjoying himself.
[Thank goodness for that.]
Indeed.
Alex relaxed further as he continued his meal.
He watched Dein flailing his arms in exaggerated monster impressions while Leo giggled with delight.
Of course, Alex was aware that the Dein he’d known in the future and this present version were different people.
‘They haven’t shared any time together yet, after all.’
He would never treasure Leo as much as he did in the ‘future’.
But Alex believed that even this version of Dein could be trusted.
‘A person’s true nature shows itself in times of crisis.’
Even as the Continent faced annihilation, Dein had saved people as a member of the Rescue Army and sacrificed his life for the land—the teacher who had trained the ‘Hero Leo’—and Alex trusted him.
Look at him now.
He plays with Leo quite well, doesn’t he?
Of course, he’s an uncle now, not a teacher.
Though their ages, heights, and the circumstances of their meeting differed from the ‘future’, watching the teacher and student smile together made Alex’s own lips curve upward without thinking.
* * *
“Leo, sleepy?”
“…Yeah.”
His belly full, the boy was drowsy.
His sky-blue eyes were barely visible beneath heavy eyelids.
[Well, he did wander around a lot today.]
During the day he’d walked through the market for the sake of the Jake brothers, and in the evening they’d visited the Count’s estate.
He had every right to be exhausted.
“There’s an empty room in the back.”
“All right.”
Alex lifted the half-asleep Leo into his arms and followed Dein deeper into the tavern.
Alex laid the sleeping boy on the bed and drew the covers over him.
Dein, watching Alex’s unusually careful touch, finally spoke.
“Alex, did something happen? Weren’t you supposed to have dinner at the Count’s estate?”
He’d wanted to ask that first and foremost, but Leo was there, and so were other patrons, so he’d held his tongue.
“The food was poisoned.”
Dein’s eyes widened at those words.
“What poison? Did you eat it? What happened? That underground space? Was that the Count’s doing? Were they trying to kill you to keep it hidden?”
Dein fired off questions rapid-fire, his sharp eyes scanning both Alex and the sleeping Leo for any signs of harm.
Fortunately, they both appeared fine.
“No—the poison was meant for the Count’s estate. We got caught in it by accident.”
“…For the Count’s estate?”
Dein’s amber eyes gleamed.
“That would explain it. I’d been hearing that the Count and his daughter haven’t been in good health—so it was poison after all. And the eldest son has been off his game more often lately, too.”
The symptoms naturally differed across the aging Count, Maylin Brodell who was an ordinary noblewoman, and Klaus Brodell who was a sturdy knight.
“Poison, then. Who’s behind it?”
Candidates flashed through Dein’s mind.
“I think it’s the second son.”
“…Usually these kinds of incidents happen when there’s a succession dispute.”
Dein gazed out the window toward the Count’s estate.
“There’s going to be quite an uproar.”
If the Count’s household fell into chaos, the territory would naturally suffer the consequences. On top of that, there was the suspicious underground space and the kidnapped people.
At the complicated turn of events, Dein clicked his tongue.

“Dein. Would it be possible for you to keep an eye on Domeric Brodell?”
“Watch him? Are you looking for revenge?”
[That too, but more importantly, I need to find out who has my bones!]
Dein continued speaking.

“It’ll be possible if he leaves the estate, but if he stays inside, it’ll be difficult.”
“That much is enough.”
“Got it.”

Dein nodded and spoke to Alex, whose expression had grown heavy.
“Get some rest here tonight.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m still far from repaying what happened in Dasha Village.”
Alex let out a soft laugh at Dein’s light tone, and Dein smiled back before closing the door and leaving.
Alex’s expression darkened again as he took Leo’s small hand in his. It was warm, soft, and full of life.
[Why did I do that?]
“…I should never have brought Leo to the Count’s estate. If I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have had to go through all this.”
That was what Alex regretted.
I thought it would be a good opportunity to gain experience, but I never imagined something like this would happen.
[Look, you’re not at fault. You just wanted to show Leo different things. This is the second son’s mistake for poisoning the food.]
[Why is the victim blaming themselves?]
[The perpetrator should be the one dead!]
It was exactly the sort of thing Ibek would say—someone who’d lived as a test subject and ultimately ended his revenge by slaying all his enemies.
“But….”
[You can’t keep locking Leo away just because he might be in danger, right?]
Alex didn’t want that either.
If that’s what he’d wanted, he would have left Leo in Belo Village and departed alone.
[As long as you’re traveling with Leo, days like today will happen again and again.]
[Didn’t you expect at least that much?]
At Ibek’s words, Alex fell silent.
Of course he’d expected it.
But experiencing it firsthand was nothing like the expectation.
Even now, his hands trembled and his heart seemed to plummet into an abyss.
[You can’t shield Leo from every danger that comes his way.]
[There will certainly be times when you’re not beside him.]
Ibek spoke with a serious tone.
[So teach Leo how to avoid danger and protect himself. So he can survive even when you’re not there.]
[That will help him grow far more.]
[They say the purpose of raising a child is independence, don’t they?]
Independence.
That word settled in Alex’s heart.
[Of course, you’ll have to handle dangerous situations like today!]
Ibek continued with a laugh.
[Leo grew well even without you, so now that you’re with him, he’ll grow even happier and brighter.]
[You know that better than anyone.]
[He’s the future Hero, after all!]
That was true.
Alex held the memory sharp and clear—Leo, shining brilliantly as he grew into his magnificent future.
“…Yeah.”
Alex’s heart felt considerably lighter.
“Tomorrow I should go buy Leo a wooden sword.”
[That’s a great idea!]
[While we’re at it, let’s get some snacks too. His favorite kind!]
“Yeah.”
Alex smiled softly, watching Leo sleep soundly.

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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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