Pshoo.
Fresh red blood once again stained the fingertips.
“Hmph….”
The Little One continued cutting, ignoring my advice.
Of course, I had to intervene.
“I told you to bandage it up and then continue.”
“I’m almost done….”
Now, I just need to slice the ham and stir-fry it.
Despite the Little One’s disappointment, I couldn’t let her get hurt.
“Bandage it up and continue.”
Even after bandaging, the she managed to nick her fingers several more times.
Now that I think about it, the Little One isn’t skilled at physical activities.
To be honest, she’s quite clumsy.
It’s baffling how someone like her ended up this way.
Although she doesn’t seem physically weak now, her motor skills still don’t quite support her.
I recalled giving up on teaching her to dance after just five minutes a month ago.
“Done!”
The food was ready.
Stir-fried rice.
The first dish I ever made for the Little One to fill her belly.
I spooned some up and tasted it myself.
“Mmm, delicious.”
“Really?”
“Well, you followed my instructions, so it should be good.”
“But still, I made it, right?”
The Little One puffed up her cheeks.
Her chipmunk-like plump cheeks were quite impressive.
I playfully pinched her cheek.
“Yeah, it’s delicious because you made it.”
The Little One’s face softened.
She’s still weak to compliments.
“After we eat, where do you want to go today?”
“I heard from Miss Merien last time that Valeon Street is nice to visit together.”
“Then let’s go there today.”
“Okay.”
*****
Valeon Street sprawled around the square’s fountain, lined with various shops.
As I came here for the first time, I couldn’t help but feel this wasn’t where I belonged.
“There are so many couples.”
Couples in front of me, couples beside me, couples behind me.
It seemed like half the people here were entwined as if they were one.
In contrast, here I am, not even married yet, bringing along a child. Suddenly, a twinge of discomfort stabbed my side.
The culprit was the Little One who had brought us food from nearby.
“Can’t you feel the atmosphere?”
The Little One offered me a sandwich.
I took a bite.
“It looks nice. Do I look like that too?”
I nodded.
Even though my side hurt, seeing couples didn’t stir any negative feelings in me.
“Mister, you should find a good person soon.”
“…That’s true.”
I really should.
I’m already 23.
In this era where engagements are common before adulthood, I feel like I’m getting too old.
If only I had a noble title, I could at least consider a strategic marriage. But I’m not even a noble.
Hold on, let me clarify for anyone wondering if I’m a noble.
The structure of names for us Special Forces members is different from regular people.
Ern Astra.
Here, ‘Astra’ is the codename the Empire gave me. ‘Ern’ refers to the nickname we gave each other during our trainee days.
For us, first and last names do not exist.
A bit of camaraderie and loyalty to the Empire have shaped who we are today.
Anyway, back to the topic of marriage. Just then, I saw a couple deeply in love.
They were about to kiss, and I quietly shielded the Little One’s eyes.
“Mister, why did you suddenly cover my eyes?”
“Hmpf. Because you should only see pure things.”
“Do I look that innocent?”
“…No.”
Definitely not.
I removed my hand covering the Little One’s eyes.
Why did I do that?
It’s strange to explain like this, but it felt like a primal instinct as an adult to protect a child’s innocence in that moment.
“Mister, you seem really lonely.”
“No.”
“But you seemed so unhappy watching all those couples.”
I felt like a nail was being driven into my heart.
What the Little One said wasn’t entirely wrong.
After all, my first reason for retiring was to meet a woman, fall in love, get married, have children, and live happily ever after.
In essence, yes.
I wanted a life like Valtean’s.
My dream was to meet a woman like Merien and live a life helping people when I can afford it.
But somehow, what I ended up with was the Princess of the Empire, who was like a daughter to me.
Of course, I have no intention of making excuses for not being able to meet a woman because of the Little One.
I know I’m quite handsome, and if I had set out to meet women, I would have made quite a few cry by now.
Therefore, the Little One said to me, someone who considers my mindset important.
“Mister, if you don’t get married by thirty, should I be your bride?”
“…What?”
“By the time you’re thirty, I’ll be an adult too.”
“Oh…”
That’s absolutely ridiculous.
The Little One must have been joking.
I responded equally jokingly.
“Sure, you’re welcome to it if I’m not married by then.”
“…Really?”
“Are you sure about that? Do you realize our age gap?”
“As long as there’s love, what does it matter?”
“And besides, I’m still unemployed.”
“But who will support you? I’m a princess, you know?”
That’s true.
With nothing more to say, our jokes quickly subsided.
*****
The little one wanted to stay like this for a while.
She said she needed time to think for herself, so for now, no one should uncover her true identity.
To achieve that, there was one person whose lips had to be sealed without question.
“Are you crazy?”
“Oh, why are you saying that?”
Valtean gripped the handle of his coffee and it looked like it might break.
“Do you not understand how important this issue is? Why the Emperor and the Second Prince are desperate to find the last descendant as soon as possible.”
“Do you really not know?”
The Little One is destined to become Empress.
But it’s not just a matter of saying it; she, who was kidnapped by the Eastern Principality, will have to overcome quite a few hurdles to ascend the Imperial throne in place of the terminally ill Second Prince.
She’ll need to build her own merit and power, as well as receive an education suitable for an Empress.
Of course, it won’t happen overnight, which is why everyone is so anxious to find her quickly.
“Even so, wouldn’t the child want to spend a normal childhood? It’s only about a year left; please help.”
“… Anyway, your affection is amazing.”
Valtean expressed his consent while saying that.
With a wife and soon to be a father, he wants to give the Little One a life of her own.
“You should be careful.”
“Don’t worry. Concealing and hiding things is your specialty, but I’m not ordinary either.”
“Not that, though.”
Clunk. Valtean put down his cup.
After a brief pause, his eyes on me were reminiscent of when we first met on the battlefield long ago.
“It’s been a long time since you quit the drugs, right?”
For a moment, my heart sank.
I hadn’t ingested anything, but my body’s internal instinct responded with a sudden drop.
I hadn’t expected to hear that word here.
I answered calmly.
“I’m fine.”
“What do you mean, ‘fine’? I thought I’d be dying a few months after quitting for the first time.”
“…Haha.”
I laughed it off.
Feeling my pulse quicken, mana circulated through my body.
It’s a temporary measure, but it cools down my hot heart.
“Did I say too much?”
“No, it’s not that severe.”
I almost had a seizure.
“Ah, damn. Because of this damn drug, we can’t easily retire. There’s a reason why the dropout rate in Special Forces is so severe.”
The ‘drug’ we take kills emotions.
It allows us to focus intensely on one clear objective, maximizing our efficiency in tasks.
You could call it doping.
Excessive use can cause side effects like vomiting or dizziness, similar to those of narcotics, so calling it that isn’t entirely wrong.
It’s addictive, more than narcotics, but anyone with the mental fortitude to quit smoking could easily quit.
“But that’s why we can live like normal humans most of the time.”
When we take the drug, we ‘hardly’ feel emotions during missions.
It’s like becoming a different human being entirely, capable of committing murder.
Thus, after the mission ends and the drug’s effects wear off, we can live more humanely.
But that doesn’t mean we don’t feel responsible for what we’ve done.
We simply remember and bury it in our hearts.
And the world is essentially survival of the fittest.
We’ve killed someone to protect what’s ours, and whoever we killed was probably the same.
Let’s not ruin our current life due to unnecessary guilt.
Everyone agreed to that.
*****
Meanwhile, at that moment.
Two blond beauties are staring at each other.
Epherna speaks irritably.
“Who are you people? What right do you have to enter someone else’s house without permission?”
Elius counters her.
“Hmph, don’t you think about the door being open?”
“Even so, shouldn’t you at least knock before coming in? It’s a bad habit for a poorly mannered person to have, isn’t it?”
“You’re so arrogant.”
Elius’s brow furrowed deeply.
