The Count's expression as he greeted Pola and Skir was ambiguous.

"Yes. You are Lucas's friends."

"Please speak comfortably. I am Skir O'Neil, the second son of the O'Neil family."

Skir, who had greeted him in accordance with the formal etiquette of a noble, smiled brightly.

"Hello! I'm Pola. Pola Pelev."

"Yes. Welcome. Skir-gun, Pola-yang."

The corner of Blaine's mouth as she looked at the two was also slightly unnatural.

"Ah, my parents... sent a small gift, saying it would be a great discourtesy to go to a friend's house empty-handed."

"A-a gift?"

Suspicion arose first at the thought of a gift sent from the O'Neil Duchy, which was like their enemy.

But since it was a gift brought by a child, they couldn't just refuse it without even opening it.

"Haha... to think you've sent a gift..."

As the Count's expression became unusual, Blaine, who had lightly poked his side, quickly took over.

"Ah, please don't worry. Just in case, I took it to the professor first to have it checked."

The words that came out of the small child's mouth were heartbreaking. Hadn't he first suspected that his parents might have given a gift that would harm his friend's parents?

"Ah..."

The Count and Countess, who saw that, felt as if they had been hit in the back of the head with a blunt weapon.

A pang of sadness came to their hearts as they thought about how dark the inside of the child, who was acting like an adult while fiddling with his small hands, must have been.

"Welcome to our home. Now, let's go in."

The Count of Cibie, who had finally come to his senses, hugged the two children once.

***

"Wow, it's really delicious!"

As warm food was served to the children who had come from afar, the children, who seemed to be hungry, began to empty the food in front of them diligently.

"I would like to send our duchy's chef here to teach."

Skir, who had devoured the stew in front of him in the blink of an eye, scratched his head once in embarrassment.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Blaine, who smiled brightly, took one of the delicious-looking skewers in front of her and placed it on the children's plates.

"Here, try it. It's a precious food that can only be tasted here in Citata."

"Thank you!"

The identity of the skewer was the meat of a blue deer, a type of deer that was only caught in Citata.

The meat of the blue deer, which always stored fat in its body to adapt to the barren land, boasted the highest quality.

But it was difficult to taste the delicious parts because it was difficult to handle the meat, and it was also difficult to export to other regions because it spoiled quickly.

"Ooh! It's really delicious!"

"It's really, really delicious!"

The children's eyes widened as they tasted the blue deer skewers.

And for good reason, such juicy meat was rare even in the capital. The fat, which had been accumulated with a life-or-death struggle to survive in a harsh environment, added to the tenderness of the meat, and the firm and chewy texture, due to crossing rock crevices, brought the texture to its peak.

"Hoho, right?"

"Yes. Eat a lot. There's plenty of meat."

The Count of Cibie and Blaine looked at the children with a pleased expression.

'They're eating well...'

A faint smile hung on Lucas's lips as he looked at them.

After finishing their meal, Lucas and his group gathered in the drawing room.

"This is a small token of my father's sincerity to the Count."

The Count swallowed dryly at the two boxes that the servant who had come with Skir had put down.

It was clear that he was still hesitant.

"Please open it."

Just in case, Lucas had also activated his detection magic in advance. But he did not feel any evil energy from it.

"R-right. What is all this..."

The Count, who had placed his hand on the box at Lucas's words, carefully opened the first box.

In the box were high-quality potpourri with a faint scent and fabric.

Potpourri meant affection, and fabric meant harmony.

The Count's brow furrowed slightly at the sight of it. He knew well how much the O'Neil Duchy had tried to drive them out.

But what would this child know? The Count quickly corrected his expression and opened the second box.

There was a well-sharpened longsword. Seeing the very elaborate workmanship, it seemed to be a sword made by a dwarf.

A longsword meant reconciliation. Potpourri, fabric, longsword. They were all gifts filled with the Duke's intention to trust and entrust his son.

The Duke must have had some thought when he sent his son to the enemy camp, trusting him.

He must have known that the Count was not so angular and lacking as to hold his son's friend hostage, and it must have meant to reconcile through the children.

"You have sent precious gifts. I will be sure to convey my gratitude to the Duke."

Cibie, who stroked Skir's head once, smiled gently.

"Yes, if the Count conveys his intentions directly... I'm sure my father will be very pleased."

Skir's face also brightened.

***

"Wow, your house is really big!"

Pola, who was looking around the county estate with them, was constantly exclaiming in admiration as she looked around.

"Hmph, this... ah, no."

Skir's mouth, which was clearly about to boast about his house, closed before he could finish his words.

'Oh, the little brat has improved a lot, hasn't he?'

As expected, repeated education is effective even for a mere puppy. Lucas was proud of him as the Skir brat finally realized his mistake and began to be careful with his mouth.

"Skir's house is probably twice, no, three times bigger than our county estate."

Skir's expression brightened as he added a spoonful of praise, finding it commendable.

"Ahem, ahem. It's not that much. This county estate is also a fine mansion."

"Wow, really? Skir's house is bigger than this?! And more than twice as big??"

Skir, who was puffed up at Pola's question, showed a certain degree of modesty.

"Well, it's not that much..."

He was even fiddling with his feet at the praise given by others, not the boasting he had uttered himself.

'You cute thing. Right, this is how you learn.'

As he showed a bit of modesty, Pola approached him and asked innocently how a house could be bigger, and Skir's cheeks also turned red as he answered her words shyly.

"Huh? Who's that little brat?"

Pola, who had been looking around the county estate like that for a long time, asked, looking at the window facing the garden.

"Ah, she's..."

'What should I say?'

At the sudden question, Lucas closed his mouth slightly without realizing it.

"Huh? Who is she? Is she a servant of this house?"

"Such a young servant... no, she could be the child of a servant."

"No. She's my younger sister."

Right. In any case, that child had become his younger sister.

Although she had not been officially registered in the empire yet, it was a story that had been decided at the dinner table.

He had forgotten for a moment because he had not seen her since then. That child is his younger sister.

"A younger sister? You had a younger sister too?"

"A younger sister? I haven't heard that there is another daughter in this county besides you..."

"There is. She's my younger sister."

Lucas, who dismissed their words, headed to the garden.

He had decided to formally introduce his younger sister, who had become a member of the family.

***

"Now, look. You have to do your fingers like this, like this!"

The four people gathered in the garden were learning a new game, following Pola.

It was called hopscotch.

It was a game where each person picked a stone they liked and drew a line by flicking it with their fingers when it was their turn.

It was a simple game where if you invaded another person's line or if another person crossed your line, you had to draw the line again from the beginning.

But the children were completely engrossed in that simple game.

Nella, who had been startled when Pola first came and greeted her, was busy flicking a stone, fiddling with her fingers.

Although she was only a year older than Lucas, she had given Nella, who was particularly small, the position of 'kkokdari'.

'Kkokdari' was said to be a way to include a friend who was much younger or lacking in the game by applying a slightly more lenient rule.

"You're very good at this kind of game."

"Hey, we had nothing to do, so we just followed our older sisters and brothers since we were young! You guys were raised preciously, so you don't know this kind of thing, you know?!"

Skir froze at Pola's sudden outburst, who seemed to have been provoked by his words for some reason.

"...We couldn't even gather this many friends."

"Right. Pola. We were monitored by adults since we were young. If he could, Skir would have wanted to play like this too."

"...R-right. I'm sorry."

They could be a little different because they had lived in different environments. But Lucas and his friends did not say that it was wrong. That's why Lucas liked this relationship.

Innocent and pure. Good children who acknowledged each other's differences, not right and wrong.

"Now, try again. Nella! You're the kkokdari, so you get to do it twice!"

Nella's expression was also gradually brightening at Pola's kind teaching, which was quite sisterly.

"Nella, Pola. You're like sisters."

"Oh! You're right! Hehe. Our names are very similar, right?"

"...Yeah."

It was the first time. That Nella had used her own voice.

This was also possible because no one had urged her to answer and had waited until the child opened her heart.

'Amazing. You little brats.'

It was a method he had not known even after living for thousands of years. When making someone open their mouth, there was nothing better than torture, and when that was not possible, he had used persuasion.

But he could not make a person's heart open. This was the child opening her heart.

"Wow! Our Nella has a pretty voice too! Let's do a lot of fun things with your older sister from now on. Okay?"

"Yeah..."

Pola, who found her appearance cute, hugged Nella tightly and rubbed her cheek.

"Now! Then let's try again!"

This game did not require money or honor. All that was needed was land to draw a line on and a small stone to flick with a finger.

"Right, this Skir will win everything!"

"Pfft! Hey! You can't even hit the stone with your finger, what are you talking about!"

"T-that was! Practice!"

"You're kidding me! Nella is much better. You should be the kkokdari, not Nella!"

"What are you talking about! I'm not the kkokdari! The oldest one here is the kkokdari... watch carefully!"

Skir, who seemed to be annoyed by the comparison with Nella, who was much younger than him, quickly put his stone on the ground.

-Ting!

"Puhahaha!! Look! You missed again!!"

Skir's cheeks turned red and blue as he couldn't even hit the stone right in front of his finger.

"Hey! You be the kkokdari!"

"Ugh... no!"

Skir, who threw the stone over there with a 'tik', shot up from his seat and turned around and ran away.

"Uh... is he angry?"

Pola, who saw that, looked very flustered.

It was the first time he had ever shot up from his seat and left like that, no matter how much she had nagged and scolded him.

"...What should I do?"

Pola, who felt a pang of guilt, thinking she had been too harsh, was now fidgeting.

"If you're worried, go after him."

"I should, right?"

As Lucas nodded his head slightly, Pola also got up from her seat.

'Now there are only two left.'

As even Pola, who had been treating her comfortably, left, Nella's expression began to harden rapidly.

"Don't be scared. I'm your older brother."

Lucas, who spoke in as gentle a tone as possible, raised one hand.

"Now, look at this."

Small ice fragments that bloomed from his hand began to pour down on Nella's head.

"Snow...?"

"That's right. It's snow."

"Wow! Snow!"

The summer of Citata was just about to begin, but the snowflakes that bloomed from her older brother's hand in the rather hot weather were enough to capture the child's heart.

"Woooow... woooow..."

A smile spread across Lucas's lips as he looked at Nella, who was constantly exclaiming in admiration.

(End of Chapter)