The Sage that the Sword Saint is Obsessed With

45 – 12. The Sleepless Princess (2)

1.

Taking care of children for Leuen was not a difficult task.

Having taken care of younger siblings alone, she knew well how to handle various situations.

It was also quite easy to bring smiles to the children’s faces.

Leuen enjoyed playing with the kids.

Coming to the orphanage once a week was not only a responsibility as the leader to take care of the children of the fallen members but also because playing with the kids made her feel like a pure child herself.

In those moments, she could forget about everything.

Being with the children allowed her to escape all emotions and feel only joy, which is why Leuen had been using this method to manage stress for a long time.

Although recently she had less stress, playing with the children was still enjoyable.

“Let’s go inside now.”

While naming clouds floating gently in the sky, Leuen lying next to the children said, “

The savory aroma of stew brushed against his nose.

It seemed like lunch preparations were coming to an end.

In his heart, he wished he could help with lunch, but his cooking skills were so dismal that he would only be a hindrance.

Leuwen went back to the orphanage with the children.

“And so, the princess lived happily ever after. The end.”

As soon as they entered, Leuwen began to doubt his eyes.

“Next! Next!”

“This one! This one!”

“Now, that’s enough. Three books are sufficient.”

There was Evan.

He was surrounded by children, reading them a fairy tale.

In the midst of the children’s stubborn insistence and his wavering attempts to handle them, he felt that Evan seemed awkward with the children.

… The situation had reversed.

In the past, Evan was sociable and could get along with anyone. He used to play with the village children frequently.

On the other hand, Leuwen, aside from Evan, kept his distance from everyone, not being sociable. While Evan played with the children, Leuwen used to watch from afar.

It wasn’t a complete reversal, but now Leuwen was better at playing with the children.

“This one!”

“This! This!”

Children chirped like baby birds asking for food from their mother.

“If you’re too greedy, you can’t become a princess.”

Evan sat on one knee and flicked Cyril’s forehead with his finger.

It wasn’t painful, but Cyril burst into tears, making a sobbing sound.

“Prinshess, it hursh!”

“No, you can’t. It’s not okay to shout like that.”

“Prinshess… I wanna be Prinshess… Waaah!”

He cried loudly.

“Huh? Crying?”

Because he didn’t expect this, Evan was surprised and belatedly tried to comfort Cyril.

However, Cyril, who had started crying, didn’t know how to stop.

“Waaah… I’m shorry…!!”

Cyril, who had discovered Llewen, leaped off Evan’s lap and ran towards Llewen, embracing and lifting him up.

Llewen hugged Cyril, lifting him up.

“Right, right. Who said that?”

Cyril, sobbing, pointed at Evan with his finger.

“That mean, mean prince…!”

Drawing from her experience of dealing with her youngest sibling, Llewen skillfully scolded Cyril.

“Yes, that mean prince over there?”

“Yes!”

“Should I scold him?”

“Yes! Scold him!”

Llewen patted Cyril’s back and approached Evan.

And like a knight facing a demon king, she trembled and stretched out her arm, giving Evan a light tap on the forehead.

-Tok

Since it was just a flick with her little finger, there was no pain at all.

The children all looked at Evan.

Seeing that Evan had no reaction, Cyril sobbed once again.

Llewen sent Evan a pleading look, asking him to play along just this once.

Sighing inwardly, Evan decided to go along with the play. After all, he was the one who made Cyril cry, so he should take responsibility.

“Ah-ah-ah! It hurts!”

He shouted, using a theatrical tone, and fell backward.

Though it was an awkward act, it worked perfectly on the young children who were still naive to the ways of the world.

Cyril stopped crying and burst into laughter.

2.

“E-Evan… I’m sorry!”

After finishing lunch and returning to the inn, Llewen bowed her head and apologized to Evan.

During the meal, Llewen had been restless because she had hit Evan on the forehead.

“It’s fine.”

Evan waved his hand.

“Don’t apologize for such a small thing.”

He may have given her a scolding if she had hit him harder, but it was just a light tap with her little finger.

“I was the one who made it ring in the first place.”

Evan turned his feet to leave.

“Um, um…!”

Llewelyn called out to Evan.

“Why?”

Evan glanced back.

It wasn’t as icy as before, but it wasn’t a complete disregard like in the past. If greeted, he awkwardly acknowledged it.

“Um… do you need anything?”

Llewelyn, wanting to help Evan even a little bit, could do no better for now than to fetch things Evan might need.

From Noble mtl dot com

Pushing further would feel burdensome.

Referencing the book ‘Making Friends Even Goblins Can Manage.’

“I’ve used up almost all the magic parchment…”

“There’s still some left.”

“R-really?”

“When you need more next time, just let me know.”

“Yes…! Please, anytime…!”

Bowing slightly and about to turn back to the children, Cyril toddled over and clung to Evan’s leg.

“Prince, where goin’?”

Cyril’s voice seemed a bit melancholic, as if sensing Evan’s departure.

“….”

Difficult.

What should he say?

Considering objectively what to say.

Then Llewelyn, patting Cyril’s head, spoke.

“The prince has to practice, so he needs to go now.”

Cyril glanced at Llewelyn and then at Evan, extending both arms toward him.

“…Hug you.”

Llewelyn looked at Cyril with slightly sad eyes.

Being a knight’s daughter, she understood the circumstances well.

Not only her parents but even her brother had been sent off to war.

All three of them were members of the Knight Order, valiant knights who fought bravely on the battlefield.

They were known as the Black Knights, and even the formidable Leuen couldn’t protect all the members during battle.

While Leuen wreaked havoc in enemy territory, fierce battles for life and death raged elsewhere.

They won almost every battle, but even in victory, there were casualties.

In just three years, dozens of members had been lost.

Among them were Cyril’s parents and older brother.

Cyril might vaguely remember his brother Evan when he sees him again.

“Yes.”

Evan willingly embraced Cyril once.

They slowly separated.

Cyril looked disappointed, but he didn’t scream and cling to him as before.

Evan smiled at Cyril once and left the orphanage.

He could say, “I’ll come back next time,” but he thought it was too irresponsible. He didn’t know if he would come back or not.

And now, it would be a few more months before he left.

He didn’t want to plant false hopes.

Later, the disappointment would be greater.

2.

After Evan left, Leuen stayed at the orphanage and helped with the work.

Leuen did the laundry.

He put the blankets in a large laundry tub and dissolved the soap.

He took off his shoes and stomped on the blankets with his bare feet, enjoying himself like playing with children.

Soft soap bubbles rose between his toes.

As the children jumped around, soap bubbles floated up and flew away in the wind.

“I’ll finish up. You all can go and play.”

The children ran off to the field.

Leuen hung the blankets one by one on the clothesline.

The white blankets hung like curtains.

The blankets swayed gently to the rhythm of the mountain breeze.

As he stared at the blankets swaying like calm waves, Leuen suddenly recalled the events of a little while ago.

‘…Hold me.’

When Cyril opened his arms and asked Evan to hold him, Evan willingly embraced him.

I’m not sure if it’s okay for an adult to feel this way toward a child, but honestly, I felt envious in that situation.

Although Evan’s acceptance of Cyril’s greetings alone was comforting, as someone who likes Evan, there was a desire to be held by him.

Ruen reached out his arms.

Evan must have reluctantly embraced Cyril because she was a young girl. If it had been an adult woman, he probably wouldn’t have embraced her naturally.

Not that anything would happen because of this…

‘…Hold me.’

Ruen softly murmured, making a cute sound with her tongue.

“Uh-oh…!”

She then shuddered, disgusted with herself.

I really can’t act cute.

The moment when the wind blew and the blanket fluttered.

“…”

“…”

The blanket fluttered as if it would be blown away by the wind, and their eyes met on the opposite side.

Ruen froze in place.

As her face continued to turn red, her entire face became flushed.

“What are you doing?”

Evan chuckled and walked over to the other side of the blanket.

“Uh… Uhh…”

Ruen couldn’t say anything and stammered.

“I came because I thought of something to ask for… Shall we talk about it later?”