90 – Handmaid and Bocchan (4)

Hailey was at a loss as to what to do with the little bastard in her arms.

This little child with her head bowed silently refuses to look at herself no matter how much I call her. The heat radiating from Alphonse’s head was slight, but he could feel it on his skin, so it was not difficult to see that the boy was embarrassed.

What makes this child ashamed?

To open the boy’s mouth, you must first know the reason.

But Haley didn’t have to think too hard about it. She already knew what Alphonse was ashamed of.

Haley thought that the cause of Alphonse’s shyness was his guilt over watching his sword dance every morning. The first time on the road, you could see it by mistake, but Alphonse has already watched the sword dance in hiding more than three or four times.

The Alphonse Haley knew was a very smart and thoughtful kid.

If you watch Alphonse’s actions, you can’t believe the fact that this child is still only seven years old. It’s so mature and thoughtful.

It wasn’t just because he learned manners well and practiced them.

Hailey was still at a delicate age to be called an adult, but as a lady-in-waiting to assist Elena, she had mastered the art of living to some extent. Even in Haley’s eyes, Alphonse’s ability to judge the situation and respond was not that of a child.

An ordinary seven-year-old child does not secretly leave behind his favorite older brother and sister. Rather, I want to be with you more, so I cry in groups.

Even during the last spring hunting tournament, did not the young ladies of the southern families surrounding Elena step out at the right time to withdraw?

The place where the two of them are now standing is Krause’s lord’s castle, and Alphonse is Krause’s second prince.

Strictly speaking, Alphonse did nothing wrong. If I had to point out right or wrong, it would be Hailey who wielded her sword at will without permission in a gymnasium at someone else’s house.

Hailey thinks Alphonse is not ignorant of that fact.

However, this little kid, who was more mature than his age, was feeling guilty for secretly watching other people’s practice before that.

‘It doesn’t really matter.’

It was a fact that Alphonse had already known from long ago that he had been watching his sword dance. Alphonse’s behavior towards him has changed since the day he first came out at dawn, so there’s no way he wouldn’t know about it unless he didn’t notice.

I had no intention of hiding it from the beginning.

The fact that I swung the sword with me at dawn was not because I didn’t want to be seen by others, but rather because I liked the sword dance that I danced that day, and it was more like I came out of it out of habit from then on.

To be honest, Hailey was happy for Alphonse to have that kind of heart.

It was not honorable for a knight to spy on someone else’s training without permission, and that meant that Alphonse was looking at Haley as a proper swordsman.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to explain that first?’

If you tell the truth, Alphonse’s guilt will be lessened a little.

It’s a shame because I knew that I was caught by Alphonse from the first day. In fact, I might have felt a bit ashamed if I had been caught doing sword dance by Alphonse or someone else that day. So, for Alphonse to continue to feel ashamed, Hailey felt a sense of responsibility.

As Haley was choosing her words to rhyme, Alphonse spoke one step ahead of her.

“…please.”

“Yes?”

“Stop…let it go…Haley. It’s hot…”

At Alphonse’s small cry, Haley lowered her head and looked at Alphonse.

“ah.”

The sight of Alphonse, who was soaked in heat with a broken voice, made Hailey immediately understand what was the matter.

Haley wasn’t very tall, but it was enough to hold Alphonse, still a small child, in her arms. Since he was such a light and compact Alphonse, at some point, Haley unconsciously held Alphonse in her arms as if she were handling a doll.

Even in the middle of winter, people sweat when they are together, but it is needless to say that it is early summer when the temperature is gradually rising.

Furthermore, Alphonse was fit between Hailey’s breasts, so he could only receive more heat in terms of area.

***

There was silence between the two for a moment as Alphonse moved away from Hayley.

Alphonse needed to dissipate this heat both physically and mentally, and there is no coolant that works as well as silence. As soon as the heat seemed to subside, Alphonse bowed his head and apologized to Hayley as he had prepared earlier.

“I’m sorry for stealing training without saying anything. I should have said it earlier, but I didn’t have enough courage to open my mouth now.”

Alphonse’s vocabulary was the same as usual, although his reddened face showed that the fever hadn’t gone away.

Seeing Alphonse’s spleen face, Haley sighed and bit Alphonse’s apple.

“No. It’s my fault that I swung my sword at dawn without permission, and what’s wrong with the boy who saw it? By the way, the reason the little boy came to the gym at dawn that day is for training, right? did you do it?”

“Yes? Yes…isn’t it?”

“Great!!”

Hailey didn’t have the confidence to keep looking at Alphonse’s face like that, so to change the topic, she brought up the reason Alphonse was out that morning and began to praise him for it.

It wasn’t just empty words to change the topic, just like Alphonse was worried before meeting Hailey, Hailey also thought about what to say when he ran into Alphonse. So, why was Alphonse out that day? was

Being able to get up and train on her own at an age when she would still be in the middle of a lot of sleep was considered amazing enough, and Hailey thought the same thing.

Although taken aback by the sudden praise, Alphonse’s lips moved slightly upward.

As the conversation continued, the distance between the two seemed to gradually grow closer.

There was a little happening in the front, but anyway, the two of them were full of hearts to talk to each other, and Alphonse came to his senses, so the conversation between the two proceeded swiftly.

Every time he talked to Hailey, Alphonse felt a pleasant relief.

It feels like something that has been blocked up until now is being opened. It was as if a few stones had been laid down in my heart. Strangely, the still pounding heart did not seem to calm down easily, but it was bearable enough.

Every time Haley told me why she had let go of the sword and why she had picked up the sword again, she laughed anew because it seemed like she was getting closer by learning something she didn’t know.

“Hee hee. Come to think of it, I’ve never told a lady anything like this, but I’m relieved to be able to spit it out like this.”

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More than anything, it felt good to see Hailey looking at herself with a comfortable face. Even if it was possible because of her young age, anyway, it was like she was sharing a secret that even Elena, who could be said to be closest to Hailey, didn’t know.

“Thinking about it, I came out at dawn, so the young master couldn’t train. Then, from now on, I’ll get the captain’s permission and do it in the afternoon…”

“No!!!”

“Yes?”

“Th-That’s right, when the sun is up, you have a lot of work to do, right? You could make a mistake and be misunderstood as a goofball… Also, to Sir Gwen, even if you look harmful, you’re quite principled! You can also give it to me. And since my older brother and I will be using it after the knights training is over, he told me that he will be teaching my family’s arcane swordsmanship this time, and he told me that he would regulate traffic at the gym during that time, so it’s better to get up early and do morning exercise like now. I think it’s low!!”

“Ah…hahahahaha, is that so?”

Hailey nodded with a dazed face at Alphonse’s spitting words.

Alphonse was heartbroken that he had suddenly turned Sir Gwen into a strict principled person, but seeing Haley nodding in agreement nevertheless, the guilt for him disappeared as if it had been washed away.

The reason why he appeared in front of Hailey now was to pass the time of dawn without hiding anymore, not to get rid of the meeting at this time, so it was meaningless if Hailey didn’t come out.

“But if that happens, the little boy’s training won’t work…”

“In the first place, it doesn’t matter because I trained to develop physical strength rather than training focused on swordsmanship at dawn.”

“Oh~”

It wasn’t that he didn’t touch swordsmanship at all, but he actually put more emphasis on physical training, so it wasn’t a complete lie. Because that’s half true.

“Hey, as the boy said, there are a lot of things to do when the sun is up, so it won’t be easy. It would certainly be a nuisance for an outsider to mix with the members and swing a sword… Then, if it doesn’t bother you, can I come out at dawn like this from now on?”

“Yes! Of course!!!”

It was only after Haley declared that she would only come out at dawn that Alphonse was able to answer with a bright smile.

When time passed like this, the two of them saw a red light coming up in the black sky in the distance. If you don’t go back soon, others will find out.

We went in after talking a lot, but Alphonse thought it was a worthwhile time. I can’t help but be happy that what I used to do and just watch has progressed to this point. The day was just dawning, but I was already looking forward to it after the sun went down.

“Little boy.”

As he was about to return to his room with a smile on his face, Hailey called Alphonse to stop him. When I turned around to see if there was anything I hadn’t said yet, she handed Alphonse a small stone.

“You forgot this.”

“Oh, this…”

The colorless crystal, which did not emit any light when Hailey held it, began to emit a bright light as it landed in Alphonse’s hand. What she handed over was the lighting stone that Alphonse brought as a substitute for the lamp. It seemed that she had found what Hailey had inadvertently missed in her hand when she pounced.

“It’s a pretty light. I practiced a lot with this when I was young. Seeing how bright the light is, the little boy will surely grow up to be a great knight.”

“Yeah…Thanks for the compliment, Haley.”

Alphonse’s heart didn’t beat as fast as before at the sight of Hailey talking to him while gently stroking his hair. Rather, it felt as if I had been bathed in the cold water and had been swimming in a happy dream until now, and then jumped out into reality.

There was no malice in Hailey’s words, only good intentions, but Alphonse knew that wasn’t all.

Alphonse could see the shadow on Hailey’s face through the brightly lit stone.

After parting ways with Hailey, Alphonse stared at the brightly shining light stone in his hand for a long time.

Was it because I had talked to her and heard what made her let go of the sword? The light stone, the size of a small pebble, that Hayley had handed over felt heavy, as if holding a rock.