NOVEL NEXT Ch. 43
There was no need to think for long.
All the circumstantial evidence pointed to Agnes’s regression to childhood, and so there was only one thing Deltain could do.
“… she’s not here right now. Don’t cry.”
Comforting.
Deltain quickly stood up, picked up the five-year-old Agnes, and gently patted her back in a familiar motion.
Agnes began to stop crying with a few hiccups.
“Where’s Mom?”
“She went to work for a bit. I came to play with you in the meantime.”
There was no trace of anger in Deltain’s voice.
Perhaps it was clear enough that Gerhart was shocked upon hearing it.
From Deltain’s perspective, the experience of caring for young patients back when he was on Earth was paying off, though Gerhart knew nothing of this.
“If you behave today, Mom will come back at night. So, stop crying now.”
Agnes’ tremors began to calm down.
Deltain wiped the corner of her eyes with an empty hand and asked Gerhart.
“Gerhart. How far have we come?”
“If we move for roughly half a day more, we’ll reach our destination.”
“Half a day…”
It was awful.
Deltain despaired at the reality that he would have to care for five-year-old Agnes, who started the day crying loudly, all day long.
Nothing was changing.
“Will Mom come at night?”
He couldn’t just abandon this. He couldn’t leave her with the maids either, as she needed to stay close to him.
Deltain had to be the babysitter for the day.
“… yeah. She’ll come at night.”
“Who are you, sir?”
“Deltain Hebron.”
“I’m Agnes!”
Five-year-old Agnes beamed with a bright smile.
Deltain laughed helplessly with a drained expression.
Only one thought crossed his mind.
At least young Agnes didn’t seem too troublesome, thank goodness.
*
‘Cancel that.’
Deltain canceled his earlier thought.
Young Agnes was troublesome.
To the point where she was one of the top three most difficult children Deltain had ever met.
If someone were to ask in what way she was troublesome, Deltain would only have one answer.
‘Her mother.’
Five-year-old Agnes Levadine was obsessively attached to everything related to her mother.
In other words, she acted and spoke as though her mother were the ultimate truth in the world.
Even considering her age, the extent of it was excessive.
“Mom said I shouldn’t be picky with food!”
Agnes shoved a pickle into Deltain’s sandwich.
Then, with an angry face, she said.
“If you’re picky with food, you’re a bad kid!”
“I’m not a kid. And this isn’t being picky. Pickles aren’t food.”
“They are food! They’re yummy!”
“They’re not yummy.”
Agnes’ face flushed red. Her expression twisted into a frown.
Agnes, unable to contain her frustration, trembled as she glared at Deltain and then,
Deltain felt his temples tense with strain.
“… fine. I’ll eat it.”
Saying this, Deltain closed his eyes tightly and took a bite of the sandwich. He placed the pickle under his tongue, chewed everything else, and only after that swallowed the pickle whole.
Even then, the sour taste lingered in his mouth, and his face contorted with displeasure.
Only then did Agnes smile brightly and pat Deltain on the forehead.
“Good job~”
What was the point of all this? Even eating was stressful, and irritation surged within him.
But he couldn’t scold Agnes.
Deltain Hebron.
He was a man who became completely soft in front of children.
Agnes’ mischief continued.
“After you finish eating, it’s time for tooth-brushing! If you don’t, Mom will be sad!”
“What do you want me to… no, okay. Let’s brush our teeth.”
“Yes! And also!”
Five-year-old Agnes was extremely chatty.
And everything she said was related to her mother.
What kind of person her mother was, what she did with her mother yesterday, what she did with her mother the day before, and what she was going to do with her mother tomorrow.
How beautiful her mother was, how kind she was, and how good she smelled—Agnes’ endless stories left Deltain feeling like he might develop neurosis.
Deltain thought.
‘Why is she so oblivious?’
He wished that his frowning face would make her stop already.
He wished she would just take a nap instead.
But whether she noticed or not, Agnes laughed merrily at Deltain’s frown and squeezed his face.
She would press his furrowed brows to smooth them out, pull up his downturned lips, and even start kneading his cheeks.
Deltain watched Agnes quietly.
Her chubby cheeks were rosy. There was no shadow over her bright cherry blossom-colored eyes. Her tiny hands, pressing into his face, were so small, and her clear laughter was full of lively energy.
Her lovely appearance was no different from that of the adult Agnes, but everything else was so different from the present.
‘She was more energetic when she was younger. Ah, they said her illness began showing around age ten. That wretched personality must be because of the seventh princess.’
Growth environment was crucial.
Deltain realized this again as he spoke to Agnes, who was now pinching his lips.
“… don’t you need a nap?”
“Is it nap time?”
“Yes.”
Agnes looked out the window.
The sun was shining brightly.
Had she thought about it even a little, she would have known he was lying, but at her age, she didn’t know the concept of being
Agnes squirmed, then laid her head on Deltain’s lap and said.
“Lullaby!”
“… what?”
“Sing me a lullaby! I have to listen to a lullaby to sleep! Mom used to sing me one every night!”
Agnes’ eyes were wide open.
No, they were sparkling.
They were filled with anticipation.
Deltain suddenly found himself resenting Duchess Levadine, a woman he had never even met.
Even as these thoughts ran through his mind, he was thinking quickly.
He was torn between the embarrassment he would feel from singing a lullaby and the stress of dealing with Agnes while she was awake.
The answer came easily enough.
‘How could I possibly handle this?’
It was far better to deal with a moment of embarrassment and be done with it.
Deltain turned to Gerhart with a piercing gaze and said.
“Don’t listen.”
“Please close my ears.”
Snap.
As Deltain snapped his fingers, blue mana appeared and seeped into Gerhart’s ears.
This was a spell that temporarily paralyzed the target’s hearing.
Deltain then looked down at Agnes.
“Are you really going to sleep if I sing you a lullaby?”
“Yeah! Sing
Even the song was preselected.
Fortunately, Deltain knew this famous children’s song from the capital as well.
He closed his eyes softly.
He let go of a bit of his dignity.
After several deep breaths, his voice came out stiffly.
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star….”
“You can’t sing! Do it again!”
A vein bulged on Deltain’s forehead.
*
Deltain realized that he was being unreasonable around the fourth time Agnes demanded a do-over.
It was then that he remembered something he’d forgotten in his efforts to soothe the child.
Unlike in his previous life as a doctor on Earth, now he had magic.
Agnes fell asleep.
Since it was sleep induced by magic, she wouldn’t wake up for the next few hours.
Deltain let out a deep sigh, his face weary with exhaustion.
“I still taste pickles in my mouth.”
“… you’ve worked hard.”
Gerhart said this as he brought the car to a stop.
They had arrived at their destination.
“It’s surprisingly quiet for a place with demons.”
They had arrived at a rocky mountain.
The barren landscape was characterized by only a few trees, easily countable at a glance.
As Deltain got out of the car, still holding Agnes, the hounds remained silent.
Then Cargo spoke, still looking haggard.
“It seems like it’s inside that mountain. Probably hiding in a cave. You’ll have to search for the exact location yourself.”
“Good job. Kaltara, Pobler, you two come with me. The rest of you, stay and keep watch.”
As Deltain gave the order, Kaltara and Pobler began walking behind him.
Kaltara spoke up after they had been walking for about 10 minutes.
“The little princess is adorable!”
“Adorable? This? Don’t make me laugh. I guarantee that if she were left with you, you’d have thrown her on the ground in less than 10 minutes.”
“Hmm! You’re right! I don’t like kids!”
“Captain, you’re being disrespectful to the princess.”
“Isn’t she asleep?”
Kaltara laughed heartily, causing Pobler to take a step back.
Deltain, worried that Agnes might wake up, cast a
It was fortunate that she wasn’t fussy about where she slept.
Despite being carried around, five-year-old Agnes slept soundly without stirring.
Deltain figured this was because she was used to being carried like this often.
Most likely by the duchess.
‘Now that I think about it, I don’t recall hearing her talk about her mother much.’
Looking back, despite Agnes’ apparent fondness for her mother, he couldn’t recall hearing any stories about her while they spent time together.
She would often talk about other personal matters or mention her father, but never her mother.
Deltain found himself strangely curious as he glanced at Agnes.
‘… not my business.’
Curiosity killed the cat.
Deltain was someone who quite liked that saying.
He resolved not to indulge in needless curiosity.
What followed was a silent march.
Since they were searching for the demon hiding somewhere in the rocky mountain, climbing was inevitable, but no one here was likely to tire from such a task.
“Kaltara, do you see the cave?”
“Can’t see it from here!”
“Boss, I’ve found one.”
Pobler spoke up.
He pointed to a rock with its top sliced off as if cut by a blade.
Deltain snapped his fingers.
Snap.
Mana-formed goggles appeared over Deltain’s eyes.
As they flickered, the area he was looking at zoomed in.
Indeed, as Pobler had said, there appeared to be an entrance to a cave.
“Looks like that’s the place. Let’s go check it out. Kaltara, get ready.”
At his command, Kaltara crouched down into a four-legged stance.
Deltain naturally climbed onto her back.
This was a method he occasionally used when traversing rough terrain.
“Boss! Hold on tight!”
“Wait.”
Snap.
Deltain snapped his fingers again.
A translucent shield enveloped the three of them.
This was to block the wind that would rush at them once Kaltara started running.
“Let’s go.”
With that, Kaltara’s muscles swelled.
Her veins bulged, and the ground beneath her feet sank in.
“Here we go!”
Boom!
The landscape blurred in an instant.
There wasn’t even time to appreciate the speed.
One moment they were moving, and the next they were in front of the cave.
They had broken the sound barrier.
A moment later, the air where Kaltara had run began to split with a sharp tearing noise.
Deltain covered his ears.
“Fast as always.”
Once again, he thought there was nothing better than Kaltara for transportation.