I’m a hero, but I don’t know if I should retire

“Can you see me, Adelia?”

“Huh…?”

When she opened her eyes early in the morning, Derek’s face filled Adelia’s field of vision.

‘…It’s my brother.’

As Adelia blankly stared at Derek, he placed the back of his hand on her forehead and muttered to himself.

“Let’s see, no fever.”

“…”

Adelia blinked her eyelids a few times before cautiously speaking.

“Brother…?”

“Yes. Why, Adelia?”

He tilted his head slightly and smiled. His eyes narrowed slightly.

Adelia suddenly bolted upright.

“Ah! Ugh…!”

The moment she moved, her head spun dizzily.

“Adelia! Are you okay?!”

Startled, Derek steadied Adelia’s swaying body, supporting her carefully.

Adelia glanced down at the hands holding her shoulders before slowly raising her head.

It really is my brother.

Golden, wheat-colored hair that bordered on shining, and red eyes just like hers.

Though they were the same red, Derek’s eyes had a slightly different quality to them.

Unlike Adelia’s eyes, which sparkled like finely cut gemstones, Derek’s red eyes were far more serene and calm.

They were like the tranquility one feels when gazing at the steady glow of firewood burning in a hearth.

‘Just the same.’

His appearance, his gentle voice, and the affectionate gaze filled with warmth—it was all the same.

Adelia silently looked at Derek. Seeing her expression, Derek knelt down to her eye level.

“Adelia? Are you still feeling unwell?”

He looked at her worriedly before turning his head toward Sera.

“Sera, call Reynald again, just in ca—”

Before he could finish, Adelia threw her arms around his neck.

“Adelia…?”

She clung to him desperately, almost as if she might fall if she didn’t hold on.

But Derek, after a brief pause, didn’t show any sign of panic. Instead, he adjusted his hold on Adelia and stood up smoothly.

He patted her back gently as he paced around the room, as though soothing a small child.

Adelia clung to him tightly, squeezing her eyes shut.

‘You’re really… alive.’

Truthfully, until yesterday, the idea that time had turned back didn’t feel real.

It had seemed like a fleeting dream, something that would vanish with a single blink, leaving her in an empty illusion.

But now, hearing Derek’s voice and feeling the warmth of his body, she was certain. This was reality.

A wave of hot emotion surged to the tip of her nose.

‘You’re alive. You’re alive…!’

Derek was alive, and so was the duchy. It was all still intact.

Her father, Theos, though currently on the battlefield, must also still be alive.

This wasn’t a dream—it was reality.

Adelia clenched her teeth.

‘Don’t worry, Brother. Father, you too… This time, I’ll save everyone. I won’t let our family go through such misfortune ever again.’

Once was more than enough.

After steadying her emotions, Adelia sniffled and lifted her head.

“Did you come back because of me?”

“I came because I missed my little sister.”

“Liar. You were shocked when I said I canceled my enrollment, weren’t you?”

“…”

When Adelia pouted, Derek’s eyes softened, and he smiled.

He had intended to ask her, first thing after she woke up, why she wanted to cancel her enrollment at the academy. He also planned to bring up the matter of her aura.

But for some reason…

Derek’s gaze fell on the small hand clutching his collar.

Her grip was so tight that her knuckles had turned white. Seeing that, he found himself unable to say anything.

‘There’s plenty of time.’

When else would he get to witness his little sister being so clingy?

Derek adjusted his hold on Adelia again, letting out a soft chuckle.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because I’m happy.”

“…”

Seeing the crescent-shaped curve of his smiling eyes, Adelia’s lips naturally curled into a smile as well.

“Me too.”

“Hm?”

“I’m happy too.”

Adelia threw her arms around Derek again, closing her eyes slowly.

“I’m so happy to see you again, Brother… so happy.”

“I’ll be back soon. Don’t skip meals, don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of everything. Got it, Adelia?”

The faint memory of Derek’s final words resurfaced, and her throat tightened once more.

“I’m so, so happy that you came back, Brother… really, I am.”

“…”

Whether this was a chance granted by the gods or a trial, it didn’t matter.

To be able to meet someone she thought she’d never see again—this was undoubtedly both an opportunity and a blessing.

‘Even if it’s just like this, it’s enough…’

The resentment she had briefly harbored toward the heavens melted away in an instant.

***

“Here, Adelia. Open wide—ah.”

“…”

Derek held out a small spoonful of pudding to Adelia, bringing it to her lips.

Though she felt something was odd, Adelia absentmindedly opened her mouth and accepted the pudding.

Derek waited until she swallowed the pudding before promptly offering her another spoonful.

As this process repeated, a faint crease appeared on Adelia’s brow.

Derek, noticing her furrowed expression, barely managed to suppress his laughter, though the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement.

‘She’s eating pudding with such a puzzled expression.’

He couldn’t help it—she was unbearably adorable, to the point it made his heart ache.

The truth was, Adelia had never been the kind of younger sister to show much affection or charm.

On the contrary, she used to treat Derek as little more than a sparring partner or a pile of logs in the training yard.

But today, something was different.

‘Is it because of the aura manifestation?’

‘But I’ve never heard of aura manifestation changing someone’s personality.’

Well, it didn’t matter. Whether or not that was the cause, the fact that Adelia was cute and lovable remained unchanged.

From the moment she was born until now, always—.

With a slightly unhinged smile, Derek extended the spoon loaded with pudding once more.

“Come on, just one more bite.”

“…”

Adelia looked at Derek with a suspicious gaze but slowly opened her mouth again.

‘I know my brother has always been kind… but has he ever fed me like this before?’

After some hesitation, Adelia accepted the pudding and chewed with small, thoughtful movements.

As Adelia’s eyes darted around, searching her memories of Derek, he watched her with a satisfied expression and spoke.

“Father sent a letter saying he might arrive earlier than planned.”

Startled by his words, Adelia hastily swallowed the pudding and responded.

“Father?”

“Yes.”

At Derek’s answer, Adelia tilted her head slightly, murmuring softly.

‘That’s strange…’

“It should take at least half a year…”

Hearing her faint muttering, Derek leaned in, as if he hadn’t quite caught her words.

“Hm? What did you say, Adelia?”

“No… I just thought it was supposed to take longer.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

Derek smiled brightly and continued.

“Father must be worried about our Adel. He’s always told you, hasn’t he? How much he cherishes you. I bet he’s losing sleep right now, rushing back because of you.”

“…”

Derek’s innocent smile beamed at her. Adelia narrowed her eyes slightly, studying his expression.

‘Worried about me? As if…’

The man who would prioritize war over my birthday couldn’t possibly be rushing back because of me.

Derek had a habit of making such absurd remarks now and then.

‘He must be saying it to comfort me…’

Derek’s comfort and consideration were something Adelia genuinely appreciated. Even though his words seemed absurd, as a child, she had wanted to believe them.

Maybe Father really does care about me.

‘But now…’

She wasn’t the same little girl she had been back then.

As Adelia swallowed a sigh internally, Derek scraped the remaining pudding onto the spoon and continued speaking.

“So don’t worry too much. For once, it seems he’s serious. And you know what happens when Father is serious—nobody can stop him.”

“…”

Ah… I see.

So all those other times weren’t serious enough. That’s why it took a year, two years, however long it needed.

But when Father gets serious, a war that would take half a year can be wrapped up in less than a week.

“Adelia, last one. Say ah—.”

“Ah—.”

Nom. Adelia, now more accustomed to the routine, accepted the pudding without hesitation.

Finally, after finishing the entire pudding, Derek stood up from his seat.

“Get some rest.”

“Where are you going?”

“To reply to Father’s letter. I haven’t written back yet because I was busy feeding you pudding.”

“Okay. Come back soon, Brother.”

“…What?”

“What’s wrong? I said come back soon.”

At Adelia’s words, Derek’s eyes widened briefly before a soft smile spread across his face.

“Alright. I’ll be back soon.”

As Derek left the room, Adelia propped up her pillow, gave it a few pats, and leaned back against it.

‘No matter how I think about it, it’s strange.’

In the past, he never returned this quickly…

This war led by Theos wasn’t quite on the scale of a grand battle, true.

But even so, wars weren’t something that could be hastened simply because one wished them to be.

‘Then why was it expedited? I haven’t even done anything yet… Ah!’

Suddenly struck by a thought, Adelia sat up straight.

‘Could it be?’

‘Did Father speed up the war because I canceled my academy enrollment…?’

For a moment, the image of Theos riding fiercely on his warhorse flashed through her mind, sending shivers down her arms.

***

After finishing lunch, Adelia went straight to her room and flopped onto the bed.

“My lady! Lying down right after eating like that—”

“I’ve always wanted to try it. Don’t stop me, Sera.”

“…Pardon?”

She had firmly rejected Derek’s suggestion to head to the training yard after lunch.

-“How about a sparring session like usual?”

-“I’m too full to move.”

-“…You used to love sparring even more when you were full. You said it made you feel less sluggish.”

-“Did I? Well, I don’t want to now. Besides, what’s wrong with being a little lazy? Seven-year-olds are allowed to be, you know.”

-“…Who says so?”

In truth, she wanted to give in and go to the training yard with Derek.

She wanted to run laps until her thighs and calves burned, to swing a sword until her arms and fingertips tingled, just like she used to.

On top of that, the news of Theos’s return had left her mind in turmoil.

‘When my thoughts are this tangled, mindlessly swinging a sword is the best way to clear my head.’

But she had resolved to live a life different from the past. Picking up a sword again wasn’t something she wanted to do so easily.

Protecting her family and her house was important, yes, but she had also decided that striving to live a life for herself was equally important.

‘A life beyond being a knight.’

A life she had never even considered before—a life as an ordinary noblewoman. One where she could discover new hobbies, meet new people, and build a life she’d never dared to dream of.

‘Then, what can a seven-year-old like me do? What can a seven-year-old noblewoman do?’

Preferably, something that lets me move around freely.

Rolling back and forth on the bed, Adelia suddenly sat up straight.

“My lady?”

Sera, who had been tidying the table, turned to look at her.

“Sera, what do children from other noble families usually do?”

“Pardon…?”

“Who’s the person I’m closest to right now?”

“…”

Seeing Sera suddenly fall silent, Adelia tilted her head.

“Hm? Sera?”

“Cl-close to… someone…”

It was clear that Sera was visibly flustered. And from her expression, Adelia quickly understood what that meant.

‘Ah… there’s no one.’

‘Well, of course there isn’t.’

Even she had to admit that the Adelia of this time had been a peculiar child.

Instead of socializing with other noble daughters, she found far more enjoyment in sparring with the house knights in the training yard and throwing them into the dirt.

“I’m sorry, Sera. For a moment, I forgot what kind of person I was.”

“No, my lady… If anything, I should be the one apologizing…”

Sera, for some reason overwhelmed with emotion, bit her teeth together tightly, her face quickly contorting as if she were about to cry.

‘Oh, come on. It’s really fine.’

“Sera.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“You know, since I decided not to enroll in the academy, I was thinking… maybe I should make some friends. What do you think?”

At that, Sera’s face lit up with renewed excitement.

“F-Friends?!”

“Yes. I think it might be nice to have friends my own age.”

“That’s wonderful! Absolutely wonderful, my lady!”

Buoyed by Sera’s enthusiastic reaction, Adelia hopped off the bed and declared,

“Great. Once you draw the sword, you’ve got to cut something, right? Let’s send letters right away, asking to be friends. Who should I send them to first? Which house is the closest, distance-wise?”

As Adelia walked toward the desk, muttering to herself, Sera paused to think before suggesting,

“Rather than that, why not attend a tea party?”

“A tea party?”

“Yes, my lady. Instead of suddenly sending letters asking to be friends, try attending a tea party and having conversations first. Surely, among them, you’ll find people who suit you well.”

Adelia nodded thoughtfully at Sera’s suggestion.

“Oh, so that’s how it’s done.”

‘That makes sense. If I send letters out of the blue asking to be friends, people might think I’m strange.’

“You’re the best, Sera. I almost ended up being the laughingstock. Thank you!”

“Think nothing of it, my lady,” Sera replied with a satisfied smile.

‘Tea parties…’

As Adelia walked toward the window, she turned back to Sera and asked,

“But have I received any invitations?”

“…”

Seeing Sera’s expression darken again, Adelia had yet another realization.

‘Ah… so there aren’t any.’

‘Sera must have a knack for speaking with her expressions.

‘No, my lady… not even that.