NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7 - Do I Deserve This Affection?
Chapter 7 [Do I Deserve This Affection?]
“This is just a guess, but I think it’s likely that you’re of noble blood. Like Father said, it’s rare for there to be geniuses among commoners, but what’s more is that mana is usually passed down through blood. That means at least one of your parents must be of noble blood.”
Little Bear didn’t say more, but I understood.
‘He probably thinks I’m a child born out of a nobleman’s extramarital affair.’
He’s wrong though. More than anything, I was most probably a direct descendant of the family. I heard the word ‘Lord’ when I was kidnapped after all. But of course, I wouldn’t tell him this.
“There’s no evidence, but if one of your parents is a nobleman, you’ll be treated better. Our territory thinks ability is the most important, but that’s not the same for the others. Over there, they think the higher the social status, the better. So, if you’re actually a noble, you’ll be less restricted. And although it’s a little embarrassing to say, I just hope you can live a comfortable and happy life from now on.”
The Little Bear mumbled every now and then, but I understood every single word. The Little Bear, was truly thinking of me.
‘Why? It hasn’t even been long since we met, but why do you care so much for me…?’
Suddenly, an unknown emotion soared in my chest, blocking my throat.
‘No, not suddenly.’
After meeting the two bears, the emotion had come to visit occasionally. The feeling was unfamiliar and awkward, so for a moment, I didn’t know what to do.
So, I changed the subject.
“Can you tell me more about the Leocardia Family?”
The Little Bear began to talk with a smile as if he were glad to hear my question.
“There is a mountain range called Chaos Mountains in the northernmost part of the continent. Right below it is the territory of our Leocardia Family.”
“Chaos Mountains… Isn’t that the place where an awful lot of high-grade monsters live? Why is the territory there?”
“It’s a place blessed by God. It’s safe. This is a very famous story, did you not hear of it?”
“I didn’t.”
I didn’t hear of it even in my previous life.
“500 years ago, Lord God created the world and many creatures including us. At that time, he collected all the world’s evils and created what we now know as monsters. As time went on, human evils accumulated and the monsters gradually became stronger and stronger. So, 300 years ago, Lord God appeared in human form and gave the humans various types of help. This includes blessing the land in front of the Chaos Mountains, making it a sanctuary.”
“Is that why you built the Duchy’s castle there?”
“That’s right.”
“You say that 300 years ago the Lord helped the humans a lot. Besides the sanctuary, what else did he do to help?”
I prepared myself by clenching my fist in advance because my hands were shaking.
The Little Bear replied with a smile.
“He prophesied that if the Demon Lord appeared, a warrior would appear to stop him.”
I knew about this prophecy. That’s why I brought up the story so I could use it as an excuse to ask more about the warrior in detail.
“In fact, the Demon Lord did appear 17 years ago. However, the warrior defeated the Demon Lord a year after he started to subjugate the monsters.”
A huge shock ran through me as if lightning from the sky had struck me.
’17 years ago? So you’re saying I died 16 years ago?’
I’m seven years old now. Since the age at which you were born is counted as one year, if you calculate it this way…
‘It means that I was reborn 10 years after I died!’
What do you mean it’s not just a year or two!
Without me, the Warrior, the Cardinal would have already become the Pope. If he’s become the Pope, he would have even more power than when he was a Cardinal.
‘Revenge is going to be harder than I thought… Wait. No, it won’t’
The Lord God offered to help me. I was probably born 10 years later because this period is the most advantageous for revenge!
‘Hoo…’
I took a deep breath and calmed my heart which had been beating uneasily for a moment.
“Do you know anything about the warrior..? I’ve only heard one story. The one that says he defeated the Demon King.”
I heard it when I was sneaking about the Lord’s Castle.
–A warrior named Debota appeared, and defeated the Demon Lord, before sadly dying.
In addition, the only information known to the public about the warrior was that he was a speech-disabled person. Not even one person knew his face because he always wore his helmet.
‘The Cardinal really buried everything about me thorughly.’
It was two years ago that I learned about it, and to some extent, I did expect the Cardinal to have made his move.
‘At first, I thought it was okay…’
But maybe I was shocked inside, and I had to suffer multiple body aches for a few days. I could barely get up from my bed. I was in true shock.
It felt like my past life, in which I was abused and taken advantage of, was even more wretchedly trampled upon.
‘…Calm down. You need to be calm Dia.’
I took another deep breath to hide the bubbling feelings.
Fortunately, the Little Bear didn’t see my face because he was looking out of the crevice between the carriage’s window curtains.
“I don’t know much about the warrior,” replied the Little Bear.
I managed to hold back a sigh of regret.
“Actually, I used to dream of becoming a warrior. It was a power from the Lord, but I still thought I could become one if I tried hard enough. So I shouted to my parents that I would become a warrior but my mother opposed it. So…’
The Little Bear stopped suddenly while talking and looked at me with an expression as if he made a mistake.
“So?”
“Well… This will be our little secret. So you can’t tell others ok?”
“Yes. I won’t.”
I put my index finger in front of my lips.
The Little Bear whispered with shame, “I ran away from home.”
“You ran away?”
“Yes. I thought I would become a warrior if I went into the Chaos Mountains and trained against the monsters to become strong. However, before I could even try, Father caught me at the entrance of the mountain range.”
“Well at that time… How old were you?”
“Just like Dia, I was five. I only did it because I was young…”
I was a little angry at the words, but I couldn’t say what my real age was.
“How much I was scolded by Father then… My mother…”
The Little Bear sighed with a distant look as if he were recalling the past.
“My mother cried. She grabbed me and told me firmly that I should never become a warrior.”
Again, another lightning bolt struck me.
‘The Duke knows about me!’
The Cardinal killed all those who knew how I lived in the temple. But before that, there could have been a few rumors that slipped past.
‘Maybe that’s how the Little Bear’s mother, the Duke of Leocardia, learned about me.’
Still, she probably wouldn’t have known that the Cardinal killed me. But I realized the obvious. The Duke probably knew enough about me that she could feel sorry.
It meant she sympathized with me.
‘This is an opportunity.’
An opportunity to learn more about my previous life.
I remembered what happened, but my world in the past was too narrow. I needed proper information to analyze.
‘I’ll ask when I get a chance. I don’t even know if the Duke will answer me…’
“I then promised my mother that I wouldn’t become a warrior. The warrior was originally chosen by the Lord anyway, so I didn’t have a chance from the start.”
“Indeed.”
“I was frustrated you know! I really wanted to be a warrior! I really respect him! He’s the kindest, most righteous, and just straight-up best man in the world!”
The scene of me kicking the groins of the villainous men who attacked Big Bear replayed in my mind. I even went and poked their eyes.
“…”
Suddenly, cold sweat dripped down my back.
I quickly brought up the original topic.
“Tell me more about the Duke.”
“Ah yes. The current master of the Leocardia Family, the Duke, is my mother. Her name is Obdolisa Leocardia. She’s a master of the two-handed sword!”
The excited Little Bear rambled on with a calm face but excited voice.
———
Two hours later, we arrived at the Gapo Estate.
The territory said to be closest to the Leocardia Duchy.
‘It’s a little small, but it’s clean and has a nice atmosphere.’
We headed straight to the inn.
The Big Bear then spoke, “We’re leaving at dawn tomorrow. Wash up first.”
“Yes.”
I washed up first before heading to the common room. A cleaner Big Bear came up and sat me on the sofa after washing up in the other bathroom.
“Let’s dry our hair.”
The Big Bear gently wiped my wet hair with a large soft towel.
There was also magic in the world to dry hair. And although it consumed less mana, it’s said to be very difficult to control because it has to be used very carefully due to the nature of hair.
I and the Little Bear both didn’t know how to use such magic. The Big Bear said he could use it, but couldn’t do it on such a small and weak child like me.
‘If even a single thing goes wrong, my hair might burn.’
I didn’t request it either.
Instead, the Big Bear would dry my hair carefully like this every time. As if I was a precious child.
Whenever Big Bear dried my hair, I could feel my heart warm up.
“Thank you! But where is Juliano?”
“He went to buy something for a second. He won’t be long. Are you hungry?”
“No, not really.”
In truth, I was indeed a little hungry, but I wanted to eat with Little Bear.
“When Juliano returns, let’s eat together.”
“Okay.”
The Big Bear softly patted my hair.
“When we arrive at the territory, maybe we can-”
Before he could finish his sentence, Little Bear’s voice was heard through the door.
“Father, please open the door?”
“Dia, you go do it.”
“Okay!”
I ran to the door and opened it. However, instead of the Little Bear, I saw another bear.
“It’s a teddy bear!”
It was so big that I couldn’t even see Little Bear who was holding it from behind. The Little Bear managed to come inside with the teddy bear and shouted triumphantly.
“Ta-da! It’s a secret bear!~!”
Round eyes, a nose slightly peeking out from the front, a smiling mouth, a face with ears, and short legs below a plump belly.
Every single part was cute!
‘Wow!’
Its dark brown hair that shone with luster also looked very soft.
“Why is it a secret bear?”
“Yes. It’s because he can hide secrets! Look here.”
The Little Bear grabbed the teddy bear’s right front foot and lifted it up. On it was a number pad from 0 to 9.
“The default password is 0000.”
When I pressed 0 four times, something surprising happened. The soft-looking round belly suddenly disappeared. The teddy bear itself was so big that the empty space inside was large enough to remain even if I entered.
“You can place a diary, or whatever you want to hide here.”
“So that’s why it’s a secret bear.”
“Yes, that’s right! It’s a specialty of the Gapo Estate. It’s hard to get, but I was lucky enough to buy it!”
“I see! I’m happy for you. Congratulations.” I smiled.
The Little Bear flinched before exchanging glances with the Big Bear.
‘What’s wrong?’
I tilted my head, and the Big Bear said, “Juliano, you have to say it clearly.”
“Oh, I see. Dia, this bear is yours!”
“What?”
“It’s yours. It’s a gift!”
The Little Bear smiled broadly and pushed the secret bear towards me. I was so surprised that my eyes were left wide open.
“Are you really giving it to me?”
“That’s what I’m telling you! Now, look at this.”
The Little Bear grinned and held out the teddy bear’s numbered foot to me.
“Decide your password. Just pick any four-digit number.”
I hesitated and said, “But isn’t it expensive…”
“It’s okay!”
“But it’s not okay for me… This… Uh…”
It was burdensome. However, another emotion also blossomed clearly.
Joy.
The Little Bear obviously cared about me. He purely likes me like he likes the Big Bear. I was genuinely pleased with that fact.
‘But… I’ll be leaving in three years…’
Until then, I was planning on hiding many things. I was going to lie and hide the truth as much as possible.
‘Can I really accept this kind of affection?’
What was in front of me was only an object, but I knew that what the Little Bear was trying to give was more than that. No matter how clueless I was about human relationships, I knew how much he wanted to give it to me.
“Uh… Do you not like it?”
The Little Bear was immediately sullen. His broad shoulders dropped down. I was startled.
“No! That’s not it!”
“Then what’s the matter?”
“It… It looks expensive…”
“I am the Duchy’s Young Master. I have a lot of money! Don’t feel pressured and take it. It’s cute, right? The fur is really soft too. Here, touch it.”
The Little Bear held my hand and placed it on the teddy bear. I flinched at first, but soon my fingers moved at will. The dark brown fur was incredibly soft.
‘
My hands are about to melt.’
This was the first time in both my lives that I had experienced this luxurious feeling.
“It’s nice, right?”
“Yes.”
The Little Bear grinned.
“I’m glad you like it. I bought it for you after all.”
That’s why it’s burdensome…
‘I want to keep it… But…’
I couldn’t say anything else.
The Big Bear suddenly came close to me and bowed down.
He then said with a friendly smile-