NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4
The Snake Castle.
It was an alias referring to the castle of the House of Count Basilian, located in the Eastern Basilian Territory.
The Snake Castle was as little known as the Basilian family.
It was because it was located in the Dark Forest.
The Dark Forest, where there is no sunlight even during the day, was famous for strange things happening.
Unpleasant rumors overflowed, so naturally people did not approach the Dark Forest.
With the exception of merchants and handymen who deliver goods, it was almost impossible for outsiders to visit the castle.
Chesha, who saw the Snake Castle personally, summarized her impressions in one word.
‘Wow, that’s so bleak.’
It gave off an atmosphere that anyone could see that an evil villain would live in.
She only saw the castle, and she already felt that the count was like a bad guy.
Inside, it felt the same.
The moment she stepped inside, Chesha gasped in surprise.
The sky-high castle gave the impression of crushing people.
The furniture and decorations were also all cool and dark colors, which seemed to choke the breath.
‘I don’t know why they live in a place like this.’
It was not a suitable place to use as a residence.
It seemed that even if she lived here for a few days, her personality would deteriorate.
And Chesha’s prediction was right.
It’s been a week since she came to the Snake Castle.
Chesha’s personality was deteriorating in real time.
“Come to Daddy, Chesha.”
A languid voice tickled through the air.
Chesha toddled hard on her short legs.
She has short legs, so it took her quite a while to walk even a short distance.
Kiern, who was lying reclining on the couch, laughed silently as he saw it.
Chesha was as cute as a baby angel in a little baby dress with a green ribbon, decorated with rich lace and frills on a fresh lemon-colored fabric.
However, it was not at all suitable for a castle with a somber atmosphere.
He waited leisurely and snapped his fingers with a click when Chesha arrived right in front of the couch.
A shadow rose from under her feet and pushed Chesha up.
“It’s okay.”
Kiern lightly took Chesha, who had floated in the air, into his arms.
After being held by him a few times, his arms already felt familiar.
As he tried to fix her by finding a more comfortable position, Kiern smiled softly.
He kissed Chesha on the forehead, grinned and said as if he was intimidating.
“Do you want to sleep with Daddy tonight?”
Ah, that’s crazy
Chesha shuddered on the inside, but smiled on the outside.
“Yeesh.”
It’s been a week, but she hasn’t even explored the inside of the castle yet, let alone dig into Count Basilian’s house.
It was thanks to Kiern who stuck next to her all day and kept an eye on her.
From waking up in the morning until going to bed at night.
He didn’t know how to part with her.
Chesha, who wanted to quickly investigate the count’s house and get rid of the childish behavior as soon as possible, was going crazy.
Every once in a while, when she had a chance, she rushed to investigate the inside of the castle, but it was too short a time, so she couldn’t get anything.
Once, while Kiern was asleep, she secretly tried to look around the castle.
The moment she was quietly lying on his side, slowly opening her eyes and trying to escape.
“Um, Chesha….”A languid voice, soaked in sleep, was heard immediately.
Even in the dark, bright red eyes flashed between loose eyes.
With a smile on his face, he picked up Chesha and put her on his stomach and patted her.
“Why are you awake? It’s still dawn…. Let’s go back to sleep.”At the same time, ‘sleep, my child’, isn’t he singing a clumsy lullaby?
Chesha, who was held still, had to go back to sleep.
Even more upsetting was that she had fallen asleep very sweetly listening to Kiern’s ridiculous lullaby.
‘Aargh!’
Even the mind was childish because the body was young.
She was about to go crazy and exploded.
‘No way, isn’t this brat already knows everything?’
Otherwise, he couldn’t have interfered this far.
In particular, every time Chesha was thinking inside, he seemed to be secretly having fun, which made her even more suspicious.
Even now, Kiern had a funny expression on his face.
He chuckled and patted Chesha’s cheek.
“Well shall we go to work?”
Then, he put Chesha on his forearm like a loaf of bread and headed for the office.
Chesha rolled her eyes.
‘He is leaving for the office just wearing a gown.’
His chest was clearly visible through the loose hem of his gown, and he simply walked down the aisle wearing it.
However, only Chesha was embarrassed by it, and the servants seemed to be unconcerned.
It seemed like this happened a lot.
“Come on, Chesha. You play here. Dad will work.”
Arriving at the office, Kiern sat Chesha on one side of the spacious desk.
There were piles of cute dolls, toys, and children’s books that didn’t go well with the bleak snake’s castle.
All of them were items that Kiern had personally bought for Chesha.
Chesha pretended to play with the sorrowful toys and glanced over at him.
‘What the hell is this guy doing?’
Thanks to staying together these days, she was able to fully understand Count Basilian’s daily routine.
He had a leisurely daily life that made it hard to believe that he was a count.
First of all, he woke up late after the sun had risen brightly.
Then, after a bit of teasing time, playing with Chesha’s hair that was rolling around next to him, they had a late breakfast and lunch together.
After meals, he would sit on the couch in his dressing gown and read books, letters, and simple documents.
Every time Chesha stole the text he was reading, it was really useless.
A childish love story that only young ladies and gentlemen would like.
An invitation to a banquet begging him to come.
Reports on newly discovered plants in the Dark Forest and more.
There was not even the slightest shadow shown of what Chesha wanted about Count Basilian’s enormous evil scheme or crimes.
The document seen in the office was nothing but office work for the management of the territory.
‘But there must be something.’
Kiern is a dark mage.
He is also a top-notch person who knows how to manipulate minds.
The dark mage used forbidden power against the will of the Gods, so they were summarily executed the moment their existence was discovered.
The eyes of the Heresy Inquisitor were sharp.
There was no way they wouldn’t see a noble as big as Count Basilian.
Even so, Kiern has been hiding his power well so far.
This alone is suspicious enough.
‘Besides, it’s incredibly suspicious that he was suddenly looking for a child to adopt after locking himself up for years, not knowing whether he was dead or alive.’
At first, she guessed that the baby was brought as a living sacrifice for dark magic, but….
Other than that, Kiern was immersed in playing as a dad.
‘He seemed to want to make me his daughter for real.’
She didn’t know why.
It was a time when she was pulling on the ears of the teddy bear and continuing her thoughts one by one.
Kiern, who had been scribbling down with a quill, suddenly stopped his hand.
“….”
At the same time, Chesha raised her head equally brightly.
Kiern stood up and headed for the window holding Chesha.
He opened the window wide.
A cool breeze blew in from outside, and a noise blocked by the glass can be heard
The Snake Castle, which was always quiet, was noisy.
The sounds of horses galloping and people shouting and laughing were loud.
Knights, dressed in black uniforms and light armor, were driving horses into the castle.
The servants hurriedly ran out to greet the knights.
Unusually, the ones leading the knights were young boys.
The three boys at the forefront were unique enough to catch attention from a distance.
One boy in particular stood out even more because he was wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
The oldest-looking boy said something with an expressionless face.
Then another boy next to him giggled and tapped his forearm.
The boy smiled mischievously, snapped the tip of his chin, and extended a finger.
The tips of his outstretched fingers pointed to the window where Kiern and Chesha were standing.
The boys turned their heads in unison.
The eyes of the three were directed directly at Chesha.
“…!”
The moment she collided with the red eyes.
Chesha’s heart was tingling.
It felt like an arrow hit her heart.
Kiern said in a laughing voice.
“Brothers are here, Chesha.”
The three brothers of the House of Basilian had returned.