The Male Lead I Raised Is Obsessed With Me

Episode 26

“Ability? What ability?”

I asked without much expectation.

[It’s an ability that can only be used once a day, but I can now use absolute defence.]

“Absolute defence?”

[I can stop any attack at least once. Whether it be the magic of a great wizard or an attack from a great swordsman with an aura.]

Wow. That seems to be a much more useful ability than freezing water.

My heart was pounding.

I asked Blackie excitedly.

“Then, can you stop even the best swordsman on the continent if he appears? What’s the range? How far can you block it?”

[It’s not that wide. I can only protect Master alone.]

When Blackie used his ability, a translucent blue sphere wrapped around me.

[I can use it as a shield like this.]

As Blackie whipped his tail, the sphere got smaller and smaller, until it touched my body and disappeared.

“Wh-What was that?”

[It can be wrapped around master’s body like a membrane.]

If what Blackie said was true, it was like having an extra life of my own.

I hugged Blackie and cheered.

“Amazing! Our Blackie is a good boy! Keep this up in the future!”

[But you really need to be careful since it’s an ability that can only be used once a day. It can only prevent a single attack.]

“Huh? Once? Wait, so if you shoot two arrows……”

[Precisely, only one arrow will be blocked.]

“What?”

At that time, the carriage rattled as if it had hit a rock and my head bumped the ceiling of the carriage.

I thought it would surely hurt, but I felt no pain, just the feeling of being lightly tapped.

Then, I felt something firm break.

[Today’s defence is used up.]

“Something like this counts too?”

[Since I protected master’s head.]

“But you can just let me get hit for something like this! How can you treat being hit onto the carriage the same as being stabbed with a sword.”

I protested, rubbing the top of my head which didn’t even hurt.

[I need to unlock more seals. Then, I can always make a shield that protects you.]

“Alright, fine.”

It was a little unfair, but it was still a useful ability.

For now, it disappeared in vain just for being struck into the carriage, but on the other hand, if used well, it meant that large-scale magic can be prevented.

“I bought the jewellery for a cheap price, so this is considered good enough. It’s remarkable.”

[I want to grow up quickly and protect master.]

While chatting with Blackie, the carriage finally arrived at the castle of the Valruga Duchy.

As soon as I got off the carriage, the maids who saw me, flocked around like clouds.

In particular, Bella wanted to hug me from the moment she saw me, but hesitated, and when I greeted her first, her cheeks turned red.

“Madam! Oh, I missed you so much! Since madam wasn’t around, the castle felt so desolated. If I knew it would be like this, I would have followed you! Did Bircher treat you well?”

“I served her so much better than you did! Right, madam?”

As soon as Bella and Bircher saw each other, they began to argue again.

I decided to unpack the presents to calm the two people who were arguing over who was better.

“Bella. There’s a present I bought in the carriage, go and pass it to the servants.”

“Present?”

Fortunately, Bella seemed more interested in the present I had bought than arguing with Bircher.

“Yes. It’s not much, but I bought one for each.”

“Oh my. It must have been difficult to travel that far, but you still thought of us. There’s really no one who can match madam’s character.”

The maids who came later admired the quality of the fabric.

“Oh, it’s Myne cloth! Thank you, madam!”

“Just what I needed! What a practical gift!”

“I didn’t know that madam would think of us like this. Thank you!”

“Oh, how can I use this, it would be a shame to use what madam gifted us. I’m so grateful that madam takes care of us like this that I don’t know what to do.”

“Madam is really considerate of maids like us, and is so sweet.”

Looking back at the maids, I finally raised the question that had come to my mind from the first moment I saw them.

“By the way, where’s Luc?”

＊  ＊  ＊

Lucius was curled up like a beetle in Felia’s room.

Felia’s room was as simple as Lucius’s.

But the fact that Felia lived in this room alone made it a special space for Lucius.

“I miss you.”

After mumbling and identifying the emotion, he missed her even more.

His wife was really small and lovely.

Soft pink hair like clouds, blue eyes like the clear sky.

Her small, round and gentle eyes were as lovely as a baby rabbit, but Luc knew how strong and wonderful she was.

When he calls her ‘sister’, Felia smiles brightly and turns her head as if she knew who had called her even without looking.

Then, she says ‘Luc!’ and calls him in a voice that was warmer than when she was talking about work.

“I miss you.”

Lucius buried his nose in Felia’s blanket like a puppy waiting for its master.

Just then, the sound of the gate opening was heard in the distance.

A loud chattering voice was heard as if the servants were greeting someone.

He couldn’t hear the contents well, but the chirping voices seemed to be in a good mood.

Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to hear sounds from so far away, but Lucius didn’t realise anything strange.

It was natural for Lucius, since when he was young, he didn’t have anything close enough to teach him that.

When he sees Felia, the first thing he wanted to do was run out and welcome her, but he was also scared to see her as much as he missed her.

“Will sister remember me?”

Watching the carriage leave, Lucius belatedly recalled his memories with his father.

His father would often travel and return in that carriage too.

When the thick gates opened and the lord’s carriage entered the castle, the people inside the castle became busy.

Among those who were preparing for the duke’s arrival, only Lucious was left alone in the room like a doll.

His father never looked for him anyway.

No, he wouldn’t even realise if he disappears one day.

Lucius closed his eyes and thought of the day he met his father.

It was winter that day, and the family’s situation was only getting worse.

As soon as he arrived, he prepared to leave again without a break.

It was a coincidence that Lucius ran into him on the porch that day.

Seeing Lucius standing there awkwardly, the duke asked.

“Who’s this?”

The servant, who was adjusting the collar of the duke’s coat, answered the duke’s question embarrassedly.

“He’s the young master.”

At the servant’s words, a brief ‘Ah’ escaped the duke, as if he had just remembered before asking the servant again.

“Is he already that big?”

“He turned seven this year.”

“Is that so? Kids of that age grow bigger everyday, so it’s hard to recognise them.”

When the servant withdrew after fixing the collar of his coat, the duke moved closer to stroke Lucius on the head as though to fulfil the duty as a father.

Only then did Lucius’ outfit catch the eye of the duke.

The duke took a step back and frowned.

“What a mess. Didn’t I leave a maid in charge of him?”

“I was tasked to clean the castle for the past few days, so I have not been able to take care of him.”

It was a matter of great contempt elsewhere for the care of the duke’s only heir to be neglected by the cleaning of the castle.

Even a baron without a land, who was not as great as a duke, would say no less and immediately beat the servant and kick them out if it was known.

But the servant reported the truth calmly, as if she knew she would not be scolded.

The duke clicked his tongue briefly and said.

“Anyway, take the child away and wash him. Do something about it.”

“Yes.”

As expected, the duke did not scold the servant.

Another servant next to him urged the duke, saying that it was time for the appointment.

Eventually, he left again without stroking Lucius’ hair.

After that, Lucius never left the room again whenever his father had returned.

At least, the duke did not forget that he had a son, so there was a servant who prepared for his meals and took care of him, but that was it.

He wanted to see sister right away, but at the same time, he was scared.

‘I shouldn’t have let sister leave.’

Those red eyes shone dangerously.

Maybe she will forget him as she went out and returned, just like his father.

‘What if sister looks at me and asks, who is that kid?’

It doesn’t matter if his own father doesn’t remember him.

But not sister.

‘I shouldn’t have sent her out. I shouldn’t have let her leave the castle. I should’ve somehow kept her from riding the carriage.’

Thoughts that began to run wild wouldn’t stop once it started.

In the end, it felt like it couldn’t be helped that Felia would forget him.

‘What if sister forgets me?’

Then, just kill them all.

There was no need to stay in the castle any longer, so he’ll kill everyone in the castle while waiting for sister again.

It felt like a black hole had been opened inside his body, as though he was being swallowed up in it.

It was then.

Tap, tap, tap.

I heard small footsteps moving quickly downstairs.

‘It’s sister’s footsteps.’

His sister, his wife, his family always denied it, but she was rather impatient and would walk around quickly.

The pace walking around the castle slowed down a little, perhaps tired.

The footsteps gradually drew closer.

As it climbed up the stairs, it stopped for a moment before the sound appeared again.

He heard a small grumble, “Why is it so wide?”

The door to the study where Lucius often went to opened, then the steps gradually became closer and headed this way.

And the door opened.

“Luc! There you are!”

Those clear watery eyes looked directly at Luc.

Light came into his dark world.

She hugged Lucius and teased him by poking the tip of his nose.

“Sister is here, aren’t you going to say hello?”

Lucius hugged her and buried his face into her shoulder.

“Welcome back.”

“I thought you’d be outside to meet me as soon as I arrive, but you’re in my room instead. Do you know how long it took to find you?”

Listening to Felia’s chatter, Lucius hugged her tighter.

“Luc, I also bought you a present. I wasn’t sure what you would like, so I bought a bunch of things, and it turned out to be a lot.”

In fact, more than anything else, does she realise that her return was the greatest gift of all?

“Did you eat well? How was your sleep? How come you look a little thin?”

Felia wrapped her hands around Lucius’ cheeks and examined him.

Lucius rubbed his face into Felia’s hand and acted like a cute puppy.

“I couldn’t sleep because I was scared of sleeping alone. The dark is so scary.”

Lucius had never been afraid of the dark.

Rather, there were times when a maid screamed in surprise at the way he walked through the hallway silently without a candle.

Felia tilted her head.

“Were you that afraid of the dark? I don’t think I’ve ever noticed anything like that.”

“You couldn’t say goodnight to me before bed, wishing that I wouldn’t have nightmares. So I had a nightmare.”

Lucius said in a weak tone as if he had been struggling.

He could pretend to be afraid of the dark in order to receive Felia’s gaze and touch.

It was also true that he couldn’t sleep while Felia was away.

“Then, should I sleep with Luc tonight?”