I swear I've never seen Shion laugh so wickedly.
I looked at him with my jaw dropped in bewilderment, but Shion sat comfortably on the chest and spat out.
"Let's just stay, Liana."
"What?"
"You're going to the Stone Age anyway. It's warm in summer, and if you go while eating jerky, you'll be able to eat it for a day, right?"
I frowned at the irresponsible words that were not like Shion.
"Brother, are you serious?"
He shrugged.
"See, my eldest brother left early to get away from me. You didn't even eat? But look, you weren't destined to bully me."
What?
I thought it would come out for a while, so I didn't bring Mr. Ce with me!
The Valley of Light is now being consumed, but it's hard to sleep without it these days!
Shion continued to talk nonsense.
"On the way to the Stone Age, I always stop by Chatara. He said he was tired of talking and couldn't go any further. If you shout as hard as you can, he'll find us, and you'll have no choice but to take us away by then."
To be honest, I was more worried about Alsaed than about the two of us.
He'd be incredibly surprised if he realized that we're gone.
"Dad must be worried."
When I said that, Shion thought about it for a while, but then resigned himself.
"Knock the whole time, the coachmen of Halias Castle wear earplugs because of the wind; they never hear."
I tried my best to prove him wrong, but unfortunately, I couldn't.
Finally, I slumped down on the floor of the carriage and blamed Shion.
"It's all my brother's fault. If you get scolded later, I won't take your side."
It was obvious that Shion would be scolded for this.
Even if you did the same thing, it's natural for a seven-year-old to be scolded more than a four-year-old.
However, it seems that the cowardly Shion was also secretly stubborn.
I whined again, opened the chest, pulled out some beef jerky and biscuits, and shook my head as if to shake my father's frightened face.
"Well, you'll still be on my side, right? You're the prettiest of me."
Was it your uncle who believed you?
Philippe Halias?
Hah...I shook my head, thinking of his brother, who was bigger and more upright than Alsaed.
The wagon shook worse than the horse, and I was getting sick.
While chewing beef jerky and leaning on each other's bodies, the day became strangely colder as we woke up.
"Why... Why is it getting colder?"
Shion rubbed the back of my hand with both hands to soothe me.
"It's because you're asleep. Chatara is a warm place."
Is this warm?
I thought about what the Halias' bodies were made of, and fell asleep again in the cold.
Soon, the carriage finally stopped.
***
"Let's go."
"Yes, My Lord."
Caliph looked up at his true nature for a moment and then set off his reddish, glossy brown horse vigorously.
He had skipped breakfast to avoid Shion's resentment.
His brothers and sisters would be able to understand the sound of horses' hooves, so he wanted to get out of sight as soon as possible.
The road directly through the north wall to the tower is not easy, even in summer.
Instead of freezing and slippery snowy mountains, you have to avoid hungry wild animals.
Therefore, we had to reach the camp before the sun went down, and it was a burden because there were several supply wagons attached.
It was only half a day north, but the wind hit his neck.
As the weather cooled down and the dead trees began to appear one by one, everyone was speechless as if they had made a promise.
The northern part of the continent certainly has a unique and disgusting magical power.
Because of that, monsters are created, and they go on a rampage like they are salting them once in a while.
There are big and small influences on people.
As they finally reached the campsite and cleared the area before the sun went down, there was a commotion in the center of the group.
"No, what happened to this?"
"Everything... No, bring the Lord to the cow."
Caliph, who had reached the vicinity before anyone could call him, blinked as he saw a small figure of a soldier getting off the carriage.
He was stunned and couldn't say a word, but another small figure came down to the floor.
"Where is...?"
When he saw Shion looking back in bewilderment, he felt like he was gasping for breath.
"Shion."
As Shion looked around the camp, he met Caliph's eyes and was terrified.
"Big, big brother..."
Liana, who was standing beside him, suddenly burst into tears.
"Aaaang..."
Caliph frantically approached and picked up the crying child.
Her small body was as cold as ice.
"Whoever you are, go and get something to cover."
They covered her with a blanket and made him hug the child and make a fire.
One of the sentinels rushed up to make matters worse.
"My Lord, red smoke rises from the side of the castle."
"What?"
Caliph sighed and pressed his forehead.
It was obvious that the castle had been turned upside down while looking for the children.
Shion bowed his head and shed his tears.
"Brother, where is this? You weren't going to Stone Age..."
Caliph sighed again, and Shion begged, tears dripping down his face.
"I made a mistake... I didn't get on it on purpose. I was just trying to keep a letter to my uncle secret..."
He even brought young Liana.
In his heart, Caliph wanted to scold Shion, but it happened because of the lie he had told.
Liana whimpered again.
They should have told him that they were in the carriage sooner.
It was directed at Shion, but Liana cried back.
"Lihanna is beating the carriage, but no one can hear it... Big brother..."
When he touched her small, frozen hands, his heart ached.
When he thinks about how these little hands must have been trapped in the carriage and knocking on the door the whole time, he feels like he wants to cut down anything.
Caliph had to put his pampered youngest to sleep without pajamas, blankets, or pudding.
Caliph struggled to hold back the choking.
"It's okay, baby. I'm sorry he couldn't hear it."
The coachman who had come with the carriage fell to his knees restlessly.
"I'm sorry, My Lord. Baby and little master, I had been wearing earplugs since I started, so I couldn't hear well. Please forgive me."
In the end, it was no one's fault.
Rather, he wanted to blame Theodore for losing contact.
Caliph sighed once more and turned to the commander of the 3rd Division.
"Ten soldiers are selected and sent back to their main castle at once. Tell them that they are with me and that they will be back in the morning."
"Yes, My Lord."
***
Caliph sat in front of the campfire and fed his younger siblings hot bread and hot tea.
"...In the carriage, did you starve all day?"
When he asked them worriedly, the children shook their heads.
"Hey, jerky."
Liana stopped crying and spoke proudly.
Looking at her sunny face, the stormy anger that had arisen earlier disappeared without a trace.
Caliph laughed.
"...Was it good to eat?"
"Ugh..."
Compared to Liana, who was rubbing her cheek in his arms and smiling bashfully, Shion couldn't lift his head.
"Shion."
When Calioh called, he replied in a creeping voice.
"Yes, brother..."
"I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you that I was leaving for the North Wall because I was afraid you would be worried."
"...Ugh, I was really wrong. Brother."
"The son of Halias does not weep over such things."
Shion swallowed his tears and asked.
"Dear Brother Theo... Are you going to leave?"
"Yes."
Shion blamed herself again.
"...I ruined everything."
"When the day dawns, you can take her back and leave again the next day. If Theo contacted me in the meantime, I might not leave."
I didn't have any premonitions, but Caliph answered as positively as possible.
Shion's complexion finally improved a little.
Liana innocently interjected.
"Brother, the tea tastes strange. Ugh."
If it weren't for them, there wouldn't be a single laugh in this camp.
Caliph replied with a small smile again.
"Sorry, there's only one twa here. Let's go to the castle and drink the delicious choco."
"Woo."
Caliph looked down at the youngest's red eyes and thought how pretty the bonfire glowed inside.
Unfortunately, he was not a prophet, so he did not know the danger that was coming.
***
When I got off the carriage and made eye contact with Caliph, I thought my heart stopped.
It's been almost a year since he laughed and scolded me.
That's why I had forgotten about it.
Caliph Halias's terrifying expressionlessness.
After squeezing tears and pretending not to notice for a long time, my face relaxed.
'Ugh. I've endured it for ten years.'
Starving for a day doesn't mean you will die, but Caliph gave me a serious look and urged me to eat more and more.
After eating it all and getting full, Shion and I went into Caliph's barracks.
Caliph, who would have rested comfortably here, did not even enter the barracks.
The division commander who had sent the soldiers back to the castle appeared and dissuaded him.
"My Lord, I will stand vigil."
As if he had nothing to think about, I immediately heard Caliph's voice refusing.
And standing beside him was a scout captain whom I had once seen.
Shion lay upside down with his feet on one of the sleeping bags, muttering.
"...It's the first time I've ever traveled up to the north like this. Still, the north wall must be a long way off, so is this place dangerous enough that the eldest brother himself has to stand vigil?"
I had rarely been near the North Wall in my previous life, but I did my best to give Shion some comfort.
"Do you know it's because of wild animals?"
Then Shion giggled.
"If I had to fight with my brother, I would feel so sorry for the wolf. You know that there are so many wolf skins in Halias that even the servants wear wolf fur?"
"Yes, how many Dorians are there?"
We played with our feet and fell asleep peacefully.
If there was a worry, it was that I had to go back to my true nature and beg Alsaed for wrongdoing.
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