Chapter 18
“What… what did you just say?”
What did I just hear?
Caleo, who had been kneeling on one knee to meet the children’s eyes, dropped onto his backside in shock.
Even the nearby servants froze, stunned by what they’d just heard.
“Father…”
“Huh? Wh-what…?”
“I’m sorry…”
“……”
“Nini has… lived the wrong way all this time…”
It was a deeply painful self-blame—especially coming from a four-year-old.
But Nivellia repeated it again and again:
“I lived the wrong way. Nini is a bad child.”
Then, drained and unsteady, she walked right past Caleo.
Caleo couldn’t bring himself to stop her.
“Um… Should I give her a hug?”
Deter, who had been following behind, asked carefully.
She, too, had been shocked when the young lady suddenly apologized while picking up the children from kindergarten.
“No…”
Nivellia shook her head.
“Nini has to do this alone. I don’t deserve help.”
“……”
“Deter.”
“Y-yes…?”
“I’m sorry… for everything I’ve done.”
“M-Miss, please… don’t talk like that… You’re scaring me.”
Terrified, Deter dropped to her knees.
But by then, Nivellia had already climbed the stairs on her own, step by step, and disappeared into her room.
“……”
“……”
The people left behind were overwhelmed with shock and confusion.
“Um…”
Just then, Aref gathered his courage and broke the silence.
He pulled a letter from his yellow kindergarten backpack and handed it to Caleo.
“The Tower Master said to give this to a grown-up.”
Lying face down on her bed, Nivellia kept replaying everything that had happened at the Magic Tower today.
“People need to learn to be patient sometimes. You can’t always do whatever you want—even if you’re a really strong cat.”
“People are different from cats. We live together, show care for each other, and sometimes step back. That’s how humans live.”
“So, what I’m saying is: just because Aref forgot about you for a little while, that doesn’t mean you should pout and run away.”
Honestly, Nivellia didn’t fully understand everything Magia had said.
While Magia was talking, Nivellia had grumbled silently to herself:
Ugh, she talks too much. So noisy. Such a nag.
But what truly shocked her was seeing the teacher bow and apologize to Magia because of her.
She also couldn’t forget Aref’s worried face when she went missing.
“……”
Nivellia squirmed and rolled onto her back.
The ceiling she looked at every day felt a little different today.
“…Nini is such a bad girl.”
“Really bad people don’t say things like that.”
Nivellia glanced sideways.
“Grandmother…”
Without a sound, Muniel had entered the room and was now sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling gently.
Nivellia slowly scooted over and rested her head on Muniel’s lap.
A warm, kind hand began stroking her head and back.
“Did you have fun at kindergarten?”
“No…”
“Oh dear, why not?”
“Because Nini was bad… The teachers had to apologize.”
“What bad thing did you do?”
“I sneaked into the Tower Master’s office by myself… and my finger almost rotted off.”
Nivellia quietly held up her index finger.
“Oh my goodness! This pretty little finger almost disappeared?”
Muniel gasped and gently stroked her small finger, even blowing softly on it.
Her plump, pale finger was smooth and soft—just like a kitten’s paw.
“This part started rotting… but the Tower Master healed it.”
“Did you say thank you?”
“Yeah.”
“Well done.”
“But Nini wandered off all by herself, so the teachers had to apologize. I left Aref behind… Then Aref came looking for me.”
Nivellia’s energy dropped again as she buried her face in Muniel’s lap.
“Nini is supposed to be the leader… but I abandoned my follower…”
Oh dear. Muniel held back a sigh and smiled faintly.
So this is what happens when you send a wild little thing to kindergarten.
At last, this whirlwind of a child had realized her actions could cause trouble for others.
“Nini.”
A soft voice reached Nivellia’s ears.
She slowly lifted her head.
There was a faint outline of her tear-streaked face on Muniel’s skirt.
“So what should you do from now on?”
“I shouldn’t wander off on my own.”
“That’s exactly right.”
If she had learned even one thing today, then it had been a meaningful experience.
That’s what adults always said: every lesson is valuable if you grow from it.
That’s why Nivellia always tried again, even when she failed to earn money—because she wasn’t afraid of mistakes.
“You learned from your mistake, right? Then just make sure not to do it again.”
Sitting up straight, Nivellia gave a firm nod.
“Nini won’t, um… wander around alone anymore.”
“Good girl.”
“When I go back to kindergarten tomorrow… I’ll say sorry to the teacher.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Seeing how much her granddaughter had grown in just one day, Muniel asked one last question.
“Are you afraid of being around a lot of people?”
“I’m not scared! Nini is a strong kitty!”
Nivellia quickly corrected the misunderstanding.
“But… strangers are a liiittle scary. Strangers are just…”
“Is it hard for you?”
“A little. And, um, sometimes, uh…”
As if recalling something painful, Nivellia squeezed her eyes shut and hunched her shoulders slightly.
Watching the little girl with concern, Muniel gently spoke.
“How about asking Aref for help?”
“Aref…?”
Muniel wiped the tear-stained corners of Nivellia’s eyes with her fingers and smiled.
“Isn’t it the subordinate’s job to protect their leader?”
“Aref… protects Nini?”
“Well, the leader should give missions to their subordinate. Otherwise, don’t you think the wolf might get a little lonely?”
“But Nini’s strong! Nini’s the leader!”
Her pride as the leader was at stake. How could she ask her subordinate for protection?
Nivellia flatly refused the idea.
But Muniel patiently explained again.
“Exactly because you’re the leader, you need to help your subordinate grow strong. You’re not going to let him stay soft and pampered forever, are you? I mean, you’re still a child, but you’ve been working hard to earn money too—even if you did fail miserably.”
“Th-that’s true…!”
She really had failed miserably.
Nivellia nodded her head in agreement.
“See? When you love someone, you help them grow strong.”
“Nini loves Aref! I’ve loved him since forever!”
“There you go! That’s the spirit!”
“I’ll help him grow strong—because I love him!”
Energized and determined, Nivellia hopped off the bed.
With a newly confident stride, she marched to the door and opened it.
But Aref was already standing there.
“Aref!”
Just as she had planned to go find him, there he was. Nivellia beamed brightly.
“Did you come to see Nini?”
“……”
Aref hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“A-are you okay…?”
“I’m fine. Nini’s not sick. I just, um… did a little reflecting.”
“Nini is a child who knows how to reflect,” Muniel said with a proud smile as she gently brushed back Nivellia’s pale silver hair.
Heehee. Grinning, Nivellia turned to Aref.
“Aref!”
“Yes?”
“I’m your leader, right? You know that?”
“…Yes.”
Aref nodded, figuring it was best to go along—after all, she was the daughter of the grown-ups who took care of him.
“So, Nini will protect you!”
“Yes.”
“But! You have to protect Nini too. Because you need to grow stronger! That’s your mission—got it?”
“……”
Aref was taken aback and clamped his lips shut. His red eyes wavered nervously as he turned to Muniel for help.
Nivellia, unable to wait any longer, pressured him for an answer.
“Did you hear me?!”
“Hey now, no shouting,” Muniel said, gently stopping Nivellia, who had gotten a little too excited.
“You have to speak kindly. Gently and warmly.”
At those words, Nivellia paused to think. Then she said:
“Pwease pwotect Nini~ Got it~?”
“…That doesn’t sound kind. That just sounds like you don’t know how to talk properly,”
Muniel barely held in her laughter. She softened her tone and explained more gently to the now even more flustered Aref.
“Nini finds it difficult to be around people she doesn’t know. She went through something very painful in the past.”
“Something painful…?”
Aref’s eyes widened in shock.
He looked at Nivellia, disbelief on his face.
Their eyes met. Nivellia simply gave a silent nod.
Ah… so that’s why…
Now he understood why the once talkative, spirited Nivellia had gone so quiet at kindergarten—and why she had run away.
Aref looked at her with a new sense of respect.
She’s amazing.
Despite her painful past, she didn’t show it. She kept going like everything was fine.
I couldn’t do that…
Aref began to feel ashamed.
His time in the orphanage still weighed on him. Yet this tiny girl carried herself with so much strength.
His head slowly dropped, heavy with self-doubt.
Then Muniel spoke.
“So, can you stay by Nini’s side and look out for her?”
“Me…?”
Aref hesitated.
But I’m weak…
He wasn’t confident.
But—
“…H-how do I do that?”
Instead of refusing, Aref asked how he could protect her.
From the very first moment they met, that tiny girl had proudly declared that she’d protect him.
He still didn’t know why.
But no one had ever said they’d protect him before—only Nivellia.
And now, at this very moment, he understood how hard it was to say those words.
I can’t run away…!
Aref didn’t want to become like the people at the orphanage who had left him behind.
“How… can I protect her?”
Muniel couldn’t take her eyes off the fire of determination burning in his red eyes.
Smiling proudly at what she saw, she turned to Nivellia.
“What do you think? Isn’t he an amazing subordinate?”
“……”
Nivellia was too overwhelmed to answer. She rushed forward and threw her arms around Aref in a tight hug.
