That was the secret of being able to keep the territory even though the population was smaller than that of other clans.
However, Sage still looked unsure.
"What does that have to do with the question?"
"You just asked when you can have your next growth."
That was the answer.
Sage made a puzzled face.
"You think I want Irene?"
"You don't?"
"It's because I think I'll be able to see Irene sooner if I become an adult."
Oh, is that so!"
Normally people don't try this far just to meet each other!
Muhella thought to herself.
Sage felt uncomfortable because it seemed he got caught. In fact, he said he would invite Irene to the North because he wanted to know the reason for this as well.
I think I'll know the reason by looking at her a little more.
"I said I'd invite Irene to the North."
"...What?"
"Is it too cold here for her?"
You don't know what it means to invite someone to your realm yet?
That's not possible. Sage, who even took the successor class, couldn't have not known that.
Muhella replied in a puzzled voice.
"…It might be cold."
"It's difficult to be weak."
Sage muttered a little. There are many things to take care of.
The carriage had just entered the northern border. Snow falling from the sky caught his sight. Sage leaned comfortably at the familiar air.
"When I become a householder, I should expand my realm first."
"Ho-."
Muhella was dumbfounded. He's thinking of expanding his territory to invite Irene to the North.
He was planning right away when he heard that the small child would not be able to withstand the cold. If you think about his direction of thinking for a little bit, you will immediately find out why he is doing this.
Is it because he's still young?
On one hand, Muhella was confused, on the other, she was worried.
It doesn't matter if the target of obsession is an object, but when a person becomes the target, the story changes.
'It's a little dangerous but…. it might still be safe?'
It might have been some kind of a whim because Sage is very capricious.
"Do your best, Sage."
It seems that Irene's family would never allow her to come to the North to play.
* * *
Something strange has been happening lately.
It was the gaze I felt around me.
At first, I thought it was just my feelings and let it go, but as time went on, I realized it wasn't. As soon as I felt the fierce gaze again, I stopped my arm that was diligently painting.
And shouted.
"I'm not scared!"
A shrill voice resounded throughout the room and I quickly looked towards the window. Only the clear sky and green leaves were reflected in the transparent window.
I think there was something there!
I rolled my eyes and got off the chair. I ran to the window and raised my tiptoes. When I barely looked down the window, I saw a large garden with no one in it.
"No one again."
It moved really fast this time. With no income, I exhaled heavily. I went back to the front of the desk and sat down, but I couldn't stop my gaze from going to the window.
I deliberately waved my legs vigorously and gave strength to the crayons that filled my palms.
"I'm not afraid of ghosts."
In fact, my heart was pounding. I muttered words that were completely different from my inner heart, like a mantra, and swallowed dry saliva.
I was no longer interested in coloring pages.
Because all my sensory nerves had long since been directed elsewhere.
While I was coloring in the picture book, Rosaria, who came out after cleaning the bathroom, asked with a puzzled face.
"Miss Irene, who is here?"
"Huh? No. No one is here."
"Then who were you talking to earlier? Are you scared of something?"
I decided to tell Rosaria what I had kept a secret.
"Rodaria..."
"Yes, Miss Irene?"
Sniff.
I closed my lips in tears. In order to not be afraid, the hands that held the crayons tightly were dirty. The tip of my nose wrinkled because I was sad about a situation I didn't like.
I knew there was no such thing as a ghost in my head, but my emotions were a separate area.
"I-I'm scawed…. There's a ghost…. Buaaa."
I shouted that I wasn't afraid at all, but in fact, they were all lies. As I began to cry, Rosaria asked calmly.
She seemed confused about what she heard.
"A ghost?"
"It's watching me since a while ago…"
Rosaria looked embarrassed at the sudden appearance of a ghost. She gently patted me on the back as I hugged her.
"Don't cry, Miss Irene. That's not a ghost."
"Really…?"
"Yeah. So let's not cry."
"Ugh, not cry."
"Did someone keep looking at Irene?"
Nod. Nod.
I was in Rosaria's arms and only looked down. I heard Rosaria quietly laughing.
"I'll take care of it."
"How?"
"I think I know who the culprit is."
I don't know how, but Rosaria's words made me feel relieved inside. I wiped the tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand. After calming down to some extent, Rosalia, who got her body up, walked to the window. It was the window I had just checked.
What is she trying to do? There was no one there.
Rosaria, who opened the window wide, softly opened her mouth at the quiet air.
"If you don't come out right away, I'll get rid of you and not even birds and rats will know. One, two…"
The content was something unknown.
As Rosaria began counting the seconds without notice, an unknown presence urgently appeared from thin air.
He was a gray-haired man with a graceful impression.
I didn't know that a person would appear from the sky, so I blankly looked at the man. Deep purple eyes that caught my gaze stuck to me.
"Hello, Miss. Is this the first time we've met like this, right?"
I was so surprised that I got hiccups.
The man grumbled as he led his body, which had been hanging over the window, into the room.
"That's too much, Rosaria. At least start by saying you'll be counting seconds. Do you think I'm Karma?"
I opened my eyes wide when a name I knew was mentioned. The three of them must have known each other.
"Miss Irene was scared because you were peeping while hiding. You should be grateful I was counting the seconds."
"Oh, that's a mistake. I was careful, but I got caught."
The man had a very dignified tone.
Rosaria smiled brightly when she heard it.
"You must have been dying to get caught."
As if they had known each other for a long time, the conversation between the two was relentless.
I sneakily walked over to Rosaria's side. I was curious about who the man was, and I wanted to ask why he was peeping while hiding.
"Are you Rodaria's friend?"
"Ah, this one is called Messi."
Rosaria introduced the man.
"It's a colleague I was working together at the border, but this time he's in charge of escorting Miss Irene."
"Me?"
Is that why he was watching me secretly? I remembered that Karma I saw a few days ago was also an escort. It turned out that Messi was also protecting me, so I felt a sense of closeness and my heart was relieved.
I guess everyone is watching me from somewhere!
I felt like I was playing hide-and-seek. Where can I see them all?
I wanted to ask a lot of questions, but I decided to ask them step-by-step.
"Did Messi protect me too?"
"Of course. I ran from far away to protect the lady."
"Messi. Don't talk too much."
Rosaria cautioned Messi, and he made a face that he was wronged.
"I'm sorry. I practiced, but I'm not used to it."
I don't care about that and laughed, saying it was okay.
"You know, is the border far away from here?"
Messi folded his fingers one by one when I asked because the southern size was not well measured.
"You've got to run for a few days because the southern end is very far away."
"Wow."
Recently, I started to have a great interest in the outside, and my eyes twinkled.
"I want to go there too. When can I go?"