...... Can I help you with something?


After the meal, which was silent for almost everyone after that, I eventually headed to the back of the building to find a place where I could be alone, without even getting a chance to talk to my son.
This building, which has become more densely populated over the past few days, makes me crave the silence of being alone.
The brave men never go near this place, even in their nightmares, so I thought it would be a perfect place to be alone with my thoughts, but unfortunately, I had a prior commitment today.
The daughter who was implied by the illusory magic of my wards, which were enhanced over the ones I had cast on the brave men, to be "suspicious of those whom I trust most.
As far as I can tell, the person she trusts the most is my son.
It was obvious that only my son was acting suspiciously.
I don't know what's good about that one, but I'm sure she must have a good eye for, well, seeing.

When the girl saw me coming to the back of the building, she looked as if she knew I was coming here.
The only person I knew of my son's acquaintance was Gielbo.
I did not know the girl's face until I saw her in the forest.


'I am pleased to meet you for the first time. I am a former Princess of Uruk, and my name is Leah.


The most respectful bow my daughter gave as she looked at me with her firm blue eyes was certainly unique to the royal family.
She hasn't lived longer than she should have, like my son.
Nevertheless, I had the impression that she was more mentally stable than her son.
Is it because she was a princess, albeit a former one?

No, rather than that, I raised an eyebrow at the name.
Come to think of it, back then when I first saw this girl for the first time, my foolishness might have called her by such a name.
I didn't feel anything at the time, but I felt something about that name now.


'...... Leah, you say?'

Yes, that's what Master Crow named me.


My eyes widen at the answer.
It was an all too common name, but it was an important one in our family.
'No way,' I mutter.


'Did she give you that name?'

'Ha, yes. What about it?


I shook my head at Leah, who tilted her head in confusion at me as I told her to be sure.
From this reaction, I guess she doesn't know the meaning of that name that only our family has.
If I knew my son, I wouldn't give him the name "Leah" as a reminder of that name, no matter how much glory or money he's been given.
What would be the point of this child?
However, I felt that if I told her the meaning of the name, which I hadn't told her, she would become more and more rebellious.
It wouldn't be a good idea to tell her now, since I couldn't have a conversation with her unless the purpose of the conversation was to tease her for free.


''No, it's nothing. It's a good name that I don't think that fool named it.

'Yes. I like the name too.


I couldn't help but smile plainly at those words, which I'm sure she honestly thought so.

I wonder if that's what she thought, too.


I'm going to have to go back to ....... You looked like you wanted to talk to me earlier, do you have something to do with me?


She's named Leah, a sort of grandchild of mine, so to speak.
I can't help but soften my response more than before.
Now, I feel like I would say something that I normally wouldn't say.


''Yes. There are many things I want to ask you, but what I want to talk to you about, and what I want to hear from Noah-sama, is about Crow-sama.''


Well, I nodded, I suppose so.
Just by watching his words and actions throughout the day, I could tell that he is my son's supremacist.
I observed my son's every move and prepared various things ahead of him, and even took the initiative to share his meal with him.
I don't know if the pitch-black boys had gotten used to it or if they just assumed it was something like this, but it was the first time I'd ever seen them do it, and naturally it seemed odd to me.
But when I saw it for the first time, it seemed odd to me.
I wonder if it's just my imagination that both the doers and the attackers are steadily filling in the outer moat under their unconsciousness.


''I don't mean to be rude, but what does Noah-sama think of Crow-sama's sister, her own daughter? Do you think we should just forget about it as the memories fade?

No way. It can't be.


I answer immediately without thinking.
Her question is the very emotion that will never be lost as long as I am me.


A child born from your own belly is a lovely thing, even if it's a murderer or a person who is planning to take over the world. Even if they die before me, their parents, it doesn't change that. She is my darling daughter.


Leah smiles at me as I assure her of this.


''Then how about Crowe-sama? If my daughter's position was different from Master Crow's, would I forget about Master Crow?

Absolutely not.


I found myself answering that.
Even if you have a fundamental reluctance to answer honestly, you have to be honest about this.
No, this is an instinctive part of being honest as a mother.


Even if I still love them, my son and daughter," she said. Even if our positions are different, it makes no difference. Whether they are sons or daughters, they are my and her beloved children.


No matter how much I hate you, my heart is still the same.
I love my child, my son and my daughter, that's all.
In the first place, there is no remaining sorrow in this world with that man gone and my daughter dead, other than for my son to live out his natural life properly.

When Leah heard my answer, she breathed out in exasperation.


I know you think it's a good idea for me to say this as an outsider, but you and your son have an overwhelming lack of communication with each other. From the time I met Noah-sama to the time I came to this place, Crow-sama was once a clunker.


What was spewed out like a whine was how clunky the foolishness was after seeing me.
Apparently, Leah wanted to be stressed out.
She spewed out, according to say, that she didn't notice the demon coming from behind her and had her apprentice cover for her.
According to her, she couldn't even 'start a fire' using the magic stone of living magic for over an hour.

I couldn't bear to listen to her up to that point, and I stop her narrative midway through.
I didn't expect that she would be so useless just by meeting me.
I mean, did you make a disciple at this point in time?


''Master Crow said this." I met that guy for the first time since I left home with my sister and he didn't say anything about her." Given that he was acquainted with Ziel-sama, I'm guessing that Noah-sama was properly concerned about Crow-sama, wasn't he?


Sure, it was a poor guess, but Leah's words were right on target.
But I'm always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If I paid attention to my daughter, my son would have died in the Demon King's Castle, and if I paid attention to such a free-spirited son, my daughter would have died.


'I never had anything to die for, I was always bored. The only amusement I had was to watch the lives of my children, the ones who would inherit my blood, from the sidelines.


No matter how I feel in my heart, I am a hateful person, no matter what I think in my heart.
Even in this place where Leah is the only person I know, I can't honestly say what I really want to say to my son.
Leah, who shouldn't know such a thing, shook her head with a gesture as if she were treating a younger person, saying, "It can't be helped.
I'm sure she thought that I was being unsophisticated despite the fact that Master Crowe was not here anyway.
It's a big deal.
But I'm not used to being told what to do.
Let me fight back a bit.
I chuckle and say to Leah.


'Sometimes, do you love that thing?'

Oh, ai! No, it's not! He's not the kind of person a little girl like me should fall in love with!


And then, with her face bright red, she shouted unconvincing words and ran away like a de-rabbit.
It's a teasing reaction indeed.
I wanted to tease her more, but oh well.
I turned my attention to the building.
Talking to her lifted my spirits somewhat.
She would hold the reins of that thing tightly, I'm sure.


I walked back to my room, unaware of the tail, the same color as my own hair, peeking out from the shadows of the tree.