TYND 24

TL: Motokare

“Why don’t you go and exercise instead of butting in?”

Zey glared at Xeon, who remained unfazed, striking various poses to show off his muscles like a peacock flaunting its feathers. 

“What do you think? Aren’t my muscles well defined? Impressive, huh?” 

“Whoa, it’s incredible. You’re so muscular.” 

Screeeee.

Both boy and weasel wore identical expressions of awe, their eyes fixed on Xeon in fascination. Theon felt an involuntary tug at the corner of his lips but quickly schooled his face as he approached the group. Zey, sensing his presence, quietly slipped away, but Xeon, undeterred, continued zealously promoting his exercise routine, spittle flying as he spoke.  

“Without wands or staff, swords or knives, the one thing that’ll always protect you is your muscles! If you train hard enough, you can be like me!”

“Knight-Captain, please don’t go filling his head with nonsense.” 

“Nonsense?! What Rothy needs most right now are muscles! With enough strength, you can even scare off a fever with sheer willpower. Ever since I started training my body, I haven’t had so much as a sniffle.”

“Really…? That’s amazing…”

Rothy’s eyes sparkled with admiration. Meanwhile, Chungnip, mid-sigh, noticed Theon and moved closer to him, motioning that he wanted to whisper something. When Theon didn’t bend down, Chungnip had to rise on his toe to reach his ear. 

“Your Grace, you need to stop Xeon from showing off his muscles to Rothy. He’s not physically capable of bulking up like that. He’s going to end up disappointed if he tries.”

“Is it because of the magic stone?”

“Yes. The theory’s that the stone suppresses physical development, drastically slowing growth. By human standards, you could say he won’t grow at all.”

Xeon froze mid-pose as if struck by an ice spell. As an Aura Controller, there was no way he couldn’t hear the whispered conversation from such a close distance. Moving stiffly, like a poorly oiled machine, he fumbled for his discarded clothes and hurriedly covered his rippling muscles.  

“What’s wrong, Xeon? Why’re you all of a sudden—?”

Rothy, confused, watched Xeon lower his head like a guilty child, but the sound of Theon’s footsteps crunching softly behind him made him turn and beam, his face lighting up as he scrambled down from the boulder and made a beeline for Theon. 

“Theon!”

“Rothy, don’t listen to him. You only need to train your body enough to maintain your health. There’s no need to overtrain. Besides, you already have magic.”

“But Xeon said if I have muscles, I won’t get a fever.”

“Xeon Hart is a habitual liar.”

“Right… I won’t take him seriously then.”

“Xeon, please prepare to depart immediately.”

“Yessir!”

The knight-captain promptly left the scene. As the group scattered to dismantle the camp, Rothy’s eyes looked around restlessly. 

“Come here, Chi-chi.”

The weasel who’d been eyeing Theon from a safe distance, scampered up Rothy’s arms and burrowed into his clothes. Rothy gave Theon a polite nod and tried to walk past him, but Theon extended an arm, blocking his path.

“Where’re you going?”

“I’m going to help clean up…”

There’s no need. You stay here and rest.”

“But I’m good at helping… I’m useful…”

“Everyone already knows that.”

“I don’t want to just sit around like a sack of barley… I want to help, to have a purpose…”

“A sack of barley? Who’s been saying that to you?” 

Rothy didn’t answer, but Theon had a good idea.

It must’ve been Yolone Sirin. 

This had been a pattern for as long as he could remember. 

Whenever Rothy wasn’t stuck in bed, he’d try to help with his small hands, seeming to find peace only by staying busy. Sometimes Theon would let him, thinking it might ease his restlessness, but after pushing himself too hard, Rothy always ended up curled in a corner like a wounded animal, visibly burning with fever. 

“Rothy, why’re you sitting over there?”

“I’m… just quietly staying still… Pretend I’m a rock…”

Inevitably, it’d end with Rothy pretending to be a rock until Theon picked him up and tucked him back into bed in the tent. It’d only been an hour since his fever finally broke, and Theon had decided Rothy wouldn’t be allowed to lift a finger—he didn’t need to, not as the future archduchess.

He extended a hand towards Rothy, who kept glancing nervously toward the campsite, biting his lips in unease.

Screee.

The weasel, nestled in Rothy’s clothes, peeked out sleepily, its beady red eyes glancing briefly at Theon’s outstretched hand before curling up again. After a month on the road, the creature’s wariness towards him had finally started to ease. Rothy, however, flinched and took a step back, his wide eyes filled with apprehension. Before the misunderstanding could deepen, Theon spoke:

“I’m planning to take a walk around here. Would you join me? I don’t feel like walking alone.”

Every subordinate nearby froze with disbelief. 

“A walk… Yeah! I’ll do my best…!”

Rothy nodded eagerly, delighted to be given something to do. The sun felt warmer now, a sure sign that spring was on its way. Across the field, patches of snow melted to reveal the earth that’d been frozen all winter. Holding tightly to Theon’s hand, Rothy walked with a determination that made even his steps seem like a solemn duty. There was an unspoken resolve in his small grip.

Theon kept his gaze ahead, but his attention was fixed entirely on Rothy

Crunch, crunch…

Theon kept his gaze ahead, though his attention was fixed entirely on Rothy. The soft sound of their footsteps on the thawing earth stirred a peculiar warmth in his chest. When he glanced down, he saw a head of white curls, looking as if they’d been spun from the purest white clouds plucked from the sky. The thought of reaching out to touch them crossed his mind before he quickly snapped his gaze forward again. But it didn’t last—his eyes inevitably drifted back. 

The field where they’d camped stretched endlessly, offering an unbroken view of the horizon. Despite the landscape’s beauty, Theon found himself captivated only by the small and delicate-looking child walking beside him.  

If his growth’s as slow as Chungnip says, then how much time would’ve to pass before he reaches that stage?

The young man who’d appeared in his dream seemed to be in his early twenties—not just in appearance, but in his demeanour, his words, and the maturity in his gaze. He was nothing like the innocent child walking beside him now. How many years would it take under the suppressive influence of the magic stone, for Rothy to grow into that person? 

Ten years? If it were just that, Chungnip wouldn’t have seemed so deeply concerned. 

Surely not a hundred.

Theon’s gaze settled on Rothy’s soft, billowy hair once more. 

“……”

The child, sensitive to attention, blinked and fidgeted nervously. Knowing that silence would only make him worry that he’d done something wrong, Theon quickly said something.

“Tell me if you’re cold. We can go back to the carriage.”

Rothy, who was dressed so warmly he could probably roll down a hill without feeling a thing, cocked his head in confusion.

“Theon… are you cold?”

“I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about you.”

“I can stay out longer…”

“Then let’s keep walking. If we go up the hill, we should be able to get a good view of the area.”

“Mmhmm.”

Matching his pace to Rothy’s, Theon kept close as the uphill climb soon left the child winded. Still, Rothy clung tightly to his hand, determined to keep going. At one point, he stumbled with a startled squeak, but Theon caught him before he could fall.  

As they climbed higher, the blue sky stretched wider before them. When they finally reached the top, Theon found himself glad they’d made the effort. Spread below was a sweeping view of a sprawling city encased in towering walls, a dense forest of evergreen conifers standing steadfast even in winter, and the Irthéd River, a silver ribbon cutting through the land.  

This was the peace they’d fought so hard to preserve after twenty years of gruelling war. Theon wasn’t one to get sentimental over scenery, but seeing the wonder in Rothy’s eyes as he took in the view stirred an odd sense of satisfaction within him.  

“I’ve never seen a city this big before. It’s so beautiful…”

“That’s where we’ll be heading soon.”

“We’re going there?!”

“Yes.”

“Wow……”

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Theon’s lips. Anyone who saw him now might question whether this was really the infamous cold-hearted lord of the North. 

“Theon, look! There’s a flower down there.”

“A flower?”

“It’s red…”

Rothy led him toward a patch of snow melting under the warm sunlight, where a tiny red blossom peeked out. Theon was impressed that Rothy had noticed something so small—it was barely the size of a fingernail. Rothy’s eyes sparkled with delight as he knelt to examine the early spring bloom, his excitement almost infectious.  

“It looks like your eyes. I’ve seen this before, a long time ago… Do you know its name?”

“……”

Theon knew nothing about the names of flowers. 

“Wait here.”

Letting go of Rothy’s hand, Theon went back down the hill to summon Chungnip. Along the way, he ordered the subordinates packing the camp to pause and join the group on the hilltop for a break to enjoy the view.  

While the rest of the group admired the scenery from the hilltop, Chungnip stifled a laugh as he identified the tiny flower. 

“It’s called Mouse-dropping Fly Flowe^[1]r. It blooms early, around mid to late of the second month. The red colour’s really striking, isn’t it?”

Rothy’s shoulders drooped at the name, his expression turning glum. That made Theon frowned slightly. 

“What’s wrong?”

“The name… it’s ugly…”

“……”

“What’s a ‘mouse-dropping fly’?… It’s not a pretty name at all. Your Grace Theon… please change its name.”

“I can’t change the name of a flower.”

“Why not…?”

“……”

Rothy was genuinely baffled. Chungnip couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Your Grace, you can’t make our archduchess upset like this. It’s obvious you need to summon some botanist to rename it right away. Do you want to be remembered as an incapable spouse?”

His teasing made Rothy jump in surprise. 

“No, no, I’m not upset… Theon, it’s fine. I’ll get used to the name. The flower itself is pretty…”