"Run!"
The children scattered the moment the shout rang out, sprinting across the snowy path. Among them, a boy with messy black hair clutched his stomach as he laughed, clearly proud of himself.
"Ahaha! Serves you right!"
Seven wiped the melting snow from his face.
He glanced at Iria for obvious reasons, but she simply shook her head.
But as karma would have it, the same boy suddenly slipped on the snow.
"Wha—?!"
Thud!
He tumbled forward, landing face-first on the ground.
Iria rushed forward immediately. Despite shaking her head earlier, her altruistic nature as a healer made it impossible for her to ignore someone in pain.
Seven followed behind, pushing the cart along.
Truth be told, the children of the village adored Iria. Every time she came down to the village, they would follow her around. She helped the elderly, treated small injuries, and used simple healing magic whenever needed.
Today, however, they had been strangely quiet.
It turned out they had been secretly following her the whole time, curious about the unfamiliar man walking beside her.
"Iori. You never learn."
Iria gently placed her glowing palm over the boy's scraped knee.
"Look at the scars on your knees. They look like a sky full of stars. You should be careful next time."
"Y-yes!"
Green light flowed softly from her hands as the wound slowly closed. Little did Iria know that Iori had been intentionally getting injured for months just to see her healing magic up close.
The other children approached, eyes wide as they watched the gentle green glow.
Rattle, rattle.
Seven arrived beside them and let go of the cart.
"Iria, is the kid okay?"
"I believe so, my fiancé. The wound will close in a few seco—"
Iori instantaneously looked up to Iria, stupefied.
The other children did the same, their eyes jumping back and forth between Iria and Seven.
Iria blinked, then she smiled awkwardly.
"Oops. You caught me, aha."
However, Iori suddenly stood up and tiptoed, grabbing Seven by the collar. His go-to phrase was to become a knight and stand beside Iria, but to think that someone had already assumed that role— Iori felt damned in every possible way.
Seven didn't resist for some reason, amused.
"You—!"
Bonk!
"That's enough, Iori."
A girl with dark red braids, clearly the oldest among the group, hit Iori on the back of the head with her knuckles.
"Lady Iria wouldn't tolerate that kind of disrespect toward her man."
"…That hurts! You barbaric—"
"Huh?! Say that again and I'll bash your skull open!"
"Tch."
Iori released Seven's collar.
"Don't think this is over, mister. I'll become a knight soon, crush you, and stand beside Lady Iria."
Iori flicked Iria's healing hands away just as he pushed the girl with the braid aside.
But…
Thud!
Seven casually slid his foot forward; Iori lost his balance and fell face-first into the snow again.
No one seemed to notice what happened, except the suspect and the victim. But instead of turning around to argue, Iori simply stormed away, his wound still not completely healed.
Iria considered chasing after him, but the braided girl gently stopped her.
"I apologize for Iori's behavior, lady Iria. We had only planned to follow you around, curious about this mister right here but Iori did foolish things and ruined your date."
The girl said politely.
Iria regained her composure immediately.
"Ah, no need to worry, Mutya. Seb and I were planning to return home anyway."
Iria gave each of them a gentle pat on the head.
Seven watched the moment, until he felt a strange chill not from the cold. It was the unmistakable feeling of being watched, someone with ill intention at that.
It couldn't be Iori. He was already far ahead, wiping tears from his face with the back of his wrist.
The knights patrolling nearby had no reason to harbor such intent, and Heinrich wouldn't either.
Turning around, the door on the old man's house was also closed.
'Damn it. Where'd it come from?'
Besides, there were no other people nearby, and that notion made this situation even stranger.
"...Seb."
Iria had been calling him repeatedly, but he hadn't heard.
Or at least, until a small hand touched his fingers and grounded him back to reality.
"Mister…"
Those tiny hands belonged to a little girl hugging a worn cotton rabbit to her chest. One of the rabbit's ears was half torn, yet she held it like a treasure.
"Mister, are you alright? Lady Iria is really good at healing. Did you get lots of her magic too?"
Seven crouched to her eye level.
"Don't worry. Mister Seb just got distracted, and mister has used lots of healing too."
The little girl looked at him innocently.
He seemed fine on the outside. Inside, however, he was panicking. He had always been bad at interacting with kids, and had only made each one of them cry.
'Damn it all. This is harder than I thought. Iria, help meeee!'
Iria only smiled faintly while casting a spell over the other children.
"M-my name is Sophie. I have an older brother like you mister, but he is always busy training with Papa up there."
Sophie pointed towards the direction of the manor, up the valley.
"Papa is really cool. Papa is a knight with big muscles!"
Seven looked at her bright red eyes.
"A-are you a knight too, mister?"
"Y-yeah. I may not have big muscles, but I'm a strong knight."
"R-really?!"
Sophie puffed her cheeks and tilted her head.
"But Sophie thinks mister is lying. Mister does not have that hard and flaky thingy on his palms like my older brother and Papa does…"
"Sophie."
Iria interrupted their conversation. She had just finished casting a basic spell on the others, that barrier-like protection to keep the cold away and trap the warmth within.
"Come over here. It is your turn."
"Okay!"
Soon the other three children lined up before Seven. Iria had instructed them to introduce themselves.
"H-hello, mister! I'm Mutya. I truly apologize for Iori's rude behavior earlier."
Behind her, a girl that had short hair and a wooden slingshot hanging from her belt.
"Kara. And mind you, I tried to stop Iori from throwing the snowball."
Beside the two was a chubby boy with round cheeks. His pockets were so full that small stones kept falling out when he moved.
"T-tobin here."
The three bowed politely before running off, dragging Sophie along who waved goodbye using her rabbit's paw.
Iria stretched her arms.
"Let us go home, my lord. It is getting colder, and I am afraid you might get a cold."
"...Sure."
Iria had returned to her usual composed self as if the fiancé act had never happened.
Seven pushed the cart again, deep in thought.
Thanks to the children, he had discovered a possible way to survive his fate— if he became a knight trainee, he could gain protection from the knights while strengthening his body.
'How come I didn't think of it sooner? Am I some kind of moron… No! I'm definitely a genius. I don't have time to hang around sulking here.'
He quickened his steps.
Fortunately, Heinrich took over the cart from the entrance of the village back to the manor, so Seven didn't struggle uphill, nor did he want to under the guise of training.
Iria quietly closed her eyes as she looked at him. Her goal had been achieved, as the reason she brought him to the village today was simply to cheer him up.
"I will always be by your side, my lord."