The evening sunlight quietly covered the Draven estate in warm golden colors.
After leaving the training grounds, Kael Draven returned toward the gardens while exhaustion filled his entire body and sweat still covered his clothes from the intense training earlier.
The moment Elena noticed him approaching, her eyes immediately widened .
she quickly ran toward him before
stopping suddenly to puff her cheeks slightly. "Why do you look like this?
" Kael calmly looked toward her and replied,
"I was training".
Elena crossed her arms immediately and stated, "No! Before we play, you need to freshen up and eat something first".
Her small face looked completely serious while speaking.
Kael silently stared at her for several moments before a faint smile appeared on his face. "...Alright".
Without arguing further, Kael quietly returned to his room where warm water soon washed away the sweat and exhaustion covering his body.
After changing into clean clothes, Kael headed toward the dining room where Elena already waited impatiently.
The moment she saw him, she immediately smiled brightly: "Now you look better!" Kael quietly sat beside her while servants prepared light food for them.
The peaceful atmosphere inside the estate felt strangely comforting, especially after remembering the battlefield from his previous life.
After eating together quietly, Kael looked toward Elena and asked, "So what should we play?"
Elena immediately became excited and shouted, "Castle Stones!" Kael quietly remembered the game;
it was a simple game common among noble children where players used small painted stones to build miniature kingdoms and castles while pretending to command armies and knights.
Soon afterward, the two siblings sat together beneath the garden pavilion.
Elena happily arranged colored stones across the table while explaining her "kingdom" proudly: "These are my knights! And this castle is the strongest!"
Kael quietly listened while occasionally moving his own stones calmly as the soft evening breeze gently passed through the gardens.
For the first time since regressing, Kael truly felt peace—no battlefield, no blood, no death, only quiet laughter beside him.
Time slowly passed while the siblings continued playing together, but eventually, Elena's movements gradually slowed.
Her small eyes blinked repeatedly from exhaustion, and then finally, her head slowly lowered while still sitting beside the game board; she had fallen asleep.
A nearby maid quietly approached afterward and whispered, "Young miss has fallen asleep, young master," as she carefully reached forward.
But Kael gently stopped her and said, "It's alright".
Without another word, Kael slowly lowered himself before carefully lifting Elena onto his back, her small arms instinctively wrapping around his shoulders while sleeping peacefully.
Kael quietly walked through the estate corridors toward her room, enjoying the peaceful feeling silently for several moments because in his previous life, moments like this disappeared far too quickly.
Eventually, Kael carefully entered Elena's room as the moonlight softly illuminated the space through the windows.
Kael gently placed Elena onto her bed before pulling the blanket over her carefully. Even while sleeping, a faint smile remained on her face.
Kael quietly stared at her for several moments, then softly murmured, "I'll protect you this time".
The room remained silent afterward, and soon Kael quietly returned to his own room.
The exhaustion from training finally caught up to him completely, and the moment his body touched the bed, his heavy eyelids slowly closed.
Before long, Kael peacefully fell asleep while the night quietly passed across the Draven estate.