The moment Estella saw the boy standing there, staring up at her, a surge of indescribable sorrow, tenderness, and guilt flooded her heart. The child who had been found cold and lifeless by the riverside, alongside his stepmother. There must have been moments in the past when they faced each other like this, had time to call each other’s names—so why had those chances been wasted?

They could have relied on each other. But meaningless things had always gotten in the way, leaving them awkward and distant.

“Luka.”

She called his name, but Luka stood frozen, blinking like someone struck by lightning. Estella wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel draped carelessly over a chair and walked toward him. With his eyes and mouth round in astonishment, Luka—for once not acting like a miniature old man—looked exactly like the ten-year-old he was.

Gerard’s medicine was beyond effective—saying it worked well would be an understatement. Wounds that had split open like ripe clams had closed up in less than three days. Scars formed without even a scab, leaving only the faintest trace, like an old injury.

Not like she was planning to wear a bikini around here anyway. She wasn’t bothered. All that mattered was that she could move again.

“Luka, did you come to visit me?”

Estella bent slightly to meet his eye level as she asked.

“...Huh? Ah... yes, Sister. I’m really glad to see you well again.”

Snapping back to himself, Luka responded in a calm tone. But the memory of how he’d just stood there, dumbstruck, came rushing in and made his ears burn red.

She must think I’m such an idiot...

To hide his embarrassment, Luka lowered his voice even more than usual.

“Milady! The knife’s stuck too deep again—it won’t come out! Maybe throw it a little softer next time? At this rate, you're going to put a hole through the marquisate’s pillars!”

The unexpected voice from within the room jolted Luka. He looked over and saw a woman he didn’t recognize gripping the dagger buried deep in the target with one hand—and with a sharp tug, she yanked it out with ease.

Not exactly the picture of struggle her words had implied.

Is that even possible...?

Luka couldn’t decide which was more shocking: Estella throwing the dagger hard enough to pierce the thick target, or the woman pulling it out in one go. But his dilemma didn’t last long.

The moment the blade came free, the cracked center of the target split in two with a loud crack and clattered to the ground.

I had no idea Sister was this incredible...!

Luka loved reading more than anything, but what he truly admired were the adventurers from his novels—the heroes who wielded legendary swords, slew monsters, and explored the unknown. To him, they were the coolest people in the world. Of course, if his mother ever found out, she’d say it was all nonsense.

His eyes drifted toward the dagger in Estella’s hand. It was just a simple knife, but because she held it, it looked like a legendary blade.

“Want to try?”

Estella’s sudden offer made Luka suck in a sharp breath. It felt like she had seen straight into the secret desire he’d never told anyone. Embarrassed, he wanted to vanish on the spot.

“N-No, I’m fine.”

He tore his eyes away from the dagger and replied in his usual composed voice.

“Really? That’s a shame. I had hoped I could at least teach my little brother how to throw knives or something. I guess that was just my selfish wish.”

Estella sighed in mock disappointment and stood up straight.

“You’d teach me?”

Luka’s expression wavered again, despite managing to regain his composure just moments ago. Estella knelt down, resting on one knee, and gently placed both hands on his shoulders.

“Of course. I can teach you everything I know.”

“...Everything?”

Luka asked with a hint of suspicion, though Estella assumed he was moved by her words.

I probably know way more than her anyway. Besides throwing knives, what else could she possibly teach me?

If it was knife-throwing, there was no way Mother would ever allow it—it was dangerous. Maybe she meant academics? But that didn’t seem likely either.

He really is just a kid. So cute.

Estella couldn’t resist. His pursed lips and furrowed brow were just too adorable. She reached out and pressed both palms gently into Luka’s plump cheeks. His soft, chubby face squished like a mochi, his tiny lips poking forward like a baby bird’s beak.

“Too cute.”

She smiled warmly, squishing his cheeks as Luka flapped his lips like a goldfish.

That night, Luka couldn’t sleep.

The word cute—something he had never once been called—kept circling in his head.

“What’s so cute about me... I’m refined. Dignified. Just what does she think I am?”

Despite the grumbling tone, his lips curled up as he lay in bed, fiddling with the corner of his pillow.

Tucked underneath that soft pillow was a wooden dagger Estella had secretly slipped into his hand.

It took Gerard about a week to examine and analyze the vial of medicine the three squirrels had delivered.

During that time, he shut himself away in his lab and didn’t step outside once. As usual, when he focused on a single task, he ignored everything else—meals included.

The only reason he looked even remotely human was because Lydia, unable to stand it anymore, had stormed into his house with Meira and force-fed him something.

Every time Lydia brought food to Gerard (all of it cooked by Dolan’s wife, Meira), she’d complain non-stop about how annoying it was—but seeing him clean his plate always filled her with a quiet pride.

Lydia was so sincere about it that she never included anything she made herself. She knew full well her cooking wasn’t fit for consumption.

Anyway, with his human form preserved and the analysis finally complete, Gerard grabbed his neatly compiled report and headed straight for the marquis.

“Who came to see me?”

Already overwhelmed with preparations for the rapidly approaching Day of Blooded Proof, the marquis, Cassian, raised his brows when Raul announced Gerard’s arrival.

“Send him in.”

He had, in fact, planned to call Gerard over soon to personally thank him.

When Estella had been unable to rise, he would’ve done anything to help her recover. And yet, now that she’d improved, he’d already started forgetting that gratitude. Realizing how shallow and fickle his own heart was, Cassian sprang to his feet with a guilty conscience.

Gerard’s face as he entered made it obvious he’d been feeling neglected. His expression was stormy as a cloud-heavy sky.

“Bring tea.”

Cassian gestured to Raul after seating Gerard on the sofa.

But—

“No need. I know you’re incredibly busy, but I came because I have something urgent to tell you.”

“Is this something no one else can hear?”

Cassian instantly realized, from Gerard’s grim face, that this wasn’t a simple complaint.

“Yes. Just for now.”

At that, Cassian ordered everyone—inside and outside the office—to clear out immediately.

Raul knew Gerard was the one who’d helped Estella recover, but he still wasn’t entirely sure what kind of person he was. There could be some hidden agenda behind it all.

He lingered, trying to find a way to stay, but Cassian’s resolute tone left him no choice but to withdraw, a deep furrow of worry on his brow.

“What could be so urgent that you’d have everyone cleared out?”

Gerard examined the marquis’s face closely. He didn’t look all that much like Estella, and yet something about his presence—the atmosphere—was unmistakably familial. No one would doubt they were father and daughter.

“Please take a look at this.”

Gerard held out the report. He’d stayed up all night writing it, trying to make it as understandable as possible for someone without magical knowledge. The intricate magical formulas he used to analyze the substance had all been carefully explained in layman’s terms.

The litmus test for whether he had succeeded?

Bruno.

When Bruno read the report that morning and exploded in confusion, Gerard knew he’d nailed it.

At first, he thought the Squirrel Mercenary Band was just a gang of weirdos—but the more he saw of them, the more useful they proved to be.

Cassian read through the report slowly. As he reached the final page, the color drained completely from his face.

“What... is this?”

His voice trembled with disbelief.

“This is the drug your house physician—no, the physician—used to treat Lady Estella. It’s something he claims to have developed himself. The mercenaries under contract with the Lady snuck into Alexis’s lab and retrieved one of several identical bottles from a box. As you can see, I’ve analyzed the contents completely. If you still doubt it, feel free to search his lab. You’ll find dozens of bottles just like this one, under his desk.”

As Cassian’s face began to tremble with fury, Gerard lobbed another bomb.

“Oh, and by the way—I saw Lady Katrin personally dousing Estella’s wounds with that exact drug that day. I’m sure you saw it too, Marquess. Of course, you probably had no idea what kind of poison it really was.”

Now, what will you do?

Gerard stared directly into the marquis’s stiffening face, already giddy with anticipation about what was coming next. Nothing beat watching a good old-fashioned aristocratic family meltdown.

There was no way he could leave just yet.

At that moment—

Estella, fully prepared to enjoy the fireworks her beloved squirrels had set in motion, stripped off her hospital gown and changed into her training gear.

Chapter 86

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