MHHASCD 37

“There’s no way Leon would come all the way here…”

Even I hadn’t imagined he’d be that obsessive.

The expression I saw in Marseize had certainly been fixed on that mother and child. And looking back on how he treated me before the divorce, I never once felt loved.

If anything, all that remains are memories so miserable and painful I don’t even want to recall them.

“…Apparently, there are quite a few people who cheat, get divorced, and then beg to get back together.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Even if they start dating the affair partner properly, or even remarry, they still have to live day to day. And once they do, they start comparing.”

According to Asti, the more a wife poured her heart into loving her husband, the more he ends up feeling the lack and measuring everything against what he had.

For example, food. When the workflow and seasoning change, some can’t accept it at first.

When someone is used to home-cooked meals thoughtfully planned with nutrition in mind, their tongue doesn’t adjust to a mistress’s flavors. It might taste good as an occasional indulgence, but when it becomes every day, it turns into an unhealthy life.

If they can’t be satisfied and start eating out constantly, their money won’t hold.

And once their common enemy—the wife—is gone, the things they dislike about each other begin to stand out in daily life.

Then the relationship settles, cools, and they start fighting more.

“Most affairs are nothing more than a physical relationship to begin with. So it cools off fast.

Then they break up and want to go back to how things were… It’s like, are you an idiot?”

“So that’s how it is…”

For the one dragged into a fleeting affair, it’s unbearable.

It’s exhausting even for adults, so involving children as collateral damage… what are they thinking?

“Leon finally realized how devotedly you supported him, Ms. Sheila. When the love he took for granted disappears, panicking doesn’t help. It’s too late.

By then, the feelings have already changed.”

When Leon clung to me, what I felt was disgust.

Five years of marriage—surely we loved each other once—yet even that has blurred into something indistinct.

I can’t recall the feelings at all.

I surprised myself with how cold I could be, but perhaps I truly had cooled.

“Sheila!”

The spirits who had been dancing at the spirits’ stage drifted into the house.

“Listen, listen! We chased the scary dark guy out!”

“You chased him out?”

“He felt gross, so we tossed him out of the forest!”

My eyes went wide at the spirits’ words.

Tossed him out… of the forest?

“We hate him! He has no magic. So next time he comes into the forest, we’ll make him get lost!”

“So he can’t come here anymore!”

“Ralph is safe too!”

They giggled and spun around the room, flitting in excited circles.

“We were saved by the spirits.”

“Yes… thank you, all of you.”

“You’re welcooome!”

Thanks to them, it seemed unlikely Leon would ever reach this house again, and I felt a measure of relief.

Even if the house itself had rejected him and he couldn’t enter, I still felt uneasy.

Because I didn’t want to be forced to leave this home.

“I’m tired of the spirits stealing all the glory, so I’m going to put a protective spell on you too, Ms. Sheila.”

Asti, looking faintly sulky, murmured it under his breath and stepped closer.

“A-Asti…?”

His soft lips touched my forehead.

Then my right cheek. Then my left.

Startled, I lifted a hand to my brow. The places his lips had touched felt strangely warm.

“I put it on you. Now Leon can’t come near you.”

Even as he said it with pride, my heart was still racing.

“Isn’t that a strange way to cast a protective spell?”

“Is it? …When I was a child, my mother used to do it for me.”

“I see.”

So Misty really did love Asti, I thought.

Three points, linked together. The strongest method, born of a parent’s wish for a child’s safety.

“…Have you cast it on anyone else?”

“No. You only cast protective magic on family. I might as well put it on Ralph too.

…Though he does already have the guardian blessing of the spirit lord.”

Just as Pochi-sama once declared, Ralph received Pochi-sama’s protection not long after he was born.

I usually work at Delilah’s shop, watching Ralph while making healing potions.

I’d been on my way to deliver stock to the guild when Leon found me.

Ralph is still with Delilah even now, and Pochi-sama stays by him like a guard dog.

When he’s in the forest he’s enormous, but right now he truly looks like nothing more than a dog.

“We should get back to the shop soon. Delilah will be worried.”

“…And I… it’s a terrible time for this, but I think I’m about to get busy.”

“Did something happen?”

“The Crown Prince’s child… my direct superior’s child hasn’t been well, and the Crown Princess is staying with them because she’s worried. So her work is being shifted onto the Crown Prince, and our department was handed to me.”

Asti’s lips jutted out like he was pouting.

He looked a little dejected, and rather cute.

“I want to stay by your side and protect you, but…”

He pulled me close and hugged me naturally.

He sighed, then rubbed his forehead against my shoulder.

“It’s all right. I’ve gotten used to teleportation magic. I’ll use it from the back of Delilah’s shop so I won’t be seen.”

“Should I handle deliveries to the guild?”

“…Yes. That would really help.”

Asti smiled and nodded.

Before, I would have refused, but I decided that when it’s right to lean on someone, I should.

And yet…

I can’t help worrying about the Crown Prince’s child.

If there’s something I can do to help Asti… is there a good medicine I can make?

The palace likely has court apothecaries, but I can’t sit still.

In that case, perhaps I should make something that might at least be useful for the subordinates around Asti.

All right.

I steeled myself anew, parted from Asti—who went back to the palace looking reluctant and weary—picked up Ralph, and returned home by teleportation magic.

Fortunately, I didn’t run into Leon again.