Chapter 62: Taking Care of You

"Madam, that’s enough. Please stop scolding them."

Elias opened his mouth to stop Valeria. But behind his flat expression, his heart was pounding.

’I ended up speaking up after all!’

Valeria immediately turned to him.

"You’re defending them?"

"Of course, Madam. Because it isn’t entirely their fault. You’re only looking at their bad side."

"If I don’t point out their shortcomings, when will they learn? I know their good sides too. But if I keep praising them, when will they realize their own mistakes? Once they hear you’ve woken up, they’ll surely cling to you so much they’ll forget all about reflecting on themselves."

’C-cling...’

Elias could only put on a sour smile when he heard that.

"It’s true that I lost my arm protecting them. But the injuries they suffered were also caused by an opponent far stronger than them. I’m sure you understand that."

"And I’m sure you understand that the two of them are far stronger than you. Yet they were still helpless after taking just a few attacks."

Elias scratched his head. Valeria always had an answer for everything he said.

’This is going to take forever if I don’t wrap it up soon.’

"Alright, I understand. But there were a lot of unexpected variables back then. One of them was the appearance of the White Dreadclaw. Even people as strong as them can be overwhelmed if they’re ambushed, especially since their opponent also had a few sneaky tricks."

"That’s still no reason for me to stop scolding them, Elias."

"I’m not asking you to stop lecturing them, Madam. I’m only begging you not to blame them entirely.

They’re your own daughters. They went looking for a cure for your illness too, and even risked their lives to find that flower. They got hurt in the process as well. Please, don’t forget their efforts just because of the mistakes they made."

Valeria was a little taken aback. Her voice, firm a moment ago, began to soften.

"But, Elias—"

"I know you feel bad because I lost my arm. But that doesn’t mean you have to pin all the blame on them."

Elias took a breath for a moment before continuing.

"You always stress that they’re Geniuses and very strong. That’s true, but they’re still human, Madam. They can’t predict everything that’s going to happen. Even if someone knows the future, a small change can alter the final outcome.

And besides, they’ve only just entered adulthood, Madam. As their Caretaker, I consider sacrificing an arm to save their lives a fair price."

Elias then patted his own chest firmly.

"One more thing, Madam. I, Elias Veyron, don’t regret what happened. I’m grateful that you’re healthy again and that both of your daughters survived.

So please, stop scolding them. They’ve already realized their mistakes. I don’t want them to keep feeling guilty over something I’ve already accepted."

Valeria stared at Elias in shock. She hadn’t expected him to defend her two daughters this much, even after losing his own arm.

The woman finally let out a sigh before smiling and turning to Evelyn and Elysia.

"You two do have good taste."

Hearing that, Elias tilted his head in confusion. He had thought Valeria would stand up, hug her two daughters, and apologize. After that, they’d cry together while apologizing to each other.

’This should have been a touching, cliché plot. What does she mean by that? Taste? What kind of food is this woman talking about?’

While Elias was still wondering what Valeria meant, she stood up and walked over to Evelyn and Elysia.

She raised both hands to touch their heads, then stroked them gently.

"Forget about all this. Mother is sorry for scolding you."

The tears they had been holding back burst out at once. Evelyn and Elysia threw their arms around Valeria tightly.

*Sob... Sob...

"We’re sorry too, Mother..."

The two of them buried their faces in their mother’s chest.

’Haha... So the plot was a little late after all...’ Elias muttered inwardly.

Valeria just let out a small snort before hugging them back for a moment, then letting go.

"Alright, alright. Mother’s going out. It’s been a long time since Mother walked around the city."

’Eh? That’s it? Just like that?’

Valeria then walked out of the room, leaving the two girls with Elias.

*Thud.

Once Valeria had stepped out and the door closed, the woman didn’t leave right away. She was still standing in front of the door with a faint smile on her face.

’At first I thought it was strange when I heard the type of man Evelyn and Elysia liked. But now I understand. If the man they mean is him, I’d accept him right away. But...’

Valeria started walking along the Mansion’s corridor, holding her chin.

’Why do they like the same type of man? Is it because they’re twins? Or do they really know the future? Ah, that’s ridiculous. No way.’

Valeria snorted softly and shrugged a little. She felt the speculation she’d just come up with was far too absurd.

Instead of dwelling on something impossible, she chose to think about what she would do while walking around the city.

’Maybe I should buy some new clothes.’

* * *

At the same time, in Elias’s room.

The pain from his wounds started flaring up again. Before, he’d still been able to bear it. But everything changed when Evelyn and Elysia suddenly threw themselves on top of him, crying.

"Ugh... L-ladies... My b-body..."

He understood that the two girls were still caught up in their emotions. But why did they have to hug him so hard that they ended up pinning his body down?

Even when Elias asked them to stop, neither of them moved. Their crying only got louder.

’Kugh! Are they doing this on purpose? Don’t tell me they’re holding a grudge against me because Valeria scolded them.’

"Ladies... My body... It hurts..."

"Where? Which part hurts?"

"Ah, sorry."

After the two girls got off of him, Elias let out a long sigh. He then tried to sit up while wiping away the tears left at the corners of his eyes.

"It’s fine."

Evelyn and Elysia quickly wiped the tears from their faces with handkerchiefs before looking at Elias again.

"We’re so glad you’re awake, Elias," Evelyn said with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, we’ve been waiting for such a long time."

"A long time? How long was I out?"

Evelyn and Elysia exchanged a glance for a moment before answering Elias’s question.

"A whole month."

"W-what?! B-but my body—"

"No, no. We’re joking."

"Fufufu, sorry~"

Elias looked at the two of them with a bit of irritation at being messed with. But he soon let it go and sighed.

"You two really..."

"We already said sorry. Why are you still like that?" Elysia said, puffing out her cheeks.

"We were just joking~ Don’t be mad, come on." Evelyn even pressed her hands together as if apologizing.

*Sigh~

"Yeah, yeah, I’m not mad."

"Hehe~ Elias really is the best!"

"Don’t hug me."

Elias immediately raised his hand toward Evelyn, who was about to hug him again.

"Eh?" Evelyn’s face turned gloomy at those words.

"B-but..."

"My body isn’t strong enough to take the pressure yet, Lady."

’Besides, why does she suddenly want to hug me? That’s terrifying!’

Realizing that Elias’s words did make sense, Evelyn’s face grew even gloomier.

Seeing her sister like that, Elysia raised both arms toward Evelyn.

"Hug me instead, Big Sis."

"Elysiaaa~ I’m so sad..." Evelyn said, rubbing her face against her younger sister’s chest, even though there were no tears that needed wiping.

Strangely, Elysia didn’t seem bothered by her sister’s behavior at all, even though Elias was right next to them.

Without meaning to, Elias caught sight of the "shaking hills."

It was completely accidental! The two of them were doing it right in front of him!

To distract himself, Elias quickly cleared his throat before starting a conversation.

"How many days was I unconscious?"

"Seven days."

"That’s a long time..."

"The healer said that with the injuries on your body, you shouldn’t have been able to move anymore. But that applies to ordinary people. He was even shocked when he found out you could still move."

Hearing Elysia’s words, Elias smiled faintly. A slight blush showed on his face.

"By the way, the Mansion feels pretty quiet today."

"Hmm? Ah, that? Of course. Father and Alistair are in the Skardor Empire to declare war on the Everhart family."

Elias was clearly shocked to hear that Arhan and Alistair were in the Skardor Empire to wage war against the Everhart family.

It was natural for the man to declare war right away. After all, his family’s expedition, which involved the safety of his wife and children, had been interfered with by the Everhart family.

"But wouldn’t that be difficult? Declaring war on a noble family from another empire is the same as declaring war on that empire."

"It should be, maybe. But with the additional evidence, the Emperor and the nobles over there don’t want to get involved."

Evelyn then pulled herself out of Elysia’s embrace. She walked to the door of the room and locked it before continuing her sister’s explanation.

*Click.

"Even Uncle went along."

"Count Aurelle?"

Evelyn then walked up to Elias before answering his question.

"That’s right. He’s mobilized two hundred of his elite troops."

Hearing that, Elias could only give a sour smile. Two hundred elite troops felt like way too much to him.

"Then what about Mo—"

"Shhh~"

Evelyn immediately placed her index finger on Elias’s lips. Once he fell silent, her finger slowly slid down his chin until it touched his neck.

Evelyn smiled faintly. Both her cheeks were flushed, but her gaze stayed fixed on Elias.

"We know you must have a lot of questions."

Elysia then climbed onto the bed and sat down beside Elias. Her cheeks were red too. She stared at Elias without blinking, her breathing getting faster.

"But you haven’t fully recovered yet. You should just rest."

Elias turned toward Elysia, then looked back at Evelyn.

"...?"

He frowned slightly. Evelyn was still smiling as she touched his neck, while Elysia kept staring at him with uneven breaths.

Sensing that something was off, Elias slowly shifted his body backward, trying to put a bit of distance between them. But his back soon hit the wall.

*Gulp...

Evelyn tilted her head a little. Her eyes narrowed further as she looked at Elias.

"What’s wrong, Elias? Do you want to get away from us?"

"No need to worry, Elias. We just want to... ’care for you,’ that’s all."

Sweat poured down Elias’s face when he heard the emphasis Elysia put on those last words. He gave an awkward little laugh, trying to keep his composure even as his body grew more tense.

"Ahaha... I appreciate the thought, you two, but I think I’m healthy enough to take care of myself."

’I have a feeling the way they "care" for me won’t be anything simple.’

Elias tried to smile, but his eyes kept darting back and forth between Evelyn and Elysia. Unfortunately, neither of them showed any sign of backing off.

In the end, Elias could only give a faint smile, a single tear sliding from the corner of his eye.

* * *