"Oh, and don’t worry.
I’m not trying to take Ferdinand away from you.
Let’s share nicely, alright?" Arabella said in a playful manner when she recalled Alwin tended to have territorial thoughts about Ferdinand.
After all, it was Arabella who was an outsider and suddenly joined them.
It was probably among the reasons why Alwin didn’t like her.
He may have felt like Ferdinand was taken away.
"What are you talking about now?
His Majesty was never mine in the first place."
Alwin didn’t understand what she ant.
Or pretended not to.
"I’m saying, I know Ferdinand is very important to you too.
And even if he doesn’t show it, Ferdinand cherishes you as well.
So, we don’t have to fight since he loves us both.
Let’s treat each other well so Ferdinand doesn’t have to worry, alright?"
[What the hell is she saying right now?]
"I am just His Majesty’s magician while we are here.
And I am just soone he happened to pick up.
I don’t know what you are talking about."
Alwin was rather shy about it.
And he didn’t understand that Ferdinand treasured him a lot too.
"Alwin, I am not the only one misunderstanding Ferdinand.
You do too.
He doesn’t think of you as just a random brat he happened to pick up.
It may not be that obvious, but Ferdinand already cherishes you like a son of his own."
Alwin’s eyes brightened upon hearing this.
But he quickly hid his emotion just as Ferdinand usually does.
Growing up by Ferdinand’s side made him grow up behaving like him in a lot of ways.
"Stop making things up. His Highness would be jealous if he hears you saying things like this," Alwin used Fermin as his shield.
"I think Fermin wouldn’t mind having an older brother like you.
He had lessons with you in the Magic Tower in the past.
And he always had animated stories when he returns.
He looked up to you a lot," Arabella smiled at the mory.
As the master of the Magic Tower, Alwin was once one of Fermin’s teachers. And Alwin was his favorite.
"That doesn’t an he would be fine with being treated like a second son."
Alwin still denied it because he didn’t want to admit that it made him happy to hear Ferdinand cherished him like a son of his own.
"You don’t have to be so shy," Arabella teased.
"I’m not," Alwin glared at her, but Arabella was not deterred.
"Have you forgotten?
Ferdinand was ready to kill whoever hurt you.
I heard his thoughts, and he was in a panic when he slled your blood and saw the droplets on the carpet.
If the culprit wasn’t , he would have captured whoever they were and made them suffer.
The thought of you getting hurt alerted him so much and made him worry."
Arbella inford Alwin so he would have a clue that he was also important to Ferdinand.
Even if Ferdinand kept getting jealous of Alwin and thought of punishing him several tis, he wouldn’t have truly punished him heavily.
His an words were a façade.
"That’s just because His Majesty is a kind person.
He might be rciless at tis, but he doesn’t hesitate to help even strangers either," Alwin reasoned.
He was referring to the fact that Ferdinand saved and raised him even though he didn’t know him.
It was among the reasons why to Alwin, Ferdinand’s image had always been that of a kind person.
"You are so stubborn.
But I won’t deny Ferdinand not hesitating to help others since he saved too."
Arabella decided to give up on convincing Alwin for now.
At least she tipped Alwin off that he was important to Ferdinand too.
It was up to Alwin to believe it or not.
[Ah, right. That one eting of theirs when His Majesty saved her.
That was when everything changed so abruptly.
If only I did not teleport His Majesty to Mt. Callion, would he have never t her?]
Alwin always gave way to Ferdinand’s whims in the past, so he teleported him to Mt. Callion that day because he was bored at the palace.
But Alwin grew to regret it when Arabella and Ferdinand’s relationship did not work well.
He thought he may have been at fault that they had t. Misunderstood each other. And went through all those suffering.
[Would she have still been attacked by monsters that day?
Would His Majesty have encountered her elsewhere?
Or would he have fallen in love with soone else?]
Alwin was apparently the one who gave Ferdinand reports about monsters in Mt. Callion which made the latter decide to head there and hunt them.
"Alwin, you don’t have to bla yourself for everything either.
All of us may have had made mistakes that contributed to what happened.
But none of us were completely at fault.
I thought it was all my fault before too.
But I don’t think so anymore.
None of us knew the future.
We were all clueless about what our actions and inaction would lead to.
But now, we have the chance to correct all those.
Let’s focus on the future."
Alwin remained silent and sighed deeply at her words.
"Moreover, wasn’t the oracle given only once the supposed mate was born?
Maybe, even if Ferdinand didn’t save that day, we could have encountered each other sowhere else and still ended up getting married."
"Right. I guess you would have still t each other in a different place."
Alwin sighed again and took a sip of his tea.
[Does His Majesty really cherish like a son of his own?] he wondered, and Arabella smiled.
"Of course, he does.
He simply didn’t address you as one since he never thought of having children before.
But he already took care of you as a father would to his son even if he didn’t realize it himself.
He raised you all this ti and personally taught you himself, didn’t he?"
[He also taught Raymond, Rendell, and the others before .]
Alwin was too shy to say it out loud.
He was jealous of his seniors who knew Ferdinand way longer than he did.
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