"Astie."

At the sound of the tent flap snapping, Tie, who had been staring at the ceiling, turned her head.

Nordix was standing at the entrance.

"Grandpa!"

As soon as Tie got off the bed, Nordix approached with a gentle smile and sat beside her.

"You’re not asleep yet?"

Tie’s face puffed up slightly.

Puffing out her cheeks and fidgeting with the blanket, the child stuck out her lips.

"......Everyone suddenly said they won’t take Tie with them. Tie is upset now."

Nordix softly smoothed her hair.

"It’s only been a few days. A sudden siege is dangerous. They’ll go without you first, and # Nоvеlight # once they secure at least some safety, they’ll take you along. You understand all that, and yet you’re still upset."

"But...!"

Actually, tomorrow Papa was supposed to hug Tie.

Swallowing the rest of her words, Tie let out a sigh.

Then she frowned and huffed angrily.

"Stupid vine!"

If you think about it, it was all the magic crystal’s fault.

The vines that were expected to remain confined to the clock tower had spread rapidly beyond expectations.

Because of that, the preliminary investigation had to be halted, and the siege that was supposed to begin slowly was moved up to tomorrow.

'Because of those vines, Papa won’t be able to keep his promise!'

They had only just met again after so many months.

And it was that very "hug" that Tie had worked so hard to get.

Looking at the sulking child, Nordix stroked her head.

"It will be fine. Everything will work out."

Tie looked at Nordix—and suddenly her eyes widened.

'...Huh?'

Was it because of the darkness?

For some reason, today Nordix’s face looked sad.

"Grandpa. Are you okay?"

The hand that had been stroking her head paused for a moment.

He looked at Tie for a few seconds, then quickly smiled.

"I’m fine. It’s not like I did anything particularly difficult."

"You treated injured mercenaries. That’s the coolest and hunryeol thing!"

"Ha-ha, in cases like that, you say ‘good.’"

"Hunryeol!"

"Good."

"Hun... ryeol!"

After trying several times, Tie still couldn’t pronounce it properly, and her eyes darted around.

Nordix laughed and patted her shoulder.

"Let’s sleep. Basto will be here soon."

Tie obediently crawled under the blanket.

And, looking at Nordix as he was about to get up, she asked quietly:

"Grandpa. Can Tie sleep next to you today?"

Nordix, who had already turned, froze in place.

"Tie’s bed is big! Uncle Basto gave the biggest one. He said Tie can roll around on it as much as she wants!"

Nordix’s gaze grew heavier, and soon a quiet murmur followed.

"......Then, just for today."

Nordix sat back down where Tie happily patted.

And after hesitating, lay down beside her.

"Grandpa smells like really nice wood!"

Tie immediately pressed herself against his side.

Nordix remained silent for a long time.

And when Tie’s breathing became steady—

"......Poor child."

Murmuring that quietly, he got up from the bed and left the tent.

Time passed quickly.

For the first few days, Tie spent her time sitting on a large stump in the center of the camp. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She slept during the day out of boredom.

And when she got really bored, she played with the squad members who weren’t participating in the siege.

"Kid! Ha, I thought I’d die of boredom!"

"Tie, did you eat? Did you eat with Nordix?"

Those who went to the siege returned roughly every two days.

"Take Tie with you this time... please! Just once, just one time, okay?"

Every time they left again, Tie couldn’t hold it in and began to sniffle.

But Basto was firm.

"Sorry, but it’s still not safe. You’ll have to wait until all the magic crystals spawned around the tower are destroyed."

"But!"

If she were honest, Tie could probably try to persuade Basto.

From experience, if she tried hard enough, he would eventually give in.

But the problem was Papa.

"No."

"Squad Leader! Tie also has freedom!"

"Ridiculous. You’ll get freedom when you grow a little more."

"Tie already has a big head!"

"Not big. Want to keep arguing? No means no. It’s dangerous."

"Buuut...!"

Tie usually won against everyone else. But for some reason, she never succeeded with Papa.

Returning to the tent, Tie angrily buried her face in the pillow.

'Papa was stubborn before, and he’s still impossibly stubborn now!'

Thinking about it, Papa had been the same in Korea.

He usually agreed to everything Tie wanted, but when it came to safety, he became stricter than the grandmother from apartment 107.

'Astie. Papa told you not to stay alone on the playground. What should you do if all your friends leave?'

'......Go back to the daycare and stay with the teacher.'

'Then why did you stay alone? And why did you leave the playground secretly from the teacher? Where did you go?'

'To look at the toy machines.'

'I told you many times not to do that. We even made a promise.'

'Sniff... Tie also wanted a teddy bear...'

'......'

'All my friends have one, but Tie doesn’t. I wanted to pick one up if someone lost it... hic... sob...!'

No matter the reason, if Papa said "no," then it was no.

Tie remembered Papa’s expression when she broke promises.

Sometimes she wished he would just get angry.

But instead, Papa looked hurt.

He looked at her with very sad eyes, and in the end quietly said—

'......This is Papa’s fault.'

'......'

'I shouldn’t have been like that with you. It’s all because of me...'

'I don’t want Papa to be sad.'

Feeling down, Tie stared blankly at the ceiling.

She wanted to go to the siege, but Papa said "no," and she couldn’t insist any further.

With an uneasy heart, all she could do was spend a few more days.

While time passed quickly, the siege progressed without major problems.

The magic crystal vines covering the surroundings of the castle were mostly destroyed, and the cores of magical beasts were being stockpiled in storage.

And Tie noticed that something was changing in this place.

At some point, Papa started returning from the siege together with Ardiana.

They ate together, and in the evenings, they sometimes disappeared behind the tents.

And one day, Tie’s waiting finally bore fruit.

"You’ll go with us tomorrow."

"Ah! Really?!"

During dinner.

When Papa said it with a serious face, Tie jumped up from her seat.

Jumping off the chair, she ran around the table with a joyful squeal.

"Yay! So cool!"

The squad members watched her with fond smiles.

Then Tesetan said:

"But finish that. If you don’t finish it, you’re not going."

Tie immediately returned to her seat.

And quickly finished her baked carrots.

After dinner, she went to bed early so she could participate in the siege tomorrow.

But the problem was something else.

"Uu... bathroom..."

In the middle of the night, she suddenly needed to go.

Not wanting to wake the deeply sleeping Basto, Tie went out of the tent by herself.

After finishing, she was about to return, but suddenly stopped at the entrance.

"Huh?"

In front of the tent that the princess used alone, Ardiana and someone else were standing.

But—

"That’s not Aunt Ribia...?"

Aunt Ribia had been staying in a different tent since yesterday. Because she ground her teeth too much in her sleep.

Then who was it?

Tilting her head, Tie suddenly broke into a smile.

Looking closer, she realized—it was Papa entering the tent together with Ardiana!

"......Ah! Could it be!"

Tie’s face became serious.

Seeing the light go out inside, she hesitated for a moment, then quickly walked over.

And without warning, she flung open the entrance.

"Squad Leader! Madam Chairman!"

Immediately, hurried rustling sounds came from the darkness.

Soon, the light turned on.

"......King of the Dead?"

Inside the tent it was warm; Papa approached without his outer clothing.

And Ardiana was sitting on the bed, staring at Tie in shock.

"Haah!"

Tie sighed and looked at Ardiana.

Then, very seriously, she said:

"Squad Leader. Madam Chairman. Tie may be four, but she already sleeps well alone."

"......"

"It’s a little scary, but Tie is big now, so she bravely sleeps alone. So what is this?"

Shaking her head as if it couldn’t be helped, Tie climbed onto Ardiana’s bed.

And naturally settling in beside her, she said:

"Just for today, okay? Tie will sleep with you. Sleeping three together is less scary than two, right?"

The two of them stared at her with stunned expressions.