I Live With My Villain Uncle

“Damned bastards.
Where did they come from.”

 

While Kassel went down to the manor, there was an attack on the Duke’s residence.

 

Seeing that they came this way, they didn’t seem to know anything, and the timing seemed right.

 

Although fortunately, he took care of it before they even went inside, he was annoyed when he woke up.

 

Illode hurriedly headed to Aika’s room.

 

He caught everyone outside, but still to make sure his granddaughter was okay.

 

“Your Grace, please give me the sword.”

 

Illode, who was walking briskly with a bloodstained sword in his hand, stopped his feet.

 

“Goodness, that could’ve been a big deal.
When you get old, it gets worse from the brain first.”

 

Illode held out the sword to Himed, his escort.

 

“I will clean the surroundings so that the Miss doesn’t know.”

 

“Obviously.
Is there any bloody spots?”

 

Then, the escort looked closely at Illode from head to toe.

 

“No, Sir.”

 

“If I get caught later, I’ll start by taking off your neck, so be sure to check it out.”

 

Himed looked again in dismay.

 

“…There really isn’t any, Sir.
You’re clean.”

 

Himed silently looked at Illode, who still had spirits in his eyes.

 

Now that he is old, he complains that his knee hurts, yet his sword skills don’t go anywhere.

 

Since he’s the duke who gave birth to Marquis Leguier, who holds the title of the Empire’s best swordsman, where would his skills go?

 

After checking again, Illode caught his breath in front of Aika’s door and opened the door.

 

“…”

 

He, who silenced the sound of his footsteps, immediately turned his eyes to Aika’s bed.

 

Aika was sleeping on the bed with cute slippers the size of his palm.

 

Illode’s fierce eyes quickly faded and melted down.

 

The aura of a moment ago was permeated with warm light everywhere.

 

His granddaughter, the apple of his eye, is safe and sound.

 

“Our little puppy.”

 

It was fortunate that she was sleeping well.

 

He wanted to keep her safer.

 

It makes him won’t be able to go this way again, but it seemed like he needed to organize the outside more.

 

It was when he carefully lifted the blanket to see Aika sleeping while he was there.

 

“…!”

 

As soon as the blanket was removed, the small human-shaped dolls piled up collapsed.

 

All of them were dolls that Aika took turns playing with every day.

 

He was told that Aika had a habit of holding a doll tightly in her arms since she was very young.

 

Maybe that’s why the house she originally lived in was full of dolls.

 

There were so many dolls to the extent they could step their feet on them anywhere in the Marquis of Leguier’s house and the Duke’s residence.

 

Illode’s face turned pale.

 

“Himed!”

 

“Yes, Your Grace!”

 

“We need to find Aika!”

 

“Pardon? Are you talking about the Miss? Here…!”

 

As soon as Himed came in and saw the dolls on the bed, he was surprised for a moment, and his eyes changed sharply.

 

“Go find her!”

 

It was when Himed ran away and Illode was about to go out the door again in a panic.

 

There was a sudden thud from inside the closet.

 

Illode, who was about to leave the door, stopped abruptly.

 

Thump, thump.

 

Illode turned slowly toward the closet at the noise.

 

“…pa!”

 

Illode doubted his ears.

 

“Grandpa!”

 

“Aika?”

 

“I’m here!”

 

Aika’s voice, hidden behind the wooden closet, was a little muffled.

 

Illode hurriedly opened the closet door.

 

In the meantime, Aika appeared whining.

 

Her hair, which had been undone from her sleep, was tangled and scattered all over.

 

It was only after making sure that her face was intact without a single scar, that he felt his legs loosen up.

 

“Aika!”

 

“Grandpa!”

 

Illode lifted up Aika and hugged her.

 

Before even checking what the hell was going on, he checked to see if Aika was okay.

 

He embraced her as if she was about to be crushed.

 

He just went back and forth between hell and heaven.

 

He thought they hadn’t come this way, but for a moment he thought Aika had been kidnapped.

 

It wasn’t entirely possible.

 

As Aika was Valliot’s treasure and his greatest weakness.

 

His heart skipped a beat when he held his baby in his arms, who would never be hurt in front of his eyes.

 

“Goodness, my baby.
Why were you hiding here, hm? Did you have a nightmare? You should’ve told me.
Grandpa’s heart almost fell.”

 

“T-There are scary noises outside.”

 

Illode was relieved and opened his eyes tightly.

 

It seemed that Aika had listened to the sounds outside.

 

“Sorry to startle you.
A flying fly came in, but Grandpa has cleaned it up.
You don’t have to worry anymore.
Nothing happened.”

 

Golden eyes shimmered even in the dark.

 

He thought he should pay more attention to the soundproofing, yet Aika asked, her eyes wide open as she stared at the door.

 

“Grandpa, did the shadow go?”

 

“Hm? Shadow?”

 

“The scary people, are they gone now? Is the hide-and-seek game done?”

 

Illode stiffened as it was.

 

“…Aika.”

 

As if this wasn’t the first time, this feeling.

 

Illode’s eyes narrowed.

 

How on earth…

 

“Mom told me to hide here when playing hide and seek.
I have to hide in the same closet at Grandpa’s house and mine.”

 

“…”

 

Only then did Illode look around the room while holding Aika.

 

All of these places were touched by Seria’s hand.

 

It was a place where Seria wanted to make a room for her daughter, so he asked her to come anytime.

 

She didn’t come into the Duke’s house, and he wanted his daughter, who was staying outside, to come in like that.

 

Although she didn’t come even until the end.

 

He even sternly told Aika not to throw anything away in this place so that he could feel Seria’s warmth at least a little.

 

“…Mom told you to hide here?”

 

“Yes, of course the dolls will protect me.
I’m really good at hide and seek.”

 

The dolls scattered on the bed came into view again.

 

It was said that all of that was made by these little hands.

 

Perhaps she was holding her breath in the closet, sweat dripping from her small forehead.

 

Indeed, she must have been hiding in this closet.

 

He thought it was a design with a particularly higher chin than a normal wardrobe, but he didn’t think it was a big deal because Seria was so eccentric.

 

Although not all of them, it’s not unusual to put a closet in the bedroom.

 

“How on earth…”

 

What were you doing outside, Seria?

 

Yet no one was there to answer.

 

A lot of thoughts filled his head, but Illode patted Aika on the back with a smile on his face.

 

“Right, now that the game of hide-and-seek is over, shall we sleep now, Princess? The shadow will never come.”

 

“Absolutely?”

 

“Of course.
Even if they come, this old man will defeat them all, so don’t worry and sleep.
I will protect Aika no matter what.”

 

Illode removed the dolls from the bed and set Aika down.

 

As she was used to, Aika put away the dolls and got ready to go back to her bed.

 

Illode sat down next to her.

 

“Shall Grandpa sing you a lullaby?”

 

“Yes!”

 

Aika, who pulled the blanket over her neck, nodded her head and her eyes twinkled.

 

Illode patted Aika’s chest with a disturbed heart and softly sang a lullaby.

 

Until Aika once again fell asleep.

 

“…”

 

Looking at her angelic face even while she was asleep, he became confused.

 

This ignorant, happy child already knew how to hide from an attack.

 

[Mom told me to hide here when playing hide and seek.
I have to hide in the same closet at Grandpa’s house and mine.]

 

As long as she has the blood of Valliot, she can’t avoid attacks anywhere.

 

Still, he put many of the guards in the mansion where Seria lived.

 

What he thought was safe was actually Seria trying to prevent them from reporting it to him.

 

‘What the hell does this lump of blood know?’

 

Since Seria was born, she hasn’t been the type to upset Illode much, but whenever she had an accident, it would hit Illode hard.

 

She was a daughter who was good at dealing with accidents on her own, and even so, he always believed in her.

 

She had risen to the rank of prime minister with only her skills, then his daughter, who had endured all kinds of vicious rumors, had suddenly disappeared.

 

Then, 2 years later, she showed up with this lump of blood.

 

[…Father.]

 

[Where have you been?]

 

[I… can’t tell you.]

 

With a weaker appearance than anyone else, with a stronger will than anyone else.