Children in this world matured early. Eris had known about that for a long time.
But when it came down to it, she felt hesitant and scared.
Her drunken state had mostly worn off, and her heart was pounding. Looking at Roa's handsome face so close to hers, she suddenly thought, If it's Roa, if it's this man in front of me, maybe it wouldn't be so bad?
Roa had no idea what strange thoughts were running through the little girl's mind. After placing her on the bed, he took off her high heels. Eris lay there, her fiery red eyes staring at the ceiling.
When Roa finished removing her shoes, he looked up to see Eris's clear, fiery eyes.
Where was the drunkenness from earlier?
But then again, the wine wasn't very strong. Though he didn't know how she had sobered up so quickly, Roa asked, "Eris, are you staying here tonight?"
Eris didn't answer. She tilted her head, meeting Roa's gaze, then looked away and nodded.
Roa said, "Oh," then moved the little girl further into the bed and covered her with a blanket. He got up and walked over to the chair. Roa wasn't planning to sleep just yet.
Eris watched him prepare to leave and suddenly said, "Hey, today's my birthday."
Roa turned around in surprise, looking at Eris. He wasn't sure why she had suddenly brought this up.
Eris, her face flushed, said, "Then, can you grant me a small wish?"
Roa fell silent. Seeing Eris like this, he wasn't a fool—he could roughly guess what she was getting at.
Eris continued, "I, I want you to stay with me. Don't leave."
It was hard to believe that the proud young lady could say something like this, but since she had, it would be rude to refuse.
Roa nodded. Eris let out a long sigh of relief and lay back on the bed, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling.
The light from the oil lamp illuminated the ceiling brightly. The soft quilt pressed gently against Eris's cheek. As she stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, drowsiness began to creep in, and she eventually fell into a deep sleep.
Roa, sitting in the chair, looked up at the sleeping Eris, his expression somewhat complicated.
He could tell—Eris seemed to have feelings for him.
At her age, girls were at the stage of first love, often unable to distinguish between affection and true love.
So, the question was, should he accept her?
Thinking about Eris made Roa feel a headache coming on.
She was a straightforward and innocent girl, and honestly, Roa didn't dislike her.
Although she often didn't consider things deeply, it was precisely this nature that made her even more endearing to Roa.
He already had Roxy. Adding Eris to the mix didn't seem like a bad idea.
In this world, having multiple wives and concubines was the norm. The thought made Roa feel a bit restless.
Alright, Roa admitted it.
He was somewhat attracted to Eris.
Roa rubbed his temples, his thoughts churning.
The night passed without incident. When Roa woke up the next morning, he saw Eris already awake, sneakily glancing at him.
Roa got up and yawned, saying to Eris, "Good morning."
Eris nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed as she recalled what had happened last night.
Roa didn't have as many reservations. He got up, changed into a casual short-sleeved shirt, and looked at Eris. "Well, I'll be going on a trip soon. When I'm gone, Rudeus will take over teaching you."
Eris's eyes widened. Hearing that Roa was planning to leave again, she felt a bit surprised.
Eris asked, "Where are you planning to go?"
Roa thought for a moment and said, "It's a secret. But I'll be back."
Eris pouted and muttered, "So mysterious."
But she didn't press further. Roa said to her, "Go wash up. Your birthday is over, and we still have to work hard together. Eris, you want to become stronger, right? Strong enough to protect everything."
Roa's words didn't seem to inspire Eris. Her face fell, and she said listlessly, "I get it. Stop nagging."
With that, she stormed out of the room.
As soon as she opened the door, Eris froze.
Rudeus was standing outside, looking rather sneaky.
Eris glared at him, her expression unfriendly. Rudeus, feeling awkward, weakly greeted her.
"Hey, Eris."
Eris looked at him expressionlessly and snorted, "What are you doing out here?"
Rudeus awkwardly waved his hand and said, "Nothing, nothing. I just heard some noise in the room and came to check."
Eris smacked Rudeus on the head.
"Stop sneaking around all the time," she said, then snorted and walked away without another word.
Rudeus let out a sigh of relief, but he didn't realize that his ordeal wasn't over yet.
Roa spoke to him in a calm voice, "Care to explain what's going on?"
Rudeus forced a smile, his face stiff. He slowly turned to Roa and said, "It's exactly what it looks like."
Roa looked at Rudeus expressionlessly, his gaze playful.
Rudeus immediately prostrated himself and shouted, "I'm sorry, big brother! I was wrong! I won't do it again! I admit I had some ulterior motives. I was just… curious."
Roa rolled his eyes.
Without further ado, Roa said to Rudeus, "Since you're here, I don't need to go find you. I'll be leaving tomorrow. You'll be in charge of Eris while I'm gone."
Rudeus was taken aback. He looked at Roa strangely and said, "You're leaving tomorrow? Didn't you say it would be a while?"
Roa glanced at him and said nonchalantly, "Tomorrow is a while from now, isn't it?"
Rudeus was speechless. It was logical, but it still felt like a stretch.
Rudeus continued with a straight face, "So, how long do you plan to be gone? Just so you know, Eris isn't someone I can handle."