* * *
“Dada.”
“Leo.”
Ed patted the chubby legs of the 27-month-old child squirming on his lap.
“Remember, you promised Daddy we’d quietly watch Uncle Ronen’s training without disturbing him, right?”
They were in the northern castle’s training grounds.
After dinner, Ed had pinky-promised the child in his arms that they would visit Ronen and observe quietly.
“Since it’s his evening training, when we get to the grounds, promise Daddy you won’t throw a tantrum about wanting to go to Uncle.”
Ed had looked Leo in the eyes and spoken slowly and clearly.
The boy had recently started speaking much more, so Ed made sure to enunciate so Leo could understand.
Now in his second winter in the North, Leo nodded his small head earnestly.
Then he tried to reach out to Ed with his fingers but tilted his head, confused.
He tried curling his right hand into a fist while sticking out only his pinky, but it wasn’t easy.
He strained, puffing out his plump cheeks in concentration.
“Dada.”
“Yes, Leo. Do you want Daddy to help you?”
“Nooo.”
Ed reached out to help lift the pinky finger, but Leo shook his head firmly.
He wanted to do it himself.
They had always made pinky promises this way, and the boy remembered.
That’s why he moved his tiny fingers on his own this time.
Ed waited calmly for Leo’s attempt, cheering him on silently.
As Leo’s speech had increased, so had his stubbornness and curiosity.
He often wanted to do things by himself—even if it meant mismatched shoes, he tried putting them on alone.
He even had preferences for clothing, favoring blue—the color of the clear northern sky.
At first, Ed had worried Leo was a late talker.
But once he started speaking, his vocabulary grew noticeably by the day.
Though he still mostly used words like “Daddy,” “yes,” “no,” “what’s this,” and other simple phrases, Ed found every word from his small mouth utterly fascinating.
“Hup!”
Leo stomped his feet on Ed’s thigh, and once he finally managed to form the right hand shape, he beamed brightly.
“Dada!”
Then, though still clumsy, his tiny hand grasped Ed’s pinky.
Every little thing the child did was wondrous, and Ed’s heart swelled.
Naturally, his thoughts drifted to the Duke.
“His Grace would’ve loved to see this.”
Lately, the Duke had often been away inspecting the outer defenses of the North, and tonight was another such night.
Ed planned to put Leo to bed before it got too late.
Ed hooked his pinky with Leo’s and gave it a light shake.
Leo laughed joyfully, finding it amusing.
“Then let’s go see Uncle Ronen at the training grounds.”
“Okay!”
And so they arrived.
Despite the winter night, the training grounds were warm with energy.
Ed entered quietly through the back and sat on the stairs with Leo on his lap, watching the scene unfold.
Well-built knights were sweating as they focused intently on their training.
Ronen, repeatedly practicing an upward sword strike, wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
“Even though Sir Irtel is away on patrol with His Grace, they’re still training this hard. Their focus is impressive.”
It looked casual at a glance, but not a single movement was wasted.
Ed held his breath in awe.
“Hah! Hyaaah!”
The training grounds echoed with fierce shouts.
Under the moonlight pouring in through the windows, the weapons gleamed beautifully.
Ronen stood out among them all.
At just thirteen, still a child, he trained earnestly without cutting corners.
He had asked not to be treated specially and chose Sir Irtel as his instructor.
His skills improved steadily.
The way he gripped his sword again and resumed training carried a sense of maturity.
Meanwhile, Leo, squirming in Ed’s arms, was still small, adorably cute, and in the middle of his 27-month-old whirlwind phase—completely obsessed with Ronen.
Even now, the moment he saw Ronen, he wanted to run to him and cling to his leg.
But Ed was firm. While soft on most things, he made sure Leo kept his promises.
He wanted Leo to learn that promises—especially those made with others—were never to be taken lightly or broken thoughtlessly.
So Ed gently but firmly calmed Leo down each time he tried to wriggle off his lap.
“Daddyyy.”
Of course, the child didn’t fully understand yet.
He pouted and flailed his arms toward Ed, desperate to get to his uncle.
To avoid distracting the knights, Ed adjusted how he held Leo and gently patted his bottom.
Then he spoke to him quietly, face to face.
“You can wait until Uncle Ronen finishes his training, right, Leo?”
At first, he would have panicked if Leo started to cry or got sulky, but now he had learned how to soothe him better.
Ed patted the child nestled snugly in his arms and comforted him.
“How about we go see Roa after this? And Ppuppu too?”
Leo immediately perked up.
At Roa’s house in the garden, a baby dragon also lived.
Named Ppuppu by Leo, the lazy creature slept most of the day.
But when playing on Roa’s back, it would flap its tiny wings and grow lively.
At that moment, a long shadow passed over them.
Before Ed even looked up, Leo reached out and grabbed the sweat-soaked training uniform above.
“Leo, when did you get here?”
Ronen had climbed the stairs and now stood above Ed, grinning.
Leo, thrilled, kicked his legs and wiggled his hips.
Ronen chuckled and bowed politely.
“Good evening, Your Grace the Consort.”
“I told you, Ronen, no need for formalities when it’s not an official setting.”
“Oh come on, I can’t skip that.”
As Ronen gently stroked the small hand grasping his clothes, Leo stretched out his arms, asking to be picked up.
“You want a hug, Leo? But uh-oh, I’m super sweaty right now.”
“Huwwyy, Uncuh.”
The words were still imperfect, but Ronen blinked in surprise at how much Leo’s vocabulary had improved.
“Who taught you ‘hurry’? Uncle didn’t teach you that! Seriously, you grow up a little more every day, huh?”
Hearing such a thing from the still-young Ronen was so endearing that Ed cleared his throat with a soft chuckle.
“Did we interrupt your training?”
“No! I was just heading back to my room anyway.”
Ronen picked Leo up and stood tall. With his sudden boost in height, Leo squealed with joy.
Ronen had grown significantly taller, and as he securely held Leo, the boy curiously touched his damp, black hair.
Though the same color as his own, it fascinated him every time.
His lips rounded in awe.
His blue eyes sparkled.
“Is the training hard on you?”
“I’m starting to regret telling Sir Irtel not to go easy on me. Even if I hadn’t said that, the training would’ve been just as intense.”
Hearing Ronen’s rare complaint, Ed smiled softly.
“He even told me to join for stamina training if I wanted. I always noticed that odd gleam in his eye when he said that. Definitely not falling for that one.”
With quiet laughter, Ed and Ronen exited the training grounds.
As they stepped outside, Ronen gently cupped the back of Leo’s head with his hand.
The harsh cold had begun to fade, and spring was approaching, but the northern temperature swings still made Ronen act instinctively.
Ed’s eyes softened at the sight.
“You trained hard today. Let me carry him now.”
* * *
