I burnt the fruit that was crawling with worms as calmly as I could, then followed Ren to see the children. Now that I thought about it, there was no way I wouldn’t have noticed the brain worms’ mana. Of course, it was too late for regrets. The milk was already spilled.

There was a saying that said: Our eyes are placed in front because it is more important to look ahead than to look back. As such, I walked facing forward.

Ren piped up, “Crown Prince…You have a pretty cute side.”

I snapped, “Shut your mouth, Ren.”

“Scream again, Rookie. One more time,” Lebuik said teasingly.

I growled, “Shut your mouth, Lebuik.”

I was annoyed that my embarrassing moment had dispelled the last remaining awkwardness between them. When it became clear that my temper was rising, they finally became quiet as we headed to where the children were sleeping. Of course, they weren’t too far off. They were in a mud hut that Ren had constructed. Lebuik lost her lighthearted smile and examined the sleeping children.

She said sadly, “Lina, Uruto, Demi…With just Your Highness’ power, they…”

“I lost two children on our way. I still can’t forget the way they looked at me,” Ren remarked calmly and patted the children’s heads. There were three beastman girls and two beastman boys. Two of the humans were girls and the other was a boy.

I expected them to be around 15 to 16 years of age on average, but all eight of them looked between 10 and 12. Perhaps, they were even younger. Ren’s situation...