Chapter 60: The Butterfly Never Stops Flapping Its Wings. Is It Luck? Or Destiny?

When Senis stroked her belly and announced her pregnancy, it was just after dinner.

Paul was obviously prepared but still couldn't contain his excitement. He was about to hug Senis but stopped himself and danced on the spot.

Ever since Senis gave birth to Rudy, the two had always wanted another child, and now this wish had finally come true.

Rudy looked at Senis with curiosity and hurried over. Together with the excited Paul, he put his ear to Senis's belly.

Senis wore a gentle expression and stroked Rudy's head.

"That's great, Rudy. You're finally not alone."

As she said this, she suddenly froze and glanced at Allen, who was smiling meaningfully with his arms crossed beside the others.

"In that case, you will have another brother or sister. There will be a third child in the family to play with. You must fulfill your responsibilities as a brother."

Rudy nodded, then turned to look at Allen with a strange light flashing in his eyes.

Allen was a little far away and did not hear Senis clearly. He felt they were talking about him. He put away his smile and tilted his head in doubt.

Rudy smiled but did not respond to Allen's questioning look. Instead, he put his head back on Senis's belly.

'It's still not true that Allen is my distant cousin. This guy is amazing. He's very sensitive in interacting with others. He can accurately grasp emotional fluctuations and say kind words. But when it comes to his own feelings, he's a bit slow.'

'Is he not confident? He hasn't fully grasped Paul and Senis's attitudes toward him. I heard from Paul that Allen's family situation is complicated, and he is hunted by his biological father. Though I don't feel much belonging to this family, Allen's situation is different. I'm here because of reincarnation, but he is influenced by his original family. Family affection is indifferent, and he's not good at handling others' goodwill toward him.'

Thinking this, Rudy glanced at Allen, also a traverser, with some pity.

Paul lifted Rudy up from Senis's increasingly puzzled eyes.

Then Paul happily replaced Rudy's position and crawled on his wife's legs with his face.

Just then, Lilia finished washing dishes and walked out of the kitchen. After glancing at Paul, she bowed her head.

"Congratulations, ma'am."

Senis stroked Paul's head and joked with a smile.

"You're welcome~ Lilia has been here for more than five years. How about we find someone to accompany you in the village? You'd be lonely if you were alone, wouldn't you?"

Lilia looked at the hem of her maid's dress and replied with a hesitant expression.

"Thank you, Madam. I have no ideas for now. I'm at a loss about the future."

"Yeah, Lilia, you used to be a noble guard. There might not be a suitable candidate in the village. At least he should be as famous as Paul to be worthy of Lilia, right? Paul, do you think we should ask Philip for help? Maybe a young noble would be better for Lilia?"

Paul raised his eyes and glanced at Lilia quickly. She was looking down, her red hair slightly covering her eyes. When their eyes met, she quickly looked away.

Paul's face froze as memories of his past misdeeds against Lilia came back, and he felt flustered.

"Ah, that's right. I think so too. Lilia is very good. Ha, haha."

Allen crossed his arms and watched their interaction with a slow smile.

Is it coming? The cheating incident in the original book.

This time the timing is right; there shouldn't be another butterfly effect, right?

Dong dong dong—there was a rapid knock on the door.

Allen was stunned and looked at the door. This plot, which hadn't appeared in the original book, made him think subconsciously of Luo Qixi's late-night visit a month ago.

'This is impossible… Could it be another strange butterfly effect?'

While Allen doubted, Senis and Paul calmly spoke.

"Is Luo Erz here?"

"Ah, it should be him."

In Allen's puzzled eyes, Lilia had already opened the door.

It was Luo Erz, with long blond hair and ears poking out. He nodded to Lilia, then looked at Rudy and Allen inside, smiled, and stepped aside to make room.

A small figure appeared behind him.

It was Sylphy. She wore thick winter clothes that hadn't appeared before. The furry collars on her coat framed her little face. Her nose was red from the cold. Her red pupils under long eyelashes reflected Allen's figure.

"Good morning, Allen."

Rudy came over unhappily.

"Hey, Sylphy, why do you only say hello to Allen?"

"Sorry, Rudy, good morning."

Allen couldn't help smiling at Sylphy's appearance. It had snowed for over ten days since the start of winter, and he had never seen Sylphy. Seeing her in thick winter clothes, he thought she was very cute.

Allen reached out, hugged Rudy, and casually patted Sylphy's head.

"Good morning, Sylphy. This is the first time I've seen you in winter clothes—very cute."

Sylphy twitched her ears.

"Thank you for the compliment."

It's worth mentioning that during the past six months, thanks to Allen's early intervention, Sylphy did not suffer a year-long bullying as in the original book. She also felt friendship in advance. Her timid personality faded, becoming more like the gentle and considerate image of the 'white mother' in the original plot.

Even now, when Allen complimented her, she didn't fluster or shy away but accepted and expressed gratitude openly.

Seeing this, Roltz smiled and looked at Paul.

"The snow has stopped. It's time to prepare for the monster clearance."

There are few monsters in the Kingdom of Asura because monsters in the surrounding villages fall into a dormant state in winter. The knights often take the lead in regular encirclement and suppression. This is Asura's national policy to ensure economic prosperity.

This aspect isn't mentioned in the original plot, as it's unrelated to Rudy, but can be glimpsed through clues, such as the book collection in Rudy's house: "Monster Ecology and Weaknesses in Fitoya Territory."

You should know books in this world are expensive. If Rudy has such a book, it's not a children's book.

Hence, monster clearance normally has no intersection with Rudy's story.

However, in the past six months, Allen's old father often had attacks. Worried about Sylphy, he dragged Rudy along to deliver food to Roalds and helped hunt many monsters that escaped the forest. Rudy acted as the cook cleaning up afterward.

Over time, the adult men in the village realized one thing:

Though Allen and Rudy are both under ten, they can't be treated as children. In some ways, they're even more capable than adults.

Naturally, they were lucky to participate in preliminary preparations for monster clearance. Paul believed boys should experience more, so he took Allen and Rudy along.

At the forest edge, the dense summer leaves had fallen. The forest was wrapped in thick snow with clear visibility—unlike other seasons when shadows hid among leaves.

The men of Buena Village pulled out specially lengthened thorn nets, stepped on the thick snow, and fastened them to tree trunks one by one, gradually surrounding the entire forest edge.

This was to prevent monsters from escaping into the village during the formal clearance.

Allen and Paul stood at the front, on guard against monsters suddenly jumping from the snow to attack, while the two little ones watched from the back.

"Uncle, is this clearance every year? I haven't heard about it before."

Paul looked around, sword in hand.

"Of course you wouldn't see this in the royal capital. Why? Is it new?"

"Not bad. Then what's that?"

Paul was stunned and looked at Allen, who pointed toward a simple wooden house deep in the bare forest. Its eaves were mottled.

"That's the safe house."

"Safe house?"

"Yes, a temporary shelter for hunters passing through in winter or caravans lost in blizzards."

"Temporary shelter?"

"Don't be fooled by how clear it looks now. In the Red Dragon Mountains, it often snows for a month. At that time, it's almost impossible to tell east, west, south, and north in the forest. If someone gets lost in a blizzard and their carriage is trapped in snow, they risk death. So the kingdom ordered many such shelters."

Allen remembered when he took Dou Qi through the forest last year in snow.

'When the winter wind blows, snow easily accumulates on the hillside. Carriages won't move.'

'I overlooked this before. If no accidents happen, I'll travel as planned, but the carriage might delay us. Then timely judgment to abandon it and walk may be impossible.'

'Instead, they would wait for the blizzard to end. Maybe rest at a shelter. If snow lasted too long, the carriage would be stuck. Walking using Dou Qi might be faster.'

'If so, they might not meet Luo Qixi. Without meeting Luo Qixi, their points would hover barely passing. It was a close call. Though driving Dou Qi in snow was tough, the assassination's result was a blessing in disguise. Blessings and disasters are intertwined.'

Nearby, Luo Erz was tying nets with three others.

"Hey Luo Erz, did you set the net deeper this year? It's several dozen meters deeper. Isn't it dangerous?"

A bearded man scratched his head and tied the net.

Luo Erz said seriously,

"It's fine. In previous years, Paul was the only senior swordsman, so we were cautious. This year we have Allen. Even if we awaken some monsters eastward, we can deal with them quickly."

The man smiled.

"Allen is excellent. I didn't expect a knight's boy to have such magical talent. In the past two years, first Luo Qixi and now Allen. I believe he'll stand out in the future. I heard your Sylphy is close to them. That's great, but a pity they don't play with my child."

Roltz was stunned.

'Rudy? Since Allen came, Rudy smiles more and made friends.'

He looked at Sylphy and Rudy across the crowd. Sylphy reached out her little hand to Allen, breathing on it. Her ears trembled.

This cute look was etched in Roltz's eyes. His face melted like snow water. Though he cared for Rudy, he wasn't good at coaxing children, seeming like a strict father.

'That's good. If Rudy is happy, Noda can rest easy. She felt guilty after giving birth to Rudy because he had green hair. It wasn't her fault—atavism can't be blamed.'

Suddenly, Luo Erz stepped on a snow clump.

Still dazed, he felt as if he stepped on air but had actually stepped on something cylindrical.

His vision tilted, feet wobbled, body nearly fell. People nearby shouted in fear.

"Luo Erz!!"

"Get out of the way! Luo Erz!!!"

Almost simultaneously, snow under his feet gave way with a bang. Luo Erz's eyes widened. He turned his head frantically.

A burst of flying snow rose from the ground, and a huge mouth appeared close by.

Roltz's waist surged with heat and adrenaline.

He saw tiny fangs in the mouth, covered with mucus.

But it was too late to react.

Roltz's heart turned cold.

A mutated forest snake—D-level monster.

The monster was awakened from hibernation.

It delivered a fatal blow to the human who disturbed its sleep.