Chapter 44
The road back to the mansion was peaceful. Occasionally, children living nearby would run into her while playing in groups of three or five. They would flash Helen bright smiles, greet her politely, and then wander off to find a suitable place to play. Not that they would stray far from the vicinity.
Holding her parasol, Helen raised her head. The sun, high in the sky, welcomed her. The glare made her squint immediately, but summer was almost over, and she wondered when she would again enjoy such a peaceful day while gazing up at the sun overhead.
Wasn’t peace always shattered just when you began to feel happy?
Perhaps that was why she wanted to walk even more slowly. Like a greedy child, she hoped for tomorrow to come even as she wished today would last forever.
“I really do want too much. I’ll be punished for it later.”
“Who would dare punish you?”
Before she could even scoff, Liandor’s voice emerged from behind, startling her into turning around. Dressed in a white shirt, he furrowed his brow as if displeased by the sun blazing above his head.
“The sun’s scorching today. Might we finally get some rain before the season ends?”
“You scared me half to death, and now you’re talking about the weather?”
“What? Were you surprised?”
Liandor teased Helen, who was looking up at him with a fierce glare, and poked the center of her forehead with his index finger. It was the prank she hated most, but he found it amusing how she frowned and waved her hands about as if to attack him.
“Really! I told you not to do that!”
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop for today.”
“Do it one more time and I’ll actually get angry.”
“I said okay.”
Liandor nodded, then, watching his chance, swiftly ruffled Helen’s hair. If “this sort of thing” meant poking her forehead, she hadn’t said he couldn’t play with her hair. But since it was obvious she would fly into a rage, Liandor subtly stepped back before she could swing her parasol.
Contrary to his expectation, however, what came down was not the parasol, but a scolding.
“You know what? Sleeping outside suits you, Liandor. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
With a face utterly devoid of mirth, she spat out that he shouldn’t even dream of entering the mansion tonight. Even if she locked the door with a bolt, he was more than capable of entering with magic, but this was the harshest punishment Helen could mete out.
Moreover, Liandor put on a deeply wounded, tearful expression. Truly, she was the one who had suffered harm to her forehead and hair.
Even so, Liandor said nothing about letting it slide just this once or begging for forgiveness. Instead, he quietly followed behind Helen as she headed back to the mansion. Because of the parasol, only the ends of her red hair were visible. Even so, he was content.
Without a single word slipping out unconsciously, they walked for a full thirty minutes. Though summer was ending, the heat was worse than yesterday. Yet the fact that not a single drop of sweat formed on his forehead meant one thing.
Helen, who had stopped in her tracks, looked down at her noticeably shortened shadow. The silhouette of the young lady holding the parasol shifted bit by bit before eventually reversing from left to right.
“If you’re going to do that, you might as well block the sun for me.”
That’s outside my domain.
She could almost hear Liandor’s voice shrugging in denial. By now, she was starting to become suspicious. Just how far did this man’s domain extend? Since he hadn’t spoken aloud that he couldn’t block the sun blazing overhead, perhaps it was possible.
The sun rising and setting, days growing hot and cold—these were the laws of nature; what was the point of changing them? Just as Helen turned to walk the remaining distance to the mansion—
A stinging sensation shot through her left calf. Her leg had cramped. Well, she had walked for nearly an hour without rest, so her legs should have cramped at least three times by now.
It happened often, yet she never grew accustomed to the feeling that something terrible would happen if she so much as moved her toes. She wanted to grab something to keep her balance, but the street was empty.
Helen had no choice but to reach out to Liandor. It was far from an action she welcomed, but seeking his help was the best course of action.
Liandor’s brows shot up, a wide grin spreading across his face, clearly delighted by Helen’s predicament. Then he offered his arm so she could take hold.
“Whew. That was no walk.”
“My point exactly. Why go on an adventure when there’s a perfectly good carriage?”
“Can’t you see I’m already deeply regretting it?”
“I can see it perfectly. And I’m enjoying every moment of it.”
At his teasing tone, Helen clenched her fist. She wanted to punch him in the shoulder, but it was obvious her fist wouldn’t even get close before being caught. From the start, her opponent was an unidentified mage who had overpowered several Imperial Mages, while Helen was merely a weak human. Moreover, despite standing in the superior position as the mansion’s owner, her threats to throw him out were empty, and the reason she couldn’t actually do it was because the future of one weak human lay in the mage’s hands.
“So did you come looking for me? Were you afraid I’d run away?”
“As if. I know you can’t leave my side. You simply didn’t return, so I came out to look. I know you’re still inside Hexilof, at the very least. As you said, I suppose I was worried.”
Worried? Since when had the only mansion in Hexilof become a prison under surveillance? If she thought about it, hadn’t it been since she started living as Violet?
“I played with Edwin. Maybe I should have played a little longer?”
At her words meant to spite him, Liandor reacted immediately. His pale eyebrows seemed to shoot skyward alongside his sharply narrowed brow. Helen felt strength flood into Liandor’s arm, which she had unwillingly grabbed because of her cramped leg. He had even clenched his fist, apparently truly offended.
“We didn’t talk about anything important. I only told him that monsters won’t be coming down from the North Forest anymore.”
“He’s someone the Emperor sent to keep watch on you. You think he’ll return to the capital with just that? It would be better if the Emperor came himself.”
Liandor snorted. Helen couldn’t understand why Liandor hated Edwin so much. Unlike Lucas, he didn’t know she had once been Violet, nor was she in love with Edwin. She simply treasured the warm comfort she had felt in her childhood.
“Then I should write a letter to His Majesty. The mage who threatened to burn down the Imperial Palace and wipe it from the map actually misses His Majesty terribly.”
“You—!”
Helen let go of Liandor’s arm, her face scrunching up as if she were about to jump while he glared at her as if to scold her.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, my cramped muscle has loosened up. I’m going on ahead, so take your time. Or sleep outside, if you prefer.”
She firmly blocked the sunlight with her parasol and deliberately walked quickly. From behind, she heard grumbling footsteps closely following.
* Sibello
The month-end inspection meeting concluded with a summary of “All Clear.” Naturally, Hexilof and its surrounding territories, with winter still far off, were enjoying peaceful days. The North Forest patrol unit reported that they had not found so much as a clump of fur, let alone monster tracks.
Until now, monsters had never come down from the forest except in winter. Moreover, hadn’t Helen said so? That Hexilof’s mage had cast a barrier over the North Forest. But Helen’s words were not entirely convincing. The only way to know for sure was to bring an Imperial Mage to verify it, or wait until winter came.
“This meeting is adjourned. Everyone return to your posts and attend to your duties.”
“Come on, Commander! What duties do we have besides training?”
At the youngest knight’s jest, his colleagues simultaneously bowed their heads or covered their mouths, snickering.
“Hexilof is also Imperial territory. Do you not know that patrolling this land is our duty as well?”
The newly appointed Knight Commander of the Hexilof training grounds seemed not to know the situation here well. This was a place where monsters never showed their noses, let alone beasts baring their fangs and growling. They did not know what this winter would bring, but at least until winter began, all they had to do was train all day and live comfortably.
That would have truly been fine, but the newly appointed Commander was adamant.
“I understand! Of course I do. Then our squad will go on patrol.”
Margen, who was among the more senior knights, stepped in tactfully. He tried to take the clueless rookie knight and leave the meeting room, but failed. The rookie knight failed to read the room and ended up asking the Commander a blunt question.
“But Commander, what is your relationship with the young lady?”
Starting from the youngest knight’s tactless question, the training grounds erupted with rumors of a romance between the Commander and the young lady of Hexilof.
“Don’t tell me that half-blooded noble young lady has a crush on our Commander?”
“Why not! He’s the youngest Knight Commander in history, and he’s extraordinarily handsome.”
“Seal your lips!”
When Edwin slammed both hands down on the table, the commotion in the meeting room vanished instantly. The knights, who had been chatting with great interest, all turned their heads toward him. But upon meeting his soulless gaze, they had no choice but to lower their heads. They could not muster the courage to look directly at eyes befitting the title of youngest Knight Commander.
“If any of you utter another word insulting the young lady, I will personally seal your mouths.”
Among the knights pouting and lowering their heads, Margen glanced sideways to gauge Edwin’s mood and spoke slyly.
“So it’s not that the young lady likes him, but our Commander likes her.”
“Margen!”
“Am I wrong? If so, I’ll be on my way to patrol, but if you need assistance, this veteran of twenty years of romance will gladly help!”
Margen, his mouth framed by a sparse beard, pounded his chest twice with a large hand and declared confidently.
“Margen, a veteran of twenty years of romance? It would make more sense to say I’m married with three children!”
His fellow knights clutched their bellies, cackling, and Margen’s face flushed crimson. He swore on his knighthood that it was the truth. He had been in a passionate romance with his wife for twenty years before marrying her, and he didn’t know why no one believed him; he was simply furious.
Margen collapsed into the chair beside him as if his legs had given out. Looking at the seemingly devastated Margen, Edwin asked.
“Is it truly true that you are a veteran of twenty years of romance?”
“...Yes! It is! Of course, it’s absolutely true!”
“Then I have a request...”
Before Edwin could even finish, Margen pressed forward fiercely. He slammed both hands on the table and raised his upper body.
“Say it!”
Edwin’s pupils wavered weakly. He had a gut feeling that he shouldn’t make the request. No matter how loyal a knight he was, he ought to have steered clear of Margen.