Chapter 37

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Ed was currently feeling uneasy.

It was because Ron had just gifted Lucy a necklace.

It was a beautiful ruby necklace, the kind any girl would love.

Lucy, who received the necklace, smiled and thanked him, while Ron blushed and looked embarrassed.

Watching the two of them, Ed felt something burning inside him.

Why had Ron given Lucy a necklace?

Ed knew the answer.

Ron liked Lucy.

That’s why he had tried to kiss her earlier.

Fortunately, Lucy had swung her fist, but if Ron had actually kissed her, Ed would never have forgiven him for the rest of his life.

“…Ron, what are you doing?”

Ed asked Ron.

“This contradicts what you said earlier…!”

Earlier, Ron had clearly said, “I won’t do it again.”

Ed had felt relieved, understanding it to mean that Ron wouldn’t try anything with Lucy again.

But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Ron, who usually hated dressing up, had slicked his hair and put on a proper outfit.

All to impress Lucy.

He had even gifted her a necklace. This was cheating.

“What do you mean, it contradicts what I said earlier?”

Ron looked puzzled.

Ed frowned.

“You clearly told me earlier, ‘I won’t do it again.’ But now you’re all dressed up and even gave her a necklace. You’ve made up your mind, haven’t you?”

“When I said I wouldn’t do it again, I meant I wouldn’t recklessly try to kiss her or anything like that. I realized I couldn’t win Lucy’s heart that way.”

“You…”

Ed’s voice trembled with anger.

“You’re planning to win Lucy’s heart…?”

Ron nodded.

“I like Lucy. Just like you do.”

“You’re doing this even though you know I like her…?”

“Is that wrong?”

“Of course it is! I liked her first…!”

Ed made sure to keep his voice down.

Lucy was currently sitting across the table, eating with Ellie.

If his voice got too loud, she might notice.

“…I know you liked her first. But what does that matter? That doesn’t mean I have to give up on Lucy. Lucy isn’t like the heir position.”

Ron said.

“The heir position has been yours since the day I was born. It was already decided. So I gave up. I didn’t want to take it from you. But Lucy is different. Lucy isn’t yours. So I’m not taking her from you. I’m competing for her.”

“…!”

Ed was momentarily speechless.

Why was the heir position being brought up now?

For a moment, he thought that, but honestly, Ron was right.

“…Alright, Ron.”

Ed nodded.

“You’re right. Lucy isn’t mine. So you have no reason to give up. No, don’t give up. You’ve already given up so much because of me, so don’t give up on Lucy.”

“I won’t give up.”

“But know this. I’m not planning to back down either. You said Lucy isn’t like the heir position, right? Yeah, she’s different. That’s why I’ll compete with you fairly this time. I won’t give her up just because you’ve already given up so much. But if you do win her heart, I’ll accept it and step aside. Until then, I won’t back down.”

“Fine. If you win Lucy’s heart, I’ll accept it and step aside too. But until then, I’ll compete with you.”

“Deal.”

That was the end of the conversation.

A strange tension hung between them.

Meanwhile, Lucy…

“Lucy, say ah~”

Across the table, Lucy was suffering.

“Good~ You’re eating so well~ Now this one, say ah~”

Ellie kept shoving food into her mouth.

“…”

Lucy struggled to chew the food in her mouth and sent a pleading look toward Ed and Ron.

But Ed and Ron were too busy sizing each other up to notice Lucy’s gaze.

The meal ended.

Lucy was full and wanted to lie down somewhere sunny and breezy for a nap.

But Ellie kept begging her to play with dolls, so she was dragged to Ellie’s room.

By the way, Ed and Ron had gone for their lessons.

Ed was learning swordsmanship, and Ron was studying magic.

“Lucy, this doll is the baby, and this one is the mom. You be the baby.”

Ellie smiled brightly and handed Lucy the baby doll.

“Babies cry, so start crying.”

Lucy absentmindedly shook the baby doll.

“Waaah.”

“Oh no, the baby’s crying~?”

Ellie shook the mom doll.

“Are you hungry~?”

“Waaah.”

“Then I’ll feed you milk~”

Ellie brought a small toy milk bottle to the baby doll’s mouth.

“Baby, is it yummy~?”

Ellie asked, but Lucy didn’t answer.

It felt weird for the baby to say, “It’s yummy.”

Babies usually can’t talk.

“Baby, you have to answer~?”

But Ellie kept pushing.

“Baby~?”

“…”

Finally, Lucy spoke.

“Y… yummy…”

She tried her best to mimic baby talk.

Ellie looked puzzled.

“Huh? The baby can talk~? Babies usually can’t talk…?”

“…”

Lucy stared at Ellie with a dumbfounded expression.

Then she was startled.

Ellie’s eyes were red and teary.

“…Sniff.”

Ellie put down the doll she was holding and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

“I… miss my mom… Sniff…”

Ellie began to sob.

“…”

Lucy quickly put down the baby doll and hugged Ellie.

“Sniff, Mommy…”

Ellie buried her face in Lucy’s chest and began to cry uncontrollably. Lucy gently patted Ellie’s back for a while.

Pat. Pat.

How much time had passed?

Ellie’s sobs gradually subsided, replaced by the sound of steady breathing.

It seemed she had fallen asleep.

And Lucy, too, began to feel her eyelids grow heavy.

“…”

Before long, Lucy also fell asleep, holding Ellie in her arms.

Squeak—

Their peaceful embrace was later discovered by the maids.

It was almost time for their bath, but the maids couldn’t bring themselves to wake them.

The sight of the two sleeping so peacefully, holding each other, was too serene to disturb.

◈

Late at night, someone stood quietly in front of the ruined mansion of Bishop Oswin.

It was an elderly man with a sharp demeanor.

His deeply lined face and rough skin looked as hard as stone, and his grayish-blue eyes were as cold as a wolf’s.

He appeared to be in his mid-sixties.

Yet, his back was straight, and his shoulders were broad and confident.

Arthur Valentine.

That was the old man’s name, but people called him by another title.

The Inquisitor.

Or the Witch Slayer.

He was a legendary figure under the Holy See, having executed hundreds of heretics over the past 30 years.

He never failed.

Once he began his pursuit, no matter how notorious the target, they would eventually turn to ashes on the pyre.

Thud—

He stepped into the remains of Bishop Oswin’s mansion.

What was once a grand and luxurious mansion was now nothing but charred ruins.

With each step, the ashes on the ground crumbled and scattered.

The only sound was the wind; everything else was silent.

Thud—

Soon, he stopped and quietly scanned his surroundings.

He was searching for traces.

Originally, the Holy See had intended to dismiss this incident as insignificant.

The conclusion was that Bishop Oswin’s mansion had caught fire, and the bishop had fled to avoid being exposed for the atrocities he had committed in the mansion’s basement…

Such things, while uncommon, were not unheard of. Even clergy could fall from grace.

In such cases, they would usually appoint a new bishop and issue a warrant for Oswin’s arrest, then consider the matter closed.

It wasn’t something that would typically catch Arthur’s attention.

But Arthur had, by chance, read Oswin’s letters.

Recently, Oswin had sent two letters to the Holy See.

But their contents were suspicious.

In the first letter, Oswin had requested military support.

He claimed that Ellie, the daughter of the Leyton family, was suspected of being a witch, but Lord Leyton was refusing to cooperate with the investigation, so he needed troops.

To strengthen his case, Oswin emphasized that Lord Leyton had committed blasphemy.

However, the reasons for suspecting Ellie of being a witch were flimsy.

It was simply that the girl had rejected Oswin’s blessing and was wary of him.

Nevertheless, the Holy See had sent troops.

After all, Oswin was a bishop, and it was only right to support his request for troops to investigate heresy.

But the very next day, Oswin sent a second letter.

In this letter, Oswin praised Lord Leyton as a devout man and emphasized that his daughter Ellie was absolutely not a witch but a girl with a pure soul.

His attitude had completely changed in just one day.

And after that letter, Oswin disappeared.

Oswin’s mansion was engulfed in flames, and his atrocities were exposed.

Arthur couldn’t dismiss this as mere coincidence.

It was too strange to be a coincidence.

Something smelled fishy.

It was highly likely that Oswin had been coerced into writing the second letter.

At first, Arthur suspected bribery, but given that Oswin’s mansion had burned down and he had disappeared, coercion seemed more plausible.

If so, he was probably dead by now.

He must have been killed shortly after writing the second letter.

But by whom?

That was unknown.

To uncover the truth, Arthur had come here.

Arthur pulled out a small object from his pocket.

It looked like a compass.

A sacred tool gifted to him by the Pope in his youth, it could detect evil energy.

If evil energy was detected, the needle would point in its direction, and the surface would turn red.

Its detection range wasn’t vast, but it could reliably identify heretics in close proximity.

“Heh.”

A laugh escaped Arthur’s lips.

The compass in his hand was reacting.

Its surface had turned red, and the needle was fixed in one direction.

The needle pointed toward the mansion’s garden.

It seemed that dark magic had been used in the garden.

Yet, no bodies had been found, which was still strange.

Arthur put the compass away.

The signs of heresy had been revealed.

Now, all that remained was to personally eliminate the heretic.

The Leyton family, was it?

Given the circumstances, it was highly likely that the heretic was hiding there.

Thud—

Arthur began to walk.

In the direction of the Leyton family’s castle.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
First a minecraft youtuber, now an extremist old man, hmm.