Chapter 53

R​ｅaｄ ​ｏn K​atŔｅa​dί​&n;ɡ​Ｃa​fe

When the Lord of Leyton entered the castle with his knights, Lord Howard was waiting at the top of the grand staircase.

Lord Howard’s sharp gaze pierced through the Lord of Leyton and his knights as he stared down at them.

“Lord Leyton, you’ve come a long way. I’m delighted to see you.”

At Lord Howard’s words, the Lord of Leyton gave a slight nod.

“Thank you for inviting me, Lord Howard.”

“Let’s move to my office. We have much to discuss.”

Lord Howard guided the Lord of Leyton to his office.

The office was located at the highest point of the castle.

Upon arriving at the office, Lord Howard’s aide spoke to the Lord of Leyton.

“Since the discussion may take some time, why don’t we let the knights rest? We’ve prepared food and drinks in the banquet hall.”

The Lord of Leyton nodded.

After all, bringing armed knights into the office could be seen as rude.

It would imply a lack of trust in the host.

The Lord of Leyton turned to his knights and said, “Go and rest.”

“My Lord, but…”

“It’s fine.”

“…”

The knights seemed reluctant but eventually followed Lord Howard’s aide.

Once inside the office, Lord Howard poured wine into a glass.

Across from him, the Lord of Leyton quietly spoke.

“About the recent bandits…”

“Ah, let’s save the bandit talk for later.”

Lord Howard cut him off immediately.

“There’s something more important to discuss.”

Lord Howard picked up his glass and walked to the window, looking down below.

A sharp glint appeared in his eyes.

“Have you heard the news? Magic stones have been discovered in my mines recently.”

“…?”

The Lord of Leyton furrowed his brow.

He had been invited to discuss the bandit issue, so why was Lord Howard suddenly bringing up magic stones?

Moreover, he hadn’t heard about it. He didn’t concern himself with the affairs of other territories.

“Hoho, I see you haven’t heard. Magic stones have been discovered in my mines recently.”

“Congratulations.”

If magic stones had been discovered, it would mean a fortune could be made.

But what did that have to do with the bandits?

“After some investigation, it seems the vein of magic stones extends beneath the forest of Leyton Territory.”

“…”

Finally, the Lord of Leyton understood why Lord Howard had invited him.

Lord Howard wanted to mine the magic stones buried beneath the forest of Leyton Territory.

“I cannot permit it.”

The Lord of Leyton spoke firmly.

“Mining the magic stones would destroy the forest, and the nearby villagers would lose their homes.”

“Hoho…”

Lord Howard let out a bitter laugh.

“I expected as much, but I didn’t think you’d refuse without even hearing my terms. Well, it saves me time, so that’s good.”

“If this isn’t about the bandits, I’ll take my leave.”

The Lord of Leyton stood up.

Lord Howard didn’t stop him. He simply stood there leisurely, sipping his wine.

The Lord of Leyton flung open the office door.

“…”

Instantly, his expression hardened.

Dozens of armed knights were blocking the hallway.

All of them were Lord Howard’s knights.

“Lord Howard, you…”

The Lord of Leyton’s voice trembled faintly.

“How could you resort to such underhanded methods…!”

The Lord of Leyton drew his sword in anger.

Swoosh—!

“Step aside. Anyone who doesn’t will be cut down.”

At the Lord of Leyton’s words, the knights flinched.

The overwhelming pressure emanating from him was extraordinary.

Even facing dozens of knights alone, he stood unwavering and dignified.

But of course, it didn’t matter.

There was no way the Lord of Leyton could escape this situation alone.

“Hoho, Lord Leyton, I admire your courage, but in situations like this, numbers always prevail. No amount of bravery can stand against dozens of blades.”

“…”

The Lord of Leyton scanned his surroundings with eyes burning with rage.

The hallway was filled with Lord Howard’s knights.

His own knights were likely resting in the banquet hall by now.

“…Lord Howard. Whatever it is you desire, you will pay the price for this action. By then, it’ll be too late for regrets.”

At those words, Lord Howard burst into laughter.

“We’ll see about that. At least not today.”

Lord Howard addressed his knights.

“Treat our guest with respect. If necessary, you may cut off a limb or two.”

Swoosh—!

Dozens of swords were drawn simultaneously, releasing a chilling aura.

◈

Whoosh—!

The Death Mount raced through the crisp morning air.

Sunlight filtering through the branches made Lucy’s white hair shimmer.

Finn, sitting on Lucy’s shoulder, stretched luxuriously.

“Ahhh~! The forest is the best. The fresh air, the warm sunlight! I can’t understand those dwarves who want to destroy such a beautiful forest. By the way, Lucy, is that guy, Kairos, really a dragon?”

“Yeah.”

After returning from Cressia yesterday, Lucy introduced Finn to her grandfather and Kairos.

Both her grandfather and Kairos took an immediate liking to Finn.

It was because Finn knew a lot about mushrooms. (T/N:Of course…)

Fairies were naturally quite knowledgeable about plants that grew in the forest.

“What kind of dragon is so obsessed with mushrooms? I’d understand if it were gems, but mushrooms?”

“He’s always been like that.”

“Hmm, I guess the dragons I’ve seen before weren’t exactly normal either. One of them even walked around looking like a dwarf. I really wanted to smack him. Why would a dragon take the form of a dwarf? I’d understand if it were a human or an elf.”

It seemed Finn had a particular dislike for dwarves.

Did she get scammed by a dwarf or something…?

“By the way, Lucy, are you sure there’s a pretty garden where we’re going?”

“Yeah.”

Lucy was currently on her way to Leyton Castle.

She had promised to bake bread with Ellie today.

Soon, as Leyton Castle came into view, Lucy dismounted from the Death Mount and began walking.

“Ah!”

A voice soon called out from atop the castle walls.

“Lucy!”

It was Ellie.

“Lucy! Come on up!”

Ellie jumped up and down, waving her hand.

As Lucy entered the castle, Ellie came running and threw herself into Lucy’s arms.

“I missed you, Lucy!”

Lucy smiled and looked around.

Oddly, Ed and Ron were nowhere to be seen today.

They usually came out all dressed up to greet her.

“Where are Ed and Ron?”

“Oh, they went to the conference room this morning. There’s an emergency meeting. But Lucy, let’s go bake bread right away… Huh? What’s this?”

Ellie’s eyes widened in surprise.

Finn had poked her head out of Lucy’s clothes and was staring at Ellie.

“Hi.”

Finn greeted her as she emerged from Lucy’s clothes.

Then, fluttering her wings, she circled around Ellie.

“Ah…”

Ellie was mesmerized as she stared at Finn.

“A… a fairy… so pretty…”

Finn smiled brightly at Ellie’s reaction.

“I’m Finn. I’m Lucy’s friend. Nice to meet you.”

“Ah… um, nice to meet you too, Finn…”

Ellie blushed shyly as she greeted her.

“I’m Ellie…”

“Ellie, I’m looking forward to getting along with you.”

“Um…”

Ellie gazed at Finn with wide eyes.

Her blue hair, which reached down to her waist, was as clear and beautiful as a summer sky.

Her wings shimmered mysteriously and delicately, and sparkling dust scattered with every movement.

Her small, cute face had eyes that sparkled like gemstones.

Ellie felt like she was dreaming.

A fairy, the kind she only saw in storybooks, was right in front of her.

Finn fluttered over and perched on Ellie’s head.

“Ellie, I heard you’re baking bread with Lucy today? I’ll help too. But in return, show me the garden after we’re done. Lucy said there’s a beautiful garden here.”

“Oh, okay…!”

Ellie’s voice trembled with excitement.

“Then let’s head to the kitchen right away!”

Ellie energetically led Finn and Lucy to the castle’s kitchen.

Lucy stood in front of the oven, staring intently at the recipe with a serious expression.

She was gripping the recipe so tightly that the edges were slightly crumpled.

“I have to succeed this time…”

With that determination, she meticulously checked each step one by one.

She couldn’t mess this up like she did with the mushroom dish.

If she did, she’d become a laughingstock to Ellie and Finn.

Lucy began baking the bread earnestly, following the recipe faithfully.

“Lucy, can we give some bread to my dad after we’re done?”

Ellie asked from beside her.

“He said he wanted to try it yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah…”

A look of tension crossed Lucy’s face.

If the lord was going to eat the bread, she absolutely couldn’t mess it up.

Her honor was on the line.

A short while later, Lucy carefully began taking the bread out of the oven.

Her expression was as resolute as a general at the decisive moment of a battle.

The air around them grew heavy, and even Finn and Ellie held their breath as they watched Lucy’s every move.

Finally, the bread came out of the oven.

“…”

Lucy’s eyes trembled slightly.

One side of the bread was burnt black, the other side was undercooked and soggy, and the overall shape was… odd.

“Isn’t this… a complete failure?”

Finn fluttered her wings and pointed at the bread.

Beside her, Ellie was covering her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter.

“…”

After a moment of silence, Lucy quietly spoke.

“It’s a success.”

“Huh…?”

“It’s exactly what I wanted.”

“…?”

Finn and Ellie exchanged confused looks.

The bread Lucy had made was clearly a disaster by anyone’s standards.

“How are we supposed to eat this? Even a demon wouldn’t touch this…”

At Finn’s words, Lucy raised one corner of her mouth.

“The demon will eat it. If it doesn’t, I’ll force it to.”

“…”

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Oh hey kar, look, someone wrote you into the story!

The translator for Salvatore has made his cameo into this story as Lucy!!