Ch.2323. Evan Feiosha (1)

The next morning, we were able to leave the village without incident.

Diolia had sent a separate letter to the County informing them about the remaining stragglers in the village.

Since this wasn’t a private matter but one involving demons, the Sianella family, who become intensely focused at the mere mention of demons, would handle it one way or another.

I gazed at the village gradually receding in the distance as we rode in the carriage.

The status window indicating quest completion should appear soon.

As I was too restless to just sit and wait for the status window, I asked Sione, who was staring blankly into space.

“Would you like some refreshments?”

“Huh? Oh, refreshments. Just a little, please.”

If I gave her literally “just a little” as she requested, she would undoubtedly stare at me with eyes that said it wasn’t enough.

So I took out a generous amount of snacks from my bag and handed them to Sione.

“Isn’t this more than usual?”

“We have a long journey ahead, don’t we? If it’s too much, you can eat it slowly.”

“…Well, since there’s so much, perhaps we should share.”

“Would that be acceptable?”

“Of course. I’m not so stingy that I wouldn’t share a few snacks…”

…Yet initially, she used to devour everything immediately as if she hated even showing me her snacks.

I couldn’t be prouder of how much my master had changed.

Even though her words seemed to whitewash her formerly stingy past.

I simply nodded quietly without any complaint.

“I’ll gratefully partake.”

“No need for such gratitude.”

Sione finally picked up a chocolate cookie and began to eat it.

Nom nom nom.

I wondered if she ever got tired of eating so much.

As she ate her snacks, her expression was one of pure contentment.

I’ll just have one too.

As I bit into the cookie, a rich sweetness spread through my mouth.

I could enjoy two or three of these, but any more would be overwhelmingly sweet.

No wonder she gained so much weight, consuming these like water every day.

I couldn’t let my guard down just because she’d recently become more human-like through dieting.

I should gradually reduce the amount of cookies I give her from now on.

Just as I was growing tired of such trivial thoughts,

I finally saw what I had been waiting for.

[Quest completed.]

[Your bond with Sione Sianella has increased.]

[A small portion of your original power has been unlocked through resonance with her.]

I expected the status window to end there.

But strangely, today there was more.

[Sione Sianella’s trust has exceeded a certain threshold.]

[Sione Sianella’s evaluation of you is ‘A knight more trustworthy than anyone else.’]

[When protecting her from enemies within a certain distance of Sione Sianella, a portion of your power will be unlocked in a limited capacity.]

I stared blankly at the status window, surprised by this unexpected additional reward.

I was pleased by Sione’s evaluation of me.

And I was curious about what part of my power would be unlocked when I tried to protect her.

But first, I needed to confirm the small portion of power that had definitely been unlocked.

I closed my eyes and began to examine my condition.

My condition was… much better than I expected.

Despite using elemental magic four times—specifically wind magic, which consumes relatively little mana—my mana capacity had doubled from its previously depleted state.

With this amount, I could handle stronger winds beyond just whirlwinds.

But that wasn’t the only change.

Not only had my mana increased, but I’d regained another attribute as well.

I could now use fire elemental magic, which had been so useful in the dungeon after wind.

Although fire consumes more mana than wind, its power is undeniable.

With my current mana capacity, I could probably cast the spell twice if I managed it well.

When would I be able to summon my own elemental again, rather than just mimicking elemental magic—

After pondering for a moment,

I created a small flame using just a tiny bit of mana to confirm my regained fire ability.

Whoosh!

A small flame appeared on my index finger.

A flame burning with mana.

At this size,

it wouldn’t be a burden on my current mana capacity and could be quite useful.

Especially since I wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of building a fire to boil soup for Sione anymore—the thought made the corners of my mouth turn up.

I extinguished the small flame on my index finger.

As I smiled slightly, satisfied with the result, I noticed Sione staring intently at me from across.

“I thought you could only handle wind, but you can use fire as well?”

“I wasn’t trying to hide it.”

“Hmm…”

Sione repeatedly twirled and untwirled her silver hair around her index finger.

Her expression looked rather troubled, as if something was bothering her.

“Never show that flame in front of others. The same goes for your wind.”

“Even Lady Diolia?”

Since Diolia still didn’t know I could handle elemental powers,

Sione nodded after some consideration when I asked.

“It’s clearly magic, not just ordinary physical enhancement. Generally, magic is a realm forbidden to men. You understand what I mean.”

“…I could get caught up in troublesome matters if I display it carelessly.”

“Yes, unless it’s absolutely necessary in a dangerous situation, try to keep it hidden as much as possible.”

“Then let’s keep this a secret between you and me, Sione.”

“A secret just between you and me?”

“Yes. I’m sure you can keep a secret of this magnitude.”

Sione nodded with an amused smile at my words.

“Of course I can.”

As she said this, Sione put another cookie in her mouth and—

“…It mustn’t be taken away by being revealed.”

She mumbled something.

She seemed to say something, but her voice was too quiet for me to hear.

“What did you say just now?”

Sione merely gave me a bright smile as I tilted my head and asked.

“Nothing, it’s not important, so don’t worry about it.”

Well, she did say it wasn’t important.

Nom nom nom~

Seeing her happily munching on cookies with a carefree smile,

it probably wasn’t anything important, as she said.

I simply bowed my head once and continued looking out the window.

And that day, unusually, Sione spent the time with her eyes open instead of sleeping.

And that day was also when Sione, uncharacteristically, watched me with quiet, subdued eyes.

Of course, while still stuffing cookies into her mouth with nom nom nom.

* * *

The seemingly endless, tedious carriage journey finally showed signs of ending.

I looked at the road where numerous carriages and people were crossing.

Even though we hadn’t entered the domain yet, the roads near the territory were neatly maintained, unlike other places.

I’d heard that the Marquisate of Feiosha, famous as an excellent commercial city, attracts many carriages and goods.

It seemed that the roads near the Marquisate were well-maintained because of this influence.

“Finally, the Marquisate of Feiosha. The meeting with Lord Evan Feiosha is approaching… are you mentally prepared?”

When I mentioned the name of Sione’s fiancé, Evan Feiosha,

wrinkles formed on Sione’s forehead.

What kind of attitude was this, coming all this way to see her fiancé yet making such an expression?

She still seemed to be holding onto hope for breaking off the engagement.

As if breaking an engagement is something easy.

Now that we’ve come this far, it’s time to accept reality.

“What mental preparation? Lord Evan Feiosha probably doesn’t like me much either.”

“What? The young lord doesn’t like you?”

“My reputation and rumors must have reached Evan Feiosha’s ears by now…”

Sione continued in a dispassionate tone.

“I’ve consistently ignored all the letters the young lord has sent me over the years. That’s more than enough to earn a man’s hatred, don’t you think?”

“…You ignored all his letters?”

“Yes.”

“Every single one…?”

“I was busy eating cookies while locked up in my room, and it was an unwanted political marriage. Do you think I would have bothered to pick up a pen and write something on paper back then?”

“…”

…Truly impressively audacious.

I thought she was just verbally resistant to the marriage out of shyness.

What sin did Evan Feiosha commit in his past life to end up entangled with Sione?

At this point, I couldn’t think of anything to say.

I just had to assume she’d handle things with her fiancé on her own now.

“Given how things have turned out, even though I’ve come to visit, the young lord will probably bring up breaking off the engagement first.”

“…Aren’t you jumping to conclusions too quickly?”

Sione shook her head at my words.

“No, that’s how it will be. There was something related to that in the content of the letter he said would be his last to me.”

“Really?”

“Even in the letter he claimed would be his last to me, he expressed thoughts about breaking off the engagement in roundabout terms. We’ll have to meet in person to discuss it properly, but it seems he’s also considering ending the engagement.”

“I see.”

With those final words, Sione began to sigh deeply as if the ground might cave in.

Regardless, the Sianella carriage entered the domain and arrived at the front of the Marquisate’s mansion.

We tidied ourselves up and got out of the carriage.

Sione’s face darkened upon seeing the splendid mansion that seemed to flaunt its wealth.

The lord would already have been informed that people from Sianella had arrived as we passed through the castle gates.

But separately from that, Sione would need to meet with the lord privately to announce her arrival.

She must be incredibly worried.

“Ray.”

“What is it?”

“Can’t we just go back to the County now?”

I shook my head.

“No, we cannot.”

After all the trouble I went through to bring you here.

It’s problematic if you start whining about going back already.

“You haven’t even met your fiancé, Lord Evan Feiosha, yet.”

I declared, making firm eye contact with Sione.

“Please don’t think about returning to the County until matters with him have been resolved.”

Karma, poetic justice.

This is all retribution for Sione’s past actions.