Chapter 25

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The Lord of Leyton decided to grant Ed’s request.

He agreed to show leniency towards Michela.

Of course, even so, she could not escape heavy punishment due to the crimes she had committed.

Instead of executing Michela, the Lord of Leyton decided to imprison her in the northern tower of the castle.

The northern tower of the castle was a space previously used as a prison.

It was mainly used to hold high-ranking prisoners of war from enemy forces.

Unlike the underground dungeon, it had the bare minimum living space, but it was still a prison.

The fact that she would be confined there remained unchanged.

“You will spend the rest of your life imprisoned there, cut off from the outside world. There will be no exceptions.”

At the Lord of Leyton’s words, Michela bowed her head deeply.

Being executed versus spending the rest of her life imprisoned.

It was hard to say which was better.

“Ron and Ellie will be allowed to visit you once a month, for exactly one hour. This, too, will have no exceptions.”

Michela shed tears.

“…Th-thank you.”

“Take her away.”

“Sob, sob, huuu…”

Michela was led away by the soldiers, sobbing.

Everyone in the office quietly watched as she was taken away.

Shortly after she disappeared, the Lord of Leyton turned to Theodore.

“Theodore, your contribution to this matter was significant. It is my gratitude to you for subduing Groose at the right moment, things didn’t escalate further because of you.”

Theodore made an awkward expression.

It wasn’t him who had subdued Groose—it was Lucy.

However, Lucy wanted to keep it a secret and had credited Theodore with the deed.

“By the way, I didn’t know your skills were so excessive. I never expected you to reduce Groose to such a state. I highly commend your sense of justice and loyalty.”

“Haha…”

Theodore let out an awkward laugh.

“I only did what had to be done…”

“Yes, you did very well. That’s why I want to give you a special gift.”

The Lord of Leyton spoke to the butler standing by the door.

“Bring Aurora.”

“…!”

At that moment, the butler’s face was filled with astonishment.

Not just the butler, but everyone in the office wore expressions of surprise.

Theodore, too, was greatly shaken.

And for good reason—Aurora was a treasured heirloom of the Leyton family.

A legendary sword said to have been forged by dwarves in the past.

It was a sword that symbolized the Leyton family.

Giving Aurora to Theodore was a sign of the Lord of Leyton’s deep trust in him.

A short while later, the butler carefully returned with Aurora.

The faintly glowing sword seemed to radiate a powerful aura even at a glance.

The Lord of Leyton personally drew the sword and handed it to Theodore.

“Theodore. From now on, this sword is yours. I hope you will continue to protect our family and, above all, guard Ed until the very end.”

“…It’s an honor.”

Theodore knelt and respectfully accepted the sword.

A sense of great responsibility and duty welled up within him.

“…I will dedicate everything I have to protect Young Master Ed and the Leyton family.”

◈

Several days passed.

Michela was imprisoned in the northern tower, and Groose was finally executed this morning.

Several soldiers who had followed Groose were also punished according to their crimes.

Michela’s son, Ron, showed little reaction to the news of his mother’s imprisonment in the northern tower.

He simply continued to quietly read his books as usual.

But Ellie was different.

Ellie locked her door tightly and refused to come out. She didn’t eat and just kept crying.

She refused to speak with the Lord of Leyton, and it was the same with Ed.

“…That’s why I came to find you.”

Ed said to Lucy.

“I thought maybe Ellie would talk to you…”

Ed, along with Theodore, had come to Lucy’s house.

That day, after the banquet was interrupted, Lucy had immediately left the castle.

She hadn’t been able to properly say goodbye to Ed, Ellie, or Ron. The atmosphere hadn’t allowed for it.

So Ed had been worried about Lucy, and with Ellie’s situation on his mind, he decided to visit Lucy today.

“Do you think you could meet Ellie?”

“…”

Lucy made a slightly annoyed expression.

She was, in fact, a little annoyed.

It wasn’t that far from her house to the castle, but it was still a distance that required riding a horse.

Moreover, she wasn’t sure if meeting Ellie would really make a difference.

Her mother had been imprisoned in the northern tower, and from now on, she would only be able to see her once a month, for exactly one hour.

It was probably hard for Ellie to accept. 

Of course, it was better than losing her mother entirely.

“I’m not sure if my going will help.”

Comforting a young girl wasn’t something Lucy was confident about.

If it were about killing someone, that would be another story.

“You’ll do better than Father or me. Ellie really took a liking to you that day.”

At Ed’s words, Lucy nodded slightly.

Ellie had indeed taken a liking to her that day.

A little too much, in fact.

She had clung to Lucy, wrapping her arms around her, and kept shoving food into her mouth.

Honestly, Lucy didn’t dislike it.

Ellie was very cute. She smelled nice, and her hands were soft.

If it had been someone like Groose clinging to her or trying to feed her, Lucy would have immediately used her skills to eliminate them.

“Alright, I’ll meet her.”

At Lucy’s words, Ed smiled brightly.

“Thank you, Lucy!”

“But can we eat there?”

Behind Lucy, in the kitchen, her grandfather and Kairos were enjoying a mushroom feast.

Stir-fried mushrooms, mushroom stew, mushroom soup…

Lucy hadn’t realized there were so many dishes you could make with mushrooms.

“Sure, let’s eat together! I’ll tell the chef to make whatever you want.”

“Good.”

Lucy smiled faintly.

“Then wait a moment. I’ll go tell Grandfather.”

“Okay.”

Lucy turned and approached her grandfather.

“Grandfather. I’ll be going to the castle for a bit.”

Her grandfather, having already overheard the conversation, immediately gave his permission.

“Alright, go ahead.”

Her grandfather, who had been quite worried the first time Lucy went to the castle, now seemed somewhat reassured.

That was because Theodore had safely brought Lucy back that day.

Beside them, Kairos mumbled while chewing on mushrooms.

“You’re really going to leave all these delicious mushrooms behind?”

“You eat a lot. I’ll eat at the castle.”

“Alright.”

“Kai.”

Lucy placed a hand on Kairos’s shoulder.

“I’m counting on you again.”

She was asking him to look after her grandfather.

Kairos nodded.

“You don’t need to worry. As long as I’m here, nothing will go wrong.”

“Thank you.”

That day, when Lucy returned home, Kairos had already dealt with the mercenaries sent by Groose and even incinerated their bodies cleanly.

There shouldn’t be any issues this time either.

“I’ll be back.”

Lucy left the house with peace of mind.

◈

The figure huddled under the blanket on the bed looked like a small hedgehog.

Every time she sobbed, the small body beneath the blanket trembled.

“Sob… hic… Mom…”

Ellie was crying under the blanket. It had been days since she started crying, but her tears showed no sign of drying up.

“…Young lady, please eat something. You must be hungry…”

From beyond the door, the maid’s worried voice could be heard.

“It’s been days since you’ve eaten anything…”

Ellie didn’t respond.

She was hungry, but she didn’t feel like putting anything in her mouth. It felt like she would vomit if she tried.

“Hic… Mom…”

Ellie called out to her mother in a trembling voice.

The fact that she could only see her mother once a month, and for just an hour, felt unbearably sad.

She hated her father for making that decision.

Of course, she understood that her father’s decision was the right one, but she couldn’t help feeling resentful.

And she felt both sorry and grateful to Ed.

If it weren’t for Ed, her mother would have been executed like Groose.

But when Ed came and knocked on her door, Ellie didn’t respond.

It wasn’t because she hated him like she hated her father, but because she didn’t have the courage to face him.

And as for Ron…

‘I hate Ron the most…’

Even though their mother had ended up like this, Ron didn’t say a word.

He just read his books as usual.

Ellie couldn’t understand why he wasn’t sad about what had happened to their mother.

“Miss Ellie, please open the door…”

The maid’s voice came from outside again.

Ellie still didn’t respond.

She just wiped her tears with the back of her hand and pulled the blanket tighter, curling up even more.

‘I’m not opening the door for anyone…’

Right now, Ellie didn’t want to see anyone.

Then it happened.

Creak—

The sound of a window opening.

Under the blanket, Ellie’s eyes widened.

‘What’s that…?’

Then came the sound of light footsteps.

Her heart pounded.

Could someone have come in through the window?

But this was the third floor!

Ellie peeked out from under the blanket.

Someone was standing in front of the bed.

White hair and red eyes.

It was Lucy.

Ellie froze for a moment when she saw Lucy.

“…”

Ellie’s face gradually twisted, and large tears began to fall from her eyes.

“…Lu, Lucy!!”

Ellie threw off the blanket and rushed into Lucy’s arms.

“Waaahh!”

Burying her face in Lucy’s chest, Ellie burst into tears.

“…”

Lucy quietly patted Ellie’s back.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
A spoiled but good child, unlike the mother.