Ch.39Chapter 39. Lucy’s Growing Insecurity

The host finally regained his composure and brought the atmosphere back up as the competition concluded.

However, confusion and shock were still evident on the faces of people heading back to their lodgings.

Lucy felt the same way.

The beauty pageant winner’s festival partner?

She had never heard of such a thing.

If she had known, she would have desperately tried to prevent it.

But due to her obliviousness, she had willingly handed Lin over.

Only after everything happened did Lucy realize why Lin had repeatedly asked if she was okay with it.

Lucy, who had simply thought Lin was concerned about her, once again fell into self-loathing.

“My lady, if I may be so bold, choosing me as your festival partner is not a practical decision.”

“Oh my, I thought you might be quite surprised.”

“For the most influential family in the Zramun Archipelago to choose an outsider who works part-time jobs as a partner will leave a bad impression on other dignitaries and residents.”

“See that? He’s not just a simple porter. He’s quite thoughtful.”

The noblewoman proudly nudged her maid’s side to show off her good judgment, but Ganal, who was full of discontent, gladly exploded with anger.

“Sister! I did as you asked, but what will you tell Mother and Father? And what about Gendry?”

Sister?

Lin couldn’t believe his ears.

“What? Ganal, would you prefer that an ambitious woman like me be sold off in a political marriage?”

“That’s not what I meant…!”

“Besides, I absolutely cannot tolerate that man acting like my husband and meddling with our family affairs.”

“He’s the son of the Guard Captain. His family controls all military power in the archipelago!”

“He’s not a noble, is he?”

“In this island, they’re as good as nobility.”

“And what’s this about military power? Gendry isn’t a strong man. You should say ‘armed forces,’ not ‘power.'”

Aibis covered her mouth with her fan and deliberately let out a laugh.

“Little sister, if I marry a man like that, I’ll eventually behead him and hang his head on the reception room wall, or cut off his limbs and display them as decorations at the family entrance.”

“Sister!”

“Someday you’ll also marry in the name of Protek. Being more obedient than me, you might willingly accept a political marriage, but remember this one thing. Whether it’s military power, authority, prestige, or honor—anyone who tries to climb over their master because they have some power should not be left alone.”

Now it was clear that this wasn’t a simple relationship between a lady and her maid.

For some reason, the maid Ganal was undoubtedly also a noblewoman of the Protek family.

This setting wasn’t in the memories of the reincarnated Mr. Lee.

In his previous playthrough, the mature but gloomy woman in black clothes was the Demon Swordswoman, so the detailed circumstances of the Protek family weren’t revealed.

That was the inevitable limitation of completing the DLC only once.

Though she pretended to be a lively girl, Aibis was a perfect noble.

Her attitude of looking down on Gendry and emphasizing her family’s power led to the conclusion that all her previous behavior had been calculated to manipulate people.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

She asked Lin and Lucy with a bright smile, but there was a strange force compelling them to answer.

Lucy in particular had noticed Aibis deliberately glancing her way when talking about cutting off Gendry’s head or limbs.

This woman definitely has something up her sleeve.

“…You’re right. But I wish you would understand that for commoners like us, living peacefully without incidents is our life’s wish.”

“Hehe, it’s the same for us nobles. But for nobles to live peacefully, sometimes bloodshed is necessary.”

Lin kept his mouth shut.

Arguing further would only make him seem impudent.

Whether Aibis was the Demon Swordswoman or not, she was currently the eldest daughter of the most powerful family.

If he offended her now, he could face retaliation throughout the remaining festival period.

“You really do understand well, don’t you?”

The noblewoman extended the back of her hand with satisfaction.

“Don’t refuse this time.”

There was no other choice.

Lucy tugged slightly at his sleeve, but Lin sighed inaudibly, knelt down, and bowed.

Lucy could only watch, clenching her fists until they nearly bled, as Lin slightly lifted his mask to expose his lips approaching the back of Aibis’s hand.

But just as his lips were about to touch her hand, an intruder appeared.

“My lady!”

“Oh my, Gendry?”

“This is not what we discussed!”

Aibis’s expression crumpled as she quickly withdrew her hand.

Lin stood up with relief.

The Guard Captain’s son pointed at Lin, spitting as he spoke.

“Lower your voice. Don’t act without dignity.”

“I would understand if it were another man, but an outsider, and a commoner who works as a porter at that!”

“Well, in my eyes, this man was the best choice.”

“Better than me?”

“Several times better than someone like you.”

“You…!”

Ganal, who couldn’t stand it anymore, stepped in.

“Gendry, that’s enough.”

“Ganal…”

At that moment, Lin saw it.

The way Gendry’s eyes changed to a desperate look when he saw the maid.

A love triangle?

It was typical of a spoiled rich man to desire both sisters.

But Ganal coldly reminded him of the situation.

“What kind of disgraceful behavior is this in front of the commoners you just mentioned?”

Typical noble rudeness, not caring at all about the commoners who were listening.

“Ganal is right. Let’s talk, just the two of us.”

Aibis quickly gestured to Ganal.

“Since I’ve designated him as my partner, take those siblings to our mansion and provide them with rooms.”

“My lady!”

“They’re my guests. Isn’t it proper to show our family’s hospitality?”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Suppressing her rising anger, Ganal jerked her chin at Lin and Lucy.

“This way, please.”

Rude until the end.

Lin fully understood why Lucy had often expressed her desire to cut down nobles during their demon king subjugation journey.

—

After everyone else had withdrawn, Gendry straightened his posture.

“Is this right? I’m doing as you instructed, but I don’t understand why you’re involving people who just came here to earn money.”

A dignified young man stood there, completely different from the spoiled brat he had appeared to be moments ago.

Aibis mocked the Guard Captain’s heir.

“So? What can you do about it?”

“You…!”

“This island is mine. Ever since you Zramun people imprisoned me. The Protek family attends to my needs, and your guard is my plaything.”

Lin’s prediction was completely off the mark.

The Demon Sword Abyss was none other than Aibis Protek.

“Why are you doing this now, after sleeping beside Gerero for hundreds of years?”

“Because the time has come.”

“That’s exactly what I want to know—what time has come?”

“A commoner like you doesn’t need to know. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”

The Demon Sword stroked Gendry’s nape.

Where her finger touched, his skin split slightly as if cut by a blade, and droplets of blood formed.

“Just do as you’re told. Then I’ll withdraw quietly. And the Ganal you so desperately adore will find her rightful place.”

“You must keep your promise.”

“I will, now go. There are too many eyes watching as they clean up after the competition.”

“……”

At this dismissal, Gendry left with a displeased expression.

Though she had called him a commoner, the Demon Sword secretly held him in high regard as a decent human.

“Ha!”

But she couldn’t help letting out a derisive laugh.

A promise…

“I wonder if you humans know how many promises you’ve broken?”

The Demon Sword’s gaze turned toward a distant place.

“Isn’t that right?”

There stood a black-clad girl glaring at her.

Realizing her position had been discovered, the girl snorted and instantly vanished.

—

It was a dinner where one could hardly tell if the food was going into the mouth or the nose.

The visibly uncomfortable head of the Protek family and his wife, alongside the composed Aibis.

Amidst all this, Lin was exhausted from having to make up appropriate answers to Aibis’s persistent questioning.

After the torturous time ended, Lin and Lucy were assigned the same room on the pretext of being siblings.

Despite their precarious position, Lin couldn’t help feeling refreshed after washing his sweat-soaked body.

“Lucy?”

Returning to the room, Lin found Lucy sitting in the middle of the bed with her head buried between her knees.

Realizing she was dejected because of the mistakes she had made during the day and night, Lin sat on the edge of the bed.

“We’ve had quite a day, haven’t we?”

“……”

While the daytime incident was the result of Lucy’s stubbornness, the beauty pageant was truly a stroke of bad luck.

At the time, Lin had wished Lucy would be as possessive as she had been earlier in the day, but as they followed Ganal to the Protek mansion, he realized that even if Lucy had tried, she couldn’t have done much to change the outcome.

Lin’s quick thinking wouldn’t have helped either—being chosen as Aibis’s festival partner was essentially an unavoidable situation.

It was clear.

It wasn’t Lucy’s fault.

“Lucy, do you hate looking at my face?”

She shook her head slightly.

Lin moved in front of her again.

“We just had terrible luck. It’s not your fault at all.”

“……”

Lucy was already deeply regretting her past actions.

That pain had been intensified by Rabin and Adora in Valtercruz, and even the usually insensitive Lin could tell how cautious Lucy had become.

Normally, he might have worried about overstepping his bounds, but Lin decided to change his approach with her.

*Stroke*

*Flinch*

As he gently stroked her brown hair, she startled.

“I’m sorry for getting irritated today.”

When he apologized again, Lucy shook her head once more.

“Don’t you want to talk to me?”

*Shake shake*

“Or is it uncomfortable when I stroke your hair?”

*Shake shake*

“Lucy, we’re companions. Since we live so closely together, it’s natural to sometimes get annoyed, angry, or feel hurt.”

“……”

“But because we’re companions, we talk things through and reconcile when such things happen, right?”

“……”

“We’re the best companions, after all.”

Lin slowly unwrapped Lucy’s arms from around her knees.

Then, holding her cheeks and lifting her face, he revealed Lucy desperately trying to hold back tears.

“I ruined everything.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Lin denied it.

“Being the best companions and having things always work out perfectly are two different things.”

“But…”

“Even if we could go back to that moment, I don’t think I could have changed the situation. What do you think?”

“If I had stalled for time, maybe you could have…”

“Lucy.”

Lin smiled.

“Do you remember the first day we encountered a demon?”

She remembered.

They had nearly been wiped out by its overwhelming strength.

Though they had evacuated the villagers in advance, the entire village was destroyed by dark magic.

“We barely defeated it. Though I didn’t do much.”

His last words caused Lucy to feel a pang of pain.

Lucy still couldn’t get used to this agony.

“Even if we could go back to that time, it would be difficult to win without sacrifices, wouldn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

“But after that, we trained intensely. We obtained special items and became stronger, so when we met demons later, even though it was still difficult, we could handle them much more easily.”

“Yes.”

“It’s the same this time. It couldn’t be helped. But let’s not be taken advantage of so easily next time.”

Lin pressed his forehead against Lucy’s.

“Since we’re the best companions, let’s think together about how to deal with things from now on. If all else fails, we can even cause a scene depending on the situation.”

“No, you might get hurt if we do that…”

“It’s okay, you’ll protect me, right?”

His smile, seen up close.

Lucy was gradually calming down.

“I will definitely protect you. No matter what happens. I’ll save you.”

“Yes, I believe in you.”

“Hehe…”

She laughed through her tears.

There were no sobs.

But the tip of her nose had turned red.

“Lin, can I listen to your heartbeat?”

“Of course, certainly.”

He embraced Lucy, who had barely regained her spirits.

She nuzzled her cheek against him and placed her ear where she could best hear his heartbeat.

“My only ally, best companion, my Lin.”

Those words, which she recited like a mantra, didn’t sound bad to him today.

“Lin, what will you do if something like today’s competition happens again?”

“Oh, you’re consulting with me right away? Well, our coordination wasn’t very good.”

“Mmm…”

Seeing her about to become dejected again, Lin quickly continued.

“So first, shall we practice until we can understand each other just by looking at each other’s eyes?”

“Really? Let’s do it! Let’s do it right now! I’ll go first.”

“Sure.”

Lucy sat up and looked at Lin.

But her gaze was so pitiful.

Red-rimmed eyes that had just dried from tears.

‘I like you.’

A bitter smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

‘I’m always sorry.’

She barely holds back by biting her trembling lips.

‘I want to be loved by you.’

Lin, pondering Lucy’s gaze, clapped his hands.

“Ah! You want to listen to my heartbeat. Is that right?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

If Lin said so, then that’s what it was.

Lucy was becoming increasingly accustomed to basing all her judgments and priorities on Lin.

This body, this heart—all belonged to him.

Things she could have only because he had saved her.

Lucy was simply grateful.

Lucy simply envisioned a life dedicated solely to Lin.

And so the two spent the night looking into each other’s eyes, sometimes discussing what to do next.

And the next day,

“Alright! Mr. Chunsik and Ms. Soon! From now on, we’re going to find Gerero Protek’s tomb!”

All the plans and practice that the two had established the previous night turned to bubbles in the face of Aibis’s demands.