Chapter 58

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The faint morning sunlight streamed through the window.

Ellie slowly opened her eyes and sat up in bed.

Her face was swollen.

A trace of her crying all night.

But from now on, she couldn’t cry.

She had to pull herself together and show composure.

Otherwise, Ed and Ron would worry.

Ellie took a quiet deep breath.

Morning had come, so it was time to head to Lord Howard’s castle.

To hold the marriage ceremony with Lord Howard’s son, Gulden.

“…”

For a moment, fear gripped her heart, and she felt like crying again.

Marriage.

No matter how much she tried to steel herself, it was terrifying.

She had seen the man named Gulden before.

He had a mean and sinister demeanor, much like Lord Howard.

He was also much older than Ellie.

She had never imagined she would be married to someone like that.

What if he had a violent temper?

She had heard that men with violent tempers sometimes beat their wives. What if that happened…?

Knock knock.

At that moment, a knock sounded, followed by a voice outside the door.

― Ellie, are you awake?

It was Ed’s voice.

Ellie got up and opened the door.

“Yeah. I’m up.”

Ed was standing in the hallway, quietly looking at Ellie. Ron was beside him.

Both of their expressions were stiff. They were probably worried about her.

Ellie forced a smile to reassure them.

“I’ll get ready soon.”

“…Ellie.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry.”

“No, it’s not that…”

“I chose this, didn’t I? There’s no other way to save Father. So…”

“Father has returned.”

“Huh?”

“Father has come back.”

“…?”

Ellie blinked and tilted her head in confusion.

At that moment, someone quietly appeared behind the door.

“Ellie.”

It was her father.

“…!”

Ellie’s eyes widened as she stared at her father.

For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming.

She was that shocked and bewildered.

Ellie just stared blankly at her father, who smiled softly at her.

“My daughter.”

Her father scooped her up into a hug.

“…”

Ellie continued to blink in her father’s arms.

The situation was unbelievable and confusing, but the warmth of her father’s embrace began to bring her relief.

The heavy weight in her heart lifted all at once, and tears streamed down Ellie’s face.

“Ah, Father… Is it really you…?”

Ellie touched her father’s face with trembling hands.

It felt just like it always did. It was really him.

Ellie buried her face in her father’s chest and sobbed.

“Hic, hic!”

“…Ellie.”

Her father gently patted her back.

“I’m sorry…”

His voice trembled faintly.

“I made you shoulder such a difficult decision…”

“Hic, hic, Father…”

“You don’t have to worry anymore… You don’t have to go to Lord Howard’s castle or get married…”

“I, I didn’t want to go, really…!”

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure this never happens again. I promise.”

“Hic…!”

Ellie nodded and wiped her tears.

Beside them, Ed and Ron also quietly wiped their tears.

After a while, Ellie looked up at her father.

“…Father.”

Ellie’s eyes were still red and moist, but a smile had formed on her lips.

“Would you like to try the bread I made yesterday?”

“Of course.”

Her father nodded with a smile.

“If it’s bread made by my daughter, it’ll be the most delicious in the world.”

◈

Chirp chirp chirp—

The birds’ chirping echoed through the forest.

The soft sunlight filtering through the trees settled on the dew-covered leaves, making them glisten.

“Haa~ We’re finally here.”

Finn stretched on Lucy’s shoulder and spoke.

“You’ve worked hard, Lucy~”

Finn poked Lucy’s cheek affectionately.

Lucy also smiled and stroked Finn’s body.

The house was coming into view.

Last night, after helping Lord Leyton and his knights escape from Howard Castle, Lucy had also left the castle.

She then reunited with Lord Leyton and his knights, who were walking through the forest.

Since Lord Leyton and his knights had no weapons or horses, Lucy decided to travel with them.

If she had left alone on her Death Mount, they might have run into monsters or bandits and been in trouble.

She wanted to protect them.

…However, Lucy didn’t remember how they had made it to Leyton territory.

Because Lucy’s stamina was extremely poor, she started dozing off after walking through the forest for a bit. Seeing this, Lord Leyton had carried her on his back.

According to Finn, fortunately, Lord Leyton hadn’t struggled.

In fact, he had walked with a content smile on his face the entire time, and his knights had whispered about how cute Lucy looked while sleeping.

Especially when Lucy had unconsciously hugged Lord Leyton’s neck while sleeping, the knights had chuckled.

—She acts just like Ellie.

—…

When Lucy heard that story, her face turned red.

No wonder the knights had been glancing at her and laughing when she woke up.

In any case, Lord Leyton and his knights had safely returned to the castle, and Lucy had finally returned home.

Lord Leyton and his knights had insisted that Lucy should come and visit the castle again.

They wanted to repay her.

They also promised to keep Lucy’s identity a secret.

This was a relief for Lucy.

If rumors about her being a witch or something similar spread, it would only lead to unnecessary trouble.

“By the way, Lucy, you’re incredibly strong.”

Finn fiddled with Lucy’s hair as she spoke.

“That guy, Kairos, said it. He claimed he was weaker than you. I didn’t believe it at the time. No matter what, it didn’t make sense for a dragon to be weaker than a human, right? I thought he was just talking nonsense, but after seeing you yesterday…”

Finn wore a thoughtful expression.

“I started to think that maybe you’re stronger than that elf. Well, if my brother heard that, he’d definitely say it’s impossible, but you’d only know for sure if you fought…”

Thud—

Lucy walked silently.

She didn’t have much to say since she didn’t know who this elf was.

And she wasn’t particularly interested in comparing who was stronger.

Right now, she just wanted to wash up and lie down in bed.

Creak—

When she opened the door and entered the house, she saw her grandfather and Kairos sitting at the table.

Their atmosphere seemed unusually serious and heavy, but Lucy didn’t think much of it, assuming they were probably researching some mushroom dish again.

“I’m back.”

“…You stayed out all night, Lucy.”

Her grandfather looked at her with a stern face.

“Do you know how worried this old man was…?”

“Ah…”

Lucy shrunk a little.

“I’m sorry.”

Come to think of it, she had mentioned going to the castle yesterday but hadn’t said she’d be staying overnight.

“Did you sleep at the castle?”

“Yes. I accidentally fell asleep…”

Her grandfather’s eyes narrowed.

“By any chance… did something happen with that noble young master?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Well, this old man doesn’t know. I didn’t see it myself. For example…”

Her grandfather hesitated, unable to continue.

Lucy quickly spoke up.

“Nothing happened. I fell asleep while playing with dolls in Ellie’s room.”

“Is that so…?”

Her grandfather stared intently at Lucy.

As if trying to figure out if she was lying.

“By any chance…”

Her grandfather slowly opened his mouth.

“Before marriage…”

“That won’t happen.”

Lucy cut him off and turned away.

She didn’t want to hear it.

She headed straight to her room.

“Lu, Lucy.”

Her grandfather called out urgently.

“Have you eaten? If you haven’t, there’s some mushroom…”

“I’ve eaten.”

Lucy entered her room and closed the door.

◈

Several days passed.

Leyton Castle had returned to its peaceful daily life.

Lord Leyton was always delighted whenever Lucy visited the castle.

He treated her much like he did with Ellie, hugging her or even attempting to kiss her on occasion.

Of course, Lucy would block him with her hand or dodge.

The knights would also approach Lucy, pinching her cheeks or ruffling her hair.

At first, Lucy felt awkward, but she gradually began to open up.

So, what was she doing now…?

“Too slow! I told you, you can’t dodge your opponent’s sword if you move like that! If you wait to see and then dodge, it’s already too late!”

She had summoned Darcan to teach the knights swordsmanship.

This was taking place in a securely guarded indoor training hall.

“Move faster, faster!”

Before becoming a Death Knight, Darcan had been a knight who represented an entire kingdom.

With someone like him teaching swordsmanship, it was clear that Lord Leyton’s knights would improve significantly.

Thwack!

A young knight was sent flying by Darcan’s wooden sword.

“Ugh, ugh… You’re truly amazing.”

The knight who had just been sent flying was named Theodore.

Theodore was Ed’s escort knight and an exceptional knight who had recently been granted the title of “Radiant Light” by Lord Leyton, but even he was no match for Darcan.

“Instructor, can I spar one more time…?”

“Wait. You have to take turns. Go over there and mentally review the spar you just had.”

“Understood.”

“Next!”

“…I’m in your care.”

Among those learning swordsmanship from Darcan was Lord Leyton himself.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Wonder how they will feel once they hear the story of him becoming a Death Knight.

Heh.