🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 42
It was something he had done without realizing it.
He had planned to meet Erin today, yes, but he had never intended to drag her out so recklessly like this.
But after facing Ditrian, he had lost his composure for a moment.
“Sir Erin… are you all right?”
Ferdin felt pathetic, asking now what he should have asked long ago.
He hadn’t considered how startled Erin must have been. Instead, he had probably shown her an unsightly scene.
Had Erin heard Ditrian’s humiliating words?
Of course she had. A Sword Master’s hearing was said to be exceptional.
But to his question, Erin spoke as if it truly didn’t bother her.
“If you mean what His Highness Ditrian said, I really don’t mind at all.”
“…”
“And… when there are many people around, you don’t need to protect me. I’m sure Lady Asilie also feels uncomfortable.”
“That’s nothing you need to worry about.”
“…Pardon?”
“The lady and I are nothing to each other.”
Erin tried to make sense of his words. He and Lady Asilie were… nothing?
In that instant, she recalled how the lady had repeatedly told her not to concern herself about her relationship with Ferdin.
“The lady and I are not in love. …It was only a contractual relationship. And even that is over now.”
“…”
“So… if that was what weighed on your mind, then there’s no need for you to break off our engagement.”
It was something he had wanted to tell her ever since they left the Wolf-kin’s territory.
Ferdin sincerely didn’t want to part ways with her. He knew it was selfish of him—but he still couldn’t let go.
Even knowing that by staying by his side Erin might suffer humiliation… he could not rid himself of that selfish desire.
“So, please… take back your words about ending our engagement.”
At his words, Erin felt her heart racing.
He and the lady… really had nothing between them?
She saw the clear, honest light in Ferdin’s eyes as he looked at her.
Her chest swelled with emotion.
Whenever she saw him, her heart beat faster, she felt like crying, and sometimes she even wanted to act spoiled.
I too… want to keep being with you.
But Erin swallowed the words she couldn’t bring herself to speak aloud.
Even if he and the lady weren’t connected, she knew there would be no place for her in his future.
Don’t be greedy. You decided to be satisfied with just this much.
And yet… she couldn’t erase the surge of emotion that welled up from his plea. After all, she had loved him for a very long time—long before this moment.
“I… can’t do that.”
Ferdin didn’t know just how cruel a person she truly was. That was why he could treat her with such gentleness.
The one who stood at Ferdin’s side ought to be someone bright and kind.
Erin only wished that person could be someone who resembled him. That was why she could never take her place at his side.
If only he was happy, that would be enough for her.
“Sir Erin, I know you’re hiding something from me. I have my secrets as well. As you can see, Ditrian and I are on the worst of terms. He despises me.”
“…”
“I don’t know why you’re hiding the fact that you’re a Sword Master. I’m sure you have your reasons—reasons I can’t even begin to guess at.”
“I…”
“But there’s one thing I do know for certain. You are kinder than anyone else.”
Erin’s eyes trembled. Small tears spilled down from them.
Ferdin reached out and wiped them away. His touch was so tender, it hurt.
“I don’t believe you ever committed the misdeeds people talk about. That’s why… if it’s not presumptuous, I want to help you prove your innocence.”
“You… don’t think I’m a bad person?”
“Not for a single moment have I ever thought that.”
His words were so gentle, Erin almost confessed everything then and there.
That he was right. That she had never done any wrong.
Without realizing it, she clutched Ferdin’s hand. He blinked in surprise, then blushed.
After a moment of hesitation, she whispered, “All right. Do as you wish.”
His face lit up with joy at her answer. But Erin, watching him, was thinking something else.
For Ferdin to uncover the truth would take a long time. Besides, this was something that had already happened in the past.
Even if she tried to stop him, the same events would likely unfold again.
In the past too, Ferdin had struggled to clear her name. Yet he had ultimately failed to uncover the truth.
The Marchioness’s shadowy supporter—the one who spread the rumors that Erin was a villainess—who exactly was that person?
Erin laid her hand over his, and tears streamed down her face.
She could see Ferdin staring at her, bewildered and pained.
“Why is it, Sir Erin?”
“…?”
“When I look at you… my chest aches strangely. I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve forgotten something important.”
His words sounded less like a question for her and more like a question for himself.
Confusion clouded his face as he gently caressed her cheek. Erin looked at him, eyes wide.
And as he gazed at her, an indescribable stirring spread through Ferdin’s heart.
Why does it feel so sad?
He was confused. This was a feeling he could not possibly understand right now.
* * *
“Your Highness Ditrian.”
Ditrian pressed down firmly on the hand of the kneeling knight before him, Roham.
Roham grimaced, but didn’t dare lift his head.
“I don’t understand, Sir Roham. You’re a high-ranking knight, but tell me—what exactly are you good at?”
“Ugh… I-I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
“A knight who can’t even deliver a letter properly—what use do I have for him?”
The other knights escorting Ditrian weren’t surprised at the scene.
It was as if this kind of thing happened often. Instead, they only glanced around, careful that no outsiders noticed Ditrian’s behavior.
Indeed, his conduct was far from normal. Even as the Empire’s First Prince, treating a senior knight this way was beyond inappropriate.
Ditrian’s attitude toward Roham was less like a lord to his knight and more like a master to his slave.
“Sir Roham, I’m truly disappointed.”
Saying that, Ditrian tapped Roham’s cheek with his finger.
The knight stared up at him in terror.
“When something is no longer useful, it must be discarded.”
Ditrian’s expression as he said this was chillingly devoid of emotion.
Still, his sour mood wasn’t only because of Roham’s incompetence.
Officially, his reason for coming here was to “grant a reward for Ferdin’s great achievement.”
And in two weeks’ time, a small banquet would be held at the Academy for that purpose.
That’s probably when Corellia will arrive as well.
Thinking of Corellia, Ditrian’s thoughts turned once again to Erin.
Would she still be the same when Corellia appeared?
If the three of them stood together again, would Erin look at him with pleading eyes, begging for her life as she once had?
Or would she look at him with those utterly changed eyes, like today?
“P-please… spare me, Your Highness!”
“Spare you?” Ditrian tilted his head.
“Then you’ll have to prove your worth, Sir Roham.”
Even as he punished the knight, he couldn’t stop seeing a certain face in his mind.
Those green eyes staring at him—Erin’s eyes—wouldn’t leave him.
The sudden realization that his thoughts were beyond his control made Ditrian deeply uneasy.
His gaze toward Roham grew sharp, chilling.
Perhaps… he could use this worthless man against her.
Ditrian wanted to see her face twist again, back into that old expression of despair.
He spoke to Roham.
“Do you want to live, Sir Roham? I’ll tell you how.”
* * *
Erin was with Ferdin.
He was holding her hand, smiling happily.
His strong arm wrapped around her waist.
His gentle smile felt both familiar and unfamiliar to her.
This is strange.
She stared at him blankly.
Then his face leaned closer, closer. Erin’s eyes widened, fixed on him. Yet she didn’t turn away.
He gazed at her with such affection, as if she were the dearest thing in the world, and kissed her forehead.
“….”
His lips moved, as if speaking something to her.
This must be a dream.
Tears welled up and fell from Erin’s eyes.
But it wasn’t from sorrow. She knew it was because she was too happy.
For in this dream, she wasn’t wearing the sorrowful face she always had in the past—she was smiling.
