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Chapter 90
“Thirteen Breads. The Tower on the Swamp (5)”:
“Until when are we supposed to just stand here like this?”
“Oh my, you’re not even afraid.”
“I’m asking how long I should stand here.”
“If you promise to obey our orders for life, we could release you immediately.”
“Don’t spout nonsense. If you want to negotiate, bring me something worth discussing.”
The elder intended to use Ellie as a hostage to bind Edmund. Even though Edmund was losing his temper, the elder remained unfazed.
The fact that Edmund didn’t resist showed just how effective Ellie was as a hostage.
If he acted on his anger and killed everyone, that would have been the end. But by holding back, Edmund revealed what he truly wanted to protect—not just Ellie’s life, but the life she had in Rayard: her bakery, and her peaceful days.
A pitifully small and fragile wish, almost laughable.
They had been struggling to control a monster that raged like a mad fish, and here was the leash that just barely worked.
“We judged that this was a story likely to work. Consider it, and call us again when you’ve decided.”
“Hey, raccoon! Stop right there!”
If he wanted, Edmund could have broken free from this restraint in an instant.
He wasn’t afraid because no one here could harm him. But Ellie was different.
Ellie cherished her bakery and was, in fact, quite fragile. Unlike him, she couldn’t endure rough treatment.
Edmund didn’t want to harm her in any way.
‘She must have hated me.’
He felt bad for not being able to say anything and simply sending her back, but he couldn’t show her this side either.
Edmund’s life had been extremely unfortunate, but it was clear. Precisely speaking, there was only anger.
Now, however, he had no idea what to do.
Ellie was far too precious; he was so afraid of hurting her that he couldn’t move.
‘I’ve never done business or politics, you know.’
He was confident in magic, but that alone couldn’t help. Not like Morris.
Edmund had only destroyed things; he had never protected anyone.
He hated the thought of losing sight of Ellie, of being misunderstood while unable to help.
He was frozen with fear that he might destroy Ellie or the things she valued.
“Tonight, Miss Greenwood is invited for dinner, so don’t be rude. Your last clumsy lies won’t work this time.”
“Mother, I was really unwell.”
“Really? I’d like to believe you, but your complexion looked too good for someone supposedly sick.”
Even her reprimanding tone lacked any pitch.
Mrs. Cronin—Ellie’s mother, Vivian—cleaned her mouth with a napkin and said,
“I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses, but you have so many shortcomings. I wish I could watch over you, but I have unavoidable appointments.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t deliberately offend anyone.”
“Good, you should. You will one day lead that family, so you must lay the groundwork now. The Greenwood family is very prestigious. That only daughters were born this generation is a minor misfortune.”
“Reasonable enough.”
“The eldest has been studying to be the successor of the Cronin family, the second has already been working as your father’s assistant, but you, the youngest, insisted on pointless swordplay, making me so embarrassed.”
“You’ve made your point clear…”
“And not the guards, but why join the Badger Knights? What were you planning to do? Clean up monsters outside the castle and uncivilized people…?”
“Is that all you wanted to tell me? Just to behave well with Miss Greenwood?”
“…I truly don’t know why you turned out to be such a rebellious child.”
‘I don’t know either, Mother.’
Ben forced a faint smile, greeted Vivian, and left her presence.
Being inside the house was stifling, like his throat was being squeezed.
It felt like standing on a cliff in ill-fitting clothes. In a place where every expression, gaze, and gesture was scrutinized, there was no way to relax.
At the Cronin mansion, there was no space to be alone.
Someone was always watching, and inevitably, the Cronin family would hear about it.
No matter how secretly he moved, they knew everything.
Ben had never once hidden anything from his family while growing up—not because he didn’t want to, but because they always found out.
Even childish hopes and minor rebellions were in their hands.
That was why Ben could say nothing to Ellie or Morris.
‘Pathetic.’
Duke McClure did nothing.
In fact, this was just a gap Ben had created for himself.
Though there was no direct threat toward Ellie, merely hinting that he knew her left Ben unable to move.
It was such a humiliating sight. He felt self-loathing.
Ellie seemed to be in a slightly worse situation for a moment.
Morris must have anticipated all of this.
Rumors like these could be solved quickly if given time. People who cursed endlessly could, with the right opportunity, flip and shower praise as if nothing happened.
People could lift someone up to the clouds for fun, and then crush them if something went wrong. Reputation worked that way.
So Ellie only needed Morris; she had nothing to worry about.
‘That man probably already knew this.’
Once people started slandering her, it was better to let it run its course.
Once it was proven to be baseless, those who had cursed her would feel guilty and even defend her.
Ben left things alone just to see how far Duke McClure would go.
Time was needed for that.
Ben could guess much, and the sly man likely knew it too.
What he hadn’t accounted for was Edmund and Ben’s position.
It was the price of openly entering the bakery.
Both the Mage Tower and the Cronin family were looking for a chance to crush them at their leisure.
Being threatened to act obediently to avoid making Ellie’s situation worse was only because they were imperfectly restrained.
If Ben had traveled with Elaine in the novel, the story would be very different.
Ben, who had decided to devote everything to Elaine, would have abandoned his family without hesitation, helped stop a war, and returned home.
When the rebellious youngest son returned as a war hero, the Cronin family offered him the successor’s position, but he refused.
Ben received a marquis title solely for his accomplishments, separate from his family’s rank.
Likewise for Edmund, who had only nominal influence.
Only after achieving feats to stop a war could they have influence like the novel’s “male lead.”
If they had possessed great power from the start, they could never have started from scratch as mercenaries with Elaine.
Meeting and loving Elaine, throwing everything away with her, they gained more than they lost.
But since the story was disrupted, Edmund and Ben lost their chance to gain war merits and remained in weak positions.
Even personally strong, that was all.
Individual strength has limits, unless one becomes a mass murderer.
Moreover, war machines and sword mastery were unnecessary for Ellie. They would only be obstacles.
The smell of blood didn’t belong with the soft, fragrant bread Ellie made.
‘If only I had thrown everything away.’
Ben, lost in thought, smiled.
‘If I could have done that alone, I would have left already.’
Even a suffocating household was family with blood ties.
Ben had survived because he couldn’t abandon them.
To forsake family, there had to be something more valuable.
For Ben, that was Edmund and Ellie.
After returning to Rayard, Ben realized what he truly wanted: he wanted to dedicate himself to something valuable.
If he had killed Prince Marc for Ellie, he would have felt satisfaction knowing he had sacrificed himself for someone valuable.
But that’s not what Ellie wanted.
Then what should he do?
He wanted to help Ellie, but he couldn’t see how he could assist her as she established herself.
He couldn’t make convenient things like Edmund, nor cling to her and help with business like Morris.
Being the Cronin family’s third son, not the eldest, he would never inherit a title.
He enjoyed being captain of the Badger Knights, but power was not part of his life.
At most, he could help raise baguette sales—if that could even be considered help.
Ben decided that following his family’s wishes—marrying into a household as a son-in-law to gain a title—was the most helpful path.
The timing had merely aligned; from the moment he accepted the marriage proposal, he had intended to follow his family’s wishes.
It would take time, but he could gain the power to counter Duke McClure’s next move.
Then he might be of some use to Ellie.
A few days ago, Edmund had asked,
“Is that really friendship?”
Then what should he call this?
Ben loosened his tight collar and laughed.
