Please Confess
Zenle’s face drained of color, shifting from confusion to pure shock. Her eyes flew wide open and her mouth hung slack. I could practically see the swarm of question marks hovering above her head.
“L-Lady Luina is Mom? And Master is Dad… Wait, what in the world is…”
She mumbled like someone who had accidentally glimpsed forbidden knowledge. Just looking at her made me tired, so I rubbed my temples and let out a long sigh.
“Haa… I’m already exhausted.”
I had deliberately kept the fact that Luina and I had become husband and wife—even if only on paper—from everyone else. Luina had found the idea burdensome, and I knew reactions like Zenle’s would be inevitable. Still, I never imagined Elia would be the one to let it slip. In retrospect, that was my mistake. Elia was speaking clearly now and far sharper than her age suggested; I should have anticipated this.
Part of me wanted to surrender to the annoyance, toss the explanation aside, and be done with it. But I couldn’t just leave Zenle standing there like that.
“Follow me for a moment.”
“Huh? Yes? Master, why all of a sudden…”
“We can’t explain this in front of Elia.”
There was no way I could discuss how Luina and I weren’t truly her parents while the child herself was listening. So I grabbed Zenle by the back of her collar and dragged her to the training ground. Only then did I calmly explain the situation.
I told her how I had found Elia that first day and Luina had come looking for me. How Luina had given the baby a name and, in the process, taken on the role of her mother. And how the two of us were husband and wife in name only—we had never held a ceremony or formally married.
I laid everything out clearly so the bewildered Zenle could follow. Once I finished, understanding finally settled over her face. Yet for the briefest moment, a flicker of some unasked question crossed her eyes. She looked like she wanted to inquire about something but decided against it.
What could she be wondering? I was about to ask when Zenle nodded, her expression now composed.
“I understand completely, Master. It really would be good for such a young girl to have two people willing to act as her parents.”
“Exactly. So don’t go spreading weird rumors. Luina’s an elf; she’s sensitive about marriage and things like that.”
“…Yes. Of course.”
What was with that lukewarm response? Zenle’s gaze, laced with something like pity, darted between me and Luina. The brazen look made me consider thumping her forehead, but she must have sensed it. She quickly spoke again.
“Still, Master, if I may offer a personal opinion… wouldn’t it be better to announce it officially?”
“What? Why?”
“You’re not planning to stay in this cottage forever, are you? Eventually you’ll take Lady Elia to the Royal Capital. The moment you register her Citizen ID, the rumors will spread like wildfire.”
“Ah… the Citizen ID. I forgot about that.”
The moment she said the words, I understood exactly what Zenle meant.
A Citizen ID was something every ordinary citizen carried. It had to list one’s name, gender, year of birth, and family relations. All that information flowed to the royal palace’s personnel department and was used whenever a crime occurred or personal details were required.
Modesty aside, both Luina and I were famous enough that simply hearing our names made people recognize us. If we filed Elia’s Citizen ID upon entering the capital and had to record our family ties, the news would explode from the palace outward in an instant. Especially anything concerning family relations—it would spread faster than anything.
“So you’re saying we should announce it ahead of time to soften the blow?”
“Yes. If the uproar happens now, by the time you head to the capital the commotion should have mostly died down.”
“Haa… This isn’t something I can decide by myself. I’ll have to talk with Luina first.”
Zenle’s suggestion was perfectly reasonable. The bomb was going to explode eventually; better to set it off now while we were still out in the countryside. But this wasn’t solely my decision. Publicly declaring ourselves Elia’s parents could be terribly rude to Luina, who was sensitive about marital matters. The right thing was to ask her opinion first. Only if she agreed would we announce it.
“Well, if that’s more convenient for you, then do as you like.”
Zenle shrugged and let out a small, cheeky laugh. The nerve of her.
Luina. Who was she?
The legendary elf archer who had been the only one capable of matching Kael’s rhythm during the Human-Demon War. A war hero whose contributions helped bring the conflict to an end. The master archer who had taken the heads of three of the Demon King’s lieutenants. A talent that would never appear again in history.
That was what ordinary citizens knew about her.
But those who had fought alongside Kael and Luina—more precisely, Kael’s disciples like Zenle—knew one additional truth.
‘Lady Luina has been in love with Master all this time, hasn’t she?’
They knew Luina harbored deep feelings for Kael.
Kael himself was dense by nature and had been crushed under constant mental strain throughout the war. He had never noticed. How could a man who shed tears of blood every time he received news that another disciple had died possibly spare attention for romance?
Yet his disciples, who could observe from a wider perspective, had seen it clearly. They knew Luina loved Kael.
‘Pretty much everyone already knows.’
Whenever the fighting stopped and they rested, Luina’s every action revolved around Kael. Her eyes practically dripped with honey when she looked at him. How could they miss it?
That was why Zenle felt certain. There was no chance Luina would refuse Kael’s request to publicly announce that they were Elia’s parents.
And just as expected—
“So we’re thinking of announcing that we’re Elia’s parents. Would that be all right with you, Luina?”
“…Yes. I’m fine with it.”
Luina’s face flushed, but she agreed without much hesitation. Zenle grinned.
Of course, Kael was only thinking about the announcement itself. He wasn’t considering anything beyond that. The tiny sigh of relief he let out at Luina’s answer proved it.
Luina, however, was blushing furiously and clearly had many more thoughts running through her mind. Her imagination had not stopped at the mere announcement.
And watching her master—who shared the same room yet remained completely oblivious—Zenle couldn’t help but have one disrespectful thought.
‘…Just how dense is Master?’
How could he be so utterly thickheaded that he failed to notice Luina blushing right in front of him? From an outsider’s perspective, it was enough to make Zenle’s blood boil.
Yet her frustration wasn’t aimed solely at Kael.
‘And why hasn’t Lady Luina confessed yet?’
Did she not realize how many women in the capital were aiming for Kael? Five years ago it might have been different, but now, after five full years, Zenle believed Luina’s chances were more than sufficient.
Kael’s emotional wounds had been healed by his daughter Elia. Through that same child, Luina shared a deep bond with him. While he still lived in the countryside, no rivals existed to interfere. Once he moved to the capital, however, the place would be swarming with flies within days.
This was quite literally the only golden opportunity they would ever have. So why wasn’t she confessing?
“Haa…”
It was suffocating. Feeling as if a hundred sweet potatoes were lodged in her chest, Zenle turned her head and exhaled.
Then, with renewed determination in her eyes, she looked at Kael and Luina once more.
‘Fine. Looks like I’ll have to step in.’
She would have preferred to give them time and let them handle it themselves. But she also knew the truth.
‘They both have more than enough lifespan. They’re probably taking their sweet time.’
Leaving these two immortals alone would change nothing. And Zenle was not the kind of pathetic person who could sit back and watch such a frustrating situation unfold.
If her lifelong benefactor and the war hero she respected had a chance to be together, and one of them was hesitating, wasn’t it her duty to give them a push?
“Master, I’d like to speak with Lady Luina for a while. It’s been a long time since I last saw her. Would that be all right?”
“Hm? Sure, go ahead… In that case, I’ll go wash Elia.”
First, she removed Kael from the conversation. At Zenle’s request, he nodded cheerfully and took Elia with him, saying he would clean her up.
With a clunk, both Kael and Elia disappeared toward the outdoor bath beside the cottage. Only Zenle and Luina remained inside.
“……”
“……”
A brief silence settled over the cottage. It wasn’t awkward—just the natural quiet left behind by the two who had stepped outside.
Luina looked at Zenle, her eyes clearly asking what she wanted to talk about.
Without hesitation, Zenle went straight to the point.
“I will help you with everything I have, Lady Luina. Please confess to Master.”
“…Eh?!”
She had charged in without the slightest warning.