Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Can't You Be My Knight?
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"I'm truly sorry."
A teacup was offered to me as I sat at the small table, swinging my legs back and forth.
The holy knight seemed accustomed to situations like this. He let out a long sigh, quickly smoothed things over, and brought me back to his quarters.
"It's okay."
The kids who teased me couldn't avoid a long period of confinement. Their divine power wasn't particularly high anyway, so if I made an issue of it, they might never become priests. The watch-shaped recording orb Grandma had put on my wrist would serve as proof.
Even if the Mirmod name didn't carry much weight in the temple, our family was still nobility. They wouldn't be foolish enough to pick a fight with a ducal house just to protect a few young priests.
"I won't make a big deal out of it."
But I answered in a calm voice.
Of course, I was pretending to be sweet, but in reality, I already knew how those kids would be dealt with.
'Even if I don't complain, they're finished anyway.'
For young priests-to-be, even the tiniest blemish was a problem. It would be extremely, very difficult for them to become priests now.
I snickered wickedly to myself like a little rascal, then looked up at the holy knight in front of me.
It was a pretty magnanimous thing to say, but there was a calculation behind it.
'If I say it this nicely, this holy knight brother will think I'm a good kid!'
He seemed to see me as a kind child, letting out a deep sigh of relief as he expressed his gratitude.
"Thank you so much. But... what brings the young lady of the Mirmod family here...?"
It seemed he'd only just thought of that.
He looked at me cautiously.
'I can't say I came to see you.'
I opened my mouth elegantly.
In the exact way Melody had won him over in the novel.
I closed my eyes for a moment and recalled the original lines.
"I saw the flyer?"
"Yes?"
"Someone here is looking for their family? Ted, was it? So I came to tell you."
"You... you saw the flyer?"
"Yep!"
He hurriedly continued.
"I... I am the one who posted it."
Ted's pupils trembled.
Of course, I'd never actually seen the flyer he made.
I was just going off my memory.
I quietly spoke up.
"The sketch on it matches exactly—a blond boy with almond-shaped blue eyes. I've seen him."
"What? Where...?"
"On Pellod Street."
The upright holy knight gripped his teacup tighter, as if in tension.
It looked like it might shatter.
Melody's holy knight, Ted.
Even after dedicating all his abilities to the gods, he had steadily continued searching for his lost younger brother.
And in the original story, Melody found that precious lost brother for him.
Ted had given her a hairpin he cherished, thanked her profusely, and after finding his brother, sworn to become her knight.
This time, I was taking on her role.
"If that's true, I will definitely reward you, even if it's modest..."
"Really?"
"Yes, anything you wish for."
"Then... um..."
After a slight hesitation, I decided to get straight to the point.
"Won't you be my knight?"
"Yes?"
He hesitated, then quietly shook his head.
"That kind of reward is difficult. Besides... the Mirmod family must have far better knights. I'm not an outstanding prospect among holy knights. And I already have someone I must protect."
'Ugh, damn it!'
I wanted to curse, which wasn't very childlike of me.
'Someone he has to protect already?'
I took deep breaths repeatedly to calm myself.
Those words might just be a smokescreen. In the original story, he didn't have anyone to protect yet.
Since I was from the Mirmod family, a holy knight wouldn't want to follow me even more.
To dispel his suspicions, I smiled innocently and gave a good excuse.
My chubby cheeks glowed softly in the sunlight filtering through the window.
"But Sien was so impressed by the cool knight who saved me earlier."
"Yes? What do you...?"
"Daddy and I are always alone in the countryside."
"......"
"So Sien is scared of the Mirmods. It'd be nice to have a knight to protect me."
Ted must have heard the rumors about me and Dad. For a moment, his eyes clouded over.
Maybe he was overlaying his relationship with his brother onto mine with Dad, so I said emphatically.
"So, Sien needs lots and lots of family to protect me!"
Eyes sparkling.
I placed my soft hands on my cheeks and looked at him, and he smiled as if all tension had left him.
"Ah......"
He might have thought I was a spoiled noble young lady.
But his expression already showed he felt indebted to me.
It wasn't enough to break the oath of an upright knight who lived for the gods.
So I decided to add more debt to his heart.
"I'll help you find your brother too."
"......Yes?"
"I'll help."
I smiled brightly and waved at him.
I meant it when I said I'd help.
"......Even so, I can't serve as your escort right away..."
"Not escort! Just help me. You helped Sien too! I know about God. Ah, not God! Shin, yi!"
"Haha......"
It was just something I said, but Ted's face flushed with embarrassment. I heard him murmur softly, "Of the gods......"
'Come to think of it, Ted was the type who really valued his principles, huh?'
It was a casual remark, but it had hit him unexpectedly.
This time, I'd slipped into the crack in his heart and made him indebted. In the future, this upright holy knight would remember me and reach out at a crucial moment.
'I figured I couldn't take him with me today anyway.'
He looked down at my tiny hand and muttered something softly through his teeth.
"Young Lady Mirmod."
He carefully rummaged in his bosom and handed me a small hairpin.
"......Thank you for your kindness. This isn't an expensive holy relic, but please accept it."
I stared at the hairpin, then froze. I panicked at how casually he gave it to me. In the original story, Melody received this hairpin as a gift and built their friendship from there.
"Yep."
I took the pin he offered and bowed my head politely.
'I'm following Melody's route perfectly.'
She was the protagonist of this world, not me.
It might not be enough to steal her role, but looking at his eyes gave me hope.
'I can't be sure he'll become my person...'
I gazed at his complex expression. The way he spoke seriously about his brother resembled me trying to protect Dad.
After glimpsing his earnest sincerity, I genuinely wanted to help him find his brother.
"Then, in three days, let's go look for your brother!"
Tomorrow was Dad's succession ceremony, the day after was the hunting tournament, so the day after that I had time.
I had to make the most of my time.
"Understood. Thank you so much."
I stared intently as he nodded.
And......
'The face of someone trying to protect their family looks like that.'
For some reason, that knight's expression felt like looking at my own face. I wanted to help him sincerely and wholeheartedly.
Because I knew he felt the same.
***
With a strangely trembling heart, I headed straight back to the ducal residence.
Clutching the butterfly-shaped hairpin the holy knight had given me.
The muscle maid sisters were waiting for me right in front of the temple. They'd been threatening the attendants inside the prayer hall.
"Hahaha! Lady Sien!"
"......Huh?"
I flinched and stepped back. They grinned widely at me.
"We got permission to enter this temple!"
"......"
"From now on, whenever you come here, we'll escort you right away!"
"Like proper maids!"
I stared at the temple priest behind them, whose face had gone deathly pale. They really did look like they'd threatened him, and for some reason, I felt sorry for him.
"Ung......"
I seriously thought how lucky I was to have the muscle maid sisters on my side.
After that little commotion, the next day arrived—the day Dad received the sub-duke and baron's seat.
The succession ceremony was held simply.
With the territorial war ongoing and the imperial palace keeping our family in check, there was no need for a grand event.
But I knew the truth.
As I headed to the western mansion Grandma had prepared for us, I inwardly cursed the Mirmod family.
'These rotten family members are keeping the succession small because they think Dad's just a disposable heir anyway?'
It seemed less than 10% of people thought Dad would survive.
I'd heard it from the whispers whenever I strolled around the mansion grounds.
'That kid's gonna die soon too, right?'
'Even so, back in the day... so who knows what'll happen?'
Their murmuring voices reached my ears.
I strained to listen for information.
'......But in the end, he lost all his power and got exiled, so what.'
'True. Axel and Delphia are coming back soon anyway.'
'Really? Will Delphia arrive faster?'
'Both will be here within a month. The messenger sent word!'
But all I heard was the despairing news that Axel and Delphia would return soon.
Tense and rigid, I clutched the offensive artifact Grandma had given me and thought seriously.
'I need to build up my strength!'
It was the same now. As I bit my lip and walked quickly back to the mansion, gazes and whispers followed behind me.
"Blood winds will blow through the family again soon. Sigh."
"That poor kid's gonna die soon too."
But then.
At some point, the murmurers abruptly stopped talking.
Crack, crack.
Was it because of the sound of joints popping beside me?
The maid sisters murmured in low voices.
"Lady Sien."
"Yeah."
I stopped and looked up, met by their dark expressions.
From their faces, even the muscle maids—who were cheerful about muscles but a bit gloomy about ears—had heard the nasty whispers.
"Shall we handle them right away?"
"All preparations are complete."
......What was with this speech pattern?
'Where the heck did they pick up that weird way of talking, these sisters!'
I wondered if they'd been like that even when dealing with the education director's spies, and it made me feel a bit uneasy.
'It's scary!'
The people, intimidated by their fierce aura, turned their heads forward.
"W-What? Why watch the eyes of people who are about to die?"
"Sigh, exiles making a comeback. Once Axel returns, those ones!"
"Axel? No need to go that far. Delphia will handle it when she comes!"
Of course, some kept spewing villainous curses like proper bad guys. They brazenly lifted their chins as if acting tough, deliberately raising their voices.
'I get how you feel.'
I stared at them and grinned.
"Hehe, Daddy won't die for sure."
"Of course. We know everything."
"Then, shall we handle these loose-lipped fools in Sir Matthias's name?"
"Huh? Daddy's name?"
For a moment, I thought I'd misheard and tilted my head.
Handling them in Dad's name? Then my soft-hearted, pure Dad would be hugely shocked.
He might tremble in his hands, thinking he'd had people dealt with, and mope around for days with a gloomy face. Just imagining it made my heart ache. But oblivious to my feelings, the maids chorused loudly.
"Yes? Lady Sien! Give the order!"
Firmly shaking my head at nonsense was one of my specialties. I vigorously shook my head no.
"No way. Daddy's heart would hurt and tears would flow!"
"Huh, hahaha......?"
"Lady Sien......"
The muscle maid sisters seemed to oddly avoid my gaze.
'Why that expression?'