Apology
Lucas let out a snort of disbelief, his golden eyes narrowing with unmistakable mockery. “Childhood friend…? What kind of nonsense is that? You’re using that term with your own childhood friend?”
Lucas himself thought the label sounded absurd, yet upon even the slightest twist of his head, the explanation would have come tumbling out without effort. The girl before him appeared childlike, but she was older than him. It was basic etiquette for nobles to address their elders with formal speech.
“Older…? You’re telling me Darin is over twenty-three?”
The Hero’s face twisted in disbelief. He turned his gaze toward Darin, the unspoken question clear in his eyes: Is what he’s saying true?
“Y-Yes! I’m quite a bit older!”
Though the notion of his own son calling her his childhood friend struck Darin as utterly absurd, she could no longer recant now. She had no choice but to nod frantically, desperately joining her voice to her son’s. “She’s been with me since we were little. She even took the place of a nanny.”
“She did all that?”
“Yes. She was the daughter of a fallen noble house, bound to the Bayorn fiefdom when her family’s lands were annexed. She was my father’s ward, and we are like brother and sister.”
“Hmm…”
Lucas swept his fingers across his jaw, his expression one of open distaste, yet he could not refute it. No matter how old the bond, an older brother calling his younger sister with respect was only right.
“Then which house does Darin come from?”
But there was no harm in confirming it properly. Lucas planned to dig through the noble registers, for who knew what wild lies a barbarian might spin. Only then would his curiosity be satisfied.
“Her family is the Orange Baron’s House. Once servants of the Bayorn viscountcy, they overreached and fell into ruin.”
“You’d let a baron’s daughter who committed treason serve as a ward in Bayorn Castle?”
“She was never at fault. We simply took her in out of kindness.”
Surprisingly, the Orange Baron’s House had actually existed. The tale of their rise and fall was no fabrication. The fact that daughters of ruined houses occasionally became wards in other noble homes lent an air of credibility to the story.
“Wait a moment… the family name is Orange?”
“Doubt it if you want. The Orange farms gave rise to a commoner who became a noble through hard work.”
“…Then, Darin.”
“Y-Yes? Ne—!”
Darin’s heart nearly stopped. The moment Lucas addressed her directly, her head spun. If she answered correctly, would he believe her? A wave of confusion washed over her.
“Your full name is…?”
“…?”
Fortunately, the question was simple enough.
“Is it Mandarin Orange?”
“…Yes.”
The answer came without trouble, yet the girl with vermilion hair had no choice but to lower her head and blush. Even she found the name outrageous. Why had her son chosen to drag in the name of a fallen noble house? There had been many more refined ones.
Lucas watched the flushed cheeks of the orange-haired girl and let a smirk slip free. This woman truly belonged to another world. Just like him.
“So the woman you’ve been talking about all along was this one?”
“Fiancée? I never called her that. I only said I’d return home and hold a proper wedding.”
“Don’t lie, Akel. If the woman you’re about to wed is Darin, then whether she’s your fiancée or not doesn’t matter. As her ward in Bayorn Castle, the eldest son’s opinion holds the most weight.”
The Hero’s growl cut through the air. Kael cautiously glanced at his mother. Darin stared blankly at her son, uncertain what to do. Kael met her wandering gaze and smiled, voice gentle as he continued.
“Yes. She is the woman I will marry.”
He spoke with the brightest smile she had ever seen.
“I have loved her for a very long time. I am still courting her now.”
“…Eh?”
A sudden confession of unrequited love? Even with a fixed target, did he really dare swing that wildly? Darin’s face went blank with shock. How was she supposed to survive the hurricane that would surely follow?
“Whoa… whoa…”
The orange-haired girl frantically scanned the surroundings. If the woman in a real relationship with Kael was here, what on earth was she supposed to do? As a mother, she had no desire to block her son’s marriage path. This reaction felt entirely natural.
“Haaah…”
Luckily, only the three of them remained. The sigh of relief that rose in her chest was genuine.
“Tsk.”
The Hero’s face twisted into a scowl. The white-haired barbarian returned the glare with blazing eyes. A lowly insect dares to crawl onto my topic. Given the vast difference in their strength, Akel should never have spoken to him that way.
The men’s deadly stares clashed for only a moment. Lucas clicked his tongue and broke his gaze first.
“Since the moment is already here, we’ll let this pass for now.”
In truth, he simply didn’t want to look foolish in front of the first transmigrator he had ever met. If he had spoken plainly, it would have ruined his image, so he covered it with this vague excuse.
“Heh heh. How generous.”
Of course, the tone was anything but sincere. It dripped with mockery.
“You’ll definitely regret this soon.”
Luke’s teeth ground together, his aura icy.
“If you can, try.”
Kael merely sneered, utterly calm in his refusal.
This damn brat…?
Lucas had always known the barbarian was troublesome, but to provoke him this much? He swallowed his rage and looked at Darin. The time to part ways had truly come.
“Darin.”
“…Yes?”
“I will come to Bayorn Castle soon. We’ll finish our conversation then.”
“…Ah, yes yes!”
What could she say in this situation? Nodding was all she could manage.
The Hero turned his back the moment he finished speaking and strode forward. With every heavy step, his presence shook the imperial halls. Anyone watching would have known he was furious.
“W-What are you doing, Kael?”
She could only shrink back in terror. At first he had been gentle, kind even. Now she saw the temper of a storm. He clearly hated her son and would never forgive her.
“You knew what the Hero is like. Why provoke him like that?”
Darin had never been to the battlefield, yet she knew the Hero was no ordinary man. He was a monster who had defeated the Demon King. How could her son, blessed with transmigrator powers and cheat abilities, ever win against him?
“No, that’s not—”
She grabbed her son’s head and shook it desperately. She had only joined the conversation to improve the situation, yet now she was scolding her innocent child. I really am a useless mother.
“What… what should I do? What should I do…?”
Because of her, her son was in danger. Panic gripped her heart. How was she supposed to fix this? The Hero’s wrath was something even her husband could not tame.
“M-Maybe I should ask the Northern Grand Duke for mediation?”
She paced in place, feet never still, searching for a solution. A habit from her maiden days, when fear of her husband had made her run in circles.
“For now, I’ll tell him I came to Bayorn Castle and somehow apologize…”
Unlike Darin, who was still flailing in confusion, Akel simply watched the path the Hero had taken, expression calm. This conflict had been unavoidable, yet he felt no urgency. It’s just one more mountain to climb.
Kael had mountains to bring down before he could claim the throne. The Hero was the tallest peak, but he had no intention of avoiding the climb. To turn back from a fight was the coward’s way, after all.
Was it his fault for letting his mother out? He had only wanted to keep her from his tyrannical father. No. Akel did not blame himself. His greatest wish was for the Queen of the Orange Farms to live free from the eyes of others.
“Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Kael. I shouldn’t have gone out…”
He felt nothing, but his mother looked truly shaken. Self-blame was one of her oldest habits. Even when she had collapsed among the orange trees, she had sobbed as if it were her fault.
In times like this, the duty of a mother was to comfort her child.
“Mother.”
The heavy voice drew the young girl’s amber eyes upward in a start. The strongest man she knew smiled, gently stroking the small hand in his. Just like when she had hugged her cheek as a child.
“Don’t worry.”
That was why Kael wanted to ease her fears with every word.
“I’ll apologize to Lucas separately soon.”
But for the barbarian of Bayorn, a single axe would be enough.