The Lord's 'Gift' (2)
All were asleep in the pitch-black dead of night.
I couldn't sleep and tossed and turned in my bedroom.
Saving the young master was good, but what should I do now?
Am I a burden to the Scarlet family?
A knight who can't wield a sword—what can I possibly do?
Even if it's a wound from saving my lord, it was my carelessness that put him in danger in the first place. Can I call it a wound of honor?
In the midst of that sleepless night,
Creak.
the sound of the door opening echoed.
Though unlikely, I thought the leader of the fleeing mercenaries might have come for revenge. The moment I heard the sound, I stopped tossing and pretended to sleep.
Thud, thud.
Someone who opened the door approached me.
In case it was an enemy come to harm me, I gathered mana to respond and sensed a presence...
It was Young Master Luke.
Wh-why is the young master here?
It's the middle of the night.
Even as his guard knight, entering an adult woman's bedroom like this...
...Come to think of it, the young master is at that age now, isn't he?
He's never shown interest in women before, but he's reaching the age where he might start.
Still, sneaking into his guard knight's bedroom...
...If it's the young master, I'd actually welcome it.
But I have no experience—I couldn't satisfy him...
If he ends up disappointed in me...
"Hans."
I flinched involuntarily at the sound of the young master calling my name.
For some reason, I didn't want him to know I was awake.
I just wanted to pretend to be asleep and see what he intended to do to me.
"Sorry, Hans."
The young master knelt by the bed, brought his face close to mine, and gazed at me.
"I foolishly thought I could control the mercenaries. This is reality, not that world I knew."
Does he mean this world isn't like the one in his books? He's certainly clever and knowledgeable, but without experience, he could get hurt dealing with mercenaries.
I never imagined they'd be so faithless and greedy either.
It's not the young master's fault—it's mine for failing to support him properly.
"Because of me... because of me, Hans..."
Young master...
"Hans. Alright, let's give it a try."
...Pardon? Try what?
"...With this, my..."
N-no way!
"Gift!"
With his noble young master's...
...No, a "Gift"?
Young master, you have a Gift?
"...If I can just use this, I might be able to save you, Hans."
What Gift does the young master have...?
"But the condition... Can I even use it?"
Condition?
Come to think of it, I've heard some Gifts have tricky conditions. Like needing complex prerequisites to manifest, or offering some sacrifice to activate.
The young master's Gift—don't tell me!
"...Yeah. If I've made up my mind, I have to try. How long am I going to keep agonizing over it?"
The young master stood, placed his hand on my forehead.
A warm... young master's hand.
An immense light poured from his hand.
A light so intense it pierced even through my closed eyelids.
Then, a warm energy flowed from his hand through my forehead into my body.
Not the mana of mages, nor the holy power of priests—an unidentified energy.
The mysterious energy gently enveloped the wounds still lingering in my body, wounds even priests couldn't heal.
A warm, comforting sensation.
After a moment, the warm energy faded, and the pain in my body vanished with it.
Instinctively, I knew every scar on my body was gone.
"...The pain... the wounds. Young master, what just...?"
Too shocked, I forgot I was pretending to sleep and bolted upright.
"H-Hans. You're awake."
The young master said, startled.
"Hans... don't tell anyone about this."
With those words, he lost consciousness and collapsed.
"Y-Young master!"
I leaped from the bed and caught him as he fell limp.
Young master... as expected, your Gift demands some price.
To even pass out like this—what could the cost be?
I was too frantic from his collapse to properly check my body, but it felt completely healed.
All those wounds, ones even priests couldn't mend, were gone.
Achieving something like this must require an enormous price for a Gift.
Guessing... lifespan, memories, health, soul... or maybe hair roots.
I've heard of Gifts that demand hair roots as payment.
Of course, the young master would still be beautiful without hair,
but whether hair roots or lifespan, whatever it was, it was far too great a price just to heal a mere guard knight's hand.
Young master...
Even though my failure as a guard knight led to your bad experience, for a useless knight like me...
I stood abruptly and laid the young master on my bed.
"Hanna Scarlet. I swear to dedicate my sword, my body, everything I have to Young Master Luke."
It's my bed, rumpled and smelling of me from all the tossing... but given the emergency of his collapse, it's fine to lay him here, right?
Wait—then the young master's scent will be on my bed!
...I should ask the servants not to take this bedding and blanket from me. Ten gold coins should do it...?
Of all times to use my Gift for the first time—in front of Hans, no less—I passed out.
My Gift doesn't normally cause fainting...
But before that, my young body had endured grueling marches through ten ruins,
a desperate escape from mercenaries trying to kill me,
and watching my devoted guard knight suffer permanent disability because of me—only for her to be healed.
Exhausted to the extreme, everything ending brought relief, and I blacked out right after healing her in front of Hans.
Seeing that, she got the wrong idea and assumed my Gift required sacrificing something vital.
Thanks to my warning, she hasn't told anyone about my Gift,
but ever since, she's been nagging me not to use it.
I've kept telling her it doesn't cost anything huge, but without revealing what my Gift actually is, she doesn't believe me.
To explain it, I'd have to admit I'm the author of Bible for Continent Dwellers—and even to my loyal guard knight Hans, I couldn't do that.
She probably wouldn't believe it anyway.
Still, thanks to her, I didn't need to make up weird excuses to the soldiers or knights this time either—but now I'm stuck with her lectures.
"Anyway, young master, no matter what happens at the academy, you must not use that Gift. Understood?"
"...Got it."
"Good. A clever young master like you will surely shine at the academy too. Ah, young master—hold my waist tight. You might fall if you don't."
Right now, I was sitting behind Hans, who was riding the horse.
As she said, I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind.
"...Like this?"
"Ah... y-yes, perfect♡."
A strange sound leaked from her—like the moan of a woman lost in pleasure...
"What was that?"
"N-nothing! You're doing great. W-we're going like this!"
Must've been the wind playing tricks.
Creak.
"You summoned me, Your Grace."
"Oh, my Lulu. Yes. Come here."
Thump.
"Yes, my dear Lulu. Did you see young master Luke off well today?"
"Yes. It was hard letting him go, but I did."
"Ooh, I understand your feelings as his mother. It's because of that time he was in danger during the ruins expedition, right?"
"Yes, exactly, Your Grace."
"But don't worry. The guard knight going with him, Hanna Scarlet, has pushed herself relentlessly since that incident and is on the verge of sword expert upper tier. She'll protect Luke well. And above all..."
The grand duke continued, embracing his wife.
"Deus watches over him."
"Deus?"
"Yes. Deus is..."
—Leopard Perseino.
"Wh-what? Lulu?"
—Do I still look like Lulu to you?
"C-could it be—you...!"
—Leopard, son of Reynopard. I speak to you as Luke's true mother.
!!!