Chapter 16
The Male Lead Went Crazy for the Troublesome Villainess — Episode 16
At that question, Lillia nodded with her face still swollen. Then she looked around with tearful eyes before throwing her arms tightly around Rosana's neck and hiding her face.
Seraphine, who had been watching from a distance, finally let out the breath she had been holding, as if relieved. The strength visibly drained from the hand gripping her sword.
Holding the small body against her, Rosana strode over to Kael like a triumphant general.
"......You're remarkable in more ways than one."
Lillia, who had not once let anyone else near her during the entire journey, was now nestled naturally in Rosana's arms.
The child's curly hair fluttered in the breeze. Without realizing it, Kael stared transfixed as Rosana approached him.
Her appearance, smeared with dust and faint bloodstains, could never be called beautiful. And yet he could not tear his gaze away.
A faint glow seemed to spread around Rosana. Kael frowned and rubbed at his eyes. It seemed fatigue had built up enough to make him see things.
On top of an already troubled journey, a crime like this had occurred, and it felt as though even his remaining sanity was being worn away.
Even in a situation where everything seemed sunk in darkness, Rosana alone had not lost her vitality, like an ember that refused to go out.
* * *
A military tribunal was convened.
Not only had they attempted to desert, but they had also planned to abduct the young Saintess — a truly heinous crime. Perhaps because rumors had spread overnight, by morning the entire expedition had gathered to watch the trial.
Everyone murmured among themselves without pause, but their gazes were fixed on the four criminals, on Lillia standing before them, and on Rosana, who was holding Lillia's hand tightly.
Millus stepped forward to conduct the trial.
"They must be dealt with severely under military law. When a knight harms someone they are duty-bound to protect, the punishment is castration, so that they may never leave descendants."
Even the criminal's offspring were viewed as seeds of crime. It was an outdated way of thinking, but it was also the law that had governed knights until now.
Kael fixed the criminals with a cold gaze.
Millus continued.
"In this case as well, military law would ordinarily require castration, but......."
The eyes of everyone gathered at the tribunal turned toward two of the four. The two who were intact were the ones Millus had captured, and the two who were battered were the ones Rosana had captured. The latter two in particular could not collect themselves and stared blankly, as wretched as if they had been possessed by ghosts.
"Ahem."
Ever since receiving a diagnosis from the knight order's healer that they would never be able to father children again, they had worn dazed expressions the entire time. The shock seemed great enough to make them forget even the pain that had pierced their bodies.
Kael rubbed his face with his palm.
They had already effectively been castrated.
"In that case......."
Millus trailed off and glanced at Rosana. Rosana stood with an expression utterly free of hesitation.
Beside her, Lillia, the victim of this incident, clung tightly to Rosana's leg. Her face was still blotchy, and tears shimmered in her eyes. Millus turned his gaze away from the pitiful child and looked back at Kael.
"What should be done, Your Highness?"
The judge, who had always remained just and rational, found himself at a loss.
The murmuring among the expedition members grew louder.
Among them, one righteous old knight stepped forward.
"Please punish them severely. There are many young children in this company now. Unfortunately, that is the reality. I believe we must enforce discipline firmly so nothing like this happens again."
He was not wrong. Kael happened to be thinking the same thing.
"I will take your words to heart."
The old knight bowed his head and withdrew.
Kael rubbed his brow.
"......What do we do?"
At Millus's question, Kael let out a long sigh.
In all his years living as a knight, this was truly the first time he had faced such a situation. He had never even read of it in the records.
Kael pressed his lips together for a moment. They needed to hurry to reach Greystone on schedule. They could not afford to waste any more time here. But if he let this pass with a light punishment, there was no guarantee that something similar would not happen again.
He took in the old knight's gaunt face and the many faces lined up behind him. Each of them stood here for their own reasons. Among them, there were surely parents who had left children Lillia's age behind to join the expedition. Kael fully understood their anger.
Kael closed his eyes, then opened them again.
"Castrate those two, and tie all four to trees. We depart tomorrow as planned."
Kael declared gravely. Rosana looked dissatisfied, but she did not object, merely showing her displeasure with a pout.
"Y-Your Highness! Then what about us!"
"Did you not plan to desert from the start? It seems you have gotten what you wanted. Lady Rosana."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"What punishment do you think they should receive?"
"I think their hands should be cut off at the wrists. So they can never do something like that again."
The criminals, who met Rosana's eyes as she glared and bared her teeth with a growl, clamped their mouths shut and turned their heads away.
Rosana really had changed, in many ways.
Far beyond anything he could have predicted.
Kael suppressed an incredulous laugh. Strangely, he did not dislike this trouble. Nor did he dislike the way Rosana had changed—or her smile.
* * *
After leaving Willow, several things had changed.
Above all, the way people treated me within the expedition had changed. They no longer saw me as nothing but a nuisance, and there was something different in the way they looked at me.
Kael's attitude had changed as well.
He called me over again. After silently studying me for a while, Kael finally spoke.
"I would like you to look after Saintess Lillia for a while."
"You want me to look after Saintess Lillia?"
Kael nodded. Weariness he could not hide seeped into his gaze.
It had been three whole days since I had saved Lillia from those bastards' clutches, right before leaving Willow. And now he was asking?
"Lillia wanted it."
To be honest, we could send Lillia back to the capital even now, but would she be safe there? The temple would push a child forward whenever it served its interests.
At least Kael and the expedition knights treated Lillia as a child. The same went for the other children who had been dragged along with the expedition.
There was only one reason Kael did not send those children back: they would not be safe even if they returned. For children who had practically been sold into coming here, there was no safe place left.
The original novel said Kael wanted to take these children somewhere safe. No one's arms were safe for those children.
How humane.
He's as handsome on the inside as he is on the outside.
The request he was making now was probably for Lillia's sake too.
And doing Kael this favor to score some points with him wouldn't be a bad thing either. But.
"I don't have much experience looking after children, Your Highness."
I'd only ever been an online auntie; I'd never actually had to look after children in person. Besides, Lillia was having a very hard time emotionally right now. Could I really help her?
I'm not very confident.
"It doesn't matter, my lady. This is what Lillia wants."
Kael let out a faint sigh.
"She's a child who couldn't sleep properly or eat."
Kael glanced at me as if choosing his words. The way he rubbed his face seemed to reveal the full extent of his anguish.
What was he trying to say?