Chapter 79
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Epilogue.
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The various circumstances surrounding the two were quickly resolved.
Bjorn’s condition also improved at a surprising speed. Perhaps because he had been born with a strong body, but he credited it to Leila, who visited the temple every single day without fail.
Each day felt long, yet the visiting hours given to them were terribly short. Whenever it was time to leave after a visit, Bjorn clung to her as if they would never see each other again, which troubled Leila but secretly made her happy. As she saw his health gradually recovering, the guilt pressing on her chest slowly faded as well.
She even received an unexpected apology from Allen and Todd. After Bjorn’s confinement incident was settled, the two formally visited Leila and bowed their heads.
“We couldn’t stop the Vice Commander and even participated in deceiving you, Lady Leila. We also apologize for threatening you unintentionally!”
Only after hearing Allen’s words did Leila realize the two had been those ruffians back then, and she was startled.
“I also apologize for asking my cousin to seduce you. But… my cousin still regrets it, he said he quite liked you, ugh…”
Before he could finish speaking, Todd suddenly clutched his stomach and bent in half as if his side had cramped, leaving Leila bewildered.
When she looked at Bjorn beside her in confusion, he merely returned a calm smile.
* * *
After Bjorn was completely released with the High Priest’s permission, their meetings became routine.
Even without making special plans, meeting the next day was natural, and while together they lost track of time like a pair of mandarin ducks.
At the same time Bjorn’s confinement was lifted, Leila left the count’s residence again and returned to her abode above the bookstore. It was easier to meet him if she lived at the shop, and life at the family home had been growing increasingly uncomfortable.
Her father naturally flew into a rage at the willful behavior of his eldest daughter, but after Bjorn paid a formal visit his anger subsided somewhat.
Though he pretended to dislike the man who had been his daughter’s long unrequited love and the cause of her ruined reputation, he seemed quite satisfied at the fact he would gain a paladin as a son-in-law.
In the Principality, where even ordinary knights could neither be privately trained nor permanently employed outside the temple, bringing a paladin into the family was a great honor.
Moreover, since the founding father of the Bailey household had also been a paladin, the Count’s satisfaction appeared even greater.
On the day Bjorn first dined with them to receive permission for marriage, a rather embarrassing incident occurred.
“Do you even know what that rosary hanging around your neck is?”
Leila, who had completely forgotten about the rosary’s existence, regretted not telling Bjorn to remove it beforehand.
“I apologize. Lady Leila gave it to me as a gift just before I departed for the holy war, but I do not know the item’s history.”
At Bjorn’s obedient reply, her father, in a very boastful tone, publicly revealed a fact Leila had not wanted disclosed.
“It’s one of the heirlooms passed down through the Bailey family, a sacred relic created by the founding Count, who was a paladin, imbued with divine power.”
Stealing the heirloom for a man had been somewhat embarrassing already, and above all she did not want to burden Bjorn unnecessarily. However she could not stop her father.
“Legend has it that it protects the wearer as much as the giver’s wish. When I learned Leila stole it I nearly fainted, but since you returned alive it was not entirely in vain.”
Fortunately, Count Bailey did not mention the rosary again or scold Leila afterward. Perhaps his desire to marry off his eldest daughter was stronger, as aside from that remark his attitude remained sensible and cooperative.
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