Chapter 53
My steps were light, having finished two tasks at once. If I returned to the temple and completed the rest of the report on the higher-level magic beasts, I could finally get a good night’s sleep.
“Knights, are you finished… Knights?”
Descending the stairs, I looked at the spot where the knights had been standing and felt a wave of confusion wash over me. Both of them were gone.
The knights, who had followed me like shadows within the temple, had suddenly vanished outside? The very same knights who had pleaded on behalf of their dismissed colleague?
“Why would they both disappear together? There wasn’t any commotion or anything.”
I muttered to myself, scanning the building, the surrounding area, and even the narrow alleyways.
That was all I remembered.
***
“…make you…!”
“You… how could you…!”
Harsh, emotionally charged voices pierced through the fog in my mind.
“This way is… not…!”
“You useless child!”
Crack!
The sound of a violent impact jolted me awake, much like the time I’d recovered my memories of my past life after being hit by a stone.
“Father!”
“You idiot! A good-for-nothing orphaned girl has you wrapped around her finger, making a fool of you and driving me mad!”
“Even so, how could you lay a hand on a Royal Knight! I, I… even if it takes a very long time…”
“Nonsense!”
The booming voice of a middle-aged man, laced with disdain, reprimanded the owner of the voice I knew so well.
“Play with her until you’re sick of it, hide her away where no one will find her, I don’t care what you do, just don’t let me see this pathetic display again.”
Holding my breath, I listened to the angry, heavy footsteps, the slam of a heavy metal door, and the sigh of the one left behind.
I wanted to cover my mouth, but I couldn’t move my hands or feet. It felt like I was tied up with thick ropes…
“I’m sorry, Lina. You’re awake?”
“…!”
“Father… he was worried about me, so he… Ha… I’ll untie you quickly. Okay?”
Helion approached, flustered, and fumbled with the ropes binding my legs. His hands were trembling, making his progress slow.
“Does it hurt? It looks like you’ve been chafed…”
“What is the meaning of…”
Fortunately, my mouth wasn’t gagged. I opened my dry mouth to speak, and Helion hesitantly explained.
“You said those things… and it… it hurt me deeply. I couldn’t hide it, and I suppose Father didn’t like that.”
“….”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know Father would do this.”
So, this is it. A father’s twisted form of disapproval, unable to bear seeing his son suffer? I don’t even remember how I lost consciousness. What is going on?
Should I be grateful that this isn’t Seikan’s father, who was trying to kill me?
“Ha…”
As I sighed, Helion’s fingers slipped on the ropes. Still, he persisted, and as I looked at the top of his head, I thought, Duke Ziek held the power to sway the National Council. As the head of a ducal house that had been the loyal right hand of the royal family for generations, the Duke, a rightful heir, had known how to wield power from a young age.
However, despite his strength, he lacked the ability to soothe Helion’s sensitive emotions.
Helion’s mother had died giving birth to him, and his academically gifted older brother had left for the academy early on. Left alone with a father solely focused on power, young Helion had withered day by day.
The Duke, in turn, struggled to understand his younger son, so different from his eldest.
He disapproved of his son’s sensitivity, how easily he was hurt by others’ words, and his tendency to cry.
It wasn’t that he didn’t love his beautiful son, who looked so much like his deceased wife. He simply didn’t know how to deal with such a delicate child.
That’s when I appeared.
His son, who used to hide behind bushes and cry whenever he was hurt, took my hand, picked up a sword, and became a proud knight.
From the Duke’s perspective, I must have seemed like a necessary tool for his son.
Just like Seikan’s father, he didn’t openly express contempt, but the underlying disdain was the same.
“Your ankles are free. I’ll untie your wrists now. Try moving your foot. Are you alright?”
I rotated my ankles as he instructed. The chafing stung, but I could move them without issue.
“I’m fine, Your Grace.”
He paused, his hands behind my back, working on the knots at my wrists.
“…Lina?”
“I don’t think I’m injured. And since it was the Duke’s doing, there’s no reason for me to blame you.”
I felt Helion’s long fingers tugging at the ropes around my wrists from behind.
“Lina…”
“Would you please finish untying me? As for those Royal Knights… I’ll go back and check on them.”
Grit. The sound of teeth grinding reached my ears.
“You’re still… you’re still like that…”
“Your Grace?”
“Lina!”
Helion roared, spinning me around. My hands were still tied behind my back, forcing me to groan in discomfort.
“So nothing I do will ever be enough? Ha, haha. Well, I suppose you’ve always been stubbornly principled, even as a child.”
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