Chapter Thirty-nine: The End of the Dream (Lyos’s POV)
As the music began, Lyos snapped out of it as if waking from a bad dream.
As Lyos tried to approach Karen, Gerluf, the captain of the Fifth Division of the Royal Knights where Lyos served, grabbed his shoulder.
“Lyos, come with me.”
“Yes, sir…”
Grinding his teeth at such poor timing, Lyos followed Gerluf along with Marian.
“Though you’re a commoner, like Lord Sieg, you’ve endured a long period of hardship due to the Bloodline Blessing. You’ll likely have much in common. I’ll introduce you.”
Gerluf was also a commoner who had become a Royal Knight and worked his way up to captain. With ambition gleaming in his eyes, Gerluf probably intended to curry favor with Lyos under the pretext of an introduction. He was trying to get closer to Sieg Ehlertt if possible.
Even without an introduction, Lyos had planned to approach him himself. To clear up any serious misunderstandings that might have arisen. However, as a commoner with no connections, Lyos might be turned away at the door even if he tried to speak up. Having this man’s introduction would make it easier to approach.
“Thank you, Captain Gerluf.”
“Well then, let’s head over right away.”
Looking at Gerluf’s back, Lyos held back a sigh. If he could freely choose his division, Lyos would have undoubtedly chosen the First Division. They were the very symbol of the Royal Knights. But commoners were assigned to the Fifth Division. It was like a garbage dump. He would have to accomplish something notable and transfer to another division as soon as possible.
Sieg was responding to the guests who kept coming to greet him. Watching this, Lyos suppressed the anxiety writhing in his gut while recalling Karen’s earlier introduction.
They were supposedly playing along with Karen’s scam to dispel the disgraceful rumors of being conned… but they had been far too friendly and favorable to her. That pretty boy Julius even proposed to Karen right there. Because the performance was so flashy, Lyos was almost certain it was an act. As someone who had watched Karen for eight years, he could say this. Karen didn’t have the charm to receive proposals from men like that.
Naive, meddlesome, and irresponsible.
She had given up on her own life and was nothing more than a burden trying to latch onto someone else’s. She meddled without being asked and tried to take credit for all the achievements Lyos had desperately earned through his own efforts. Because he had been the target of her dependence, Lyos found himself wondering if Sieg was also being weighed down by her.
Was Sieg forced to accept Karen against his will, all for the sake of preserving his family’s honor? In that sense too, Lyos might become Sieg’s only person who understood.
If he could gain sympathy as someone who had been in a similar situation, wouldn’t that allow him to secure a connection with the Ehlertt Earldom? With noble connections, it would be easier to obtain a title. The day might not be far off when Lyos would obtain the baron title that Gerluf still hadn’t acquired despite twenty years of dedication to the Royal Knights.
While calming his anxiety with expectations of a not-impossible future, Lyos waited his turn.
“Welcome, Captain Gerluf. I heard from Uncle Julius that you lent us many people from your division for the dungeon conquest.”
“It’s only natural for the sake of precious Lord Sieg’s life. After all, you will eventually be our friend and future pillar of the Earthfill Kingdom.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.”
Lyos was disgusted by Gerluf’s transparent flattery. He looked at Gerluf with dismayed eyes, wondering how he wasn’t ashamed to grovel before a child, noble or not.
“By the way, would it be alright if I introduced a young knight who joined the Royal Knights in this spring’s entrance exam?”
“Is this someone you want to introduce personally, Captain Gerluf?”
“Though he’s a commoner, he has a mother from a noble family and has experienced suffering from the Bloodline Blessing.”
“So, he has experienced the same suffering as me.”
Sieg smiled faintly. To Lyos’s eyes, that smile seemed strangely cold, but Gerluf remained cheerful.
“This is Lyos. Lyos, give your greetings.”
“I am Lyos of the Royal Knights’ Fifth Division. Please remember me.”
“I see.”
Sieg responded with disinterested acknowledgment.
Shouldn’t there be a more proper response when someone had politely introduced themselves? Is it because he was a commoner? Lyos ground his teeth. This was the wall of status that had first begun to block his path after joining the Royal Knights.
But it can’t be helped, Lyos thought, understanding despite his anger. If his predictions were correct, Sieg would likely be troubled by Karen, a commoner, right now. It was understandable that he would dislike commoners.
Now, he had to get to the main point. Lyos switched his attitude and continued with a smile.
“As someone who has suffered from the Bloodline Blessing, I believe I understand some of your hardships, Lord Sieg. Though perhaps it’s presumptuous for a commoner to empathize. If there are things you can’t talk about with others, I would very much like to hear them. Actually, I almost fell victim to a scam myself—”
“I don’t think it’s presumptuous because you’re a commoner, but I have no desire to talk with you.”
Being coldly dismissed, Lyos’s cheeks flushed. Pushing Lyos aside, Gerluf fawningly tried to smooth things over.
“I apologize for our recruit. It seems he empathized too much with Lord Sieg’s situation and forgot his place.”
“I didn’t dismiss him because of his status, Captain Gerluf. After all, my benefactor is also a commoner.”
His tone was respectful toward Gerluf. As a captain of the Royal Knights, one receives appropriate treatment even without a title. Lyos would quickly climb to that position. And even higher than that. Lyos clenched his fists, renewing his determination. Gerluf picked up on Sieg’s words to continue the conversation.
“Ah, that alchemist. I’ve served in the Royal Knights for a long time, but I’ve never seen that woman among the alchemists who deliver potions. Was she brought in from elsewhere?”
“She’s still F-rank. That’s why she hasn’t made deliveries to the Royal Knights.”
“F-rank!? But I heard rumors that she created a new type of potion…?”
“She once had a childhood friend fiancé with the Bloodline Blessing. Because she devoted herself to researching new potions to help that fiancé, she had no time to raise her rank.”
Lyos’s heart thumped loudly. Sieg glanced sideways at Lyos. Cold sweat broke out all over Lyos’s body at the cold, emotionless feeling in those blue eyes.
Did he not realize that he had been scammed? Lyos was stunned. If so, this could be bad.
“I see. So she used those research results to help Lord Sieg?”
“Yes, that’s right. However, this fiancé apparently thinks he recovered on his own, and decided that Sister Karen, who remained F-rank for seven years since becoming an alchemist, was useless and cruelly abandoned her.”
“What…! There’s such an ungrateful person?”
“He’s surprisingly close by, Captain Gerluf. A shameless, disgusting person.”
Meeting Sieg’s sneering gaze, Lyos said while sweating:
“I-Is that what the alchemist said? If so, mightn’t it differ from the truth? Maybe she’s just saying things that suit her—”
“We investigated her background before hiring her. This isn’t Sister Karen’s testimony, but accurate information verified by our house’s intelligence network.”
Sieg said coldly. Gerluf shouted at Lyos:
“Lyos, what are you suddenly saying? That’s disrespectful!”
Upon becoming a Royal Knight, to break away from the shameful period of depending on Karen, Lyos had never mentioned anything about her. Therefore, Gerluf hadn’t realized this was about Lyos.
“Come to think of it, Sister Karen also mentioned that some merchant family stole the recipe for an invention she created as a child.”
Marian, who had been standing silently like death beside Lyos, shuddered. Lyos also realized this was about the soap. He had found it annoying how Karen kept complaining about it endlessly.
“We haven’t verified this one. After all, it happened when she was a child. But I fully believe Sister Karen’s words. I intend to help her reclaim her rightful rights. Father, Mother, and Uncle Julius surely feel the same way.”
Marian began trembling with a deathly pale face. With such an expression and trembling, wasn’t she practically confessing to doing it?
If Marian’s actions were exposed here, it could lead to the revelation that Lyos was Karen’s former fiancé as well. Lyos broke into a cold sweat, struck by a stinging sense of urgency.
“I apologize. My fiancée seems unwell, so we’ll take our leave.”
“Hey, Lyos!”
Gerluf’s voice followed from behind. Ignoring that voice, Lyos grabbed Marian’s shoulder and forcibly led her outside.
More than cooked, Lyos and Marian were toasted. Charred, even.
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