Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Chapter 48
Count Brumayer pointed his finger in a frenzied manner.
“Laritte wouldn’t have been born without me! That little girl dared to–”
He choked on his words as soon as Ian appeared.
“The Count has never thought of her as your child, so how does it matter now?”
“D-Duke!”
“Very well. If the Count relentlessly curses Laritte, I shall hold no judgment before ending his life. I’ll make sure of it.”
The Count stuttered in response.
“W-Where is Laritte…..?”
“She doesn’t wish to come out here. I doubt she has any reason to care about you.”
Rose, who was hiding behind the Countess, yelled.
“It can’t be true!”
Ian flashed his smile at Rose.
“I see the lady still hasn’t come to her senses. She came all the way here.”
He took heavy steps toward Rose.
“Have you been dreaming when Laritte saved your life?”
“Eek!”
Rose hid behind the Countess in fear again.
The Countess fell to her knees on the floor.
“I beg you! Please have mercy on us! There’s nowhere we can go. Doesn’t our family’s property appear as dust in front of the Duke’s?”
“Indeed. Why have you come here then?”
“T-That…..”
“Do not worry about your journey from now on. I hear the Marquis lacks the resources to rule the cold north. Many people keep freezing to death.”
Ian gestured to his knights.
“Prepare to send them to the North.”
“Yes, Captain!”
The knights obeyed and captured the Brumayers with both arms.
The Countess realized that their entire plan had failed. She screamed.
“Then, Duke! How are you any different from us?!”
“Hmm.”
Intrigued, Ian raised his right hand, and the knights stopped dragging the family at his command.
“Go ahead.”
“We admit that we’ve mistreated Laritte! But we had fair reasons!”
Ian once received a report on Laritte’s frail figure to have numerous injuries.
The fact that those injuries had to be covered by clothes was very pressing.
“Hitting with a heated whip suited your reasons? Funny. Laritte had been treated as a thorough underdog in your family, wasn’t she? Was it a fair manner to mistreat such a child?”
“Y-You are the same! We’re weak compared to you, Duke! You’re mistreating the weak like we once did!”
‘What a load of trash’, Ian thought.
‘Commoners barely make a living, and the aristocrats are weak…..?’
He shrugged.
“Really? Then, I suppose I’m as coarse as you are. So what if I am?”
“What…..”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve never pretended to be nice.”
The knights continued as Ian beckoned again.
“Duke! Arghhh!!”
His face remained emotionless as the Count’s family was dragged away.
The nanny Ava approached behind him.
“The Count’s belongings have arrived. What should we do with them, Duke?”
“Present the stolen dress to Laritte in a box. Burn the rest.”
“But the goods seem valuable. Especially Count Brumayer’s. He’s only known to possess luxury items all his life. Even his cane is from a popular social workshop. Why don’t we send some useful furniture to an orphanage we have nearby?”
“Fair enough. Clean it up.”
Ian took the dress and stepped into the mansion.
Just in time, Butterfly appeared in the front yard and followed Ian.
“Meow.”
“You’ve gotten fat. Has your mother been feeding you a lot?”
Both of them walked back to the mansion.
That was it.
The house of Brumayer, which was once known as a contributor to the foundation of the empire, came to an eternal end.
On this one calm afternoon.
***
Ian declared as he walked into the study.
“I have a present for you, Laritte.”
He held out a long box, beautifully wrapped with ribbons.
“What kind of present did you bring when you went to meet the Brumayers?”
She asked as she accepted the box.
“…..What happened to them? They’re not dead, are they?”
“You don’t want them dead?”
Laritte’s innocent and indifferent eyes seemed to be mixed with various emotions.
She might have wished for it, but she shook her head.
“Then…..”
“They’ve been sent far away from here. If they behave, they won’t die.”
At least, Laritte now had no chance of running into them.
She seemed surprised. Her living a peaceful life in this mansion still felt like a dream.
“Anyway, please have a look at your gift.”
On Ian’s reminder, she opened the box.
Inside it was the dress that used to belong to Ian’s mother, Selena.
He had given it to Laritte, who in turn lost it to Rose. It finally found its way back.
“Oh……”
She felt uncertain. She was ashamed that she lost the dress of the previous Duchess.
Ian, reading her face, said.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“This is something that the royal court decided to covet because of the dragon’s fabric. This dress made you suffer so much.”
Laritte could understand that he was trying to comfort her.
“Can I present it to you again to be sure no one takes it away?”
He said as she stared at the dress in conflict.
It reminded her of Ian’s mother, whom she had never even seen.
‘Forgive me, Lady Selena. If you give me another chance, I promise I’ll never lose it again.’
She firmly committed.
“If I lose this again, I shall be ready to accept death.”
“What?”
That morbid statement of hers unsettled Ian.
She hugged the box tight in her arms like her own child.
“I shall accept death!”
“Wha……?”
Of course, that day never arrived when she lost the dress again.
However, Ian seemed worried.
‘What if the dress gets lost, and she accepts death……?’
Laritte clutched the dress with her dear life.
For the first time, she had something she didn’t want to give up on, even if it risked her life.
The dress, and the warm people she was living with.
She made a promise not to lose either of them.
Laritte and the veteran of the Knights
Ian was now frequently seeing Laritte on his way.
Today, the two bumped into each other in the hallway again.
Laritte asked,
“Where are you going? With a sword?”
He was wearing black armor. The black plate of copper insignia was reminiscent of a dragon. Any young woman would’ve fallen in love at first sight. People were believed to be attracted to someone with a strong demeanor.
But Laritte was only curious about his destination.
“I have a simple transmission to attend. I’m going to the training field.”
The transmission ceremony was a place for knights to gather before they leave on a mission. With the fate of the nation at stake, the ceremony was held grandly.
In this case, however, Ian was needed to check their status.
“Some of the knights have to leave for the Magee Plateau. And what is Laritte doing?”
“I was just taking a walk. Then I’ll accompany you to the field.”
“Are you sure?”
There was a dullness in his voice.
Ian wanted to distance himself from Laritte until he could treat her normally as a friend. To help himself recover from the strange palpitations as soon as possible.
“Don’t you have any other things to attend to?”
“You already know that I don’t have anything to do…..”
The Duke of Reinhardt lived like an isolated island in a sea, who distanced himself from other nobles. And there had been such a tendency for generations, which is why Laritte became more adamant.
The Duchy of Reinhardt was the definition of perfect.
That’s why Laritte didn’t have much work as a hostess.
Eventually, Ian had to head to the training field with Laritte.
Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Chapter 48
Count Brumayer pointed his finger in a frenzied manner.
“Laritte wouldn’t have been born without me! That little girl dared to–”
He choked on his words as soon as Ian appeared.
“The Count has never thought of her as your child, so how does it matter now?”
“D-Duke!”
“Very well. If the Count relentlessly curses Laritte, I shall hold no judgment before ending his life. I’ll make sure of it.”
The Count stuttered in response.
“W-Where is Laritte…..?”
“She doesn’t wish to come out here. I doubt she has any reason to care about you.”
Rose, who was hiding behind the Countess, yelled.
“It can’t be true!”
Ian flashed his smile at Rose.
“I see the lady still hasn’t come to her senses. She came all the way here.”
He took heavy steps toward Rose.
“Have you been dreaming when Laritte saved your life?”
“Eek!”
Rose hid behind the Countess in fear again.
The Countess fell to her knees on the floor.
“I beg you! Please have mercy on us! There’s nowhere we can go. Doesn’t our family’s property appear as dust in front of the Duke’s?”
“Indeed. Why have you come here then?”
“T-That…..”
“Do not worry about your journey from now on. I hear the Marquis lacks the resources to rule the cold north. Many people keep freezing to death.”
Ian gestured to his knights.
“Prepare to send them to the North.”
“Yes, Captain!”
The knights obeyed and captured the Brumayers with both arms.
The Countess realized that their entire plan had failed. She screamed.
“Then, Duke! How are you any different from us?!”
“Hmm.”
Intrigued, Ian raised his right hand, and the knights stopped dragging the family at his command.
“Go ahead.”
“We admit that we’ve mistreated Laritte! But we had fair reasons!”
Ian once received a report on Laritte’s frail figure to have numerous injuries.
The fact that those injuries had to be covered by clothes was very pressing.
“Hitting with a heated whip suited your reasons? Funny. Laritte had been treated as a thorough underdog in your family, wasn’t she? Was it a fair manner to mistreat such a child?”
“Y-You are the same! We’re weak compared to you, Duke! You’re mistreating the weak like we once did!”
‘What a load of trash’, Ian thought.
‘Commoners barely make a living, and the aristocrats are weak…..?’
He shrugged.
“Really? Then, I suppose I’m as coarse as you are. So what if I am?”
“What…..”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve never pretended to be nice.”
The knights continued as Ian beckoned again.
“Duke! Arghhh!!”
His face remained emotionless as the Count’s family was dragged away.
The nanny Ava approached behind him.
“The Count’s belongings have arrived. What should we do with them, Duke?”
“Present the stolen dress to Laritte in a box. Burn the rest.”
“But the goods seem valuable. Especially Count Brumayer’s. He’s only known to possess luxury items all his life. Even his cane is from a popular social workshop. Why don’t we send some useful furniture to an orphanage we have nearby?”
“Fair enough. Clean it up.”
Ian took the dress and stepped into the mansion.
Just in time, Butterfly appeared in the front yard and followed Ian.
“Meow.”
“You’ve gotten fat. Has your mother been feeding you a lot?”
Both of them walked back to the mansion.
That was it.
The house of Brumayer, which was once known as a contributor to the foundation of the empire, came to an eternal end.
On this one calm afternoon.
***
Ian declared as he walked into the study.
“I have a present for you, Laritte.”
He held out a long box, beautifully wrapped with ribbons.
“What kind of present did you bring when you went to meet the Brumayers?”
She asked as she accepted the box.
“…..What happened to them? They’re not dead, are they?”
“You don’t want them dead?”
Laritte’s innocent and indifferent eyes seemed to be mixed with various emotions.
She might have wished for it, but she shook her head.
“Then…..”
“They’ve been sent far away from here. If they behave, they won’t die.”
At least, Laritte now had no chance of running into them.
She seemed surprised. Her living a peaceful life in this mansion still felt like a dream.
“Anyway, please have a look at your gift.”
On Ian’s reminder, she opened the box.
Inside it was the dress that used to belong to Ian’s mother, Selena.
He had given it to Laritte, who in turn lost it to Rose. It finally found its way back.
“Oh……”
She felt uncertain. She was ashamed that she lost the dress of the previous Duchess.
Ian, reading her face, said.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“This is something that the royal court decided to covet because of the dragon’s fabric. This dress made you suffer so much.”
Laritte could understand that he was trying to comfort her.
“Can I present it to you again to be sure no one takes it away?”
He said as she stared at the dress in conflict.
It reminded her of Ian’s mother, whom she had never even seen.
‘Forgive me, Lady Selena. If you give me another chance, I promise I’ll never lose it again.’
She firmly committed.
“If I lose this again, I shall be ready to accept death.”
“What?”
That morbid statement of hers unsettled Ian.
She hugged the box tight in her arms like her own child.
“I shall accept death!”
“Wha……?”
Of course, that day never arrived when she lost the dress again.
However, Ian seemed worried.
‘What if the dress gets lost, and she accepts death……?’
Laritte clutched the dress with her dear life.
For the first time, she had something she didn’t want to give up on, even if it risked her life.
The dress, and the warm people she was living with.
She made a promise not to lose either of them.
Laritte and the veteran of the Knights
Ian was now frequently seeing Laritte on his way.
Today, the two bumped into each other in the hallway again.
Laritte asked,
“Where are you going? With a sword?”
He was wearing black armor. The black plate of copper insignia was reminiscent of a dragon. Any young woman would’ve fallen in love at first sight. People were believed to be attracted to someone with a strong demeanor.
But Laritte was only curious about his destination.
“I have a simple transmission to attend. I’m going to the training field.”
The transmission ceremony was a place for knights to gather before they leave on a mission. With the fate of the nation at stake, the ceremony was held grandly.
In this case, however, Ian was needed to check their status.
“Some of the knights have to leave for the Magee Plateau. And what is Laritte doing?”
“I was just taking a walk. Then I’ll accompany you to the field.”
“Are you sure?”
There was a dullness in his voice.
Ian wanted to distance himself from Laritte until he could treat her normally as a friend. To help himself recover from the strange palpitations as soon as possible.
“Don’t you have any other things to attend to?”
“You already know that I don’t have anything to do…..”
The Duke of Reinhardt lived like an isolated island in a sea, who distanced himself from other nobles. And there had been such a tendency for generations, which is why Laritte became more adamant.
The Duchy of Reinhardt was the definition of perfect.
That’s why Laritte didn’t have much work as a hostess.
Eventually, Ian had to head to the training field with Laritte.
