Chapter 131 (2/2)

When I adjusted his collar and buttoned the cufflinks of his sleeves, he patted my head gently with a smile. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I should have cared for you first. Is your shoulder really okay?”

“Well, I feel stiff when I’m moving, but I am okay.”

Suddenly, I felt depressed. But for the high priest, his shoulders would not have been cured. As someone who has been called a genius of swordsmanship, praised as the youngest knight with everybody’s high expectations, he might not have been able to wield his sword for the rest of his life because of me.

“I’m sorry, Carsein.”

“For what?”

“You were entangled in this matter because of me. If I hadn’t visited you a few years ago… you would not have experienced this. ”

Carsein looked at me as if he was dumbfounded at my remarks and said, dragging me to my side.

“Hey, don’t talk nonsense, will you?”

“… ”

“It’s my decision to have you stay with me. Of course, you came to see me first. However, it is me who visited you who left, vowing never to see me again, and I expelled you again, telling you to refrain from coming to me. It was also me who chased you persistently when you went down to your father’s estate.”

“That’s because of the deal between your family and mine…”

“Hey, don’t you see my true worth? Regardless of the deal, I would not have followed if I had not liked it. Got it? It was me who decided to be with you. It’s my decision. Tia, you don’t have to take any responsibility.”

I was about to give a nod at his adamant attitude when something suddenly came to my mind.

“But… ”

“So what?”

“If you cannot wield a sword for the rest of your life, you wouldn’t say that.”

Carsein was silent for a moment. Then he looked at me in a pensive mood and said, “Well, I’m fine anyway. There’s one more sword I love. ”

“What is that?”

Looking at me blankly when I was tilting my head curiously, he gently tapped my forehead with his fist. Rubbing my forehead with my right hand, I looked at him with a disgruntled expression.

“Ouch! It hurts. What’s the matter? ”

“Hey, I’m a man. And as your superior, how can I move around if I can’t protect you? If I had survived alone without protecting you, I would have stopped wielding a sword out of shame. Got it?”

“… ”

“So, stop blaming yourself. Are you really okay? ”

“…Yeah.”

“Okay, then.”

He swept my hair with a gentle smile. His actions seemed unfamiliar to me somehow. I would have lost my life if he hadn’t protected me twice during their surprise attack.

I smiled with gratitude at this young man with red hair, who seemed to have grown up suddenly.

“Thanks, Carsein.”

“You’re welcome, lady.”

Carsein also smiled at me. When he and I were smiling at each other, somebody suddenly cut in and said, “I want to thank you, too, Sir Carsein. Thank you for saving my daughter. ”

“I just did what I should have done, sir.”

When my father said that, entering the room, Carsein replied calmly, as if it was not a big deal. Looking at him in a pensive mood, my father said, “Will you have dinner with us, too?”

“Of course. Thank you for the invitation.”

“Good. Let’s go downstairs then. ”

I walked after them, who were going to the dining room, shoulder to shoulder.

Although I was not unfamiliar with their surprising engagement, I felt relieved, and at the same, time I thought it was interesting.

‘He and my father are similar in some respects.’

Actually they were. Given that they were knights, there was something in common between them despite their different appearances and character.

“So, can you explain what happened?”

“You know Sir Feden with the 2nd Knights, right? We were attacked on our way home from his house. ”

“Hmm.”

“Because I was still lacking in skills, I was injured while blocking their first attack. Anyway, I and Lady Monique beat half of them, but without the royal knight’s help, we would have been seriously injured.”

My father put down the fork and nodded at his explanation.

“I see. I think we let our hair down because the noble factions were inactive for a while. I don’t know why they targeted Tia’s life this time… Hmm, thank you once again anyway. ”

“You are welcome. Aristia is precious to me too, so I think I should apologize for not having protected her properly. ”

“…Oh, I see.”