WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Copy Skills with Affinity! ◈
Chapter 38: Promise
──────
Fortunately, it did not escalate to the point of calling the police.
Considering Kenneth's line of work, there would be little to gain from calling them. More importantly, he came to his senses quickly.
Of course, that did not mean he looked well.
Anyone could see that Kenneth was pale after waking up.
“...”
“...”
For a while, an odd standoff continued. Noel kept stealing nervous glances at them, while Sissela and Kenneth trembled with bloodless faces.
It was shocking enough that the Empire's strongest knight had personally come to their home. On top of that, this was a household where both father and son worked in less-than-respectable trades.
It was only natural that Kenneth and Sissela both looked on the verge of losing their minds...
“This is Tears of Sharelpin. It is the flagship wine of a winery that regularly supplies the Imperial Palace.”
“...”
“I heard you enjoy drinking, so I prepared it. Is it not to your liking?”
Whether he liked it was beside the point.
‘... Couldn't I buy a house in the Imperial Capital's shopping district with this alone?’
Kenneth thought that as he accepted it with trembling hands.
It already made reality feel distant that she had brought something like this as a gift when visiting. Even more baffling was Noel's attitude as she handed it over.
‘Why is she the one looking so nervous...?’
Anyone would think that after seeing Noel's manner.
As though she were the one at a disadvantage, she anxiously watched their reactions.
“I am always causing Aiden trouble, so please accept it without feeling burdened...”
“W-With all due respect, what relationship does Lionheart have with my son...?”
He had probably only managed to speak because her attitude made it seem as though she had some sort of connection to his son.
“Yes. Aiden and I have dealings with each other.”
“So, could I ask what sort of relationship that is...?”
“We are going to marry.”
“Daaad!”
“...”
It took even longer for Kenneth to wake up after fainting for the second time.
His face had grown even paler, and he spoke as though he might stop breathing at any moment. Noel herself began fidgeting uneasily.
“Forgive me, but was that some sort of joke from Lionheart...?”
“Noel is fine, Father.”
“...”
Mindful of Kenneth, who was clearly using superhuman willpower to avoid fainting a third time, Noel quickly continued her explanation.
She explained how she had kidnapped Aiden, and what her purpose had been.
It seemed to work. Kenneth took several deep breaths before barely managing to answer.
“... Did he have something so remarkable that he could take on a role like that?”
“...”
“I feel like you had far better options...”
“...”
Even accounting for him being family, that was a level of objectivity beyond cold. It was frozen solid.
Still, Noel could give him a clear answer.
“No.”
“...”
“Instead, Aiden is always helping me. I would like to stay with him in the future as well.”
“...”
Who was this person talking about?
That was plainly written all over Kenneth's face.
To summarize:
“... So, Lady Noel is receiving a proposal from His Highness the Prince.”
“Yes.”
“You picked my son as the target of a Fake Marriage to give yourself grounds to refuse it.”
“Yes.”
“And my son is successfully defending that position against His Highness the Prince...?”
“Exactly.”
“...”
Disrespectfully, Kenneth's first thought after hearing the whole story was this:
‘That idiot should have looked into becoming a live-in son-in-law instead of a con artist...!’
There was no telling how successful he could have become!
“Um...”
But Sissela clearly had a completely different thought.
“C-Could I ask just one thing?”
Having sensed how extraordinary the person before her was, Sissela spoke hesitantly.
Anyone would act that way before someone with the power to decide whether they lived or died with a word.
“Yes. Ask anything.”
“Then when will my brother come back?”
“...”
Noel looked Sissela over.
She was trembling all over, like a tiny hamster.
Even so...
“... I do not think I can tell you that he will return soon. I am sorry.”
“N-Nothing bad is going to happen to him, right?”
A child was gathering every bit of courage she had.
Speaking to someone who held the power of life and death over her.
“H-He's not going to be taken away because he did something wrong, right?”
Because she was worried about her family.
“... Miss Sissela.”
“I know Dad and my brother do bad things.”
With tears welling in her eyes, Sissela barely continued.
“B-But it is all because of me. They both have no choice but to do it...”
“...”
“If they are going to get in trouble because of that, I will be punished too, so please, let them...”
“Miss Sissela.”
Noel cut her off and leaned toward her.
As Sissela flinched back, Noel carefully extended a hand.
Ki pulsed from her fingertips.
“I swear on all my honor.”
The Ki she shaped formed a trail and lifted an object.
“Aiden will definitely return to all of you.”
A pinwheel.
The pinwheel, made by concentrating Pure White Ki as though carving it, rested in Noel's hand and scattered shimmering colors in every direction.
Particles of light drifted around it, and the slowly turning pinwheel was enough to capture anyone's gaze.
“Will you accept this as a token of that promise?”
Sniffling, Sissela accepted it.
Her eyes shone with wonder at something she had never seen before.
No matter how mature she sounded for her age, she was still a child.
Aiden's advice that Sissela would like anything other children liked seemed to have worked.
“Can you trust me, Miss Sissela?”
Still sniffling, Sissela quietly nodded.
“... Then, since you brought it up, could you put it in a contract?”
“...”
“I-I read in a book that something only becomes legally binding when it is put in writing...”
... Still.
She certainly did seem mature for her age.
▣
In any case, after that eased the atmosphere, the conversation continued far more calmly than before.
Sending Sissela out for a while also made it easier to discuss more... serious matters.
“She really loves her brother. It is impressive that you calmed her down so quickly.”
“... It was something an older sister figure used to do for me.”
Noel answered Kenneth with a bitter smile.
It was something the Lord Protector had often done for her in the past.
Whenever young, inexperienced Noel became discouraged by repeated failures in training, Teresa would give her something to raise her spirits.
“Let us keep working hard. I will not give up on you until the end, either.”
“Understood?”
A pinwheel made with an ability. Whenever something happened, Teresa would give Noel one and call it a token of her promise.
Not a single one remained now that Teresa was dead.
But the image of Teresa giving them to her was carved deep within Noel's heart.
“... She must have been a good person.”
“...”
At Kenneth's hesitant words, Noel did not answer. She merely lowered her head slightly and took a drink.
Then she quietly changed the subject.
“The reason I came here was that there is something I wished to ask.”
“Yes?”
It was a simple question.
What was Aiden Kellermain's “Origin”? What was the period before he turned fifteen, erased from every record?
“I do not know.”
Kenneth's answer was simple as well.
“Aiden and Sissela... I actually picked both of them up off the streets. I have never questioned them about their pasts. I suppose that is why we get along so well.”
“...”
... Even after coming all this way, she could not learn anything about that.
As Noel frowned, Kenneth continued calmly.
“Still, I can make a guess.”
“... Yes?”
“That boy cares terribly about family. More precisely, he tries to look after everyone within the ‘fence’ he has drawn around himself.”
“...”
It was an accurate description.
Not only Kenneth and Sissela, whom he already called family. Even with Noel and Katia, who were far more distant from him, he always stepped in without hesitation when they needed help.
As though it were something he absolutely had to do.
“Come to think of it, it is a little strange.”
Noel's eyes narrowed.
“May I ask what you mean?”
Thinking he might mean it negatively, Noel's mood began to sour. Kenneth waved his hands and answered.
“Please do not misunderstand, Lady Noel. I love my son. I am also certain that my son loves his family. But... when he gets worked up, he loses sight of everything else.”
“...”
“You could call it an instinctive urge. It is almost as if he feels that doing such things is his duty.”
There was no arguing with that.
As Noel nodded and rubbed her chin, Kenneth continued with a sigh.
“Once, there was a nasty boy who bullied Sissela. He was tall and strong. Strong enough to handle a weakling like Aiden with one hand.”
“...”
A weakling?
That person?
‘... He might have been back then.’
Noel kept quiet as Kenneth continued.
“Even with that much of a difference between them... the moment he said one harsh thing to Sissela, Aiden rushed out and charged at him. That idiot.”
“...”
“Of course, one punch shattered his jaw. The hospital said he could not move around for at least a month. They strictly forbade strenuous movement. They said he could die if something went wrong. Do you know what he did then?”
“What did he do?”
“The very next day, he put on a jaw brace and went to headbutt the boy who broke his jaw. He told him not to bully Sissela.”
“...”
“That is the kind of person he is. He is obviously not normal, is he?”
“... I suppose not.”
As Noel agreed awkwardly, Kenneth continued with a wry smile.
“Just from things like that, you can roughly guess his past.”
“... And what would that be?”
“That boy must have lost someone before.”
Terribly, without question.
To the point where his urge to protect those around him had become close to an obsession.
Instinct was a type of desire, desire came from lack, and the greatest lack came from loss.
“If that is true, it does explain why he goes that far.”
“...”
Noel lowered her eyes in thought. Then Kenneth spoke again.
“He is usually quiet and will not try to stand out unless something happens... but I hope you will not let him get caught up in such things.”
Kenneth's voice fell heavily, as though he were making a sincere request.
“Because you never know what he might do then.”
▣
... And somewhere else.
Aiden Kellermain was clearly proving that assessment correct in real time.
“What did you just say?”
Laila Bellod Craven, a princess of the Holy Empire and sixth in line to the throne, spoke in a voice of disbelief.
Even if she was sixth in line, she was still royalty. That made her one of the nation's most important people, someone who deserved the utmost courtesy wherever she went.
In other words.
“Do not pretend you did not hear me when you clearly did, Princess.”
She was not someone who should be hearing words like these so casually while dispatched to another nation as part of a delegation.
“Apologize unless you want me to beat you to a pulp.”
“...”
“I will give you five seconds.”
... If Noel had seen it herself, she would have reflected on the saying that family knew you best.
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