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◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 62

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Request

Elbridge held the butter knife to the throat of the Marquis of Solenion and glared at him in silence.

But behind that resolute expression, Elbridge's thoughts were a tangled mess.

Was it right to threaten someone just because they'd guessed his identity?

What should he do if someone else figured it out in the future?

Could he handle whatever came after this?

All sorts of thoughts drifted through his head at once.

The Marquis of Solenion raised both hands with a troubled expression.

"I assumed you were hiding your identity for some reason, but I didn't expect such a sharp reaction."

"Answer first. Who else knows?"

In an instant, the positions of Elbridge and the Marquis of Solenion had reversed completely.

Now it was the Marquis who lowered his posture.

"No one. I'm not careless enough to spread information like this around. There'd be no benefit in talking about Sir Elbridge to others, either."

Still, Elbridge wasn't reassured.

"No benefit isn't a good enough explanation. People talk about others' business out of curiosity all the time, even when it gains them nothing."

"But it's rare for someone to spread a story that works against their own interests."

"Loss?"

"I'd like to share the same interests as Sir Elbridge."

Shared interests. It was a statement Elbridge couldn't quite parse.

"Explain."

"I'll get to that in a moment. Now let me ask you something in return, Sir Elbridge. Why such an aggressive reaction?"

"Someone figured out an identity I was hiding. Did you expect me to laugh it off?"

"Not exactly. I thought you might be displeased, but I didn't expect it to be this severe. Sir Elbridge, why is it a problem for your identity to be known? In these chaotic times, it could be a chance to grow your church's influence."

On the surface, it sounded reasonable.

But Elbridge still remembered clearly the oracle the Goddess had given him the moment he arrived in Solenion.

- People, even after seeing a dam that held for centuries finally break, feel no gratitude for its long years of service. Instead, they tend to resent the dam for its weakness.

- The hardships people will suffer once demons run rampant will be immense, and those who long for the peaceful days will look for someone to blame. That someone will surely be you.

- Further, there will certainly be people who believe that if you disappear, the demons will disappear along with you. Just as, long ago, there were people who shouted that once the paladins vanished, the demons would vanish too.

That was why Elbridge had hidden his identity behind the convenient lie of being his own descendant.

If he hadn't been forced to give his name on the way to Solenion, he wouldn't have used the name Elbridge at all.

Elbridge condensed all of that into a short answer.

"Because I can prepare for an enemy in front of me. I can't prepare for one approaching from behind."

"And what is this enemy from behind?"

"Discontent and envy that have nowhere else to go."

"Discontent and envy..."

The Marquis of Solenion mulled over Elbridge's answer slowly before speaking again.

"I understand. There are more fools in this world than anyone could count, people who talk carelessly about things they'll never have to answer for."

The Marquis nudged the butter knife at his throat gently downward.

"But as time passes, more people will figure out your true identity, Sir Elbridge. What will you do then?"

"That's a problem I'll have to think through slowly."

"If you're willing, I could help you with that."

Elbridge's eyebrow twitched.

"How?"

"I could fabricate old portraits or false descriptions of your appearance and plant them somewhere anyone digging into your background would be likely to find. It could deceive people, or serve as evidence to counter their suspicions. It wouldn't be difficult for me."

"What would you want in exchange for such a favor?"

"I told you already. I'd like to share the same interests as Sir Elbridge..."

Ring, ring.

The Marquis of Solenion shook a small bell, and moments later the door opened, revealing the same butler as before.

Except this time, the butler wasn't alone. A young woman stood beside him.

She looked to be about twenty. Her thick black hair and small, delicate features stood out. So did her flushed cheeks and slightly reddened ears.

"My youngest daughter, Avelyn."

Unlike moments before, the Marquis of Solenion now treated Elbridge as a subordinate would be treated.

That meant he hadn't revealed Elbridge's true identity to his own daughter either.

Avelyn lifted the edge of her skirt slightly and offered a polite greeting.

But the hand holding her skirt trembled. An oddly intense nervousness.

"I'm Avelyn Solenion."

Elbridge returned a simple greeting of his own.

"Elbridge, of the Order of the Rusted Shield."

At that, Avelyn lifted her head with visible effort to look at Elbridge.

Their eyes met for a moment, and an indescribably bright smile spread across her face.

But she seemed embarrassed by her own reaction and averted her gaze from Elbridge, struggling to keep her expression under control.

There was no explanation given, but Elbridge understood the lord's intentions from that reaction alone.

The butler brought over a chair and set it beside the lord. Avelyn sat next to her father, glancing at Elbridge every so often.

"Avelyn kept dropping such obvious hints, wanting me to arrange a meeting with you, that I had no choice but to send an invitation even knowing you'd be busy."

At her father's words, Avelyn started in shock.

"Father! When did I ever do that?"

"Father, is it now. You usually call me Dad..."

The Marquis of Solenion chuckled softly before continuing.

"This child, who's never once mentioned another man in front of me, started showing a suspicious amount of interest in Sir Elbridge around the time of the Grand Festival. I let it go at first, but these past few days it's been more than that. She was the first to bring up the story of the battle with the demon. Just to test the waters, I asked her a little about it, and what she said was..."

"Father, please, stop...!"

Avelyn said, small but pleading.

Her ears had turned as red as they possibly could.

Watching this, only one thought crossed Elbridge's mind.

'She was raised with a lot of love.'

The Marquis of Solenion bantered playfully with his daughter for a moment longer, then spoke with a broad smile.

"Sir Elbridge. I mentioned wanting to share the same interests with you."

"Yes."

"What would you say to visiting the castle now and then to keep Avelyn company? In return, she could show you around Solenion."

Calling it "keeping company" was polite phrasing. In truth, it was a proposal of courtship and marriage.

Was he after some political arrangement?

No. The Marquis of Solenion's expression wasn't that of a lord. It was that of a father.

"I have no intention of demanding anything from you. This is a proposal I make as a father, for my own child. But in return, there's a great deal I could offer you."

Accepting the Marquis's proposal would be the fastest way to expand the influence of the Order of the Rusted Shield.

But Elbridge refused immediately.

"That's impossible."

"I know. You must be busier than you have time for. But..."

"Being busy isn't the problem."

Showing would be better than telling.

Click, click.

Elbridge undid the buttons on the sleeve of his formal wear and set his left forearm on the table.

Avelyn's gaze fell on Elbridge's hand, the back of it, and the sturdy forearm beneath.

His hand wasn't the smooth, slender hand Avelyn had once dreamed of.

Crushed and missing nails. Fingers thick with calluses.

And scars, packed from the back of his hand all the way up his forearm like some intricate pattern.

"..."

Healing Authority could mend wounds and erase most of the resulting scars, leaving only faint traces behind.

But there were simply too many scars left even after that. Enough to startle not just Avelyn, but the Marquis of Solenion as well.

"If she marries me, Lady Avelyn will become a widow."

It wasn't a warning. It wasn't a refusal, either.

He simply stated it plainly, as if pointing out an obvious fact.

"I'm not suggesting you think about marriage right away. Slowly, like friends, at first..."

Elbridge answered while buttoning his sleeve again.

"If she becomes my friend, Lady Avelyn will lose a friend. Better than losing a spouse, perhaps, but still not a good experience."

Elbridge rose from his seat and said, "Thank you for an offer far beyond what I deserve. I'm only sorry that circumstances don't allow me to accept it."

Elbridge left the private room behind him, leaving a stunned Avelyn and the Marquis of Solenion in his wake.

It was winter, the new year barely begun.

Stepping outside in his light clothing cleared his head at once.

Elbridge walked slowly across the dim garden of the lord's castle.

He had been walking for a long while when the Goddess's oracle came down to him.

- Elbridge.

"Yes, Goddess."

- Why not go back now and give that young lady, Avelyn, a real chance?

"If I stayed at that young lady's side, who would be left to serve as your strength, Goddess?"

- As I said before. Your Goddess wishes for you to reclaim a peaceful life, even now.

"But when I stood before the demon, didn't you place boundless trust in me, Goddess? And when I said I would rebuild the Order, you were overjoyed."

- I was. But...

"Goddess. I have seen, far too many times, how people in love meet their end on the battlefield. I have seen what becomes of those left behind. And I have no intention of avoiding battle myself."

Elbridge spoke each word clearly and deliberately.

"My life has no need for a partner."

A long silence passed before the Goddess's oracle finally came, accompanied by a deep sigh.

- Elbridge. It fills me with satisfaction to watch you fight bravely. It's also clear that the fate of the Order rests in your hands. I want you to do much for the Order.

"I will live up to your expectations, Goddess."

- But at the same time, it isn't a lie either, that contradictory wish, that you might set down every obligation and find peace with someone who suits you. Elbridge.

"Isn't the human heart always contradictory and hard to understand? Your heart must be the same way, Goddess. I have never once doubted your words."

Elbridge had nearly cleared the garden with his slow steps when he sensed someone approaching.

He turned to look. The Marquis of Solenion had raised a hand toward him.

"Sir Elbridge."

"I'll say it again. I can't grant that request. Not for my sake, but for Avelyn's."

Elbridge refused firmly, and the Marquis of Solenion shook his head.

"I don't intend to repeat the same proposal. I don't want my daughter to lose a spouse either. Though I admit I didn't expect to be turned down so flatly..."

"Then what is it?"

"We may not be able to be joined by blood, but I wanted to say that we could still help each other, as a paladin and a lord. First, I'll make arrangements so the other nobles have a harder time guessing your identity. If you ever need anything, come find me anytime."

The Marquis of Solenion was a sharp man.

Even with the quietly floated marriage proposal fallen through, he understood perfectly well that Elbridge's value hadn't diminished in the slightest.

"...Need anything, you say."

At that moment, Elbridge realized he'd nearly forgotten something very important.

"Marquis of Solenion. In that case, there is one thing I'd like to ask for first."

"What is it?"

"Have some of those pastries from earlier packed up generously for me."

An oracle came at once, ringing in his ear.

- Truly excellent, Elbridge.

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