Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble - Chapter 244

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 244: Bound to Admit It (1)

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“Uh...”

Airen Farreira’s expression stiffened when he heard Illia Lindsay’s voice.

The haze vanished completely.

He more or less understood what had happened.

He had lost consciousness while sparring with Joshua Lindsay, and Illia had apparently carried him back to his room after seeing it happen.

It seemed she had been looking after him herself, too.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been delighted to see her and thanked her profusely.

But seeing his friend give off such a cold air, Airen could not help but feel his thoughts tangle.

‘What should I say?’

The only reason he had called Ignet’s name was because the situation resembled something that had happened before. There truly was no other meaning to it.

Illia, however, did not seem to see it that way.

‘Of all names, it had to be Ignet’s. Not anyone else...’

Of course, the Illia of today was not the same as before.

She had broken free of her obsession with Ignet and was now able to walk her own path with confidence and spirit.

That did not mean she felt nothing toward Ignet, though.

No matter what, the two were bound to remain bitter rivals for the rest of their lives.

As he thought that, Illia, who had remained silent until then, spoke again.

“Airen.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Could you explain?”

“E-Explain what?”

“What do you mean, what? You called Ignet’s name as soon as you woke up.”

“...Did I?”

“You did.”

“I see.”

“Yeah.”

“...”

“Explain. Why did Ignet’s name suddenly come out of your mouth?”

Fwoosh!

A fierce presence flowed from Illia’s body.

This was more than an intimidating mood. Feeling the sharp Aura of a Sword Master, Airen swallowed hard.

He had to say something.

He had to somehow calm Illia down.

The strange thing was that Airen himself thought it was only natural for her to be angry.

In truth, this was not such a serious matter.

There was no need to lie or make excuses.

All he had to do was tell her the truth and clear up the misunderstanding.

From Illia’s perspective, she might be a little startled to hear the name of her rival and goal, but there was no reason to glare at a friend she had not seen in a long time with such a cold expression.

Yet the fact that he found nothing strange about it was proof that Airen felt something more toward her as well.

“Uh, so...”

Naturally, Airen was not aware of those feelings.

Nor could he think of a clever excuse.

Airen was Airen. In the end, he had no choice but to honestly tell her why he had uttered Ignet’s name.

“...That’s what happened.”

“...”

Illia fell silent once more.

Airen looked at her with a dejected gaze.

As if it were only natural that she was still upset.

He desperately racked his brain for a way to make her feel better.

A brief moment passed.

“Pfft.”

Illia, who had kept a straight face the entire time, burst out laughing.

“Airen, why are you so tense?”

“Huh?”

“I was just asking. You woke up and suddenly called Ignet’s name, so of course I was curious. That’s why I asked, but why did you freeze up like that? Like you’d committed some crime.”

“Uh... You just looked... upset...”

“Upset? Ah, I suppose I was a little. I should’ve been greeting you with a smile, but seeing you passed out like this made me feel uneasy. Why does my father have to be so harsh with you, of all people...?”

“Ah, it’s fine. I don’t feel hurt or anything. I’m perfectly fine.”

Airen rolled both shoulders as he spoke.

That was a relief. More than the fact that his body was fine, he was glad Illia seemed to have calmed down.

He even wondered if she had never been angry in the first place and had simply been teasing him.

“That’s good. My father said you would be fine, but I was still worried.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for worrying about me.”

“Alright.”

“Yeah.”

“...”

Silence settled between them for a moment.

He did not know why. The misunderstanding had been cleared up, and Illia was smiling again.

Yet the atmosphere was strangely uncomfortable.

A faint sheen of sweat formed on Airen’s forehead.

“...Still, be careful. You might look fine, but you shouldn’t overexert yourself and end up worse off. You should rest for at least a day.”

“Ah, yeah. I will.”

“You arrived sooner than I expected, but it’s still been quite a while since we last saw each other, right? There’s a lot I want to talk about, but there are too many guests right now, so I’m busy too. You’re not leaving soon, are you?”

“Huh? Ah, no. Not if it’s alright with you...”

“Good. Then let’s catch up after the banquet is over and the house has quieted down a little.”

Illia smiled again and rose from her seat.

Airen unconsciously tried to follow his friend.

But she stopped him.

When he halted at her reminder to rest, Illia gave him one last remark.

“Thank you so much for keeping your promise.”

Click.

“...Of course I had to keep it.”

Alone in the room after his friend left, Airen murmured quietly to himself.

Their reunion had been more of a mess than he expected, but he still felt good.

Remembering Illia’s smile, he smiled faintly as well.

At that same time...

“...Tch.”

Back in her own room, Illia Lindsay wore a slightly sulky expression.

She knew.

She knew Airen had not been lying.

No, to begin with, she had no right to get upset over something like that when she and Airen were not even in that kind of relationship.

...But it annoyed her.

She could not simply sit there and pretend nothing was wrong.

That was why she had hurried from the room. She no longer trusted herself to keep her expression under control.

“...”

Illia, who had been sitting in a chair, stood up.

Then she moved before the full-length mirror.

After standing there for a long time, she quietly muttered.

“...Should I dress up a little for the ball?”

For the first time in her life, Illia Lindsay felt jealousy and considered wearing clothes she had never worn before.

* * *

“Are you insane?”

“...”

“Of all people, you had to say Ignet’s name... Haa. You really are hopeless, Brother.”

After Illia left, Kiril and Lulu entered the room as if it were only natural. Airen smiled as he normally did.

Surprisingly, though, Kiril immediately asked a sharp question. Had something happened with Illia?

Airen tried to play dumb.

Something had happened, but he did not think it was important enough to report to his younger sister.

That was why he saw no need to mention it... and more than anything, it was a little embarrassing.

But a Sorcerer’s terrifying instincts saw through the fact that he was hiding something. After Kiril’s relentless questioning, Airen ultimately had no choice but to reveal every detail of what had just happened.

The result was, naturally, Kiril’s anger.

Kiril sighed with an expression that said she could not understand him.

‘It’s not entirely a bad situation, but...’

Kiril looked at her older brother.

A kind, wonderful, strong person.

But in matters like this, calling him frustrating and dense was not nearly enough.

It was certainly good news that he was beginning to recognize his own feelings, even a little.

But she could not be satisfied with that and simply leave him alone.

There was already a problem right now.

He seemed to think Illia was completely over it, but Kiril did not see it that way. Illia was surely still quite upset inside.

“You’re a Sorcerer, so how can you not know something like that?”

“...”

“Haa. You really are a problem.”

Airen could not say anything.

He still could not explain exactly what he had done wrong.

Even so, he did not feel that being scolded like this was unfair.

So he remained quiet. Together with his sister, he thought about how to cheer Illia up.

It was not easy.

“...”

Airen had never been someone one could rely on in matters like this, but Kiril was just as inexperienced when it came to romance.

They thought hard, but no idea they came up with was particularly satisfying.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Lulu blankly watched the two, then began vigorously scratching her chin with a hind leg.

As far as a cat was concerned, this was none of her business.

She did not think this would make Airen and Illia’s relationship worse. That was why she cared even less.

“Yawn... Hm?”

Lulu gave a huge yawn and was about to sleep in a corner.

Then a delicious scent wafted in through the open window.

The smell of grilled fish.

But it was a fish she did not recognize at all, and that only made her more curious.

‘I want some!’

The black cat sprang into action.

She jumped through the window, nimbly climbed down a tree, then raced across the ground while smacking her lips.

When she arrived, a familiar nobleman was there.

Lulu looked at the grinning Bill Staunton and spoke.

“You can’t light a fire in the Garden.”

“I am aware.”

“Why are you speaking politely?”

“There’s something I want. The side that needs something should lower their head.”

“Hm? You want something? Oh, but I want something too!”

“What is it?”

“Grilled fish! Let me have some too!”

“It needs to cook a little longer. Though what should we do? You said we can’t light a fire in the Garden...”

“It’s fine. Just do it secretly.”

“That’s right. As long as no one finds out, it isn’t wrong.”

Lulu nodded as Bill Staunton smiled again.

Time passed.

Fortunately, no one came to stop them, and all the fish was cooked.

Lulu swallowed hard. Its golden-brown appearance strongly stirred her appetite.

“It’s hot, so please let it cool first.”

“Thanks! Hoo, haa, hoo, haa... Oh, oh? This is really good!”

“Haha, isn’t it? I’m quite good at cooking. The ingredients are rare as well, so this is probably your first time tasting it. I ran away from home when I was seventeen, lived rough for a while, then learned this recipe from a fisherman. It brings back memories.”

“Give me more, give me more!”

“Of course. In exchange...”

“In exchange?”

“Please grant my request as well.”

“Ah, right. You said there was something you wanted.”

Lulu nodded, then thrust a hand into thin air and pulled something out.

Gold, silver, and jewels. They even bore engraved symbols of an ancient kingdom with deep historical value.

“I’ll give you this.”

“My, wealth is not what I want.”

“Really? You’re a strange human.”

Lulu looked at Bill Staunton.

Cats did not like money.

The only reason she often gave treasures to people was because most people liked money.

Until now, Airen’s group had been the only ones different from that.

That made her curious.

But not as curious as grilled fish.

Her stomach rumbled. Lulu lowered her head for a moment, then looked at Bill Staunton again.

“What do you want?”

“It’s nothing major.”

Bill Staunton handed her another piece of grilled fish and smiled.

“I want to become friends with Lord Airen Farreira, so please put in a good word for me.”

* * *

“What? Lulu, why did you bring this human here?”

“Oh, right! You and Kiril don’t get along.”

Lulu looked startled.

But there was nothing she could do.

She had already made a promise.

And she had been treated to incredibly delicious grilled fish.

Avoiding Kiril’s eyes, the cat spoke to Airen.

“Airen, this person says he wants to be friends with you.”

“No, Lulu! Why did you bring him here...?”

“You have a concern, don’t you?”

“What...?”

“Lulu told me. Lord Airen made a small mistake with Lady Illia Lindsay, but he can’t think of a way to make up for it...”

“Lulu, you told this person even that?”

“H-Hey, he said he could help! I wanted to help Airen!”

Lulu flinched and slipped beneath the bed. Only her head peeked out, looking rather cute, but Kiril’s eyes remained sharp.

Still, she could not keep staring at Lulu forever.

Neither could Airen.

Unlike their first meeting, the siblings looked at Bill Staunton, who stood there politely but somehow seemed a little unhinged.

“I may be called the Staunton Troublemaker, but that is exactly why I can confidently say I know better than anyone how to reconcile with people. The reason I can still live in this kingdom after causing so many incidents, the reason I have not been thrown out by my family, is because of my social skills. As for how many times I have snatched victory from the jaws of ruin...”

“...”

Kiril stared blankly at Bill Staunton as he prattled on without pause.

He had no shame at all.

Yet it did not sound entirely like nonsense. Even amid the chaotic stream of words, a few plausible stories reached her ears.

More importantly, they had no better idea.

She decided they might as well hear him out.

“So what are we supposed to do?”

“Hmm.”

Bill Staunton stopped his waterfall of words.

He looked at Airen Farreira.

His expression was remarkably serious, unlike the first impression he had given.

Just as a strange atmosphere began to form, the Staunton Troublemaker opened his mouth.

“In two days, there will also be a ball at the lord’s birthday celebration. Many people put a great deal of effort into their attire to make themselves look better and add to their charm. Some say that what matters is inner beauty, but that can also mean that if your personality is a complete mess, you should at least look presentable on the outside. Ah, of course, I am not saying Lord Airen has that sort of personality.”

“...”

“Lord Airen, why not dress yourself up a little this time? If you show someone such a splendid side of yourself that their anger melts away the moment they see you, they will overlook a small mistake. Lady Lindsay will probably be the same.”

Kiril stared blankly at Bill Staunton.

What was he talking about? Was he criticizing their clothes again?

It was not entirely wrong, but hearing it from someone who had made such a terrible first impression made her want to argue.

“You’re really consistent. Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

“Let me apologize once again for what happened before. But while I regret my rude manner of speaking, I do not believe my criticism itself was wrong.”

“Enough, we don’t need it. Why are you so eager to stick to us in the first place?”

“Because I want to be friends.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you a genius Sword Master and a genius Sorcerer who will one day bear responsibility for the Continent's Future? Rather than leaving a bad impression forever, it is better to offer even a little help and build a good relationship. Aren’t connections more important than wealth in this world?”

“Isn’t that a little too honest?”

“Honesty is one of my few charms.”

“Haa...”

“I thought this would be better than telling a clumsy lie and falling out of a Sorcerer’s favor. And I am confident. If you leave it to me, I will properly dress Lord Airen in a style popular in the western part of the continent, one that suits his build and air.”

“How does that sound? It is not a bad offer, is it?”

Looking at Bill Staunton as he spoke, Airen fell into thought.

It was strange.

This nobleman assumed that Airen and Illia’s relationship was more than friendship.

That made him uncomfortable.

But the surprising thing was...

‘...What would Illia’s reaction be if I dressed up?’

Despite that discomfort, he found himself wanting to accept Bill Staunton’s offer.

“Alright.”

“Brother?”

Kiril looked surprised. Lulu’s eyes widened as well.

Neither had expected that answer.