WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: nemui

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◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈

Vol. 1 Ch. 10: Theo's Secret, the Hero's Secret

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Theo ran unsteadily down the hill and made his way to the mine's spoil heap.

He sat on a log the miners usually used for breaks and looked up at the mound.

During tunnel excavation and coal sorting, mines produce huge amounts of waste, called spoil.

Over time, dumping it created this spoil heap. It was not merely like a mountain. It was a mountain. That was how much waste a coal mine produced.

Theo gazed blankly at the mountain of dirt, rocks, and poor-quality Red Coal.

（It's just like me.）

A mountain of useless things that had been thrown away. It looked just like who he was now, and Theo gave an empty laugh.

The wind was a little cold, and the reddish-gray clouds had grown darker. It would probably rain soon.

（How pathetic...）

More than anything, Theo could not forgive himself for having such childish thoughts about Allen.

He had selfishly hoped that Allen would deliberately lose and let Theo save face. Instead, he had faced a serious Allen and lost without being able to do anything. There was no limit to his childishness.

（It hurts. I'm frustrated.）

Tears spilled down his face. His face, body, and hands all ached with heat and throbbing pain.

He wanted to cry and scream, but Theo gathered what little pride he had left and kept his cries inside his head.

（You idiot, Allen! ...No. That's not right. I know. Allen did nothing wrong. It's my fault for being weak!）

If Theo had been strong enough to defeat Allen, he could have become Elbert's squire.

But Theo was weaker than Allen. That was all there was to it. He understood that in his head, but his feelings could not keep up. Frustration and misery made him feel as though his head would burst.

As he held back his sobs and kept breathing hngh, hngh, he heard faint footsteps.

Theo suddenly looked up. Standing close by was Elbert, a young man with pale blond hair and violet eyes.

The shame of being seen in such a miserable state outweighed his joy at seeing the hero he admired. Theo hurriedly wiped his face with his sleeve.

"Don't rub too hard. I brought a wet cloth. Wipe your face with this first."

The cloth pressed against his swollen cheek was clean, cool, and soothing.

Elbert carefully wiped his face and placed a hand over his wounds. Theo panicked when he saw a faint light shining from that hand.

"No, Lord Elbert! I'm not someone who deserves your blessing...!"

"Why do you think that?"

It was a quiet, gentle question, far from an interrogation.

Theo gave a sniff and looked at Elbert.

"Because the reason I wanted to become a knight was..."

This was a confession.

Theo spoke of the feelings he had never told anyone about.

"Because I wanted people to notice me."

* * *

Theo hated hide-and-seek.

Because no one except Allen ever found him. Everyone would forget Theo was still hiding and start another game.

"Ever since I was little, I've been easy to overlook... No one ever finds me. No one remembers my face or my name."

That was why he tried to be kind to others. He thought that if he was useful to someone, they would remember him.

When he did something worthy of gratitude, he did remain in their memories, but only for that moment. By the next day, they had forgotten him. To Theo, that was a quiet kind of terror.

"It's been years since the Lawrence family took me in... but people around me still don't see me as one of that family's children."

No matter what others thought, Allen and Olivia probably would not care. But Theo did.

He could not stand the thought of taking the Lawrence name so shamelessly when others did not recognize him as part of the family.

"That's why I decided to become a knight."

Ideally, he wanted to become a Holy Knight like Duncan, but there were strict conditions for becoming one. So he thought that even serving a lord as a knight would be enough. He simply wanted to become a knight.

"If I became an amazing knight, everyone would remember me. Then I could proudly call myself a Lawrence..."

Miners had no need for family names, but knights needed one. So Theo had planned to speak to Olivia only once it had been decided that he would be knighted.

Please make me your son. Please make me a member of the Lawrence family.

Even if he never became a knight, Olivia would treat Theo as a son of the Lawrence family. Even so, he hated that other people did not recognize him as one of them.

If he became a knight, people would surely notice him. They would surely remember him. He knew it was shallow.

Still, because no one remembered him, Theo clung to the glory of knighthood.

"That's why... I..."

His heated words gradually faded away.

Saying it aloud made him realize just how vain he had been. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to die.

"In the end, I only wanted to become a knight for my own vanity and desire."

It was not because he had some noble wish to protect others or serve God.

Even his kindness toward others had only been because he wanted them to remember him.

He was not like Allen, someone who could share happiness by wishing that everyone might become a little happier. He only wanted to stand out.

"Allen must have noticed that selfish side of me. That's why Allen suggested a duel..."

Remembering Allen bringing down his sword with cold eyes made Theo's eyes burn again.

As Theo swallowed his sobs, Elbert, who had been crouching in front of him, sat down beside him.

The noble hero Elbert was sitting on a log before a spoil heap. It was an unreal sight.

Theo stared blankly at Elbert, who spoke quietly.

"You say that you wanted to become a knight because you wanted to stand out. But to me, it sounds as though you wanted to proudly become a member of the Lawrence family."

"Even so, it is true that it was for my own vanity..."

Olivia and Allen would surely accept Theo as family even if he were not an admirable person. But Theo did not want to be family who only depended on their kindness.

He wanted to become someone anyone could see was worthy of the Lawrence family. That was Theo's selfish wish.

"You blame yourself because you think your reason for aspiring to knighthood is impure."

"...Yes."

"Then let me tell you why I aspired to become a Paladin."

Theo grew more nervous than he ever had before.

Why the hero Elbert had wanted to become a Paladin. He desperately wanted to know. Was it really all right for someone like him to hear such a story?

"The reason I aspired to become a Paladin was..."

Theo swallowed.

Why had a hero sought to become a Paladin? What kind of resolve and determination lay behind it?

Elbert spoke with a serious expression.

"Because I wanted the person I loved to return my feelings."

"...What?"

"Unfortunately, I couldn't get them to notice me at all."

Elbert added with a straight face as Theo stared in shock.

"That person was a married woman, by the way."

"Pfft!"

After letting out a laugh, Theo hurriedly wiped his mouth.

How could he behave like that in front of the hero Elbert?

As Theo panicked, Elbert lowered the corners of his brows slightly.

"Are you disappointed in me?"

"No! Well, I mean, I'm just surprised..."

Waving his hands around aimlessly in his fluster, Theo asked himself.

Was he disappointed in the hero Elbert?

The answer was no. He was surprised, but not disappointed. His admiration still remained in his heart.

Theo held his index and middle fingers together, drawing a horizontal line in the air. It was a dagger. He mimed gripping it and pressing it to his own chest, then looked straight at Elbert beside him.

"Whatever your reason was, it is true that you have saved many people. Even after earning the title of Paladin, you have not become arrogant. You still fight Termea on the front lines. My respect for you has not changed."

"An oath of truth? You know the old custom."

Elbert smiled gently and placed a hand over Theo's fist.

"You are someone who can respect others. Then you should direct that respect toward yourself as well. Humility is a virtue, but if you keep putting yourself down, your heart will become sharp and wither away."

His mysterious violet eyes reflected Theo.

They were like God's mirror, allowing no lies and showing the truth exactly as it was.

"If you only wanted attention, there were other ways to get it. But you chose knighthood. That must be because you truly wanted to be a knight."

When had he first wanted to become a knight? He could no longer remember. But the feeling that he wanted to be a knight, that knighthood was what he wanted, was real.

"You have not neglected your efforts to become a knight. Is that not so?"

"Yes."

Theo nodded and made a vow to himself.

To make sure those words did not become lies, he would work even harder.

Whenever he compared himself to Allen and self-deprecation reared its head, thinking, I'm no good anyway... he would remember Elbert's words.

Respect not only others, but yourself as well.

"I'll challenge Allen again. And when I defeat him... will you make me your squire?"

"Of course."

Warm light spilled from Elbert's hand, touching Theo's skin and healing his wounds.

He still had small scratches, but the swelling from his bruises had faded completely. It was a blessing from the Angel of Regeneration.

"When a shadow falls over your heart, tell yourself this: 'Be thou a knight.'"

"Yes!"

Be thou a knight. When he repeated the words in his heart, they settled there perfectly.

Theo sprang to his feet. Being quick to recover from discouragement was Theo's strength. Allen had told him that before.

"Lord Elbert, thank you for your many words and your blessing. I'll do my best."

"If you are going home, I will walk you there. Mrs. Lawrence is worried about you."

"No, I feel much better now, so I'll train a little before I go home."

Theo clenched his fist to show how energetic he was. Elbert's shoulders shook with laughter.

"Hehe, is that so? Then do your best."

"Yes!"

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