The Male Lead Knelt Before Me

I had no clue someone other than Lord Egon would say something like this.

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Lord Vessel must be saying this as a joke, right?

“Are you not going to introduce one of the Marquis’ knights?”

“If you’d like, I can check to see if anyone has applied.
Are there any special needs you have in mind? I’ll do my best to sum it up as much as I can.”

I couldn’t hide my embarrassment at the severity of the remark

“…… I was joking, of course.”

I couldn’t believe Lord Egon and Lord Vessel would give up his family’s knights so easily.

Is this a feature of the Knights as well? Is it possible that they’re the only ones with unusual behaviour?

As expected, the latter, right?

“Are you sure you don’t need it?”

“Yes, I’m alright.”

“Well, okay then.
You may be assured since the security guards will look after you as well.
Lady, you have no idea how surprised I was to run into you over the weekend.”

Lord Vessel then proceeded to describe what had occurred that day.

Lord Vessel went to the weapon shop to sharpen his sword and happened to run across Caleb, who was there for the same reason.

 

Caleb suddenly began to run and chased me down while they were strolling down the street together, reportedly because he noticed several men chasing me in a bonnet?

He had no idea it was me until I went down and the bonnet I was wearing came off, revealing my identity, and he was taken aback twice after reading the report.

“I wouldn’t feel good about abandoning you, Lady, if something awful happened to you while I was dispatched.”

“Lord, what makes you feel uneasy?”

When I’m the one who’s in trouble?

“That’s because I’m worried about you, Lady.”

H-huh?

What Lord Vessel had done to me was on my thoughts at the time.

Things like when he looked down on me, meticulously revealing his complex and family background and bombarding me with gifts.

After all of that, he expressed concern for me?

‘This can’t be…’

Isn’t that supposed to be a love flag?

There’s no way.
There’s no way.

My body, on the other hand, was honest, no matter how much I denied it.
My eyes shook and I couldn’t control my facial expression.

“That’s not what you’re thinking.”

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“Do you have any idea what I’m thinking?”

“I’m not sure what it is, but don’t you seem to be thinking about something  weird?”

“I didn’t.”

“Even if your expression is different from usual, it’s so different.”

“There’s no way.”

Unlike my laid-back response, I touched my cheeks for no apparent reason, unsure if it was that noticeable.

“Anyway, Lady, I’m not sure why, but I believe I should be responsible for you.”

“Re-responsible?”

“Yes.

“What responsibility?

I’m not sure what he’s getting at.

Isn’t this a love flag, right?

“I can’t accept your feelings, Lord Vessel……”

“If I were to make a comparison, I’d say I have a younger sister……”

“What?”

At the same time, we exchanged glances.

Somehow, I felt cold around me.
And I wanted to hide somewhere.

Very desperately.

“You had a strange idea, as expected.”

“No, you stated that first and caused me to misunderstand.
If you claim you’re concerned and believe you should be responsible for me, it’s normal to think in this way.”

“How did you come to that conclusion when I didn’t even confess? I didn’t know, but Lady, I couldn’t believe you were such a closed-minded person who only considered that kind of reasoning.”

“It’s because, unlike Lord Vessel, I don’t have an older brother.
And, Lord, don’t you have a real sister already?”

That’s correct, now that I think about it.
Was he trying to dump her real sister, Vivian, and consider me as his sister?

“Vivian is…”

Lord Vessel opened his mouth as though to deny it, but he quickly stumbled.

“…that’s right.
Vivian is my sister.”

He made a pretty embarrassed expression as he rubbed his back hair.

Our verbal sparring came to an end thanks to him.

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It’s so easy that it’s in vain.

We left the office after organizing the desk.

It happened while I stood there watching Lord Vessel close the door.

Because of the rippling effects of the words “responsibility” and “sister,” news that had been set aside for a time came to mind.

“By the way, I’d like to mention something.
What did you mean by dispatch, Lord Vessel?”

“It’s the exact same thing.
I’ll be dispatched to Carwen Province starting tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Isn’t there still a little time till your next dispatch, Lord?”

“It’s an emergency dispatch.
I received a request to be dispatched yesterday regarding the high-level beast.
Originally, the commander makes a request first, but because Commander will be dispatched soon, I and other members will go together this time.”

“Additional dispatch? Then, will Lord Egon be dispatched again?”

“This time is not a new dispatch but a reconfirmation.
More like a residual treatment.
There may be more leeway than when first dispatched, but the risk is similar.
If there’s any magic beast left, we have to kill it.”

Just hearing the words, somehow the risk doesn’t feel right.

It’s probably because I haven’t encountered a magical beast.

“More than that, it seems that you and Lord Egon seem to be dispatched too suddenly.
Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.
It happens often, and I didn’t apply without knowing about it.”

“I’m glad you did.
Anyway, you’re not going to be able to see me for a while starting tomorrow, right? Don’t get hurt and come back safely.”

“Of course, I’ll come back safely.
Apparently, there’s only one beast to handle there.
There’s only one.….
Rather, I should be ashamed if I come back hurt.”

Lord Vessel said it so lightly as if he was going hunting a rabbit.

If it really felt like that, local knights wouldn’t bother to ask them to subjugate.

‘Is this just a terrible bluff?’

Still, I readily accepted Lord Vessel’s condescension because it didn’t feel reliable.

“That’s right.
Since you are strong, Lord.”

In my words, Lord Vessel suddenly shook and wrapped his arms around me.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Just… I got goosebumps when I heard that from you, Lady.”

Hey, you?

* * * * *

I left the knight quarters alone.

Not only were my carriage and Lord Vessel’s carriage at different stations, but Lord Vessel also told me that I should go first because he needed to prepare the letter bird that he would bring the next day.

I might have waited for him if our directions were the same.

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But, because it wasn’t, I came out first.

‘Oh, it’s cold.’

A frigid breeze blew by me as I exited the knights’ quarters.

With my arms wrapped around me, I trembled a little.

I can’t believe it’s already this chilly, even though winter is only a few months away……

In the winter, I can’t imagine how much colder it will be.

I’ll have to get some warm winter clothes sooner or later.
I’ll also require a new hat and glove.

I encountered an unexpected person at the main gate of the Knights quarters as I stepped out, plotting a shopping trip in my mind.

The bright silver hair that stands out, and the familiar Royal Knight uniform and coat.

“What the……?”

What is Lord Egon’s reason for being here?

It was late, and the other members had already returned home for quite some time.

However, his presence indicates that he is waiting for someone……

‘Is he waiting for Lord Vessel?’ Well, since Lord Vessel will be dispatched tomorrow, I’m sure he has something to say to Lord Vessel.’

I strode towards Caleb while I pondered.

I didn’t try to conceal my presence, but he didn’t seem to notice me.

He didn’t even look at me until I was near enough.

“Lord Egon?”

“Ah… Elena.”

Caleb looked at me belatedly as I called him carefully.

What was he thinking that he didn’t see me approaching?

“Are you coming alone?”

“Yes, I was the first to leave.
Are you waiting for Lord Vessel? Lord Vessel stated that he must prepare a letter bird for tomorrow’s dispatch, therefore he will return later.”

“Thank you for the explanation, but I wasn’t waiting for Lord Vessel.”

He’s not?

“I apologize.
Because I saw you standing here, I assumed you were waiting for Lord Vessel.”

My face was flushed with embarrassment at having guessed ahead of time.

“However, it’s true that I’ve been waiting for someone.”

I cocked my head in response to an unexpected comment.
Caleb’s black eyes met mine at the same instant.

Even if I didn’t listen, I feel I could tell who he was waiting for just by looking at his gaze.

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“I’ve been waiting for you, Elena.”

As I expected, the frightening definite response was returned.

I have a keen eye enough to notice this even if he doesn’t tell me.

“I’d like to discuss something with you.
Can I walk you to the carriage station and talk about it.”

“Of course.”

I willingly nodded.

Since we’re both heading in the same direction.

What does Caleb have to say to me, though?

I’m wondering what he needs to say to me, as he has been waiting an hour for that.

Caleb opened his mouth just as I was wondering what he needed to say.

“Did you request an escort knight from Count Van Der?”

“No, not yet.
I was going to tell her when I see her next week.”

Before I do that, I’ll need to ask a lot of questions about the watchers and then decide whether or not it’s necessary to bring up the escort.

“I heard you agreed to the security guard’s request for an escort.
However, they will not be able to protect you at all times, so please make sure to ask the Count.”

“Thank you for your thoughtfulness.
I’ll make sure to ask for it.”

When is he going to bring it up, by the way?

I mean, he couldn’t possibly have waited an hour just to say this, right?

Caleb, on the other hand, is deafeningly quiet.
Is it something too difficult to state?

At this rate, I believe we’ll arrive at the carriage boarding station, so I’ll have to ask him first.

“Do you have anything else to say, Lord Egon?”

“If I had been rude……”

“No, that’s not it!”

I’m not sure why, but I had the feeling he was about to apologize for nothing else, so I abruptly stopped him.

“I’m curious as to why you waited so long for me.
I’m sure you didn’t wait just to ask about the escort.
I’m sure there’s a lot more to say… Isn’t that so?

Caleb remained silent.
Don’t tell me there aren’t any? No, I don’t think so.

It was when I tried to call him again while tilting my head.

“As you could have guessed, that’s true.”

Oh, there was, as expected.

“May I ask what it is about?”

“I’ve been waiting to take you home.”