#6 Caregiving (1)
“Then I will withdraw.”
Aldio politely bowed his head and left.
Elric’s gaze was still on Lutten’s bruise.
Perhaps sensing that sign, Lutten said with a deep mischievous smile.
“ah? this? As expected, the skill of beating the captain didn’t go anywhere! I thought I would die from a sore throat.”
Hahaha, I didn’t feel the slightest shadow in the sound of laughter.
That made Elric feel more deeply sorry.
“I have no face. I was in such a hurry at the time… .”
“Why can friends ask for something like this? It was nice to think of the old days.”
Elric let out a chuckle.
It was because he knew very well what the old days were about.
From noble mtl dot com
-Leader! Hit me once! It’s tough training from today!
-huh!
– Ah! You hit me too hard!
– Oh, sorry.
They are two people who have been dreaming of becoming knights since the past.
Elric wanted to be a knight who stood at the forefront of the battlefield with his sword held high, and Lutten wanted to be a reliable knight who held up his shield in front of the castle wall.
Therefore, the two often played with one-sided beatings under the guise of sparring, dismissing them as training.
It was like that when I recall what happened at the time.
Lutten’s body was always bruised, and Elric’s wooden sword was covered with blood.
“… Well, I feel more sorry when I think of the old days.”
“It was a good experience for me. Thanks to that, I didn’t think I was sick even when I was hit by seniors during my probation. The seniors couldn’t beat as well as the captain.”
I was very grateful to see him flirting.
No, there was something more to be thankful for than that.
“You are not asking anything.”
“hmm?”
“My sword. And everything from what you’ve done in the past 10 years to why you’re hiding your powers.”
Had the position changed, Elric would have clung to Rutten to hear the truth.
He could have expressed his frustration, saying, “I can’t tell you these things after we became friends.”
But isn’t that true, he must have had a lot of questions, but he didn’t ask anything and was smiling at me.
“Is it a thought not to ask?”
If Lutten really wanted to hear the truth, Elric was willing to tell him everything.
A question was asked and there was silence.
Lutten said with a gentle smile on his face that had erased the mischief.
“Oh, I won’t ask.”
Elric’s eyes widened.
Rutten continued.
“Isn’t there a reason the captain hides it? I’m the type of person who thinks that men’s secrets should be kept.”
For a moment, Elric felt a warm feeling welling up inside him.
“Remember when we were 9 years old? The day the captain came with a swollen cheek.”
“… I remember.”
“It was like that that day too. The captain wanted to hide the fact that he was slapped by his father, so he lied about killing the aristocratic boy from the next village. We didn’t ask anything. Was it when you were 12 years old that you heard about that day?”
“… It did.”
Elric’s voice locked.
Lutten chuckled.
“It’s not just me, everyone is like that. we know The captain does not tell others about things that are difficult for him to bear. So just wait.”
Oh, that’s right.
Elric had a sudden realization.
It wasn’t Yubin’s idyllic atmosphere that truly softened his life.
“I will quietly cheer you on until the captain feels it is nothing. So on that day, tell me about the past 10 years. Like a heroic story, inflated.”
was a person
A relationship that led to a few gold coins, a relationship of trust, not a relationship of transaction.
Human warmth, long forgotten by Elric, had weakened him.
As for why he felt so blamed, Elric felt tears welling up in his eyes.
“Oh, don’t cry. It’s unfamiliar to men like that. And the captain doesn’t like crying. I hate to see you.”
At Lutten’s giggles, Elric also pursed his lips to suppress his tears.
and let out a laugh
“Not mind.”
“Your tone has really become like an old man.”
“I will tell you about this later.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Lutten answered and got up from his seat.
“I’ll go now. When I go back to Gideon, I won’t be back for a while. There are a lot of things piled up there.”
“Why don’t you stay longer?”
“The longer a parting is, the more regretful it is. Besides, this isn’t our last meeting, is it? You can stop by the next time you come.”
Startled, Elric’s fingertips trembled.
As he naturally said the next thing, the hesitation that had been present inside Elric increased in size.
Not wanting to find out, Elric struggled to laugh.
Lutten suddenly gave a sly smile and then hinted at it.
“Um, will I be able to see my nephew by then?”
“A nephew?”
“A son of the captain is a nephew to me.”
One, two, three.
After counting exactly that many, Elric understood Lutten’s words.
Her face turned red like an active volcano.
“What, what are you talking about!”
“Ooh, why are you screaming? Captain, you’re a noble now. Aren’t you going to make an heir?”
Lutten asked in a tone full of doubts, as if asking why.
Elric pursed his lips.
Succession, in other words, does not mean that you have to do this and that with Tyria.
Elric washed his face dry as his imagination stretched in a useless direction.
Lutten continued to talk nonsense again.
“What is that, didn’t you do that to me in the past? I’ll just give birth to ten children and create the Knights of Elric… .”
“When is that ever the enemy?”
“It was 14 years ago when we were 10 years old.”
“Yeah, I’m talking about when I don’t know.”
Nope, Elric drooled.
My face was so hot that I couldn’t calm down.
“Why are you bringing all the bullshit you did when you were a kid?”
“Why, the two of you seem to be on good terms. Isn’t that why the body of one blade wolf was left unharmed this time? I want to give it to my wife as a gift.”
It was right.
One of the blade wolves hunted in the snowy mountains was caught as neatly as possible to keep the skin intact.
It was because he was concerned about Tyria’s old fur cape.
But that’s it.
Elric did not attach much importance to the work.
“Eh, tsk tsk, to be ashamed.”
Lutten clicked his tongue.
Elric opened the ax eye and shed him.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah, see you next time.”
Rutton left, waving his hand.
There was a side to it that didn’t suit someone who was going a long way, as if he was going to drink in front of the house.
Elric sighed.
“Anyway, when will that guy grow up?”
Only Elric didn’t know that he wasn’t talking about it.
*
A few more days passed since then.
Tyria slept most of the day, and even when she was awake, she was unable to speak properly due to her hazy expression.
No, it was awkward to even say that I was fully awake.
It was precisely this morning that she recovered.
The fever still remained, but the dangerous hurdle was over and only stability remained, and the maid opened her eyes while cleaning the room.
“No, madam!”
Tyria blinked her eyes as the maid ran over and checked her body.
My body is tired.
My forehead was a little hot, and my thoughts didn’t connect well.
But it wasn’t so much that I couldn’t move.
So Tyria asked.
“… How long have I been lying down? How was your job?”
Her memories were hazy, but it was clear that Tyria hadn’t been able to work for quite some time.
I asked thinking that I would be busy to deal with the overdue work, and the maid smiled at him.
“As soon as I open my eyes, what do you mean?! How worried everyone was!”
“Did you?”
“sure! The owner was very worried too! He stopped by here every day to take care of the mistress!”
Tyria’s eyes widened.
Because he knew that the master he was talking about was none other than Elric.
“… The head of the household?”
sincerely?
When I asked in surprise, the maid gave a big nod.
“I was worried about what to do if I caught a cold, but everyone didn’t listen to me until the end! anyway! Doesn’t the master’s stubbornness change?!”
It seemed that it was not a lie that his chest was swollen and he was frustrated.
Tyria couldn’t believe it.
No, I couldn’t exactly understand his intentions.
In the midst of that, a thought came to my mind.
‘Did you mean he showed a sleeping face?’
Heat rose in the face.
His pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
“Yes? The madam’s face is redder… Hick! You have a fever!”
The maid hurriedly rose from her seat.
Even during that time, Tyria couldn’t get out of her world.
My teeth trembled with shame.
I started to worry that it might look weird.
Just as I was filled with the desire to check the mirror right away, the maid hurriedly opened the door.
That was the moment.
“Come on, bring me a towel… .”
Click-!
“What’s the fuss?”
Tyria and the maid’s heads turned toward the door at the same time.
“Lord, master?”
Elric was there.
Maybe he didn’t sleep well, he looked a little haggard.
There was silence for a while, before long Elric turned his head and Tyria’s eyes met.
“… ma’am?”
A look of surprise settled over Elric’s face.