Chapter 5. Tanya Ansberg (4)
Ludwig, who succeeded in collecting the people at the scene of the incident and returning to Pederbarn together, led them straight to the mansion.
“Thank you very much. Thanks to you, the mistress did not have a change.”
“no. You’re welcome.”
Ludwig waved his hand at Rell, who bowed deeply and thanked him.
It was just a coincidence that he was there at the right time.
It’s a place I’ve heard from time to time lately, because it’s a place where people don’t visit and the concentration of mana in the air is high, so it’s a suitable place for training.
Originally, it was a fact that few people other than Sword Saint Rebecca knew about, but he was someone who knew this fact through the original story.
In other words, he used some kind of small expedient to increase his strength.
In the meantime, I found a commotion under the mountain and hurriedly followed it, and the situation was happening.
Even if it was a little late, Tanya would probably not be a person of this world. If that had happened, he would have had no face seeing Emilia’s face later.
“Didn’t the Princess of Ansberg say that she was not injured?”
“Yes. Except for a slight scratch from rushing out of the wagon, he is unharmed.”
“I’m glad.”
Ludwig had a bitter taste because he didn’t know that the first meeting would happen like this.
On the way to the mansion, he returned with Tanya on his own horse, but she had remained silent ever since she had expressed her gratitude.
It must have been that the fear and memories of the encounter with Squale Wolf were still there.
If at least we could have started our first meeting with a smile on our faces, it would have been nice for each other, but things had already gone awry.
While talking with Lel, the door to the drawing room opened and Carol and Tanya appeared together.
Because the dress she was wearing was very damaged, Tanya, who borrowed simple everyday clothes, exuded a new charm rather than a flashy one.
“Father, the privates of the Ansberg family… … ?”
“yes. There’s no problem. The bodies of those who unfortunately gave their lives on the field will be recovered by our family’s soldiers tomorrow.”
“thank you. father.”
The corpses at the scene were buried in the ground and left a mark in case wild beasts ate them up.
If the family’s enlisted men arrive on the scene tomorrow, they will be able to confirm it right away.
When Ludwig let out a sigh of relief at the thought that the case had been resolved only then, Tanya, who had been watching the action, suddenly stepped forward.
“On behalf of the Ansberg family, thank you. I will never forget this grace today.”
Then, as Rell had conveyed to Ludwig, he bowed deeply and expressed his gratitude with the highest courtesy.
Although she is usually lively and carefree, she is also a member of the Ansberg family.
It was a greeting I had to give as the representative of the family to him who saved the people of the family including himself.
“no. If I had been a little faster, the others wouldn’t have been sacrificed… I am sorry for the delay.”
“Please stop thinking like that. Everyone is deeply grateful to Confucius.”
The most important thing at that place was whether or not the girl named Tanya Ansberg could live.
If something went wrong with her, even if the rest of the enlisted men succeeded in clearing out the Squale Wolf, the mission itself would have failed.
It was from this point that the survivors felt deep gratitude to Ludwig.
“I will talk to Hans and come. Would you like to talk comfortably?”
“Ah, if that’s the case, then I… … .”
Talking with Hans would mean having a general conversation about this incident.
Ludwig tried to follow him, but Carol laughed and stopped him.
“You will comfort that child here. Keep in mind that comforting a wounded woman is also a manly duty.”
It couldn’t be a really nice word, but for some reason I felt a handful of sinister in that smile.
Convinced that this father was up to something else, Ludwig hesitated, but he could not refuse his words and be stubborn.
“ah… ! Thank you. Sir Ipretz.”
“Give thanks to my son. It seems like I’ve already received a lot, but I’m talking about it.”
Tanya hurriedly bowed her head to him who was about to leave and expressed her gratitude for what may be the number of times today.
Carol waved her hand and looked at Ludwig and Tanya alternately, then left the drawing room with a strange smile again.
The door closed with a small thud, and all that remained in the drawing room was silence.
“It’s already late, so wouldn’t it be better for the princess to go to bed? You must have been very tired.”
Ludwig didn’t do anything wrong, but the silence in the air made him uncomfortable.
After checking the outside of the camp at dusk, he chose to get out of this place, talking about the bed.
It was because he thought that the conversations he couldn’t have today would be enough tomorrow, and that Tanya’s head wasn’t organized yet.
Lell also nodded slightly from the side, as if he had agreed with his opinion.
However, the answer from Tanya, the person in charge, was very unexpected.
“Lel, can you move away for a moment?”
“… Yes?”
What he meant was that he had asked the lady-in-waiting, Lel, to stay away for a while.
At the sudden request, Lel asked back with a dumbfounded voice. If you avoid your seat here, a situation where there are only the two of you will happen.
Because he also told the lady-in-waiting to stay away, there was not a single servant here.
“Lell?”
“Ah, I see. miss. So excuse me for a moment… … .”
As if to confirm it again, Tanya called her name in a low voice.
Rell, who finally came to his senses, hurriedly nodded and got up from his seat, greeted Ludwig, and left the drawing room.
Even Rell, who was at least the hope of continuing the conversation, left the seat, and an even heavier silence fell.
He couldn’t understand her intentions, so he just wanted her to say something.
“Prince Aifretz.”
“Yes, please tell me.”
Did his wind reach the sky? Her mouth, which had been tightly closed, opened shortly after.
Could it be because he got used to Emilia, whom he had been with until relatively recently? Calling him by his last name was a little awkward, but he tried not to show it.
“I heard the story from Sir Stefan. Regarding the relationship with Emilia… … .”
“Ah, you mean that story.”
I hesitated to bring up the story, so I tried to say something, but fortunately it was within the expected range.
If you heard the story directly from Stefan, Emilia’s father, you would know very well that he and her became friends.
From now on, he will be trying to determine if he is the right person to be her friend. I had to answer as well as possible.
“I don’t know what Sir Stefan said… Most likely true.”
“Then the relationship with Emilia… … ?”
“… Yes. It’s just not enough… … .”
There is no shortage of friends among friends, at least compared to the star called Emilia, any existence will fade.
Tanya nodded slightly while keeping her eyes fixed on Ludwig, who appeared in a fairly low profile.
‘It was true… … .’
Until I came here, I had doubts about the relationship between the two.
That would be the case, because he had never imagined that a noble woman named Emilia would fall in love with someone.
Moreover, before stopping by this place, I had someone investigate. According to him, little was known about Ludwig Eifretz except that he was a slovenly man who loved to grow flowers.
It means that she is a person who is far from the standard of a man to be liked by her, who is still the first to even have a fresh first love.
“Are you disappointed?”
“Yeah?”
As if he had seen through her heart, Tanya answered the question with her eyes wide open.
“I heard that you are Emilia’s old friend. I guessed that she might have come to see me because she was fond of seeing an insignificant man standing beside her.
“That, that… … ”
“I apologize if I am wrong. However, if it is true, it is okay to be honest.”
It wasn’t something I just said out of curiosity.
There was nothing good about him because he hated her, and if he had to argue, it would be better to pretend not to know and show a good side and build trust.
Nevertheless, the reason I insisted on mentioning this fact was to treat the character of Tanya Ansberg with sincerity.
They had a common theme of Emilia, but ironically, they were more awkward and uncomfortable because of that.
That’s why it has such a river.
Ludwig could appeal to her sincerity simply by getting an affirmation from Tanya here.
That he would never treat Emilia in a foolish way. That I truly consider you a precious friend.
Unless she is also an idiot, the two of them will be a little more comfortable if he recognizes that he is not wrong.
“… It is true that I have come to examine you. But I wasn’t disappointed. No, rather… … .”
“rather?”
“… No. Anyway, I apologize for trying to test you.”
She swallowed it down her throat without being able to say everything behind her back, and this time, she politely apologized instead of thanking her.
He is a man with a better eye than you think. Besides, I also liked that he insisted on mentioning that it would have been better if he had kept his mouth shut and pretended not to know, even though he had noticed.
‘At least it means that I won’t be afraid of pretense.’
You look like a good person Emilia.
Tanya congratulated her friend who was far away and could not reach her.
He is a friend who felt like he was so far away that he couldn’t even look at him carelessly.
Even so, the reason Tanya always stood by her friend was that if she kept this distance, she might be able to see the way she was going, even from a distance.
But did they say that everything in the world goes according to one’s will?
He thought he could at least look at how far his friend had been so far.
For some reason, the thought that it might be difficult this time dominated her mind.
The reason was that she had no way of knowing. Even if he had a lover, he would always be able to look at Emilia from the position of a friend.
Maybe my head is malfunctioning. With that thought in mind, Tanya smiled and spoke to him.
“Prince Aifretz, shall we be friends too?”
“friend… Are you talking?”
“Yeah. If you’re an important person to Emilia, it’s the same for me. Isn’t it awkward to always call you Prince Aifretz and set an example?”
It was something that normal Tanya Ansberg would never have done.
She’s pretty bad at approaching people. In a sense, as much as Emilia.
The reason the two became close was because they felt such a strange sense of kinship with each other.
Meanwhile, Ludwig thought about her opinion for a while, then smiled and nodded.
You don’t have to think too hard, you can just assume that Tanya has opened up to you.
“As much as you like. Thank you Tanya.”
He willingly held out his hand first, but Tanya stared at it with a look of disapproval.
Did he do anything wrong? Was it inconvenient to have to hold hands to shake hands?
In just a moment, many thoughts passed through Ludwig’s brain, but as she opened her mouth, the misunderstanding was cleared.
“Because we’re friends, please speak comfortably.”
“uh… That word… … ?”
“Put.”
A new model of Ludwig, who was stiff with his hands outstretched.
As if he was frustrated because he couldn’t understand him, Tanya strode over, took his hand, and said with a bright smile on his face.
“This is what it means. I’ll take care of you, Ludwig.”
While waving their clasped hands up and down calmly, Tanya began to mutter inwardly the truth that had arisen from a misunderstanding.
He is Emilia’s man.
He is Emilia’s lover.
He is Emilia’s half.
Like writing it down in your head so you don’t forget it. countless times, over and over again.