The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies - Chapter 116



115 – Reunion (07)

116.

“Anyway…! I’m going with you. Mother, Laris.”

After the brief commotion…

As the brightened atmosphere began to settle, Lunea uttered her first words.

She would follow Laris and Belvet.

The Laris and Lunea sisters had persevered with only one goal – to properly see their mother off.

They had endured Plaver, who’d tried so hard to get rid of them, to achieve that long-held wish.

Now that a miracle had happened for Belvet and her daughters, Lunea wanted to follow that miracle.

Belvet smiled at Lunea’s words.

Laris smiled back, her expression a bit more joyful.

With three beauties, their silvery-gray eyes shining, creating such a cozy atmosphere, no one would dare interrupt their happiness.

But Kallen, who had been watching silently from behind, carefully opened his mouth.

It would be good to let them enjoy this happiness.

They deserved it.

But there were things in the world that couldn’t be overlooked.

Like the existence of the Garci family, tangled up in this happy ending.

“Can you simply rescind an engagement, Lady Lunea?”

“Huh? Ah.”

Carefully, Kallen’s voice reached her, and Luneah turned to face him.

Then, as if considering something, she offered a reassuring expression.

“Jarmild…if you’re talking about my husband, it’s alright. The Garsi family already knows too. In fact, I’d be happy if we could break off the engagement sooner.”

Kallen tilted his head.

He’d heard the Garsi family treated Luneah well, so the fact she’d be happier breaking off the marriage faster didn’t make sense to him.

Noticing his confusion, Luneah smiled faintly.

She added more, making it easier for Kallen to understand.

“Jarmild has a baroness’s daughter he’s loved since they were very young. He’s a good person, but as the family’s heir and successor, he couldn’t ignore the danger his family faced.”

“Flayver.”

“That’s right. Even knowing the hand he offered was rotten, I had no choice but to take it. The reason I trusted them and shared my feelings was because Jarmild told me first.”

Luneah’s smile turned awkward.

The guilt and gratitude she felt towards Jarmild were palpable.

It was clear how decent he was.

“He promised that as long as we’re married, he would do his best for me, but he can’t forget that baroness, so he can’t truly love me.”

Kallen was genuinely astonished.

For nobles, what’s most important is endless pride and dignity.

Dignity elevates themselves, and ultimately their family’s standing.

Those things eventually reflect back, raising oneself higher.

But Kallen now knew.

That wasn’t the case for many nobles.

For that reason, Jarmild was astounding.

If what Luneah said was true, he felt he could understand why they were only a lower-ranked count family.

Even with Flayver, outwardly they are still a family bound to the Platze, Lyle trading house, through marriage.

The fact they’re only stuck at a lower count rank was more than strange.

“That day I spoke my true feelings, and thankfully Jarmild and the Garsi family accepted my words.”

“…I understand.”

It was something that needed to be said, but at the same time, it was a statement that disrupted the mood.

Knowing this well, Kallen nodded with a look of apology.

“Then… it seems like everything’s really resolved.”

“Yeah. Then you can stay here until the mansion is found. I am still the next lady of the Garsi family, after all.”

I’d urged Flav to hurry, but acquiring a mansion wasn’t something you could just do on a whim.

There were multiple checks to go through, to make sure the mansion met the criteria.

And then the work to make it habitable, that was also essential.

Normally, a place like the Lyle Merchant Guild wouldn’t have an issue, but Cailen had turned it upside down, so even if I pushed them, it’d probably take a week.

Until then, we were stranded, forced to rely on the Garshe family.

“I’ll speak to the family. It’s late, let’s all rest for today.”

I was still, officially, married to the first son of the Garshe family.

Lunea was sure Cailen would become a significant figure in the Empire, so she intended to repay this debt, no matter what.

Lunea watched Cailen’s retreating back as he left the room, loosening up his stiff body after standing all day.

That debt wasn’t something Lunea herself would repay, but something she’d rely on Cailen to take care of.

It wasn’t something for Lunea to decide and make a fuss about.

And to that end, one thing had to be done.

When she’d thought of all this, there was no issue because she’d assumed Cailen was her younger sister’s fiancé.

But that wasn’t the case, so in order to repay the Garshe family’s kindness, she had to turn that misunderstanding into reality.

“Laris.”

“Sister?”

Lunea quietly grabbed Laris’s arm as Cailen was almost out of the room.

Lunea made her voice so soft that only Laris and Velvit, who were close by, could barely hear her.

As intended, once Cailen was out first, she spoke to Velvit.

“Mother, please let Cailen go. I have something to tell Laris.”

“…Alright.”

At Lunea’s request, even Velvit left the room.

Lunea, looking at the confused Laris, gave a soft smile.

“Laris.”

“Sister…?”

Of course, the fact that she had to turn that misunderstanding into reality was only the second reason.

The first reason was the expression Laris had been making.

That happy expression she wore when talking about the things she experienced with Cailen, an expression Cailen, who was standing behind, couldn’t see.

“You. You like Cailen, don’t you?”

“Un…”

“I’ll help you.”

“…”

The topic of conversation between the sisters, meeting after countless days,

was about a boy resembling the comforting night outside the window.

*

Though now indebted to the Garsche family, Desed and Jamild instead welcomed them warmly.

Perhaps freed from Flavier, the two’s expressions only brightened as they realized Calen’s words were true—that they wouldn’t be interfered with any longer.

Desed was kind, but he was not an incompetent head of the family either.

There was a time when Flavier’s help was essential, but that time was long gone.

All that remained was Flavier’s unbearable interference, so they couldn’t help but be grateful to Calen for solving it.

Jamild, who still treated Lunea as his wife even though she said she would leave, made sure they had no discomfort for the week.

From noble mtl dot com

However, that didn’t mean everyone was comfortable while they were in the Garsche family’s care.

Laris, Velvet, and Lunea were able to relax, but

Calen had a lot to do, so it couldn’t be helped.

Whether things were progressing smoothly, whether there were any problems at the mansion, whether Belrn and the other children were safe, and so on.

There were many things to check, and it was only now, after a week, that everything had been resolved.

In short, it meant the day they would leave the Garsche family was approaching.

Laris quietly called Calen out on the night before they were set to leave.

“…You’re here?”

“Yes, young lady.”

“…”

The Garsche family’s managed estate.

At a time when even the groundskeepers who maintained the garden had left, a boy and a girl were there.

Laris, who had been waiting, smiled as she spotted Calen.

Calen then walked over and sat down beside Laris.

“Thank you for coming.”

“It’s not like it was hard.”

“Still.”

Calen cautiously looked at Laris.

Without turning his head, just rolling his eyes, he saw Laris’s fingers twitching.

She seemed to have something to say, so Kallen looked forward again, quietly waiting for her words.

“If I don’t say thank you like this, I’ll keep… getting used to it. Because Kallen is kind and listens to me well.”

But now, even that was getting familiar, perhaps?

Laris suddenly pressed herself closer.

A slightly cool breath brushing his cheek.

He blinked once, then glanced sideways. Laris’s face was turned towards him.

“…Yes. Well… Whatever is comfortable for you…”

“Kallen.”

This distance was unfamiliar.

For Kallen, an appropriate distance was one sufficient to observe and react to an enemy’s actions.

Besides, Laris was a woman so beautiful she could take his breath away.

If it were a socialite prince fond of women, not Kallen, he might have fainted from the closeness.

She cut him off mid-sentence like that, leaving Kallen flustered.

Even so, Laris just kept looking at him and continued speaking.

“How long are you going to keep using honorifics…?”

“…Yes?”

“See? You’re doing it now too. ‘Yes’… am I that difficult for you…?”

“…”

A story he’d heard often before.

Kallen could instinctively find the ‘correct’ answer.

“You use casual speech with other young ladies…”

“…No. Laris.”

“Ugh…”

She flinched, perhaps not expecting him to say her name suddenly.

But her head, pressed close, seemed determined not to move away.

“Could you… say my name just one more time…?”

“…Your name?”

“Yeah… just one more time…”

“…Laris.”

“Hoo…”

Was formal speech *that* repulsive?

Laris, with her eyes closed, let out a shallow, deep breath, then remained still for a long moment before dropping her face.

“Do you know why I called you?”

Because what just happened was quite startling, Callen had thought Laris had called him because she disliked formal speech.

But for some reason, he felt like he shouldn’t say that, so Callen shook his head.

“I have something to show you.”

“Show me?”

“Yeah. Just a moment.”

Laris’s words, saying she had something to show.

Then, she averted her gaze from Callen and closed her eyes.

Callen quietly watched her, as if she was concentrating on something.

And what followed was something Callen had forgotten.

A quiet night with no one around.

The dark night of that place, where only Callen and Laris whispered, lifted, and a beautifully sparkling bright night descended.

A beautifully sparkling bright night.

A contradictory phrase in many ways, but there was no more appropriate way to describe what was beginning to fill the surroundings.

Jewel and mirror-like shining stones.

Such stones filled the surroundings, lighting up the cave which was like a dark night.

A boy looked at the cave.

A girl looked at that boy.

It was a scene unknown to the boy.

The girl was looking at him, a fact Callen had not seen at the time.

“…Image.”

Callen knew the name of that landscape.

An image.

From the banquet hall until now.

The reason behind everything that had started with Laris’s request.

It was no longer very useful to Laris, but she opened her eyes and smiled.

Now, an image was needed.

This is how I got it, and even more so, ever since I discovered it with Mother in the carriage, secretly stealing glances.

Something so precious, something so beautiful.

Laris didn’t want to let go of anything precious anymore.

Perhaps.

Maybe, just maybe.

The reason the view above Latia Falls wasn’t as beautiful as I thought.

Maybe it’s the same reason I thought about back then.

“Well, Kahlen.”

“…”

“Pretty?”

Laris smiled shyly, leaning her face closer to Kahlen once more, asking the question.