The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

30 – Hiatt (02)

031.

“Miss.”

A little late at night.

In the snowy field where even the breathing of passing birds could be heard lightly.

Even though he spoke outside the tent, and even though she answered inside the tent, it was clearly audible because of that.

“Why?”

“Are you still awake?”

“I can’t sleep.”

Selassie’s expression seen in the meeting was not good.

Selassie, who had been burned enough to say that she had no allies, lost her ally once again.

It would be strange not to be disturbed.

“Aren’t you uncomfortable too, Kallen? Do you want to leave now?”

“I’m not very uncomfortable.”

“Liar.”

Kallen, recalling Selassie’s expression, looked up at the quietly hanging moon.

The moonlight shining beautifully over the silent stillness was quite impressive.

“About Mr. Makbel.”

Kallen brought up a slightly sensitive topic.

No matter how you looked at it, Selassie’s wounds seemed deep.

There had been a few such moments.

Quick-witted Kallen pretended not to notice, out of consideration for her.

It seemed she was trying hard to cover up those wounds.

Selassie seemed to be trying to soothe herself, pretending to be okay, as if she had forgotten the wounds.

Is it right to uncover those hidden wounds and sprinkle salt on them?

If all she wanted was for Selassie to be happy, that might be the right thing to do.

But the path she chose was the exact opposite, a rough road.

If she truly wanted to win the civil war and save the North, it was something she had to face.

“Since when have we been on the same side?”

“Well, I haven’t counted every day, but it’s been a long time. Not long after the civil war started, she came to me wanting to help.”

“And Sir Crathers?”

“Sir Crathers… When we were lacking in power, he got excited seeing the carriage and I had to calm him down. It’s been a long time, but when I gave him a carriage with poor performance, he even came to the temple.”

Was it the carriage they rode when they came to the Hyatt family?

Kallen, recalling for a moment, couldn’t help but chuckle.

It’s about preparing the atmosphere before starting a heavy conversation.

One way or another, mental preparation is necessary.

“It’s a bit cautious for me to say, as it’s not been long since I came to the North and met the lady.”

“What is it?”

“That person. It’s better to keep your distance.”

Once again, the quietness settled over the snowy field.

Kallen took courage from the silence and continued speaking.

“I suggested something too dangerous. If catching enough monsters to capture people’s hearts was so easy, the North would have done it long ago.”

“…”

“Even if the current Duke is a trash who favors his child, I don’t think there’s a secret plan to suggest something that the previous Duke couldn’t do, my lady.”

The voice of Selassie that came through was as beautiful and soft as usual.

But there was a hint of hesitation.

It felt like she was forcibly holding back a tremor.

“Is that all?”

“Prince Thorn.”

Kallen slightly closed his eyes, which had been gazing at the moonlight.

“Mr. Makbel’s way of addressing Prince Thorn was strange.”

-At least he said Prince Thorn is better.

Prince.

That’s what Kallen found strange.

It didn’t seem odd for someone who had long been devoted to Hyatt to address the prince of the Hyatt family with respect.

However, Selassie was present.

The fact that the two were in the midst of a civil war, and that they were addressing each other with honorifics while devising a way to overturn the disadvantage.

It was certainly strange.

There was no need for it.

Even if it was an unconscious act, it had been quite some time since Makbel sided with Selassie.

For it to be familiar to address with respect, it had to be continuous.

It could only be thought that Makbel had been continuously addressing Prince Thorn with respect.

And the dangerous alternative mentioned earlier.

In the special time of civil war, it was impossible to think positively.

Kallen, who had revealed his wounds, quietly waited for an answer.

The beautiful and soft voice, now slightly lowered, came after some time had passed.

“I know too.”

“…Pardon?”

“I know too. That Makbel’s behavior is a bit strange.”

In fact, it was only natural.

It makes no sense that Celasio, who has been with him for years, wouldn’t notice something that Kalen, who he met only recently, could.

Moreover, faith is a false promise held by those blinded by hope.

With that definition, Celasio closed the door to his heart.

He didn’t think of Makbel as special.

Even so, he turned a blind eye.

Even though he noticed that Makbel’s behavior was strange, he turned a blind eye.

That was the last hope Celasio didn’t want to let go of.

The last line that allowed him to be himself.

The moment he acknowledged being betrayed by Makbel, he felt he would lose it.

Celasio couldn’t let go of that hand.

He knew that beyond it lay endless darkness.

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The hand holding onto the last line was just holding on, but he knew it was actually a mess.

If he let go of even this, he didn’t know what would happen to his mind, his heart.

Celasio, too afraid, held on with trembling hands and closed his eyes.

What would it be like, the moment the oldest faith is betrayed?

Even though it had become quite familiar, he didn’t want to face that moment.

That’s why this paradoxical relationship was born.

Celasio knew.

Makbel’s behavior was a bit strange, and it was likely connected to what he thought.

So he turned away.

The moment he faced the fact that it was true.

He was too afraid to look, fearing what he would feel.

The moment he realized that his father favored his brother.

The moment he saw those he thought were his people attempting assassination while they slept.

Repeatedly, again and again.

The ‘my people’ who once numbered in the hundreds.

Now, there were not even dozens left.

“So what about me?”

The manners forcibly instilled by his brother wavered.

Would maintaining even this reduce the instances of betrayal?

The mask she had always worn was shaking violently.

A snowfield bathed in beautiful moonlight.

On it, the shadow of a girl trembling precariously was cast.

“If I admit that all my relationships are lies.”

The moment the girl closed the walls of her heart.

What remained was distrust.

To avoid getting hurt, she didn’t trust.

She used others before being betrayed.

But the more she did, the only conclusion was that her people left.

“What should I do?”

The girl forgot her pain with more pain.

*

“Is it enough if not all relationships are lies?”

Selassie was surprised.

Was it because she was swept up in the atmosphere?

It was also because she revealed her innermost thoughts, which she had never told anyone.

And because she thought Kallen would clumsily try to understand with some awkward comfort.

You don’t know unless you’ve experienced it.

Selassie didn’t think anyone could understand her wounds.

But Kallen calmly.

Just calmly spoke.

“Why is Mr. Makbel the last?”

She remembers the conversation she had with Kallen.

A relationship that didn’t start with trust, but a simple promise of mutual understanding.

Kallen promised to gain the help of the Hyatt family,

And Selassie promised to protect herself until the civil war ended.

There were more reasons she didn’t tell Kallen, but clearly, it didn’t start with trust.

But a promise.

A promise is based on trust.

A single trust relationship placed in each other’s hearts.

If Selassie needs faith, she doesn’t have to go searching for true trust.

“Don’t be bound by pure faith. Miss. The promise you and I made, think of it as a form of faith.”

“How…!”

“Why not?”

Kallen asked, genuinely puzzled.

“You want to win the civil war and drive out Lord Thorn to save the North. Yet, accepting something that’s obviously a trap is worse than a child’s tantrum.”

For Kallen, this matter is also related to Dranus.

There were more than enough reasons for Selassie to go this far.

Since he was entrusted with her protection from the beginning, it was better to exclude dangerous tasks from the start.

“You say your relationship with Makbel is the last line? Then pass that line to me. I will gladly bear it.”

“No…”

“I know well that our relationship didn’t start with faith. But that can’t be a reason. Faith is something you build.”

Did you follow Blamia because you trusted him?

Did you throw yourself for Sinat because you trusted him?

Did you not avoid danger because you trusted Eliana?

None of it.

It was all created by the memories built with them.

Faith and trust don’t come instantly.

They slowly build up and become solid.

Even if faith wasn’t the foundation at the start.

If Selassie is thirsty for trust, she can build it.

And by throwing that last line to Kallen,

By moving the end line to the starting point,

Selassie won’t be in danger.

Knowing that what Makbel said is a trap, she accepts it.

“If you want to win the civil war, if you truly want that.”

That’s enough.

Kallen is, after all, Selassie’s protector.

He prevents the dangerous situations she might face.

“Pass the line you drew with Makbel to me, and do it properly. Don’t fall for it knowing it’s a trap.”

Kallen closed his half-open eyes completely.

A long time passed since then.

With the final words, “I understand.”