Chapter 132
“Judge for yourself. Don’t be swayed by others’ words. I want you to live with a backbone.”
“……Pardon?”
“Backbone. I’m telling you to keep your backbone.”
At Daphne’s words, Joshua frowned slightly. No, well, she was right, but…… how should he put it? It felt strangely offensive.
“Wow. Daphne! You make living exactly as you please sound so cool!”
Arius jeered from the side. At that, Daphne furrowed her brows.
“So? Since we are only born once, shouldn’t we live as we please? It’s better than suppressing what you want to do and taking on forced labor while worrying about what others think!”
Arius blinked slowly. A Daphne who lived as she pleased…… hadn’t he experienced that a lot……? Arius pulled his shoulders back with a flinch as if feeling a chill.
“You’re not planning to go back to being a brat, are you?”
“Aie, dammit! That’s not what I meant!”
Seeing Arius, whose face instantly became terrified, Daphne stomped her foot.
“It means that if you fulfill your basic duties as a human—in other words, as long as you don’t cause harm to someone or hurt them—you can do as you please! Look at me! I do as I want, but I’ve never caused you any trouble, have I!”
“You haven’t caused trouble?”
“……Recently! Not in the past!”
“Right. It better stay that way.”
Arius let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest, while Daphne glared at him. Aie, dammit, why did she have to worry about things she hadn’t even done? Daphne snorted, “Hmph,” and then turned her gaze toward Joshua.
“Anyway, Joshua.”
Joshua, who had been dazed until then, looked up with rounded eyes at the young but firm voice calling him.
“Do as you want to do.”
“……As I want to do.”
“Yes. With a backbone.”
“Backbone……”
Joshua exhaled a long breath through his nose and dropped his gaze.
Thinking only of himself, it would be much more beneficial to enter as an apprentice knight of the Archduke Isaac’s household as Arius suggested.
But thinking of his parents—thinking of his parents who died unjustly because of a noble—he could not bring himself to consider only his own safety. Joshua bit his lower lip hard with a complex and subtle expression.
“Well, if I were to add a bit of comment……”
Seeing Joshua like that, Daphne, whose heart felt slightly heavy, added more words.
“I wonder if your parents would have truly wanted your life to be riddled with revenge.”
“…….”
“Every parent wants their child to be happy.”
“……Happy.”
“Yes. Happy.”
Daphne placed her hand on Joshua’s shoulder with a thud and said.
“Think about what a happy life would be for you.”
Joshua lifted his lowered gaze and looked at Daphne. He looked into Daphne’s clear and bright eyes. At the extremely warm pity and kindness contained in those eyes.
“Yeah.”
Joshua answered, feeling his heart grow lighter for some reason.
“I’ll do that.”
***
A few more days passed like that.
Fortunately, all the children who had been lying in their hospital beds recovered, and they were able to hold the completion ceremony in a healthy state, though not quite the same as before.
Normally, the parents or servants of each child should have participated in the completion ceremony, but there was no one in the villa except for the children and the instructors.
They were already in a situation where they had suffered various damages due to the phantom’s attack, and they might not have been able to cope if strangers entered all at once. Furthermore, some of the children were still complaining of mental distress.
Therefore, the completion ceremony was held relatively simply.
“{Training ends today. Everyone has suffered enough during this time, which was not short. Your blood, sweat, and efforts will surely be rewarded!}”
Starting with Kenrick Dried.’s words,
“{Due to the training period being shorter than the original schedule, we will allow those who wish to do so to continue their training as apprentice Guardians.}”
Nike made an unconventional proposal, and,
“{Everyone, you’ve worked really hard. I hope to see you again through good connections.}”
The completion ceremony came to an end with Fiona’s encouragement.
And the reward that the children wanted most and the nobles were eyeing fiercely—the permission to enter the Imperial Report and recruit private soldiers…….
“{Trainee Daphne. In gratitude for the spirit of sacrifice Trainee Daphne has shown, as well as her high level of skill enough to prevent loss of life, a special award is hereby bestowed.}”
It was given to Daphne along with a trophy made of gold.
“Oh.”
Daphne, who tried biting the trophy once with her teeth, smirked and raised her thumb.
“Fine. I shall accept it proudly.”
Indeed.
If not Daphne, who else could receive such an award and reward?
The children, who owed their lives to Daphne twice, clapped for Daphne with one mind and heart.
Clap, clap, clap—!
Beyond the loud sound of applause, the people of the Archduke Isaac’s household—Pauline, Arius, and Vifera—who were looking down at the scene of the completion ceremony, stood with their mouths agape.
“I’m someone who really doesn’t shed tears easily. But right now, emotions are really welling up. I’m truly someone who doesn’t cry, but the tears are coming again.”
Pauline said, sniffing.
“To think that troublemaking, bratty, wreck of a Young Lady is receiving praise from someone like this…… for such a thing to happen! Aaaaah!”
As if agreeing with Pauline’s words, Arius and Vifera nodded their heads together.
“I really didn’t think I would see such a sight before I died. I’m not dreaming, am I? This is real, right?”
“Da, Daphne……. She s-seems like she’s b-become a d-different person. R-really.”
It was exactly as they said.
Daphne had changed from a certain point.
Though her foul temper remained the same, at least the acts of hitting or bullying people like before had disappeared.
Instead, she put effort into physical training and practiced swordsmanship.
Even that alone was a surprising enough change, but she suddenly saved people and even faced black magicians.
Moreover, she got along well with the children at the training center she was worried about and even saved them all!
An appearance completely different from the Daphne of the past.
It was embarrassing to even say they were the same person.
“Seriously…… did she eat something wrong to become like that?”
Arius muttered in a convinced tone as if it were a rational suspicion.
“Otherwise, how could she change like that. It’s a change so big it’s truly nonsensical.”
“I, I, I th-think s-so t-too. D-drug s-side e-effect? C-could it b-be something l-like that……?”
“She did pick up and eat things pointlessly. I wonder if that’s really it.”
Pauline, who was listening to Arius and Vifera’s conversation, chuckled.
“I also somewhat agree with your thoughts, however.”
Pauline continued while rubbing his palms together.
“Isn’t that what’s important?”
“Then what is important?”
At Arius’s question, Pauline clapped his hands—Smack!
“That our Young Lady doesn’t cause trouble anymore!”
Ah. Well, that’s true.
“That people don’t call the Young Lady a brat anymore!”
Her temper could be called a brat’s, but one could confidently say her actions were not.
“As a result, His Grace won’t be cursed at, saying his child-rearing failed!”
……Were such things said?
“And not being cursed at because His Grace’s education method was a wreck, which lead to such a mess—gh!”
“…….”
It seems Pauline had a pretty hard time.
Arius and Vifera quietly straightened their posture from their slouched positions.
“Isn’t that what’s important? We have no reason to be cursed at anymore!”
Pauline, who shouted so, skipped around and laughed loudly. Arius and Vifera swallowed their chuckles and nodded.
“Right. Well…… once Daphne returns home, there won’t be any reason for her to cause trouble.”
“Y-yes. Also, since the e-elf and the G-great Sage are there.”
They were reassured like that. They predicted tranquility. They intended to enjoy the peace that was about to arrive.
……Without anticipating what Daphne would do the very next day.
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