Chapter 38
Rache Akion nodded with a bright smile.
“Yes, Daphne is my younger sister.”
At his answer, the children exclaimed “Waa-” and clasped their hands together.
“We heard lady Daphne is a hero!”
“Isn’t she younger than us? But she stopped a bomb terror! That’s really amazing! I could never do that!”
The children are probably purely praising Daphne. But Lache couldn’t accept that pure praise straightforwardly.
His insides twisted. The mask of a good person he barely created shakes.
“That…….”
“Can’t you tell us a bit more about lady Daphne? How does Daphne-nim usually train at the mansion?”
“Was she different from a young age? The rumor that she was a rascal must be all lies, right?”
Lache’s mouth corners trembled. The mask is on the verge of cracking.
It was then.
“Is Daphne Akion really a hero?”
Someone placed a hand on Rache’s shoulder and poked their head forward.
With the strong whiskey scent wafting, Lache could immediately tell who it was.
“Kenrick!”
Kenrick Dried.
The only friend and colleague Tache had been close with even before being adopted into the Akion family.
“Long time no see.”
Kenrick smiled, folding his one eye not covered by an eyepatch.
Ash-gray hair swept to one side and wine-colored pupils glistening like fine wine.
The left eye, swept by the hair, is covered by an eyepatch. It’s because he lost his left eye in a battle with a black mage a few years ago.
But his large build, refreshingly wide mouth, firm-looking eyes, and sharp jawline made it seem as if the absence of the left eye was no flaw at all, appearing only confident.
The children’s faces brightened upon seeing such Kenrick.
Because Kenrick was a hero of the battlefield who made great contributions in the recent northern war.
“Ah, hello, sir Kenrick!”
“Hello!”
The children looked up at Kenrick with excited faces, clasping their hands.
“Are these the apprentice guardians who came in this time?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“So that’s why they seem easily influenced by rumors.”
Kenrick clicked his tongue shortly and then extended both hands to place them firmly on the children’s heads.
“You guys are still young so you might not know, but Daphne Akion is a very nasty kid. Just talking about the misdeeds that little one committed could keep us up for two nights. Now she’s being called a hero and all, but as time passes, the backstory will come pouring out?”
The children’s eyes rolled around.
That’s strange.
They said Daphne Akion is a hero who stopped the terror, but why is Kenrick, the hero of the battlefield, saying this?
The children became confused.
“Ha, but…….”
“We heard lady Daphne saved people!”
“It must be a coincidence.”
But Kenrick replied firmly.
“It’s definitely a coincidence. There’s no way that crazy rascal would do a good deed. Absolutely not.”
As he said that, his shoulders trembled, and it felt so genuine that one couldn’t think it was acting. The children exchanged glances and observed each other.
Then Kenrick said to Rache.
“Ah, sorry. She’s your sister, but I think I said something unnecessary.”
Rache made a briefly surprised expression, then soon smiled softly and shook his head.
“It’s fine. The truth as it is is important too.”
“Yes. We can’t tolerate fake hero acts.”
When Lache, Daphne’s family, rather affirmed his words, it became certain that Kenrick was telling the truth.
Yes. Kenrick wouldn’t say something unnecessary! Same for Lache-nim! Then the famous rascal must have spread false rumors!
They wanted to quickly tell this fact to the other apprentice guardians. The children stamped their feet and bowed their heads.
“Th-then, we’ll be going!”
“Goodbye!”
Rache, who had been blankly staring at the disappearing children, punched the wall hard with his fist as soon as they turned the corner and were completely out of sight.
“Aaak! Damn! Damn it!”
Stomping his feet loudly and trembling, Lache’s appearance was completely different from when he was with the children.
Having thrown off the mask of a kind person, he became the arbitrary and rude boy as originally.
“Daphne! Daphneee! Why isn’t she dead and still alive? They said she’d die! Incurable disease!”
“Calm down.”
“No. I’m not saying she should die. It’s good if she lives. I like it if she’s alive. But can’t she just live like a dead mouse? Can’t she live as if she’s there but not? Why does she cause accidents without any gap like this?”
“I said calm down.”
“Would you calm down if it were you?!”
Haa, ha. Rache exhaled heavily and held his forehead.
Rache really hated Daphne.
He hated her so much that as soon as he turned 12, he ran out of the mansion because he didn’t want to see Daphne and became an apprentice guardian.
But to get entangled like this again!
“They’re really out of their minds. The family, the imperial family, everyone. Without properly checking the truth of absurd rumors…….”
Lache buried his face in his hands in despair.
“Hey. Snap out of it.”
Kenrick, who had been hesitating, patted such Lache’s back.
“How about thinking it’s rather a good thing?”
“What?”
Rache’s face was dyed with shock.
“Are you sane?”
It’s a bit sharp for words to Kenrick, who is 4 years older.
But Kenrick and Lache are childhood friends. Kenrick shrugged his shoulders.
“No. But isn’t it? It’s a rumor but they’re believing it as fact. Then you just need to tell them that the rumor is a rumor, right? Show them Daphne as she really is.”
Kenrick shrugged his shoulders.
“She hasn’t changed anyway, right? Still nagging and still acting annoyingly. If you show that side to the guardians or knights, the rumors will spread on their own?”
“…….”
Rache’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Is… that so?”
“She’ll cause an accident anyway. It’s obvious, right? So you don’t need to worry.”
“Hmm…….”
After rolling his eyes for a moment, Lache pulled his chin slightly and said in a low voice.
“You must have only developed your perceptiveness on the battlefield.”
“I guess I developed perceptiveness too. You damn bastard. You don’t even say thank you.”
Kenrick ruffled Rache’s hair messily and wrinkled his nose. Anyway, a guy who needs a lot of care. Muttering like that.
Rache Akion was originally a child of the fallen noble Evett family.
10 years ago, as the war dragged on, local nobles one by one lost funds and territories, and Rache’s family was exactly that case.
But fortunately in misfortune, Duke Evett was a comrade in arms with Heros Akion on the battlefield, and while dying, he entrusted Lache. So Lache was adopted into the Akion grand ducal family.
‘At that time, the kid was still okay.’
Kenrick clicked his tongue and looked down at Lache.
“Is your adoptive father coming this time too?”
Rache, who was tidying his disheveled hair, momentarily stopped his movement, then answered as if nothing happened.
“No. Only Daphne is coming.”
“Haven’t you seen your family for a long time?”
Rache’s slightly relaxed face crumpled up.
“What family? The side that abandoned me? Or the side that neglected me?”
Rache muttered with a grinding sound as if gnashing his teeth.
“I don’t care if I don’t see either.”
And then he leaves the place. It was a confident walking appearance, but it contained a strange loneliness.
Kenrick blankly stared at such Rache’s empty back, then soon shrugged his shoulders.
“Anyway, twisted up.”
Where did that guy go wrong from.
Kenrick couldn’t figure it out at all.
***
Tadadak!
The sound of running across the hallway is heard.
Kung, kung, kung! The heavy footsteps that could blow away the floor stopped in front of Daphne’s door.
The one who stopped in front of the door wiped their mouth with the back of their hand, took a deep breath once, and calmed their chest.
“Lady Daphne!”
And flung the door open.
“You’re participating in the black mage subjugation, right! As expected of our lady Daphne! Lady Daphne who can’t tolerate injustice! Lady Daphne who crushes all bad things! This Teiti, respects you with all sincerity!”
“…….”
Daphne frowned at Teiti, who came in and was spouting strange words at length.
“You failed to bring the great sage.”
“Ha, really? Ha, does it look like that? Haha! No way! Hahaha!”
Teiti held their waist and bent back laughing loudly, then quickly put their hands behind and bowed their head.
Kwang!
“I’m sorry.”
Haa.
Daphne put down the coffee cup and let out a long sigh.
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By Anna 💓
