Chapter 85
Ansiha Mountain Range’s elf village.
There, the lovey-dovey play of a couple who loved each other terribly was continuing.
“So, what my darling hubby said at that time was.”
“Ah! Darling was really pretty that day. It was the 282nd time I fell for you.”
Mumble mumble mumble.
Even Shio, who at first had tried to listen to all their conversation out of curiosity, eventually gave up on the couple.
“Now I fully understand why Lord Teiti paled whenever the topic of home came up.”
“Uh…… I threw up twice today…….”
Teiti rubbed his chest and stomach as if feeling unwell, clicked his tongue, then raised his voice again with a hopeful face.
“But after today passes, we can go back!”
Fortunately, with the Lord’s permission, they could touch the World Tree today. In fact, he had thought permission wouldn’t be granted…….
-They say they’ve been waiting.
It almost felt like some revelation had come down. So Teiti harbored pure curiosity, but he doesn’t tell all of it to Shio.
Elf matters are only between elves.
No matter how much Shio is cooperating with him, there is still a wall.
“Anyway, let’s just do that and leave right away. Please. I don’t want to stay one more day. Really.”
Teiti pointed at his parents who were stuck to him like glue and spoke, and Shio nodded with an awkward smile.
“By the way, how is Lady Daphne doing?”
Shio took out a fist-sized communication orb from his pocket.
“Even when I contact her through the communication orb, there’s no reply. It’s upsetting.”
He infused mana to check the communication orb, but there were no incoming messages. This was one of two things. Either Daphne forgot or she lost the communication orb.
Both were possible. It could even be that she lost it and forgot. Shio snickered recalling Daphne.
“But I have something I’m curious about.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you helping Lady Daphne?”
Teiti asked with sparkling, innocent eyes.
“No, well. For me, since I’m an elf, it’s natural to help a dragon. But you’re not, right? You’ve been saying things like it’s fun or whatever since last time, but it doesn’t seem like that’s all there is to it.”
Shio smiled softly.
“There is something I need to check in Lady Daphne’s lair.”
“That doesn’t seem like a proper reason.”
“Hey, it’s true. I am a sage who seeks the truths of the world. So I must not be ignorant of anything and should know everything. I think there might be something in Lady Daphne’s lair that I’ve been curious about.”
The answer flowed out smoothly as if prepared.
Even someone who didn’t know would think, ‘This guy is lying.’ Teiti’s eyes narrowed.
“Humans really tell the most absurd lies.”
“It’s really true?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll believe you.”
“No, it’s true.”
“If you don’t want to say it, don’t.”
“…….”
Shio pursed his lips and made a strange expression.
While doing so, he recalled what the Gold Dragon had said in the past.
-Don’t lie. It shows completely.
Does it really show that much.
Shio brushed back his graying hair and shrugged his shoulders.
“Come on, let’s hurry and finish then go back.”
And then he pushed Teiti’s back.
***
Nicole Sanchez, Thomas Breed, Emily Garden.
Among the admitted noble children, these three with the least family backing had been wandering without joining any particular group yesterday and today.
They had tried to get close to Rachel, but since they weren’t fully part of her group, those in similar situations naturally gathered together.
They leaned against the stairs and began complaining endlessly.
“Even in swordsmanship class, it was honestly obvious. He hits the other kids hard but goes easy on the duke’s daughter.”
“They say status doesn’t matter here, but bullshit. They’re the ones who care about status the most. In hand-to-hand combat class too, they only go easy on her.”
“Honestly, isn’t Daphne just a pushover? Mark was careless, that’s all. I feel like we could just beat her down.”
At the blatant words, Rache’s expression crumpled as he eavesdropped. Rache wanted to run out and shut their mouths, but Daphne stopped him.
Daphne pulled Rache’s clothes and placed her index finger on her lips. It meant to stay quiet and listen more.
Kkeung, Rache frowned in reluctance but held back.
But then words that could make him unable to hold back came out again.
“Hey. But isn’t the duke’s daughter the one abandoned by the grand duke’s family anyway?”
Right away, talk about the family.
“What, that. From what I know, even while she was sick and dying, the grand duke didn’t care at all. She’s always confined to the separate building.”
“Yeah. I heard that too. The reason she acts like a spoiled brat is to get attention from the grand duke.”
“Wow. And yet she pretends to be the duke’s daughter of the grand duke’s family? She was acting all high and mighty.”
The fearless children were busy badmouthing Daphne as if this was their chance.
“The grand duke probably doesn’t care, and neither does the grand duke’s family. There’s Lord Rache Akion here, right? But he doesn’t even make eye contact with the duke’s daughter.”
“That, honestly, if I were Lord Rache, I’d do the same.”
“He can’t treat her as a sibling. Even if she’s pretending to be good now, she was really a mess.”
Rache’s mouth fell wide open.
No matter how much people badmouth the emperor in his absence, isn’t this excessive!
Rache tried to charge out again, but as expected, Daphne stopped him this time too.
“Ah, if I see the instructor going easy on the duke’s daughter again, I really won’t stay quiet. Don’t stop me.”
“I won’t stay quiet either. Just watch.”
“Hey hey. Roll call time. Let’s go up.”
“Damn. I’m so freaking tired.”
The children bluffed and giggled among themselves, then climbed the stairs and went away. As soon as they were far enough, Rache yelled loudly.
“Are you kidding me? You’re just going to stay still after hearing that?”
Rache’s face was flushed red with heat. He was considerably angry.
He was so angry that his hands were trembling.
But the person in question, Daphne, was calm.
“No, well. It’s not exactly wrong, is it?”
“……What?”
Rache could feel his blood running cold.
But Daphne continued speaking calmly as if nothing was wrong.
“They’re not slandering me with lies, so I can let it slide. Well, about the instructor favoring me, they’re probably jealous or something. I don’t mind.”
“You……!”
There are so many things he wants to say.
He wants to shout that everything they said is wrong, that you should care,.
But…….
‘Do I have the right to say that?’
Because I didn’t pay attention to Daphne in the training center, the other children got that misunderstanding.
No, is it just the training center?
Isn’t it because I left Daphne alone for the past several years that she’s hearing such insults?
Rache bit his lips hard and trembled.
“You should get angry when you hear things like that.”
For some reason, he could feel his eyes growing hot. He felt wronged. And sad. And angry.
“Why don’t you care. It’s insults about you. You’re saying it’s no big deal. You should get angry. You should correct them saying it’s not true.”
To Daphne’s reply that it’s not exactly wrong anyway, he was most angry at himself for not being able to shout that it’s not true.
“You, you…… shouldn’t hear things like that. Say it’s not true. Go now and say it’s not true!”
“…….”
Honestly, Daphne couldn’t quite understand why Rache was acting like this.
She wasn’t particularly angry that the children badmouthed her. After all, they were just talking among themselves thinking she wasn’t there.
And she didn’t think much about the content either. Most of it was true, wasn’t it. There was no part she could confidently say was wrong like Rache said.
Daphne rolled her eyes around, then soon patted Rache and said.
“Refuting words like that is no different from proving you’re petty.”
“……You.”
“I really really don’t mind, so you don’t worry about it either. It’s okay.”
Then she spun around.
“Now I’m going to roll call. You go rest too.”
“…….”
Rache clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth.
Annoying. Why is she so calm. Infuriating.
And…….
The fact that I am one of the people who made her used to hearing such words makes me the angriest.
Rache was truly saddened.
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