How the Regressor Loves the Reincarnated

24. The Last Apostle (3)

1.

Doo-doo-doo-

Twenty-six warhorses were running across the plain, scattering a roar that resounded the heavens and the earth. Twenty-four general knights and assistant knight commanders given by Luke, plus the horse I rode, total twenty-six.

Even if I didn’t participate in the battle, it was enough to lightly trample on an orc village. The moment Tauros intervened, the structure would be completely reversed.

As the Duke of Isvant had already wiped out the nearby Orcs with his knights once, all he could see as he marched eastward was the remains of an Orc settlement that had already been burned and turned to ashes.

“Power off! After taking a break for 30 minutes, we are going again!”

It’s a matter of course, but no matter how good a trained warhorse’s stamina is, in the end it’s just an animal with a body made of flesh and blood. It is inevitable that warhorses riding with knights in full armor riding on their backs and munitions slung beside them quickly get tired.

Actually, the horse I was riding was still running, but it wasn’t too difficult to figure out that the other knights’ mounts were tired from the field experience accumulated through the regression.

Why is my horse still running fast?

That’s because I’m not wearing armor. Naturally, the burden on the horse was less.

No, it might be a bit wrong to say that he didn’t wear armor. That would be the case, since the knight’s uniform I was wearing now was no different from armor.

The lineage of an aristocratic family is the most precious thing in that family. The value of the sole successor like Luke, who will be responsible for the future of the family, cannot be measured even in gold.

That doesn’t mean that the lineage, which is not the immediate successor, is inferior in value to the successor. If a defect is found in the successor or an accident occurs, it is natural as it is the only body that can replace it.

In such a circumstance, the knight’s uniform that her father gave as a gift to a daughter of a ducal family of the age of Lud Meyer, who was also active as a knight, could never have been an ordinary outfit.

A noble among nobles that has enchanted numerous protection-type magics with a thousand gold.

Resistance to various magic. Physical shock relief. Resistance to cold and heat. Enhanced durability. Auto repair, etc.

There was no need to wear heavy and cumbersome armor as he reached the level of a master and added a body that transcended human limits.

Since rest is something you take for the sake of your warhorse, most of the knights were chatting with each other chewing jerky.

No one has bothered to approach me, who can be considered an outsider to them, but in fact, that probably wasn’t the main reason. At some point, among the knights, keeping a distance from the mistress of the family began to be regarded as a virtue.

It was the beginning of an affair between a knight and a hostess. Disloyalty close to the worst that can be committed against the lord serving as a knight. Keeping a distance from the hostess was the tacit agreement of the knights to prevent such a thing from happening.

In fact, rumors about my relationship with Luke had already spread as quickly as they could in the system, but it didn’t seem like it would spread here in Isvant.

So it’s only reasonable to assume that the knights simply consider a noblewoman of a similar age to the heir of the family as a potential hostess.

Luke and I haven’t even been in a relationship yet, but I think we’ve made some progress since this morning.

Actually, it was a slightly different action from what I originally intended. Because I obviously moved with the intention of kissing Luke as it is. As much as it was impulsive, there was such a desire to make Luke’s first kiss mine.

I changed my mind at the last minute.

The result was an expression of affection that could be considered a little subtle, to the extent of lightly touching Luke’s cheek.

To be honest, I wanted to commit it. When I think of Luke who went crazy with just a kiss on the cheek, I felt a bit regretful about not committing it.

But I hope that Luke and I exchange our first kiss, at least after we’ve confirmed each other’s feelings…

No, wait. I’ve never given my heart and body to any man except for Luke in my life, but did Luke do that too?

I thought it would never happen in this life, but then in the previous life?

Of course, Luke had admitted with his own mouth that he had a normal appearance in his previous life. However, the more plain his appearance is, the more important his ability and personality are.

I’m not sure about his abilities, but from my point of view, Luke’s personality seemed to be enough to attract women’s favor, even if his appearance was a little plain.

What if someone took his first kiss in a previous life? First experience? And most importantly, his heart?

A past life is just a past life, but what if that woman still has a place in Luke’s heart, who remembers it vividly…? Twenty-five was an age at which, by the standards of aristocrats, it would not be unusual for her to get married and have children, so it was quite possible.

In my head, a resentment towards the unknown cat-like woman who probably took all of Luke’s things began to bloom in my head. The delusion of a moment had already been accepted as a fait accompli to me.

The flow of thoughts that ran wild without knowing how to stop finally reached a single conclusion. To the conclusion that it doesn’t matter if Luke has feelings for the woman from his previous life or not.

If there is, after I take away the space that woman occupies in Luke’s heart, she paints over with my color and she is done.

If you don’t have it, you just have to take over Luke’s heart.

Whether it was, it was certain that the relationship between Luke and I would change drastically once I had dealt with Tauros and returned to Isvan.

Because I was going to make it that way.

2.

A little over a week has passed since Adele left for Belleton Plains.

My father has recovered enough to maintain consciousness for about a quarter of the day. The end of the weekly work experience that was like hell was not far away.

After the day’s work, I sat by my father’s bedside and told him what had happened in the duchy while he was unconscious.

“So, what kind of relationship do you have with Ludmeyer’s daughter?”

“Yes, yes?”

When I heard my father’s completely unexpected question, I stuttered and asked back.

“I don’t remember raising you as an idiot who couldn’t even understand such a simple question.”

“If I had to question it, it would be more correct to say it as a friend.”

“Hmm… I thought you brought a true daughter-in-law on your own, but it was a vain hope.”

Even though I felt hot for no reason at those words, the cheek that Adele had kissed her just before leaving was tickling. Her mouth twitched at the thought that maybe the feelings I had for her might not be one-way, but two-way.

“Not yet.”

Her father, who nodded her head slightly at my quick words, threw up advice with an amused expression.

“If you have feelings for that child, don’t hesitate. Don’t you know that if that child steps forward to the level of a master as you say, there will be a lot of confusion not only within the empire but also in other countries?”

As for Adele, she won’t even pay attention to marriage talks until the Zodiac is eradicated, Father.

I thought so, but it wasn’t the right time to mention the zodiac to my father just yet.

“Well, that’s right.”

“Let me tell you a story from my experience. If I had been a day late in conveying my feelings to your mother, Arya would have become the empress of this country.”

This… Was the first time I had heard of it.

In fact, it is not that rare for parents to tell their children about their love history. Even in my previous life, my parents once told me all about their love history in order to make fun of each other.

In this lifetime, since my mother passed away when I was a child, my father has been reluctant to mention her mother, to be honest, I never imagined this would come up.

“…So you’re telling me not to hesitate and miss something? Just like my father did.”

“Yes. It’s not enough to say that conveying my heart to Aria was the best choice I’ve ever made in my life. If I hesitated and missed the opportunity that day, I might have regretted it for the rest of my life.”

The father’s sad eyes, when he said that, were probably reminiscent of the happy days he spent with his mother.

“…I’ll listen carefully.”

“Yes.”

I thought as I looked at my father, who silently drank the warm water that was on the table next to him. Whether it’s in the past or this life, I don’t think I’m as envious of being born under good parents.

“I’m thinking about taking a vacation for a while when I feel better.”

“…Yes?”

“It would be perfect for a couple of weeks of basking in the sun at the southern beach.”

“…Yes?”

I only repeated ‘yes?’ Like a parrot. Now I… What did you hear? Surely not, father?

“You should have gotten used to the job as an assistant duke by now, so why don’t you try hard for about two more weeks?”

What I felt at that moment was a truly inhuman sense of despair. I feel like I want to grab my head right now and scream, ‘Keeeee’ Apart from that, my mouth.

“…Yes.”

Contrary to my inner thoughts, I spat out an affirmative answer.

My head is dizzy. To hold on to those papers for another two weeks? We’re going to do it for two more weeks… We’re going to do it for two more weeks…

Then my father and I met eyes. My father laughed at my despairing expression and said,

“Of course I am joking. You guys should go too.”

“…No, wait a minute. Why am I suddenly And please don’t joke like that, Dad. You thought your heart would drop, right?”

“Shouldn’t it be officially permitted to date Lud Meyer’s child?”

“Yes? That, me and Adele aren’t even dating yet.”

“Yeah, yet, you said it yourself. Didn’t that mean that things would change soon? The expression ‘still’ must have been like that.”

My father, who raised one eyebrow and said that, couldn’t look so mean. Besides, he wasn’t saying anything particularly wrong, so it was all the more so.

The first step Adele took with courage had a great meaning. Because I was also able to get my mind together through him.

If I had to argue, it could be said that Adele’s courage transferred to me.

“…That’s right.”

In the Empire, there is no culture of greeting with a kiss on the cheek. It is not the France of my former life. Women from aristocratic families would never, never, ever make that kind of physical contact with anyone. No, you shouldn’t.

In such a circumstance, the fact that Adele took the initiative in expressing affection to me with such intensity was like a signal to me. Stop hesitating and confess. If you just confess, I will accept it unconditionally.

What matters to me now is just when and how to confess.

In her mind, she doesn’t even want to wait for her to come back, but she is conscious enough to do what she has to do. If you can’t get rid of the Zodiac, it’s inevitable that waiting will only be a predestined destruction.

My father, realizing that my heart had left the conversation with him, ordered me to celebrate.

After being kicked out by his father, I was lost in my thoughts as I headed to my room to end the day. How can I convey my feelings to Adele?

In the meantime, I ran into the person I most didn’t want to meet.

“Brother. Could you please give me a minute?”

I realized the moment I met Julius, who gave off an atmosphere that, at first glance, it would be better not to think of rejecting him.

From this moment on, all I have to worry about is my life.