chapter 11
11 – 3. Lichtenauer (4)
Awesome… .
The evening after the inauguration ceremony of the governor.
After finishing the meeting, Shien entered the office.
Originally, the lady-in-waiting was trying to clean up the place.
However, Shien gave orders not to touch anything.
Even if you clean it up, you will take care of everything yourself.
Please don’t touch anything, that’s what I begged.
Seruk-.
Sitting in the seat of the family head, Shien looked blankly at him.
Today, I was really hectic and very busy.
Rather than worrying about the future.
I was just full of tension that I shouldn’t make a mistake today.
Then, finally, everything is over.
The tension was released, and only emptiness remained in the empty place.
“Haaa… .”
A sigh comes out of nowhere.
Can I really do well?
Will I be able to live up to expectations when I am not ready?
Lichtenauer’s name, without disgrace to his honor.
Still, can it be evaluated as Gaju-like?
Shien reached out and grabbed the picture frame on the desk.
A picture of father, mother and brother smiling.
The happy family is now all gone.
The only thing left in the world is you.
There is no more family that will be by my side until the day I die.
“… Some still look at me with anxious eyes.”
An empty cry that no one hears.
Even so, Shien continued his words as if he hoped someone would listen.
“I guess so. Of course you would. Even I will be right now. A woman with demonic blood who is said to have dragged the demons from a place where blood is always seen by demons. she’s going Of course you will.”
When I was younger, I hated those kinds of gazes.
How hard your father is fighting and sweating blood.
How hard my mother is trying to be of any help.
And I, who was born between them, is innocent.
Others hated it, couldn’t understand it.
I wanted to get away from that gaze, I didn’t want to go through it.
He left Lichtenau as if he were running away.
And now, he is back in that Liechtenau.
“I didn’t understand before. But, I understand now. Their eyes, their thoughts.”
Fidgeting with pictures of smiling families.
Shien tried to follow them and smiled.
“I will do well. I will definitely do it. father. mother. Brother. I’ll do well… Please keep an eye on it. And, please cheer me on from time to time. When this crybaby is having a hard time, sometimes… Please do.”
My eyes are about to blur again.
Shien tried to shake his head and erased the blur.
Now, she is no longer the daughter of Lichtenauer.
He is the owner of this huge and majestic family.
The owner cannot easily show tears.
“Whoa… hot!”
Shien catches his breath and slaps my cheek.
Come to your senses! and with a small voice.
She carefully tidied up the table first.
Even without carelessly erasing the traces of his father.
Gather the documents and reports you need to see in one place.
There are a lot of agendas that need to be dealt with starting tomorrow.
The most important thing is compensation and consolation to the bereaved families.
And to reinforce the punctured power.
This was about how to cover the funds that followed.
‘My head is all pounding.’
Consolation or compensation for the bereaved is naturally natural.
It is also necessary to reinforce power with large holes.
The problem is, all of that takes a lot of ‘money’.
Unfortunately, Lichtenau has no specialties to mention.
It’s not like there’s a money line nearby like a mine.
‘I think I can understand why my father struggled whenever the money issue came up.’
Shien covered his face while sighing.
There is only one corner where the money will come out.
It is none other than a by-product from the corpses of demon beasts.
The continent’s economic situation was devastated due to the war of demons.
Agriculture and commerce were all badly hit.
However, ironically, it was the magicians who caused the economy afterwards.
The discovery was truly by chance.
During the war, there was a shortage of people as well as weapons.
So he killed the beast and collected even the contaminated weapon to use.
However, those weapons showed unexpected power.
Even if not as much as a knight using chakra.
It made it possible for ordinary soldiers to fight on an equal footing with the Witchbeasts.
After that, research was carried out, and the results came soon.
The corpses of some demons can be used as resources.
It’s not just about strengthening weapons.
That said, it can be used for other purposes as well.
‘The problem is, there aren’t many types of monsters that can make money yet.’
Blindly catching a witch and splitting the ship won’t make money.
Most of the magic beasts are still useless.
Rather, the corpse calls more demons and makes the ground rot.
According to known studies, about a dozen papers are worthwhile.
“Haaa… .”
Suddenly, I felt the need to cool my head.
I wonder if breathing in the cold night air will calm my stomach a bit.
Shien got up slowly and grabbed the doorknob.
And that was the moment when I opened the door and stepped outside.
“Where are you going.”
“hehehe!!”
Shien screeched and panicked.
Then I trip over myself and fall backwards.
fault!-
Fortunately, before her body completely fell over.
Adele, who was standing outside, succeeded in snatching Shien away.
“Oh, Adele?”
“yes. That’s me.”
“No, you were surprised!”
“… sorry. By the way, they told me not to show any signs when escorting.”
Maybe it could be a hindrance to the head of the household.
Don’t show signs unless she asks you to.
Adele clearly heard that from Brenda.
So after I saw her go into the office.
Standing in front of him, he reduced his presence and waited for him to come out.
This is an office, not a bedroom.
Because the escort work continues until Shien goes to bed.
“… Will you please let me go for now?”
Being halfway in Adele’s arms, Shien blushed.
If it’s original, there’s no problem if you just push it out.
Looking into Adele’s eyes, I couldn’t do that.
“sorry. Shien.”
Adele stepped back and bowed her head.
Shien, who managed to calm her shocked heart, looked at Adele.
“… How long have you been here?”
“It’s been a while.”
“So since when?”
“After confirming that Shien-sama was entering, it was after that.”
“… By any chance, have you heard anything strange?”
It reminds me of myself who thought no one was there and talked to myself.
Remembering that, Shien’s face turns red.
“doesn’t exist.”
“Really? Did you really not hear anything?”
“yes. I didn’t hear anything.”
There was no change in Adele’s expression, only silence.
Thanks to this, Shien had no choice but to believe him even with her eyes narrowed.
“… great. That’s it.”
“Is there anything I need to hear?”
“no! no. Even if you hear it, forget it. Got it?”
“All right.”
After receiving the definite answer, Shien nodded as if he liked it.
“By the way, where are you going?”
“I want to get some fresh air. I feel stuffy.”
Saying that, Shien went down the stairs.
Following Shien’s footsteps, Adele follows her.
Soon after, the two men and women entered the garden.
I stand under the night sky full of silence.
“Haaa… .”
“Are you all right now?”
“yes. My chest was stuffy, but now it’s a little better.”
Sitting on a bench, Shien looked up at the night sky.
Under the bright moon, the castle of Liechtenau stands gracefully.
Even though I missed it very much, it was a place I wanted to avoid again.
At one time, I hated it so much that I wanted to run away again.
Now you have to become the owner and live there for the rest of your life.
I can do it well, I will do it well, even after repeating it hundreds of times.
If you do this, you keep doubting yourself.
Really, can I do it well? really… .
Sareuk-.
“… ?”
“It might be fine at first, but if you stay still, you’ll get cold soon.”
Adele takes off my coat and puts it over Shien’s shoulder.
Shien looked at Adele in silence, then Adele continued.
“Cold hardens the body, and a cold hardened body soon freezes thoughts. Whatever one does, one does best in a warm place.”
“… It sounds like advice from experience.”
“Exactly. I can’t light a bonfire here, so I have to block the cold with clothes.”
Adele’s voice was so serious.
It’s like a senior soldier giving an explanation to a new recruit.
Seeing this, Shien smiled unconsciously.
“Why are you laughing?”
“It’s a little strange.”
“It’s strange.”
“yes. Sometimes it seems like he has no interest at all. Also, if you look at it like this, you can see that you are paying attention in a strange place.”
Then Adele said, ‘Am I like that?’ and blinked his eyes.
The cold hardens the body and mind, and when the two harden, it affects the fight.
Yes. It affected the fight, so Adele never tolerated the cold.
It’s just that the habit has somehow flowed to this day.
“… anyway. Cold is not good.”
“is it so. All right, Adele. thank you.”
I try to fit the outerwear Adele gave me a little tighter.
Although it is north, it is not cold.
Is it because my mother is a demon?
Shien had a constitution that did not get cold very much.
The reason why the warmth is transmitted nonetheless.
Was it because I received an unexpected favor?
“I heard that you will be officially trained as an attendant starting tomorrow.”
“They said yes.”
“… Are you really okay?”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s not an escort knight, it’s a servant’s life.”
Obviously, when persuading Adele, he spoke as a ‘knight’.
But now, after living as an attendant and going through tests.
He said that only then could he become a knight, so he might not be happy with it.
“Are there any problems?”
As with Brenda’s question, of course.
Adele responded that there was nothing wrong with it.
“still… It can be a little difficult.”
“The hardest thing about my body is that I have a bone.”
Of course it will.
Because he was a skilled person who single-handedly dealt with level 3 monsters.
But that wasn’t the reason Shien was worried.
“that is… It’s not just about learning how to fight and taking tests.”