The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

10 – Lakatus (02)

011.

The room was silent.

As if it were another world.

Silent, but not heavy.

A slightly strange feeling, Kallen thought.

The first thing that caught his eye was the huge window.

The bed was large too, but it was nothing compared to the huge glass window.

Kallen carefully examined the place.

As if it were there, as if it were not.

A girl with a petite figure was sitting on the bed.

Did she not hear the door opening quite loudly?

Or was she deliberately ignoring it?

It was something he couldn’t know, but Kallen thought calmly.

The girl had been staring out the window since earlier.

It was probably Eliana.

At the same time, Everchan’s words came to mind.

The task is simple.

As long as you can stay by Eliana’s side without complaining of pain, you can stay as you are.

He had heard that even approaching the vicinity of the room, let alone entering it, would cause symptoms to arise.

In that sense, he could be relieved for now.

‘…Is she ignoring me?’

As he stood there, other thoughts began to arise.

It hadn’t been long since he entered the room.

Eliana’s gaze was still fixed outside the window.

He had heard that noble ladies generally had bad tempers.

But isn’t this too much?

It was a clear expression of disregard to not pay any attention even when someone approached.

Kallen quietly cleared his throat.

“…”

But what came back was the same indifference.

Eliana’s gaze was still beyond the window.

‘Anyway, I need to check.’

The exact distance that the Duke of Everchan referred to as “by the side” was unknown.

Thinking that being right next to her would be enough, Kallen moved without hesitation.

Step- step-

One step, two steps.

As the distance narrowed, a fact became clear.

‘She doesn’t know…?’

Eliana wasn’t ignoring Kallen.

She didn’t even know he had come in.

So, right next to the bed.

Kallen reached a distance where he could feel Eliana’s warmth.

At the same time, something started to throb deep in his chest.

It seemed to be the pain of mana overheating.

But it was quite different from what he had heard.

It was said to feel like the whole body, especially the heart, was burning.

But the pain Kallen felt was just a throbbing.

At that moment, he thought it was bearable enough.

“Is someone… there…?”

Is this what they mean by a transparent voice?

Without a hint of hesitation. A voice that was pure and clear flowed out.

“Emma…? Is that you…?”

Emma was the name of the tearful apprentice maid.

Kallen stood still.

He stood still in front of her.

“Why aren’t you saying anything…? Emma…?”

Eliana’s eyes were directed towards Kallen,

but they did not contain Kallen.

*

She can barely walk.

That was what Duke Everchan had said about Eliana.

But that wasn’t all.

Her vision, her hearing, everything.

None of it was within the range of a normal person.

“No, Emma… If you come this close… Even if you’re the best…”

Eliana pushed Kallen away with clumsy hands.

Perhaps she could only vaguely make out shapes.

Kallen, having roughly gauged the situation, spoke.

“Hello.”

Eliana hesitated, stammering.

“Who…”

There was more fear than curiosity in her voice.

Well, if she couldn’t see well and heard an unfamiliar voice, that would be understandable.

The voice was faint, as if it could disappear at any moment,

and its presence was weak.

Was he trying to hide himself? Or had circumstances made him shrink back?

In any case, Kallen, having confirmed there was no problem, turned his gaze out the window.

The mansion’s garden was beautifully spread out.

“It seems you can’t see well. Do you like the garden?”

“…”

“That’s strange. I thought I heard a greeting earlier.”

Kallen turned his gaze back to meet Eliana’s eyes.

The sky.

There was no other way to describe her appearance.

Blue as if the sky had been dyed by the clouds. Her eyes were as clear as anything in the world.

Thinking that her voice matched her appearance perfectly, Kallen straightened up.

The first thing to check was whether the mana overheating affected him as well.

It was a situation that needed to be reported first.

Kallen turned around and walked away.

“Wa, wait…”

The voice that trailed from behind was too small to be heard.

*

“Don’t… go…”

In the quiet room.

Eliana muttered as she stretched out her arm that didn’t move as she wished.

Her mind was in turmoil.

What was that just now?

It was a distance that had never existed before.

Eliana knew well that for the voice to be heard so clearly, it had to come at least right in front of the bed.

A voice she heard for the first time.

Judging by the visible shape, it wasn’t Emma.

Someone other than Emma had entered the room.

How long had it been? Eliana was confused enough just by that.

“Who…”

That was the only word that lingered.

She thought she had overcome the pain of loneliness long ago.

Her heart was shaken so much by just one stranger.

Why wouldn’t it be?

It was something that touched Eliana’s wounds.

At first, there were many people who tried to take care of her.

The head servant, the head maid, various servants, and her siblings.

But as time went by, this cursed disease worsened.

Their voices began to be tinged with a terrible pain that she couldn’t bear.

When the number of people knocking on the door gradually decreased…

She felt a bit relieved.

The loneliness that gnawed at her mind grew larger, but the more terrifying voice was not heard.

In the end, only Emma remained by her side.

For seven years.

The world outside the room had become an unknown place.

Only the faintly visible scenery outside the window reminded her that she was Eliana of Lakatus.

But what was it?

What on earth was that person?

Now this illness had grown so large that she couldn’t handle it herself.

There was no pain in the voice.

The more surprising thing was that her mind became clearer with that person by her side.

Now that he had left, her mind was becoming dull again.

The sudden wind of change was bewildering.

Because of the hesitation at the last moment, it was too late to hold on.

Eliana kept staring at the door.

At the person who suddenly appeared, threw a handful of curiosity, and disappeared.

Since being confined to the room, it was the first time she had stared at something other than the outside of the window for a long time.

*

“I’m… okay…”

“Yes.”

“Ha, haha…”

Everchan let out a hollow laugh.

Because of his position, because of his stance.

He had comforted himself with trivial things.

But seeing himself crumble with a single word, he realized he wasn’t much of a proper father either.

The wind of hope that blew again felt so welcome.

“Cancel it. No matter the position, if I have to kneel, I will. Can you take on the task of guarding Eliana?”

Now, none of it mattered.

His daughter and everything else.

At the moment of choice, he had already made an irreversible decision.

He was just grateful to have a chance to seize it now.

Although it remains impossible to solve the fundamental problem.

Isn’t it too pathetic for a father not to grant even one wish of his daughter?

With that thought, Everchan looked at Kallen, and fortunately, what he heard was what he expected.

“What exactly should I do?”

“Have you heard of the Winter Island in the North?”

“I have heard of it.”

The Winter Island in the North.

A place famous for its snowy scenery, even among the northern regions known for their snow.

It was such a unique place that it was nicknamed the flower that bloomed in hell.

Monsters, wars, and the environment.

As the most dangerous place in the empire, few people visit it.

But it was also selected as a place worth visiting before you die.

“Just take Eliana there, with no one else.”

It was the moment when the meaning of camping with the apprentice maid became clear.

“Her eyes don’t seem good, so even if you go, you probably won’t be able to see the scenery properly.”

“It’s not for me to judge. I asked Emma, the girl who attends to Eliana. I asked if her wish hadn’t changed, and she said it hadn’t. Eliana herself would know best about her poor eyesight, so the meaning is what Eliana seeks.”

“I can’t take responsibility for whatever happens. I’m also taking the risk.”

“If that happens, my heart will be torn, but what can I do? That’s her wish.”

The conversation continued, reaching Eliana’s complexion.

“…We’ve talked too long. Anyway, learn how to attend from the head maid, and I’ll arrange a separate instructor for driving the carriage.”

“Understood.”

With those words, Kallen tried to stand up.

“Thank you.”

He hesitated at the sincere voice of Everchan as he was about to leave.

“Sincerely.”

“Yes.”

The door to the head’s office closed, but it didn’t take long for it to open again.

“You called for me.”

“Internal Manager Vern.”

“Yes, head.”

The chief manager responsible for the affairs within the mansion and the estate.

It was because the internal manager, Vern, had entered.

Everchan’s expression remained cold, but to Vern, who had assisted him for a long time, it felt a little different.

Relief, joy, regret, and so on.

Emotions that didn’t quite fit seemed to be mixed together.

“Redirect all my dignity maintenance expenses for this month.”

“To where… do you mean?”

At the same time, Everchan smiled earnestly.

“To everything necessary for the escort.”