HRB 88

“Ebon, stop it. We need to let Eddie rest comfortably first.”

Gerold, who had been silently watching the farce, stepped in. It seemed like he was stopping Ebon, but Ketron knew very well that Gerold and Ebon were the same type.

“But Ebon’s words aren’t wrong either.”

As expected, the words that came out of his mouth weren’t much different from Ebon’s.

“You’re not worthy of coveting him.”

Rather, the words coming from Gerold’s mouth were much colder than Ebon’s.

“Know your place.”

Ketron and Gerold’s gazes clashed fiercely. Of course, no matter what they said, Ketron had no intention of handing Eddie over to them.

However, if they were to fight seriously while their interests conflicted, they would only suffer losses, and as a result, it would only disturb Eddie’s peaceful rest, so they chose a temporary truce.

Gerold sighed softly.

“Let’s go.”

“What, you’re leaving Eddie here like this?”

“He’s not someone who would harm Eddie, at least.”

Ebon, who hadn’t known Ketron for very long, tilted his head, half in doubt, but he seemed to trust Gerold’s judgment and followed without resisting the hand pulling him away.

Once the two of them were completely gone, Ketron looked down at Eddie, who had finally fallen asleep in his arms. His soft, regular breathing indicated that he was in a deep sleep.

He didn’t seem to handle alcohol well, yet he had emptied an entire bottle of not-so-weak liquor, and he had been pushing himself for the past few days without getting proper sleep, so it was only natural.

The night deepened, and Ketron, who had already been planning to take Eddie to his room, rose to his feet with Eddie still in his arms.

He quietly looked down at Eddie’s face, which was still flushed pink from the alcohol, and then lowered his head to kiss his rosy cheek.

As they said, Ketron didn’t know Eddie’s identity. But that was okay. Eddie had said he didn’t want to leave Ketron’s side.

Although he hadn’t said it out loud, Eddie had shaken his head, albeit passively, when asked if he would leave. It wasn’t a definite answer that he would accept his feelings, but Ketron decided to be satisfied with that for now.

‘If I stay by his side, someday…’

Someday he would know everything, and he would make sure that Eddie would let go of all his worries and accept his heart.

He had never failed to achieve his goals so far.

And this was something he could never give up on. So he would do it.

He believed he would.

***

“What brings you to the manor?”

The Count Fontain family’s butler looked bewildered. It was because the owner of the manor, who usually resided in the Imperial Palace, had come home after a long time.

The butler looked at Arthur with a puzzled expression. His master, whom he had met after a long time, looked different from his previous, worn-out self. He was somehow relaxed and at ease, giving off a similar feeling to when he had just defeated the Demon King and returned to the Empire. Moreover, he was dressed in luxurious clothes that he hadn’t worn in a while, as if he were going out.

“I thought I’d go out for a bit.”

Indeed, Arthur, who would usually have hesitated for a long time before giving a reason for his visit, shrugged his shoulders and answered coolly.

“The carriage…”

“Boram said she’d come to pick me up, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

The butler, who suddenly had nothing to do, glanced at Arthur.

The new head of the family, who had been wearing a gloomy expression every time he had seen him recently, had surprisingly brightened up since the last hunting Tournament.

It seemed that regaining the Holy Sword had brought about a big change in his state of mind.

Even now, the Holy Sword was strapped to his back. Even to the ignorant butler, it was no ordinary sword. Holy energy was radiating from it in streams. He wanted to touch it and examine it in detail, but he knew that Arthur wouldn’t allow it even if he asked, so the butler quickly gave up on that desire.

“It’s been a while since you’ve gone out. Where are you going?”

Instead, the butler asked where he was going. Arthur, who would usually have looked annoyed, smiled and replied, as if he was in a good mood today.

“There’s a place I’ve wanted to visit, so I thought I’d go there.”

“Where…”

Just then, a servant’s voice announced that the carriage had arrived. Arthur headed outside and casually replied to the butler.

“Eddie’s Inn.”

Boram was already in the carriage. Arthur, who gave her a light greeting, sat down in the seat opposite her. She was sitting quietly with a colder expression than usual.

Arthur put down the Holy Sword that he had been carrying on his back. The sparkling Holy Sword was quite heavy, but Arthur was moved by the fact that he could lift the sword.

And Boram, who had been in the carriage first, watched him with a troubled expression.

“Arthur, get a grip. That can’t be the real Holy Sword!”

“The Holy Sword is in Ketron’s hands. That’s a fake. You should be trying to figure out what Marquis Rodrigo is up to, not getting caught up in that!”

“Arthur, please.”

Since the hunting Tournament, Boram had advised Arthur to get a grip several times, and when that didn’t work, she had tried to stop him with a strong tone, but Arthur didn’t even pretend to listen to her.

Maybe Arthur didn’t know. He probably knew that wasn’t the real Holy Sword either. But even so, he was closing his eyes and ears.

“Boram, you said there’s nothing wrong with the sword.”

Arthur retorted shamelessly. He had confirmed that there was nothing wrong with it, so it shouldn’t matter.

Boram had no choice.

She didn’t dare to try to confirm whether the sword’s Divinity was real through the temple. If she did, it would somehow reach Marquis Rodrigo’s ears, and more importantly, that action would be doubting Marquis Rodrigo’s sincerity.

And at the same time, if the result was that it wasn’t the real Holy Sword, it would be a disaster for Arthur, who had already said that the sword was ‘his sword’ and held it in his hand.

Naturally, Boram, who knew very well that this sword was not the real Holy Sword, had even fewer options. Boram had skimmed through it in a perfunctory manner and found that there was nothing wrong with the sword, and that it was surprisingly similar to the real Holy Sword, but she couldn’t rest assured with that alone.

No, rather, the fact that it was too similar to the real Holy Sword was unsettling.

Now, there were only three people in the world who remembered the real appearance of that sword.

Could it be that Ketron was deliberately trying to trap Arthur? But Boram soon shook her head.

Ketron was quite intelligent, but that was only in battle, and he wasn’t good at politics or backroom dealings. He always faced things head-on, and he was a strong person who couldn’t be defeated by anything.

“Haa.”

Aside from the unknown identity, there were more than one or two things that had gone wrong because of that damn sword.

By accepting that Holy Sword, Arthur had gained the symbolism of the Hero, but he had also gained an unknown anxiety, and he had publicly revealed that he was on Marquis Rodrigo’s side at the hunting Tournament hosted by the Emperor, losing a lot politically.

“What does it matter? You were the one who said it would be better to choose either the noble faction or the Emperor faction soon anyway.”

But Arthur was nonchalant.

“I meant to watch the situation and then choose one, not to be forced to choose one at random like this!”

“It’s okay.”

What was okay? She had preached to him several times that it was right for him to live as an noble of the Empire with such a past, not as a Hero, but before and after he got the Holy Sword, Arthur had clearly forgotten all about that.

“More than that, I need to go see Ketron.”

He even said this.

“What?”

“I need to go see Ketron.”

After the last Tournament, Boram had easily found Ketron’s current location. She couldn’t have imagined that he would be staying as a guest in a famous inn in the central square of Irena, the heart of the Empire, which she had visited several times.

She had judged that he had left the Empire or was at least not in the capital, so she had searched other places, but it was like looking for something right under her nose.

What’s more, that inn was the place that Augustine had suggested they visit together before.

I should have accepted the offer then. Boram regretted it belatedly, but it was already long gone.

Of course, the location was also shared with Arthur. She thought he might do something impulsive if he knew the place, so she was going to stop him, but Arthur was quiet at that moment.

But after getting the fake Holy Sword, he suddenly had a change of heart and said he was going to see Ketron.

If there was anything that could have brought about a change of heart, it was the fake Holy Sword he had obtained. It must have been the peace of mind it had brought him.

Of course, Arthur got angry every time Boram said ‘fake’, but they both knew it wasn’t real.

“What are you going to do when you meet Ketron?”

“Who said I’m going to meet Ketron? I want to live a long life.”

“Then?”

“It’s not him I want to meet.”

“Then who do you want to meet?”

“The person he’s so crazy about.”

“…”

“Aren’t you curious too?”