Chapter 27

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Will You Make Me Sad?
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Will you make me sad?

Diello’s eyes trembled slightly as he asked.

“…Ah.”

It wasn’t just his eyes that were trembling.

A faint tremor could be felt in the hand that held mine.

The moment I realized this, Diello smiled with a look of sorrow.

It was a smile so painful it could break the heart of anyone who saw it.

“I’m not used to goodbyes, Croire.”

He looked back at the sea.

“The sea of Argenta… it has only ever brought me farewells.”

He seemed to be trying to speak calmly. But having read the original novel, I knew.

Even though I’d only read half of the original, it was enough to know what kind of person Diello was.

That he had experienced many partings at sea.

Those words were true.

[Young Diello sat by the sea, waiting endlessly for the knight.

A knight who had already died on the battlefield ten days prior, but young Diello was not ready to accept it.]

That’s how it was described in the original novel, I think.

Cruelly, for one as affectionate as him, the monsters of the Infinite Sea had taken away countless people of Argenta.

And each time, he grieved.

That must be what he meant by not being used to goodbyes.

“…”

I could see his eyelashes quivering.

In the end, I took his hand firmly in both of mine.

Only then did Diello seem to be able to breathe again.

Had he been tense this whole time?

He was glancing at the people behind me.

As if he had to maintain this facade of a strong, cruel ruler, at least for their sake.

“Diello—”

As I was about to say something to him, I belatedly noticed something strange.

On his pristine white shirt, blood was spreading across his arm. Not spattered, but seeping through.

He had a deep wound on his arm.

“First, calm down, Diello.”

I could see him trying to maintain a cold demeanor, but I could also sense him breathing as if he were tense.

I hugged his waist and patted his back. In response, Diello also wrapped his arms tightly around me.

I felt strength enter his previously limp fingertips, as if trying to bind me to him.

Over his shoulder, I could see Mirta’s dead body.

“…”

I was certainly surprised at first. But as I felt my heart begin to beat more calmly, I too grew composed.

Croire’s body must not be new to this.

“Croire…”

Diello whispered my name, and the strength left his arms.

—*Clang!*

The sword he was holding struck the pebbles on the sand, making a sharp sound.

“Don’t move your arm.”

I said, stanching the bleeding on his arm with a handkerchief.

Even then, Diello was looking at me.

With that painful smile.

As if pleading with me not to leave his side, like the countless others who had done so by the sea.

…How long have we even known each other?

He’s so affectionate! This is why he gets stabbed in the back!

I pressed down firmly on his arm.

“Ah…!”

I saw Diello flinch.

Yet, it was almost pitiful how he tried to put on a sharp demeanor again.

I let out a short sigh.

“I promise. I won’t leave suddenly.”

At my words, Diello blinked.

To be honest, I had planned to bolt early, after dealing with Duke Alloje and before things got complicated.

Most of all, because I thought I might grow attached to Argenta.

In any case, once the real Pero comes to Diello’s side, I can’t be here.

*‘I can make it so Pero doesn’t matter.’*

…What did he mean by that?

“You really, you promise?”

Diello asked then.

His trembling voice sounded almost mournful. I found my gaze captured by Diello again.

“I don’t want to part with you, Croire.”

So don’t act like you’re going to leave someday.

The voice that whispered this was so gentle and sweet.

I touched my forehead.

Did I pick the wrong card?

I knew he was pure of heart, but if his mental state is this shaken just from getting rid of a traitor, how are we going to deal with Duke Alloje?

First, it seemed I needed to toughen up my business partner’s mentality.

“Alright. I’ll of course be with you until Pero arrives.”

I whispered softly.

“And, there will be plenty of time to prepare for a goodbye. Even if Pero shows up tomorrow.”

I won’t just suddenly disappear!

Only after I repeatedly told him this did Diello show a relaxed smile, as if relieved.

That sorrowful smile… he was truly a man who stirred one’s protective instincts.

In novels, guys like this often have a dark transformation. I’d better soothe him well before that happens.

“…My Lord, My Lady.”

Seeing that the tension between us had eased, people cautiously approached.

Diello kept looking at my face, even as Pielle came right up beside him.

I pressed down again on the wound I was stanching.

“!”

I said to the startled man.

“We need to sort out the situation.”

“…Ah.”

Diello slowly closed and opened his eyes.

Then, after pressing his lips into a firm line, he spoke to the Argenta knights following behind Pielle.

“Erase all traces and return to Argenta!”

“Yes, sir!”

Only then did the knights begin to move swiftly.

I waited until the surroundings were sufficiently noisy before speaking to Diello.

“But, Diello.”

“Yes.”

Diello looked back at me, his arm still in my grasp.

In the middle of the beach where people were bustling about, his gaze was fixed on me.

I looked at him and let out a short sigh.

“You’ll need more practice pretending to be bad.”

“Pardon?”

I pointed at him.

“I can see you trembling.”

“…Is that so?”

Diello gave a gentle smile at my words.

“That smile is also a problem.”

There are people who command a room with their presence.

But this man, aside from a slightly sharp first impression, was a complete, wobbly pudding, wasn’t he?

“Try to make a scary face.”

At my words, Diello tensed his mouth.

That’s a scary face? It looks more like you’re unhappy with what’s for dinner.

This wouldn’t do.

“…I’ll teach you.”

How to act mean, and how to be a sharp-edged ruler.

I’m not as naive as Diello, and at the very least, Croire’s body seems to know such things well.

I can be a good teacher.

“It would be an honor.”

Diello smiled brightly at my words.

Seeing that pure smile, brighter than the sun, I knew the road to teaching him would be a long and arduous one.

***

On the way back.

“By the way, how did you get this injury?”

The people of Argenta from the fourth floor, who were accompanying the two, were listening to the conversation between the master and mistress of the house.

Of course, it was the duty of servants to pretend not to hear, so they tried their best to block their ears.

“Mirta’s resistance was fierce.”

But Diello’s soft voice shook their minds, regardless of their efforts.

They already knew he was acting the part of a weak-willed person on the outside.

But wasn’t he being exceptionally gentle? It was as if honey were dripping from his voice.

Moreover.

‘…The angle of the sword wound doesn’t look like it was inflicted by an opponent’s blade.’

Since most of the people of Argenta were trained in the sword, it was impossible not to notice.

The lord’s wound, which the lady had been treating, was self-inflicted with his own sword.

It must have been to act weak and unable to properly use his strength, as the lord always did.

There was no way someone like Mirta could have touched their lord, so the people of Argenta were certain.

Of course, no one spoke of this fact aloud.

Because, from time to time, the lord’s murderous gaze turned toward them.

‘Stay still.’

A gaze that was a complete one-eighty from the one he gave his lady, as if to say just that.