Chapter 51

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Thank You for Being Here
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Walter’s pained eyes quickly scanned Lucy.

Shopping and hot springs were fine, but something more active would be better.

He'd once thought Lucy's pale complexion was just a sign of good skin, but lately, he wondered if it was a lack of color from being too sedentary.

Once she sat down, she wouldn't move for three or four hours, and her eating and sleeping habits were irregular. On top of that, she loved snacks and was lazy. She had all the perfect habits for getting sick. She needed some exercise.

What should he do? Should they just go shopping...?

But that would just involve them wandering around for a bit before coming back. It was obvious.

"Hmm."

That's right.

At the foot of the Twin Mountains, near the Raphi squad's outpost, there was an inn with a hot spring.

Wouldn't it be nice to stop by there on the way down from a hike?

Having organized his thoughts, Walter slowly began to speak.

"Ah... yes. A hot spring. What do you think?"

"Wow. Of course, that sounds great! Should we go tomorrow?"

Seeing her uncharacteristically energetic, Walter felt a pang of guilt. He told her tomorrow would be difficult and suggested the weekend instead, to which Lucy reluctantly nodded.

Unaware of his true intentions, Lucy scurried off to the bathroom, wondering what bath supplies to pack. Walter soothed his troubled conscience by telling himself it wasn't technically a lie, so it would be fine.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Some say personality is innate, but Arsinoe believed it was shaped by a person's life journey.

Those who had an unfortunate childhood would feign a bright personality to hide their inner selves, while those who lived a peaceful life would experience great joy and sorrow over the smallest things.

Arsinoe was no different.

Her past, a continuous series of dramatic ups and downs, had made her a relatively stoic person. In that sense, Arsinoe judged herself to have a simple personality.

Was it just simplicity? An overly direct nature was also one of her traits.

Most people realize over time that hiding their personality is not very efficient. When young, they hide their emotions because they don't know themselves, but as they age, they know themselves well enough to have no hesitation in revealing their true feelings.

This is why the elderly often appear uniquely eccentric or uniquely naive.

In the same vein, Arsinoe loathed hiding her emotions or beating around the bush. Life seemed long but was short, and words, if not conveyed directly, could breed countless misunderstandings.

Based on that simplicity and directness, Lucy now unleashed a blunt remark that no one else dared to utter in the current situation.

"Why on earth would we go hiking... Aren't people who like this sort of thing perverts?"

Walter, who was leading the way, froze mid-stride, his hand still gripping a tree branch. Lucy, following him in a posture somewhere between crawling and walking, met his gaze with a pale face.

When Walter turned around, his face was as calm as ever.

However, Whees, who had come along, flinched at the sight. Anyone who had known him for a long time could easily recognize that expression—it was clearly a wounded look.

"I am not the only one present, so it would be best if you used more dignified language."

Instead of getting angry and asking what she meant by 'pervert,' Walter gestured behind them with a warning. Marquess Rutherford and Duke Kill were panting as they climbed the mountain, leaning on wooden staffs.

The look in Lucy's eyes grew fiercer.

The sight only fueled her anger. What kind of elder abuse was this? Clinging to a rock, Lucy condemned him with a furious expression.

"Walter! You told me we were going to a hot spring, you lied to me...!"

"We will. We'll just go up to that ridge and then head down. It's better to move your body a bit before getting in the hot water so you don't catch a cold."

"I don't care if I catch a cold!"

"No, you can't."

"We could just go to the hot spring... Seriously, why are we on a mountain at the crack of dawn?"

Lucy was furious that the outing was so different from what she had imagined.

She had been so excited about the hot spring that she'd packed her bags, only for the carriage to arrive at a hiking trail at the base of the Twin Mountains.

Thinking the hot spring must be near the mountain, she had ordered Whees to prepare to fly, but Walter had firmly pushed him aside and insisted they had to walk to the ridge.

Surely, he was joking.

Just as she was sneering that such jokes weren't funny, Marquess Rutherford, Duke Kill, and Count Bubehol all piled out of the carriage and announced they were joining the hike.

Only then did Lucy realize Walter hadn't been joking.

Count Bubehol had declared, "Well then, I'll go first!" and started up the mountain without a backward glance. Duke Kill followed with a sigh, and Marquess Rutherford, as if not to be outdone, snorted and set off with them.

That left only Lucy, Walter, and Whees, who had come along as an escort.

"Your Majesty. It won't be that difficult. Why don't you think of it as a light warm-up and come along?"

Walter gently coaxed Lucy, pointing up the mountain.

At his words that they only had to reach that faaaar-off peak, Lucy took a bold step forward, thinking, *what the hell, let's do it*.

Of course, that bravado evaporated in less than thirty minutes. Lucy climbed the mountain at an incredibly slow pace, taking a break after every three steps. Eventually, even that became too much, and she lay draped over a rock, shooting a pleading look at Whees.

Whees, unsure whose orders to follow, reached out to pick Lucy up. But Walter, who had approached without him noticing, stopped him.

"Whees. I can't see Marquess Rutherford and Duke Kill. Could you go on ahead and check on them?"

After a moment of hesitation, Whees gave her one last pitying look before leaping into the air and disappearing over the mountain ridge.

The two of them, now left alone, looked at each other before starting to walk again. But not even ten minutes later, they stopped.

"I'm exhausted! I want to go down!"

Lucy bit her lip and glared at Walter with hatred in her eyes. Just walking was exhausting enough; she couldn't understand why he had to drag her up a mountain to do this.

Walter, who had been gazing down at her, finally turned around with a look of resignation. He then crouched down, presenting his back.

"Come here. I'll carry you on my back."

Lucy chose to do something a mature lady would never do.

She clung to him without hesitation, quickly wrapping her arms around his neck. A faint, almost inaudible sigh seemed to escape from him.

His back was so broad it felt vast, and though she couldn't say it felt stable even as a pleasantry, anything seemed better than walking.

As she held on, a pair of strong arms soon supported her legs. Walter carried her as lightly as if he were clasping his hands behind his back and strode forward.

The scenery blurred past. Lucy belatedly realized that Walter had been walking at an incredibly slow pace for the sake of the group.

Fearing she might fall, she tightened her grip on his neck. Walter, perhaps thinking she was scared, slowed down a little.

"I thought you only liked collecting rocks, Walter. It seems you like climbing mountains, too."

She murmured, resting her chin near his neck, and Walter turned his head to look at her.

But their faces were so close his lips might brush her cheek, so Walter stealthily turned his head back, the tips of his ears turning red.

"Yes. My father and Count Bubehol both loved mountains, so I've been climbing them naturally since I was young."

"Ah. No wonder Count Bubehol seemed particularly friendly. So you've known each other for a long time."

"He became my godfather after my father passed away. And since my brother inherited the title, he has been a great help with matters concerning the estate."

Hearing him mention his father felt strange. Lucy pulled his collar, pressing herself a little closer to him.

Walter's father.

She had heard that the previous Count Hyverge was an outstanding military officer befitting his family's prestige.

Fearless and unmatched in swordsmanship, he was said to have a personality that drove him to rush headlong into injustice. The late count had lost his life in a second landslide while trying to rescue his people buried in the first.

He was a true hero.

As the saying goes, a clear stream flows from a clear spring. Perhaps Walter's blind loyalty as a soldier stemmed from spending his childhood under such a heroic father.

Iriyan Hyverge.

His son, Walter Hyverge...

Do great fathers leave behind great children?

Lucy spoke as she gazed at the dimly lit mountain ridge.

"It must be such a shame for your late father."

"Pardon?"

"I said it must be a shame that he passed away without seeing what a fine son you've become. If he were still alive... he would be so proud to see the man you are now."

Yes. He is fine.

To become a Grand General at such a young age, all on his own. He was a jack-of-all-trades who could do anything.

Though they had only been together for half a year, Lucy couldn't imagine her daily life without Walter.

From taking care of the small details of her everyday life to subjugating Duke Kill and bringing in Witten, it was all Walter's doing.

Walter looked up to Lucy as a master strategist, but in reality, all her schemes were built upon him.

Without him, she couldn't have captured Atlind Kill to threaten the Duke, nor could she have moved Count Bubehol to apprehend Witten in the middle of the sea.

And everything that was to come.

...Without this man, she wouldn't be able to strike down her lifelong nemesis.

"Walter."

"Yes."

"I'm so glad I met you."

At the sudden confession, Walter stopped walking and caught his breath.