Chapter: 351
Once upon a time, young Benedict was a man who didn’t know the word “compromise.”
From an early age, he was a force to be reckoned with. He smashed through all the knights of the Allen family before even enrolling in the Academy.
At that time, young and reckless, Benedict thought he could achieve anything if he wanted it badly enough.
After entering the Academy, this belief only grew stronger.
Initially struggling with his studies, he poured all his effort into his work, driven by the desire not to lose to others, eventually achieving satisfactory results.
Even after graduating from the Academy, not much changed.
He was loved by the residents of his territory, had claimed victory in wars to defend the kingdom, and felt no need to change his arrogant attitude.
Then came the first experience of failure when he first felt the emotion of love.
He had always shouted that he didn’t have time to be interested in girls, but then he saw one woman and fell in love.
“I’m sorry.”
For the first time in life, he failed to achieve what he wanted. However, Benedict did not give up.
He was a person who could not understand stopping in despair. Ignoring various marriage proposals from family elders and relatives, he pursued his pure love.
“Really, what a foolish person you are.”
His hard-won marriage was the happiest moment of his life.
Benedict still remembers the emotions of the moment he first held his daughter.
He was sweating profusely, afraid that even a slight pressure might go wrong.
Beside him, his wife chuckled at his silly behavior.
He remembers the moment his daughter, with a smile, grabbed his finger and said “Bee!”
Parenting was never easy.
Before the child could speak, he was anxious, uncertain about what she wanted, and after she started talking, he struggled with her peculiar demands.
Where on earth did she learn those bad words? Whenever she said “sloppy” or “fool,” Benedict often puzzled over where things started going wrong.
“Mira, did we spoil her too much? Should we be stricter like others say?”
“Benedict, do you think you can be strict with Lucy?”
“… Uh. Uhh.”
“See? You can’t. So don’t worry about what others say. We have our own way.”
His daughter’s quirks worsened after his sickly wife passed away, but Benedict couldn’t pay her much attention.
The void of his wife was so immense that he had no time to look around.
“Benedict, please take care of Lucy.”
Recalling the last words of the woman he loved, when Benedict finally came to his senses, far too many things had already gone awry.
He couldn’t turn back, not even with the name of the hero Benedict Allen.
So he learned the meaning of compromise.
He learned to bow his head to find the best for his daughter amid the worst.
He became adept at suppressing his rage while wearing a foolish smile.
It was also why Senar Soladin could stand before him unscathed.
Though he wanted nothing more than to smash that face right now, he knew doing so would shackle the Allen family and affect his daughter.
Benedict wished for his daughter to live in peace, not in war.
So even with blood vessels popped in his eyes, he didn’t raise a fist.
“Benedict. So this is…”
“First, move that foot.”
As his overwhelming presence made even dragons shudder, Senar stumbled back and fell to the ground.
But Benedict didn’t even glance at her and headed toward his daughter.
Just moments ago, Lucy had been screaming in pain, but when Benedict reached her side, she was smiling as usual.
“Foolish Daddy. Isn’t it too early for the party to end? Did you sneak out from the crowd?”
Benedict tried to smile back at her angelic smile, but he failed.
How… how much pain had she endured in silence for her to smile like this?
Could she really smile as if her own wounds were nothing?
The child who cried over even the tiniest injury, how could she be like this now?
“I didn’t mean for things to go this far!”
Hearing Senar’s shout, Benedict slowly stroked Lucy’s head and rose to his feet.
“This is!”
“I know. Senar. I know my daughter’s temperament better than anyone.”
She’s smart enough to be a second queen. She wouldn’t do something so insane without Lucy being the cause.
“Then.”
“However, Senar. There are lines one must not cross.”
Today’s Benedict knows what compromise is.
Even those who insult and criticize his daughter have their reasons, and he understands that yelling in anger isn’t always the answer.
He also realizes that forcefully trying to suppress those feelings would only heighten the resistance against Lucy.
Yet, there’s a limit to how much one can endure.
“I’ll say this once more, Senar. I hope there is justifiable reason for our daughter to be trampled under your hooves and scream.”
Otherwise, who knows what I might do.
As Benedict took a step forward, Senar retreated in fear.
It was a frantic instinct, a primal scream of danger reminding her to flee from Benedict.
But that escape wouldn’t last long.
The clock tower wasn’t a friendly place for a runaway, and Senar realized with the sound of crumbling stone that she was cornered on a cliff.
It’s coming.
The monster is coming.
The harbinger of death is approaching.
A despair in human form draws near.
Senar, who had fought on the frontline in the past, understood how terrifying that despair could be.
A disaster capable of changing the tides of war was not something humans could face.
A person couldn’t just stop it.
Should I just fall instead?
No, even then, that disaster would still chase me.
Should I scream?
What would change?
Is there anyone who can stand against that monster?
Fear.
Fear.
In the overwhelming fear, the endless despair was suddenly cut off by a voice that seemed too bright for the night.
“Papa♡”
Thud.
The tiny hand of a girl blocks the path of the giant.
Though she could easily push him away, the giant does not move.
He merely waits for the words of the child he loves.
“The old aunt getting grumpy is just unavoidable♡”
“… Lucy.”
“And I’m tired♡ Are you going to leave me alone because of that old hag?♡”
As Lucy spread her arms to ask for a hug, the tension melted from Benedict’s hard face into a soft smile.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to neglect you.”
Easily lifting Lucy onto his shoulder, Benedict quickly wiped the smile off and turned to look at the wobbly Senar.
“I hope we don’t have to repeat this incident.”
And that was the end of it.
With a single step, Benedict rattled the clock tower and left the Academy grounds.
Left alone, Senar, trembling from the remnants of fear, took a deep breath.
She wanted to show the fools who said the kingdom’s teeth were old and decaying the scene they’d just witnessed.
How could that be called old and worn out!
Monsters are still monsters!
Forget being queenly, Senar bounced on the stone floor, wiping her face with both hands.
“Nabil. Come out.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Her guard, who appeared from the wall of the clock tower, bowed politely.
“I apologize for not being able to help due to the urgency of the situation.”
“That’s fine. I know. The moment you showed up, things were bound to get worse.”
Once she drew her axe, the situation became irreparable.
She must never bring out a weapon, no matter what.
Especially now, when it mattered most for the existence of Lucy Allen.
“Foolish girl. Caught in the past, ruining the present.”
She had sworn to live for the future, and yet here she was.
Regretting her own foolishness, Senar suddenly squinted.
Wait a second.
Why has my reason completely vanished?
It wasn’t just anger. At some point, my sense of judgment evaporated.
That’s right. It all began when I insulted Lucy Allen’s mother, and the moment that kid’s smile froze.
Clenching her lips tightly, Senar recalled the image of the child blocking her father and exhaled heavily.
Family…?
She had thought such a thing didn’t exist in aristocracy.
Thinking of Cecil, who looked unnecessarily mature today, Senar pressed her eyes shut and finally managed to speak.
“Nabil, send a message to the Allen family. I will go to apologize.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
There’s no avoiding the ire of Benedict Allen.
But at the very least, it shouldn’t reach the level of hostility.
That monster alone has the power to tip the scales.
If all else fails, she must win the heart of the girl who commands that monster.
“Geeeenge!”
How could one reverse that when such a thing has already been done?
It would be more realistic to have the monster ordered to kill me.
“Your Highness, I have a suggestion.”
“What is it?”
“The Young Lady Allen was sensitive to the word ‘mother.’ Perhaps related to it might be appropriate for your apology.”
“… That sounds good.”
The bracelet that girl had given me ages ago. I had kept it, thinking it too plain, but now it’s useful.
“Prepare something related to dungeons or armor aside from that.”
I have more than just an apology to offer Lucy Allen.
“Understood, Your Highness. Is there anything else you would like to command?”
“And… no, that will be enough.”
Shaking her head, Senar rose from her seat and composed herself before heading back to the party hall.
*
“I see.”
After hearing the whole story, instead of saying anything, Benedict gazed out the window with a complex expression.
In the face of emotions I couldn’t comprehend, I chose to stay silent and give him time to process his feelings.
From this angle, Benedict seemed no different than usual.
But just moments ago, he had been terrifyingly serious.
Though it wasn’t directed at me, his intensity had frozen me in place.
If that pressure had been aimed at me, I would have been mumbling apologies in a panic.
While propping my chin, I recalled the events in the clock tower and pouted at having been played by Senar.
“Grandpa, how can I overcome a lack of experience?”
It was clear why I had been defeated by Senar: a difference in experience.
I had hardly fought against a true warrior in serious combat.
Those like Possell and Karl, with superior combat skills, focused more on mentoring me than genuinely trying to defeat me.
When I faced Adri or Nakrad, it was more a case of overcoming through the knowledge of putrid waters than actual skill.
Even my somewhat normal battle with Duke Burrow ended with a clever victory over him, possessed by an evil god.
Senar couldn’t even read me because of this lack of experience.
[What can you do about it? You just have to fight more.]
“That sounds about right.”
I’ve thought about it for a while, but I need to have some serious training sessions with strong opponents.
In order to become even stronger.
While contemplating how much I had to do during this vacation, I suddenly remembered I needed to ask Benedict for something and called out urgently.
“Daddy.”
“Foolish Daddy.”
“Huh? What’s up, Lucy?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
“Something you want? If you tell me, it might make me a very happy dad!”
“Well…”
“I want to train the sloppy friends with our family’s foolish knights.”
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