Chapter: 519
“It seems like things are finally wrapping up.”
The butler, watching the mountain of papers on Benedict’s desk shrink, smiled and broke the silence, but Benedict’s expression remained grim.
Noticing how rigid Benedict looked compared to when he was roaming the battlefield, the butler quickly guessed what was troubling him.
“Are you worried about the Young Lady?”
“…Yeah.”
It was the information relayed by Karia’s subordinate after visiting the Alrn family—a raid on the Soul Academy by followers of the God of Void.
When Benedict heard the full story, he ditched all his plans and dashed to the academy, only to later collapse into a chair upon hearing everything had already been taken care of.
“You were also told by the one who relayed the information to us, right? That the Young Lady is healthy, and there were no casualties at the academy. The Sword Saint and the Saintess resolved everything.”
“I know. Since Karia’s subordinate brought the news, it must be true.”
Having personally felt how wicked Karia could be in her field, Benedict had no doubts about her capabilities.
Surely, Lucy was safe, just as her subordinates reported.
“But I’m not so certain about the claim that the Sword Saint and Saintess resolved it all.”
Nearly a year had passed since that day, yet Benedict still vividly remembered the scene of Lucy performing miracles.
The divine presence nestled within her small frame shone brightly as the sun rose above the mace she wielded, pushing all darkness lurking in the caves away. Even the evil god of fire couldn’t withstand it, getting trapped within the seal. It was a spectacle beyond mere adventure tales.
It was a myth, an epic, a miracle worthy of a place in the scriptures.
It was Lucy who had been chosen by the divine to perform such a feat. But could it be that she had nothing to do with this incident?
That doesn’t make any sense. Lucy must be involved in this somehow.
Considering that the Saintess didn’t show herself during the fight against the evil god, it’s highly likely that just like last time when Lucy took me along, she took the lead this time.
“But our cute, fragile, kind, pretty, jewel-like daughter didn’t even come looking for me!”
“…Huh?”
“Butler, what do you think is up? Why didn’t Lucy even discuss this with me? Did I show her some untrustworthy side of myself?”
If Lucy was the one leading everything in the fight against the followers of the God of Void, that means she was the reason the Sword Saint got involved!
That implies our adorable Lucy thinks the Sword Saint is stronger and more dependable than her old man, doesn’t it!?
Sure, I haven’t trained as much as I should have, but still, there’s no way I’d lose to the Sword Saint now!
“…I think this current attitude might be raising some doubts.”
“Ahh, it’s true. Is loving my daughter too much a problem? But what can I do? Looking at our Lucy makes my heart melt because she’s so cute and lovable! How could I not be a daughter fool!”
“That was just a casual joke; please don’t take it too seriously. The Young Lady has probably long since resigned herself to seeing you like this.”
“…Isn’t that even more serious?”
Benedict slumped his shoulders, feeling wounded by the butler’s calm words, yet the butler continued without missing a beat.
“More likely, it’s because you’ve been so busy lately that she couldn’t bring herself to seek your help.”
“I’m busy?”
“Yes. Since the start of the year, you’ve hardly been at the mansion, right? Your schedule has been quite chaotic.”
Since the year began, Benedict had been mired in the issues within the Alrn family.
Mending the rifts that had arisen from his engagement, despite ignoring the family’s opinions, was no easy feat.
He had to either pacify or suppress the displeased elders; restart the ledgers of the territory that had been rife with embezzlement, create new regulations, plan connections between families, and physically smash the ridiculous idea that marrying off Lucy would unite the families.
Benedict had been tirelessly doing everything he could to restore a family that had been separated for decades, squeezing in barely an hour of sleep each month!
What kind of state must he have been in to only manage to talk to Lucy once a week, when he used to say he couldn’t live without hearing her voice daily?
“Knowing how the Young Lady usually is, she must have understood how hard you’ve been working. So, she probably refrained from speaking her mind out of consideration for you.”
“My thoughtful daughter was worried about me?”
“If she did know about the plans of the followers of the God of Void, it’s likely she was trying to hold back her feelings.”
“Lucy… our good daughter… worried about this useless old man!”
After overexerting himself, it seemed the floodgates opened, as Benedict started shedding tears, and when tears turned into a full-on wail, the butler sighed, realizing the day’s work was far from over.
“Ah. Butler!”
“What’s going on?”
“I have a letter that needs to go to the Young Master.”
“Right now, the Young Master has no time to check. Just a moment… Is this from the royal family?”
“Yes, it is.”
With the penitent Young Master overwhelmed and seemingly endless work piling up, the royal family dropping an additional task was just… delightful.
At this point, he almost felt tempted to wield a sword to show his loyalty.
The butler, who had been tense from keeping up with Benedict’s pace, frowned as he took the letter and retreated into the office.
Wiping his eyes with a handkerchief smaller than his finger, Benedict coughed lightly upon seeing the letter in the butler’s hand.
“What’s that?”
“This is a letter from the royal family. Please take a look.”
“The royal family?”
Feeling an ominous shiver, Benedict accepted the letter and glanced at the contents with his swollen eyes.
Written in the grand, old-fashioned style of the palace, the letter was straightforward once the embellishments were stripped away.
It thanked Lucy Alrn for playing a crucial role in resolving the issues that had arisen at the academy.
It also mentioned that the royal family would offer future rewards and asked her to communicate her wishes.
However, regarding the whereabouts of the main perpetrator behind the incident, they expressed a desire for discussion. They requested him to inform them of a suitable date.
“Hmm.”
Although Benedict hadn’t received any updates directly from Lucy, instead of panicking, he smiled as if it was a good thing.
“What does it say?”
“It seems our Lucy has put the First Queen in a bit of a bind.”
“…Huh?”
The letter, while written politely, implied that given Lucy’s usual behavior towards others, something outrageous must have occurred.
Wasn’t it the case that the Second Queen had called her a ‘Wretched Queen’ when she first met her?
Certain Lucy must have committed some comparable or worse offense.
“While it seems she’s being honored for her contributions at the moment, she’s likely not being viewed favorably.”
Benedict recalled the time Lucy had spewed disrespectful words at the king and the First Queen when she was little and, despite the memory bringing a hearty laugh, he rose from his seat.
“Butler.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“I believe most of the urgent matters have been taken care of.”
“I agree. The remaining issues can be dealt with slowly.”
“Now that I’ve taken care of what the collateral family members were meant to handle, leaving this paperwork as is wouldn’t be ideal.”
“You’re planning to take a break?”
“Isn’t it a brilliant plan?”
“Such a carefree decision, true to the character of a Count who honors his commitments.”
Both of them, half-baked from all their hard work, chuckled as they looked at each other.
“I’m heading to the Soul Academy.”
“Am I coming along?”
“Yeah. Leave the remaining tasks to that scoundrel Possell. I could no longer stand watching him pretend to be dignified, avoiding paperwork!”
“While he hasn’t completely neglected his duties, I do agree. After all, it’s not my task.”
Their plans, reminiscent of the ferocity they once shared on the battlefield, shattered upon the entrance of the head maid.
In the end, it was only the butler who got dragged off to work by her powerful hand, and while Benedict felt the nagging conscience of needing to set an example, he escaped to find the Soul Academy.
Using the excuse of discussing with Lucy, he hoped to heal from his tribulations while expressing gratitude and compliments to his remarkable daughter.
Upon arriving in the streets of the academy, Benedict reminded himself multiple times not to rush forward and embarrass himself, but his affirmations just fell flat.
“Papa, you fool?”
The moment he came face to face with Lucy in new casual clothes, having emerged from Karia’s hideout, his imposing figure fell apart, replaced by an expression brimming with happiness.
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