Chapter: 519
“Looks like it’s slowly coming to an end.”
The head servant smiled as he spoke, noticing the piles of documents on Benedict’s desk had significantly decreased, but there was no sign of relief on Benedict’s face.
Seeing the rigidity of Benedict’s expression, which was even tighter than when he was roaming the battlefield, the head servant caught on to what was worrying him.
“Are you worried about the young lady?”
“…Yeah.”
Not long ago, Karia’s subordinate, who visited the Allen family, delivered the news of an attack on the Soul Academy by the Followers of the Void.
After hearing that, Benedict had thrown aside everything he was doing and rushed toward the academy, only to collapse into his chair when he learned that everything was already over.
“The person who conveyed the message to us mentioned it too. The young lady is safe and sound, and there were no casualties at the academy. Even the Sword Saint and the Saintess resolved everything.”
“I know. The news was undoubtedly reliable since it was delivered by Karia’s subordinate.”
Benedict, who had personally experienced how wicked Karia was in her field, didn’t doubt her capability.
Surely, Lucy must be fine, according to what her subordinate reported.
“But I don’t think it’s accurate to say that the Sword Saint and the Saintess resolved everything.”
Almost a year had passed since that day, yet Benedict still vividly remembered the miracle Lucy had performed.
The divine grace of the Lord resided within her small body. The moment the sun rose over the mace she held, all the darkness lurking in the cave retreated, and even the Evil God of Fire was trapped within a seal, unable to withstand it. That scene was no simple adventure story.
It was a myth, a heroic tale, a miracle that could fit into a place in scripture.
The Lord had directly empowered Lucy for such a feat. Yet could it really be that this incident had nothing to do with her?
That’s just absurd. Lucy must be involved in this somehow.
Thinking back to when the Saintess failed to show up during the battle against the Evil God of Fire, it’s highly likely that Lucy had led this situation too, just as she had when she took him along last time.
“But our cute, delicate, kind, pretty, gem-like daughter didn’t even seek me out!”
“…Huh?”
“Head servant, what do you think the problem is? Why didn’t Lucy even discuss it with me? Did I show her some unreliable side of myself?”
If Lucy had taken the lead against the Followers of the Void, it means it was our daughter who involved the Sword Saint as well.
That implies our adorable Lucy thinks the Sword Saint is stronger and more reliable than me!?
It’s true that I’ve neglected my training for quite some time, but even so, there’s no way I could lose to the current Sword Saint!
“…I believe this current demeanor might be breeding distrust.”
“Indeed. Perhaps showing too much love for my daughter is a problem. But what can I do? Just looking at our Lucy makes my heart melt with how cute and lovely she is! How can I not be a doting father?”
“That was said in jest, so please don’t take it too seriously. The young lady has long since resigned herself to seeing you like this.”
“…Isn’t that even more serious?”
Receiving the head servant’s calm statement, Benedict shrugged his shoulders with a wounded heart. But disregarding him, the head servant continued.
“More than that, it’s likely that the master has been so busy recently that the young lady couldn’t bring herself to ask for help.”
“I’m busy?”
“Yes. Since the beginning of the year, hasn’t the master spent less time in the mansion and more in a frenzy?”
Ever since this year started, Benedict had been busy dealing with issues within the Allen family.
It was no simple task to mend the rifts caused by a betrothal made without regard for the family’s opinions.
He had to persuade the elders who showed discomfort or even force them down when necessary.
He updated the records of the territory, rife with mismanagement.
He created rules.
He masterminded connections between families.
While also having to physically dismantle the crazy notion that marrying Lucy would strengthen the family’s ties.
In addition to all of that, for months he had been pushed to his limits, barely sleeping for just an hour a month.
How bad must it have been that the man who used to say he could live without hearing Lucy’s voice every day was now limited to a weekly call?
“The young lady knows the usual you; she must have realized how strenuous your time is right now. Therefore, she probably refrained from expressing her thoughts to consider you.”
“My admirable daughter was worried about me?”
“Recent events suggest that even if she hasn’t spoken about it, she has been concerned.”
If it was assumed that Lucy truly knew about the plans of the Followers of the Void, the head servant thought this explanation had a high possibility. Though he didn’t understand why it was laid out like this.
“Lucy. Our good daughter, worried about this foolish father!”
Having exhausted himself to the point that he had worn down his emotional line, Benedict began to cry, shedding tears profusely.
Seeing this, the head servant realized that today’s work was far from over and sighed, heading outside to meet someone approaching the office.
“Ah, Head Servant!”
“What’s the matter?”
“I have a letter to deliver to the master.”
“Currently, the master has no time to verify this. Just a moment… Is that the royal seal?”
“Yes, it is.”
Perhaps due to the overly emotional state of the master, the workload showed no signs of lessening, and now the royal family had added to the pile.
Really, they’re such generous people. I could practically swing my sword in loyalty for them.
With a frown, the head servant received the letter, then returned to the office.
Benedict had calmed down a bit and was dabbing his teary eyes with a handkerchief smaller than his finger when he noticed the letter in the head servant’s hand and cleared his throat.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a letter from the royal family to the master. Please check it.”
“The royal family?”
Feeling a sense of unease he couldn’t quite articulate, Benedict accepted the letter and read its content with his swollen eyes.
Written in the royal palace’s old-fashioned language, the letter, stripped of its grandeur, contained very simple content.
It expressed gratitude for Lucy Allen’s significant role in resolving the issues at the academy.
As for that, the royal family would offer a reward in the future, and if there was anything she desired, they asked her to let them know.
However, discussions about the custody of the perpetrator behind this incident were separate. They expressed appreciation for a potential date to discuss this matter.
“Hmm.”
Though he had received no word from Lucy, Benedict was not flustered; rather, his lips curled upward in realization that this was a fortuitous turn of events.
“What does it say?”
“It seems our Lucy has offended the First Queen.”
“…Huh?”
The contents of the letter had only courteous phrases, but when Benedict thought about Lucy’s usual demeanor toward others, he could see where this might lead.
Not long ago, when he had a conversation to apologize, the Second Queen referred to him as the Shabby Queen during their first meeting.
Lucy must have either matched that level or committed an even greater disrespect.
“It seems they can’t say much right now, given the established accomplishments, but surely they aren’t viewing it positively.”
Recalling the time when Lucy was much younger and had verbally abused the King and the First Queen, causing quite a pickle, Benedict burst into laughter, thinking of how delightful it was and stood up.
“Head Servant.”
“Yes, Master.”
“I believe most of the urgent matters have been handled.”
“I think so too. The remaining issues can be resolved slowly.”
“Now that I’ve done everything supposed to be dealt with by the distant relatives coming back to the main house, it’s only right to leave these documents as they are.”
“So you plan to put them aside?”
“Isn’t that a splendid plan?”
“I think it’s a splendid judgment befitting a count maintaining the borders.”
Half-in and half-out of exhaustion, the two men faced each other and shared a laugh.
“Let’s head to the Soul Academy.”
“Shall I accompany you?”
“Yeah. I’ll leave the remaining tasks to that guy Possell. I really can’t stand how he’s getting all gentlemanly while skipping out on paperwork just because he’s a knight.”
“While it isn’t that he hasn’t done his paperwork, I agree with you. After all, it’s not my job.”
Their plans, filled with the ferocity of their days in battle, were scattered by the head maid’s entrance.
However, it was only the head servant who was dragged off to work by the head maid’s strong hands.
Feeling guilty that the person who should set an example was concocting schemes to escape, Benedict escaped the mansion and headed for the Soul Academy.
Under the pretense of discussing and consulting with Lucy, he intended to heal from his arduous toils while also showing gratitude and compliments to his dear daughter.
Upon arriving on the academy street, Benedict reminded himself several times to resist rushing toward Lucy the moment they met to preserve his father’s dignity, but his self-affirmation was to no avail.
“Foolish Papa?”
As soon as he encountered Lucy, dressed in new casual attire from Karia’s hideout, the joy radiating from Benedict’s massive frame crumbled all at once.
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