A Knight Who Protects His Enemies Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

-Ding... dong...

Somewhere within the vast lands of Roctana, the sound of bells echoed.

At that sound, the beautifully adorned coffin slowly descended into the grave.

Flowers of all colors were scattered around the coffin, honoring the one laid to rest.

I stared blankly at the scene.

Though it had only been a few days since I met the Duchess... the forgiveness and kindness she showed me wasn’t something I could easily forget.

“Sir Kylo.”

Standing beside me, Pippin, the head butler of the Rondor family, snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Please come inside. The funeral is over.”

I nodded but first took a step toward the grave where the coffin had been lowered.

I was about to offer flowers as a final tribute to the departing Duchess—

“Lady Vivian!”

—But the moment I moved, a great commotion arose.

Before I could react to the noise, a stinging pain turned my cheek.

-Smack!

It was an unexpected blow, but somehow, I knew immediately who it was.

Turning my head, there stood Vivian Rondor, just as I thought.

Perhaps now she should be called the head of the Rondor family.

“How... how dare you... try to offer flowers... with that face?”

Her stammering did nothing to diminish the intensity of her demeanor.

“Your... your family caused my mother to fall ill and d-die...! How dare you offer flowers!!”

“...”

She probably doesn’t know how complicated my feelings are as I look at her.

The Duchess’s request still lingers in my mind.

Did she truly believe we could get along?

I couldn’t see any possibility at all.

Vivian spoke with resentment.

“Your... your family killed all of us. D-don’t even pretend to mourn.”

I stood there, dumbfounded, and replied.

“...It wasn’t me who did that. Can’t I even offer flowers?”

-Snatch!

With a swift motion, contrasting her stammering speech, Vivian snatched the flowers from my hand.

“...Ah.”

Before I could even be surprised, Vivian threw the flowers to the ground and stomped on them hard.

Along with her fierce kicking, tears fell rapidly to the ground.

It was the most intense emotion I’d seen from her in the days we’d spent together. The anger that arose from losing her mother was pouring out uncontrollably.

As the situation grew more serious, several retainers attending the funeral tried to calm Vivian.

“Lady Vivian, please calm down. The funeral proceedings are not yet over.”

“Haa... haa...”

Vivian turned away, breathing heavily. Numerous servants of the Rondor family followed behind her.

I looked blankly at the trampled flowers.

I considered getting new flowers to offer to the Duchess… but only for a moment.

I thought it would be rude to continue causing scenes in front of the grave.

So I closed my eyes, mourned the Duchess’s death in my heart, and then made my way back into the castle.

****

That afternoon, I was summoned and made my way over.

Following the guidance of Head Butler Pippin, we wound through the twisting corridors of the castle and arrived in front of a room.

-Knock knock.

“It’s Pippin. I’ve brought Sir Kylo Allen with me. We’re coming in.”

-Creak.

Inside the room, a familiar person was waiting for me—Vivian Rondor.

Her eyes were swollen, perhaps from crying all day.

Even so, as if she had anticipated my arrival, she was suppressing her tears for the moment.

Her venomous eyes stared at me endlessly.

I felt not annoyance or weariness, but discomfort and pity.

Because of that, I averted her gaze as I stepped into the room.

This must be Vivian Rondor’s room.

“Sir Kylo Allen, please come in.”

Inside stood a man holding a long parchment.

The parchment was undoubtedly the will of the Duchess of Rondor, and the man holding it was ‘Scholar Crellin,’ the physician and scholar of the Rondor family.

Over the past few days, we had become acquainted as he treated the wound on my forehead.

“In the Duchess’s will, you were mentioned, Sir Kylo, so we have called you here. Please understand.”

“Ah, yes.”

Lately, I’ve been unsure how to respond to kindness.

In the past, I would have nodded and accepted his words, but these days, I feel uncomfortable.

It feels as though my noble demeanor has been peeling away layer by layer due to life in Roctana; then again, considering that my lifestyle is practically that of a prisoner, it didn’t seem too unnatural.

I then glanced sideways at Vivian Rondor.

“...”

She continued to stare intently at me.

I let out a quiet sigh and pretended not to notice.

“Then, I’ll begin. The Duchess wished to put an end to the feud with the Allen family and to build a constructive relationship going forward—”

“—W-what are you talking about?”

Vivian interrupted Scholar Crellin before he could finish even a single sentence.

“W-what do you mean, end the feud? Are you reading it correctly?”

“...Hmm. Yes, that’s correct. According to the peace treaty between the kingdoms, Sir Kylo Allen came to Roctana as a guest, and the Duchess wished to rebuild friendly relations and establish a new relationship.”

“...Ha.”

Vivian let out a hollow laugh as if she couldn’t believe it.

After staring intently at Scholar Crellin, she turned her gaze to me—As if it was also my fault.

She spoke.

“...K-Kylo Allen. I have no intention of ever becoming friendly with you.”

It was a slightly heart-aching remark. Just slightly.

“Me neither.”

The scholar continued.

“And as a founding stone for this, Kylo Allen is appointed as Vivian Rondor’s bodyguard. From now on, the two of you will get along—”

“—No, I clearly told the Duchess that I didn’t want—”

“—What on earth are you talking about!!”

—Crash!!

Vivian swept the teacup off her table with the back of her hand, shouting.

Perhaps because she was still young and small, her anger felt like a tantrum.

The words I was about to say were also cut off by Vivian.

Maybe surprised by our intense reactions, Scholar Crellin hurriedly scanned the parchment with his finger and said.

“T-The Duchess of Rondor clearly stated that there’s no need for you to always be together. In other words, Sir Kylo, you can protect Lady Vivian whenever you feel like it.”

But as Vivian’s expression didn’t soften, the scholar lifted his gaze from the will and said soothingly to her.

“It seems to be a formal statement. I think you can just understand it as her wishing for you two to get along. There’s no need to stick together or spend time together. Nothing is compulsory. She just hoped that Sir Kylo would protect you, that’s all.”

“...”

Even so, the scholar was flustered as he looked at Vivian’s unrelenting expression.

Come to think of it, it was understandable.

Vivian Rondor, unpredictable as ever, was now the lord of Roctana.

In colloquial terms, it was like giving a sword to a monkey.

“Ahem, moving on! All authority regarding Sir Kylo Allen’s personal matters is to be transferred entirely to Lady Vivian Rondor—”

“—Wait a moment, what did you say?”

Eventually, I too interrupted Scholar Crellin.

...No, I was warned that this authority would pass to Vivian, but was it supposed to happen so directly?

‘When you’re old enough to leave, if you’re on bad terms with Vivian, will she really send you back home? She might only let you go if you’re at least friends, don’t you think?’

Now that the situation was like this, it felt as if the Duchess was holding a knife to my throat and threatening me.

‘So, will you get along or not?’

Looking back, the one who should fear the monkey wielding a sword was me.

When I glanced over again, Vivian Rondor’s demeanor had changed.

“Th-that means...?”

She let out a hollow laugh and said.

“Yes. That’s exactly what she said.”

“...”

I swallowed hard and maintained a calm demeanor.

I didn’t know what weaknesses she might exploit if I showed any signs of fluster for no reason.

Vivian stood up from her seat.

“...K-Kylo Allen. I’ve thought long and hard about how you might realize what you’ve d-done to us... and repent.”

She slowly approached me.

“I’ve also heard many r-rumors about you. They say you’re one of the top prodigies even in the Allen territory? That the Undefeated Knight was very pr-proud of you.”

I wasn’t sure about my father, but the household staff did praise me a lot.

They’d say I was a genius who appears once in several centuries in the Allen family, that the future of the Allen family was secure...

They might have been just flattering words, but I certainly didn’t neglect my sword training under the pressure of war.

The helplessness I felt when I was overpowered by Royce Rondor spurred me on as well.

“Now that I think about it... as long as we don’t k-kill you with our own hands, it’s fine, isn’t it?”

“...What?”

“You guys f-faked it as if our brother died in a landslide—”

“—We didn’t fake anything. Royce Rondor’s death was just an unfortunate accident.”

“Say whatever you want. Anyway, if you also die in an accident... the Allen family wouldn’t have anything to s-say, would they?”

“...What do you mean?”

Vivian Rondor twisted her lips into a sly smile.

Seeing that, I thought.

Ah. Why is she so pretty, seriously.

Her slightly wrinkled nose just now was quite cute.

Unaware of my own absurd feelings, Vivian continued.

“All the soldiers are dead... and various monsters have started r-rampaging near the territory.”

“...”

“The three knight orders of Rondor are trying, but... the damage from monsters and beasts is still severe.”

Vivian Rondor poked me in the chest.

“You could use your talents... to deal with the monsters... pay for your sins a bit... and if you’re l-lucky, you might die on your own...? That way, it would really be an accident.”

I thought she would torment me mischievously, but at this level, even I could accept it.

Royce Rondor, the Duchess of Rondor... and Vivian Rondor too.

Perhaps it’s true that like breeds like.

I felt that Vivian Rondor was more lenient than I thought. It might be a cultural difference between the northern and southern families.

“So, you’re telling me to join the knight order and fight?”

“N-no, not just any knight order. You’re not a person of Roctana.”

“...? Then?”

“You will join the fourth knight order we’ve established... the p-penal unit.”

Penal unit.

Even the name sounded ominous.

It seemed obvious that they’d handle the dirtiest and most dangerous tasks.

“Th-there... please, I beg you, just die on your own.”