The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

109 – Reunion (01)

110.

“Nadil… Beln…! These ungrateful beasts…!”

He’d been tricked.

That was the first thought that struck Flaber as the fight began.

No matter how much he distrusted everyone,

it wasn’t easy to do so even in such a pressing situation.

The unconscious trust one places, without even realizing it.

It was all the more so because his children had never gone against his will before.

The relief that they couldn’t refuse an order.

He should have noticed when the boy with ink-black eyes broke free and stood up.

If Manudan hadn’t blocked the ice spear Beln hurled from behind, something truly terrible would have happened.

Once he had time to sort through the situation, his next thought was surprise.

After all, humans have a limit to what they can believe without seeing it for themselves.

Without seeing it with their own two eyes, it’s hard to erase even the slightest doubt.

Nadil and Beln.

The fact that these two, who comprised the bulk of his children’s strength, had betrayed him was that much harder to believe.

Their surprise attack meant they’d lost to Kalen.

So, Kalen was a powerhouse beyond his expectations, but that was only normal.

Flaber hadn’t seen their battle with his own eyes.

Naturally, he couldn’t help but underestimate Kalen’s strength.

Kalen hadn’t even come of age yet.

At best, he’d lived only about half of half of Flaber’s life.

Even if he had won against Nadil and Beln, they must have fought, so his stamina shouldn’t be intact.

But Kalen was fighting far too well for that to be true.

An ice spear that carried the wind…

Dozens of ice spears tear through the air, bombarding the mercenaries.

Though Flavber is no expert in magic, he understands the ‘flow of magic’ itself.

It’s a merchant’s virtue.

If anything can be turned into coin, one cannot miss its flow.

Regardless of his character, Flavber is an exceptional merchant.

The fact that he built the Ryle Trading Company to its peak is proof enough.

And as the owner of the Ryle Trading Company,

Flavber knows how unbelievable this is.

For a boy that young to possess such skill is impossible.

Moreover, according to his research, the boy isn’t of noble birth.

Considering magic is practically a monopoly of the nobility, it’s even more shocking.

And then, there’s his movements, like he’s toying with the mercenaries.

None of the mercenaries’ attacks connect, yet the boy’s ice spears relentlessly target their vitals.

The scene gave rise to a hypothesis.

If.

Just if.

It’s an impossibility, but if they all fell to the boy like this.

Flavber shuddered at the chilling possibility.

Flavber trusts himself more than anyone.

He doesn’t even ignore his own intuition, and such intuitions have often been spot-on.

And now, his keen senses are sounding an alarm.

That boy is dangerous.

At this rate, they will all be defeated by that boy.

It was an intuition he himself felt, no less.

The fact that Flavber had a feeling of defeat was what he feared most.

*Whisk!*

A mercenary’s sharp sword is swung towards the boy.

But the sword doesn’t even graze the boy’s clothes.

*Whoosh!*

The boy, having casually dodged the sword, shoots an ice spear.

Wind-filled, it surges toward the mercenaries, too fast for the eye to follow.

“Ugh…!”

One by one, they fall.

The mercenary band’s leader, that b*stard, is already sprawled out.

All that’s left is their numbers, and that’s a diminishing advantage.

With each surge of the boy’s ice spear, they drop, until the once-numerous mercenaries are just a handful.

The tide has turned.

Flaber stumbled backward, eyes fixed on Daim.

His mind, having wandered, seemed unwilling to return.

Daim remained, head bowed before Velvit, lost and vacant.

“…Meli!”

Instead of yelling at Daim, Flaber called for his youngest daughter.

Though the sudden fight had ravaged the corridor.

His youngest daughter, huddled with her son in a corner, was their only hope.

*Sssshh!*

Behold that inky beast thrashing at the heart of the battlefield.

Reluctant to admit it, only the head of the house, if he regains his senses, can stand against it.

“Are you just going to stand there and watch!”

Meli was also victim of unfairness.

She hadn’t done anything wrong.

But unable to defy her stern father, Meli, swallowing her fear, took a step.

*Thwack!*

“Eek!”

She was knocked backwards by a sudden ice spear.

“I don’t strike the innocent, Flaber Lyle.”

“What…!”

Stunned, Flaber quickly turned his head.

The battlefield, so loud a moment ago, had fallen silent.

The battle was over.

Obviously, the victor…

“I attacked first, so it’s self-defense, right?”

“…Have I ever seen such a crazy brat! Wasn’t it you who started this?!”

“You targeted the lady first.”

“You keep talking down to me without respect… and even if that’s true, what’s it to you!”

The entire mercenary group had fallen by now.

Even at a glance, it was clear that none of them had a place on their body that wasn’t injured.

It was hard to believe that such a difference in skill existed, and even considering that difference, it was still too clean a victory.

Kalen didn’t seem to be injured at all on the surface.

Only the end of his clothes, cut by the sword, fluttered.

Hearing Flaber’s words, Kalen tilted his head, approaching him.

“Why isn’t it any of my business?”

“I wasn’t targeting you, was I!”

“Didn’t you target the lady first?”

“You…!”

Flaber almost felt wronged.

It might have been less unfair to be ridiculed.

The boy’s straight eyes weren’t joking around at all.

In other words, all those words were sincere.

The boy truly believed that attacking Laris was the same as attacking him.

Flaber had met many madmen while working for the trading company.

The ones called troublemakers were cute by comparison, and there were many who clumsily pretended to be crazy.

But this boy was different.

This boy was clearly truly crazy.

What kind of twisted logic would lead him to accept such a forced idea as truth?

And yet, his inherent power was like a monster’s, so Flaber genuinely feared Kalen.

Thud. Thud.

As Kalen approached, Flaber backed away.

He kept glaring at Daim, but he still hadn’t come to his senses.

And Kallen, noticing the bewildered look on Flavelle’s face, glanced back once.

“Disgusting.”

“What…”

“For someone who threw out his own daughters, to look so wounded.”

He’d orchestrated this situation, but the effect was better than expected.

He hadn’t imagined Flavelle would be so confused the moment he saw Belvit.

Originally, if the head of the house hadn’t punished Laris, Kallen would have targeted only Flavelle.

Showing Belvit to the head was Laris’s task, not his.

But Daim Platze chose directly.

To expel his daughter, Laris, from the family.

Having seen that, there was nothing more to see.

Since they were the first to target Laris, Kallen intended to go all in.

It just ended easier than he thought.

Partly because of the head of the house’s state.

The mercenary group was less threatening than he’d anticipated.

Perhaps ambushing and knocking out the captain was the key.

Kallen, who’d been prepared to even test his 5th tier if necessary, had to settle for just the 3rd tier.

Come to think of it, even when fighting knights in the North, the 3rd tier had been sufficient.

Kallen, with a blank expression, gathered his thoughts and approached Flavelle.

“So. Still intend to punish the young lady?”

“…”

“You can’t, can you. Because the justification, and the power, are on this side.”

Before coming here.

There was a fact he’d confirmed with Laris and Belvit.

They didn’t want to ruin the Platze family.

While Daim Platze abandoning his daughters was unforgivable.

More fundamental, the head of the family taking a new wife was a legitimate choice.

The origin of all this was Flavelle Rile, and Flavelle for abandoning his daughters.

Flavelle, trying to sustain the family as its head, and the wife who married such a man, the people of the Platze family, were not guilty.

So if he’s going to punish anyone, it will be Flavelle Rile.

The Daim Plache, that’s Lariss and Velvet’s responsibility.

Kalen sneered at Flaber.

“We won’t touch the Plache family, but the Lyle Merchant Guild is another story. Dealing with the Imperial Executive will be quite a hassle.”

“…”

“And…”

“Ugh…?”

Kalen grabbed Flaber’s hair.

With strength that belied his young age, Flaber couldn’t resist.

Then, he dragged Flaber, just like that, toward where Lariss was.

Having noticed Lariss, who had now lifted her head, Kalen threw Flaber in front of her, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression.

The old man’s body was thrown down without any strength.

As Flaber tried to rise after rolling on the ground,

*Thud*…

“Ugh…!”

Kalen stepped on the back of his knee from behind.

His joint was crushed, preventing him from getting up.

Barely able to lift his upper body, Kalen said,

“That’s that. Now you need to apologize. Apologize until the young lady is satisfied.”

“Uuugh…”

Lariss was flustered, but she quickly understood the situation.

Flaber Lyle kneeling before her and Kalen glaring fiercely down at him.

The sight of Flaber Lyle, who had always been so feared, kneeling powerlessly, even evoked a sense of exhilaration.

This was something only Kalen could make possible.

Her precious bodyguard was so amazing that he could bring even Flaber Lyle before her and force him to kneel.

The thrill of being able to control a figure who she had always feared and watched with caution.

Lariss glanced at Kalen, and when he closed his eyes, she focused her gaze on Flaber Lyle.

It was a sign to do as she pleased.

Lariss gratefully accepted his gesture and, with a choked voice, asked,

“Why… why did you do that…?”

“…”

“Why did you do that to me and my sister…?”

It was something I’d never considered, so words didn’t immediately come to mind.

But as if my heart had imagined this moment, my mouth began to move on its own.

“I just wanted to… remember Mom… Was that really so wrong…?”

“…I… I’m sor…ry…”

“…”

I guess I feel a little hollow.

Was it really this easy to get an apology?

Then what were all those years I endured for?

I don’t know.

Laris decided to stop thinking and purely be grateful.

To the boy who had made everything for her possible.

To the boy who had become her everything.

“…Do it again. Apologize.”

“…I’m…sorry…”

“Again.”

“…I’m sorry…”

“Again.”

“Sorry…”

“Do it again.”

The hallway, quiet after the battle.

There, only a girl’s sorrow and an old man’s apologies echoed repeatedly.