Chapter 20
A hair-trigger situation on the verge of an all-out brawl.
Looking at the five or six knights surrounding us, I said,
“Suon, looks like these guys are planning to gang up on you. If things get dangerous, I’ll cover you, so don’t worry—just fight freely. Let’s properly teach them a lesson.”
Suon replied as if it were ridiculous.
“That won’t be necessary, so stay quietly in there.”
Honestly, I didn’t think Suon would lose—but since he disliked revealing his true strength, there was no telling what kind of unexpected situation might occur.
So I switched into full alert mode and glared sharply at the enemies around us.
“Bring it on. Anyone who touches Suon is finished.”
“……”
A moment later—
“Here I come!”
A knight who had quietly moved behind Suon gave a polite warning and lunged.
Despite his large build, the knight was surprisingly quick—but Suon simply twisted his body and dodged the grab, then drove his elbow into the man’s side.
Thud!
“Urk—!”
Knight #1 collapsed to the ground with a disciplined groan.
“W-what?!”
“No way!”
The onlookers’ eyes widened.
A clearly seasoned knight had just been taken down in one move by a supposedly frail young lord not even twenty yet.
The remaining knights surrounding Suon stiffened at his extraordinary movements.
Among them, the most senior-looking knight spoke firmly.
“Avoid vital points—subdue him from all directions!”
The others exchanged glances and nodded, then rushed in together.
“Tsk.”
Suon clicked his tongue and began dodging the incoming attacks from all sides.
At that moment, the senior knight spotted an opening.
Aiming for the back of Suon’s neck, he raised his hand and shouted,
“Forgive my rudeness, Young Lord!”
His words and actions didn’t match at all.
Whoosh—!
“Wha—?!”
Suon grabbed his wrist mid-strike and used the momentum to throw him straight onto the meeting table.
Crash—!!
“Gah…!”
The senior knight’s miserable failure left the others stunned—and faintly awed.
At that moment, one of the Grand Duchess’s lackey vassals shouted angrily,
“This is infuriating! Stop holding back and use force—real force!”
“B-but…!”
“If you fail to carry out Her Grace’s orders properly, be prepared to be demoted to border guard duty!”
“…!”
“…!!”
The knights’ faces filled with frustration and shame. The petty threat worked—this time, a far more dangerous aura radiated from them.
“Uaaah!”
The youngest-looking knight charged with a desperate shout, and the others followed.
Whoosh! Thud! Bam! Crash!
With four grown men attacking at once, Suon dropped his relaxed stance and responded more seriously, deflecting their blows one by one.
The situation moved too quickly—I kept missing the timing to intervene.
‘I need to help Suon!’
Then—
“…Huh?”
In Suon’s blind spot.
The senior knight—who had been knocked out earlier—was getting back up.
“…Tch.”
He shook his head and pulled something from inside his robe.
A chain.
“?!”
Swinging the heavy chain wildly, he charged at Suon—who had his back turned while dealing with the others.
I screamed,
“Suon, watch out behind you!”
Then I took position at his collar and quickly activated my fangirl skill.
“<Nothing Can Stop My Devotion>!”
Pew—!
A heart shot from my hand and struck the charging knight square in the chest.
“Gah—!”
Crash—!
He flew back onto the table again.
“U-useless fool…!”
The vassal who had threatened the knights clutched his neck in frustration.
“Hahaha! How’s that?!”
I felt proud of myself for saving Suon with quick thinking.
Then—
A shadow fell overhead, and something flew toward me.
Whoosh—.
“…Huh?”
It was the chain the senior knight had dropped.
And unfortunately—
Smack—!!
It hit me square in the forehead.
“Ugh—!!!”
Stars exploded in my vision.
The pain was so intense that I dropped like a stunned mosquito.
But just before I hit the ground, Suon reached out and caught me swiftly.
“Lin!”
Behind his startled face, I saw the other knights rushing toward his back.
‘Ah… this is bad, Suon…’
At that moment—
“Move aside!!”
With a loud shout, the council chamber doors burst open.
And something tangled and chaotic tumbled inside.
“Ugh!”
“What—?!”
“My back—!”
It was the two royal guards from outside, tangled together with Garen between them—and the merchant leader’s assistant being dragged along by Garen.
Their sudden entrance froze the room in awkward silence.
“……”
“……”
“……W-who are you all?”
One of the elders asked, bewildered.
Garen shook off the guards, stood up, and pushed the disheveled assistant forward.
“Haah… haah… Apologies for the delay, Young Lord. As ordered, I have brought a witness to prove Merchant Leader Noel’s crimes.”
And just like that, the chaos finally came to an end.
“Ah—!”
I turned my head sharply at the stinging pain in my forehead.
“It hurts. It hurts!”
Elda said awkwardly,
“But you have to endure it, Miss Lin. If we don’t apply medicine, the swelling might get worse.”
She raised her finger coated with ointment again.
“I’ll be very gentle this time, okay?”
“Ugh, no. I don’t want it. I won’t put it on.”
I dodged her hand and flew away, quickly escaping to Suon’s shoulder.
“It’s just a bump. It’ll heal on its own.”
“But you were groaning in pain the whole way back.”
“When did I? Got proof?”
I shrugged it off.
Then—
Someone pressed my forehead.
“AAAH! Who the—!”
I was about to curse, but stopped when I saw who it was.
It was Suon.
He looked at me calmly and said,
“It’s as hard as a rock. If not treated properly, your forehead might become deformed.”
“…W-what? Deformed?”
“With your tiny body, that would be quite a sight.”
“Ugh…!”
“So stop being stubborn and apply the medicine.”
“……”
After hesitating, I gave in and sat down.
“…Fine.”
Better to endure some pain than look pathetic in front of him.
Then Suon took the ointment from Elda and dipped his finger into it.
“…?”
He beckoned me.
“Come here.”
“…!!!”
I immediately rushed forward and lifted my bangs, presenting my forehead.
“Here! Hurry and put it on!”
My brain stopped working at the thought of my favorite treating me personally.
‘This isn’t pain—it’s his touch.’
I closed my eyes tightly, waiting.
Then—
Pfft—.
“…?”
‘Was that… laughter?’
I peeked my eyes open.
And—
‘…No way.’
Suon—that Suon—was faintly smiling down at me.
It was subtle, but unmistakable.
Beautiful. Rare. Impossible to look away from.
“…Suon is smiling.”
I murmured in a daze.
Elda and Garen both turned to look at him.
But Suon was already back to his usual expressionless face.
“Oh dear… I think you hit your head quite hard, Miss Lin,” Garen said worriedly.
“Maybe we should call a priest after all,” Elda added.
No one believed me.
Then I felt something cool on my forehead.
Suon’s finger, applying the ointment.
His touch was rough, but careful.
“…Huh. It doesn’t hurt at all.”
I muttered.
Once done, Suon withdrew his hand like nothing had happened.
I stared at him, then slowly smiled.
‘This is great. If I keep building trust, I’ll get to see even more sides of him.’
My fangirl heart swelled.
Seeing me grinning like a broken squirrel, Suon raised an eyebrow.
“What’s with that strange smile?”
“Nothing!”
I beamed, then flew over and flopped onto his bed.
