Chapter: 18
‘The Capital Guard?’
At the man’s words, Emilia froze for a moment.
She looked him over once more, carefully examining what he was wearing.
Then she slowly opened her mouth.
“And you’re just as suspicious.”
“What? Me?”
The man raised an eyebrow.
“You’re lying.”
Emilia stared straight at him, her eyes sharp.
“You’re not with the Capital Guard, are you?”
For a brief instant, the man’s eyelids twitched.
“…Why do you think that?”
Emilia gestured toward the insignia on his knight’s uniform.
“Obviously because of that uniform.”
More specifically, it was because of the emblem attached to his uniform and the color of the embroidery on the shoulder insignia.
It wasn’t the current design.
That’s the old version.
Being this close let her examine it in detail.
After all, when I made the summary of the imperial regulations, I even included illustrations of the Capital Guard’s and Imperial Knights’ uniforms and insignias. Cedric was so terrible at memorizing things from text that I painstakingly drew every single one.
According to the regulations, after a knight order changed its uniform, members could wear the old and new versions together for only six months.
But it had already been over a year since the Capital Guard’s uniform had been changed.
Whether he used to be a member of the Capital Guard or stole the uniform and is impersonating one…
Either way, the man definitely wasn’t currently part of the Capital Guard.
“Am I wrong?”
After hearing her explanation, the man rubbed the back of his head as if he’d been caught.
“You’re seriously something else. How on earth do you even know things like that?”
He let out a helpless laugh and straightened up.
Naturally, Emilia lifted her head to look at him.
“Well, whatever. Since we’re both suspicious, why don’t we just let it slide?”
He shrugged lightly.
Then he held out a hand toward her, inviting her to take it.
“Come on.”
But Emilia only narrowed her eyes and continued watching him warily.
The man curled his fingers impatiently.
“Well? We have to get back up together.”
At those words, Emilia relaxed her clenched fist and took his hand.
“Hm?”
The moment their hands met, Lucas let out a puzzled sound.
He had expected a soft, delicate hand.
Instead, it felt rough and dry.
After helping her to her feet, he looked down at his own palm.
It was covered with dirt.
His gaze naturally shifted to where she had been crouching.
“You weren’t…”
Soon, Lucas noticed two shallow holes dug into the ground on either side of her.
He couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Pfft—Hahaha! Don’t tell me you were planning to attack me with that dirt?”
Emilia’s face turned bright red at the man’s roaring laughter.
Biting her lip, she quickly stomped the disturbed ground flat again with her foot.
The man couldn’t stop laughing.
“Stop laughing!”
“No, seriously. That’s just too pathetic.”
“Pathetic? If dirt gets into someone’s eyes, it could make them go blind.”
“Oh, really? How terrifying.”
Finally stopping his laughter, he pulled a handkerchief from inside his coat.
Then he reached for her hand, intending to wipe it clean.
“That’s not necessary. Don’t act like you’re helping after causing the problem.”
“Even so, look at the state of your hands.”
“…I’m not exactly a proper young lady anyway.”
She casually wiped the dirt off her hands on her clothes instead.
Watching her, the man asked,
“Then if not ‘miss,’ what should I call you?”
Emilia answered coldly,
“We’re never going to meet again anyway, so why bother?”
“Ouch, that’s cold. I told you my name.”
He sounded genuinely disappointed.
“You told me on your own.”
“Hmm. Then should I call you what you told me? ‘The penniless girl with no family and no money?'”
“…”
When she shot him a glare, he simply smiled brightly.
“Emilia.”
She finally gave in.
If she didn’t tell him, he really looked like the type who would keep calling her that.
“That’s a cute name.”
“It’s just an ordinary name.”
Despite her blunt reply, he only chuckled.
“Well then, now that we’ve properly introduced ourselves, I’ll really take you back up.”
Fortunately, the man named Lucas didn’t try anything strange after that and helped her out of the mana sinkhole.
Although he did carry her tucked under one arm like a piece of luggage.
Afterward, they rode back toward the empty lot behind the plaza.
The only annoying thing was that he kept trying to interrogate her along the way.
“So where’s your house?”
“That vacant lot from earlier.”
“Now what’s this lie supposed to be?”
“I’m serious. My home was in that collapsed building, so that’s where I live now.”
“Huh?”
As if he’d suddenly realized something, Lucas sighed before letting out an amused laugh.
Well, she’d technically moved somewhere else just a few hours ago.
But there was no reason to tell a suspicious man like him.
“Anyway, I should get going. I’ve got work to do.”
“You’re not even in the Capital Guard. What kind of work?”
“I’m not with the Capital Guard, but I am a knight. I even have a curfew, you know.”
Seeing the disbelief on Emilia’s face, Lucas sounded slightly hurt.
“I’m serious. At least trust me enough to believe I’ll pass along the information you gave me.”
“Sure. Fine. I believe you.”
Emilia answered halfheartedly.
I’ll just come back later and find Mr. Duncan again.
Lucas quietly watched the woman who seemed eager to get rid of him before reaching out.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“I should be—”
She was in the middle of sending him away when she suddenly felt a slight tug on her hair.
Turning around, she saw a strand of her hair slipping through the man’s fingers.
His hand was near his mouth.
“…What did you just do?”
“Just saying goodbye?”
The man smiled mysteriously, revealing nothing.
After Lucas left, Emilia headed toward the street to catch a public carriage.
It was already getting dark.
She wanted nothing more than to return to the mansion and collapse onto a soft bed.
As she dragged her tired feet along—
“Where have you been?”
A low, eerie voice suddenly called out.
Huh?
Emilia turned her head, her eyes widening slightly.
The owner of the voice was none other than Kaiden.
“Why are you here?”
she asked, bewildered.
Kaiden’s face immediately twisted into a deep frown.
Why? Because the woman who promised she’d stay quietly at the mansion wasn’t there, obviously.
He had returned to the mansion earlier than planned.
Yet instead of finding the woman who was supposed to be waiting, he had been greeted only by an empty estate.
He’d been completely dumbfounded.
So, just in case, he had gone back to the shabby tent area.
But once again, the woman he was looking for was nowhere to be found.
Instead, he had only been greeted by a group of women glaring at him with terrifying expressions.
“Oh, you had business nearby.”
While Kaiden was recalling everything that had happened, Emilia came to her own completely mistaken conclusion and nodded to herself.
Meanwhile, her eyes drifted to the jacket hanging over his arm and his hair, damp with sweat.
He really must have been incredibly busy.
Even this late.
“I had something I needed to take care of too.”
“Are you finished with your business?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then we should return to my mansion now, shouldn’t we?”
