Chapter 31 (1) - A Depressed Kendo Player Possesses a Bastard Aristocrat

Bonus chapter thanks to @Blackfist for subscription to 'Blink' tier on Ko-fi.The carriage carrying Allen and his companions departed from the stop.

Left behind were Raiden, Ariel, and Rachel.

"......"

A heavy silence hung in the air after the commotion.

Raiden stared silently in the direction the carriage had disappeared.

Seeing her brother lost in thought, Ariel hesitantly spoke to him.

"Um, brother..."

"Hm?"

Raiden turned around at her small call.

He had a faint smile on his lips, the same way he usually looked at Ariel.

But Ariel couldn't bring herself to smile back.

Because even though he was smiling, his face seemed infinitely sad.

Because a deep sadness overflowed in his jet-black eyes that resembled the night sky.

Ariel unconsciously bit her lip.

Then, she mumbled in a voice as small as a whimpering puppy.

"I'm sorry... for suddenly stepping in..."

Ariel apologized with her head bowed.

Raiden looked at her for a moment, then chuckled softly and patted her head.

"Why are you apologizing? You were so cool protecting your brother."

Raiden responded playfully and ruffled her red hair.

The soft texture of the red strands felt warm against his fingertips.

"Thank you, Ariel. For standing up for me."

"......"

Ariel hesitated, then closed her mouth and quietly nodded.

Raiden patted her head a few more times as if finding her cute.

"But no more cursing, okay?"

Raiden said, pinching Ariel's slightly pouting cheek.

Her cheek stretched out long following his hand.

"Bweehhh..."

"You should only use nice words. You'll be in trouble if you use bad words again, okay?"

"Ooh... yeeesss..."

Ariel's words were slurred because her cheek was being pinched.

Raiden, amused by her appearance, stretched her cheek even further.

"Oohwoo... sthop it..."

"Just a little bit more."

"Oohwaa..."

As Raiden was playing with Ariel's plump cheeks,

a few students began to gather around the stop. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

It was the loud shriek from Sorrow that had caught their attention.

"What was that?"

"Yeah, I thought I heard something strange here earlier."

"Did something happen like yesterday...?"

The students murmured, trying to find the source of the sound.

Their eyes wandered around, then landed on a boy standing at the carriage stop.

A boy with jet-black hair and eyes.

The very boy who had shown a shocking performance during yesterday's banquet hall terror incident.

"Gasp...!"

"Eek...!"

"Hey, hey, let's go! Let's get out of here...!"

"Don't make eye contact...!"

The students, terrified after making eye contact with the boy, hurriedly left the scene.

Raiden stopped teasing Ariel and stared at their retreating figures, frozen.

Their eyes glanced at him as they scurried away.

For some reason, he thought those eyes resembled the blue eyes that had stared at him from the carriage a moment ago.

***

"......"

Inside the moving carriage, Lucy was quietly looking out the window.

Even in the rattling carriage, she maintained a perfectly composed posture, exuding the dignity of a princess.

"So, sister, what happened was..."

"Uh, yeah..."

Although she responded to Neria's voice ringing in her ears, the girl's gaze was fixed on the passing scenery.

It was a shame for her younger sister, who was excitedly continuing her story.

But at the moment, Lucy couldn't hear a single sound.

Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of a certain boy.

'......Raiden.'

Lucy tried to compose her aching heart and organize her jumbled thoughts.

However, the scattered fragments of her thoughts, like mismatched puzzle pieces, refused to connect.

Her head and heart were becoming increasingly tangled.

As she sighed inwardly several times, a scene flashed before her eyes.

It was a moment from yesterday's attack.

-Don't worry, Your Highness.

-Your knight is here.

His calm voice.

His hand reaching out to comfort her, even as he was covered in blood.

His back as he stood against the attackers with a bitter smile.

Lucy had to bite her lip to suppress the emotions welling up inside her as she remembered the boy's image.

The boy had saved her.

He had taken the arrows meant for her.

He had fought against the attackers to protect her, who was paralyzed with fear.

So fiercely that his whole body was stained with blood and his clothes were torn to shreds.

'Why, how...'

Lucy was confused.

She couldn't understand the boy's intentions.

Why did Raiden go so far for her?

Surely, their relationship was beyond repair...

"......"

The girl closed her eyes and reminisced about the past.

The memory of the hateful incident that had torn her and her friend apart.

.

.

.

About a year ago.

It was the day of the First Princess's seventeenth birthday, and a banquet was held at the Imperial Palace.

Lucy, the star of the party, had sent invitations to many people.

Raiden was among them.

-A promise? Ah, you're talking about that childish game.

-I've long forgotten about it.

-How foolish.

Despite hearing those hurtful words, Lucy had believed.

She had believed that the covenant of friendship they had made still remained.

A foolish belief.

She had cherished her relationship with the boy so much that she couldn't erase the old memories from her heart.

"Ah! You came after all, Raiden...! I thought you wouldn't come because you were so late..."

And the girl.

Had to pay the price for the unresolved relationship.

-Slap!

The cold sound of flesh striking flesh echoed through the air.

For a moment, Lucy couldn't comprehend what had happened.

Her vision shifted sideways.

A burning sensation on her right cheek.

Jet-black eyes staring at her with a cold gaze.

The girl, frozen in place, her eyes darting around, soon began to shed tears.

It wasn't that her cheek hurt from the slap.

The pain was minimal compared to the sound.

The reason Lucy couldn't hold back her tears was the cruel reality that the person who had inflicted this pain was Raiden.

'Why...?'

Lucy mouthed the question to the boy, but

there was no answer.

Only a look of utter contempt.

"What do you think you're doing!"

Naturally, the banquet turned upside down.

Raiden was stripped of his position as heir apparent and imprisoned in the underground dungeon.

The Emperor, who usually tolerated Raiden's transgressions, couldn't overlook the fact that his beloved daughter had been treated so disrespectfully.

"Your Majesty... no, Father...! Please forgive him. I'm sure Raiden is reflecting on his actions...!"

"There is no forgiveness, Lucy. That boy must pay the price."

"Then I'll die too...! If Raiden dies, I'll...!!"

Lucy clung to the Emperor, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty, please consider what our family has done for the Empire."

"Duke..."

"That child... is also a child who has sacrificed for the sake of the Empire's peace."

Only after Duke Lishite's desperate plea did Raiden get released.

It was an unprecedentedly light punishment for someone who had laid hands on a member of the Imperial family.

Although she had managed to save her friend, Lucy never went to see Raiden again.

She knew now.

That their relationship was irreparably broken.

"This is the last time, Raiden."

"......"

"I... sob, will never... seek you out again."

After bidding farewell,

the girl severed the bond she had cherished most in her life.

Longing for the boy's absence, a void that no one else could fill for the rest of her life.

And so,

time passed.

.

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