CH 11

Chapter 11: Quiet: Lars

“Lars.”

Asher, who was sitting across from the carriage on the way back, brought it up.

“Is that girl really okay?”

Although he is a guard knight, Asher is an old acquaintance from when he was young, and he has been told by Lars that he doesn’t need honorifics.

Everyone is surprised when they meet Lars for the first time, but if he treats them normally, they will get used to it eventually.

“…yeah, I’m worried about her.”

Lars can only give a vague answer.

What Asher is concerned about is the lady they just met.

——Linea, who said that if she eats something delicious, she’ll forget about nightmares and such.

Lars was also concerned.

He doesn’t know the severity of the nightmares, but when he sees her clearly exhausted every day, he can’t help but be worried.

Furthermore, if something like today happened every day, he would be concerned about her mental state.

“If it’s her situation, I think it’s understandable for her to have that kind of reaction. I didn’t think it was that bad because I didn’t see her very often…”

Today’s events have been an eye-opener for Lars, to be honest.

If an unobservant person saw Linea Elvasti at first glance, or only saw her in the aftermath of what happened, they might think she is a very cold, heartless person. 

However, Lars and Asher had witnessed Linea and the events around her before. 

It’s impossible for a servant carrying a bucket to run up to an aristocrat for no reason. 

Usually, when a servant is unable to finish cleaning the hallway on time, they wait for the students to go into another classroom or go home by hiding in the hallway for servants. 

Furthermore, it’s strange for a servant to boldly try to speak to someone when there are people around.

The nobles who tried to trip and knock over the servant by kicking their legs had sneering expressions on their faces as they looked at Linea. 

Both of their actions were dripping with malice towards Linea. 

If she had reached out to them, they probably would have found an excuse to blame her. 

It’s better to leave early and be thought of as a cold person than to suffer more. 

Lars, who knew that she was disliked, but did not think she was being thoroughly looked down upon and attacked so ruthlessly, was unusually dejected.

When Lars was asked by Asher, “What are you going to do?”, he came to his senses.

“I had heard the rumors. The young lady of the Count Elvasti family is said to be as cruel as her father… and is disliked.”

Lars, who had not been involved with her, listened in.

There were actually suspicions about the Count Elvasti family, so I didn’t feel like getting too close.

But I thought the young lady was not so bad when I gave her uncle some sweets.

――She seemed to have been very lonely since her mother passed away early.

When I visit, she is very happy to see me.

The Viscount said this about the person to whom he gave the sweets.

Lars, who asked out of curiosity, was surprised to find out who his niece was.

It was Linea Elvasti, who was rumored to be a daughter with a bad personality like her father.

However, it is not uncommon for the reality and rumors to be different.

So Lars thought that what his family said was probably correct, and he didn’t particularly mind talking to her.

“I would like to ask for your cooperation in the future, but it would be inconvenient if you can’t come to the Academy…”

“I’m worried about her, but it’s difficult for even Lars to openly deal with the Count Elvasti family.

Depending on the situation, it becomes harder to obtain the sacred flowers.

Now, the trade of sacred flowers and confections is also a big business for the Duke Svald family. It’s not just in this country, but they also trade with other countries. It would be turning things upside down to let the business fail and make the subjects suffer.

Asher mutters.

“If she could somehow manage to ask for help from this side… did you promise to continue to pass on the confections just for that purpose?”

In order to maintain a connection with her in some form.

Lars gave a bitter smile.

“I hope this will be helpful for her… but it’s frustrating that we can’t arbitrarily protect her, no matter how pitiful she is.”

It’s clear that if we just made a promise with her and protected her by taking her to a distant place away from the public, we would be accused of abducting her.

At least it would be easier to protect her if she ran away on her own.

In a situation like this with the young lady, it is possible to take a leave of absence from the Academy using Lars’s connections.

However, for a noble’s daughter to take a leave of absence without graduating from the Academy would cause a small stain on the family’s honor.

It’s not clear whether Linea would agree to that.

Already being avoided by others just because she is the daughter of the Count Elvasti family, it would be difficult for her to get a normal marriage if she doesn’t graduate from the Academy.

Unless Linea herself says it’s okay, if we forcibly intervene it would just be a nuisance.

“I guess the best we can do is to keep our hands to ourselves.”

Until Linea can make a firm decision.

Or until Linea realizes she can use her connection with Lars as a turning point in this situation.

Asher sighs after hearing the answer.

“I wish she could make the decision to escape earlier…”

“Like you?”

Asher makes an unpleasant face in response to Lars’s question.

“That has nothing to do with me. But I just thought it would be good if somehow, something could be done while someone like you, Lars, is reaching out. I don’t want to see something like that happen.”

To that, Lars smiles.