Ch. 15

"Of course, I swear on my life.""....Can you put your workshop at stake?"

"Sure."

"Can you also put all the swords you made at stake? If this is a lie, you are not allowed to craft anything for the rest of your life."

"...Huh? Do you need to go that far? Umm...alright..."

If you go this far, then it's real.

My father must be telling the truth if he was willing to put his workshop and sword collection at stake. My Dad would never place a bet on his workshop whenever he lied.

But what should I do now?

[Why does Duke Ferdinand roam around this narrow street in the first place?]

Yeah, that's what I thought. 

Every noble I had seen would parade down the street in their huge carriage with an entire squadron of knights.

A commoner like me would fall flat on the ground and wait for them to pass by....

'Why did Duke Ferdinand....roam around this street and bump into me? Why was my dad hiding the fact that my mom was a noblewoman from me?'

My head was dizzy from this sudden turn of events. This was almost too much for me to handle. 

At that moment, Duke Ferdinand reached out his hand to me gently.

"Eve."

"Y-Yes?"

"If it's alright with you, can I pat your head just this once?"

[Do you think she's a dog?]

"Yes, of course!"

I ignored Ex, who nitpicks on everything, and moved closer to Duke Ferdinand..no, my grandfather. 

If this person was the real Duke Ferdinand, then I must set aside my own feelings and bow down...!!

"I-I'll introduce myself again, my lord!"

I wiped my cheeks one more time to make sure there were no tears left, and I shouted out loud.

"My name is Eve Royce. I'm eight years old this year!"

How strange. 

I just wanted to greet him and leave...

Rattle, rattle.

But how did I end up here?

I mumbled quietly as I looked at the passing trees outside the carriage window. 

If the window had not been closed, the wind would have hit my face. 

I wasn't in the carriage that the prince had given to us.

"Eve, are you uncomfortable?"

It was also far fancier, more expensive, and larger than the carriage the prince prepared for us!

I instinctively shifted my gaze back to my 'grandfather', and muttered as courteously as possible.

"I'm not uncomfortable at all! Thank you for worrying about me...!"

"But you look a bit uncomfortable. I'm sorry, I didn't prepare a cushion or anything like that because there are no children around."

"...I do not need any cushions at all!  I really don't! This carriage is very comfortable and does not shake. Actually, I am used to riding a cart drawn by cows! Ahahah, so please don't worry too much."

I meant it. 

What was the point of talking about carriages to people who lived in the countryside? After all, I would consider myself extremely lucky simply by riding a cart drawn by cows.

The head of the village often came to pick me up and let me ride along in his cart whenever he went into the city.

'Even that was already super awesome.'

I still have pleasant memories of the cart, even though it was much harder to sit on and rattled more than the carriage. 

But I wonder if I said something that made him uncomfortable? 

"...A cart?"

My grandfather said this in disbelief and glared at my dad very intensely. 

Flinch-

I could feel my dad flinching a little.

...Why are you like that?

I didn't know what he was so scared of, but my first instinct was to soothe him by grabbing his hand.

So I began to make excuses about the 'chief's cart'.

"Um, my lord. The cart wasn't even that bad. It was a very big, strong, and good cart. The cow's name is Wilson. He's a very strong cow...."

But the more I spoke, the more he looked upset. 

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While I was feeling lost, Ex, who was tied behind me, chipped in.

[You fool. The Guardian doesn't like that you are riding a cart.]

'Why? It was a really good cart.'

[Because you are his granddaughter! What do you think Duke Ferdinand felt when he found out that his own granddaughter was riding a cart in the countryside?]

Ah! So that was the problem!

I smiled brightly at my grandfather, who still had his grim expression, and tried to explain it as clearly as possible.

"Please don't worry! I don't go around telling this to anyone!"

[That's not it.....look... his face is crumpled up even more.]

Huh? He's right.

My grandfather glared at my dad with an expression worse than before. 

I hated being caught in this awkward and uncomfortable situation, so I just gave up talking and turned my head to look outside the window. 

Ah, whatever. Just do as you please.

But something suddenly popped out of my mind. 

'But, you, why did you call him guardian?'

[Because he's a guardian.]

'What kind of guardian?'

[This brat! What do you even know? Call your dad! Let me talk to your dad! Come on!]

'My dad is right next to you, stupid. Tell me what kind of guardian he is.'

[Of course, that's...!]

While I was bickering with Ex, we arrived at Duke Ferdinand Castle.

The huge gate slowly opened, and the escort knights split up and took positions on the left and right sides. 

When they split up, my eyes were drawn to the huge statue in the middle of Duke Ferdinand Castle.

[...He's the Guardian of the Dragon!]

It was an enormous and magnificent statue of a dragon. I peeked out of the carriage window with my eyes wide open. 

The Guardian of the Kalixt Empire.

The one and only duchy in the Kalixt Empire. 

The great swordmaster family who had produced swordmasters from generation to generation!

Not to mention...

'The Guardian of the Dragon...?'

[Do you really not know this? Did you live in a cave instead of the Kalixt Empire?]

It's possible to not know....what do you want me to do?

I glared at Ex as furtively as possible. 

[Who do you think you're glaring at? You fool!]

Huh? Am I being that obvious?

In any case, everything that Ex said about the Ferdinand Duchy was true. 

A long time ago, when the Kalixt Empire was first established, a transcendent being made a contract with the empire's first emperor. 

That transcendent being was a dragon....!

'I only know up until that part.'

[I figured so.]

'I'm serious.'

[Alright, whatever.]

Anyway, the Dragon made a contract with the first emperor. 

-I will protect the Kalixt Empire as long as my power is still among the living.-

Dragon was an immortal divine being. 

The Kalixt Empire would live in peace under the Dragon's power and blessing if the Dragon protected the empire. 

But the Dragon's blessing and contract had one condition. 

[The Dragon asked for a knight who could communicate and defend himself while he protected the Kalixt Empire]

At the Dragon's request, the first emperor gave him the head of the Ferdinant family, who was the emperor's closest aide at that time.

[The Dragon made a guardianship contract with him.]

Since then, the Ferdinand family has been called the Guardian of the Dragon. 

'But that was such an old story.'

I didn't know if the legend was even true, but there was indeed a dragon who protected the empire. I knew this was inside a novel, so I knew that the Dragon was alive. 

And the warriors would defeat the Dragon and save the empire from falling into chaos. 

But can we really call it a 'protector'?