CH 82

I tried to recall the past for a moment, but right then, a thick forearm was offered in front of me.

As I raised my head, I saw that Morgan was looking down at me, a blush spreading upon his cheeks.

“Ahem. Then, I’ll be escorting you, Irene.”

“…Thank you.”

“To be honest, you’re so slender that I think you’ll faint any moment now. If I could, I’d give you a piggyback ride instead, like when we were kids.”

“I’m not that thin.”

“Compared to Elise, you’re really quite slender. Oh, I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t say such a thing…”

“Pfft.”

I don’t know why either, but I burst into laughter. Perhaps because I was already used to this pairing of nervous energy despite the bear-like appearance. Morgan resembled my dad a lot.

Of course, David naturally resembled Dad in appearance, but Morgan’s atmosphere, behavior and way of speaking reminded me so much of Dad.

“…Right, as long as it makes you laugh.”

Morgan held out his arm to me again, the redness of his cheeks spreading to the tips of his ears. I placed my hand on his arm with a more relaxed mind than before. When we went out to the garden, several pairs of eyes were instantly glued to us.

A number of wagons were blocking the way out of the mansion, and the employees happened to catch sight of me and Morgan.

“Why on earth are there so many wagons? Oh… Isn’t that the coat of arms of the Leopardt Duchy?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Your family is acquainted with House Leopardt? That’s amazing.”

“His Grace received a bit of help from Dad the other day.”

I didn’t bother going into the details. No matter how close House Allen was to my family, it’s not necessary to tell them everything.

“That’s Uncle Arthur, alright. Wow, that’s really cool. He’s even close to the Duke!”

At the sudden childish outburst, he covered his mouth and looked around awkwardly.

“Irene, you may not be very conscious of it because he’s your father, but to the knights of our household, Uncle Arthur is like a hero.”

I stared at him curiously because he was talking about Dad. Then, Morgan’s face began to turn redder and redder.

As his blush went on to spread until the nape of his neck, he turned his gaze away for a moment before turning back to me, pursing his lips.

“…Uh, I mean. Of course, you know that Uncle Arthur is a sword master, right?”

“Yes.”

“Actually, it can never be easy to become a sword master. It’s hard for a sword user to reach even the level of a sword expert.”

The unfamiliar terms piqued my curiosity. I started asking Morgan about this and that, and each time, Morgan earnestly answered my questions.

At the same time, as his face was getting more and more red by the minute, I couldn’t help but ask.

“If you’re feeling hot, should I ask someone to bring a glass of cold water for you?”

“Me? No, I don’t feel hot at all?”

Hearing his answer, I tilted my head to the side, perplexed. Then, I examined his face carefully.

He looked like his face was about to burst from the sheer redness. I sighed slightly.

“Still, it does seem like it. You look quite spent…”

I indirectly recommended that he return inside the mansion. His complexion was so unusual.

“No, I’m fine! But why do you say that?”

“…If so, then, um. Why is your face so red? Isn’t it because you’re feeling hot, or perhaps uncomfortable?”

“……”

Hearing this, Morgan hardened like stone. I began to worry that I might have said something rude, but he took a step back in surprise and covered his face with one huge hand.

“Uh… Can you excuse me for a moment?”

“Yes, of course. Shall I call an employee to attend to you?”

“No, I’m fine! I’ll be right back!”

As soon as he finished saying that, he started running towards the mansion. He seemed like the very image of a noble while we were exchanging greetings, but now, he was just like the young men I sometimes met at the garrison.

Even right now, he resembled Dad exactly, so I couldn’t help but laugh.

Then, I saw it.

On the path where Morgan ran, I saw those dents.

Walking closer to it, I saw that the ground had been dented exactly to the shape of his footprints. No matter how much strength he had in his robust body, digging into the ground like this was certainly not normal.

“This must be…”

It was a familiar trace of the past. I saw many similar mistakes made by physical Espers who entered the troops.

This was a common mistake that newly-manifested Espers would make because they still couldn’t control their own strength.

Following the footprints into the entrance of the mansion, I turned and saw Baron Allen and Mom.

“Excuse me, Baron. May I ask a question?”

“Oh but, Irene, why are you alone? Where in the world did that rascal Morgan go, leaving a lady alone like this.”

“My daughter, you’ll stay here with me then?”

“…Um, I’m just asking, but… By any chance, did Brother Morgan suffer from a severely high fever recently?”

At my question, Baron Allen’s eyes went wide.