CH 232

Cedric muttered blankly at Polly.

“Yes, Polly. She was the one who saved you and helped you continue to be with me like this.”

“Master, are you sad? Tears are running down your eyes.”

“…… Sad? It seems like that. Maybe.”

Polly asked the question carefully, and Cedric wiped the corner of his eyes with his sleeve at the same time as he answered, then buried his head in the pillow.

And he mumbled very softly.

“I regret it.”

“What do you regret, Master?”

“…… I regret that if I had done a lot to her from an early age, something would have changed, and I regret that I should have confessed my heart at least once before.”

“Confessed?”

“Yes. But now it is too late.”

He recalled himself during the debutante, which may have been his last chance.

Cedric has been riding his horse at full speed since the night before he finished exterminating the beasts.

The horse got tired in the middle, so he left his horse in another village and changed horses enough to barely return quickly.

Ordinarily, he would rather walk or delay the schedule than riding on a horse other than his favorite horse, but it was all to attend Emir’s debutante banquet.

“Whoa, I’ll be in time by a hair’s breadth.”

Cedric only slowed down and caught his breath when he reached the capital after noon.

But just then, when he saw a flower shop on the side of the road, he realized what he had forgotten.

He almost forgot the bouquet.

The only reason he was barely late for the debutante banquet was all because the time he had spent while he was choosing flowers.

‘Will this work.’

But in the end, the bouquet he picked was a common pink rose.

He had no choice but to hand over plain flowers, pretending that he didn’t care at all, because he feared that the flowers would reveal his hidden interest.

Perhaps Emir thinks of him as ‘a person who is extremely straightforward about his feelings’.

In fact, it is true to some extent.

It wasn’t like that only in front of Emir.

Since when?

Probably around when he was attending the academy.

At one point, Cedric was devastated when he realized that he liked Emir more than a friend.

‘To her? Nonsense. Absolutely not.’

At first he denied it, but soon had to accept it.

He was always honest, but strangely, he couldn’t express his feelings honestly.

The reason was simple.

It was because it was so easy to see that Emir’s heart was not on him and that she was always looking elsewhere.

‘Why can’t I beat Jake and become Emir’s number one?’

He once thought so. But no answer would simply come.

Cedric just stared at Jake and Emir from a few steps back.

And in commemoration of her debutante, when Emir asked to make a wish using the wish ticket that she had obtained from him 12 years ago.

“…… alright. What is your wish?”

“My wish is.”

To say that he didn’t expect that moment would be a lie, honestly.

He thought it would be okay to do her wish and he’ll do everything in his power to grant her anything.

He was hoping that if he did that, she would look back at him even once more.

However, contrary to his thoughts, who was prepared for anything, Emir’s answer was unexpected.

He wants him to be a righteous knight.

That was it. He couldn’t quite believe it.

“A righteous knight…… Do you really think I can be like that? You don’t know my personality, I’m a bad guy…….”

Besides, Cedric wasn’t confident enough to make that seemingly insignificant wish come true.

He mocked himself.

“Yes. I know. I know that. What a good person Lord Cedric is.”

“…… !”

But, after hearing what Emir said, he noticed.

That she really believes in him.

Without a single doubt, she believed he will be so.

Isn’t that really an Emir-like wish?

Only then did Cedric realize.

‘Yes, there’s nothing I can’t do if it’s your wish.’

From the moment she said that, he knew that his calling had been set in stone.

He would be willing to defend any kind of justice if he could live and see Emir happy.

* * *

He just hasn’t done it since then. The congratulations, just one word.

“Emir, congratulations on your engagement.”

“Cedric, thank you so much for the congratulations.”

It had been a long time since he congratulated her with a calm expression and still voice.

After congratulating her, Cedric turned around and had a slightly bitter smile that no one could see.

She probably wouldn’t know for the rest of her life.

How hesitant was he just to say congratulations.

The fact that there are so many emotions that he has not been able to tell her and will not tell her in the future.

‘It’s okay. Emir, as long as you’re happy now, I don’t care. It’s just nice to be able to remain by your side as a friend like this.’