“You… why are you crying?”
To be honest, Arlette was quite surprised when he saw Vivienne’s face covered in tear stains.
He had known Vivienne for a long time. In his memory, this woman always maintained a leisurely, cynical air. Teasing him, seducing him, or even saying all sorts of nonsensical things were part of her daily routine, and Arlette had essentially grown used to it.
However, she had never once cried in front of him. Not only that, she had never even shown a hint of sadness in his presence.
But now, for some reason, she was revealing a side of herself that Arlette had never seen before. He didn’t know what to do. Arlette could handle many things, but a woman’s tears were the one thing he couldn’t manage. The Young Lady had never cried, nor had she ever taught him what to do when a girl started weeping.
“I—I’m fine!”
“It’s just that there’s too much dust in here. I got something in my eyes.”
Vivienne rubbed her eyes vigorously while wiping away the tear stains beneath them, trying her best to look natural.
“Is that so?”
Arlette found it a bit strange. Could someone really shed that many tears just from getting sand in their eyes? It was truly miraculous.
“What are you still staring at! I’m crying like this and you won’t even come over to help. Where are your manners!”
“Ah, right.”
Arlette nodded and temporarily placed the bottle containing the Blood Brew outside the door before walking back in. Originally, Arlette thought Vivienne was going to play some kind of trick on him again.
But surprisingly, she remained well-behaved throughout the entire process, quietly tidying up the scattered documents and files. It almost didn’t seem like her at all.
Soon, the bookshelf was nearly completely organized. But as the work was coming to an end, Vivienne spoke up and asked Arlette a strange question.
“Little Knight.”
“Is there anyone from your childhood who left a particularly deep impression on you?”
“Hmm?”
Arlette gave Vivienne a strange look before answering.
“My father and mother. But they’re both dead now.”
“No, no. That’s not what I’m asking.”
After Arlette subconsciously answered with his parents, Vivienne shook her head in denial.
“I mean… peers! Like friends or something.”
“Did you have any little playmates back then that you got along with really well?”
When Vivienne asked this question, her expression was very peculiar. She looked somewhat uneasy yet also appeared to be filled with expectation.
“Friends…?”
Arlette frowned deeply, his mind working constantly as he tried to filter through the broken fragments of his memory. Logically speaking, everyone should have had playmates or someone similar during their childhood.
But Arlette searched his memories for a long time and couldn’t find any such existence. In fact, even regarding his parents, there were only a few scattered fragments in his mind; he couldn’t even recall their appearances.
Every memory he had before meeting the Young Lady seemed to be shattered and incomplete, leaving only a general outline. It was only after meeting the Young Lady that his memories became rich and whole. This was one of the reasons why Merlo occupied such a massive place in his heart.
“I don’t know. Most likely not.”
“Eh?”
Upon hearing this answer, a flash of disappointment crossed Vivienne’s eyes.
“Is that so? Why do you say you don’t know?”
“Because I don’t remember.”
Arlette spoke truthfully as he stacked items back onto the bookshelf.
“Perhaps it was the trauma from when my hometown was destroyed, but I can hardly remember things from before. I can’t even remember what my parents looked like, let alone childhood playmates who are even easier to forget.”
“Why do you ask? Did you have a very good friend when you were little?”
The sudden counter-question caused Vivienne’s pupils to shake.
“I… I did.”
“I got along with him very well when I was little. He even saved my life once.”
“I just never asked for his name. I only called him by a nickname.”
“Later, for certain reasons, I moved away from that place, and I never saw him again.”
“I see.”
Arlette coolly tossed out those two words, showing no extra reaction to Vivienne’s description.
Regarding Arlette’s previous answer, Vivienne didn’t seem ready to give up. She opened her mouth again, wanting to ask him another question, but she was directly interrupted by Arlette.
He stuffed the last part of the notes back into the bookshelf and clapped his hands together.
“Alright, the things are tidied up and I have the Blood Brew.”
“Vivienne, it’s time to go. I have to head back and report to the Young Lady.”
After saying that, he casually stretched his body to loosen his stiff muscles.
“Ah…”
“Wait, wait a…”
Vivienne wanted to ask him to stay, but in the next moment, Arlette turned and walked directly out of the study, leaving only the sound of his receding footsteps.
Her hand, which had just been raised to hold him back, slowly lowered as she suddenly gripped the corner of her clothes.
“Arlette…”
Her lips parted slightly. This time, she didn’t use his title to address him. Instead, she whispered his name to herself.
“I will bring you home.”
“I will definitely, definitely treat you well. I’ll make sure you live a life ten thousand times happier than this one…”
“Now that I’ve obtained this evidence…”
“Let me think carefully about how to use it to—”
“Thoroughly defeat that woman Merlo!”
Vivienne knew. This file must never be seen by Arlette.
She knew how much he valued family. Even if Arlette could no longer remember his relatives’ faces, he would still yearn for them and crave to return to a home that no longer existed.
If he suddenly found out that he had been serving the daughter of his mortal enemy all these years, even the strongest spirit wouldn’t be able to endure it. He would definitely break. Physically and mentally.
That wasn’t what she wanted. Therefore, while keeping it from Arlette, she would snatch him away from Merlo’s hands!
“Little Knight, don’t you long for a home?”
“I will… give you a home.”
***
Meanwhile, over at Dice Town.
After nearly a day of being busy, Floff had finally finished buying most of the supplies. To prevent the curse on her body from taking effect again, she had even specifically gone to buy some single-use magic tools to protect herself.
“Phew, finally finished. That wasn’t easy.”
She wiped the sweat from her brow, and her body relaxed slightly. However, while her body was at ease, her heart wasn’t so easily calmed.
She still remembered the scene from last night where the Knight was punished because of her. Even though it wasn’t entirely her fault, as Arlette had said, the guilt and low self-esteem in Floff’s heart continued to eat away at her every moment, causing her to fall into a state of constant internal conflict.
She was just that kind of person. Timid, cowardly, sensitive, and prone to empathizing with others.
The only bit of good news was that the curse on her body didn’t seem to be getting any worse; it had stabilized.
“No, I have to find a way to compensate the Knight…”
“But… how should I compensate him…”
Floff pouted, rubbing her chin with her thumb and index finger.
“The Knight doesn’t seem to have anything he particularly likes… at least he hasn’t shown it clearly.”
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit her.
“I’ve got it!”
“How about I buy some food to take back and wait for him?”
“Even if a person doesn’t like other things, they definitely won’t hate food!”
With that thought in mind, Floff walked into the tavern.
It was now evening, and many adventurers who had finished their dungeon exploration were pouring into the tavern to eat, drink, and chat loudly. The warm light, accompanied by the aroma of food and beer, spread through the air, making people feel very relaxed.
After thinking it over, Floff ordered a portion of roasted beast meat.
“The Knight said he doesn’t like sweets, so he should like this kind of roasted meat.”
“Yeah, he should.”
“Mm… I have to be careful. If the Commander finds out I bought him something, the Knight will be punished again…”
At the thought of Merlo, Floff subconsciously felt afraid. The whipping from last night was still fresh in her mind. That feeling of watching someone she cared about fall into pain and hardship while she could do nothing about it…
It was too awful…
It was terrible!
Floff didn’t want to experience it a second time as long as she lived!
“I have to be careful from now on. I’ll keep some distance from the Knight, or at least avoid direct physical contact…”
“Talking should be fine, otherwise the Knight would be too lonely.”
When she thought of this, Floff’s heart suddenly felt a bit guilty. In truth, it was she who would be lonely.
Waiting for the food was undoubtedly very boring. Floff had no other way to pass the time, so she leaned against the tavern wall and listened to the conversations of the adventurers nearby.
“Hey, man, have you heard?”
“Lately, the local branch of the Adventurer’s Guild is going to hold a ‘Dragon Slaying Contest’! The news has been spreading for a while now.”
“A Dragon Slaying Contest? For real?”
“Of course it’s real. Would I lie to you? It’s been going crazy in adventurer circles recently!”
“Quick, quick, tell me the details. Don’t leave me hanging.”
“Dragon… Slaying Contest?”
Hearing this unfamiliar term, Floff couldn’t help but feel curious, and she immediately pricked up her ears.