Elian had a dream.
He dreamed of the night twelve years ago when his father passed away.
It was raining a similar rain that night.
Even though other fragments had long since blurred, Elian could never forget his mother, who had cried herself into a mess… his heartbroken sister, and… young Lila, with timidity and fear in her eyes.
They gathered around the sickbed with him, looking at the man who had once been the pillar of their family.
The man’s lips were chapped, his face pale, his body long tortured by illness into something barely human.
In his final moments, Father slowly reached out a hand to him.
He was groaning, but also pleading.
“Elian…”
“Fa… Father…”
Elian hurriedly grasped his father’s hand, trying to transfer the warmth from his own palm to this man.
“You must… grow up well…”
“Make your mother, make Nora and Lila happy…”
The man swallowed.
“I will!.. I will take on the family’s responsibility, I won’t bring shame to the family!”
At that moment, Elian desperately wished time would slow down, so he could speak a few more words with this man who had sheltered him from wind and rain.
Father was still uneasy. His voice trembled.
“You must… be happy…”
Soon, the sounds of women wailing came from the room.
But no matter how loud the noise, it couldn’t straighten out Elian’s increasingly chaotic thoughts, nor could it wake his sleeping father anymore.
……
Everything that followed happened as Father had wished: His mother remained faithfully widowed for twelve years, teaching him strictly but caringly in daily life.
His sister became an adventurer early on, completing guild missions to supplement the family income; every time she returned, she would buy some freshly baked bread from the City West Bakery to share with him and Lila.
And Lila… his most beloved little sister, followed him around like a shadow every day, her eyes never hiding her adoration for her older brother.
He had no magic. He was quiet and not good with words.
But he improved a little every day.
He honed his swordsmanship to its peak, he studied the scriptures to their limit, and he even began trying to make more friends—all just to strive to become his family’s support, to strive to reach a happy ending together with his family.
—How rich and beautiful those days were… Or perhaps, that was happiness?
However, he also dreamed of that blond-haired man…
Voss.
That detestable man in the dream pushed him aside with a sneer, triumphantly telling him that their love didn’t belong to him, and happiness was destined to have no connection with him.
This vicious curse broke Elian.
He began to doubt his faith, to examine everything about these past twelve years.
If what he had done was truly right… why… was happiness getting further and further away from him?…
……
The nightmare-like night passed.
Elian opened his eyes.
A ray of morning sunlight hit his face inappropriately.
“You’re awake?”
The words carried caution and probing, but couldn’t hide concern.
It’s Fen…
Elian looked around.
The arrangement of the furniture matched his memory without discrepancy.
This was indeed Fen’s house, which he had visited a few times before.
He had broken his vow last night… his first time drinking alcohol in his life.
He must have looked terrible…
Thinking this, he spoke awkwardly, “I made a fool of myself last night.”
“Hey! Not at all.”
Seeing that his demeanor wasn’t as dejected as it had been last night, Fen’s tone noticeably brightened.
“Men, when they run into troubles, getting drunk… it’s understandable.”
“It’s Sunday today. I remember our Second Squad shouldn’t be on duty.”
Only then did Elian have time to take a proper look at Fen.
“Why are you in armor? Where are you going?”
“You forgot? Today is the baptism ceremony for the new batch of nuns.”
Fen walked over to the full-length mirror in the room, slightly leaning forward to adjust his attire, ensuring everything was neat.
“I’m the captain. I need to go to the grand cathedral on behalf of the Second Squad.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“?”
Looking at the slightly surprised Fen, Elian smiled.
“Consider it going out to clear my head.”
……
It was Sunday.
The streets of the Holy Capital were naturally exceptionally lively.
The bustling crowds on the street confirmed this.
But the two’s journey to the cathedral seemed the same as usual—ordinary pedestrians, seeing Elian and Fen in their Paladin armor, would respectfully make way; but there were also many residents who knew them, always coming up to greet them warmly.
However, today there were clearly some discordant sounds.
“Did you hear—yes! It’s the church’s Paladin Voss, that Nun Lila’s boyfriend, he even cheated on her with her sister Nora!”
“More than that!—He even made a move on his mother-in-law! So deep and hidden… usually he looks so righteous…”
“To be honest, the women of the Valciel family are naturally lascivious! How thirsty must they be—otherwise, why would they all fall under the same man?”
Several women gathered at the street corner were enthusiastically discussing the hottest topic in the Holy Capital today.
Fen looked at Elian in horror, afraid that the victim would explode on the spot.
Seeing Elian’s mouth twitch, he hurriedly and awkwardly changed the subject.
“Haha… it’s getting late. Let’s hurry to the cathedral.”
……
Fen and Elian arrived at the cathedral a bit earlier than the ceremony.
They were observing the busy crowd, looking for where the knight formation was supposed to line up.
At that moment, a hurried set of footsteps interrupted their thoughts.
“Sir Fen! Sir Elian!”
The Head Nun in charge of organizing personnel for the baptism ceremony ran over anxiously.
“What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen Sir Voss? He is the captain of the First Squad. According to custom, he needs to witness the baptism ceremony, but he hasn’t shown up yet…”
Huh!
Still not here!
That damn blond… could he really have died on a woman’s bed?
Wait… could it be… he… they are still doing that kind of thing at home!?
Fen quickly turned his head, looking at Elian with some worry, afraid that the slightest stimulus would cause the victim’s hard-won composure to collapse again.
Elian just let out a bitter laugh, but it couldn’t hide the tremor in his voice.
“I… I’ll take Voss’s place. He… he has urgent business and can’t make it.”
“That’s wonderful! You’re still so considerate, Sir Elian!”
The Head Nun looked at him gratefully.
“Sirs, follow me. Your positions are over here.”
The baptism ceremony soon began.
The one presiding was still Pope Lior.
He seemed to insist on presiding over the ceremony for every new member of the church.
Elian stood gloomily in the formation, his thoughts completely and uncontrollably drifting away—this was strange, wasn’t it?
In the past, he was always the one who listened most attentively when the Pope spoke.
Elian looked at the group of nuns in the distance.
They looked at the Pope with naive and curious eyes.
Once, he had been like those nuns, always full of enthusiasm for everything; as a senior, he should have been the same at their ceremony.
But after experiencing such a terrible thing last night, he felt as if he had aged ten years.
In that sense, he was a bit envious of those new nuns—at least they were innocent, pure, and full of vitality.
Elian thought miserably.
“Bring the Holy Water,” the Pope said softly.
A little nun, holding a tray, walked from the distance towards the center of the hall.
On the tray rested a magnificent, gold-edged cup filled to the brim with “Holy Water” for the baptism, though Elian felt it was no different from ordinary water.
However, when the little nun walked past Elian’s side, a sudden change occurred—she suddenly stumbled, seeming about to fall.
“Watch out!”
Elian’s knightly instinct was faster than his thoughts.
He stepped in front of the nun, shielding her and the Holy Water—but during this process, a few drops of Holy Water still splashed onto the back of his hand, which wasn’t covered by a gauntlet.
“I… I’m sorry!”
The nun apologized, flustered.
Elian looked up towards the center of the cathedral.
Lior smiled kindly, seemingly approving of his righteous act.
“Hurry along.”
The nun nodded and proceeded more carefully, carrying the Holy Water.
……
After a minor incident, the baptism ceremony concluded, albeit barely smoothly.
Fen stretched and walked out of the cathedral side by side with Elian.
“You don’t look too good. Are you okay?”
Fen felt Elian’s face was unusually red, as if… he had caught a cold?
“That Holy Water seems to carry magic.”
Elian shook his head.
“I have a Magic-less Constitution. Coming into contact with magical things probably doesn’t agree with me. I should go home and rest.”
As soon as he said this, he regretted it.
Going home meant he would encounter his family.
He felt a pang of fear, unsure how to face his mother and his sisters.
They would definitely come forward to show concern for him… but that would surely be an act, right?
—Otherwise, why would they usually be so reserved, yet show that kind of expression to Voss?
Fen saw his dilemma and remained silent for a moment.
“How about you stay at my place for the next few days? It’ll give you time to sort out your thoughts.”
He patted Elian’s shoulder.
“It’s fine. I’m here for you, brother. I’ll support you no matter what!”
Elian looked at Fen gratefully—as close, familiar friends, they didn’t need to say anything more at this point.
Elian felt truly exhausted.
He didn’t know if it was because yesterday’s betrayal was too deeply etched in his heart, or because the aftereffects of yesterday’s strong liquor hadn’t faded, or perhaps because of the Holy Water he came into contact with today.
He just felt physically and mentally drained.
After returning to Fen’s house, he simply exchanged a brief greeting with Fen, then entered the guest room, hastily removed his armor, collapsed onto the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.
……
“Hey! Elian! Get up!”
Fen knocked on the guest room door.
“We have duty today!”
Seeing no response from Elian, Fen grew suspicious.
“I’m telling you, even if you’re that upset, you still need to maintain a normal routine.”
With that, Fen cautiously pushed the door open.
“I’m coming in now—”
He opened the door, looked at the bed, and then stood there dumbfounded—
Lying there asleep was not the Elian he knew, but a silver-haired girl.
Fen’s gaze fell on the girl’s defenseless sleeping posture and face—she lay quietly on her side, wearing an oversized shirt that didn’t fit her frame, but this did nothing to stop the impressive swell of her chest.
Most striking was her cascade of long hair—if Elian’s silver hair gave Fen a sharp impression, the silver-haired girl before him gave only a gentle impression, as if even the stray hairs at her temples were impossibly soft.
Her long eyelashes were like butterfly wings, the tip of her nose slightly flushed, her breathing shallow.
The girl lacked Elian’s usual vitality and assertiveness, and even more so, yesterday’s absent-mindedness and dejection.
She was just quiet and docile, like a peacefully sleeping little animal, making one’s heart tremble slightly.
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