Artoria dragged the bear's corpse back to the village.
The burden was heavy, slowing her pace considerably... normally, she'd return home before dawn to prepare breakfast. But today, she could only stride into the village under the glow of the rising sun, like a legendary hero, amid the villagers' gasps of awe.
"Arthur!"
"Arthur!"
"Arthur!"
Seeing the mangled corpse of the massive bear, the villagers shouted her name with near-fanatical fervor.
This was the tradition of the Celts.
Since ancient times, the Celts revered heroes... especially those who ventured alone into the deep forests to hunt fierce beasts, earning the villagers' adulation, expressed through dance and the highest honors.
Artoria, however, felt uneasy.
She accepted the villagers' praise with a pang of guilt... she knew the acclaim wasn't truly hers, but to protect the secret of the baby dragon, she had no choice but to raise her head and feign pride.
For a girl raised in the ways of chivalry, aspiring to be the "perfect knight." claiming another's honor felt deeply wrong.
But that wasn't the worst of it.
The real trouble came when she steeled herself and pushed open the door to her home.
"Al... "
The familiar call came from her adoptive brother, who, despite sharing no blood with her, always treated her with stern authority.
Kay.
"Brother… Brother…"
Sensing the severity in his tone, the guilt-ridden girl swallowed hard, unable to meet his eyes.
At the same time, this girl, who could never lie, raced through a thousand thoughts in her mind... desperately seeking a plausible excuse that would conceal the baby dragon's existence while explaining her absence overnight.
But it was too hard, far too hard.
Artoria would rather hunt ten such beasts in the forest than conjure up a lie.
So, she stood silently, bracing for the storm to come.
... But it didn't.
The expected reprimand never arrived. Instead, a cheerful, almost playful voice, laced with a hint of a whistle, rang in her ears.
"Well, look at that, you've grown up so fast!"
"Hunting in the forest all by yourself… not bad. You're a real man now."
"In a few days, I'll take you to the market in town. We'll have a drink together... you can show off that knightly code you've been learning to the girls. They'll be swooning, I guarantee it."
…
Artoria fled quickly.
Her young brother turned, watching her retreat with a relieved yet flustered air, his feelings a tangled mix.
... He still remembered that night ten years ago, when he first saw the girl.
Back then, faced with five-year-old Artoria, he was certain she'd grow into a great beauty.
But his father, a knight who once served King Uther, had solemnly told him, "You must discipline your brother as an elder sibling should."
So, he called her the more masculine "Al" rather than the feminine "Ria."
He watched her grow day by day.
Trained rigorously by their father from the moment she could understand, she spent most of her days learning the ways of a king. Her only free time was spent tending to horses or patrolling the village.
Kay shook his head.
He knew the weight of responsibility on her shoulders. The destiny of "King" was the reason for her existence, the goal she'd strive for her entire life… but to an outsider like him, such treatment seemed far too harsh.
He'd tried to change her life, to let her experience a human existence before becoming a true king.
But when he asked if she'd been resting properly, her reply... "Don't worry, Brother, I rest well from midnight to sunrise"... left him dumbfounded.
Curse it all, midnight to sunrise… that was barely three hours, wasn't it?
From then on, Kay kept his distance from her. He knew that a mere mortal like him getting tangled with such a serious fool would lead to no good... better they'd never met.
But today, this rebellious knight realized things might not be as bleak as he'd thought.
"Lying to shoulder a heavy secret all on her own?"
"She's found something she wants to protect?"
No one had ever told Artoria that when she lied or felt guilty, it was painfully obvious.
Her cheeks flushed, her head bowed, and that golden ahoge on her head swayed like a blade of grass caught in a current… her flustered state was laid bare by that telltale strand.
"She's grown up, hasn't she?"
Kay felt a surge of pride at Artoria's actions today... he'd long wanted a sibling to skip out with, to head to town and flirt with pretty girls.
A sister would do just as well.
But at the same time, watching Artoria's retreating figure, Kay felt a twinge of concern.
This young knight knew he shouldn't pry into others' secrets… just as he didn't want anyone knowing he'd already emptied half of their father's wine cellar.
"Still… I can't help but wonder!"
Kay turned, gazing toward the forest beyond the village, his brow furrowing slightly.
What could it be that turned his obedient, sensible sister... Al, no, now she should be called "Ria"... into someone who stayed out all night, even weaving lies to protect it?
"Damn it."
"She hasn't saved someone she shouldn't have, has she?"
The thought of cliched knightly tales... those tawdry plots... sent a shiver down the rebellious knight's spine.
No, he couldn't stand it any longer!
He was itching to venture into that forest and see what wicked thing his dear sister was hiding!
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If they block this again, you can read it on SH (S-c-r-i-b-b-l-e- H-u-b) under the same title.