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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Empathy
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Eloise carefully plucked each violet with delicate hands to weave a flower crown.
Having spotted Arsen approaching and leaped from the second-floor window of the mage tower to flee, she had ended up in this small flower patch.
It was her own little garden, far from the estate lord's manor.
It wasn't much of a flower bed—just a haphazard scattering of wildflowers—but picking out the ones she liked to make pretty crowns was one of Eloise's hobbies.
A smile bloomed on the girl's face as she twirled the finished violet crown.
"Hehe, it's pretty."
In that moment, gazing at the violet petals, Eloise thought of Arsen's purple eyes.
A boy with the rare constitution that didn't recoil in disgust at mages.
She had heard the stories, but knowing them only made it harder to face him.
Every time she saw Arsen, she recalled the foolish spectacle she had made of herself.
Now that she thought about it, smearing paint on her face, swinging a stick, and chanting nonsensical spells to threaten people was an idiotic act without equal under heaven.
"Argh."
Eloise tossed the violet crown aside and rolled around on the ground a few times.
She wanted to meet him and talk. At the same time, she didn't. The two thoughts clashed.
Lost in that adorable dilemma, she habitually clutched the locket on the necklace she always wore.
Or rather, she tried to.
"...Huh?"
Looking down at the empty feeling, she saw only the chain remained—the locket that should have dangled from it was gone.
The metal clasp was stretched out pathetically, clinking emptily.
"Wha? No, no, wait..."
She hurriedly leaned down to the spot where she had been rolling and swept her hand over the ground, but the locket was nowhere to be felt.
Eloise's face crumpled in distress.
* * *
Arsen left the tower and set off to find Eloise.
Since their shocking first encounter, he had never once had a proper conversation with her.
They had crossed paths a couple of times in passing and a few more while he visited the mage tower, but each time, she fled before he could even speak.
What was amusing was that she didn't just run blindly.
She would peek from behind doors or poke just her eyes over a wall, stealing glances at him while seemingly trying to hide.
It looked just like a cat encountering something new for the first time—wary yet curious, neither fleeing nor approaching, merely observing from afar.
Arsen decided she was just at that shy age and let it be.
Truth be told, if a full-grown man acted that way, it might be odd, but a little girl doing it was quite cute.
"Have you seen Miss Eloise by any chance?"
"She headed that way just a bit ago."
The gate guard pointed toward the village below. Arsen nodded and made his way down toward the base of the estate lord's manor.
'But they let the estate lord's daughter wander out freely without stopping her?'
The thought crossed his mind briefly, but on reflection, there was no one in this territory who would harm Eloise.
Everyone knew the estate lord's daughter was a mage, and anyone who saw her could tell at a glance.
Following the road from the main gate led straight to the market district.
"Ripe apples! Ripe apples, two coins each!"
"Fresh vegetables here!"
"Goods from the northern Air territory last month! Take a look!"
The market district right below the estate lord's manor bustled lively.
Whenever Arsen saw people living so carefree like this, he felt a sense of awkwardness.
It contrasted too sharply with the wretched existence of bare survival in the fortress where he had spent the last ten years.
'I have no idea how so many people manage to live here.'
He didn't know the exact size of Belluan territory, but it felt absurdly small to sustain this many people.
Not only feeding the retainers within the manor but also the common folk, and even exporting to nearby fortresses—where did all that food come from?
Harboring such questions, he asked the merchants about Eloise's whereabouts.
They didn't know who he was, but they responded politely and kindly to the boy dressed in fine clothes emblazoned with Belluan's crest.
"I saw her heading behind that hill over there a little while ago."
Following the shopkeeper's words, Arsen arrived at a small hill dotted with assorted wildflowers.
Hidden by surrounding buildings and terrain, it felt like an oddly isolated flower garden.
In the midst of that garden sat a girl with short black hair, huddled on the ground.
"Miss Eloise."
He called out from a short distance away, but no reply came.
Arsen approached carefully, trying not to tread on the flowers.
Up close, he saw Eloise sitting there with tears brimming in her eyes, the skin around them red and puffy.
"Miss?"
Only then did she turn at Arsen's call, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I lost it... my necklace..."
She covered her eyes as if to stem the flow, but her sniffles continued unabated.
Glancing at her neck upon hearing that, Arsen saw a necklace string with its central clasp stretched open.
It was obvious that a locket should have hung from that clasp.
"How big was it?"
"...About this."
Eloise, still sniffling, spread her thumb and index finger to show a length about two finger-widths.
'It'll be tough to find something that size around here.'
"Is there no magic to locate a necklace?"
"I don't know that kind of magic. And magic... I still can't use it well."
"Can't be helped, then. Let's look together. I'll search this side, so you check over there."
As he calmly began rummaging through one side of the flower bed, Eloise wiped her face, brushed away the tears, and started searching the opposite side.
Part of him wanted to just uproot all the flowers to make it easier, but he patiently sifted through the ground.
How long had they searched when something clinked? He pulled it out to find a small silver locket.
"Miss, is this it?"
"Huh? Yes! That's it!"
Eloise came rushing over and snatched the locket from Arsen's hand like it was hers by right.
She clicked it open to check the contents, let out a relieved sigh, and snapped it shut again.
"Important item, huh?"
"Yeah. Mom said it was hers before she died."
"Good thing we found it."
Eloise nodded silently in agreement, then hung the locket back on the necklace clasp and strained to close it.
But the opened clasp wouldn't shut easily.
Arsen, unable to watch her tiny hands struggle any longer, pushed her hand aside and took hold of the locket.
Using a knight's overwhelming strength, the clasp locked shut as solidly as if vise-gripped and twisted.
"There, all set?"
Eloise unconsciously stroked the spot where her hand had touched his.
Then, as if tossing it out casually, she asked,
"...You really don't find me gross?"
Arsen couldn't help but burst out laughing at Eloise's wide-eyed gaze.
Her cute, compact face was adorable enough, but with her eyes swollen from crying, he just couldn't hold it in.
"Ah, yes. Not gross at all. Really."
"Really, really, really?"
As she asked, Eloise unwittingly grabbed Arsen's sleeve. She flinched in surprise at her own action.
It reminded her of a younger time when she'd clung to her brother begging to play, only to be kicked away mercilessly amid his screams.
But Arsen didn't waver at all and gently clasped her hand in return.
"Yes, it's fine. Miss."
Children are sensitive to others' gazes.
Not everyone shunned Eloise or kept their distance.
There was one maid who cared for her, and her father.
A few long-time retainers would occasionally pat her head or hold her hand, but Eloise always read the disgust they couldn't quite hide in their touches and expressions.
It was the look of someone beholding an existence they physiologically couldn't tolerate.
The warmth of contact free from disgust warmed not just her hand, but her wounded, chilled heart.
"...It's the first time... for something like this."
"There's Knight Luden, too."
"Luden's scary. He just yells all the time and scolds me when I mess up."
Luden was a mage who could care for Eloise and her teacher, but he was someone who had never been loved himself.
He didn't know how to comfort or warmly treat a child.
The only way Luden knew was to sternly discipline his disciple as a mage and master—and to a little girl, that bred only fear.
Yet Eloise always went to Luden's tower to learn magic.
In her small world, disgust was all she could expect from anyone else.
Even scolding and reprimands were sweeter than loathing.
"Knight Luden was looking for you, by the way. Said to come learn how to repair swords."
"Don't wanna. Magic's fun, but hammering is hard. My hands hurt. Making crowns is more fun."
With that, Eloise picked up the violet crown that had fallen to the ground.
Perhaps because time had passed since she made it, the flowers and grass looked a bit wilted.
She fiddled with the crown silently for a moment, then declared in a voice she tried to make solemn,
"About last time... sorry. I was wrong. I won't do it again."
"The paint thing..."
"Don't talk about it!"
'You brought it up first.'
Arsen kept that thought to himself and nodded in agreement.
Then he brought up a question he'd long wanted to ask.
"But why did you do that?"
At Arsen's question, Eloise clamped her mouth shut and stomped her innocent feet.
A moment of silence passed.
Finally, she answered in a whisper so faint that, had Arsen not been a knight, he might not have heard it.
"Because I felt wronged."
"Pardon?"
"Because I felt wronged. Anyway, no matter what I do, people hate me... So if there's a reason to hate me, at least it's not unfair."
In that instant, Arsen recalled a line from his past life: 'If someone thinks you're shit, give them a reason to.'
It wasn't solely for that reason, but Arsen could somewhat understand Eloise's actions.
"I get it."
Sometimes, rather than words or lectures, simple empathy is what's needed.
Instead of saying it was wrong or that she shouldn't, Arsen just said he understood and pulled her into a tight embrace.
That was enough.
From within his arms came the sound of quiet sobbing.
* * *
"A long expedition has been scheduled."
At Palato's words, Arsen set down the sword he was swinging.
Enchanted to be incomparably heavier than a normal blade, it left sweat pouring from his entire body.
"Hoo... A long expedition?"
"To your hometown, Crata Fortress. Since it fell, the unicorn rhino horn supply has been cut off. The plan is to check on the raider group that razed the fortresses along the way and, if possible, hunt some rhinos to restock horns."
"Ah, the unicorn rhino horn—that..."
He recalled the massive horn, the size of an adult's upper body, among Knight Lenoc's personally hunted spoils.
He'd wondered where they all went, never imagining it was a supply from Crata Fortress to Belluan territory.
"I've seen it, but what's it used for?"
"Grind unicorn rhino horns and scatter them on the soil, and plants grow incredibly well. The bread, vegetables, and fruits we eat all come thanks to those horns. Without a steady supply, how could a territory our size support so many people?"
That solved one question he'd had while observing the market earlier.
He knew magic beast byproducts had myriad uses, but he'd never dreamed the horns served that purpose.
"But from what I remember, Crata Fortress didn't use those horns for farming. They were always short on food there."
"Because they have no mages. The horns must be magically processed, but the effect fades quickly, so they can't make and sell them—only our territory can use them."
Here comes the mage plot twist again.
Clicking his tongue, Arsen picked up the heavy sword again and repeated the downswing.
"Anyway, the knights joining this time are me, Knight Zenovia, Knight Entir—three in total... and you. It'll help having someone who's experienced a direct raid firsthand."
"Did the estate lord decide?"
"Of course. No one moves knights without his permission—you're a knight now, too, after all."
"Understood."
"We depart tomorrow, so wrap up your afternoon training moderately and get some good rest."
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