MTLNOVEL Chapter 43: What to Do at This Age
[Artorius's address quickly made you realize the identity of the person in front of you.]
[It was his older brother, Kay, whom he had mentioned in previous conversations.]
[Judging from his tone, he didn't seem to like you being around Artorius.]
[But you knew that now was not the time to start a conflict with him.]
Ian withdrew his hand, smiled at Artorius, and patted his shoulder.
"Artorius, go ahead, your brother is calling you."
"But Mr. Ian, you've finally come here," Artorius looked troubled. "Isn't this a bit..."
"It's okay."
Ian glanced at Kay in the distance and replied magnanimously.
"It's still early, I think we can talk about this later."
"Well... okay."
Since he had said so much, Artorius knew that this was not the time to insist.
"Okay, see you later, Mr. Ian."
"Mm."
[Of course, you weren't that obedient.]
[After Artorius and Kay left for a while, you also found an excuse to leave the knights' resting place.]
[You secretly followed them, preparing to find out what they wanted to talk about.]
[You finally arrived at the forest outside the village.]
[You hid behind a big tree, silently paying attention to their conversation.]
"Artorius, who is that bastard?"
Kay crossed his arms, looking angrily at Artorius.
"Why can he touch your head so casually?"
Faced with Kay's questioning, Artorius changed his usual gentle demeanor.
"Brother, that's Mr. Ian, please don't describe him as a bastard."
"This is too much!"
Hearing this tone, Ian realized that Artorius didn't just have a gentle side.
"Ian?"
Kay's attitude became even more displeased.
"Is that the man who bought all your apples in one go after you entered Camelot last time?"
"Yes, it's him."
"Artorius! Father clearly said that this was the wrong way, right?" Kay persisted. "He wanted you to meet more people and broaden your horizons in the process."
"But brother, I have actually met more people."
Artorius was not flustered.
"Mr. Ian took me around Camelot and showed me things I had never seen before."
"Thinking about it this way, I have done everything Father told me to do, haven't I?"
So that's what happened.
Hiding behind the tree, Ian had a deeper understanding of Artorius's solo trip to Camelot to sell apples.
This was an excellent way of education.
"This..."
Kay was momentarily speechless, and after a long time, he squeezed out a sentence.
"Then that's not the reason why he touched your head, right! Is it reasonable to touch your head just by buying a few apples?"
"Are you also part of the apples?"
"..."
Artorius looked away, as if he was considering whether to say something.
Finally, she spoke again:
"Brother, it seems that there are some things I need to make clear to you."
"What is it?" Kay's expression was still displeased.
"You don't want to say that touching your head is actually your way of selling apples, do you?"
"Of course not!"
Artorius directly denied Kay's statement.
"I want to say that Mr. Ian is my savior."
[Kay was extremely surprised by this.]
[Obviously, Artorius had never mentioned it before—probably because, for him, almost falling off the city wall due to excessive excitement was not a glorious thing.]
[Kay repeatedly confirmed the truth of this matter.]
[Artorius assured him that he had never lied.]
"..."
Although he did save Artorius on the city wall, Ian didn't really admit it in his heart.
He saved him;
But at the same time, he had the idea of killing him before;
Strictly speaking, this was just an attempted murder.
So Ian didn't think he was a savior—if he had to say it, he was more like a killer who had a momentary thought and didn't have the psychological quality to follow through.
"This—"
Kay's expression became extremely complicated.
"That's not quite right either, Artorius."
"Even if he is your savior, the behavior just now was too intimate. If Father finds out, he will definitely blame you!"
"Then brother."
Artorius raised his head and looked directly at Kay.
"What do you think I should do? Should I push Mr. Ian's hand away? Or tell him directly, 'Your hand shouldn't be on my head'?"
"Brother, if I do this, Father will blame me even more for being rude, right?"
"...What you said is true."
Kay, who had learned the unexpected truth, softened his tone slightly.
"But Artorius, the way you were just now really made me feel very strange."
"Although I can understand that you have some thoughts in this regard at this age."
"But it's not very suitable to do this kind of thing, is it?"
[You noticed the word "thoughts" mentioned in Kay's words.]
[You realized that Artorius might have secrets you don't know.]
"Brother, what are you thinking about?"
Artorius was a little angry.
"What do you mean by 'I'm not suitable to do this kind of thing'?"
"Artorius, don't get impatient with me," Kay was not afraid of Artorius's anger at all. "You know better than me what's going on."
"You should know how Father wants to train you!"
"He taught you swordsmanship and etiquette to make you more suitable for the direction of a knight!"
"You should know that if..."
Kay glanced at Artorius, hesitating to speak.
Artorius was silent for a while, then spoke again:
"Brother... I understand what you mean and I know you care about me."
"But within my ability and control, I think I should have the right to choose, right?"
"You!" Kay was a little anxious. "Artorius! It's wrong for you to think like this!"
"Whether it's right or wrong, I have to practice it myself."
Artorius turned around.
"I have my own way of solving problems."
"See you later, brother."
"I have to go back to see Mr. Ian."
[Hearing Artorius's words, you realized that you had to go back first.]
[But before that, you noticed that Kay was still worried about his brother.]
[You knew that he would definitely be watching you and Artorius secretly later.]
[But compared to this,
you have more important things to care about.]
[Artorius seems to be hiding a bigger secret.]
[You realized that you might have to get to know Artorius more deeply in every sense of the word.]