The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– Lily (3)

The alleyways of Mullide.

There, a girl resided.

An eight-year-old girl.

That girl had no name.

Merely beggar, stray, red-hair.

She was called such things.

‘Why was I born like this?’

The girl cursed her own birth.

She lived in the world alone, without anyone to care for her.

A life where merely surviving each day was all she could manage.

The girl sometimes went without food.

Even so, she was, luckily, staying alive.

But then—

‘Misfortune piled upon misfortune.’

She couldn’t manage to find a meal.

But the girl thought it was alright, it had happened many times before.

She could endure that much.

However—

A vicious cycle followed.

To find food, she had to move, but the girl had no strength to move.

She needed to eat to move, and to move, she needed to eat.

The girl collapsed powerlessly in a back alley.

Now, it wasn’t just hunger, but pain that assailed her.

The girl felt her consciousness fading.

‘Ah… so I’m going to die like this.’

She sensed the end of her life.

If only she had collapsed near the road, instead of in this alley.

If she had, perhaps there would have been a chance of meeting someone who would show her kindness.

Such thoughts filled her head,

But were soon erased.

Because she sensed death approaching.

It was already too late to regret.

“Hmm…? What’s this?”

A boy entered the girl’s blurred vision.

A boy with black hair and black eyes.

A recent transfer to Muldeu.

A boy with whom she’d never exchanged a single word.

She questioned why he was approaching her.

*Why… is he coming to me?*

Her mind was clouding over.

She voiced the question, though it remained trapped within her.

And then—

“Left like this, you might die.”

The boy spoke as if answering her very thoughts.

From that moment onward, the girl began to deceive herself.

She deluded herself into believing he could hear her.

*Why is he being so kind to me?*

The boy placed water-soaked bread into her mouth.

She couldn’t comprehend the kindness of a boy she’d never met.

But he offered no explanation for her questioning.

“Is this enough?”

He simply bestowed warmth upon her.

That was all.

She felt the sensation of water trickling down her throat.

Not just plain water, but a viscous liquid.

The bread dissolved in water was sliding down her esophagus.

She regained a bit of vitality.

Her blurred vision cleared somewhat.

Only then did she clearly see the boy’s face.

And she vowed not to forget it.

*…I’ll repay this kindness, no matter what.*

She considered what she had to offer.

Nothing.

She had nothing.

She was a vagrant.

Having nothing was why she was a vagrant.

She wanted to repay the debt, but she had nothing…

No, there was one thing.

Her body and her heart.

As that came to her, she couldn’t dare follow through with the thought and fell into unconsciousness.

And when she awoke again, separation from the boy was imminent.

“Anyway, we have to catch that little brat, no matter what.”

“““Yes, sir!”””

The girl heard whispers in the back alleys of Muriede, rumors of certain men with a cruel interest in the boy.

And, as luck would have it.

“Please, help him!”

The girl found herself face-to-face with a sword saint, and thanks to him, she was able to save the boy.

The sword saint, meeting her again, said this:

“I won’t bother mentioning the request you made for aid.”

“I wasn’t exactly expecting you to.”

The boy hadn’t wanted anything in return either, when he’d saved her.

“Still… I’ll tell you that brute’s name, at least. It’s Arthas.”

“Arthas… I will never forget it. Thank you.”

But-.

‘I can’t say I’ve repaid the debt with just this. Back then, I promised my body and soul.’

And so, the girl wandered Muriede, and, as luck would have it, she met the leader of the Crimson Flame Mercenaries, a man named Lord Eiler.

Catching his eye, she was able to become Lord Eiler’s adopted daughter.

Leaving Muriede behind, the girl swore an oath.

‘When I return, I will be sure to repay my debt!’

She’d return a success, and then repay her debt.

However, in the girl’s mind, the manner of repayment underwent several revisions, transforming into the ultimate result: ‘Marriage.’

*

They moved to another place.

To properly talk with Lily.

‘Ahem, it’s best for those involved to speak amongst themselves, I suppose.’

Lord Eiler, in the face of the current complicated situation, excused himself.

And so, the four-way confrontation between myself, Asia, Lily, and Melia began.

First and foremost, a conversation with Lily.

“Lily, marriage? I have no intention of doing any such thing.”

If this news reaches the ears of Count Messiah… no, the old geezer, I might as well be a dead man.

“No! You promised.”

“A promise takes two. You don’t call something you thought up all by yourself a promise.”

“…”

Lily was silenced by the correctness of his words.

And seizing this opportunity, Asia jumped in.

“That’s right. A promise requires two… or perhaps the elders of each side!”

Lily frowned at the slightly smiling Asia.

“Whatever… I’m going to marry Arthas-oppa!”

“That’s not going to happen!!!”

For some reason, the subject of the conversation shifted to Asia and Lily.

From the beginning, I had no intention of getting married…

“Ahem! Lily, more importantly, why do you want to marry me? What is this promise, anyway?”

“Uh… what was it again?”

“Huh?”

Could it be… she doesn’t remember?

“It’s just, I seem to recall pledging to give you my everything… Well, when a man and woman pledge to give their all, marriage is usually the only outcome, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Um…? You did?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“No… it’s just…”

It didn’t sound wrong, yet it didn’t feel right either.

Giving each other everything was indeed what marriage was.

But something felt amiss.

Regardless, I decided to be even more resolute.

“I will not marry you, Lily.”

I immediately understood the reason it felt wrong.

Lily had certainly pledged to give me her everything, but I hadn’t reciprocated.

It wasn’t mutual.

In a word, a one-way street.

So, Lily’s words were technically correct, but incorrect in essence.

“Why? Give me a proper reason.”

“Firstly, because I already have a fiancée, and secondly, I don’t know you. Naturally, since I don’t know you, I can’t possibly be in love with you.”

“Is that it?”

Is that it, she asks?

What other reason could there possibly be?

“So what you are really saying is that you don’t dislike me. And even though she’s a fiancée, she’s still just a candidate, so you can decline whenever, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

I was actually planning on ending the false engagement once the old man returned, anyway.

“And you don’t know me? Then get to know me starting now! Or is it because that girl is a noble? If you’re being like that, I also get treated like nobility in this mercenary kingdom! And another thing…! Right! My adoptive father is also a Sword Master, just like the Sword Saint of the Detiosk Kingdom!”

Certainly, she isn’t inferior to Asia, even if compared point by point.

But I wasn’t rejecting Lily by comparing her to Asia.

“Even so, I’m sorry.”

There was a chance that this girl Lily was a woman I shouldn’t let slip through my fingers in life.

If she still harbored feelings for me even after the contract ended, I would have certainly given it serious thought.

But that didn’t mean I could reveal the false nature of my relationship with Asia.

It was right to firmly decline.

“I’m sorry, but…”

Just as I was about to firmly reject her.

Asia cut me off.

“In that case, let us compete fairly.”

Asia’s sudden words.

It was as if she was acknowledging Lily, who was trying to marry me.

Melia, who had been quietly listening next to us, was startled and questioned her in disbelief.

“Miss, what are you saying!”

I approached Asia and whispered,

‘Perhaps… you’re thinking of ending the contract now?’

I couldn’t understand why Asia would say such things.

But –.

Asia whispered back to me.

‘It can’t be helped. I can’t have you miss out on future marriage prospects because of me.’

She was saying it for my sake.

Honestly, I almost felt moved.

“Really? There’s no taking back what you’ve said.”

“It’s alright. I have confidence in myself.”

“Eh, I doubt you could manage that.”

Lilly approached me and wrapped her arm around mine.

“It’s alright to do this, right?”

“Th-that’s not allowed!”

“Why?”

“Because you’re still a candidate to be my fiancé…! Of course, if Arthurs likes you, then there’s nothing I can do.”

Asia looked at me with such hopeful eyes as she said this.

As if to meet that expectation, I removed Lilly’s arm from mine and said,

“I also don’t think this kind of behavior is good.”

“Ohoho. Well, it doesn’t matter. It won’t be long before I win you over.”

Seeing Lilly speak so confidently even in front of the noble Asia was truly baffling.

*

Back at the inn, Asia was feeling a slight regret.

That thing she told Lilly, to compete fairly.

It felt like a mistake to say those words.

Words that she had blurted out without realizing.

“I-it’ll be fine, though.”

It hadn’t been long since she and Arthurs had started interacting.

But she knew he wasn’t a bad person.

Therefore–.

“He’s not the kind of person to break his promise to me and suddenly leave.”

He wasn’t the type to leave her and silently run off with another woman.

But–.

“Why do I feel so uneasy…?”

An inexplicable irritation kept welling up inside her.

And so, Asia began to analyze why she felt this irritation, all alone.