The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

27 – North, Blood or Wine (03)

028.

The corridors of the mansion, tangled like a maze, were mostly of the same appearance, making it difficult to distinguish them.

If you walked carelessly, you wouldn’t know where you were, literally like a maze.

Selassie wandered freely through such corridors.

As if she had a map in her head, she walked lightly with her hands behind her back, without hesitation.

“Kallen, there won’t be any rough fights as you think. That’s for others to handle.”

“Do you mean I just need to stay by your side?”

“That’s right. The factions are tied to the front lines for now. It will be an all-out war when the decisive moment comes, but until then, we must fulfill the duties of the Hyatt family.”

The Hyatt family is the ruler of the North.

The position, even granted the title of Grand Duke, must protect the people of the North.

That was directly related to the victory of the civil war.

It’s only natural that a ruler who can’t protect themselves is unnecessary, so until a decisive gap appears, they must win the hearts of the people.

Selassie didn’t say the mansion was safe for no reason.

“Still, we need guards because we’re doing all sorts of things behind the scenes. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve just been testing the waters until now, but things have been unusual lately. Do you have any other questions?”

“No.”

“Hmm…”

Selassie, who was walking ahead of Kallen, released her hands from behind her back.

Then she slightly turned her head back and glanced at Kallen.

“Cold men are not popular in the North.”

Her eyes, gently curved, sparkled like rubies.

“Do you dislike that I tricked you into coming here?”

“It’s not that.”

“Oh, you just have a naturally cold personality?”

She covered her mouth and laughed slightly, as if finding something amusing.

“Anyway, I’ll handle the complicated matters like the civil war, so Kallen, you just need to protect me.”

“Miss.”

Selassie turned back and started leading the way again.

Kallen looked at the back of Selassie and asked.

“May I ask you one thing?”

“You said there was nothing to ask?”

“…”

“Just kidding~. What is it?”

There was one thing Kallen couldn’t understand.

He mentioned Craders, Makbel, and even the word faction.

Yet, he couldn’t understand why he was entrusted with the position of personal guard, someone he was seeing for the first time.

It was a repetition of the first day.

Although Selassie had expressed a polite refusal, Kallen asked once more.

“At least there is Sir Craders. Why did you specifically want me?”

“My goodness. You’re being clingy.”

“No-“

“Because there’s no one I can trust.”

“…To the extent that you trust someone you see for the first time?”

“Yes. All those things like factions and trust are just empty words.”

Selassie walked ahead of Kallen.

He couldn’t see her expression.

“The hard-earned troops are nothing more than opportunists who only look for a chance to win. Sir Craders? Well, I don’t know.”

“At least he would be more trustworthy than me.”

“Do you think I didn’t have people I considered my own? Of course, there were people I thought were close enough to be guards.”

Selassie took a breath and continued.

“But there weren’t. If I go into detail, it will be long, so just know this.”

She raised her left hand and pointed her index finger as she turned her back.

It was a posture that Blamia might show when teaching magic to Sinat.

“I’m in such a difficult situation that I find a stranger more trustworthy. Just understand it that way.”

Was she saying that she had been betrayed by those she trusted to the extent that a stranger seemed more reliable?

Given the difficult situation where the head of the family was turning a blind eye to the civil war, it was understandable.

If one is not aiming for the top, it is natural to side with the one who benefits them the most.

If you choose the wrong side, you might lose your head.

If someone has something to be responsible for, they have no choice but to be more cautious.

And as more cautious people increase, the relationships of power become tattered.

A relationship without trust is bound to be full of loopholes.

Kallen was still staring at the back of Selassie, who had become quiet at some point.

The surrounding situation is a little different, but does that person also feel loneliness?

For Kallen, who knows well how much that distant emotion can ruin a person, it is difficult to ignore.

In the end, he accepted the proposal with such a heart, but it is still a civil war.

It was necessary to know whether Selassie himself chose to be isolated by the civil war.

Or if he was swept away by the unwanted storm of civil war.

“Do you always think so much?”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Did you call me?”

“No. You looked too serious to talk to.”

Indeed, Selassie’s fine voice was pleasant to hear.

Enough to snap Kallen out of his thoughts in an instant.

“I called you to get your head straight. Anyway, you accepted it, so you’re my guard, right? It doesn’t make sense to be dazed with the enemy in front of you.”

“Enemy?”

“The place we’re going now. It’s a restaurant.”

Come to think of it, he only heard to get up and follow, but Kallen didn’t know where they were going.

“We’re going to have a meal with our trashy brother and father, so you need to stay alert. If I collapse after being poisoned, there’s no one else to protect me but you.”

He speaks of a situation where his life is threatened without a care.

Selassie was such a person.

So perfect that he considers all possibilities.

The possibility of being threatened with poisoning during a meal.

The possibility of an assassination attempt within the mansion.

Even the possibility that those he thought were on his side might turn their backs.

“Let’s go. We’re here.”

Selassie knocked on the soon-to-be-revealed antique door and opened it vigorously.

Indeed, it was such a thing.

Whether loneliness is a disaster brought upon by oneself.

Or was it something he had to face in order to survive?

It’s still an uncertain issue.

Kallen took a shallow breath and steadied his mind.

He would soon know what choice he had to make.

*

“You’re late.”

A cold chill flowed through the dining room.

At the head of the table sat a man who could be called a giant.

People often compare influential or unapproachable individuals to giants.

But this time, it was a bit different.

The name “Duke of the North” suited the word “giant” perfectly, but his physique was also enormous enough to be undeniable.

Azkal Haight.

The name of the giant who ruled the North.

“Hmph. At least you still have some manners left. It seems you’ve really become a nobody now.”

A somewhat high-pitched voice for a man.

A young man sitting next to the head of the table added.

“Is that something you should say, brother, when you were the one who forcibly instilled those manners?”

“Enough, just take a seat.”

Selassier retorted familiarly and sat opposite the young man.

Since she called him brother, it seemed he was Torn Haight, the eldest son of the Haight family.

Kallen roughly estimated and stood behind Selassier.

“Hmm?”

Torn Haight, about to take a big bite of the salmon in front of him, raised an eyebrow.

“Who is this?”

“My bodyguard, brother.”

“Bodyguard?”

“Because I couldn’t sleep because of someone.”

“Running your mouth… Anyway, it’s a face I haven’t seen before.”

Clatter-

With that, he put down the salmon and crossed his arms.

All eyes were on Kallen.

“What does it matter?”

“As her brother, I need to make sure she hasn’t brought in a strange guy.”

From the flow of the conversation, it sounded like a loving sibling’s chat.

Specifically, it was Torn’s words to Selassie that made it seem so.

But to Kallen, who knew the reality, it sounded a bit different.

It was likely that he, an outsider, was being viewed with suspicion.

“See me after this.”

Torn pointed his fork, with a piece of salmon on it, towards Kallen and then shoved it into his mouth.

The sight of juice dripping from his mouth was not very pleasant.

“He is my escort.”

Torn was calm, but Selassie was not.

It seemed this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

“Torn seems to be right, Selassie.”

At that, the Grand Duke Azkal, who had been quietly observing the situation, chimed in.

Selassie, momentarily taken aback, responded in a suppressed voice.

After that, only the sound of chewing food could be heard, and no more conversation took place.

It seemed that eating like this was just for show.

And Kallen, who had been watching all of this, thought,

‘I understand.’

He could understand Selassie’s words that the Grand Duke was turning a blind eye to the civil war.

In fact, that was an impossible statement.

A civil war is ultimately a fight to seize the Grand Duke’s position.

When the fight ends, the first to be in danger is the Grand Duke himself.

Of course, it is natural that the Grand Duke is stronger, so he might not feel a sense of crisis, but that is a political issue.

There is nothing good about rumors that his child is aiming for his position.

In conclusion, this had to be seen as Selassie blocking Torn’s succession.

Judging by the way the conversation was going, the Grand Duke Azkal was openly favoring Torn.

‘Does he have a lust for power?’

Or is there another reason?

It was impossible to know, but given the circumstances, he had to help Selassie.

Only then could the Dranus family be revived, and Hyatt could play his part.

The deliberation was short, and the action was swift.

He still lacked understanding of where this loneliness began and the exact nature of the situation.

Helping Selassie was beneficial.

With this one thing clear, Kallen had no reason to harbor other thoughts.

“No.”

A voice echoed through the unexpectedly quiet dining room.

Thorn, who had been enjoying his salmon, stopped moving.

And Selassie was no different.

“…What did you say?”

“The promise was made to the lady. Among the orders received, there was none to follow your words, sir.”

A calm tone.

There was no sign of trembling.

“Are you speaking to me now?”

“Yes.”

Thorn Hyatt froze for a moment.

When people hear something too absurd, their thoughts come to a halt.

For the first time in his life, Thorn could understand that.

A mere guard talking back. No, daring to speak his mind.

What did it matter if the promise was made to Selassie?

He was still the higher authority.

“Are you insane?”

“What do you mean?”

“You won’t listen to me because the promise was made to Selassie? Do you not consider the difference in status?”

Thorn couldn’t hide his excitement as he stood up abruptly.

The expensive-looking chair fell backward with a loud noise.

“A woman, dealing with magic instead of a sword. And you will listen to Selassie, who is merely my younger sister?”

“Why are you getting excited?”

“This is too ridiculous. When a higher master appears, you should know to take the hint!”

Kallen listened calmly.

He let out a small, bitter laugh.

Thorn, seeing the absurd scene, became even more agitated.

A hot-tempered man, not befitting the prince of the northern grand duchy.

It was funny how he looked so light compared to the weight he carried.

“Can’t you tell just by looking at her hair!”

Thorn shouted, pointing at Selassia’s reddish hair.

Kallen naturally looked at Selassia sitting in front of him.

When Thorn grabbed his own hair, Selassia flinched a little.

“Can’t you see that ominous red hair! Without knowing how ominous the northern people consider blood, she has the same hair and eyes as blood!”

Thorn, excitedly spouting cheap insults.

Kallen slowly looked at Selassia’s hair.

When Cradus brought him here, he had said this.

There is a culture unique to the north.

Was Selassia’s red color and Thorn’s shouting about blood part of that?

Kallen tilted his head slightly.

After all, Kallen was not from the north.

He couldn’t understand the northern culture.

“Blood?”

“Yes! That ominous…!”

“It doesn’t look that way to me.”

What bothered him most was Thorn’s attitude.

No matter how calm his personality, dealing with such an authoritative person was impossible from the start.

“To my eyes, it looks like a beautiful wine color.”

Flinch.

At Kallen’s words, Selassia flinched even more.

“What…!”

“And, you said she is a contracted master.”

Kallen wanted to crush that arrogant man with magic.

Even though they hadn’t known each other for long, he had no desire to have a calm conversation with someone whose every action was repulsive.

However, the problem was the Grand Duke.

Azkal Hiatt, who not only handled the sword skillfully like a Northerner but also wielded magic at a high level befitting a Grand Duke.

Among the four heads of the families, his magic skills were the weakest, but combined with his unique swordsmanship, he displayed even greater prowess.

Kallen had bet on the Grand Duke’s indifference to the civil war.

Indifference to the civil war meant turning a blind eye to the deeds exchanged between each other.

It meant that he hadn’t recklessly charged at Thorn.

However, not knowing where that line was, it was impossible to subdue Thorn directly with magic.

The only thing left was to crush him with words.

“It was not I who made the contract with the lady, but Lord Blamia.”

“…”

“Blamia Dranus. It was the elder who sent me to escort the lady.”

Kallen calmly stared at Thorn as he spoke.

The spirit that had been shouting just a moment ago was nowhere to be found, and Thorn, who had been chewing over Blamia’s name, began to turn pale.

“Su-surely the Archmage is on your side…”

Just as Thorn, who had begun to tremble, was about to say something.

“Ha…”

A low, scraping sound echoed.

The sound soon grew in volume, turning into a resonance.

From the resonance, it became a roar.

“Ha ha ha!!!!”

At that moment, everyone had no choice but to look in one direction.

The Grand Duke Azkal, seated at the head table, was laughing uproariously with a fork and knife in hand.

“Ha…”

Azkal, who had been laughing for a long time, finally regained his composure.

“Are you Kallen?”

Two amber eyes simultaneously focused on Kallen.

However, Kallen remained calm even under the gaze that resembled that of a beast.

That demeanor only piqued Azkal’s interest further.

Finally, Azkal, revealing his large fangs, broke into a broad smile.

“They said you were a gentlemanly madman. How eerily accurate.”