kscans

Chapter 108 - A Farewell for Protection

Leonhard brewed some coffee, debating whether to bring it to Darius. Perhaps it was better to leave him be.

Once he had calmed down, he also wanted to discuss the future of the former captain, Ariel.

Regarding their work, it was still unclear where either of them would be transferred, or which of them would remain with the Tree Sea Defense Force. But in their private lives, they needed to decide how to proceed.

If Darius truly was going to leave Ariel, it would be best for me to protect both Ariel and Mireille at my townhouse until they could rebuild the shop.

Even if Mireille were to tell me we had to part ways, it was painful just to think about, but I intended to help them secure a place to stay.

However, if Ariel was in a condition to be moved, my townhouse would be fine.

The problem was if she couldn't be moved. We could bring her to this tower with the rings from the Magic Furnace and wait for her to recover. But we couldn't bring a doctor here.

The best option was to use Darius's bracelet to send her to Chancellor Adrien's townhouse and have her receive treatment there for the time being. But would the chancellor cooperate?

Right now, Mireille was engrossed with the light-attributed magic core she had obtained. She had said she wanted to think about various things regarding an all-purpose remedy, but at the same time, she was looking for recipes for escape materials, hair dyes, and voice changers.

While Mireille was away from her seat, I wanted to get the unpleasant conversation with Darius over with. Just as I was thinking that, Darius quietly came downstairs. He looked extremely pale.

"The coffee’s just ready. I was just about to call you... you look terrible."

"Ah, sorry."

Darius sat down, and I placed a cup of coffee in front of him.

"This is the coffee I bought a lot of and brought with me right when I got here. It’s the taste of the Royal Capital."

Leonhard tried to lighten the mood, but his dejection was unusual.

"Did you find something?"

"Yeah, I was reading Ariel’s diary. But aside from the diary, I found scribbled notes all over the place where she was gradually losing her mind. I found out she was being brutally tormented by the king and Rainer. I didn’t notice a thing. And still, she was trying to protect me. Even though I couldn’t protect her..."

Darius wept silently. Leonhard listened while sipping his coffee.

"I suppose it’s difficult for a duke and a commoner to be together. I’m just a Knight Baron for one generation, so now that I’m not the captain of the First Knight Order, there’s no advantage to using that title. As I usually tell everyone, I’m a commoner, so I don’t think it will affect my relationship with Mireille or our future."

From Leonhard’s perspective, a title was just something needed for work. Besides, true nobles wouldn’t care about such a temporary title. They would just react like Julius.

"If the political situation becomes unstable, it will affect the lives of the people. The reason the king and queen will only be confined, even after doing such terrible things to Ariel, is to stabilize the political situation. If I were to marry a commoner here, the nobles who cooperated with us wouldn’t stay silent."

"Making Ariel your mistress... that would be too cruel to her. From her diary, she doesn’t seem like the devious type who would try to climb the social ladder among the nobility."

"It would also be dishonest to the woman I would be taking as my wife. She wouldn’t be able to refuse a political marriage, and even if I treated her with care, I can no longer love anyone but Ariel."

Darius covered his face with both hands. A quiet moment passed.

But Leonhard knew he had to say it.

"If you’ve decided to leave her, don’t leave any lingering affection for Ariel. Forget about Ariel. You’ll only make both your wife and Ariel unhappy. Chancellor Adrien was kinder for making a clean break with a proper reason."

Leonhard spoke harshly.

"After this, let me consult with you on what to do with Ariel. I intend to look after both Ariel and Mireille. However, if she can’t be moved or needs a doctor’s care, it will be difficult to bring her across the Tree Sea back to the Royal Capital. For now, could you have her moved to Chancellor Adrien’s place with the bracelet?"

Darius was holding back his emotions. What he was saying meant that Darius should no longer be involved with Ariel.

"I understand. I’ll talk to him," he murmured weakly.

If the coup d’état was successful, his farewell to Ariel would be the day after tomorrow. Their parting was already just around the corner.