Volume 4 Chapter 56-2 The Human World’s Affairs and the Young Lady’s Horse
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Lord Taro, I am sorry! I asked Lord Castanope not to investigate, but…”
Iberigo bows to apologize.
”Ah, no, Sir Iberigo… there’s no need to apologize…”
I hurried to explain. I kept it secret, but it’s not a very serious situation.
Too much worry from you makes me feel bad, honestly.
”We understand very well that Lord Taro has his reasons.”
Lady Arcona spoke softly, calmly, but with steady pride.
”However, as a member of the Castanope family, we cannot ignore the debt of gratitude we owe.”
Her gaze toward me carries a noble’s pride. It’s not emotion but duty──she’s politely expressing her responsibility.
I take a small breath.
Well, it was about time I got found out. I couldn’t hide it forever, and honestly, no reason to anymore.
The person I saved came here to thank me.
Maybe I should just accept that simply.
”Of course, I have no intention of sharing any information I learned.”
Lady Arcona takes one step closer and quietly bows her head.
”And I will do nothing that could harm Sir Taro. I swear it on the Castanope family name.”
Her gesture shows her pride as a noble and sincerity as a woman.
”So… I just had to say it. From the heart, thank you.”
”If that is your wish, I am fine with it. You’re welcome.”
Lady Arcona laughs softly at my words.
Then I suddenly wonder.
Iberigo was a baron, right? I’m not very familiar with nobles, but do baron families have Marquis daughters marry into them?
I ask, and she explains.
”Because of illness, I lost hope for a marriage matching my status…”
Her voice has no shadow of doubt. She sounds even refreshing.
”But thanks to that, I met Sir Iberigo. Even if our families are different, meeting someone honest and kind was the greatest happiness for me.”
She said that, then turned a gentle gaze to Iberigo for a moment.
”And that’s how I’m alive today, thanks to Sir Taro. Life is full of surprises, isn’t it~”
Lady Arcona said with an innocent smile.
Then, Iberigo explained why he came to the ranch.
”So, I thought horseback riding might be good for Lady Arcona’s health now that she’s better. I came to find a horse for her.”
”Since I got better, everything tastes so good that I can’t help but overeat. My mother scolded me to exercise a bit.”
Lady Arcona blushed and smiled shyly, touching her cheek.
Ah, so her figure is a result of getting better from her illness.
”But even now, a little rounder, I think I’m still quite beautiful…”
Iberigo mumbled, and Lady Arcona’s face turned red as she looked away.
”I, I see…”
I nodded without thinking. “I see,” was all I could say.
Then, Lady Arcona brightened up and turned to ask us,
”Why did Sir Taro come here?”
”We came to return a borrowed horse.”
pointing to the horse next to me.
”This is Anval!”
Kéa introduced the horse with a lively voice.
Kéa, is it okay to give a fake name to the Marquis’ daughter?
”My, what a beautiful horse. You say its name is Anval?”
Lady Arcona happily approached Anval, gently stroking its black coat.
Anval, eyes narrowing, snorted contentedly.
Kéa, holding Anval’s reins, explained the horse’s story.
How its beauty led to it being bought by a young noble, but it was overused, hurt its legs, and couldn’t run fast, so it was sold to the ranch.
And how it was rented out cheaply as a horse with bad legs.
But thanks to my potion treatment, it can run healthy again now.
”You’ve suffered, haven’t you… ugh…”
Iberigo’s eyes welled up with tears at the story. He’s as sentimental as ever.
”Well… this one also ended up in a tough spot because of an injury.”
Lady Arcona gently touched Anval’s cheek, stroking the fur as she continued with a thoughtful tone.
”But thanks to that, you met Sir Taro and got healed… just like I did.”
Anval snorted contentedly, and her eyes softly crinkled.
Then, with a small nod, she made her declaration.
”In that case… I would like to take this one in.”
Lady Arcona said this with a gentle smile. Her eyes held a compassionate light.
”With Lady Arcona… Anval will surely be happy too.”
Kéa murmured softly, gently stroking Anval’s neck.
”Please take good care of this one…!”
Kéa’s eyes brimmed with tears, like she was entrusting a dear companion. You only met yesterday, you know.
* * *
After that, we officially transferred Anval to Lady Arcona through the ranch manager.
The paperwork was done in a flash. Dealing with a Marquis family meant the ranch folks were in a rush to give their best service.
And the horse’s name was officially recorded as ‘Anval.’
We never found out the original name. But the horse seems to have accepted ‘Anval’ as its name, so it’s probably fine.
Well, if the Marquis’ daughter calls it that, who’s gonna argue?
This should be okay.
Then, as we were parting, Lady Arcona took a step forward and quietly approached me.
”…Sir Taro. I must borrow this moment to tell you something important.”
Her demeanor was different from before──more serious.
”What is it?”
I involuntarily straightened up and listened closely to what she had to say.
”Sir Taro, you might be conscripted soon.”
That one word made my eyebrows twitch without thinking.
Conscription. Was that the word for forcing regular people to work for the military?
”Conscription? …What for exactly?”
”It’s not decided yet, but…”
Lady Arcona took a small breath, glanced nervously around, then lowered her voice even more.
”There might be a war… against the Demon Race.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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