Luchilaâs Situation
Eric returned to the palace after dinner.
His wife and children were waiting for him. He was apparently going to eat dinner again once he arrived.
I wondered if he wouldnât get fat.
âGoran. You will stay with us, wonât you?â
âAh, thank you, Locke!â
âThough, you should send a message to your house.â
âAh, that is fine. I already told them.â
While I talked with Goran, Kathe kept glancing towards me.
She was expecting me to ask her to stay as well.
âYou should stay too, Kathe.â
âAre-are you sure?â
âOf course.â
Katheâs wings flapped happily.
Her tail was also moving.
Nia then rushed towards Kathe.
Her tail was also wagging.
âMiss Kathe. Let us go take a bath!â
âA bath?â
âWe have a very big one.â
âYes! And it is very nice, because I clean it every day.â
Milka said proudly.
âMaster Philly, you come too!â
âHmm. Very well.â
Philly agreed.
âThat sounds very fun!â
âWe can all go together!â
âYes!â
Shia and Serulis decided to join them.
And so all the girls went towards the bathing room.
Just then, Kathe turned to say, âAre you not coming too, Luchila?â
âI-I am fine.â
Luchila said frantically as he held Lord Gerberga.
âBut Luchila is a boy!â
Milka said with a laugh.
âHm? Really? But I thoughtâ¦â
âMiss Kathe canât tell people apart.â
Milka said with amusement.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
She couldnât even tell humans and goblins apart.
The difference between men and women would be even harder to catch.
âWell, this is very strange indeed. I was quite sure thatâ¦â
âOh, leave me alone and go take your bath.â
âBut you really just smell like a girl to me.â
ââ¦No I donât!â
âCluck-cluck.â
Luchila scowled.
Lord Gerberga shivered and looked around uncomfortably.
Milkaâs eyes widened in surprise.
âHuh? Is that true? Is Luchila a girl?â
âNo-no!â
âCluck-cluck-cluck.â
Luchila became frantic.
However, it was Lord Gerberga who seemed the most strange. Like he was shaken.
Perhaps this meant that they were hiding this fact.
I couldnât help but notice this.
âLuchila.â
âYe-yes.â
âCluck-cluck-cluck.â
Lord Gerberga jumped away from Luchila and ran towards me.
Then he jumped into my arms.
âWhat is it? Lord Gerberga.â
âCluck-cluck-cluck-cluck.â
Lord Gerberga shook his head wildly.
Maybe he was apologizing for the deceit.
But male or female, Luchila was Luchila.
âItâs really nothing to worry about.â
ââ¦Yes, thank you.â
âCluck!â
âAlright, Lord Gerberga.â
Lord Gerberga clucked with encouragement.
Then Luchilaâs mouth opened with determination.
âThe truth is, I was hiding the fact that Iâm a girlâ¦â
âOh, is that right.â
âI had no idea.â
Milka and Philly were surprised.
âI could tell because of the smell.â
âMe too.â
It seemed that Shia and Nia already knew, because they had a sharp sense of smell.
However, they had sensed that there was a reason behind it, and so they had not said anything.
âI also thought that it was the case.â
âYou did? Serulis?â
âIâm not saying I knew. I just suspected.â
âAnd what made you suspect it?â
âBecause sheâs so cute. The face and voice is that of a girl!â
Serulis had also suspected it but not said anything.
âI see. I didnât noticeâ¦â
âAye.â
Goran and I had not suspected anything.
âAs for why you had to hide itâ¦is there a reason?â
ââ¦I told you about how everyone in my tribe was killedâ¦â
âYes.â
Luchilaâs tribe worshipped Lord Gerberga, and they were all killed in an attack by the dark ones.
Luchila was the sole survivor and had to protect Lord Gerberga.
âThe area I was living in had meetings among the chiefs of each tribe, and only men were allowed to go.â
âWhy?â
âThe lord of the land said so.â
That seemed rather ridiculous. I would like to see what this person looked like.
They had similar meetings for chiefs among the beastkin as well.
âShia. What about your tribe?â
âWomen can go to the chief meetings without a problem. I have gone instead of my father a few times!â
Now that I think of it, she had talked about it before.
Shia had appeared at the meeting about hunting the High Lords in Dantonâs place.
âRight? Itâs normally like that.â
Luchila said seriously.
âWhile I am alone, my tribe still exists. I intend to go to the chiefâs council when I am old enoughâ¦â
âI see. And so that is why you were pretending to be a boy.â
âYes. I am sorry for deceiving you.â
âDonât worry about it. And as for restoring your tribe, maybe Eric can help you with that.â
âActually, Luchila. Werenât you granted a knighthood?â
âYes, I was.â
It was a reward for helping to fight the Vampire High Lords.
They had also been given to Shia and the chiefs of the beastkin tribes.
âHaving a title means that you are the head of a household and should be able to join the council.â
âThatâs true. This lord may be able to create such rules for commoners, but a knight is a noble.â
And so the lord of the land couldnât force their own ideas onto a noble without good reason.
And if they fought over it, then the king would hear about it.
The king would likely let the privy council decide.
âAnd I happen to be a counselor there.â
ââ¦Thatâsâ¦thatâs rightâ¦â
Luchila said. Then tears started to fall from her eyes.