CH 10

“Herwin and stuff like that, huh, it’s so …….”

The cries of frustration were incessant.

Birds, squirrels, rabbits, etc. The mountain animals stared at Lucia as she cried. Suddenly, their ears flicked back in unison.

They all saw something and began to scurry away.

Roar.

An unfamiliar sobbing sounded in the distance. Lucia stopped crying and turned around.

“Uh, uh……?”

Through her blurred vision, she saw something brown and huge. As she wiped away her tears, she realized what was coming toward her.

“Do-, a dog?”

It was a wild dog wandering through the woods.

It was only medium to large by adult standards, but to Lucia, who was only eight years old, it was as frightening as a wolf

.

Thump, thump, growl-!

“Uh, mom…dad…….”

Lucia’s legs gave out and she sank to the ground. All she could do was bite herself back.

The dog bared its teeth as if it would harm the child in front of it at any moment.

Even the saliva dripping onto the grass was creepy.

Growl, thump!

Lucia reflexively shielded her head with her arms and squeezed her eyes shut.

Crack, crack, crack!

Suddenly, she heard a dog moan.

She opened her eyes and saw that the dog that had been right in front of her had fallen to the ground.

“Get away from Lucia!”

“Heh, Herwin……!”

She looked up and saw Herwin standing in the same spot she had come from, grunting and holding a rock the size of her fist.

There was also a large stone where the dog had fallen.

Puck!

Herwin threw the rock at the dog again. The dog quickly dodged the rock.

“Get away from Lucia!”

This time, Herwin drew the wooden sword that hung from his belt.

The dog jerked back in surprise as Herwin lunged with his sword raised.

As the dog moved away from Lucia, Herwin hurried to her side.

He sheathed his sword again and blocked Lucia’s path.

He stared at Lucia’s damp back inside the blue eyes.

It was the dwarfed back of a child, barely a man, and yet it felt as huge as her father, John.

Lucia couldn’t tear her gaze away from the tiny back of his head, his black hair whipping around.

The frightened dog, thinking it would be an easy victory, bared its teeth again and began to press down on the two children.

Herwin swallowed hard, trying to keep his nerves under control.

‘It’s okay, I can do this.’

He didn’t learn swordsmanship from forms. His father had praised him for his talent.

Trusting in his abilities, Herwin narrowed his red eyes and glared at the distant dog.

Kwaang!

The dog leaped high, baring its razor-sharp teeth.

Unfazed, Herwin raised his wooden sword.

Puck! Crack!

Unluckily for the dog, Herwin’s swing was a solid strike.

The dog dropped to the ground in a heap.

Blood trickled from its head. The dog’s eyes staggered in shock, then quickly turned.

The dog lunged again, menacingly.

“Yelp!”

“Herwin!”

The dog jumped on top of Herwin, mouth agape. Without the wooden sword, the situation would have been dizzying.

Thump, growl, thump, thump!

Sharp teeth began to chew on the wood blade like dog gum. The dog’s grip on Herwin’s throat tightened with increasing force.

The strength of the rampaging beast was too much for the eight-year-old to handle.

Knowing that if he backed down, Lucia would be seriously injured, as well as himself, Herwin gritted his teeth and glared at the dog in front of him.

Lucia’s body trembled as she crouched down, fearful that Herwin might get hurt.

Lucia looked around quickly, and the rock that Herwin had thrown came into her field of vision.

Lucia crawled over to it, quickly picked it up, and staggered to her feet.

“Yaaaaah!”

Lucia’s voice squeaked.

Naturally, the dog’s attention turned to Lucia.

Her legs were shaking, and she felt like she was going to cry at any moment, but Lucia didn’t let go of the stone in her hand.

“Don’t bully Herwin!”

Lucia narrowed her eyes and threw the stone as hard as she could.

It wasn’t as strong as Herwin’s, but it was close enough that it hit the dog in the head.

Keng!

Taking advantage of the dog’s weakened strength, Herwin quickly swung his sword.

The dog took a good hit to the side and backed away, and he scrambled to his feet.

The dog’s mood was much improved. The dog realized that it had no chance of winning if it kept getting hit.

The dog limped over to Lucia and Herwin, glanced at them, and trotted off.

“Hmph, hmph, hmph…….”

They kept an eye on the area where the dog had run off to see if it would come back, but after a while, it didn’t.

Relieved, Herwin turned around, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Lucia, are you okay?”

“Ugh, huh… Herwin.”

Lucia sobbed, then snuggled into Herwin’s arms.

“I, I was scared……!”

“That’s why I told you not to go too deep, there are beasts here that are more dangerous than wild dogs.”

“Hmph, hmph…I was wrong, I was wrong…….”

Lucia stammered between gasps.

Her soft brown hair tickled Herwin’s cheek.

His heart, which had been racing when he first laid eyes on Lucia in front of the hounds, finally settled back down.

As the tension eased, Herwin felt like he was on the verge of tears, just like Lucia. He did his best to keep from crying, not wanting to look like an embarrassment in front of her.

“Don’t ever go into the forest alone again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, mmm!”

“And now, this.”

Herwin wiped Lucia’s tears with his hand and held out what he had in his pocket.

“Huh? A four-leaf clover…….”

“I found it after you left, I’m giving it to you, now stop crying.”

“You’re giving it to me?”

“I’m giving it to you ……because I’m the reason you went into the forest.”

Herwin blushed and looked away unnecessarily as he came face to face with watery eyes. He placed the four-leaf clover in Lucia’s hand.

The four-leaf clover was wilted as if its leaves would fall off at any moment, but in Lucia’s eyes, it was more precious than anything else.

“Heh, heh…….”

Lucia smiled again, and Herwin stole a glance at her.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“Phew, yeah!”

The two ran out of the forest, hand in hand.

Their clasped hands were damp with sweat. Neither of them let go of the other’s hand, even though they wanted to shake it off in disgust. They held onto each other’s hands in case they missed something.

* * *

When the children safely descended the hill, the castle was turned upside down.

“My God! Herwin, what happened!”

“What’s wrong with your clothes, both of you?”

Herwin and Lucia’s clothes were covered in dirt and grass.

Lucia was in relatively good shape, having only gotten her butt kicked, but Herwin had been on the ground with the dog, so his face and hair were covered in dirt, as well as his clothes.

Even a glance suggested something had happened.

“Did you fall or something? You’re in a bit of a weird state for that…….”

“I got into a fight with a dog.”

Scarlett asked, and Herwin spoke up.

“What?”

“The dog was threatening Lucia, so I fought it off.”

They couldn’t believe their ears. But the two children’s faces were too sincere to be lying.

“Are you okay? Did the dog bite you?”

Scarlett asked, carefully wiping Herwin’s face.

“I’m fine…but my wooden sword is broken.”

The wooden sword was full of scratches, along with sharp teeth marks. It was a testament to how hard he had fought.

The disbelieving adults in the room began to stir.

Scarlett was speechless. As proud as she was of her son, she was also terrified that he could have been seriously injured.

“First, let’s get him checked out by a doctor, just in case he’s hurt.”

“Okay.”

Scarlett hurriedly began to maneuver the users to call for a doctor.

As they moved in unison, Julian asked Lucia how she was doing. But she couldn’t take her eyes off Herwin, as if she couldn’t hear her.

“Herwin!”

Lucia called out to him as loud as she could.

“I like you the best, so I’m going to marry you!”

Lucia’s bombshell suddenly quieted the hall.

Hail and John, who had rushed in at the news that Herwin and Lucia were injured, Lucas and Henry, who had changed their clothes, and the others.

They all stared at Lucia, speechless.

She blushed, her face reflecting in the crystal clear walls an emotion they had never seen before: love.

“Heh…….”

Julian gasped as she looked at Lucia.

While everyone was stunned, it was Herwin who was most shaken by the comment.

He could feel at once that there was an emotion directed at him that he hadn’t seen just a few minutes ago.

Thump, thump, thump.

His heart, which had been silent since Lucia’s confession, made its presence felt.

Herwin’s face was about to turn red when a group of children standing in the distance entered his vision.

Chatters. Chatters.

The vassal’s children were talking amongst themselves when they saw Lucia and Herwin.

Thump, thump, thump……!

His heart pounded but differently this time. The tickling sensation had morphed into a rumble, bringing with it a sense of discomfort and dread.

Once he became aware of them, he realized that the eyes of the adults around him were all on him.

He felt nauseous.

Herwin’s face, which had been red, quickly turned pale.

“I-I don’t like you!”

Herwin rejected Lucia’s confession and stormed out of the room.

The atmosphere, which had been stiff with embarrassment, now cooled.

The users turned their attention to Lucia, forgetting to breathe for fear of disturbing her.

Lucia’s sudden public confession was one thing, but Herwin’s public rejection was another.

“……Lucia, are you okay?”

Julian asked cautiously, watching Lucia’s eyes.

In unison, everyone watched the little girl nervously.

She was going to cry….…

The adults, who had been gauging the timing of Lucia’s cries, were puzzled by the fact that the child remained quiet for hours on end.

“……Lucia?”

To everyone’s surprise, Lucia defied expectations.

She wasn’t saddened or embarrassed by the rejection; she simply watched from afar as Herwin disappeared.

Rather than sulk, Lucia pouted her lips in determination.

“Mommy, let’s go wash up.”

“Huh? Are you sure……?”

“Yes! You said I had to wash up, come on!”

As if nothing had happened, Lucia grabbed Julian’s hand and led her to the stairs.