After a fairly long time of being washed by Abel, Kashe finally seemed satisfied.
And then, she said something unexpected.
“I don’t want to go back to the castle… Abel. Do something.”
Abel furrowed his brow.
“Ehh… That’s kind of a problem. There’s not much I can do.”
“You can do something! If it’s you, Abel, you can do it!!”
Her scream seemed to shake the heavens.
Her purple eyes pierced like daggers.
Abel sighed and shook his head, then turned to someone who had been quietly watching the whole scene. It was Ise.
“Lady Ise… is it alright if I take her to a room for now?”
“Do as you like.”
Ise remained calm and indifferent, as usual.
That part of her was actually quite reassuring.
If she’d been the nervous type of superior, she probably would’ve panicked and tried to run from any responsibility.
When they arrived at their shabby little residence, they found Walt lying at the entrance. He noticed them and got up.
“Welcome back, Master! And hello to Master’s Master too!”
“You’re Abel’s slave, right? The beastkin, Walt? Must be nice, living so freely.”
“Every day is fun, it is!”
Kashe looked genuinely envious.
“Hey, Walt. Why are you always so happy?”
“Hmm, who knows? Maybe ‘cause I don’t think too much, not like humans do, that’s why.”
“Huh? But wouldn’t not thinking make you feel more anxious?”
“If you think, does day turn into night? If you think, does it stop droughts? Things change on their own, even if you don’t do anything.”
“…………”
When Abel looked at Kashe’s expression, he saw a look as if she had just made some kind of discovery…
Since there were no chairs, he laid a cloth over a storage box and had Kashe sit on it.
Figuring she needed to calm down first, Abel filled a bowl with water using magic, heated it, and added some herbal leaves.
He strained the mixture and the tea was ready.
He offered it to Kashe.
“This tea helps to calm your nerves.”
That was true. It was a type of herb with soothing properties that Ayla had taught him about.
Abel drank it occasionally himself.
For example, when the excitement after a battle hadn’t worn off yet…
Kashe quietly drank the tea to the last drop.
“What should I do now…? Brother Lopez and Father are going to scold me…”
Kashe who was usually composed looked completely drained of energy.
Seeing her like that made Abel want to help in any way he could.
“For now, why not write a letter to Count Barth? Just say it’s all too sudden and that your personalities are completely incompatible. Say something like, ‘Are you really selling me off just for some gold coins?’ There’s a way to word it. Even just asking to nullify the whole viscount arrangement would help. The count may have a scary face, but I feel like he’d listen to a request from you, Lady Kashe. Besides, it should be wrong for Sir Lopez to make such a decision on his own without the count’s recommendation in the first place.”
Abel wasn’t entirely confident, but that was the best idea he could come up with.
Still, upon hearing the suggestion, Kashe’s face lit up instantly.
“Grandfather! That’s brilliant! It’s all happening far too fast! I’m sure he’ll understand my position. As expected of you, Abel. I’m so glad I talked to you!”
—Talked to me? This is more like damage control.
You’re supposed to “talk” before things come to fists…
Well, I guess unreasonable demands are just standard at black companies.
“In any case, Lady Kashe, you should be the one to write the letter. Use logic. Don’t rely on emotions alone.”
“I know that! I’ll explain in detail how that viscount is an absolute scumbag and completely unworthy of a noble house like Highwand, famed for its martial honor. Lend me some writing tools and paper!”
“Uh… you’re going to write it here?”
“How many times must I say it? I’m not going back to the castle tonight!”
“Wait, then… where are you going to sleep?”
“Here, obviously!”
“Uh, well…”
“What’s wrong with the head of the house staying in a knight’s room?”
“Lady Ise…”
“It’s true that it’s not improper for a noble to visit their knight’s quarters.”
Abel stayed silent.
At this point, whatever happens, happens.
It was out of his hands now.
Later that evening, the Ceremonial Knight Stalfon and the butler Keifard came to visit.
Even Abel was surprised by that.
“You found this place quickly.”
“There was nowhere else Lady Kashe might go.”
Keifard, ever composed, answered calmly.
It seemed he too was trying to resolve this disastrous situation quietly and peacefully.
“U-Um… would you consider letting Lady Kashe off the hook this time?”
Surprisingly, even the strict Stalfon nodded.
“I’ve already heard the details from Sir Keifard. It’s an unbearably cruel arrangement. We’re both advising Sir Lopez to reconsider. Still, Sir Lopez is a stubborn man. It may take time for him to understand.”
“Sir Keifard, by the way… that viscount fellow. What happened to him?”
“He left in a hurry. I imagine the investment talk has fallen through. Did something happen?”
“Well… I’m not really sure myself…”
Abel decided to keep quiet about the whole “mounted punching” incident.
Not everything needs to be dragged into the open…
After that, they received permission from Stalfon for Kashe to stay in Ise’s quarters for the night, as Sir Lopez was still furious.
So she really did end up staying over.
After everything that had happened, they’d all worked up an appetite, so Abel and the others headed to the dining hall.
They brought over an extra chair to Ise’s usual spot by the wall and the three of them sat together.
It was a bit cramped.
The knights present were all staring with great interest at the unusual trio.
Tonight’s dinner was black bread, porridge with mixed grains and cheese, roasted salted pork with vegetables, and salted onion soup.
The black bread was so hard and sour it would wear out your jaw.
As such, it had become customary to dip it in the soup to soften it before eating.
High-ranking nobles like those from a count’s household would normally eat soft, smooth white bread.
But Kashe was happily biting into the black bread.
“This is actually pretty good!”
“It’s hard, though. If you dip it in the soup, it goes down easier.”
“I know. I’ve seen people do it before.”
Kashe cheerfully dipped her bread into the soup and began eating.
Same as at the food stall the other day. She didn’t seem to be picky about food at all.
For some reason, Kashe was in an unusually good mood.
Even though just a little while ago, she’d been completely furious.
After dinner, they returned to the room.
They brushed their teeth, wiped themselves down, and got ready for bed.
Of course, while Kashe was wiping herself down, Abel had no choice but to wait outside the room.
“Ise. Please wipe my back.”
“Yes, Lady Kashe.”
“I feel like I got way dirtier than usual today… Please wipe me thoroughly.”
“Yes.”
Voices like that could be heard from inside.
Just hearing them was enough to make Abel restless.
There was no stopping the pink-colored fantasies forming in his head.
He’d seen Ise’s breasts before.
They were really beautiful.
He’d also seen Ayla’s.
Ayla’s were insanely big, and the shape was amazing too.
There was Shale’s as well, back when they bathed together. Lots of future potential…
But Kashe’s…he hadn’t seen yet.
What color would they be…?
Abel shook his head.
He shouldn’t be thinking about things like that.
She’s still technically his cousin.
On top of that, she’s his lord.
If he even touched her by accident, getting a few broken facial bones would be the least of his worries.
Would it be considered a capital crime…?
Feeling a chill, Abel quietly stepped away from the door.
He sat down next to Walt and started playing with the tail.
“Master!”
Walt rolled onto his back and exposed his belly as a sign of submission.
But since he was a wolf-man, what he revealed was a thickly furred chest packed with steel-like muscles….not exactly cute.
When Abel touched it, it was unbelievably firm.
“I’ll have to settle for this guy, or I might really get killed…”
After her wash, Kashe chatted with Abel until bedtime.
They talked about all kinds of things. Like the awful lessons or Professor Casalos’s inventions.
Apparently, the flying magic device he’d been developing was finally close to becoming a reality.
Word was, he’d already succeeded in getting the model to fly.
“Hey. Abel, your Light….it’s really beautiful.”
Since it was nighttime, Abel had activated his Light.
Come to think of it, this was the first time he’d used it in front of Kashe.
It’s said that sometimes the color of a Light reflects the quality of a person’s mana.
Most Light spells give off a bluish-white glow.
But Abel’s magic light was purple. And sometimes, it would even change colors.
There was something refined about its glow.
“It kind of reminds me of your eyes, Lady Kashe. The color, I mean.”
Abel hadn’t meant anything deep by it.
But for some reason, Kashe blushed.
And so, the night passed with idle, gentle conversation.
“Hey. Give me your hand.”
“…Huh?”
When Abel held out his hand, Kashe took it in hers.
“I just… didn’t want that to be my first time holding someone. So, let’s pretend it never happened, okay?”
—Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I’ve held a girl’s hand too…
Never held Ise’s, after all.
Though she did cling to me that one time.
The master and her knight lay down on the bed.
Abel settled into a straw sack on the floor.
Even in that old, run-down room, just having two girls there made it feel like the place was blooming with giant flowers and he slept soundly.
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