Truthfully, one could easily tell that the three men were no ordinary fellows from just their sturdy builds and the sparks in their eyes.
Edward shut his mouth once again.
“Go on now.” Yelena sent the three knights back. While she was at it, she also sent away all her servants so that she could be alone with Edward.
Merry, who had been watching the situation unfold quietly, also left the room with the others.
Yelena calmly locked eyes with Edward.
“Edward. I mean, Older Brother.”
“…”
“I know you’re worried about me. Thank you. It was really unexpected of you to come all the way here for me, but… I’m grateful for that too.”
Yelena was telling the truth.
“But as you just saw, your concern is excessive and unfounded. I’m not going home. I don’t need to.”
“…”
“I’ll provide you a nice room, so rest here tonight and relieve your fatigue from traveling. Tomorrow…”
“What use are all those magic artifacts and those bodyguard knights?” Edward snapped persistently as if he could not hold back. “After all, this place already failed to protect you once. How do you know it won’t happen again?”
“Edward, do you know which store has the most reliable security in the world?”
“What?”
“The store that was once robbed of its valuables.”
“…”
“They put all their energy into upgrading their security so that it never happens again. There’s no place that can guarantee my safety more than this castle can.”
“…”
“Oh, and don’t forget to tell Father and Older Sister what I said when you go ba…”
“…But still, you aren’t safe here.”
Why was he being so stubborn?
When Yelena furrowed her brow, Edward said: “We shouldn’t have let you marry someone with those kinds of rumors surrounding him in the first place.”
“What?”
“You might feel safe for now, but who knows what will happen later. If you continue to stay here, the curse might spread to…”
“Edward!”
For the first time, Yelena couldn’t hold back her anger and she sprung up from her seat. Her chair clamorously slid backwards.
Then, the parlor door opened.
“You were here, I see.”
“…”
“I stopped by after hearing that an important guest arrived. I thought I should greet him.”
Yelena had her hand up in the air, ready to tear out all of Edward’s hair. But she quietly put it back down.
‘Lucky him.’
Yelena, who had been staring daggers at Edward, approached Kaywhin.
“If I’m intruding on you two…”
“No, not at all. And you don’t need to greet him or anything. He will be returning immediately.”
Yelena took back her offer to provide a nice room. She wanted to kick Edward’s butt and chase him out at once.
“Returning? Who will? I absolutely refuse to leave alone…” Edward got up, as if he was going to hold on to Yelena.
But it was Kaywhin whom he ended up facing, not Yelena.
Edward flinched at the sizable man who blocked his path and the latter extended his hand.
“Greetings, Sir Edward Sorte.”
“…”
“Have you been well?”
This was their second time meeting, after catching glimpses of each other’s faces at the wedding. Or perhaps this should be considered the first time Edward saw Kaywhin’s face, since Kaywhin had been wearing a mask at the wedding.
Yelena looked at Kaywhin who had offered Edward a handshake first and grumbled in the back.
‘Sir, my foot. He doesn’t even know how to handle a sword properly.’
Of course, ‘Sir’ was not only meant for knights, but also for sons of nobles who did not have a title yet. Yelena was aware of this, but she just scorned everything related to Edward.
‘I’m so mad.’
How dare he bring up those rumors? Who did he think he was speaking to?
Yelena kept a close eye on Edward, with a fierce gaze that said she would slap him if she could.
“…Ah, yes, I have been well. Long time no see.”
Edward seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then, he seemed to have thought of something as he readily took Kaywhin’s hand. And he gripped it with all his might as if he meant to crush it.
Edward only looked a bit small because he was standing next to Kaywhin, but truthfully, Edward was not short at all. In fact, he was considerably taller than average. And just like his height, his grip did not fall short either.
Edward was terrible with swords because of his natural clumsiness, not because he was weak.
‘Hff.’
The veins on the back of Edward’s hand popped and the ones on his neck were about to as he exerted all his strength and surveyed Kaywhin’s reaction.
And…
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