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Volume 6 Chapter 1 Part 3

His eyes naturally turned towards the portrait of Salvador that he commissioned a famous artist to draw just last year. On that portrait, he couldn’t bear the need for him to be sitting still for so long, which resulted with him having an annoyed expression on his face.

What Pederico wanted to protect more than anything now was his Crest and the territory he had inherited from his ancestors, and above all of that, his family.

Since they were born into the Rossini family, they were destined to be both hated and feared by many and because of that their lives were in constant danger. That is why the Rossini family needs to stay united at all times.

His three sons were very different in character, but fortunately they got along with each other pretty well. The three believed that they would always work together to protect the Rossini family.

He never expected that he’d lose one of his precious sons at such a young age. And if things are going to continue developing the way they were currently developing, that it’s more than likely that he’ll lose his two remaining sons as well.

However, Doni and Juzel each have a mission to fulfill as members of the Rossini family. All Pederico could do was hope that they would do it while staying as safe as possible.

* * *

Five days have passed since the battle with Salvador Rossini.

The villagers of Marza village were now busily moving along the former battlefield, trying to build a fort there. The sound of hammers striking stakes and people’s shouts echoed across the entire area.

Siluca draws the fort’s blueprints and was presiding over the entire work process, while Theo was leading the way in building fences and pits.

Theo seemed to be accustomed to this kind of work, and was surprisingly efficient at it. Considering what happened towards the end of the battle against Salvador Rossini, Siluca thought Theo might be having a hard time doing anything, but much to her surprise he looked happy no matter what he was doing.

The fort was being built on the hill where Theo’s father once built a secret granary that was supposed to help the people of Marza village during the time of famine or bad harvest.

Right now, the inside of the granary has been turned into sleeping quarters for Siluca and the others. Despite having been abandoned for nearly five years, the inside was not as damaged as they initially thought. It was also so well done that it was hard for Siluca to believe that it has been constructed by a resident of the Marza village and not one of Elam’s architectural engineers. Theo’s dexterity must have been inherited from his father.

The procedure of building a fort was progressing smoothly, but even so, Siluca had no intentions of actually fighting anywhere near the Marza village again. If they tried anything like that again, that would spell certain defeat for them. It was mainly sone in order to help the villagers, who have openly revolted against the Rossini family, to not feel as uneasy about their situation as they would’ve otherwise been. In fact, as the fort itself was nearing its completion, people began to feel a sense of resolve welling up in their hearts.

Also, by building the fort, Siluca intended to show the determination of the people of Marza to the inhabitants of the neighboring villages and encourage them to join the rebellion against the Rossini family as well. Of course, Theo was also going around the neighboring villages on horseback, but so far there were no other villages that responded to his call to action.

「… I think this should be enough for today!」

As the sun began to set, Theo called out to the villagers in a loud voice.

The villagers stopped working and went back to the village without showing any signs of being tired. Since there was a possibility that the enemy might launch a night raid against them, a vigilante group was also formed to take turns and patrol the surroundings of the village.

Priscilla was also helping with that in whatever way she could, whenever she was not trying to convert the locals into the faith of the Order of the Crest as per her missionary work, that is.

Aishela was also staying in the village for the purposes of security and combat training.

As for Irvin, he was tasked with information gathering. Naturally, the Werewolf twins were helping him with that.

Siluca entered the underground warehouse with Theo. Since it was build into a hill and was going underground, it was naturally dark inside, so she had to light the way forward for them with her magic wand, lighting the torches placed here and there on the walls.

Since Irvin wasn’t around this time, Siluca also used magic to boil the water and make the tea for the both of them.

When she turned around while holding the tray with the cups on it, she saw that Theo had taken off his work-dirty clothes and was wiping his sweat with a damp piece of cloth. While he was wearing clothes he looked frail, but since he continued his daily routine of training both his body and his swordsmanship, he now had a lean silhouette without even a single bit of unnecessary body fat on it.

Neither pleased nor embarrassed about it, Siluca puts the tray on the table and then took a dry washcloth from the from her bag and handed it over to him.

「Thank you. 」

When Theo received it with a smile, he wiped his now wet body dry.

(Come to think of it, we’re alone now. Just the two of us.)

Siluca suddenly remembered that and felt a little bit flustered.

They didn’t have many opportunities for that nowadays, after all.

Of course, His Highness Balgary, the Cait Sith fairy from the World of Tir na Nog was still inside Siluca’s shadow, but he was almost never leaving it if it was not the time for him to eat. He had a cute cat-like appearance, but he could only manifest himself properly in their world if the Chaos Density in the air was high enough.

Sistina has a much higher density of Chaos than the continent’s average, so she was not too concerned about him, but the fact that he was feeling more comfortable in the shadows than anywhere else.

Even if he were to disappear, Siluca can always resummon him, but every time she was forced to do that, she felt as if a different His Highness was coming back to her.

The main body of His Highness Balgary is of course located in the fairy world of Tir na Nog, but supposedly whenever he gets summoned to their world, that main body does not retain the memories from the time it was summoned. A projection from another world is quite literally just that: an illusion that has been thrown into their world from another one. Even if the substance is given to it by Chaos, its existence will remain unstable and will return back to Chaos someday.

When Siluca thought about it, she couldn’t help it but feel a little bit sad. If it was at all possible, then she wanted His Highness Balgary to stay with her so that she could keep him on her lap and pet his back even when she would get old and spend her remaining days simply sitting in her rocking chair.

Theo sat down at the table and drank the tea that Siluca had made. It tasted much better when Irvin was the one brewing it, but Theo didn’t care about it at all, and always made sure to drink it all no matter who brewed it.

「One day, I’d like to build a castle here. 」

After taking a breather, Theo said while looking around the warehouse.

「It doesn’t matter if it’s small. At that time, no matter how big my title is going to be, I want to rule this village by myself. 」

Those words conveyed Theo’s honest thoughts about the village. Even though he has many painful memories of it, this is still a special place in his heart and he cares about it deeply.

「That’s great to hear, but what’re you going to do if the residents of the first three villages where you’ve been given territory will also want you to come back to them? 」

Siluca said it jokingly, but that was actually true. She has received many letters from the master of the blacksmith, who is now serving as the village’s commanding soldier, in which he was asking when Theo was planning to come back.
The three villages he had taken from Mesut Medric along with his title when he defeated him were handed over to Lassic David when Theo became a subordinate Lord of Vilar Constance.