༺ The Lord Is With Us (57) ༻
“I ca to say thanks.”
With those words from Ian, Delphine’s expression turned vacant.
Is he mocking ? She thought, but sincerity in Ian’s eyes was unmistakable.
He ant every word.
Having been raised as the heir of a prestigious family, Delphine had encountered and evaluated countless individuals. She could easily tell the difference.
But, why?
Yes, she had played her part, but it was only a supporting one. Ultimately, she was nothing more than a burden.
Ian had borne all the pain, endured all the scars, and led them to victory.
She couldn’t figure out why she deserved his gratitude, and her expression shifted to one of confusion.
“Thank you for believing in and following my lead. Without you, Senior Delphine, I couldn’t have won. Especially at the end, when you threw your sword, placing your trust solely in my words.”
Delphine’s mind went blank.
Wasn’t that only natural?
There was no reason for her to not trust and follow him. After all, she needed to prove her worth. Yet, here Ian was, genuinely expressing his gratitude.
Stamring, her lips parted.
“I-I rely followed your orders…”
“Yes, and that’s why we won.”
With that, Ian offered a faint, warm smile.
As if everything had been said in those words.
“It’s our win, Senior Delphine. Don’t you rember our promise?”
‘Our win?’ To any observer, it was evident that Ian had achieved this win single-handedly.
But, in a blink of an eye, Ian transford Delphine into a winner.
She really hadn’t contributed much.
She had simply been there by his side, dutifully following his commands.
Thump. Delphine’s heart began to resonate loudly.
It felt as if her blood, which had lost its vitality, surged back to life. For a mont, her breath grew slightly uneven.
It was an unusual sensation. All the suffocating feelings of inferiority and sense of defeat that had once tornted her seed to lt away.
Right, Ian was never an opponent she could defeat anyway.
She needed to change her perspective. After all, she needed to be a winner.
Delphine rembered the promise she had made with Ian on that fateful night.
“I promised that I would make you win… Do you trust a little now?”
Her mouth opened, then closed.
Words failed to leave her throat. A realisation, like a lightning bolt, shot up her spine, reaching and echoing in her mind.
Ian had promised to let her win.
And he had kept his word.
Delphine didn’t even have to think about it.
All she had to do was stand beside Ian and faithfully follow his orders.
And then, she could beco a winner.
Wasn’t it just that simple?
Ian, possibly interpreting Delphine’s silence in so way, continued with a gentle smile that carried a hint of teasing.
“Rember our promise? If I made you win, you said you’d always listen to .”
Delphine’s eyes quivered.
She felt ecstatic.
I see, so all I have to do is follow this man’s words.
There was no need to think any further. If he told her to bark, she would bark. If he asked for her to entertain him, she would do her utmost to.
And then, she would always erge victorious.
Of course, she’d still have to contribute in so way. Yet, any pain or tornt she might endure would be overshadowed by the burden Ian would have to carry.
Hadn’t he already proven that?
He stood at the forefront and endured every wound until he was on the brink of death.
It was only now that she could truly understand Elsie’s heart.
You cunning shrew, you knew all along.
It was such a simple and evident truth.
Delphine’s blood-red eyes started to ripple with a complex emotion.
The ntality she had honed over a lifeti began to tinge from its very core.
Much like delicate paper stained by watercolours.
“So… I hope we can continue like this. That’s what I wanted to tell you, Senior Delphine.”
In response to the clumsily spoken words, Delphine clenched her teeth, suppressing the tears that welled up.
Her head bowed deeply.
She was simply by his side, dutifully obeying his commands, and yet the man showered her with abundant words of praise.
To what extent?
How benign was he?
A thrill of being acknowledged by a superior surged through her, making her tremble. It felt as though a tingling bolt of lightning brushed down her spine.
She felt profound joy, enough to unconsciously clench her thighs.
It was then that she had to admit, from deep within her heart.
That Ian Percus had beco Delphine Yurdina’s Master.
He who brought her victory. He who bore every worry and pain on her behalf.
Delphine felt an urgent desire to rise and kneel before him. To prostrate herself would be fine too.
If only she could sohow convey the intoxicating feeling that had enveloped her.
Yet, Ian’s expression had seed so warm, so tender, that Delphine had chosen to hold back for a mont longer.
Instead, she responded in a choked voice.
“Yes, yes… I understand.”
The words had erged from the depths of her heart.
It was a voice filled with pure obedience, much like a servant kissing the feet of their master.
Ian looked montarily puzzled by the undertone in her voice but soon dismissed it with a wry smile.
His face seed to indicate him thinking, Senior Delphine must have endured a great emotional turmoil.
Perhaps the day he could recognize her true intentions had not been far off, but that day had certainly not been today.
However, as if a thought had suddenly struck him, he remarked.
“By the way, is there anything you want? I’ll try my best to accommodate your wishes, Senior Delphine.”
Naturally, Ian was referring to the distribution of rewards for defeating the demonic human.
However, to Delphine, in that very mont, his words seed to address an entirely different matter.
Ah, a reward, thought Delphine as an undeniable expectation rose in her eyes.
Perhaps akin to patting Elsie’s head, he would reward her, a well-behaved servant for listening well.
After a long contemplation, Delphine blushed slightly.
She hesitated, then cautiously began.
“T-Th-Then…”
Gulp, the sound of her nervously swallowing echoed between them. All the while, Ian rely stared at her with confused eyes.
She couldn’t bear to et his gaze, so she lowered her gaze slightly as she continued,
“…P-Punishnt.”
“What?”
Tilting her head in response to the repeated question, Delphine exhaled a nervous breath. Her crimson eyes were shimring with an anxious glint.
“Please punish , Master…”
Only then did Ian’s expression swiftly harden.
He realised sothing had gone terribly wrong. However, by the ti he grasped the situation, it was already too late.
Almost instinctively, his hand moved to his forehead.
Unexpectedly, that was the day Ian gained a second slave.
**
Days slipped by once again.
In the anti, I was overwheld with previous commitnts. Ever since the incident at the orphanage beca known, too many people sought out.
High-ranking officials from various nations, not to ntion scions of the empire’s top five prestigious families, sent ssages expressing their desire to et . Though this wasn’t sothing too unusual.
For the past millennium, the Academy had been the cradle that nurtured the continent’s top talents, so engaging in recruitnt competitions for notable talents wasn’t sothing out of the ordinary.
But I intentionally delayed my responses.
With life as unpredictable as a butterfly’s flight, I never know where I might be off to the next ti a new letter arrives. With a heart burdened by the responsibility to save the world, I had no imdiate plans to settle anyti soon.
Soday I would have to, though.
But now wasn’t the ti. Perhaps, only after I had saved the world would it be the right mont.
Fortunately, by the ti I managed to get through the incident ntioned in the second letter, I was able to get so sort of a lead on the Dark Order.
Dark Priest Mitram.
He was involved in abducting orphans and pedestrians to create the flesh nest.
As long as I stood against the Dark Order and the Delphirem they worshipped, a confrontation was inevitable soday.
Maybe on the day I will finally thwart all of their sches, I would be able to shrug off the heavy burden that had been placed upon my shoulders.
To be honest, I wasn’t particularly worried about that.
The destruction of the world? Even though I had already witnessed that terrifying monster called the ‘flesh nest’, the warning still felt surreal.
It seed like a far-fetched tale, that I actually didn’t think much of it.
Rather, these days, my worries were much closer to .
It was because both Senior Delphine and Senior Elsie had volunteered to beco my servants.
I was curious about how far they’d go, so one ti I gave them an unreasonable order.
“Both of you, kneel and kiss my feet.”
Without a shred of hesitation, Senior Delphine imdiately kneeled. Senior Elsie hesitated briefly, but witnessing Senior Delphine’s resolution, she clenched her teeth, and her knees also t the ground soon after.
Though, of course, before their lips could touch my feet, I recoiled in shock.
“Seriously?! You’d do that just because I said so? Don’t you two have any pride?”
Yet, both Senior Delphine and Senior Elsie only looked at with puzzled eyes.
I could only sigh deeply, feeling an awkward mix of surprise and discomfort under their questioning gaze that seed to ask what I was talking about.
Unexpectedly, I had gained the obedience of two heirs from the most prestigious families.
Of course, I was not pleased. To be a bit more honest, it felt burdenso.
I couldn’t fathom why these two won, with no shortage of background, appearance, or ability, were so fixated on . The heart of a woman still remained a mystery to .
If I were to point out another odd thing that happened recently, it was how often I ran into the Saintess.
“…Hmph, sohow we’ve run into each other again.”
With a sullen attitude, the Saintess spoke. She supported her bosom with one arm, further emphasizing her cleavage, which was already prominent enough.
Nonchalantly, she waved with her other hand and continued.
“As much as it annoys , these repeated coincidences are becoming rather tireso. It feels as if the Heavenly God himself is playing a hand…”
“I have a lecture to attend, so I’ll be leaving first.”
I began to step away with those words, but the Saintess, now noticeably flustered, stamped her feet and exclaid.
“…..Y-You don’t have another lecture!”
My questioning gaze turned to the Saintess, silently interrogating how she knew such a detail.
In response, she faked a few adorable coughs, trying her best to calm her flushed face, all the while fanning herself rapidly with her hand.
“Yu-Yuren told . H-He has such a good mory, he even rembers the most useless details.”
Aside from that, my peaceful daily life continued as usual.
At least that was the case until that morning arrived.
After drinking alone for the first ti in a long while, I ended up overly drunk, and sohow managed to fall asleep without even knowing how I ended up in bed.
And then the next day ca.
No, to be precise, it was ‘that day.’ As too much ti had already passed.
A splitting headache and a vivid dream that felt strangely real.
Automatically, like a routine I had co to know all too well, I soothed the burning thirst in my throat with water from my canteen.
Then, silently, my eyes shifted to the table beside the bed.
It was just as I had expected.
An overturned calendar and an old-fashioned envelope.
All I could do was run my dry hand across my face.
“…Fuck.”
Good tis were always short-lived.
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