"Actually... Lalatina was very lonely in her childhood. Without companions, she would spend her days praying alone in the hall. Then one day, she suddenly announced she had made friends, declared she would beco an adventurer, and hastily left ho."
Ignis spoke as if in a reverie, sharing years of accumulated worries.
He said softly, "Such a daughter — without a mother's guidance, raised by just myself, always indulged and allowed to do as she pleased... I suppose that's how she ended up so spoiled."
His tone carried hints of lancholy — it seed he was aware of Darkness's problematic tendencies.
Was he suggesting that his daughter's overly permissive upbringing had turned her into soone who craved restraint?
No, that's a misunderstanding! Darkness's preferences are innate, dear father!
"By the way, Adam, do you plan to remain an adventurer forever? You should know that's not possible — and the sa applies to Lalatina."
Though it sounded like casual conversation, his words carried deeper aning.
Ignis continued, "She's of marriageable age now, and it's ti for her to find a suitable match. Many talented young n have proposed, but Lalatina rejected them all."
"Rejected..."
"Yes, decisively." He gazed lovingly at his daughter, "I'm not forcing her to marry, but I hope she can have soone to rely on. However, my daughter claims she's already promised herself to 'a certain man'... I believe that man is you."
He shifted his gaze to Adam, seeking a definitive answer.
If he would just say the word, everything of the Dustiness family would be his!
But... He couldn't follow through!
Ignis's expectant gaze rendered Adam speechless. He couldn't bring himself to speak such deceptive lies — not to a father who loved his daughter so deeply.
This was the purest emotion, a father's love that must not be defiled.
"Hehe, hahaha!"
Inexplicably, Ignis burst into hearty laughter, as if Adam's silence was the perfect response.
"Father..."
"It's fine. I'll indulge your willfulness one more ti, Lalatina."
Seeing Darkness's troubled expression, how could he, as a father, allow his daughter to be sad? He made his decision.
"Adam, even as a concubine, please marry her."
For the daughter of a great lord who held the title of 『Kingdom's Royal Shield』 and served as the Kingdom's Royal Advisor to actually suggest his own daughter beco a concubine?
Heaven knows what emotions filled his heart as he spoke those words, what complex feelings he had to forcefully suppress.
But for his daughter's happiness, he would compel himself to agree.
"If my daughter likes you, how could I, as a father, not agree?" Ignis said softly, "I entrust my daughter to your care. Please watch over her and don't let her do anything foolish. I'm counting on you, Adam."
As a great lord, he bowed his head to his subordinate, his words weighted with the gravity of a request.
So, father, was this a request as "fellow adventurer" or as "future son-in-law"?!
But regardless of which it was, Adam had no intention of letting go.
He nodded slightly, "Yes, I promise I will never let Lalatina suffer any grievance."
As a man, he took on this responsibility.
This answer satisfied Ignis.
"By the way, my presence here must make you all uncomfortable." He tactfully suggested leaving, "You haven't seen each other for two months, right? I'll take my leave now. Lalatina, chat with your companions for a while."
With that, he turned to leave.
But Adam noticed tears glistening in the corners of his eyes.
Perhaps having held himself together for so long, he finally couldn't maintain his composure and hurriedly excused himself. His inner grief made his steps unsteady, stripped of the dignity he had shown earlier.
Thud—
With a soft sound, the maid and the lord left together, leaving only the party in the room.
After a while…
"Pfft~ Lalatina."
"Lady Lalatina."
"Lalatina."
The naturally unrestrained Aqua was the first to lose her composure.
She covered her mouth, mocking Darkness's na — the elegant noble na "Lalatina" didn't match the perverted Crusader's image at all.
gumin and Kazuma joined in, using teasing, mocking tones to call out the na that made Darkness squirm with embarrassnt.
"Hey! Don't call by that na!" Darkness's face flushed red as she shouted at her companions' rudeness.
But more than anything, their teasing showed their intimacy.
Though they hadn't seen each other for two months, there was no distance between them, even with Darkness's revealed identity as Lord Dustiness's daughter.
This made her breathe a sigh of relief. She had feared that revealing her noble status would make her party mbers reject her — which was why she had kept it hidden from everyone except Adam, whom she had sworn to secrecy.
To this, Adam could only think such worries were completely unnecessary.
Did she really think these problem children would show any reverence just because she was a noble lady? He had to tell her she was overthinking it!
They wouldn't care about her status — they'd be just as disrespectful as always!
"Hey, what was that about earlier?" Darkness abandoned her noble lady deanor and said rudely, "Kazuma, why did you say those things earlier — were you trying to cause trouble?!"
She was settling accounts after the fact.
Kazuma's earlier antics had nearly ruined her plan. If her lie had been exposed, she would have been trapped in an endless cycle of matchmaking until marriage.
And then how could she continue her adventures?
"Tch." Kazuma clicked his tongue, caught between embarrassnt at his rudeness and strong resentnt.
Seeing Ignis's deep love for his daughter had made him feel guilty.
But then he rembered he'd have to keep adventuring with this brain-damaged masochist Crusader, and his embarrassnt evaporated.
"You're the one who used Adam-senpai as a shield — do you have any idea what kind of position this puts him in?" Like an indignant servant, Kazuma demanded, "What if people misunderstand because of this? You thoughtless idiot!"
"What...!" Though she wanted to argue back, Darkness knew she was at fault and had no defense. She squird bashfully and said, "It really was my fault. Those persistent suitors kept coming one after another, and I couldn't turn them down properly, so I had no choice but to use Adam as a shield."
"No, I don't mind." Adam waved his hand dismissively.
"Adam?!"
"Adam-senpai!"
"Adam..."
The party mbers' reactions were surprisingly identical.
✧✧✧
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