Editors: Katie_WanderingFujoshi, ASplashofMusic
Kenneth’s story after chapter 15.
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A long time had passed since I last stepped into the headquarters of the Knights’ Order. And probably seven or eight years since I retired. I pressed my lips together as nostalgia welled up inside me. The atmosphere of this place really hadn’t changed one bit.
I just encountered these guys the other day, and they were still as loud as the first time I met them. Everything in sight felt fresh, and my lips repeatedly curved into a smile despite my efforts to remain poised.
One of them pleaded, “He would really look forward to meeting you, Sir Kenneth. Just please wait for a while…”
“Ah, I don’t mind. I can come again later.”
“No! Please wait! We’re currently searching for him as we speak!”
Searching? What did he mean?
I had nominated Denard as my replacement when I had quit. After that, he had been steadily climbing up the ladder. Speaking of which, he should’ve been promoted to Knight Commander the other day.
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I knew it wouldn’t be easy to meet him, but why did they have to search for the Knight Commander? Shouldn’t he be busy working in his office right now?
“You don’t have to go through such efforts to search for him,” I said gently. I didn’t want to be bothersome.
“No, we can’t do that. He’ll kill us if we don’t inform him immediately!”
It was a bit disturbing to hear the word “kill.” I didn’t believe Denard to be that narrow-minded, but maybe he had changed after becoming the Knight Commander? Although, wouldn’t it have been better for him to gain their obedience through admiration rather than fear?
But it wasn’t like anything would change just because of my contemplations. After chasing out these ineffectual thoughts from my mind, I looked around without any particular target in mind. And came across the training ground.
Before Riley had set off for the Demon King’s territory, I had spent a long time there sparring with Riley during his sword practice. At first, it was only me against him. Then, several people had to band together with me. But even though our side outnumbered him, we ended up having more losses than wins.
Every time I personally witnessed the hero’s absurd capabilities, I was simply reminded of the cruelty of fate. And during those days, I could only grind my teeth and feel myself sink deep into the dark fusty mud, unable to extricate myself.
I hadn’t done anything to deserve Riley’s gratitude. I couldn’t do anything to protect the two children nor could I replace his role as the hero. Only cower next to Riley in the hell where he was trapped so miserably. I even had to be saved from that hell by Riley. Saved by his two words and accompanying brilliant smile.
Then I saw Denard jogging toward me. He said, “Kenneth! Can’t you give me a heads-up before coming to visit me?”
I raised one of my eyebrows. “I sent a letter to your home. But you didn’t go home at all, did you?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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…With the exception of one thing.
“Well? Have you finally decided to become my wife?”
I unconsciously smiled at his quip. “You’re still bad at making jokes, huh.”
Denard only fixed a serious, piercing gaze on me after my response. He had never stared at me like this before. He probably had something to say. Still, being watched like this made me uncomfortable, so I stared right back at him.
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
This continued for a while. Then he finally asked, “Hey Kenneth, did something happen?”
“I don’t know. But your face looks lighter now. Like you’ve been relieved of some of your burden.”
His guess was right on the mark, much to my surprise. This man might look carefree, but he was pretty observant. Well, I already knew beforehand that his compassion was the main reason for his popularity. However, my impression of him was different.
But I probably misunderstood him quite a bit since he always teased me with ‘wife this, wife that’ every time we met.
“You noticed it, huh. Amazing,” I said, appraising him anew.
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“Well, I’ve always been keeping my eye on you,” he responded smugly.
I chuckled. “You’re pretty caring, aren’t you? You’re even concerned about a guy who had already left the Knights’ Order.”
Looking at Denard, I was convinced that this country could stay peaceful. That it could remain stable even without relying on Riley. Which meant that nothing would hinder the freedom of those kids, who had finally achieved their happiness. However…
I glimpsed at Denard’s frowning face. Voice cautious, I said, “I have a small request.”
I had been pursuing a man all this time.
He was an eccentric man who joined the Knights’ Order even though he was born to a large noble family.
In a nutshell, he was an awkward man. He would train longer than anyone else in order to polish his swordsmanship and magic.
Other people would get envious every time he was promoted, resentfully claiming it was only because he was a noble. But what they didn’t see was that he would work himself harder with every promotion.
I can’t change my birth. So I can only convince them with my ability.”
And as he uttered those words, his straight back, seemingly always forging ahead with valiance, would forever be imprinted in my mind.
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I had no idea when exactly I had fallen in love with him, but since then, thoughts to swiftly catch up with him began to fill my mind. I worked hard even though I wasn’t in my nature to do so. But just when I was finally on par with him, he left me to search for the hero decreed by the oracle.
He had stayed in the countryside for two years before returning with the doll-like hero. However, he seemed to have changed. He was like another person altogether.
How many years had passed since then? I started proposing marriage to him after his return, so it was around sixteen years ago. In the beginning, astonishment would always appear on his face with my every proposal. After a while, refusal became instinctual to him. And now, he began to chuckle at my proposals, telling me I was bad at making jokes.
Just how many times had I been fascinated by his smiling face?
Even though he never took my proposals seriously, I was glad that I could at least make him laugh. Nevertheless…
What in the world happened to him?
The last time I met Kenneth, he didn’t act out of the norm. He was smoking his pipe with downcast eyes, melancholy coiling his entire being.
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
But now, it was different. I never expected to see his soft smile again. When it had been so long that I thought it to be a relic of the past.
I slowly made some speculations while pretending to listen to how the hero was doing right now. The only thing Kenneth burdened himself with was what had happened in that village. Since he was talking about the hero, I was sure that it was related to that matter.
But why did he look relieved now? Because the hero finally had his revenge? No, I had seen him once after their team’s triumphal return. And he still had a heavy aura around him.
Sure enough, I still didn’t know the entire story.
“So I was thinking of creating an environment where they can live peacefully… are you listening to me?”
Ah, looks like he had noticed my preoccupation.
“Ah, yeah. It’ll be nice if Kenneth can become my wife.”
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“I’m serious right now, Denard.”
Kenneth widened his eyes at that, face growing slightly puzzled. Then a frown overtook his face. It seemed like he was seriously pondering something.
I thought he would brush it off as a joke, like usual. What was this reaction? Seriously, what happened to Kenneth?
“I’ve long given up on my noble title, though.”
Affronted, I said, “Hey! Do you think I’ve been proposing because I wanted to become a noble?!”
“Not at all. But I don’t understand your goal in doing so.”
“My goal?! Of course my goal is to get married to you!”
“…I see. But same-sex marriage isn’t legal in this country.”
“And if I made it legal, would you agree to marry me?!”
What’s with that ‘hm’?! Why was he thinking about legal issues instead of responding to my proposal? He was focusing on the wrong thing! I had known him for thirty years, but I still couldn’t understand his general thought process even until now.
“I understand. Then let’s get married.”
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“If you can legalize marriage between us, then let’s be the first same-sex couple. I’m not sure what I should do as a wife, but I’ll take on my responsibilities to the best of my ability. Is that alright?”
“Thank you. I wouldn’t have been able to think of this alone,” said Kenneth as he extended his right hand, a bright smile spreading across his lips.
However, not a hint of passion could be seen on his face.
…Did this happen because I worded my proposal badly, or because Kenneth was dull? He seemed to think of my hundreds of proposals as mere jokes and my most recent one as a scheme.
The easiest way to ensure a peaceful life for the hero was to legalize same-sex marriage. That line of thought wasn’t wrong at all. And if there was an actual record of marriage after its legalization, the effect would be magnified. Both of us were certainly perfect candidates for that. Our names were quite well-known in this country after all.
…So that was why he thanked me. Why he said it was impossible for him to come up with it all on his own.
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That had never been in my considerations, okay!
…What about the fact that I had been constantly proposing to him for sixteen years? Did he still not realize my feelings for him?! Also, what was with his “let’s get married if you can legalize it”? So he was willing to marry anyone so long as they fulfil that condition?!
Damn it, this wasn’t funny at all!
I accepted his handshake, secretly grinding my teeth with frustration. The order of things had become very weird, but now that it had already come to this, I should be the one on top.
Oh, I would marry him alright. I was also going to complete my marital duties with him as my wife, and vent all of my long-standing emotions. I would definitely make him regret deciding on our marriage so flippantly!
As my eyes rested on the smiling Kenneth, I forced a smile on my face to match him.
Hello everyone! Sorry for the late release. I kind of losing motivation in translating this novel (hahaha… *nervous laugh*, am I being too honest?), so last extra will come out a bit late again. It’s so long too, making me even lazier.
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