The Story of a Middle-Aged Knight Who Tried to Live a Relaxed Slow Life in the Countryside, Only for a Duke's Daughter Whose Engagement Was Broken Off to Move in With Him

PURSUIT

Your gift will give me the strength to post the next chapter, the next story.

I'm sorry my father was hospitalized, he got infection in his stomach but really refuse to go to doctor unitl the very end. What a hectic weekend for me and my ma. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. I'll post more later if I have the time, gotta work now.

*****

When Cistilia and I returned to the estate, there was a familiar face standing in front of it.

In the stable, tied up next to Aisha, was another chestnut horse.

Granted, since the stable was originally built for just one horse, it was more like tied up right beside the stable than actually inside it.

「Well now, it sounds like you two went on quite the grand adventure.」

My former boss spoke with the same refreshing smile as always.

His fine, honey-colored hair had a bit of a wave to it, but if anything, that only added a soft charm to his handsome features.

His blue eyes looked back and forth between Cistilia and me.

「I heard you were invited to the dwarf village? I was worried something might have happened to you.」

「They gave us a warm welcome. As the local lord, I should report to you that we discussed coordinating patrols for monster countermeasures in the mountains.」

「Hmm. That sounds like a fine idea. However, if this is about drawing a border line between humans and dwarves...」

「There's no need to worry about that. We agreed that this is strictly for coordinating patrols, not determining territorial borders.」

I showed my boss the memorandum I brought back from the dwarves.

( ...Wait, he wasn't my boss anymore, was he? )

Though, as feudal lord and magistrate, I suppose we were still effectively superior and subordinate.

My former boss—Patrick—read through the memorandum once, then reread it a second time before speaking.

「Yes, as expected of you. You never miss a detail when it comes to things like this.」

「Thanks.」

「In the Order of Knights, your type is surprisingly indispensable. People who are eager for glorious achievements on the battlefield tend to neglect mundane tasks like paperwork and negotiations.」

「...I know that all too well.」

After all, I had suffered endlessly because of it.

No matter how much I told them to submit their paperwork by the deadline, so many of them simply never did.

In an order with frequent drills and exercises, just tracking down the right person was a chore in itself.

「It seems you are doing an impeccable job as a magistrate as well. Not just regarding the dwarves—the villagers speak very highly of you too. They say you are an unpretentious man who puts on no airs.」

Patrick spoke calmly.

However, his eyes were not smiling.

Patrick pulled a letter from inside his coat.

I recognized it.

It was the official reply I had sent back to the Knights Order's inquiry, stating that no such noble lady had come here.

「However, this is not good. You responded clearly in this letter that no such noble lady had come to Ascot Village.」

「Eh...」

At Patrick's words, Cistilia gasped beside me.

「Yet contrary to your statement, Cistilia was here. I could press charges against you for this. Of course, if I merely wished to relieve you of your duties as magistrate, there would be no need to go to the trouble of prosecuting you.」

「W-Wait, please! I came here entirely on my own accord—」

「Cistilia. I am well aware that you forced yourself upon him on your own initiative. Your maid kept her mouth shut to the very end, though. Unfortunately, a few of your friends were not quite as loyal to you as she was. It didn't take long to confirm that you had harbored feelings for a certain knight since you were young. Well, you did tell me back then that you had someone else in your heart.」

「I-It's all my fault... Lord Leonardo didn't do anything...」

Patrick held out the letter to Cistilia.

「It is hard to claim that Leonardo-kun is without fault. He should have reported to Ducal House Eldryuse the moment he took you under his protection. Despite that, he made no report whatsoever. On the contrary, he provided a false statement in response to the inquiry from the Knights Order. Based on circumstantial evidence, anyone would conclude that he was trying to protect his lover.」

「T-That's...」

As Cistilia looked down, Patrick gazed at her with eyes filled with complex emotions.

Patrick let out a soft sigh and looked at me.

「Personally, I don't wish to make a huge scene out of this. Leonardo-kun. Why don't the two of us talk this over one-on-one? We will decide what happens next after that.」

「Wait, please! Patrick, you broke off our engagement! So why did you go out of your way to search for me?! If you want revenge on me, please don't drag Lord Leonardo into this!」

To Cistilia, who spoke resolutely through her tears,

「...You really do love him, don't you?」

Patrick murmured, his face wearing an uncharacteristically dark expression.

Cistilia answered neither way.

If she said she loved me, Patrick might consider taking revenge on me.

If she said she didn't love me, he might question what right she had to care if I was punished.

「It irritates me to be misunderstood like this indefinitely. Let me make this clear: I loved you, Cistilia. I lost my temper back then, but once I calmed down, I realized I still wanted to continue our relationship. Duke Eldryuse has already agreed to annul the cancellation of our engagement.」

「Wha... That's so selfish!」

「If you ask me, the selfish one here is you, Cistilia. In fact, anyone other than you would say the exact same thing.」

At Patrick's words, Cistilia was left speechless.

I let out a sigh and spoke.

「...That's enough, isn't it? What reason do you have to go out of your way to say things that hurt Cistilia?」

「Hurt, you say? You say that, but wasn't I the one who was hurt the most by this entire ordeal?」

「...That is...」

「It's not as if I want revenge on either of you. However, as a noble, I intend to properly settle this entire mess once and for all.」

Just then, a woman dressed as a maid emerged from inside the mansion.

She appeared a few years older than Cistilia. She was a woman with distinct features and dark hair tied back in a braid.

「Maryse!」

Cistilia raised her voice.

「Milady!」

The maid rushed over to Cistilia.

「Thank goodness you are safe...」

「I'm so sorry for causing you so much worry.」

「Why didn't you tell me anything? Did you not trust me?」

「Of course that wasn't it! I knew that no matter how hard they questioned you, you would try to protect me. That's why I felt you couldn't know anything... I thought keeping you in the dark would at least protect your position...」

「She didn't say a word to the very end. Although I hear she comes from commoner origins, she is a fine maid. A few of your friends, however, were not quite as loyal to you as she was. Since you were the one choosing, I assumed it had to be a high-ranking noble, but I couldn't find anyone fitting that description at all.」

( I see. So the reason it took Patrick so long to find Cistilia was because he had been investigating high-ranking nobles who might be her elopement partner. )

Patrick looked at me and let out a sigh.

「To think it was you...」

「I'm more impressed you managed to track me down at all.」

If Cistilia had kept the identity of the person she harbored feelings for a secret, finding out it was me should have been next to impossible.

「I pieced together the anecdotes involving a 'knight' that Cistilia had shared with her friends. A ball held at the Ducal House of Eldryuse ten years ago. A court banquet nine years ago. The guide when she was brought into the royal court seven years ago. The funeral of the former Duke Eldryuse three years ago. I narrowed down the knights who could have possibly been present at every single one of those events. At first I tried searching among the regular knights, but there were no matches. Expanding the search to irregular knights, a single knight's name finally surfaced—a name I knew all too well: Leonardo Bacchus.」

( To pinpoint me using events that might not even have had written records... he did an impressive job. )

「At any rate, I want to talk with you first. Just so you know, you do not have the right to decline this request.」

「...I know.」

I nodded reluctantly.

*****

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