Chapter 129
Two horses galloped across the York Marquisate, their black and white manes fluttering in the wind.
‘Grant your heart to the black-clad heir, and respond to that heart.’
‘Please, for my sake, lend me Sepia’s power.’
When Dale spoke those words, Sepia nodded with her usual tender and gentle smile. As a teacher devoted to her disciple, and furthermore, as an elf mage who understood Dale’s world.
It was a kindness that seemed to embody the very benevolence of a goddess.
But now he understood. The crystal necklace jingling in Dale’s pocket, the truth Mistress Titania had revealed. The absolute love she displayed was, strictly speaking, not her own will. Not a single thing, from the very beginning.
Dale bit his lip softly.
“Why are you doing that?”
Just then, Sepia, riding beside Dale, asked anxiously.
“You don’t look well. Is there some disadvantage in the battle situation?”
“No, nothing like that.”
Dale forced a smile, trying not to show his true feelings. Sepia smiled as she usually did and continued.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
‘I’ll protect you.’
Charlotte’s voice came to mind without warning. The girl who, unaware that the man before her was the murderer of her hated father, did not hesitate to become the sword wielded for Dale.
That day, Dale’s will reached out to the child Charlotte, shaping her into who she is now. How was that act any different from the Blue Tower’s ‘schemes and lies’? In a sense, it was more insidious than the暗示 that moved Sepia.
