ESL Chapter 2

Glug glug glug…

The sound of tea being poured into a teacup echoed unusually loud through the quiet house. The middle-aged handsome man who lifted the white teacup—plain yet luxurious-looking—gazed out the window and murmured.

“Time really flies… Has it already been 16 years…”

People around him called him Lark—a man with silver-gray hair and navy blue eyes. Lark wore a bitter smile as he shifted his gaze to the tea in his hand. It felt like just yesterday when he’d found a newborn baby, yet that child had already grown strong enough to no longer need his care—grown monstrously powerful, in fact.

No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that child now took care of him, he thought as he took a sip of tea. Even this roseberry tea he was drinking now was something that child had brought him.

Roseberry tea. A tea rumored to be difficult to obtain even among nobles. A tea that only nobles with considerable authority and wealth could acquire—the child had brought him a whole bottle simply because he enjoyed tea. Thanks to that, he could leisurely enjoy such luxury that even nobles savored.

‘Come to think of it, so much has happened…’

His gaze, having set down the teacup, turned once more toward the distant view beyond the window. His memories had already returned to the Veloa Forest from 16 years ago.

That day had been dark and gloomy, with drizzling rain falling steadily. Through that forest, he had walked powerlessly, letting the rain soak him completely as if he’d lost his mind. His entire body bore wounds from sword strikes here and there, yet he couldn’t even think of treating them. The betrayal of the two people he’d trusted most—his fiancée and his half-brother—had pushed him to the very brink of death.

With his subordinates’ help, he’d barely escaped death and tried to risk his life for revenge, but all he remembered was drinking tea given to him by Owen, who had been his right-hand man, and then losing consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he was already in the Veloa Forest. When he came to his senses, a single letter was clutched in his hand. And the contents of that letter shocked him once again. It was a letter written by Owen himself. His usually neat handwriting was scrawled hastily, as if indicating the urgency of the situation. It stated that his brother had already taken over the knight order and was desperately searching to kill him, that most of his subordinates had already lost their lives, and that Owen himself wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. At Owen’s final words—that even if reborn, he would become his right-hand man again—Lark wept and wailed with tears of blood.

He had been complacent. He had dismissed Owen’s warning to be careful of his fiancée when he was blinded by love. And the result of that had come back as the deaths of the people he cherished. The sense of betrayal and guilt pushed him, already in shock, into an abyss of despair. He wandered aimlessly through the forest, like someone searching for a place to die. If he hadn’t discovered the baby about to be devoured by wolves, he might have failed to keep Owen’s last request to live rather than die, and walked the path to death.

At first, he tried to turn away. He thought both the baby and himself were lives abandoned by heaven. But when the wolves began pouncing on the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, he found himself swinging his sword without realizing it. After pouring his accumulated anger and pain into his sword and swinging it madly, the pack of dozens of wolves all lay dead on the ground, their breath stopped.

Drip drip… The wolves’ blood covering his body was slowly washed away by the rain and fell to the ground. Standing there in a daze, he finally came to his senses at the sound of the baby’s giggling laughter. And he looked down at the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, being rained upon.

It was such a beautiful baby. The hair was black, reminiscent of a pitch-black night, and the large eyes framed by thick lashes looked like red jewels had been set in them. The skin was so white and translucent that it looked like a doll made of snow. Beautiful enough that one could imagine the baby would surely become a stunning beauty when grown.

But what shook him was the smile the baby showed him. Despite nearly being eaten by wolves, despite being rained on, the baby didn’t cry. The baby just smiled brightly, as if pleased with him looking down. Drawn by that smile, he picked up the baby, swaddling clothes and all.

“…Lea..?”

Three letters were embroidered on the swaddling clothes, but only the first two were clear—the last letter’s thread had come loose and was illegible. Since the swaddling clothes were soaking wet from the rain, he removed them and took off his own cloak to wrap the baby instead. When their eyes met, the baby reached out and grabbed his hair. And giggled again. Seeing that smile once more, he found himself pulling the baby tightly into his embrace without realizing it. Even knowing the baby could smile only because of not knowing anything, he felt pathetic. He was so ashamed of himself for trying to die after merely being betrayed, abandoning the request of his subordinates who had given their lives for him, when even this tiny life hadn’t given up on living.

I will survive with this child… I will somehow survive and return… He vowed this again and again. After escaping the Veloa Forest, he hid in a village located in the nearby Kingdom of Hamel. He removed and sold all the gold buttons, brooches, and decorations he’d used for adornment to arrange a new identity and name in the Kingdom of Hamel. He gave the baby the name Lea, just as it had been embroidered on the swaddling clothes. But the world was not easy for a man alone to survive while raising a baby.

Someone was needed to care for Lea. So he searched for a trustworthy nanny. Fortunately, whether Lea had been born with good fortune, the nanny he found had a kind heart and had just given birth not long ago, so she had plenty of milk. Under her care, Lea grew up healthy alongside her children. Meanwhile, he made quite a bit of money working as a mercenary and bounty hunter with his natural sword skills, and was able to secure a house to live in with Lea.

Lea was a child so pretty, smart, and spirited that anyone would be amazed. Because of her exceptionally beautiful appearance, worried that something might happen while he was away, he started having her exercise to build stamina and teaching her self-defense from the age of five. And he soon realized something amazing. Lea had exceptional athletic ability, but she especially had an aptitude for the sword. No, saying she had an aptitude wasn’t sufficient. It was no exaggeration to say she had innate genius for the sword. Having confirmed her talent, he generously passed on all his sword skills to her.

Growing up receiving systematic physical training and sword education from him, Lea amazed him by demonstrating the creation and handling of sword aura at age 16. Creating and handling sword aura meant she had already reached the level of Sword Master. From then on, he stopped worrying about her. Until then, worried just in case, he used to secretly follow her when she went to catch wanted criminals with bounties, but now he could leisurely wait for her like this while drinking tea.

“…Now I can really leave…”

He lifted the teacup to his mouth again. As he savored the aroma and was about to take another sip, a bang sounded as the door flew open as if it would break.

“Move quietly. I told you to maintain dignity at home.”

Without even turning around, Lark scolded her as he drank his tea. Lea’s face scrunched slightly, then she quietly closed the door. And as if nothing had happened, she walked over gracefully like a noble lady and sat facing him.

“Etiquette education wasn’t given for nothing. I don’t care what you do outside, but at least indoors, make it a habit to observe etiquette.”

“………”

“Answer.”

“……Yes.”

She feared nothing in the world, but Lark alone was the exception. To her, he was the parent who raised her, a friend, and the only person she could rely on. She existed because he was there, and she could become as strong as she was now because he was there. So she tried her best to listen to whatever Lark said. She learned etiquette and foreign languages because Lark said she should. Though she initially questioned why she, a commoner, had to learn such things, thanks to Lark, her etiquette was so perfect that even picky nobles would find it hard to find fault. She could also fluently use three languages including her native tongue. And it didn’t take long to realize that all the knowledge she learned was useful in life. To find hiding wanted criminals, she sometimes needed to disguise herself, and it was especially useful when disguising as a noble. Of course, if Lark knew her true thoughts, he would be quite angry that his intentions had been twisted.

“So what made you rush in like that?”

At Lark’s question, Lea bit her lower lip slightly, imperceptibly. Luciel’s information had surprisingly shaken her. The information he brought contained details about people who might be her parents. And he said they might not have abandoned her. But to confirm that truth, she needed to go see and judge for herself. It wasn’t that she suddenly wanted to find her birth parents, but the thought of wanting to confirm her roots was making her waver.

“…Where did you say you found me?”

At Lea’s question, which he’d heard several times before, Lark set down the teacup he was holding and answered indifferently as always.

“I found you in the Veloa Forest. I’ve told you several times already.”

“…Luciel said I might not have been abandoned. He said it seems like I was caught up in a deliberate crime…”

A deliberate crime… Lark’s handsome brow furrowed slightly. That meant someone had stolen Lea for some purpose and abandoned her in the Veloa Forest. In that case, Lea’s birth parents might still be searching for their missing daughter, or might have given up thinking she was dead.

“If that information broker said that, it could really be true. So you want to confirm it?”

“…I feel like I should at least know why I was in the Veloa Forest.”

Confirming the firm resolve in those enchanting red eyes that burned like flames, Lark smiled imperceptibly. This child would do well enough on her own. Now what was needed was his own determination.

“Lea.”

Lea flinched when Lark quietly called her name. Something felt different from usual. His voice somehow made her feel uneasy. And his words that followed matched her intuition.

“Do you remember what I told you before?”

“…………….”

“That when the day comes that you can protect yourself sufficiently, I too will leave to find my own path…”

“………………….”

Lea bit her lower lip slightly, imperceptibly. Of course she remembered. How could she not remember such important words? But she had tried to bury that memory deep in her heart. Because she couldn’t imagine Lark not being by her side. But now those words had become reality and appeared before her.

“…So you’re going?”

“Yes.”

“…If you go down that path, you might never be able to return. Will you still go?”

“Yes.”

Lea, who had been staring at Lark answering without the slightest hesitation, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. And when she opened her eyes again a moment later, not a trace of wavering remained on her face.

“Alright. I’ll respect Lark’s wishes.”

Lark, who felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment at her unexpectedly easy acceptance, froze at her next words.

“But you won’t be unable to return. Because I’ll make you come back. So don’t worry, Dad. Do what you want to do.”

Dad… That title, which he’d never once heard during all the time raising her, bound his body like a rope. Though he’d never forbidden its use, neither had he thought of being called by that title, nor had Lea thought to use it. Perhaps because they both knew they would inevitably have to part someday. But now, through the title “Dad,” she had made her intentions clear. And Lark, feeling her sincerity, couldn’t say anything for a while before forcing himself to speak.

“…Cheeky for a little brat…”

“Hmph. Who’s a little brat? Then Lark is an old geezer.”

“Who’s an old geezer?!”

“Who’s a little brat, then? Where is there a little brat this big?”

Smiles had returned to the faces of the two people bantering as usual.