WDPF Chapter 002

The Duke Encountered in the Forest (1)

 

For a moment, Ballen looked at the dazed child. He seemed confused and held out his hand.

“Are you all right?”

“….”

Elysia was startled by his gaze, which was locked directly on her eyes, and instinctively jumped to her feet.

“…….”

His hand, extended in mid-air, lost its purpose. Feeling embarrassed, he withdrew it and tucked it behind his back.

Despite standing up abruptly, the young girl remained silent.

“Could it be that you can not speak…?”

He trailed off, but Elisia slowly shook her head in understanding.

“Oh, no. I was just too surprised….”

Ballen nodded slightly. But it was not only Elysia who was surprised.

A young girl alone in the dark forest at this late hour…

Ballen glanced at the blanket sack lying next to the girl.

And to have popped out of that bundle, no less…

When Ballen was not away on expeditions, he often wandered around different parts of the empire. 

This time was no exception, as he ventured into the forest with minimal armament. 

Though he had explored every corner of the empire before, the ever-changing scenery and fragrance of the forest soothed his restless heart with each passing season.

The forest he entered was the one that held just the right balance of danger and tension, enough to keep him there for an extended period.

Deep in the forest, his face went unrecognised by women, and no journalists were shoving their cameras into his face or vying for his attention.

He enjoyed the scent of the deep night in the forest and the glimpses of the starry sky through the beautiful foliage.

The soft soil beneath his feet and the rough texture of grass helped him shed accumulated worries.

Whether he had something or nothing mattered little, and he found freedom in wandering.

While he pondered whether to gather firewood and start a fire or not, he leaned against a tree to rest briefly.

He sensed unfamiliar presences approaching from afar. In forests like these, anything other than his presence could be a threat, especially in a place like this.

One, two… three.

There were three of them.

Just three, that is fine.

They urgently drove their horses over, dismounted, and set something heavy on the ground. 

Then, they began to bicker among themselves. The dispute, though not particularly intense, and after a short while, they mounted their horses again and left along the path they had come from.

Even after they had disappeared, Ballen remained motionless, leaning against the tree. He did not care and was not curious about what they had left behind either.

In their conversation, parts like such a young child or time to wake up caught his attention slightly, but he dismissed them.

At worst, they are either already a corpse by now or about to become one soon.

In times like these, unidentified corpses dumped deep in the mountains are not all that unusual. Intending to rest for a moment, he quietly closed his eyes again.

At that moment, what the men had left behind, the corpse or what they thought would soon become a corpse, began to squirm.

Balne narrowed his eyes at the new presence. Soon, it made a rustling, noisy sound before quickly falling silent.

After a brief silence, a faint voice suddenly emerged.

“Puhah!”

“Hah! It was real?! I went back to age ten?!”

“…….”

I hated anything that bothered me.

Whether it was already a corpse or soon to become one, I could not say, but for it to return to life and speak is something that cannot be ignored, either morally or in good conscience.

I stood up and trudged towards the sound.

Trampling down the bothersome underbrush that blocked the way without a second thought, he sprang out toward the owner of that voice.

“Gasp?!”

She seemed pretty startled upon discovering him. Even Ballen was surprised by the sight of the young girl, who swallowed a cry and fell backwards.

Well, this is something.

Ballenn had witnessed countless wars and had seen the ruthless individuals who used children to strike at his neck many times.

Were it not for the knowledge that the child before him had arrived wrapped in a blanket, his sword might have already found its mark.

“I apologise for startling you. However, at this time, it seems that this may not be a place for someone of your age…”

His golden eyes stared down at Elysia intently.

A shudder ran down her spine at his gaze, and then Ballen slipped the cloak from his shoulders and carefully wrapped it around Elysia.

“Oh!”

She staggered under the unexpected weight.

The form became such that it was impossible to tell whether she was wearing the cloak or buried in it.

The first step was to build a fire. While Ballen was used to fighting on the battlefield and enduring the cold without fire, this young child seemed entirely unaccustomed to such hardships.

I gathered dry firewood and roughly lit a fire. The crackling sound of the dry firewood burning gently echoed through the quiet forest.

“So, you were a lady of the Count of Creed’s family.”

“Yes.”

“Then, what will you do now?”

“….”

As Elysia quietly watched the flickering campfire, he spoke to her.

She paused in thought, rose to her feet, dusted off the dirt clinging to her skirt, and adjusted her clothing.

But everything remained hidden beneath the weight of an oversized cloak, leaving her appearance plain and unremarkable.

Clearing her throat, Elysia began to speak.

“I apologise for the many impolite actions on our first meeting. I would be grateful if you could pretend that none of today ever happened.”

“You want me to pretend I did not see it?”

“Yes.”

He leaned against the tree trunk behind him and crossed his arms.

“Did you think I… was going to do something?”

“Ah, yes. That is correct.”

“….”

At her firm reply, Ballen was momentarily speechless.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered Cain, who had passionately pursued justice with fervent determination.

Perhaps because of that memory, Elysia wondered if Duke Ballen might act the same way.

That would be troublesome.

Ballen tilted his head to the side, slightly askew.

“Hmm… Are you saying I should demonstrate chivalry, investigate this matter thoroughly, and apprehend the culprit?”

“No, not to that extent.”

“Then why are you stopping me? If I step in and round them all up, would it not make things much easier for you in the future?”

He asked in a languid tone, and Elysia blinked her large eyes.

Cain, the crown prince, had been the same. He declared he would take control of the situation and use his imperial authority to arrest everyone.

But there had been no evidence.

In the Sephiran Empire, a person could only be accountable for a crime if there was irrefutable evidence and credible witnesses.

Without witnesses or evidence, mere suspicion was not good enough to accuse someone of a crime, especially if the perpetrator was royalty.

The person behind all this was highly skilled at protecting themselves.

Even if they pursued the matter now, it was clear that it would not affect that person in any way.

They would merely sacrifice some powerless scapegoats, cut their tails off and disappear without a trace.

“You will not be able to find any evidence.”

“…”

No other family in the Sephiran Empire could rival his intellect. And yet, this young lady, speaking of evidence, and he nearly laughed.

He quickly composed his expression and rubbed his forehead a few times.

How bothersome.

“Sigh.”

At his sigh, Elysia subtly lifted her blue eyes to look at his face.

He raised his head and met her gaze.

“Lady Elysia.”

“Yes.”

“I despise troublesome matters. Frankly, I would rather leave you behind and go my own way.”

Gulp.

Elysia swallowed dryly at the sudden premonition that he might abandon her.

With Crown Prince Cain absent from the current situation, being left alone would undoubtedly lead to her becoming the centrepiece of a feast for wild beasts.

Duke Ballen, renowned as the undefeated hero on the battlefield, was also shadowed by numerous unsavoury rumours.

One rumour claimed he was selfish and did not spare a single thought for others.

Of course, as someone who had been following his appearances in newspapers and collecting clippings about him, Elysia had never believed those rumours.

But just now, just a little, the tiniest bit.

She began to think that they might be true after all.

As she rolled her eyes in thought, his voice suddenly came to her again.

“Still, my conscience will not allow me to ignore this., I feel obligated to save your life. So, what would you like me to do?”

 

***

 

Throughout her twenty-nine regressions, Elysia had managed to survive until the age of ten, only to be kidnapped and abandoned more times than she could count on her fingers.

What a life, one where repeated learning has no effect. What is the point of sending me back if I do not retain my memories?

Each time, she could not go straight back to the Count’s estate where that person, the one who had tried to kill her, resided.

She was terrified of that person.

A few years ago, in the village of Plunkert, where her nanny Madeleine lived, the woman who had protected and raised her.

Madeleine had once swallowed poison in an attempt to protect Elysia. Though she barely managed to live, Elysia, who had loved Madeleine deeply, could no longer keep her by her side.

She feared that next time, Madeleine might really lose her life and leave her forever.

Still, why has Cain not shown up yet…?

When Ballen asked, What would you like me to do? She agonised over it for a long while.

Even though quite some time had passed, Cain still had not appeared. She could not afford to wait endlessly for those two to show up.

Now that she had returned,

It is my final regression. I tried to escape it all by hiding and running, but no matter what I did, death was always waiting at the end.

She had lived in hiding out of fear of dying. But this time, she could not waste the opportunity by doing the same thing again.

After much deliberation, she raised her head and looked straight into Ballen’s eyes.

For once, she resolved not to run away.

“Please take me to the Creed Count’s estate.”

Ballen’s eyes briefly widened in surprise at her unexpected request.

“…Hmm. That should not be difficult.”

It was clear to anyone that this incident was an internal affair orchestrated by the Creed Count’s household. Yet here she was, asking to go back there.

Are you going there to die again?

Ballen held back the last words that almost escaped as he looked into her determined gaze.