The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

12 – Eliana (01)

013.

“Um…”

“…”

For seven years, she hadn’t stepped outside the room.

When Kallen heard those words, he could only imagine the suffocation.

He couldn’t grasp what it actually felt like.

In fact, who could?

It wasn’t entirely impossible, but very rare.

It wasn’t easy for an ordinary person to empathize with such an extreme situation of not stepping outside the room for seven years.

And now, Kallen could realize what that meant.

Meals, baths, the necessities of life.

It was only possible because it was Lakatus.

By embedding magic into magical tools, they could solve those things.

Even Emma, who occasionally kept her company, could barely last a few minutes to thirty minutes.

Seven years.

It wasn’t strange for the young lady trapped in the room to forget how to walk.

A body weakened by illness.

The unfamiliar movement of legs on the bed.

When Kallen announced the departure, she faltered as soon as she took a step from the bed.

Eliana was just blankly.

She sat down blankly, touching the floor.

As the reality of Winter Island approached, she was indeed excited.

When Kallen finally said it was time to leave, her heart even fluttered.

But to start like this.

She couldn’t muster any strength in her body.

Kallen quietly watched her,

“Excuse me.”

“…?”

He put his arm around Eliana’s waist.

With the other hand, he clasped her hand.

Eliana suddenly felt a tickling sensation on her skin.

At the same time, her body became lighter and started to float.

Eliana turned her head towards the flickering shape of Kalen’s face.

All she could see was a shadowy figure, but for some reason, she felt that Kalen was smiling.

“I used a simple spell.”

“…”

What Kalen used was a first-rank spell called ‘Lightweight.’

As a basic spell, it had no practical use in combat, but it was perfect for this situation.

It made Eliana’s already light body even lighter, causing her to float,

and Kalen controlled her body by attaching his hand to hers.

It created the appearance of walking.

Without Kalen, she would have collapsed to the ground immediately…

“…”

Eliana blinked her half-open eyes and wiggled her toes.

Her body was so light that she could move with very little effort.

Something she couldn’t even imagine doing since she fell ill.

“Shall we go?”

At the warm voice next to her, Eliana hesitated and nodded.

Creak-

The door of the room, which had been like a prison for its owner for seven years, opened.

*

“…Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“Not really.”

Eliana quickly realized that Kalen’s words were a lie.

His steps were as unnatural as possible, matching her pace,

and his hands, which supported her arms, were trembling slightly.

He had to maintain his concentration on the spell, so Kalen was using more focus than it seemed.

However, his voice was calm.

He acted as if it was nothing.

Eliana knew well that this was Kalen’s way of being considerate.

It must have been his choice to leave the mansion at this time on purpose.

Even if he didn’t discuss it with his now blurry-faced father, it was to avoid attention and any potential accidents.

However, all he could do was to entrust his body completely and become a burden.

Apart from the expectation of being able to visit Winter Island, a sense of guilt towards Kallen began to slowly rise.

But it would be tiring for him to keep hearing her apologies.

Thinking so, Eliana quietly entrusted her body and walked with her head down.

Although Kallen was supporting her, all she could see was the shadow that looked like her feet.

If she didn’t even see that, she felt like she would fall due to this unfamiliar feeling.

As she focused on her feet, the sensations she felt became more varied.

First, it was wood.

Then something hard like a stone.

Next, something natural like soil and grass.

“We’re going by carriage, miss.”

“Ah…”

The carriage couldn’t be brought inside the house.

So, was she outside now?

Eliana felt a bit sad about the surreal situation.

It was the garden she had been so curious about when she couldn’t come out of her room.

Even though she was in it now, she couldn’t know.

Not the scenery, not the feeling, not anything.

All she could feel was Kallen’s touch supporting her hand and waist.

As Eliana realized the situation her body was in, she became gradually anxious.

It felt like she was crossing the ocean relying only on the small boat called Kallen.

It was inevitable that her body got closer to Kallen.

“Miss…”

“…”

“Although it’s true that I have permission from the master for unavoidable contact, this much is…”

Eliana didn’t answer.

It was her way of expressing refusal.

As Kallen spent time with Eliana, he learned new things.

One of the facts was that she had a strange stubbornness typical of girls her age.

Eliana pretended not to hear and kept her mouth shut, meaning she wanted him to adjust to her.

Kallen sighed lightly, barely audible, and continued walking.

From outside the room to the mansion.

From inside the mansion to the outside.

Since they deliberately chose the early dawn, there was no one to encounter.

It was intentional, but being like this made it feel as if Eliana and he were the only two left in the world.

How long did they walk like that?

A carriage, not particularly splendid in appearance, came into view.

In fact, when a noble of the Lakatus level travels, it is standard to have dozens of attendants and to use a carriage that is nothing short of splendid.

Eliana was such a person.

However, that was a specially made carriage by Duke Everchan.

Since Kallen was the only escort, it was a determination to block as many variables as possible.

Whether the carriage was splendid or not.

There were pros and cons to both.

When Everchan and Kallen discussed the carriage, such talks often came up.

If they made it splendid, it would completely block the attacks of low-level thieves,

But it could attract the attention of high-level ones.

Conversely, if they made the exterior shabby, it would not attract the curiosity of high-ranking people, even if it attracted thieves.

The former was troublesome for Kallen.

At the point where he could handle second-level magic, ordinary thieves were not a match.

But if the opponent was a high-ranking noble, it would be troublesome.

Of course, he hid the fact that he could use second-level magic, but Duke Everchan’s opinion was the same.

Since Eliana’s condition was kept secret, it would be troublesome if a high-ranking noble who recognized the Lakatus crest on the carriage approached unnecessarily.

He was a father, but at the same time, he was the head of the family.

Apart from granting his daughter’s wish, he had to avoid anything that could be a weakness for the family.

Anyway, the carriage that was born through such discussions was that one.

Outwardly shabby, but the inside was completely covered with a bed for comfort.

It was the result of caring about Eliana’s condition during the journey to the north.

Kallen put Eliana inside the carriage and said.

“The amplifier is installed, so you can speak softly and I’ll still hear you. If anything happens, please tell me right away.”

“Kallen…?”

“If you’re sleepy, you can sleep. If you’re hungry, let me know. For your needs or washing, I’ve brought the magic tools you used, so you can easily find them by feeling around the side of the bed.”

“K-Kallen, you’re not beside me…?”

Eliana stammered, uncharacteristically, as she tried to meet Kallen’s eyes.

Kallen scratched his cheek and met her gaze.

“I have to drive the carriage.”

“…”

“The horse can’t go on its own.”

As Kallen finished speaking, Eliana’s eyes trembled.

Her lips quivered as if she had something to say, but she seemed to understand Kallen’s words.

When Kallen’s hand left hers, Eliana looked down at her now powerless body.

The body that had just been walking around the mansion and garden, now felt as weak as if it had been in a prison.

Eliana hurriedly groped for Kallen’s hand and spoke.

“If I speak from inside, can I hear you too, Kallen…?”

“Ah.”

Kallen made a face as if he had realized something.

He had been so focused on his role as Eliana’s ‘guard’ that he hadn’t considered the opposite situation.

“I’m sorry. But if you call me when we rest at night, I’ll come to your side.”

“…”

Eliana was not a fool.

She understood the meaning behind Kallen’s apology and his roundabout words.

Kallen confirmed Eliana’s slight nod and closed the carriage door.

Thus, the noble lady afflicted with an incurable disease and her guard began their journey north.

*

The journey north was not easy, to say the least.

After all, the territory of Lacatus is in the southeast of the Claire Empire.

The north is almost the exact opposite.

Considering the continental scale of the Claire Empire, it would take several weeks just to get there.

The only fortunate thing so far was that nothing significant had happened.

At least until the second week approached, a state of peace, if it could be called peace, continued.

However, Eliana was different.

At first, she seemed fine, but now she wouldn’t stop talking to Kalen.

Even though there was no response.

At night, when the carriage stopped, she had to have someone to talk to beside her,

And during the day, while driving the carriage, Eliana’s anxious voice echoed clearly.

Now, having passed a little over half of the continent, Eliana was surprised at herself.

Because she talked too much, she found herself repeating what she had said, and it made her so uneasy when Kalen wasn’t around.

She didn’t even like talking that much.

In fact, when she was alone in her room, she rarely spoke.

But somehow, she had come to enjoy talking to Kalen.

She had come to like sharing the emotions she felt.

Was it simply because Kalen filled the boring time?

Or was it because it was Kalen that she felt this way?

Eliana pondered this for a very long time, slowly, but she couldn’t figure it out.

“Miss!”

“Huh…! Ugh…!”

“Eliana!”

On a blood-soaked blanket.

Eliana, who seemed to be surrounded by a mana-like aura, was struggling and coughing up blood,

And Kalen was holding her, calming her so she wouldn’t hit the wall.

It was exactly three days before they arrived in the north.