The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies - Chapter 131



130 – Richeza (02)

131.

“…Who are you?”

The sound of rain quietly echoed.

The main street had already turned dark.

In a rarely frequented alley, a voice that was both kind and wary was heard.

Kallen brushed Richeza’s cheek, then straightened up and answered nonchalantly.

“When you ask who someone is, isn’t it customary to introduce yourself first?”

“…”

A seemingly sarcastic tone.

Niden spoke deliberately, as if to be heard.

“I am Niden of the Marquis of Vivre. So, won’t you tell us who you are now?”

“I see.”

“Your introduction…”

“I don’t really want to tell you.”

“…”

Did I hear that wrong?

Niden tilted his head without realizing it.

It was true that Niden himself had been rude.

There was nothing wrong with the boy’s manners.

But no matter how wrong he was at first, he quickly introduced himself with proper etiquette.

He emphasized the word “Marquis” to intimidate, but this was a common power struggle among nobles.

However, the boy refused to introduce himself.

With a calm face, as if it was nothing.

Has he never heard of the Marquis of Vibrae?

That would be impossible.

The title of Marquis is not common.

Niden, who would soon become the Marquis of Vibrae, could not tolerate the boy’s disrespectful attitude.

“…Are you with that lady?”

“You can see that, can’t you?”

“Manners…”

“I don’t want to. Sinat said that a man who hits a woman is not even human.”

“…”

Who on earth is this Sinat?

Since earlier, Niden had been reaching his limit due to the boy’s incomprehensible words.

…Without knowing that it was the boy’s intention.

“Why did you hit her? Did the lady do something wrong?”

“…Lady?”

Niden relaxed his brows at the awkward title.

Nobles rarely use the term “lady” among themselves.

It is a term used by those of lower rank to address a noblewoman.

Realizing that Kallen was not such a great person, Niden relaxed.

“Haha. It seems there is some misunderstanding. I was just talking to her. I was worried that she might catch a cold if she stayed here.”

“That’s true.”

“…Right. So I suggested we go inside to warm up. Then she suddenly called me dirty.”

The boy seemed to have missed some of what happened.

Niden left out all the points that were unfavorable to him.

Even if the boy checked on the fallen lady, it was confusing.

Even if things escalated later, if there was nothing to prove, it wouldn’t be such a wrong statement.

In other words, there was nothing to lose.

Even if the boy attacked him, Niden was confident.

He had recently been praised by the family’s swordsmanship master, and the guy who called that lady “miss” wouldn’t dare to handle the Marquis of Vibrier’s family.

Niden approached Kallen with confident steps.

The boy’s cold expression didn’t change, which was a bit annoying.

“I understand that you’re uncomfortable because we’re companions. But I won’t apologize. The one who called me dirty first was your companion, and I just made a momentary mistake. Still…”

Niden glanced at Richeza in front of Kallen and spoke in a condescending manner.

“If you have any complaints, please formally report them to the family.”

Staring straight into Kallen’s eyes.

He didn’t like that his handsome face was close to the lady he had his eye on.

He was unlucky.

Thinking so, Niden turned his body.

There was nothing more to say, and seeing the lady disgracefully collapsed had somewhat relieved his anger.

So Niden tried to leave without hesitation.

And what stopped him was Kallen’s words.

“I never said I would let you go. Where do you think you’re going?”

“…”

To formally report to the family.

That was a reminder of the difference in status.

‘Do you think someone like you can turn your back on the Marquis of Vibrier’s family?’

He thought he understood because he was silent.

The boy never raised his words until the end.

Moreover, his words implied that Niden needed his permission to leave.

This crossed the line.

Thinking that he had to teach this ignorant guy his place, Niden turned his body and was about to answer Kallen.

“Ugh…?!”

Squeeze…!!

The boy moved so quickly that he couldn’t even follow with his eyes, and he grabbed Niden’s neck tightly.

“Ugh… Gah…!”

It happened in an instant.

Niden couldn’t understand what had happened to him.

The only clear thing was the pain choking his neck.

Thud…!

He was momentarily stunned by the unexpected force.

Niden was slammed hard against the wall.

“W-what is… this…! Gah…!”

He desperately tried to pull his hands away, but they wouldn’t budge.

The boy’s cold gaze was fixed on Niden, his grip on Niden’s neck unrelenting.

In the end, Niden could only scratch at Kallen’s arm pitifully, his feet pounding against the wall.

“This… kind of… act… Gah… will not… be… tolerated…”

“Protecting the lady.”

“W-what…”

“You asked earlier. Who am I?”

Niden’s mind grew increasingly hazy.

Suddenly, he remembered his question from a moment ago.

-Who are you?

But it was the boy who had refused to answer.

Unable to comprehend the contradiction, Niden scratched at Kallen’s hand with a dumbfounded expression, struggling.

“Ugh…!”

“Shall I ask the lady? My lady.”

Kallen turned and called out to Richeza, who looked at him with trembling eyes.

Her eyes were red, filled with sadness, as she gazed at the boy.

The girl…

Nodded.

“She says it’s true.”

“Ugh…”

“When a protector’s charge is attacked, should they stand idly by?”

“Gah…!”

As the struggle reached its peak, Kallen released his grip on the neck.

“Gah! Cough! Cough!”

Niden gasped for breath as he collapsed to the floor.

His eyes ached, and Niden genuinely thought he was going to die.

“Mistake… It was a mistake…!”

Niden, barely regaining his breath, looked up at Kallen with eyes full of resentment.

Yes, it was just a mistake.

He had only pushed lightly in anger at being called dirty.

The difference in strength between a man and a woman was the reason she ended up like that.

No one knew that he had first tried to violate her, that he had groped her body.

Niden shouted, clutching his neck.

Kallen tilted his head and squatted down to face Niden.

“It wasn’t a mistake.”

“…What?”

“It wasn’t a mistake. So if you have any complaints, come at me.”

He had gripped his neck hard enough to kill, and yet he claimed it wasn’t a mistake.

Niden couldn’t understand, but he couldn’t say anything more.

The boy’s expression was calm.

From beginning to end, that expression, chilling because of the rain, remained unchanged.

It was sincere.

The boy was genuinely confident.

Even after putting the heir of the Marquis of Vibrie in this state, he was confident he could handle it.

Above all, that strength.

The strength that held his neck without moving an inch was etched into Niden’s mind like a brand.

His breath was blocked to the limit.

No matter what he tried, he couldn’t resist that strength.

That fact remained in his mind like a brand, making Niden cower.

“The hand that pushed the lady. Is this it?”

“Ugh…!”

Kallen roughly grabbed Niden’s right arm, which was supporting him on the ground.

Niden, who had lost his balance, staggered and was helplessly lifted by Kallen.

“What, what are you trying to do…”

“I think if you’re uncomfortable for a while, you might reflect. That’s what I think.”

“Stop…”

Crack.

“Ah…aaah….!!”

Niden’s arm twisted in a direction it shouldn’t have.

An unpleasant scream echoed through the quiet street.

Niden, clutching his broken arm, rolled on the ground.

Kallen quietly watched the scene and said calmly,

“If you roll around there, you’ll catch a cold.”

“Ugh…”

Kallen tossed a gold coin, saying it was for the inn fee, and turned away without hesitation.

Breaking an arm should be enough punishment.

Kallen thought he was not good at this kind of thing.

It was the same when deciding the punishment for Beln and the others.

It was really hard to find the right price.

There was no intention to kill.

If you ask if what happened to Licheser was a crime worthy of death, it wouldn’t be.

It was just a sin that could not be forgiven by Licheser and Kallen themselves.

He made it so they couldn’t act recklessly.

He also broke an arm so it couldn’t be used for a while.

Isn’t this a pretty good education?

Kallen quickly shook off his thoughts and approached Licheser, who was still lying on the ground.

Licheser, with reddened eyes, was crying.

But he didn’t lower his head, as if he had witnessed everything that had just happened.

“It must have been hard to watch.”

“…”

“Can you walk?”

“…”

Nod, nod.

Riche lowered her head slightly and shook it.

Kallen quietly watched her, then took off his coat.

“Ugh…”

“You’ll collapse by tomorrow if you keep this up.”

Kallen’s coat was relatively intact.

It was slightly wet from the rain, but warm enough to preserve body heat.

He draped it over Riche.

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Riche slowly hugged the coat and curled up.

Then she whispered weakly, almost inaudibly.

“…Thank… you…”

“I couldn’t get a carriage. They said it was raining too much.”

“…”

“So…”

Kallen hesitated to say this.

It wasn’t intentional, but it was no different from what Niden had said.

“Tonight… we might have to stay at an inn.”

“…”

“Or I can drive the carriage myself…”

When Riche didn’t respond, Kallen naturally changed his words.

When he said he could drive the carriage.

Riche, clutching the coat tightly with one hand, looked at Kallen and grabbed his clothes.

“Let’s go…”

“…Are you sure?”

“…I’m fine…”

First, they needed to wash up.

They needed to check the wounds, and the biggest concern was Riche’s body.

The hand clutching the clothes was trembling violently.

There were no serious marks from Niden’s touch, but this level of trembling indicated another problem.

Returning to the family in this situation would be a heavy burden.

Kalen nodded and went to pick up Ricessa.

But Ricessa clung tightly—didn’t let go of Kalen.

“…Why… did you…lie…?”

“About the escort?”

“…Not…an escort…”

Ricessa was right.

Today, he’d only come out to meet Ricessa.

He wasn’t on duty as her escort.

It was just the only thing that came to mind.

And, it was what Kalen was best at.

Escorting young ladies.

So he’d acted as he always did.

“…No… Pretend you didn’t…hear it…”

When Kalen hesitated, Ricessa let go of Kalen’s clothes and spoke.

Kalen paused for a moment, then pulled Ricessa into his arms.

Her body was cold, like a hand.

Maybe from the cold, Ricessa pressed tightly against Kalen, as if searching for a place to lean on.

Kalen willingly offered his body as a place for her to lean, and headed towards the Ecclesia Inn.

The rain grew heavier, and Ricessa’s body curled up even more.

When the sound of someone worrying over fallen Nidden faded away,

*Hiss*, *hiss*.

Faint breaths reached his ear.