Chapter 268: A Knight's Dream
Although Armand had been told by Carle, “You should take a proper rest now,” just a few days later, he went back to the knights’ headquarters anyway, like an old man who suddenly retires and has nothing to do, so he returns to work as a contractor.
Armand felt that after resting these past few days, his body had recovered a lot. He hadn’t had a fever at night, and his stomach pains were gone.
The knights, who were being pushed hard by Carle’s extra training, were filled with joy and almost cried when they saw Armand return. For them, his arrival felt like a savior had come. They could finally catch their breath.
Armand didn’t disappoint them. After listening to all their complaints about Carle’s training, he gave them permission to take a break.
But, of course, Armand wasn’t the type of captain to let his knights slack off for nothing. The break was allowed, but he warned them. At the end of the month, there would be an assessment. If they didn’t pass, the next training would be even tougher than now.
Still, for now, the knights could relax a little.
“Carle—huh? Salana?”
Armand walked to his office, thinking Carle would still be inside working. He opened the door casually, planning to say hi. But instead of Carle, he saw his daughter, Salana, sitting on the sofa.
“Ah! Uncle Armand!”
Salana stood up politely when she saw him, then copied the knights’ salute. Although it wasn’t quite right, it looked very cute.
“It’s okay, sit down, little one. What brings you here?”
Seeing such a well-behaved and adorable child would put anyone in a good mood. Armand sat down across from her, clearly interested in this rare “guest” at the knight order.
“Dad brought me here! He said I could visit the knights’ headquarters. There are so many cool big brothers and sisters here, just like the knights in fairy tales! They’re so awesome!”
It was clear the knight order matched Salana’s taste. As she talked about what she saw, her eyes sparkled with excitement.
“So, it looks like you’re really interested in knights?”
“Of course!”
Salana nodded happily in front of Armand, the highest commander of the order. “I love this place! I want to be a knight when I grow up—!”
“—It’s not that simple. Being a knight is really tough work.”
Just as Salana proudly shouted her dream, Carle walked in from outside, holding a tray filled with cute, nicely-shaped cakes.
These lovely little desserts clearly weren’t made by the knight order’s kitchen, but they also didn’t look like something you could just buy anywhere. Most likely, Carle had baked them himself just now. The fresh smell of the cakes made that even more obvious.
But Armand’s focus wasn’t on the cakes, it was on Carle’s hairstyle.
Ever since they first met, Carle had always had long hair. Back then, he kept it short and neat, and with his clean and refined face, he looked just like a young master from a rich family. In his early twenties, he looked much younger than he did now in his thirties.
After getting married and having Salana, Carle became Armand’s vice-captain and didn’t go to battle as often. That’s when he started letting his hair grow longer.
Armand sometimes teased him, saying, “Isn’t long hair annoying?”
But Carle would always reply, “You just don’t understand.”
Today, Carle’s hair looked a bit messy.
Normally, he wore it in a high ponytail, but today it was lower, and instead of a regular ponytail, he had a braid. Or more precisely, a very messy braid. One look and you could tell it was done by someone who wasn’t very good at it.
With that in mind, Armand naturally glanced over at Salana, who was happily eating the cakes her father had baked.
"My daughter braided it for me. Not bad, right?"
Noticing Armand’s gaze, Carle proudly shook the braid behind his head. That proud “dad energy” could no longer be hidden by his usually expressionless face. He looked like he couldn't wait to buy tomorrow’s newspaper headline just to tell the whole world that his daughter had made him an amazing braid.
After all, the main reason Carle kept his hair long was so Salana could use it for “practice.” He had bragged about it to Armand before very proudly. He had even told Armand to hurry up and settle down and have a daughter too.
Armand still remembered when he jokingly said, “I’ll have a son who’ll steal your daughter away,” and how terrifying Carle’s expression had been at the time. It was like their ten-year friendship was about to end just because of that one joke.
“You’re hopeless...”
Armand sighed and shook his head at how much of a “daughter-obsessed dad” Carle was. He accepted the cup of tea Carle handed him.
“But seriously, from what you said earlier… are you not planning to let Salana become a knight?”
“Not exactly.”
Carle sat down next to Salana on the couch, reached out, and picked up the little girl who was busy munching on a freshly made strawberry cake.
“It’s just that being a knight is really hard. If she really wants to be one, I’ll test her skills properly, just like we do with the official knight exams.”
“Don’t worry, Dad! I’ll be an amazing knight!”
As soon as the topic of knights came up, Salana perked up. She looked up at her dad with sparkling eyes, full of confidence.
“Yes, yes, I know, I know. But first, you’ve got to grow up a little more.”
The usually strict and serious Carle, who was so tough with the knights, couldn’t bring himself to say no to his daughter. He gently wiped the cake crumbs from the corner of her mouth.
Actually, the knights kind of helped make this visit happen.
Since Armand had gone off to war the year before, Carle had taken over the knight order in his place. Over time, the more experienced knights had figured out Carle’s personality. If his daughter Salana came to visit, it would definitely be a good day.
So, in order to get a break, they had encouraged their vice-captain to bring his daughter to visit the knights’ headquarters, calling it a great way for her to “learn what her dad does at work.”
Clearly, the plan worked. Carle was a lot softer than usual today. Instead of constantly chasing after the knights, he focused on spending time with his daughter.
“If it doesn’t work out, she could always take a clerical job. That’d be a bit easier.”
“Clerical?” Carle raised an eyebrow at Armand. “Are you saying I have it easy because I’m a desk job now?”
“Uh... well...”
As soon as he said it, Armand looked away awkwardly, avoiding Carle’s slightly annoyed stare.
Sure, Carle was technically a desk job now. But because they were close, Armand often relied on him for all kinds of things. And to be honest, Carle probably didn’t have a very “easy” time at work because of Armand.
“It’s okay, Dad! I’m sure I’ll become a strong knight! You’re super awesome too! I’m your daughter, there’s no way I’d be weak!”
“Yes, yes—my little Salana is the strongest.”
Even the toughest heart can’t resist a cute daughter’s sweet words. Carle gave in immediately, and the two of them started playing and joking around.
Armand leaned back on the sofa, sneakily eating the cake that Carle had made for his daughter. Watching the happy scene between father and daughter, he couldn’t help but think back to his own childhood.
Both his father and mother had been knights. Growing up in a household like that, of course he had once dreamed, while being held in their arms, of becoming a strong and excellent knight himself.
...Have I really become someone worthy of being called a “knight”? Can I truly carry that title...?
“......”
Maybe because he was thinking about the past, or maybe because of the cheerful conversation between Carle and Salana, Armand felt like his thoughts and spirit were slowly drifting away.
His mind became foggy, and before long, everything turned blank. The sounds around him grew quieter and quieter. Until everything went completely silent, as if the world had just paused.
“......”
“......”
“......”
But that feeling didn’t last long.
When Armand’s consciousness came back, the silence was gone, and the noise returned. That short moment of peace hadn’t brought him any real rest. Instead, once he became aware again, he just felt even more mentally exhausted.
...Did I fall asleep?
He moved his stiff neck a little and slowly opened his eyes, still feeling groggy.
“Ah! Uncle Armand, you’re awake!”
Salana was now sitting across from him, holding a comic book with cute little drawings.
“...Salana?”
It was like his brain hadn’t caught up yet. He looked at the little girl in front of him, full of confusion.
“...Why are you... here…”
He paused mid-sentence, looked around the room, and muttered to himself.
“...The knights’ headquarters?”
Armand’s first reaction was “Why is Salana here?” and the second was “Why am I here?”
“Still half-asleep?”
Carle’s voice came from nearby. Armand turned to look and saw him sitting at his desk, working on paperwork.
“...?”
Armand rubbed his eyes, frowning with confusion.
“I told you to rest properly before coming back to the knight order. Look at you, you’ve barely said a few words and already fell asleep.”
“...Really?”
Am I still not fully recovered...?
Even though the poisoning had been a bit more serious this time, he had taken more medicine than before. It shouldn’t still be affecting him like this...
And what’s going on with me now? When did I even come here? When did I fall asleep?
It felt familiar... Didn’t something like this happen before?
Last time, when he came back to his senses, he was already on the sofa in Rachel’s room, holding her in his arms...
Could this be a side effect from taking too much medicine because I wanted to recover quickly? After all, that medicine does cause drowsiness... Could I have sleepwalked?
“Oh right, Armand, don’t forget about next week’s meeting.”
“Hm?”
Armand responded instinctively when he heard Carle speak.
“I just said, next week’s royal meeting. Same as always, you just need to show up, sit there, and make an appearance. How could you forget after just half an hour of sleep? You really should go home and rest.”
“...Ah. Yeah.”
Armand nodded slowly, then looked down at the cup of tea in front of him. It had already gone cold. He rubbed his forehead with a sigh.
...Ugh, this is so annoying...