FVN Chapter 37
Chapter 37
"If you make Sera fall for you, I won’t forgive you."
"Um, I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you're saying at all."
Edmund raised his fur, giving the warning to the child with a dismissive look, blinking only once.
His eyes, sharp and almost threatening, were strangely soft and gentle in their gaze.
Ugh.
Looking into those eyes, Elodie felt a sudden awareness that she was needlessly tormenting an innocent person.
She awkwardly stepped back, unable to do anything else.
"Sera, don’t treat someone who came to help you like that."
Sera pulled Elodie into her embrace and let out a light sigh.
"I know that the young lord is perfect in every way, but rest assured, I will never fall for him."
Edmund, who had been rejected without even a confession, sat quietly, unsure of how to respond.
He kept fiddling with the sword handle, clearly wanting to escape this awkward situation and swing a sword instead.
Though they were in a carriage, so there was nowhere to run.
...They look like they don’t even care about each other.
Elodie had already expected this, but it still felt the same upon further reflection.
She stopped being unnecessarily sharp with him and slouched in Sera’s embrace.
"Hey, I have something to ask."
"Yes, anything."
"...Why are you so kind?"
"Me?"
Edmund, surprised by the unexpected question, furrowed his brow slightly and smiled, as if holding back his embarrassment.
"I'm not that kind."
His answer was flawless.
Normally, a kind person wouldn’t even realize they were kind because they would endlessly self-examine.
"Do you carry sunflower seeds with you?"
Elodie asked casually, genuinely curious if he still carried sunflower seeds like he did in his past life.
"Did the servants tell you?"
Edmund asked in surprise, wondering how she knew.
Instead of answering, Elodie shrugged nonchalantly.
"I don’t have them with me now."
"Why?"
"Actually, I used to carry them because I remembered Lady Ratson."
"Me?"
Elodie was taken aback.
She hadn’t expected her to be involved in this matter at all.
She had thought he simply had a peculiar fondness for feeding mice.
"Why? Couldn’t you find me because I’m the daughter of the High Priest?"
Was it because of the guilt of not fulfilling the family’s request?
Knowing Edmund’s sense of responsibility, Elodie asked, thinking he would feel guilty for not having found her.
"No, it’s not that... It’s because you were a child."
"...."
"I didn’t know you, but I hoped at least you wouldn’t starve in a foreign land."
"Edmond is a very dangerous person, just like you said."
"Mm..."
"Don’t follow him just because he gave you cookies. Don’t meet him alone either. Got it?"
Perfectly treated like a kidnapper.
Wait, wasn’t I the one who thought we should separate Edmund from Sera?
Why had it turned into Sera needing to keep an eye on Edmund?
Elodie had no idea why.
***
“Is it really okay for just the three of us to come without the knights...?”
It was an unnecessary worry.
By the time Sera and Elodie stepped into the mansion, the situation had already been completely settled.
Every time they moved deeper into the mansion, they found unconscious knights sprawled out everywhere.
It was as if a typhoon had passed through.
"S-Sera..."
The moment Edmund saw Sera, he pressed a finger down on Count Bluewood's shoulder to pin him in place, stopping him from getting up.
"Don't move without permission."
"Ugh..."
Count Bluewood, still kneeling, couldn’t move an inch.
He was shaking violently, looking utterly humiliated, unable to even make a proper resistance.
"Did you come to rescue me or not? How could you do this to your father?"
Surprisingly, it seemed like he had no idea what was going on.
Is it because they barged in suddenly?
They hadn’t come to the Bluewood family with any polite warning.
At most, they were just looking for a way to escape, without even the slightest remorse.
I didn’t expect him to be this oblivious, though.
Meanwhile, the Countess and her daughter, who were clearly the ones leading Sera’s abuse, stayed silent, doing nothing.
Count Bluewood begged.
"Isn’t that right, Sera? You’ve always been such a good, obedient daughter, haven’t you? Didn’t you leave to ask for leniency on our behalf, to beg for mercy?"
Wow...
Elodie was speechless.
She was honestly amazed.
How could someone be so self-centered, interpreting everything in a way that was favorable to them?
Before, he kept insisting that his daughter was nothing more than a servant.
Now, when it became unfavorable for him, he didn’t even blink before demanding that his child fulfill her duties as a daughter.
At this point, it was clear he had been born without the basic qualities a human should possess.
After placing Elodie down, Sera walked up to Count Bluewood.
"Leniency?"
She chuckled softly.
"Well, I was planning to show leniency."
"I knew it! ...But why is it that the young lord treats me like a criminal? Hurry up and tell him it’s all a misunderstanding."
"I just saved you from the brink of annihilation—if this isn't leniency, then what is it?"
"...What?"