BGFV Chapter 76

Chapter 76

“Goodness, Lord Luciard! You’ve returned!”

Derrick greeted him with more surprise than when he saw Hestia.

Although Luciard was taken aback by Derrick’s enthusiastic embrace, he couldn’t help but smile at the man’s familiar warmth, which hadn’t changed since they last met.

“But… does this mean…” Derrick couldn’t finish his sentence, and Luciard’s expression turned somber.

“Yes, I heard the tragic news a bit late and rushed back.”

“I see… But it’s a relief that you’ve returned. When did you come back?”

“It’s been about a week since I arrived.”

“A week! Already a week?” Derrick exclaimed with a laugh, but his gaze slowly shifted toward Hestia.

Derrick rarely got angry at Hestia—counting on one hand the times he had ever scolded her. He was the type to laugh things off, and he was an extremely doting father. But now, his eyes seemed to convey multiple unspoken questions, like, “A whole week, and you didn’t even mention it?”

Hestia, who had ignored her family’s letters and didn’t notify them of Luciard’s return, found herself unable to come up with an excuse. So she fell silent.

Sensing the tension, Gallian stepped in. “Since Lady Hestia’s family has arrived, let’s all head inside, shall we?”

With everyone nodding, they entered the estate.

****

“Huff… Huff…”

Heavy breathing echoed through the hall as the sound of small footsteps rapidly approached. Mercenaries followed behind, trying to keep up with the small figure darting ahead of them.

“My lord, you’ll fall if you keep running like that!”

“He still has so much energy after all that playing.”

“What did he hear to make him run so fast?”

“I don’t know. Someone’s here, they said?”

Leonhard had been playing in the garden with the mercenaries. For the past week, the mercenaries had spent their breaks playing with Leonhard, who had eagerly looked forward to those moments.

While they were having fun, a maid delivered some news to Leonhard, and without a word, he bolted.

‘They’ve arrived! Hestia’s family is here!’

Panting, Leonhard finally reached at the door and flung it open, and found the room filled with people. He recognized all but one, but especially…

“Eric!”

“My lord!”

His first-ever friend was there.

The two boys laughed and jumped around in excitement.

“You’re so fast, my lord… Oh?”

The mercenaries, who had just caught up, paused upon seeing the unfamiliar noble figures in the room.

Had they walked into the wrong place?

“These are the mercenaries I mentioned earlier,” Luciard said. Hearing that, the middle-aged couple sitting across from him smiled.

“Ah, I see. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Derrick said.

“Uh, yes…”

Lavio, realizing where he was, quickly straightened up at Hestia’s signal and bowed respectfully.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Lavio, vice-captain of the Blaze Mercenary Corps.”

“Haha, no wonder you’re the vice-captain. You’ve got a strong build. I’m Derrick Frost.”

‘Frost…?’ Lavio thought.

“I’m Hestia’s father,” Derrick continued.

“And I’m Anna Frost. It’s lovely to meet you,” Anna added.

Realizing these were Hestia’s parents, Lavio politely shook their hands and exchanged greetings. Hestia then introduced her parents to the others and Melvin one by one.

“You followed Leonhard here, I see?” Hestia asked.

“Yeah, the young lord suddenly ran off, so I figured he wanted to meet his friend,” Lavio explained.

Leonhard was now happily chatting with Eric and Annie, smiling ear to ear.

The room quickly became lively, with everyone talking in small groups, making it noisier than before.

“Ahem.”

Derrick cleared his throat softly and gave Anna a glance.

Understanding his unspoken cue, Anna rose and approached the children.

“Kids, how about we go play outside? You too, my lord?” she asked.

“Yes! Eric, let’s go to the playroom! Hestia bought tons of new toys last time.”

“Sounds fun! Let’s go, big sister!”

“All right, but don’t drag me like that.”

Leonhard grabbed Eric’s hand, and Eric grabbed Annie’s, forming a small train of children that marched out of the room.

Watching them leave, Elvin sighed deeply as Anna placed a hand on his shoulder.

“All right, all right, I’m going. You probably have some adult stuff to talk about, right?”

“That’s right. We’ll have time to catch up later, so we’ll finish our conversation then.”

“It’s not like I wanted to talk to her or anything…” Elvin grumbled as he followed Anna out, and Lavio pushed the other mercenaries out as well.

“I’ll go prepare tea,” Gallian said, excusing himself.

Now, only Derrick, Melvin, Hestia, Luciard, and Lavio remained in the room.

“Now that the children are gone, shall we continue our conversation?” Derrick suggested.

Up until now, they had only exchanged pleasantries and brief updates on Luciard’s whereabouts.

“You mentioned you’ve been traveling abroad for two years, Lord Luciard. Have you settled at the duke’s residence now?”

“Yes, I have. Now that Leonhard is the only one left, I can’t roam around like before.”

“And the Blaze Mercenaries?”

“I’ve told them I won’t be able to accompany them anymore. For now, I’ve handed over the leadership to Lavio here…”

“We haven’t finalized our next plans yet, and it’s only been a week since we arrived, so we’re staying here for now.”

“They’ve been playing with the young lord every day,” Hestia added.

Derrick nodded, and Melvin, who had been quietly stroking his beard, muttered, “The Blaze Mercenaries… Weren’t they quite renowned during the Battle of the Paril Highlands half a year ago?”

Both Luciard and Lavio jumped in surprise, exchanging glances.

“Sir, how do you know about that?”

“That wasn’t even in the Fasthin Empire…”

“Haha, I’ve always been interested in the world’s affairs. Besides, that battle changed the course of the war. How could I not know?”

“Master here once received a medal from the imperial family as a renowned scholar,” Hestia whispered to the two. Luciard was secretly impressed by the unexpected connection.

“Hm, so there are no problems with the mercenary group, then,” Derrick said meaningfully, causing everyone to turn to him. A smile spread across his face.

“I’m relieved Lord Luciard has returned. Now Hestia can come back to Byron.”

At those words, both Hestia and Luciard stiffened.

“With Lord Luciard here, you’ll be able to guide the young lord and manage the ducal household splendidly, just as I remember you.”

“Haha, well…”

Lucidard gave a slightly awkward laugh.

“Hestia, now that Lord Luciard has returned, you should wrap things up here and return to Byron.”

“Dad, about that…”

“You said you signed a contract with the young lord on those terms, didn’t you? Of course, you’ll need to finish what you’re doing here and pass it along to Lord Luciard. He’s so capable, I’m sure he’ll take it all in order.”

Derrick seemed to have already decided that Hestia would hand over her responsibilities to Luciard and return to Byrpn.

After all, Derrick had always regretted letting Hestia leave Byron in the first place.

As Hestia hesitated, unsure of how to respond, Luciard spoke up first.

“My lord, I’m sorry, but we haven’t discussed that matter yet.”

“Hm? A week should’ve been more than enough time to talk about it, shouldn’t it?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“There have been a few things…,” Luciard added, exchanging an awkward glance with Hestia.

Derrick blinked, not understanding.

Finally, the two were forced to explain what had happened during that chaotic first meeting and the events of the past week.

***

Meanwhile, in the playroom, Leonhard asked Eric, “By the way, Eric, why are you here?”

Eric, playing with a wooden toy, tilted his head in thought before answering with a confused expression.

“I don’t know. Mom and Dad told me to pack, so I did.”

“We came to see my sister.”

Annie supplemented Eric’s lacking explanation.

“Oh! So you came to visit!”

“Well, that, and… they said something big happened here, so we needed to check if my sister is okay.”

“Really?”

“Did nothing happen here?”

“Nothing happened… Ah, could it be that?”

“That?”

As Annie and Eric tilted their heads in confusion, Leonhard let out a huff.

“That day Hestia was super cool!”

Leonhard remembered Count Humphrey’s rebellion incident like that.

“There were traitors in the public office, and Hestia caught them all and scolded them charismatically! She was super cool like Dad!”

“Wow~ Is that my sister?”

“Yeah, my sister is cool.”

Leonhard excitedly recounted what he had seen. The two younger siblings were naturally thrilled, and before long, Hestia became a knight on a white horse in their imaginations.

“I’m going to catch bad guys just like Sister Tia!”

“Me too, me too!”

Excited, Eric and Leon were swinging toy swords in the air.

A bit distanced, Elvin, who had been reading a book, closed it and asked Leonhard.

“Your Highness.”

“Yeah?”

“Earlier, there was a man with red hair. Was he perhaps Lord Luciard?”

“Uncle?”

“Your Highness’s uncle, right? The brother of the former duke.”

“Yeah, that’s right! Why do you ask?”

“Well… the other day, my parents said they hoped Lord Luciard would come soon.”

“Why does your family want Uncle to come?”

“Well, if Lord Luciard comes, then Sister will come back home.”

At those words, Leonhard stopped, recalling what had happened a few days earlier.

“Sister is coming home?!”

Meanwhile, the youngest, who was happy, had his eyes sparkling.

“It’s not decided yet. But if things go well, she might come back?”

“Wow! Sister is coming! I was so bored without her.”

“You were bored? Anyway, Sister is always busy and doesn’t play with us much.”

“But sometimes she takes me to town and buys me chocolate and candy.”

“What?! You! Mom said not to eat candy and chocolate!”

“No, that’s not true. Sister didn’t buy me anything.”

“I’ll tell Mom about you!”

“Noooo! Sister really didn’t buy me anything!”

As Annie stood up as if to find Anna, Eric pulled at the hem of her dress with a sad face, creating a commotion.

Elvin shook his head, clicking his tongue at the familiar scene he was witnessing at home.

Then he noticed Leonhard, who looked like he had lost everything.

“Hestia is leaving…?”

‘…Did I say something wrong?’

Wondering if he should comfort him, Elvin hesitated. seeing his nearly tearful expression.

‘I didn’t do anything.’

Knowing that if Hestia found out he had made the prince cry, it wouldn’t end with just a scolding, Elvin decided to keep quiet.

Ueeeeeeeng-!

The playroom was filled with the sound of Eric’s crying.