Reasons to Protect the Witch's Son

“I heard about what happened last night, that assassins appeared.”

News about what had happened last night had reached the knights already. Ash didn’t bother to hide the face that there had been another assassination attempt, but he also didn’t go out of his way to make it public. However, assassination attempts happened frequently, no one was really all that surprised.

Still, the knights said hello to her and thanked her for her hard work. After greeting the knights, she pointed to the bulletin board and asked Cezanne what all the commotion was about.

“What are you all looking at here?”

The bulletin board was difficult to see at the moment, obscured by the large number of articles posted on it. Cezanne answered pointing back at the board.

“Oh, that one. The training camp schedule has been announced.”

“Training camp?”

The Knights of Philres conducted a training camp immediately after the entrance examinations every year. The purpose was to help the newly joined knights adapt and build a bond within the order.

She knew that all new knights had to participate in the training camp, but didn’t know when, since the schedule had yet to be posted.

“When is it?”

“February 22^nd. There are only a few days until then.”

“Is that so. Was it 3 days and 2 nights?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Speaking of the joint training…”

Cezanne said snapping his fingers as if he had thought of something.

“Did you know there is a festival in March?”

“All of a sudden? What kind of festival is it?”

“It is a festival held every year in Killiard called the Butterfly Festival. Its pretty famous, there will be a lot of tourists present as well.”

It was a festival that did not exist 20 years ago. To begin with, Killiard was not in a position to hold a festival or anything like that at the time. It seems like the festival had originated during the time of Ash’s reign.

Cezanne wrapped his arm around the shoulders of a nearby night with light brown hair and pulled him towards them.

”Um, what are you doing?”

Able, who was suddenly singled out, groaned. Cezanne had paid no mind and continued to speak.

“Once training camp is over, it will soon be March. Let’s invite Able and the other new recruits to go out together. It’s a long-awaited festival, so let’s enjoy it. Able, are you going to come with us?”

Able was a newcomer like them, and the same age as Cezanne. He looked confused for a moment, but then his eyes lit up and he agreed.

“Oh, you’re talking about that festival, that’s right. Dame Elaine, you should definitely join too!”

“Uh, I…”

She reflexively opened her mouth, and then stopped. Hesitating for a moment as if thinking about something, she then asked.

“When is the festival held?”

“From the second to third week of March.”

After hearing Cezanne’s answer, Elaine looked worried for a moment. Cezanne narrowed his eyes.

“You’re not thinking of only working then, are you?”

Elaine smiled vaguely.

“Let me think about it. Anyway, thanks for letting me know.”

“Let me know if you decide to join us. The festival lasts for quite a while.”

“All right.”

She then walked away with a promise to consider it. She was lost in thought as she walked from the headquarters to the mansion.

She had planned to go on vacation as soon as March came around. She was going to leave for about two days to possibly a week. Now that she had adapted to her job of being an escort knight, it was time to begin investigating the magic circle. The sooner Bella’s name was cleared, the sooner Ash could live in peace.

The assassination attempts last night and the incident with the old man were all caused by people who held a grudge against Bella, because they thought that Bella was the one behind the Seveka incident. Everyone was taking out their anger and frustration on Ash, Bella’s child.

Because of this, investigating the magic circle was important. Even if she didn’t want to leave his side, there was no choice.

But now there was a festival.

She pictured spending time with Ash at the festival and felt a tickle in her chest as she recalled past festivals spent with him.

‘…I need to go as soon as possible. Before the festival.’

Lost in thought, she arrived in front of Ash’s office. She had to get the keys to her new room before she was able to unpack. Ash had the keys.

She knocked on the door then went inside, but there was no one there. She thought she might have arrived to early, but considering she had stopped to have a conversation with Cezanne and Able, that wasn’t the case. She felt puzzled, but thinking he would be there soon, she waited.

‘He’s late today.’

She listened outside the door as time passed, but couldn’t hear anyone approaching.

‘What’s going on?”

She had been observing Ash since becoming an escort knight and noticed how diligent he was. Even though he went out every morning for training, he always returned to the office on time, it was unusual for him not to be punctual.

Today, he was strangely late. After waiting for a while, she glanced at the clock. It had already been a considerable amount of time. In the end, she decided to go looking for him. She left the office and started walking toward Ash’s room.

When she arrived at the door, she stretched out her hand to knock, but finding the door slightly ajar, paused.

Ash was late, and the door was left open.

She remembered the scenes from the night before. The trained assassins, burned corpse, a hallway filled with blood.

No way, during a night when she wasn’t around again?

She suddenly felt anxious. Without stopping to think, she pushed the door opened and ran inside.

“Ash!”

And Elaine witnessed a sight she never could have imagined.