#100

At that moment, Ella gazed at me with a blank expression.

Her face looked as if she desperately wanted something from me.

As if I were the only one who could give it to her.

Overwhelmed by the intensity of her gaze, I, too, lost my words and simply stared back at her.

A moment later, Ella asked in a quiet voice, her sorrowful eyes trembling.

“Really…? Are you really saying that’s okay? But I… someone like me…”

At that moment, a crystal-clear tear slipped down her cheek. Her sky-blue eyes caught the light and shimmered, making me squint unconsciously.

Ugh, so bright.

I had been ambushed by sheer beauty without warning, and now I felt as if I were standing directly under the sun.

How could someone so kind and beautiful have ever deserved to be hit?

Recalling Isaac’s garbage behavior again, I shot him a silent glare. Then, gripping Ella’s hands firmly, I declared with confidence,

“It’s okay. So stop crying! If you keep crying, everyone’s going to think I made you cry.”

“Ah—”

Only then did Ella seem to realize she was crying. She hastily wiped her tears away with her tiny hands, offering a sheepish smile.

“Okay. I won’t cry anymore.”

“Good.”

“Really, I promise.”

“Mm. That’s a good girl.”

Even as I reassured her, I gently patted her head, watching as she struggled to completely stop crying.

Then, like a child, she burrowed into my arms again. Her small back trembled slightly as she whispered something rather admirable.

“I will protect you.”

“Hmm. From the looks of it, I think I should be the one protecting you.”

I mean, usually, people who promise to protect others don’t snuggle into their arms like this.

Hearing my teasing, Ella puffed out her cheeks in protest.

“No! Even if it costs me my insignificant life—!”

“Hey, no self-deprecation.”

“Ouch!”

I flicked her forehead lightly as punishment for speaking so negatively about herself again.

“Sorry… But I meant it.”

“Mm, I never said I didn’t believe you.”

“Hehe.”

Ella rubbed her reddened forehead but still grinned brightly.

It was strange how she could look so foolish yet oddly reliable at the same time.

* * *

Ella blankly stared at Cersia, who was at least a head shorter than her.

From the very first moment they met, this girl had been strangely kind to her.

“So stop being stubborn and just stay by my side.”

Hearing Cersia now outright declare that she would protect her made Ella’s heart tighten.

“It’s all because of me…”

Every time Cersia, completely unaware of the truth, treated her so well, Ella felt weighed down by guilt.

And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to let go of this warmth.

Throughout her life, kindness had always come with conditions. People were only ever good to her because they wanted something—only after forming an attachment did their affection seem genuine.

But Cersia was different.

Ella had done nothing for her, yet she treated her as if simply existing was enough to be worthy of love.

In the face of that unconditional warmth, Ella’s carefully built walls began to crumble.

“I will protect you.”

With all her heart.

Muttering the words like a vow, Ella smiled brightly.

Even if Cersia one day learned the truth and distanced herself.

Even if she ended up hating her.

Even then, Ella would protect her.

With a heart burning with emotions Cersia would never know, Ella burrowed deeper into her embrace—like a child clinging to a mother’s warmth.

In the time before her regression, Cersia had not existed.

That made her presence now all the more comforting.

For the first time since returning, Ella felt a sense of peace.

And it was all because of this tiny girl.

* * *

After the party, we immediately departed for Jabis Castle. But, as expected, Hebel wanted to hold me back for as long as possible, and this time, they tried to stall me by claiming they hadn’t been able to form an escorting knight order.

However, since I no longer had any reason to remain in Hebel, there was no need for me to accept such an excuse.

“Then I’ll just take Ella with me first. Send the rest of the personnel separately later.”

Perhaps due to my firm stance, even Naaman and Isaac had no choice but to allow it.

Thanks to that, we were able to depart for Jabis Castle without delay, with only a small number of escorts.

Originally, Rachel and Kiera were supposed to accompany us until we arrived at the Jabis territory, but their plans were thwarted due to the sudden arrival of a certain noble family’s envoy.

Apparently, the head of their house, Wilhelm, had already sent multiple messages ordering Rachel to return to the territory because of Erhardin.

Since she had blatantly ignored them, one of the house’s direct aides had personally come to take her away.

Just thinking of Rachel, who had cheerfully called out, “See you soon!” while wearing handcuffs, sent shivers down my spine.

Kiera, standing beside her, calmly put on her handcuffs as if she had expected this to happen—as if she was used to it.

And judging by the terrifying expression of the aide taking them away, it seemed unlikely that they would be stepping foot in Jabis territory anytime soon.

“I wonder what kind of person her grandfather is.”

From what I saw at the wedding, he seemed to be the quiet type.

Since I had never spoken with him properly, it was hard to get a read on him.

Even in the original story, he wasn’t a particularly prominent figure. It seemed that his strong dislike for Jabis was mostly influenced by Zakari.

“If I get the chance, I’d like to talk to him.”

Whenever I saw elderly people around my grandmother’s age, I always felt strangely warm inside and wanted to strike up a conversation.

It was while we were traveling in the carriage that I started to notice something.

For some reason, the scenery outside was growing gloomier.

Pointing out the window, I turned to Ella and asked,

“Where are we? This place looks really eerie.”

“We’ve left Hebel’s protected area. This is an ungoverned zone, so we need to be especially careful of raids. Abandoned beastmen often form gangs of bandits and attack travelers.”

“Really? Then why are we taking this route?”

If it was such a dangerous road, wouldn’t it be safer to take a detour, even if it meant arriving later?

At my question, Ella simply smiled.

“Because this is the most optimal route to Jabis territory.”

“But even if it’s the optimal route, if it’s dangerous—”

“Jabis has always traveled this way.”

“Ah.”

In that case, there was no reason to worry.

If this was a route they always took, then there was no way it would suddenly become a problem now.

It was probably a path that only Jabis could afford to take.

Most noble families would prioritize safety and choose a secure route to avoid the risk of raids, but Jabis wasn’t a family that followed common sense.

If anything, they had probably wiped out a few bandit groups in the past, finding them more of a nuisance than a threat.

The only reason they hadn’t exterminated all the bandits was likely because they found it too bothersome.

As I was feeling oddly reassured by Jabis’s lawless nature, Ella continued,

“Since the carriage has the Jabis emblem engraved on it, unless someone is completely insane, they wouldn’t dare try to—”

Before she could even finish her sentence, the carriage suddenly jolted and came to an abrupt stop.

Clunk!

Startled, Ella immediately transformed back into her rabbit form and leapt into my arms.

When beastmen experienced strong emotional distress, their human transformation often failed.

“Kkiing?”

Ella looked up at me, her wide rabbit eyes filled with confusion.

Now, with a small pink rabbit nestled in my arms, my heart pounded wildly.

Too… too cute!

Even in her beast form, Ella was absolutely adorable.

Her long ears twitched, and for a moment, I nearly lost all reason, tempted to shove her into my mouth and wah-lah-lah her out of sheer cuteness.

As I barely managed to contain my excitement while holding Ella, a loud metallic clang echoed from outside.

Just as I was about to lean toward the window to see what was happening, an arrogant voice rang out across the area.

“If you want to live, hand over everything you have. From now on, this carriage belongs to me.”

Looks like there were still some left.

A fool crazy enough to try stopping a carriage with the Jabis emblem.

Did they have a death wish or something?

 

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