Chapter 19

EP.19 Personal Knight - 1

As soon as Aria opened her eyes in bed, she drew a breath.

"...sigh..."

With her breath, a deep fragrance filled her nose and lungs.

"Ha..."

She felt an inexplicable sense of comfort. It was a scent that was very familiar yet rarely encountered, making her feel nostalgic. This was...

"Leonardo...?"

Her eyes, which were only half-open, suddenly widened.

She realized who the owner of this scent was.

"...Me...! Why am I here...?!"

Aria threw off the blanket and got out of bed. She was sure she had been watching Leonardo wake up next to her.

And... she couldn't remember anything after that.

"...What happened..."

Knock knock

Someone knocked on the door in her daze.

"It's Lina. Can I come in?"

"...Huh?"

Though not a clear agreement, the lingering sleepiness in her body made it ambiguous enough.

"I thought you were sleeping in again. I came to wake you up... Did I interrupt something?"

In response to Lina's words, Aria answered with a slightly stiff mouth.

"No, it's just that I'm not fully awake yet."

"That's good. I'm relieved."

"Hey, where's Leonardo...? Where did he go?"

Lina looked out the window at the annex and replied.

"I'm not sure. But Master Leonardo is probably in the annex."

"Really...?"

Aria got up, blending her uneasy expression into a neutral one.

"Miss, would you like me to brush your hair? It's quite tangled."

"Ah, thanks."

Lina went behind Aria and started brushing her hair.

"Yesterday... where did Leonardo go?"

Aria asked Lina, who was brushing her hair from behind.

"Well... he left the room and went for a walk in the garden with the head of the household."

Aria's body twitched at the word "head of the household."

"...With Father...?"

"Yes, they were walking in the garden. They seemed to be talking..."

"Talking...?"

That night, there was only one topic worth discussing, even if he made time for it.

There was nothing else a mere retainer could talk about with the head of the household except for that matter.

"...What did they talk about...?"

"I don't know. I only saw them from a distance. But..."

Lina hesitated a bit. She was unsure if adding unnecessary details would be inappropriate.

"...Master Leonardo seemed to be crying. I saw his face on the way to the annex."

At that moment.

"...Crying...?"

Aria's expression turned serious.

It wasn't something that could be known just by looking at her serious face. Even Lina, who was behind her, could tell she was serious.

"...Yes?"

"Leonardo was crying...?"

The tone of her voice, her posture, and even the air around her were filled with a stern atmosphere, making it clear to anyone that Aria was serious.

"...That's... I'm not sure exactly..."

"Where is Leonardo now?"

Cutting off Lina's flustered response, Aria asked firmly. The cold anger in her voice was so intense that even innocent Lina felt a chill.

"...Probably in the annex..."

"I'll be back in a bit."

It wasn't a request for permission but more of a notification. She got up from the chair.

Though her hair wasn't completely neat, it didn't detract from her appearance.

She changed into her outdoor clothes with a speed and precision that seemed mechanical.

"I'll skip breakfast."

"Ah, I understand, Miss."

There was no time for a leisurely breakfast. Whatever her father had said, it had made Leonardo cry. It was unlikely to be something trivial.

'...He didn't kick him out, did he...?'

That couldn't happen. No matter what, she had to prevent that.

Even if it meant fighting with her father, she couldn't let Leonardo leave...

"Will you skip breakfast?"

"Ah, right now..."

At that moment, she couldn't help but pause.

There were two reasons for this.

The first was that the response wasn't from Lina. Neither the voice nor the direction matched Lina's.

And the second reason was

"Good morning, Miss Ariasphil."

The owner of that voice was the person Aria was about to meet.

"...Leonardo?"

"Yes, did you call for me?"

Leonardo smiled politely.

"...You... you didn't leave?"

"Leave where?"

"I mean... after talking with Father..."

"Ah, I also have something to tell you about that."

To the surprised Ariasphil, Leonardo knelt on one knee and spoke respectfully.

"Retainer Leonardo, following the order of the head of the household, Gladio Reinhardt, has become your personal knight."

"...Huh?"

Her surprised expression became even more distorted. But for some reason, the twisted expression looked like a smile.

***

"...So, during the walk, that was decided."

"Yes, but it's a decision made by the head of the household and me. If Miss Ariasphil refuses..."

"No!"

A firm and emotional exclamation.

Even Leonardo, who had been smiling naturally, was surprised and opened his eyes wide.

"...I, I'm fine! I don't mind if you become my personal knight! Uh!"

There was no reason to refuse.

In fact, it was something she had hoped for since Leonardo joined the household.

She could have welcomed him with open arms.

"Thank you."

"Then... what do we do now?"

She looked at Leonardo with a slightly hopeful expression. Of course, it was only 'slightly' hopeful, so the clueless Leonardo didn't notice.

"Basically, it follows Miss Ariasphil's plans and daily life. I'll accompany you nearby. Of course, if you want personal time, I won't accompany you."

While he was asking about that, he was actually asking about something else, but Leonardo's lack of perception didn't allow him to realize that.

"Let's go to the training ground."

"Is it okay to skip breakfast?"

"Yeah, I'm not hungry."

More than that, she was looking forward to training with Leonardo.

***

The training ground was as quiet as a desolate plain. Leonardo vaguely sensed that the cause was himself.

"Let's start then."

Leonardo began swinging his sword. It was the usual mana training technique, but it had become more refined in terms of technique.

"Got it!"

She also grabbed her sword and started the training technique. Aria also began to demonstrate a more sophisticated mana training technique.

[He really is a genius.]

<Would I have been jealous for no reason?>

The mana particles floating around were swirling towards Aria. Without Leonardo's level of skill, it would have been meaningless and overwhelming to practice mana near her.

[But who could have killed such a person?]

Leonardo's expression hardened at that.

It was just a casual remark. If he lacked perception, it was just that. If it was rude, it was just that. But Leonardo's expression was unusually stiff.

<...That...>

"Leonardo?"

Noticing his expression, Aria approached Leonardo.

"What's wrong? You don't look well."

"...I'm fine. I'm just not in the best condition."

"Then do you want to rest a bit?"

"No. Training clears my head."

At that, Aria seemed to agree and started training again, grabbing her sword.

[Did I say something harsh?]

<It's fine. You rarely hear nice things anyway.>

[...Yeah, yeah, I'm trash.]

<Trash? Even trash had its use once.>

[Want to get beaten?]

Leonardo relaxed his expression and swung his sword again.

"By the way, Leonardo."

Aria, who was also swinging her sword, asked.

"Who taught you martial arts?"

"Martial arts?"

"I've never seen anyone who can handle so many weapons. There's probably no one like that in the household."

Leonardo answered while swinging his sword from top to bottom.

"No one really taught me. I just used whatever was in my hands, and it turned out this way."

Learning various martial arts wasn't just to beat Aria.

Often, he couldn't afford weapons, and sometimes he had to use the opponent's weapon or objects around him as weapons.

"Over time, I naturally became proficient with more weapons."

Of course, a significant part of his development was due to Aria, but he couldn't say that yet.

"...Still, it's impressive. You learned all that on your own."

"Is it? Actually, my mother being a mercenary also played a big role."

Leonardo's mother was a well-known mercenary. People in the surrounding villages might not know the name of Leonardo's hometown, but they remembered his mother's name.

"That's impressive. I didn't know."

"It's natural you didn't. She wasn't famous nationwide."

"Then where is your mother? Is she far away?"

To that, Leonardo answered calmly.

"She's dead."

"...Dead...?"

His calm response changed Aria's expression.

"Probably around when I was 10, my mother didn't come home for about 3 months."

Leonardo's mother, as a mercenary, often traveled far.

When Leonardo was a baby, she didn't do that, but as he grew and learned to walk, she sometimes didn't return for weeks.

[How did you survive alone?]

<Well... the villagers helped a lot. When the gate opened, my mother often caught something, so it was a way to repay her.>

But if she didn't return for 3 months, it was reasonable to suspect she was dead.

"Still, you never knew. Maybe there was a reason..."

"No, my mother taught me to think that way."

"Hmm...?"

"A mercenary who doesn't return for about 3 months is probably dead. She told me to think that way if it happened."

People's reactions to this explanation varied. Aria's pupils were trembling, and the sage seemed shocked by the foreign culture, unable to continue speaking.

[That's too fast, isn't it?]

<She liked early education.>

After that, things were simple.

After building a grave for his mother, he thanked the villagers and left the village.

And that's how he got to where he is now.

"...T...That's... that's right."

"That's how it is."

"...Sorry, I shouldn't have asked..."

"It's okay. That's just how life is. And it wasn't all bad because of that."

"Then... were there good things too?"

Leonardo smiled and said.

"I met Miss Ariasphil. And we became friends."

It was a bit embarrassing to say, but it was important to clarify. Thinking about the previous argument with a friend about formalities, it was even more important.

Of course, the sage was looking at him as if he were trash, but... since he was senile, he decided to ignore it.

"...T...That's... right...!"

Ariasphil turned her head and repeated the words about becoming friends. Her face was definitely flushed, but Leonardo, to his credit, didn't notice at all.

"...Then... maybe..."

After hesitating for a moment, Aria spoke again.

"Can you... call me Aria...?"

"...Aria...?"

She didn't expect him to stop using formalities. But if he could do this much, it would be fine, so she had gathered her courage.

"That's... a bit difficult."

Leonardo's response to her courage was only that much.

Her face cooled rapidly, and the corners of her mouth drooped.

Leonardo didn't find her that special...

"But if you prefer, I can call you 'Miss Aria'... How does that sound?"

The onomatopoeic "Whoa" was actually felt. She tried to hide her face, but the blush spread like red ink in water across her skin.

To Leonardo, it was just a compromise, but to Aria, it was an attack on her title.

It was like calling an older woman "sister" because you're too embarrassed to just call her by her name.

It was an even greater reward.

"...T...That's...! That's good...!!"

"Good. Miss Aria."

"...Ugh..."

Her face was burning. How could he call her that so easily?

She had asked for it, but that made it even harder to bear.

"...Miss Aria?"

Seeing her not showing her face, Leonardo couldn't help but worry. As her personal knight, it was his duty to make her as happy as possible.

"Since it's a trade-off... then how about you call me 'Leo'?"

"...Huh...?"

"Leonardo is a long name. I'm often called 'Leo' for short... How does that sound?"

She slowly turned her head to look at Leonardo. She wasn't unembarrassed, but this 'title' had to be said face-to-face to have meaning.

"...Okay... Leo..."

"...Yes, thank you, Miss."

That's how they became friends.

And

A month passed.

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