Chapter 97 - Modest Pride
"I’m sorry. There’s something else I need to apologize to you for."
Yesterday evening, a messenger from Volf arrived at the tower. The message, marked as urgent, asked for a meeting at her earliest convenience. Dahlia chose the mid-morning tea time for their discussion.
When she led Volf, holding a box of cakes in one hand, to the second floor, the first thing he did was apologize.
"Did something happen?"
"The tail we had on us the other day—that was a guard my brother assigned to me."
"Ah, I see. I’m glad it wasn’t someone dangerous."
Dahlia let out a sigh of relief.
She had been worried at the time, wondering if someone was targeting Volf. Knowing it was merely a guard put her mind at ease.
"Well, there’s one more thing... My brother had your background investigated. He was worried about me, and I happened to see part of the report. I’m really sorry."
Volf bowed his head, refraining from mentioning that his brother had used the Intelligence Division to gather the information. That would have been too much for an ordinary citizen like Dahlia.
"Is that all?"
"Doesn’t it bother you? Having someone dig into your personal life like that?"
"It’s not exactly pleasant, but you’re from a count’s family. I imagine they’d be concerned about you spending time with a commoner like me. Besides, there’s not much interesting about me to dig up."
Dahlia had no criminal record, nor had she achieved any notable honors, such as becoming a top scholarship student at the academy.
During her childhood, her life revolved around the tower and her neighborhood. As a student, it was the school and the tower. Even after becoming a magical toolmaker, she spent most of her time either at the tower or on work-related visits. The most she ever did for leisure was dine out or shop with her father and friends.
In fact, she had probably been out and about more in the past month than ever before—and always with the man in front of her, Volf.
If there was anything noteworthy in her life, it would be her development of waterproof fabric as a magical toolmaker. There was also the matter of her broken engagement, but that was unavoidable.
As she thought this over, a troubling question came to mind.
When, exactly, had Volf been assigned a guard?
If it had been since that day, then the guard might have seen her grabbing Volf’s sleeve as they moved around. And what about when he carried her and jumped onto a roof?
If they had witnessed all of that, the thought alone was mortifying. Her face grew hot with embarrassment.
"Dahlia?"
"It’s nothing. I just remembered something embarrassing. Like how I was holding onto your sleeve—I must have looked like a child."
"Huh? I wonder how much of my actions my brother’s guard reported back..."
Now it was Volf’s turn to reflect on his situation. His rare blush was unmistakable as he covered his eyes with one hand and looked down.
"Um, thank you for the cake. Shall we have some tea?"
"...Please..."
Volf kept his gaze downcast until Dahlia went to the kitchen.
"Volf, have some while it’s still warm. The cheesecake you brought looks delicious, too."
Dahlia poured tea and set a plate of baked cheesecake before him, lifting the atmosphere slightly.
"It feels like all I do is apologize to you."
"That’s not true. Please don’t worry about it."
Volf, still not fully recovered from his embarrassment, did something rare—he added three spoonfuls of sugar to his tea.
"...My family’s planning to establish a delivery carriage depot near this tower in the west district. My brother called it an investment.”
"That’s wonderful news. Some people even moved out of this area because of the lack of delivery carriages."
"Is it really that inconvenient without a delivery carriage?"
"Yes. There are so few stagecoaches around here, and having a delivery carriage would really help in emergencies, like illness or injury. I think a lot of people would appreciate it."
Though Volf occasionally used delivery carriages himself, he mostly preferred walking. Given his ability to use body enhancement magic, it was probably difficult for him to fully understand just how essential carriages could be.
"We’ll also keep one of my carriages at the depot. You could use it for guild visits or whenever you go out. I’m often away on expeditions, so the horses would otherwise sit idle. You could even leave any letters for me there."
"Wouldn’t that be a carriage from the Scalfarotto family?"
"Yeah. I’ll have it switched out for a less conspicuous one. Or I could even have the Rossetti Company’s name added to it."
"No, the company plans to purchase a carriage eventually."
"Then just use it as a stopgap until you do. You’re the head of a company now; you shouldn’t be traveling alone."
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but his voice sounded shallower than usual.
She stopped breaking apart the cheesecake with her fork and stared at Volf. Their gazes met, but it was Volf who looked away first.
"Is something wrong, Volf?"
"A little, yeah..."
"You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but if you feel like letting it out, I’m here to listen."
She knew that all she could do was lend an ear, but even so, she hoped it would lighten Volf's burden. Despite her words, his gaze remained lowered.
"This time, it was a bodyguard my brother hired. But when I think about the possibility of someone holding a grudge against me and targeting you instead, I felt a little scared..."
"There’s no way I’d be a target."
"We can’t know that. There’s no predicting where resentment might come from, nor how it might manifest. I learned that the hard way.”
"Something really did happen, didn’t it?"
"During this last drill, the opposing knights targeted me. Apparently, one of the knights’ fiancée had ordered him to invite me to a tea party, and for that, he had planned to injure me."
"Knights... were you all right, Volf?"
He wasn’t injured anywhere now, but perhaps he had used healing magic.
"Thanks to the sköll bracelet, I wasn’t hurt at all. My unit had my back, and the perpetrators faced heavy warnings. They’ll probably be sent for retraining."
"But those knights... weren’t they a bit too awful?"
"They probably couldn’t refuse. The order came from a high-ranking noble's son. My brother even came all the way to the training grounds because he was worried. There won’t be a next time; I’m sure he’s already given them a warning."
Volf’s older brother was already set to become the next marquis. Volf had mentioned that they had only recently started speaking openly. He must have taken action.
Even so, the conduct of those knights was beyond appalling. Such behavior was unbecoming of royal knights.
And to think Volf had done nothing wrong—why wouldn’t they direct their complaints at their fiancée instead of harboring resentment against him?
As she sipped her tea to calm herself, she noticed a deep shadow in Volf’s golden eyes.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke.
"I’ve been thinking... For your safety, maybe it’d be better if we kept our distance outside of work—"
"No."
The word escaped her before she even had time to think, a reflexive rejection.
"Sorry for cutting you off..."
"No, thank you, Dahlia. That was exactly what I was going to say—I can’t do it either. I was going to tell you that it’s impossible for me."
The darkness in his gaze had vanished, replaced by quiet warmth. His smile alone was enough to ease her tension.
"I’m sorry, but please, be cautious. And let me help in whatever way I can. Although, honestly, there’s not much I can do—like the carriage, it’s all thanks to my brother."
"No, that’s more than enough. I’ll take you up on the offer to use the carriage."
"Please do. And maybe I’m overthinking things, but if anything strange happens, tell me right away."
"Understood."
"...I wish I were just an ordinary commoner, so I could stay by your side without causing trouble."
His words, spoken softly as if to himself, cut through her.
Even though she thought she’d come to terms with it, hearing it aloud stung.
Volf was a noble. For a commoner like her, even being friends with him was far from ordinary.
Just sitting here together now felt like a miracle.
When Volf had hinted at creating distance between them, she had blurted out her refusal without hesitation. That impulsive reaction startled her.
And it made her realize something.
Whether as a friend, a skilled magical toolmaker, or a business associate, it didn’t matter.
She simply wanted to stay by his side for as long as possible, to talk, to laugh, and to share their days together—before she knew it, she had found herself holding such a wish.
Was it possessiveness? A desire to preserve her comfort? Or was it simply the fear of being left alone?
Whatever it was, she couldn’t tell Volf about this selfish yearning. She wasn’t ready to let it go.
What could she do to ease his burden, to stop being someone he felt the need to protect?
As a magical toolmaker, perhaps she could create many tools of real value. Maybe she could aim for a baronial title, or grow the Rossetti Company into something much greater.
All of them would likely be insignificant compared to the name of the Scalfarotto family.
Even so, it was better than doing nothing. She had no choice but to keep accumulating what she could do, step by step.
If it were possible, she wished she could grow strong enough to stand beside Volf as an equal.
At the very least, she wanted to become someone he wouldn’t have to worry about, even if the day came when they had to part ways.
That was her small but unwavering pride as someone he called a friend.
"...The tea’s gone cold. I’ll brew a fresh pot."
Right now, it was too much to meet his gaze directly.
Forcing a smile, Dahlia rose to her feet.
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