I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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Chapter 8

After about an hour’s ride in the carriage, we arrived in the bustling city. Worrying about losing sight of Aria, I held her hand tightly.

“Are the people coming towards us monsters?”

As I kept a strict watch over Aria’s surroundings so that she wouldn’t accidentally bump into anyone, Aria teased me with a mischievous smile. Smiling back, I struck a playful pose as if I were a hero.

“Please step back, Your Highness. This is my responsibility.”

Aria laughed heartily, calling me childish. While we both chuckled, a pang of sadness tugged at my heart.

It felt nice to be out together after such a long time, with my cheeks subtly flushed and my lips curving upward.

‘If I had known you would be this happy, I would bring you out more often.’

Regret always comes too late. I gently bit my lip and held Aria’s hand tighter.

Raising a child can’t be reduced to just providing financial support. While I said I was earning money for Aria, I knew how lonely she’d feel waiting at home alone after I left. That feeling always tormented me like a guilty conscience.

I needed to be there for her. I had to keep her from feeling lonely. It was always something I pushed to the back of my mind due to being busy.

I was still not a good sister.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

Stopping in the middle of the street, I wrapped my arms around Aria’s neck, and she tilted her head in confusion. As I sorted through my muddled feelings, I whispered softly.

“I will definitely make you happy.”

The goal was not far off. Once Aria and Count Freya’s meeting went successfully, she would find happiness. Just like in the story.

‘I wish you could become the adopted daughter of one of the richest counts in the Empire. Receiving a good environment and delicious meals I could never provide, being loved by everyone, and forgetting about me, the one who always made you upset.’

“Um, but I’m happy now.”

As I closed my eyes, looking at Aria’s radiant smile as she hugged me, it was impossible to accept this. What kind of happiness could come from a life waiting at home alone for a secretive and gloomy sister? I couldn’t accept it.

In the perfect happiness I envisioned for you, I have no place. I’m not perfect like you. Even if I fall to the worst depths of despair for having sent you away,

‘I just want you to be happy.’

That was my final wish to the god, as I let go of the hands I had gathered in prayer.

“I can really go for another round…”

“I know. You came back inside because you were tired.”

I gave a bright smile to Aria, who was looking back and forth at me and the window, unsure of what to do.

Aria, who was not feeling well, couldn’t be active for long. After only a short time out, she was already breathing heavily as we entered a tea house in the city.

I led Aria to a sunlit window seat. It was a quiet afternoon, and the interior was peaceful.

“What do you want to drink? I’ll go order.”

At my question, Aria roughly arranged her dress and began reading the menu. Despite wearing an outdated frill dress, she looked beautiful like a spring fairy.

‘I want to buy her better dresses.’

I bit my lip at the sudden surge of guilt.

The light blue frilly dress Aria was currently wearing, which I had gifted her for her twelfth birthday, was merely a cheap piece.

Three years ago, the day I had completed a twenty-day monster-hunting journey. That day, craving to buy a good present, I ended up overworking myself.

That day happened to be Aria’s birthday.

‘I wanted to give it to her before midnight.’

It was evident that if I traveled at a normal pace, I would miss that deadline. So, I finished my journey early that evening, covering a ten-hour distance in just five.

My hair was a tangled mess from the wind, my legs barely able to walk, and my hands trembling.

Even after desperately rushing, I was late. I knocked on the door of a clothing store that was already closed, begging for them to come out so I could buy a dress for Aria’s birthday.

Paul, the store owner, appeared in his pajamas, looking like he had just woken up, and I had to implore him through my disheveled appearance to sell me a dress. He, with a stunned expression, ended up handing it over without asking questions, probably because we were acquaintances.

‘I was lucky to know Paul from the clothing store.’

I remember heading home with that dress I had bought after suffering through twenty days at the hands of monsters.

My body, bruised and bloodied, made me feel ashamed. The only gift I could offer after working so hard in pain felt pathetic, and I felt guilty for not being able to spend the whole day by her side.

‘……Shushu, sister?’

I remember that moment vividly. Aria sitting alone at a cold dining table. The pained look on her face when the door opened and she forced a smile upon seeing me.

The moment she found me, her world crumbled before her, and I couldn’t muster an excuse as I placed the unwrapped gift box down with my bloodied hands, struggling to speak.

‘……I can only give you something like this. Thank you for being born as my sister.’

I don’t recall what expression I had that day. Did I manage to pull my trembling lips into a smile? Or did I silently cry? I feel like I was expressionless.

Aria, who looked stunned, moved her trembling hands towards the box without responding.

In front of the opened box, she collapsed in tears.

‘……Who asked for this? I don’t need it. I don’t need a gift or a healthy body! Why do you make me look like such a pathetic person? Why do you make me suffer so much? Sure, I sometimes dream of wearing a beautiful dress and dancing. I’ve dreamed of being free to move around like everyone else with a healthy body! But I didn’t want that dream to be at your expense! I didn’t wish for this! Why do you have to suffer because of me……!’

Aria threw everything she could grab at me. The objects hitting my skin didn’t hurt. It just felt like my heart was being ripped apart.

As I quietly took the blows, hugging Aria, who had collapsed from frustration, I thought,

‘It’s because I want this, Aria. It’s the path I’ve chosen.’

So go ahead and use me as much as you want. I’ll use every bit of myself, right down to the last bone, for you.

The answer to that question was always the same and remained unchanged.

That day, Aria cried until she was nearly exhausted. The mature Aria never asked why I had returned to her in such a state nor how I managed to buy the dress with our meager finances.

All she did was hang that dress in her closet proudly and sometimes stare at it with a complex expression.

‘Before Aria goes to Count Freya… I want to buy her a better dress.’

I thought as I gazed at the faded old dress. Of course, while Aria could wear even finer clothes with Count Freya, I still wanted to buy her something. As a final gift. Considering our now less restricted finances, it wasn’t impossible.

‘Originally, 90% of the profits went to the fairy forest’s medicinal spring.’

Now that I knew how to completely heal Aria, I didn’t need to waste money on the fairy forest’s spring anymore. I could buy her something better.

‘This time, I’ll make sure to buy her the most expensive dress.’

Looking at Aria, who was reading the menu in the sunlight like a picture, I smiled faintly.

“Have you decided?”

At my question, Aria seemed hesitant. After a brief stutter, she closed the menu with a light smile.

“Um, I want coffee.”

‘……She’s grown up too fast.’

I knew Aria well.

“……I’ll order right away.”

With a bittersweet smile, I stood up and walked to the counter.

“One coffee, and one strawberry parfait, please.”

I didn’t enjoy drinks other than coffee, but Aria loved strawberries.

I stared intently at the menu. The cheapest coffee and the strawberry parfait costing nearly double.

‘It’s because of me.’

She was just a kid who should be allowed to act spoiled. A kid who shouldn’t have to worry. But because life had been so poor, I had made Aria worry about money too.

To contain my complicated feelings, I turned my gaze outside.

The bustling streets. People hurrying past. It was a scene of peace.

Except for that crazy guy over there trying to drag a noblewoman down an alley.

‘Huh?’

Upon spotting that bizarre scene, my eyes widened. One thought rushed through my mind.

■ Is it a trend for people in danger to appear in front of me these days?

I could certainly state this with confidence. I was not kind-hearted.

What I only dreamed of was Aria’s happiness.

That was all I was— a terribly selfish human wishing only for peace and safety for myself. Mir, the mercenary, was hailed as a hero, but it never fit me, no matter how much I thought about it.

But.

“Aria.”

“Yeah? Did you come out already?”

I pressed down on Aria’s head, who gave me a puzzled look. I leaned down, bringing my face close to hers and whispered softly.

“Sis will be stepping out for a moment. Once the menu arrives, you can eat first. I’ll be back soon.”

Seeing Aria looking confused, I smiled brightly and turned away.

“Shushu, sister!”

A small hand grabbed my arm. While that tiny hand could easily be broken if I wished, I reflexively turned around as soon as I heard the bell ring.

“Yeah, I’m listening.”

Leaning down to bring my face closer, I noticed Aria biting her lips. She looked conflicted. As I waited for her answer while she peered outside, her lips finally opened.

“You’ll be back soon, right? You won’t get hurt?”

Her voice was full of hesitation. I could tell she wanted to ask what I was going to do, but in the end, she only asked questions that wouldn’t put me in a difficult position, which broke my heart.

‘One day, a day will come when I can tell you everything.’

Imagining a day that felt like it would never come, I patted Aria’s head.

“……Yeah. I’ll be back before your coffee gets cold. I won’t get hurt.”

I smiled at Aria, who nodded slowly, and stepped out of the shop at a brisk pace.

In view of Aria, I walked at a normal speed, but the moment I stepped into the alley where the noblewoman and the man had gone, I unleashed my mana and quickened my pace. The black cloak billowed violently behind me.

‘It should lead to a dead end if I head this way.’

Just before entering the dead end, I halted and rummaged through my waist pouch, pulling out my usual disguise tools.

‘You never know what might happen.’

I flipped my hood over my cloak and donned a black mask. I made sure to wear the ring that would distort my voice too.

If someone were to ask why I kept saving people in danger, my answer would always be the same.

I didn’t want to be engulfed by guilt for leaving someone in trouble. That was all.

“Didn’t I tell you to let go? How dare you! Do you even know who I am?!”

“Ha! What’s it to you who I am? You’re going to die here anyway!”

The sounds of crazed laughter filled my ears.

‘……There’s another powerful presence watching from behind the wall. It’ll be fine, right?’

While I scowled at the aura of a skilled person felt beyond the alley wall, I examined the situation.

A woman in a dazzling dress, pale and wide-eyed, was gripped by her wrist by a man, who reeked of alcohol and appeared to be out of his mind.

There was nothing more to see.

‘Drunken bastards who can’t hold their liquor seem to be everywhere.’

I grimaced in disgust. I considered slitting the man’s throat with my sword, but feeling that he wasn’t someone who had ever wielded a weapon, I took a deep breath.

‘I won’t kill him…’

Stopping the hand that kept wanting to reach for the sword, I rummaged through my pouch for something I could use that would help without killing him. I quickly pulled something out.

It was a steel pipe.