parentshiftbook Chapter 405
Chapter 405
Chapter 405
There were many people following me, but there were also countless others who picked fights with me for no reason.
Most of them seemed to think that if they could take down someone as famous as the next hero, they might gain even a fraction of my popularity. Or maybe they were just annoyed because the girl they liked was following me around, so they wanted to confront me.
Dragging around a fan club while getting into conflicts everywhere became my daily routine.
Ellen and Harriet were still avoiding me. In fact, Harriet seemed to be crying alone. She always wore her hat pulled down low, and her eyes always seemed swollen.
Like Ellen, she knew I had been to dangerous places and would continue to go. She seemed to be struggling with herself, unable to stop me yet finding it hard to just stand by and watch.
Olivia was often absent from the dormitory. She said she had taken on the role of an inquisitor for the Order of the Holy Knights. Given that she was past the age of graduation and would receive credit for her external activities, the Royal Class dormitory was nothing more than a place to sleep for her.
Ellen and Harriet were in a state of depression, and Olivia was trying to make a name for herself even more than I was, to lure the Demon King into targeting her. That certainly didn’t make me feel any better.
There was stress all around... And when severe stress accumulates, hair falls out.
“Shit... damn it...”
I had taken a shower and was just about to go to bed when I was stunned to see my hand covered in blonde hair.
When I checked my scalp, I found a circular bald spot on the side of my head—a bald patch. A place that should have been golden was now skin-colored, a small patch about the size of a coin flaunting its presence.
This was the last thing I wanted to be reunited with.
‘Why are you reappearing in my life? Weren’t we supposed to part ways forever?’
Taking several deep breaths, I focused my mind, and hair filled up the circular bald spot in real-time.
‘The Baldness Immunity Ring... The Dreadfiend’s Ring saved my life!
‘I am a god! The god of hair loss! No, if I’m the god of hair loss, it sounds like I’d be losing hair, so maybe I should say the god of hair...?
‘I am a god! The ruler of hair! The god of hair! Let it fall out as much as it wants! I’ll just fill it back in!’
I’d almost had a PTSD episode, but the Dreadfiend’s Ring had saved me. It was bad enough to be stressed, but if I started to lose hair on top of that, it would not just be twice as depressing—the depression would grow exponentially.
If it weren’t for this ring, I wouldn’t have been able to enter the Temple in the first place. And without the ability to restore my hair, I might have become the first bald hero in history.
‘Thank you, Sarkegar. You are a loyal servant.’
Tap, tap, tap.
Just as I was feeling relieved, a sparrow tapped at my window with its beak as I returned to my bedside.
Slide!
When I opened the window, the sparrow hopped into the room, and as I drew the curtains, Sarkegar transformed into his usual elegant maid form.
“Greetings, Your Highness—”
I wrapped my arms around the maid in front of me.
“I love you.”
When I suddenly hugged him, Sarkegar seemed startled and flinched.
“You are the loyal servant of the century! A great loyal servant who will go down in history!”
‘Thank you for saving my hair! No loyal servant in the world has ever solved their lord’s hair loss!’
“Uh...? Yes! I love you too, Your Highness!”
Sarkegar, who did not quite understand the situation but felt the need to do something, hugged me back and patted my back earnestly.
***
Sarkegar had come with a purpose, but he must have been curious about my sudden behavior, so I explained the reason to him.
“... You mean your hair is falling out?”
“... Yes.”
Unlike me, who considered hair a serious matter, Sarkegar, who could transform freely, didn’t seem to understand my perspective at all. He tilted his head in confusion.
“Anyway, it’s a great honor that our clan’s ring has solved Your Highness’s problem.”
“No, it’s my honor.”
I was almost ready to bow to him in gratitude, and Sarkegar seemed even more perplexed.
“I came to report on the meeting with Owen de Getmora, as per your previous instructions...”
“Oh, right. That.”
Sarkegar, standing there demurely in maid form, began to discuss the main reason why he had come.
“It seems the imperial family has tentatively accepted our explanation, but there’s every possibility they don’t believe us.”
“... Of course.”
The imperial family might very well think the recent Raziern attack was a retaliatory strike. In the end, even with these secret conversations, we were still each other’s enemies. That was unavoidable.
“We must find the demon god cultists before the empire does.”
“Indeed.”
The race had begun. If the imperial family found the demon god cultists before we did, they would be annihilated.
If I found them first, I could take them under my control. Whether there was a need to keep them under my control was still something to consider, but there was no reason to let the demon god cultists run rampant.
If I planned to use them later, I needed to contact them to stop their unnecessary rampage.
“Based on the information I’ve gathered, the empire seems to suspect the Demon God Cult’s activity is centered in the southern part of the continent,” Sarkegar, who had also investigated this issue, said cautiously.
In the deep of night, Charlotte, dressed in her pajamas, got up from her bed at the sound of someone knocking on her door.
Sometimes, if Tana was particularly worried, she would come to check on her at night.
“Dame Tana, you must be tired, please go to sleep...”
Click.
Opening the door without much suspicion, Charlotte was startled to find an unexpected person standing before her.
“... Oh...”
Ellen Artorius had come to see Charlotte in the middle of the night.
“Can we... talk?” Ellen asked cautiously.
Charlotte looked into Ellen’s eyes, and couldn’t refuse the desperation she saw in them.
***
On the tea-time terrace, long past curfew, Charlotte sat in her pajamas, a coat draped over her shoulders, while Ellen sat across from her in her training clothes.
Charlotte felt a sense of guilt towards Reinhart, and she felt a similar emotion towards Ellen, though perhaps not as intense as what she felt for Reinhart.
“Do you have something to say?” Charlotte asked.
“...”
Ellen quietly looked down at the table.
She didn’t want Reinhart to be in danger. Just as Olivia had taken on some of the risks Reinhart faced, Ellen wanted to do the same.
The world would focus more on the sister of Ragan Artorius than on Reinhart and Olivia. That meant taking on danger, and Ellen was prepared for that.
However, how to go about that was the issue. She hoped that through this, Reinhart’s unavoidable engagement could be undone.
Charlotte de Gradias was losing her standing. Therefore, securing Charlotte’s position was key.
“I’ll become your knight,” Ellen said quietly.
“... Huh? W-what did you say?”
Charlotte couldn’t comprehend what she had just heard, as it was completely unexpected.
“If I become your knight, just that alone could keep you safe.”
Ellen Artorius.
Charlotte knew the weight that name carried, and was left speechless.
Ellen did not elaborate. Instead of becoming the bride of Alse’s Champion, Reinhart, Ellen Artorius, the sister of Ragan Artorius, would serve Charlotte as her liege. The unspoken request to annul the engagement was obvious.
Ellen bowed her head to Charlotte.
“For you, I’ll do many things. For the empire, anything. I’ll do it all. Use me for anything, and my achievements will become yours...” Ellen pleaded, her voice tinged with emotion.
“I won’t say it’s not because I hate the idea of you and Reinhart being engaged. But Reinhart will be in more danger if things continue like this. Instead, let me be the one in danger. I’ll do everything. If there’s something Reinhart has to do, I’ll do it...”
“...”
Ellen Artorius, the hero’s sister, was pleading with the princess, willing to give up everything just so that one thing would not be taken away.
Charlotte quietly observed Ellen, who was making such a decision because she didn’t want to lose Reinhart.
The year before, Charlotte had observed the relationship between Harriet de Saint-Ouen and Ellen Artorius and had felt sorry for them.
She had remained silent, believing that their relationship would be destroyed with just a word. Now, though, Charlotte found herself in the same position. She had become the one who was taking something away this time, but she wasn’t happy about it.
However, seeing Ellen, who was choosing this because she didn’t want to lose that thing, wasn’t pleasant either.
What if she refused?
Charlotte knew who Reinhart would choose if he had to choose between her and Ellen. Just as she wasn’t pleased with the current circumstances, she could not feel at ease when faced with Ellen’s desperate expression.
“If I refuse, what will you do?”
“...”
It was still Charlotte’s choice whether or not to accept Ellen’s offer to become her knight. If she gritted her teeth and refused, Reinhart would be engaged to her.
“Please... Please...” Ellen’s eyes were filled with desperation. “I’m begging you...”
If she turned away from those pleading eyes, if she ignored those tears, she might be able to secure a bigger future.
But Charlotte knew that she had lost to Vertus.
If the fact that the Demon King’s soul resided within her became known, it wouldn’t matter whether she had the hero’s sister as her knight or if she was a princess married to the hero.
She was merely relying on Vertus’s mercy. She would always be a burden to Reinhart.
The relationship of knight and liege was better than that of a married couple.
“Alright. My knight,” she said.
She smiled at Ellen. “But this is the first and last time I’ll yield.”
She was not satisfied with a cowardly victory—she aimed to truly win.
This wasn’t giving up. It was about canceling an unfair race and starting from the same starting line.
A knight with no intention of loyalty to her liege, and a liege lady jealous of her knight...
A strange oath of loyalty had just been made.