After my discussion with Paul, we decided to bring Andres close to us. Apparently, Paul was also attached to him. After all, Paul planned to make him his successor; however, he was not there yet, and he needed to be trained a bit more. After that, we brought it to Aria. However, it was rejected outright—poor boy.

  “It is impossible.” Aria immediately denied our proposal.

  The three of us were silent. When I took a peek at him... his face, it was as if the world was ending before his eyes. Paul, too, looked at him in pity. Perhaps recognizing the silence around her, Aria began to explain herself.

  “It is not that I am rejecting you. It just… it would cause many inconveniences.” She tried to correct herself, yet she made it worse.

  With his face about to cry, Andres sheepishly asked Aria. “… Am I causing inconvenience for your holiness?” You should have seen his face. It was memorable.

  “… I mean… It is... It is for your safety. We are doing something dangerous. It may cost you your life.”

  He took a step forward and tried to push himself on Aria. He even confidently declared his resolve to her. “… I am not afraid of death.”

  “… No, I already promised your mother. I would protect you.” Yet, she still outright rejected him. I did not know how these two met. Paul, too, did not know the whole story.

  He just told me that Aria entered a dark alley to save some street urchins. Then, they encountered some undead. To save those children, she entered the domain of those undead. After they left, the number of children rescued was higher than when they entered. That was how I was told.

  Apparently, from their conversation and Paul’s tale, during their time in the undead domain, she met him and his mother. And she made a promise to protect him. But I never heard them mention his mother. Perhaps she perished during that time. That was my guest. The people involved did not want to talk about it. So, I dared not ask them.

  Anyway, for her to declare that she would protect him…

  It would hurt a man's pride, no matter who he was.

  After Aria said that, Andres just stared blankly at her with his mouth open. It was too shocking for him. I felt like I saw flies fly into his mouth.

  Unable to bear it any longer, Paul decided to step in. If we continue to leave it as it was, Andres would die both inside and outside.

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  “…. Milady, the danger will not be that great. And if you are concerned about his trustworthiness, you don't have to worry about it. If you are still uncomfortable, you can bind him.”

  “… Yes, Aria, I think he is trustworthy enough. And if you are concerned about his safety… his current situation is precarious enough. So, I think it is better to keep him close to us if you are worried about his safety.” I, too, decided to step in. He was too pitiful. It may be my imagination; however, I saw his soul was leaving his body.

  “… Still, I never planned for him to stay with us”. Yet, she drove the last nail in the coffin with her statement.

  You have been rejected three times, boy. I thought to myself when I heard that. At that time, I found that he was dead inside.

  “…” “…” Paul and I just watched him with concern.

  Unaware of what she had done, she turned to Paul. “I want to entrust the thing we discussed last time to him.”

  I caressed his head to console him. However, he did not react to it.

  As for Paul, he looked at him for a long time before letting out a big sigh and turning to face Aria. His face told me that he was troubled by it. “… if it was what we discussed, I do not recommend putting him in charge. He is not reliable at all. He is too dumb and inflexible.”

  “…” Aria did not rebuke Paul. We knew that her silence meant that she also agreed with Paul. I could see Andres’s presence grow smaller by the minute.

  “… I think it was best to use him as your bodyguard. I trained him with this in mind.”

  “… He would face more risk by staying with us.” Aria weakly replied to Paul. Then she looked back at Andres. “I—”

  Before Aria could offer another reason, Paul hurriedly added. “Man should live and die for his cause. I think both options carried the same risk. So, it is better to put him where his heart is.”

  “… Are you fine with it, Andras?” Do you know, Lucy? It was rare to see Aria biting her lip. At that time, I saw her bite her lip before asking him. I really wanted to know what went through her mind at that time.

  “… I… I would die for you, Your Holiness.” He looked up at Aria with moist eyes. He was like a puppy.

  Upon hearing that Aria showed her trouble face to him, she said, “You do not have to go that far. And stop addressing me like that.”

  “… Yes, …”

  “I will attach you to her holiness for the time being.” “I have to talk with my father.” She, unconsciously, gripped her hand when she said that.

  Noticing it, Paul took a step forward. “You do not have to, Milady.”

  Then he placed his hand on Andres’s head, overlapping my hand that was caressing it. “… I will take care of Duke Ellon. He is my apprentice after all. And it is we who brought it up.”

  “… Swear, I will swear, arg…” Then he jerked up and started to spout nonsense again. His behavior took me aback. However, Paul stopped him in time by chopping his head again. I was almost caught in it. Luckily, I took my hand off his head in time. Your grandpa could be a bit violent at times.

  “Stop it. Didn’t I tell you? It is a sacred act. You should choose the time and place carefully.”

  Although such an act was indeed sacred and needed careful consideration on TOP, I knew Paul had no intention of giving up his position as Aria’s only knight yet. Apparently, being Aria’s first knight was not enough for him. He still wanted to be her only knight. That was how your 'brother' came to stay with us.