I Regret The Kindness I Gave You - Chapter 102

Hayton laughed merrily for a while, then suddenly erased the smile and put on a serious expression.

Merche also stared at him as if possessed by a ghost, unable to take her eyes off him.

“That voice must be the voice of the goddess Nisha.”

The goddess Nisha? You mean one of those twin gods or something? Rude asked with a strange face, but Hayton didn’t give him a single glance.

Hayton’s eyes sank as he took a short breath.

Eyes that Merche had often seen when she was a child and received teachings from him.

Eyes that became endlessly dark, as if worshipping its greatness, whenever he talked about the mythology of the kingdom and the legend of King Iker.

With those intense eyes that had not faded with time, Hayton looked at Merche.

“King Iker also said the same thing while he was alive. That he heard the voice of the goddess Nilam submerged in the sea. Sometimes it protected him, sometimes it helped him, but at the very last moment, it tested him.”

“…If that’s true, I will also be tested by the goddess Nisha at the last moment.”

“It will be a difficult test. It will be so terrible that you will have to risk your life. But only by passing it all can you become a true king.”

Merche silently pondered.

The test of the goddess Nisha. The final ordeal to become king, what on earth could it be?

The last voice heard by Merche clearly said this.

Do not return to the primordial sea until you have regained all the power of the land.

Then, when she had gathered all the divine objects that were the power of the land, did it mean that she had to go to the primordial sea?

It was something she had already speculated once before, and with Hayton’s advice added, what had been mere speculation gradually became conviction.

The test to be taken in the primordial sea. The test that the goddess Nisha will require of me……

“Of course, to take that test, you must first gather the divine objects.”

The sound of fingers snapping pulled Merche out of the swamp of thoughts.

As Merche regained her blurred focus, Hayton was grinning in front of her with his lips curled up.

“You said you’ve collected the crown and the ring, so the only thing left is the sword. Fortunately, this old man seems to be able to help you with this.”

“Do you know where the sword might be located?”

“Hmm? The location of the sword? What a strange thing to say. ……Hmm. Yes, it seems that Lady Merche misunderstands the concept of divine objects.”

“The concept of divine objects?”

“Yes. Divine objects are not something hidden somewhere in this land like treasures. You should know, since you’ve already collected two divine objects, right?”

Hayton tapped his forehead with his index finger, telling her to remember well.

“How and from whom did you obtain the crown and ring you collected first?”

The route to obtaining the crown and ring. Merche picked out the answer from her chaotic memories without much difficulty.

It was a memory that she had already suspected and looked back on countless times since the past, so it didn’t take long.

The crown was given to her by Rude.

A laurel wreath that was so beautifully crafted that it was hard to believe it was made by his large, rough hands, and the confession about the stigma she heard while putting that crown on her head.

As a shocking memory, she clearly remembers even the cold air and stuffy smell of that moment.

Also, the ring. The ring that she had thought was simply lost and had been bothering her… she had received it from Carla.

The person who directly handed over the ring was Fabio Ardor, but he was merely delivering it on her behalf.

It was Carla who carefully selected the gemstone to be crafted and commissioned the artisan to make it for Merche, so the ring had to be said to have come from Carla.

“…Ah.”

Merche let out a short sigh. She seemed to understand the intention of what Hayton had said.

As she traced back the past of the two divine objects as he had instructed, the truth she should have seen finally revealed itself.

The crown and the ring, the two objects, were clearly not something found somewhere, but gifts received from others.

Not something hidden like treasure, but something received as a gift from someone.

“Now do you have a rough idea of what exactly divine objects are?”

Hayton asked in a timely manner.

“…No. I still don’t know.”

However, instead of readily agreeing, Merche shook her head. The outline of the truth was not yet clear.

“The two divine objects I collected were both gifts I received from others.

But to say that the condition for the establishment of a divine object is simply receiving a gift from others… something is strange.”

“Hahaha…! That’s right, if simply receiving a gift from others makes it a divine object. How could that be? If that were true, there would be no one in the world who does not possess a divine object, right?”

“Then what on earth is it……”

“Emotion.”

Hayton stopped laughing and answered briefly.

“Beyond the fact that you simply received a gift, take a deeper look at the emotions of the one who gave that gift.”

His eyes curved playfully. Then, pointing to Rude, who was standing still next to them, he asked.

“This rascal-like Lord Lupinus here gave you one of the divine objects, didn’t he? Among them, the crown, in the form of a laurel wreath.”

“…What? How does this old man know that, is he a fortune teller? Weren’t you a professor at the academy?”

Rude, frowning, looked Hayton up and down.

His question was evident in his blatant gaze, as if looking at a very ominous monster.

“Old man. Spit it out straight. Where have you been spying?”

“Oh my. Now that you’re the head of the family, your manner of speech is truly remarkable.”

“You think I, the head of the family, can’t cut off your neck? Even if you’re an old man caught trying to steal from my family’s safe?”

“I’m having a conversation with Lady Merche right now! Tsk tsk… How can such a lowly-tempered fellow receive the favor of such a noble person, oh my.”

“You’re the one who taught this lowly fellow. Then you, with a title like professor or whatever, should shove it in horse dung. What kind of professor are you if you can only teach in this way, da*n it.”

“I taught you history, not etiquette.”

“Who taught me etiquette then? Are you saying Merche taught me like a dog? You keep saying noble person, great person at the end of every sentence, but you’re blatantly badmouthing me.”

In the midst of the argument that was going on without even breathing, Rude grabbed Merche’s hand and pointed at Hayton.

“Did you hear? This old man says you taught me like a dog. He says your tutoring skills are a mess.”

“Wha…! When did I ever! ……L-Lady Merche. That rascal lord’s words are an illogical leap that doesn’t make any sense. You must never believe it!”

The eyes of the two men turned to Merche.

Rather than asking her to judge whose words were correct, it was closer to a childish, forceful gaze that unconditionally wanted her to take their side.

Haa…… Unable to bear the pathetic behavior, Merche finally let out a long sigh.

“You two, I don’t even have the time to waste on such meaningless arguments. Please refrain from quarreling and cooperate, at least for now. I beg you.”

“No, this old man first…”

Rude, who was about to retort as if he was wronged, bit his lips upon receiving Merche’s gaze.

“Ah, fine. Stop glaring. I’ll shut up.”

“……Ahem. Lady Merche is right. It was undoubtedly my fault. I apologize for my rudeness.”

Only after the two men admitted their faults in turn did the surroundings become quiet.

Merche gave Rude another warning with her eyes, then turned to face Hayton.

“Let’s continue what we were saying. You said that to obtain a divine object, I should focus on the emotions of the one who gifted the divine object. And Rude, who gifted me the laurel wreath… wanted to have me by his side as his companion out of love.”

Hayton answered with a single nod. It meant for her to continue speaking.

Merche spoke calmly.

“Also, in the case of the ring, it was a gift from someone who considers me a close friend and sister. If I look into that child’s feelings… well. I can’t summarize it any other way than saying she had strong trust in me.”

Hayton nodded once again.

He smiled as if pleased, stretching the corners of his mouth, and then spoke in a firm tone.

“The ring is loyalty. In other words, it is a divine object that must be obtained from someone who is loyal to Lady Merche.”

“…Loyalty?”

“I haven’t met them in person, but the one who gifted the ring to Lady Merche probably already regarded Lady Merche as their lord and followed deeply. If that person was not loyal to Lady Merche, that ring would never have become a divine object.”

After a brief pause, Merche absentmindedly thought of Carla.

Carla was loyal to me? That child, Carla to me……

−I believe in you. I think I believe in you more than you do.

−I’ll stick right next to you, and when the time comes, I’ll take a good position and have fun.

−Merche, I only have you.

Loyalty. That’s what you showed me. Your incomprehensible trust, your confidence was all loyalty.

“Next, the crown, the laurel wreath you said you received, is indeed a divine object obtained from someone who loves Lady Merche, as you said. …Well, I hate to admit it, but that rascal lord seems to truly love Lady Merche.”

At Hayton’s words, Rude reacted immediately.

He sneakily stuck close to Merche’s side again and poked her waist, shrugging.

“See, see. Did you listen with your ears open? Even that damn old man says I love you like crazy.”

If it were any other time, she would have burst into laughter, asking if he wanted to brag about it in this situation, but Merche couldn’t do that.

There were too many thoughts filling her mind to do so.