“A walking weapon...”
“I should snap you in half like a twig.”
That’s exactly what I’m talking about, Livio thought before deciding to keep that to himself.
But I suppose I get it. Hmm... Feeling as if he’d somehow grasped what Vyce had been trying to say, Livio returned to the wardrobe.
“It’d make you feel ashamed of yourself?” Livio asked.
“That’s about the long and short of it,” Vyce answered. “The whole reason I took her as my fiancée was because it was perfect for cutting ties with this kingdom and for having her nearby so I could keep her safe.”
He was surprisingly...caring?
Vyce was the sort to take thorough care of whatever animal or person he picked up to the very end. Even Vyce’s faithful steed had apparently been rescued by him when it had been attacked by monsters. The colt hadn’t had a home to go back to, but now it was a fine steed by any measure, strong and clever, with a beautiful, bright-red coat. The way his horse had grown spoke volumes about Vyce’s own personality.
“She still doesn’t really know anything about the outside world,” Vyce explained. “Makin’ her marry some old man? That’s too much. She should find somebody she likes and be happy like everybody else—like you two.”
From the looks of it, the old man didn’t seem to have the slightest inkling that that “somebody” she liked could be him. He was merely taking care of Lunetta, dedicated to caring for her since he’d taken her in, just like that poor little colt. He probably didn’t see Lunetta in that sort of light at all.
Fair enough. If there were some old creep who looked at girls fourteen years his junior in that sort of way without any regard for who they were, it’d be just a bit horrific. So did that make it okay, so long as he was extra picky over which seventeen-year-old he courted? That wasn’t quite the case either. If he were the type to declare, “I love black-haired, black-eyed girls that are fourteen years younger than me!” that’d just make him a pervert. If the day ever came when a man fourteen years older than Sophie said something like that to her, then Livio would have no choice but to cover her eyes for a moment—he couldn’t let her see him making mincemeat out of the old man. But still!
If he said it was because it was her—because it was Lunetta...
The king had a strong sense of duty with a warm heart to match, so if he were to say it was because it was Lunetta...then how could anyone criticize that? At least that was the conclusion Livio had reached.
“But she means the world to you...right?”
“Well, I do think it’s cute how her expressions have started to change.”
Seriously?! Livio tossed out a shining cape decked out with gold embroidery. He’d had enough. He was tired of it—absolutely fed up. People of the world—listen and listen well! He just called her “cute.” This old man called her “cute” the same way he called me “cute”!
Livio didn’t have a clue about how any of Lunetta’s expressions differed, nor would he have ever been so tirelessly devoted to a girl he didn’t even like. Even then, the way Vyce called Lunetta “cute” lacked any of the fiery passion Livio held for Sophie.
There was just no way Livio could see eye to eye with him.
Actually, I don’t wanna see eye to eye with this guy! he thought.
After all, Livio didn’t know all the details, but it seemed like Lunetta hadn’t been treated very well in this kingdom. Vyce had just come along to sweep her away from a whole world of enemies, taking her as his fiancée so she wouldn’t have to go back. He let her off the hook for anything and everything because that was just how she was. Hell, he even swapped his bread with hers after he let it cool off!
Seriously? Of course that’s gonna make her like you!
For Livio’s part, from the moment he’d fallen in love at thirteen years old, it had all been a sprint that continued to this day.
Compared to Lunetta’s backstory, Livio’s own encounter with Sophie had been one bit short of a two-bit novel. There was hardly enough story there for Livio to even call it a “backstory.” If he told someone how they’d met, he was almost certain they’d just say, “Oh? That’s all?”
“That’s all?” And what the hell do you mean by that?! C’mere, you!
“You can’t just play around with young hearts like that, old man!”
“The hell are you talking about?”
The fact that Vyce didn’t even know he was doing that made it even worse. Or perhaps the fact that he was able to act like that without any awareness of what he was doing was why people flocked to him. Was this that “charisma” thing or whatever? “Charismatic” was probably just another word for “smooth-talking swindler.”
Good thing I was able to take Sophie away before a guy like that found her, Livio thought as he stretched out an embroidered shirt. Looks pretty expensive. Uh-oh... That was a rip I just heard. Eh, who cares?
“Hmm?”
Past the flashy shirt in his hands, he could feel something.
I’ve actually discovered something fashionable in his wardrobe! It went without saying that wasn’t the case at all. What he’d actually felt was magical energy.
Livio tossed the clothes to the floor in a heap. Man, all these capes and coats sure are heavy! So that’s why all those rich types don’t feel like moving around on their own! I’m sure their shoulders cramp up so much they get as stiff as a statue!
“It’s...a barrier—no, a seal...?”
Carved into the wall was an old magic circle.
“You know what this thing is?” Vyce asked.
“I used to be in the Knights. They put a pretty big focus on magical education too,” Livio explained. “Not that I was the best at all that, though.”
Livio had always been tremendously curious, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t use magic. He was able to store his sword in his magic gem thanks to his time learning magic.
That was also why he could use other magic gems. Livio took out the one that he’d had in the inner pocket of his jacket. It had a faint red glow to it—Lunetta had instilled it with spell-breaking magic.
Lunetta had given them the magic gem alongside a tremendously reassuring explanation: “I’ve imbued this gem with magic to undo sealing spells or barrier magic. There is a limit on how many times it can be used, but I believe it should work without issue on any spell you’ll find in this kingdom.”