I Kidnapped the Hero's Women-Chapter 192: Guilt and such (9)

Late in the evening,

The carriage carrying Aslan and his group arrived at the mansion.

Aslan, who had been silent the entire way, turned to Sylvia and spoke.

“It’s getting late, so let’s eat first...”

“Excuse me, Master. If I’m hungry, I’ll just dig through the leftover food, so don’t worry about it.”

“....”

Aslan’s words were cut off as Sylvia pulled out a sword from her mouth.

Carrying a sword that was almost as tall as she was, she staggered for a moment.

Sylvia, grunting, headed toward the garden behind the mansion without saying a word.

Soon, the sound of a sword being swung echoed with a sharp whish and screech.

“Haah...”

I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a long sigh.

Right now, Sylvia was completely out of her mind.

No matter what we did, we probably couldn’t stop her.

Even if I told her to rest for a moment, it wouldn’t reach her ears.

For now, there was nothing to do but leave her be.

Eventually, she would either collapse from exhaustion or crawl into the dining room when she got hungry.

It might seem irresponsible, but there was no other way.

“Let’s go eat.”

“Yes...”

The children, worried, gazed at the direction Sylvia had disappeared, their eyes filled with regret.

I gently nudged them forward toward the dining room.

After all, there was nothing we could do to help Sylvia become a Swordmaster.

“Mister! Mister! Can I just help that knight sister a little? I know how to handle Aura, so I might be able to help a bit...”

“...”

I shook my head silently, answering for the group.

Although Charlotte knew how to handle Aura and was at a level almost equivalent to a Swordmaster,

The Empress had said that advice from other Swordmasters would be useless for Sylvia.

Rather than helping, Charlotte’s advice might make things even more confusing,

And Sylvia could lose her way just before awakening her Aura.

So, I decided to stop Charlotte from helping.

‘If it’s Sylvia, she’ll figure it out eventually.’

It was true that I was concerned,

But I decided not to worry too much.

If it’s Sylvia, she’ll definitely make it.

She had once torn her own engraving off, knowing that her life was limited.

With that kind of willpower, what could be impossible for her?

I decided to trust her.

“Haah...”

Early in the morning, Yuria let out a long yawn and basked in the warm sunlight.

She had been about to start her day by running around the training field when...

Screech...!

“Eh!? Could it be that Sylvia is still...?”

The sound of whish and screech from afar made Yuria jump, startled.

That sound had been present since last night...

Could it be that she had been swinging her sword all night without resting?

Yuria, startled, moved toward the back garden.

“Shh...!”

“Ah.”

There was someone hiding behind the bushes.

Charlotte, crouched and pulling Yuria toward her, whispered.

Yuria, caught off guard, sat down next to Charlotte in the bushes.

“How long have you been here?”

“Since sunrise. I ran ten laps around the training field and still, knight sister was training. I’ve been watching from a distance.”

“Wait, she’s been doing that since then...?”

It seemed that Sylvia hadn’t rested at all.

Yuria peeked over the bush to confirm, and Sylvia’s eyes were already starting to close, her body swaying unsteadily.

She was clearly on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

“Eh...!”

Soon, Sylvia’s movements slowed.

The sword slipped from her hand, turning into a faint glow.

Just as Sylvia was about to fall backward, Charlotte quickly sprang out and supported Sylvia’s head.

“You almost collapsed.”

“Well done, Charlotte...!”

Charlotte gave a thumbs-up to Yuria, who silently clapped.

Then Charlotte immediately lifted Sylvia and carried her to her room.

It seemed that Sylvia wasn’t asleep, but unconscious, as she didn’t regain consciousness while being moved.

Once Charlotte laid Sylvia on the bed, Yuria immediately covered her with a blanket.

As Sylvia groaned in discomfort and whimpered, her face relaxed, and she looked much more at ease.

“She must have been exhausted.”

“She swung a sword as big as her own body without resting all night...”

Charlotte and Yuria sat side by side next to the bed, staring at the sleeping Sylvia.

Sylvia’s breathing was still ragged, as if she hadn’t calmed down yet.

It was amazing that such a small body could produce such heavy breathing.

“I’m worried. What if she gets seriously hurt like this? I think we need to make her stop...”

Yuria clenched her fists, upset.

We couldn’t just leave her to push herself until she collapsed like this.

What if she gets injured?

Yuria couldn’t understand why Aslan was leaving Sylvia alone like this.

He was usually harsh, but deep down, she thought he cared about Sylvia.

Was he really indifferent?

These thoughts made her want to go confront Aslan immediately.

“It won’t help. Martial artists who get absorbed in their training stop thinking about food or sleep. Forcing them to eat or sleep won’t work, so you just have to wait until they stop themselves. I know because I’ve been through it!”

“Ah...”

Charlotte laughed awkwardly.

When Charlotte first awakened her Aura and got her sword, she had swung it around without eating or resting, filled with excitement.

Now that she thought about it, Aslan had only given her a little warning at the time, but he never forcibly stopped her.

Aslan already knew that stopping wouldn’t work.

But how did he understand that kind of psychology, even though he wasn’t a swordsman?

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‘He must have been watching us more closely than I thought...’

Aslan always seemed indifferent, as though everything was a hassle,

But he had been carefully observing us, especially Sylvia, and paying attention to everything.

Yuria realized she had misunderstood, and slowly relaxed her fist.

Somehow, Aslan always seemed to know exactly what I liked...

Thinking about it, I still didn’t know what Aslan liked.

Maybe I should casually ask him later.

I need to pick out a birthday gift for him too...

Yeah, this is just a bit of preliminary research to show my gratitude for everything he’s done for us...

Yuria comforted herself like this in her mind.

“But that knight sister is really cute.”

“Yeah... I was surprised too. I never thought Sylvia was this adorable when she was a child.”

Charlotte and Yuria both turned their gaze back to Sylvia.

Charlotte secretly pinched Sylvia’s cheek.

When she pulled her finger away, the soft, plump cheek popped back out.

It was so bouncy that Charlotte felt the urge to keep touching it.

Even the knight sister, with her fierce and feminine figure, used to be so childlike.

Charlotte thought it was fascinating, but she couldn’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for her too.

“I really hope the knight sister becomes a Swordmaster soon. Right?”

“Yeah. I hope she can end this suffering soon...”

Charlotte and Yuria each held one of Sylvia’s hands tightly.

Their only wish was simple: they hoped Sylvia would awaken her Aura and return to her original self.

The strong, cool knight sister we knew.

The reliable, impressive bodyguard—Sylvia—would return to them, and they prayed for that with all their hearts.

And outside the room...

“Ugh...”

Yuria, leaning against the door, overheard Charlotte and Yuria’s conversation, biting her lip in agony.

‘Ah, what should I do? I don’t know how I feel...!’

She missed her strong, confident, and dependable mentor, of course.

She wanted to see him again.

She hoped he would come back soon.

Those feelings had never changed, not even when he had changed so much.

But at the same time, another part of her heart was conflicted.

‘The young version of my mentor... He’s too cute!’

Was it because he had always been so mature?

Now that Sylvia had regressed to a younger form, Yuria found her so adorable that she was almost hypnotized.

With Charlotte and Yuria already making her dizzy enough with their cuteness,

Having her mentor join the mix made her so happy, she felt like she might lose her mind.

Yuria wished that this everyday life could last forever.

She wanted her mentor to stay in this childlike form forever...

But at the same time, she also wished for him to return to the way he was...

What was this contradictory feeling?

Yuria wriggled in distress, turning her head.

“Ugh...”

“Ugh...”

“...?”

“...?”

Yuria and Aslan locked eyes, both with the same pained expression.

They blinked at each other for a moment.

“...”

“...”

Then, awkwardly, they both looked away.

There was a sense of shared understanding.

Two people who had gained a little more insight into each other.