Reincarnated as the Baron's son: My Infinite Card Upgrade System-Chapter 73: Ava’s determination
[AlN: I apologize for the coin you wasted on the last Chapter. I’m home rn but still sick, I’m surprised I was able to write a Chapter. As an apology for the waste of coins, I ask that you tell me what you want in this story, and I promise to do my best to add it. Thank you so much for reading, I truly appreciate it.]
....
Settling the blacksmith, Alaric set out on the
next task he needed to handle.
His plan was simple. While he was out looking for what he needed as a replacement for copper and insulators, he would have the blacksmith craft the other items he needed.
These included glass tubes, wooden platforms, and handles for the wheel, a giant wheel with metalwork to connect the core to the main generator, and other items that most blacksmiths would have no idea how to craft.
Thankfully, he had gathered people who were once under the Nuek barony with blacksmith classes to assist Johnny.
From what Alaric observed, people tended to learn faster and rise in ranks by themselves when being taught by someone he had ranked up.
The same happened with Ava. The moment she rose to Diamond rank, the people she taught the art of swordsmanship also improved.
Alaric was expecting the same to happen to Johnny and the blacksmiths he sent his way.
—sigh.
Alaric suddenly stopped walking, right in the center of the forest.
Hina, who had been behind him, accidentally slammed her nose on his back.
"Ow! Why did you stop?!" she squirmed.
"How long do you plan on tailing me? If I didn’t know better, I’d say you planned on assassinating me... Ava?" Alaric turned his gaze to the upper side of the trees.
Hina was also flabbergasted to see Ava standing right on top of a tree branch.
"Ava?" she let out.
Heart heavy, fingers dug into the tree, Ava looked down at Alaric. "I would never do that. I just wanted to talk, my lord."
"There’s nothing to talk about, Ava. I’m currently working. Whatever you have to say can be discussed later." Alaric turned his gaze back to the front, ready to walk away when suddenly—
Bam!
Ava landed in front of him, her hand grabbing his, firm yet gentle.
"Please..." she said, the voice of a woman willing to give it her all.
At first, Alaric thought of yanking his hand off. It wouldn’t take anything for him to simply ignore her like he always had.
But the look in her eyes...
"Fine. It better be worth my time, or you’ll be paying for every second I wasted."
A smile formed on Ava’s face. It disappeared just as quickly as she peeped at Hina.
If she was to speak to Alaric, she wanted it to be with no one else around.
Of course, Hina was aware of what Ava wanted. Being a woman herself, she could tell when her rival was about to play a tricky card.
She did not want that card played, at least not without her choosing it willingly.
"Hina, you’re free to head back to town. I’ll come join you when I’m done," Alaric finally spoke.
Hina’s lips froze up, her eyes taking one final look at Ava. "If you insist, my lord."
And with that, she was gone, her feet dragging against the ground with every step she took.
Once Hina left, Ava turned her full focus to Alaric.
But the man did not seem like he was interested.
He settled down on a lonely rock, fist under jaw and eyes carrying no interest.
"Well, she’s gone. Speak your mind," he said in a cold voice.
Ava didn’t mind. The fact that he even chose to speak to her was good enough for her.
"I... should apologize first," Ava bowed her head. "When you saw... when you thought I kissed the Count, I should have made the effort to clear my name. But I was ignorant. I didn’t think you’d think anything of it, and for that, I am truly sorry."
Alaric remained composed, not a hint of emotion on his face.
"And I know, I’ve always been a jerk to you, anytime I get the chance. I know there are times I’ve taken you for granted and times I never truly gave you the respect you deserved. I am sorry for every time I made you feel less than what you were."
Ava didn’t raise her head, not once.
"Despite how I make it seem, I don’t see myself bowing my head to anyone but you. You have always been my lord. No one else can replace that. So tell me..."
She slightly raised her neck to look at him, this time, a bit of a tear running down her cheeks.
"Tell me why you’d think I’d want to kiss another master? Do you really think so low of me, my lord? Has my loyalty over the years... been nothing?"
Alaric, for a second, let his toughness slip.
"I know I’m probably not worthy of anything like that. I honestly understand it. I myself know I took you for granted. But please, I need you to believe me. I would never do something like kissing someone you don’t agree with."
Alaric stood up, and before he could say anything, Ava grabbed his hand and gently placed it on her chest.
"If there’s anything ignoring me has taught me, it’s that I can’t stand not being your knight, walking beside you, watching you perform things others could only dream of doing. Lord Alaric... I love you! See..."
She pushed his hand even harder on her heart.
"Can you feel it beating? Every single one of those is for you. If you told me to kill myself, I would do it without a second thought. That’s how much I value you."
"Okay then. Kill yourself," Alaric uttered.
"?..."
"Go on then. You said if I told you to die for me, you’d do that without a second thought. Well, Ava..." He moved closer, "Kill yourself."
Her once bewildered expression turned into that of a small smile.
"As you wish."
Ava wasted no time. She unsheathed her blade and then gently placed it on her neck, ready to slice her throat, all while maintaining a locked gaze with Alaric.
Though Alaric did not expect her to react so quickly, he still didn’t feel she would actually kill herself.
That was until he got a glimpse of what was in her mind.
(If this is how I die, I guess... it’s not too bad. In service to my master, just how a knight should go.)
Ava closed her eyes, ready to accept the darkness to please the man she once never looked at.
Her grip got tighter around the hilt of the blade.
She was ready.
Just as she sliced the blade, she noticed something was different.
Yes, she felt her blade cut through flesh, but it wasn’t her flesh.
Opening her eyes to check what it was, she noticed Alaric had somehow placed his hand under the blade to stop her from harming herself.
"Lord Alaric! Your hand!" she screamed, immediately grabbing his hand to see how badly he was bleeding.
Ava grabbed her shirt and tore it, using the pieces to wrap around Alaric’s injury.
"Why would you do that? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be questioning you... I..." Ava could not say a word without crying. It was clear she was in a zone of panic.
And Alaric observed her with a calm look throughout.
"Tell me, if I told you I wasn’t the real Alaric and I was just a simple man who died and got reincarnated into another person’s body. That I’ve simply been pretending to be the son of the Baron and Erica’s brother... what then?"
Ava paused.
It took her a while to process what she had just heard.
Completed, Ava faced his gaze. "If you told me you were an alien, I would still follow you to the ends of the earth, my lord. That in itself should tell you I will remain by your side, no matter what."
Alaric’s eyes widened a bit in surprise, though he tried to hide it.
Ava’s eyes were anything but normal. It felt like he was staring at a virus, a virus desperate to swallow him whole.
This Ava... was obsessed and deadly.
Shrugging it off with a heavy grunt, Alaric dug his fingers into his hair. "Honestly, what am I to do with this girl?" he voiced out loud.
Ava kept a lock on him. She wasn’t planning on letting go until he gave her the answer she wanted to hear.
"Fine, I’ve heard you. I’m no longer mad. It was stupid anyway."
The moment she heard that, Ava’s face lit up with a smile.
"Thank you!"
She hastily hugged him, wrapping her arms around him to get a good sniff.
[Ava feels loved.]
[You have gained +100 CP.]
Alaric closed his eyes calmly, allowing himself to feel Ava’s embrace.
Then... the system brought up another notification.
[Notice, you have a new incoming feature.]
[You have added 100 CP to the 10,000 CP needed to unlock the Endpoint feature.]
’Endpoint?’
[Yes, Endpoint. This feature will grant you the ability to see the endpoint of a certain point. In conclusion, you can see what will happen before it does.]
’Seeing the future? Isn’t that amazing...’ Alaric grinned.
