Episode 134: Grandpa, You Ate Dinner the Day Before Yesterday
The day before the Off-Campus Training Exercise, I was waiting in front of the school gate for certain girls to arrive. I had left my room a little early, so there was still some time before our agreed meeting. As I was wondering how to kill time, the girls I was waiting for walked towards me from the direction of the Women’s Dormitory.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Hugh-sama!”
“I apologize for the delay.”
“No, I just got here myself, so don’t worry about it.”
Rosalie, shaking her pink drill twin tails, lowered her head, and Cicely-san followed suit. I hurriedly shook my head. I had just arrived earlier than the agreed time, and they were already here more than ten minutes early. I felt bad for making them worry.
“Good morning, Hugh-san!”
“Morning, Lecty.”
Lecty was with Rosalie and Cicely-san. Now that the members were all here, we immediately boarded the carriage prepared by the Royal Knights Order.
Our destination was the hospital adjacent to the Royal Knights Order’s training grounds.
“I’m glad you got permission to leave the Royal Academy, Rosalie-san.”
Inside the carriage as it started moving, Lecty, who was sitting next to me, spoke to Rosalie across from us. Rosalie smiled softly and nodded. “Yes.”
“I had been asking Alissa-sensei for a while to let me see him before the Off-Campus Training Exercise. Just yesterday, I received permission from Prince Lucas, so I can finally go see him. I’m grateful for both of you accompanying me today. Even with Cicely here, I was still a little nervous…”
Rosalie said with a wry smile, faint dark circles under her eyes. It seemed she hadn’t been sleeping well again…
She said she was only a little nervous, but it was probably quite a lot. After all, the person she was about to meet was special to Rosalie in many ways.
“…I hope Grandpa is doing well.”
Malicious, the former cardinal of the Divine Blessing Church. He was also Rosalie’s foster parent, and he was now being held in a hospital managed by the Knights Order. He had been slammed into a wall by the monster Rosalie, but Lecty’s treatment had miraculously saved his life.
“I’m grateful again, Lecty. For saving Grandpa, who suffered a serious injury. To think he would fall down the stairs while I was unconscious, one can’t defy the ravages of age, can they?”
Rosalie sighed in a joking, exasperated manner. Lecty and I, who knew the truth, could only offer strained smiles.
The truth about the incident at the Grand Cathedral had not been told to Rosalie, who was involved. After consulting with Prince Lucas, we came to the conclusion that it would be better for her not to know that she had become a monster.
Because of that, Rosalie still revered Malicious as “Grandpa.” The way Malicious had treated Rosalie was something that should never be forgiven. As someone who knew the truth, I felt conflicted, but it was probably better for Rosalie not to know that she had become a monster…
The carriage arrived at the hospital in about thirty minutes. It seemed the procedures had been completed in advance, and we were smoothly guided to the room where Malicious was.
“Um…”
Rosalie stopped in front of the door to the room, her body stiffening. Lecty gently wrapped her hands around Rosalie’s left hand as if to encourage her.
“It’s okay, Rosalie-san.”
“…Yes. Thank you, Lecty.”
That probably eased her tension. Rosalie knocked on the door three times.
“Grandpa, it’s Rosalie. I’m coming in.”
Rosalie opened the door without waiting for a reply. It was a small private room of about six tatami mats. The old man sitting on the bed by the window looked at us with wide eyes.
Malicious… right? For a moment, I almost didn’t recognize him. Malicious, sitting on the bed, was emaciated and aged. It had only been a month since the incident at the Grand Cathedral, but his appearance had changed drastically.
“I’m glad to see you’re doing well, Grandpa. You’ve gotten quite thin, though. Are you eating properly? You shouldn’t be picky!”
“Rosalie…? I, I have done something unforgivable to you!”
“Grandpa!”
Rosalie hurriedly supported Malicious, who had lost his balance and was about to fall off the bed as he reached out to her.
“Now, now, please be careful!”
“Rosalie, are you really Rosalie…?”
“What are you saying, Grandpa? No matter how you look at it, I’m Rosalie Saint. It’s too early for you to be senile, you know?”
“Ah, it’s the real Rosalie. I’m glad, I’m really glad…!”
Malicious let out a deep sigh of relief, as if from the bottom of his heart. Then, he turned his gaze to me and Lecty,
“You are the ones who saved Rosalie, aren’t you…? Thank you, really, thank you…!”
He bowed deeply, and Lecty and I exchanged confused glances. It seemed he hadn’t known about Rosalie’s safety until now, but that wasn’t the important thing.
What I felt from Malicious was genuine affection for Rosalie, and I couldn’t believe he was the same person who had turned her into a monster because of his obsession with the Holy Maiden. It was as if he had been freed from some evil spirit.
“I don’t really understand, but look at this! It’s the Royal Academy uniform! I’ve become a student at the Royal Academy, which I’ve always dreamed of!”
“Ah, I see… That’s wonderful, Rosalie.”
Malicious smiled at Rosalie, tears welling up in his eyes, as if cherishing his granddaughter.
Suddenly curious, I turned my gaze to Cicely-san, and she, too, looked confused as she simply watched the interaction between Malicious and Rosalie, like a grandfather and granddaughter.
“I became Rosalie-sama’s Holy Knight after Rosalie-sama was appointed as the Holy Maiden. I had never seen Rosalie-sama when she was living with Malicious before that…”
“I think this is their original relationship.”
“…Yeah.”
I agreed with Lecty’s words.
No matter how badly she was treated by Malicious, Rosalie never criticized him. That was because there was indeed the fact that she had been raised with love by Malicious when she was young, and because she had noticed Malicious’s abnormality…
“Hugh, can I have a word?”
Along with a knock, I was called by name from behind. When I turned around, a Knight was peeking out from the corridor.
A thin, middle-aged man with messy, brown hair and an unshaven beard. At first glance, he looked slouching and sloppy, but he was the strongest Knight in the Kingdom of Reese, possessing the Skill
Roan Ashblade, the Vice-Commander of the Royal Knights Order. He was beckoning me with his hand.
“Ah… Lecty, Cicely-san, I’ll be excusing myself for a bit. Call me if anything happens.”
I excused myself to the two nearby and left the room.