101CF 10

Chapter : 10

“Herwin, ughhh, I hate him so much…!”

Her crying, mixed with resentment, showed no sign of stopping.

Birds, squirrels, rabbits, and other creatures of the mountain all stared at the weeping Lucia. Then suddenly, their ears all perked up and turned.

The animals seemed to sense something, and all at once, they scattered away in panic.

Grrrr—

A strange growl came from nearby. Lucia stopped crying and turned around.

“H-huh…?”

Through her tear-blurred vision, she saw something large and brown approaching. She wiped her eyes, and at last, she could see clearly what it was.

“A… a wild dog?”

It was a stray dog wandering the forest.

For an adult, it would only be considered medium-to-large size, but to 8-year-old Lucia, it was as terrifying as a wolf.

Bark! Bark! Grrrr—!

“M-mom… Dad…”

Lucia’s legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. All she could do was shuffle backward on her bottom.

The dog bared its teeth, ready to attack the child in front of it.

Even the saliva dripping onto the grass was frightening.

Grrr, Raaagh!

Lucia instinctively threw her arms over her head and shut her eyes tight.

Yelp! Whimper!

Then, suddenly, she heard the dog cry out in pain.

Opening her eyes, she saw the dog—once right in front of her—had fallen over.

“Stay away from Lucia!”

“H-Herwin…!”

From the path she had come, Herwin stood, panting hard, gripping a stone the size of his fist.

Near the fallen dog, there was also a large rock.

Thud!

Herwin threw another stone at the stray dog. The dog dodged with quick reflexes.

“I said stay away from Lucia!”

This time, Herwin drew the wooden sword strapped to his waist.

When Herwin raised his sword and charged, the startled dog backed away.

As soon as the dog distanced itself from Lucia, Herwin rushed to her side, placing himself firmly in front of her with sword in hand.

Lucia looked at the small back that shielded her.

Though it was only the frail back of a child, far from that of an adult, to her it felt as large and strong as her father Johann’s.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the little head with its jet-black hair.

The dog, seemingly thinking it could still win, once again bared its fangs and advanced toward the two children.

Herwin secretly swallowed hard, but he did not let his guard down.

It’s okay. I can do this.

He hadn’t been learning swordsmanship just for show. Hadn’t his father praised him for having talent?

Herwin trusted himself. He widened his crimson eyes and glared at the approaching dog.

Raaagh!

The dog leaped high, flashing its sharp teeth.

Without flinching, Herwin raised his wooden sword.

Thud! Yelp!

Luckily, his strike landed cleanly.

The dog rolled on the ground, struck across the face. Blood trickled from its head.

But its eyes soon changed, filled with fury.

Once again, it lunged.

“Urgh!”

“Herwin!”

The dog leapt on top of Herwin, jaws wide. Without the wooden sword, it would have been disastrous.

Bark! Grrr! Bark bark!

It bit into the sword, gnawing at it like a chew toy, trying to push closer to Herwin’s throat with all its might.

For an 8-year-old boy, the beast’s sheer strength was overwhelming.

But Herwin knew: if he faltered here, both he and Lucia would be gravely injured. Gritting his teeth, he glared back at the dog.

Lucia trembled like a leaf. Terror swept over her at the thought of Herwin getting hurt.

Desperately, she looked around—and then her eyes landed on a rock Herwin had thrown earlier.

Lucia crawled toward it, picked it up quickly, and stumbled to her feet.

“Hyaaah!”

Her voice rang out loud and clear.

The dog turned its gaze toward her.

Her legs shook, and tears threatened to burst forth, but Lucia held onto the rock with all her strength.

“Don’t hurt Herwin!”

With her eyes tightly shut, she hurled the rock with all the force her little arms could muster.

Though not as strong as Herwin, she was close enough—the rock struck the dog on the head.

Thunk!

The pressure against Herwin weakened. Seizing the chance, he swung his wooden sword hard.

The dog staggered, hit in the side, then backed off.

Now battered and bleeding, the dog seemed to realize it had no chance of winning.

It cast one last glance at the children before limping away into the forest.

“Hah… hahh… hahh…”

Herwin kept his eyes fixed on the direction the dog had fled, fearing it might return. But time passed, and it did not.

Only then did he wipe the sweat dripping down his face and turn to Lucia.

“Are you okay, Lucia?”

“S-sniff… Herwin…”

Lucia burst into tears again, throwing herself into his arms.

“I-I was so scared…!”

“That’s why I told you not to come too deep into the forest. There are beasts even more dangerous than wild dogs here.”

“S-sniff, hic, o-okay… It was my fault…”

She stammered between sobs.

Her soft brown hair tickled Herwin’s cheek.

When he had first seen her cornered by the dog, his heart had dropped to his stomach. Now, it finally calmed.

With the tension gone, Herwin felt like crying himself. But he fought the urge—he couldn’t let her see him cry.

“Don’t ever go into the woods alone again, okay?”

“Y-yeah…”

“And here, take this.”

He wiped her tears with his hand and pulled something from his pocket.

“Huh? A four-leaf clover…”

“I found it after you ran off. You can have it, so stop crying now.”

“You’re giving it to me?”

“…Of course. It’s my fault you went into the forest in the first place.”

Meeting her tear-filled eyes, Herwin’s face flushed red. He quickly turned away, placing the clover in her hand.

Though wilted and fragile, to Lucia it was the most precious gift she’d ever received.

“Hehe…”

Seeing her smile again, Herwin stole a quick glance at her.

“Come on, let’s go back.”

“Sniff… okay!”

Hand in hand, the two children left the forest.

Their palms were sweaty, but neither let go. If anything, they squeezed tighter, afraid of losing each other.

* * *

When the children returned safely to the castle after descending the hill, the place erupted in chaos.

“Heavens! Herwin! What happened?”

“Why are your clothes like that?”

Their clothes were smeared with dirt and grass stains.

Lucia was in relatively good shape, apart from a bruised bottom. But Herwin, having wrestled with the dog, was covered head to toe in dirt—even his face and hair.

It was obvious something had happened.

“Did you fall? But for just a fall, your condition looks too strange…”

“I fought a dog.”

Herwin answered Scarlet’s question with pride.

“What?”

“The stray dog was threatening Lucia, so I defeated it.”

It was unbelievable. And yet, the seriousness in both children’s faces made it hard to dismiss as a lie.

“You didn’t get bitten, did you? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Scarlet carefully wiped Herwin’s face, checking.

“I’m fine… but my wooden sword got ruined.”

Indeed, the sword was covered in deep bite marks and scratches—a clear sign of the fierce struggle.

The adults, skeptical at first, began murmuring among themselves.

Scarlet was torn between pride in her son and fear of what could have happened.

“Let’s have a doctor check you both, just in case.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Scarlet hurriedly ordered servants to fetch the physician.

As the adults bustled about, Julian checked on Lucia. But she didn’t even seem to hear him—her eyes were fixed only on Herwin.

“Herwin!”

Then suddenly, Lucia shouted with all her might.

“I love Herwin the most! That’s why I’m going to marry him!”

Her declaration froze the noisy hall into silence.

Heinrich, Johann, freshly changed Lucas, Henry, and all the servants who had rushed in after hearing the children were hurt—everyone stopped and stared.

Lucia’s face was red, her blue eyes shining with a love she’d never expressed before.

“…Hah…”

Julian, who had been fussing over her, let out a sigh.

The adults were stunned. But no one was more shaken than Herwin himself.

Just minutes ago, he hadn’t imagined such feelings would be directed at him. But now, he felt it clearly.

Thump, thump, thump.

His once-quiet heart began pounding loudly.

His face started to flush—but then, he noticed the children of the retainers whispering amongst themselves.

Thump, thump, thump…!

Now his heart raced with dread instead of warmth. The fluttering sensation turned into a sickening nausea.

As soon as he became aware of it, he also felt the adults’ eyes boring into him.

His stomach churned.

Herwin’s flushed face turned deathly pale.

“I-I don’t want to!”

Rejecting her confession, he bolted from the hall.

The mood, already tense, turned ice-cold.

The servants dared not even breathe too loudly as they turned their eyes toward Lucia.

Her sudden public confession—and then his public rejection—had frozen the entire hall.

“…Lucia, are you okay?”

Julian asked cautiously, as everyone held their breath.

Surely, she was about to cry…

But time passed, and she didn’t.

“…Lucia?”

To everyone’s shock, Lucia neither wept nor looked embarrassed. She simply gazed at the direction Herwin had run off, lips pursed in determination.

“Mother, let’s go wash up.”

“Huh? Are you sure you’re okay…?”

“Yes! You said I needed a bath. Let’s go quickly!”

As if nothing had happened, Lucia grabbed Julian’s hand and pulled her toward the stairs.