I Became the Villain’s Lost Daughter Chapter 101

Hah, whew—

 

A gasp escaped from the man crouched in the dirt.

 

In contrast, his opponent, standing across from him, hadn’t moved an inch.

 

“You’re better than I thought.”

 

“…Does that mean I’ve passed the test?”

 

Aslan’s nonchalant muttering caused Thane, who had caught his breath, to stagger to his feet.

 

He looked at Thane with a puzzled expression, then nodded.

 

“Very well. You have fulfilled your condition.”

 

As he said this, a small scratch appeared on his cheek, like an invisible slit.

 

It was the result of his last deliberate effort, but Aslan did not mention it.

 

Thane exhaled in relief at Aslan’s answer.

 

“Thane!”

 

Erita, who had been standing in the distance, came running toward them.

 

Thane’s face widened, and Aslan coughed unnecessarily.

 

“You’re so mean, Dad, I told you to be so gentle with him!”

 

“Ah, sweetheart…”

 

Aslan winced at Erita’s resentful glare and tried to make some lame excuse, but it was waved away.

 

Erita’s face immediately turned sour, and she looked back at Thane.

 

“Thane, are you okay, you must be hurt…”

 

Erita’s eyes scanned every inch of the wolf, seemingly oblivious to the scars on her father’s face.

 

It was a small, invisible cut, but Aslan had to soothe his aching stomach.

 

He tried to make a few unnecessary ‘hmphs’ and sounds, but he didn’t get a single loving glance.

 

The original rules called for the duel to end when one side screamed surrender or became incapacitated.

 

So technically, it wasn’t Aslan’s fault.

 

The wolf was the one who didn’t call out for surrender.

 

Besides, the wolf’s injuries weren’t as bad as they looked.

 

The wolf was quite capable, and contrary to Erita’s beliefs, Aslan had no intention of treating the wolf she so clearly cared for badly.

 

But Aslan couldn’t bring himself to say it in front of her.

 

Even if he tried to make excuses to an irate Erita, he was sure he would only get more glares of ‘You should have done it in moderation!’

 

“Come on, let’s go. I’ll heal you.”

 

“It doesn’t really hurt… Don’t worry, Miss Erita.”

 

The wolf must have known that saying such a thing with a pinched face and a wry smile would only make Erita feel worse.

 

Despite his innocent face, it was clear that his behavior was an instinctive way to win Erita’s heart.

 

“I must be going, I’ll have dinner in my room tonight.”

 

Her voice was so cold that one would think that winter had returned all over again.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

There was silence in the training grounds as Erita, who was carrying a wolf two heads taller than her, walked away, leaving behind a resentful glare.

 

“Ha…”

 

Aaron, who shared the mantle with Thane for allowing him to be beaten, sighed in annoyance.

 

“…I don’t think it was a wolf Erita let in, but a fox.”

 

Aslan muttered to himself with a frown, wondering where the sulking Erita had been a moment ago.

 

“Why didn’t you do that in moderation? You knew Erita was unusually hard on the weak.”

 

“I did it in moderation. It only looks bad on the outside.”

 

“So you’re saying we should have made it less obvious.”

 

Aslan raised an eyebrow at his son’s mildly irritated retort.

 

“Then next time you’ll have to do it yourself.”

 

“I’d rather not be hated by the Great Erita than have to do that.”

 

“…Forget it.”

 

Aslan sighed at Aaron’s talent for scratching his head with his characteristic nonchalant face.

 

No matter how you slice it, he was the one Erita was upset with right now.

 

“…”

 

While Aslan pondered how to defuse Erita’s anger, Aaron stared in the direction where Erita and Thane had disappeared.

 

The emotion in the wolf’s eyes as he looked at his sister was easy to recognize.

 

His father, who was as clueless as ever, had yet to see it.

 

“…You’ll have to work hard, Your Highness.”

 

For a moment, Aaron thought of someone else, then he smirked and muttered softly.

 

💫

 

Returning to my room with Thane, I asked Mary for something to treat his wounds.

 

“Miss, I’ll be outside, just call for me if you need me.”

 

“Yeah, okay, thanks, Mary.”

 

Mary laid out a clean towel, a bowl of water, and some antiseptic and ointment, took one look at Thane, and left the room.

 

Thane sat calmly on the couch, exactly where I’d left him.

 

“Hmm, I think I’ll clean that wound first.”

 

“I, I can do that, Miss Erita.”

 

Thane squirmed restlessly as I soaked a towel in water and squeezed it.

 

But he didn’t stand up, as if he didn’t want to violate my order to stay seated.

 

“No, I’ll do it for you. Close your eyes, will you?”

 

Thane’s eye was already red and swollen from where he had been struck by Father’s sword hilt, and it was threatening to turn into a creeping bruise by tomorrow.

 

Still fidgeting awkwardly, Thane fumbled for a moment, then closed his eyes tightly.

 

“I really could do it, but…”

 

“Are you worried I might hurt you? I’m pretty skilled at this.”

 

“No, it’s not that, it’s just that it’s too trivial for you to do…”

 

Gray wolf ears poked out of Thane’s ash-colored hair as he closed his eyes in strong denial.

 

He seemed to feel comfortable being alone with me.

 

“…Ugh, look what happened to your handsome face,” I grumbled, my voice tinged with frustration, and carefully wiped the wound.

 

Thane’s ears twitched as the fluffy washcloth touched the scratch, even though it was only a scratch. The sight of the scars on his flawless face pained her, but also made her angry again.

 

‘I asked him to be so gentle, and I don’t think my father didn’t realize that a pure-blooded wolf of beasts’ caliber would be at the top of our family’s knightly order.’ 

 

Although I knew that Thane’s wounds weren’t as bad as I had feared, my father’s scolding was still unfair.

 

“I, Miss Erita, I’m really fine.”

 

Thane opened his eyes slightly, looking up at me from where he’d been sitting on the couch, his face meek.

 

He looked worried at my halting touch and the fierceness in my expression.

 

“… I’m okay.”

 

It’s not too bad, but it would probably be bruised in places if I took it off.

 

First, I carefully applied antiseptic to all the exposed wounds and applied a special ointment.

 

It was possible to heal with magic, but unlike divine power, magic was not a cure-all when it came to the field at hand.

 

Healing with magic would reduce the ability to self-heal.

 

“Well, I’ve put medicine on everywhere I can see.”

 

“…Thank you.”

 

Thane’s tail wagged slightly as he stretched out on the couch, closing the cap on the ointment.

 

From among the things Mary had left behind, I picked up a round vial about the size of my palm.

 

“Here, this is a Knight’s favorite, they say it’s so good on bruises.”

 

Thane took the vial I held out.

 

“I’ll put a little on, so you can put it on your bruises after you bathe. Don’t forget again like last time. Okay?”

 

“I will, Miss Erita.”

 

Thane nodded, grinning from ear to ear, even though it was my father who was beating him around.

 

Anyway, Thane was too good to be true in this harsh world.

 

If he lived in the modern world, he might be the perfect person to be scammed.

 

‘I mean, I’m sure he’d flinch when they asked him to take some weird survey or something, but he wouldn’t be able to say no.’

 

By comparison, Callian seemed like he would say no with a big smile on his face.

 

Not to mention Father and Aaron. I chuckled to myself at the thought.

 

“Miss Erita…?”

 

“Oh, I’m just thinking about something else.”

 

Thane shook his head at the sight of me laughing to myself.

 

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I set the used towels and medicines on one side of the table and sat down next to Thane.

 

“Well, since Thane said he was going to be my escort…”

 

Although I’m a powerful wizard now and don’t need an escort, I had one when I was younger.

 

My father and Aaron pushed me into it, insisting it was dangerous.

 

And my escort followed me almost all day, every day.

 

I remember vividly how much I hated it, even when I went for a walk in the garden.

 

“No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”

 

About to tell him he didn’t have to follow me, I was interrupted by a serious-faced Thane.

 

“Uh, eh?”

 

“I learned the duties of a noble’s escort from Lord Yurgen a long time ago, so I’m good at it.”

 

Thane straightened his back and spoke in a very boastful manner. He was as good as the emperor’s escort in terms of strength.

 

I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him.

 

“Ahaha, did you learn something like that?”

 

“…I don’t want Miss Erita to suffer, and Lord Yurgen said it was enough…”

 

Thane nodded shyly as he asked with a long twitch of his eyebrows.

 

“Aye, I’ll leave it in your hands then.”

 

In the end, I didn’t tell him to make himself comfortable with a nominal escort.

 

‘I don’t want to blow the candle out after all that preparation.’

 

💫

 

Time flies by as I spend time with Thane, showing him around the mansion.

 

Dinner was in my room with Thane, just as we had talked about earlier in the training grounds.

 

“Thane, are you sure you’re okay with this? You could always travel back and forth from home…”

 

“I’m fine. I want to stay here with Miss Erita.”

 

Thane shook his head in response to my worried question.

 

He and Yurgen live in a mansion not too far from the top building, and I’d offered to commute with him, but he’d refused.

 

I don’t know exactly why, but I decided to respect Thane’s wishes.

 

“…Okay. Well, Thane, if that’s what you want, I can’t help it. Do you remember the way to the room I showed you earlier?”

 

“Yes, I remember.”

 

Thane nodded at my question.

 

“Good, that’s good. From now on, whenever you need to rest or sleep at night, you can go there.”

 

The room I gave Thane was a guest room on the same floor as Aaron’s room.

 

Even though it was a guest room, it had a big bed, a closet, and an optional dresser and desk, so it wasn’t hard to get started right away.

 

“Well, then, Thane, I’ll see you tomorrow. Just don’t stand outside my room at night. Okay?”

 

“…Yeah.”

 

Thane frowned a little at being told not to stand outside at night, but he quickly shook his head, saying he understood.

 

After seeing off Thane, who kept looking back at me.

 

I sat down at my desk and tapped my fountain pen.

 

— Your Highness, please write back when you have a moment!

 

The subject, of course, was Callian from earlier.

 

About two or three minutes after I wrote.

 

[I’m just now getting around to it. Have you had dinner?]

 

Callian’s reply appeared beneath my text.

 

After a short note about what I had for dinner, I cut to the chase.

 

— Would you be able to meet with me for a few minutes tomorrow?