Only Obedient to Me! Sir Knight Chapter 26

“Wow.”

“How is it?”

“…It’s truly beautiful.”

It really was. Van was genuinely awestruck. The red sun hanging at the edge of the endless, vast ocean had a deep, poignant beauty that somehow touched the heart. Even though he had seen the sun set countless times in his life, this was different. Van kept admiring the scenery.

“Have you always watched this beautiful sight alone?”

“Mm-hmm. Because there was no one to watch it with.”

At the words that sounded somehow lonely, Van took his eyes off the sunset and pulled Rowy into a hug by the shoulders. He then whispered in a tender voice.

“From now on, you can watch it with me.”

“Together….”

“Yes. I’d like us to watch it together every day.”

…It was quite a pleasant thing to hear. Yes, he seemed to have always wanted to watch such a scene with someone. Even though there hadn’t been anyone like that in Rowy’s life until now….

‘…Will he really stay by my side forever?’

When he glanced at Van, Van hugged him even tighter. Rowy completely snuggled into Van’s embrace.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

On the way back, Van carried Rowy on his back. It wasn’t that Rowy had asked first; Van had suggested it for Rowy, who seemed a bit down. Having no reason to refuse, Rowy climbed on readily, swinging his feet and humming a tune.

“The castle has changed so much, everyone will be surprised when they come.”

“Ask them to make apple pie when they arrive tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“…Then let’s go and take a bath.”

“…Shall we run?”

“What? Hey! I’m getting dizzy!”

Rowy, startled by Van running recklessly, smacked his shoulder, but there was no way Van would stop for such soft, cotton-like punches. At his urgent pace, a joyful laugh finally burst from Rowy’s lips. The castle was no longer plunged in darkness. The two ran into the brightly lit castle.

And the next day. Until late afternoon,

No one came to the castle.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

“What could have happened?”

He had noticed something was wrong this morning. The moment he woke up, Rowy began singing songs about apple pie, and Van, who had gone to the kitchen due to Rowy’s persistence, found it completely empty. Thinking they might have gone to help someone else, he searched the castle, only to find that Finn, the butler, and even the twin brothers were all missing.

At first, Van hadn’t thought much of it, assuming they were just late because of yesterday’s storm. But as it neared late afternoon and no one had arrived, he finally began to worry that maybe an accident had occurred.

“Nothing bad happened, right? Like a boat accident….”

“That has never happened before.”

Unlike Van, who was pacing restlessly, Rowy didn’t think much of it. There had been times he lived alone for over two weeks because of typhoons. Not coming for a day wasn’t a big deal.

“Have they ever not come without even a word like this before?”

“…No, that’s a first.”

Only then did Rowy’s expression become slightly serious. Van, who had been staring out the window for a long while, eventually stood up, saying he would at least go to the dock. Rowy followed behind him.

“Can’t you contact them with the artifact the butler has?”

“Mm-hmm. I tried earlier, but it’s not working.”

During typhoon season, it was common for servants not to be able to come to the island for days because the boats couldn’t sail. But losing contact was… now that he thought about it, a first. Rowy wasn’t very close to the servants, so he didn’t even know who to call if he couldn’t reach them.

‘I’ve never even had a proper conversation with them.’

It was obvious that Van, who had been there for a few days, was closer to them. Rowy pouted, looking at Van, whose face was stiff with worry. …He was a person who was kind to everyone, regardless of who they were. Feeling resentful for no reason, Rowy hung off Van’s arm. Of course, Van effortlessly picked Rowy up and tucked him under his arm.

“It would be a relief if they’re just arriving late.”

The dock, where he arrived while still tucking Rowy under his arm, was indeed empty.

“What should we do? It seems we’re trapped on the island too.”

“I guess so.”

Now that he thought about it, he was right. The butler had always called for the boats. Well, if worst came to worst, he could contact the mansion in Seto. Or Seilan. He had exchanged communication tools with Seilan when they parted ways. If it was the well-connected Seilan, he could find out not just about the boats, but about the servants as well.

“If it really comes to that, I can just ask Seilan to find out.”

“I see.”

Van, who had remembered Seilan, nodded.

“The weather is so nice… how did this happen? Ah, just don’t sit down.”

Van stopped Rowy from plumping down on a nearby rock, took off his own coat to lay it down, and seated Rowy there. Then, he sat close and hugged Rowy tightly.

“Even if the weather is nice, the wind is cold because it’s by the sea. Let’s watch for a little longer before going in.”

“Mm-hmm….”

“…”

“…But why do you keep feeling my waist?”

“…”

Does it not work? Van awkwardly pulled back the hand he had wrapped around Rowy’s waist. Rowy’s eyes were cold. He had slept just fine in his arms last night. He really couldn’t understand him. Sometimes he would reach for his hand, and other times he would act like that. Ahem. Feeling embarrassed, Van turned his eyes back to the sea. And….

“Oh? A boat is coming over there.”

“Oh? Where? Why can’t I see it?”

“That way. You’ll be able to see it in a moment, Master.”

Rowy looked at where Van was pointing. A moment later, just as Van had said, a boat approaching the island became visible to Rowy as well.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

“Captain?”

“Hello there!”

The visitor was an unexpected figure. It was the captain who had brought Van and Rowy to the island.

“What brings you here?”

“I came at the request of Finn’s sisters! Finn didn’t return home yesterday, you see. You know Finn, right? The kid who works here. He’s a neighbor of mine!”

“He didn’t return home? We’ve been worried since no one came here. Not only Finn, but the butler, and the brothers Henry and Hudson—none of them came to the island.”

“None of them came? They said they were heading to the island yesterday… I should have checked this first.”

Yesterday? It was unexpected news. Van voiced his doubt.

“Yesterday? Didn’t it rain yesterday?”

“Didn’t the rain stop in the afternoon? They said they departed then… but they never even reached the island?”

This is a big problem. The captain’s expression grew serious. Van and Rowy also hardened their expressions as they looked at each other.

“Did they have an accident?”

“That may be so.”

Finn’s island was about an hour away by boat, not far at all… it seemed something must have happened on the way. However… the captain seemed to think otherwise. The captain looked at Rowy this time and asked.

“So, are you absolutely sure they didn’t come here yesterday? You didn’t just miss them?”

“No one came here yesterday.”

“How could we not know if someone had come?”

Agreeing with Rowy, Van also nodded. But the captain still seemed suspicious of something.

“Have you been in the castle the whole time?”

“Well, ah….”

Just as Van was about to nod, he suddenly remembered watching the sunset with Rowy yesterday.

“We were outside for a little while. But it was only for an hour or two at most.”

“We are certain no one came yesterday.” Van shook his head again.

“Is there no possibility of an accident at sea? There aren’t even any boats at the dock to begin with.”

“Well, the sea was particularly calm yesterday afternoon… and….”

The captain stopped talking and looked at Rowy.

“You know well enough, don’t you? That this island is cursed.”

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

Because the captain turned pale and adamantly refused the offer to go inside the castle to talk, the three eventually settled in the cabin of the boat. The captain offered a glass of strong liquor, saying it was the only thing he had to offer, and naturally, Van took Rowy’s glass and refused on his behalf. The captain didn’t mind the refusal, took the glass, and began drinking repeatedly by himself. Meanwhile, Van was fussing over Rowy, until he finally heard a word from Rowy.

“I’m not getting seasick on a docked boat.”

“Yes….”

Van, who had been turned down repeatedly since earlier, now looked openly sad.

“Whew… I never thought something like this would happen. I thought peace had finally come.”

And in the meantime, the captain, who was becoming reasonably tipsy, began a story mixed with lamentation.

“This island is cursed.”

Then, the captain paused for a moment, sighed deeply, and slowly opened his mouth again.

“On this island… a demon lives.”

“…”

Ah, yes.

…He would have been surprised if not for what happened yesterday. Having already met and disposed of a demon, the story wasn’t very surprising to hear.

The only thing that was surprising was,

“Pardon? Demon worship?”