I Married Because I Wanted To Live A Normal Life Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Sein swallowed hard at the strange sense of pressure.

‘Those with abilities are people whose psychology is somehow misaligned with ordinary people. How could they not be, when they’ve wielded mysterious powers different from others since birth.’

Something Miller Firenze had once said flashed through his mind. Sein had silently agreed when he heard it. What those with abilities possessed was usually a sense of superiority.

The kind that comes from thinking, ‘I am different from those people.’

So, what about Hisch’s case?

A man who lived his life thinking that nothing could ever harm him, not out of arrogance, but as if it were a simple truth.

A man who, if he put his mind to it, could make all living things around him disappear as easily as waving a hand to scatter smoke.

Could he truly believe there was meaning in anything?

…Would this even feel like reality to him?

“…Then I will open it.”

Sein muttered to himself as he took a key from his pocket.

How his perception might be distorted was known only to God.

Soon, with a scream of rusting metal grinding against metal, the entrance to the prison slowly opened.

***

“Did you get a good recording?”

“No problem.”

At my words, my colleague, Ronwell, gave a silent nod.

When I played it back to check, the scene I had just witnessed with my own eyes unfolded before me once more.

A somewhat desolate great hall. In front of the throne, the prince stood holding the coronation oath, which he would read only once in his lifetime, slowly mouthing the words as he practiced.

“…..”

Normally, this ceremony would have been held amidst the blessings of all. That is, if the throne had been abdicated to the prince while the former king was still alive.

The heir would have traveled throughout the kingdom for a certain period, imprinting upon the people who their ruler was, and various nations would have sent diplomatic envoys. The capital, too, would have been drenched in a festive atmosphere.

All the nobles of the land, including those of lower titles who normally couldn’t set foot in the capital, might have gathered to enjoy parties.

The boy, in the midst of it all, might have been smiling brightly, perhaps looking even more grown-up than he did now.

But this was no time to be feeling merely sorry for him.

Since no one is born a king from birth, they couldn’t just wait forever for the prince to be ready to inherit the throne.

“Send the data to the court painter and tell them to deliver the finished work before the coronation. After that, the painters of the five families will have to copy it, and then other painters will have to copy those copies, so time is tight.”

“Understood.”

After sending the man off with the video sphere, I too started walking to report to Callen, when a loud cheer erupted from one side of the corridor connected to the garden.

Turning my head, I saw a familiar man standing in the middle of the training grounds connected to the garden.

In front of him, another man lay sprawled on the ground, holding a wooden sword, but he was smiling with satisfaction despite being covered in dirt.

“Thank you, Sir Roelich!”

Teddius Roelich, whose name had been called, nodded and extended a hand to help the man up.

Waving away the others who tried to surround him, Teddius slipped through the crowd and, upon spotting me, blinked his eyes.

“My lord.”

He hurried over to me, but then, seeing his own disheveled state, covered in sweat and dirt, he hastily brushed himself off with his hands.

“My apologies, for appearing like this…”

“No, I was just passing by and happened to see you. What is there to apologize for?”

I said with a smile.

“And in my eyes, you look much more splendid now than when you’re all dressed up.”

At my words, the man’s eyes widened slightly, then he slowly smiled back.

“…Thank you. I may not be dressed for it, but if you are heading back, I will accompany you.”

“Hmm… then how about just a light stroll? If you’re alright with it, Sir Ted…”

It won’t be a problem if I go back a little late, right? I was also happy to have run into him like this.

As Sir Ted immediately replied, “Of course,” the knights who had been glancing at us from over his shoulder showed visibly disappointed expressions.

What is this… This makes me feel like the clueless person stealing away the popular guy.

While Sir Ted exchanged farewells with the other knights, I waited for him, quietly observing the scene.

Hmm… no matter how I looked at it, this man seemed to fit in much better with that group. As expected of someone who was called the model of knights, following in his brother’s footsteps.

Edwin Roelich had to lead his family, so he couldn’t remain a knight, but Sir Ted had that future.

If he had remained in the First Knight Order, he might have been by the prince’s side now, not mine.

For such a talent to come to me and do nothing but escort Hisch and me, or clean up Sir Oswald’s messes…

It was the same now. When Hisch went back to Ensis first, I had tried to send him along with him, but Sir Ted had wanted to stay in the capital, saying he couldn’t return first if I was remaining here.

“…..”

“Shall we go, then?”

Having finished his goodbyes, Sir Ted approached me and spoke with sparkling eyes, and for some reason, a corner of my heart felt a prick of guilt.

No, it’s not my conscience that should be pricked. I definitely tried to stop him at first. I told him Ensis could be the graveyard of this man’s life…

“…Yes, let’s go.”

I said only that and started walking, and Sir Ted, as if it were a matter of course, followed a step behind me.

Conscious of the man walking diagonally behind me as if trying not to even step on my shadow, I was the one who finally spoke first.

“Sir Ted, don’t you sometimes miss this sort of thing?”

“What sort of thing do you mean?”

“The Knight Order, or the royal palace, or the capital, or well… you know, the life of a promising knight.”

When I glanced at him, Teddius had a bewildered expression.

“As you know, Ensis is such a quiet place. I was just thinking that if you had stayed here, you could have done… greater things.”

His red eyes looked at me as if trying to gauge the true meaning of my words. My steps had come to a halt, and he too had stopped. We remained silent for a while.

Then, the words that the man blurted out felt a little out of the blue.

“Was there perhaps something lacking in my service to you, my lord?”

“Huh?”

“If there is anything you wish to reprimand me for, I will gladly accept it.”

“No, why did the conversation suddenly turn that way?”

Sir Ted gently lowered his gaze.

“It sounded as if you wished to send me back, so I wanted to ask if there was some problem with me.”

Goodness, he’s not a package. How on earth could I send him back now, after he’d already sworn his oath?

As I stared at him in disbelief, the man lifted his gaze to meet my eyes and smiled.

Was he always this quick to smile?

“If that is not the case, then please take back those words. For I have never once regretted my choice.”

“Sir…”

Only then did I realize that the great Teddius Roelich was joking, and I let out a hollow laugh. Sir Ted soon erased his smile and said to me, “Do you remember the day I first came to Ensis?”

“…Of course.”

“On that day, you asked what opportunity I was throwing away to come to you, but I was fully aware of the meaning behind pledging my loyalty to you.”

“…..”

“After thinking, and mulling it over, and clearly judging what I would lose and what I would gain, I decided to serve you as my master.”

His gaze was firm, as if to say that even I could not treat his resolve lightly.

But…

“…..”

To be honest, I really wanted Sir Ted to succeed. As I got to know the man named Teddius Roelich after meeting him by chance at the palace, and as I discovered the kind of person he was…

Deep in my heart, I wanted him to do well.

Listening to the true feelings of a man who was never in the spotlight in the novel. I found myself wanting to genuinely cheer for the man who had picked up a sword in admiration of his older brother, and had come to love it, yet was tormented by the paradoxical inferiority complex that he would never surpass his brother with the sword.

Perhaps I wanted to see a common story unfold. Like in the countless novels where an unlit extra becomes a protagonist who is the envy of all.

That was why I couldn’t easily accept him when he came to me.

Because I knew that making me his master would bring him no benefit whatsoever.

“To be honest, I wanted to see you become someone great. I mean… if I may be so bold as to call you my friend, Sir Ted… as a friend, that is.”

At my words, the man looked a little surprised. Thinking he might protest with something like, ‘A friend? How preposterous,’ I hurried on.

“You’re such an incredible person that your excessive humility is your only flaw… On that day, I wonder if I should have refused, even if it meant betraying your sincere feelings. I shouldn’t have pretended to give in and let you settle down by my side.”