The Eldest Daughter Walks Down The Flower Path - Chapter 78

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Eldest Daughter Walks the Path of Flowers Episode 78

 

After covering the somehow blissfully unconscious Eve with a blanket, Radis donned her cloak and performed a final equipment check.

 

And… though she really didn’t want to, she picked up the 110,000 rupen haunted sword.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Radis gave it a test swing.

 

Though she didn’t want to admit it, the sword fit her perfectly, as if it had been made specifically for Radis.

 

Radis let out a short sigh before tucking it into her waist.

 

Sneaking out of the estate and leading a horse from the stable, Radis looked back at the darkened windows of the estate.

 

Radis whispered softly.

 

“I’m sorry, Marquis. I’ll be back soon.”

 

The Imperial Monster Hunting Corps’ campsite.

 

“…No, it’s not a campsite yet.”

 

Standing in the open field that had neither the corps’ banner nor any traces of camping yet, Radis looked around with nostalgic eyes.

 

‘That tree was the makeshift table where we placed the chessboard, right?’

 

The image of Rusty and Thierry playing chess in front of it came vividly to mind, making Radis smile.

 

‘Meric liked to hang his hammock in that spot and sleep there. Since this was the only place where we could boil water for washing, Hardy would nag Laszlo to wash up every time we came here.’

 

Lost in memories, Radis turned her gaze toward where she sensed a presence.

 

Not far away stood Robert, holding horse reins.

 

Despite it being the middle of the night, even with the bright moon, he had an expression as if his eyes were dazzled.

 

Radis tilted her head and approached him.

 

“Captain?”

 

At her call, Robert tied the reins to a tree with strangely stiff movements and said.

 

“…Have you… been well? All this time…?”

 

“I’ve been doing well.”

 

“…I see.”

 

As if something was bothering him, Robert seemed oddly reluctant to meet Radis’s gaze.

 

Radis could understand him.

 

She had deceived him for a full six years.

 

Though he had generously said to let bygones be bygones, that didn’t make her deception disappear.

 

‘Captain, I’m sorry…’

 

Radis apologized to him inwardly.

 

‘Having told such a big lie, I can’t just brush it off with words of apology. This time I’ll truly help the captain.’

 

Robert had said he wanted to make up for his past mistakes.

 

Though she was curious about what that meant, Radis couldn’t bring herself to ask.

 

Perhaps he regretted leaving the corps to Radis and going to the capital.

 

If she heard those words from his mouth, Radis felt she truly wouldn’t be able to lift her head before him.

 

Radis made a firm resolution.

 

‘Whether it’s corps business or fighting that dragon, I’ll help the captain.’

 

Having steeled her heart, Radis lifted her head to look up at Robert.

 

“…”

 

Previously, her emotional turmoil had been too great to notice, but the Robert before her was slightly different from the Robert in her memories.

 

‘Of course. When I met the captain was three years from now…’

 

The Robert before her eyes was much younger than the Robert in her memories. No, more youthful.

 

‘Wow!’

 

She widened her eyes and looked at this Robert she hadn’t known.

 

The most noticeable thing was that the scar on his chin was gone.

 

The long white scar that had run from his chin to his lower lip was completely absent.

 

‘No, it probably hasn’t appeared yet, right?’

 

He seemed a bit shorter than the Robert in her memories too.

 

Perhaps because he wasn’t wearing heavy armor, his body that had seemed massive as a rock now looked more agile.

 

“…What’s wrong?”

 

His sharply defined masculine face was almost the same, but somehow had a slightly youthful air.

 

Was it because his cheekbones were slightly flushed?

 

Radis smiled and said.

 

“It’s fascinating to see the captain from a time I didn’t know.”

 

“…”

 

Robert seemed flustered by her words.

 

He had wound the reins around the branch so many times that the horse’s head was almost touching the branch.

 

Even as the angry horse scraped the ground with its front hooves and snorted, he didn’t notice.

 

“Captain, the reins.”

 

“…”

 

Robert unwound the reins again with jerky movements.

 

Watching him, Radis thought to herself.

 

‘I should refrain from small talk until the captain’s mood improves.’

 

She spoke in a businesslike tone.

 

“Captain, I’ve been thinking about it since then. You’re planning to go to the Forbidden Zone now, right?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Then I know a shortcut.”

 

“A shortcut?”

 

Radis looked at the completely unwound reins and said.

 

“Follow me.”

 

‘Come to think of it, I wonder what happened to those guys?’

 

It was perhaps natural that Radis would think of Gors and Luke as they passed the headquarters of the Royal Snake Mercenary Corps.

 

However, the Royal Snake Mercenary Corps headquarters she glimpsed in passing was completely empty.

 

‘They must have left. It’s a shame I couldn’t personally punish those wicked guys, but at least Tess won’t have to hear the curses she used to hear every time she passed here.’

 

Radis passed the ruined tavern and headed toward the forest.

 

The path was faint, but fortunately there were still traces of a trail.

 

She was able to find the two familiar tall trees without difficulty.

 

In front of the cave, Robert said.

 

“This path leads all the way to the Forbidden Zone?”

 

Radis took out a torch she had prepared in advance and lit it.

 

“Surprised? But it’s true. I’ve been to the Forbidden Zone and back, so I’m certain. The passage is long, but I’ve come prepared, and with you and me, captain, it should be fine.”

 

Suddenly Robert grabbed her arm.

 

“To the Forbidden Zone…!”

 

Radis, who had been about to transfer the flame created from mana at her fingertips to the torch, looked at him in surprise.

 

Though she was the one surprised, at her startled gaze Robert roughly shook off her arm as if he had been burned.

 

Robert barely managed to continue speaking in a slightly cracked voice.

 

“…You went to the Forbidden Zone?”

 

Radis couldn’t understand why he was so shocked.

 

“Yes, I got caught up in an incident by chance…”

 

“…”

 

Robert didn’t even listen to the end of her words and rubbed his face with his palm as if in anguish.

 

She could hear him muttering as if to himself.

 

“…I knew I shouldn’t have brought you along.”

 

He snatched the torch from Radis’s hand and strode into the cave.

 

He glanced back and said.

 

“If you lose sight of me, return here and wait.”

 

Radis was about to say she understood.

 

However, Robert used mana to dash away like the wind before she could even open her mouth.

 

Left alone, Radis pouted her lips in dissatisfaction and muttered.

 

“Why don’t you just tell me to stay here instead?”

 

She too began running, following the light of the torch growing distant.

 

Circulating mana so she wouldn’t run out of strength, Radis recalled the past.

 

At the entrance of the forest, there were crude paths made by the extermination corps coming and going, but from the middle layers onward, even those disappeared, making it impossible to ride horses.

 

The only means of transportation after that was on foot.

 

The extermination corps had to move through the dark forest teeming with monsters while carrying camping equipment and food supplies on their backs.

 

Thinking back to those times, she could run all day through a wide-open passage like this.

 

‘Last time it took three days because I came carrying two lumps, but this time, if things go well, it should only take a day or two…?’

 

How long had she been running?

 

Even though she had been running using mana, by the time she was out of breath, the torch had grown closer.

 

Robert was sitting there with a torch stuck in the collapsed bricks.

 

Robert, who showed no signs of being out of breath, said.

 

“Let’s rest for a moment.”

 

Radis drank water from her canteen while standing, trying not to let her labored breathing show.

 

Then she ended up choking.

 

Robert patted her back as she coughed and beat her chest.

 

“You really…”

 

The hand patting her back seemed to carry some emotion.

 

“C-Captain! That hurts!”

 

“You always do this…!”

 

He was about to get angry, which was rare for him, but seeing Radis’s face turn red as a pomegranate, he suppressed his anger.

 

“Please, if you’re struggling, just say you’re struggling.”

 

Radis wiped her wet lips with her sleeve and said.

 

“I’m not struggling.”

 

“…”

 

At her words, Robert let out a deep sigh that seemed to sink into the ground.

 

She didn’t want to show signs of struggle, but she couldn’t keep standing while Robert was sitting.

 

Radis glanced around and quietly sat down across from Robert.

 

Robert, who had been quietly watching her sit in proper posture, opened his mouth.

 

“May I ask why you’re staying at the marquis’s estate?”

 

At his question, Radis’s cheeks turned bright red.

 

‘Captain, it seems the most beautiful 3rd Prince in the Empire has fallen for me at first sight. Hahaha! So Lord Russel, who noticed this, brought me to the marquis’s estate to connect me with the prince.’

 

How could she possibly say that with her own mouth?

 

Radis struggled to move her reluctant lips and said.

 

“I’m… like a retainer.”

 

“…”

 

Was it because of the flickering torch?

 

A faint shadow passed across Robert’s face.

 

Radis continued speaking hesitantly.

 

“The marquis was quite rude to you, wasn’t he, Captain? As you know… the relationship between House Russel and House Rodrick isn’t good. It must be because of that. He’s not really a bad person.”

 

Robert let out a small chuckle.

 

“I’ve been watching him since my previous life. He’s not as evil as the rumors say, but he’s certainly arrogant and greedy.”

 

Radis couldn’t help but admire Robert’s ability to judge people.

 

However, as someone who had become a temporary retainer of the Russel marquis’s estate, she decided to remain silent instead of agreeing with his words.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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