The Eldest Daughter Walks Down The Flower Path - Chapter 79

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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 79

 

After a while, Robert stood up from his seat.

 

“We have a long way to go, so let’s get moving.”

 

“Yes, Captain.”

 

During their second rest, Robert said.

 

“Considering we’re getting close to the Forbidden Zone, it would be good to get some sleep, even if just for a moment.”

 

Radis said spiritedly.

 

“I’m fine!”

 

Robert nodded.

 

“I figured you’d say that, so I was planning to rest first.”

 

Robert took out a time-measuring stick, lit it, and stuck it into the ground.

 

“Wake me when it burns out.”

 

Then he turned his back and immediately fell asleep.

 

Looking at Robert’s sleeping back, Radis sat upright and slowly circulated her mana, taking her own form of rest.

 

Though she tried not to show it, after running for so long, there was no way she wouldn’t be tired.

 

In fact, even sitting here now, her legs were trembling.

 

But she couldn’t show signs of fatigue right now.

 

‘He’s already looking at me with such distrust, how could I say I’m tired?’

 

Robert hadn’t been like this before.

 

Though he cared for his members specially, it was only as members of his unit.

 

He wasn’t the type to jump up and down just because someone had been to the Forbidden Zone, nor was he someone who would demoralize his subordinates with words like ‘I shouldn’t have brought you.’

 

Most importantly… ‘D’ had been like Robert’s right hand.

 

He trusted ‘D’ that much.

 

Did Robert consider the ‘D’ of that time and the current ‘Radis’ to be different people?

 

‘Wait at the starting point if you lose sight of the Captain?’

 

Robert would never have said such a thing to ‘D’.

 

When her thoughts reached that point, disappointment washed over her like waves.

 

Feeling upset, Radis glared at Robert’s broad back.

 

‘If it’s because of my mistakes in my previous life, I’ll accept it. But if it’s because you found out I’m a woman…’

 

Then that would be entirely Robert’s fault.

 

The current Radis was stronger than when she was ‘D’.

 

Her mana had increased significantly, and her physical condition was much better too.

 

Recently, she had indulged in pleasures a little, just a tiny bit, so her stamina seemed to have dropped slightly…

 

‘I should suggest a sparring match next time. If I roast him crispy on the outside, he won’t dare say such things again, right?’

 

Thinking that made her feel a little better.

 

Radis turned her gaze away from Robert and looked down at her own hands.

 

‘I need to become stronger.’

 

According to Robert, their future that was soon to come was dark.

 

The monster that appeared in the capital defeated the White Crane Knight Order, the Empire’s strongest military force, and devastated the capital.

 

Moreover, dragons, legendary monsters believed to have disappeared, had reappeared and turned the South into a wasteland.

 

Suddenly, the faces of Teacher Armano and Olivier came to mind.

 

‘If the capital is devastated, what happens to Teacher and His Highness?’

 

Radis felt her heart sink.

 

With the White Crane Knight Order sacrificed and even the Emperor meeting his death, it didn’t seem likely that Armano and Olivier would be safe.

 

It wouldn’t just be them who would be in danger.

 

‘If a dragon appears in the South, Russel Manor would also join the subjugation, right?’

 

Imagining Eve, who couldn’t even use mana, leading knights to fight against a dragon made her chest ache as if she’d been punched in the solar plexus.

 

It wasn’t just Eve.

 

If the South was trampled by monsters, the people of the manor would also be in danger.

 

Radis didn’t want to lose them.

 

The thought that she might lose them made her fists on her knees tremble.

 

‘I can’t let that happen.’

 

How much time had passed?

 

Lost in deep thought, Radis suddenly realized that the time stick had almost burned out.

 

‘Captain must be tired, I should let him sleep a little longer.’

 

Radis reached toward Robert’s bedside, thinking to put out the stick’s flame.

 

At that moment, Robert, who had been sleeping peacefully, suddenly sat up like a roly-poly toy.

 

Radis flinched and pulled her hand back.

 

“Captain?”

 

“…”

 

Though he had gotten up, Robert still looked like he was wandering in a dream.

 

His sleepy eyes were hazy yet gentle.

 

Looking at Radis with those eyes, she could see a faint smile appearing on Robert’s lips.

 

“…D.”

 

At that moment, she felt something strange.

 

A feeling like she understood why Robert was here with her now.

 

Looking back, Robert had been more like family to her than her actual family.

 

He had been more of a father than her father, and more of a sibling than David or Yurhee.

 

No one else could be like Robert.

 

They were bound by ties stronger than blood.

 

‘Ah…’

 

Radis realized.

 

‘I was missing this person.’

 

Radis nodded with a smiling face.

 

“Robert.”

 

At her smile, the sleepiness cleared from Robert’s face.

 

Robert rubbed his eyes with his hands and returned to his usual self.

 

“I slept deeply for the first time in a while.”

 

Radis pointed at the bare ground with cold air rising from it with an incredulous expression.

 

“Here? How is that possible?”

 

“…I’ve been having restless dreams constantly.”

 

Noticing that Robert’s brow was slightly furrowed, Radis decided not to ask further.

 

In the slightly awkward atmosphere, Robert rummaged through his pack and pulled out rations and a water bottle.

 

Seeing this, Radis brightened and opened her bag.

 

“Oh, Captain! I brought food too.”

 

To be precise, they were things she had slyly taken from the kitchen.

 

Radis handed Robert an apple, then skewered chunks of cheese and plump sausages on a stick and lightly grilled them over the campfire.

 

She also toasted the surface of walnut bread, split it in half, and stuffed it with the melting cheese and sausage, quickly creating a fine sandwich.

 

While the cheese and sausage were grilling, Robert, who had finished eating an apple, threw the apple core into the campfire and asked.

 

“What’s that?”

 

“I brought some food. I figured you’d only bring rations anyway, Captain.”

 

“…That’s the best thing for the outdoors. I wondered why your pack looked a bit heavy.”

 

“It’s for two people, so it wasn’t that heavy.”

 

Radis made two sandwiches and shared one with Robert.

 

Though it was simple food, as the warm, greasy food went into her stomach, she could feel her cold, stiff body relaxing.

 

Though he didn’t show it, Robert seemed to feel the same way.

 

He took off the cloak he was wearing, set it down, and said.

 

“There’s no rush, so you should get some sleep too.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Even if you’re fine, rest for a bit. If what’s ahead really is the Forbidden Zone, we won’t have time to sit down and rest there.”

 

Radis was really fine, but since Robert showed no signs of getting up, she had no choice but to crouch down with her back against the wall.

 

Robert handed her the cloak he had taken off.

 

“Put this on.”

 

“What about you, Captain?”

 

“…I’m hot.”

 

Radis was about to ask “Really?” but closed her mouth when she saw Robert’s ears were bright red.

 

The sandwich must have been too hot.

 

“Tell me right away if you get cold. I won’t sleep.”

 

Though she said that, with her stomach full and wrapped in Robert’s cloak that still held his warmth, drowsiness washed over her.

 

Radis opened her mouth to fight off the overwhelming sleepiness.

 

“Are you okay, Captain?”

 

Robert, who had been stirring the firewood to build up the fire, looked at her.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Coming back again.”

 

Robert’s hand stopped.

 

“…Okay? Are you asking if being alive like this right now is okay?”

 

“This kind of thing, it’s strange…”

 

Robert looked at her for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the campfire.

 

“It’s not strange. Neither you nor I have ever had luck follow us our whole lives. We can just think that we got lucky at the end and a miracle happened.”

 

At Robert’s forced words, Radis chuckled softly and shrugged her shoulders, burrowing deeper into the cloak.

 

Robert’s cloak, which never had any perfume sprayed on it, was infused with a wild and warm scent like that from a horse’s neck.

 

It couldn’t be called a fragrant smell, but strangely it put her mind at ease.

 

“Calling it a miracle… somehow feels nice.”

 

Pressed close against the wall, Radis slowly fell into sleep.

 

Robert, who had been watching her beyond the heat of the campfire, let out a quiet sigh.

 

He muttered in a low voice.

 

“…Am I okay?”

 

He looked down at his own two hands.

 

His hands looked strong enough to crush steel with his bare hands.

 

However, he had only been able to watch helplessly as the most precious things slipped away like grains of sand between those fingers.

 

With a sigh, Robert interlaced his fingers, clasping his hands together.

 

To him, this miracle wasn’t just ‘okay.’

 

He had never once viewed his circumstances optimistically in his life.

 

He was born illegitimately, and his father was a coward who couldn’t acknowledge his own mistakes.

 

In the Rodrick Family, he had never felt at ease for even a single moment.

 

However, this one miracle had allowed him to forgive everything.

 

“So… I shouldn’t be greedy for more.”

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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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