They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 109

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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They say an age gap of nnn years doesn’t even warrant checking compatibility.
Chapter 109
“Since we’re going to burn it anyway, we might as well put it to good use.”
Iserna shrugged his shoulders.
“You burned down the mansion?”
“Ah, I suppose you haven’t heard what happened there yet.”
As we left the forest, Iserna recounted how he had secured evidence and rescued people from the Imperial Noble’s Mansion.
“That sharp-eyed bastard tried to stab me in the back. When he started summoning soldiers and knights, I thought the timing was perfect, so I waited for them all to gather before dealing with them in one sweep.”
After rescuing the people and securing valuable items, he set a fire to make it look like an accident.
“Since I blew it up so thoroughly, no one would ever suspect that anyone escaped.”
Elhart marveled at her flawless cleanup.
“Impressive.”
“Isn’t it?”
Iserna grinned and spoke.
“You worked hard too.”
Watching her, Elhart hesitated for a moment before asking carefully.
“Do you think I was too cruel?”
“Hm?”
“That I went too far.”
Iserna blinked and looked at him, then spoke.
“People who are weakly virtuous only put their allies in danger. On the other hand, the more merciless you are to enemies, the fewer unnecessary battles arise. You know that well enough, don’t you?”
“…Yes. And yet it still bothers me.”
Elhart laid bare his heart honestly.
“That you might be disappointed in me.”
Even knowing it was unlikely, the mere possibility unsettled him.
Elhart could not understand himself like this.
Before knowing her, he had never fretted over others’ judgments.
He had simply focused on accomplishing what needed to be done.
Vulnerabilities he hadn’t even known he possessed kept revealing themselves before her.
Even now, he waited for her answer with an anxious heart.
A pathetic coward.
“….”
Elhart stole a glance at Iserna’s profile as she walked in contemplative silence.
When her brow furrowed, his heart sank in tandem.
“I do too.”
Yet what came from her lips was entirely unexpected.
“When I’m with you, I become absurdly fearful. I worry about things I have no reason to worry about.”
Displeased with herself, she grumbled with a sullen expression.
“What on earth in this forest could possibly threaten you? And yet I was anxious the entire time. If you’re not in sight, I become uneasy.”
He stared at her in astonishment as she heaved heavy sighs.
“Is it always like this, or am I just unaccustomed to it and finding it particularly overwhelming?”
“That… well….”
Elhart floundered, unable to find words in response.
She glanced up at him and shook her head.
“I’m not asking for an answer. You’re no different from me anyway. Everything worries you too, doesn’t it?”
“…You’re right.”
“Then at least one thing is certain.”
“What… would that be?”
“That your heart and mine are no different.”
“…!”
“We’re so lost in each other we’ve lost our minds. It’s quite the predicament, truly.”
He furrowed his brow in distress and gazed blankly at her as she exhaled another sigh.
‘That can’t be right, surely not….’
Elhart understood well the depth of his own feelings toward her.
Truthfully, Iserna Airbain was a being worthy of reverence.
So it was only natural that he would become utterly captivated by her.
But what of himself?
‘I have nothing particularly to recommend me.’
Though he polished his appearance and everything else to the best of his ability, from Iserna’s position it would seem woefully inadequate.
Starting from the Founding King himself, the most celebrated heroes of the continent were her companions, were they not?
‘And yet….’
He did not wish to deny her words with his own mouth.
He wanted to believe their hearts were the same.
He hoped she saw it that way as well.
‘If she does, then perhaps one day our hearts truly will become one.’
Elhart gently intertwined his hand with hers.
“Even if it is a predicament, I find it welcome.”
“…Welcome?”
“It means you’re that precious to me. Like family.”
She fell silent in thought for a moment, then murmured softly.
“I see.”
Her delicate brow then smoothed with clarity.
Her mood seemed to brighten as well.
“After all, husband and wife are family. I’ve gained a family now, so I suppose I must bear this much.”
She adjusted her grip on his hand.
Seamlessly, without gaps.
Firmly, as though she would never let go.
***
We slipped out of the forest and immediately descended into the underground depths of the Lord’s Castle.
The previous lord who had ruled this territory before Marquis Ramon was said to be imprisoned in the Underground Dungeon.
“This way.”
Elhart and I raced through the corridor, where torches were sparsely mounted along the walls.
Fortunately, there were no guards beyond the outer perimeter, so we had nothing else to worry about.
Still, the damp moisture and the stench of decay hanging in the air made the atmosphere deeply unpleasant.
‘To think they would confine someone in such a place.’
My expression grew increasingly rigid as we ventured deeper.
The lord’s cell was located in the deepest solitary confinement of the Underground Dungeon.
“This appears to be it.”
Iserna, standing before the heavily locked iron door, grasped the lock and twisted it.
The metal mechanism fell away with almost pathetic ease.
After exchanging a glance with me, he pulled the iron door open.
Creeeeak.
As the rusted door groaned with an unpleasant shriek, a figure in the darkness flinched.
“Who is it…?”
The voice was rough and hoarse from prolonged silence.
I stepped forward with Elhart leading the way into the cell.
In the corner of the cramped space.
An emaciated elderly man sat slumped against the wall, bound by iron chains.
His hair had turned white, his face deeply lined, yet his eyes still gleamed with clarity.
The moment the old man, who had been glaring at us, caught sight of Elhart, his eyes widened in shock.
“Your Highness the Prince…?!”
Elhart, too, soon recognized the elderly man.
“Lord Roenval!”
He rushed toward the old man in astonishment.
“Why are you here? What on earth happened…?”
Elhart practically tore away the iron chains and examined the elderly man carefully.
“You’re truly… alive. Yes, I knew it would be so.”
Tears streamed down the old man’s weathered cheeks.
“I’m not seeing things, am I?”
Elhart fell silent for a moment.
I quietly observed the tremor in his gaze.
He barely contained the violent surge of emotion before speaking with difficulty.
“…I’m sorry. I made you wait so long.”
“It’s enough that you’ve returned.”
Elhart helped the elderly man, who could barely walk after being bound for so long, onto his back.
As we made our way out of the Underground Dungeon, Elhart explained to me.
“He’s the Border Count Roenval.”
His quiet voice carried a note of deep reverence.
The old man’s name was Roenval.
He was a Marquis who governed the borderlands, including this Marquis Territory.
He was the guardian of Bardia’s frontline, where it met the Cradion Empire.
So why had such a man ended up imprisoned in the Underground Dungeon beneath the Marquis Territory?
Regardless of my curiosity, the Marquis seemed equally puzzled about my identity.
“Your Majesty, who is this person accompanying you?”
Elhart turned to look at me, then opened his mouth.
“My wife.”
“I beg your pardon…?”
At the Marquis’s bewildered response, Elhart emphasized once more.
“My wife, I said.”
“You married?!”
The old man’s voice rang out louder than anything he had uttered thus far.

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