The man in black introduced himself as Kelvin. He took me deeper into the forest where there was a fancy carriage waiting for us.

He told me to get inside while he got in the driving seat and drew the carriage back to the border.

He also told me about Constantine’s plan to accuse me of murdering the child and that the Starfields wanted to get rid of the child.

It seems like the Noonday House has gathered enough information against the Starfields to give up their custody of the child to me. So, I guess I have no choice but to listen to them for now.

I plan on taking care of the child since I feel like I must help the child in any way I can.

“By the way, why does your master wish to protect this child?”

“Hm? Well…I'm not fully aware of that myself. It seems like she has her reasons.”

“Wait. She?”

“Oops, that was a slip of the tongue...sigh...I'm gonna get it from the chief for making an immature mistake.”

“Huh…I never expected that leader of the Noonday House to be a woman.”

“Well…I'd appreciate it if you keep that a secret.”

“Alright, but in exchange tell something.”

“What is it?”

“Are all the members of the Noonday House as strong as you?”

The man didn't say anything and just stayed silent.

"Is that a difficult question?"

"...sigh...not really. I guess I'm one of the strongest people among them."

"What about your leader? And the so-called chief you mentioned earlier?"

"...I don't think I can answer that question."

"...I see..."

The two of us were silent for a few minutes and Kelvin suddenly dropped a question I wasn't expecting.

“Are you against a relationship between two girls?”

“Cough-cough-cough-...What are you? What brought that all of a sudden?”

“My master was just curious.”

“Well…I…guess…not. If I had to choose, I'd prefer a girl.”

A certain face pops into my head and my face goes beet red at the thought.

How could I think such things about her?... besides, I doubt she’d like me after all the horrible things I’ve done to her…

Aaaah! Stop! Stop! Stop!!!

"It seems like you already have someone in your heart."

"Well...I guess..."

“What’s this person like? If you don’t mind me asking…”

“Um…she’s strong. And a real beauty and I admire her a lot.”

“Is it one of the other Capital Virtues?”

“Huh? Of course not! They wouldn’t even hold a candle against her!”

“Hahaha. I see. I see…”

We had some random conversations along the way. And I had a nice time traveling with him. We reached the village faster than I thought we would.

He led me to a house in the far east of the village. It was a beautiful house decorated with a lot of flowers. He knocked on the door and an old lady opened the door for us.

“Hello, Ma’am! I’m Kelvin from the Noonday house. And this lady here is one of the Capital Virtues, Miss Aizawa Zen. We’re here for the child who was left under your care.”

“Oh! Yes-yes. I’ve been waiting for you folks. C’mon in, I’ll bring the little angel to you in a sec.”

We entered the house and sat down on a couch they had in the hall. An old man came up to us in a few minutes and placed two cups of tea on the table. He seemed to be blind but didn't have any problem navigating through the house.

The lady came with the child in her arms.

“We’re the only ones who live in this house so it's nice to have so many people here. My husband is also mute, so people don’t talk to us that often. I guess this young girl here is our lucky charm huh…”

Her husband nodded along with her. The lady handed the child to me and stood next to me watching over the child warmly.

“But honestly…we were so surprised when a beautiful white-haired girl brought this young child to us and told us to take care of her. She was a real beauty I tell yah…”

“Pfft…kah…cough…cough…” Kelvin started coughing all of a sudden, tea spilling all over him.

“Oh no. Let me go bring something to wipe yourself with.”

The lady ran into the house.

“So…who’s this white-haired girl?”

“Hm? I wonder…”

“Well, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to…”

He ignored my question; we said our farewells to the old couple and headed back to the carriage. And on our way back, he appeared.

The man I hated the most; was Constantine Starfield.

“Fancy carriage you got here…”

He was sitting on top of the carriage.

“I got here as soon as I got the news that someone was leaking information against the Starfield family. But I didn’t expect you to be here…and who’s the guy next to you?”

“Can you get your filthy feet off of that carriage, Constantine?”

“And what if I say that I can’t?”

“I’ll cut you down if I have to. You know better than anyone how weak you are compared to me.”

Constantine’s face turns red. He tightens his fists in anger at my words.

The easiest way to deal with him is to aggravate him. And provoking him is a piece of cake since he’s got such an inferiority complex against me.

“Shut up! You filthy Mulozian! You’re just a sheltered princess who has everything. You wouldn’t understand my feelings.”

“Of course, I don’t. And I don’t want to understand how miserable and pathetic you feel either. You idiot…”

Constantine is pretty weak compared to the other Capital virtues. The only thing he has is authority. As a member of the renowned Starfield family who has produced Capital Virtues from generation to generation, he could easily acquire the leader's seat without a hitch. And the fact that the virtue of ‘diligence’ has always been the leader in the past too.

But I hate the fact that he’s pretty good at his job…and he works harder compared to the others too, I mean he is the virtue of diligence for a reason. But his personality and everything else is just rotten to the core…

“Shut up!!!”

He unsheathed his sword and lunged at me with his eyes filled with fury.

I had the child in my hands so I couldn’t do anything. Kelvin jumped between the two of us with his sword, but the sword shattered to pieces from the impact of Constantine’s sword.

Constantine’s Virtue weapon is a double-edged sword. He uses it to smash everything away with his constant parry of blows.

His weapon isn’t able to break other adamantine weapons. So, I’ve been able to fight against him with pure skill, but I won’t be able to focus on the battle while protecting the child. Even if he acts childish, he is a bona fide Capital Virtue.

What do I do…?

He grips his sword tightly with both his hands and swings it at me with all his might. With the child in my hands, I don’t even have the time to take my sword out.

If I don’t do anything this child will!!!

I immediately turn around, my back completely open against his attack. I closed my eyes tightly, ready to bear the pain from the blow.

---

Aoi here,

Pretty exciting turn of events if I do say so myself😤

What's gonna happen to Aizawa Zen? Is she gonna get slashed or will there be a knight in shining armor, ready to save the damsel in distress?