Love Letter From The Future
Chapter 420: Proof of Existence (8)

Chapter 420: Proof of Existence (8)

0% The orphanage had vacant lots scattered throughout its grounds.

Playgrounds, vegetable gardens and more.

Given the sheer size of the orphanage, its land had endless potential uses. Some of the children might have even harbored ambitions to declare these areas as their own territories.

Of course, none of them had the guts to show such boldness in front of unfamiliar nobles.

Not all the children followed the Saintess, but that didn’t mean the ones who stayed behind were comfortable with us either. While Senior Elsie and I sat on a tree stump in the open space, no child bothered us.

Rather, they just sent cautious glances from afar.

Well, it was understandable when strange adults showed up. Unless it was an orphanage located in the city center, most orphans tended to perceive adults as potential threats.

Because, to them, the world strictly followed the law of the jungle.

They would naturally cower before a predator. The lower class tended to be alienated from the protection of laws and systems after all.

With a bitter feeling rising in my chest, I asked Senior Elsie.

“Senior Elsie, what brings you to the Holy Nation?”

It was a perfunctory question. Whatever the excuse, the reason was obvious, wasn’t it?

That she followed me.

There was a time I would’ve laughed at the idea. A woman of her caliber, trailing after me? I would’ve scoffed at the sheer arrogance of the thought. But now? I knew better.

Senior Elsie was prone to jealousy. It was entirely plausible she would chase after me.

But, surprisingly, her expression was oddly indignant.

“You think I came because I wanted to?! No, no—well, actually, I did want to, but—”

“But?”

I asked back, half in doubt.

Although not as much as me, Senior Elsie had also been rising in fame recently. She was one of the contributors who dealt with the Evil God’s minions, so it was a natural result. These days, even her family wouldn’t dare to so recklessly meddle with her affairs.

Yet she got dragged all the way to the Holy Nation? I couldn’t begin to guess why.

“I wasn’t planning on showing up like this! I wanted it to be more... you know, natural! Like I just happened to join you by chance!”

“That’s... actually a pretty good plan, even for you.”

I said it with genuine admiration.

Wasn’t Senior Elsie about as oblivious to romance as I was? The fact that she’d put effort into keeping up appearances, in itself, was impressive.

When I reached out and ruffled her hair with fond feelings, her frustration instantly melted away.

“Ehehe, really? W-Well, I did get some advice from a commoner, but anyway—”

But her giddy laughter only lasted for a moment.

Then, she gritted her teeth while clenching her small fists tightly. Those sapphire-like eyes were burning fiercely.

“Uncle ruined it all.....!”

There might be many people she would call ‘uncle’, but among all of them, only one could force her into anything.

It was Mr. Reynold.

And this was also the point I was curious about. What on earth motivated Mr. Reynold to come all the way to the Holy Nation?

The topic naturally shifted to him.

“By the way, why did Mr. Reynold came all the way here?”

“How should I know? He said he had some personal business or whatever.”

She even scoffed while saying this. Her irritation was evident from her head-shaking.

Even she, who had been unexpectedly dragged along, hadn’t received a proper explanation.

As the story fell deeper into a maze, I turned my gaze to the side slightly to concentrate more on my thoughts.

The clues were still too messy.

The Saintess, the traitor, the orphanage, the mention of ‘family’—and now Mr. Reynold.

There was no definitive link connecting everything yet.

While I was deep in thought, Senior Elsie carefully watched my expression before speaking again.

“T-That being said... I do know why he brought me along.”

What with that sudden timidness?

When I turned to her, she nervously scratched her cheek with flushed cheeks. The way she fiddled with the brim of her pointed hat was quite adorable.

Actually, Senior Elsie was cute no matter what she did.

Lately, I had trouble figuring out why I saw her that way. Was it because she was just that pretty? Or had I grown too attached to her?

Either way, one thing was clear—I was fond of Senior Elsie.

What awakened me from these thoughts was unexpected news.

“I heard Father has become impatient recently.”

“Count Rinella?”

What could possibly make the head of a prestigious Magic Household, one of the few Archmages in the Empire, so restless?

At my puzzled reaction, she started to fidget even more.

“W-Well, the thing is... I-I need to get married eventually, right?”

Ah, I let out an exclamation, as if something just clicked.

And at the same time, I couldn’t help but groan and avoid her gaze. This was because it was a problem deeply related to me.

Senior Elsie had been bound to me for a long time now.

Since she openly declared herself as my pet, and after rejecting even Count Rinella’s last lifeline, she had no choice. Only a future with me existed.

But when no talk of engagement came out even as time passed, Count Rinella probably couldn’t help but get anxious.

Meanwhile, my status was rising day by day. At this rate, even if I married one of the Imperial Princesses, no one would object.

Or even marry the heir of one of the Five Great Noble Houses.

If that happened, the Rinella House would end up like a dog chasing chickens.

“.....so I’m guessing that’s why Uncle Reynold came.”

Seeing my grim expression, she flinched even more.

She was a woman who had already been rejected by me once before. Of course, she wouldn’t want to hear another negative answer from me.

I wanted to reassure her.

But my situation had become far too complicated in the meantime. Unlike Senior Delphine or Emma, my relationship with her was likely to be officially recognized right away.

In other words, it was impossible to brush off the women surrounding me.

I already have Senior Delphine and Emma.

Moreover, didn’t I tell Seria to wait for me? What If she found out I was engaged to Elsie?

‘Senior Ian, so you’ve got two bitches now?’

I could already see Seria’s smiling face as she drew her sword.

After that, she’d probably swing her sword while saying, ‘One pet should be enough, don’t you think?’

It was a frightening future.

It was a serious concern for me, but Senior Elsie, not knowing my inner thoughts, couldn’t help but feel deflated.

She tried to act tough, pretending to be fine.

“D-Don’t worry about it! I know you’re not ready to make a decision yet... I-I’ll handle Uncle Reynold somehow!”

That mature response only made me feel worse.

Doesn’t Senior Elsie have feelings too?

She was a woman with a particularly delicate heart. Of course, she must feel sad and miserable about her situation of not getting a definite answer. And how painful it must be to have to explain that situation in front of the elders of her family.

Suddenly, I realized I was being a selfish prick.

I couldn’t bear to let her go, yet my behavior of just making empty promises seemed ridiculous and disgusting.

So I impulsively said,

“.......You don’t have to do that.”

It was an answer that came after long hesitation, but my voice was surprisingly calm.

Senior Elsie tilted her head with a puzzled expression. She didn’t seem to grasp my meaning at all.

I declared again.

“We just need to reassure Mr. Reynold, right?”

“Y-Yes? That’s true, but......”

Senior Elsie, who had become quite timid, was now using polite speech. It seemed she still hadn’t completely erased her old habits huh.

Regardless, my promise continued.

“I’ll take care of it. After all, marriage... Even if we do it later, we need to give them certainty for now.”

At this, it was Senior Elsie who was flustered.

She froze in place with her eyes wide open. No response came for a long time, and just as I was about to awkwardly clear my throat.

“Uu, hic......”

The sound of swallowing tears wetted my ears.

At the corners of the girl’s eyes, droplets were forming. The beaded tears soon flowed down, tracing her cheeks.

Before the transparent glass beads could hit the ground, a small body burrowed into my arms.

I had no choice but to reflexively embrace her.

A soft sensation along with a ticklish feeling filled my chest.

“I-I’ll be good. Hic, I-I’ll be really good... Sob...”

Hearing those broken sobs, I could only swallow a bitter smile.

She must have been very anxious too. Maybe that was why she was more jealous and threw tantrums.

If just this much could make her happy, I could make that promise a thousand times over.

Though, it seemed there was a bit of a misunderstanding.

I didn’t mean we were getting engaged right away, but that was a problem to deal with later.

But a few thoughts crossed my mind.

First, a sinking feeling that the Saintess’s mood would worsen even further.

And also, the existence of a new player on the board, ‘Reynold’.

Why did he come here?

Since I’d just made a promise to Senior Elsie, I decided to go find him right away.

**

But, from the start, my plan had to face difficulties.

“So the young lady came to trade Demonic Beast corpses.”

“Yes, the Demonic Beast business is booming lately! I heard there was a massive outbreak of Demonic Beast corpses around here.”

A discussion was in full swing in the lodging prepared by the orphanage—a clean-looking building that seemed to be reserved for VIPs.

It was mostly a conversation between Ria and Mr.Reynold.

Ria was explaining her business plan with a confident attitude.

“Unusually, there are areas where Demonic Beasts periodically appear in large numbers. This area is the same. I heard that, for decades, Demonic Beasts have appeared here every few years.”

“I know. I used to work as a mercenary here.”

“Ah, then do you perhaps know any mercenary groups still remaining in this area?!”

“Hmm, I’d have to take a look.......”

Mr. Reynold’s indifferent gaze flicked towards me.

Perhaps feeling my gaze intently staring at him, he said to Ria in a nonchalant tone.

“There probably are some. Since we’ll soon be in-laws anyway, I’ll pull some strings. I might even be able to arrange transport.”

“W-Well, I’d appreciate that, but......”

Ria’s composure was cracking at the expression ‘in-laws’. She was holding back because he was an elder, but it seemed the future where she would explode wasn’t far off.

Ria kept shooting me terrifying glares. It looked like I was in for a long explanation later

With business talk in full swing, I, as her brother, couldn’t exactly interrupt, can’t I?

Tch. I clicked my tongue and left the lodging. Outside, the Saintess was surrounded by the orphans while calmly preaching to them.

“And so, it is said, the eyes of the Heavenly God Arus became the moon, and his liver became the sun, burning for all eternity. This is why wicked beings, those who defy the natural order, are consumed by the sun’s fire—for the liver, you see, is the organ that cleanses all toxins.”

She added some weird medical knowledge to the mix.

The Saintess, with her benevolent smile, looked like a scene from a holy painting. Even I, who knew her true nature, was mesmerized.

The orphans were completely engrossed in the Saintess’s story. They must have become quite close already, as innocent laughter burst out occasionally.

And in the midst of it all, the Saintess, well...

She looked happy. That gentle gaze at least didn’t seem fake.

It was a peace I hadn’t felt in a long time. So much so that it was hard to believe there was a terrifying conspiracy lurking in this scenery.

But maybe, just for a few days, we could enjoy this peace?

Looking at the Saintess’s gentle smile, that’s what I thought. Even just from the letter, I could tell that the Saintess had suffered a great deal because of the upcoming events.

Couldn’t we let her be happy for a little while? I was afraid to shatter this peaceful picture.

What awakened me from those thoughts was a voice.

“....Mister, did you come to take us away too?”

My consciousness snapped back to reality. With a dazed look, I followed the voice’s source.

It was a small boy. The child, who seemed to be just over ten years old, was stuttering questions with a visibly intimidated expression.

“You’re from that trading company, right? The one that always carries strange loads......”

At this point, I recalled this boy’s face.

It was that child. One of the children who had blankly been staring at me when I first caused a commotion with the head nun.

But the girl who had been with him was nowhere to be seen. She seemed timid, so maybe the boy had stepped up as the representative.

I immediately furrowed my brow and asked back.

“Trading Company? Did they take you somewhere?”

“D-Don’t pretend you don’t know. Just now, that Unnie and grandfather were talking about similar things.”

Before I could urgently ask what he meant.

I felt a chill coming from somewhere.

My eyes, sensing instinctive danger, turned to the front again. There was the Saintess, quietly nodding her head while listening intently to some child’s eyewitness account.

“And then, because that Unnie was crying, that oppa over there hugged her!”

And a young child’s frail finger pointing at me*.*

The Saintess was smiling, but her face was devoid of any warmth. I glanced sideways at the boy beside me while breaking out in a cold sweat.

Sensing the ominous atmosphere, the child had long since fled..

It meant God had abandoned me.

“So, are those two dating, Saintess?”

“Hmm, well... love is a very complicated emotion. There are many things you can’t know just by looking at the surface.”

After answering in a gentle tone, she slowly stood up.

There was no crack in that kind smile. Only, without any change in expression to the point of giving goosebumps, she approached me with graceful steps.

Before I could even utter a word of explanation, her hand grabbed the back of my neck.

And a whisper that brushed my ear.

“What exactly happened with that bitch?”

Watch your language, Saintess.

I sighed and muttered inwardly.

It seemed she reached the limit of her patience.