020 – Alpha Male
Ella, who had placed the lunchbox and elixir on the hospital bed table, carefully grasped the handle of the leash.
“I-it looks very good on your neck…!”
The atmosphere seemed to be getting too awkward, so I blurted out whatever came to mind.
But, as it’s my specialty to regret things after saying them.
Once again, I couldn’t help but regret the words I had uttered.
‘Wait a minute, time out…!’
Did I just say that the choker looked good on her, or did I say the dog leash looked good on her?
‘Am I about to be reported for #MeToo?’
Was I going to end up in the imperial dungeon as a s*x offender instead of a kidnapper? Those thoughts filled my mind.
“Really?”
Fortunately, Miss Ella’s face blossomed, seemingly taking my words as a compliment, not sarcasm.
“Yes…!”
Whew…
Saved.
“Th-this, please accept it.”
“…Yes?”
“From our family, the greatest gift I can give to Mihahn-nim…”
‘Uh oh…! This can’t be happening…!’
“It’s me…”
Whew…
I’m going to die.
“…”
The handle gripped in Miss Ella’s hand, as she’s so embarrassed she could die after giving it to me, comes into view.
Thinking I might be seeing things wrong, I gently pull the handle…
“Hngh!…”
“…”
Along with a small moan, I could see Miss Ella falling onto me.
‘…I don’t think I pulled that hard?’
What is it?
Could it be that the aether, which I wasn’t even aware of, had increased and amplified the pulling force?
“…Miss Ella?”
Even though it was clear that her reaction was an overreaction, I wanted to say something, but…
“Don’t.. don’t ask anything…”
“Ah… …Okay.”
Seeing her ears, redder than an apple, I decided to hold back the questions, thinking she might die of shame.
‘…What did I even do…?’
I didn’t particularly remember trying to flirt with her or anything.
Of course, I did do a few things that might make someone feel attracted to me…
‘I saved her life, comforted her when she was crying… and even slept next to her… …Huh?’
I was a total Casanova?!
Saving her life twice, comforting her when she was sobbing, patting her head, and even sleeping next to her!
‘Was I a walking biohazard?!’
I felt a bit of unjustness about unknowingly living the life of an alpha male, but.
With the result being like this, I had nothing to say.
Because…
‘If this is the case, then I…’
Romance, they say, requires a certain level of compatibility.
What kind of crazy combination is a kidnapper like Mihahn (wanted by the imperial family, no less), who’s less than a dog, with the daughter of the frontier lord guarding the borders of the Magic Kingdom (beautiful and the eldest daughter of the Marquis, guaranteeing her position as head of the family)?!
‘Perfect for dying?!’
It was a combination ripe for disaster.
Back in my gaming days, whispers of a noble daughter consorting with a commoner would surface…
And noble parents would often obliterate the commoner’s family.
Because associating with those of lesser standing would only bring ruin, thus serving as a lesson: “Daughter, be mindful of your company.” That was the fiery mindset of the Arcane Magocracy’s nobility.
How do I know so well, you ask?
‘Because I did it…!’
I was that way back then.
Could I tolerate my daughter falling for some lowly commoner?
My daughter was supposed to marry me!!
No, that’s not the point.
Anyway!!
“Ahem… Ahem-hem…”
In the end, that’s just what parents are like.
They raise a child with tender love, and when that love overflows and the child is ready to bestow it upon another…
They hope it’s someone without tattoos, someone with a respectable job.
Someone who wouldn’t let their child be stood up, someone who wasn’t a criminal.
And if they dare to be greedy, someone with a bit of money…
‘Not a single one.’
Astonishingly, I didn’t meet a single one of those three conditions. I was even a criminal.
Therefore, the choice I ultimately made… was a cruel reality.
Thunk…
“?..”
“Ella-ssi, a person as noble as you shouldn’t be wearing something like this.”
After untying the dog collar around her neck, I carefully stroked her hair.
Pat… Pat…
“I’m happy.”
“..!!”
“I’m fortunate. That someone like me can dare to receive Ella-ssi’s heart, you see.”
“Uuu…”
The young girl’s face flushed even redder.
How could she not be lovable?
‘The Frontier Earl tears monsters apart!’
I couldn’t risk being brutalized by the Frontier Earl’s bare hands, just to share love with her, could I?
I was still an ordinary, small-time citizen who wanted to continue living more than loving.
“That’s why it can’t be.”
“..Pardon?”
“You, Ella-ssi, are far too good for me.”
That’s all I said, but in my heart, I just wanted to live.
Unless Ella Eloise became the head of the Eloise family, a position where no one could contest her decisions.
Indiscriminately associating with a commoner would clearly be a great poison to Ella Eloise herself as well.
But still…
The position of a woman hearing the rejection of her confession was not something I could alleviate.
“…”
The woman gazes up at me, silent, tears welling in her eyes.
“It’s absolutely not because I dislike you, Miss Ella, or anything like that.”
“Then, why…!”
“Because I am too lacking.”
It was the truth.
A commoner, without money, without even parents, and even a criminal.
“Those things… I can fill them for you…!”
Filling what is lacking; wouldn’t that only be possible if the pot to be filled with water didn’t have holes in it?
“…”
My heart aches.
Love had finally found me…
But love had found me when I was a criminal.
Love had found me when I had nothing.
Love had found me when I could not be responsible for anything.
What could I do? If I couldn’t be responsible, then letting go was the right choice.
“Then, how about we do this?”
At those words, which sounded as though there was still hope, the woman looks at me with hopeful eyes.
To that woman, I would also reveal the method by which I could survive and also have love.
“Obtain the permission of the Margrave.”
“That much…!”
“Of course, you must tell him honestly, without leaving out a single detail about what kind of person I am.”
“Father will surely grant his permission with pleasure!”
“Be sure to tell him that I have no money, no honor, no parents, and am even a commoner.”
…
“Wow, this is really delicious.”
A taste full of sincerity.
I was briefly moved by the miracle of all sorts of delicacies contained within the small lunch box.
Then, I surreptitiously raised my head to look at the door of the treatment room, from which Miss Ella had trudged out.
“…She understood, I hope.”
I was sorry, but it couldn’t be helped.
First of all, I had to survive, no matter what.
My heart also ached, but I was in a situation where I had to let love go.
“Doesn’t suit me… doesn’t suit me at all…”
This world, it seemed, didn’t suit me very well.
That being said…
“What should I do with this…”
I stared at the elixir that remained on the table.
‘I can’t possibly stomach this sober…’
A panacea that might be good for the body, but was certainly not kind to the tongue.
Alas, I was not one to down someone’s urine stone-cold sober.
And it wasn’t like my system menu skills would get any stronger if my ether increased, anyway.
No need to be greedy for this elixir, not in this situation.
“I’ll have to return this when I see her next.”
I decided to hold onto it carefully, to return it to Miss Ella when we next met.
*
“Lieutenant… how many more days did you say we have to stay here…?”
“One week remaining, sir.”
Shivers… shivers… shivers…
The hand of Count Alexander Eloise, holding the missive, began to tremble.
“Ah, please… Captain, no, really, this won’t do.”
“M-my daughter… my daughter…!”
A vise-like grip…
“I can’t go! If you want me to go, you’ll have to kill me!!”
“Unthinkable! How can I send my daughter to some man like that?!!”
No sooner had his lieutenant grabbed his pant leg, than the man tossed aside the missive he held and began a full-blown desertion.
Drag… drag… drag… drag…
“Captain, pleeease!”
“How can I marry my daughter off to some fellow without a pedigree?!!”
“Can’t this be dealt with in a week…!!”
“No! What if that brat tries to woo my daughter in that week? Will you take responsibility for that?!?!”
“Captain, your daughter is an adult now!! She’s old enough to decide her own path…!!”
“She’s still a child!! She needs my care!!”
“Subdue the Captain, quickly!!!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Roger!”
“Let go of me, I said!!!”
–
*To Father, I write with the utmost urgency.*
*There is a man with whom I have fallen in love.*
*Though he is… a commoner, without wealth, and bereft of parents to support him…*
*Please know that he is the benefactor who has saved my life no less than two times.*
*He is also the one who tirelessly aided in the search for the doppelganger that infiltrated the mansion.*
*Moreover, despite needing to draw upon his innate spiritual energy with each use of his abilities, he sacrificed himself for the sake of our home.*
.
.
.
–
Alexander Eloise, after reading those first three lines, found the rest swam out of focus.