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Chapter 12: What is a noble?

As the evening sun cast its rays, the group continued to walk.

At the forefront was Robel, carrying the injured twins' father on his back as he walked.

Following behind were Emily and Lucius, with the frightened twins, trying to comfort them.

Matilda walked at the rear, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

"Robel, let's take a short break," Emily said, looking at the twins, whose faces were showing signs of exhaustion. She directed her voice to Robel, who was leading the way.

Robel turned around, his gaze shifting between the pale-faced children and the sky.

"Yeah..."

All the horses had disappeared. Their progress with the three-year-old twins was slow, and they needed frequent breaks. Moreover, the twins' father, with an arrow lodged in his abdomen, was too severely injured to walk alone.

Once they settled the injured person down, maid Matilda gathered dry branches and started a fire. The damp wood emitted more smoke than necessary, stinging their eyes.

"I apologize for not being able to prepare a proper meal," Matilda said.

"No need to worry about that in this situation," Robel replied.

The sun was gradually setting, and darkness would soon envelop them. The forest road was even darker.

"Father, are we going to spend the night here?" Lucius asked.

If they walked without any light at night, they risked deviating from the road and wandering into the forest.

"Yes."

Lucius took a moment to catch his breath and voiced the question that had been on his mind.

"What were those creatures we saw earlier?"

"Those were goblins. Damn it! How the hell did monsters like them come out even along the roadside?" Robel struck the ground in frustration.

"Monsters..." Emily, who had been putting the exhausted twins to sleep, joined the conversation by the flickering fire.

"When Robel was in charge of managing Silverwood Forest, incidents like this rarely happened," she said.

"After transferring ownership to Lord Strauss, this area should have been under Gaeden's control... but that damn pig neglected it," Robel added.

"Most likely. It's not uncommon for monsters to appear along the road, but if goblins are coming out in such large numbers, it's hard to say they have things under control," Emily replied.

Lucius recalled his father's battle earlier. The grotesque creatures were goblins.

He had heard about them many times in games, but encountering them in the real world left him bewildered.

"But it's a relief that you were able to drive them away. It's a shame about the carriage and the horses," Lucius commented.

Robel and Emily wore pained expressions.

"No, goblins are cunning. They understand that we're traveling with children and an injured person. They'll likely come back to attack during the night," Robel said.

"What?!" Lucius exclaimed.

"Even now, they're watching us from the forest," Robel said, glaring into the depths of the woods.

At that moment, an arrow flew from the forest towards them.

Robel disdainfully raised his left hand and a localized gust of wind deflected the arrow.

"You see?" he said.

The same kind of battle from earlier flashed through Lucius' mind, and he tensed up.

"Lucius, they're not attacking us. It's to prevent us from resting. They've been shooting at us intermittently," Robel explained.

"To prevent us from resting?" Lucius asked.

"The goblins over there are in a pack, while we're outnumbered. They have the advantage in numbers. They'll tire me out before coming to attack during the night," Robel said.

A cold feeling ran through Lucius' stomach. He understood the situation he was in.

They were outnumbered, and his father, the only one who could fight, needed to protect the injured and the children while battling.

――Will we really be able to drive them away next time?

He realized that he had become the prey of these monstrous beings.

The words spoken by the Siren during the "Appraisal Ceremony" came to mind.

"You look very delicious."

――We must prepare for the worst, just in case.

Lucius, like opening floodgates, voiced his questions to grasp the situation.

"Father, what was that technique you used with the wind earlier? And what about that creature you summoned?

"That's my 'Formula.' Hippogriff's Photon," Robel replied.

"Hippogriff..."

"Yeah, humans possess magic power but not formulas. So, in order to convert magic power into strength, we make a contract with magical creatures. The contracted creatures are called Formulas," Robel explained.

Lucius recalled the Siren that appeared during the "Appraisal Ceremony" and the Hippogriff with an eagle's head that emerged from his father's left hand.

――So, those were originally magical creatures.

Lucius remembered his parents' conversation. He recalled that they referred to goblins as magical creatures as well.

"If we can make a contract with magical creatures, why don't we make a contract with goblins and have them fight alongside us?" Lucius suggested.

"Each person can only have one Formula with one magical core. Both I, Emily, and Matilda have already made contracts with Formulas, so it's impossible," Robel explained.

"Even Matilda?"

"Yes, that's correct," Matilda, the maid who had been on guard around them, answered briefly.

Lucius pondered on what he could do now.

"In that case, I'll make contracts with the four magical creatures. There are four magical cores, right?"

"No, it won't work. The goblin pack is troublesome, but individually, they're not strong magical creatures. You have a duty to protect Silverheart Territory. You should have stronger Formulas," Robel insisted.

――I don't intend to succeed the title...

"Ugh..."

The injured father of the twins, who had been unconscious due to his injuries, partially sat up.

"Hey, lie down for now."

"R -Robel-sama. Leave me behind... *cough*... and go ahead. Please... leave my children behind too..."

"What are you saying?"

"If it's just Robel-sama and the others... You can easily... escape from this forest."

What the father of the twins said was true.

If they left behind the injured man and the young twin children, they might be able to escape the forest by walking away.

――What are Mom and Dad planning to do?

Usually, Lucius's parents were filled with humanity. However, at their core, they were aristocrats with a sense of superiority, just like Lucius's parents in his previous life.

"Aristocrats are both the sword and shield to protect the people."

"Well, yes, but..."

"If it means abandoning your own family to save the lives of other subjects, I'm willing to bear any burden. But right here, right now, there are only aristocrats and subjects. I would never abandon my subjects."

"That's why... If something were to happen to you, many subjects would suffer. They wouldn't be able to survive the winter, and many would die of starvation."

"Don't worry about that. You just need to take care of your own body and your children."

"...Robel-sama."

The man finished speaking and lost consciousness once again.

"Father..."

"Listen to me, Lucius. Remember this. Without power, you will only be robbed. You can't protect anything."

"Robbed by whom? Who would take it away?"

"By everyone."

It didn't quite sit right with Lucius.

"Then what are we protecting?"

"It's everything about the people of the fief. Your family is important to you, but you also care about the people of the fief just as much. That's why I made you undergo the "Rite of Bestowal" when you were young. Right now, i will still protect you. But someday. I want you to protect everyone."

Lucius felt his heart waver at his father's unexpected response. He hesitated to nod in response to Robel's sincere gaze.

A silence fell between the two.

"Robel, Lucius, let's stop the conversation for now. Rest."

Emily broke the silence and began to hum a lullaby.

――Is she singing a lullaby to father?

Along with the song, an egg-like object the size of a human torso appeared next to mother. Upon closer inspection, the egg had a face. It was a woman with pale blue skin, resembling a hunched figure with short limbs.

"That's mother's 'Formula'?"

"Yes, that's Arpas's Luka."

"Arpas..."

"Luka, create mist."

As mother commanded, Luka's eyes opened, and the surroundings were instantly enveloped in thick mist. It was so dense that you couldn't see a few inches ahead.

"With this mist, we shouldn't be targeted by the goblins for a while."

Indeed, with such thick mist, it would be easy to lose one's bearings even in familiar surroundings, let alone in a forest at night.

"Both mother and father can do things like this?"

"Yes, because all aristocrats have 'Formula.'"

"The power to protect the subjects, right?"

That's right. It's also the power to protect you for now."

Emily caressed Lucius's head.

A question arose in Lucius's heart.

"Are aristocrats truly nothing more than beings covered in ostentation?"

Lucius, wanting to change the subject, asked the maid.

"...What kind of 'Formula' do you have, Matilda?"

"I have the lowest-ranked fairy as my 'Formula.' To be honest, it's only useful for searching for lost items. But I can still be vigilant of our surroundings."

"That's amazing, isn't it?"

Everyone is doing what they can in this situation.

Comparing myself to them, what can i do?

As Lucius pondered, Emily spoke to him, as if advising him.

"Take a rest, Lucius. This mist can only last for about four hours. My magic power will be depleted by then."

"Okay."

Prompted by his mother, Lucius lay down on the ground, holding the sword given to him by the king.

After walking for half a day, he closed his eyelids and quickly drifted into sleep.

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