Chapter 181: Shiao Yi’s Resolve
In that desolate room in Dalmasca, he had learned all of it so painfully well.
He had come to understand that Dominic needed him and that he could not live without Dominic.
The two of them had confirmed that they were each other’s only one.
Before that fact, nothing else could compare.
When Dominic returned and grew angry at Lady Camilla’s selfish words and actions, Shiao Yi thought there was no need for him to be upset at all.
"You were spoken to harshly. Are you all right? Don’t worry about any of it.
As long as I have you, I need nothing else. I don’t want anything more."
"Yes, that’s right, madam! I don’t care if you’re some noble lady or whatever—you just said whatever you wanted! I’m so frustrated! Let’s throw salt at her! Salt!"
"Lord Shiao Yi, you handled the situation with such calm. I was deeply impressed."
Dominic, Eline, Jude—don’t worry.
He was fine. No matter what was said to him, he did not waver. Even he himself was surprised at how calm and steady he had been.
It was because he trusted Dominic completely. It was because he was confident in his own feelings.
As long as he and Dominic were together, they could go anywhere. They could live anywhere. They would surely find happiness.
He, who had once been treated as less than human for being an abnormal one that was valued only as a weapon of war and who had lived on the battlefield like half a doll or robot with even his emotions cut away—he now carried such strong feelings. It felt like a miracle.
Dominic had made him human. More than that, he had given him love and a life worth living.
Shiao Yi thought to himself that it was truly good he had fallen into this world.
Overwhelmed with joy and emotion, he clung to Dominic and buried his face against his chest.
Dominic held him close and gently patted his back.
Wait, hold on a second. Dominic, are you misunderstanding of something? I’m not hurt by what Camilla said, you know?
"I’ll bring out some delicious baked sweets. I’ll brew some fresh hot tea."
Eline, no, that’s not it. I don’t need that kind of soft pity. Well, except... I do want the baked sweets.
Why were the people here so kind, so warm? Was it really all right for him to be this happy?
The door opened and a large package came in.
It was Louis.
The gift from the Second Division was a small sideboard that could be placed in the bedroom.
It seemed they had chosen it from the same shop where the bed and table had been bought and it was clear it was a piece made by the same workshop.
Even though it was small furniture, it was still large and heavy.
If it hadn’t been Louis, no one could have carried it in alone.
Setting it down on the floor, Louis lowered his thick brows apologetically.
"Sorry. A moment ago, I accidentally threw this. It doesn’t look broken, but it got a bit scratched."
"Why did you throw it?"
Dominic asked the question while trying to hold back his laughter.
A big bear of a man looking so apologetic and shrinking into himself was honestly kind of heartwarming and cute.
"Suddenly, some young lady came running, and she was about to be hit by a cart. I reacted without thinking and threw it aside to stop her. Sorry about that."
Both Dominic and Shiao Yi froze with surprise. They had a very good idea who that might have been.
"Was the young lady unharmed?"
"Yes. The cart wasn’t going that fast, so it didn’t make contact. She didn’t seem to be hurt either."
"That’s a relief. And? Was there anything else, Louis?"
Dominic looked at Louis with suspicion, because even though he said she was fine, his expression was oddly complicated.
"Well, um, she seemed to have some sort of personal troubles, you know? After that, the people who were with her came running and thanked me a lot. Then they insisted they wanted to invite me over on my next day off to properly show their gratitude. She looked like a very high-ranking noble lady. But she herself begged me very sincerely too. I really tried my best to refuse, but then she said at least come return the handkerchief. I don’t know what to do..."
As he explained, Louis recalled how he had handed his own handkerchief to the young lady so she could wipe her tears.
In return, she had given him a fine silk handkerchief with beautiful embroidery.
He had tried to decline such an expensive gift, but she insisted that if he didn’t want to keep it, then he should just come return it to her at her mansion.
Louis looked genuinely troubled as he shared the story.
Shiao Yi exchanged glances with Dominic.
It seemed Lady Camilla had already found herself a new favorite.
While Shiao Yi couldn’t help but admire her boldness, he also sighed quietly with sympathy.
Poor Louis was now locked on as her target and there was no doubt she would be dragging him around from now on.
Now that Lady Camilla had found herself a new target and shifted her attack focus away from Dominic, Shiao Yi could finally relax and throw himself into his daily duties with peace of mind.
Recently, requests for help had started coming directly from the Knight Commander who oversaw all the knight squad.
The Knight Commander was fifty-eight years old man. He was a seasoned figure named Johan von Caligny.
In his younger days, he had served as a squad captain and fought alongside Gabrant and Quintus on many battlefields.
His longtime aide had collapsed from illness and the replacement aide was apparently not skilled enough with office work.
Because of this, Dominic kept receiving requests to lend Shiao Yi as a helper.
It seemed the commander had noticed the quality of the paperwork Shiao Yi prepared for the knight squads.