Carlisle stared blankly at the girl who was comforting him, a warm current flowing through his heart. He Felt the strength and gentleness in Subaru's heart.
"Subaru..." Carlisle called out softly, his voice filled with an indescribable emotion.
However, before he could finish speaking, he noticed the girl's cheeks reddening again. But her gaze still met his directly, without the slightest evasion, and she gave him a big, sunny smile.
"You think these few bloodstains are enough to scare me? That's not enough!"
Her tone was playful, and she lightly tapped her cheek with a finger, feigning thought: "Hmm... but if you really want to scare me, you'd at least need more bloodstains, right? At least... like those horror movie characters covered in blood?"
But then she immediately shook her head: "No, no, using this face to film a horror movie would be a waste. If I debuted in Japan... a tokusatsu show would be better. I could try the path of Masaki Suda..."
Watching the girl once again lost in her own thoughts, Carlisle couldn't help but smile, and he reached out, gently stroking the top of her head.
"Thank you, Subaru."
"But... if Carlisle really became an idol, he'd probably only need one smile and..." Subaru's words suddenly trailed off. She Felt Carlisle's hand gently stroke the top of her head, the movement soft and natural.
Her body stiffened slightly, yet she didn't pull away. Instead, she lowered her head slightly, her face red, allowing Carlisle's hand to gently caress her hair. Her heart rate suddenly quickened, and a wave of warmth and shyness washed over her.
Felt frowned, looking at the somewhat strange atmosphere between the two, and couldn't help but shout, "Hey! What's with you two suddenly getting all chummy!"
This sentence instantly shattered the warm atmosphere in the room. Carlisle froze for a moment, then realized his actions were a bit rude. He quickly lowered his hand, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face: "Sorry, I..."
Subaru, on the other hand, lowered her head a little dejectedly, a faint blush still on her cheeks. Her eyes flickered slightly, and complex emotions welled up in her heart: "Honestly... why did she have to interrupt..."
Felt glared at Carlisle, her tone filled with dissatisfaction and helplessness.
"That's why I said, you're really difficult to deal with. Haven't you ever noticed? Your face and your personality... how many more women are you going to 'ruin'?!"
Carlisle paused, "'Ruin' women?" He immediately understood.
"I apologize for causing such trouble. I'll be more careful. Next time I go out, it might be better if I wear a helmet."
Felt's face turned a little red, her voice somewhat flustered and angry: "It's that personality! You, you make it impossible for people to dislike you! You'll definitely face divine retribution one day!"
Puck floated in the air, watching the three bickering, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart. His little paw gently propped up his chin, and he mused to himself: "She's jealous. But his personality, appearance, and strength... although I don't want to admit it, he really is the most outstanding young man I've ever seen. He wouldn't abduct my cute daughter, would he?"
But when he saw Emilia's innocent and naive look, watching the three bickering, as if saying, "They have such good chemistry," his worries immediately dissipated.
"It seems I was overthinking it."
"What's wrong, Puck?"
"Nothing, just happy about my cute daughter's slowness."
"Puck, honestly, where am I slow? Why are you happy about slowness?"
------
"...Wait a minute! I'm here for the stolen insignia!" Emilia suddenly realized her slowness, her cheeks slightly flushed, her tone filled with annoyance. She had just made such a grand statement, and now she found herself almost forgetting the main business, feeling a wave of shame.
She stomped towards Felt. "Alright, give me back my stuff!"
Felt, standing in front of Carlisle, pouted at the aggressive Emilia.
"I know, I'd give it back even if you didn't say anything... After all, there's a meddling Knight here."
Carlisle said gently, "Felt, if you're short on money, I can lend it to you. You'll have to pay me back after you come of age, though."
Felt's face instantly turned crimson, her voice still flustered and angry: "Although I'd love to live a life where I don't have to do anything and can eat my fill every day, you're the last person I want to bother!"
Carlisle's smile deepened, and he teased, "Doing nothing won't do. But, I'll treat you to dinner later. After all, tomorrow we have to clean up the Royal Capital. It's that same restaurant. Although you said you didn't want to bother me, the owner told me the gold coins I've stored there are about to be used up."
Felt's face grew even redder, a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice: "That was clearly your'salary'! You, do you expose your true nature to acquaintances?"
She glared at Carlisle, then pulled out a triangular insignia from her in my arms. The insignia was flashing red.
"Here you go. Be careful not to let it be stolen again next time." Felt handed the insignia to Emilia.
"Being lectured by you is really strange... I hope you won't do this kind of thing again in the future."
Felt said stubbornly, "That's not going to happen. I don't think I've done anything wrong. This is my chosen way of life. Even if I'm caught and have to sweep the streets, I won't give up."
After speaking, as if to provoke someone, she defiantly glanced at Carlisle. However, she found Carlisle's expression unusually strange—he looked as if he had seen a ghost, staring at her in surprise, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Hey, why are you looking at me like that?"
Under Felt's surprised gaze, Carlisle quickly stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. His tone was urgent: "Felt... you're 15, right? Your birthday... what's your surname?"
"Whoa! What are you doing?! Let go!" Felt's face turned crimson again, her voice filled with panic and annoyance.
Realizing his lapse in behavior, Carlisle let go of her hand and apologized, bowing his head: "I'm sorry, I got too excited. Could I trouble you to answer my questions?"
Felt, her face red, shook the wrist that had just been grabbed. "Yes, I'm 15. I don't know my birthday. As for my surname... I'm an orphan, didn't I tell you that before?"
Carlisle's expression became even more complex, and he murmured in a low voice: "How could this be... such a thing actually happened..."
He took a deep breath and again apologized softly to Felt: "I'm sorry, Felt, please forgive me."
"Why are you apologizing? And what's with that guilt-ridden tone?"
Then, Carlisle walked towards Old Man Rom, bent down, and said with an apologetic but unyielding tone: "I'm very sorry, Old Man Rom, but I must take Felt."
Old Man Rom became nervous, his voice low and pleading: "Knight, why? Is the item Felt stole this time very valuable? Um... actually, I instructed Felt to steal this time. If someone needs to be arrested, please arrest me." He then also bent down.
Felt watched this scene unfold, her heart filled with shock and confusion. She stepped forward and grabbed both of them, trying to pull their waists back, but no matter how hard she pulled, neither of them budged.
"Hey! Carlisle? Old Man Rom? What are you two doing?!" Felt's tone was filled with panic and anger. To her, these two people were special existences. One was Old Man Rom, who was like a father and had raised her since she was little. The other was Carlisle, who had always helped her, guided her, yet was afraid of hurting her pride. One could say these two were the most important people in her life.
"What are you two even talking about?! Why are you like this?!"
"What... happened?" Felt's voice was filled with helplessness, her gaze darting between the two, trying to find answers.
...
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