I Tried to Become a Worthless Scumbag to Break Our Engagement for His Happiness, but Instead I Was Hugged, Kissed, and Sworn Eternal Love by the Ice Knight (BL) - CHAPTER 14

The next day, the Torino family came up with a plan. First, the whole family—except Fleck—would go out to welcome Heliosphere Nuno. Then, they would carefully explain Fleck’s condition, which even the family had only recently come to understand. Fleck understood the intention behind this: to say, he’s someone whose body doesn’t move so freely.

“So basically, the plan is to make sure I don’t get hired, right, Brother?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“It would be too cruel to let you meet without them knowing your condition first.”

“By the way, is that supposed to be a cane? Looks like just a stick.”

“We should have gotten you an eyepatch too. Well, too late now…”

“Your clothes are a bit short on you, Mother-in-law.”

“Yes, it was a happy mistake, though… Oh, the cane, right… I wonder where we put Grandfather’s cane.”

Saying such things, the family went off toward the entrance hall. Fleck, dressed stiffly in his brother’s old formal suit, sat down on the sofa and waited for Heliosphere. Beside him, just as his sister had said, was a wooden stick. To Fleck, it was a precious partner—and also his walking cane.

At first, when his leg was injured, he used a normal cane. But since monsters often crept into the flimsy temporary quarters where he lived, he would send them off with his cane again and again, breaking it each time. Eventually, the cane became a disposable item, and he thought, fine, a stick will do.

This wooden stick came from a tree that grew in the Demon Lands.
It was so tough that ordinary blades couldn’t cut it—only a magic sword infused with power could.
It wouldn’t burn even if set on fire, and it was strong enough to pierce through lower-class monsters.
Even so, he had broken several. The one he used now had been given to him as a wedding gift by the former boss of the Demon Lands. The deep black stick had been brought out from the depths, and Fleck intended to treasure it from now on.

Still, no matter how you looked at it, it was just a stick. Maybe it should be reshaped to look more proper for the capital, he thought, as he gazed at his souvenir from the Demon Lands.

From the Demon Lands, rare materials could be obtained that were impossible to find in the capital.
Monster remains as well. The magical tools that supported the lives of the people of the Kamio-Kande Kingdom couldn’t even be made without the Demon Lands.

That was why the Warthworth Territory prospered—it was not some mere outskirt of the kingdom. Some towns there were even more advanced than the central ones. Up until now, a battlefront had been necessary, but from here on, both sides were expected to build a good, supportive relationship. The Warthworth Territory was sure to grow and flourish even further.

Fleck had planned to send various gifts from there to his family—and to Heliosphere. Yes, he had absolutely no intention of returning. But the order to return had been forced upon him.

“Haa…”

Soon, the person he loved—the one he had never planned to meet again—would arrive.
It felt so unreal that he even wondered if he was still in the east, half-dead, just seeing a convenient illusion.

But then, the butler announced the arrival and opened the door, so Fleck hurriedly stumbled to his feet.
Yet, since he couldn’t put strength in his right leg, he staggered clumsily and nearly collapsed back onto the sofa. Even though it always ended badly, Fleck foolishly thought, this time will be fine.
There were no servants nearby either, so he braced himself for the pain of hitting the sofa.

But in that instant, someone caught him gently. Surprised, Fleck lifted his face.