Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 287

287―――――

Stepping Forward

Klausen further accelerated the post-war recovery to prepare for future challenges.

The Hispaña main force began preparations to shift from defense to offense.

In the meantime, what should Zion himself do?

‘What is there to do?

Just relax and have fun.’

After all, he had already done everything he could for now.

He had diligently informed everyone of the instructions he needed to give as a director, how the stage should be set up, and how the special effects should be implemented.

Now, all that was left was for the supporting actors to begin their preparations and wait for the stage to light up.

Pressuring them wouldn’t necessarily increase efficiency, and people aren’t as passionate as when they move on their own accord, so it was best to just observe for now.

‘Let’s rest for about three days.

I didn’t build Hispaña to be so fragile that it can’t survive those three days, did I?

It’s okay to have some fun before the big event, right?’

Thinking that way, Zion spent almost an hour with Aden.

If he were to live in this world even after everything was over, Hispaña would forever be his home, and as Zion deeply agreed with his father, the great sage’s words that harmony between siblings was better than any peace, this was a natural course of action.

The original owner of his body had only given Aden hateful and jealous looks, malicious curses and actions, so it was better to work on improving their relationship now. Aden seemed very pleased with his brother’s drastically changed attitude, and the fact that the kingdom’s hero was his brother seemed to excite him enough to make him forget all the past events.

“Ah, 형 [hyung – older brother]!

형 [hyung]!

Something else!

Something else!

This time···.”

“Aden.”

The child, who had been listening to all sorts of interesting stories after meeting his brother for the first time in a long time, was about to get even more excited when a noblewoman appeared and stopped Aden with a gentle voice.

Then Aden said, ‘Ah, Mother!’ straightened his posture, and bowed his head.

“Wouldn’t it be too much to ask someone who just returned home after finishing a battle?”

“Ah, that, that’s··· I was just so happy to see my brother···.”

“I understand. But now, it’s your duty as a younger brother to let your brother rest.”

At Leona’s soft words, Aden shrank back as if realizing his mistake.

Then, he looked up at his brother, who was fifteen years older than him, with a look of great concern that Zion might have been uncomfortable because of his mistake.

“Don’t worry, Aden. How could the kingdom’s hero get tired from just talking to his brother?”

Of course, Zion stroked his younger brother’s head and nudged his back as if telling him to go to his mother.

Then, he straightened his posture like Aden and greeted Leona, who was not the woman who gave birth to him but was now the mistress of Klausen.

“It’s been a while, Mother.”

“I hope you weren’t too tired, since home should be the most comfortable place in the world?”

“I’m working hard to make the most comfortable place in the world my home, so I’m fine. Moreover, I can tell Aden fun stories like this, so isn’t it the best of both worlds?”

Something that Zion would never have been able to do if he were the old Zion.

The hatred he had for Aden was clearly rooted in the anger he had for Countess Leona, who had taken his mother’s place.

Of course, it was obvious that Zion had treated Countess Leona poorly until now.

It must have seemed quite strange to Countess Leona that such a young man now called her ‘Mother’ without hesitation and took care of his brother, whom he used to look at as if he wanted to tear him to pieces.

“You’ve really changed a lot.”

“I admit that I was a very hopeless guy in the past.”

“That’s not what I meant. But···.”

“Although it’s too late, I would like to ask for your forgiveness here for the foolish words and actions I showed in the past when I thought you were taking the place of my mother.”

Women are much more sensitive than men.

In times like these, fancy words, such as it was actually a disguise to deceive everyone, could arouse unnecessary suspicion.

Rather, Zion thought it would be much better to admit his past flaws in a personal setting like this, admit that he was lacking, that he was short-sighted, and strongly appeal to his efforts to change by showing that he was seeking forgiveness and reflecting on his actions.

‘Countess Leona is also a mother after all. She has a young son, and it’s a time when her maternal love is overflowing.’

She wasn’t like those strange noblewomen with snakes in their stomachs but the person that Margrave Lichtenberg accepted as someone to rely on after his wife passed away and he was living alone.

Of course, she was likely to be a kind woman like Lucia, and she would have seen Zion’s childhood to some extent, so some of the sadness and pity in that boy would have remained.

Zion wanted to stimulate that part of her and emphasize the atmosphere of ‘a young man who lost his mother early and is still too young’ who is now trying to correct his mistakes and live properly, rather than making Countess Leona feel suspicious of him.

“If you say that, I’ll feel too sorry.”

And as he thought, Countess Leona smiled, but for some reason, her face was filled with a sense of guilt.

It was a part that showed the heart of the woman who had suffered a lot because of Zion Klausen, her new son who was not much older than her, but pitied him as much.

‘Cultivate yourself, manage your family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world, and especially, taking care of your wife’s heart is the best of the best!’

Today, Zion shook his head as if to say no, putting his father’s teachings into practice.

“You know that’s not what I meant. I will correct the words and actions that I showed to Mother or Aden in the future. I will try to correct the mistakes I made at that time, as a son and as a brother.”

As Zion bowed his head once more, Countess Leona bowed in response.

As his brother and mother did so, Aden also shouted, ‘Uh, y-yes, please take care of me! Brother!’ and bowed deeply.

“Aden. I’m sorry, but let’s talk about the rest later. A lot of time has passed, and this brother has some business to take care of.”

“Ah, yes! If I made you waste your precious time···.”

“Just say, ‘Please play with me more later,’ at times like this. No one will say anything.”

“But···.”

“And brag. Brag as much as you want. My brother is the hero of Hispaña. Zion Klausen, that is.”

Feeling that he had received permission, Aden nodded diligently with a bright smile.

Watching that, Zion, who was convinced that those two had now completely fallen for him, turned around, saying that he would go first.

“I can’t imagine what kind of rudeness the current master committed against those two.”

Rishikida, who had been quietly watching the events between Zion and the two mothers and son, cautiously opened her mouth.

It seemed that she didn’t quite like the scene of her master bowing his head to the young countess and the still fluffy child.

“It wasn’t a good past. I don’t even want to tell you about it, Rishi.”

“I’m not curious about Master’s past! I just wondered if you really had to do that···.”

“They’re family. Can a man with a messed up family relationship be faithful in other areas? You have to take good care of your surroundings so you don’t make mistakes elsewhere.”

As he said that, Zion gently took Rishikida’s hand.

Softly caressing the woman’s white hand, he soothed the knight who might be anxious that he was neglecting her.

“Of course, Rishi, you are also in that family, in those surroundings.”

“Ugh? Ah, ah. Yes, yes! Ugh···.”

He liked the girlish sensibility of the knight, who was usually very serious but would panic and not know what to do when he suddenly swooped in like this.

He sincerely expressed his gratitude to Nudia for selling such a valuable asset at a cheap price.

With the determination to shake Nudia even harder in return.

Zion headed to the room where Helen was resting, with Lucia and Lia by her side.

“···?”

Zion, who entered the room.

“What are you doing?”

He said, opening his mouth to Lia and Lucia, who were sitting next to the bed, engrossed in something.

“Nyang, be quiet. Zion! This woman will wake up!”

“That’s right, Zion. Shh!”

“···No, why are you two telling me to be quiet when you’re the ones doing that?”

“I agree. It looks a little strange to me too···.”

The reason why even Rishikida said that while looking at Lia and Lucia strangely.

“Ugh···.”

Helen was frowning and groaning as if she was having a bad dream.

As a result, wrinkles formed on her forehead, and the two women were gently pressing on them with their fingers to smooth them out and return them to their original position.

Then, Helen would briefly relax her expression, and when she groaned and frowned again, the two women would gently press the wrinkles with their fingertips and smooth them out again.

“Zion, look at this. I’m really impressed, even though she’s a woman. How can she be so pretty that she’s called an elf even when she’s sleeping?”

“Nyang. I think there’s definitely a reason why elves are annoying.”

“···.”

No, you two are so beautiful that ordinary women can’t even compare.

You’re the heroines and candidates that the writers and readers have mentioned, so what’s wrong?

Zion looked at Rishikida as if asking if she agreed with those words.

In response, his faithful knight stared at Helen for a moment before slowly opening her mouth.

“Um··· what should I say? If Lilith-nim [term of respect] has an atmosphere like a jewel that you can’t handle carelessly, then that person has the opposite feeling, like a flower that gives off a faint feeling that you can easily break.”

Rishikida was definitely a knight, so she said things with atmosphere.

Women are all like that, but is Zion the only one who feels that way?

That was the expression on his face.

According to his official statement, he is surrounded by so many beautiful women that he doesn’t feel that Helen is much more beautiful than the others.

Thump―.

“Ugh···?”

At this time, perhaps because Lia pressed too hard.

Helen, who had been maintaining a state of almost waking up, slowly opened her eyes.

“Ugh! She woke up!”

“Nyang?”

Then, as if they had committed some great sin, Lucia and Lia were surprised and quickly backed away!

Rishikida was wondering what she was thinking there, but she volunteered to be a shield for the two of them, and Zion was sure that the three of them seemed to get along well, but it was definitely a strange combination.

“···? Ah, ah···.”

Meanwhile, Helen, who was scanning her surroundings with a dazed look as if she was grasping the situation, finally found Zion and let out a sigh of relief, slowly closing and reopening her eyes.

“Rishi.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Take these two and go. I don’t have anything else to do today, so get some rest. But don’t let your guard down, because there may be a schedule tomorrow. Got it?”

“Ah, yes. Master! You two, let’s go!”

Rishikida had been blocking Lucia and Lia until just now, but when Zion’s order came down, she immediately drove the two women away like a knife and disappeared out of the room.

Of course, there were opinions from Lucia, who said, ‘Shouldn’t we listen to what those two are talking about?’ and Lia’s rebellion, who said, ‘Nyang! I want to bother the fairy more!’, but Rishikida, like a great knight, succeeded in suppressing them all and taking them to the room.

‘Lucia shouldn’t be tainted by Lia.’

Worrying about a highly likely part.

Zion approached Helen, who was now fully awake and sitting on the bed.

He pulled a chair next to her and sat down, staring silently at the fairy woman, and Helen blushed slightly and opened her mouth.

“How long··· have I been sleeping?”

“Maybe it’s been an hour or two.”

“I slept a lot.”

“I think you slept less than you should have, considering you were exhausted from not eating, resting, or even sleeping properly for a week.”

At that answer, Helen said in a dry voice, ‘Is that so?’

It was obvious that she was trying to act like nothing was wrong, but Zion was just looking down at Helen’s hand without saying anything.

It would be very difficult if she ran here in a daze and then acted like nothing was wrong now.

If she was going to pretend not to be, she should do it a little more thoroughly, or if not, she should at least say that she was really tired now and needed to be comforted so that he could do something.

‘I’ve done that so far. From Lilith-nim [term of respect] to Jan. I made the other party approach first and confirmed each other’s feelings. But this woman···.’

Zion clicked his tongue inwardly.

Helen is a woman who was caught by slave traders in the past and suffered all kinds of hardships and was miserably violated by Sefer of Kashgar.

She would know that Zion is a completely different person from those people, but it was so obvious that she couldn’t easily approach him because she was worried about the past that her body remembered.

‘···Okay. I ran here in surprise, can’t I lose once?’

After finishing his thoughts, Zion gently approached Helen and strongly pressed the woman’s forehead with his index finger, who was trying to sit up, and laid her back down on the bed.

“L-Lord?”

“Just sleep well. I have a place to go tomorrow morning.”

“A place to go?”

“Sleep if you’re curious. You’ll naturally find out tomorrow, so don’t go there and doze off tomorrow.”

Zion said that and pulled the blanket up to Helen’s neck.

Then, as if to say that he would be by her side until she fell asleep, as if to stay here until she fell asleep comfortably so that she wouldn’t have nightmares, he sat in the chair and looked down at Helen.

“···Thank you.”

Perhaps Helen also realized Zion’s inner thoughts.

The fairy woman smiled very comfortably and happily and slowly closed her tired eyes again.

―――――――Afterword―――――――

Recommendations are always welcome!