I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Therefore, I am my father's only son and the sole heir to his 'kingdom'."

"Neither I, nor my grandfather, nor Miss Leroy believed that my father would be indifferent to my escape."

"His determination to 'never give up until he achieves his goal' will not be deterred by mountains and rivers."

"Therefore, we have never let our guard down since we fled France."

"The reason we moved from Edo to Kyoto was because we discovered that a number of suspicious and unidentified people had suddenly appeared near our residence."

"Grandpa suspected that these people were detectives hired by Father."

"Although this is just speculation without any evidence, we decided to move away from Edo and relocate to Kyoto out of caution."

“I know my father won’t give up easily.”

"But... I never expected that he would go to Japan specifically to find me."

"Haha... Does this mean my father cares about me a lot?"

"To be honest, I'm a bit confused... I don't know whether I should be happy or scared..."

Elodie finished speaking.

As she finished speaking, she lowered her head in a dejected manner.

From Qingdeng's perspective, the faint shadows obscured his face, making it impossible for Qingdeng to see his expression.

Qing Deng stared straight at Elodie, his expression calm.

Soon, he slowly began to speak:

"...I understand the specific reasons. Elodie, do you want to go back to your father's side?"

"Eh?"

Elodie raised her eyes and looked at Qingdeng in surprise.

The overly direct question caught her off guard.

"Elodie, do you want to go back to your father?"

Qing Deng repeated the question.

His expression and tone were calm, devoid of joy or sorrow, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking at that moment.

Faced with Qing Deng's gaze, Elodie unconsciously looked away, her eyes wandering in mid-air.

After hesitating for a while, she finally stammered:

"Well...no matter what, he's still my father...I'm terrified of him, but..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qing Deng interrupted her, saying:

"Elodie, you're usually so smart, how come you've become so confused?"

Qingdeng shrugged, looking helpless.

"My question can't be that profound, can it?"

"It's simply a matter of 'wanting' or 'not wanting'."

"But you've been giving irrelevant answers since just now, and haven't been able to give a direct response."

"You don't need to say so many irrelevant things."

"You just need to tell me whether you 'want' or 'don't want'?"

After saying that, Qing Deng put on a serious face, his expression becoming exceptionally earnest and solemn.

Elodie's gaze began to dart away again.

"I...I...I..."

Strangely enough, as time went by, with each "I" she uttered, the confusion in her eyes faded a little, her tone became more resolute, and her gaze stopped wandering.

"I...I...I don't want to go back to my father's side!"

As she finished speaking, her tone suddenly rose, her voice carrying an astonishing force.

"I'm very happy here!"

"I have precious friends, a career I love, and a peaceful life."

"There's more...there's more...there's more..."

For some reason, she suddenly got stuck.

As she kept repeating "I have it," she cautiously raised her gaze and secretly glanced at Qingdeng, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

"I've got it... I've got it, respected teacher!"

"My life now is a thousand times better than it was before!"

"No matter what happens, no matter what my father says or does, I will not go back with him!"

Seeing the blonde girl who had made up her mind and was no longer hesitant, Qing Deng smiled and revealed a hearty smile.

"Very well, I understand your wishes!"

After speaking, Qingdeng let out a long sigh of relief.

“Elodie, to be honest, I don’t care about your past.”

"Whether you are an ordinary commoner or a noble princess, in my eyes you have only one identity: my precious disciple."

I'm glad to hear you say 'I don't want to'.

"Elodie, I can't bear to part with you."

"No matter what, I don't want you to leave me."

No sooner had Qing Deng finished speaking than Elodie froze on the spot.

"I can't bear to part with you," "I don't want you to leave me"... these two sentences echoed repeatedly in his mind.

The blush that she had just managed to suppress returned to her cheeks.

In a panic, she quickly lowered her head, burying her head in the sand like an ostrich, trying to prevent Qingdeng from noticing the color she had etched on her cheek.

Qingdeng, engrossed in his impassioned speech, failed to notice the other party's unusual behavior.

"Alright, now that we've reached a consensus, let's set off and pay our respects to your father!"

“Make things clear with him, tell him directly: Your daughter doesn't want to go with you, so please go back by yourself!”

I don't care who your father is.

"Even if your father is the true King of France, don't even think about taking someone away from Prince Ni!"

Having said that, Qing Deng stood up abruptly.

Seeing this, Elodie, despite still having a slight blush on her face, resolutely stood up and responded to Qingdeng with the same high spirits.

Immediately afterwards, the two left the courtyard, one after the other, and walked down the corridor, heading straight for their father's room.

However... after taking only a few steps, fear gradually filled Elodie's face.

Psychological weaknesses accumulated since childhood cannot be easily dispelled by a few words.

Her emotions were truthfully conveyed through her footsteps.

Qingdeng heard the footsteps behind him growing weaker and softer, so he turned around to look.

After noticing that Elodie was a little nervous, he smiled slightly:

"Elodie, don't worry, I'm here."

“I will accompany you throughout your meeting with your father.”

So you don't need to be afraid.

Hearing Qingdeng's encouragement, Elodie's expression improved slightly.

The two then continued forward.

"..."

Elodie, who was half a body length behind Qingdeng, had been secretly observing Qingdeng's naturally swinging right hand since earlier.

At first, it was just ordinary observation.

But gradually, her demeanor and behavior became strange.

She pursed her lips, swallowed, and her expression showed a struggle, as if she were saying to herself, "No," "You can't."

Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she took a deep breath, then suddenly reached out her left palm and gripped Qingdeng's right hand tightly.

"Hmm? Elodie?"

Qingdeng was taken aback, stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and cast a surprised look at Elodie.

While keeping her head down to avoid Qing Deng's gaze, Elodie stammered as she explained:

"Um... I'm a little scared... so... Master, may I hold your hand?"

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng chuckled in disbelief.

"If this makes you feel at ease, then I would be more than happy to do so."

Qingdeng, unsuspecting, instead increased the pressure, firmly gripping Elodie's hand.

The two continued on their way.

Elodie stared blankly at her and Qingdeng's clasped hands, her expression somewhat dazed.

To her, Qingdeng's hands were very large.

The feeling of her hand being enveloped by the other person's large palm gave her an indescribable sense of security.

In the blink of an eye, the "fear" on his cheeks gradually dissipated, replaced by "peace" and "happiness".

Suddenly, Qing Deng, who was walking in front, asked:

"Oh, speaking of which, Elodie, I haven't asked you your real name yet."

"Since you are a French noblewoman, then 'Elodie Angoulême' must not be your real name, right?"

"As far as I know, French nobles all have the character 'de' in their names."