The grand master, Delpha, opened his eyes wide.
“You’ve really come, haven’t you?”
Though taken aback, he decided to proceed with his task for now.
He swiftly ran toward the door without making any noise and held it open.
“Welcome, Your Highness.”
Viola passed by Delpha in a hurry.
Delpha’s body twitched.
It had been about 25 years since he served as a grand master.
During that time, he had encountered numerous nobles and knights.
Therefore, he considered himself quite familiar with people who possessed mana.
“My body is trembling.”
Viola seemed to possess a special kind of mana.
Even though she just passed by him, Delpha felt a chill run down his spine.
“Could this be… the rumored killer star?”
It was difficult to look directly at the twelve-year-old girl.
The sticky aura surrounding Viola kept making him forget that she was merely twelve years old.
Visually, Viola appeared as a young girl of twelve, but the sensations she emitted made her seem like a giant.
Meanwhile,
Viola was in a good mood.
“Even Tundra seems to be doing well.”
Her eyes fell upon the pristine white bedsheet that had been neatly made.
Tundra was soundly asleep.
She couldn’t express how relieved she felt upon hearing that Tundra was doing fine.
“I just need to focus on my tasks.”
He didn’t bother hiding his good mood.
He walked towards the small table, lightly smiling.
Grand master Delpha swallowed nervously.
“A smile?”
In Delpha’s eyes, it felt like the wicked laughter of a witch.
It had nothing to do with Viola’s actual expression.
To Delpha’s eyes, the person before him was a grinning witch.
If the Thousand-Year Duke had brought a witch, then his words seemed to be true.
“My apologies for the late hour.”
Viola stood in front of the small table, her steps light and careful.
“What’s the matter?”
“You probably already know what’s going on.”
In truth, Viola was in a slightly different state than usual.
She couldn’t maintain her usual composure, nor could she observe the situation rationally.
“Was Hikson really that intelligent?”
However, Hikson had revealed a lot while conversing with Xenon, and Viola was acting accordingly.
With Hikson’s words, the situation finally became clear to her.
She had received significant help from Hikson.
“If you haven’t noticed my intentions at all, I’d be disappointed, Small Alchemist.”
Behind her, Delpha swallowed nervously once again.
He recalled his conversation with the alchemist.
“Everything the alchemist said was right, wasn’t it?”
It seemed that Small Alchemist’s deductions were all correct.
Until just a moment ago, I still thought of her as just a twelve-year-old child, but now my thoughts have completely changed.
“If she’s a princess, she can definitely do that.”
Viola crossed her legs and sat down on the chair at the table.
“Grand master.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Warm milk, please.”
The word “please” made Delpha’s ears perk up.
“A request?”
It was a word that didn’t fit the current Viola at all.
It wasn’t an order, but a request…
Surprisingly, it was a very kind request.
But… strangely…
Her use of the word “please” sounded natural.
Even though she was a princess who would be more accustomed to giving orders than making requests.
It felt natural,
And so,
Very…
I couldn’t figure out how to express the emotions I was feeling right now.
Was it fear? Unfamiliarity? Strangeness?
No. It was commanding.
Her polite tone and requesting attitude felt dignified and natural.
I had a feeling she was one of the heirs of the ruling family.
That one word, “please,” carried such strong power.
“With honey, please.”
“…Understood.”
Viola, who was in a good mood, indulged her desires a little more.
“And cookies.”
“Yes, I will prepare them.”
Delpha felt a strange sensation as he left the room.
It was a fitting atmosphere for a ruler, yet she asked for milk with honey and cookies.
The contrast intrigued Delpha.
Small Alchemist spoke.
“Fortunately, it seems that the companion sword will be able to recover soon.”
“I heard.”
“And it seems my hearing will also recover in a day or two.”
“Fortunately.”
“It’s because the cutting edge was exceptionally clean.”
Small Alchemist narrowed his eyes.
“It must be the part you intended, Your Highness?”
It’s not me, but another part of me inside that did it.
It wasn’t my intention, but anyway, that’s how things turned out.
He calmly spoke, hiding his true feelings.
“If it wasn’t your intention, why would I have exerted force there?”
“Of course, that’s true. Then, assuming that all my assumptions were correct, I will tell you.”
“Yes.”
“Is Human Viola here to apologize to me, rather than Princess Viola?”
Viola smirked.
She was even skilled in acting now.
“Apologize?”
She intentionally used informal speech.
In an instant, Small Alchemist’s body trembled.
Unintentionally, he almost reached for his weapon.
“What kind of attitude is this…!”
It wasn’t even this intense when I saw First Princess Medeia in her childhood.
It felt more ruthless and intense than the mana emanating from Medeia.
He felt a terrible urge as if he could draw his blade and pierce his own throat right away.
“I judged that Small Alchemist has upright beliefs and is a rational person. That’s why I took the initiative to come here as a special envoy.”
…Thank you for seeing me that way.”
“But I’m a little disappointed. You didn’t even mention an apology right away.”
Small Alchemist’s face stiffened slightly.
In any case, the Bellatu family is the enemy family that killed the son of the Alchemist.
Small Alchemist was prepared to go to war.
Before Small Alchemist could retort, Viola continued with her question.
“Was your nephew important to the Bellatu family?”
“I don’t think so.”
“But why did you go through the trouble of blaming, disregarding the formal procedures, and executing your nephew?”
“That’s… because my son violated the strict laws of Winter City, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, so you killed him because he dared to violate the strict laws of Winter City as the son of Small Alchemist?”
Viola smirked.
Anger bubbled up in Small Alchemist’s chest.
Setting aside right and wrong, the princess was clearly mocking him.
Small Alchemist’s voice grew louder.
“Well, isn’t that the case?”
“Of course not.”
Meanwhile, Delpha entered with the warm milk and coconut cookies.
Crunch!
Viola put a coconut cookie in her mouth and savored it.
“It’s delicious.”
Indeed, the nobles in this world have a knack for baking.
The cookies were very satisfying.
Small Alchemist spoke up.
“I was willing to go to war, even if it meant sacrificing my life.”
“I know. You’re that kind of person, Small Alchemist. Of course, it would have been you who died.”
“Since I was prepared for death, I need a clear explanation.”
Small Alchemist wasn’t afraid of death.
“If there isn’t a clear explanation, I will declare war on Bellatu right now. If Your Highness hadn’t saved my life just now, I might have killed you right here.”
“Would you have been able to?”
“I don’t know.”
I saw the princess’s movements earlier.
They were definitely not those of a twelve-year-old.
“But now, all members of the Alchemist family are free from the poison. If our knights take action, it is presumed that we can corner Your Highness and her companions.”
“Well, let’s assume that’s the case for now. But I sincerely hope that you won’t actually carry out such a disastrous act. Please. Sincerely.”
To be honest, he was scared.
But the word “sincerely” was truly sincere.
“Ugh, scary.”
No matter how long he lived as Viola, he lived as Han Arin for twenty-one years.
If he wasn’t scared, that would be a lie.
Even in South Korea, he had never faced a situation like this.
“But… It’s much better than facing my father.”
He consciously tried to ease his mind.
“The reason for executing an insignificant person without following the proper procedures is simple when you think about it.”
“I don’t know. Please answer me.”
“Because my father sees Small Alchemist in a positive light.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie.
Even in the original work, Heron praises Small Alchemist.
So, in order for him to end his life not as an execution victim, but as a professor, she made arrangements.
Afterward, ironically, she even sponsored Small Alchemist.
“W-What does that mean…?”
“To protect Small Alchemist’s honor, my father has overturned the label of a tyrant.”
Small Alchemist had a perplexed expression.
“What does that have to do with my honor?”
“Violating the laws of Winter City was a justification.”
Viola clapped her hands lightly.
“Zenon.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As if he had been waiting, Zenon immediately opened the door and entered.
In Zenon’s hand was a pure white cloth, and on top of it was a glass bottle filled with red liquid.
“This is Lord Add’s blood. He was in a state of black magic poisoning.”
Viola calmly spoke.
“If Lord Add had been in his right mind, do you think he would have caused such a commotion in Winter City? Just because of an eggtart?”
Black magic clouds a person’s mind and drives them to seek instinctive pleasure.
Rather than reason, it prioritizes emotions and grants powerful magical abilities.
However, there was one significant side effect.
If one couldn’t properly handle mana, their body would explode.
It meant turning into a living explosive.
“Someone injected black magic into Lord Add’s body. But you know, it’s impossible to activate it without Lord Add’s consent. In the end, black magic was what Lord Add desired. That blood was filled with mana from black magic.”
This information appeared in the author’s supplementary materials.
It wasn’t extensively covered in the main story.
Jerton was just an unfortunate supporting character who was killed by Vichen.
“The concentration was so high that it wouldn’t be strange if it exploded at any moment. Firstly, we had to protect the people of Winter City from Lord Add, who had turned into a living bomb.”
Viola eyes turned to Small Alchemist.
There was a little foam of milk at the corner of her mouth.
“Secondly, we had to protect Small Alchemist’s honor. That’s why we simply sentenced him to death.”
“…”
“What were you doing while Lord Add was pushed to that extent? Why did my father have to overturn the dirty label of being a tyrant and protect your honor?”
My favorite character isn’t actually like that!
Even though he’s a bit scary, he’s a kind person who raises cute hedgehogs in a noble’s mansion with a 7-layered magic circle!
“If I were my father, I would have exposed everything to the world without caring about Small Alchemist’s honor. If I had done that, Small Alchemist would have chosen to end his own life.
He is a person with unwavering beliefs.”
It was the same in the original work.
In the end, Small Alchemist starts a war, and Heron personally kills him.
For the sake of his honor.
The fact that Jerton was addicted to black magic would be forever buried in the world.
“I’ll ask you. Was my father’s choice wrong?”
Small Alchemist lowered his head deeply.
And he began to say something that even Viola hadn’t thought of.
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
Next chapter will be released on July, 25. To read chapters in advance support us on Patreon!!
