After sweating for a bit at the training ground, Vichen sat on a long bench. Then he called Tundra, who was sitting next to him.
“Hey, Dog.”
Normally, this would be considered an insult, but Tundra didn’t care at all.
“Yes, Young Master?”
“You said you can instinctively distinguish what Viola likes and dislikes, right?”
Tundra’s eyes showed a hint of pride.
“That’s correct.”
Vichen somehow felt like he was losing.
“I gave Viola a troll’s head as a gift. You know about that, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did Viola like it?”
“She disliked it.”
“Why did she dislike it? Because trolls are too weak, right?”
Tundra shook his head.
“My master finds such undignified gifts distasteful.”
“Undignified? Why?”
“She doesn’t like the smell of blood.”
“Huh? Why?”
“She just doesn’t like it.”
Vichen’s face became serious.
“Then what about the ogre’s head?”
“She disliked it even more.”
“Why?”
“Because it had a stronger smell.”
Vichen’s mouth fell open in shock. It was more shocking than allowing one of Tundra’s attacks to get through to him today.
“She really disliked it?”
“Yes.”
“How much did she dislike it?”
“A lot.”
“You’re not lying, are you?”
“Why would I lie?”
Vichen nodded.
“Well, even though I don’t like you, you’re not a liar.”
“I don’t like you either, Young Master.”
Tundra didn’t mind being called a ‘dog’ by Vichen, and Vichen didn’t pay much attention to Tundra’s blunt and disrespectful speech. If the servants had overheard their conversation, they would have been shocked, but to the boys, it was just part of their daily lives.
“But hey.”
Vichen chuckled. His expression had changed from before. He seemed ready to wield his sword at any moment. Tundra mentally prepared himself for an ambush.
“Dog, is it Senna or Sona?”
“It’s Senna.”
“Yeah, her.”
He pulled out a troll’s head from his dimensional pocket space.
“Anyway, would she also dislike this?”
“She wouldn’t just dislike it, she’d probably freak out.”
“Really?”
“She might even faint.”
For the young noble daughters of the Central Continent, such a thing would be a terrifying object beyond revolting. He didn’t add further explanation.
Vichen’s smirk deepened as he chuckled like a little demon.
“Since it’s my precious and valuable treasure, I should give it as a gift. I’ll put it in the carriage.”
Still blinking its eyes, green blood dripped from the troll’s head.
“Just putting it there won’t do.”
Tundra cooperated with Vichen for the first time in a long while.
“In order to give a gift, you have to follow the proper procedures. If you ask Zenon, he’ll take care of it.”
***
Zenon grinned.
“You’ve prepared a good gift. Lady Senna will surely be delighted.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. A head of a three-headed troll. It’s quite a rare item.”
“Right. It feels a bit wasteful to give something so precious.”
Vichen seemed regretful but Zenon paid no attention to him.
“I’ll arrange for the steward to present it to Mariantu. As long as there’s no poison or illusion-type magic on the troll’s head, it should pass without any issues. You want it to be a surprise gift, don’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s right. A surprise gift.”
“Then that’s enough of a reason to have them secretly put it in the carriage.”
Zenon immediately went through the proper procedures, and while Mariantu’s side seemed a bit uneasy, there was no justification to refuse Vichen’s gift. They briefly held a meeting among themselves.
“Master Vichen also gave this gift to Lady Viola.”
“One of the three heads was for himself, another for Lady Viola, and the remaining one for Lady Senna.”
“Yes. Since it seems to be a Winter Castle tradition, we should respect it.”
Moreover, could the envoy who came to apologize really refuse Vichen’s ‘favor’?
Under the watch of Mariantu’s guardian knights, Zenon headed towards Mariantu’s carriage. Meanwhile, he glanced at the ceiling.
One of the guardian knights asked, “What’s wrong?”
“We need to renovate the ceiling. There’s mold growing.”
Zenon casually took out his notebook and made a note. Meanwhile, Shailan, who had been hiding in the ceiling, sighed heavily.
‘Ugh. Why the hell does this guy have the senses of an assassin?’
That Zenon guy was definitely a monster.
‘What’s he up to?’
It seemed like he was putting something in the carriage, but he couldn’t see that far. After things quieted down, Shailan landed cautiously. The magic lamps were off and there was no one around.
‘If the carriage is damaged, it’ll cause a huge accident, won’t it? She dared to insult and persecute my honey-giving employer, no, disciple.’
Shailan decided not to endure it.
‘Let’s just ‘fix’ the carriage a bit.’
He planned to give it enough stress to collapse after a certain distance was covered.
‘It’s going to hurt a lot, hehe!’
As an assassin, he had received advanced training and was confident he wouldn’t leave any traces. Shailan opened the carriage door.
‘Huh? What’s this?’
With a repulsive smell, a troll’s head appeared. Shailan, being a cowardly assassin, grabbed his wildly beating chest.
‘Phew, thought I was going to faint.’
He was shocked, but somehow, he felt great. Senna would probably be more than just shocked.
‘Okay. This should be enough.’
In about two days, it would collapse completely.
‘Your buttocks will hurt! It’s going to hurt a lot, Sonia! Isn’t it Sonia?’
Names were a bit confusing, but he decided not to pay much attention. Shailan, now at ease, opened the carriage door and dusted off his hands. However, at that moment, a voice was heard.
“Shailan, what are you doing here?”
***
Medea was curious about Viola. How could she become so strong in such a short time? What exactly was the Grass Sword? Thus, she sought out Shailan.
‘What is he doing?’
It looked like Shailan was doing something to the carriage.
‘It seems like he’s fixing the carriage…’
Assassins are generally versatile. Their specialty lies in assassinating and setting traps in various ways.
‘He must have tampered with the carriage somehow.’
“Shailan, what are you doing here?”
Shailan was momentarily flustered.
“Oh, that’s…!”
He had retired and was no longer an active assassin. His mindset had become relaxed and embarrassment was evident on his face.
Medea chuckled, “As a warrior from the Eastern Continent, are you curious about how the carriages of Central Continent nobles look?”
“Well, yes. Haha, hahaha!”
Shailan inwardly sighed in relief.
‘Did she not see?’
If she had, it would have been a significant issue. No matter how well he covered his tracks, such an action could lead to significant diplomatic problems if discovered.
‘Fortunately, it looks like she didn’t see.’
Medea spoke, “Could we talk for a moment in my room?”
***
“What…? My disciple’s Grass Sword did that?”
Shailan, upon hearing the details of the duel, widened his eyes in disbelief. At that, Medea sighed. She had expected Shailan to provide a clear explanation, but it seemed he couldn’t.
‘It seems even Shailan is surprised.’
It also seemed that Shailan had not fully grasped the extent of Viola’s abilities. The only thing she could glean from their conversation was one thing.
‘Even a master like Shailan is astonished by her growth rate.’
There wasn’t much else to learn. It was a bit regrettable that Shailan wasn’t given the opportunity to witness Viola’s duel himself. Next, Medea decided to find Hickson.
“Where is Sir Hickson?”
“Enjoying tea with Lady Viola in her room.”
“Sir Hickson doesn’t particularly enjoy tea, does he?”
“Recently, he seems to.”
Medea nodded, “He’s definitely on my side.”
As Medea walked away, the butler asked, “Where are you going?”
“To Viola.”
“Shall I announce you?”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll just go.”
For some reason, it felt unpleasant to establish a formal relationship by announcing oneself. Medea walked slowly until she arrived at Viola’s room. From inside the room came a hearty laugh! Since losing his daughter, it was rare to hear Hickson laugh so loudly.
Knock, knock.
“Sister Viola?”
The door was opened by Viola herself.
“Sister? What’s the matter?”
“Just… I wanted to see my little sister.”
Medea sat on a chair between Viola and Hickson.
“You don’t mind if I sit next to Viola, right?”
“Would you get terribly upset if I said I did?”
“You’d probably mind because grumpy is your normal mood.”
In fact, Viola wanted to rest. The duel ended so absurdly that her head was spinning and then Hickson and Medea came almost simultaneously. It was obvious that they would grill her about the duel. But she smiled benevolently, hiding her inner turmoil.
“In conclusion, Sir Hickson, could you discern what power Viola wielded?”
“Couldn’t you read it?”
“I haven’t reached your level yet.”
“Humble as ever, young knight.”
“But it’s true. Moreover, you have had many experiences since your youth, thus your insight into today’s duel must be higher than mine.”
Viola sipped her warm cocoa in silence. Today, cocoa seemed more appealing than strawberryade.
Hickson recounted what he had seen.
“Viola’s affinity with spirits, her contracted spirit’s power, combined with her artifacts made by master mages and her killing nature, seemed to combine in such a way that it created a spectacle.”
“A spectacle?”
“Yes. Such swordsmanship at her age is a spectacle. Neither I nor Heron could do that at her age. You weren’t at that level at her age either.”
Cough, cough!
Viola coughed violently. She almost spat out all the cocoa she was drinking. It felt like something was going terribly wrong.
“I couldn’t demonstrate such achievements at Viola’s age either.”
Medea looked at Viola with a compassionate expression.
“Why have you been hiding such power all this time?”
Hickson added another question.
“How could you wield such extraordinary power? I didn’t know.”
‘I didn’t know either! I didn’t know I was this strong! It definitely wasn’t like that during practice!’
In fact, the one who found the duel’s results the most perplexing was Viola herself.
‘What should I say? “I didn’t know, it just turned out that way”? I can’t say that, can I?’
Viola slowly put down her cocoa cup.
“Well, um…”
Under her skirt, she gripped her trembling legs. Slowly, she continued to speak.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Next 15 chapter will be translated by RJR. See you soon!
This chapter was translated by Bree.
If you like my work please support us in Patreon. Next post will be released on Mach, 28.
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