Viola nodded.
“What is your proposal?”
“You have to pay a high price to take my favorite student.”
‘Haven’t you already acquired a lot of money?’
Viola wanted to say that but held back.
“I will think about it if you kiss my feet and beg me.”
Viola hated foot-kissing. She hated receiving them, and she hated doing even more. She would hate it even if it was Prince Jeremy, but if it was Sirson, Lord of the Magic Tower, she would hate it even more.
For a moment, Zenon thought, ‘If you lose your feet, you won’t be able to receive kisses’.
Zenon’s deeply sunken eyes focused on Sirson’s ankles. They were so thin that they would be easy to slice through. Meanwhile, Viola could easily read Sirson’s thoughts.
‘Sirson is a man crazy for fame.’
He was a person who raised his self-esteem with praise from others. If it weren’t for his greed for fame, he might have become a much better Magic Tower Lord.
‘He probably wants the world to know that I showed respect by kissing his feet.’
Viola was worried. She was already risking her life and living on thin ice every day, so why couldn’t she just kiss those feet? But even if she wanted to, she just couldn’t.
‘No, this isn’t right.’
“What? You don’t like it?”
Sirson proposed a compromise.
“Then let me change my offer a little bit. Would it be okay to just state such information in the newspaper?”
In fact, he was saying it was okay for her not to kiss his feet. However, he would still claim the honor by having a newspaper state, ‘Princess Viola kissed Lord Sirson’s feet.’
‘Okay. I guess that’s okay.’
In this world, kissing feet was an act of respect and submission. Regardless of one’s personality, the Lord of the Magic Tower had sufficient social status to be respected.
‘Because it’s not that strange.’
She thought that if she could get Elsina this way, it would be a profitable business. However, not all situations were coordinated and went as Viola wanted.
* * *
The newspaper’s editorial and press departments had become very busy.
“The latest news related to Princess Viola has been updated!”
Mercenary King Kaiser. Baby Deer Mercenaries. Black Whale Hickson…
Due to their appearance, Viola emerged as the hottest topic on the continent with numerous newspapers on the continent covering her.
“There’s a report from the 6th Magic Tower.”
“What report is that?”
“It says that Princess Viola showed her respect by kissing the feet of Lord Sirson.”
The editor-in-chief of the ‘Monarch Paper,’ one of the most popular newspapers in the Monarch Empire, frowned.
“Is that all?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
The editor-in-chief was not in a very good mood.
“What’s so big about kissing the Magic Tower Lord’s feet?”
This wasn’t a big deal. Of course, it was clear that Princess Viola was a rising star, but without a plausible narrative, this could not be considered a scoop.
“It looks like that old man just wants to show off.”
“I guess so. He’s a person who is obsessed with fame, so I think it might be like that…”
The editor-in-chief whetted his appetite.
“If it had been the other way around, it would have been a big deal.”
A much more plausible picture would be drawn if the Magic Tower Lord had kissed Princess Viola’s feet. Indeed, that would be a much bigger deal. Yuliton, the newsletter reporter in charge of this story, cautiously opened his mouth.
“Editor-in-Chief, if you give permission, I will write a story about the incident.”
“What story?”
“Some things come to mind as to why Princess Viola kissed the feet of the Magic Tower’s Lord.”
Yuliton was a talented reporter and someone who could look at all sides of a case in depth.
“Do you know the rumors about Princess Viola?”
“About her drinking blood and eating flesh? Hundreds of people have already been beheaded? Are you talking about things like that?”
“Of course, there are things like that, but…”
There were a lot of ugly rumors about Viola. But those weren’t the only rumors.
“It is said that although she has the talents of a devil, she is a princess with the heart of an angel. I think we just need to write the narrative based on that. Why did the Iron-Blooded Princess of Bellato kiss the feet of the Magic Tower Lord… It will be a narrative that explains.”
The editor-in-chief opened his eyes wide. The smell of a scoop was slowly starting to emerge. Even if it was the same event, the content was completely different depending on which part was illuminated and how it was presented.
“You know about the Beggar Gang of the Magic Tower, right?”
“Isn’t that just a rumor?”
The Magic Tower was a closed place and not many people could visit it. There were very few people who knew the inside story, and about the ‘beggars,’ only rumors were floating around.
“But don’t the beggars who escaped from the Magic Tower really exist? Now I can confirm the reality!”
The small snowball launched by Viola began to grow bigger and bigger.
“Look at the timing. As Princess Viola visited the Magic Tower, she sent in the Black Whale, the Mercenary King, and even the Baby Deer Mercenary unit. It’s said that even Bellato’s Butler Carlton made an appearance there. She’s got the kind of power that it wouldn’t be strange even if she started a war, right?”
The editor-in-chief swallowed his saliva. When he heard it, it turned out to be true.
“That’s why Princess Viola went to the Magic Tower even if it meant risking war.”
Even for the speaking party, Yuliton, the facts were largely irrelevant.
“And she appealed to him with all her heart. Even the beggars of the Magic Tower need the right to live like human beings. She pleaded for them to be handed over.”
A scoop alert went off in the editor-in-chief’s head! Ding! It started ringing. The editor-in-chief took over.
“She tried to persuade him with all her sincerity, and if that didn’t work, she was willing to risk war?”
“Isn’t that what the story is saying under the circumstances? When I interviewed the beggars at the Magic Tower, they said that the person who sent them away was Princess Viola.”
“Fortunately, the conversation with the Magic Tower Lord went well.”
“So Princess Viola kissed the feet of the Tower Lord… The narrative is complete.”
The two looked at each other and smiled.
“What a moving narrative.”
The story was written that the princess of the Winter Castle sought out the Lord of the Magic Tower and begged him earnestly for the beggars who were strangers to her. Just as expected, the scoop broke.
Without Viola knowing.
* * *
As Viola’s name began to gain fame, various newspapers featured her. Some dealt with Viola’s notoriety, while others published malicious reports suggesting that the disappearance of Princess Senna a year ago might be related to Viola.
‘How dare you spread rumors about my lovely giving tree, or rather, my lovely disciple?’
Shailan could not forgive. Although he was a retired assassin, he decided to return to active duty for a while. Angered, Shailan lost his fear and began to emerge as the best assassin.
“If you write an article like that one more time, I’ll gouge out your eyes and cut out your tongue.”
“Please just spare me.”
“Shouldn’t you write a corrected report?”
“I will write it right away.”
Shailan was busy. He took advantage of Viola’s popularity to search for reporters who published malicious reports and caused controversy. Some of them even tried to threaten Shailan.
A middle-aged man, naked, covered himself with a blanket and shouted.
“I am Lennon’s chief reporter! I will never overlook this incident. I will expose Viola’s true nature in detail!”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
“W-what?”
“I heard you call me ‘The Ghost of Warning’?”
Shailan was called ‘The Ghost of Warning’ by newsletter reporters and he didn’t like that nickname at all.
“I am not a warning ghost or anything.”
His lips turned up under his mask.
“I’m an assassin.”
Thuk.
The reporter’s head fell with a light sound as a fountain of his blood gushed out. Shailan picked up a manuscript, holding it in his hands.
Shock!
[The relationship between the 6th Bellato Princess and the Magic Tower Lord!]
Shailan’s eyes turned colder. He looked at the headless body with emotionless eyes and muttered in a drowsy voice, “Why are you messing with my student?”
The night breeze blew through the window, stirring Shailan’s bangs lightly.
“All of you, die.”
The cowardly Shailan gradually lost his fear. His author’s settings changed little by little, without Shailan’s or Viola’s knowledge.
* * *
The beggars of the Magic Tower arrived at the Winter Castle. At first, they were overly frightened, but gradually they adapted. They were mostly engineers. Chimney sweeping skills, ore smelting skills, weapon cutting skills, baking skills, etc. The beggars of the Magic Tower were technicians who completed things that wizards considered ‘lowly,’ and their presence soon began to stand out in the Winter Castle. Keitarun, who was first threatened(?) by Viola, came to the Winter Castle and was recognized for the first time.
“Oh, they’re clean. What great workmanship! I will visit often.”
And he received 5,000 dahlias. Keitarun was a master cobbler and shoe shiner and his skills began to spread by word of mouth. The people of Winter Castle recognized the skills of the beggars.
‘This is life.’
Keitarun felt alive for the first time. Not only was he recognized for his skills, but he didn’t have to live in hiding like he did in the Magic Tower, and he wasn’t under any compulsion to stay out of the sight of the higher-ups.
‘It’s all thanks to Princess Viola.’
They learned freedom. There weren’t many engineers in Winter Castle as most of the natives born and raised in the Winter Castle grew up to be brave warriors and lived their lives fighting large and small battles with the monsters that invaded human lands from ‘the place where the snow blows.’ This resulted in relatively few technicians and the beggars of the Magic Tower filled the void. The power of Winter Castle was further strengthened.
‘Ugh, it’s cold.’
He blew onto his hands to warm them. Regardless of the cold, Keitarun had fun every day. It was 4 am and although no one ordered him to do so, Keitarun came out so early on purpose to wait for his clients. It was so different from the Magic Tower. Because working was fun, he naturally hummed.
“Do you happen to provide armor polish?”
Huh? Who is it at this hour? Keitarun raised his head and looked at the woman who came to see him.
‘Oh my god!’
His sensitive instincts, which he had honed during his days at the Magic Tower, were activated.
‘She is an Absolute!’
Yes, she must be an enormous absolute being. She had jet-black hair, fiery red eyes, and carried a sword bigger than a grown man on her back. The attire was that of a knight, but the way she spoke and her facial expressions were more elegant and dignified than any other daughter from a noble family.
‘She must be an amazing person.’
It was clear that this person was different from the people in the world he lived in. Keitarun swallowed. He felt like it would be rude to even breathe in front of this woman, so he breathed as quietly as he could and spoke politely.
“I will give it to you with all my sincerity.”
The moment he decided to do his best, she asked, “I want to ask you something about Viola.”
What was coming had come. Keitarun thought so.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on May, 30.
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