Chapter 71: Corruption
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 71: Corruption
“I don’t care who you meet, Oppa. Just don’t hide it from me.”
Even though two love rivals, Piole and Eusebia, had appeared in a single day, Aenya’s reaction was nonchalant.
Was it because I’d been teaching her since she was young and knew nothing of the world? Honestly, it was unexpected.
Piole, for instance, had promised to be content as my mistress, yet she had become visibly agitated upon seeing Aenya.
“Aren't you worried?”
“Worried? Why would I be?”
Aenya tilted her head as if I’d said something strange. Now it was my turn to feel a little disappointed. Jealousy, after all, is a form of love.
“My women will only increase in number. They might even encroach upon your position one day.”
Even at my warning, Aenya just smiled.
“No one can tear us apart. Can’t you feel it, Oppa? The thread of fate that binds us?”
Aenya’s eyes, holding the warmth of the fireplace, shimmered with a crimson glow. She placed my hand on her chest and her own on mine.
Thump. Thump.
Beyond the soft sensation, I could feel Aenya’s heartbeat. It pulsed in perfect sync with my own, as if we had been a pair from the very beginning.
I let out a small laugh.
“I thought you’d filled out a bit, but this part is the same as when we said goodbye.”
Aenya, who had been looking up at me with a seductive smile, scrunched her brow. The lady of fatal charm instantly reverted to a youthful girl.
“B-Breasts are supposed to be the last to grow! And this is average for my age!”
“Hmm, I think Piole’s are twice, no, three times this size.”
“Then she’s a boob monster! I bet they’re saggy and shapeless, like an old woman’s!”
“Actually, their shape was quite beautiful.”
Perhaps it was thanks to her knightly training. Piole’s breasts not only seemed to defy gravity, a testament to the mysteries of the human body, but they were also beautifully shaped.
As I continued to compare and praise them, Aenya finally pouted and pushed against my chest.
“Oppa! You’re so mean!”
Before she could run away, I caught her and pulled her into my arms. With her head reaching my chest, I could really feel how much taller she had grown.
“That’s why you should show some jealousy sometimes. So I know that you love me.”
“Do I have to show it with words or actions for you to know?”
“Love is meant to be expressed.”
Before Aenya could retort, I stole her lips. It was a light kiss, just a gentle lick, but Aenya’s sharp glare melted away like snow.
“Would you like it if I only thought about loving you in my head and never kissed you?”
“I’d hate that!”
Shaking her head, Aenya pulled my neck down and kissed me. As if the previous kiss had only whetted her appetite, this time she boldly pushed her tongue inside.
The atmosphere heated up in an instant. If not for the church bells signaling the early evening, we might have finished what we started right then and there.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
“Ah, I have to eat with the Castellan…”
Aenya finally broke the kiss, squirming and growing restless. I gave her lips another light peck and said.
“We can just continue after dinner.”
Andrei had given me the names of those who could be dealt with, but on one condition: I had to get the Castellan’s permission first. He said they were, after all, her vassals.
“You’re naughty.”
“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to.”
“Who said I didn’t want to?”
Her face as red as a beet, Aenya avoided my gaze and was the first to leave the room.
“Hurry up! It’s already time!”
The dining hall contained only a single long table, large enough to seat a dozen people. At its head sat Eleanor, the Castellan and Princess.
Dressed in a black, high-collared gown, she was a striking beauty with pure white silver hair and bluish-purple eyes.
Her skin, as pale as any of the Rasino women, stood in stark contrast to her black dress.
“You’re not surprised?”
Eleanor’s voice was so quiet I had to focus to hear it. The fact that we were seated at opposite ends of the long table didn’t help.
“Should I be?”
“No one who sees me for the first time isn’t surprised. Their reactions then split into two categories. They either revere me, calling me a child of the stars, or fear me, calling me a witch.”
“No one calls an Easterner with dark skin inhuman. The factors that distinguish a person as human or not aren’t the color of their skin or hair.”
Thanks to the memories of my past life, I already knew Eleanor was an albino. I also knew how much she had suffered because of it.
Only then did a small smile appear on Eleanor’s previously expressionless face. It seemed I had made a good first impression. But that, too, was fleeting.
“Oppa’s fine, right? I told you. My oppa is different from ordinary people.”
Aenya, who was bringing food from the kitchen, chimed into the conversation, and Eleanor’s expression hardened once more. She now watched me with an even more guarded gaze.
It wasn’t that she was displeased with Aenya. She didn’t seem to mind that Aenya, the mere daughter of a knight, spoke so casually to her, a princess.
In fact, the way she smiled with her eyes told me they were much closer than I had anticipated.
Eleanor’s sharp gaze was directed solely at me. It intensified when Aenya finished serving the food and sat down beside me. She even bit her lip gently.
‘What’s with her?’
I whispered, my voice low enough for only Aenya to hear, but she just gave me a sly smile and didn’t answer. It was Eleanor who responded.
“How rude. For an invited guest to be sharing secrets in front of the host.”
“My apologies. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my sister, and I got ahead of myself.”
“Be more careful in the future.”
Eleanor’s critique was only the beginning.
“Sir Allen, do you not have hands? Why do you ask your sister to bring you food?”
“I only asked because I couldn’t reach it. I passed her food that was far from her as well.”
“Aren’t you sitting too close in the first place? I know she’s your sister, but she’s still a woman, isn’t she? As her older brother, you should be more considerate.”
“Oh, I’m fine, Your Highness.”
The more Aenya defended me, the more Eleanor’s displeasure grew. She was acting like a father meeting his daughter’s boyfriend.
‘Is this an obsession?’
For Eleanor, who had lived a lonely life because of her ability, Aenya must have been like a welcome rain in a long drought.
Still, her affection seemed excessive. Was this a side effect of not meeting multiple witches at once, like in the game?
A thought crossed my mind that getting permission to deal with the vassals who tried to use Aenya as a scapegoat might not be so easy.
‘No. On the contrary, because Aenya is involved, I might be able to find more common ground.’
As the meal was winding down, I put down my utensils and got to the point.
“I’ve heard there are many in Quaran’s political circles who intend to use Aenya as a sacrificial lamb to resolve the conflict with Count Dresden.”
“We haven’t finished our meal. Let’s discuss important matters later.”
Eleanor chided me, though the plate in front of her was empty. When I stared at her pointedly, she cleared her throat and downed her wine.
I turned my gaze to Aenya. She had been covering her mouth and laughing, but now she feigned ignorance and avoided my eyes.
Just as the silence was becoming uncomfortable, Eleanor finally spoke.
“Sir Allen need not concern himself. I will protect Aenya.”
It was a claim I couldn’t trust. Having relied on her powerful ability her whole life, she had never once solved a problem with any other kind of strength.
“Can you protect her even if Count Dresden decides to use force?”
Eleanor didn’t know that Count Dresden’s scheme in Quaran was already in motion. I intended to use that fact.
“That’s a meaningless hypothetical. As long as my brother holds his position, the Count won’t dare invade Quaran. At most, he’ll plot something behind the scenes. I can stop that much with my power.”
“Can you be so sure? You’re not on good terms with the king, are you? He’s the one who stuck you in this small castle on the frontier.”
“How did you…”
Eleanor shot up from her seat without thinking. It seemed she had never considered that a mere knight would know about the royal family’s internal affairs.
I wet my dry lips with wine and spoke.
“Besides, your ability won’t work on matters related to Aenya, will it?”
Eleanor could only be horrified. Wasn’t this an ability she had hidden even from her own family? Do people become calmer when they are extremely shocked? Eleanor quickly regained her composure and asked calmly.
“So, you knew, didn’t you? About this curse.”
“Aren’t you misusing the word ‘good fortune’?”
“You call this curse that brings misfortune to everyone around me good fortune? If you were in my position, Sir Allen, could you say that? Even if the person you love most died because of this ability?”
It seemed I had touched a nerve. Eleanor strode over and looked down at me as she continued.
“You are the first person to ever cause me a loss. My ability doesn’t work on your sister, Aenya, at all. Tell me. How is that possible? Don’t tell me there’s a way to break this curse?”
Eleanor acted as if she would give a fortune to be rid of her ability. Then again, born a princess, what could she possibly lack?
“There is no way. I only know that the abilities of witches don’t work on each other.”
“Lies.”
Eleanor refused to accept it. Aenya was the same.
“You’re wrong, Oppa.”
At the sudden interruption, both my and Eleanor’s gazes fell on Aenya. She took each of our hands and brought them together.
“…!”
“What are you—!”
We pulled our hands away reflexively. Then, almost in unison, we jumped back, putting distance between us.
I tensed my body and sharpened my mind, preparing for the misfortune that was sure to come. Eleanor also pulled Aenya back with her.
However, no matter how long we waited, the expected misfortune never arrived. Instead, Aenya’s laughter echoed through the dining hall.
“See, I knew it would be like this! If I’m okay, there’s no way you wouldn’t be, Oppa! We share the same blood, don’t we?”
Aenya knew about the Castellan’s ability. It wasn’t surprising. From the moment we first met, she had often made remarks that hinted at her knowledge of it.
Moreover, as the sole exception, she must have felt its effects—or lack thereof—most keenly.
“Aenya. Certainty is a dangerous thing. Your ability might have judged that not affecting me would be better for the princess.”
I had planned to test Eleanor’s ability, but not in such a simple-minded, reckless way.
Even as I looked down at her sternly, Aenya just beamed.
“No. This is fate.”
Aenya’s eyes shimmered as she stared at me. Despite the distance from the candlelight, a red light swirled in her pupils. Only then did I realize it wasn’t a reflection of the flickering flames.
“Aenya, you…?”
“Hm? What is it?”
Aenya tilted her head. The red light in her eyes had already vanished, as if I had imagined it.
“Aenya. That was rude.”
Eleanor, having collected herself, reprimanded Aenya. Aenya bowed her head obediently, but the smile on her lips remained.
“But it cleared up your suspicions, didn’t it, Your Highness? If Oppa knew how to break the curse, he wouldn’t have retreated in such a panic just now.”
“Then how are you two…?”
Eleanor didn’t believe it. Perhaps she didn’t want to believe it.
“I told you, it’s fate! If you can’t believe it, how about we test it another way?”
“Haa…”
Aenya couldn’t provide any logical basis. She just kept repeating the word ‘fate.’ Disappointed, Eleanor slumped into her chair.
Aenya sat beside her, took her hand, and continued to pester her about trying another method.
Meanwhile, after giving Eleanor a moment to compose herself, I returned to the main topic.
“I will resolve all your worries and concerns. Please allow me to use your emblem.”
“How about just selling the fishing rights? If you just hand those over, the Count will be satisfied and back off.”
Eleanor didn’t trust me. And why would she? How could she entrust a matter of life and death to someone she had just met?
“The Count will not pay a fair price.”
“I’ll make up the difference.”
Nor did she seem to care much about the fishing rights. With her ability, a stroke of luck like this wouldn’t be the last.
However, there was a flaw in her thinking.
“Even if he gets the fishing rights, the Count will not give up on Quaran. Why do you think Dresden developed into the leading port of the southeast?”
It was all because of the herring. In other words, Quaran was destined to develop just as Dresden had. The Count, having witnessed Dresden’s growth firsthand, would naturally covet Quaran.
“Can you afford to give up Quaran, Your Highness?”
Eleanor bit her lip. She couldn’t give up Quaran either. For her, who had been forsaken even by her own family, this small city’s castle was the only place she could call home.
“So, you’re telling me to fight the Count? When my ability doesn’t even work because Aenya is involved?”
“Is there another way?”
Eleanor couldn’t make a decision easily. Though she called her ability a curse, she was the one who relied on it more than anyone.
That was why she always took the easy path. And why wouldn’t she? Her ability had always paved the way for her without her having to lift a finger.
That was the reason. She didn’t know how to use what she possessed beyond her ability.
After a long period of deliberation, unable to find an answer, Eleanor gave her permission but attached a condition.
“I have a condition. If things go badly and I have to return to the royal court, I will take Aenya with me. Are you alright with that?”
Unaware that I was already moving to solve the problem with Count Dresden, Eleanor laid down her terms, using my only blood relative, the woman I held above all others.
My original plan was to simply demand the heads of those who tried to use Aenya as a sacrifice, but now I changed my mind.
To balance the scales, which were now tipped by placing Aenya on one side, an object of equal value had to be placed on the other.
“In that case, I have a condition as well. If I complete the mission, give me Trollsverd.”
Eleanor wanted Aenya as compensation for entrusting me with a task that put her own life on the line. It was proof that Aenya’s value was as precious as her own life.
If so, she wouldn’t hesitate to offer Trollsverd in return.