Chapter 63: The Freya Ducal House 5
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63: The Freya Ducal House 5
While I was preparing to spar with Askal at the training grounds...
Johanna suddenly burst in.
"Senior Johanna, are you okay?"
I had been talking with Askal, but I approached Johanna the moment I spotted her. Her eyes and the aura surrounding her were different than usual. I spoke with a voice that was half-worried and half-relieved to see her.
"......What exactly is going on here?"
Johanna spoke in a cold, stern voice I had never heard from her before—not in the game, and certainly not in reality.
Did I do something wrong?
Johanna’s eyes, which usually sparkled like brilliant blue jewels despite her airheaded nature, were now clouded by a thick, murky darkness.
"Senior, are you alright?" I asked again, my voice now filled with genuine concern.
"I’m fine. More importantly, what is the meaning of this?" Johanna asked firmly.
"Well, you see, what happened was..."
I began to explain to Johanna how I had ended up in a position to duel Askal.
* * *
Back at the dining table, shortly after Johanna had stormed out.
"........................."
Silence hung heavy over the table Johanna had so abruptly abandoned. Even I, who usually had plenty to say, and Askal, who was normally so dedicated to teasing Johanna, remained silent.
Clap.
"Shall we eat for now?" the Duchess of Freya suggested, breaking the silence.
"Right, let's eat first," Askal followed her mother’s lead.
I hesitated as I was about to take off my mask to eat.
No!
"I apologize, but would it be alright if I ate with my mask on?"
Recalling Johanna’s earlier scream, I couldn't bring myself to take it off, so I asked Duke Freya for his understanding.
".........Johanna was..... so cold........"
However, Duke Freya was merely muttering to himself in a voice so low I could barely hear him.
"Of course. Please, eat however you feel comfortable," the Duchess replied. She glanced at the Duke with an 'He’s doing it again' expression before looking back at me.
"Thank you."
As expected of a ducal family's meal, every single dish was delicious. However, I couldn't properly enjoy the food because I was too worried about Johanna.
After some time, the silence at the table finally gave way to conversation.
Duke Freya had been sitting frozen since Johanna left, continuously muttering to himself. The Duchess told me not to mind him since he did this often, but that was easier said than done.
While I was conversing with the Duchess and Askal, something unexpected suddenly popped out of Askal’s mouth.
"Loki, spar with me."
"Huh? So suddenly?"
"We still have plenty of time. Let's spar~."
To be honest, I didn't really want to fight. I didn't like fighting to begin with, and I hated losing even more. My opponent was the Askal Freya.
In Croaka, the one with the highest sword talent is Johanna. But that didn't mean Askal lacked talent. In the game, it was described that Askal would eventually reach the same realm as the current head of the Freya family.
I didn't want to engage in a losing battle where I gained nothing. Just as I was about to refuse—
"Askal, you're flustering Loki by being so sudden. Besides, it's rude to challenge a guest to a duel out of the blue," the Duchess scolded.
Hearing her mother's words, Askal merely muttered, "But..." and didn't push me further. I was about to take the opportunity to decline.
"A duel...... That’s not a bad idea."
Duke Freya, who hadn't said a word since Johanna left, finally spoke up. Ominous words flowed from his mouth.
"Right? You think so too, Father?"
"But isn't a duel a bit much for a guest we invited?" The Duchess looked concerned, while Askal beamed.
"If you win against Askal in a duel, I will give you an elixir."
Askal and the Duchess, who had shown different reactions until a moment ago, now reacted in unison.
"Honey..."
"Father... isn't that basically just saying you won't give it to him?"
There was no way an Academy student could beat a member of the Imperial Knights.
I was crazy about elixirs, but I had the money I received from the Emperor and I knew which dungeons contained them. I could obtain a high-grade elixir on my own. Just as I was about to open my mouth to refuse, the Duke spoke faster than me.
"It is a Highest-Grade Elixir."
My heart wavered.
"Furthermore, I will let you choose one weapon of your choice from the armory as a gift."
My body moved of its own accord. I grabbed Askal’s hand beside me and spoke.
"Lady Askal."
"Hee-hee~. What if Johanna sees? And 'Lady' is so stiff~. Just call me Noona comfortably," Askal said, the corners of her mouth curling up.
"Askal Noona."
"Yes, what is it?"
However, upon hearing my next words, the upward curve of Askal’s lips froze.
"Is it okay if I win the duel?"
"Hee-hee~. That sounds like you're saying you can beat me whenever you feel like it?"
Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes were cold.
I asked myself: Can I beat Askal right now?
The answer was: 99% chance of losing.
"Hmm? Do you really think you can beat me?"
Nevertheless, my mouth worked hard for that 1% chance.
"Well. I don't think it'll be particularly difficult."
* * *
Duke Freya, along with his wife, watched Loki as he spoke to his lovely daughter at the training grounds.
He had heard stories from both Duke Adelian and the Emperor. Both of them claimed to be teaching Loki. Duke Adelian had gotten angry, claiming Loki was already his disciple, but the Emperor had slickly brushed it off.
At the time, the Duke hadn't been particularly interested. After all, he already had his two lovely daughters as his disciples. He only started taking an interest yesterday.
The Necromancer has reappeared.
The Emperor had contacted him via communication device and delivered the news. The fact that the Necromancer was alive was shocking enough, but he nearly lost his mind when he heard Johanna had fought the villain.
According to the Emperor, she hadn't fought the Necromancer himself but his subordinate, but it was all the same to him. The fact remained that his daughter had been in danger. The Emperor told him to calm down, saying the Necromancer was already dead.
And the person who killed the Necromancer alone is Loki, the one I am teaching.
The Emperor spoke as if he were proud, but the Duke hadn't really processed it at the time. After finishing the call, he immediately contacted Johanna.
Johanna, who answered after a short while, seemed to have no injuries, but she was different than usual. Her face was flushed red, and her eyes were hazy and unfocused, as if she were reminiscing about something.
........Pardon?
She couldn't even answer his questions properly, seemingly lost in thought even while on the call. His wife, who was watching from the side, whispered into his ear so Johanna couldn't hear.
She has the exact same expression you had when you first saw me.
Upon hearing that, he immediately told her to bring the boy over, but his wife told Johanna to invite him tomorrow since she must be exhausted from fighting. Johanna had nodded with that same dazed expression.
The Loki that Johanna brought over was unlikable from the very first impression. How dare he lie on Johanna’s lap! If his wife and daughters hadn't been there, he might have actually cut the boy down.
Still, there was one thing he liked: the boy had endured the Pressure he emitted. He hadn't used mana, which meant the Pressure couldn't be blocked with mana. Although he couldn't see the boy's expression because of the mask, he could tell he had endured it with ease.
But after that...........
"It looks like Johanna is jealous right now, doesn't it?"
Duke Freya, who was recalling the earlier situation, snapped back to reality at his wife's words.
"Jealous! What could our daughter possibly be lacking to feel jealous?"
"Then what were you lacking back then that made you try to lock me up?"
"That's......."
Duke Freya broke into a cold sweat, flustered by the Duchess's words. Whenever that story came up, he found himself unable to say anything.
There was a secret of the Freya family that outsiders didn't know—a secret known only to a very few within the family itself. Their obsession with their lovers was pathologically intense.
If the obsession had been moderate, they wouldn't have kept it a secret. Because of that obsession, the family had almost been wiped out once, and they had even destroyed a kingdom in the past.
Even the current Duke Freya wouldn't let his wife so much as speak to another man until she gave birth to Askal. Back when they were lovers, Duke Freya had tried to cut down the king of a nation simply because he had spoken to the Duchess. Fortunately, the Emperor, who was nearby, noticed and stopped him, preventing the worst-case scenario.
After the Duchess gave birth to Johanna, the obsession mostly faded, and now the Duchess would bring up those days to tease the Duke.
No one knew why the members of the Freya family had this trait. The family had only discovered two things.
One: if there are siblings, the trait only manifests in one of them.
The other was quite absurd: the higher one's talent for the sword, the more intense the obsession with their lover.
And unfortunately for someone, Johanna’s talent far surpassed even Duke Freya’s, which was already called a Heaven-sent talent. While talent isn't exactly something that can be measured in numbers, if it could be, Johanna’s talent would be more than double that of the current head of the Freya family.
Unfortunately for someone, indeed.