Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Flower Language of the Winter Flower is Salvation (2)
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While Cecilia and Karin were chatting about Sipia,
A carriage that shook the ground with its overwhelming presence came to a stop right in front of them.
It was a luxurious carriage emblazoned with the Northern Duchy crest in gold.
As the door swung open, two men stepped out.
One familiar face and one unfamiliar.
Of course, familiarity aside, he knew exactly who they were.
The middle-aged man in the impeccably tailored suit was Bergil Clayman.
A former Seven Star and his longtime friend.
"I'm just here to pick up my granddaughter... but what the hell is this?"
"Calling it weird when it's your friend. This is why you old geezers with canes are no good."
"A moron who can't even do basic magic calculations talking shit."
Bergil smirked and sneered at him.
To anyone else, it might have seemed like a low-class exchange that would make them grimace, but the two men locked eyes and smiled.
"Your body's gotten old, huh? I heard the north has famous hot springs?"
"...Well, yeah, it does."
Bergil's gaze swept over him once.
He wouldn't believe for a second that he was really here for the hot springs.
Of course not. It was only natural.
"By the way, who's that?"
"My pride and joy of a grandson. Lucas, say hello."
"A pleasure to meet you, Sir Yuri."
The young man smiled brightly, his face as handsome as Yuri's own in his prime.
He had light purple hair similar to Karin's and skin as white as jade.
'Lucas Clayman...'
This was the bastard.
The devil in human skin who had instilled Karin with her hatred of men.
And the one Yuri would soon tear apart.
"So you're the Lucas that Bergil brags about so much?"
"Haha... Grandpa must have talked about me a lot."
Yuri's face instinctively twisted at the sight of the bastard's flawless, insincere smile that didn't change his expression one bit.
It was acting so natural that anyone would fall for it.
This was no human level.
'Well, that's why even Bergil fell for it.'
A former Seven Star—no, the sharpest mind among them—had been easily fooled.
Lucas hid his true nature perfectly.
"Anyway, it's cold out. You planning to stand around forever?"
Bergil cast body-warming spells on Karin and Cecilia, excluding Yuri, as he spoke.
True, Yuri was impervious to cold, but Cecilia and Karin must have been freezing in this weather.
"Guess we should head in. Let's see some of that hospitality."
"Tch... An old fart who's lived long enough should just stay home and rest."
Bergil said that, but there was a hint of delight in his voice.
What a tsundere friend.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A wooden study adorned with a beautiful chandelier, exuding an antique atmosphere.
There, a middle-aged man and a pretty boy sat facing each other, legs crossed.
"Why are you staring like that? Happy to see me after so long?"
"Ha! Bullshit in moderation."
Yuri sipped the famous northern tea, lips curled, and it grated on Bergil to no end.
That sword-obsessed old man was lounging so leisurely, drinking tea in the frigid north.
"...Why are you here? Not really for the hot springs."
"What else? To see my friend's face."
"You rejected it back then, and now?"
Back in his active days, Bergil had invited Yuri to the north countless times, raving about it.
The man who had refused even in death was now coming at this age.
To Bergil, who only knew the austere Yuri of old, it seemed like senility had finally set in.
"Kidding. I have something important."
"...Yeah?"
Bergil noticed Yuri's voice drop low.
And that he had reverted to his old speech pattern from his active days.
'Must be pretty serious...'
A longtime friend from the Seven Star days, he knew Yuri well.
This was no light matter.
After retiring from the Seven Stars post-war, Yuri never carried that weight again.
At most, excitement would revert his speech, but now even his voice had changed.
Anyone who knew the past and present Yuri would spot the clear difference.
"There's a demon in the north."
As Bergil suspected, Yuri's words carried unimaginable weight.
"...What?"
He had heard it clearly with his old ears, but Bergil asked again anyway.
'This can't be. No way...'
He muttered it to himself several times.
He hoped his friend was just joking.
Yuri's words weighed heavily even on a former Extreme Mage like Bergil.
"A demon in the north."
"...For real? You know if we're wrong, even we won't get off with demotion."
A demon's existence was never trivial.
One lesser demon endangered a city; a greater one, a nation.
Even for a mighty empire.
Bergil had witnessed demons himself during the war.
"...Do you know who it is?"
Bergil asked, half-hoping.
But Yuri just shook his head.
Even though he knew exactly who.
"Identity's not clear yet, but whoever it is, we have to deal with it. This is your territory, not anyone else's. Mess up, and... Karin takes the hit."
"...Yeah."
If they failed to handle the demon, Bergil wouldn't be the only victim.
From ducal servants to his family.
Countless would suffer from the demon—and the empire.
Yuri and Bergil both knew it well.
"Anyway, we'll catch them quick once we move. Just focus on handling it, Bergil."
"...Right. I will."
After the talk ended and Yuri left,
Bergil slammed his head on the desk and sighed deeply.
It had been nearly fifty years since he last faced a demon.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In truth, there was one thing he wanted from the meeting with Bergil.
To give advance warning, so he'd steel himself for when they crushed the demon later.
No one could watch their grandson die indifferently.
'...Even Seven Stars are human, after all.'
No matter how many hundreds of thousands they killed, how numb they became,
at root, they were human.
Not demons. Humans couldn't be perfect monsters.
Just mimicking them, breaking down—that was the best they could do.
"Well... until we have solid proof, we play it cool."
Even as a former Sword Saint and Seven Star, no proof meant no move on Lucas.
Demon in human skin or not, he was the ducal heir.
He wanted to slice him now, but couldn't.
"Might as well enjoy the hot springs till then."
No matter how meticulously Lucas moved, he was already in Yuri's palm.
Even if the bastard had skyrocketed as a mage, escaping Yuri's senses—beyond even Bergil—was impossible.
'Hang in there just a bit longer, Karin.'
Soon, he'd rip off that mask and give him agony several times worse than what he inflicted on her.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As Yuri headed to the hot springs, Cecilia and Karin stood in the ducal gardens.
"What do you think? Not quite the Fairy Forest, but pretty nice, right?"
"Whoaaa... A ducal garden is really amazing. It feels just like the Fairy Forest!!"
Maybe because of her elven roots, Cecilia sniffed the flowers drunkenly as she strolled the garden.
It felt like returning home.
And as Cecilia basked in that homecoming vibe,
Karin, raised in this very duchy, couldn't escape her anxiety and fear.
Still, she managed her expression and followed behind Cecilia when...
"...Lady Cecilia. How do you like the ducal gardens?"
A repulsive, sinister, coercive melody wormed into her ears.
Instinctively, Karin grimaced.
"Young Master Lucas, I see. The garden... yes. It feels like returning to the Fairy Forest."
"Is that so? You're too kind."
Lucas smiled at Cecilia's words and chatted casually.
Mid-conversation with Cecilia, Lucas suddenly turned and looked at Karin.
"Long time no see, huh? Karin."
"......Y-Yes."
Karin could only force out the words.