Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Scoundrel Just Scoundreled (2)
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From the initial imprinting all the way to the Mana Heart's creation, everything was handled at breakneck speed.
"Ah..."
Adelia stared blankly down at her chest, then slowly raised a hand to press against it, staying like that for a long while.
She looked utterly amazed. By the mana that had now taken root inside her own body.
I watched her with satisfaction, but suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit me.
Ugh...
My whole body felt utterly drained of strength.
I'd scraped together every last bit of mana I had and poured it all in, leaving my own Mana Heart completely empty. It would refill in time, of course, but right now, there was no escaping mana exhaustion.
My head throbbed with pain.
Since this was my first time trying something like this on a human rather than a sword, it had consumed far more mental energy than expected. The world spun around me in the dizziness.
"Your Highness?"
I heard Adelia's voice. I lifted my head. Her face came into view, pale with worry as she looked at me.
"Your Highness! Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine. Just a little tired."
I replied as calmly as I could to her frantic tone.
I had to keep up appearances, after all.
Showing weakness just from creating a single Mana Heart would bruise my pride. But my body had no intention of indulging my fragile ego.
I staggered.
My legs gave out, and I collapsed into the chair right behind me. Thank goodness it was there—if not, I'd have embarrassing planted my butt on the floor.
"Mm. Looks like I need a bit of rest."
I acted as if I'd intended to sit down from the start.
"Your Highness... How could you go this far for a lowly servant like me..."
Adelia gazed at me with a complicated expression. It was a mix of感動 and burden, like she was touched yet overwhelmed.
From my seat, I looked her over.
Her eyes were kind, like a deer's. And now, within them flickered a small spark that hadn't been there before.
Proof that the seed I'd planted in her heart had successfully taken root.
I let out a sigh of relief and gave her her next instructions.
"What you just did is the method for forging a Mana Heart. From now on, practice it whenever you get the chance—even on your own."
She nodded that she understood.
Now it was up to Adelia to nurture that seed into a sprout. All I could do was watch and wait.
"Go on. That's enough for today."
At my words, Adelia hesitated, looking like she had something to say.
"What is it?"
"I... I swear to serve you with unwavering loyalty for the rest of my life."
She sure knew how to make a grand thank-you. I chuckled and shot back.
"Just don't forget I'm your master."
Because I'm really scared you might.
Three days had already passed since I created Adelia's Mana Heart.
True to her A-rank talent, she'd adapted to mana forging at an astonishing pace, and now she could circulate it on her own without my help.
In the meantime, I'd been searching high and low for Bernard Ilai, who still hadn't shown up despite my waiting.
"It's not that he hasn't come—he can't come," Kals explained.
Turned out, Bernard Ilai had been taken under the protection (read: detention) of the palace guard as a witness to the recent uproar.
"His Majesty has issued a strict order that no one can meet him until the day of the trial."
It was only natural he couldn't come.
"Then do I have to attend the trial too?"
I asked since it was my mess, just in case. Kals shook his head.
"Royals never stand at the defendant's bench. His Majesty will likely appoint a suitable proxy to represent Your Highness. No need for you to worry about it."
"Oh! That's great. It was gonna be such a hassle."
Kals stared at me blankly.
"A trial, huh? You sure know how to stir up a storm."
He looked incredulous. The guy who'd caused the whole thing was talking about it like it was someone else's business.
"What? Got a problem?"
"Nothing at all."
Kals shook his head at my brazen attitude.
"You're dismissed."
I sent Kals away and summoned Adelia.
"Starting today, you're training with me."
She bowed her head, looking like she'd been expecting this, though clearly uneasy about the physical exertion.
"Go change into something comfortable for training."
I ordered her to swap into training clothes and headed to the training grounds first.
My uncle was there.
"Hmph."
He didn't even acknowledge me.
Apparently, my holing up in my room for days to stabilize Adelia's Mana Heart had led to some ridiculous misunderstanding on his part.
It wasn't an incomprehensible reaction, really. If a known lecher of a scoundrel locked himself away with a pretty handmaiden and didn't come out, I'd think the same.
"Your Highness."
As I stood in the middle of the training grounds stretching, Adelia arrived. She was dressed in loose pants and a shirt.
She fidgeted awkwardly, clearly unused to the outfit. I tossed out a blunt command.
"What're you waiting for? If you're here, start running. Ten laps, nice and clean."
Adelia hesitated a moment before starting to run around the grounds.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
I watched her retreating figure when my uncle snapped at me in a sharp tone.
"Can't you see? She's warming up."
I replied indifferently and picked up a training sword.
"That girl."
He asked again, eyes fixed on Adelia.
"I told you before. I'm making her a knight."
I shot back, annoyed at repeating myself. His expression turned icy in an instant.
"Do knights look that worthless in your eyes?"
Then came his lecture.
Have you ever thought about the countless people who train day and night to become knights? Do you have any idea how your actions will look to them? Do you realize what a precarious time this is to act so recklessly?
"Argh! You weren't like this before—why're you suddenly so nosy?!"
I completely lost it at the endless nagging.
"If you hate it so much, why bother coming here? Then you wouldn't have to see this crap."
"Who said I come because I want to? I only do it for your mother's sake."
He fired back, so I gave as good as I got.
"Your Highness, please calm down."
"Count Excellency, lower your voice and compose yourself."
The Royal Knights finally intervened, pulling us apart.
"Ahem."
My uncle cleared his throat awkwardly, embarrassed at bickering with his much younger nephew.
I, on the other hand, felt nothing.
I'm a scoundrel by nature. No matter what I do, it's just a scoundrel scoundreling—nothing new there.
Sure enough, the Royal Knights watching me looked no different from usual.
I like this part.
For the first time, I was glad for my reputation as a scoundrel.
"Hah... hah... Your Highness."
While I'd been arguing with my uncle, Adelia finished her laps and approached, breathing oddly hard. I told her to catch her breath first.
"Tch."
My uncle clicked his tongue and turned away.
He retreated to a distance, arms crossed, watching us like he was just there to spectate whatever nonsense I'd get up to.
"Your Highness, forgive me. This is all because of me..."
"Why are you apologizing?"
I gruffed back and handed her a wooden sword.
"Today, we'll just go over basic stances."
I showed her how to grip the sword and a few basic postures. That was all I'd planned for today.
But that wasn't possible.
She absorbed my teachings like a sponge sucking up water. After just a few demonstrations, she gripped the sword correctly and mimicked the basic stances perfectly.
"What's next?"
Seeing her timidly ask if she was doing it right, her ancestor naturally came to mind.
Right. Agnes was a monster like this too.
The first time I met her, she was just a fifteen-year-old girl. That fragile, clueless girl had crippled three grown men with her very first sword swing.
And Adelia had inherited the exact same talent.
Maybe I could push the lesson a bit further.
I taught her a few more movements—basic ones, fully considering her current physical state.
Slash, thrust, pull.
In just three tries, she replicated my motions exactly.
"Your Highness?"
Her eyes asked what came next.
Emboldened, I showed her a few more. Still basic, but a bit trickier for a total beginner.
She imitated my swordplay flawlessly, as if to show off.
Her eyes turned to me again. I met them and frowned.
I'd overlooked it because I'd always taught as a sword.
Back then, I was a sword, not a human, wielding immense power. But now, I was just a human, equal to my student.
That meant a hierarchy would naturally form between us—and I might end up on the bottom.
No way. Not with all my experience as a sword.
That complacent thought vanished the moment she fluidly chained the movements I'd taught her.
I snapped to attention.
This is no joke.
If I slack off, she'll lap me for sure.
No time to dawdle. I had to grow stronger, faster than she did.
[Slave Mentality] was submission to the strong—not respect for the weak.
"Ahem."
Lost in thought, I heard a throat-clearing nearby. My uncle had approached without me noticing.
"What now?"
I snapped, wondering if he was here for more nagging.
But something was off about his demeanor.
Why's this guy acting like a puppy desperate to poop?
I glared, then realized his gaze was fixed elsewhere.
He was staring at Adelia. His eyes gleamed with something I'd never seen before.
Astonishment, greed—or both.
His eyes burned fiercely.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Before Adelia could speak, I stepped in front of her. My uncle's face hardened. He'd always looked down on me, but never with eyes this sharp.
Hah, this guy's lost it completely.
If I had the power to appraise talent, he had years of experience. It wasn't surprising he'd spotted Adelia's genius.
"Don't even think about it."
Of course, I had zero intention of letting him steal the talent I'd claimed.
"She's mine."
He frowned at my words.
"What can you even offer her?"
His eyes and expression called her a green novice who'd barely held a sword for months.
"You're not up to the task."
He questioned my qualifications.
I laughed.
I was always the one questioning qualifications—not the one being questioned.
"If I can't handle her, no one can."
"Arrogant fool."
My uncle surged with aura.
Subtle enough that the Royal Knights wouldn't notice, yet overwhelming enough to crush the will of a scoundrel like me.
Any ordinary scoundrel would be trembling and backing off.
But I wasn't a scoundrel.
I was Gruhon, the Dragon Slayer Sword—steeped in the blood of giant kings, mad dragons, and countless others.
"She is mine."
A fragment of my soul overlaid the frail flesh.