Chapter 42
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Elberra (3)
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A single black horse was galloping toward the main gate of a mansion on the outskirts of Elberra.
It was the courier from the Crimson Gale Knights who had brushed past Blake's group in the imperial capital.
"Halt! Halt!"
The mansion guards standing on either side of the iron-barred gate leveled their sharp-tipped spears at the rapidly approaching black steed.
"It's the Crimson Gale Knights! Open the gate!"
The horse's rider bellowed like lightning and pulled something from his bosom, waving it high.
"Ah?"
Confirming it was a banner emblazoned with the Crimson Gale Knights' insignia, the guards hurriedly swung the gate open.
Screeeeech!
At the sound of the guards' long horn, over a dozen armed soldiers rushed out from the main building in an instant, just as the horse arrived before it.
"Isn't that Sir Kyle?"
Among the swordsmen clad in leather armor reinforced with thin plate in a vest pattern, the one with a red epaulet on his shoulder recognized the man leaping from the saddle and widened his eyes.
"Mm! It's Miles, eh. No time for greetings—business first. Where is the family head?"
The Crimson Gale Knight nodded curtly and immediately sought the mansion's master.
Sensing something amiss from his demeanor, the swordsman quickly guided him inside.
"This way, sir."
As full spring arrived, a gentle hillside bloomed vibrantly with all manner of flowers.
Atop its flat expanse stood a lavish tent, draped on all sides with thin canopies fluttering in the spring breeze, picturesque against the landscape.
Inside, around a luxurious wooden table and chairs adorned with gold leaf, sat fresh-faced young men and women enjoying tea and treats—the sight alone enough to bring a smile to anyone's lips.
Two handsome young men with swords at their waists and four girls in light, outdoor-appropriate dresses made six in all.
"Hee hee! So what happened next, Sir Albert?"
One girl with an innocent, cheerful look asked with a face full of curiosity.
"Ha ha! I sliced off the bastard's wrist and handed him over to the garrison. That flattened the noses of those garrison knights who'd been fumbling around without catching the likes of him. Ha ha!"
Albert Grime.
The eldest son of the Grime family let out a hearty laugh.
At twenty-two, he was a handsome man with golden hair and fair skin, though his sharp eyes and slightly hooked nose gave him an air of arrogance.
"Tch! If it'd been me, I'd have just lopped his head off. You're too soft, bro—like with those bandits we ran into on Oberi Mountain last time."
In response to Albert, a youth who shared his looks but seemed a bit more flighty chimed in, mimicking a throat-slitting with his hand.
It was the second son, Darren.
"Oh my!"
The girls shrank back their shoulders, feigning fright at the Grime brothers' tale.
"Why do you have to tell stories like that in front of us ladies!"
The youngest-looking girl among them, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, scolded Albert and Darren.
Jenny Grime, the youngest of the Grime family.
"My apologies. But since it's a tale of slaying villains, please don't hold it against us too much, ladies."
"Oh, not at all! It was a bit scary, but it suits your reputations—such brave deeds."
At Albert's apology, a provocative blonde with slightly upturned eyes and plump lips shook her head emphatically.
Her tightly laced bodice accentuated her ample bosom, which swayed in soft curves.
Gulp!
A lecherous glint flickered in the brothers' eyes.
But it vanished in an instant, and as if by prior agreement, they both flinched and glanced sideways, gauging someone's reaction.
"......"
Another girl sat quietly sipping tea and admiring the view, saying nothing.
Her abundant, creamy hair, fixed with a butterfly pin, blended the fresh charm of a teenage girl with a mature elegance rare for her age—a stunning beauty.
"Lady Veniard, what are you looking at?"
At Albert's question, the girl who had been gazing at the hillside scenery slowly turned her head.
"Do you know there's a wasp nest over there?"
She pointed to a spot far across the hill.
"Pardon?"
The brothers cocked their heads at the abrupt remark, so out of place with her refined appearance.
"Is there? I'll have someone get rid of it. Though I can't quite make it out from here......"
"My eyesight's sharp. Anyway, what were you all talking about? I got lost in the view and missed it."
"Oh, ha ha! Nothing much. Just stories of how I've dealt with some villains."
"I beheaded those bandits on Oberi Mountain......"
As Darren hurriedly cut in, eager to impress her, a cool breeze swept into the tent.
Whoosh!
The spring gust tousled the girl's lush cream-colored locks.
"What a nice breeze."
She smiled lightly, tucking a strand behind her ear with her white, slender fingers.
"Ah......"
Her enchanting poise left not only the brothers but the other girls momentarily entranced.
But one—the provocative blonde—pursed her lips in annoyance.
"Lady Veniard must be so used to brutality that a story of a head rolling off barely fazes her, huh?"
"Miss Michelle Jade, that's a bit......"
A gentle-faced girl fidgeted, trying to rein her in.
But blonde beauty Michelle's expression didn't change.
"What, Miss Donna? Did I say something wrong? Everyone knows what happened to the Veniard family last year......"
She regretted it the moment it slipped out, but Michelle Jade, daughter of Elberra's Jade family, finished her piece.
Still, she kept stealing glances at her opponent, clearly not entirely at ease.
"You're right. Exactly as you say."
Annrose Veniard.
The sole direct heir of the Veniard count family—one of the capital Alteria's premier houses, though gravely weakened by some incident last year—showed no change in expression.
"Compared to what I went through, as you say, a severed head is nothing. Besides......"
Annrose paused briefly and glanced at Michelle.
'W-what? What're you gonna do if a nobody like me looks at you like that?'
Michelle flinched at Annrose's gaze but stubbornly lifted her chin.
The Veniard family of today was not the Veniard family of old.
And this wasn't the capital—it was Elberra.
No matter who they were, the Jade family had no need to bow first.
'Parading from house to house begging anyway! Hmph!'
Michelle stuck her nose up higher.
But Annrose's next words drained the color from her face.
"I've killed people myself. With these hands......"
Annrose clenched and unclenched her pale, delicate hand, then smiled brightly.
"......!"
Such a beautiful smile.
Yet it left Michelle—and even the Grime brothers, men though they were—speechless for a moment.
The words of murder from the lovely girl's small lips carried an inexplicable chill.
"They say the princess of the Veniard count family is a heroine unlike her beauty, and it's no lie. Far tougher than your average knight. Ha ha ha!"
Albert laughed awkwardly, trying to steady the mood.
"Y-yeah. Man or woman, taking up the sword for your house—that's impressive."
Darren, still pale-faced like the girls and momentarily dazed, hastily agreed.
"Oh my! Sir Darren, you misunderstand."
"Huh?"
Darren's eyes widened in joy at her first words to him and confusion.
"I've never taken up a sword for my family. I just stabbed to keep from dying myself."
"Eh? R-really?"
At a loss for words, Darren scratched his head.
'Pathetic fool.'
Albert inwardly clicked his tongue at his brother.
But he never let it show.
Setting aside his sibling's fingernail-sized pride, to impress the beauty before him, he had to keep up the hearty knight persona forever.
"Ha ha! Come on, enough grim talk on such fine weather. How about we go feel the cool river breeze?"
"Oh, I'd love that!"
"Me too. I can hardly wait."
"I'm in!"
Catching Albert's intent to shift the mood, the girls chimed in support.
"You'll come too, right, Sister Annrose? Let's go together!"
At Jenny's urging, all eyes turned to Annrose.
"Well... I'm a bit tired......"
'Hmph! Even if she's on the auction block, boat rides with these country bumpkins? Please.'
As Annrose hid her thoughts and moved to decline naturally, a deep voice rang out.
"Sorry to interrupt you young folks' good time."
All eyes turned.
A portly middle-aged man approached, escorted by over a dozen swordsmen. He wore a vest-like leather armor studded with thin silver plates, a cloak falling to his waist, and a longsword jeweled at the hilt.
"Father!"
The Grime siblings' eyes widened.
"Greetings to Lord Grime."
The three girls curtsied lightly in respect.
He was Gilmore Grime, father to the two brothers and current head of Elberra's prominent Grime family.
"What brings you here?"
"Come here a moment."
Gilmore Grime beckoned his sons close and spoke in a low voice.
"Urgent word from Baronet Lutus of Bricks."
"Baronet Lutus? From the Crimson Gale Knights? What's the message?"
"They're putting out a manhunt. High chance he's headed to Elberra—might even be here already."
"What? For something like that......"
"Quiet, you. Who is the target?"
Rebuking his scoffing younger son, Albert asked softly.
Unlike the greedy, short-sighted, impulsive Darren, he instinctively knew it wasn't "something like that."
His father wouldn't come personally for trivialities.
Gilmore Grime looked approvingly at his capable eldest, soon to inherit, and spoke.
"Just a name and description. But the order is to find and capture at all costs. The courier came first, but Baronet Lutus himself and half the Crimson Gale Knights are en route—should arrive tomorrow."
"The baronet in person?"
Albert narrowed his eyes.
"What kind of man could......"
Darren, finally grasping the gravity, tensed and awaited his father's answer.
"It doesn't matter who he is to us. What matters is who's giving the order."
"Pardon?"
As the brothers blinked in surprise, Gilmore Grime's voice dropped even lower.
"It's directly from Roderick Swent, by authority of the Blue Thrush Knights' vice commander."
(To be continued)