Chapter 64: A Sinful Man (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 64: A Sinful Man (1)
Victoria groaned, clutching her throbbing forehead.
"Ugh, uuuugh..."
A migraine had slammed into her after breakfast. Fortunately, sleeping it off made her feel much better than before.
Better didn't mean she was at a hundred percent, of course. Right now, she just wanted to stay under her blanket to soothe her exhausted mind and body, but...
"...I can't just leave Lord Heavenly Sword alone with Royal Steward Garyeon..."
She thought back on it before sleeping and after waking up. Abandoning Lord Heavenly Sword just because her feelings were hurt was pure childishness.
‘And to think I told him not to treat me like a child just this morning.’
Victoria felt ashamed. They say responsibility is the most fundamental virtue of an adult.
Had she lived too self-indulgently? Unable to suppress a fleeting burst of anger, Victoria had turned her eyes away from her duty. Just thinking about leaving Lord Heavenly Sword with that snake of a woman made her shudder anew.
‘I need to hurry up and give her a piece of my mind.’
Most members of the imperial family avoided souring their relationship with Royal Steward Garyeon.
Garyeon was the Emperor's "ears." Snapping at her was practically equivalent to saying it directly into the Emperor's ear.
Contrary to popular belief, royals read the room more carefully than anyone else. Why else would the order of succession be practically determined by how sharp one's instincts were?
Thus, the idea of scolding Royal Steward Garyeon required considerable resolve for a royal.
‘...Besides, I'm already in His Majesty's bad graces, so what difference does it make now...’
She had steeled herself before speaking out in front of the Emperor. Even so, an uncomfortable lingering feeling remained. It was, after all, her very first time rebelling against His Majesty.
She felt relieved yet anxious. She had only summoned the courage because Lord Heavenly Sword was with her. Otherwise, she would have bowed her head to the floor and begged for forgiveness.
"Whew."
Victoria lingered on the bed one last moment before getting up and heading to the coat rack. She slipped her arms into the microfiber robe sleeves one after the other, pulled her hair out from the collar, straightened her appearance, and stepped out of the room with captivating grace.
Episode. A Sinful Man
Tap, tap.
The quiet corridor echoed softly with the faint sound of her slippers slapping loosely against her heels.
‘Hm?’
Maids were gathered whispering in front of the banquet hall doors. Every single one had her ear pressed against the wooden doors, completely engrossed. They were so absorbed they didn't even notice Victoria approaching.
"Lord Heavenly Sword already has two wives, though."
At the young maid's words, the elderly Head Maid chided her.
"His Majesty also started with two."
"Gasp...!"
"There's a reason they say heroes love beauty. The greater the man, the more women he holds in his arms."
The Emperor had many wives. That was why the Imperial Consorts couldn't easily whisper pillow talk into his ear. Even if they took a waiting number, their turn rarely came.
"B-But that's such an outdated mindset...!"
"We all owe our lives to Lord Heavenly Sword. Both during the recent Parsi Massacre and surely in the future. For the sake of humanity, it's best not to displease Lord Heavenly Sword."
"Ah, haha..."
"Which is why what is happening right now must never leak outside... Eek!"
The Head Maid hurriedly bowed at the waist. The other maids belatedly noticed Victoria and bowed deeply as well.
"What are you all doing?"
Victoria asked, tilting her head slightly. The young maid hesitated.
"W-Well... the Royal Steward is inside with Lord Heavenly Sword... Ouch!"
The Head Maid gave the young maid's side a sharp pinch.
"It is nothing serious, Your Highness."
"If it were nothing, you wouldn't all be gathered here. Out of the way, everyone. I need to check for myself."
"Your Highness."
"..."
A flash of anxiety flickered in Victoria's eyes.
"Don't tell me...?"
Her finely shaped eyebrows twitched violently.
‘Did Royal Steward Garyeon cause trouble?!’
She couldn't even wait half a day without pulling something! Victoria knew Garyeon was unpredictable, but causing an incident in less than half a day?
"I said, move!"
"Y-Your... Highness...!"
The Head Maid tried to stop her, breaking into a cold sweat.
Scuffling with royalty was wildly inappropriate, but the Head Maid was like a nanny who had watched over Victoria for a very long time.
"Hurry up!"
"I am worried that the sight inside might be far too stimulating for Your Highness."
A sharp chill ran down Victoria's spine. Did that crazy woman Garyeon really...!
Victoria couldn't just stand by. Not only did primary responsibility rest on her shoulders, but she also couldn't bear to watch that wicked woman put Lord Heavenly Sword in a difficult position.
"-I'm much better at #%^#!"
"-I've known Lord Heavenly Sword since before his @$# hair even fully grew!"
"-Master and I have even shared @!$&!"
Muffled voices bled through the doorframe.
"Gasp!"
"Mmph!"
"Kyaa, I love this!"
"...?"
Content so scandalous it fried their dopamine receptors. The maids all covered their mouths with both hands.
"...Ah..."
The arms of the Head Steward, who had been spreading his arms wide like a cross to form a barricade, dropped limply. He thought he had seen it all in his lifetime, but the shamelessness of today's young heroes bleached his brain blank.
Victoria turned pale as well.
"Please go on in, Your Highness."
"..."
"Lord Heavenly Sword's open-mindedness exceeds my expectations. You must suffer quite a bit at the Academy, Your Highness."
The Head Steward stepped back powerlessly. After a brief standoff, Victoria opened the door.
Squeeeeak...
The old hinges wept, mirroring Victoria's mood.
The scene inside was finally revealed.
Three women forming a human wall around one side of the dining table. And at the center was the Heavenly Sword, Kang Geomma, completely resigned to his fate.
All their gazes shifted in unison.
"Your Highness," Royal Steward Garyeon spoke up. "It's a misunderstanding."
She had read Victoria's mind.
"A misunderstanding, you say?!"
* * *
The Shail and Choi Seol-ah I knew weren't reckless enough to keep squabbling headlong in front of royalty. It was quite the opposite.
"I greet the imperial family's little sun."
Shail lifted her skirt hem and bowed. Fully leveraging her veteran maid expertise, she skillfully slipped out of trouble.
"Y-Y-Your Highness!"
Choi Seol-ah groveled with a sneaky expression. What a shameless opportunist. She was a master of groveling—just like she did with me.
On the other hand, Royal Steward Garyeon...
"..."
...couldn't say a word. She respectfully folded her hands in the shadows as if serving self-imposed solitary confinement.
"Lord Heavenly Sword, what on earth is... this?"
The arrow had finally targeted me.
I crossed my arms with an air of composure and explained.
"...That's how it happened."
"I see..."
The circumstances behind Shail and Choi Seol-ah's appearance were within reasonable bounds. Considering my usual behavior, it made sense that Ryozo and Abel would worry. Sadly, that was the general opinion among my acquaintances.
However, Victoria's lingering suspicion remained unchanged.
"I understand for now."
"Thanks for trusting me."
For a moment, I felt pathetic having to explain my love life to a student. But I had no choice.
‘If rumors spread wrong...’
To be exact, if this reached Ryozo and Abel's ears, I couldn't even estimate how far the fallout would spread.
‘Actually, I can estimate it, but I don't want to think about it.’
"Let's move elsewhere."
"Let's do that."
Just as we were about to head to the reception room—
The quiet Royal Steward brought a hand to her ear and opened her mouth shortly after.
"The Royal Guard has contacted us."
"Already?"
"Yes. They said they cannot keep an honored guest waiting for long, and that you are welcome to visit whenever you like."
Victoria interjected.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Ah, that," I replied. "I mentioned earlier that I wanted to see the Royal Guard's training."
"You did, Lord Heavenly Sword?"
"I'll likely remain a temporary instructor even after returning to the Academy, so I thought observing the Royal Guard's drill training might be helpful. I was just about to ask you to come along, Princess."
That was a lie.
Oscar, the Commander of the Royal Guard, leads the assassination attempt on Victoria.
‘His personal strength is probably no joke either.’
Though I could still obliterate him with sheer killing intent if I wanted to.
Oscar will press down on Victoria using the backing of his organization. The person who needs to stand up to him is her. If I step in on her behalf, the situation would end instantly, but...
‘That wouldn't mean anything.’
Don't just give a hungry man cooked rice; teach him how to earn his own rice. That was my first boss's educational philosophy, and I inherited that mindset.
Victoria's eyes sank deeply.
‘Looks like she caught my drift.’
This is why a student who understands ten things after being taught one is so convenient. Just like me in the past.
‘You have to face this yourself.’
Only by breaking through on her own can she truly stand on her own two feet. Only then will her future words carry more weight than a mere childish complaint to the Emperor.
If you want something,
grasp the corresponding qualifications.
"Understood."
Victoria took the lead. As I took a step forward, Shail and Choi Seol-ah stuck to my back like guardian statues.
"Are you two coming along as well?"
"My young lady is very worried about Lord Heavenly Sword."
...Which means she intends to monitor my every move.
"The Academy Principal said something similar! Lord—I mean, Lord Heavenly Sword—must have saved a nation in his past life! With a personality like that, how are his wives such absolute angels?!"
Choi Seol-ah is a villain. In more ways than one.
"Royal Steward Garyeon."
"Yes."
"I have a few companions. Could you ask if they can come?"
"One moment, please."
A few seconds later.
"They said it is fine as long as there aren't too many."
"Two people isn't a large number, so that should be fine."
"Perhaps..."
"...? Is something bothering you?"
"It bothers me that they are the companions."
"It's easier if you just ignore them."
"You seem accustomed to this kind of situation, Lord Heavenly Sword."
Shail chimed in.
"As I said, I've known Lord Heavenly Sword since before his hair even grew."
"Ah, seriously."
I shuddered in annoyance.
"Can you stop making misleading statements? Why call it 'hair' when 'beard' is a perfectly good word?"
"I wasn't talking about a beard, though?"
"...?"
"...?"
Watching from behind, Victoria's shoulders kept trembling. I slapped my forehead.
‘Ah, my head.’
In any case, the battle of attendants came to a temporary close.
Or so I thought.
Who could have guessed an extra round would start immediately after?
* * *
Royal Guard Training Grounds.
"What is this...?"
Kang Geomma and his entourage entered. Every member of the Royal Guard, including Oscar, developed sour expressions.
They hadn't assumed there wouldn't be variables either. Of course not. This was the Heavenly Sword. He was a specialist at taking people off guard with his sashimi knife. He was a man who threatened and humiliated the hero world through unpredictable methods.
But look at this?
The Princess accompanying him wasn't very surprising. After all, His Majesty had invited him as her homeroom teacher. It was expected that the Princess burden would come along.
‘What is up with those women behind him?’
All of them were drop-dead gorgeous beauties.
"Oh. The Royal Guard really wears fur hats! Isn't it hot, though? The late spring chill is over, so it's practically early summer."
"Maintain Joaquin's dignity."
"Okaaay..."
The purple-haired woman possessed a long-limbed, model-like figure. Her languid voice gave off a contrasting charm.
"Every single one of them is close to Warrior rank. Impressive."
The pink-haired woman was a very familiar beauty. Shail was a hero who held quite a few fans even among the Royal Guard. Shail and the Royal Guard shared the attribute of loyalty to noble houses. Furthermore, no man alive hated a peerless beauty who looked good in a maid outfit. To the Royal Guard, Shail was practically a unicorn.
"Commander Oscar."
As Oscar radiated an ominous aura, the Third Officer sensed bad news. When he spoke to him, Oscar's jaw twitched fiercely.
"...About that informal sparring match we planned with the Heavenly Sword at the end of this training session."
"Yes. It was proposed to use the Heavenly Sword to wake up the slack noble society. We even installed cameras on the ceiling for it."
"Take those down."
"Pardon?"
That was all Oscar said.
The Third Officer realized something was going terribly wrong. Looking around, he saw that Oscar wasn't the only one reacting this way.
Several guardsmen were glaring with wide eyes. It was almost all of them. A spark of hostility blazed fiercely in their eyes.
The Third Officer also turned his head toward where those abrasive gazes were directed. The Heavenly Sword stood with his arms crossed, acting as if he were drunk on omnipotence—as if having such an entourage attend him was both natural and routine.
‘Now I get why the Heavenly Sword is public enemy number one.’
The jealousy and indignation ran thick.
The Royal Guard was still a military unit. A male-dominated group soaked in stale sweat. Their hearts fluttered just from making occasional eye contact with the maids, so this felt like an intentional provocation.
"...Even if he's one of the Seven Stars."
Oscar's tightly clenched fists trembled as he muttered under his breath.
Lately, several people were rumored to be next in line for the Seven Star Heroes. Most notably All Mute and Mao Rang, the Iron Leg. Additionally, the Sword Princess Abel and the Immortal Archer Ryozo.
However, the Sage Medea Poison and the Spear Saint Richard de Myura were approaching retirement due to their age. And the Sword Emperor had already been retired for ten years.
Thus, the day when two additional seats would open up was not far off. One of the leading heroes vying to fill that void was Oscar, Commander of the Royal Guard. Although the actual reality was a bit subtle.
However, what he said next—
"In the end, isn't the Heavenly Sword just a human like me?"
—was the biggest, most wildly off-mark delusion Oscar had ever held in his life.