Chapter 16
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Lancelot's Pursuit
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“...What?”
“Lancelot, what do you mean?”
“I'll check it out myself. Whether Charlotte's talent has awakened or what.”
Hearing the kids murmuring behind him, Lancelot pushed through the crowd straight toward Charlotte.
The path to Charlotte was surprisingly rough.
The crowd was thicker than expected, and everyone was staring at her without looking away.
“Out of the way!”
Finally breaking through the people, he reached her—only to find Charlotte still with Isaac. A cluster of onlookers stood before them, unable to hide their shock.
It wasn't surprising after what he'd seen on the way here. What was truly bizarre, though, was that Charlotte's father, Jerome Setia, was right there in the crowd, blinking in astonishment alongside them.
...What the hell is this? Pathetic. What, are we putting on a play?
Lancelot stepped forward, irritation bubbling inside him.
His frustration peaked, but just as he came into Charlotte's view, he suddenly stopped.
The sight of her clinging to her cousin, chattering away animatedly, was utterly unlike anything he'd seen before.
She didn't look shabby or timid, nothing like the troublemaking gossip-magnet he knew.
Just...
...What is this?
She looked like any other ordinary noble girl.
Not the pushover Charlotte he could treat however he wanted.
And her pink hair and light green eyes stood out so differently from the other Setia heir candidates.
That color, which had always seemed like a mark of shame for not being golden...
On Charlotte, standing tall with her shoulders back, it simply suited her—elegant, even.
...What am I even thinking?
Lancelot shuddered.
It was a thought he could never admit to himself.
“Charlotte!”
He bellowed at her, just like always.
But instead of her usual cowering run toward him, Isaac—the one holding her—narrowed his eyes and turned to him coldly.
Those golden eyes were chillingly sharp.
The cold, bloodless gaze of the heir who cared for nothing but his status and the sword.
“What do you want?”
Just exchanging words with Isaac, who never called him by name, was intimidating enough.
And the way he spoke, as if protecting his little cousin, was infuriating.
...Since when were those two so close?
Lancelot clicked his tongue.
“Even if Charlotte's been to the palace plenty, this is her first time at a banquet hall like this, right? Since she's here, I figured I'd show her around.”
Isaac frowned slightly.
He'd just been on the verge of hearing something fascinating from his intriguing cousin. He had no patience for this brat barging in with nonsense.
And a tour?
He wasn't particularly invested, but he knew roughly how Lancelot and the others related to Charlotte.
“You two aren't exactly close, are you?”
“Cousin, what are you saying? It's not like that...”
“I can show her around, so go.”
As Isaac replied dismissively and turned away with Charlotte still in his arms, her eyes caught sight of the black-haired boy passing by in the distance once more.
Mingled among tall adults, he seemed about to vanish into the crowd any second.
I can't miss him now.
Charlotte tugged at her cousin's shoulder.
“...Brother! I have someone to meet real quick. I'll be right back.”
“Hm?”
Isaac set her down without pressing for details as she wriggled.
Her little shoes clicked cutely against the floor—adorable, in a childish way.
Besides, after the public apology, there was no rush for her stories.
He was more curious what had caught her interest.
“Alright.”
Lancelot thought she was playing along nicely, but Charlotte ignored him completely and wove through the crowd ahead.
“Charlotte! Hey, wait up!”
Unlike what he'd expected, she bolted forward almost at a sprint, forcing him to chase after her tail in embarrassment.
Lancelot glared at Charlotte, who had reached the garden entrance in a flash, panting heavily.
“Hiding in your room on house arrest... and you have this kind of stamina? Huff... huff.”
Unlike Charlotte, who avoided training, he was a proper trainee of the Great Bear Knight Order. He ran the training grounds daily.
So despite his complaints, he swallowed them silently.
As Charlotte scanned the garden, Lancelot eyed his group of friends.
He hadn't brought her here himself, but he'd lured her in the direction he wanted.
The kids were gathered near the terrace, waiting for him.
The area in front of the terrace was lit in a circle for performances or sparring.
But the moment Charlotte reached the open space before the terrace, as per Lancelot's plan, her eyes sparkled.
The murky aura from Joseph earlier flickered beyond the bushes.
Is that it...?
She vaulted lightly over the railing into the air.
It was the Mount Hua Sect's lightness skill, Shadow Fragrance Shuttle.
The kids watching from seats above the terrace let out dumbfounded gasps.
“...Wha—?”
Mount Hua Sect, nestled in deep, treacherous mountains, excelled in lightness skills.
Without deep inner energy, she couldn't sustain it long, but her high comprehension allowed short bursts without issue.
It wasn't truly stepping on air—just moving a bit faster than others. But accelerating suddenly from dark to light made her seem to vanish.
The clueless kids stared blankly at the sky.
“What did we just see?”
“Where... did she go?”
“...What the?”
But Lancelot was the most flustered.
No way.
An impossible suspicion sprouted in him.
He'd brought her here to prove she knew no proper swordsmanship and had no talent...
What if her talent had bloomed late, after all?
...That can't be possible.
“Must've used an artifact. Typical sneaky Charlotte.”
Magic was impossible right next to the royal banquet hall.
Ignoring that fact, Lancelot's blind accusation made the kids nod in sudden agreement.
“As expected of Lancelot.”
“We almost fell for it.”
Lancelot brushed off their words. Hand on his waist, he replayed her afterimage in his mind one more time.
No matter how he thought about it...
...It didn't look like using an artifact.
With an unsettled feeling, he stared blankly at the empty clearing.
The third prince.
Tracking the aura's source, Charlotte approached and spotted the third prince. She quickly ducked behind the bushes.
Slipping through almost silently, she peered from the other side: Joseph with two others.
One was clearly a high noblewoman at a glance; the other, a burly young man in ornate clothes, equally high-status.
And guarding knights surrounding them.
Hiding, Charlotte clicked her tongue inwardly.
I don't know exactly who they are, but this isn't a vibe I can just barge into.
Getting caught sneaking up without a sound could mean a beating.
...Better to back off quietly.
As she pondered blankly, the woman's voice rang out.
“So you're the one ignoring me?”
“...Do you expect morning greetings every day? When you hate even looking at my face.”
Joseph's voice.
Gone was the sharp tone from earlier; now it was exhausted, sinking into the ground.
So it is the Empress. But this tense...?
Charlotte peeked cautiously through the bushes.
“Listen to that backtalk? You still haven't come to your senses.”
“...I'm not feeling well.”
No wonder.
With all those bruises everywhere.
Charlotte nodded unconsciously, then froze.
But bruises weren't the issue.
As she'd sensed earlier.
Even from a dozen paces away, she could tell Joseph's qi was in utter disarray.
...Good thing I followed. That suspicious aura from afar wasn't my imagination.
At this rate, he'd suffer Qi Deviation.
Qi Deviation was what martial artists faced when they couldn't control their overwhelming inner energy—a grave condition that could even kill.