Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Internal Clampdown (2)
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"You're back sooner than expected."
Eri sat perched on the fountain's railing.
I approached with light steps, giving her a casual wave.
"Thanks to the Lord's kindness, it all wrapped up smoothly."
The pink-haired woman rose gracefully.
She modestly straightened the dress clinging to her body.
"There won't be any more of those fabricated incidents up north from now on, so feel free to write without worry."
"I'm sorry... for dragging you into all this trouble because of me..."
Eri looked up at me with apologetic eyes.
"No need to mention it. This matter was important to me too."
"To you as well, sir?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, Lady, I learned about the writing contest. There's someone who'll be thrilled to hear this news."
"That acquaintance of yours who writes novels as a hobby?"
"Exactly. I'd like to give her a chance to enter too."
"You seem to cherish her a great deal."
The woman's words drew a response from eyes that had witnessed countless dooms.
"She's a very important person to me."
As we strolled through the garden together, Eri paused for a moment.
Turning back, I saw her pulling her hat brim low to hide her face.
"Not just a simple acquaintance, is she?"
I held back my answer to her question for a beat.
I pondered what Anje truly meant to me.
The first calamity I had encountered.
Having endured a horrific childhood in the Holy See's underground, she distrusted all humanity, yet showed mercy to those with kind hearts.
And she sought to create a world where people like her wouldn't suffer.
However, she never learned proper ways to achieve it.
She barreled down the wrong path until she self-destructed.
This time, I planned to guide her.
Down the right path, where the Saintess wouldn't meet ruin.
"Yes."
I stopped and turned to Eri with a steady gaze.
Beneath the noon sun, her face—free of dark circles—curved into a gentle smile.
"Someone I want to walk the right path with."
Even the frigid north was welcoming spring.
Eri's pink locks swayed in the warm breeze.
"Walk together..."
She pressed her index finger to her apple-red lips.
Then, averting her gaze, she murmured softly.
"I didn't realize you'd thought that far ahead."
Her head hung low.
Her voice was so faint I approached to hear better.
"Right now, she's trying to tread that thorny path alone."
To Anje, the empire's fall was the scripture's fulfillment.
Shattering that reckless conviction would take considerable effort and attention.
"Her only hobby is novels, so I'd like to plant a new goal in her life, you could say."
I rubbed my cheek awkwardly as I spoke.
Since Eri was a senior novelist to Anje, I decided to be upfront.
"Sorry. I've gone on about someone who's not even here."
I glanced toward the mansion's exit.
In the distance, the magic tool market caught my eye.
"I'm heading back now. What about you, Lady?"
"I'll stay a bit longer. The garden's so relaxing."
I nodded and bid her farewell.
Now that Rupert knew Eri and I were acquainted, he wouldn't dare touch her.
"......"
Eri silently watched the Warden depart.
The only sound in the garden was the fountain's gentle trickle.
It felt utterly peaceful.
Yet her expression was uneasy.
In truth, she'd been feeling someone's gaze on her for a while now.
"Why don't you come out already."
Eri tilted her hat back and looked up.
Her eyes met those of a woman standing atop the empire's symbolic lion statue.
Sword Sage Myoran.
"What on earth is that getup? I can't believe you're supposed to be the worst prisoner on earth."
The black-haired girl stood with arms crossed.
Her piercing gaze nearly bored through Anje in her pristine white dress.
"Can't you tell? It's a disguise for going out."
"Who disguises themselves that tackily?"
Myoran, who had gripped a sword her whole life, jabbed a finger at the Saintess's figure.
At the dress that hugged her form, accentuating its exquisite curves.
"It's a popular style among young ladies these days. Highest preference in the stats."
Anje clasped her hands behind her back, speaking with the confidence of a mass mind-controller.
Myoran scoffed at the junior's tone, as if it were all just strategy.
"Anyone would think you're smitten with the Warden."
Anje slowly removed her hat.
Vacant eyes gleamed amid her tousled pink hair.
"That's a bit harsh, isn't it? Who do you take me for, some frivolous miss?"
"Your bristling tells me I hit the mark."
Myoran smirked like a cat lounging on a fence post.
She landed lightly on the water's surface.
Not a ripple stirred beneath her feet.
"Disappointing. I thought you were serious about rebuilding this place. Turns out it's just a crush."
A few days prior, the two had teamed up to deal with the academy thugs who'd assaulted Derek alongside her.
They'd synced perfectly then, but now the garden teetered on the brink of incineration from their killing intent.
"You only know half the story."
Anje shook her head at the woman who'd devoted her life to the sword.
"Honey traps are part of the rebuilding plan too. Call it reining him in since he keeps tangling with the Princess."
"Honey trap?"
She'd heard the term a few times back when her martial sisters flirted.
Wear tight clothes in big tournaments, and men get distracted, easier win.
Young Myoran had dismissed it as nonsense.
But seeing Anje as Eri now, it held strange persuasive power.
Derek had never given her that look from afar.
Yet with Eri, he'd smiled like the handsome boy in a graduation album.
Staring so blankly even she had been entranced.
"Get it now?"
Anje placed a hand on her hip, eyeing Myoran.
Whose beautiful figure suited a chic cheongsam, but whose gaze remained steely.
"Arms bend inward by nature. Same with men. Easier to handle whoever they grow fond of."
The Saintess brushed past the Sword Sage indifferently.
Then whispered a hint.
"What if Derek catches the Princess's eye and gets transferred to the palace?"
"...!"
Myoran envisioned Berryhill Prison without him.
The previous Warden dropping his pants in front of her.
The dingy, depressing underground solitary cell.
The comfortable first-floor cell she now enjoyed, warm meals.
And Derek, who occasionally visited to admire the peach pot with her.
Imagining that future gone, the light faded from her jade eyes.
Like the childhood when she'd lost her father and clan.
"The palace is far vaster and more luxurious than this drab prison. To make him refuse it, won't you need new tactics?"
The Saintess narrowed her mature eyes.
Like Anna, the protagonist from her own novel.
"Like affection, perhaps."
Anje patted the shoulder of her three-years-younger fellow inmate lightly.
"Think it over. Derek's value is rising by the day."
"No excuse will make me stoop to such underhanded methods."
Myoran lifted her chin proudly, as befitted a noble swordswoman.
She'd never grown attached to any man, devoting herself solely to her training.
"I'm the eldest daughter of a righteous sect."
The third calamity stared fixedly at the first.
“So watch your behavior from now on. I won’t tolerate such underhanded methods.”
The koi in the fountain scattered in panic.
The faint cricket chirps vanished entirely.
A chill ran down the spine from the overwhelming yin energy.
A presence so dizzying it would stun ordinary men.
"You know your fancy brainwashing doesn't work on me."
"I may not brainwash you, but I can control those around someone of your caliber."
"Perfect. Cleaner to cut several at once."
"No need to bluff in front of me. I can feel your anxiety loud and clear."
Anje smiled like an elder sister to her three-years-older sibling.
Then sauntered past Myoran, leaving the garden.
"If you don't want the Warden stolen to the palace, approach him more strategically."
Myoran stared at the fountain until the obnoxious click of her heels faded completely.
Her reflection shimmered in the blue water.
She feigned nonchalance, but imagining the prison without the Warden had been her worst nightmare.
Only now, alone, did the emotion seep through.
"As if I'd be disappointed without that one guy."
Human warmth crept into her expression.
The koi hiding behind the fountain peeked out at it.
Unlike her past self, emotions fitting her age were slowly returning.
"I'm just helping because it's admirable he's trying to change the world."
Myoran squeezed her eyes shut, hating her reflection.
Deciding to return to the prison before the Warden, she left the garden.
The streets bustled with nobles out for afternoon picnics.
Many young ladies, escorted by men brimming with potent magic.
The men kept constant smiles for the women, showing utmost courtesy.
As if tightly gripping the hearts of those stronger than themselves.
'Is this the kind of "reining in" Anje mentioned?'
The ladies' outfits were all as refined as Anje's.
Cinched waists in dresses, elaborate hairstyles.
The men walked, unable to tear their eyes away.
Of course, they all glanced back at Myoran as she passed.
But lost in pondering Anje's strategy, she didn't notice.
"......"
The Sword Sage of the East lifted her head and cautiously scanned her surroundings.
Then returned to the garden, lightly settling by the water's edge.
Myoran narrowed her eyes like a cat.
She slowly raised both hands to undo her braided hair.
And then...
She mimicked the hairstyle of that one lady who'd captivated the men.
Twin tails, grabbing locks on both sides.
"You think I don't do it because I can't?"
Even the koi in the water stared blankly.
"Well, maybe if I dolled up just a little, it wouldn't be so bad."
Myoran shook her twin tails lightly.
Glancing sideways with a youthful look.
A shiver ran through her, like undressing outdoors.
Before anyone saw, she hastily undid her hair.
"Yeah, this isn't me."
But.
In her growing anxiety, she forgot one crucial fact.
Heavenly Jade was always by her side.
"......"
Myoran flushed crimson at the hallucination voice, silent as a mouse most days but now surfacing after so long.
Her freshly undone hair seemed to curl in embarrassment.
"Shut up! This is all your fault!"
The water surface rippled violently at the 19-year-old girl's shout.
She huffed and stormed out of the garden.
The north's day faded peacefully.
The two inmates hurried back to the prison ahead of the Warden.
The Warden leisurely toured the market like an inspector, overseeing repairs.
The Princess spaced out over documents, lost in odd fantasies before snapping to.
Grand Elder added one man's name to his correspondence with the nobles.
Yet this calm was but the eve of a storm.
Berryhill was gaining attention with the trade routes.
Those eyeing it were growing in number.
Among them, the Holy See, desperate for resurgence after heavy losses.
And Eastern Continent masters landing to claim Heavenly Jade.
Their footsteps headed north to Berryhill.
For the north's grandest martial tournament soon to come.