VIO Ch 2 – New Knight (II)

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translator: mii

editor: sleepchaser

 

 

On the first floor of the mansion lay a quiet and inconspicuous room. A room Vio used to study spirit magic.

Come noon, he caught sight of Rille on his way there. She wore the standard maid attire, a white apron hanging over a black dress, with a pair of fluffy white rabbit ears atop her head.

People with animal characteristics were known as Locana. Or simply beastmen. There were roughly four types: those with ears and tails resembling rabbits’, cats’, and wolves’, and those with wings of birds sprouting from their backs.

In the world of Edelbaran, Huma, or humans, lived together with beastmen.

Depending on the country, either humans would look down on beastmen or beastmen would look down on humans. Even so, in the Kingdom of Istiah where Vio resided, discrimination between the two did not exist. A person’s status would be judged solely on whether they were a noble or a commoner. There were even beastmen among the nobles.

There was no distinction between these two races other than their appearance. Skill in spirit magic or high physical ability would depend on the individual. Some beastmen had poor physical ability, and some humans weren’t talented in spirit magic.

In that sense, everyone was equal.

“Rille,” Vio called out.

At the end of the corridor, Rille immediately turned around at the sound of her name. A smile blossomed like a flower on her face. “Master, are you taking a walk?”

Except for emergencies, Rille was carefree and gentle. Her soft smile never failed to soothe Vio’s heart. She was two years older than him, and as such, he saw her as an older sister he could rely on. She was quick on her feet, but it was hard to tell just by her usual appearance.

“No, I’m going to the laboratory. Rille, I’ve composed a new spell. Do you want to take a look?”

“May I? I certainly want to!” 

Vio’s invitation filled Rille’s heart with joy. Unskilled at spirit magic, she rejoiced like a child whenever Vio showed some to her. Because Rille appeared so delighted each time, his confidence grew and he found magic more fun. Which led to him inviting her again and again. 

After they had entered the laboratory, Vio drew a magic circle on his hand using ink containing the dissolved powder of spirit stones. Wasting no time, he then cast the new spell.

The magic circle glowed. A myriad of butterflies materialized, all composed of the same soft light, all filling the room at once.

 

⋆̩☂︎*̣̩ ✢ ⋆̩☂︎*̣̩

 

A little while ago.

Legion Salt was at a loss.

“Her Grace has authorized my arrival. Yet I’m still not accepted here?”

Sure enough, the old butler before him shook his head even after Legion had handed over the letter from the Duchess of Lesserhain. “Please forgive me, but such is my master’s intention. He has stated that he does not require a guardian knight… I apologize since it must have troubled you greatly to travel to such a distant place, but please take your leave.”

“Impossible! I have already received one month’s salary from Her Grace to pay for my father’s medical bills. I must work. Please have mercy and grant my request.”

Almost thirty minutes passed since they had started this exchange. Legion had even attempted using tears to soften the old butler’s heart, but it was all in vain.

If I knew this would happen, I would have just stayed in the Royal Knights…

Legion came from a family of merchants in the Duke of Lesserhain’s territory. He inherited the talent of his merchant father. At the tender age of nineteen, he was already renowned for his skill in the sword, the best in the country.

By chance, a noble had passed through his hometown in his travels when he was twelve and made Legion a knight of his family. Eventually, he quit working for the noble and joined the Royal Knights. Legion had planned to return home from the capital once he reached twenty years of age. Because his father had received an injury, he returned a bit earlier. Yet…

The hometown he dreamed of was in a worse state than he had expected.

The current duke’s rule proved abusive toward the commoners. Legion couldn’t bear to look at the way he governed. But he had been optimistic. If it was difficult to change the current lord of the fief, he could at least guide the next lord, Rupheus, on the right path. Yet three days hadn’t even passed before Rupheus discharged him with only a few words, “Don’t you dare preach to me with such a vulgar social standing!” 

Confident in his military prowess, Rupheus found Legion, a commoner who had been knighted, an eyesore. Or perhaps, Legion’s youthful sense of justice offended him. 

If the duchess hadn’t employed him, he would be adrift in the streets. But now, another problem arose before his eyes.

If I can’t work here, I won’t be able to pay back the debt. Since we’re talking about that duke, he’s definitely going to send me to the arena. My future would be hopeless by then.

He could easily imagine the road to hell, paling.

I cannot believe even the infamously incompetent youngest son is turning me away at the door. Isn’t this too much?

In the worst-case scenario, he would have to flee to a neighboring country. However, the punishment for escaping from a debt was death by hanging. If he was caught, his death would be sealed.

Legion stood at his wits’ end. He tried his best not to groan in frustration, desperation flashing in his eyes as he argued with the old butler. But the answer remained unchanged, still a big fat no.

“Could you at least allow me to meet the younger brother? I beg of you.”

“Please leave,” the old butler stubbornly said. Legion sighed.

He had pushed this far already, so there was nothing else he could do. As such, Legion decided to stay in town today and return tomorrow. If pressing didn’t work, then he could only retreat.

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“…I understand. I will return for today.” He made his way to the gate. The moment he was about to push the door made of iron fencing, the old butler unnaturally cleared his throat.

Legion turned around, the cough strange to his ears for a cold. The old butler glanced at the garden with his hand still on his mouth.

“Sir Salt, the garden of this mansion is very beautiful. If you have time, please take a look.”

“What? No, I appreciate it, but perhaps another day—”

“COUGH!”

Legion blinked, startled by the old butler’s loud cough. Then realization struck him.

Although the old butler couldn’t guide Legion there, his words implied it should be fine for him to stroll in the garden. And if he happened to meet the owner of the mansion on his way there, then that was that.

Legion’s face brightened with hope. He bowed to the old butler. “If the garden is such a sight to see, then I will certainly accept your offer. Thank you for your consideration.”

The old butler returned his bow. “Then please enjoy.” And he returned to the mansion.

The old butler had not been exaggerating. Sure enough, the garden was beautifully tended. The shrubs were trimmed into spheres, flowers of many colors arranged neatly between them. Even if he was not an expert in this field, he could still tell the gardener put much effort into tending the garden.

Legion was fascinated, but he immediately moved as soon as he had remembered his original purpose. He put on the pretense of appreciating the surroundings as he waited and looked around the mansion.

Where could the owner be? That old butler had specially encouraged him to take a look at the garden, so he should be in a place visible from there.

Thank goodness I don’t have to enter the arena. Or be hanged or forced into exile in a neighboring country. The situation at Nada town is completely different from here. It seems this is the only place in the Lesserhains’ territory not directly affected by the Lesserhains’ rule.

He was pleasantly surprised at the lack of screams and sobs filling the air. At Nada town, where the duke’s residence resided, the gazes of the slum children proved cold and forbidding. Leca town had nothing of that, the atmosphere peaceful.

As Legion walked, he suddenly caught sight of a glow in one of the rooms at the back of the mansion. His ears picked up the cheers of a woman. 

Thinking it was the servants’ quarters, he peeked through the gap of the open window, not a sound escaping his lips. What he saw caused his eyes to widen.

Butterflies the size of a palm fluttered through the room. They were made of light, leaving light the shape of flower petals in their wake.

This display of magic had come from a boy with locks of spun silver. Upon his hand was the mark of a magic circle. Each time a new butterfly appeared, the woman of the beast race cheered. The boy flashed her a smile, soft and warm, probably happy with her excitement.

The moment Legion saw his smile, he grew shocked as if he had been struck by lightning. The boy’s silver hair reminiscent of a clear stream flowed smoothly and rested on his white porcelain-like cheeks. His eyes drooped just a hint, nose straight and lips well-formed. Although he seemed cold from his appearance, the atmosphere surrounding him was warm.

In Legion’s opinion, he was like a flower in a plateau. Even in such harsh land, the white flower bloomed in a dignified manner.

This must be Violant Lesserhain…

It took no time at all for Legion to understand this.

He had clearly inherited the beauty of his mother, Duchess Viola Lesserhain. His bearing was refined, illustrating his royal family lineage.

To tell the truth, Legion didn’t have much hope for Violant at first. Never had he come across any decent rumor about Violant in the duke’s residence or Nada town. Even his elder brother Rupheus boldly insulted him, calling him an “incompetent brother” and “trash.”

Vio was known as the little brother with no talent in martial arts or spirit magic. The fact that he had been driven away to a rural town was an open secret in Nada town.

Because of that, Legion’s expectations for Violant were considerably low. Yet, no matter how ill-mannered and stupid his employer, Legion was fine as long as he had a little common sense and work ethic. Yet Vio exceeded his expectations to such a high degree, befuddling him. So much so that Legion had almost forgotten to breathe as he stared at Vio.

At that moment, that purple gaze landed in his direction. Surprised, Vio widened his eyes. He paled as if he had seen a ghost, staggering. A scream ripped from his throat as he crouched down on the spot.

Did he see Legion as a thief? It wouldn’t be strange if he did. The knight traveled from Nada by horse for a week, so he fully realized how filthy he appeared.

“Master!”

The woman of the beast race gently supported Vio’s shoulder and hid him behind the desk. As she turned around, she took a deep breath. Shouted in a surprisingly loud voice, “Anyone! There’s an intruder! Please come here!”

Then she rolled her hands into fists before her, taking an offensive stance. He recognized it. The hand-to-hand combat stance used by the priests to protect their shrine.

Not good!

No matter how he saw it, she was proficient in spiritual martial arts.

But Legion couldn’t escape. If he ran away now, he would be deemed as their enemy. He rushed to explain, “I-I’m sorry for surprising you. Um, I was permitted to appreciate the garden…”

“Excuses won’t work!”

In the blink of an eye, the beastwoman threw herself at Legion; never had he expected her to be so quick.

“Master’s enemy is my enemy! Eat this!”

Because of his hesitation, he did not have the chance to take up a defensive stance. The beastwoman kicked him right in his face full force, sending him flying away from the garden.

 

 

Translator ramblings:

Legion makes me wilt a little every time he talks! Like seriously!!! :blobsob:

He’s using humble speech, which is like… the hardest in my opinion… (sleepchaser must be doing some kind of black magic to make me agreed to translate this novel!) I think I spend most of my time pondering what he’s saying and making him sounds like a knight! Props to my editors for fixing my mess~

 

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