VIO Ch 60.3 – The Unbeknownst Creeping Shadow (III)

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Now that the important matter was settled, Liona changed the topic. “Right, Lord Violant. How is your injury? I heard that you have to rest.”

“Yes. The doctor told me not to attend the party and just rest. Even though Your Highness has invited me, I don’t think I can go on long rides with you. I apologize.”

“It can’t be helped. Don’t worry about it. I’m certain to get a scolding from Mother if I drag a wounded person around,” Ars said, laughing. “Well, that’s how it is. You might have to stay in the castle for a while.”

“I understand. That doesn’t change my schedule much. I was planning to stay at an inn in town after the party anyway.”

“An inn in town? If you still have things to do in the royal capital, you can just extend your stay here, right?”

“I can’t do something like that for my private business,” Vio said in a flat tone. He didn’t want to make a habit of mixing work and private matters.

“I see… By the way, may I know what that private business is?”

“Aside from visiting my grandfather, I want to look for botanists and wizards before returning to my territory,” Vio replied. He also had decided to survey the temples, but chose not to mention it.

“Your grandfather?” Ars said, eager. “I suppose he might want to see his grandson’s face…”

“I’m going there to ask something for my mother and sister.”

“For Aunt and Miss Flora? What happened? I haven’t heard of anything.”

“No, but there’s a possibility that something may happen. I want to prevent that.  In the first place, I decided to quarrel with Brother because he wanted to treat my sister cruelly. I want to ask for grandfather’s protection for precaution.” Vio decided to not hide things from Ars before any information got leaked to the public. 

He had no interest in making Ars his ally. Even so, he determined that talking about his business with his grandfather before he was under suspicion would be a wiser choice. He had to make sure they wouldn’t end up thinking that his actions had a deeper meaning.

Apparently, Ars knew that Vio didn’t want to rely on him. He looked sulky. “Why do you rely on your grandfather when a prince is right in front of you?”

“I’m sure you know the answer…” Vio found it strange that the prince asked that.. The reason was simple; he didn’t want to involve the crown prince who was struggling with balancing power between different factions. 

If I just wanted to overthrow my brother, it would be simple with the Prince’s help. I only have to curry favor with those in power and have them oppress Rupheus… But if I do that, people will think that Ars is being too nosy with the Lesserhains’ family affairs. That would damage his  reputation in the opposition faction. 

Ars was intelligent, so he should’ve realized that. Perhaps he had another reason to ask that? Vio tilted his head as he racked his mind for an explanation. 

Then Ars’ cheeks turned red for some reason. Vio’s eyes widened. “Are you that angry?”

“Eh?”

“Um, your face is red.”

“No… It’s just a bit hot.”

“Is that so?” Vio said, then glanced at Jill.

The butler moved silently and opened the glass window facing the garden. A gentle breeze came in.

When Vio turned back to Ars, Liona was laughing. Vio couldn’t comprehend why. He looked at them, puzzled. Noticing that, Liona waved her hands and said, “It’s nothing. Hey Ars, aren’t you a little bit too embarrassed by that?”

Ars glared daggers at her. “Shut up, I’m just not used to interacting with these kinds of people!”

Just by looking at how they playfully bickered, it was clear the two were on good terms. Vio was relieved to know that. He reached for his cup and leisurely drank his tea.

After they quarrelled quietly for a while, Ars regained his composure and cleared his throat. “I understand that you took my position into consideration… But why did you choose your grandfather?”

“Unfortunately, the only relatives that I can rely on are my grandparents. All my paternal relatives have passed away due to illness or death in battle… Aside from my grandfather’s residence, is there a safer place for my sister to evacuate to?”

At that, Liona lightly raised her right hand. “Can’t you stay with His Majesty, King Emeritus Wingart? Together with your sister, of course.”

“I can’t run away. If I do that, it’ll be when I’m abandoning my family.”

“You have already prepared that far?”

Vio chuckled at Liona’s surprise. “If I haven’t, I wouldn’t be able to  start a fight with my brother.”

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Liona grinned. “Then, if you want to run away, come to my country. I’ll give you a job and place to live.”

Thinking it was a joke, Vio replied without much thought. “Thank you very much. If the time ever comes, please take care of me.”

“Hey, don’t say things like that. It brings bad luck,” Ars said, cutting into their conversation. 

Finding his words ridiculous, Liona talked back, “One will be in a completely different mindset when they think they have a place to escape to and when they think escaping is their last resort.  Having too much burden on their shoulders will make them lose even a winning war. Having a leeway is important.”

“Princess, does my fight with Brother look like a war?”

“It’s common for civil war to start because of a quarrel between brothers. If the situation gets dangerous, you may come to my country while you can to escape.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

Looking at how Liona spoke indifferently, Vio felt that something was off.

Maybe she’s actually serious? …No way, I must be imagining it.

Nothing was as doubtful as a mere promise in the court.

“It will also be troublesome for me if a civil war starts. I will warn you if anything arises, so don’t think too much about it. After all, I’m your cousin, your blood relative. You have the right to speak out,” Ars said. “But I suppose you’re right. Having grandfather interfere would likely create less bitter feelings. Duke Lesserhain is weak against Aunt, so he would most likely listen to grandfather if he is pressured.”

Vio nodded. “Yes.”

Although he agreed with Ars’s point, having his grandfather pressure Rupheus would only add more unnecessary conflict. He wanted to avoid that as much as possible.

Vio only wanted to protect Flora. He didn’t want a fight to the death with Rupheus. If the situation got that serious, the citizens would suffer. For Vio, that would hurt him more than any of his bitter experiences. But he couldn’t just solve everything by saying that he didn’t want it to happen. He had to be prepared for various situations.

In that sense, taking to Ars and Liona like this was a good opportunity.

Then, Jill came and whispered into Vio’s ear that they had a visitor.

Vio turned to Ars. “I apologize, Your Highness. It seems like the court doctor came to check on me…”

“Méliez? Sure, he may enter.”

After Ars gave his permission, Méliez entered. He raised his eyebrows when he saw the three having a tea party.

“His Highness, Princess Liona. I apologize for interrupting. Even so, Lord Violant hit his head badly. I have asked him to rest. I’m not very happy about this,” Méliez scolded.

Not expecting the scolding,Ars meekly said, “It’s my fault, Méliez. We had some appointments nearby, so we decided to stop by to see his condition. Don’t be that angry.”

“I’m alright, Doctor Méliez. I slept all day yesterday.”

Vio interjected, but Méliez’s face turned scary. “No. It looks like you don’t understand, Lord Violant. Should I tell you about the story of a prince who hit his head and died three days after? Or would you prefer the story of a patient that died a week after?”

“I-I’m sorry… I’ll rest like you said.”

“Thank you for understanding. Ah, really! Why are you wearing such tight clothes… Please change immediately.”

“Hey! Please calm down!”

Probably overcome by intense anger, Méliez pulled at Vio’s jacket and tried to change his clothes immediately. Overwhelmed, Vio tried to struggle out of Méliez‘s grip. 

Legion intervened at once. “You’re being rude. Let him go.”

“Oh my, excuse my insolence,” Méliez said, finally calming down. Vio was relieved at that. Vio fixed his clothes as he glanced at Legion who was restraining the doctor with a scary face. Then, he noticed that both of his guests were quiet.

“What happened?”

For some reason, Ars and Liona looked away, their faces red.

“It’s nothing,” They replied in unison.

Stupefied, Vio blinked.

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