Chapter 93.
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Translator: thursdays Editor: Sasha PR: LightBrin
5.
Romance Fantasy Trope 3
『Do you want to develop love between two people? First, make them hate each other.』
『Hatred is lightning. Love is thunder. After being blinded by the lightning of hatred, the thunder of love begins to sound.』
6.
“Are you well?”
It was on the route to Sormwyn Academy.
“Yes, I slept soundly. Did you also sleep well last night?”
“Thankfully, yes. Perhaps I had a good dream; I feel refreshed. I’m going to have two slices of toast this morning.”
“Oh, I want to hear what kind of dream it was. Should we eat together?”
“Oh my, what a great idea!”
“Huhu.”
The students smiled and greeted each other in a quaint, old-fas.h.i.+oned way. On the road with white magnolia blossoms, “oh my” and “huhu” smoothly flowed from their lips.
Peace. Serenity.
Even baby birds gathering together and singing side by side could not be more peaceful than this, nor could a flower garden in full bloom be more serene. The mere sight of this scene would purify someone’s mind. It was a moment that sparkled like a diamond.
“Ah, Lady of the Golden Silk. Are you well?”
But diamonds were just refined coal.
If one lit it up, it would burn very well.
“Nope! I’m not well at all!”
“Ah.”
The Heretic Questioner grinned at the young lady who greeted him.
“There is no way I could be calm! Some a.s.sa.s.sin jerks attacked me last night and almost killed me. It’s unfair that I couldn’t sleep at all, and you’re asking me if I’m well? Do you have any sense?”
“Excuse me?”
“No, you have no thoughts at all. If you did think, you wouldn’t ever ask ‘Are you well’ to someone who almost died. Ahaha. What needs to be well isn’t me, but your head! Is your head well? Is your skull safe and good? How is your brain?”
“Ahh… Yes? Excuse me?”
“Ahh! Your head was resting so much that your mouth became twisted. It’s all right. I understand! A healthy mind lives in a healthy body. You have a ruined head, so is your mind in good shape? Go on, go to the infirmary. In other words, please get out of my sight!”
“……Ah, ……Aaah…….?”
Wobble.
The lady swayed and fainted. If her servant didn’t catch her, she would have rolled all the way to school. The students, who had been greeting each other good morning like usual, screamed.
“White Orchid Lady! Are you okay?!”
“My goodness! Her complexion is too white……”
“Someone, call the nurse!”
“Breathe! Can you hear my voice?! You have to breathe!”
“Lady of the Golden Silk! What did you just say to her……?!”
A clamor.
The baby birds singing peacefully were blown away, and a bomb exploded on top of the serene tulip garden. The diamond was blazing. The young n.o.ble ladies skillfully attended to their fainted cla.s.smate, but they could not hide their shock.
The Heretic Questioner smiled.
“What’s the big deal? She senselessly asked me if I was well, as I asked her if her head was well!”
A young lady nearby opened her mouth.
“Her h-head…… is well……?”
“Ah. Your hair is red. What a cool red! Could it be that your skull broke and your brain is leaking a little? Aha. If so, you’re putting your already unfortunate intelligence at risk of further loss. Come on, pick it up and put it back in!”
“……Haa…….”
Wobble.
“Miss?!”
“Kyaa! Lady of the Plum Blossoms!!”
“Why isn’t the nurse here yet?!”
“That salary thief!”
“Somebody please bring some water!”
“Security! Security!”
Chaos had arrived. It was truly a scene of the Apocalypse. The book Apocalypse hadn’t been destroyed yet, but the route to Sormwyn Academy was being burned to the ground with excitement.
“Ahaha.”
The Heretic Questioner, who had a 20-meter radius of s.p.a.ce to himself, smiled with a face that did not show a single hint of evil. He did have dark circles under his eyes though because of the att.i.tude training he had received overnight.
“Death King, you’re the best! My immersion didn’t go up at all!”
He was also the best.
The effect of the Flame Emperor’s one-on-one tutoring was great.
“In the future, I’ll continue to trust you fully! After all, the Death King’s schemes are reliable!”
I bowed down at an angle appropriate for a butler.
“Thank you for the compliments, milady.”
“You are a million times welcome! But is stepping on my foot another way to stop the immersion rate from going up? My big toe hurts a little.”
“I can’t help but act as a bad butler. Please withstand it.”
“I understand!”
This morning, a total of 14 ladies entered the academy’s infirmary.
The incident on the road in front of the girls’ dormitory quickly spread to the whole school.
It was known as the [Is Your Head Well] incident.
7.
Restaurant, main building, garden.
Wherever they went, the students gossiped about the incident.
『The Lady of the Golden Silk has gone mad.』
『She’s changed since she was attacked yesterday.』
『She’s possessed by the devil.』
『Two ladies and one gentleman bravely went to investigate the suspicious rumors and reveal the truth, but they still haven’t returned.』
『Isn’t she more attractive now?』
『So who ordered her a.s.sa.s.sination?』
『Sormwyn’s unofficial club, ‘All Older Sisters’ Fan a.s.sociation (AOSFA) welcomes the current changes. We urge the Sormwyn students to change their perceptions.』
『The Lady of the Golden Silk’s butler was mixing her tea with salt. A lot of witnesses saw it.』
『It’s dangerous.』
『a.s.sa.s.sination』
『I heard the crown prince is taking handling it.』
『She’s gone insane.』
『I’m going mad.』
『An appropriate salt intake is good for your health… Is the salt in the black tea for her well-being?』
『Golden Silk unnie.』
The rumors s...o...b..lled like an avalanche and became a ghost story.
“Lady of the Golden Silk! You have insulted the honor of my master!”
However, even if the rumor became exaggerated, it was true that 14 ladies had fainted. Of course these ladies’ servants were angry.
Even if they couldn’t attack a n.o.ble lady, they could ask me, a subordinate just like them, to duel. At lunchtime, angry servants rushed in line to fight me.
“I cannot stand still as the honor of my master and her family is blemished. Please allow me to duel with the lady’s butler!”
“Hoho.”
The Heretic Questioner nodded.
“Okay! Everyone, solve it nicely among yourse—.
“Just a moment.”
I secretly stepped on the foot of the Heretic Questioner. The Heretic Questioner winced in pain.
“Is something wrong?”
“Once you decide to act, you have to continue your bad girl image to the end. Don’t accept what others say right away. That looks too obedient.”
“Ah, you’re right. That’s true. Then how do I be bad?”
“Do as I tell you to do.”
Whispers pa.s.sed between the two of us. The servants who requested duels looked at us with confused faces. After a while, the Heretic Questioner opened his mouth with a face like he had an epiphany.
“All right! You may duel with my servant if you like.”
“Ah, thank you for your permission. Then, right here……”
“But! If you want to fight him, pay me!”
The servants blinked.
“…Pardon?”
“I mean that you need to pay to get what you want.”
The Heretic Questioner sat on a garden bench and crossed his legs. His radiant face was forceful. If children saw the Heretic Questioner right now, they would probably automatically yell out, ‘Unnie! ‘
“My butler belongs to my family. I am the only person in my family who is attending this academy, so he is mine. What if my possession gets hurt during a duel? Are you going to be responsible for that?”
“Uhh, uhhh……”
The n.o.bles’ servants were dumbfounded. She wanted them to bribe her so they could have a sacred duel? Wasn’t that too thuggish?
“Um, how much should I pay you?”
“I’ll take 5 gold coins!”
“…….”
“Aha.”
The Heretic Questioner delivered the final line that I taught him.
“Everyone. It isn’t the case that your loyalty to your masters is worth less than 5 pieces of gold, right?”
“…….”
The servants took out the gold coins one by one. I felt a little pity as I watched them. Some of the servants looked like they were about to cry.
Their faces seemed worried about whether it was honorable to pay to fight for a lady’s honor. A face that seemed to ask, ‘Is this really the right thing to do? ‘
However, there was no going back. Once a few servants began to pay, the others had to join in.
“H-here it is. Lady.”
“Okay!”
“I have it too……”
“Yup. Thank you for your patronage!”
“Please, excuse me. I only have silver coins. Would you accept it in small change…?”
“I’ll accept it all!”
The Heretic Questioner ripped off the frugal servants. The dignity of the young lady who was given an epithet from the emperor was buried under the jangling of coins without leaving a trace.
Followers take after their masters.
“Hm.”
I cracked my neck up and down, left and right, like a gangster.
There were more than ten servants staring at me awkwardly.
“Let me ask this, just in case.”
“Wh-what is it?”
I lifted the holy sword, sheath and all.
“Among those of you here, has anyone starved for over a week?”
The thrilling sounds of a beating rang in the garden. I took down the servants one after another, feeling like a drummer. I beat them like a dusty cloth.
“Ack!”
“Huk, keuk?!”
Countless students watched as the servants screamed. Looking around, I saw the students staring at me in dismay. Behind me, the Heretic Questioner rolled the coins in his hands and hummed.
Screams, gasps, and the jingling of coins.
The three melodies formed a perfect trinity.
“Sy—”
At that moment, someone hastily rushed in among the watching students.
“Sylvia! What in the world is this about?!”
It was the man who could be said to be the ramen noodles of this Apocalypse: the crown prince.
The blond ramen was extremely fl.u.s.tered. My heart felt satisfied when I saw his bloated ramen face. We were returning the embarra.s.sment we felt because of him last night.
“I heard rumors that you’ve suddenly become strange, but as always, I thought it was malicious gossip. But now, against our cla.s.smates……. You!”
The prince glared at me, muttering quickly. Well. For ramen soup served with rice, his eyes were quite fierce.
“What are you doing?! When your master is tired, it is the servant’s responsibility to stop them and help them recover with all their power! You’re a third-rate butler, and utterly disqualified to be a servant! You’re disqualified!”
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
I put the holy sword on my waist and bowed my head.
“This child is not judged by anyone other than the young lady. If milady evaluates me as a third-rate butler, that is what I am, and if she says that I am disqualified, I will step down. But until that moment, I will remain her faithful butler.”
“You…… Despite causing all this disturbance, you shamelessly……”
The prince closed his mouth and pursed his lips. Then, he shook his head. Did he think it was useless to speak with a servant like me?
“Sylvia. Didn’t I tell you again and again? You shouldn’t have a man like that as your butler. There are several eunuchs raised with great care in the imperial household. If I ask His Majesty, you can take one of the competent ones. It’s all right! You don’t need to worry. My father already thinks well of you.”
Wow.
The students in the audience exclaimed quietly. Here and there, you could also see young ladies who fell for that adoring look. Just now, the prince expressed his affection so openly.
The ladies sighed forlornly and whispered among themselves.
“What’s happening? His Highness’s fiancée is the Lady of the Silver Lily…….”
“But that was an agreement before they were born, right? It’s been too long. It’s been said that the emperor cares for the Lady of the Golden Silk since a long time ago, so maybe…….”
“Ah, what would be best?”
The ladies’ eyes sparkled as they talked about what would be the best outcome.
There was no scandal as heated as the romance of the imperial family.
If the diamonds of their own house burned, they would die from regret, but they would pay a thousand gold to see the most brilliant diamond of another burn.
“Sylvia, what do you think?”
The prince approached and grabbed the Heretic Questioner’s wrist.
“Would you please accept my earnest request?”
The Heretic Questioner looked at the prince.
At this moment, I was nervous as well.
Will the love of the [female protagonist], the Lady of the Golden Silk, be more intense? Or would the ego of the Heretic Questioner playing the [bad girl] be stronger? I did my best to strengthen the latter, but in the end, it was the Heretic Questioner who had to fight in his mind.
We may lose the match.
“……Your Highness.”
The Heretic Questioner slowly opened his mouth.
“What perfume did you use today?”
“What?”
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but it smells a little strange to me.”
A bright smile spread over the Heretic Questioner’s face.
Swish.
The Heretic Questioner smoothly took his wrist out from the prince’s grasp, then took out a fan and opened it. Over the fan, his eyes narrowed into a smile.
“Did you discover who was behind the a.s.sa.s.sins who attacked me yesterday?”
“Ah, no… The investigation is still underway.”
“If I hadn’t had my butler by my side last night, I would have been hurt! If Your Highness is thinking of me, then I ask you to respect my butler just as much. Didn’t he protect the prestige of the academy by protecting my life?”
“…….”
“Your Highness. I trust my butler the most!”
At that moment, ramen boiled in the prince’s face.
And the Heretic Questioner laughed with his fan wide open.
“Oh-hohohoho!”
It was the most romance-like laughter in the world.