[Translator – Angel Dust]
[Proofreader – Prototype]
Chapter 128
“Hoooo…”
Finally. The fateful day has arrived.
Lavrenti, with a solemnity greater than ever before, ticulously bathes and dresses, buttoning her shirt one by one with unwavering determination.
“….”
She glanced at her desk.
The remnants of the battle she fought fiercely until yesterday, no, until this morning, remain untouched.
The hours of despair spent sitting there feel as vivid as yesterday. She had done her best, but the midterms had defeated her rcilessly.
For a while afterward, she was bedridden from the shock. How could she stand beside her Master with such ager results?
Self-loathing welled up within her.
If she were expelled for failing grades, what would she do? How could she face her Master?
Lavrenti’s mind was filled with a bleak future.
‘But this ti is different. It will be different. No, it has to be different!’
She clenches her fists and looks at a notebook on her desk. That was the decisive reason Lavrenti could maintain her courage.
It was a gift from her eternal master and the object of her admiration, Karl, given to no one else but Lavrenti herself. It was the key to victory, the guiding line to hit the target.
If she were to lose this battle even after receiving this, it would be a disgrace to the Imperial Army.
It would be unthinkable for soone who fought in the sa war as Karl and even received a dal!
Bang! Bang!—
“Hey, when are you coming out?! We’ll be late for the exam! Hurry up, Lav!”
“Eloise, aren’t you being a bit impatient?”
“Impatient? You’re more than ten minutes late!”
Unable to bear Lavrenti’s sudden ritualistic bathing, Eloise pounds on the door.
Although not as much as Eloise, Lefia, who was standing next to her, also couldn’t hide her anxiety as ti ticked away.
It’s unfortunate. A sharpshooter of the Empire should embrace the aesthetics of waiting. You two haven’t had that experience, so even a brief mont seems like a long wait to you.
Lavrenti muttered to herself (if she muttered out loud, Eloise would react) and opened the door to join her classmates waiting outside.
“What took you so long?”
“Sothing ca up. Stop nagging, Eloise.”
“Of all days, why today?! Of course I’m nagging!”
“Um, shouldn’t we get going? We’ll really be late.”
The reason Eloise and Lavrenti stayed close to Lefia was, of course, to monitor and keep an eye on her.
But now, for so reason, they had beco genuine friends. Lefia was even making suggestions, and the other two girls were accepting them with a ‘Maybe you’re right.’
“So, how confident are you about this exam?”
“Very confident.”
“Whoa, what’s with that confidence? Did you get so lucky break or sothing?”
It’s not luck, it’s love. A love so great you couldn’t even dream of it, Eloise.
The urge to brag welled up, but Lavrenti, like a true sharpshooter, held back.
If she ntioned it here, Eloise would likely bother Karl. And Lefia, despite her pretense, might find another way to get close to Karl.
There are no eternal enemies, but there are no eternal allies either. The only constant is the repetition between the two.
Lavrenti kept those words etched in her heart.
“Hey, Eloise. Are you confident about this exam? I heard it’s going to be harder than the midterms.”
“What, Lefia? Are you scared? Oh dear, our princess has surrendered to the final exams! How sad!”
“I’m not scared! And I told you to stop calling princess!”
“My apologies, Your Highness!”
If Karl had seen this, what would he have said? Would he have smiled, saying they were getting along well? Or would he have worried that Eloise was teasing too much?
“Juniors.”
At the familiar voice, the three girls turned their heads.
Selena stood there, dressed more neatly than usual, her arms full of sothing.
“Isn’t it finals season? You all seem pretty excited.”
“Ah, yes! You’re right, Senior Selena!”
“…You don’t have to be so tense, Junior Lefia.”
Was it because she asked so seriously about their first eting, about what Karl’s embrace felt like? Or did she instinctively realize, ‘Ah, this is the main wife’?
Since that first eting, Lefia had been almost excessively deferential to Selena.
“Hello, Senior Selena. Are you on your way to proctor the exams?”
“Yes, Lav. The professor asked to do it today and tomorrow.”
“Is that allowed? Senior Selena, if the professor keeps bothering you, just tell Karl! Okay?!”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Eloise. It’s not like the professor is asking to do anything strange.”
Surely, even if professors treat graduate students like slaves, they wouldn’t do that to her.
Even if they did, Selena didn’t want to tell Karl. If a dal of Honor recipient got involved for such a reason, it might tarnish Karl’s reputation.
“But just tell , okay? Senior Selena. If they keep bothering you, I’ll take care of it!”
It’s scary to think she might actually do sothing. She’s not just any elf, she has experience leading special forces.
I should never tell her, at least.
Selena nodded and said, ‘Co on, let’s go. We’ll be late,’ leading the three girls.
“So, Lav. You can do well on this exam, right?”
“You should worry about yourself, elf.”
“Heh, you get so sensitive during exams. But guess what?! I’m going to be at the top again this ti!”
“This ti will be different. It has to be!”
Lefia tried to diate, saying, ‘That’s right, it will be different. So let’s stop arguing!’ while Selena worried, ‘I wonder if Lab can really do well on the exam.’
They were a noisy bunch, but they were getting along well, these four won.
* * *
I suddenly found myself thinking. How will I be recorded in history? What kind of description will the Empire’s annals give to the na ‘Karl Adelheit’?
The first thing that cos to mind is, of course, ‘The madman who received the dal of Honor twice.’
Whether it’s the dal of Honor from my past life’s mories or the one from this world, it’s ultimately sothing you only get after a near-death experience and a little chat with the King of Hell.
Most military achievents don’t even get you nominated.
And even if you are, there’s a very high chance the Ministry of War will say, ‘Ah, this can be covered with a Order of Military rit,’ and cut you off.
But I’ve received that dal not once, but twice. To be honest, both tis, I questioned whether my actions were worthy of such an honor. But what could I do?
When the Ministry of War and the Imperial Family say, “Take it,” you better accept it quickly, or it feels like you’re committing a grave sin.
Next, there are several other things.
I was the first Imperial citizen to receive a dal from those haughty elves. I wielded the sword of one of the Twelve Knights of Lasker.
Oh, and there was that ti I split a rock and found a lost sacred relic of the Church. Let’s add that too.
‘That’s enough for now… hmm. Next would be… that, right?’
I’ll be rembered as the guy who frequented the Crown Prince’s Palace since he was a re noble’s son.
Yes, that’s probably how it’ll be recorded.
In fact, even today, the Crown Prince summoned , forcing to make another appearance at the Imperial Palace.
I’m grateful I wasn’t hit by a gender-bending beam. If that had happened, rumors would have spread throughout the Empire about the Crown Prince being secretly in love with a noble daughter.
[TL/N: 😭}
“Have you arrived, brother-in-law?”
I offer a respectful bow, and the Crown Prince urges to sit down.
He’s family now, but I’m worried that he’s treating too casually.
The Imperial Family should remain a place that all nobles look up to and respect, even if they just sit there and do nothing. If it becos like this, it’ll—
“How did you do on your finals?”
“…That’s a sudden change of topic.”
“But aren’t the final exams just over?”
What a wicked brother-in-law.
Asking soone who just finished exams, ‘Did you do well on the exam?’
That’s sothing even the Geneva Convention prohibits! …Not really? Right. It’s not.
“It seems like just yesterday we were all gathered, watching the New Year’s ceremony as the world was covered in pure white snow. But spring has already passed and sumr has arrived.”
“The weather has gotten quite hot. Even the wind is warm.”
“Ti flies, brother-in-law.”
The Crown Prince keeps laughing, as if sothing is incredibly amusing. I have a rough idea of what it is. I heard the news from my father just yesterday.
“Congratulations.”
“Hmm?”
“On the Crown Princess’s pregnancy.”
“I see your father told you. I was going to make a formal announcent tomorrow.”
Pregnancy.
Yes, my sister is finally having a child. It’s still too small and fragile to be called a life, but it’s definitely my niece or nephew. My niece or nephew has just co into this world!
“You know, brother-in-law, I hope it’s a daughter who resembles the Crown Princess.”
“I would also be delighted to have an Imperial Princess who inherits Your Highness’s wisdom and the Crown Princess’s beauty.”
“Right? So, I’ll be counting on you.”
“Your Highness?”
What does he want to do?
As I blink in confusion, the Crown Prince looks at with an expression that says, ‘You’re asking the obvious.’
“Aren’t you going to the Holy See soon?”
“…Ah.”
“If you have ti there, please offer a prayer to the Light. I pray every day, but I think your prayers might be heard a little more clearly.”
I can sense how much the Crown Prince, my brother-in-law, longs for a daughter.
Besides… that’s right. The finals were so tough that I briefly forgot.
That I’ll soon be officially invited by the Church to visit the Holy See for the Feast of All Saints.
“Please, let there be no incidents this ti. Please!”
How many nightmares have I had since Shulifen said, ‘I think they’ll definitely create a dal nad after you’?
Sothing like, ‘Everyone! The recipient of the Karl Adelheit dal is… Karl Adelheit himself!! Oooooh!’ I think I’ve had that dream nine tis.
Damn it. receiving a dal nad after myself. What could be a more permanent mark on history?
[Translator – Angel Dust]
[Proofreader – Prototype]
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