[Translator - Pot]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
Chapter 72: I’ll Be Seeing You Soon
"Olivier, I’m back!”
“...!”
Olivier turned to with an expression that said he had a lot to say.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, uh… Peter, has everything been alright?”
Olivier tried his best to match my lighthearted tone.
“What could possibly go wrong?”
I grinned.
“And nothing out of the ordinary for you either, right?”
“None at all.”
“That’s a relief.”
I waved at Julia as she passed by.
“Good morning!”
“Huh? Oh, good morning.”
Julia tilted her head, clearly puzzled by my overly cheerful deanor.
She nodded briefly and continued walking, her face saying, Why’s he so excited this early in the day?
“Want a snack?”
“!”
An imaginary exclamation mark seed to pop up over Julia’s head. She quickly dashed back and bit into the wafer I handed her.
“It’s… it’s delicious!”
“Chew it all before you talk.”
“Thank you, Peter.”
After handing her the snack, I waved her off with a smile.
“Hehe.”
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
Olivier remarked.
“Of course.”
We lowered our voices as we headed toward the bedroom.
“So, did you get what you were after?”
“Pretty much.”
“What exactly were you up to?”
Ah, explaining that would take too long. I kept it short.
“I took over an entire organization.”
“...For real?”
Leaving Olivier speechless behind , I knocked on the bedroom door and opened it.
“Well, would you look at this guy.”
There was Peter, fast asleep with drool on the pillow. I kicked him awake.
“Sleeping so comfortably on your own, huh?”
“Ah! You’re back!”
Peter, still half-asleep, rubbed his eyes before jumping up in shock.
“Did… did everything go alright?”
“Well, I had a bit more excitent than you did. You, on the other hand, were sleeping like the world wasn’t ending.”
“Heheh, the pillow was so comfy I just dozed off without realizing it.”
Peter scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“And I call this guy my attendant.”
“Actually, Peter was so worried about you that he stayed up late into the night.”
Olivier ca to his defense.
“Really?”
I turned to Peter, who nodded sheepishly with a blank look on his face.
“That’s right! But, um, how did you know?”
“I heard you rustling about late into the night.”
It seed Olivier hadn’t been sleeping either.
“Wow, you can hear that kind of thing?”
“You must’ve been making quite the ruckus.”
I teased Peter while praising Olivier.
“As expected, you’re outstanding. The only truly dependable man around here is you, Olivier.”
“You flatter .”
“And you, what are you standing there for? Go fetch so clothes.”
“Yes, sir!”
I took off Peter’s clothes and The Mask of Aminicrus at the sa ti. As I transford back, I could feel my perspective shift higher.
“Ah, this is it. The eye level of Peter and .”
After spending an entire night transford, returning to the body of Allenvert was oddly refreshing.
“Young Master.” Olivier addressed .
“Hmm?”
As I enjoyed the elevated perspective, Olivier continued.
“What are your plans for today?”
“Well, first, I’m going to get so more sleep. Tell everyone I’m training. Use that as an excuse to take a rest yourself, Olivier.”
“Ahem. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Co on, take the suggestion when it’s given.”
I set down the snack in its cheap paper wrapping on the floor.
“Later, I’ll be going to the library. If you’ve got things to do, feel free to handle them.”
“For whatr?”
“There’s an old man there who gets bored without .”
I was planning to host a small tea gathering. I’d been on the receiving end of his favors for years, and now that I had so sweets, I figured it was a good ti to repay him.
‘Plus, I’ve got a few questions to ask while I’m at it.’
“Understood.” Olivier nodded.
“By the way, when do you plan to tell about last night’s events?”
“Oh, that.”
I smirked at Olivier’s face, practically dying of curiosity.
“I’ll tell you if I can’t fall asleep later.”
***
Ludan set down a well-steeped cup of tea in front of an unexpected visitor.
“Please, have so.”
“Ah, thank you.”
For so reason, the man before him exuded a faint presence—one so subtle that it was difficult to ignore.
‘A man like a shadow.’
Ludan thought.
That was the best way he could describe him.
“It’s been a while.” the man said, flashing a harmless smile.
‘This…’
He had always been soone without a clear title. Perhaps because of this, or for so other reason, his presence felt as fleeting as a ghost’s.
But Ludan knew one thing for sure: whenever this man appeared within the castle walls, sothing significant always seed to follow.
‘I don’t even know this man’s na.’
Ludan didn’t know if he was a collateral relative, a vassal from sowhere, or a retainer employed in recent years.
He didn’t even know if the man served under the head of Clan or the council of elders.
All he knew was that this mysterious figure always left an impression—and a wake of events behind him.
Above all, Ludan's instincts were warning him: It’s best not to take too much interest in this man.
However—
“The reason I’ve co today is to ask a few questions about Young Master Allenvert.”
This changed everything.
Ludan cleared his throat and asked.
“And what, specifically, might that be about?”
Detecting the subtle wariness and concern in Ludan’s voice, the man softened his tone further.
“I have recently been appointed as Young Master Allenvert’s swordsmanship instructor by order of His Grace, the Duke.”
“A swordsmanship instructor, you say?”
Ludan’s eyebrows twitched.
“Ah, of course, I won’t only be teaching swordsmanship but also other disciplines of martial arts. However, that’s not all there is to it.”
“What more is there, then?”
“As you know, Sir Ludan, the direct descendants of the Grunewald Clan undergo various stages of verification.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“And those processes are conducted under the supervision of the Clan head and the council of elders.”
The man gestured toward himself.
“I am essentially a proxy who oversees those evaluations.”
“…That is quite the significant responsibility.”
“Ha ha.”
The man scratched his head with an awkward smile, but Ludan couldn’t help but suspect that even this gesture was a carefully calculated performance.
“To summarize, my role is to teach martial arts, including swordsmanship and mana cultivation techniques, while also cultivating governance skills, knowledge, and wisdom. Essentially, I am tasked with ensuring that Young Master Allenvert passes all the evaluations without issue before his coming-of-age ceremony in a year. I am both his teacher and an examiner responsible for fair judgnt throughout the process.”
What on earth was this man’s true identity, that such an imnse responsibility had been entrusted to him by the Clan head?
“As you may have guessed, Sir Ludan, it was never originally intended for to beco Young Master Allenvert’s instructor.”
“What do you an by that…?”
The man’s gaze sharpened.
“His actions after awakening from his illness have, in a way, rewritten his fate.”
Ludan unconsciously nodded. After all, wasn’t he the very first to witness how Allenvert seed not just changed, but entirely reborn?
“Before eting Young Master Allenvert in person, I wanted to gather so information and testimony on my own.”
Ludan furrowed his brow.
“Is that truly necessary?”
“You of all people would understand, Sir Ludan—ignorance is weakness.”
The man’s tone was resolute.
“If you don’t know soone well, you’ll inevitably be led astray by them. This is especially true when dealing with soone like Young Master Allenvert.”
The more Ludan thought about it, the stranger the man’s words felt.
Why would a teacher show such extre caution toward a student they hadn’t even t yet?
Was this simply part of his role as an examiner? But as far as Ludan knew, this wasn’t the case for the other heirs.
“Sir Ludan.”
Before his thoughts could wander further, the man’s low voice brought him back.
“You were there on the day Young Master Allenvert first awoke, weren’t you?”
“Yes, I was.”
“I heard there were signs of amnesia. Is that true?”
“It is indeed. But why…?”
“It’s just that there’s sothing about that detail that doesn’t sit well with .”
"What do you an by 'unsettling'?"
The man took a mont, sipping his bitter tea before responding.
"When soone loses their mory, it’s not just about forgetting what they ate yesterday. Their personality, wisdom, values, and even goals can undergo a complete transformation."
"…"
"Yet when I examine Young Master Allenvert’s actions, they consistently exhibit flawless judgnt and bold decisiveness. He humbled Young Master Barclava and Young Master Sorset, dueled with Keseg, and even gained Young Lady Ulbhild’s favor, earning the privilege of learning martial arts from her. Most notably—"
At this point, the faint, dry smile that appeared on his lips made Ludan flinch.
"—he stood his ground against Young Master Verdzig himself. That is not sothing just anyone can do."
Despite the unease he felt toward this man, Ludan couldn’t disagree.
After all, who could deny that Verdzig Grunewald was a man of power and cunning, reminiscent of the Clan head’s younger days?
"Young Master Allenvert has boldly declared his intent to compete in the succession race. However, I’ve never heard of soone recovering from amnesia and displaying such extraordinary improvents."
The man idly tapped his teaspoon like a pen, as if scribbling invisible thoughts in the air—a habit of his when organizing his mind.
"When I first heard the stories, I thought perhaps Young Master Allenvert had been preparing for this mont all along, deliberately retreating into obscurity to plan his current course of action."
Ludan firmly shook his head, rejecting the theory he had heard countless tis from others who ca to him.
"Frankly, I believe what has been revealed is the truth."
Or perhaps, Ludan thought to himself, he simply didn’t want to believe that Allenvert had deceived even him with a calculated façade.
"Ah, so that’s your perspective."
The man replied with a smile. Was there a trace of cynicism in it? Perhaps it was over-interpretation.
"If only everything that was revealed were truly the whole truth, what a simpler world this would be."
The weight behind those words silenced Ludan.
"Is that all you wanted to say?"
"For now, yes. I simply wished to hear your thoughts."
With that, the man stood up, his expression showing little attachnt to the conversation.
"Thank you for the tea. I’ll take my leave."
"…Please take good care of Young Master Allenvert."
"I’ll do my best."
As he turned and exited the library, his expression grew cold once again.
‘Head Butler and the old librarian react the sa way. Thorough deception? Or has he truly changed?’
The logical conclusion was that all of this was part of Allenvert’s calculated plans.
But the man knew better than most that much of life existed in the gray area between order and chaos.
‘Let’s entertain the idea that, as these naive old n believes, Allenvert completely changed after his fever.’
It was a bold and improbable theory, but it explained more than one might expect.
‘…It’s almost as if another soul has taken residence within him.’
Yet, as far as he knew, no mage—no matter how skilled—could achieve such a feat.
‘Sotis the truth of a seemingly complex matter is surprisingly simple.’
Putting aside common sense and prejudice for a mont, he reevaluated Allenvert’s actions.
‘Terrifying. Right after losing all mories, he gathered information and established his position so quickly?’
And that wasn’t all.
‘He demonstrated his extraordinary martial talent in the most dramatic way possible, ensuring everyone in the duchy took notice.’
His duels with Barclava and Keseg showcased not only his natural aptitude but also his uncanny ability to command attention.
He had captivated Lady Ulbhild, expertly maneuvered through the intricate dynamics between his siblings, and skillfully distinguished allies from foes.
‘If it weren’t for Verdzig, the heir to the Grunewald Clan might already have been him.’
The man, reflecting on the series of events that had unfolded in his absence, allowed himself a small chuckle.
‘Fascinating. Truly fascinating.’
Indeed, the Clan head’s judgnt had been spot on.
For the first ti, he fully understood why he had been tasked with closely observing Allenvert.
‘But there’s just one thing I can’t quite grasp.’
...What exactly was Allenvert trying to achieve by going to the harbor? Especially under the obvious watch of the Royal Guards and the Head Butler?
If his intent had been to forge connections with the underworld in such a conspicuous manner, it would have been an astonishingly foolish move.
‘And yet, that smuggler Kimret disappeared without a trace.’
There had been no sightings of him at the Nasrak Inn, despite earlier reports.
Had the man sensed the rising tension and gone into hiding? Or...
‘Perhaps soone acted quickly and already abducted him.’
In either case, Allenvert had gained nothing tangible from that encounter.
Still...
His behavior was so erratic that his intentions and goals were hard to grasp. Could soone really change this much, even such a complete personality change?
‘There’s only so much I can deduce from afar. The rest will have to be clarified in person.’
The man smiled, feeling a rare sense of intellectual excitent.
‘I’ll be seeing you soon, Young Master Allenvert.’
[Translator - Pot]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
Reviews
All reviews (0)