《The Heavily Armoured Noble Girl Monette: How To Break a Curse You Don't Remember Casting》


 Chapter 1

    T/N:


    So Saki¡¯s is one of my favourite shoujo web novels ¨C it¡¯s aedy about a girl who tries to be a noble girl viiness, but fails miserably and only ends up bing closer friends with the protagonist, much to her ire. It¡¯s as funny as it sounds.


    I noticed that Saki had written a number of other stories, so I decided to check them out. I¡¯m nning to trante the first few chapters of the stories with summaries that interest me and I might pick one up permanently if I still like it at the end of the chapters.


    This will not affect my Destruction g Otome release schedule.


    Chapter 1: Armoured Girl


    ¡°As if I¡¯d marry an ugly woman like you!¡±


    Those were the first words he uttered the first time Mte Idira met him face-to-face.


    Those were also thest words she heard from him.


    What ugly words. To make things worse, those words were uttered by her fianc¨¦, Alexis Radoll. Mte, still young, was very hurt by his words ¨C and before the wound could heal, the very next day, she despaired when she learned that her younger sister had be his fianc¨¦e instead. She began to fear the gaze of others since she didn¡¯t know what part of her was ugly. And fearing their mockery of her ugliness, she stopped appearing in front of others...


    And eventually, she decided to wear iron armour from the top of her head to the tip of her toes.


    Mte looks up at the sound of the birds chirping. A blue sky peeks out from behind tree leaves criss-crossing above her. Every so often sunlight brightly shines through the canopy, but Mte just keeps looking upwards without closing or squinting her eyes.


    It¡¯s bright enough that it would normally hurt people¡¯s eyes... normally.


    ¡°I nned to get back before the sun rose...¡±


    After muttering that she stayed too long, Mte starts walking again.


    Enough food supplies tost her a week are in the paper bag she holds with both hands. She bought food that wouldst for a while, but it¡¯s probably still not sanitary to walk for many hours in sunlight holding the bag. Most importantly, if sunlight hit it for too long, it would begin to hold in heat... and by ¡®it¡¯, she meant the armour.


    Wanting to get back quickly, Mte speeds up a little. In this quiet forest where the chirping of birds echoes, her iron armour tters loudly...


    She¡¯s covered from head to toe ¨C so naturally, her fingertips are too. She covers her entire body with armour. A long while back she started to be known as the ¡®Heavily Armoured Noble Girl¡¯, or just the ¡®Armoured Girl¡¯ for short. What an ironic name. But it¡¯s true that given how she hid not only her face, but every inch of her skin, there was no way to describe her but ¡®heavily armoured¡¯. It¡¯s also true that she was a noble girl. Though naturally, given that Mte was living alone deep in the forest in the old castle, she didn¡¯t really benefit from her nobility. It¡¯s been a long time since she was a noble¡¯s daughter.


    And so that nickname of hers was terribly ironic, but Mte had no interest in correcting the name or in tracking down the person who thought it up and berating them. Her reasoning is probably something like this: They can say what they want, I only talk with people once a week to buy food anyways.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got bread, jam, and meat jerky. Maybe next week I¡¯ll bring them some wine to make some more money.¡±


    Reaching the old castle in the forest, Mte spreads out her purchases on a table. As she confirms that she hasn¡¯t forgotten to buy anything, she takes off her helmet. She lets out a rather deep sigh of relief as her navy blue hair is freed.


    It¡¯s incredibly tiring for Mte to go shopping in the nearest city district once a week. It takes several hours to reach the district from the old castle ¨C it¡¯s a long journey as it is, but given that she wears a full set of armour, it¡¯s naturally impossible for her not to get tired. To make things worse, once she reaches the district obviously there are people around, and she always breaks out in a cold sweat at the idea that they look down at her even though she¡¯s covered in iron.


    She thinks that she hears a young boy saying ¡®How ugly,¡¯ but even when she epts that those words are just an auditory hallucination, she hears people actually saying ¡®Armoured Girl¡¯ behind her back. She¡¯s too afraid to verify whether those mocking voices she hears is real or not.


    The only thing Mte can do is to take shallow breaths in her helmet and quickly finish up her shopping. Then she runs away to the forest, nking all the way.


    In direct contrast to the city, the only person in this old castle is Mte. Naturally, no one sees her and no one speaks. She even has animal repent set up.


    How rxing ¨C even if she takes off her helmet and the rest of her armour, no one sees her. It would be so nice if she could live in this old castle for the rest of her life. But in order to live, she needs food. She could make do if all she needed was vegetables, but she can¡¯t make goods like bread and other processed food by herself. In order to buy food like that she needs to go to the city...


    ¡°Should I pay them to deliver it here...? But I don¡¯t want people toe here too... Hm?¡±


    Mte goes quiet at the sudden sound of other people¡¯s voices. She sneaks up to the old castle¡¯s entranceway. People are talking on the other side of the door. From their voices, it¡¯s two men... as she was listening closely to verify that, they knock on the door. In a panic, she first puts on the helmet before putting on the rest of the armour that had been left outside. She twirls around in front of a mirror to make sure that no skin is visible.


    Either they had followed her in some kind of fascination with the Armoured Girl, or they got lost in the forest and want help.


    They¡¯re probably not salespeople ¨C she doubts that anyone woulde this far just for that. Maybe she forgot her change when she bought her bread, and a nice clerk came to return ¨C nah, no way. If something like that happened, they¡¯d probably want a tip that was greater than the change she forgot.


    As she muses, she cautiously reaches a hand out to the doorknob before slowly unlocking the door...


    Her eyes widen at the person standing on the other side.


    A young man with dark brown eyes and hair and sharp features. He¡¯s wearing a ratty robe and is putting up his hood in an attempt to hide, but he can¡¯t hide the elegance that seeps through what little that can be seen. The moment Mte sees the young man, a young boy¡¯s words echo clearly in her mind, the memories returning.


    As if I¡¯d marry an ugly woman like you!


    ... and so, she ms the door back closed.


    She ms it so hard that the door might¡¯ve warped. So hard that it may have hit the noses of him and hispanion...


    ... she hears a strangled cry, so it¡¯s possible that she actually hit one of them.


    Humans are pretty good at bouncing back from things, so Mte returns to normal soon after mming the door shut. She¡¯s mastered repressing her unconscious mind. But the two on the other side of the door don¡¯t seem to want to go home just because of what she did. They begin to bang on the door, louder than before.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡°Mte, it¡¯s you right!? Please open up!¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll have some bread.¡±


    ¡°Lady Mte, please, just lend us a small amount of your time!¡±


    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll brew some tea. Oh, I had some new tea leaves ¨C I should try them out.¡±


    ¡°I know that you resent me, but Mte ¨C wolves! Oh no, Percival, wolves!¡±


    ¡°Maybe I should have some pastries first... wolves?¡±


    ¡°Lady Mte! Forget about talking, please just give us shelter!¡±


    They begin screaming in between calling out her name as they bang on the door.


    ¡°I suppose my animal repellent wore off,¡± says Mte, tilting her head to the side.


    ...Though, since she¡¯s wearing an iron helmet, all that can be observed from the outside is a grinding noise and a slight tremble.


    Even as she tilts her head, she reluctantly puts her hand on the doorknob. She really doesn¡¯t want to let them in, but at the same time, she doesn¡¯t want them to be killed and eaten right on her doorstep. She wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep if they were eaten as they screamed and panicked.


    And so, with no other choice, she opens the door. The two men run inside in a panic. She ms the door closed so the wolves can¡¯t get in.


    It looks like they were really panicked ¨C though, that¡¯s a pretty normal reaction to wolves closing in ¨C so the two of them were breathing shallowly and making sure that they were both alright. They then look up.


    That elegant and intelligent face reminds Mte of his young self... though she barely remembers him from back then anymore. Mte lowers her head. Though she¡¯s covered head to toe in armour and living in a forest, she has to lower her head to him.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Prince Alexis,¡± says Mte.


    Her iron armour makes a grim grinding sound as her head lowers.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2: The Unlucky Prince


    Alexis Radoll is the First Prince of this country who lived a blessed, easy life anyone would envy up until one year ago. With his dark brown eyes, tall height, and limber hands and legs, he was handsome enough that any woman would let out a soft breath in desire at the sight of him. He was also talented as royalty ¨C he aggressively threw himself into his studies of subjects he needed to know in order to ascend the throne.


    He was earnest, hardworking, and easy to get along with. He would treat people equally in good faith while remaining as dignified as you would expect royalty to be. He was an ideal prince ¨C loved by the people, held dear by his retainers. Everyone dreamed of him ascending the throne and talked about how the future of the kingdom was secure.


    ... Up until one year ago.


    Now, for some reason or another, his stable life had made a 180 and was filled with bad luck. No, ¡°filled with bad luck¡± is putting it too lightly. ¡°Rife with bad luck¡± would be more like it. After all, it¡¯s just that horrible.


    Running a mysterious fever or getting mysterious injuries became an everyday urrence. When he tries to sleep, something or someone always gets in the way and he ends up unable to rest. It¡¯s taking Alexis everything he has just to get through each day ¨C no matter how talented he is, it¡¯s natural that his concentration would waver and he would start making mistakes.


    To make things worse, terrible rumours began to spread ¨C about how he¡¯s using the country¡¯s funds for his personal use, how he¡¯s taking bribes to unfairly promote his subordinates, and so on. The people and his retainers began to flip their view of him. Even though they¡¯re ridiculous rumours with no shred of truth to them, everyone unanimously believes them for some reason.


    Eventually, people started saying that he got some random woman pregnant and so he has a bastard child ¨C and even that he was keeping his fianc¨¦e¡¯s mouth shut about this through violence.


    Why, the rumours grew so out of proportion it¡¯s as if they managed to escape the atmosphere and call over their friends from Bad Luck.


    If it had just been one or two things, Mte would¡¯ve probably just said ¡°Serves you right.¡± But hearing this much made even Mte do nothing but knit her brows in her helmet.


    ¡°You have no leads on where these rumours may being from?¡±


    ¡°Yes, not one.¡±


    ¡°That story about a bastard child ¨C could it be because you frequented the red-light district or had some kind of thoughtless love affair in the past?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never done anything like that, absolutely not even once. If you were talking about how I can make women fall for me just by making eye contact it would be a different story, but I have no experience with everything you mentioned.¡±


    ¡°I see, you¡¯re pure then,¡± shoots Mte, sugar-coating the fact that he¡¯s a virgin, ¡°Do you have any other ideas then?¡±


    ¡°So then...¡± someone cuts in.


    Mte turns her attention towards the new voice. It¡¯s the man who came in with Alexis. He¡¯s taller than Alexis and is sturdily built. He¡¯s blond-haired and has a severe expression. His sharp green eyes give him an intimidating air. From his casual-looking clothing and sword at his hip, he¡¯s probably Alexis¡¯ bodyguard.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Mte asks him bluntly after staring at him for a bit.


    It can¡¯t be helped if she¡¯s a teensy tiny bit rude. They¡¯re the ones that forced themselves in her home ¨C she has no responsibility to be nice to them. Really, they¡¯re all being rather ill-mannered with each other.


    ¡°Percival. Percival Galette. I work as the prince¡¯s bodyguard.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Percival. I see. Very well, continue.¡±


    ¡°The way you talk really gets on my nerves.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so very sorry. I¡¯m just a little irritated because I¡¯m being forced to wee some ill-mannered visitors without any advance notice.¡±


    ¡°Says the lump of iron.¡±


    Percival res intently at Mte. Mte res right back.


    Of course, Mte¡¯s face is hidden by her helmet, and her helmet is made so even if she can see others, they can¡¯t see her eyes. ring is quite literally useless. She¡¯s a lump of iron, just like he says.


    After the sturdy man and the lump of iron re at each other for a while, Alexis, reaching the end of his patience, sighs and tries to stop them.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you had enough...?¡±


    Then his chair copses.


    It copsed rather dramatically, making a very loud noise as it crashed down.


    ¡°Prince Alexis?!¡±


    ¡°Milord, are you alright?!¡±


    Panicked, the two of them run up to Alexis, who¡¯s sitting on the ground on top of the copsed chair. He waves them away, saying that he¡¯s okay... the very next moment, tea spills over his head. His teacup had been knocked over when the table had tilted thanks to the shock of his chair falling to pieces.


    What a beautiful sequence of events.


    ¡°Ooh,bo attack,¡± murmurs Mte in spite of herself.


    ¡°Well, one problem¡¯s been dealt with.¡±


    ¡°More importantly, could you fix the bathroom? Hot water stoppeding out of the taps after Prince Alexis used it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll fix itself once we leave.¡±


    ¡°Get out, you pair of pests!¡±


    Ignoring Mte¡¯s angry yells, Percival and Alexis start talking to each other. At their reaction, Mte doesn¡¯t really feel like yelling at them anymore.


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re cursed?¡± Mte says half-ironically, unable to resist taking onest jab.


    She then decides to get the conversation back on topic... but instead, her eyes widen in her helmet. Alexis and Percival are staring at her. Though she¡¯s wearing iron armour, it doesn¡¯t feel good to be the centre of attention. Sweat beads on her forehead. Dark brown eyes and green eyes. Her heart constricts in pain at their direct gaze ¨C it¡¯s like they¡¯re seeing right through the armour.


    ¡°W ¨C What is it?¡± Mte asks, voice trembling. But since her voice echoes in the armour and can¡¯t be heard well, they probably won¡¯t notice.


    ¡°Lady Mte, you just said that Prince Alexis was cursed, did you not?¡±


    ¡°Y ¨C yes, I did. What of it?¡±


    ¡°Who do you think cursed him?¡±


    ¡°Well, I hadn¡¯t thought that far,¡± says Mte.


    Alexis rises forcefully with a tter, and with that force, takes her hand ¨C to be precise, her armoured gauntlet ¨C in his. Mte¡¯s next words ¨C ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± ¨C are swallowed down at Alexis¡¯ actions.


    He¡¯s strong... maybe. She unfortunately can¡¯t really tell through the armour. But his serious expression has strength in it.


    ¡°Mte, so you really did hold a grudge!¡±


    ¡°Prince Alexis?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry about what I did back then. I¡¯ll do anything to make it up to you. So please...¡±


    ¡°So please?¡±


    ¡°Please break this curse!¡± pleads Alexis, his voice almost a scream.


    Mte tilts her head to the side, her armour making a grinding noise.


    Alexis Radoll has this to say.


    I hurt Mte in the past. I hear that she¡¯s cooped up in the old castle, researching the House of Idira¡¯s ancient magic. I¡¯m sure that she still holds a grudge against me and cast this curse on me when she saw her chance! That¡¯s what put me in this sorry state!


    Percival Galette has this to say.


    Unfortunately I didn¡¯t witness their first meeting myself, but I can¡¯t deny that milord¡¯s words were cruel. That¡¯s why I¡¯m sure that Lady Mte cast a curse on Prince Alexis because she held a grudge against him. I¡¯m the only retainer milord has left after his reputation fell to tatters. We need to stop Mte before things get any worse!


    Mte Idira has this to say.


    You¡¯repletely off the mark so please hurry up and go home.


    Naturally they wouldn¡¯t be able to carry on a decent conversation in a situation like this. ¡°You cursed me!¡± ¨C ¡°No I didn¡¯t.¡± ¨C ¡°Please forgive me.¡± ¨C ¡°Please don¡¯t break the chair,¡±... the conversation continued in this fashion, and before anyone knew it, the sun had set.


    Mte let out a heavy sigh when she was forced to split half of her weekly food supplies with the two of them for their dinner.


    T/N:


    One line that was... fun...tranting was this:


    ‡gÔ’¤Ëβ¥Ó¥ì¤É¤³¤í¤«±³¥Ó¥ìÐØ¥Ó¥ì¤Þ¤Ç¤Ä¤¤¤Æ¡¢²»ß\¤Îº£¤ò¤Õ¤ï¤Õ¤ïÓ¾¤¤¤ÇÖÙég¤òßB¤ì¤Æ¤­¤¿¤«¤Î¤è¤¦¤Ç¤Ï¤Ê¤¤¤«¡£


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Directly tranted, it would be something like ¡°The rumours grew not only casual fins, but also dorsal and pectoral fins ¨C as if it began swimming in the sea of bad luck and brought along its friends.¡±


    In Japanese, the phrase β¥Ó¥ì¤¬¸¶¤¯ (lit. growing fins) roughly means to grow even bigger and more fanciful than the truth. β¥Ó¥ìis a type of fin, so the author is making a y on that by saying that the rumours not only grew this type of fin, but also other types of fins, allowing it to swim in the sea of ¡®bad luck¡¯ like a fish.


    I chose to trante this as ¡°The rumours grew so out of proportion it¡¯s as if they managed to escape the atmosphere and call over their friends from Bad Luck,¡± because I figured that evoking the imagery that the rumours grew unbelievably big enough that they could contact their ¡®friends¡¯ from a fantastical location was simr enough to the original metaphor.


    reblogged this from and added:

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3: The Armoured Girl and Her Friends from the Ceiling


    The old castle Mte lives in may seem like it¡¯s deteriorating given that no one¡¯s cared for it in a while, but it¡¯s still a well-constructed building.


    It¡¯s pretty convenient to use since there¡¯s lots of space, and as it is an old castle, it has a unique atmosphere thanks to its olden feel. At night, you can see a night sky full of stars from the balcony, and in the morning, a refreshing breeze carries along the scent of the forest. If the path to the castle was properly maintained and the inside was cleaned up, it would no doubt be a fancy inn.


    Mte was having dinner with Alexis and Percival in one such room of this castle, arge hall.


    Naturally, her armour is still on. Obviously, her face is covered by her helmet as well. Her mouth is all properly covered up by iron, but she¡¯s still eating in a dispassionate manner.


    ¡°... Lady Mte, how do you work?¡± says Percival, looking at her suspiciously.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°How does your body work?¡±


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡°I will not answer any questions pertaining to sex.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    At Mte¡¯s response, Percival¡¯s brow furrows. It¡¯s obviously an expression of confusion, but Mte just cocks her head to the side with a grind. She doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s asking.


    Regardless, Mte maniptes a fork with a silver gauntlet-d hand and brings a mouthful-sized piece of meat to her mouth after dipping it in sauce. After she fills her mouth with the food, Percival and Alexis seem to be staring at her.


    She doesn¡¯t understand them at all. It doesn¡¯t feel good to be stared at. Her hand naturally begins to tremble ¨C the trembles reverberate through the gauntlet to the fork, which begins to slightly tap against the te, making a tapping sound.


    ¡°It is rude to stare at someone while they¡¯re eating.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so very sorry. It¡¯s just that the only thing I saw was a bizarre spectacle ¨C a lump of iron absorbing food,¡± says Percival tly.


    Alexis, who eats next to him, lets out a sigh at his words. He internallyments that his underling and the noble girl who resents him don¡¯t get along well.


    ¡°Mte, I want to ask you how you¡¯re eating,¡± he says, as if he¡¯s acting as a mediator.


    ¡°How I¡¯m eating?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We cannot see your mouth at all ¨C and yet you¡¯re eating normally.¡±


    At Alexis¡¯ exnation of what they found strange, Mte nods in understanding. So that was what they meant, she thinks.


    It¡¯s true that it can¡¯t be helped if they think it¡¯s strange that her food is disappearing even though they can¡¯t see her mouth at all. As Mte barely ever eats in front of others ¨C in fact, she hasn¡¯t for years ¨C she forgot about how bizarre she looks when she eats.


    ¡°My armour was made in a special way. And I¡¯ve also cast magic so others can¡¯t see.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very thorough,¡± notes Alexis. His voice is somewhat subdued, almost like he feels bad.


    He probably thinks himself responsible for making Mte go this far. So in front of her thoroughly hidden appearance, he probably feels guilty.


    Mte feels no need to make him feel better. She returns to her meal. She has no desire to tell him not to worry about it and saying that it isn¡¯t his fault would be a lie.


    So as Mte continues eating, ignoring Alexis¡¯ dispirited state. Perhaps worrying about Alexis¡¯ mood, Percival speaks up and changes the subject.


    ¡°Are there no maids in this castle?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there are no maids or even gardeners. Naturally, no guards too.¡±


    ¡°There really is no one but you, Lady Mte.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m all alone. asionally people who are lost in the forest stay the night, but that only maybe happens once a month at most.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Oh, but my friends oftene over to hang out,¡± says Mte, ncing up as if she had just suddenly remembered this fact.


    ¡°Friends?¡± Percival and Alexis say in unison at the unexpected statement.


    Apparently ites as a shock to them that an armoured girl cooped away in the old castle has friends. Their reaction does make her fairly angry, but she tells herself that she won¡¯tin, calming herself down... then at the soft scuttling noise she hears from the ceiling, she looks up.


    Speaking of the devil, it looks like one of her friends has arrived.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re here already, I¡¯ll introduce you,¡± says Mte, extending a hand upwards with an open palm. It¡¯s almost as if she¡¯s introducing someone on the ceiling.


    But obviously, no one is there. Percival and Alexis look confused.


    At that moment, a single spider smoothly descends down from the ceiling.


    ¡°This is my friend Robertson.¡±


    The instant she introduces him, a shrill scream echoes through the hall. Alexis stands up, looking pale, and Percival draws the sword at his hip.


    The two had be defensive in a moment. Mte nces between them and Robertson, making a nking noise as she does. The way her iron helmet turns from left to right at an even tempo makes for a rather surreal sight, but sadly no one sees it.


    ¡°What is it? You don¡¯t like spiders?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a s ¨C spider... A poisonous spider!¡±


    ¡°How rude. Robertson is not poisonous. Right?¡± says Mte, addressing Robertson. At her words, he slightly sways at his stationary position at a reasonable height.


    A plump body and eight legs ¨C he¡¯s most definitely a spider. It¡¯s true that his appearance may be frightening, but he¡¯s not poisonous.


    When Mte makes to tell the two of them that he poses no danger because of that, a second spider smoothly descends down from the ceiling.


    ¡°A friend of yours, Robertson? Pink and yellow stripes ¨C what a fashionable friend you have.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obviously a colour scheme that means that it¡¯s poisonous!¡±


    ¡°How rude, Prince Alexis. No matter how fashionable its colours may be, that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s poisonous... wait, it is? It is? Apparently it is poisonous.¡±


    ¡°Lady Mte, please go take that spider somewhere else! The prince will be bitten!¡±


    ¡°Percival, you¡¯re being rude as well. No matter how fashionable its colours may be and no matter that it¡¯s poisonous, that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s going to bite... oh, it is. It is going to bite. Oh I see,¡± Mte says, now talking with Robertson and his fashionable friend.


    Hearing that, Alexis lets out a scream and Percival readies his sword with an even grimmer expression than before. The atmosphere from back when they were having dinner has disappeared.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It looks like it doesn¡¯t really feel like biting right now,¡± says Mte, trying to calm them down.


    But Alexis, who has evacuated to the table, just shakes his head vigorously, still looking pale.


    ¡°Listen to me carefully Mte, my bad luck is out of this world...¡±


    ¡°Is that so.¡±


    ¡°In this past year, I¡¯ve been bitten by non-lethal poisonous creatures once every three days!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s impressive that you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    He¡¯s pretty tough despite his bad luck.


    Even as Mte admires his toughness, she nces at Robertson and his fashionable friend. They had descended down from the ceiling with their silk and were still stationary midair.


    At this rate, dinner would be put permanently on hold.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Robertson, but could you and your friend go to the basement today?¡± asks Mte apologetically, lowering her head.


    Understanding her words, Robertson and his fashionable friend smoothly return to the ceiling, climbing up their threads. Then they scuttle over the ceiling and the wall to leave the hall. They¡¯ve probably headed to the basement. Mte mentally apologizes to them for having to go to the basement even though they came all the way to the castle. She hears Alexis and Percival¡¯s relieved voices as they think that the danger has passed.


    ¡°If only Prince Alexis and Percival went to the basement instead,¡± she mutters unthinkingly in her helmet.


    ¡°I can hear you, you iron lump,¡± a resentful voice shoots back.


    said: Love this story <3>

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4: A Good Luck Charm, Water, and a Cute Kitty


    They ate not only her dinner, but dessert as well. Mte was sick of them already. What an unruly, noisy meal. In the middle of the meal, Robertson and his fashionable friend who wanted to bite someone came to visit, and when Alexis screamed and jumped up, his chair broke... calling it ¡®lively¡¯ would be a severe understatement. What a terrible experience.


    ... On a side note, Mte had tried her best to urge Robertson¡¯s fashionable friend to bite them.


    ¡°Just bite them, Robertson¡¯s fashionable friend! Right there! Go!¡± she had said.


    But sadly Robertson¡¯s fashionable friend had been satisfied with just capturing some bugs flying around. What a gentle spider. It¡¯s enough to make her want to literally shove the fashionable friend in Percival¡¯s face to show him just how much better it ispared to him... especially if some of its poison rubbed off on him while the friend was brushing against his face. After all, Percival had red at it very viciously...


    After that dinner is finished and Mte is able to take a breather, she ces a single cup on the table. It is apletely ordinary cup, half-filled with clear water.


    ¡°Lady Mte, what is this?¡±


    ¡°I thought that I might investigate whether you¡¯re truly cursed or simply a scummy bastard who¡¯s really unlucky.¡±


    ¡°Mte, I apologize for destroying the chair, but could you phrase things a bit nicer?¡±


    Ignoring Alexis¡¯ pained plea, Mte takes out a piece of paper and a pen.


    It¡¯s a piece of parchment cut down to the size of a palm. The pen appears to be specially made as well. Small letters are carved onto its fat body and its tip is pitch ck, made from special ingredients. It¡¯s clear just from its appearance that it is not a normal pen. Alexis and Percival stare in its strangeness.


    Percival in particr looks rather cautious. After passing his eyes over the parchment and the pen, he turns his gaze back towards Mte. His teal eyes seem to ask Mte what she ns to do with these items.


    ¡°I will create a protective charm.¡±


    ¡°A protective charm?¡±


    ¡°This pen¡¯s ink has been mixed with my blood. I will draw a spell on this paper with it.¡±


    Mte puts her pen on the paper. The blood-mixed ink sinks into the parchment. While it is ck, it can seem red depending on the lighting. It¡¯s a colour that may seem sinister to some.


    As Mte slides the pen across the parchment as she draws, Percival tilts his head to the side distrustfully.


    ¡°All I see is a drawing of some ugly creature, but is it some kind of special writing?¡±


    ¡°Amateurs will notprehend the appeal of this adorable kitty.¡±


    ¡°... Lady Mte, have you perhaps been afflicted with a curse that left you unable to draw?¡±


    ¡°... But Percival, it seems that you have been afflicted with a curse that stole your manners away.¡±


    ¡°Both of you, I¡¯m begging you, don¡¯t fight.¡±


    Alexis stops the two of them right before they begin to fight. In her helmet, Mte clicks her tongue and res at Percival. Naturally, since she¡¯s ring in her helmet her gaze doesn¡¯t reach him, but coincidentally he happens to be ring at her too, his teal eyes looking sharp.


    What an infuriating man. If only both of them were cursed... but even as she muses about that, she continues to slide her pen across the parchment.


    And so, her drawing of an adorable kitty ispleted. If there were a third party here, they would surely praise her for how adorable and lovely it was, for how it looked like it were actually living. Either that, or they would rmend her a good psychiatric hospital.


    Anyways, she ces this protective charm on top of the cup and takes a deep breath in her helmet.


    The House of Idira has long since lost their right to call themselves witches. Currently, she has no living rtives that can use magic.


    Thus, Mte learned magic by fumbling her way through the documents that had survived the years. She didn¡¯t know whether she had any talent, but luckily she had plenty of time.


    Recalling the days she spent learning magic, she slowly lets out the air in her lungs... then murmurs:


    ¡°Search.¡±


    This simple word is naturally a spell that activates magic.


    At that moment, the parchment on top of the cup makes a popping noise and burns up, as if it were given an order.


    It twisted around as it dissipated, disappearing in an instant. All that was left was the cup, filled with clear water, just like before. The cup held no traces of ash nor smoke ¨C the water wasn¡¯t even rippling.


    ¡°Wh ¨C what was that!?¡±


    ¡°That was magic. Very well then Prince Alexis, please drink this.¡±


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡°... I¡¯m sorry Mte, I may be a little scared after all.¡±


    ¡°Milord, if you drink water that has a drawing of that cursed creature in it, you¡¯ll lose the ability to draw.¡±


    ¡°It was an adorable kitty! Fine, then I¡¯ll drink it first. Just watch.¡±


    Mte takes the cup in her hand and drinks it with no hesitation. Naturally, it has no taste or smell. It¡¯s just water. She doesn¡¯t feel strange after swallowing it either. After all, Mte had gone herself to draw it from a well just beforehand.


    She drinks a mouthful to prove that, then returns the cup to the table.


    ¡°See,¡± she says, shrugging.


    ... Though her armour did nothing but move with a grinding sound so she¡¯s not sure whether they could tell that she was shrugging.


    ¡°It¡¯s not harmful, it¡¯s 100% authentic water.¡±


    ¡°... Very well then, I¡¯ll drink it first.¡±


    Is he the Prince¡¯s food taster or something? Percival reaches out to the cup.


    ¡°Go on, feel free,¡± she urges, even as she thinks that they¡¯re being terribly suspicious.


    Percival holds the water in his mouth with a terribly serious expression, as if he¡¯s testing whether there¡¯s any strange tastes. Finally, he swallows the water with a gulp.


    ¡°... It¡¯s true, it¡¯s just water.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been saying. Go on, here you go, it¡¯s your turn, Prince Alexis.¡±


    ¡°Y ¨C yeah...¡±


    Alexis takes the cup in his hand. Perhaps seeing Mte and Alexis drinking from it alleviated his worries.


    He then takes a sip from the water just like the other two did... then moans and begins violently coughing.


    ¡°Urgh, ugh, what is this!?¡±


    ¡°Milord, what¡¯s the matter!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so bitter, I¡¯m impressed you two could drink this...¡±


    Alexis looks rather pained as he drinks tea and talks. He can probably still taste it on his tongue.


    His pain and disgust is clear to see on his face. He takes a sip of his tea after saying a word, then takes another sip after saying a word, and so on... it seems like it was incredibly bitter.


    Percival, who had just drunk the same water and deemed it ¡®just water¡¯, finds this strange.


    ¡°Bitter? But when I drank it, it was just water.¡±


    ¡°Water? That? ... Ergh, no good, I can still taste it. Mte, do you have anything with a strong taste? Like wine or cheese ¨C preferably high-quality aged wine and cheese on a cracker,¡± requests Alexis even at a time like this.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing, kicking back and rxing!?¡± Mte retorts bluntly.


    She picks up a box she had prepared beforehand.


    It¡¯s a cute jewelry case adorned with beautiful stones. In it lies carefully wrapped chocte.


    Seeing its contents, Alexis gives his thanks and takes one, throwing it in his mouth. At the taste, he finally lets out a sigh of relief. It must¡¯ve been pretty bad.


    Percival is gazing at the cup quizzically as he gingerly drinks the water. He cocks his head to the side in confusion.


    Mte shrugs her shoulders, making a grinding sound.


    Sure enough or maybe not, as expected, Alexis is cursed.


    T/N:


    There¡¯s another fun idiom in this chapter.


    צ¤Î¹¸¤ò¼å¤¸¤Æޤ·¤¿¤¤¤¯¤é¤¤¤Ç¤¢¤ë¡£......צ¤Î¹¸¤Ë¤â¶¾¤¬¤¢¤ë¤Î¤Ê¤éÉФÎÊ¡ª


    Literally, it would more or less be ¡°It¡¯s enough to make me want to make Percival drink medicine made from the dirt underneath the fashionable spider¡¯s nails... especially if that dirt was poisonous as well.¡±


    In Japanese, the phraseצ¤Î¹¸¤ò¼å¤¸¤Æàbasically means to learn from your betters. So since the literal meaning of the phrase includes drinking medicine made from the dirt under the better¡¯s nails, it¡¯s a y on that idea by saying that she hopes that he¡¯s poisoned by this dirt.


    I couldn¡¯t really think of an equivalent idiom, so I just went with an expansive ¡®shoving in his face¡¯ as she is kind of trying to unt how much better the spider is to him.


    I kinda fudged things near the end when Mte mentions ¡°kicking back and rxing¡±. What Mte actually mentions is him trying to enjoy ʳáá¤Î¤Ò¤È¤È¤­, a Japanese concept referring to a quiet moment you have after a meal. I could¡¯ve probably shoved that in there, albeit by making Mte sound a little strange, but as this sentence was a funny bit I didn¡¯t want to ruin the humour by ruining the flow.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5: Who Cursed the Prince?


    ¡°What does this mean, Lady Mte? Why is Prince Alexis the only one to say that the water tastes bad?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because he¡¯s cursed, of course,¡± replies Mte, throwing a piece of chocte in her mouth as well.


    Alexis and Percival exchange nces.


    They don¡¯t ask out loud what she means, but their expressions are clearly questioning. Seeing their expressions, Mte chugs down the remaining water and begins to talk. Naturally, it¡¯s water. It¡¯s neither bitter nor sweet.


    ¡°The water from earlier that had the charm dissolved in it reacts to curses. It¡¯s just water for people who aren¡¯t afflicted with a curse, but those who are taste it as terribly bitter.¡±


    ¡°That drawing of that ugly creature has a power like that...?¡±


    ¡°It was a cute kitty-cat! Anyways, the point is that since Prince Alexis tasted the water as bad, someone must have cast a curse on him.¡±


    ¡°... I see, so as expected, I¡¯m cursed.¡±


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Alexis lets out a small breath of air, then slowly lowers his gaze. His exhaustion and grief is clear as day from his expression ¨C anyone who was unaware of his words on that day or his current reputation would no doubt feel for him. Perhaps it¡¯s due to his normal grace, but it¡¯s painful just watching him.


    But anyone would feel downhearted on learning that they were cursed, that someone wanted them to suffer.


    Alexis¡¯ gaze remains lowered for a while, his emotions probably battling it out on the inside. Finally, he weakly raises his head. His face looks exhausted and his deep brown eyes look pained. He stares at Mte with those deep brown eyes of his.


    At his stare, Mte swallows inside her helmet.


    She wears the helmet so others can¡¯t see her. So, their eyes can¡¯t meet ¨C but still, she stands defensively at his straight gaze. His eyes are spiritless and haggard, and yet she breaks out into a cold sweat at the idea that she¡¯s being stared at.


    ¡°Mte...¡±


    ¡°Y ¨C yes. What is it...?¡±


    ¡°I understand that you hold a grudge against me. Little wonder, after what I said to you. I will do anything it takes to make it up to you, so please, break this cu¨C¡±


    ¡°¨C Like I said before, it wasn¡¯t me!¡± Mte says, raising her voice on sensing the start of another endless back-and-forth.


    ¡°Mte! Who could it be other than you!?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Maybe you angered some random witch somewhere!¡±


    ¡°After realizing how terribly I treated you, I worked as hard as I could to be a good prince. I should¡¯ve had good interpersonal rtionships!¡± Alexis insists before lowering his gaze again.


    Despite his insistences, he was currently cursed.


    ¡°They should¡¯ve been good...¡± he murmurs finally, trailing off into a sigh.


    The fringe of his hair sways. His hair is slightly damaged ¨C Mte can tell how tough this past year must¡¯ve been for him.


    At Alexis¡¯ state, Mte shrugs with a grinding noise. As she shrugs, she thinks that she agrees with his statement that his interpersonal rtionships should¡¯ve been good...


    She knows that he was a good prince.


    Although she¡¯s cooped up in the old castle, she still goes to town once a week to shop. When she¡¯s in town, she does often hear stories of Alexis, even if they¡¯re nothing more than gossip.


    He interacts with people kindly (never abusing his position), he¡¯s gentle, and most importantly he thinks about what would be best for his citizens. If he ascended the throne, the country would no doubt take a turn for the better... everyone talked about this as theyughed in a friendly manner. Not wanting to ruin everyone¡¯s fun, Mte always just obediently listened to their stories and asionally made noises of agreement.


    Now that she thinks back, people stopped talking about him at some point.


    In exchange, they started talking a lot more about his little brother, the second prince, but perhaps that was the beginning of the curse.


    She had zero interest in the second prince so she had ignored all the stories about him, but now that she thinks back, she feels like the stories had some insults towards Alexis mixed in.


    ¡°It¡¯s been about one year since people starting saying this and that about you, correct?¡±


    ¡°This and that, huh... Mte, what did they say about me?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to hear?¡± says Mte before continuing concernedly, ¡°Won¡¯t it hurt?¡±


    Alexis nods his head with a pitiful expression. He probably wants to face the reality that baseless rumours are spreading, lowering his reputation.


    That¡¯s why Mte decides to tell him everything. She thinks back to her memories of going to town. If she recalls correctly...


    ¡°They said that you yed around with women, that you were showing your true self, that you were foolishpared to your brother, Prince Rodell.¡±


    ¡°I ¨C I see...¡±


    ¡°They even said that you should renounce your right to the throne. That they were tricked, that the only thing good about you was your face...¡±


    ¡°Prince Alexis, are you alright? Lady Mte, leave it at there.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and that you were an unlucky bastard who broke chairs.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s got to be something you said.¡±


    Mte had intended to casually slip in the insult, but Percival caught it and berated her. In her mind, she clicks her tongue.


    As she¡¯s feeling refreshed after informing Alexis of some of the abuse hurled at him, Alexis lets out a deep sigh.


    ¡°Thank you for telling me,¡± he thanks her ¨C but she doesn¡¯t think that he¡¯s actually that grateful. He looks like he¡¯s about to cry ¨C or even copse.


    At the sight of him, Mte murmurs, ¡°It¡¯s a curse.¡±


    Mte didn¡¯t think that he would do anything to make others resent him either. This was due to his reputation before it did a one-eighty, and most importantly the gifts of apology sent to her on a regr basis.


    The gifts came with letters, none of which she had read. They probably were filled with apologies. As she continued to not reply to his letters, he eventually stopped sending them, probably not wanting to burden her. Instead, he began to send just the gifts of apology. She didn¡¯t even want to see them so she sold them as soon as they arrived, but he probably understood that she was doing that ¨C everything he sent sold for a high price.


    A good prince loved by everyone. He even sincerely apologizes for things he did in the past.


    That¡¯s why Alexis thinks that Mte was the one to curse him.


    ... No, perhaps it would be more urate to say that he wants Mte to be the one who cursed him. After that thought crosses her mind, Mte scratches her head, thinking that it can¡¯t be helped. On scratching her helmet with a gauntlet-covered finger, the loud sound of iron scraping against itself echoes out.


    ¡°I understand. It can¡¯t be helped ¨C I will help you break your curse.¡±


    ¡°... Mte?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like being treated as the culprit, after all. There¡¯s only so much I can do with my charms, but I am a witch. I believe I will be able to help you a bit.¡±


    At Mte¡¯s words, Alexis¡¯ expression brightens in an instant.


    There¡¯s nothing that the two of them can do to break a curse when they can¡¯t use magic. No doubt Mte¡¯s words were like a ray of sunshine in a sea of despair for them.


    In fact, at this very moment Alexis is expressing his sincere gratitude from the bottom of his heart. He even stands up to try to shake her hand, thinking that words aren¡¯t enough... that¡¯s when...


    Crash!


    He crashes through the floor and falls down into the basement. Dust and wood shavings poof upwards.


    ¡°Your Highness!¡± cries Percival, peering down into the hole in a panic.


    ¡°I ¨C I¡¯m fine, Percival. I just fell a little... wait a second, Robertson! Your friend too! Ah ¨C AH-H-H-H!¡±


    Alexis¡¯ indescribable scream rings out.


    Mte hears the sound of several bottles of wine breaking.


    She wonders which will be first ¨C this old castle copsing, breaking Alexis¡¯ curse, or perhaps even Alexis sumbing to the curse and dying ¨C and sighs.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6: The Bodyguard Knight¡¯s Strange Midnight Activities


    ¡°Would you prefer to sleep on the floor in the great hall or in the wine cer in the basement? You may also stay in a shed outside,¡± asks Mte.


    Percival res at Mte, his eyes so very sharp. In response, Mte sticks out her tongue in her helmet. Naturally, no one can see it as she¡¯s encased in iron, but Percival furrows his eyebrows, sensing something. He has sharp instincts.


    ¡°This castle is big enough that it must have guest rooms.¡±


    ¡°Oh, were you not aware, Percival? Guest rooms are meant for guests.¡±


    After Mte exins bluntly that they were not guests, Percival understands what she means. His eyebrows furrow further. But he probably realizes that they did barge in on her. All he does is nce at her with a dissatisfied expression. At his frustrated look, Mte does a little victory dance in her heart ¨C


    ¡°Prince Alexis is tired. Please hurry up and take us to a guest room... a quiet room, where the floor won¡¯t cave in, the bed won¡¯t break, a bird won¡¯t crash through the window, the night section of a tap-dancing club won¡¯t hold their tap dancingpetition on the floor above, and a surprise clown won¡¯t identally enter the room because of thete night party held in the room next to us.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever stayed in a room where the bed broke, a bird crashed through the window, the night section of a tap-dancing club held their tap dancingpetition on the floor above, and a surprise clown identally entered your room because of thete night party held in the room next to you?¡±


    ¡°... Don¡¯t ask me that, it brings back bad memories.¡±


    Apparently the examples he gave were just a small fraction of what they¡¯ve gone through. Percival murmurs that they haven¡¯t been able to sleep soundly for the past year.


    The only thing Mte can sense from his voice is exhaustion. She does another little victory dance in her heart. Her imaginary self finishes up her dance by tracing with her feet the words ¡®Serves you right!¡¯ with a flourish.


    Mte can¡¯t help but cheer up at their sorry state. Feeling generous, she lets them stay in a quiet guest room where the floor is not caved in. It¡¯s the room she lends to the very few people who stop by the old castle.


    Naturally, the bed won¡¯t break and the night section of a tap-dancing club won¡¯t hold their tap dancingpetition upstairs. A surprise clown won¡¯t identally enter their room instead of the room next door where a party is being held. But well, as they are inside a forest, it¡¯s possible that a bird may crash through the window.


    ¡°Prince Alexis, please use this room. Percival, you may use the room next door.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine in this room as well.¡±


    ¡°... Ah.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°No, I mean, I understand. D ¨C do not worry about it. I am fine with it so long as you wash the sheets yourselves afterwards.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t show us consideration we don¡¯t want. I¡¯m a bodyguard, just a bodyguard.¡±


    Mte is berated for messing around and so she sticks her tongue out in her helmet again. Alexis, looking tired at their back-and-forth, approaches the bed and verifies its make and softness.


    ¡°The bed legs seem sturdy ¨C the bottom shouldn¡¯t fall out.¡±


    ¡°Milord, what about the mattress and pillow?¡±


    ¡°Mm, looks like there¡¯s no ticks.¡±


    ¡°How rude.¡±


    ¡°Milord, I¡¯ll verify under the bed.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. There isn¡¯t a man with a scythe or a woman with bloodshot eyes hiding under the bed this time around.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you that you don¡¯t need to¨C this time around!? People like that have hidden under your bed before!?¡± cries Mte, ¡°What in the world!? That¡¯s scary!¡±


    Apparently they ran about quite a bit beforeing to Mte¡¯s old castle. At a certain inn they stayed at during their journey, a man whose wife was having an affair determined where the man she was having an affair with stayed. Aiming to kill this man, he snuck into their room by mistake. Another time, a woman stalking a man who had disappeared snuck into their room, again by mistake. From this trauma, they began to always check under their beds.


    At their story, Mte is dumbfounded. This is enough to make even Mte feel sorry for them rather than think that they deserve it.


    And so, she takes out a piece of parchment and a pen from the pouch on her waist and smoothly draws a cute kitty-cat with an experienced hand. She ces the charm on the bed¡¯s headboard.


    ¡°What a dreadful creature you¡¯ve drawn... oh I see, you¡¯re telling us to dream of being chased by this creature...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a cute kitty-cat!¡±


    ¡°Look, Prince Alexis, half of this creature¡¯s face has caved in. No doubt she¡¯s telling us to go get our faces burned off in our dreams.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a cute winking kitty-cat! It¡¯s a curse ward!¡±


    ¡°A curse ward?¡± Percival and Alexis parrot in unison.


    Mte lets out a humph and looks away from them. Though well, the sound of her humph is absorbed by her thick helmet ¨C all they see is her suddenly looking the other way with a grinding noise.


    On a side note, this cute winking kitty-cat charm is most definitely a curse ward.


    Though well, despite being called a curse ward it doesn¡¯t work indefinitely ¨C it works for at most a half-day. And if Mte sleeps or goes away, the effect lessens.


    Even with magic, there¡¯s nothing that works universally no matter where you may be in the world. This goes double-fold for those of the House of Idira, who had nothing to do with magic for so long.


    As she doesn¡¯t know anything about who cast the curse or how it works, the only thing she can do is ward off the disasters as theye.


    ¡°Still, it should protect you enough to let you sleep soundly tonight.¡±


    At Mte¡¯s exnation, Percival lets out a small sigh of admiration and some slight relief, while Alexis¡¯ expression softens... and he falls onto the bed like he fell unconscious.


    Immediately after, his breathing slows, seemingly sleeping. He must have been very tired ¨C in both mind and body.


    ¡°As that¡¯s the way it is, I would suggest that you sleep in the room next door, Percival.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll stay here,¡± Percival declines firmly.


    Mte shrugs, thinking him obstinate, then leaves the room.


    Two hourster, after finishing some research she had been doing in her room, she puts on her armour on top of her dressing gown and heads to Alexis and Percival¡¯s room again.


    On knocking on the guest room¡¯s door, after a while, the door slowly opens. Percival peeks his head out.


    ¡°My apologies for interrupting your fun.¡±


    ¡°... Hm? What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Er, that is... I found a stronger curse ward than the one I used originally, so I thought I would swap it out for the new one.¡±


    ¡°... I see. Alright, then I¡¯m counting on you,¡± Percival responds slowly, opening the door.


    Mte had thought that he would re at her and hurl an insult or two ¨C what a disappointment.


    ¡°This is kind of disconcerting,¡± murmurs Mte.


    But she still enters the room. She hears Alexis¡¯ steady breathing as he sleeps. It seems like he¡¯s sleeping really deeply ¨C he¡¯ll definitely sleep soundly until morning. At this rate, Mte just hopes that he wakes up in the morning rather than after it.


    ¡°With this charm, Prince Alexis should be fine even if he sleeps until the afternoon... Percival? Are you listening?¡± Mte asks.


    After a ten second interval, Percival, resting on the sofa, responds.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m listening.¡±


    From his slow response and the tone of his voice, Mte realizes he hadn¡¯t been listening in the slightest. She res at him. What a rude person.


    But the next moment, Mte¡¯s eyes widen. Percival is gesturing for her toe over.


    Gesturing her over after ignoring her ¨C how terribly rude. But Mte still approaches him... only to have her arm ¨C or to be more precise, her gauntlet ¨C gripped tightly to pull her forcibly into a hug.


    Mte¡¯s body... or rather armour is pressed against his chest. His sturdy arms envelop her.


    ¡°Percival!?¡±


    ¡°Lady Mte...¡±


    ¡°W- What are you doing!?¡±


    ¡°Lady Mte, you¡¯re such a good girl.¡±


    ¡°... Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°You even researched for us ¨C Lady Mte, you¡¯re really a kind and good girl.¡±


    ¡°U- um, Percival?¡±


    He pats her helmet with hisrge hands. Mte is bewildered ¨C she has no idea what¡¯s going on.


    His current behaviour ispletely different from how he acted during the day. Not only is he saying positive things like ¡°You¡¯re kind,¡± and ¡°Thank you,¡± he¡¯s also embracing her and patting her helmet.


    There¡¯s no way she wouldn¡¯t be shocked by this.


    On a side note, although she¡¯s being embraced, the iron armour doesn¡¯t let any body heat through, so her heartbeat doesn¡¯t increase in the slightest. Rather, the more Percival praises her, the colder Mte feels. From the slightly cold air, naturally.


    ¡°Lady Mte, thank you. You¡¯re really a kind person.¡±


    ¡°Percival, please return to your senses!¡±


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡°You redid the charm for us too, huh? It really is a cute kitty-cat, you¡¯re good at drawing.¡±


    ¡°What happened to you, Percival, are you going to die!? If you¡¯re going to die, die somewhere else!¡± Mte screams.


    But Percival continues to happily shower herpliments, ignoring her scream. He embraces her tightly and continues patting her on the helmet.


    ¨C


    Fifteen minutester.


    ¡°... It happens sometimes,¡± exins Percival. He¡¯s sitting on the sofa, looking downwards, face covered with by hands. The air was thick around him.


    ¡°Sometimes?¡± asks Mte, standing right in front of him.


    ¡°... Like when I¡¯m tired.¡±


    ¡°Please sleep.¡±


    ¡°No, but the prince-¡°


    ¡°Sleep. Right. Now.¡±


    Percival murmurs ¡°A bodyguard...¡±, but after ncing at Mte he obediently heads to the room next door.


    No doubt aftering to his senses and calmly looking back at his actions ¨C a brief moment of rity for him ¨C along with realizing his wrongdoings at the sight of Mte, he decided to obediently go to sleep.


    ... After seeing Mte covered in fingerprints from all his patting.


    T/N:


    Today¡¯s fun phrase: ×£±­¤ò¤¢¤²¤ë


    Literal meaning: A celebratory salute done by firing guns into the air.


    I tranted this as ¡®do a victory dance¡¯ as I felt that would flow better while conveying the same ¡®celebratory¡¯ meaning. Later on, she mentions:


    ¼ˆ´µÑ©¤È¹²¤Ë´¹¤ì¤ëÄ»¤Ë¤Ï¥Õ¥¡¥ó¥·©`¤ÊÎÄ×֤ǡº¤¶¤Þ¤¡¤ß¤í¡»¤È•ø¤«¤ì¤Æ¤¤¤ë


    This would be literally tranted as ¡°¡¯Serves you right¡± is written in fancy script on the curtains that are closed as confetti flies about.¡± I presume that since it mentions closing curtains, this is just supposed to evoke the imagery that the celebratory salute concludes with a fancy deration of Serves them right!


    So I transposed the ¡®fancy script¡¯ to ¡®with a flourish¡¯ and had imaginary Mte finish her dance by tracing the words in question.

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7: Witches are Fickle


    ¡°Well then, about Prince Alexis¡¯ curse of bad luck and Percival¡¯s curse of behaving entrically when he¡¯s tired...¡±


    ¡°Shall we talk about your cursed drawing ability and the monsters you create as well, Lady Mte?¡±


    ¡°Cute kitty-cats!¡± Mte cries, ¡°How rude!¡±


    Percival snorts in abative way. Alexis sighs in exasperation at the two of them... then from that slight movement, his chair breaks into pieces and he copses to the floor.


    It¡¯s shortly past noon.


    After sleeping soundly, Alexis and Percival helped themselves to her food for lunch. It¡¯s shortly after Mte started gazing at her remaining food supplies in dissatisfaction.


    Apparently statistically, the curse doesn¡¯t seem to kick in as much in the afternoon, so she thought to talk about it now when they had a chance... and then this happens.


    Mte can¡¯t help but say, ¡°Please sit on the floor.¡±


    She holds out a cushion to Alexis.


    ¡°Lady Mte, there¡¯s a limit to how rude you can be. Asking the prince to sit on the floor...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Percival. If I sit on a chair, it breaks, so I might as well just sit on the floor ¨C¡° Alexis¡¯ voice cuts off as he makes to sit on the floor.


    Needless to say, on trying to sit down, he fell into the basement for a second time, making a big racket. A loud, echoing crashing sound. Wood kes fly up.


    ¡°Y¨Cyour Highness! Are you alright!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fi¨C good morning, Robertson and your friend! I¡¯m begging you, please don¡¯te this wa-!¡±


    Alexis screams. At the sound, Percival hurriedly heads down to the basement.


    Mte follows after Percival, all while urging the spiders, ¡°Bite him, Robertson, Robertson¡¯s fashionable friend!¡±


    They go for a fresh start after the day¡¯s first incident.


    Mte can¡¯t stand having any more holes in the floor, so she sets up a basic table in the wine cer in the basement. For now, she¡¯ll ignore Percival staring at the wine in interest, murmuring ¡°This is...¡± and ¡°Even wine from that period...¡±


    ¡°I shall give you a bottle for every chair you repair,¡± she says half-jokingly, but Percival just nods in response, looking rather serious.


    Putting aside the wine, it¡¯s time to talk about the curse again.


    On cing an open book on the table, Alexis and Percival peer down at it, wondering what it contains. But they both just look confused immediately after ncing down.


    After all, the bookid out on the table is not written in an alphabet they can read. No, they may not even be able to recognize the writing as letters. Even Alexis, who has learned several countries¡¯nguages as a prince, is at a loss at the uneven lines of writing that look as though a worm might have wriggled them out.


    ¡°Mte, what country is this writing from?¡±


    ¡°This is witches¡¯ script. Only witches can understand it and use it. It¡¯s a special form of writing that only those from a witch¡¯s bloodline can use.¡±


    ¡°You can read it?¡±


    ¡°It would be more urate to say that I became able to read it,¡± Mte exins as she flips through the spellbook.


    Witches¡¯ script, only known in witches¡¯ households. Normally, it would¡¯ve been passed down from parent to child, but unfortunately, the House of Idira threw away their knowledge of the script long ago. If Mte showed the writing to any of her living rtives, they¡¯d probably just end up saying, ¡°What are these dirty lines?¡±


    That¡¯s the kind of spellbook it is. It had been stored away in the attic of their mansion.


    When she moved to this old castle, she brought all the books like that she could find. Holing herself away in this empty castle, she learned how to read it one letter at a time, thus bing able to use spells.


    ¡°Does this book have anything on curses?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a few that might be relevant... nope, stop right there. You look like you¡¯re thinking that it¡¯s me after all. Prince Alexis too, please don¡¯t lower your head,¡± Mte scolds, ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like the culprit.¡±


    It would be an understatement to say that it makes Mte feel bad to be treated as the culprit after cooperating so much as well as providing meals and a ce to sleep. After pointing this out to the two of them, their expressions change in an instant. They even bring the conversation back to the spellbook.


    From the abrupt change in topic, Mte can¡¯t help but say, ¡°Don¡¯t make me a participant in your farce,¡± and re at them from in her helmet.


    ¡°If a witch¡¯s spellbook has curses, then I was cursed by a witch after all. Just who did it...?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not able to determine which witch exactly. While the House of Idira discarded their heritage as witches, there¡¯s still many witch households remaining in the world. Either you did something to make one of those witches resent you, or someone requested one of them to curse you...¡± Mte goes silent.


    Alexis is softlyughing as he listens to her talk. But his brow is furrowed, and his narrowed deep brown eyes are pained. Still, he¡¯s forcing a smile onto his face.


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± he responds, so thinly it almost sounds like a sigh. His voice is slightly hoarse ¨C he looks indescribably pained.


    Unable to bear it, Mte scratches her head. Her iron-covered finger makes a grinding noise against her helmet.


    It looks like Percival¡¯s expression is pained as well. He looks towards Alexis and almost says something... but shuts his mouth, looking irritated. He probably can¡¯t think of anything tofort Alexis.


    Percival twists his expression, looking pained again at his cowardice. Mte lets out a small sigh in the midst of the heavy atmosphere.


    Though, her sigh is absorbed by her thick helmet and isn¡¯t heard by the other two.


    But the fact of the matter is Alexis is cursed, and they do not know who the culprit is.


    There¡¯s a number of modern witch households in the world, and it¡¯s almost impossible for a self-taught novice witch like Mte to investigate the spells they have.


    Above all, the way Alexis¡¯ bad luck shows itself bothers her.


    He gets ill and bes injured, but never dies or deals withsting injuries or sicknesses. He gets into dangerous situations like being chased by wolves, but every time, he¡¯s saved in the nick of time. He often breaks chairs or tables and such, but he only ever gets minor injuries.


    It¡¯s much too weak for a witch¡¯s curse.


    ¡°Curses are the same as charms, they weaken if the one who cast it is far away or is sleeping. A talented witch may be cursing you from afar, or a weak witch may be cursing you close by, or perhaps a witch is suppressing the power of the curse to avoid suspicion, or it¡¯s simply a toned-back curse...¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t investigate the curse with that cupst night like how you verified the curse was real?¡± asks Percival.


    Mte shakes her head, indicating that it¡¯s impossible. It must make a surreal sight to see a helmet turn from left to right with a grind, but Alexis and Percival don¡¯t have the time to spare to notice that.


    The two of them listen to Mte with strange expressions on their face, looking straight at her. Deep brown eyes and emerald eyes. Though they aren¡¯t ring at her, their gazes are piercing. Mte finds it hard to breathe ¨C she flips through the spellbook to avert her gaze and additionally direct their gazes towards the table.


    Her iron helmet hides her expression and her sighs... but she can¡¯t wipe the bead of sweat that drips down her cheek. When she automatically lifts a hand to do so, a nk sounds out when the iron gauntlet and helmet meet.


    How terribly inconvenient.


    ¡°While I cannot investigate the curse, I believe a witch in a neighboring country may be able to. Unlike myself in the House of Idira, she was born into a long, continuous lineage of witches. I shouldn¡¯t be able to even hold a candle to her skill in magic and curses.¡±


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Mte spreads out a map next to the spellbook, then taps an iron-covered finger at the approximate location of the witch.


    It¡¯s right on the border between the countries. It would probably take about half a month to get there and back with a carriage. You would have to leave the forest bordering the countries, then continue on into the valley... it would be tough at times, but it¡¯s not impossible to traverse.


    Learning that there was a lead unexpectedly close by, Alexis and Percival¡¯s expressions very slightly soften.


    ¡°However,¡± Mte says in warning as she reads the spellbook, ¡°Witches are fickle. No matter who you may be, no matter what you may want, if it doesn¡¯t suit them, they will not cooperate with you. They may not even reveal themselves in front of you.¡±


    ¡°Is that the way it is? Even if it¡¯s a royalmand?¡±


    ¡°Though human, witches have apparently always lived on a different ne of existence than others. And so, even if you¡¯re royalty, everything depends on their mood. Depending on how you treat them, they may even go hostile. Supposedly no matter the country, people have struggled with dealing with these moody witches.¡±


    ¡°I see. So even if we go to meet her, we won¡¯t know if she¡¯ll even meet us, let alone cooperate with us...¡±


    For some reason, Alexis and Percival exchange nces.


    Ignoring them, Mte flips through the spellbook.


    ¡°Though that doesn¡¯t appear to be the case between witches,¡± she murmurs.


    ... The words slip out identally.

 Chapter 8

    Witches are Capricious and Selfish


    ¡°...What about witches?


    ¡°Yeah. It seems that whether the person asking is a normal person or royalty, a witch won¡¯t listen to their request unless it benefits them in some way. At the same time, witches are said to be whimsical, and for some reason they always take great care in the connections between one another.¡±


    It is surprising, Mte exins without noticing the meaning of her remarks. On the contrary, with a magic book in hand, ¡°When a fellow witch visits, it is considered very rude to not greet them with the utmost hospitality,¡± she teaches them about the manners among witches.


    They are tremendously careless remarks. So careless that just calling them careless doesn¡¯t quite fit. Robertson and his fashionable friend who were stretching along the ceiling came sliding down their silk..... However Mte is reading from her magic book without noticing their warnings.


    ¡°...Miss Mte. Are you a witch as well?¡±


    ¡°Well, the Idira family threw away their witch heritage long ago, but I am able to read the script and spells. If I were to visit a witch, they would surely wee........um........¡±


    Feeling an unpleasant premonition from her remarks¡ªFinally¡ªthe end of Mte¡¯s sentence gradually disappeared. At the same time, the words, ¡°I am an idiot....¡± upy Mte¡¯s brain, and she curses herself. Alexis and Percival are staring at her.


    The color of their eyes are different, but what they are trying to say is the same. That is why the pressure is so astounding. So much pressure is being applied.


    Mte¡¯s helmet makes a grinding noise as she turns her face away from the men and pushes the map forward with her gauntlet.


    Then,


    ¡°..........please be careful. Be sure to send me some souvenirs.¡±


    The words echo in her helmet creating white noise.


    ¡°Mte, I beg you! Pleasee with us!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to; it sounds bothersome! I already told you where to go, isn¡¯t that enough!?¡±


    ¡°Mte, isn¡¯t there a possibility that the witch won¡¯t meet with us even if we go alone!? And the Prince¡¯s curse could worsen in the meantime!¡±


    ¡°Then I guess you should give up and die! I¡¯ll tell you, I didn¡¯t curse you, but that doesn¡¯t mean I forgive you!¡±


    Mte shouted out her refusal and turned away.


    I don¡¯t like to shout because it gets noisy when my voice echoes inside my helmet, but I don¡¯t care about that right now.


    I don¡¯t want to listen to anymore of their stories. You two spewing out words, threatening me and using me of casting the curse, did you think I would hear you out?


    I don¡¯t want to go outside. It¡¯s not a joke to leave the country. Alexis is the main reason why I ended up in this old castle, of course, so there is no reason to do so much for him.


    Rather, there was no thanks when I saved him from being killed by wolves nor when I gave him a ce to sleep. In such a case, I should have abandoned him and not opened my door in the first ce.


    So thinking, Mte tried to once again reject their pleas.....and caught her breath in her helmet.


    Alexis had deeply lowered his head.


    Deep enough that his face could not be seen. His hair was hanging straight down, in a posture that would be painful to hold, he was bent down as if he had be stuck in that position.


    Royalty. The first prince. To the daughter who has all but been disinherited from her family tree and left with nothing the moment her engagement had ended.


    Deeply, deep enough to make you think he was a miserable existence, he lowered his head.


    The neighboring Percival narrowed his eyes at such a spectacle......And then he also lowered his head.


    ¡°Mte, I¡¯m asking.....I can only rely on you. I swear to listen to whatever you say, and I won¡¯t force you to do anything. You don¡¯t have to unravel the curse, I don¡¯t even care if the curse is solved.


    ¡°Alexis......¡±


    ¡°I want to know who ced this curse on me; I want to know what I¡¯ve done. I want to apologize if I can apologize, and I want to providepensation if I can make up for it. I know that this is just for my self-satisfaction, and I know it¡¯s horrible for me to inconvenience Mte like this. Nevertheless....¡±


    I want to know.


    Mte stared at him for awhile as Alexis¡¯s words seeped into her. His dark brown hair shook, and the words the boy once said crossed her mind.


    As before, Mte had the resentment towards Alexis swirling in her. While she could say that, it is also true that those emotions were diminishing. She would not forgive him, but she didn¡¯t hate him from the bottom of her heart.


    Even if all the problems Mte faced were because of his words, he was as young as he was. Even if he had the influence of the royal family behind him, she did not want to impose the responsibility of her life afterwards on the words of such a small child. Moreover, he was aware of his mistake, and he continued to show his sincerity and tried to apologize.


    It was rather a series of things that continued on after his words that had so deeply injured Mte¡¯s heart. It had be an obstacle, and she had several opportunities to ovee that obstacle.....she could not stop using her helmet as a shield.


    But it is a fact that his words were the origin. They were the reason why Mte is staying in this old castle.


    It is such an exquisite ce. Maybe it would be easier to just hate him.


    Thinking about such things, Mte let out arge sigh.


    ¡°Please make sure that it is only the finest room in the finest inn.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡°... ....Mte?¡±


    ¡°With the highest grade room service. I will return home as soon as the mood gets worse, and depending on the reason for the curse, you may be at fault and just anger the other party.¡±


    So saying, Mte added, ¡°If that is still good...¡±


    I was interested in other witches. It is a witch from a family line whose practices were passed down through the generations. If it is possible to talk, it must be fun, and I could learn a lot.


    Besides, I can be selfish this way. Special room service in the best room. Of course I will eat expensive high-ss dishes and anything I want.


    If I am going to be dragged out of this castle, I have a right to luxury. Do you know your wallet¡¯s circumstances?


    This witch is capricious, selfish, and will y on your fears. Sometimes I willugh at your bad luck, and sometimes I will threaten you to make your curse worse. I will enjoy your reactions, and I will enjoy the scenery as I travel. Surely it will feel great.


    So she told herself. And finally,


    ¡°If it is still fine, you maye with me as I go visit a witch in a neighboring country.¡±


    As I said so, Alexis and Percival¡¯s eyes rounded.....and I floated a smile while crying in relief.

 Chapter 9

    Heavy Young Woman¡¯s Packing


    Before the sun sets, travel through the forest and pick up the carriage after gathering supplies in the city. If we spend the night sleeping in the carriage, we will be able to make amodations in the next town over....., Percival points out their nned course on a spread out map.


    On the other hand, Mte objected. Looking at the map, the distance between the two cities that Percival pointed to did not seem to be that far apart. Let alone riding a carriage, you should be able to walk between the city and town without night falling. Then they could stay overnight in a nice inn in an urban area and be refreshed and ready to leave for the town by morning.


    Although she appealed so, Percival let out arge sigh and cast his eyes down onto the map.


    ¡°Mte, you better not believe that this will be just an ordinary trip.¡±


    ¡°........Ha.¡±


    ¡°In the past year, when Prince Alexis gets on a carriage, the wheels will fall off, the doors will be blown away, and the horses will go on a rampage.¡±


    Mte narrowed her eyes to Percival¡¯s words.


    When she looked over at Alexis, his face looked worn down and his body was weighted with fatigue. Apparently even carriages couldn¡¯t escape the prince¡¯s curse of bad luck.


    That¡¯s why he wants to depart before day¡¯s end. Besides, Alexis¡¯s body was small and, ¡°An inn inside the city is.....¡± When he mutters that with such a serious voice, Mte could only shrug her shoulders inside her armor and give in.


    And so I started my first time packing.


    I have been living alone in this castle for a long time. I don¡¯t have much in my room. There are some rough characteristics that were here before I lived here, and a few things are scattered here and there.


    A change of clothes, magic books, pen and parchment.....and while walking around, I judged whether something was necessary or not and packed it away in my trunk. If I bring a bunch of unnecessary things with me, I will have a hard time in the future having to repack everything......Although I¡¯ve never had to repack something before.


    Even though packing isn¡¯t all that interesting, Percival was here for some reason watching the whole time.


    Sometimes he would ask, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±, and sometimes he would help me lift something heavy. Most of the time he would just silently gaze at me while thinking. And his eyes would follow me wherever I went in my room.


    What do you want to do? Every time I look up to catch him, he turns away to look at a magic book with a strange expression and with wrinkles between his eyebrows. ¡ª ¡ª By the way, Alexis was fixing a chair. Well, it was uncertain if the man who was currently moaning after hitting his finger with a hammer could fix it in the first ce ¡ª ¡ª


    ¡°Percival fix the chair, or please grab some bottles from the wine cer that look like they could be expensive.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to sell them?¡±


    ¡°They are funds for me so that I can have some wild merrymaking on this journey.¡±


    ¡°I know. I won¡¯t rely on your money.¡±


    I decided to not reply to Percival¡¯s dismissive tone and instead moved my focus back onto the trunk.


    I then restarted my packing because talking to Percival is boring, and I didn¡¯t really feel like chatting anyway. It will be fine if I just pick out a couple bottles from the wine cer that look good. It¡¯s easier than bothering to ask for any help from him. If there is something that would be bothersome to drive away, it¡¯s better to just ignore it instead.


    In other words, ¡°If you have something to say, say it. I¡¯m not gonna ask.¡± Currently, my interest was focused solely on the trunk.


    While she was packing, Mte let out a small voice of surprise when she found a small drawing sticking out of the pages from a book.


    The drawing was donepletely in crayon. Two girls were drawn lined up together and holding hands. The lines were distorted, and the colors were unttering. It was exactly the type of picture a child would draw.


    As Mte looked at it, she narrowed her eyes inside her helmet. ... How nostalgic.


    ¡°Miss Mte, what is that?¡±


    ¡°It is a picture my sister and I drew when we were young.¡±


    ¡°Sister...¡±


    Percival lightly tossed out the word, but he then tightly shut his lips as if that would prevent it from being heard. To that concern Mte could only close her eyes inside her helmet.


    At the same time the figure of a young girl floated on the back of her eyelids. Her cute little sister, when she was young, her body was weak, and we spent a lot of time together in our summer resort. In that vi where there was nothing, both of us drew pictures all the time and talked about our dreams.


    Eating sweets, drawing with crayons on paper, and ying with toy jewelry. It was just us sisters, putting on beautiful dresses while having ourselves a tea party.


    ¡°I want to be a glittering princess.¡±


    The day when I had said those words went across my mind.


    ...and then I folded up the construction paper as if to scrape away that mental image. Of course I can¡¯t put this in the trunk.


    ¡°Percival, if you are just going to stand there and watch, how about helping me instead?¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte......¡±


    ¡°I want to leave early, so you could also get some sleep so that you don¡¯t impede on my innocence.¡±


    Mte interrupts Percival¡¯s words, and his breath gets caught a little as he understands Mte¡¯s meaning.


    Since he noticed theint, ¡°Do not touch me anymore,¡± that was included underneath her words, Mte let out a sigh of relief in her helmet. .......And,


    ¡°Don¡¯t be weird.¡±


    I continued to move my tongue as if I hadn¡¯t noticed the ming re Percival had started giving me.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with saying something is weird when it is weird?¡±


    ¡°I just got a little sleepy.¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte, thank you. You really are such a kind girl. And what a cute kitty-cat. You really are good at drawing.¡±


    ¡°Stop it! Don¡¯t repeat my words!¡±


    If you recreate his weird behavior fromst night, Percival will panic and stop.


    Apparently his weirdness is embarrassing for him, and he cannot help but to boil up like a red tomato. Mteughed in her helmet.


    Then, once the sun had risen a little, I resumed packing, and I spread out the clothes I had on hand.


    While it is a little simple, I look at a lovely white dress with a ribbon on the chest. I like the roughfort of it, so I decided to take it. I folded it up and packed it into a corner of the trunk.


    ¡°What is that now?¡± were the words spoken at that moment. Looking at Percival, he had an expression that showed he was truly surprised by something.


    ¡°What is what?¡±


    ¡°Is that a one-piece dress?¡±


    ¡°I wear it in my room. Now go away. I don¡¯t want you to watch me pack my clothes.¡±


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Mte is ring at the man who has no delicacy.


    On the other hand, Percival was still stunned and muttered to himself, ¡°Miss Mte?¡± His despicable face says that he honestly can¡¯t believe it, and it frustrates Mte.


    Why are you surprised so much just from me packing and filling my trunk with cute clothes?


    ¡°How rude. I¡¯m sure even you put on clothes you enjoy when you¡¯re in your own room.¡±


    ¡°No, well......will they fit?¡±


    ¡°What are you asking? Are you trying to say that I¡¯m fat?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, you won¡¯t be able to fit in your arms, shoulders, or even your head........¡±


    I see the color of puzzlement in Percival¡¯s face and hear it in his voice as he continues to inquire, ¡°Doesn¡¯t it rip?¡± and ¡°How do you wear it?¡± He is not being disdainful orbative; he was purely curious from the bottom of his heart.


    Mte could not understand what Percival was trying to say in such a state, and she tilted her head with her helmet making a loud noise.


    No matter what, you should understand without me exining how someone puts on a simple one-piece.


    His head is clearly overheating, and he threw his hands out to me for an exnation. Of course by taking of this full-body armor I am wearing.


    .... .... Take off this armor.


    ¡°... ...Because I will take it off when I am alone?¡±


    ¡°Take it off?¡±


    ¡°Because there is a person inside? The armor isn¡¯t the main body.¡±


    As I exined to him that if armor can be put on, it can be taken off, Percival just stares nkly at me for awhile.....


    ¡°Yosh, I will go pick out some wine.¡±


    And he turned away and left. Did he just wave a white g?


    Mte¡¯s eyes coldly stared daggers into his back as he left, but since it was through her helmet, it probably didn¡¯t hit Percival. ......No, maybe he could feel something on his back because it started to exude an ufortable and miserable feeling.


    ¡°...After all, why was that guy¡¯s gaze following me?¡±


    I tilted my head in wonder, but I decided to just go back to packing.

 Chapter 10

    Hopeless Departure


    ¡°I will leave the house for awhile Robertson, so please take care of everything while I am away.¡±


    I inform Robertson of my departure while he is dancing along the ceiling within sight. It is as if he was saying, ¡°Leave it to me!¡± is it not? Sigh, such friendship will only increase the sorrow of parting, but relief also springs in my heart once I think about how he will protect my castle. Above all, it is encouraging to have a spider who will wait for my return.


    ¡°I think that someone who will get lost in the forest will most likely wander in, but I wrote a note that says, ¡®Do not kill the spider.¡¯ Just in case, do not appear too much in front of other people.¡±


    I promise you, Robertson.


    He may be a spider, but Mte still cherishes his friendship. Eight long legs, short hair that covers his whole body and a richly growing plump stomach. He makes quite the impact. Most people scream and feel a sense of crisis without him even doing anything.


    Especially Robertson¡¯s fashionable friend who is apparently poisonous, so there are a lot of people who would try and exterminate him before he could bite them. It is fine if you just try to scare him away, but trying to kill him is just taking things too far.


    I wrote a note, but I¡¯m still anxious. That¡¯s probably why, to appeal to me, Robertson who was drooping down the ceiling, quickly rose to the top.


    It is the meaning of acknowledgment. He will be careful, and he wishes for me to do the same. This intention to return really makes me feel the sense of friendship, but the parting still saddens me.


    But I must go.


    Determined, Mte grabbed hold of the doorknob. She pushed open the door, took one final look behind her and said,


    ¡°Well then Robertson, be careful not to mate with a female spider....¡±


    She called out, to finish her journey and return to find Robertson eaten.....to avoid tragedy.


    The world of spiders is truly a terrible thing.


    ¡°What if Robertson¡¯s friend is female?¡±


    To Alexis¡¯s question, Mte shook her head as if there was absolutely no possibility.


    Inside the quiet woods, every step Mte takes in her armor creates a kashan kashan sound, and when Mte shakes her head, the sound of the armor scraping against itself oveps.


    ¡°Robertson promised he wouldn¡¯t bring in any spiders of the opposite sex.¡±


    ¡°Is that healthy?¡±


    ¡°It is too much if him being predated urs right in front of me.¡±


    ¡°... ...Ah, it¡¯s a spider.¡±


    To Alexis who nods to her point, Mte nods back.


    Robertson is a friend. It could be said that he is my only friend.


    However, it is a possibility that if he mates with a female, that female will be a predator. I know that it is a rule in a spider¡¯s ecology, but if that sight is shown right in front of me, it will be a lifelong trauma. When I am already so weighed down byplexes that I have be an armor girl, what will I be after adding on such a trauma?


    He should not be deceived by a bad female spider, but as I look back at the castle, I can¡¯t help but feel anxious. Alexis, who is the cause of this journey, has begun to speak apologetic words and tries tofort me. Percival has not said a word since we departed while carrying with him some wine and the trunk.


    Those who get dragged by the cor more than once, will most likely be divisive, thinking such a thing, I took out a piece of parchment from my pouch and wrote on it with my pen.


    Of course it is to repel any beasts. I try to make this little kitty-cat¡¯s face look wild. Un. With this, other wild animals will stay away.


    ¡°Beasts should avoid us until we leave the woods.¡±


    The parchment is gone, so I took a small peep into my pouch.


    I brought along all the parchment I could find from the castle, but there is still a limit. The magic that I can cast isn¡¯t permanent in the first ce. If the effect of the spell fades out, I would just draw another cute kitty-cat and reapply the spell.


    For me, who was living in an old castle and usually never left, there was no need for something like a permanent spell of beast removal. I would be safe inside my stone walls. Even if the beast removal effect on that castle did wear off, it could be easily reapplied, and speaking of strong sustainable magic, my armor is lighter.


    Even so it asionally expires, and there is a case that someone might fall from the sudden heaviness of the armor in an old castle. ¨C ¨C In such a case, that person would just have to lie down in the armor, call for help, and Robertson woulding rushing over with the reincantation. Ah, what a wonderful friendship ¨C


    Anyway, there is a limit in the number and the power of my spells.


    Hearing that, Alexis nodded back with a serious look.


    ¡°If you have been suffering from this curse from a long time, then you should be able to survive somewhat even without the help of my spells, so please forget a little bad luck and do not ask for my help. For example, Alexis, isn¡¯t there a serpent currently biting your arm?¡±


    ¡°...I understand. It hurts, but I will endure it.¡±


    ¡°Prince, please shake it off like normal.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Percival because this snake is not poisonous. It just hurts when it bites.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a matter of whether it is poisonous or not.¡±


    Sweeping away the snake from the Prince¡¯s arm, Percival sighs.


    Watching Alexis get bitten by another serpent while he rubs the area where the previous snake had bitten him, Mte suddenly remembered something.


    ¡°Beast removal only works on beasts, so please be careful as it doesn¡¯t affect poisonous insects.¡±


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡°Do poisonous insectse out around here?¡±


    ¡°A traveler who stayed with me once before told me that there were poisonous moths, but well, I think we will be okay as this isn¡¯t the right season for them.¡±


    ¡°... I see. Mte, are those mothsrge and pink?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Thick, tactile yellow wings ...¡±


    ¡°Why yes, Percival. Have you seen them before?¡±


    ¡°Right now actually. There are some on the Prince¡¯s shoulders ...¡±


    While Percival can only mutter this out, fatigued as he is, I thoughtfully looked at Alexis.


    Before I knew it, there were some puffy moths floating on Alexis¡¯s shoulders.


    In spite of this situation.....


    ¡°What fashionable shoulder pads!¡±


    I shouted.


    Needless to say that Alexis copsed at that very moment, and the serpent who was biting his arm let go and ran away.


    ¡°Alexis has brown hair, so the colorful pink shines well.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying!? Prince, are you alright?¡±


    Percival rushed to Alexis¡¯s side. Apparently Alexis has gone numb. He answers Percival with an, ¡°It¡¯s all right,¡± but his voice is trembling quite a bit, so I don¡¯t think he¡¯s all right at all. In reality, even though he could return words, he couldn¡¯t move at all, even a twitch.


    While watching the two y around and demonstrate what they meant when they said this journey would have, ¡°many hurdles,¡± I sighed and chased away a new serpent which was about toe up and chew on Alexis¡¯s hand.


    It was not to help Alexis, of course.


    ¡°You will destroy your stomach if you chew on such a thing.¡±


    It is a kindness to the serpent.


    ¡°Because insect poisonsts awhile, I hate it. On that point, it hurts when they bite, but reptiles are still better. The most annoying ones are fish. I cannot say anything positive about being poisoned from the inside.


    ¡°Sommelier?¡±


    We are talking about poison while walking in the woods. Although Alexis is still numb from the poisonous moth and cannot walk, he is being carried by Percival.


    ¡°Sorry Percival. I must be heavy.¡±


    ¡°No, I do not mind. Even though the numbness remains, it seems that you are still fine. Nothing is more important.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t important. Mr. Snake, how about taking one more bite to see how it is.¡±


    Here! As if it had heard and responded to Mte¡¯s call, a serpent snapped up with a *pyon* and bit into Alexis¡¯s arm.


    A miserable scream escaped Alexis¡¯s lips, and Percival quickly swings Alexis away to try and get him away from the snake. Alexis screams even louder as this only worsens the numbness ..... And Mteughs inside her helmet at the unimaginable sight that is ying out before her eyes.

 Chapter 11

    Bread and Wine and Sister


    Although Alexis was chewed on by three snakes and swarmed by more poisonous moths after the first two had flown away, the group still managed to reach the city somehow. Although it was exceedingly past the scheduled time, Mte was amazed to hear Alexis and Percival say things like, ¡°We arrived earlier than I expected¡± and ¡°I¡¯m d I arrived here alive.¡±


    This urban area near the royal pce is crowded with people every day, and even when the sun has almost set, there are people constantlying and going. Even though that should be the case, even though a few seconds ago you could clearly see people everywhere, chatting andughing and running about, in an instant everything became silent. It was because the unfaithful prince had appeared.


    The gazing eyes are severely cold, and even though all those frosty looks weren¡¯t being directed at myself, I couldn¡¯t help but grimace inside my helmet. All around people were whispering, and I could hear contempt towards the abusive Lord Alexis.


    ¡°It looks like Prince Alexis is quite hated. Serves you right.¡±


    ¡°Mte, could you perhaps choose your words a little more carefully?¡±


    ¡°It looks like everyone is absolutely disgusted by your very being, Prince. Serves you right.¡±1


    ¡°Not the direction I meant.¡±


    While Mte wasughing because of the easy-to-say verbal abuse, Alexis sighed pitifully, and Percival red at the crowd. It could be said that Percival¡¯s eyesight was much colder and sharper than the crowd could every hope to pull off. Are you wary of bing too frustrated with your lord¡¯s situation or....


    However, after taking a deep breath and spitting out all the resentment inside of himself, he changed the topic. ¡°I will arrange a horse-drawn carriage.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s also buy some meals to take onto the carriage. Prince Alexis, as it could be dangerous, stay close to me.¡±


    ¡°Is this city dangerous ...? What about Mte?¡±


    ¡°I will exchange this wine for money. The cold look I am getting from standing near you two is starting to affect me.¡±


    With plenty of disgust, Mte decided on a meeting ce for the horse-drawn carriage, and she started walking with a happy feeling and the loud rattle of her armor in her wake.


    Then, proceeding about halfway down the road, she took a look back behind her. She watched Alexis and Percival turn to walk away, and she saw the people¡¯s cold and somber gazes move to follow them ordingly. The sight of the city visible through her helm looking strangely more frigid even though it was the same scenery as before.


    (Percival¡¯s POV)


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡°Escorting Prince Alexis must be hard work.¡±


    Percival narrowed his eyes slightly to the words that the shopkeeper said. He was d that he had the Prince wait outside ... While I agree, I think this shopkeep would have said this even if Prince Alexis was in the room.


    To make matters worse, what does he mean when he says Prince like that? He wrinkled his eyebrows and clearly spoke the word with disdain. It was by my will that I decided to protect him, and I will proudly dere so. Right now, it¡¯s about the only thing I can dere though.


    ¡°Other people are waiting, please wrap it up soon.¡±


    I hesitate to use a hurrying voice, there would be no meaning in a store like this where they tend to gather wild horses.2 I have learned many times over this past year that no matter how well you make your arguments or how desperately you make your pleas, people will not think twice about tearing out your heart.


    ¡°Do not make the story worse, even if you will be leaving the city soon,¡± I tell myself. I received a paper bag with some bread in it, but i end up reacting to the words, ¡°that poor girl.¡±


    ¡°That girl you were with, was that Miss Mte?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Hiding their figure like that, it cannot be said that she¡¯s not miserable. Because of her terrible appearance, so even the daughter of a distinguished family can be a pitiful person.¡±


    ¡°Terrible appearance ...¡±


    ¡°Both the mother and sister are such beauties. God sure is cruel?¡±


    To have such a difference in beauty between sisters, to the shopkeeper who wasmenting that with a color of sympathy in his voice, Percival stuck to him over the counter.


    ¡°Have you seen Miss Mte¡¯s face!?¡±


    ¡°Eh, huh, face? Oh no. The other party is the daughter of the Idira family, you know? A bakery like this wouldn¡¯t have seen her when she was young.¡±


    The shopkeeper dumbly shook his head, overwhelmed by Percival¡¯s momentum.


    It is said that the second daughter of the Idira family has been weak since birth, and the sisters stayed in their summer resort for medical treatment. Once it was decided that the sister¡¯s physical condition had improved enough, the older returned to the capital city. On the day that she returned though, she met her fiancee Prince Alexis for the first time who called her ugly, and the engagement was broken off.


    Immediately thereafter, Mte started to conceal her face, and she withdrew to the old castle.


    In other words, the only people who have seen her face are a very tight social circle. There are few people who saw Mte¡¯s face, and those who did would only have a few vague memories. Besides, her sister is a beauty that you could not miss, so the surroundings would only remember her beauty while those vague memories would be immediately blown away.


    ¡°You¡¯ve never seen Mte, but you say she is ugly?¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s because she is always hiding her face so much, and those were the words from Prince Alexis. And the Idira family immediately changed the fiancee to the sister, so isn¡¯t that proof enough?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen it.¡±


    ¡°Well, even if she is ugly, she is a gentle child.¡±


    The shopkeeper ced out some fish as he was talking about it.


    Percival gave a small sigh as he received it ... ... ¡°I will take this too.¡± He then picked up the small bag off the counter.


    (Mte POV)


    Not knowing that such an interaction was taking ce at the bakery, Mte had traded in her wine at the usual store.


    When I whispered to them to not expect any more wine from the old castle for awhile, they asked me where I would be going. I told both clerk¡¯s that I would be visiting another country, and the clerk¡¯s expression became cloudy. It is easy to understand.


    It was an expression somewhere betweenbor and worry. It was the exact opposite type of bright expression from when I talked to the prince a few years ago. I was proud of how tenderly I approached our first meeting too.


    Too much ..... I received the gold while remembering something that made me tremble. There was no sarcasm in their voices as they told me to ¡°Be careful.¡± It makes me feel like they may actually think about me even if our rtionship is only about the connection between wine and money.


    ¡°Armor girl.¡± Although it is a nickname that carries with it only irony and sarcasm, but these people do not hate the girl Mte specifically.


    These people act as if they are talking to a full body of armor, and they buy wine from it. The conversations have an incongruity to them, but they are not like those who persecute me for my appearance. At least, they don¡¯t hit me with a tant cold re when I walk in the door.


    That is why I cannot understand Alexis¡¯s sudden change of character.


    As Mte was deep in thought while walking down the street, she heard some lively footstepsing close from behind her. Then,


    ¡°Sister Mte!¡±


    Hearing a voice, she span around.


    There was a beautiful girl with dark blue hair. She was wearing a beautiful dress that was shinier than anything else in town. Covered in glitter, a twinkling sound echoed in her mind.


    Seeing the figure of such a girl, Mte stood alone, ¡°Emilia...¡± and said her sister¡¯s name.


    1. The second time Mte says ¡°Serves you right¡± she uses a more polite, womanly form of the verb, but it means the same thing.


    2. An idiom. He is essentially calling them all asses.

 Chapter 12

    Older and Younger Sister


    Emilia Idira is the second daughter of the Idira family and the sister of Mte. She is also the fiancee of Alexis. Currently, with Alexis¡¯s evaluation falling, the voices are rising to have the second prince seed, so it may be more apt to say that she is Alexis¡¯s fiancee for now.


    She is an adorable girl who gives off a feeling of childishness and innocence with her jade color eyes and navy blue hair. Innocent and naive, yet she was so weak and fragile when we were young. No matter how hard you look, you would never find anyone with a grudge against Emilia.


    Alexis who would be the perfect king and the innocent Emilia at his side ... ... Two years ago everyone was praising how well they suited each other and dreamed of the happy times in the kingdom¡¯s future.


    ¡°Emilia, why are you here?¡±


    ¡°When I heard that my sister was here, I ran as fast as I could. You normally visit the city in the early morning, and I can¡¯t see you ..........¡±


    Emilia shyly tells how she has trouble getting up in the morning. Before such an adorable appearance, Mte narrowed her eyes in her helmet.


    Emilia is a kind child. Even when Mte concealed her face and cared for the fact, even when she wrapped her entire body with armor and retreated to the old castle, Emilia still persistently appealed. She always did everything she could to try and heal the wounds of Mte¡¯s heart.


    However, Mte could not respond to this kindness from such a sister. Emilia, who realized that she was only putting more of a burden on her sister, forced herself to take a distance.


    ¡°Emilia, have you not fixed your habit of staying upte at night?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah. I do a fortune every night, count sheep, and pray, and......then it¡¯s morning and I¡¯m sleepy.¡±


    Mte smiled at the embarrassed Emilia. If you were to tell Mte that people don¡¯t change, then she would definitely believe it right now while hearing Emilia¡¯s nostalgic words and seeing her smile.


    Emilia was an adorable girl with a smile that just shined. Fine jewel hair ornaments shined along with her smile, and a fine dress with lots of gorgeousce shook with her every time she moved. It was said that the second prince and his majesty tailored them specially after hearing the rumors about how Alexis treated her.


    A breathtaking cloth dress special ordered from a foreign country and hair ornaments decorated with beautifully cut fine jewels. They were both set aside for only special parties, but when she heard that Mte was in the city, she immediately put them on.


    When Mte heard that, she told Emilia that she was stretching a bit wearing such clothing to a downtown area, but Emilia returned that there was no more special event than her being able to see her sister.


    That story, those clothes, Emilia was a picturesque sparkling princess. How vivid and adorable. Before such a dazzling light, Mte had to narrow her eyes inside her helmet, and she softly ced her hand on Emilia¡¯s shoulder. The iron fingers hang on the expensivece.


    ¡°Emilia, thank you foring to see me, but I have to leave now. I will be gone for awhile, so you shouldn¡¯t send me any letters.¡±


    ¡°But Oneesan......¡±1


    Emilia¡¯s voice was sorrowful, and I know in my heart what she is worried about. A pure girl, even when her older sister had be a lump of iron, she still always sent letters while not receiving any replies. She would always use pretty pink paper for her letters along with pressed flowers. From about a year ago, she sent one written on gold leaf paper, so beautiful it looked like a piece of artwork.


    She had written how she would avoid the family because of the nostalgia it would bring about for the sister who had decided to live alone in an old castle. Emilia knew that if she was hurting from something like this, then all the letters she was sending to her sister were probably doing the same. That¡¯s why, in order to not be a burden, she sent that onest letter to have a positive farewell.


    The letter, once I read it, I could tell just how much you thought and agonized over it. ..... That¡¯s why I only read it once.


    ¡°Oneesan, please at least take this with you just in case ...¡±


    Emilia reached up to her neck, and she gently removed a ne with a red stone she was wearing. The stone shined in the bright light, and the color tone changed depending on the angle. At times, it was dark enough to draw you in, and it was light enough to reflect your image off of it at others. You could see that the ne was expensive just at a nce.


    In the first ce, Emilia was the royal fiancee and a daughter to the Idira family. It makes sense that her belongings would have a difference of three to four zeroespared to that of themon citizen. At the very least, it certainly wasn¡¯t the toy essories we yed with when we were kids.


    Surely a normal family could live a lifetime of luxury off of this one ne. I thought about such a thing as I gazed at it. Perhaps it was because I have spent too much time in that old castle, but I immediately started wondering how many bottles of wine I¡¯d have to sell to match the price of the ne.


    ¡°I cannot ept such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Please keep it as an amulet. I will always pray for Oneesan¡¯s safety.¡±


    ¡°Emilia.....¡±


    Mte could only shrug her shoulders with a bitter smile. Good luck charms and prayers, Emilia had believed in such things since long ago. And embracing your dreams. She was born weak, and she tended to incline herself into the hope of chasing one¡¯s dreams.


    And surely such prayers and good luck charms suit a sparkling princess. Even if I know I am from a witch¡¯s line, ¡°I do not want to be a witch. I want to be a magical princess,¡± I appealed such to myself, and it was enough to satisfy my childish prayers and dreams.


    Nothing has changed from that time. No, it is not that I miss my favorite childish prayers, it is that my prayers have grown into a wish for a safe and stable life.


    Thinking so with a small smile, Mte graciously took the ne and put it in her pouch.


    ¡°Thank you, Emilia. I will treasure it.¡±


    ¡°I am not giving it to you. I am lending it out, so please return it properly ...¡±


    I just might end up being dazzled to death before my journey even starts, but I nodded my affirmation to Emilia because I don¡¯t think she¡¯d ever let me go if I didn¡¯t.


    Originally, I would immediately return to the old castle once this trip was over. There are no other ces as cozy, I still have some magic books left there, and most importantly, Robertson is there. Of course, I will return this ne neatly.


    ..... However, although it is not certain whether I really will return, I cannot tell a lie, so I just nod.


    ¡°Well then, I will go.¡±


    ¡°Sister Mte, please take care. If it seems possible, I don¡¯t mind even a single word, so please send a letter.¡±


    I vaguely replied to Emilia who seemed to be unhappy and quickly walked away.


    Emilia¡¯s gaze is focused squarely on my back ... I can feel it through the armor, so i will not turn around. My pouch feels heavy. It seems I am dazzled by my own ineptitude.


    As I headed to the meeting ce, I noticed that Alexis and Percival were already there.


    It was a good horse-drawn carriage. I wonder if it will be possible to leave immediately if this is the case, but as soon as I approach the carriage, the horse suddenly starts acting up. It starts whinnying with a loud voice and stamping the ground with its feet.


    ¡°....well, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because you look heavy, so it doesn¡¯t want to take you?¡±


    To the Percival who can carelessly talk about the weight of ady, Mte gave a cold re. Of course she knew he meant her armor when he said, ¡°heavy.¡±


    However, this armor is under the effect of lightening magic, and it actually weighs the same as a feather contrary to its appearance. The only weight there was to be had was the original weight of Mte. If it is a horse that is used to carrying packs on its back, should it not be able to carry a light girl such as Mte?


    As she appealed so, Alexis and Percival actually looked impressed, and the rampaging horse calmed down with onest snort from its nostrils. Apparently it seemed convinced, but Mte went ahead to stroke its back to show there were no hard feelings.


    ¡°I am terribly sorry. I will make an inspection to ensure that nothing was broken during the horse¡¯s rampage, and loading will be finished after I have confirmed that everything is in order.¡±


    To the employee who apologized for the dyed departure, Percival and Alexis both lightly nodded while Mte said,


    ¡°I guess we will never be safe as long as we have a bad luck fellow.¡±


    And shot a blow to Alexis. It is a stance where she will needle him as much as possible.


    Alexis unexpectedly sighed to such a Mte, and Percival slowly pulled out a small bag from within his traveler¡¯s bag.


    It was shaken in front of me, and my armor rattles about as I tilt my head to the side. It was a cute pink bag tied off with a simple white ribbon. It was a bag that was usually used for small sugar confections, and it looked really out of ce in the hand of Percival, who is apparently a knight.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a sweet. I bought it for you.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°.........that is.¡±


    Percival doesn¡¯t say ¡°to eat.¡±


    His expression twists about instead. He would asionally make that expression while I was packing in the old castle, and he would mumble some things to himself. If you ask for something to remove the numbness, you will notice that it is gone when there is nothing.2


    I observed him and the sweets alternately before fixing my gaze on him through my helmet, and


    ¡°I do not need it.¡±


    clearly telling him my refusal.


    ¡°I intend to make you both buy various things for me. That is my selfishness, my malice. Receiving a gift from you is nothing more than a bad joke.¡±


    Spitting that out to them, Mte turned away and quickly got into the carriage.


    The men could not find the motivation to say anything back. Not Alexis who stared after me with a gloomy expression, nor Percival who could only silently put the confection bag back into his traveler¡¯s bag. Gazing at each other, they both felt their moods get even worse, so they both sighed and stared off into the day after tomorrow.


    The appearance of Emilia wearing that gorgeous dress crosses my mind. As you can see, the people watching us from the shadows are annoying.


    My pouch is heavy.


    Then the horse-drawn carriage started off, and they began making ns for the future.


    While carrying a somewhat daunting air around it, the horse-drawn carriage swayed, the surroundings gradually darkened, and Mte decided to sleep as there was nothing to see in the world that spread out outside her window.


    1. I¡¯m avoiding using Oneesan just because it would look a little weird to suddenly put in some Japanese words when I don¡¯t use any other honorifics or words or lingo anywhere else, but since Oneesan is being used as a name, I ended up giving in. So sorry if any of this feels awkward.


    2. First of all, this idiom took me way too long to trante. I just didn¡¯t get what she meant and assumed I was reading it wrong. But yeah, the idiom is pretty much saying that you can¡¯t fix a rtionship when there is no rtionship there.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 13

    <h4>The Escort Knight¡¯s Madness in a Coach at Midnight</h4>


    I dreamed about a long time ago.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Emilia and I were together, and I rest my head on my mother¡¯s knees andy on my bed. My mother¡¯s thin and supple fingers wouldb through my hair, and she would sometimes mischievously pinch my nose. Feelingfortable and a little sleepy, I would talk to Emilia and her about my dream.


    I would like to wear such beautiful dresses, I want to wear bright and colorful jewelry ... ... The dream of a young child is infinite, and talking to mother was never exhausting.


    How nostalgic it is. It is such a long time ago.


    I wonder why I¡¯m remembering something like that right now?


    Why......,


    In this situation where an adult male¡¯s hard knee is being used as a pillow, and a brave hand is stroking a helmet, why have such soft and brilliant memories been interupted?


    ¡°.....Percival, if you are sleepy, please go to sleep first instead of saying, ¡°We are both tired from earlier.¡±


    ¡°Mte. Sorry, did I wake you up?¡±


    ¡°I was having a good dream and it¡¯s annoying........Stop! Do not hit me with the *ponpon*! In this situation you can bare with being sleepy!


    Shaking off the hands of Percival who was taunting her as if she was a child, Mte got up in a panic. Even when I re at him, he still softlyughs. On the contrary, he taps his knees as if to say, e back over.¡± It is very infuriating.


    Not only that, but when I did not respond to his invitations, he spread his arms out and slowly approached. This is bad........I can¡¯t retreat. There is nowhere for me to escape in this carriage. In other words, it was easy for him to embrace me.1


    Thanks to the armor, there is no tension unless it is painful, and naturally my heart isn¡¯t beating fast. It is just a bad touch.


    ¡°Oh, please return to sanity soon.¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte, you are such a kind and nice child. Thank you foring with us on this journey.¡±


    ¡°Then do not disturb that good child¡¯s sleep.¡±


    ¡°If you cannot sleep, I will sing you a luby.¡±


    To Percival¡¯s proposal, Mte stopped joking, and she seriously started to rampage in his arms. I will definitely be given a nightmare if I am forced to sleep on his knee while listening to him try and sing a luby. I don¡¯t even feel like sleeping in the first ce.


    However, in response to my tant refusal, Percival did not show anyprehension, and he kept saying things like, ¡°thank you,¡± and ¡°you are so kind and gentle.¡± At the end, he started stroking my head saying, ¡°you were so nice to stay.¡± The expression and choice were quite gentle, but for me it only caused chills and difort.


    How annoying.


    If I were to lose my temper here and curse him, that may be a bit excessive of a punishment. It might be enough to just learn from this experience and insist that we change the guards a few more times during the night. Then again, it is bad to interrupt someone¡¯s sleep. As I thought, there is no other option.


    Mte moved her arms about to grab a curse paper. Then while she was targeting her spell and about to activate it......,


    ¡°Miss Mte, sorry.¡±


    When he started whispering in a voice like that, I reflexively swallowed my words.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mte ... involving you in such a thing ...¡±


    ¡°..... Percival.¡±


    ¡°There is no one else we can rely on other than you anymore ...I cannot help it, I do not know the reason ...¡±


    Percival¡¯s words only came out in fragments, and he was hugging me so tightly that I couldn¡¯t see his face. Although it wasn¡¯t painful, I could understand that the hold around my armor was still quite powerful. And the fact that his arms were trembling could also be faintly felt.


    ¡°Prince Alexis is an unfaithful scoundrel. Why everyone is saying that, why everyone believes it so easily......¡±


    ¡°Why is that.......¡±


    After all, Mte couldn¡¯t answer him.


    Alexis is cursed. In fact, I confirmed that he was cursed, and because of this curse, he has continued to suffer unhappily while the evaluation of him has plummeted.


    Failure, rumors, and mistakes all piled together to make a bad reputation. The vassals abandoned him one after another, and the people¡¯s hearts turned cold toward him. Now his reputation has plummeted to the ground, so if he were to venture out alone into the city he would be beaten behind closed doors while apanying voices would jeer him.


    That is why I wonder. Why did the surroundings change their minds as if this was all arranged? Because Alexis was once adored as a good prince, the people changing their attitudes so fast like this is just too unnatural.


    Especially since his bad luck is so ridiculous. To the constant unhappy misfortunes that riddle Alexis, originally people should have tried to help him, make amodations for him, or at least pity him. Even if the rumors were to run rampant, with no solid proof to any of them, it should have been split into those people who would believe them, but there should also be people who have suspicions and just write those rumors off.


    Even so, the ministers and the public all changed their evaluations of him. They jumped right to the side of despising him.


    .........Until only Percival was left. Only he was left behind.


    ¡°Even His Majesty doubted Prince Alexis. I almost can¡¯t believe what I¡¯m saying. It¡¯s almost funny. I feel like I¡¯ve been thrown into another world. I do not know who to trust; anyone could be an enemy. Miss Mte, I am scared that I won¡¯t be able to bear it......¡±


    ¡°Percival.....¡±


    ¡°I pulled you out of the old castle and got you caught up in all this. You do not need to forgive, and you can even kill me with a curse at the end of everything. Just please, please, kill me in the precious original world.......¡±


    That¡¯s what I was told in a pained voice while being hugged, and all I can do is sigh while still trying to wiggle free.


    I know what he is saying. The surrounding attitude towards Alexis seen in the city area is too direct, and it would normally be unthinkable to a member of the royalty. It seems as if all the people surrounding Alexis changed overnight. Even to me who had a grudge against him from the very beginning think it¡¯s too strange.


    Is this a curse? But then what does the curse actually do?


    Who, why, when, and how was the curse done?


    ¡°Percival, I cannot investigate with my magic. Anyway, let¡¯s go see the witch in the neighboring country. I also have something I want to confirm.¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte, sorry. Let me bear the hardships. I........¡±


    ¡°Percival?¡±


    ¡°...................¡±


    I suddenly felt something wrong with the stupidly persistent Percival, so I pushed him away to escape his arms and get a look at his face. He was speaking with a tone as if he was about to cry earlier, but now he was averting his eyes. Gradually releasing his arms from around me, he took a step away, and rested one of his arms overtop the window while looking out. Then, in a calm voice,


    ¡°The moon is beautiful tonight.¡±


    he muttered. Incidentally, dark clouds were covering the sky tonight. Since it was raining before, the wind was humid and sticky.


    Mte sighed in relief as Percival had finally returned to normal. Wise man time start.


    ¡°The switch is sudden huh.¡±


    ¡°......It¡¯s a wave. It¡¯ll normally pass after 15 minutes.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t say you don¡¯t remember saying, ¡®You do not need to forgive, and you can even kill me with a curse at the end of everything,¡¯ right?¡±


    ¡°Kuh, you¡¯re remembering unnecessary words again.¡±


    What a memorable iron mass! While Percival was clearly upset and ring at me, I just stuck my tongue out to him underneath my helm. Of course he should not be able to see it because there is some iron in the way, but the second I stuck my tongue out, his brows clearly twitched. Good intuition as usual.


    But in this situation you should know that you have dug your own grave. I have full ability to mock him here, and he cannot return any insults orints. While I remember his words, he makes an expression that clearly shows he knows his own position and is very ufortable.


    This is a winning opportunity!


    A bell to begin open warfare sounded off in Mte¡¯s brain. Normally this guy is hateful and annoying, but when he is sleepy, he leaves himself open for a counterattack. Although I have a stance of torturing Alexis whenever I can, if the opportunity presents itself, I¡¯m sure I can spare some time for Percival as well.


    ¡°Percival, I am going to go back to sleep again, so please sit down.¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Then please give me ap pillow.¡±


    ¡°I will tell you that, your helm was really heavy. You should review that lightening magic of yours.¡±


    ¡°Where is my luby?¡±


    ¡°Who will sing!? Just forget about all of it!¡±


    Percival does a good job of yelling while whispering. Being careful to not wake Alexis, he has been whispering this whole time, but I don¡¯t really care and end upughing inside my helmet.


    I fully enjoyed his reaction. Is this just another good dream I am seeing? As I think so, in the end,


    ¡°Because I am a good and kind child, I will forget everything for a sweet cake.¡±


    I told him a lie.


    Percival¡¯s blue eyes became slightly rounded, and I suddenly feel a little guilty for not really meaning it.


    He looked at me as if there was a celebration going on in his heart ¡ª ¡ª confetti is flying, a banner is shaking overhead with the words ¡®One Point!¡¯ ¡ª ¡ª I slowly closed my eyes. Thoughts can whirl around in various ways, so let¡¯s just sleep for now I tell myself.


    .........Just before falling asleep, I say onest word at the end.


    ¡°Please let me sleep for thirty extra minutes since you disturbed my sleep.¡±


    And then I went back to sleep.


    Incidentally, Percival gave me an extra hour before the change of shifts.


    1. I just want to point out one thing. Each character has their own little w. Alexis is unlucky and Mte doesn¡¯t want to show off. Funny and understandable. Meanwhile Percival¡¯s thing is that he is really creepy when he is tired. Like, pull out the taser and pepper spray creepy.

 Chapter 14

    <h4>Trilemma in a Carriage</h4>


    Relying on the light from my hand, I draw up a spell, and when I am finished, I read a book.


    I originally lived alone in the castle. Changing my environment to a carriage doesn¡¯t make my time move any differently nor does it leave any difort. Naturally, I do not feel lonely. I actually feel ratherfortable.


    But it is troublesome to constantly drive away the poisonous moths that keep flying in on a regr basis.


    ¡°What a fashionable lizard in the window.....¡±


    ¡°Good evening, I am poisonous!¡± or at least that is what the colorful lizard seemed to be saying as it stuck to the window. I breathed out a sigh before lightly tapping the window to let the lizard know to go home. I then sat back down to try and read some more of my book ........ before I had to drive away a swarm of poisonous moths that hade to the window. How many is that now? Between the moths, the lizards, and the frogs and all the other various creature that were trying to get inside this carriage. Of course, every single one of them was quite fashionable.


    And I have to drive them all away. It was easy work the first time, but it gets annoying having to do it repeatedly throughout the night. All this effort isn¡¯t to protect Alexis¡¯s sleep by the way. It is to protect Percival¡¯s. I would really like to be spared of having to deal with him when he is tired again.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡°But as a result, I end up protecting Alexis. It¡¯s really really annoying.¡±


    While muttering so, I take out a sugar confection and throw it into my mouth.


    A faint aroma and gentle sweetness spread as the confection melts in my mouth. It is delicious, but when I think about how I obtained this sweet by threatening and ckmailing Percival for his previous episode, it only gets even tastier.


    Then while enjoying the sugary goodness of the confection, and periodically purging the poisonous moths and lizards, I killed time by reading my book. It was a history book describing the witch hunts. It is filled with a lot of bloody descriptive words, and it is a very frustrating thing to read when just killing time.


    I am capable of reading these types of things by myself. Even if it is dark.


    Do not tell me that there are some dangerous noisesing from the darkness; reading in this type of atmosphere can be fun and exciting. I also realize that darkness is producing what some would call scary noises.


    ¡°Is it possible to borrow books from witches?¡±


    The thought suddenly struck me.


    Books rted to witches and their magic are only owned by the witch themselves, and they are passed down in their family generation after generation. They are not something you can pick up from a bookstore. The Idira family magic books that I own are ones that I picked up from the old castle, and I have spent a lot of time in the old castle reading them.


    What I am trying to say is that I am getting sick of rereading them.


    I know that it is necessary to read something three times to truly acquire the knowledge, but I still want to read some new magic books. Surely the witch from Phosphorous Country has a magic book that I have not seen. Or maybe they will have another book about the witch hunts.


    Would they be willing to lend it to me, or is it something where I would have to trade with them? Unfortunately, I do not have any witches as friends who could answer these questions for me. Then again, I don¡¯t have any ordinary friends either. Robertson is a very good spider friend, but that isn¡¯t an achievement I can necessarily pin to my chest.


    While I was thinking about such a thing, the horse-drawn carriage rocked and came to a stop with a *gattan*. The colorless water in the cup that I was holding swayed, and the ne near it swung forward hitting the cup and producing a lighter sound. In order to find our exactly what was going on, I stuck my head through the window to talk to the driver.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The wheels have gotten stuck in some mud. We will be on our way again just as soon as I free it.¡±


    ¡°Can I help?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±


    Telling me to wait, the driver took out some tools and boards, and he got to work on one of the wheels. His movements were deft and fast, so I withdrew my face as an amateur¡¯s assistance were clearly unnecessary.


    Opening the door and looking at the ground, I saw that the ground was indeed quite muddy, and there were puddles of water dotting the road here and there. ording to the driver, it had apparently been raining for several days in this area previously. It¡¯s only natural that a wheel would get stuck on a road like this. How unlucky.


    While looking up at the cloudy night sky and sighing, a frog slipped in through a crack of the open door. As if it was pursuing it, a snake slithered in afterwards.


    ¡°If you do not leave the carriage before we depart, we will end up taking you far away from your homes.¡±


    Chatting with the two, I shoo¡¯ed them back out of the carriage away from Alexis ......... and my eyes went round in my helmet. Whether it slipped in unintentionally without me noticing or there was a gap in the carriage¡¯s roof and it fell down, there was a ratherrge slug resting on Alexis¡¯s face. It was quite obese, and it was squirming over Alexis¡¯s face. While I was looking at it, the snake came back in and gathered on him as well. There was a triangle rtionship of predators right there, and the three did their best to eat each other.


    Alexis awoke with a start when he felt them moving across his body, and his breathing was heavy and muddled. While listening to such groaning, I sat back and watched. It was about time for a shift change anyway.


    ¡°How ... ... ...why, why are these things on my face ...?¡±


    ¡°Oh good, you¡¯re up. It¡¯s Alexis¡¯s turn to watch. I¡¯m going to bed, so don¡¯t ck off.¡±


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t act like this is normal..... Oh god, I¡¯m so slimy......¡±


    Lookingpletely creeped out, Alexis tried to sweep away the three animals while groaning ..... and as a result of that movement, the three quit fighting each other and moved around to find cover from this new assault.


    ¡°Uwaaaa, stop.....quit sticking to me!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just sticky overall, aren¡¯t they? Yosh, there! Go!¡±


    ¡°Mte, don¡¯t encourage them!¡±


    Alexis struggled to get rid of the three animals while keeping his voice down. Like this, can it be said that this was anything besidesical and hrious?


    This was a good way to kill time while the carriage is stuck. But while I was watching this, Alexis eventually screamed out in frustration, and the sleeping Percival grunted in a small voice.


    As soon as she heard it, Mte panicked and started calling off the three.


    ¡°Desist, desist! Because an annoying person seems to be getting up, desist!¡±


    Waving her arms and head, Mte removed the battling three back into the mud.


    It would be dangerous if Percival woke up now. The snake and the frog and the snail fighting, Percival struggling to drive them away, Mte is made to rest her head on Percival¡¯sp, and Percival¡¯s luby echoing in the carriage.....it can only be called chaos. It would be hell.


    Imagining such a scene, I wipe the cold sweat from my brow. Well, it can¡¯t be done. My iron glove just scrapes across my helmet. Then I turned my gaze back to Alexis. He was wiping some of the slime off his face with a towel when he noticed my gaze and turned back to me.


    ¡°Mte, why is the carriage stopped.¡±


    ¡°The wheels have been caught in some mud, but they are likely to get it fixed soon.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Were there any other problems?¡±


    ¡°If you mean were there any problems for us, then there was nothing. However, if you mean there were no problems among us, I will say that there was.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Someone got sleepy.¡±


    ¡°Ah....¡±


    That¡¯s right. Alexis turned his eyes towards Percival.


    Although he had stirred earlier, he seems to have settled back down, and he does not notice the gaze set upon him. Folding my arms and shrugging while leaning against the window, I do not bring up the words said before. He is an annoying person, I mutter in my heart, but I will not tell Alexis those words. Because Mte is a gentle and kind child who promised to forget the words said several hours ago.


    ¡°He is very annoying when he is sleepy. Has he always been like that?¡±


    Clinging to people when you are sleepy, cuddling up to them and randomly stroking them, it could be a major problem. It would be an incident if the victim was a woman not wearing armor. ¨C No, it is a problem even if she is wearing armor. ¨C


    Alexis shrugged his shoulders and answered Mte¡¯s question.


    So far, Percival has lived in a knight dormitory full of men, so the damage from his sleepy escapades has only affected his male colleagues. It seems that at those times, he was beaten or thrown into the bath. Talking about it, at the end Alexis mutters that, ¡°it started about a year ago.¡± If it is like this, then it is around when Alexis¡¯s bad luck began. It must be to eliminate the peace of mind that would be generated if they slept in the same room, or so Alexis says.


    Listening to such a story, Mte sighed in her helmet and turned her eyes to Percival as well. In the time where it was impossible to rest or where it was so boring that you¡¯d naturally get sleepy, why is this only happening now? The reason is simple, because I used a spell to limit the effects of the curse. I enjoy watching Alexis suffer when the curse is in y, but that means I have to deal with Percival when he is annoying and troublesome.


    How unreasonable. I don¡¯t want to think about it anymore, so I just say, ¡°I will go to bed,¡± and I lie down on my spot.


    Then inside of the carriage quiets down.


    Once the whole carriage shook with a start, the driver called in to announce its departure, and it took off once again. Fine vibrations and the sound of the wheels turning continue. Everything is rattling slightly, and the water in my cup is churning about. The ne that was next to me is now in my hand...inside the gauntlet. If it was a flesh and blood hand, I¡¯d probably think that the ne was cold, but I could not tell through the iron. Grasping the ne gently enough so as to not scratch it, I tried to close my eyes inside my helmet.


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of hot and humid ... ... Mte, I am going to have a drink of your water.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Alexis, that¡¯s...¡±


    I got up from my rest and tried to stop him.


    But I didn¡¯t make it in time. When he took a drink, Alexis¡¯s face scrunched up, and his face turned pale in the blink of an eye. In a panic, he threw open the window, stuck out his head, and spewed the water out in a coughing fit.

 Chapter 15

    <h4>Armored Girl and Cursed Prince</h4>


    ¡°Mte, did you assume I would drink this water after getting attacked by those three?¡±


    ¡°That is no longer in the realm of just being a witch if I did.¡±


    Taken back by Mte¡¯s answer, Alexis made a bitter smile and muttered, ¡°I suppose so.¡± Of course now, Alexis was supposed to run with a joke beginning with, ¡°That water is....¡± but like a first time daikon radish actor, he let it die. I made myints known through the re I gave him.


    Still, it was him who drank the water without permission, but I was the one who made the water unpleasant. Although it would not have tasted unpleasant if anyone other than him had drank it. I decided to take some pity on him and gave him a sugar confection to roll around and melt in his mouth. A sigh of relief passed through his lips.


    ¡°Sorry Mte, I have prevented you from resting.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can just go to sleep now. I¡¯ve also prepared a spell to repress the effects of your curse.¡±


    ¡°I rely on Mte for just about everything. .........Sorry.¡±


    To Alexis who started muttering some things on his own, Mte did not respond and lied back down.


    It is a fact that he is inconveniencing me. He dragged me out of the old castle, and now he is taking me to a different country. Annoying would be the perfect word to use here. But Alexis¡¯s mumbling is falling hard, and I can¡¯t understand what he is saying. However, I don¡¯t feel like saying something like good night or acting friendly, so I¡¯ll just drift off in silence.


    The sounds of the carriage¡¯s rattling and creaking wheels along with Alexis¡¯s asional mutterings of ¡°Sorry,¡± did not make a good luby. The driver is just being a driver, but the Lord is bringing down the mood. Thinking so, Mte picked herself up a little bit to appease the Alexis drowning in guilt.


    ¡°Sorry Mte, I don¡¯t remember what you look like.¡±


    My voice caught in my throat, and my short breaths trembled a little in my helmet.


    Alexis hid his face behind his hands. For someone who was taller than me, he sure did look small right now.


    ¡°...You don¡¯t remember?¡±


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡°Aah, I can¡¯t remember. I said such terrible things, and I can¡¯t even remember the reason...¡±


    ¡°Well, it was the first time we ever met. The only time we ever met. Only that moment...¡±


    ¡°So it can¡¯t be helped.¡± I try to say something like that, but the only thing that came out was my own gasping breath. My throat is trembling, my voice won¡¯te out, and I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m just having trouble breathing or about to vomit. What sounds I could make were bruised and inaudible, and a strange pressure was building up on my chest.


    Alexis does not remember my face. He does not remember the intentions behind that word. Seriously, does he really not remember?


    But if so...then, why did I be such a pathetic armor girl? I hid my face and my entire figure, I was afraid of anybody even learning what the tips of my nails looked like.


    Thinking about such things, Mte¡¯s heartbeat sped up rapidly and her breathing became shallow. A damp wind was blowing through the armor, and her muddled clothes stuck close to her body. The young voice of so long ago echoed in her head, and that scene began ying in front of her.


    Unlike the Alexis whose voice was trembling when he admitted that he couldn¡¯t remember, Mte recalled every detail of that moment. Of course, that included his appearance as those cruel words passed across his lips. Even now, she clearly remembered the sight of her kind parents giving away her sister Emilia as she wailed in her bedroom.


    Her breathing turned into gasping and a bad sweat was gluing her skin to the inside of her helmet.


    ¡°.....Mte........Mte!¡±


    When someone forcefully grabbed her shoulders, Mte returned to her senses.


    Deep brown eyes were staring at her. Alexis has grown much since that time, but the color of his hair and eyes have not changed since then. Somehow a remnant remains. His lips slowly part the same way as that time......¡±


    ¡°Mte, sorry.¡±


    He apologized with a pained voice and slowly let go of Mte.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have reminded you of something unpleasant.¡±


    ¡°Alexis...¡±


    ¡°It was wrong, and I won¡¯t do it anymore. Please rest up.¡±


    Trying to be as soothing as he could, Alexis pushed on my shoulders. I guess he was urging me to lie down. Seeing as there was no reason to resist, I took a deep breathe in my helmet. The sound of the creaking wheel continued with a constant rhythm, but it helped my heart return to normal. Soon the dark and ufortable emotions inside me gave way to an ufortable drowsiness.


    I probably won¡¯t have any good dreams... as I thought that, I slowly closed my eyes, and Alexis¡¯s appearance remained in my narrowing vision until the end.


    A few hourster.


    ¡°Mte, you are a good child. Sleeping soundly is good.¡±


    ¡°Uwaa, she¡¯s going to be angry...¡±


    Such a ¡®conversation¡¯ was being exchanged inside the carriage.


    As a matter of fact, Percival was sleepy. Poor Mte, woke up with her head in hisp and him petting her helmet again. This time, though, there was something intermixed in. Was this a luby? How annoying.


    When Mte turned to Alexis, he was looking really apologetic ..... although it was a different from the painful sorry from before, this one also made her extremely tired.


    ¡°From that heavy air, why is this situation.... wasn¡¯t this guy sleeping the entire time?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but he was leaning his head against a window when he fell asleep...¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°The whole carriage shook a little while ago, and his head hit the window waking him up.¡±


    ording to Alexis, the shake of the horse-drawn carriage¡¯s shaking made Percival ¡®Awesome!¡¯ when it mmed his head into the window. Then slowly looking around, his gaze fell on the sleeping Mte, and he gradually brought her helmet to hisp.


    He began to stroke...and.


    Listening to such a story, Mte took a heavy breath and shook off the hand that was still stroking her helmet. Still, Percival gentlyughed, and he tried to catch the Mte who was trying to escape.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t do anything to help you Mte, but Percival should be back to normal in about five minutes.¡±


    ¡°Five minutes ... ... ah, doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯ve been like that for ten minutes already?¡±


    It¡¯s hopeless ... ... and Mte began to mourn.


    However, I cannot keep mocking myself here. Any moment now Percival will extend his arms to hug me. I must avoid it by pping away his arms. I do not have time to mourn in between.


    ¡°Is there a way to knock him out of it?¡±


    ¡°If there is, I don¡¯t know it.¡±


    When Alexis responded with a bitter smile, Mte became slightly disappointed, dropped her guard, and was immediately captured by Percival¡¯s arms. As expected of the Prince¡¯s escort, the speed of his blows when shown a gap was truly instantaneous, and it was impossible for a girl to dodge, even if she is a witch.


    I was careless. I was strongly hugged into his chest, and his big hand gently stroked my helmet.


    At the end of such a battle, when the horse-drawn carriage calmed down after Percival returned to his senses, the sky outside the window had already started to brighten up. Alexis sits off on his own and admires the beauty of the rising sun. Then he gazed at Mte who had gone back to sleep, and he was relieved that she was no longer groaning or making any bitter sounds while she slept. There was a small voice that was leaked asionally, and sleeping gradually continued.


    She was peaceful, and that¡¯s good for now.


    Even if there was nothing good for himself.

 Chapter 16

    <h4>The Case of the Prince¡¯s Curse and the Inn 1</h4>


    We took a few hours of rest to eat breakfast and lunch before the carriage began to shake again, and we managed to make it to the next town before the sun went down. Looking at the situation out through the window, you could see a dense crowd of people jumbled about.


    On the way, there were many small incidents that we had to deal with such as more fashionable mothsing in, fashionable frogs crawling in, the horses falling in love at first sight and toppling the carriage over as they chased down their loves¡ªnothing unexpected at least.


    While thinking about such things, the carriage lurched forward beforeing to aplete stop. The driver called into the carriage letting us know that we had arrived before opening the door for us.


    Percival and Alexis grabbed some information about the city while paying for the fare while I stretched out my aching limbs. I¡¯m not sure if that noise is the sound of my armor scratching against itself or the scream of my body having finally gotten off of the carriage after a long time.


    Then, while continuing to give my body the movement it so desperately craved, I made sure to caress the nose of the horse that had brought us this far. I felt that the horses eyes shined a little speaking to me about its new lot on life with love. It was a way of life unsuited to me.


    ¡°First we will find some amodations, have dinner, and we will head back out tomorrow morning with a new carriage...¡±


    With a map of the city in one hand, Percival started going over the ns for the day.


    Listening to it, Mte felt her mood start to brighten up. The word ¡°inn¡± that escaped her lips sound like a sweet melody to her as it echoed inside her helmet.1


    She had been looking forward to this all day. It will be the best inn in the city. Unlike the narrow carriage, she could stretch out her limbs on top of the bed. There will be male and female bedrooms, so the deceitful Percival¡¯s annoying illness would not bother her. And most importantly, she could remove her armor. To this, especially, Mte felt a smile break out underneath her helmet.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s quickly go to the inn! I will be taking the best room!¡±


    Practically pushing the two men forward, Alexis had no room toin, and Percival only knitted his brows as he took a peek into his wallet.


    How does it feel?


    At the counter of the inn they chose, Percival seemed a little reluctant.


    ¡°Two rooms please. Make one of them your best room.¡±


    I beg you.


    On the other hand, Mte felt better than ever, and her mood only got better when she interrupted Percival with the words, ¡°On the top floor!¡±


    This is a three story inn. Besides the counter and dining room, there is nothing on the first floor, so the top floor might not mean anything with this inn. But there is a principle here that she would notpromise on. And she would be lying if she said that watching the crease in Percival¡¯s eyebrows deepen didn¡¯t bring her some delight.


    Mte then pulled out a menu for room service out off of the counter, and she began to flip through it. This was of course to show off. On the first day of their trip, she was made to sleep in a carriage, and she was forced to have Percival give her ap pillow. It¡¯s about time these two learn what happens when they bring along a witch.


    ¡°...On the top floor?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The best room on the top floor. With room service as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Just to let you know, the top floor of this building is slightly tilted, so be careful.¡±


    ¡°As long as it¡¯s not on the roof.¡±


    To all the grief Percival had given her the past two days, she would return it all at once. She picked out some midnight snacks immediately and asked thedy at the counter to have them delivered to herter.


    In this case, she noticed all the people near the reception counter staring at her. The sight of someone in full body armor ordering such things would be unusual. Plus, this town is only a day away from the capitol. Surely the story of, ¡°a pathetic armor girl who was thrown away by the prince after being called ugly¡± had reached this ce. She didn¡¯t really mind them staring, but with their gazes fixed on her for too long, she starts to get a bad feeling and a cold sweat begins to break out.


    Even though I am covered in iron, I still get the feeling that they¡¯re looking at me and something ugly is being reflected in their sight. What is that something? I do not know. It¡¯s because I don¡¯t understand that I became like this.


    ¡°...Mte, is there something wrong? Are you alright?¡±


    When Alexis called out to her, Mte came back to herself. His deep, teardrop-like eyes were staring into her...well, they were trying to, but because of the iron helm, they were slightly off. From here, she could see Alexis¡¯s eyes, but he could not see hers. No matter how much he looked, iron and magic would block his view.


    As she thought so, Mte felt a wave of relief wash over her, and she took a look around her at the surrounding people. She heard someone whisper, ¡°armor girl,¡± but nobody could see her. Yes, she just kept telling herself that.


    ¡°Mte, if you don¡¯t mind, could you prepare one of your curse avoidance spells?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to avoid your curse?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I will be staying in my room the whole time.¡±


    I have also read more adult books. The Alexis is showing a strong front, but his eyes are clearly looking for an escape route. I do not even have to imagine why. Just as I am exposed to gazes and rumors as the so-called ¡°Armored Girl,¡± he is exposed to disdain as the ¡°Prince of Infidelity.¡± Him staying in his room the whole time would most certainly be the correct choice.


    Thinking so, I took out a pen and a piece of parchment from my pouch and started to draw a cute kitty-cat.2 This time I drew a cute hachiware kitty-cat that was sticking it¡¯s tongue out. How adorable.


    ¡°Please make do with this. It will onlyst you through the night, so do your best until the effect expires.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Mte, but did you have to go to all that bother to draw up some poor animal have its head split open?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a cute kitty-cat!¡±


    Impolite! I wanted to appeal, but Alexis was already being guided by the hotel staff and left with a bitter smile. You could tell just by looking at him that he was anxious, and when he looked back and said, ¡°I will spend the whole time in my room, so please do some shopping for me,¡± he looked quite pitiful.


    Surely, if I was apanied by constant misfortune I would not like to go shopping either. To such a thought, all I can do is shrug my shoulders and wave to Percival as I made my way out of the inn to buy some more parchment and ink. I decided to ignore Percival muttering, ¡°clione?¡± when he saw my spell this time.


    Along with the parchment and ink, I take a look at the carriages lining the street. Although I don¡¯t have the courage to browse through stores while wearing a full body suit of armor, I can still get an idea about what they sell by taking a look at the wagons they have. In the end, I bought myself some pink nail polish and returned to the inn when the sun had begun to set and the street lights were lit.


    I took a meal in the dining room of the hotel.


    Apparently there were some seasonal travelers going through town as the dining room was quite crowded. The quiet whispers of the local vigers could barely be heard amongst the backdrop of drunkenughter and merriment. It was my first time eating in a ce like this......I don¡¯t usually eat with other people in the first ce actually. I was pretty anxious at first, but I started to feel better after a little bit.


    After finishing my meal, I thought about returning to my room early in preparation for tomorrow...... but I decided to go to Percival and Alexis¡¯s room instead. Of course it was to see in what ways Alexis¡¯s bad luck had tortured him.


    ¡°...You shouldn¡¯t just visit a man¡¯s room like this Miss Mte. Do you want to follow us there tough at the Prince¡¯s bad luck?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s 90 percent of the reason, but I also want to adjust the spell I gave him.¡±


    To enhance the curse avoidance effect¡ªif I say something like that, then Alexis and Percival have no choice but to let me inside. They¡¯ll listen to just about whatever I say if it means that they will get a good night¡¯s sleep.


    Understanding that whatever I want would be better than the curse, Alexis let out a small breath and nodded to let mee. He was clearly fatigued, and there was a small abrasion on his forehead. The curse avoidance that I gave him seems to have worn off faster than expected. I wonder if he fell off a chair or something.


    ¡°Well without Mte¡¯s spell things would have been much worse. All right. Have your fun, Mte.¡±


    ¡°...Prince Alexis.¡±


    ¡°I am already ustomed to the bad luck of an inn.¡±


    Sough hard, is what he¡¯s saying right? Alexis walked back towards his room. His back still looked anxious, and Percival was left staring after him. I think the saying goes you add and divide by two.3 If that were to happen, I am worried about what Percival would do with all his pent up energy.


    ¡°Because the Prince says it¡¯s okay, you cane in, but if you are only here to enjoy his misfortune, return to your room. In addition...¡±


    ¡°I know, don¡¯t poke the curse. I will make a spell that will block the curse throughout the night.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a deal then. .....If you make a mistake though,¡±


    ¡°If I make a mistake?¡±


    ¡°I might end up sleepy again.¡±


    ¡°What an unprecedented threat.¡±


    I waved off Percival¡¯s threats and his piercing gaze with a wave of my hand and walked with a *patapata* into the room.......although with my armor on it would have been more of a *gatchan gatchan*. But on the inside, I was not so dismissive. My only true relief was that Percival couldn¡¯t see the scared look I had underneath my helmet.


    Anything else besides the Other Percival. What will happen if I¡¯m sleeping? ......Underneath that tilted roof, ¡°Miss Mte¡¯s hands are beautiful,¡± he¡¯d do something like use my pink nail polish on my armor.


    This must be what they call a monster. ......Thinking so, I followed behind Alexis.


    ¡°I know what Mte is expecting, but something won¡¯t happen any time soon.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes. When I go to bed, the floor will give out while I sleep, a cat burr will break into my room, or some strange woman wille banging on my door. Right Percival?¡±


    ¡°That is so. There were a few times that I thought we were safe, and then several things happened at once.¡±


    Two people walked and talked, and I just nodded my head while walking behind them.


    Although the curse itself is continuous, there seems to be an inconsistency in the events that happen. From minor things to bump and bruises to events like poisonous moths and lizards, the only rule is that Alexis doesn¡¯t die or even maimed. It is a rtively subtle and obscure curse from a witch.


    Thinking that way, Mte¡¯s helmet creaked as she tilted her head to the side, but she quickly put her thoughts to the back of her mind because they had reached their destination.


    Unlike her best room of the inn on the top floor, this one had a simple and uninteresting door. It also apparently only has two narrow beds inside as well.


    ¡°Since we will be leaving early tomorrow, please try to keep the bad luck moderate.¡±


    ¡°I know. And I will be ready at an appropriate time.¡±


    As Mte purposely told them that room service would being for her, Alexis shrugged his shoulders as he unlocked the door with the room key and took hold of the door knob.


    The door made a small creak as it slowly opened, and......


    ¡°Surprise!¡±


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    .....several cream pies flew out into his face along with the sound of bellowingughter.


    1. It¡¯s a littlete to be pointing this out, but this story really does switch between 1st and 3rd person in some of the strangest ces


    2. Hachiware means there is a split in an animal¡¯s coloration. It kind of looks like they¡¯re wearing a mask.


    3. This is a tricky one. I did some research, and I believe what this saying essentially means is that they¡¯re fine together. Percival and Alexis need each other, and if they were to separate form one another, they would both not be able to get by.

 Chapter 17

    <h4>The Case of the Prince¡¯s Curse and the Inn 2</h4>


    Alexis received that pie to his face in a spectacr fashion, but his body stiffened up afterwards.


    I cannot say that the air in the corridor wasn¡¯t cold. Where there had been a cheerful and jubnt cheer of ¡°Surprise!¡± earlier, there was now just a heavy silence. You could still hear the lively chatter of the dining room downstairs, but even that sounded as if it wasing from some distant ce.


    The situation is only further exacerbated by how perfectly the pie had attached itself to Alexis¡¯s face, creating an exquisite bnce for itself.


    When the silence was finally broken, it turned noisy pretty quick because the people who had thrown the pie had noticed their mistake. In an instant, those responsible¡¯s faces turned pale, and they quickly got to work removing the pie from Alexis¡¯s face. The cream was stuck on there quite admirably, so they took out towels and handkerchiefs and wiped it all off apologizing the whole time.


    His face remained stoic despite the stubbornly attached cream, and if you look, there was quite a bit messing up his hair as well. Even in such a state, Alexis continued to try and calm the perpetrators down, telling them not to worry about it, and that it was just an ident.......isn¡¯t he a little too friendly?


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡°Alexis, is this alright?¡±


    ¡°Mte, they had no hidden motives.¡±


    ¡°Prince Alexis, are you alright? Are you injured?¡±


    ¡°Do not worry. It does not hurt anywhere.¡±


    ¡°Alexis, was it delicious?¡±


    ¡°I am d you asked Mte. I would say that I would have preferred a more moderate sweetness. Having just eaten a meal, it was a little more sweetness than I could bear.¡±


    Alexis replied so while wiping the leftover cream off his face. Under these circumstances, he sure is showing a lot of restraint. If someone were to make a mistake and identally pummel my face with a pie while lying in wait in my room, I would like to yell and curse out those responsible.


    Is this the size of his vessel, or is he more forgiving because this is a byproduct of his bad luck?1 Is he just no longer bothered by harassment that is only at this level? I am stubborn......but even I feel a little bit of pity for him as Alexis ushers me into their room.


    The inside of the room is not that wide. It is like someone ordered a simple amodation so the builders created something as simple as possible. There are two beds with a small table in-between them. There seemed to be a bathroom, but it looked like it was just tacked on as an afterthought.


    Alexis immediately headed towards that bathroom in order to wash out the cream still stuck to his hair. I can see a little fatigue stuck on his expression. It¡¯s right there next to the fresh cream stuck to his temple. You certainly would want to wash that away quickly. And while I was absentmindedly thinking about such things, Percival had gone ahead and started to inspect the beds.


    He pushed down on it in order to see if the legs would break off or if the bottom would give out and turn into a futon. When he was getting ready to take a peek underneath to see if someone was under there as well, Mte couldn¡¯t help but shrug her shoulders and say something from the chair she had taken a seat in.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little too worried? People don¡¯t usually hide under random beds.¡±


    ¡°Just to be sure... Ah, were you also supposed to be part of the surprise? Unfortunately, the party is actually next door.¡±


    ¡°Someone¡¯s there!?¡±


    Hyaaa! Mte released a blood-curdling scream when a clown slowly crept out from underneath the bed. That is seriously scary. I don¡¯t know what kind of surprise he was thinking of springing, but something like that would be seriously traumatic.


    But that clown waspletely apathetic to myints, and he left the room with a smile on his face. Then in a matter of seconds, cheers rose once again along with the call of ¡°Surprise!¡± from the next room over. Apparently it was another failure this time. I¡¯m d they¡¯re having fun.......even if I can¡¯t fully believe this situation.


    As Mte once again realized just how ridiculous Alexis¡¯s bad luck manifested from this curse, the man in question returned after taking a quick bath with a towel wrapped around his shoulders. His hair was still damp and dripping water droplets. Even though he was wrapped up in the cheesy sleepwear that the inn prepares, those pajamas looked like first-ss goods just from him having worn them.


    While wiping his hair, Alexis tilted his head in curiosity.


    ¡°Have you found anything?¡±


    ¡°No, just a clown.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good.¡±


    Percival exined the ¡°little clown¡± incident, but all Alexis did was shrug his shoulders and give a bitter smile. Apparently they got off pretty easily with just a ¡°little clown¡±. I didn¡¯t listen in to their talk in too much detail, but even then I could tell that they had gone through some issues in the past when it came to underneath the bed.


    After watching the two and listening to them speak for a moment, Mte suddenly stood up. Alexis who had finished bathing did not look too terribly worse off, but he was a little pale and was slightly shivering. Upon inspection, despite how narrow it was it looked like just an ordinary bathroom, and only water came out from the from the spout... I thought that some bad luck had urred in the bathroom, but maybe I was wrong.


    Mte had headed to the bathroom to check it,


    ¡°Hm, it really is just water but...¡±


    and came back after a few minutes.


    It really was just water. The pipes looked old, but they were solidly built. I thought everything was fine until the freezing water struck me through the gaps in my armor making me feel like I had just stuck my hand in a bucket of ice water. However, when I went to Alexis with this, he just continued to dry his hair and returned,


    ¡°Hm? But I only got water?¡±


    He was looking at me like I was the crazy one.


    ¡°That...wasn¡¯t the water really cold?¡±


    ¡°It certainly was. What about it?¡±


    Alexis said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.


    Apparently he had bepletely used to such cold baths over the past year. Actually, it seems like he had gone even beyond that and thought that baths were supposed to be had with cold water. Mte did not know how to respond and could only stare nkly at him while thinking that he was truly strong.


    I may need to change my way of thinking. Alexis is indeed badly hit by his curse, but in proportion to it, his adaptability is truly frightening. As a result of this trip, most of these events just happening due to Alexis¡¯s own bad luck is just bing more and more unlikely.


    ¡°So Mte, are you satisfied....¡±


    Satisfied? Alexis¡¯s words stopped around here as the moment that he sat down in a chair, the two back legs snapped with a loud *CRACK!* He looked quite pitiful, but he did not scream and dutifully fell on his back. Percival rushed over to help him.


    I was about to say something, but before I could, loud cheers rose up again cutting off my thoughts. I nced in the direction from where the voices wereing from¨Cthat being the wall separating us from the next room over. We were right next to a party venue.


    It sounded quite exciting. Music followed by more cheering followed the sound of dancing, p-sticks, boisterousughing. How fun it seems and not in the least bit inconvenient.


    ¡°This will probablyst the whole night.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if it will continue until dawn........we might be lucky and get a full hour of sleep.¡±


    Alexis and Percival both wearily stared at the wall.


    I could see the sorrow wafting from their shoulders. I could not help but to sigh and take out a piece of parchment from my pouch. *sara sara*2 I will draw a cute kitty-cat for tonight¨Cone that is dreaming about fish. That should be suitable for the night.


    As soon as I showed the spell to repel the curse for them, the two looked at me like I was an angel. As soon as I activated my spell next to their bedside, the group in the neighboring room that had been cheering and yelling until now moved their party to the bar as they had run out of sake. The effect of the spell felt astounding as the loud rambunctious noise from before quickly quieted down.


    ¡°Mte....¡±


    ¡°A witch¡¯s whim. I cannot promise that it willst all night, and room service will being by soon.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Mte. It¡¯s a very cute ... ... sea slug?¡±


    ¡°A Cute Kitty-Cat!!!¡±


    ¡°Ah, in that case I understand. They¡¯re three cats ying together.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one cute kitty-cat!!!¡±


    How rude! And Mte rose up in anger.


    She stormed out of the room, but when she reached the doorway, she hesitated for a single second. She turned back around to the two and spat out, ¡°Good night!¡± before closing the door a little harder than normal.


    1. The size of his vessel is a Japanese idiom referring to the depths of one¡¯s kindness. This author really enjoys their idioms.


    2. The Japanese have a lot more SFX than we do. This one is the sound of her smoothing out the paper.

 Chapter 18 - The Witch is Tsun and Whimsical

    <h4>The Witch is Tsun and Whimsical</h4>


    On arge and fluffy bed, a simple but refined table had been set. The cheese that the room service had brought up was beautifully packed, and I was surprised to see that the colorful flower ornament that I thought was just added on for aesthetics was actually made of cheese as well. It was a luxury dish that appealed both the eyes and the stomach. It was iparable to the violent assortment thrown together in the dining room.


    It was all natural cheese, but unlike whatever it was they had down in the cafeteria, this cheese had a unique fragrance and taste that went great with crackers yet was light enough to be eaten on its own as well.


    The taste was deep, fragrant, and rich in variety. In a word, ¡°It truly fit its expensive price.¡±


    ¡°This would go well with some expensive wine,¡± I thought to myself as I drank some orange juice. I never thought I¡¯d regret not having any of my cer wine.


    While enjoying such exquisite room service, I enjoyed a nice, long bath. After being tossed around in a horse-drawn carriage for so long, my body has be stiff, and I stink of sweat. Even if I stretch out my arms and legs a little, it cannotpare to thefort of having all the fatigue melt away in the hot water.


    This is the best room in the inn, so it naturally has arge bath thates with hot water. No, it is natural that hot water woulde out for an inn¡¯s bathtub no matter what room you¡¯re staying in, but Alexis¡¯s face as he walked out of a cold bath has seared itself onto my brain. Rather, it might be better to say that I have started to count my blessings that I can turn the knob and have warm watere out of the spigot.


    Then let¡¯s finish bathing and start painting my nails with the nail polish I had bought in town. The clerk, although he had quite the dubious look to his face when I walked in, said pink was a good color that blended in well with the nails. After I finish my left hand, I get started on my right, and when I am all finished, I take a moment to admire how beautiful my nails have be. Then taking a small breath, I wait for them to dry.


    Now that I have entered a time that I cannot do anything while my nails are still drying, I think about what to do next. I could go to bed since we will be leaving early tomorrow, or I could prepare some more ink for a spell ... ...


    Then I waved my hands a bit with a *patapata*, and after confirming that my nails had dried and were no longer sticky, I pointlessly wasted my time lounging around infort. Then when I felt myself get a little thirsty, I reached out towards my pouch in the corner of the room.


    Walking along with a *kashan kashan* down the hallway at night, I stop in front of the room that Alexis and Percival were staying in. I picked out and pasted a spell from my pouch onto their door when I heard the sound of footsteps, the door slowly opened in front of me.


    ¡°Miss Mte, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    It was Percival who emerged from the darkness. His gold hair was wet, and what skin you could see peeping through his pajamas was still dripping, so he must have just gotten out of the bath. Mte took a step back when he first called her name, and upon seeing that, Percival quickly assured her that he was not sleepy.


    Then heughed and said, ¡°I took a hot bath after a long time.¡± After spending a long time suffering misfortunes alongside Alexis, it seems that he was close to making the terrible mistake forgetting the fact that hot water is warm. If there was a third party listening in, they would most definitely be wondering what this man was saying, but Mte understood his pain.


    ¡°So, did you need something?¡±


    ¡°Why I, it¡¯s different...¡±


    There really wasn¡¯t any reason, Mte turned her face away inside her helmet.


    However that type of attitude just gives off the opposite impression and says that there most definitely was a reason why she came. Percival tilted his head in curiosity. Another water droplet dripped from his hair, but he was too preupied with Mte to think about drying his hair.


    ¡°.....I just ended up here while walking.¡±


    Iined about his sharp ears in my heart. I didn¡¯t knock on the door, and I was just going to leave after I finished posting my spell. It¡¯s awkward getting caught like this.


    But if I say that, then Percival will never let it drop, and he might even find it suspicious, so I have toe up with some kind of excuse. And while I was struggling over this, Percival sighed and shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°I be extremely sensitive to footsteps.¡±


    ¡°Footsteps?¡±


    ¡°.....Ever since a year ago.¡±


    Mte muttered ¡°Oh,¡± in her helmet. Percival didn¡¯t say anything afterwards and didn¡¯t look like he wanted to either. He turned his head away a bit, and his blue eyes narrowed with another sigh. He has probably been wary about trivial footsteps for the past year. His expression seems to say so at least.


    Alexis does not have extraordinary bad luck.


    Someone is artificially sending it, and it is a power even I don¡¯t fully understand. In other words, there is someone with malicious intentions for Alexis. There is no guarantee that the person responsible might eventually decide to take more direct action. Alexis is constantly hit with bad luck, yet he never sustains great injury from the after effects. Still, it is possible that when he falls asleep ....... there is always such a possibility. You also have to take in the people¡¯s possible actions when the unfaithful prince leaves the country.


    Percival surely thought of such things and has been wary of every footstep in the night for the past year. He is the escort that protects the crown prince. But who is he supposed to protect him from? He doesn¡¯t know, so he has to worry about every possibility.


    Is could be the curse of a witch with a grudge or the machinations of an ordinary person.


    Thinking about such things, Mte just shrugged her shoulders.


    ¡°Even though Alexis gathers poisonous moths and snakebites, he does not die, and even though he is constantly taking cold baths, he never even catches so much of a cold right? Ah, but if you hit him with a brick, that should kill him.¡±


    ¡°What a horrible thing to say.....¡±


    Percival stared at me annoyed. His eyes changed from the previous fatigued look he had earlier to one that clearly wanted to chide me for my disagreeable words. I responded suitably¨Cby sticking my tongue out underneath my helmet.


    ¡°Although, if it was Miss Mte, I don¡¯t think you¡¯d die even if you were to be hit in the head with a brick.¡±


    ¡°How rude. Witches are the same as human beings. They will surely die if beaten upside the head with a brick.¡±


    ¡°And people inside the country are likely to do so.¡±


    ¡°.........who is inside?¡±


    ¡°By the way, why did Miss Mtee here in the first ce?¡±


    Percival muttered something troubling under his breath, but when Mte asked more about it, he quickly changed the subject to something else and gazed at the door. Thinking that he saw something, Percival took a half-step out into the hallway, ¡°What is this?¡± ......and noticed the spell hanging on the door.


    The curse depicted a curled up kitty-cat sleeping peacefully. It was the type of figure that when you see it, you just want to crouch down and give it a good pet.


    Percival narrowed his eyes and stared at it for awhile. He observed it closely, tilting his head a little to an angle before finally saying, ¡°All right. I give up. What is this?¡±


    ¡°........A cute kitty-cat.¡±


    ¡°I know that. No matter how hard I look, I can¡¯t see any resemnce to a cat, but I understand you draw cats. So, what type of spell is this?¡±


    ¡°..........It is a cute kitty-cat sleeping spell.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so what does it do?¡±


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Mte nced between Percival and the spell hanging from the door wondering how he could not understand the effect from the picture.


    Percival misunderstood her reaction as being, ¡°I¡¯m not telling.¡± A merciless voice reached Mte¡¯s ears inside her helmet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me......¡±


    ¡°It might be a spell with a good effect, or perhaps it is a curse that invalidates the curse-avoidance spell I ced earlier. Or perhaps it¡¯s a spell with an even scarier effect.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°I just tried wanted to write something since I bought some new ink. It might be a terrible curse, so if you don¡¯t want to take the chance, go ahead and rip it off.¡±


    Instead of exining further or waiting for a reply, Mte turned on her heels and walked away from the door.


    At that time, I heard Percival calling after me, but I pretended no to hear him and continued walking with my iron feet echoing *kashan kashan* in the hallway. I¡¯m sure he will demand an exnation if I stop, so I should just hurry up and escape instead.


    When I turned the corner at the end of the hallway, I had bepletely invisible to Percival, and I ended up hesitating for a moment. Afterwards, I ended up taking a peek back round the corner.


    The hallway waspletely quiet and devoid of any figures. Of course that included Percival as well. I bet he returned to his room the instant I went away.


    And at the door......was my spell.


    It seems that he decided to not tear it off. It made me feel a little itchy, and I ended up instinctively scratching my head. Unfortunately no matter how hard I tried to scratch my head, as an armor girl, I just end up making a loud *gori gori* sound as my iron fingers scrape against my helmet.


    Unfortunately I can¡¯t clear up this irritating itch out hear, so I continue walking down the hallway to return to my room. While walking, I tried to take light steps to dampen the *kashan kashan* of my footsteps resonating in the hall.


    ¡°Witches are whimsical, and I just wanted to try out my new ink.......¡±


    So I returned to my room while making excuses to nobody in particr.


    At the back of my head, the itch is getting worse bing a pain-like numbness that is more irritating than before. How restless, I am ufortable.


    I wish I could have a good dream........I wish I had never done something so stupid.


    I told myself this before finally arriving at my room, peeling off all my armor, and entering my bed.

 Chapter 19 - Whimsical Witch and Witch Slayer 1

    <h4>Whimsical Witch and Witch yer 1</h4>


    The next morning, when Mte had arrived at the dining room where they had agreed to meet up in advance, Alexis and Percival were already there. Already stuffing their faces with eggs and toast, when they noticed Mte walking in their direction, they waved and said, ¡°Good morning Mte. We went ahead and got started ahead of you.¡±


    Isn¡¯t there a problem here? Although I don¡¯t consider myself to be especially high ss, but I am familiar that it ismon manners to wait to order food until everyone has arrived if you are meeting up to eat together in a group. Of course, since I don¡¯t really think of these guys as fellow travelingpanions, it doesn¡¯t really bother me.


    That is why I did not say anything and epted the breakfast that the clerk brought me. The main course was fried eggs with bacon. It had a sd with a cherry tomato as a side and some lightly cooked toast.


    It was a nice breakfast, but since I had that room service cheesest night, it seemed a little rustic. Still, I had noints as I bit into my toast.


    ¡°I saw a good dream for the first time in awhile.¡±


    While Alexis was eating, even though he did not know about the extra charm I ced on his door the night before, he was still giving his thanks for the curse avoidance spell I ced.


    He couldn¡¯t remember the dream he had in detail, but he was apparently wrapped up in something warm and fluffy. Although the contents were gone, that lingering feeling was enough topletely blow away his lingering fatigue. To have such a sunny smile, it must have healed him both mentally and physically.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    While Alexis was like that, Percival wasn¡¯t showing a much different expression. It was hard to say whether he had had a good or bad dream the night before, and his strangely still expression irritated my eyes a little.


    Oya, I tilted my head to the side a little. Although since I am still wearing my helm, Alexis and Percival could not notice such a small change.


    ¡°Percival, did you have a good night¡¯s sleep?¡±


    ¡°I had a dream where I ate a meal alongside that monster you drewst night.¡±


    ¡°A cute kitty-cat, isn¡¯t that a great dream?¡±


    ¡°The way it looked, I thought I was going to watch something absolutely grotesque, but he really knew how to handle his knife and fork elegantly, and he showed his wit in the rich conversation we had.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s cute, elegant, and stylish is he not?¡±


    When I asked him if it was a good dream, he answered that it was fun.


    Although I was starting to get worried that my spell had had no effect, I can only say that having a cute and fun meal with an adorablepanion would be a good dream. Actually, wouldn¡¯t it be the best dream?


    Of course I do not mind whether or not they give credit for their good dreams to my spell, so I just nod and say, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    After finishing breakfast, we prepare our luggage quickly, check-out of the inn and get on the carriage.


    The quality of this carriage is much better than the one we picked up the other day. When I thought about spending another night inside a carriage, I got depressed, but something of this level should be fine. It has soft cushions for its seats, so you should be able to rest easy when you lie down inside the carriage.


    ¡°It cannot be helped. I should be able to endure with this carriage.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the tallest carriage here... What are you going to do with this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s absolutely necessary to reaching the witch that can cure Alexis¡¯s curse.¡±


    ¡°...Is that so?¡±


    While Mte answered him with a puffed out chest, Percival sighed deeply and got on the carriage. Because she is stating it like it is a fact, it bes hard to argue. Mte could feel her inner noble girl rising in her heart.


    When I got on board, I chose for myself the biggest and softest looking cushion. The fluffiness epted body, and the fine quality cushion let off a good fragrance. The interior decoration of the horse-drawn carriage was also stylish, so it is almost certainly true that this was their finest quality carriage.


    From here to the next destination, the border city, should take about a day to reach with a horse-drawn carriage. Even if they are a littlete, it should take a day and a half at most, so we can take a break halfway there and make it by tomorrow afternoon.


    While she was running the math in her head, she set aside the thought, ¡°It would be nice if we made it in two days,¡± to the corners of her mind. The trip would take a full day if it was a normal person. The full day to get there could be considered the usual, and the day and a half is taking into consideration any small idents dying the trip.


    Of course something like this is the natural conclusion. It doesn¡¯t take into ount the fact that the customer happened to have been cursed by a witch. The driver looked a little perplexed when Percival told him to, ¡°Travel at a safe speed and on a problem-free route that would create no problems even if the cart were to break down.¡±


    After riding on the horse-drawn carriage for a few hours, we had sessfully driven away all the poisonous moths who wanted to follow along. Silence had descended inside the carriage, and Mte was off raising daises inside her head until she was pulled back to reality by Alexis calling her name.


    I pulled my face up that was buried inside the cushion.


    ¡°Oh, sorry, were you sleeping?¡±


    ¡°No, well.... did you need something?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, could you tell me about witches?¡±


    Because they didn¡¯t really know anything about them, it¡¯s natural they would want to know about what they¡¯d be dealing with, and Mte didn¡¯t really mind.


    Witches are usually whimsical and even if it is an order from the king, they will not nod their head if they don¡¯t fell like it. On the contrary, they are usually people who don¡¯t like standing up on a stage. Their interests usually include studying and conversing with their fellow witches.


    As far as knowledge about witches, this could be thought of as being generally known and is the extent that is told about inside this country.


    The Idira family was the only witch family inside this country, and we forsook the witch name long ago. The stories about witches that remain in this country are close to rumors at this point, and Alexis says that he was only vaguely told about them. It seems that the topic about witches was no longer examined in literature, and there were no documents left since I took them all with me to the old castle.


    Besides, since he was currently known as the Prince of Infidelity, asking the Idira family, the family that his fiancee belongs to, about curses was...


    So Alexis came to me.


    Since he will be meeting with a witch soon, I agree that it would be better for him to have some knowledge beforehand. Also, if we don¡¯t talk, then we will end up bored and sleepy.


    I almost had a heart attack when I saw Percival yawn earlier.


    ¡°I am not too familiar with the subject, but is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t want to do something rude when I meet with the witch, so I¡¯d like to hear various things. Does everyone use spells like Mte?¡±


    So Alexis began with his questions, and Mte shook her head.


    There may be witches who use the same or simr method, but not all witches handle magic the same way. Perhaps you have to draw out your spell by mixing ink with your blood, but this method takes time and effort to master.


    If you are a witch with talent or a witch that inherited your magic from generation to generation, you should be able to perform magic more easily. There was a possibility that Mte would beughed at and ridiculed as a newbie witch with only self-education. Perhaps the witch from the neighboring country would dismiss her saying, ¡°It¡¯s too much trouble.¡±


    If it is an experienced witch, they could use magic just by saying a specific word or performing a specific action. As she told them this, Alexis and Percival both looked away.


    ¡°Okay, Mte uses spells but there are other ways.¡±


    ¡°Even the Idira family of old used to have a diverse number of techniques, but doesn¡¯t this method suit me?¡±


    ¡°If you could use magic just by saying a word or a prayer, you could move a country.¡±


    ¡°I could, but I wouldn¡¯t. The country is pleasant as it is, and that sounds like a real hassle.¡±


    Mte cleared that up as soon as possible.


    Even if you were to read the history books of the past, when witches could be found all throughout the nation, there were only a few cases¨Cif even that¨Cwhere a witch became involved with a country, and those cases were usually them deciding to help out during a war. Whether or not they became involved with royalty is uncertain, but there is at least no records about royalty making a move based on a witches words alone.


    However, it is not that they don¡¯t have the power to move a country. With the case of Alexis¡¯s curse, if it is a powerful witch, she could kill him with just one incident of bad luck. As a matter of fact, it would be possible to kill the entire royal family and cause the country to copse...


    But I wouldn¡¯t do that. I have no intentions of doing that.


    However saying ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it,¡± is certainly different from, ¡°I can¡¯t do it.¡± There is always the possibility that a witch could have destroyed a country on a whim. There is a possibility that a person could have been killed by a witch hired by their spited lover, or that very spited lover could have been killed by the witch when they made their request.


    Everything is done by themandment of the witch, and thatmandment is entirely based on the severely unstable thing called, ¡°mood.¡±


    They are a terrifying thing if you turn one into your enemy, and they are not a very useful thing even if you turn them into an ally. If you don¡¯t handle things correctly, they may just make you lick their boots, and if you handle things too seriously, you may just make them angry. They are more selfish than children yet more intelligent than a cat.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what a witch is like. When you say it like that, they sound really hard to handle.¡±


    ¡°N, no, hard to handle is...¡±


    With Alexis taking a look at Percival, the other had trouble responding to Alexis¡¯s statement, and he ended up just silently nodding. He seemed to be experiencing the old condition called, ¡°Having awareness that something is going to be difficult to handle.¡± The two of them were prepared for something bothersome, but it could be said that the pressure scaled up as soon as they realized the horror of a whimsical witch.


    Did they be pale because dealing with the witch might be more troublesome than they had expected? Or have they realized that they are on their way to meet with such an opponent right now?


    Mte who was still resting on top of the really fluffy cushion watched their reactions for a moment before continuing on.


    ¡°Witches are certainly difficult, and normal people probably couldn¡¯t even meet with them. Even if they did, and the witch red at them, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use magic to resist...¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    Mte took out a book from her bag and handed it over to Alexis almost like she was trying to encourage him.


    A technique that could be used to resist against a whimsical witch with great power. Its presence isn¡¯t well known, and its existence is only really passed down as a tradition.


    The witch¡¯s magic does not work at all, and before it all witches be nothing but ordinary humans. That is...


    ¡°That is the Witch yer.¡±


    As Mte said it aloud, the horse-drawn carriage shook once with a loud rattle.

 Chapter 20

    <h4>Whimsical Witch and Witch yer 2</h4>


    ¡°Witch yer...¡±


    Alexis whispered the words back to himself like he was trying to confirm what he had heard.


    Mte flipped the book in her hands closed before turning to Percival.


    ¡°Percival, do you remember what we talked aboutst night? That if a witch is beaten upside the head with a brick, they will die?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I remember.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what were you guys doingst night?¡±


    ¡°I told Percival that you can kill a witch by beating their skull in with a brick. If a witch has their skull caved in by a person repeatedly hitting them with a brick, they would obviously die.¡±


    ¡°I see... So the witch yer is a brick?¡±


    ¡°Wait. Don¡¯t just advance the story on the premise that you would be able to just hit a witch with a brick.¡±


    Mte waved off Alexis¡¯s idea, but contrary to the overall joking atmosphere, Alexis was staring at her with a serious look. His eyes were boring holes into her armor, and the same could be said for Percival as well.


    The gazes of the two were hard for Mte. She could feel their gazes bouncing off the armor wrapped around her causing a resonating *jii~*1 to bounce around inside. Rather than hearing what the person inside had to say, were they trying to figure how to y armor instead?


    Cold sweat dripped down Mte¡¯s back, and she sunk further into the cushion to put a little distance between them. Her eyes were swimming inside her helmet. She could not escape from the gazes focused on her, but her eyes still kept darting around through the iron as if some way to escape would magically appear.


    Noticing that Mte had sunk into the cushion and sensing her apparent difort, the two men took a breath, lowered their eyebrows, and diverted their gazes to another part of the carriage. Alexis tried to keep his voice calm as he brought the subject back on track.


    ¡°So Mte, do you have something like a curse that can take down witches?¡±


    ¡°...No. Witches are immune to another witch¡¯s curse. Besides that one fact, witches are the same as other people and will die when hit upside the head with a brick.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to think you have a weird thing with bricks, but if that is the truth, is there a way for an ordinary person to get so close to a witch?¡±


    Mte silently nodded to Alexis¡¯s mutterings. Although it is not a pleasant thing to talk about how to repel witches such as herself, Alexis¡¯s remarks were correct.


    A witch yer is just an ordinary person, not even another witch. As soon as the person recognizes that magic does not work on them, they can be considered witch yers. It is not impossible for a witch yer to sneak up and take a witch off guard.


    ¡°It is always possible to attack a witch while she is sleeping. Nevertheless, before a certain incident, witches never really paid any attention to anything like a ¡®witch yer,¡¯ and they always wrote that off as just a random incident. The country acted as an intermediary and recorded these extremely rare incidents.¡±


    ¡°...A certain incident?¡±


    ¡°Yes, actually, a single witch was assassinated in her sleep.¡±


    It was a few hundred years ago. At that time, ¡®witch ying¡¯ was not known by that name, and there was never any reason that would warrant giving out such a name.


    At that time, a witch yer, the first person to be known as a witch yer, was hired when a woman¡¯s husband fell in love with a witch...


    At least he pretended to. In the end he was just using the witch to kill time. An entanglement of indecency that he enjoyed in his own snobbish way.


    The man tried to take advantage of the witch¡¯s magical skill for his own self-interest. He tried to toss her to the side when he was done with her, but he ended up being tortured and killed instead. For men, a witch that falls in love with you can give you anything given her mood, so it is synonymous to having a convenient woman with the best usability.


    In the wife¡¯s grief, the woman hired a man immune to magic, and he easily killed the witch in her sleep.


    After that, anyone who was immune to magic became known as a witch yer, and a long fight began between them and the witches.


    Even with absolute power, a witch cannot onesidedly kill regr humans on their end. Humans create, and witches rely on them for food, materials, and other daily necessities. No matter how good of friends a group of witches are, they would never sacrifice time that could be spent researching magic to procure these things for each other making it impossible for them to be self-sufficient.


    That is why the witches had to locate the witch yers specifically, leading many witches to have to hide what they were, which led to them being killed in their sleep. Even if you were to call it fighting, most of the deaths were the result of the two sides just cleverly assassinating each other.


    ¡°Such a fight... obviously ended with the witch¡¯s victory.¡±


    Although witchcraft is ineffective against witch yers, it was still effective against everyone else. If a witch has a country backing her, then a few ordinary men with a knife are no match for her. Sometimes they would curse a king, sometimes they¡¯d threaten the people, and sometimes they¡¯d deceive a vige to lead a witch yer to their inevitable death.


    In the first ce, the only reason why the disputested as long as it did could be said to be the whim of the witches. The first witch yer was hunted down for retribution, but everything after that was mostly for killing time and providing a fun show. Since they were written from the viewpoints of witches, the records that the Idira family left behind certainly held a surprising tone about the time period.


    However, even though it ended nearly a few hundred years ago, the witch yer¡¯s eradication is still known and talked about.


    Mte spoke about all of this quite lightly, and she gave off a smug smile when she saw the Alexis and Percival¡¯s faces pale. Have you finally realized the horror of a witch?


    Of course, I am also a witch, so I showed my pride by rising gracefully from the cushion and showing off my majestic figure. Confusion arises in Alexis and Percival¡¯s eyes. It seems that they finally recognized the poor armored girl that had been carefreely apanying them until now had be one of the magnificent and terrible witches that were in the story.


    It felt good, so I smiled in my helmet and pulled out a sugar confection from my pouch. I picked out the most tasty looking one and threw it into my mouth ... ... ... ... but it was a little slippery.


    ¡°Ah¡±


    I raised my voice without thinking.


    However, it was already toote. The sugar confection would never take its rightful ce in my mouth and instead rolled down the inside of my helmet, lodging itself with a loud *KONG!*


    When I reflexively stood up from my seat, things only got worse as the confection fell further down my armor with a *Kon* *Kon* *KONG!* ... ... ... Everyone turned their heads to my iron covered foot. We could not see the skin through the iron, but everyone knew that the confection had fallen all the way down onto my foot.


    ..........................................


    ¡°Pfft...¡±


    Percival was the first to break the silence.


    Even though he covered his mouth with his hand and looked away, his shoulders were still trembling quite grandly.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡°Kuu......¡±


    Alexis made a noise as he stared out the window.


    His hand was grasped so firmly over his knee that I could see the whites of his knuckles.


    It was quite obvious that they were enduring theirughter. They were quite close to their limits as far as I can see.


    Towards such two people, Mte narrowed her eyes inside her helmet and pulled out a piece of parchment and an ink pen from her pouch. *Sari sari* She quickly drew up an angry kitty-cat with fumes being expunged from its nostrils. Its gleaming fangs and inted tail appealed to the extent of its anger.


    Mte finished the drawing in almost a second before shoving it in front of the two¡¯s faces.


    ¡°Go ahead andugh, but whoeverughs first, I will beat this monster upside your head.¡±


    ¡°Mo- Mte .... .... ... no one¡¯ going tough.... .... ... Look, we¡¯ll turn around, so go ahead and take it off and take it out.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mte. The curse is ... ... ... the sugar candy is going to disappear, so let¡¯s buy some more at the next town.¡±


    So while two people continued to fruitlessly make their cases while trembling, Mte spoke the words of her magical invocation underneath her helmet.


    1. This is probably the first Japanese sound effect I knew without having to look it up. It¡¯s a prettymon one in anime; it¡¯s meant to be the sound effect for intense staring.

 Chapter 21 - The Drawing Competition and the Three Kitty-Cats

    <h4>The Drawing Competition and the Three Kitty-Cats</h4>


    ¡°This is pretty much all I know.¡±


    When Mte finished talking, she entrusted herself to the cushion with a *pashan.*


    There were few books left in the Idira family library, and most of them were rted to magic. What a witch is and how they interact with one another, very little was written about such things. The reading could be finished in a few days.


    There was only one book on witch yers, and it was more of a dramatic adaptation of a story than an actual ount. Itcked authenticity a reliable source.


    It had a way of writing that had an exaggerated sense of urgency, focusing on finding and killing thest witch yer. When I finished reading it, I had felt a sense of aplishment as if I was the protagonist and had just eradicated thest witch yer rather than feeling like I actually learned something. Well, it was a really good read, so I guess it¡¯s alright.


    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not too familiar with witch habits, as I¡¯ve never met one besides me.¡±


    Saying such, Mte rested her helmet back on the cushion.


    ¡°That reminds me, why are Mte¡¯s curse drawings........cats?¡±


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t a .......... cat, will the magic not activate? For example, what about other animals or a word?¡±


    Apparently the interests of Alexis and Percival have shifted from witches to magic.


    To that question, Mte looked at her pouch. Their words made her feel like there was something off when they said the word, ¡®cats¡¯, but she is a kind girl and will ignore that for now......


    She then took out a piece of parchment from her pouch and drew up a cute kitty-cat. There is neither a prop nor a gesture; it is just a simple kitty-cat. It might be a bit simple, but as long as the cat is adorable even without the decorations, it will not be a problem.


    She showed it off to the two men, and Mte¡¯s chest swelled with pride. Although since she was wearing armor after all, it only looked like the armor had slightly shaken from the side.


    ¡°I can draw anything. It is a curse as long as I imagine the effect, and use my blood in the ink.¡±


    ¡°So the main point is what the drawing represents to you?¡±


    ¡°..... that is a foot, and that is a foot. Then what are these three thingsing from behind the hind legs......?


    Ignoring Percival¡¯s mutterings of monstrosities, Mte nodded her head in affirmation to Alexis¡¯s question.


    The important thing is what Mte, whoes from a family line of witches, puts into the parchment. Shebines her imagination with the magic incantation, and she gives it from through the blood-mixed ink. That is how Mte performs magic.


    In other words, the parchment and pen are just tools, and if it bes necessary, she can make do with just ordinary paper and her own raw blood.


    While Mte is exining all of this, Percival¡¯s brow creases as he intently examines the drawing still being held up.


    ¡°I understand the method and practice, but .......... why a cat then?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well that¡¯s easy. It¡¯s because...¡±


    Mte proudly examined the spell she had just crafted.


    It was just a simple kitty-cat that was standing upright. It is so pretty, and the slightly trembling tail was a nice touch. She showed off how the tail was moving back and forth by drawing three of them with waves passing between them to show it off. It is a truly revolutionary technique she believed.


    The reason for why she only draws kitty-cats should be obvious if you are looking at such a picture.


    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m best at drawing cats!¡±


    Mte dered so with pride and joy.


    The air inside the carriage turned weird after that. The three were all silent, and only the rattling sound of the wheels running along the road ceased to quiet themselves.


    Without noticing the precarious and awkward silence, Mte took a satisfied breath and affirmed her ownfort. She figured if she could lean back onto the cushion, perhaps the issue of her stiff shoulders could finally be solved.


    Meanwhile Alexis and Percival didn¡¯t quite know what to do with themselves.


    ¡°....Num, number one. The best...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a little embarrassing. Besides these cute little kitty-cats, I can¡¯t draw that well.¡±


    ¡°....that¡¯s, I see.¡±


    Haha.........Alexis nodded his head and gave a cramped smile.


    That facial expression says that he wants to say something more, but for some reason he was holding himself back and just continued to stare at the spell she had drawn.


    Does he like it that much? When Mte tilted her helmet in wonder, Percival, who had been frozen sopletely that it would make you wonder if he was actually breathing, finally stirred. Noticing this movement, Alexis and Mte turned their attention on him who looked at them as if he had just had some sort of enlightenment.


    ¡°....I see. I finally understand.¡±


    ¡°Percival?¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte. You keep a creature that normal humans don¡¯t know about called a kitty-cat locked away in the old castle¡¯s basement don¡¯t you!¡±


    ¡°There is no such thing!?¡±


    ¡°I see! So your drawings are some kind of monster that I¡¯ve never seen before.....¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t keep anything and my drawings are really cute!¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s an unknown animal named Kitty-cat!?¡±


    Percival continued question the origin of the picture while Alexis had be interested in those unknown creatures asking himself, ¡°What would does something like that eat?¡±


    It¡¯s all a seriously rude affair. The only thing in the old castle¡¯s basement is a wine cer. There is no mysterious being called Kitty-cat living there. The only thing that does sleep there asionally is Robertson.


    In the first ce, this is an iconic kitty-cat that everyone should be able to recognize. It is obviously a stray cat that are abundant in urban areas. When they are in a good mood, they will rub themselves up against your leg and allow you to pet them, otherwise they may be feeling fickle and faint and will end up hiding themselves away where people can not see nor hear them.


    I tried pointing this out to Alexis and Percival, but they did not seem to be convinced.


    ¡°.....Fine then. You two must be pretty good at drawing if you can judge so much like this.¡±


    With a hmph, Mte became sulky inside her helmet.


    She then took out two pieces of parchment from her pouch and shoved them out in front of the two men.


    ¡°Mte?¡±


    ¡°Now, please draw a cute kitty-cat for me.¡±


    Knowing that they couldn¡¯t say no when they heard Mte¡¯s lowered voice, Alexis and Percival both pulled out pens from their bags.


    A drawingpetition suddenly took ce. Neither Alexis nor Percival could disagree, and for the moment, the only sound that could be heard in the carriage were the rolling wheels and the scratches of pens on parchment. Mte was beside herself in the cushioned seat feeling dissatisfied as she observed the two.


    They both ended up finishing at the same time and raised their faces while saying, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go first?¡±


    It was Alexis who stood up to the challenge first. He didn¡¯t really have any confidence in his abilities, and he handed over his piece of parchment while saying, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen a cat in awhile,¡± and scratching his head.


    When the piece of parchment was flipped over, Mte took a hard look at it, and Percival let out of voice of admiration.


    Everything looked great.


    On the piece of parchment was sitting a clever looking cat. It was lovely with a slender yet supple body that looked extremely soft and fluffy. Its tail wrapped around its back foot, asserting itself in front of the cat¡¯s body giving it an aura of magnificence.


    Alexis said that the proportions for the feet were off because he hadn¡¯t really seen a real cat¡¯s shape, but it was to the point that if he had not said anything, you would not have noticed.


    ¡°Prince Alexis is seriously amazing..... where did you learn to draw?¡±


    ¡°I learned at the pce, but I could not live up to their standards. I was never praised even once.¡±


    With that, Alexis quickly rolled up the parchment. He seems to have zero confidence, and with a bitter smile, heughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m still only at this level even with all those lessons.¡±


    Hecked any level of humility in his expression, and I could understand the situation well enough. From his birth, the first prince was surrounded by fine arts, spoke with the finest artists, and he probably had the best artists as his teachers as well. Simply put, his standards were too high.


    In response to Alexis¡¯s moping, I snatched the parchment from his hands, unfurled it, and observed the cat. Round eyes like marbles were staring back at me.


    Is this cute kitty-cat about to cry?


    ¡°This is cute. As unwilling as I am and even though it physically repulses me, I guess I am forced to praise Alexis this one time during our journey.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m d that you like it.¡±


    Alexis gave a slightly bitter smile.


    With that, Iid out two pieces of parchment. The first piece was the one drawn on by Alexis and the second one was the the drawing that I had done earlier. Comparing them both, I could easily understand the difference in skill, and I wonder if I should make a few repairs here and there.........I could steal a few notes from this. I should be able to make kitty-cats that are even more beautiful and lovely from now on.


    I have to admit, if a third party were to look upon these two drawings, they might not recognize that this is the same cat at first nce.


    After doing an in-depthparison of the two, Alexis seems to have finally been persuaded that I was not just humoring him, and he seems to be happy since his drawing is being praised for the first time. Meanwhile Percival was silently looking at the parchment in his hand.


    I turned my gaze onto Percival and had him hurry up. It was his turn to show off his cat after all.


    ¡°Percival, please show it quickly.¡±


    ¡°........N, No. It¡¯s not that interesting.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s interesting or not. The only thing that matters is cuteness.¡±


    Pushed forward by Mte¡¯s urging, Percival slowly ced his drawing next to the other two alreadyid out ones.


    ¡°.......this is.¡±


    ¡°.......somehow.¡±


    Mte and Alexis muttered to themselves.


    What was drawn on Percival¡¯s piece of parchment was certainly a cat.


    Yes.......it¡¯s a cat. That much is obvious.


    But how to say it.......it¡¯s just a cat. There¡¯s no liveliness that a real cat would have in the drawing, but it is definitely a cat. I¡¯m not saying it is not cute, but rather it is not so cute that you would really give it a second look.


    If you think that a man who devoted his entire life to nothing else but the sword had drawn this, I suppose you could call it good, but it would be very easy to find someone else who could do a better job. With that being said, it is not so bad that you wouldugh at it either.


    In the end,


    ¡°It¡¯s so in and boring that it isn¡¯t fun.¡±


    It¡¯s just that.


    ¡°See! I told you!¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a bad job! It¡¯s just ......... so in that no real wordse to mind.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re just going to trail off like that, then you don¡¯t need to say anything!¡±


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡°Percival, do not mind this so much. See....... um......... it¡¯s like.......¡±


    While Alexis was fruitlessly trying tofort Percival in his own, inefficient way, Mte started releasing verbal abuse from the side such as, ¡°A man who draws for all ages.¡± It is a stance where she wishes to undermine all of Alexis¡¯s efforts, but harassing Percival is also a nice benefit.


    Then, while the three continued to observe the three pieces of parchment for a while and berate each other, the carriage began to sway and stop with a *gattan*.

 Chapter 22 - Beyond the Border

    <h4>Beyond the Border</h4>


    We had apparently arrived at the border. When I looked out the window, I saw the driver talking to someone who looked like a government official. He handed over some documents from his bag which were most likely transit documents.


    However, rather than the tense, serious affair that I would normally imagine when a head of state enters a foreign country, their exchange looked like itcked any tension at all. On the contrary, they were pping each other¡¯s shoulders andughing as if they were lifelong friends.


    The official was not even looking at the transit documents in the first ce. Their office looked like it was just a shack by the side of the road, and some carriages probably had more room than it. There were no signs of any caution to their surroundings at all, and it would be very easy to sneak across by keeping your head down in the fields or traveling through some nearby trees. Carelessness seems to be theirpany motto.


    I would put up high walls, have it strictly guarded, and keep an eye out for everything¨Ceven a child.......well that would be an old story.


    This is just the proof of peace I tell myself while rxing back into the cushioned seats right before the carriage started to shake and rattle once again. As evidenced by the official-looking man from before calling out, ¡°See youter!¡± while waving at our driver, we seem to have sessfully passed the check. Of course, when the exam is 10 percent examination and 90 percent chat, I think we would have passed even if we got a zero on the actual examination.


    I bemused myself with my own little joke while rxing in the cushion¨Cuntil a feeling of numbness ran through my body causing my body to jolt, my armor to rattle, and a loud shout to escape my lips.


    ¡°Hyaa!¡±


    My body jumped out of my chair immediately.


    Almost at the same time, I heard Alexis¡¯s voice as well. He had cried out in shock as well, and I soon realized that he had experienced a shock as well.


    ¡°Wh-what was that...?¡±


    ¡°Mte as well? My whole body felt like it had gone numb...¡±


    Alexis¡¯s movements mirrored my own as his head tilted to the side along with my helmet as we tried to figure out what had happened.


    Surely at the moment that we had crossed the border, a sense of numbness had swept through my body. Unfortunately, it was only for an instant, and it was hard to say which part of my body it had originated from. In addition, the feeling passed quickly, and there was no trace of it left. Even if I look at my body to confirm, I cannot see my skin because there is a bunch of iron armor in the way, so I can¡¯t check if anything is different.


    ¡°It¡¯s weird,¡± I mumble inside my helmet.


    Meanwhile, Alexis was checking himself over, and he was able to confirm that, ¡°I don¡¯t think it is poison.¡±


    With him, his judgment seems to be skewed in a certain direction though, but I am not really in the mood to make fun of him as we are both in the same boat here.


    That¡¯s why I tried to move on and forget about that feeling just like Alexis...until Percival unexpectedly butted in. With the helmet in the way, it undoubtedly looked weird, but his blue eyes were certainly staring right around where mine were.


    ¡®Perhaps he thinks I cast some spell...?¡¯


    Thinking so, right at the moment where I was about to im that I had not done anything,


    ¡°Mte, are you truly alright?¡±


    Percival spoke first.


    He apparently did not experience that sense of numbness that Alexis and I had, so he does not know the degree of pain and is worried. His eyes looked a little worried, and he asked once again, ¡°Are you OK?¡±


    It is honestly to be expected. We crossed the border easily, and right when everything was going well, Alexis and I screamed out. It would be weird if he wasn¡¯t worried.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine. It did not hurt, rather I was just so surprised by a sudden numbing feeling that I unintentionally shouted out.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? If you feel like something is wrong, we can hurry to a town and look for a doctor...¡±


    ¡°It is not a big deal. You are worrying far too much.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to fell a bit sleepy right now, but I cannot go to sleep like this. I will dly carry you both to the nearest doctor, so I can sleep without any worries.¡±


    ¡°Just shut up and go to sleep already!¡±


    How scary! I raise my voice and thrash my arms around creating a loud *gashan* *gashan* with my armor.


    Eventually being convinced, Percival nodded once ........and then tried to pat my helmet. I don¡¯t trust his words when he says, ¡°It¡¯s alright then,¡± and I take as much distance from him as I can. Since he is like this, I do not think that <i>I</i> will be able to sleep without worries.


    But I am stuck in this carriage, so there is nowhere for me to run.


    Percival says that he is okay, but he has tricked me like that before. But I should not get sidetracked by him, so I turn my gaze to Alexis.


    ¡°I also felt that numbness, so it does not seem to be your curse.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and it does not seem like I was bitten by something either.¡±


    ¡°I have this appearance(heaviness)1, so I cannot think of see if I have any bite marks or bumps...¡±


    When Alexis started looking at me in a strange way, I grabbed some of the cushions off the seat and covered myself with them. His eyes quickly dropped to his feet.


    If it was Alexis alone, then the possibility of it being the result from some bad luck of the curse is high, but I had also be numb this time. However, it did not affect all of us as Percival imed that he had felt nothing. Same thing with the driver. When Alexis called out to him, his only response was a look of confusion while holding the reins.


    Does it have something to do with the sitting position? For example, at that moment, the wheels rolled over something, and the vibrations carried up into the carriage. In the first ce, we jumped up and cried out at the same to time it has to be something like that right....?


    So while I was thinking about that, Percival gradually stood up.


    Did something happen? Did he notice something?


    Alexis and I both turned to look at him, and while receiving the gazes of the two people, Percival said something without saying anything before slowly approaching me.........


    I wasin sideways. *Pon*........*Pon*......... and the idiot kept lightly patting the waist of my armor.


    He is sleepy.


    ¡°....He did say he was starting to feel sleepy earlier I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Mmm. I was still thinking about the numbness, so I didn¡¯t really pay him much attention though....¡±


    I wrinkled my eyebrows inside my helmet. Percival is trying to lightly coax me to rest, but it is impossible for me to sleep with the constant *pon* *pon* *pon* from him constantly hitting my armor. I could actually fall asleep pretty quickly if I could rest by myself, but I do not bother saying anything like that to him since he does not listen in the state he is in.


    Even when he starts singing a couple lubies¨Cquite poorly I would like to add¨CI do not say anything.


    I try to struggle free, if only to show my resistance, but he is holding me firmly down while patting my helmet and showing a stupid grin.


    This luby is creating a really annoying environment, so I try to pretend I am already asleep. Unfortunately the bothersome sleepy Percival is not fooled by the fake snoresing out of my helmet.


    My thoughts quickly be split. One half being spent on what that numbness could have been, and the other half being used to figure out how I am going to survive these next fifteen minutes of hell.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    A small voice called out the moment Mte and the others had crossed the border.


    The ce is aplicated valley a short distance away from the border. A ce that is impossible to find for those who visit this valley without knowing the trick. It is a beautiful piece of nature that would make one want to look around once you get there.


    Contrary to the scendscape, within the hidden space, a luxurious mansion was constructed, and it was here that the person who had called out was tranquilly sipping tea.


    When she felt Mte¡¯s party cross the border, this woman looked up from her tea and smiled. She was amazingly beautiful when she did so, and any man who saw her would immediately fall in love while any woman would be ovee by jealousy.


    But there were neither men nor women around to see that smile, and the only other living creature was a cat that was sleeping on a shelf hanging from a nearby wall. No matter how beautiful smile it was, it did not seem to affect cat who was peacefully sleeping the day away.


    Still, when its master called out, the cat awoke and perked up its little ears.


    ¡°Concetta, we apparently have guests. Please go and pick them up.¡±


    As it was ordered to, the cat called Concetta replied once with a hoarse response, and slowly opened its eyes. As it rose to its feet, the cat stretched itself out on top of the shelf before jumping down andnding on the ground with a *plomp*.


    The cat stretched itself out once more before turning its eyes forward and making its way to the door. It moved slowly andzily, but when watching it move with its beautiful fur and graceful air, it was the picture of elegance.


    Watching the back of her cute cat, the Lord nodded once in satisfaction,


    ¡°Customers after so long. I will have to do my best to give them the best hospitality.¡±


    and she happilyughed in a low voice.


    1. Some of you may have encountered this <ruby>¤³¤ÎÇ¡ºÃ<rt>ÖØ×°</rt></ruby> in Japanese. It is usually done so that the reader can know what a Kanji with several meanings means. It is also often used as a way to make a joke or pun. Since I can¡¯t/don¡¯t know how to write two words overtop each other like that on here, I just use parenthesis when necessary.

 Chapter 23 - Moonlight and Blood Ink

    <h4>Moonlight and Blood Ink</h4>


    The sun began to fall shortly after crossing the border, and it became dark in the blink of an eye. Travel continued on throughout the night, but the speed of the carriage became moderate before it slowed down to a crawl and what was once a constant rattling became a slight vibration. If you could look outside, the scenery would surely be passing us by at a snail¡¯s pace, but even with the light from the stars and moon, nothing but the inky night was visible outside the windows.


    There is still a bit of distance to town however there are no street lights, and we might topple the carriage if we rush. That is why it is best to advance slowly, stop the carriage at a suitable spot, and have the horses and driver rest periodically.


    Inside such a carriage everyone is taking turns on watch, and right now I am the only one awake. asionally, I look outside the window, and sometimes I talk to myself with some idle chatter. I did not feel like doing anything tonight, so I spent some time gazing at the two who were snoring away.


    Alexis is sleeping soundly.


    He is holding the curse I drew before he fell asleep firmly in his hand. Perhaps he has faith that it will provide him with a good night¡¯s sleep because he is clutching it to his chest as if it were a chunk of gold.


    The prince is sleeping on the basis that it is a spell that I drew, but when he says he cannot figure out what the picture is supposed to be, how can he know what the spell is supposed to do? It is obvious to any normal person what a cute kitty-cat it is, but for an oblivious man like him, I could have drawn a sad kitty-cat and had him suffer all night from my curse if I wanted to.


    I looked at the slovenly appearance of Alexis and, ¡°I should have picked a bit of a better pose...,¡± I muttered to myself.


    I wonder why I drew up a kitty-cat with its limbs spread out....


    Oh, Alexis¡¯ thin finger is right on the crotch.


    For some reason, I feel like the atmosphere was ruined somehow.... No, I myself messed it up. When I initially drew the charm, I had no idea that Alexis would cuddle it like some preschooler holding a stuffed animal. So I drew a cunning and bold kitty-cat, and Percival asked me, ¡°A stable?¡±


    Next to Alexis, Percival was sleeping against the wall with some cushions underneath him.


    When he told me to go to sleep first, he said, ¡°I am feeling a little tired, but since you are also probably feeling sleepy from before, I am sure you will sleep through whatever happens.¡± Because he lookedpletely serious when he said it, I beat his face in with a cushion, but he looked like he was sleeping peacefully now. Even so, asionally I will hear a slight rustling, but it seems like the usual wrinkles between is brows are being straightened out as the night has gone on.


    ¡°.......They are both sleeping, right?¡±


    Carefully observing the situation of the two men, I quietly removed my left gauntlet.


    Tonight there was little moonlight, and the carriage reduced what little light there was to a minimum. Even if either Alexis or Percival woke up, they would not be able to immediately tell what I was doing.


    It is impossible to gather one¡¯s bearings in this darkness, such as whether a left hand is visible.


    I keep telling myself this with bated breath, and I reach for my pouch that is next to me. It is not parchment that I take out, but rather just some ink and my pen. I realized that I had less ink than I thought, and I would have to replenish it soon. If it was my life in the ancient castle, then I would just postpone it and say that I could just take care of it the next time I had to draw up a spell, but that type of mentality is dangerous when on a journey.


    ¡°It would be troublesome if they saw, and those troublesome people would act even more troublesome as a result. Let¡¯s finish this quickly.¡±


    There is no one to hear me, but I still mutter my words out loud while dismantling the pen I love.


    Next I took out a small knife that fit nicely in my hands. When I removed it from its sheath, the silver de would pick up the light even inside the darkest carriage. Although it is small, it is as sharp as would could expect. When cutting through a piece of parchment as a test, it slid through it as if it was cutting air.


    I wipe the knife¡¯s de once with a handkerchief, and then I press it against the forefinger of my left hand just as I did to the parchment.


    I pressed the knife¡¯s edge up against my skin, and at the same time, my brows creased underneath my helmet.


    Of course it hurts. Every time I get to this point, a cold fever passes, and my chest tightens as if I had just finished a marathon. Even so, I still press down on the de, and I deal with the pain as my skin and flesh are parted. A red line is drawn, and a ball of blood bubbles out on my finger. A steady line flowed down my finger, and I swapped the knife with my pen before the overflowing blood could spill on to the floor.


    I set the tip of the pen against the flow of blood before taking a deep breathe. The bleeding stream began to flow into pen¡¯s tip. If the bloodflow ever started to slow, I pressed down on my finger to allow more to ooze out until my finger went numb, and I switched over to a new finger.


    The bubbled up blood at the tip of this finger trembled along with the vibrationsing from the carriage¡¯s movement, but it was still easily sucked up up the pen. In no time at all, after repeating this process over and over again, more than half of my supply had been replenished. By that time, the blood flowing from my finger had slowed by that time, so I quickly wiped my finger off with a handkerchief and stopped the bleeding.


    Finally, I shake together the blood and ink toplete the concoction.


    And, at the moment that everything was finished, the moon came out from behind a cloud and a shimmer of silver light poured in through the carriage¡¯s window ......... ¡°Mte?¡± and a small voice came out form the darkness.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    When I looked up in surprise, I saw that Alexis had partly raised himself up in his seat, and he was looking at me. His dark brown eyes were wide open with astonishment, and when I noticed his gaze was turned to my still slightly bloody finger, I hurriedly hid my left arm behind my back.


    ¡°Mte...¡±


    ¡°A-Alexis, you¡¯re up. You know it¡¯s still too early to switch shifts...¡±


    ¡°Just now.....¡±


    ¡°Well, I was supplementing my ink reserves, but that¡¯s done now......¡±


    I had also shoved my backpack behind my back as well to make it unseen by Alexis.


    It is a handicraft that I had woven together myself to be cheap and easy to rece, but I have had it for years now. It is easy to put on over my armor without having to really pay any attention. Although tonight I cannot really slip it on tonight because my fingers really hurt, and because my body feels stiff, and because Alexis may have saw me....


    I don¡¯t know what to do, but my breathing is bing more and more shallow, and it is getting harder to breathe inside my helmet. My heartbeat is outpacing the carriage¡¯s rattling wheels, and I could swear I hear it banging away at my chest te as if it were some kind of drum.


    He must have seen.


    My left hand. My left hand was exposed in the moonlight....


    He probably saw my ugly arm and was reminded about just how ugly I was that day.


    ¡°Oh, I.... hands.....¡±


    ¡°Mte, sorry, I....¡±


    He saw it.


    Alexis¡¯ mutterings were always low and quiet, but right now he was even more so. But right now, I could not really care less about him and his confusion. My short gasps for air are echoing in my helmet, and something is strangling my neck.


    He saw it.


    My eyes are swimming in my head, and my line of sight is bouncing around inside my helmet. I can¡¯t find anywhere to run to, and there is something beating on the back of my skull. Why is this carriage so damn narrow?


    If I could fit, I would have already taken my armor, shoved myself out of the carriage window, and ran back to the old castle.


    While all these thoughts were flurrying around inside me, Alexis roared out, ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    At the same time, he reached out towards Percival who was sleeping next to him, and he vigorously pulled out the cushion that Percival was using as a pillow. The dull thud of Percival¡¯s head smacking into the window startled me and caused my eyes to focus.


    ¡°Haaaaaaaaah?¡±


    A voice echoed in the now utterly silent carriage.


    Then Percival, who was moving around in a sluggish stupor, looked up appearing to be still very tired. When he blinked, his eyes remained shut tight for so long, I thought he had fallen back asleep for a second, but they eventually opened back up as he roared out ¡°I¡¯m still sleepy.¡±


    Alexis turned his face away from me, and even with my shallow, rapid breathing, he was still able to notice my sharp, icy re.


    As such a scene was beginning to y out inside the heavy atmosphere of the carriage, Percival gradually rose up with his sleep deprived expression, and he ced his hand on Alexis¡¯ shoulder. He tapped Alexis¡¯ shoulder lightly with a *pon* *pon*. It was dark, and Alexis was not moving, so Percival was unable to see Alexis¡¯ still open eyes.


    Percival then left Alexis, and this time he approached me. For me, he would usually go in for a hug, and I would try to run away, but this time, I stayed as still as a statue while thinking peaceful thoughts.


    Of course, this was in the mindset of, ¡°I am already sleeping, so you don¡¯t need to help me fall asleep.¡±


    Percival seemed to buy it as he nodded satisfied before returning to his seat and entrusting his head back to the window.


    Peace and quiet and darkness returned to the carriage.


    Afterwards, Alexis mutters to me in a quiet voice that he would take over watch duty.


    I grasped my left hand with my iron gauntlet so tightly that it hurt.


    Did you really see it?


    How long did you see it?


    What did you think when you saw it?


    I¡¯m too scared to ask any of the questions running through my head and could only reply with a small ¡°Yes,¡± before he answered, ¡°Good night Mte.¡±


    I took a deep breathe and tried to bury all my anxiety away, but as I lied back on the cushions and closed my eyes, I thought I could hear the word, ¡°Misunderstood,¡± echo inside my helmet as I drifted off.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happenedst night, but please try to wake me up a little more normally next time.¡±


    Percival wasining to Alexis while rubbing his head. Morning hade, and the sun had risen a few hours ago. When you looked out the carriage¡¯s window, you could see our destination, the city, off in the distance.


    I did not feel like talking aboutst night, and when Percival started to make hisints, I kept quiet while lying back on the carriage¡¯s cushions as Alexis continued to apologize while not touching on any reason why.

 Chapter 24 - Touching Sheaths in the City Accustomed to the Bizarre1

    <h4>Touching Sheaths in the City ustomed to the Bizarre1</h4>


    The city where the horse-drawn carriage stopped at could not be said to bergepared to the urban area that I live in, but there are still a lot of peopleing and going. When I listened in, I found out that there is a beach a half a day away, and apparently many merchants along with ordinary peoplee by in order to get their first looks at the sea.


    Rather than an area where you would stop, n, and prepare for a long voyage, this city is more of a crossroads that people just pass through.


    Because there were mostly stalls rather than set stores, the second you step into the city, you are bombarded with the voices and calls of salespeople trying to separate the money from their potential customer¡¯s wallets. Those merchants looked positively rabid entreating the men and women passing by who would most likely not be here tomorrow. It was that kind of terrifying scene that I found myself dragged towards.


    There were many interesting, beautiful, or cute things lined up along the road. Due to my armor, I found it much easier to peruse the stall venues rather than the set shops that I normally look through. Add that to what Percival had told me earlier¨Cthat they had already sent word ahead and booked me the most expensive room at a hotel famous for its room service and delicious orange juice¨Cand I was ready to enjoy my time in this city.


    So for a while, I took my time roaming the streets and checking out the street stalls.


    The Idira family is a noble houserge enough to have one of their daughters be engaged to the prince. If a daughter of such a family had secluded herself and was constantly wearing armor, then there is no way that such an interesting story would remain within a country¡¯s borders. People talk, and the border station is wide open.


    Therefore, even in this town it is not surprising that people would know about me, but the looks that they were giving me were strange. They would all look over at me, but after a second, they would turn away. It is not like they were looking at me with disgust or hate like some other people did; it was more like they just did not care. I was just in their line of sight.


    For example, whenever I would drop by the stalls, the people would be surprised for a moment, but it was only for that moment.


    Indeed, when a couple running a stall looked at me, they clearly had some curiosity in their eyes, but when we started talking, the conversation quickly changed into me buying my meal. To them, it was far more important that my hunger be satisfied than any interest they had about why someone would be an armored girl.


    It seems that this street is filled with stalls selling food from across the sea along with the local cuisine, so rather than any real interest in an armored girl, they were too busy trying to convince me to buy their food.


    ¡°No way, I have spent this entire day talking about nothing but food.¡±


    ¡°Peoplee through this town from all over the country, and that¡¯s not including the fellows I see from across the sea. I¡¯m sick of being surprised at every single one of the bizarre customers I get to meet.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°This one time a circus came through, and it was awful! Compared to them, some armor girl is nothing notable.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile as the shop keeper let out a loud and boisterousugh.


    Indeed, for these people, rather than a noble girl walking around in a suit of armor, I would have to actually be a walking suit of armor to hold their attention.


    It is something that was unimaginable in the urban area where I used to live. Of course, even in a ce like this, there were still one or two people watching me like they were looking at some strange animal. There were a few people whose stares I could feel, but they diverted their eyes when I turned to them, only for their eyes to return when I turn back around. There was one person who came up to me and asked if I was hot in here after beating on my back like a drum.


    I told him that I was not hot, and then I walked away.


    ¡°What a nice city.¡±


    Despite that horribly disgusting interaction, I still found myself smiling underneath my helmet.


    Let¡¯s visit this town again with Robertson when this is all over. I will sell off all the wine at the old castle for living funds, and I will live a quiet life by myself in this city where people rarely harass me. I could buy groceries and supplies every day instead of once a week.


    But indeed, it does seem that thebination of an armor girl and spider is a rare urrence... So I continued to wander the street stalls, and eventually I started to talk to a vendor with a sweet smile who ended up shaking his head shortly after I arrived. It is said that conversations and face-to-face meetings is an expectation in this town.


    ¡°Even if you are just looking, nobody will have anyints. But if you just walk around not talking to anyone....¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll think I¡¯m a bad person?¡±


    ¡°Well.... It certainly doesn¡¯t help.¡±


    This shop owner who had actually called me over to his shop took the time to tell me more about the city, and when he was finished with his story, I made sure to take a mental note to be more personable with the vendors I visit.


    Once he was finished though, I noticed what the nice stall owner was selling. Hair essories the size of your palm that were imitating flowers. Inside one of the ornaments that the shopkeeper held out to me were lightly colored stones interspersed inside the silver petals that shined beautifully even inside his hands.


    I took a look at everything else lined up on the shelves. Among the misceneous essories, this hair ornament clearly stood out as an expensive item which had been carefully kept inside a box to prevent any damage from urring to it. No, maybe it is kept inside a box because nobody would look at the other hanging essories if this one was on clear disy.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    It is. It would also go perfectly with my eyes, but even if I say that it would go perfectly with my eyes, it would not matter because you cannot see my eyes due to a silver helmet!


    ¡°People in this city are so cunning.¡±


    The street vendor and Iughed together as I took the hair ornament that he was holding.


    It is light, contrary to the morous look would suggest, yet it feels solid and well made. The workmanship given to the petals depicts a pattern I have never seen before, and when I asked, the street vendor told me that he had bought it from a peddler from across the sea.


    The street vendor told me that he has not decided on a price yet as he cannot decide what something like this would be worth. I take another good, long look at it. My mind has already decided that I am going to buy it, but my heart was still caught on the fact of whether or not I could wear it.


    During my hesitancy, a shadow passed over my hand.


    ¡°Hair essories?¡±


    Looking back at the familiar sounding voice, I saw that Percival was standing behind me.


    His eyes were gently looking at the hair ornament in my hand. When he muttered the word, ¡°light¡± while admiring the ornament, my gaze also shifted back to my hand. When the angle changes, the decorated stones receive the light in a different way, and they change color. It was a fascinating beauty that changes every time you move even a little.


    ¡°Are you buying it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just thinking about what to do. It¡¯s cute, but even if I buy it there¡¯s no point wearing it with the helmet...¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    My eyes shifted away from the ornament and back to him. Did I mishear what Percival said? But his blue eyes were still looking at only the hair ornament. There was no humor in his expression or jokes on his lips.


    I tried to ask him what he meant, but before I could, he lifted his hand, and he took the hair ornament from my hand. In the back of my mind, I imagined what I would look like while wearing this silver flower in my hair as Percival held up the ornament.


    To my head.


    To be more urate, to my helmet.


    ¡°Yes, it looks nice.¡±


    ¡°...But inside...¡±


    ¡°This color is really beautiful. Since Mte is silver all over, adding a sh of color like this could really add a little sparkle.¡±


    ¡°...You know, the person inside is not silver all over.¡±


    I shut my eyes tight for a second and held back the urge to p Percival. Meanwhile, Percival kept looking at the hair ornament for awhile before he let out a small gasp as he realized his mistake. After he turned away and sweated for a moment, it was easy to tell what he was thinking.


    I could not bear to watch him sweat as he tried to figure out what to do, so I turned my eyes away from the stall entirely. A man and a woman were standing together alone in an essory store¨Calthough with the armor, it might be hard to tell that I am a woman¨Cyet nobody is paying us any mind. People might give us a nce as they pass by, is this town just this used to bizarre spectacles?


    ¡°...Hey, who is that inside the armor?¡±


    ¡°Eh, probably just some middle-aged guy who thinks armor looks cool.¡±


    Or so I overhear.


    The ce where the street vendor who was talking to me until now had suddenly disappeared at some point. He is probably hiding and smiling to himself right now.


    Whatever. I let out a sigh inside my helmet before starting to walk to the next shop.


    ¡°Mte, this...¡±


    ¡°I will not buy it after all. Even if I put it on underneath the helmet, nobody would actually be able to see it.¡±


    I brushed off my pauldrons with a flick of my wrist, and told him that I would be back at the inn for dinner before continuing my walk around the street stalls.


    Percival watched Mte¡¯s silver back as it disappeared into the crowd, and when she was gone, his senses suddenly returned to him. His eyes turned back to the ornament in his hand, and when he went to put it back..........¡±Aren¡¯t you going to buy it?¡± a voice spoke up behind him.


    Percival jumped up in surprise, and when he spun around, he saw his lord looking at him curiously.


    ¡°Prince Alexis, I thought you were going to the inn.¡±


    ¡°Because I booked us a room, I thought about going for a walk. I was going to head back shortly, but then....¡±


    Alexis¡¯ deep brown eyes turned towards Percival¡¯s hand. The flower hair ornament fit snugly in his palm.


    ¡°Are you buying that?¡±


    ¡°N, no.......It does not suit me.¡±


    Alexis returned a smile to Percival¡¯s joke.


    But his smile slowly transformed into something more calm. He watched Percival slowly move to put the ornament back on a shelf.


    ¡°.....If you¡¯re not going to buy it....¡±


    ¡°Prince Alexis?¡±


    ¡°If Percival won¡¯t buy it, then I think I will.¡±


    Alexis looked unwaveringly up into Percival¡¯s eyes.


    His expression looked resolute, and you could feel the hidden meaning behind those words. In response to his deration, Percival¡¯s hand which was about to return the ornament to a shelf shook, and it stopped a short distance away.


    ¡°That is...¡±


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡°Of course it won¡¯t suit you. I cannot wear it either, but...¡±


    If you are not buying something for yourself, then you are buying it for someone else¨Cor so Alexis was saying with a jealous look. Alexis¡¯ gaze seemed to be saying that Percival should let go of the ornament as soon as possible. Chances are, the second that Percival lets go of it, Alexis would take the ornament.


    Then he would call out the street vendor still hidden away, and he would buy it. What he was going to do with it after he bought it does not even have to be said.


    Imagining the scene, Percival moved his hand once again.


    Bringing the ornament closer to him instead of towards the shelf.


    ¡°Miss Mte seemed to be quite taken with this, so I will buy this...!!¡±


    Alexis nodded with a bitter smile, as Percival made such a deration.


    Not knowing that such a scene was taking ce, Mte was making her own ns.


    ¡°You know, it is a full moon tonight, and I thought about going to a nearbyke. Would you like toe with me? Dress up stylishly for the evening, and I will have a chef prepare a good fish for us to eat.¡±


    I was talking to a well-fortunate cat that I met on the roadside.


    It rubbed its belly and let out a *nyan*. I have never talked to this cat before, so is that a yes or not...?

 Chapter 25 - The Cat and Witch Bathe in the Moonlight 1

    <h4>The Cat and Witch Bathe in the Moonlight 1</h4>


    After returning to the inn and finishing dinner, I took a look at Alexis¡¯s foot. He had been bitten by a poisonous snake, and his skin had swollen and turned yellow with some bright pink polka dots popping up here and there. It really was quite the fashionable look.


    When I had reached my room, I removed my armor and rxed in the bed of the best room in the hotel. Right when I was starting to getfy though, there was a small *ton* *ton* on echoing from my door. I took a look at the time, but it was still too early for room service to stop by. How strange.


    ¡°Miss Mte, are you awake?¡±


    After several seconds of knocking, I heard Percival¡¯s voicee from the other side of the door.


    I rolled out of my nice,fy bed and started to make my way over to the door. I had just taken off all my armor, and in addition, the lightening magic had worn off on it. I thought about recasting it when I had first removed it, but the bed looked sofy........curse these idle thoughts.


    ¡°Miss Mte, I have something I want to give to you.¡±


    ¡°...Can¡¯t you give it to me tomorrow?¡±


    Does my voice not muffled by the helmet sound ugly to your ears? I pressed myself against the door, anxiety brewing in my heart.


    Because it was the best room in the hotel, the door was built solidly, and it was obviously locked. So it¡¯s all okay, or so I kept telling myself, but the thought of my unmuffled voice being heard caused my heart to run a marathon. If anyone were to enjoy a conversation through the door like this, then the only thing I could call them would be masochist.


    However, I was able to endure my nerves and mortification, sealing away the trembling of my voice and locking it away deep inside my chest.


    He could not have noticed the conflict that was urring behind the door, but did he have questions about why the door would not open? After a few seconds, Percival asked what was wrong. When I told him that I had taken it off, I tried to lower my voice a bit to make it deeper and hide my natural voice.


    I started to rub my arms together. Instead of the usual loud, hard ng of the metal, my bare skin is quite soft isn¡¯t it?


    ¡°You took it off?¡±


    ¡°Yes.....In order to renew the light weight magic spell, so.....¡±


    ¡°Took it off... light weight... unarmored!?¡±


    ¡°...That¡¯s right, I¡¯m unarmored.¡±


    In response to Percival¡¯s astonished voice, I answered with a sigh and wrapped myself back up in the nket on top of my bed.


    ¡°Unarmored.¡± What kind of word is that? Is it even a real word? It seems all this anxiousness has turned me stupid.


    ¡°I am sorry. It is just weird for me to hear that you are unarmored.¡±


    ¡°Eeeh? Is it because Percival thinks the armor is Mte?¡±


    I gazed around my room while sweeping away Percival¡¯s remarks.


    It might look like a disy piece when set down like it is, but the armor lined up against the sofa certainly stood outpared to the rest of the gorgeous room. That thing is Mte... or at least that is what I started to call it inside my head while looking at it.


    Then when I was about to sigh again, I heard a cough from the other side of the door.


    Apparently he seems to have realized the insensitivity of his remarks, and he now wants to change the conversation in order to start off fresh.


    ¡°That¡¯s why, I have something I want to pass along...¡±


    ¡°To Mte, or that person always wearing her?¡±


    I said so with a little bit of malice, and I heard a cough a lot louder than the previous one in response. The voice yelling, ¡°They¡¯re both the same!¡± was rough and sounded like it came from a sleazy type of guy, but I still ended upughing in spite of myself.


    ¡°What do you want to pass on?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, it¡¯s a sugar confection that looked tasty while I was looking around.¡±


    So he bought it. At the thought of what type of sugary treat Percival had with him, I unwrapped myself from my nket, if only a little.


    When this journey started, the idea of getting something from Percival was not even funny, and when he bought me one, I refused to even look at it. After that, Percival harassed me with his usual behavior whenever he gets sleepy, and I epted the sweet as payment for forgetting what had happened¨Calthough I would have wanted to forget about it even if he had not offered a bribe.


    Perhaps he wants a repeat scenario of when I dropped that sugary confection in my armor? He is trying to supply the ammo for my embarrassment.


    While I was running through the scenarios of why he might do something like this, Percival must have been getting impatient as he called out, ¡°Well?¡± from the other side of the door.


    What does he want? With the door, I cannot see what expression he is making, and I obviously cannot open it to check.


    ¡°In that case, please leave it in front of the door. I will take it when Percival leaves.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I got it. Well, I mean, about this though.....¡±


    ¡°This?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing....I will give this as well on another asion....¡±


    ¡°This is?¡±


    What story? I am confused.


    However, Percival would not go into detail about whatever ¡°this¡± was, and when I asked for more, he did not answer me and instead just told me good night before quickly disappearing down the hallway.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    I was very confused, but I ended up shrugging and pushing it out of my mind. I walked towards my suit of armor next to the sofa, cast lightening magic on it, and grabbed the left behind confection after putting the armor on.


    ¡°Alexis is constantly attracting bad luck to hamper us, and Percival is really troublesome when he is sleepy. With these two people, traveling like this can really be a pain.¡±


    I threw the sugar confection in my mouth while making myints heard. The moderate sweetness and aroma spread inside my mouth, and my expression naturally melted inside my helmet.


    I was currently walking inside a forest that was a short distance away from the town with a fancy looking kitty-cat joining me at my side.


    After I had cast the weight reduction magic on my armor, I decided to take a leisurely night stroll. As I left the inn and walked for awhile, this cute cat appeared from out of nowhere, and he has been walking beside me ever since. He would diligently follow me along, but asionally, as if he knew where I was going to go, he would take a step forward leading the way.


    Such a mysterious cat. Fighting back the urge to just get on my hands and knees and cuddle up to him, I peeked back over my shoulder where he was strutting along. He had a fascinating color scheme with a pale hair color mix of white and gray with a splotch of ck around the nose. Most interesting were his beautiful jewel-like eyes that were a deep blue on the right and a bright yellow on the left.


    Whit his slim and supple body, you could easily feel a fascinating charm. But even if he was fat, the loveliness of a cat would not change, and its soft, flowing tail was beautifully swaying with every step it took.


    ¡°Hey, do you hate insects or like to bully spiders? If you are fine with it, how about living together when I move to this city?¡±


    I decided to send out an invite.


    A cat and a spider, dissimr, but could they coexist?


    I walked around aimlessly, entertaining such peaceful thoughts right up right up until I saw a sight that took my breath away and blew off any other idle thought I had. It was the type of beauty that most people would only ever see at most once in their lives.


    The full moon floating in the sky was reflected on ake¡¯s surface like a radiant jewel.


    Even though there were no decorations or craftsmanship involved, the natural sight provided a beautiful scene straight from a fairytale. But most of all, there was a magical energy that yed on the senses in the air...


    The area was a power spot that only a witch could feel. Together with the full moon, this power enveloped me, a still fledgling witch, in its warm embrace.


    ¡°Amazing... To think a ce like this really exists.¡±


    The whole experience brings me to awe as I walk closer to theke.


    The water felt warm when I immersed my hands at theke¡¯s edge, and ripples radiated away from me as I stroked the water¡¯s surface.


    When I pulled out a piece of parchment from my pouch, I wanted to hit myself when I noticed that parts of it had gotten wet. ¡°I should have pulled it out before starting to y in the water,¡± I tell myself.


    The cat was resting in front of me with theke creating a perfect background as if everything had been set up beforehand for me.


    ¡°I can draw this! With such a beautiful model, I will be able to draw even better than usual.¡±


    Sizing up my subject, I used one hand to measure up the cat, and with my other hand *Sha~!* my pen rocketed across the parchment. I was giving the cat a bit of an intimidating air, but he would still look cute so it will be fine.


    ...........There is a bit of sand on its hind legs, but I¡¯m sure it will be pleased with the details.


    ¡°Good, apart. I should clear out any people.¡±


    Thinking so, I started casting a spell on the ground.


    I took a small breathe before reciting the activation words. At that moment, the cats ears perked up along with the tip of its tail, and it started to curiously look around itself.


    It must have felt a change in the air, so I petted the tip of its nose in order to calm him down some. Nevertheless, to be able to quickly adapt to a human¡¯s affairs and to notice the effects of a spell, you really are a mysterious cat aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I just cleared out any prying eyes for a bit.¡±


    The cat eventually calmed down underneath the palm of my armor.


    The previous spell is now active. My spell now covers the whole area, and while it will notst long, people will note by thiske so long as it is still in effect. Anyone who was nearby will confusedly make their way away, and anyoneing over here will unconsciously end up going in a different direction.


    It is a simple spell to use, but it is effective at driving away any unnecessary onlookers. However, uneasiness still remained in my heart, so just for the sake of doubt, I drew two more spells into the ground beside me. Is it a little excessive?


    However if my skin is going to be exposed, I will end up restless without at least this much preparation.


    I took a quick look around to confirm the spell¡¯s effect, and I started to take off my armor.

 Chapter 26 - The Cat and Witch Bathe in the Moonlight 2

    <h4>The Cat and Witch Bathe in the Moonlight 2</h4>


    Taking off my armor piece by piece, my skin was gradually exposed to the night air.


    Only wearing a white camisole and my underwear, I felt a little tinge of fear rather than anxiety for the first time in years, but because of the overflowing magical power from theke, I was calmer than I thought I would be. Or perhaps it is because of this cat that was in the middle of sniffing every piece of armor that I took off.


    Bemused, I removed all of my armor before I dipped my feet into the shining pool of water. It was not cold, but it wasn¡¯t really warm either. It was serenely pleasant, and I could feel my aches and pains disappear.¡±


    Sitting on some rocks, I moved my legs around inside the water a bit causing waves to ripple around the edge. *Pshaw!* Then I violently kicked the water¡¯s edge, disrupting the waves and kicking up a few droplets of water that sparkled in the moonlight. What a beautiful sight. To think that there was ever a time in my life where I could live without such a spectacr view. I feel sofortable.


    Nicest of all, the moonlight poured down onto my exposed legs floating inside the crystal clear pool, filling me with magic power from the tips of my toes up throughout the rest of my body.


    And for awhile, the only sound that could be heard was the water dancing along theke¡¯s edge, but then the grass began to shake.


    Something was there. My line of sight reflexively turned towards where the grass had been disturbed.


    But whatever had disturbed the vegetation was nowhere to be seen. After watching for awhile, the leaves began to move again, but whatever it was, it was gradually moving away from me, and eventually the sounds of leaves rubbing against one another became smaller as well. Still, I kept staring in the direction that the sound hade from even after everything had long stopped moving and silence returned. Soon, only the sound of water droplets, trickling down onto theke¡¯s surface could be heard echoing inside this enclosed space.


    ¡°What was that.......¡±


    I muttered to myself underneath my breath.


    It was certainly a living thing that moved through the nts. However, whatever that ¡®something¡¯ was, it was most likely an animal as when it was discovered, that ¡®something¡¯ just kept moving without tripping itself or hastening its escape. Not to mention I ced a spell to drive away all unwanted visitors. I actually double and triple-ced the spell.


    Only a witch yer would be able to get by that, and they have all been dead since long ago.


    The only thing that that ¡®something¡¯ could be that would act like that and bypass my spells is an animal. Therefore, there was no reason for my heart to beat right out of my chest. Animals and humans have a different sense of beauty, and of course, they are both different from a spider¡¯s. I lived with Robertson at the old castle, and I was made aware of the differences when I picked up the courage to remove my armor in front of him for the first time.


    The previous shaking is probably from an animal that hade to drink the water but had decided against it when they saw a human present.


    Judging from the sound, I cannot think of it as a small animal, but could I say it was the size of a person from the sound and how the trees moved? Maybe I am overestimating the size, and it was actually a weak child who felt threatened by me.


    ¡°The poor thing probably just wanted some water.¡±


    I spoke to the cat sitting beside me. It had done nothing but stare at me since I started ying in the water awhile ago, but once whatever that ¡®something¡¯ was had disturbed the bushes, its eyes had shot open and its gaze had also been fixed on where the noise wasing from.


    It seemed to be very wary, so I tried to calm it down by stroking its back.......but it managed to avoid my outstretched hand. Does it not want to be touched by a wet hand? So I decided to poke his nose instead. A single drop of water stuck to the tip which he ended up licking off with a *pero*.


    It seems that his vignce was cated a bit, and I ended up returning a bitter smile when he started looking up at me with his eyes closed and rxed.


    ¡°I wish you could join me. Thiske is full of magic power, and I¡¯m a witch... You could be my familiar.¡±


    I really said it only as a joke, but the cat might have understood my feelings because he started rubbing his nose against my arm. I settle him down and heforts me. Such a good kitty.


    He ended up jumping down from his seat next to me to a rock a little ways below us, and from there, he dipped his tail into theke. Once the fluffy tail hit the water, the hairs at the end of it started to swirl around along with the waves my feet were making.


    What on earth is he doing? Right when I was thinking that, the cat slowly raised his tail out of the water, and then pped it back down with a *pat*...........


    And then his fluffy body began to shine with power.


    The racket of iron armor beating against itself echoed out as I charged down the corridor, skidded to a halt, and started pounding on a door.


    It is possible that my gentle pounding may have been a little rough, but as this is an emergency situation, I feel that I should be excused.


    Besides, thanks to that, I heard the people on the other side of the door scrambling to respond immediately. When the door swung open, Alexis¡¯s head popped out.


    ¡°Mte, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Alexis, this child...Hm? Where¡¯s Percival?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s Percival, he is doing some work outside..........Eh? Is that cat shining!?¡±


    Alexis¡¯s eyes popped out of his head when he saw what I was holding in my iron hands.


    But I suppose that type of reaction is normal. The cat really is shining after all. Anyone would be captivated by his beauty. Especially his tail. When he waved it around, the light would leave a trail creating radiant artwork wherever we went. Of course, he was an adorable cat before he started to glow, but all of those features were augmented with this illustrious light.


    I looked back and forth between the cat and the bewildered Alexis, and while Alexis was enraptured with this strange sight, I tried to exin this cat¡¯s identity. However, at that moment, a rough voice interrupted me.


    ¡°Oh Concetta, tonight you are shining especially well.¡±


    The speaker was a passing waiter for the inn.


    I swallowed my words as the waiter came towards us while Alexis looked more confused than ever¨Cshifting his gaze back and forth between ¡®Concetta?¡¯ and the waiter.


    ¡°Who is Concetta?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s this child¡¯s name. It shines like this sometimes.¡±


    The servant stretched out his hand and started to gently pet the shining Concetta¡¯s head.


    Concetta made a sound deep in its throat, blinking ordingly. When I started to pet the side of his neck along with the waiter, the purring became louder and melted in my arms.


    What a mysterious cat........No, maybe this goes beyond what you would call just a mysterious cat.


    Well, whatever. Concetta is adorable in my arms, so I scratched his nose a bit which made his tail light up all the more. Alexis was the only person who really cared though. The waiter¡¯s petting became a little more vigorous, and between the two of us, we had Concetta rolling around in my arms.


    ¡°So Concetta........belongs to a witch?¡±


    ¡°Yes he is a magic little kitty. He usually lives with his master in the valley, but every once in awhile hees down here to y and shine a bit.¡±


    While answering Alexis¡¯s question, the waiter looked up at the clock, and suddenly remembering he had a job, turned a shade of blue shockingly simr to Concetta¡¯s beautiful glow and left down the hallway. I watched him go for a second, but my attention was once again preupied my Concetta after.


    This shining is certainly shy even for a witch¡¯s familiar. But in this town, even Concetta is treated like this. Indeed, a nobledy who always wears armor certainlycks impact whenpared to a glowing cat.


    But I guess it is okay to have a slightrger reaction.


    While thinking so, I continued to watch Concetta resting in my arms, but he......Originally this cat was walking around with his eyes half closed, but now his eyes now were trembling and misty.


    Alexis and I watched him fight to stay awake in my arms. It was a sight that could be called strange. In a way, it was stranger than his glowing tail that left light trails as it orbited around.


    Even though that waiter¡¯s words are still dancing around on my brain, it is impossible to get worked up with something like this looking right at me. Besides, Concetta is not going anywhere, and his eyes can no longer stay open at this point.


    ¡°...For now, let¡¯s talk about it tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°...Agreed.¡±


    The tension is irreparably low now, so Alexis and I agreed to talk tomorrow.


    The next morning.


    ¡°After all, this is way too amazing!¡± Once I woke up, I managed to regain some of my excitement, so I took Concetta and raced down to the inn¡¯s dining room. By the way, Concetta¡¯s glow fell off sometime while I was asleep, but whenever he shakes a little, glitter disperses into the air.


    I pushed the attitude ofst night¡¯s waiter into the farthest corner of my mind, raising my tension to its maximum. I made a straight dash to the table those two were seated at. Alexis, who¡¯s mouth was half full of bread, noticed my approach and lifted his head up to look at me. He looked like he was already almost finished eating. Percival was still preupied with his morning soup, but I have no doubt that he knew I was here.


    ¡°Concetta is a witch¡¯s familiar!¡±


    Once again, it is possible that I was a little rough in my entrance, and it could be said that my excitement was possibly a little exaggerated and unnecessary. Of course, whenpared to thatck of tension perpetuated by a certain waiter, I can definitely say that a little excitement in this type of situation is certainly better than none at all.


    Even though something like this is obviously a fact,


    ¡°Good morning Mte. Good morning Concetta. Breakfast?¡±


    Alexis was still in a tensionless state. At least look a little surprised please.


    And Percival, he never even raised his face at my colorful entrance. All he has done is sigh deeply with his nose buried into his soup.


    ¡°...I miss theke.¡±


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    I grumbled in mncholy.

 Chapter 27 - The Lady of the Lake and the Depressing Departure

    <h4>The Lady of the Lake and the Depressing Departure</h4>


    ¡°She looked so noble and mysterious with the way she received the moonlight off of theke¡¯s surface. The glow of the water wrapped around her...oh what beauty! I feared that if I lingered my gaze would defile her, so I quickly left.¡±


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡°Percival, you¡¯ve told this story 11 times already.¡±


    ¡°Wrong again prince. That was his 13th time telling it.¡±


    ¡°Hauh.¡±


    As I let out a loud, sarcastic groan, Percivalpletely ignored me and continued to recount his riveting tale.


    Last night, in order to procure some extra traveling expenses, Percival took a small job and entered the forest by himself.


    There, he discovered a woman illuminated in the moonlight, and he was taken by her beauty....


    Now he won¡¯t stop sighing, staring off into the clouds, and telling Alexis and I about every little, inconsequential detail. As many as 13 times..... No, it¡¯s 14 now, and I am honestly too annoyed at this point to care about a single word he is saying.


    ¡°It¡¯s at 15 already,¡± Alexis was muttering while holding Concetta.


    He was right. The story kept changing since it had first been told¨Cthis morning. As time goes on, Percival seems to be remembering more and more as one adjective was quickly bing twenty.


    ¡°The beauty, the elegance in how she moved, and that transience that burned my heart just by looking at her¨Cshe was most certainly a noble existence. Surely she is a princess from a foreign country who must hide herself away for some reason, only for her figure to end up being revealed by the moonlight on thekeside.....¡±


    ¡°I was by theke, and I did not see nor hear anyone.¡±


    How did we miss each other? That¡¯s the thought that keeps running through my head.


    Last night, I entered the forest just as Percival did, and I enjoyed a little soak alongside theke. But I did not see any sign of somekeside maiden. On the contrary, with the several spells I ced, it became impossible for anyone to approach theke, so it could be said that it was obvious that there was no one else there.


    So this ¡®Lady of the Lake¡¯ came either before I arrived or after my spell dispersed. Or perhaps there is anotherke in a different ce? ............I cannot deny the possibility that Percival has finally snapped and it was all a hallucination.


    Although in the end, the story has nothing to do with me, but my words seemed to have caught Percival¡¯s attention. His blue eyes were no longer staring up at the clouds, and they were now looking a little more serious, a little more focused, and squarely at me.


    ¡°Miss Mte was also at theke?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I was ying by the water with Concetta.¡±


    ¡°Rust.¡±


    ¡°I will not rust.¡±


    Percival nodded his head as if he had been convinced by some powerful argument. But near the end, I could hear him mumble a few things about how ¡°if I am going out at night, I should let him know¡± and ¡°whether there is a cause to be wary or not, a man would be worried if their friend was walking around at night alone, so I should let hime with.¡±


    Honestly, it makes me feel a little ufortable, so I gave Concetta¡¯s head a little pat before changing the subject.


    ¡°Perhaps Concetta was sent here by the witch to guide us.¡±


    ¡°That would mean that the witch is aware of us. I wonder if she saw us somewhere.¡±


    I gave Concetta onest good pet on the back of his shoulder before handing him back to Alexis as he started voicing off times where the witch might have seen us. It is hard to tell him though that he is most likely correct and incorrect.


    The other party is a witch¨Ca genuine witch who wields knowledge that has been passed down and improved for generations. Even without having to actually walk around, she could easily sense when someone has entered her territory.


    Above all, I am another witch, and Alexis holds a curse. I am not sure what king of technique she used, but there would be no way for us to respond. Surely the witch who lives in the nearby valley saw that a foreigner had entered her territory and ordered Concetta to guide them.


    The only question is, is it an act of hospitality or hostility?


    Either way, the witch is willing to meet.


    Saying that much, Alexis¡¯s expression softened slightly.


    With me by his side, it is true that Alexis had not received too many incidents from his bad luck curse, but if that was all he wanted, then there would have been no need for this trip. No matter that Alexis is a prince, with the other party being a witch, there was no guarantee that he would have been granted an audience with her. Although I would have liked to see him try to force a meeting against all those spells. Even then, though, he would not be able to see her if she just turned herself invisible. Or she cast a spell to confuse him so that he would never be able to find his way out of the valley.


    Although I had prepped him for such possibilities, here was a guide sent by the witch the very first day we arrived to town. All the little tragic scenarios I worked my way into his head were blown away into nothingness.


    Although I too wanted to meet her, I was still wary.


    The witch we are about to meet could be the very witch who ced the curse on Alexis in the first ce. It could be that she is inviting us over, and Alexis could end up in even worse condition than he is now.


    That is, it could be a trap.


    Once I made them aware of this, Percival¡¯s eyes became a bit of serious, and his attention focused. Alexis on the other hand just gave me an overexaggerated nod to show that he understood before saying, ¡°It¡¯s still good.¡± There was no fear nor hesitation in his demeanor.


    On the contrary, he thanked me for warning him and smiled.


    Ufortable.


    I turned away from the both of them and started to rub Concetta¡¯s stomach.


    ¡°Um, I have something unfortunate that I have to report to you Mte.¡±


    Compared to when he talked to me before, Alexis¡¯s spirit seemed a little bit dimmer.


    After such a mood swing, I could not help but tilt my helm wondering what had happened. Immediately after leaving the inn and preparing for our departure, Concetta seemed ready to guide us on our way, and he has been resting at my feet this entire time. What could be so unfortunate during a time when haste must be made?


    But not only Alexis, Percival was also tantly avoiding eye contact with me, choosing to instead focus on a fluffy looking cloud hanging in the sky. I motioned them to hurry up and get on with it with my iron gauntlet.


    ¡°ording to what I have heard, it seems to be necessary to go through the forest in order to reach where the witch lives.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°The valley itself is quite the severe terrain, and it starts immediately after the forest..... so........¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°............so we can¡¯t ride a carriage.¡±


    ¡°.........Huh?..........¡±


    ¡°That is, from here, on foot..........¡±


    As time went on, Alexis¡¯s words continued to get smaller, and I could not hear anything he said after the word, ¡°walking.¡± But that was all I needed to hear. I promptly turned on my heel back towards the inn, and I told them, ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡±


    I am a little sorry, but there is absolutely no way I am going to walk through a treacherous valley and forest on foot. But at that moment, Alexis and Percival¡¯s hands clutched my arms, holding me firmly in ce.


    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible! I will carry the baggage, so let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte, please wait! I will carry you the whole way!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want that even more!¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a joke!¡± I cried.


    But Percival and Alexis were not going to withdraw, and their hands only held onto my armor all the tighter. If I were to return to the inn right now, they probably think that their journey would end here and now, and that belief made them not want to let me go. As a matter of fact, they had already started to drag me, and my iron boots gouged out the ground in front of me.


    They were truly desperate. The odds of them being able to meet with the witch would drop in a single stroke if I was not with them. Well, it might be more fitting to say that it would drop to none. In fact, Concetta, who was sent to guide us, saw me try to go back to the hotel and ended up making his way back as well. From that attitude, it can be inferred that the only one truly invited was me.


    In order for Alexis¡¯s curse to be put to an end, I must face an evil forest and a treacherous valley........


    Based on all that, all three of us were desperate, but I was outnumbered.


    No matter my petitions and objections, I was reduced to baggage and dragged along.

 Chapter 28 - Through the Valley Where the Witch Lives

    <h4>Through the Valley Where the Witch Lives</h4>


    ¡°Whatever happened to, ¡®I absolutely won¡¯t force you to do something you don¡¯t want to do?¡¯ Liars.¡±


    While I was muttering myints inside my helmet, Concetta was walking right alongside me, zigging around my feet, rubbing his glossy coat up against my boots.


    Meanwhile, Alexis and Percival were quite aware of their guilt and continued to silently march through the woods¨Conly speaking out whenever Alexis was attacked by some insects or snakes.


    After awhile, the two of them started to look around them and stopped pattering forward. Naturally, I stopped walking right behind them.


    They were looking at the foliage around us intensely. Before departing, I overheard the owner of the inn describe a few of the dangers inside the forest, and they seemed to beparing those stories with our current location.


    Looking around myself as if to imitate them, I saw a small hut in the distance. It must be andmark for people making their way through the forest.


    While thinking about that, I went ahead and took a look at the rest of our surroundings until my helmet made its typical metallic grinding noise as I tilted my head. I feel like there is a strange incongruity in the appearance of Alexis and Percival who are still looking at the hut.


    I wonder what it is. Originally, he two were not the same height, but was there actually a full head difference between the two? No, it¡¯s more than just a head....... more....... Rather, it seems like the height difference is actually growing right now......


    ¡°Percival, are you two standing in a swamp?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well the ground is a bit ck, and there are a few ces that are said to be bottomless, but..... Prince Alexis!¡±


    He finally saw what I was saying and noticed that Alexis was gradually sinking into the dirt. Percival immediately grabbed hold of his arm.


    Alexis had also returned to his senses by now and looked down at his feet, but by now it was already toote and the swamp had swallowed his ankles. With just the power of his two legs, it was impossible for him to get out.


    ¡°Prince Alexis, calm down and try not to move too much. I will lift you!¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute! If you get too close, then your feet will be swallowed up as well......¡±


    ¡°Damn, the mud won¡¯t give me any leverage..... Miss Mte, it¡¯s dangerous over here! Move away to safety!¡±


    With my heavy armor, I wouldn¡¯t be any help even if I wanted to, so the second I realized Alexis was sinking, I moved to safe, solid ground. I most definitely did not take my distance because I hold some petty grudge. ¡°As you said, I will absolutely not get near.¡±


    Of course my boots are now a little dirty from the mud. Hmm, maybe if I were to soak myself in the swamp water, but then the muddy water would get in through the armor¡¯s gaps......While carefreely thinking about how best to polish up my armor after all this, I pulled out a piece of parchment from my pouch and started to draw. I squinted through my helm and took extra care with my lines this time around since I was drawing a portrait of Concetta when she was leisurely walking around my legs earlier. Once it was all finished, I ced it on top of the mud.


    By now, Alexis and Percival had no room to care about appearances or the surroundings. Both of Percival¡¯s feet had sunk into the muck, and Alexis was only bing embedded deeper. It was getting to the point where Percival would have trouble saving himself let alone the prince. Although it was a slow progression, it was steady, and after an hour, Alexis would bepletely buried.


    How irritating. Taking onest look at my masterpiece, I thought about what a pity it was before shoving it deeper into the mud.


    Grabbing hold of my baggage, I hugged Concetta close to my chest and hid behind a tree a fair distance away.........,


    ¡°Bomb.¡±


    and I cast my incantation.


    At that moment, all the banter and panic from before died away, and the screams of the two men were all that was left in its ce........that and therge amount of mud flying towards me. It scattered around in all directions, polluting the surrounding grassy fields, but thanks to the tree¡¯s protection, I managed to keep my armor clean and Concetta¡¯s glossy fur sparkling.


    I left the shadow of the tree after the mud was finished falling where it may, and I rejoined my twopanions.


    Alexis and Percival were both sitting despondently on the ground, covered from head to toe with bits of mud from the marsh. I wrinkled my nose underneath my helm at the sight and covered my visor with my gauntlet.


    When I asked them to please note near me, they both nodded powerlessly........*Plop* and a chunk of mud fell out of their hair.


    The only sounds that could be heard in the forest after that was the sound of feet being dragged through the mud, the *kashan* *kashan* of iron boots walking, and the asional chirping of birds alongside the mewling of a cat.


    Soon the ground tilted downward, and the forest gave way to a deep valley. Once the valley was fully in view before us, Concetta started to stir. Her fur began to glow once again with magic power, and she jumped from my iron arms to the ground below. Taking a few steps in one direction, Concetta then stopped, turned back towards me, and meowed.


    ¡°Is it that way?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. Let¡¯s follow...¡±


    I broke off midway through my sentence because the direction that Concetta was directing me to go with her tail was a ce where people should not go. The rocks jutting skyward were clearly telling me to go away.


    Obviously there was no staircase, but the rise was alsocking anything that could be used as a handrail. I blinked a couple times before taking a deep breath........


    ¡°N-........¡±


    No way! I swallowed those words before they could be said.


    If I outright refuse, then both of my arms will be grabbed and dragged because the muddy Alexis and Percival are standing right next to me. Both of their deep brown and blue eyes are set right on me. They will act the second I say something.


    I refuse to be carried by some mud-covered guy......and so a teares to my eye as I realize I have no choice but to make the climb.


    When climbing the rock, Percival headed up first.


    He made it look so easy, grabbing hold of any odd rock, he was able to find his footing and scaffolded up the rock wall. Once he was at the top, he had us pack up the luggage, and we hoisted that up. Once everything was taken care of, it was Alexis¡¯s and my turn to climb up by hand. Percival tells us it is easy, but obviously Alexis¨Cwho spent all his time perusing academics in the castle¨Cand me¨Cwho enjoyed my solitude inside the old castle¨Cwould have a harder time than some muscle-brained guard.


    Especially me with my full-bodied armor.


    Although I had used magic to eliminate any weight that the armor has, there is still an issue with its size and hardness. For example, I can¡¯t wedge my foot between these stupid rocks! This shape is really unsuitable for rock climbing.


    Percival stretched his arm out towards me, offering to allow me bypass thatst rock and help me up.


    I grabbed hold. The appearance of a handsome-looking man reaching his hand out is a rare sight, and if it was a regr girl, their cheeks would surely be died crimson.


    While pointlessly thinking about such things, I kicked off the dusty rocks as his thick arm pulled me to the top. Percival¡¯s other arm wrapped around my back to make sure that I did fall backwards, but since I was covered in iron, he was directly touching anything, so there was no need for any embarrassment on that point.


    If it was just that, then there wouldn¡¯t be any problems.


    ¡°Ugh........¡± But then Percival grunted while he was helping me up.


    Even though with the luggage, and even when helping Alexis up, he did not leak out even a squeak¨Cyet he grunted when picking me up. For a second there, I thought it might have just been a noise he made that just meant, ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± but no, it was definitely a type of sound you make when you are lifting something heavy.


    If he was able to bear Alexis¡¯s weight and held back because he was afraid of being rude to his prince, then surely he could have extended me the same courtesy.


    ¡°Percival, you are extremely rude.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The way you grunted earlier, you were trying to say that I am fat or something right?¡±


    When I confronted him about it, his eyes went stupidly round.


    Was he the type that could only realize his own malice when it was directly pointed out to him? And even if there was no meaning in that grunt, then when he realized how I took his words, then he should have apologized for the misunderstanding and we both would have walked away. Instead, he does something else.


    ¡°I am saying that you¡¯re fat?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to deliberately grunt and then just say it was nothing?¡±


    ¡°No, rather I think.......I pictured you more muscr than anything else.¡±


    ¡°Hah!?¡±


    ¡°Well, I just always pictured Miss Mte to be muscr with hard abdominal muscles underneath that armor.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me! This is no longer in the realm of just being rude!¡±


    I shouted out.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    It is no longer just about whether or not he grunted when lifting me up. Why on earth would you imagine a youngdy like myself as some super macho woman with huge muscles and hard abdominal muscles? As a matter of fact, where is he getting the idea that I have that kind of strength in the first ce? I understand that he does not believe I am fat, but I am extremely dissatisfied with this as well.


    I told him that he was not even close while kicking a stray pebble down the cliffside we had just climbed. Percival obviously apologized. He tried to make up an excuse saying, ¡°But the armor.......,¡± but I was in no mood to listen. When I dismissed his excuse, I thought he was going to say something else, but he instead just shook his head and said, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    So frustrating.


    With our anger exposed to one another, we continued following Concetta¡¯s directions, walking along the valley¡¯s edge, and eventually climbing up another group of rocks........and once again, a hand reached down to help me up.


    ¡°.......Percival.¡±


    ¡°Come on. I¡¯ll help you up.¡±


    ¡°If you grunt, I¡¯ll curse you.¡±


    ¡°I know. I won¡¯t grunt.¡±


    I refused to take his hand until he promised not to grunt. Even as a joke.


    Then I took hold of the offered hand. Once I was lifted to the top, I took a look at the lying luggage.


    Concetta, the most easy-going of our group, was resting on my trunk. Ever since we first started the climb, she has been resting on top of the trunk and was carried up along with it. He was always careful not to move around on the luggage, so Percival did not mind carrying him up. Still, no matter how cute or noble of a cat he is, even if he is our guide, this was still a bit too unfair.


    So envious........Thinking so, I flicked Concetta on his nose. A short nya came back as a reply.


    Watching our interactions, Alexis and Percival shared a look.


    They gave each other a deep nod after which Alexis took hold of all the luggage, and Percival gave arge smile while spreading out both his arms.


    Almost as if he was saying, ¡°Come on in.¡±


    Actually, Percival really was saying that out loud. Meanwhile Alexis was standing next to him saying, ¡°C¡¯mon Mte. Don¡¯t be shy.¡±


    I looked at the both of them for awhile, unsure of what to say. So I decided in the end to say nothing. I walked past them both, giving them nothing besides a cold re for their troubles. Ipletely neglected them because I have nothing to motivate me to associate with this disy of theirs.


    Concetta seems to agree with me as he jumped off of the trunk and followed after me. Once the two of us had passed them by, I did not forget to kick up a little sand with the back of my foot.


    Meanwhile the two were left frozen after beingpletely ignored.........


    ¡°Miss Mte, please respond! At least tell some kind of joke.....!!¡±


    ¡°Why should I respond to something so troublesome?¡±


    ¡°Even Concetta won¡¯t look at us......¡±


    To the two who were following after us, being troublesome, I looked back to try and re at them through my helm.......but I was stopped by some letters drawn on the rock wall.


    At first nce it only looked like a crack in the rock, and you would not notice it if you were not a witch. They were magic words. The type of writing that only a witch could read.


    ¡°Wee. Would you like sugar in your tea?¡±


    I made a small smile when I saw those letters, and I started to pet Concetta who had moved by my side.


    ¡°Sugar for two.¡±

 Chapter 29 - Armored Girl and Senior Witch (?)

    <h4>Armored Girl and Senior Witch (?)</h4>


    There was a crevice covered in shadows by the surrounding rocks, and when I looked in, I could see that the road continued on through it.


    Is there a door back there? Inside the rock face, it almost looked like there were some disproportionate doorways embedded into the rock, but there was an order to them that seemed to say, ¡°There is something here.¡±


    However, I was only able to find it because I noticed and understood the magic words on the wall. Without them, I never would have looked into the rocks¡¯ shadows, and as a matter of fact, I never would have thought to look up here in the first ce if Concetta was not acting as a guide.


    You need Concetta and a person who can read magic words in order to reach this ce.


    Actually neither Alexis nor Percival had noticed my discovery, and they had continued walking by until I drew their attention back over.


    ¡°The witch is here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no mistake. This ce is definitely a witch¡¯s house that cannot be found except by another witch.¡±


    When I gave him my affirmation, Alexis gulped nervously.


    He was prepared, but I could see the tension in his creased brow. Percival as well was notcking tension as he examined that pathway through the crevice with the utmost vignce.


    With these two so on edge, I could feel my own heart beating intensely underneath my armor. For the first time, I was about to meet a witch. A real witch. Whether the two of us will get along well, whether she will ept me as a witch, the anxiety was keeping hold on my heart.


    Completely oblivious to what was running through our heads, Concetta jumped forward into the crevice and let out a small nya to signal us that we should follow. The way he was skipping along, it was quite obvious that he was excited to see his master again.


    When we reached arge, wooden door imbedded in the rock, Concetta let out another small nya. A few secondter, the door slowly opened, and a woman appeared.


    Mte marveled at this woman¡¯s beauty, and even Alexis and Percival found their breaths caught in their throat.


    Brilliant ck hair elegantly swayed like ocean waves every time she took a step. A slim body wrapped up in a dark ck one-piece that emphasized her long limbs with a shawl wrapped over her to protect her shoulders and chest.


    When she saw Concetta, a soft arc spread with her shapely lips across her face as she lifted the cat in her thin arms. When she rubbed Concetta¡¯s cheeks with her porcin white hand, she appeared like a saintly mother, but she had an air about her that made her seem like she wasn¡¯t even real.


    This person was a real witch......I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off her, and the witch in turn pointed her gaze towards me after giving Concetta a kiss on the forehead......


    ¡°Hello! I wee you beginner witch! Make yourself at home. Ah, but the two men are filthy. Wash yourselves up first.¡±


    The first part was spoken very tenderly. A sharp contrast from the cold tone she took with the other two.......


    The name of my fellow witch(?) is Gina Abarkin. The Abarkin family is made up of a long line of witches, and Gina is a witch(?) with expertise in the culmination of knowledge gathered during that long line.


    A wonderful mansion was built behind the door where she(?) came out of, and on our way there, she told me she lived there with Concetta. She guided me inside to a table where a couple cups of tea had already been prepared. It was such a wonderfully decorated room that I almost forgot we were inside a valley.


    As expected of a witch(?).....While I was marveling at the scenery around me, Gina was the first of us to speak up saying, ¡°I know what you want to talk about.¡± From there, she affirmed that she had nothing to do with the curse guing Alexis.


    She told me that she had heard rumors about the ¡®unfaithful prince¡¯ and the ¡®armored girl¡¯ before, and at the moment that I crossed the border, she knew that there was magic involved with both of them. She also figured out that we were both crossing the border together in order to meet with her.


    So she sent Concetta over to act as a guide. When Gina said his name, Concetta started to move about in her(?) embrace, rubbing his nose against the palm of her hand. His nose was petted, then his head, and then not yet satisfied, he rubbed himself up against her palm again. His eyes remained in a half- closed state of ecstasy as his body continued to roll around on Gina¡¯sp.


    The figure of Gina stroking Concetta was beautiful, ¡°You will get fat if you keepzing around like this......¡±


    though her voice was just a little cold.


    ¡°I am sorry, but I know nothing about Alexis¡¯s curse.¡±


    Gina made a blunt deration to Alexis while stroking Concetta.


    Even though he did not have the opportunity to exin why he was here, she was still able to figure it out, and she instantly shot him down. Alexis simply nodded back, rxing a little bit of the tension he had built up. He released a deep breath, and a painful expression crossed his face.


    There was relief that Gina was not the criminal there, but he must also feel a bit of despair as well now that he knows the solution is still further down the road. A cold sweat had begun to form on his brow, and he could not hide the uneasiness in his expression...what had he evene here for?


    ¡°I could tell who cursed you if I saw them though.¡±


    Gina made a rather bold im as if it was just a matter of fact. I stopped mid-sip of my tea to look back up to her¨CBut without saying anything more, she was just casually dropping two lumps of sugar into her tea. She truly is a real experienced witch. I had a little doubt towards that bold voice of hers for a second, but a witch will not go back on something they said under good will. It is a pride in their own self-derations...


    When I asked, it seems that no matter how venerable a witch is, it seems like it is difficult to pick apart a spell that they have never seen before. In addition, the curse affecting Alexis is too aggravated and effective; she would not know where to even start in examining it.


    Even so, it seems that you can identify the person who cast such a spell at a nce. It is a basic skill for witches. As a still beginner witch, Ick this skill. I could not even tell that Alexis was cursed by looking at him. If the witch who had cast the spell was standing right in front of me, I would never be able to tell.


    This is the skill of a witch who has had her skills passed down for generations. I watched Gina in nk amazement, and noticing my gaze, Gina in turn smiled at me. The same sex....probably the same sex.....it was such a beautiful smile that it made even my cheeks blush red. For the first time ever, I was thankful for my helmet covering up the weird expression I was probably making.


    While I was blinded by Gina¡¯s overpowering beauty, Alexis called her name to try and bring the conversation back onto him while deeply bowing his head. He had just washed off all the mud off of him, and a few water droplets dripped off his still wet hair.


    ¡°I am sorry to suddenly appear like this with my issues, but please, can you lend me your strength?¡±


    Following along with his prince, Percival bowed his head down and entreated her for her help as well. Before this witch¡¯s curse, they were just powerless humans, and they knew no other witches they could ask for help.


    These two¡¯s pleas brought me out of my infatuation, but I did not bow my head, instead moving my gaze between the two of them and Gina.


    ¡°Hey Mte, what will you do?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Well, if Mte wants to remain in this town, then I will not go. Let¡¯s live together here.¡±


    Completely ignoring Alexis and Percival¡¯s honest pleas, Gina instead turned towards me and offered the opportunity of a lifetime. My eyes went round inside my helmet. I had never thought that she would ask me about my opinion on the matter, and it was apanied by the invitation to live together.


    The two men had already turned their heads away from Gina and towards me, but them doing so is absolutely pointless. My answer was obvious.


    ¡°I¡¯ll return home.¡±


    ¡°Oh? So you will leave this town?¡±


    ¡°There is someone waiting for my return....Because there is a spider waiting for me.¡±


    The memory of Robertson crawling along the wall back at the old castle as I bid my farewell returns to the forefront of my mind.


    Once I said so, Gina was visibly surprised. The ¡®armored girl¡¯ she heard about surely would live alone in an old castle. That¡¯s why she suggested we live together.


    But I am truly happy. For me, there is no more appealing an invitation than moving out of that old castle, in a country where I am the only witch. So I will go home once, and I will bring Robertson back with me to this town.


    When I told her my ns, Ginaughed happily and nodded her head. In her expression, she(?) showed her utmost smile to wee me, causing me to blush once again inside my helmet.


    ¡°Then Mte will return here once again.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I would also like to learn about Alexis¡¯s curse, so if you can, please help Gina.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°Fast.¡±


    I¡¯m happy about her reply, but the prompt decision is throwing me off a bit.


    I would like you to hear the story to the very end such as how long the journey would be, or what the journey would entail. Alexis and Percival were also left dumbstruck at her prompt decision.


    Gina noticed our reactions andughed while boldly saying, ¡°I¡¯m happy.¡±


    ¡°Witches enjoy visits from other witches. Plus, you¡¯re still a beginner witch. There is no witch who wouldn¡¯t be overjoyed right now.¡±


    Gina¡¯s joyfullyughing face did not appear to carry any lies in it, and she started to gently stroke my helmet with her thin hands while holding on to my shoulders.


    The movements of her gentle hand made me unconsciously narrow my eyes. It feels a little embarrassing to be treated as a child like this, but I am happy to be epted as a fellow witch.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡°But please put off our departure until tomorrow¨Cthere are many preparations to be made. Mte will stay with me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you for your help.¡±


    ¡°The two men roll around somewhere else and go to bed.¡±


    ¡°Wow, so sloppy.¡±


    I kept myughter at the men¡¯s lesser treatment inside my head.


    When directed to the room they would be staying in, Percival objected at first, ¡°Putting the prince on the floor.....¡± but he was barely able to stop himself. His mouth hung agape, and he looked like he had just swallowed something bitter, but if he said anything more, Gina might change her mind about helping them.


    As for Alexis, he was happy with the thought that if he slept on the floor, then his bed could not copse under him¨Cforcing him to sleep on the floor.


    It seems like there will not be a problem with leaving them alone. Judging so, Gina then directed me to the room I would be staying in. Concetta jumped out of Gina¡¯s arms, taking the lead for us three as we headed deeper into Gina¡¯s house.

 Chapter 30 - Magical Spring Onsen

    <h4>Magical Spring Onsen</h4>


    ¡°Mte, are you aware that there are ces where hot water loaded with magic power spring out in this area?¡±


    The idea of ¡®hot water containing magic power¡¯ left me a little confused, so when I tilted my helmet to the side, Gina began to exin more while handing me a towel.


    It was said that the ground of thisnd wasplex, and there are many gaps between the rocks where hot water can bubble up to the surface. There also seems to be an area where magic power can get mixed into the underground streams, and many other witches end up visiting this ce for that very reason.


    There are witches who juste and go as they please, and there are some witches that stop by to say hello to Gina before heading over to the hot water. There was even one witch who likes to send Gina souvenirs strapped to Concetta¡¯s back when he walks by while she is rxing. But this could all be attributed to the capriciousness of witches, and Gina did not try to drive them away. She actually weed the crazy little visits that resulted whenever a fellow witch came by, and she was giving a big wee to the famous beginner witch armored girl.


    Overall her eyes were shining as she boasted about her pride and joy territory, so I ended up giving her a bitter smile while taking the outstretched towel.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already cast some magic to repel any prying eyes, so if you¡¯re worried about that, please rx and enjoy yourself Mte.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Also if you take Concetta in that direction, could you wash her for me? That child always loves to enter the hot water.¡±


    As Gina was telling me how much Concetta loved the hot water, he magically appeared as if on cue.


    As I was looking down on him, he was looking back up at me. Does his eyes half closed mean he is affirming what his master is saying, or is he just sleepy? Somehow I am leaning towards the second answer.


    Nheless, since the surroundings have already descended into darkness, Concetta¡¯s shine will be imperative to guiding me to the hot springs in the first ce and is very much appreciated. When I gave his head a good stroke, his fur began to shimmer once again as if he was telling me he was ready to leave.


    So I took Concetta in my arms and left Gina¡¯s mansion.


    *Kashan* *Kashan* My armor created its usual loud racket as I walked through the mansion and out the door. On the way, Concetta started to feel sociable and began to go *Nya Nya Nya* as we continued on into the valley. Exactly the sounds you would expect leaving from a witch¡¯s house isn¡¯t it?


    Then awhileter, Gina suddenly raised her face because she felt another house enter her territory. Not only that, but they had already ignored the human repelling magic and were heading straight for Mte. As a matter of fact, Mte had ced her doubled down, no, tripled down on the spell, but none of them held up.


    Gina confirmed the signs before sinking into her chair with a sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s that kind of curse.¡±


    Unfortunately, the words she muttered under her breath did not reach anyone¡¯s ears...of course, not even underneath Mte¡¯s helm.


    ¡°When all of this is finished, I will move here with Robertson, so can we get along as neighbors?¡±


    As I talked about my future ns, Concetta was leisurely swimming through the hot water while shining brightly.


    As Gina said, the hot water bubbling up from the broken crevices in the rock were overflowing with magic power, and even though it was not a full moon, the oversaturated magic power cause the water¡¯s surface to radiate light. Concetta had been swimming in this luminescent onsen ever since we got here. While his fluffy hair continued to sway on the water¡¯s surface, the appearance of Concetta gracefully performing the doggy paddle even though he was a cat was beautiful. I narrowed my eyes as I allowed myself to shed off the tension.


    Of course, I was not wearing my armor right now.


    I was truly hesitant to strip naked, so I was still wearing a thin dress, but when I stretched out my arms, it wasn¡¯t a coat of iron but actual skin that was reflected off the water. A cool wind started to blow and brushed up against my skin. The body reflected on the water¡¯s surface was obviously not muscr nor did it have hardened abdominal muscles.


    ¡°Percival should be sorry for trying to make a fool out of me calling me some muscr woman. Right Concetta?¡±


    When I asked for consent, the Concetta who was happily swimming along turned towards my direction and started to swim towards me.


    The way this gorgeous cat kicked and wed with the hot water was mysterious, and the trajectory that his glowing tail took while swaying slightly beneath the water¡¯s surface created a rippling illusion that looked like a falling shooting star that had lost its course.


    When he reached where I was sitting, Concetta climbed onto me, and I held him closely to my chest. As I climbed up out of the hot water, I wrapped up his body in a soft towel to fluff up his matted down fur. Afterwards, I wiped down my own body and slipped my armor back on.


    The armor had weight reduction magic applied to it, so it naturally had no weight in my hand........yet it still felt particrly heavy tonight. Is it because with me enclosed in this thick case of iron, I can no longer feel that soft night wind?


    Starting to think that way, I sighed inside my helm.


    Howfortable would it be if I could enjoy the refreshing feeling of the hot water and then return home while feeling a cold night breeze on my warmed up limbs.


    asionally my hair would rustle along with the wind, and I could look up at the night sky without having to squint through an iron frame.


    Somebody would be walking next to me, and we could naturally look at one another. I could talk without iron masking my voice, I could listen with iron muffling their voices......


    Imagining myself in such a situation, I uselessly shrugged my shoulders.


    Being able to take off my armor and enjoy myself, even if I can imagine it, there is no way I could imitate it. It is a dream inside another dream, and just imagining it is pointless.


    Throwing aside pointless thoughts, I instead turned my attention to the present. Currently, a loud suit of armor was shambling down a deserted road with a glow-in-the-dark cat walking alongside it. It¡¯s the setting of a good ghost story. Laughing to myself lightly, I made my way back to the mansion.


    ¡°Miss Mte! Miss Mte!¡±


    After finishing my soothing bath, I locked the door to my room tightly and threw myself on the bed.


    This room, which Gina had so graciously provided me, wasrge, luxurious, and the bed was so soft that it would not lose out to those luxury beds at any inn. When I lied down, my bodyfortably sank into the fluffy cushions, and my exhaustion was sucked further in.


    All of my problems melted away, and right as I was about to fall into a blissful sleep, a loud banging started resounding from my door followed by a constant, ¡°Miss Mte! Miss Mte!¡± being repeated endlessly in the meanwhile. I slowly and disgruntledly got up out of my bed. The pounding and yelling continued on while I grabbed my armor from its resting ce in the corner of my room, and it echoed inside my helmet after I finally managed to get it on. Once my armor waspletely fastened, I slowly trudged over to the door and threw it open.


    Obviously it was Percival who was standing there. He must be really excited because as soon as the door opened, he stormed in as swift as the wind.


    ¡°Mte, the Lady of the Lake! She was there!¡±


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡°Lady of the Lake? She was in such a ce?¡±


    Appearing for a second time, and I am starting to get suspicious. A persistent urrence cannot be just written off as Percival¡¯s general delusions...This could be troublesome. I should close the door if I get a chance, but unfortunately this star-eyed man is keeping his foot firmly nted and not giving me any gap to run away. Unscrupulous.....


    It seems that Gina had asked him to pick some herbs that were growing in the area. Although he initially had reservations about it, when she imed it was part of her ¡®guide fee,¡¯ he didn¡¯t have any other choice than to go along with her request.


    And then he found his Lady of the Lake..........


    ¡°She looked brilliant even in this dark night... Perhaps my Lady of the Lake is actually a water fairy.¡±


    Percival¡¯s excitement was reaching a new high, and I couldn¡¯t help but narrow my eyes inside my helm. You¡¯re getting so worked up over a water fairy yet you have been traveling alongside a witch all this time.


    ¡°By the way Percival, I never expected you to be the type of person to enjoy a woman¡¯s nakedness while they are taking a bath.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t look.


    ¡°A glimpse.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything! I would never mare her elegant self so boorishly. So beautiful......surely she is a foreign princess traveling to keep her true identity of a water fairy a secret!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...certainly quite the set-up. All that aside, it certainly feels a bit......¡±


    A thought suddenly struck me.


    Gina had said that there were multiple ces where hot water boiled out of the rocks. Of those, there are several locations where the hot water mixes together with underground magic power to form a magical spring onsen. She rmended one for me to use because she had human repellent magic ced there beforehand.


    It sounds like Percival headed out around the same time as I was soaking in the hot water and found that Lady of the Lake of his. As I continued to think about it deeper, the deeper the crease in my brow beneath my helmet got.


    A so-called Lady of the Lake appearing near a town is one thing, but up hear in the rocks is somethingpletely different. There is no easy way to get up here; justrge mounds of rocks and boulders. Speaking of ces to stay, there is only Gina¡¯s mansion.


    Normal people would not be immersed in hot water up in such a ce, they would not evene to this area in the first ce. However the Lady of the Lake was seen bathing in this ce.....


    The behavior of this Lady of the Lake is really is causing an itch at the edge of my helm.


    Why.......I sorted out my thoughts and took a small breath before turning back to Percival.


    Perhaps, this Lady of the Lake is really..........


    ¡°Percival, this Lady of the Lake. I think maybe......¡±


    ¡°Did you figure something out?¡±


    ¡°I think she is another witch.¡±


    As soon as I told him my hypothesis, Percival¡¯s bright blue eyes opened wide in shock.

 Chapter 31 - The Armored Girl’s Personal Curse

    <h4>The Armored Girl¡¯s Personal Curse</h4>


    ¡°The Lady of the Lake.......a witch?¡±


    ¡°Yes. When you saw this Lady of the Lake of yours, I was nearby, so she was probably there for the same reason I was. The Lady of the Lake went there to soak in the embedded magic power.¡±


    ¡°I see......That¡¯s......... No, usually you........ but witches aren¡¯t like that.¡±


    ¡°A word that should not be heard, falls apart.¡±


    ¡°My head hurts.¡±


    Percival let out a deep, long, defeated sigh.


    His expression was still a little wistful for his Lady of the Lake¡¯s beautiful appearance, but it was quite obvious how low his heart had sunk. A little annoyed, I couldn¡¯t help but mutter, ¡°I am a witch too,¡± underneath my helmet.


    As I told him before, even a witch would die if they are beat upside the head with a brick. We are still people, so it is not like she could never be a person¡¯s lover, but for Percival, witches are people who can curse you. Powerful magic that can ruin a person¡¯s life in addition to their overall quirky and flighty attitude, even if you did get one to fall in love with you, there is no telling how long that love wouldst. So it¡¯s probably better for him to cool his head and take the next few moves with a light step.


    Butpletely ignoring my intentions, Percival picked his head back up and asked me with his big blue eyes, ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Well because she is a witch, what would you do if she were an evil witch who enjoyed cursing people?¡±


    ¡°But there are good witches who enjoy helping people.¡±


    ¡°.........Well, sure I guess.¡±


    I am not too sure what to say about that.


    I figured that the girl Percival saw was a witch, so I was wondering how vignt Percival would be and if he wouldment the fact. Even so, he epted it rather quickly.


    ¡°......she is a foreign princess traveling the countryside while hiding her identity as a witch water fairy.......¡±


    No, he has already reworked his setting to fit the information. Fast. This rebound came way too fast!


    There was absolutely no hesitation in his expression. Rather, he seems to actually be a little d to have found out more about the girl in question. I ended upughing about the whole silly thing and told him, ¡°Well, it¡¯s good to see you so excited.¡±


    Percival gave me a bitter smile and nodded. His bashful expression gave him away, and he looked just like a small kid. Looking like that, all I could really do was shrug my shoulders inside my armor.


    ¡°Would you like to go looking for her?¡±


    ¡°..........There is no point in finding the girl for you.¡±


    ¡°Witches are witches. If it means that I could pick up something new, then I will do everything I can to cooperate.¡±


    I¡¯ve been dragged in this far, so it¡¯s not so bad to go on until the end, I tell myself.


    Of course, after that I will firmly curse both Percival and Alexis. I may be cooperating now, but I have not forgotten the resentment from dragging me out of the old castle.


    ¡°Ah, but please fix the chair that Alexis broke before that. Even if I move to this town, fix the floor.¡±


    I remembered my broken table and chairs left behind, scattered on the floor. Even if there is no need for Percival and Alexis to fix them, they should still mend therge hold in the floor for any future residents.


    Finding Percival¡¯s Lady of the Lake and the witch who cursed Alexis.......it will be some time before I get my turn to curse them both.


    While I was calcting the time, Percival interrupted my thoughts with a smallugh and said, ¡°We don¡¯t need to look for her.¡± His words took me a little off guard, and when I looked back up to him, I saw that his blue eyes were pointed squarely on me.


    ¡°Your Lady of the Lake, you don¡¯t need to find her?¡±


    ¡°Mm. After all this, I will be sure to fix the chair, fix the table, fix the floor, and you can curse me then.¡±


    ¡°...Percival.¡±


    I quietly called out his name underneath my helmet. His eyes were still fixed squarely on me. It looked almost like he was excited to be cursed.


    His gaze looked somewhat hot and excited. I tried to move away just a little bit.......,


    ¡°Please quickly go to bed.¡±


    and I tried to close the door.


    Percival got in the way though saying, ¡°I¡¯m not sleepy.¡± His eyes which were burning hot before were now boring into me with an increasing sharpness. In other words he was staring at me. It was his usual eyes.


    On the other hand, I was holding on to my suspicions and kept my eyes on him while slightly inching away from the door. If he is sleepy, then he will surely move to grab me. Let¡¯s m it shut the instant he moves his hand off the door, mming it into him if we must.


    ¡°Coming around with this timing, when did you get sleepy?¡±


    ¡°I said I¡¯m not sleepy! I am....... serious, I think..........¡±


    ¡°........Serious?¡±


    Percival¡¯s restless expression caused me to tilt my head inside my helmet once again.


    He is really serious about me cursing him. I mean, as you wish I suppose.


    Staring me down, looking directly at me through my helmet¡¯s visor, was he trying to tell me something? Whatever it was, he gave up soon enough, letting his hand off the door and stupidly scratching the back of his head. He ruffled up his own golden hair, and I ended up forgetting to shut the door on him and just kept watching him.


    ¡°.......I didn¡¯t expect Miss Mte to just offer your help like that.....To tell the truth, there was no one on my side anymore, I said some rude things to my family, and I have been cautious of everyone around me for quite awhile now.¡±


    I remembered the arrogant attitude that Percival took when we first met and then the small breakdown he had afterwards.


    A year ago, everyone turned their backs on Alexis even though he had been regarded as a good man just before. The rumors spread from an unknown source and were easily epted. Percival was the only one to not turn his back on Alexis.


    He was scared, and he ended up clinging to my armor while crying about how he felt like he had been dropped off in a different world.


    I know that fear.


    In an instant, everyone turns on you, and you begin to think that they might be apletely different person from who you knew your whole life. It¡¯s like the ground suddenly gave out from under you. Like waking into a dream.


    At that moment, it was like all the vignce I had towards Percival disappeared.


    Is it possible that we are the same? Two people just scared of what the outside world is capable of.


    .....Well, it not just that.


    We might be simr, but we aren¡¯t the same.


    ¡°.......Miss Mte?¡±


    I was called back to attention by Percival calling my name and raised my face back up to him.


    He has no way of seeing what happened or knowing what I was thinking, so I shook my helmet from side to side. Still, my unease was impossible to hid, and Percival¡¯s expression was mixed with anxiety.


    In response, I told him clearly that, ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± patting his shoulder with a *pon*. Iron helmets are really convenient. Even if it is hot inside them, they can easily cover up your temperament and muffle your voice.


    ¡°Please be prepared. I will have an amazing curse ready for you.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah. Please do.¡±


    ¡°I will make sure Gina assists me to make it extra horrible.¡±


    ¡°With two witches, I¡¯m sure the effect will be considerable.¡±


    ¡°I feel like you will be beaten upside the head with a brick in the next three days.¡±


    ¡°....that¡¯s.....I¡¯ll be prepared.¡±


    Percival¡¯s back shook slightly and his body started to tremble when the atmosphere went dark after my disturbing prediction.


    I smiled at such a figure and tried to end the story by starting to close the door.


    When the door was halfway closed though, he suddenly apologized saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to just barge in,¡± for which I replied, ¡°You should be.¡± There was no obligation for me to listen to him, and it was alreadyte in the night. It could be said that arriving sote and banging on one¡¯s door without a prior appointment was quite impolite.


    When he said, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have barged in to a youngdy¡¯s room like that,¡± I responded to him, ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t mean an armor cab?¡± Is this a win or a loss?


    ¡°Good night Miss Mte. Tell thedy inside the armor good night for me as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah good night. Please don¡¯te back and get plenty of sleep.¡±


    To Percival¡¯s sarcastic goodbye, I responded with an equal dose of sarcasm while shooing him away.


    I watched him go through the visor of my helmet and shut the door after he had disappeared.


    With my armor lying down on the floor, I was thinking atop my bed in my quiet room.


    Of course it was about the curse guing Alexis.


    His public perception was overturned a year ago, and it has only gotten worse since then. As a matter of fact, there is also the issue of him not being in the country at the moment. It¡¯s possible that people might be going around right now saying, ¡°The unfaithful prince fled the country!¡± while treating him like a fugitive.


    It is natural that Percival would be wary of his surroundings. Although he is not directly cursed, he is still suffering from the fallout and can be considered a victic.


    .....Nevertheless.


    And thinking up to this point, my thoughts were suddenly interrupted by another knock on my door.


    When I gazed at it wondering who could possibly be knocking this time, a ¡°Miss Mte,¡± from the same voice as earlier came in.


    ¡°Percival, visiting ady¡¯s room thiste at night is rude, and doing it twice isn¡¯t any better.¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders, slipped on my armor, and headed to the door.


    Did he forget some important detail to his story and felt bothered toe back? I ended up giving myself a small smile at the idiocy of it and opened up the door.....


    And I was immediately hugged by two extended arms.


    ¡°I was careless......¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte, I have misunderstood you. You are a good witch, and I have never before known such a gentle and kind woman.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this is frustrating. I hate my own inexperience......¡±


    ¡°Please curse me with everything you have when all this is over. I can be your experimental subject for all your magic.¡±


    His arms were wrapped tightly around me, and all I could do was groan loudly. But there was no way for my feelings to reach Percival¡¯s ears when he is sleepy like this, and he just kept petting my helmet with his hand.


    Do I have to wait 15 minutes for him to start acting like a proper adult again?


    Yes. I raised the white g in my mind. His arms were no longer singrly embracing my chest te, so I did my best to struggle, but the second I showed my resistance he tightened his grip. Everything I did was futile.


    This was the difference between our strength. A witch is still human, and my grip is slightly below average from any other girl my age. I cannot escape from a full body embrace from Percival who is training his body every day.


    A stream of sighs escape from my lips, and a wave of exhaustion hits me all at once. Fifteen minutes passed by like watching paint dry ending in Percival silently returning to his room. I didn¡¯t watch him go this time; instead choosing to m the door behind him and release a deep sigh inside my helmet.


    Is he the only one not affected by the curse?


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Bah.


    The question I asked myself before was quickly thrown to the back of my mind.

 Chapter 32 - First Step Homeward

    <h4>First Step Homeward</h4>


    The next morning, we quickly ate the breakfast Gina prepared and left the mansion.


    At the time, my curiosity was piqued slightly because contrary to her gorgeous mansion, the locks she put up were simple things.


    *Katchin* A small ding sounded with the turned lock. A small and slender silver key was held in Gina¡¯s nimble fingers. If is was responsible for locking every entrance in this gorgeous mansion, then we would not be able to leave until the sun hadpleted its journey across the sky.


    When I asked about crime prevention, Gina looked at me for a long time with wide open eyes before she started to lovingly caress my helmet. Apparently, the question I asked was an extremely ¡®beginner witch¡¯ thing to ask, and it was just to cute for Gina to bear.


    ¡°There is really no need to lock it.¡±


    ¡°The key? What if someonees by? With such a beautiful mansion, surely a thief.....¡±


    Gina shook her head and gave me her exnation with a bemused smile.


    To reach Gina¡¯s mansion, you have to be guided by Concetta, climb up the rock walls, venture through the valleys, and read the magic words to find the door hidden in shadows.


    It was a course that would be almost impossible for even the most seasoned explorer to follow. In other words, it is only possible for witch¡¯s invited to visit that are able to arrive at the mansion. A simple lock to let any previous visitors know she was not home was all she needed.


    I picked up everything she said interestedly and nodded my head when she was finished. I would have to set up my dwelling in an equally out of the way location when I moved here.


    Let¡¯s make aplicated mechanism using magic so that my home cannot be reached easily. Alexis and Percival will get lost trying to find it and end up wandering around while their eyes dart every which way. Then me and Robertson can watch them bumble around from an out of sight location.


    Entertaining such a fantasy, I handed off my luggage to Percival who received it silently.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    While watching me enjoy my thoughts, Gina passed off her luggage to Alexis as if it was a natural thing to do. As expected of a true witch, to not feel anything as she thoughtlessly passes off her luggage to a country¡¯s prince.


    Her figure while embracing Concetta and striding forth was the epitome of elegance, and even the princely dignity of Alexis would have to bow before her.


    This was the way a witch was supposed to be. Thinking so, I tried to imitate her stride and follow after her......but my legs suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Gina, you¡¯re going the wrong way.¡±


    ¡°Wrong?¡±


    ¡°Because it was from here.¡±


    I pointed to the road that we came in on because Gina had started to walk in the opposite direction.


    Alexis and Percival were clearly wondering the same thing. Both of them were staring at Gina with a strange look on their faces, and Percival even pulled out a map he had for the area and looked it over.


    Even so, Gina calmly received thebined stares of us three before looking down at Concetta who was content purring in her arms. Then she said,


    ¡°Oh Concetta, did you guide our guests through the road that is almost impossible to walk through again?¡±


    To her deration¨Cme, Alexis of course, and even Percival had our eyes opened wide in surprise. Then Alexis probably remembered the bottomless swamp he and Percival had gotten stuck in which caused his shoulders to drop from exhaustion.


    The journey back to the city led by Gina was a distanceparable to the iing route, but there was no steep change in inclination nor were there any rocks or scaffolding for us to climb up nor any scaffolds for us to bnce our way across.


    Nevertheless, there were no obvious markings on this path, and if you took a single wrong turn, you could end up lost forever, so this road would also require some directions. But there were no rocks or swamps, so the sky was still bright and happy by the time we reached the city.


    ¡°......What was all that hard work for?¡±


    Percival¡¯s sigh was depressing.


    Alexis was walking next to him, carrying Concetta after Gina handed him off saying, ¡°He¡¯s cute, but I can only carry him for 30 minutes before my arms get numb.¡± He was begrudgingly looking down at the small cat in his arms.....before he suddenly turned his head away. The sudden movement made me curious, so I focused in on the bundle in his arms.


    What I saw was Concetta with his mouth half open, and is he not staring up at him? It¡¯s the kind of expression that is hard to describe.


    ¡°A-Alexis, what¡¯s wrong with Concetta?¡±


    ¡°I read in a book once that cats do this around certain smells.¡±


    Listening to Alexis¡¯s answer, my gaze turned back to Concetta.


    ording to Gina¡¯s follow-up, it seems that a type of grass which Concetta dislikes grows around the area we are currently passing, and he opens up his mouth like this whenever it is nearby.


    Although it is a weird face, it is still adorable in its own right, so I decided to caress Concetta myself. .......Alexis¡¯s arms were trembling slightly after holding Concetta for so long, but he will be okay. Probably.


    Then as soon as we arrived to town without any difficulty, Percival headed over to pick up a horse-drawn carriage.


    Gina watched him go andughed with gusto and spirit telling him, ¡°I look forward to the carriage you bring back!¡± A wonderful threat to get him to rent the must luxurious of carriages. In addition, because she ventured off to do some shopping in the name of food procurement, I unexpectedly started to smile at her abundant free-spirited nature.


    I always called myself a quirky, spontaneous witch, but I am nowhere near Gina¡¯s level. Truly a wonderful witch.


    ¡°I am going to procure food along with my senior witch.¡±


    ¡°Go. I will watch Concetta and the luggage.¡±


    Alexis took Concetta back in his arms from Mte and watched her run off after Gina. Mte¡¯s voice gave away her excitement, and she was quickly sucked into the store that Gina had entered a moment before.


    Meanwhile, Alexis was left alone with Concetta. Looking down at the cat resting in his arms, he smiled and asked, ¡°Should I buy something for you as well?¡± Although the fatigue in his arms were greater than before, he did not feel like putting the adorable cat down.


    ¡°Shall I buy a fluffy cushion for Concetta?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. Indeed arge cushion would make the carriage ridefortable. Then my arms....¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s starting to get a little painful. Although there is no way I would be forgiven for putting you down.¡±


    ¡°My arms falling off from holding a cat for too long, is this another unfortunate event from my bad luck?¡±


    While droning on about much of nothing, Alexis was rocking Concetta in his arms.


    As if he were a baby, Concetta slowly closed his eyes and rxed. Eventually falling asleep. Alexis leaked a bitter smile and mumbled, ¡°He got heavier.¡± It was bing painful holding up Concetta all this time, but the expression on Alexis¡¯s face was still content. This was much more preferable than sinking into a bottomless muddy swamp.


    Percival returned somewhere in the middle of Alexis¡¯s soliloquy afterpleting his errand.


    Mte and Gina returned a little timeter unexpectedly carrying tworge paper bags. It seems that the twodies bought quite a bit of food to eat together.


    ¡°I bought a lot of additional confections along with some fruit bread from a very popr shop.¡±


    ¡°...Ms. Gina, that food is not really suitable for traveling.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. Delicious food is an essential part of any trip. Ah, Alexis, I¡¯ll charge you for the costter.¡±


    Everyone was stunned by Gina¡¯s carefree remarks, but the first one to recover and broke the following silence was Percival with a small cough in his hand.


    ¡°I was able to arrange the best carriage in the city. It is wider and faster than the previous carriage, so the trip home should be faster than our journey here.¡±


    After Percival¡¯s story, Mte¡¯s excitement rose to newfound heights. We had always been riding in good quality horse-drawn carriages, so something even beyond that must be the picture of luxury.


    This will be such a pleasant ride....but then I caught something in the corner of my eye. After news came that everything was prepared, Alexis¡¯s face warped into something strange. The knowledge that a good carriage was prepared made him far too tense.


    Concetta is resting in his arms as usual, but now he was not enjoying the cat¡¯s cute sleeping face.


    What¡¯s wrong....I wanted to ask, I swallowed the words before I could.


    Returning home means beginning the search for the real criminal who cursed him.


    As a result, it could mean that his curse will be solved or it could mean that everything could be that much worse depending on how deeply the hatred of the culprit really is.....there are a number of ways that this can go. Not to mention the fact that he will be returning to hostile territory, and the possibility remains that someone might end up making a move on him.


    For Alexis, it will be like returning to the needle¡¯s tip. No, it might be better to say he is returning to a country full of needles.


    Nevertheless, Alexis got over his anxiety and looked up to Gina with resolute eyes. Gina, who had been watching him as well, shrugged her shoulders before taking out a piece of bread from one of the paper bags.


    She then proceeded to shove it into Alexis¡¯s mouth. Alexis made an absurd *Muguu* sound as the surprise attack caught himpletely off guard and almost resulted in him choking. At that moment, Alexis¡¯s sudden iling about resulted in Concetta being shaken from her slumber.


    ¡°Fuiina, ith...¡±


    ¡°Alexis, have you been attacked by misfortune since you met me?¡±


    ¡°.......Acthuly, I thlept shine.........Co-Contheta!¡±


    Concetta, who had been sleeping in Alexis¡¯s arms until now, had woken up and had started to nibble on the bread still hanging out of Alexis¡¯s mouth. It was a scene so cute it could be fatal for cat lovers as two people¨Cwell one person and a cat¨Cate from both sides of the bread, each taking half the loaf. Well, probably a little more in Concetta¡¯s case considering how fast she was nibbling away at that bread.


    I watched him go like that for a moment, lost in his cuteness, before having an aside with Gina.


    ¡°Gina, did you apply curse avoidance to that bread?¡±


    ¡°Hm? I didn¡¯t use curse avoidance on the bread.¡±


    ¡°Well but, Alexis¡¯s bad luck has urred.....¡±


    So where did she apply the curse avoidance?


    Before I could finish my question, Gina started to caress my helmet once again and patted my back.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for me to constantly reapply a spell for a curse ced by a pathetic small-fry witch.¡±1


    Gina¡¯s tone showed that she held no falsehoods in what she was saying, and she made it seem like it was not a big deal or something that even needed to be thought about.


    She was so beautiful I felt a little embarrassed gazing upon her like this although she did feel a little cold. Still, contrary to her appearance, her voice was low, strong, and got stuck in the ear causing your spine to tremble.


    Then, as Gina started to walk away, I¨Calong with Alexis and Percival who had been eavesdropping¨Cwere all left behind stunned......,


    ¡°A real witch,¡±


    and murmured under our breaths

 Chapter 33 - Witches First (+Bonus)

    <h4>Witches First (+Bonus)</h4>


    The carriage we got into this time was the widest and the most luxurious one yet. It easily had the fluffiest cushions and brand new nkets. It seems that both the horses and the coachmen can run without rest. The sight of it all was enough to make me leak a sigh of admiration out of my helmet although Gina seemed to not be as impressed simply saying, ¡°I suppose it will do.¡±


    Once the four of us got in, the horse-drawn carriage almost immediately got on its way. Even though the horses were running, there was almost no shaking, and even when they increased their speed, virtually no vibrations came through. It¡¯s not just special in how it looks but in how it is made as well.


    Meanwhile, Concetta was still sleeping in Alexis¡¯s arms.


    Every time Alexis¡¯s arms went numb he tried to set him down, but Concetta would open his eyes and give out a little purr in response. Alexis¡¯s resolve would then shake, and he would wait until Concetta lied back down before trying it again....his groans growing louder after every defeat.


    After repeating this game several times, Alexis resolutely held Concetta in his arms having surrenderedpletely.


    ¡°Alexis, shall we switch?¡±


    ¡°No, he is sleepingfortably, so let¡¯s leave him be.¡±


    Alexis returned my small smile with his own bitter one while lightly rocking Concetta.....and so I drew out a piece of parchment from my pouch. *Shaa Shaa* I drew up a portrait of Concetta based off of how he looked sleeping in Alexis¡¯s arms.


    Concetta¡¯s appearance sleeping like a baby was beautiful, so I drew up a picture that could only be described as adorable. I was very confident in the finished product.


    ¡°Mte please, my mind needs preparation if you suddenly show me some hideous monster vomiting out dissolution liquid all over the ce.¡±


    ¡°Cute Kitty-cat!¡±


    Impolite! I gave Percival a cold re before eventually turning my eyes to Gina.


    As a fellow witch, Gina will surely understand the splendor of this picture! I looked up to her, eyes filled with hope and expectation. Gina looked carefully at the charm held in my hands.......


    ¡°I thought about getting you a spellbook.¡±


    and she started to appraise my magic.


    A small, supple hand began to stroke my helmet. Was her intention to praise me through physical means? Her hand worked its way down and touched the side of my helmet.


    ¡°Gina, the picture?¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s a bit risky that you have to use blood.¡±


    ¡°What do you think about my drawing?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s find a more efficient way for you to craft your magic. Even if you use blood, you should be able to reduce the amount after awhile.¡±


    ¡°The cute kitty-cat.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you a few trickster, so let¡¯s enjoy some sweets for now.¡±


    Gina held out a cupcake to me. My eyes narrowed at the sugary confection in her hand, but I ended up receiving it. Maybe it was Percival trembling while trying to hold in hisughter or maybe it was Alexis hogging the lovely Concetta, but the entire carriage was white.


    I frowned inside my helmet. Even though I was able to draw it so well, nevertheless I ate the cupcake Gina gave me without saying another word.


    Then I passed my cute little spell over to Alexis. At the moment, he was rxing just fine without anything bothering him. Well, so long as nobody put sand on his hind feet.1


    ¡°Mte, what¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so that your arms don¡¯t get numb. It¡¯s not a concrete spell, so the effect will be short though. Would you like me to draw up some more?¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks, but I am okay. My arms can endure.¡±


    ¡°......It¡¯s a monster spitting up dissolution liquid anyway.¡±


    ¡°No it¡¯s not!¡±


    While I was burning up with anger, Alexis chimed in with some follow-upughter and a wry smile.


    On the contrary, instead of backing me up, Alexis told me that I did not have to force myself to draw up spells for him. My eyes went round in my helmet, and it was like a fog had been lifted.


    He has be ufortable with using a spell drawn in blood ink, or maybe now that Gina is here, he feels like he doesn¡¯t need the help from a beginner witch...........the more I think about it, the more obvious it bes that I have been used.


    Alexis took my usations and returned a bitterugh before suddenly saying, ¡°Thank you.¡± His tone of voice was far too gentle and different from the atmosphere we had going until now. I unintentionally ended up scratching my helmet because of how ufortable I started to feel.


    The unpleasant sound of iron scraping against iron reverberated in my helmet creating a particrly unpleasant noise which ended up morphing together with Alexis¡¯s words and getting lodged in my ears.


    After exchanging brief conversation for awhile, the sun eventually began to fall, and a familiar voice yelled out signaling we were at the border. When I looked out the window earlier, I could tell that we were traveling much faster than before. The scenery seemed to be running past us twice as fast as it was before.


    I wonder if it is impossible to fully appreciate the scenery when it is going by so fast, but I suppose that is the price for fast travel.


    In this situation where everything was going better than perfectly, Gina was the only one who looked genuinely confused about something, staring curiously at Percival.


    ¡°Percival, how long will you be traveling with us?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, if you keep following us for too long, you won¡¯t be able to make to the city today.¡±


    ¡°...What are you talking about?¡±


    Gina asked her question, and all it did was confuse Percival.


    It was a funny sight watching both of them tilt their heads in the same way and at the same time, but neither Alexis nor I really knew what to say, so we both just watched them in silence.


    What does she mean for Percival to return to town?


    ¡°Gina, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Um, isn¡¯t Percival a guide for this country?¡±


    After he thought about it for a moment after hearing Gina¡¯s exnation, Percival muttered a soft, ¡°Ah,¡± after he realized what she meant.


    ¡°Sost night, you told me to go pick those medicinal herbs. You thought it was the fee for me guiding them.¡±


    ¡°....Was I wrong?¡±


    ¡°You are wrong. I am the bodyguard for Prince Alexis.¡±


    When Percival answered her, I nodded as well so that Gina would be certain. Apparently, she misunderstood something.


    Iughed lightly without thinking at the fact that a genuine witch could make such a mistake, but I quickly reeled myself in and apologized for being rude. Still, ¡°So Percival crossed the border along with Mte,¡± Gina once again rified the situation in order to correct her misunderstanding.


    I gazed at Gina and nodded my head one more time which led her hands to start caressing my helmet once again. ¡°I see.¡± Her smart, beautiful smile really was something to behold.


    ¡°I have misunderstood. My apologies.¡±


    Gina herself startedughing about the whole the whole situation which made everyone else grow a wry smile on their faces. Of course, I wasughing right along with her.


    However, it is reasonable that Gina would misunderstand.


    If a prince of a country were to visit another country, a wee would be normally required. Naturally a guide from the government would apany him.


    Sometimes a chosen knight would serve as an escort, a youngdy with suitable status would lead him around to deepen their friendship, and sometimes the royal family themselves woulde out to view the countryside with them.


    No matter how unpopr he is in his home country, Alexis is still a prince. For Gina, the thought that Alexis passed the border with Mte¨Ca witch of his country¨Cand asked Percival to act as a guide.....it¡¯s a natural mistake to make.


    However, something seemed to be guing Gina¡¯s mind as she muttered, ¡°I misunderstood,¡± under her breath. For some reason, I don¡¯t think she was referring to just now either.......but it¡¯s none of my business, so I forced my eyes away and looked out the window.


    I could see the border hut back in the distance. I was surprised that we had alreadye so far, and Percival ended up having the same thoughts as I.


    ¡°It¡¯s a really fast carriage, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you probably won¡¯t find a better carriage than this if you looked through the whole country. Thanks to that, we will make it back much sooner than nned.¡±


    ¡°n? I feel like this trip never had a schedule in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°......I at least have one thing nned.¡±


    ¡°Is that so. What is that?¡±


    ¡°I will return home without dying.¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders at such a Percival.


    Is that not an iprehensible n? Rather it¡¯s not a n at all. It is a desire.


    But I do not mind not pointing that out to him because I see a bit of hesitation in his eyes as he looks back at the border hut. Looking over, I saw that Alexis also had a shadow cast over his face while solemnly looking out the window.


    Even though we were returning home, the two¡¯s trepidation was obvious.


    When I saw it, I was about to say something.....


    But once again I swallowed the words, this time because Gina had shoved another loaf of bread in Alexis¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make such an awkward face! C¡¯mon and eat!¡±


    ¡°Fiina, I¡¯m alhedy hull!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk with your mouth full! Percival,e over here and eat some as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh no......I am.....¡±


    ¡°Eat in silence! Come over here Mte; I have some delicious sweets. Let¡¯s eat them together.¡±


    ¡°The disparity in treatment is amazing.¡±


    Even though I recognize the injustice, it doesn¡¯t mean Iin about it while taking a seat next to Gina.


    She handed over to me a delicious looking cookie. It was coated in sugar and adorned with fruits which made it look especially appealing.


    It was crisp, warm taste that made me smile. Meanwhile Alexis was sharing half his bread with Concetta who should have been sleeping , while Percival had started nibbling on the bread forcibly handed over to him.


    ¡°Mte, do you know what the one thing in the whole wide world that a witch cannot beat?¡±


    ¡°What I cannot beat...is it a witch yer?¡±


    Witches can have threaten a royal family and get a country behind them, but witch yers can prate their whims and threaten a witch¡¯s freedom. With their magic, a witch is able to obtain power far stronger than a normal human being, so a witch yer that can bypass that magic could be put on the same level as other witches who are also immune to a witch¡¯s magic......


    But although I was sure my answer was right, Gina gave me a soft smile and shook her head. Apparently it was something else. I didn¡¯t know what else it could be, but before I could figure it out, Gina started gently stroking the cheek of my helmet.


    ¡°What a witch cannot beat, it¡¯s deliciousness.¡±


    ¡°Deliciousness?¡±


    ¡°Well, deliciousness gives a sense of happiness to the person who ate it, and the effect is on a whole other scalepared to our magic.¡±


    Laughing with arge grin on her face, Gina held up a piece of cookie to the mouth area of my helmet.


    I wonder is this is what people call one of those ¡®Ahh¡¯ moments. Unfortunately my mouth is invisible by the mechanisms of my helmet and magic, so I had to hold her hand and direct the cookie in ordingly.


    This tasted differently from the one before as the fruit was a little drier. I wonder how well it would go with some ck tea.


    ¡°I bought quite a few, so be sure to eat a lot.¡±


    I looked over at the two men and gave them a wry smile as Gina began pulling out more of the sweets she had procured for us, and I shrugged my shoulder at them before turning back around and talking with Gina about all the food.


    The border was getting further and further away, and the food was disappearing into our mouths just as fast. Even so, the food Gina purchased is delicious, and she has more than enough tost us the trip.


    Meanwhile, three people watched the twodies pack away the food inplete silence. Even Concetta, who had beenfortably resting in Alexis¡¯s arms until now, could not look away from the sight. The image of a plump stomach in the girls¡¯ future popped into their minds, and in a panic, the three of them each shook their heads to scratch out those dangerous thoughts.


    Bonus


    Armored Girl Mte ¡« An extra story that didn¡¯t fit earlier¡«


    ¡°It might be better to change the way we call Alexis.¡±


    I suddenly put out a suggestion while the carriage was smoothly rolling along¨Calthough poisonous moths continue to enter in regrly, we were expecting that to happen, so that fact does not affect on whether or not the journey was going smoothly.


    Percival who heard me suddenly lifted his head and looked at mepletely confused. Alexis was sitting next to him leaning against the wall having not moved too much in quite awhile. His shoulders do move subtly along with his breathing, so we can assume he is sleeping.


    ¡°How to call him?¡±


    ¡°Alexis is carrying his own circumstances where it might be good if we dropped the Prince and started calling him by a pseudonym.¡±


    Currently, the surrounding evaluation of Prince Alexis is so low that it has be impossible for it to go any lower.


    Some people are even indignant over the belief that Alexis¡¯ previous poprity was the result of his trickery, and there is no way to say that these people won¡¯t end up making a move. ¡°A courageous citizen finally put down the tyrannical prince.¡± It¡¯s not something to be praised from a normal standpoint, but the culprit would still be revered. There is no story more popr than a normal person overthrowing the bad guy.


    Percival thought about what I said for awhile before nodding his head with a murmur.


    ¡°Indeed. Things could get unpleasant if the Prince is found in this area.¡±


    ¡°In other words, we use a pseudonym to avoid his bad reputation, and he will be a whole new person with a nickname.¡±


    Because the witch¡¯s curse is involved, problems could arise just from the knowledge that he is out with the general public.


    He could be used ofing here to y around even though he is actually looking for a way to break the curse, but if wee out with apletely fake name, the ruse could be discovered. Something like that could further exacerbate the rumors.


    That¡¯s why it¡¯s best toe up with a nickname.


    The people in the area will get caught up in our way of addressing him, and they will be fooled. ¡°It looks like Alexis, but those people are calling him in such a way, so he is a different person?¡±


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Nevertheless, it will leave open the option upon discovery for the excuse, ¡°This is the way I am addressed by certain people when I am traveling together with them,¡± and he will be forgiven for the deceit.


    It is not the truth, but it¡¯s not a lie either. This is the ideal.


    But when it came time to decide Alexis¡¯s nickname.......I wasing up short.


    Is Alec a good one? If we call him ¡®Alec¡¯, the surroundings might misunderstand our rtionship as siblings, and in case of an emergency, it would be easy to abandon ¡®Alec.¡¯


    It ismon enough name that if it is heard, it would not be particrly noteworthy, and if we were to get into any trouble with another person, we should be able to avoid a confrontation by chalking it up to some ¡®bad luck¡¯ and apologizing.


    And so I tried to propose my nickname of ¡®Alec¡¯, but before I could, Percival ¨C who had been thinking with his head held down until now ¨C unexpectedly raised his head and said, ¡°I have an idea.¡± With that....


    ¡°......Akkun.¡±


    This was it.


    ¡°The distance was closed in an instant!¡±


    ¡°Ah, but when I say it out loud, it sounds rude of me.¡±


    ¡°No, but ¡®Akkun¡¯ might be surprisingly good. Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Do you think so?¡±


    I nodded deeply to appeal to Percival who seemed to be taken aback by my seriousness.


    But it could seriously work out. In what world would a prince be called ¡®Akkun¡¯ by his subordinate or a wicked witch? Anyone listening in would feel ufortable in a moment, and most people would think, ¡°That Prince Alexis is nothing like Akkun. Surely Akkun just bares a resemnce to Akkun.¡±


    The more I talked about it, the more confident Percival became in his own suggestion.


    It was around that time that the sleeping Alexis stirred and picked himself up with a small groan.


    His deep brown eyes slowly opened themselves up and idly looked around at his surroundings.


    ¡°......sorry......I guess I fell asleep. .....Did you two need me for something?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. You look tired, so feel free to get some more rest, Akkun.¡±


    ¡°Then, for a bit longer......Wait, what Percival?¡±


    ¡°No bad luck has urred recently, so I will wake you up when it is time to switch shifts. Akkun.¡±


    ¡°.......Mte?¡±


    Why are they suddenly calling me akkun? After having just awoken, Alexis waspletely unaware of the changes happening around him¨Calthough it would be normally impossible for an ordinary person to arrive at our conclusion even with all the background information¨CAlexis was left with arge question mark hanging over his head.


    When Percival and I both told him, ¡°Good night, Akkun,¡± and pushed the subject to the side, Alexis¡¯s eyes soon started to slowly close along with all his doubts and confusion. Alexis¡¯s soft breath eventually mixed in with the simple sound of the wheels rolling on soil once again.


    ¡°.....This is not it.¡±


    ¡°.....This is not it.¡±


    Such a small conversation was exchanged one night inside the carriage.


    1. A small saying that just means his legs are asleep.

 Chapter 34 - The Sound of a Bodyguard Knight Falling

    <h4>The Sound of a Bodyguard Knight Falling</h4>


    A moment after crossing the border, a darkness had spread across Alexis¡¯s face, but this did not get by Gina who stuffed a loaf of bread into his mouth. The resulting iling woke up Concetta who enjoyed eating the stuck out bread.


    Thebination was truly a splendid sight. In spite of this, Percival sat there stunned wondering where all the tension from before had disappeared to.


    And so the horse-drawn carriage continued to run onward, making it possible to reach an amodation before the date changed. Originally it was nned for us to stay a night inside the carriage, but I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.


    It is quite luxuriously built, but a horse-drawn carriage is still just a horse-drawn carriage. If asked whether I want to sleep inside it or on top of afy bed: the answer would obviously be thetter. Besides, if I stay inside an inn, I can enjoy a hot bath and eat my meal while rxing.


    I was thankful for the opportunity to rx.....but,


    ¡°Is there only one room?¡±


    Percival was the one talking with the front desk clerk at the inn.


    While listening to them talk, I took a peek at the registry book, and isn¡¯t there an open space right there? If it¡¯s for the night, they can¡¯t deny that there is a room avable, but on the contrary, it seems like we were lucky to get this room at all.


    It seems that they were fully booked for the night, but a reservation they had had canceled a small time ago. There are tworge beds in the room, so four people could easily sleep inside.....the shopkeeper was talking as if there was no problem.


    Furthermore, he says that they will prepare a midnight snack for us and add in breakfast free of charge. He refuses to leave this one room open. A true salesman¡¯s spirit here.


    ¡°It sounds like this was a room that four people had originally booked for the night.....¡±


    Percival continued to try and persuade me, but I didn¡¯t have any real objections. It¡¯s still better than sleeping inside the carriage. Gina shrugged her shoulders, appearing to agree with me, but she was clearly more reluctant.


    A slight relief came across Alexis and Percival¡¯s expressions at our responses¨Cprobably because if the two of us did strongly object to sharing a room with two people of the opposite sex, they would have been the ones spending the night in the carriage.


    Watching them both be so happy, I felt a grin spread across my face inside my helmet.


    ¡°No, after all I don¡¯t want to share the same room as some men! Percival should sleep in the carriage tonight!¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte, I¡¯m surprised you can make jokes with that helmet....¡±


    ¡°Percival, you can sleep on the carriage¡¯s roof. Be careful not to trip over yourself as the road is a little tilted though.¡±


    ¡°.......the roof? Wait, is this retaliation for what I said the first time we stayed here?¡±


    My smile became even stronger underneath my helmet as I performed a little dance in my heart for the first time in a long time with Percival ring daggers at me.


    Of course I am joking. If they were trying to force us to sleep in the same bed, I would have kicked them outside...........I would have felt a bad about it at least. Besides, we had slept over in the carriage several times before, so it is a littlete to be worried about two people of the opposite sex sleeping in the same room.


    That¡¯s why,


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that the roof of such a luxurious carriage would be extremelyfortable.¡±


    My one-sided domination of the conversation clearly frustrated Percival.


    I remembered the intimidation and sharpness in his re from before, and it increases my sense of superiority seeing the frustration in his eyes now.


    As myughter echoed inside my helmet, you could see Percival tremble.


    ¡°......I¡¯ll sleep well.¡±


    He murmured.


    ¡°You can¡¯t threaten me!¡±


    ¡°Threaten? I was just thinking that I¡¯ll be a little more sleepy than usual tonight.¡±


    ¡°If you feel sleepy, then hurry up and go to bed!¡±


    Laughing as if he was invincible¨Cthough his smile looked a little pained, probably because it¡¯s heartbreaking using your own issues like this¨CPercival¡¯s re collided right with my own. Of course, there is a helmet making it impossible to tell that I am ring at him, but still.


    Meanwhile, Alexis and Gina were watching us after taking a long distance away. At the end of it, they both just shrugged their shoulders and made their way to the room without us.


    Finish up thete-night snack quickly before creating a clear bathing order.......and hurry to finish any work that needs to be done tomorrow before our departure.


    Then when it was time to got to sleep, I sat on top of one of the two beds andid my helmet atop of the fluff.


    As the clerk said, the room was set up with tworge beds. It is a size that adults could sleep well on even if they were sprawled across, and it could easily be described as a quadruple bed.


    If you fall asleep here there is no need to worry about thebinations.


    ¡°Mte let¡¯s go to bed on this one.¡±


    I looked up and nodded my helmet as Gina embraced me and started to stroke my armor. As a matter of fact, I will be sleeping with my senior witch tonight.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Based on that, ¡°.......Is it alright for you to sleep with me?¡± I had to ask. After all, sleeping in the same bed with arge, clunky suit of armor would be bad for the body.


    When I asked though, Gina let out a smallugh and tightened her embrace around me. She gave me a small wink before whispering to me, ¡°I will sing you a luby.¡±


    A bold deration. I politely refused since Gina wasn¡¯t going to bed right away, but I do wonder what kind of luby it would have been.


    After we decided the wake-up time for tomorrow morning, I entered the futon alone.


    ¡°Atsuuu......¡±


    It was Gina who was groaning early the next morning.


    I slowly crawled out from underneath the bedding and fanned myself after peeling off the futon.


    Compared to the mansion built inside the valley, thisnd and lodging was much higher in humidity and temperature causing sweat to pour down my back and making the futon cling to me.


    Istarted to think about taking a shower....but while thinking about that, my gaze fell onto Mte who was sleeping right beside me.


    Mte insisted on keeping her armor on in front of other people, and I insisted on the two of us sleeping together. As a result, Mte had entered the bed wearing all her armor. Although sheined that it was, ¡°Hard to sleep,¡± in the beginning, she was able to sleep soundly throughout the night, even if she had started to stir after I woke up.


    I stretched out my hand towards Mte and started to gently stroke the helmet of my junior witch covered in iron.


    ¡°Mte, I am going to take a shower.¡±


    ¡°......yes.....okay.¡±


    ¡°Please enjoy your sleep even without me.¡±


    I swore that the scorching heat was actually worse out in the middle of the room aspared to underneath my nket. And I could tell Concetta felt the same when he leapt off of Alexis¡¯s chest, following closely behind me as I made my way to the bathroom.


    If it was with Concetta, I might try taking a lukewarm bath. Thinking about it, I picked Concetta up in my arms...........before putting him right back down when his fur started to cling to my sweat-drenched skin.


    Then after awhile, a shadow rose up with a groan and a grunt from the bed next to the one Mte was sleeping in.......It was Percival.


    I scratched my head several times with half-opened eyes and slowly got down from my bed. I picked up a cup I had haphazardly ced on my deskst night without turning on any of the lights and emptied the contents down my throat.


    Then I tried going back to my bed......but I missed it and headed to the next bed over belonging to Miss Mte. I cuddled together with the sleeping Mte and gently tapped on the bed.


    Mte, who had just gotten to sleep after being awoken by Gina earlier, slowly woke back up......and groaned with still sleepy eyes.


    ¡°Mte, I¡¯m sorry I could only get us one room.¡±


    ¡°.......Next is Percival?¡±


    ¡°The best room aside, for all you¡¯ve done for us, I should have at least gotten you your own room where you could take off your armor and rx. You can¡¯t have a proper sleep in that armor.¡±


    ¡°......I have been sleeping just fine until now.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t sleep at all in the carriage tomorrow. I want you to get as much sleep as possible.¡±


    ¡°.......Why........Why are you waking me up like this if you want me to get as much sleep as I can?¡±


    Regardless of Mte, who continued toin and grumble, Percival continued tough and tap, tap, tap her helmet.


    He wanted her to go to sleep as fast as possible, but his behavior was producing the exact opposite effect.


    Eventually, Mte¡¯s grogginess did outweigh her overall annoyance, and her voice did change from a constant groan to a resigned, ¡°Good night.¡± At those words, Percival softly smile, ced his arm underneath Mte¡¯s helmet, and quietly said, ¡°Good night, Miss Mte.¡±


    It was the so-called arm pillow.


    However, Mte had no margin toin about it at this point. Percival would return to sanity after fifteen minutes at most. Her best bet would be to ignore him and sleep for now, and when she was fully rested she could torment and curse him to her heart¡¯s content.


    Then of course, after fifteen minutes Percival was curled up radiating self-hate.


    ¡°I did it again...¡±


    It was ten minutes of silent depression before I said anything.


    Sanity had returned slowly like an iing tide, but the self-hatred had sprung forth suddenly like a boiling geyser. I instinctively sighed while scolding myself; all the while my eyes dropped down to my side when I felt something pressing down on my arm.


    It was, of course, a pile of iron armor. Miss Mte.


    My eyes shot open at once upon realizing what I had done, staring at the arm pillow I had forced upon her. She must be really angry...... Thinking so, I hesitatingly called out Miss Mte¡¯s name¨Cprepared for the worst.


    What kind of unspeakable curse will she unleash on me? Maybe I¡¯ll get lucky and things will be settled with her punching me in the gut? No, she will probably make me simmer for a while and curse me after I have dropped my guard down. Even if she decides to go with all three, under the circumstances, I will have to just ept it.


    So I steeled my heart and worked up my courage to speak up. ¡°Miss Mte.......,¡± again, somehow Miss Mte did not answer or give one of her usual witty retorts. For the moment, she just continued to rest her helmet on my armor.


    ¡°.......Miss Mte?¡±


    Is she so angry she can¡¯t speak?


    A cold sweat built up on my back and an urge to run away ran through my chest.


    However, Miss Mte never responded to me no matter how much time past, nor has she moved at all.....Rather than being angry, could she be.....?


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no way.¡±


    Denying the possibility to whomever might have heard my thoughts, I carefully listened in to Mte¡¯s helmet.


    I was careful not to wake her up¨Cjust in case she was sleeping¨Cbecause if I happen to wake her up¨Cconsidering the improbable scenario where she is actually asleep on my arm right now¨Cit would be hard for me to exin this situation, and me being head-butted by a helmet would be a fair response.


    When I carefully touched her helmet, I listened in as carefully, and quietly as possible.


    Suu...


    The sound of slow breathing.


    Listening to it, my face instantly turned blue.


    I was prepared for her to scream something right in my ear, but I heard somethingpletely different instead. Gentle, quiet, slightly higher pitched breathing.


    ¡°.....She¡¯s sleeping.¡±


    Staring down at Mte, I hadpletely misunderstood the situation.


    I cannot see what is inside that silver-tinted ball of iron, and the whole thing looks ridiculous lying on its side on top of a bed underneath the covers. Nevertheless Mte was definitely asleep inside it.


    Even when I called her name she didn¡¯t stir, so she is pretty far under at that.


    Right next to me.


    With an arm pillow.


    Shoulder to shoulder.


    ¡°..........!¡±


    I could no longer breathe at that moment. I could still grunt and make this weird, choking noise, but I could no longer breathe in.


    The moment that I realized Mte was sleeping on me, a heat built up and burned through my body. My chest hurt from my heart beating inside it like a church bell, and the breath I was finally able to take was hotter than a campfire.


    Something sounded within me. It was a loud, clear sound. Like something falling somewhere. No, not somewhere. It¡¯s because I knew exactly where this sound wasing from, exactly what this feeling meant, and that was why everything felt so hot.


    That sound just now was the sound of falling in love......


    It¡¯s not really a sound but more like a vibration you feel through your entire body.


    Well,


    The iron made a gentle sound.


    Mte had woken up and was frustrated that her armor was getting crushed, but the gushing emotion of the man doing it left himpletely unaware to the fact.

 Chapter 35

    <h4>The Sound of a Bodyguard Knight Falling (+ Small Bonus)</h4>


    Percival Galette desperately tried to calm himself down.


    Even now, Mte was still face down asleep on his arm. After embracing his emotions to her, in the end, even the sense of touch and the weight on his arm was enough to make his heart speed up and to turn his vision opaque.


    He doesn¡¯t think she¡¯s cute. He¡¯s thinking that she¡¯s really cute.


    ¡°Calm down Percival Galette...........She¡¯s wrapped up in a suit of armor.........¡±


    I tell myself this over and over again.


    Mte¡¯s whole body is covered in armor. I don¡¯t know the color of her hair nor the color of her eyes. I¡¯m not even positive that there is a woman in there.


    If there was a stranger in this room right now, there is no way they would assume that there was a woman in there. Rather, they would be wondering why there is a suit of armor on the bed in the first ce. If they were the clerk, they¡¯d be yelling right now to have the suit of armor moved off the bed and tossed to the corner of the room.


    Besides, since I¡¯m giving the suit of armor an arm pillow right now, that stranger might actually decide to call a doctor, and said doctor would then run a thorough diagnosis of me because there is clearly something wrong with my head. This entire scene would be absurd.


    The point is, Mte¡¯s appearance is much to quirky.


    If she were to stand quietly in the hallway, you would think she was part of the furnishings.


    For some reason such an armor is appearing cute.


    No, of course it is Mte inside the armor who is cute, so a feeling of romance isn¡¯t too weird, but Mte is sleeping in a full body suit of armor.


    Yes, it is a suit of armor!


    Telling myself once again, I took a deep breath.


    To calm down my heart which is ringing like a dinner bell, I close my eyes¨Cdropping the room intoplete darkness¨Cand try to regain my calm.


    ¡°Calm down, I......the other person is armor, a full body suit of armor. What is so cute about it?¡±


    I remind myself of the facts before taking a deep breath in, then breathing out.


    Each word is sucked into my consciousness, and the raging ocean of emotions that disturbed me until now smoothed out.


    At the same time that my thoughts regained order, a bitter smile began to leak out across my face as all the stupid thoughts that had been guing me until now culminated into one clear revtion.


    That¡¯s right, I¡¯m in love with Miss Mte ....... So I conclude with myself.


    I have never seen what kind of women Mte is underneath that armor, and I have no idea what she looks like without a wall of iron masking her. Even Alexis doesn¡¯t remember what she looks like, and he was the one who called her ugly.


    I do not know what kind of woman Mte is, her time in that armor is all that I know. I do not want to judge a woman by her appearance, but a full body suit of armor is obviously an exception. Far from how she talks or how she looks, I can¡¯t even say I¡¯m positive on what her gender is, and a person would be hard-pressed to distinguish her from a hallway ornament.


    I cannot think of such a Mte as ¡®cute.¡¯ I¡¯m sure that this is all just an overreaction to a feeling ofradery I have with her as two people working to dispel the prince¡¯s curse. To mistake friendship for love, isn¡¯t that too ridiculous for a royal guardsman such as myself?


    Reaching my answer, I nodded my head inside my room of darkness.


    Although Mte¡¯s helmet was still resting on my arm, it no longer bothers me now that I have rposed myself......although my arm is feeling a little numb.


    ¡°What in the world was I thinking? .......I wonder if I¡¯m still a little sleepy.¡±


    Denying my past actions with a bitter smile, I opened my eyes and looked at Mte who was still sleeping in my arms.......Before hurriedly turning my face away.


    ¡°What!? Too cute!¡±


    And, that¡¯s it.


    Despite all my conclusions and denials, after all <ruby>Mte<rt>Full body armor</rt></ruby> still looks cute.


    Once again the heat in my chest res up as I look at her. The heart that should have already calmed down was once again ringing like a dinner bell, and all of my concentration was diverted to my numb arm where the helmet was resting. As for the numbness, I even started to consider the feeling pleasant and no longer wanted it to go away. The weight ¨C


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me!?¡± I am!!¡±


    I was about to scream at the top of my lungs. I covered my face with my empty hand and muffled it back into my throat.


    However, possibly noticing the noise, Mte moved, ¡°nn......¡± and made a small grunt. The armor creaked against itself, and the helmet on top of my arm shook slightly.


    *Badump* I thought my heart would bust out of my chest, and in a panic I shook the suit of armor while calling Miss Mte¡¯s name.


    ¡°Mo- Miss Mte, sorry to wake you up.¡±


    ¡°Percival, are you sleepy again.....?¡±


    ¡°No, now I¡¯m......¡±


    ¡°Then quit shaking me around, and go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow......¡±


    Mte wasining while still half-asleep.


    On the other hand, I wasn¡¯t sure what to say and responded with an, ¡°Yes, um, ah......¡± Miss Mte still hadn¡¯t left my arms, and she has gone back to sleep even though she would be so clearly against the current situation.


    It was a cheap reaction, but also cute. That¡¯s why my heart was beating away like a drum even though my mind was yelling, ¡°Calm down.¡±


    Mte is seeing the current situation as, ¡°Percival is just sleepy again,¡± so she is just doing her best to ignore the situation and go to sleep. So all I need to do right now is regain my sanity, release her, and stuff away these emotions.......


    And I was going to do just that, but when I was about to call out her name to let her know I was moving, Miss Mte spoke up in a sleepy voice, ¡°Good night.¡±


    *Badump*


    And I pulled the iron armor closer to my chest.


    The heart that had until now been erratically beating like a thrashing bull had slowed down to a slow, steady pulse as if it were a luby hum.


    In that moment I blinked my blue eyes a couple times........


    ¡°.........That¡¯s unfair.¡±


    I muttered noiselessly while once again covering my face with my free hand.


    I looked at the silver hand resting on the bed. I have no idea what kind of hand is inside. I have no idea what Mte looks like or what kind of woman she really is. All I know about her is what I have experienced from this trip.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    But even so, the Mte sleeping in my arms right now is unbearable, and I can¡¯t help but to treasure her.


    ¡°Aah dang it, it¡¯s perfectly......¡±


    I have fallen in love perfectly.


    Finally recognizing and epting the emotions springing forth within myself, I slowly removed the hand from my face and released a deep sigh.........,


    ¡°Aah what are you doing Percival? What are you doing.......?¡±


    From the depths of my heart, I darkly muttered, ¡°This is bad,¡± from within myself.


    ¡°So he acts strange whenever he¡¯s sleepy?¡±


    Gina sounded so surprised by this information that I ended up cocking my helmet to the side while eating breakfast.


    Percival has the curious disposition that whenever he is sleepy, he will embrace and fawn over other people. It is something that is beyond his control, but after fifteen minutes goes by, his senses return to him and all the memories of that time remain with him.


    After hearing the exnation, Gina looked at the three of us with a strange expression on her face, but still replied, ¡°I see,¡± before continuing to graciously eat her croissant.


    ¡°I hugged Mtest night as well, but is there any connection to that person¡¯s actions and his intentions?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what do you mean?¡±


    I¡¯m not too sure what Gina means, and I tilted my helmet to the side once again while buttering up my warm yet firm toast. It is unpleasant that the crumbs would fall into my armor no matter how careful I was, but it was tasty, so I didn¡¯t mind.


    Gina seemed oddly satisfied with my reaction as she released a relieved sigh while forking up some of the tossed sd in front of her. She then picked out some of the sasami1 and called Concetta¡¯s name.


    Currently sitting on Alexis¡¯s knee, Concetta had been swiping the sasami off of his sd up until now, but after being called, relocated to Gina¡¯s knee.


    Alexis stared down at his own sd all the while muttering, ¡°I like sasami,¡± after realizing that over half of it had already been stolen from him.


    This was just another part of his bad luck.


    Although, the most unfortunate person in this current situation would have to be.......


    While thinking about him, I took a quick nce outside.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s why I will not Percival into the room.¡±


    Finishing off our conversation like that, Gina smiled elegantly while stroking Concetta¡¯s head who was vigorously eating the sasami.......I did not agree nor disagree, instead opting to justugh instead.


    When I saw her smile, I knew there was nothing else to say. Turning my eyes to Alexis, I saw that he was wearing a conflicted expression, but as he turned his eyes to look over his shoulder, I could tell that he wasn¡¯t going to say anything.


    The veranda from which the morning sun was pouring through.


    There, Percival swung about unconscious while being rolled up in a futon hanging from the ceiling.


    It¡¯s not that sad of a scene. Gina said that his punishment will end when the chord inevitable snaps, and he falls from the ceiling......


    Well, he¡¯s not that high up, and it seems like he is asleep right now. Well, I am impressed that he is able to sleep in that type of situation, but I should say as expected of someone capable of sleeping while embracing a full body suit of armor. If we leave him like that, he should be fine. Deciding so, I refocused my attention back to the toast and ignored any noise ongoing outside noise.


    Bonus


    Armored Girl Mte ¡« An extra story that didn¡¯t fit earlier Pt. 2¡«


    ¡°This is serious. Hot water ising out!¡±


    It was only Gina who had no idea what Alexis was talking about.


    Ipletely skipped the shock stage and jumped to the stage where I looked down on him with pity while Percival patted him on the back saying, ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±


    ¡°.....Hey Mte, what¡¯s the big deal?¡±


    ¡°Because he¡¯s only taking cold showers for the past year, his brain has cooled down a lot.¡±


    Gina tilted her head, clearly not understanding what I meant, but I wasn¡¯t sure how best to exin it to her.


    Still, after awhile she did start to understand what we were talking about as she sighed, ¡°bad luck.¡± The tone she took while stroking Concetta who was resting on her knee shows that she clearly considered this someone else¡¯s problem. Although it was probably because of her that we had hot water right now in the first ce.


    Thinking that way, I made sure that Alexis thanked Gina for her help. He did eventually after thoroughly enjoying his hot water bath.


    Then the time came when everyone had finished bathing and gotten ready for bed.


    Alexis was tirelessly fanning himself while asking if he could open the room¡¯s window a little bit.


    Is it that hot? Everyone¡¯s expression was clearly asking this question. It was only Alexis who was stretching out his shirt¡¯s neckline, fanning himself while standing next to the open window in order to cool himself down. He kept takingrge breaths and mumbling to no one in particr about how nice the night breeze felt.


    ¡°Prince Alexis, have youe down with a fever?¡±


    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s something else.¡±


    ¡°Different? But you¡¯re hot.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, ever since I got out of that hot water......¡±


    As soon as Alexis said the words, I wanted to jump on them.


    You¡¯re hot because of the hot water? I had also taken a bath, but the hot water that came out of the faucet was an ordinary temperature without too much heat. Rather, if you were to try and enjoy the night breeze while your hair was still wet with that water, you would most likely end up with a cold.


    Although Alexis is enjoying the night breeze right now........


    ¡°After a long time, your body became adjusted to the temperature.¡±


    I had to hold myself back fromughing as I told him the answer.


    ¡°His high adaptive ability is actually working against him........¡±


    ¡°This is also part of your misfortune,¡± I said underneath my breath, but Alexis ignored me. ¡°It¡¯s just hot in here,¡± he said, but as Alexis made his way back towards the bathroom, the fact that neither Percival nor Gina would look him in the eye did not go unnoticed.


    1. The raws have it as sasami. When I looked it up, I mostly got results for sashimi, but I did get one ce that defined sasami as fish fillet. I¡¯m not a chef, and I can¡¯t tell you what the difference is between sasami and sashimi, but the point is they¡¯re both fish.

 Chapter 36 - A Hardship After a Hurdle1

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om<h4>A Hardship After a Hurdle1</h4>


    We leave the inn, borrow a carriage, and we are on our way once again.


    Today¡¯s departurecked the excitement that yesterday¡¯s did, and a lot of grumbling and mumbling about what the future holds could be heard bouncing around the carriage walls. The tension was obvious on Alexis and Percival¡¯s faces. No matter how far from town they traveled from, two or three rumors would always pop up, and this time they had left the country entirely.


    That¡¯s why it was imperative that they travel immediately to the royal pce and exin about the witch¡¯s curse. His Majesty would have to believe them if two different witches testified on his behalf. Alexis was a wonderful son to them, and someone they were deeply proud of until a year ago.


    I am sure they will understand. That¡¯s why Alexis¡¯s eyes seemed to shine slightly with the light of hope, and Percival was patting his back saying, ¡°Soon His and Her Majesty will know the truth.¡±


    Then woulde searching for the culprit alongside the two witches Mte and Gina to solve the curse.......


    But Alexis and Percival didn¡¯t say anything after that. Because even if they find the criminal, there is no guarantee that things will ever be able to return to how they used to be. It has alreadye so far that even if the cause is resolved, the effects could leave behind scars that would never heal.


    To see Alexis who would be unable to say anything as mud is thrown at him from across the country while taking the thrown........, it might even be necessary for him to abandon his line for session. Percival¡¯s knuckles turned white from gripping his sword handle too tightly due to stress.


    By the way, it was only Alexis and Percival who were so beside themselves thinking about the future like this.


    While stroking Concetta atop my knee, I waved off their worries as, ¡°Something that can¡¯t be helped,¡± while taking out a loaf of bread and shoving it into their mouths. Afterwards, I pulled out a sugar confection from my bag for me to enjoy. Concetta cried out when I did, clearly asking for some bread for himself as well.


    Although his attitude towards me is a little different from other people in the carriage, I suppose that¡¯s just that natural result when considering the position I hold.


    ¡°So Mte, when everything calms down, be sure to invite me over to your old castle as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Robertson would be delighted to meet you Gina.¡±


    ¡°A spider best friend, I look forward to meeting him.¡±


    Whenever a serious air began to brew and oppress the carriage, a piece of bread was packed into the guys¡¯ mouths. I continued petting a cat straight out of a fairy tale eating my own piece of bread.


    While such an unfamiliar sight was transpiring inside the horse-drawn carriage, a familiar sight was passing by the window.


    Roofs densely crowded together radiating around arge building at the city¡¯s center. The figure of the royal pce always had looked as if it was watching over the downtown area. This will be the end of my journey to a different country. Realizing so, I breathed a sigh of relief.


    ...Yes, this was supposed to be the end.


    Although we had safely arrived to the city area, we were quickly surrounded by knights as soon as we had descended the carriage, and we were brought to the royal pce without anyone saying a word to us.


    Everyone wore a rigid expression, and some people were even releasing a bit of bloodlust while holding sword in hand.


    ¡°Such a generous wee is nice, butpletely unnecessary, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah I suppose....¡±


    Gina was walking along while holding Concetta looking a little irritated at the whole affair. I tried to be as nonchnt as her, but dumbly nodding and halfway agreeing with her was the best I could manage. A knight was sticking close behind us, watching our movements prepared to act in the event that one of us moves away from the group.


    As expected, I have a long way to go before I can be at Gina¡¯s level.


    Rather, Gina¡¯s level where she can speak mostly leisurely in this type of situation is too abnormal. Indeed, Percival had yet to say a word as he nced back and forth between his former colleagues with the stern expressions, and Alexis¨Cwho was the most vignt of us all¨Cwas white as a ghost.


    It¡¯s natural that he would be pale right now.


    ¡°I do not know what type of rumors could be floating about, so we will head immediately to the royal pce......¡± The n itself was going perfectly. Although I¡¯m sure what he was nning and the current situation are far from what he imagined.


    He had yet to say anything either, so I continued to nce after him from the corner of my eye here and there.


    In the first ce, if he were to say anything, he would end up silenced by the knights. ¡ªIn the first ce, Gina had already been told to refrain from talking by one of the escorting knights. Of course, she shut him up with the words, ¡°What type of knight tries to silence a woman?¡± As a bonus, Concetta meowed right alongside as if to back up his mistress.¡ª


    The knight seemed to be instinctually intimidated by Gina, so after clearing his throat with a cough, he backed away.


    ¡°Gina, you¡¯re pretty amazing aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Really, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re a witch too Mte. A witch is someone who can¡¯t be held down by ordinary human beings. Here, embrace Concetta and walk with your head held high.¡±


    ¡°No, Concetta right now.....¡±


    I tried to hold back, but Concetta was pushed into my grasp and held him a little cautiously. I wonder if the mewling he is doing right now is him thanking me.


    If you walk in to the royal pce while holding a cat, you will certainly give off a certain air about you. By confronting a witch with that much confidence, you might be better off just fighting a demon with your bare hands.


    ¡°But he¡¯s heavy....¡±


    Muttering such, the knight walking behind me coughed once, most likely realizing that he was to me.


    Then we were taken to the royal pce and ced before his Majesty.


    The reunion of Alexis and his parents was a moving sight.....it goes without saying that this was not the case. Naturally, nothing was prepared for us in way of hospitality. In lieu of an audience, we had numerous knights surrounding us on all sides. This was starting to feel less like a homing and more like an interrogation.


    The king held a steady gaze down upon us while the queen tantly looked away, only asionally turning towards us with a wrinkled nose before looking away once again. It was the second prince, Alexis¡¯s younger brother who stood between them and us.


    The three of them were clearly not delighted with Alexis¡¯s return, and the heavy air they were giving off made even me, someone not sitting squarely under their gaze, was affected. The intimidation I felt sent a chill down my spine, yet the iron of my armor almost burned at the touch.


    ¡°Is this the majesty of the royal family?¡± I muttered in my heart. ¨C It would still be awhile before I learned that the source of this intimidation came from somewhere else. ¨C


    ¡°Alexis, do you know what you¡¯ve done?¡±


    The king¡¯s voice was low when he spoke, and there was no warmth in his voice for the son returned from a long journey. On the contrary, he seemed to be almost ming Alexis for havinge back. As Alexis whispered, ¡°Father,¡± underneath his breath, his words and feelings were beingpletely ignored.


    Still, despite his unease and pain, Alexis held his head up and looked back at the father who talked down to him.


    ¡°Using government expenses for personal pleasure has been a crime since our country was first...¡±


    ¡°Government expenses!?¡±


    Alexis waspletely taken aback by the usations his father put forth.


    But it was Percival who shouted out his outrage. Knights jumped forth and held both of his arms to prevent him from moving, yet he looked back at his king without fear.


    ¡°All the travel expenses we used were what I earned! We neverid a hand on any government expenses!¡±


    ¡°Silence, Percival! Screeching at the top of your lungs like a witch casting a curse. Apanying Alexis so far on his folly, have you no pride as a knight!?¡±


    The king¡¯s frosty words came down like a hammer, and all Percival could do was narrow his eyes in frustration.


    He moves due to his loyalty to Alexis. Yet the king standing before him was also someone he had made a pledge to. No, obviously his loyalty to the king would have to weigh more than anything else, as was his duty as a knight.


    That¡¯s why Percival backed down with a heavy heart, muttering, ¡°fidelity...¡± in a voice no one could hear.


    ¡°Alexis, you will be remanded to your room for awhile.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I must find the culprit...!¡±


    ¡°Are you still going on about such nonsense that you were cursed by a witch? Do you not understand all the trouble I¡¯m going through to lighten your punishment this much?¡±


    ¡°Punishment...¡±


    The word lodged itself in Alexis¡¯s throat. Then, in case he was nning on moving, another knight reached over and grabbed his arm.


    Percival told them not to touch the prince, but all that did was lead more knights to grab hold of him to prevent even the tiniest amount of resistance.


    I watched all of this through my helmet and looked around me to see if anyone was making a move on me.


    Unfortunately, I don¡¯t feel like sticking my neck out into this family drama, and I¡¯d rather not be dragged into this heavy atmosphere. If I were to move poorly here and get caught by some knights, things could get unpleasant. I may be a witch, but it could be said that I¡¯m not that different from an ordinary girl.


    However, if things keep moving at this rate, then Alexis is likely to end up imprisoned. Likewise, Percival will end up dragged off somewhere and could end up as a scapegoat for the current situation¨Cin other words, the worst possible situation.


    This is bad....or so I was thinking until Concetta drew my attention away with a hiss.


    Unlike his usual demeanor, Concetta had his ears pointed down and his teeth barred, and all the hair on his body was standing upright.


    ¡°...Concetta? Hey Gina, Concetta is...¡±


    ¡°Something fishy hase.¡±


    I tried to ask the smiling Gina, but before I could....


    ¡°Please! Please don¡¯t do anything terrible to sister Mte...!!¡±


    A girl entered my field of vision inside my helmet, making a pained appeal,


    ¡°Emilia.¡±


    and I whispered her name to myself.


    This author loves their sayings. This saying in Japanese is Ò»ëyÈ¥¤Ã¤Æ¤Ê¤¤¤Î¤Ë¤Þ¤¿Ò»ëy which roughly trantes to ¡®One difficulty after leaving one difficulty.¡¯ As you can probably guess, it means to have two bad things happen without any space between the events.

 Chapter 37 - Of Witches and Witches

    <h4>Of Witches and Witches</h4>


    ¡°Please. Please don¡¯t do anything terrible to Sister Mte....!!¡±


    Emilia ran in, grief deep in her voice, running straight to her fianc¨¦e Alexis...not. She actually ran straight to Rodel, her future brother-inw.


    He made Emilia stand right next to him and rubbed her arms to calm her down. Afterwards, he moved his hands down to her waist in order to support an uneasy Emilia. Slowly, the distance between them shrank, and then it shrank some more.


    Rodel was inferior to Alexis in terms of looks, but with Em wrapped up in such a gorgeous dress standing next to him, don¡¯t they look like the perfect couple?


    ......No, they probably already are a couple. The fact that His Majesty is not saying anything despite their uneptable proximity is proof of that.


    ¡°I beseech you Prince Rodel.... Please...¡±


    She begged while clinging to Rodel, eventually resting her hand on his chest.


    She wrapped her hands around a ne hanging from Rodel¡¯s neck like she was saying a prayer.


    At that moment, my waist gave out and my knees hit the floor. The sudden impact caused vibrations to transmit throughout the armor, and my whole body felt like it was bristling.


    When I looked down to find out why I had suddenly copsed, my eyes were drawn to my waist¨Cspecifically at my pouch. Inside I kept all my parchment and ink that I used for my spells.


    In addition..., there was something else scratching at the back of my mind, but before I could put my finger on what it was, Rodel¨Cwho had been busy trying tofort Emilia until now¨Ccalled out to me.


    ¡°Emilia truly loves you. Will you please stay by her side?¡±


    ¡°...Me?¡±


    ¡°Emilia is lovely yet still a bit childish. Won¡¯t you stand next to her and watch her be a wonderful princess?¡±


    The tone of Rodel¡¯s proposal, it was like he was truly thinking about her ......... It¡¯s like he actually meant what he was saying. As a matter of fact, when I peered back towards Emilia, I saw the loving look in her eyes as she looked up to him, and I could feel my expression soften slightly.


    Emilia as a princess ..... it would be just like all those fantasies we used toe up with as kids.


    As I looked over the figure of these two easy-to-understand people, Emilia was looking back at me, wearing her heart on her sleeve. Her eyes that were always lovely were now shining with a mystifying light.


    Such an expression from my cute little sister made my chest, hidden beneath this cold, iron armor hurt. A small sigh passed through my lips as I opened my mouth to speak........,


    *Potan*,


    Off of my head, I swallowed the words I was about to say when something fell on top of my helmet.


    Emilia let out a small scream. The Queen let out a rather breathtakingly shrill voice right along with her, and the eyes of the surrounding knights were stunned.


    However, I, who was inside the helmet that everyone was pointing towards and screaming at, had no idea what had just fallen on my head. That¡¯s why I stretched out my iron gauntlet to find out what ..... and I called out the name of my very best friend, the spider that came scurrying down in front of me.


    ¡°Robertson.¡±


    Eight hairy legs along with a plump stomach and buttocks. Undoubtedly, it was Robertson who I hadn¡¯t seen since I left the abandoned castle.


    My eyes inside this helmet began to shine as bright as this spider¡¯s as he slowly climbed down a hanging thread to Concetta¡¯s head who was still lying in my arms.


    On top of Concetta¡¯s fluffy head, Robertson was riding on top like a decoration .......... Thisbination could not be described as anything less than supreme, and it was impossible for me to hold back the ecstatic squeal that leaked from my lips.


    At the same time, I whispered out a small thanks to Robertson whosending had caused me to swallow the answer I was about to give to Rodel¡¯s proposal.


    What a lovely and gorgeous little sister I have. I have no choice, I will stay by your side.......


    Why I thought such a thing, I can¡¯t say the reason now that I¡¯ve calmed down ....... I really don¡¯t know why I was going to say that at all. Thinking so, my gaze turned back to Emilia cuddling up to Rodel.


    ¡°I can protect her, but I¡¯m afraid I cannot stay by Emilia¡¯s side.¡±


    ¡°But sister ...... Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I am a witch.¡±


    Witches are whimsical. Whether it be a request from the royal family themselves or a cute little sister¡¯s wish, we don¡¯t do anything unless we want to.


    So right now I would obviously refuse.


    ¡°Right now I feel like unraveling Aleixs¡¯s curse.¡±


    Once I said this, a pained expression spread across Emilia¡¯s face while Rodel who was standing next to her and Her Majesty wrinkled his brow. It was probably an innate reaction to the word ¡®witch.¡¯


    But there¡¯s a witch out there who has cursed Alexis and Percival ........... the prince and his aplice who¡¯ve been using government funds to y around, it¡¯s only natural that things would turn for the worse now that I think about it.


    Rodel stretched out his arms in some effort to shield Emilia from me, and the surrounding knights strengthened their alertness.


    Their piercing gazes seemed to prate through my armor and felt like


    they were looking right through my whole body as well. I felt sweat start to bead up on my forehead, I tried to divert my eyes anywhere else ............ and the Gina called my name and brought my eyes back up to her.


    When I looked up at her, I saw caring eyes radiating love, and with a tone that made me feel like all my problems were somewhere else,


    ¡°I¡¯ll take Robertson and Concetta into my arms, my prentice witch.


    she said.


    Those words didn¡¯t sound like much, but in my bones I understood, Gina was seeing me as a true fellow witch.


    Given that, I obediently nodded and handed over Robertson and Concetta who was using Robertson as a crown. As I passed them over, though, I made sure to tell Concetta how pretty he looked like that, and I could tell he also enjoyed having Robertson ride his head like that.


    Tearing away my gaze off of the two of them, I turned my eyes back towards Alexis and Percival. Their expressions carried a tint of despair that has never been there before, and when I saw it, a murky mist rose up in my chest.


    I reached out to my pouch in order to push back that mist and took out a pen and piece of parchment from inside. That muddy feeling only felt worse when I saw Emilia was still holding her hands together as if she were in prayer.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing!?¡±


    Raising his voice, a knight grabbed my arm.


    Although he put a bit of force in his grip, it was an arm made of iron. There wasn¡¯t any pain when he grabbed me, but the sudden movement did cause the parchment and pen I was holding to fall to the floor.


    ¡°Hey, knock it off! Don¡¯t touch Miss Mte!¡±


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    And then Percival¡¯s voice rose up as well.


    Several other knights joined in on holding him down, but Percival continued to twist and jerk his body around despite the increased hold. Even though his own circumstances were like this, his eyes were still pointed towards me.


    At the sight, I stood back up off the floor.


    It¡¯s my job to curse him .......


    Those words ran through my mind, and I forcibly pushed away the hand of the knight who had so rudely grabbed me.


    However, these were knights who underwent rigorous training on a daily basis. Being so forcefully shaken off, he did not hesitate to swiftly draw out his sword from its sheath and pointed it at my head.


    With a sharp de in front, I closed my eyes.


    However, the impact I had expected did not arrive, and after working through that moment of fear, I opened them back up.


    Rather than a cold edge, golden hair shook before my eyes now along with a broad back. Grasping the raised arm of the knight ..............


    ¡°Percival.....¡±


    Although I called out his name, he did not turn around nor did he answer me.


    It was a knight whom he had trained beside, yet it was a knight he now stood against. Especially now that he had fought off several other knights holding him back, there had to be a limit to his strength against one of his peers. Even now I could see his arm trembling.


    ¡°Percival, what are you thinking!? Why do you do so much for such a prince ... !?¡±


    I guess the knight in question was acquainted with him as he put forth this question. Perhaps they were close. Of course, Percival was a knight, so him standing against hisrades like this, men he had spent his days alongside, could not be called amusing.


    I can not see what type of expression Percival carries on his face. Still, when he asked, ¡°What is a knight¡¯s loyalty for?¡± I could see the power returning to his outstretched arm.


    ¡°If a knight¡¯s loyalty means turning my eyes away from the facts and taking not even a second to doubt these follies lodged against our prince, then I¡¯ll dly give up the title of knight here and now!¡±


    Percival strong deration pushed the confronting knight back for a second ...... before he returned to his senses and stared him down with a stern expression.


    Even if Percival had grabbed hold of this knight¡¯s sword arm, that only meant that the rest of Percival¡¯s stance was off-kilter and fragile. With that gap in mind, the knight gave Percival his reply by shaking his arm free after giving a straight punch to Percival¡¯s gut.


    The sound of the blow echoed inside the castle hall. Following it was a low groan from Percival. Still he did not move and remained as a wall standing before me.


    Only being able to watch his back until now, my gaze was eventually drawn to the sight of the knight raising his sword above his head, aimed squarely down on Percival.


    It¡¯s my job to curse him.


    I won¡¯t forgive anyone other than myself who tries to hurt him.


    ¡°Do not touch a witch¡¯s prey with those filthy hands of yours!¡±


    I ripped off the armor covering my right arm, and I stuck my pen not at the piece of parchment lying on the ground ....... but to this knight¡¯s palm.


    The nib made a sound as the pen tip broke skin. In a moment, red hot pain would rush through me, but I still continued to press forward and dug the pen further into my flesh.


    ¡°Alexis!¡±


    It was Gina¡¯s voice who called out to the captured prince.


    She saw my actions and tossed Concetta from her arms towards Alexis. As if Concetta was also aware of his Lord¡¯s intentions, he put out his paws, sticking to Alexis¡¯s body while his fur glowed a dazzling light with Robertson riding atop his head. At the same time,


    ¡°{Prostrate}¡±


    my voice resonated with the surroundings.


    In the next moment everyone let out a low groan as if they had just been hit before lying down and stretching their arms on the floor. The king, the queen, of course Rodel and even Emilia ......


    Although some people quickly raised their faces up afterwards, the distorted facial expressions they carried showed this was all they could do. There were lots of people wriggling their fingertips, scratching at the floor, but they were unable to move their limbs.


    It was like a work of art to those who could still stand which included me, whose breath had gone rough inside my helmet as blood trickled down my exposed hand, Alexis who was stunned and could not grasp the current situation, and Gina who looked extremely satisfied while looking around her ....... and Percival who was looking down at the knights wondering what had just happened.


    While moaning was the only sound that continued to reverberate inside the room, my senses quickly returned to me.


    As soon as they did, the pain from my palm became apparent, but I don¡¯t care about that right now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go ........ Anyway we have to get out of here!¡±


    ¡°Well, ... shall we head for somewhere else for now? Percival, since you¡¯re still standing, please bring Alexis with you.¡±


    ¡°.........Yes, Prince, let¡¯s retire for now.¡±


    Following Gina¡¯s orders, Percival rushed over to Alexis. Alexis was not lying down, but his feet would not respond to him, and he could only walk with Percival¡¯s assistance.


    Concetta descended from his arms and ran alongside their legs. On his head sat Robertson, the two¡¯sbined glow acting as our guiding light.


    I quickly left the room following after these two. ........Disregarding Emilia¡¯s voice calling out to me from behind.

 Chapter 38 - A Cup of Tea

    <h4>A Cup of Tea</h4>


    Everyone in the royal pce was prostrating on the floor, and I had started to worry about those people working in the kitchen or near the fountain. This was because of the possibility that a chef cooking something may have started a fire when he was forced to lie down or that people working near the fountain or in some water may have started to drown themselves. Now that I think about it, there were probably people who had fallen offdders or down the stairs as well.


    ¡°I hope they¡¯re alright....¡± I grew more worried about them the more I thought about it, but when I mumbled those words under my breath, Gina who was walking beside meughed a little.


    ¡°Mte sure is kind.¡±


    ¡°Kind?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. Me, I was starting to get annoyed by the overinted ego of everyone in there and was about to blow them all away.¡±


    ¡°Scary.¡±


    ¡°Hoho, that¡¯s just the way it is.¡±


    ¡°Such a scary thing ........ but, I see, that¡¯s why you have Concetta.¡±


    When I muttered Concetta¡¯s name underneath my breath, Concetta¨Cwho was walking a little ways in front of us¨Cthought he was being called, and his fur started blinking light. It stopped blinking a few secondster when he realized I was not calling for him. As usual, such a mysterious cat.


    No, this cat is not the only wonder here. Robertson is also shining brightly.


    When I called his name while he was riding atop Concetta¡¯s head, this time he started blinking. This is surely............ But, since when.........?


    There were lots of questions flying through my head, but they were overwhelming me, so I shook my head violently inside my helmet while continuing to step forward.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Let¡¯s take things in order, starting with what had happened in there. Yes I tell myself.


    Gina could sense danger and realized I was about to release some big magic I guess¨Calthough her thoughts were going in a far scarier direction¨Cso she tossed her familiar towards Alexis.


    Further ahead of me, I could see Alexis who still had to rely on Percival¡¯s assistance in order to walk. He was affected by my spell as well, but Concetta had managed to block some of my spells effects, so he was not made to prostrate on the ground as well.


    ......Alexis.


    Thinking up to this point, I stopped my feet.


    The moment I did, Percival turned around to face me along with Alexis who was partially there for the ride.


    ¡°Miss Mte, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no.....what will we........¡±


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s escape the royal pce. After finding a safe ce to hide, we can see how things develop and n our next actions from there.¡±


    At Percival¡¯s urging, my helmet clunked around as I nodded my head and immediately started walking once again.


    We walked past those people lying on the ground, sometimes having to step over them ........ every once in awhile myrge boots would stumble over some rude person lying around in a bad spot. Although, I was the one to make them fall over in the first ce.


    We left the royal castle and headed towards the forest in a way that would allow us to avoid crowds as much as possible.


    Fortunately nobody had followed us from the castle, and the people of the city didn¡¯t care to pay us any mind. I felt a little bad for the people probably still glued to the floor, but giving them a silent apology from in my heart as we entered the forest was all I was going to give them.


    Even though we would hide ourselves in the forest, obviously we could not hide in my castle.


    Although the old castle is located inside the forest, it¡¯s not a ce that is impossible to find without a guide like Gina¡¯s mansion. The knights sent by the king would soon arrive there to search for us.


    After discussing what to do amongst ourselves, Alexis came over to apologize to me.


    He wore his hopelessness inly on his face, and I am starting to wonder if he really needed Percival to support him because of my spell or because of his own mental state.


    ¡°Mte, sorry .......... because you got involved with me, your house......¡±


    ¡°Alexis.¡±


    ¡°If I go back now, then everyone else...¡±


    ¡®Perhaps they will leave everyone else alone,¡¯ is what he was probably going to say. Instead, all that came out of his mouth was a small ¡®Uff.¡¯


    To say it simply, it was Gina.


    To say it specifically, it was Gina¡¯s bread.


    It was crammed down his throat, and Alexis¡¯s deep brown eyes went round. It seems that he had not expected her to pull off this gag in such a serious situation.


    However, Gina was not someone to care about something as trite as the lingering atmosphere, and following in his lord¡¯s footsteps, Concetta ignored the atmosphere, jumped onto Alexis¡¯s legs, and began nibbling on the hanged out bread.


    Even though Concetta was clinging to the copsed Alexis¡¯s chest, he paid little mind to the cat nibbling away at the food in his mouth. His eyes were locked squarely on the witch before him.


    ¡°Fuina.....¡±


    ¡°Alexis, you are free to decide to give up and allow yourself to be captured by them. But since you and I have shared the joy of traveling together, I will offer you some friendly advice.¡±


    ¡°Fuende adfife?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m going to crush this country, I would give myself up afterwards if I were you. If you don¡¯t, you might get caught up in the chaos.¡±


    Alexis couldn¡¯t believe the terrible things he had just hearde from a woman who was currently giving a very elegant smile. Percival was taken aback as well being left staring at her blindly, but I have to admit that even I was caught a little off-guard by her sudden deration.


    Gina¡¯s smile was beautiful and calm; it was a smile you would expect from a mother. If we hadn¡¯t seen the wordse out of her mouth, we might have thought that there was a fifth person among us.


    But there wasn¡¯t a fifth mystery person, and the words, ¡°crush this country,¡± had clearlye out of her mouth. There was no evil grin or maliciousnessing from her, but neither was their any regret.


    ¡°Gina, to devastate this country......¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it natural?¡±


    Gina narrowed her eyes slightly, gave a gentleugh, and stretched out her hands to begin caressing my helmet.


    Through the iron, I do not know what her skin feels like, but the kindness was transmitted loud and clear, and her loving expression spoke volumes. But still, the deration she made remaining burning in my mind, so I turned my eyes up into hers.


    This was the first time Gina had visited this country. The king¡¯s attitude was appalling, but this type of behavior could be said to have been expected due to the curse¡¯s effects. Yet why is it that Gina would be so set on destroying this country even if Alexis and Percival ended up embroiled in the chaos? I had thought about it for a moment before tilting my helmet to the side with a nk and asking her.


    ¡°........Is it because of poor they are at hospitality?¡±


    Towards my inquiry, Ginaughed before returning a nod. Apparently, I was right.


    In other words, she was angry because when she visited the royal castle, neither Rodel nor His Majesty had taken the effort to act hospitably towards her, so she was now going to ruin the country. Alexis and Percival seemed unable to ept that for some reason.


    ¡°Gi- Miss Gina ......... hospitality, surely that¡¯s not all?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying Percival? Isn¡¯t this natural for a family who doesn¡¯t even offer their guests tea?¡±


    Gina is a refined woman who looks all the more beautiful when sheughspletely contradictory to what shes says as if this is all some big joke.


    This gap creates an air of intimidation. Alexis and Percival feel it even as they smile and try to write this all off as the joke they hope it is. Me, though, I understand. I was the only one looking at her with shining eyes through my helmet.


    Yes, this is a witch.


    They are capricious, moody, and impossible to judge by ordinary people.


    Regardless if they are another witch or a member of royalty, wherever they stand, their rtionship with a witch can be determined over a simple cup of tea. It is a time where you must bow your head for the survival of your country.


    Yes I was brought in to this wonderful aura, but Alexis and Percival were still unable to believe her.


    A witch is someone unjudgeable by ordinary humans, and they are most certainly not witches. That is why all they can do is stare after Gina while the person in questionughs asking, ¡°What would you have me do?¡±


    Whether he wanted to honestly give her an answer or he was trying to find out if she was being truly serious, Alexis ignored Concetta¡¯s whining while removing the bread from his mouth and called Gina¡¯s name.


    ¡°Gina, why would witches....¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because we¡¯re witches. Even though this member of the Avalkin family had asked, I was not given a cup of tea. Not only that, they had to gall to dismiss a witch¡¯s curse as if it were some seasonal mdy caught from standing too long in the rain. This isn¡¯t about me; this is about the mockery made to all us witches.¡±


    This is why a lesson must be taught.


    The tone of Gina¡¯s voice was elegant as it was intimidating, and her words twisted around the listeners heart and squeezed. How long before a low level witch such as I can enthrall those around me like this?


    Alexis tried to say something more about Gina¡¯s power and what is and not allowed in society, but for such a refutation.........the bread was returned to his mouth. It does not appear like any objections are allowed.


    Percival tried to say something as well, but he met the same fate as his master. I was the only one who stepped forward and tugged on Gina¡¯s sleeve.


    ¡°Gina, I will join you, for I am a witch as well!¡±


    ¡°I thought you would say that, Mte. Now, let¡¯s show these people what a witch is, and what they can do.¡±


    ¡°Yes! .........In addition, I have something I have to do.¡±


    My enthusiasm dropped with my voice as I unconsciously murmured, ¡°My sister,¡± underneath my breath. Gina overheard me however and so she stuffed a loaf of bread into my helmet while narrowing her eyes. It was slightly crushed, but this had no effect on the taste.


    It¡¯s just a little morepact ........... the moment that I thought this and started nibbling on my own piece of bread, the sound of leaves shaking reverberated overhead.


    Somebody hase. We were all aware of this fact immediately, so we scanned the environment around us, remaining alert.........,


    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re talking about something funny, my cute nephew. That story, I wonder if you could tell Uncle as well?¡±


    We were all stunned by the man who appeared through the leaves.


    He looks to be about as old as my father would be. His brown eyes were aged and worn, but they had a light to them like a child who had just found an exciting new toy to y with. He carried a unique atmosphere that was both equal parts warrior and vige fool, yet he also had an air about him simr to His Majesty¡¯s and Alexis........


    I really didn¡¯t know what to make of this man in front of me, but then I turned my gaze to Percival and Alexis.


    They had be as pale as ghosts however they weren¡¯t carrying the same desperation they once had. If I had to describe it,


    Ah, a troublesome person came........,


    is what their expressions are telling me.

 Chapter 39

    <h4>The Troublesome Royal Brother and the Prince who Turned the World Over 1</h4>


    For now, in order to hid ourselves we were urged to get into a gorgeous horse-drawn carriage, and Gina was calmed down with the fragrant tea given to her. I was given some ck tea with sugar in it as well, but when the servant bowed his head and apologized saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry that this is all we had,¡± my helmet creaked as I tilted it to the side. Us witches only desired an appropriate cup of tea, so something this delicious was more than eptable.


    By the way, Alexis and Percival were sitting a short distance away with tired expressions on their faces. ¡°You should have some water as well,¡± was what they were told, but the two men have spent thest couple of minutes staring into their cups that had not contained anything to begin with. Isn¡¯t the disparity in reception just a little too obvious?


    The man¡¯s name was Ordo Radoll. He holds the position of royal brother and is Alexis¡¯s uncle.


    Alexis introduced this man who should be nowhere near the capitol with strained cheeks.1 Gina smiled and returned a graceful bow to royal brother, so I bowed my helmet down as well.


    When I raised my helmet back up, I gave Ordo a good look over. He looked quite simr to Alexis who was sitting close to me.


    Maybe they would look the same if Alexis were to suddenly grow older, mix in an intimidating aura with a taste for the wild, and improve his physique? It might also be necessary to twist his organs around.


    A person with an overwhelming presence.


    Although Ordo was the royal brother, he has dreams about ruling the country, and he had the ambition to one day take the throne. ........No, instead of embracing ambition, it is more like he was always like that.


    Even after his brother had officially been crowned as the royal heir, this man had still pulled many tricks to try and get him disqualified, and it was said that even had tried to assassinate his brother while he slept.


    ¡°......After I tried to take over on my 13th birthday, I was driven to a remote area away from all of my rtives so that I couldn¡¯t start up a rebellion. I should stay quiet after all that.........is what they seemed to be thinking at the time.¡±


    Alexis heaved arge sigh as he continued the story his uncle had started. As we could have guessed, Ordo was driven to a remote area, but against the expectations of the royal family, he was not quiet.


    The remote area he was driven to was a special area that had retained a portion of its autonomy despite it existing inside the country. It goes without saying that it was quickly brought under Ordo¡¯s reign. As soon as he was driven away, he grabbed the hearts of the people who lived there and dered independence. Despite being cast so far away, he was still picking a fight with the king.


    Troublesome would be underselling it. Although despite the distance between him and the capitol, even he had heard the tale of the young noble woman who lived her life wearing a suit of armor staying inside an old abandoned castle outside of the capitol. Of course, it was all information collected from bad rumors.


    ¡°........I¡¯d always get tons ofints about him, but he never left his territory so there was nothing we could do. Every time he did something it would mean a huge headache for me.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me Alexis. But I will have you know that recently have moved passed the need to scratch my brother¡¯s head in his sleep.2¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not really something you should say with so much pride......¡±


    Inbetween Alexis¡¯s mixed sighs, Ordo remembered back to his younger days and made a small sigh of his own while muttering, ¡°I was such a fool back then.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s gazes immediately focused on him after these words.


    You could feel the sadness in Ordo¡¯s slim brown eyes as he gazed out the carriage window. I wonder if he was ashamed of the folly of his own actions or if he wasmenting the trust lost between him and his family. I tried calling out to him from within my iron helm..........,


    ¡°It was stupid of me to think that I could simply take over by having my big brother killed. In order to sit on the throne, I must strengthen where I stand first.¡±


    I shut my mouth and narrowed my eyes inside my helmet at his words.


    Apparently, humans don¡¯t change that easily. Ordo was still attempting to scratch the king¡¯s sleeping head. Or maybe it would be more apt to say that he is trying to flip the whole country over and scratch his feet instead.


    He was an adult who had already fallen far.


    Alexis had a heartbroken expression on his face, and his words, ¡°I thought so,¡± made even me feel exhausted. I was able to fully understand Ordo¡¯s nature just from how he talked with his nephew.


    Talking about such things, is hepletely unaware about all the looks that are being thrown his way? Or is he just ignoring them? ¡ª Given what I know about him so far, it¡¯s probably thetter. ¡ª After finishing the introductions like that though, he changed the subject with a p.


    His expression immediately changed to an evil-looking grin.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Unlike His Majesty who carried a neat, royal look or Alexis with his tender, elegant demeanor¨CI watched Ordo who looked so simr yet sopletely different.


    ¡°I nned to bite you over a year ago. Though those strange rumors had suddenly be rampant, and your reputation immediately plummeted. As a result, my brother grew ns of kicking you out as well, so all my effort ended uppletely wasted.¡±


    ¡°.........Sorry for the trouble.¡±


    ¡°So I reworked my ns and waited for the right opportunity to strike. I thought about causing some extra chaos during the confusion of your return and using the chance to kill my brother, but by the time I reached the royal castle, things had already gone weird. I thought this might be my chance, so I followed you.¡±


    ¡°You could have helped me........did that thought never ur to you?¡±


    ¡°Hm? No not really. I thought you might be useful if I picked you up, but I intend to abandon you if it turns out you¡¯re useless.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Despite this bombshell remark, Alexis waved his hand as if he was used to it. There was no surprise or disappointment there.


    Listening to their conversation, I stopped watching them with half-closed eyes through my helmet and just shut my eyes entirely. I had heard rumors about Ordo before, but isn¡¯t this way beyond any of that?


    And now, such a troublesome has picked us up.


    With that in mind, now that I have gotten involved with such a troublesome individual, I increased my vignce. What I want to say is that this is Ordo. There is no way he is just helping us out of the kindness of his own heart. Then again, he already said t out that he was helping us because, ¡°we might be useful.¡±


    Is he not quite the straightforward man? Although the ease of which you can understand him has no connection to his good will for now.


    ¡°But Uncle, I have no role anymore.¡±


    ¡°Alexis?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all gone. I have nothing anymore......... It would be better for you if you hadn¡¯t picked me up.........¡±


    Alexis¡¯s voice had severely sunk when he remembered what had just transpired between him and his family. Percival watched his prince with sorrow in his eyes, rubbing Alexis¡¯s shoulders to try and calm him down. Watching such an exchange, Ordo was slightly thrown off, and his eyes opened wide. His surprised expression somewhat resembled Alexis¡¯s, but he quickly returned to normal as he turned this way and slightly bowed his head.


    I was so astonished that no words would leave my helmet while Gina who was sitting next to me smiled gracefully and let out a smallugh.


    ¡°I thought these two were just a good little boy and a foolish nephew, but it turns out they¡¯re both idiots. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Ordo¡¯s tone was so polite, I could tell he was apologizing from the bottom of his heart.


    But even if he apologizes like this, I¡¯m not to sure what to do, so I just tilt my helmet to the side. Gina on the other hand was clearly amused and was still smiling widely. Looking up at her, is that expression not saying that she has full respect for this apology?


    Then Gina noticed my line of sight, and her beautiful expression gave me a yful wink.


    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder those guys need the help of two witches......¡±


    ¡°Really, don¡¯t mind it. Something like this can be fun every once in awhile.¡±


    As Gina startedughing once again, Alexis and Percival could do nothing but look helplessly on.


    The two¡¯s perplexed expressions only added on to Ordo¡¯s surprise who let out a deep sigh.


    Alexis called out to his uncle while looking partially embarrassed at the sudden familial scolding he was receiving and looking partially annoyed that it was his uncle who was the one doing it.


    ¡°Uncle, what are you......?¡±


    ¡°For now you have nothing, but your words can overthrow this country and even the world.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    When Alexis tilted his head, incredulous to what he was hearing, Ordo sighed once again.


    Percival was likewise sitting beside him with a mystified expression. I wonder why Alexis who just had to flee from the royal castle would be able to overturn the world.


    While the two men were where wrapped up in their own confusion, I was able to hear Ordo mutter, ¡°Really,¡± underneath his breath before he turned his gaze to Gina.


    1. Just in case you were wondering what strained cheeks were supposed to look like.


    2. This is a bit of wordy. The word he uses is ¡®nekubi o kaku¡¯ which means scratching your sleeping head. Meanwhile the word ¡®nekubiwokaku¡¯ which is pronounced the same but spelled differently means to kill them in their sleep.

 Chapter 40

    <h4>Even if Everything is a Witch¡¯s Curse</h4>


    ¡°Good Alexis, even if you search this entire world, you will not find a single monarch with a witch on their side. Do you know what that means?¡±


    ¡°Not really. Does it mean that not many countries have tried making them allies?¡±


    ¡°Wrong, fool. If you actually think that, then the other nations will have you wrapped around their fingers.¡±


    Alexis¡¯s eyes had gone even rounder than before as Ordo told him off with a tone chiding him for the fact that something like this even had to be exined. It¡¯s an idea that is far too strange for him. I can see arge question mark hanging over his head right now.


    Having seen such an Alexis, Gina let out an elegantugh and added on, ¡°It is just as Ordo says.¡± Before he could say anything in his defense, Gina shoved a piece of bread into his mouth though saying, ¡°Be quiet for a moment or else the story cannot progress.¡± Then Concetta, who should have been sleeping, was suddenly up! He turned his eyes towards Alexis, and as to be expected at this point, he jumped over to hisp and started to nibble on the bread hanging from Alexis¡¯s mouth.


    Percival looked like he wanted to say something orin, but before he did, he pressed his own hand against his mouth. ¡°I won¡¯t say anything, so please spare me the bread,¡± he muttered through the gaps of his fingers.


    Ruling with a piece of bread, is this another skill developed through from a witch¡¯s skill?


    .....No, it¡¯s probably something else.


    I forcefully denied this thought that had popped up in my mind as Gina was still facing Alexis.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± Gina mused as if she were about to tell some funny joke as her eyes focused on him narrowed more and more.


    ¡°For example, if Ordo here were to say, ¡®Lend me your power so that I can change this world,¡¯ I would ignore him because I really do not care. But if Alexis were to say, ¡®I¡¯m tired of everything going on, so help me change the world by destroying this country,¡¯ I would apany you.¡±


    ¡°Gina, Alexis seems topletelyck any form of ambition.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Mte, what would you do if he asked that?¡±


    ¡°If Gina goes, I will go as well.¡±


    Of course I gave an immediate reply, and Robertson who was sitting on my knee put one of his legs forward. I bet he is also agreeing to join in.


    His deration was small, but it warmed my heart. I gently stuck out my iron covered forefinger, and my finger and Robertson¡¯s leg touched. It seems that we are able tomunicate through our hearts.


    Gina watched the whole exchange between Robertson and me, and so she reached out her hand to my helmet and brought me in for a hug. She was grinding her cheek against metal, but this just goes to show how much she loves this newbie witch who looks up to her. As I thought that, a smile spread underneath my helmet.


    I suppose this interaction between Gina and I just serves as more evidence for why Alexis could overthrow the world.


    If Alexis decided to do so, Gina would assist him because she has taken a half interest in this matter, and I would join in as well following Gina like a chick following its parent. In conclusion, Alexis has two witches backing him.


    Originally, witches would never just agree to something that sounds like it might be a pain even if it is a royal decree, so there is no real precedent in any other country for this type of situation.


    Of course, even this situation is due to a witch¡¯s whim. Nobody else can try and take charge even if Alexis were to ask Gina to follow Ordo¡¯smand.


    ¡°From this point on, you are now a bigger threat to me than my brother.¡±


    As Ordo clearly stated this, the realization finally started to sink to for Alexis, freezing him.


    But Ordo showed little interest in him, and on the contrary, he changed the subject and moved his eyes to Percival. Clearly not expecting to be suddenly called upon, Percival just sat there under Ordo¡¯s gaze with a dumb look on his face.


    ¡°By the way, why is Percival apanying Alexis in this situation? Actually, what is the situation?¡±


    ¡°No, that is, even I do not know why I am alone in defending the Prince. But with the witch¡¯s curse.....so, His Majesty and the people......¡±


    ¡®Being deceived¡¯, Percival¡¯s words and exnations about hisrades and the citizenry quickly lost volume as his voice descended into some unintelligible mutterings. He was most likely reliving what had just happened in the pce.


    Clearly not motivated enough to care about Percival in his current state, Ordo listened to the story and said, ¡°What, so this is all some hoax brought about by a witch?¡± Everyone was slightly taken aback by his casual response.


    ording to him, he figured that something strange was going on in the background, and some of the strange details of what he had learned led him to believe that a witch may have been involved. Halfway through, he started praising the witch for her unique yet effective method. ¡ªIt seems like he was having a little fun, probably because he was thinking about how he could pull said witch to his side¡ª


    ¡°Uncle, when you heard the rumors.....you didn¡¯t believe them too?¡±


    ¡°I was able to figure out that it was a hoax, but I could never find out where the rumors wereing from.¡±


    ¡°Even though I asked everyone around me, they had all been deceived.....¡±


    Even though they were only ever baseless rumors, the fact that there was someone out there who did not believe them was surprising for Alexis.


    Ordo took this moment to look at Alexis very closely and ced his hand on Alexis¡¯s shoulder.


    The wild look in the royal brother¡¯s eyes was able to slightly calm down the prince with eyes of the same shade. The sight of these two like this almost looked like it was straight out of a painting, and I unintentionally let out a sigh of exmation..........


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust you, and I never had a high impression of you in the first ce.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes and lost every ounce of warmth that had built up in me.


    ¡°...........Uncle, you don¡¯t need to shake me.¡±


    ¡°I have always despised you just for sharing the blood of my brother. Furthermore, I knew that there was no way that some childish honor student like you would ever put your hand on a woman like that.¡±


    ¡°The fact that my uncle has such stalwart faith in me truly touches my heart.¡±


    ¡°Rather than listening to some absurd rumors of infidelity, I thought, ¡®I guess even he has someone he wants to do it with.¡¯¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s highly appreciated! I have never once been unfaithful!¡±


    I am innocent! Alexis¡¯s mood rose as if Ordo was sending energy straight through his arm. At the same time, Ordo was calling Alexis words like ¡®virgin,¡¯ but everyone ignored such small details.


    ¡°I have never pushed my work off onto someone else, nor do I have any illegitimate children. I have never used government expenses for personal pleasure!¡±


    ¡°What, as usual you¡¯re a childish honor student.¡±


    ¡°......No, I can no longer return to being a good honor¡¯s student.¡±


    Ignoring Ordo¡¯s words of calling him boring, Alexis returned to his normal behavior and turned his eyes on me.


    I could tell he could feel the pity in my eyes even though they were hidden beneath my helmet, but even then he had a determination to him. His deep brown eyes looked darker than usual, and the longer he looked at me, the more a sense of pressure grew on my shoulders.


    Looking like he wanted to say something, he narrowed his eyes trying to find the right words. At the moment I was about to urge him to spit it out though, he called my name before I could say a word.


    ¡°Mte, I have been continuously apologizing to you. I had hoped to be forgiven for my past mistakes, and I thought that if I just kept apologizing to you, someday I would be forgiven. If everything that had happened, if all the problems in my life were because of a witch¡¯s curse, I figured that I would finally have forgiveness......¡±


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡°......Alexis.¡±


    ¡°But it was me. I was the one who rejected you and caused you pain. I will continue to apologize for what I¡¯ve done, but I no longer want you to say that you forgive me......... Even if everything was caused by a witch¡¯s curse, please continue to hate me forever.¡±


    Alexis¡¯s eyes showed his strong will.


    He ising to the heart of the matter, and so he has abandoned the witch¡¯s curse as an excuse.


    For what reason, there is no need to think about it.


    ¡°Even if everything was caused by a witch¡¯s curse, I cannot forgive them. That¡¯s why, I cannot ask you to forgive me either.¡±


    Alexis¡¯s words were heating him up and I, who those words were aimed at, had lost my breath underneath this iron helmet.


    He abandoned the excuse of the witch¡¯s curse and gave up on being forgiven for his former disrespect. Because he decided that he was not able to forgive everything that had been done to him because of a curse, he was not going to seek forgiveness for the pain he had cause either.


    Any words I could say were lost, so I took a deep breath in order to calm myself down and gather my thoughts.


    My mind wandered to past memories of my parents and my sister. The happy times I spent with my family and the fall that had ended it all........


    The time where the expectations my family held of me were crushed, the hopelessness, the misery, the jeering eyes that chased me all the way into the old castle. But was this all because of Alexis¡¯s words? No, it¡¯s different. Those words were the starting point from which all the misery started.


    In the same vein, a single word from my family could have caused it all to go away, yet I still have not yet heard those words.


    I also have toe to a decision. Believing so, I held Alexis¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°Yes, of course. Even if everything was caused by a witch¡¯s curse, I will not forgive the pain I have received.¡±


    These words were for Alexis, but it seems like they had rebounded off of him and soaked into my armor, or perhaps even my heart. It has blended into my heart, run through my body like an arrow and prated those memories I held of my family.


    Thinking so, I breathed in deeply once again.

 Chapter 41

    <h4>The Misunderstanding of the Heavily Armored Noble Girl and Witch ying</h4>


    Looking back and forth between each of us to assure our readiness, Alexis¡¯s gaze eventually fell on Percival.


    The two of them probably confirmed their resolve to each other long ago as he was sharing Alexis¡¯s serious expression. Alexis bowed his head and called Percival¡¯s name in an attempt to voice an apology, but Percival obstructed him from saying any more.


    ¡°No, I have already abandoned my title as a knight and the name of my house.¡±


    ¡°........Percival.¡±


    ¡°From the moment I followed you out of the royal pce, I was prepared to take responsibility and face expulsion.¡±


    That¡¯s why Percival was speaking with a bitter smile.


    In this case, he was also losing everything he had. He continued to doubt a single rumor that everyone else steadfastly held to be true about the prince¡¯s unfaithfulness and imed it was all the effect of a witch¡¯s curse. Then he ignored the warnings from his surroundings and left the castle along with Alexis.


    Because he did not mind throwing away the title of a knight before the king whom he had sworn to protect, it is unavoidable that Percival¡¯s actions as a knight would be seen as a betrayal towards his country.


    Although it is natural that his title of knight would be deprived, his name is removed from his familial line as well for the sake of appearances.......


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    He had already thought about everything that could happen and followed Alexis out of the pce anyway even though he knew doing so would throw him on a bed of nails. So when Percival says so, Alexis¡¯s expression rxed and he returned words of thanks instead of an apology.


    Ordo looked strangely amused as he watched the interaction between the two of them. The way his mouth arced up and his eyes narrowed, isn¡¯t this him clearly saying he is nning something no good?


    ¡°There are two witches, one childish prince, and an unemployed....... There will be a lot of work to be done.¡±


    ¡°Un- Unemployed!?¡±


    ¡°Of course. What would you call yourself now that you are no longer a knight?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s.........Un-Unemployed........¡±


    As the sudden realization brought low Percival¡¯s previous determination, and Ordo beganughing at the funny face Percival was making. ¡°I could always use another misceneous clerk,¡± he called out between fits ofughter.


    To be honest though, being a witch is not a real job and Alexis¡¯s position as a prince could be called into question right now, so the three of us are not in too much of a different position from Percival now that he is no longer a knight and has been expelled from his house. Whether the person in question is conscious of this while Ordo continues to kick him while he is down could not be said as the only thing apparent about him right now was the sad expression on his face.


    I stared at Percival for a moment before turning my gaze to my armor d chest.


    His repugnant expression was supposed to make me feel good, but somehow I am not happy at all right now. The girl inside my heart is not doing any sort of dance. Instead, there is thisrge, dark swirl running rampant in my chest smothering any type of jubnce and causing my eyebrows to scrunch up instead.


    While trying to push away this unpleasant feeling, I turned my gaze to Ordo who I decided was having too much fun.


    ¡°Sir Ordo, Percival is not unemployed.¡±


    ¡°.....Miss Mte, I meant no offense. Please forgive me.¡±


    ¡°I will not pursue it. However, if the enemy were to use witches like us, then Percival would be our strongest trump card.¡±


    My remarks, as if I were trying to defend Percival, were foreign to me, and I did not understand why I was voicing them. Still, I proceeded to talk.


    If there was ever a chink in his armor, then I would poke it thoroughly, but even when Ordo had managed to find such a gap, my mood refused to turn sunny. On the contrary, my stomach was stagnating.


    Is this also due to a witch¡¯s whim? If so, isn¡¯t this far too inconvenient? While thinking such things, I turned my gaze back to Percival.


    I can¡¯t say anything for certain, but the vibrant blue color of his eyes look strange to me.


    ¡°Percival, when I used magic in the royal pce, everyone fell down, but you remained standing. Can you understand why?¡±


    ¡°........That¡¯s right. Certainly at that time, I was standing. Everyone else was groaning in pain, but I did not feel anything. Why is that? Even though I did not have Concetta with me, why.......¡±


    ¡°There is only one reason.¡±


    Hearing my words, Percival moved his eyes around the carriage as if something in here would give him the answer. Was he remembering what I had once told him, or was he ruminating the things he had done so far? Either way, his blue eyes started to slowly shake.


    Having reached the same conclusion I had, his eyes opened wide and his breath got caught in his throat. ordingly, he opened his mouth and gave me an almost inaudible answer.


    ¡°No way, it¡¯s because of my love.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because Percival is a witch yer....... Huh? What did you say right now?¡±


    ¡°Nothing! No, nothing please go on talking. Because I¡¯m a witch yer..........wait, I¡¯m a witch yer?¡±


    Percival¡¯s eyes went round and released a strange cough after I gave him the answer. For a moment there he was saying something, but he was mumbling and I could not hear what he was saying. Well, he himself was saying that it was nothing, so there is no need for me to press for any more information.


    More importantly, there was the matter of him being a witch yer to discuss.


    As a matter of fact, not only Percival but Alexis as well had frozen, and even Ordo was giving Percival a surprised look while mumbling the words, ¡°witch yer......¡±


    But Gina was not surprised. She was stroking Concetta who had jumped back to herp with a somewhat tender yet expressive look in her eyes. Seeing her reaction, I realized that she probably knew since long ago.


    ¡°But Miss Mte, you said that there were no witch yers anymore.....¡±


    ¡°Yes, I thought that all the witch yers had been wiped out, but that was just an assumption I made after reading one book, and that book was a mystery novel. Gina, were all the witch yers wiped out?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. But unlike witches, the traits of a witch yer do not flow through a person¡¯s bloodline. That¡¯s why witches can always stamp down on witch yers, but they can never be rid of them permanently.¡±


    At Gina¡¯s words, I once again remembered where I had gotten all my information from.


    The book I read did not talk about how witch yers came about. What was written in it was about the incident that led to the event known as the ¡®witch hunts¡¯ and the long struggle from then on and how witches were cruelly hunted.


    It had also written quite extensively about a few of the famous witches, and while the material was truly fascinating, it was conspicuous to say the least. It was a book made purely for entertainment. That was the one book on the subject I had read.


    And it was written in that book that the witch¡¯s ¡®witch yer hunt¡¯ had stopped at the end of the book. That¡¯s why I misunderstood and thought that all the witch yers had been eradicated in the end.


    If all the family members were killed, then there would be nobody to pass on the witch yer bloodline, was what I thought.


    It is not merely a fact of, ¡®thest witch yer was killed¡¯ but a matter of ¡®this was thest witch yer we found and killed before growing bored and stopping.¡¯ Witch yers were born after that it is just that there were no witches who cared enough to hunt them down.


    Because I had thought that there were no more witch yers, the fact that Percival was a witch yer went bypletely unnoticed by me. But now that I think of it, were there not several times that Percival had resisted a spell?


    I should have noticed it sooner. As my mind and heart fell with regret at my own inexperience, Percival was mumbling to himself finally starting to grasp his own status.


    ¡°I am a witch yer.....Is that why the curse did not affect me......?¡±


    ¡°A witch yer is immune to all magic. Whatever witchese in the future, their magic will be unable to do anything to Percival.....¡±


    I only realized what I was saying as I said it, and my voice trailed off before I could finish.


    There is no doubt at this point that Percival is a witch yer. Witch¡¯s magic will not work on him. There is no witch who can curse him: past, present, or future.


    Even Gina, a witch who has inherited the blood from the long line of the Avalkin witch line shrugged her shoulders and said, ¡°It is impossible for me.¡±


    No witch can curse a witch yer.


    Even when everything is over, I cannot curse Percival.


    ¡°.......What do you mean, ¡®you can curse me when everything is done¡¯? You cannot curse a witch yer.¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte!?¡±


    ¡°I have been deceived. Percival is a liar.¡±


    *Hmph!* With a huff, I turned my head away and hugged a cushion to my chest. Then I told him from overtop the cushion, ¡°Witch yers are the mortal enemies of witches,¡± before throwing myself back into thefy seat¡¯s cushiony embrace. Percival hurriedly called my name.


    ¡°Miss Mte, I didn¡¯t know!¡±


    ¡°Whether it was known or not, it is a fact that I cannot curse you. Percival is a liar.¡±


    ¡°Then you do not have to curse me directly. When everything is over, please hit me with a brick.¡±


    ¡°No. I would be a criminal.¡±


    Tearlessly, I buried my helmet into the cushion. The muddy mist inside my chest has dissipated, and in its ce a whirlpool has begun to swirl. Listening to Percival¡¯s voice, that vortex unnecessarily elerates.


    That¡¯s why I stuffed my helmet into the cushion telling him that I would hear no appeal. In the end, Percival kept talking, saying, ¡°Then just beat me with something like a brick,¡± offering a mysteriouspromise.


    Alexis was wearing a bitter smile with a sense of frustration that our interaction had destroyed the air of tension and the determination he had just finally built up. Suddenly, he turned his gaze onto me.


    ¡°Well, if Percival is a witch yer, then perhaps the Lady of the Lake......!¡±


    It was Gina who stopped Alexis from finishing whatever it is he was about to say. Of course, she did this with her signature Gina bread attack.


    ¡°Fui, Fuina, wha.......¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. Concetta, please eat up.¡±


    Gina allowed Concetta to jump from herp and eat up the hanging bread effectively sealing Alexis¡¯s mouth. As a result, Alexis resigned himself to his fate and held Concetta close to him.


    He did not try and say anything more partly because he could feel the pressureing off of Gina and partially because every time he tried to talk, the bread in his mouth vibrated slightly and Concetta meowed at him. Sandwiched between a witch and a familiar, Alexis closed his eyes without asking for any assistance.


    Inside the carriage, Mte had her helmet buried into the cushion repeatedly saying, ¡°Liar,¡± and ¡°Exaggerating,¡± while Percival sat there looking confused trying to think what he was supposed to do in this situation. Alexis had transformed into Concetta¡¯s te while Gina¡¯s graceful smile carried an intimidating feeling that would not allow any unnecessary remarks........


    Watching all of this go on while the country was soon to be in turmoil, Ordoughed to himself saying, ¡°I picked up something good.¡±

 Chapter 42 - Troublesome Royalty’s Luxurious Mansion

    <h4>Troublesome Royalty¡¯s Luxurious Mansion</h4>


    After a few hours of moving forward with a tense air, the horse-drawn carriage slowly came to a stop.


    I sluggishly moved my helmet from the cushion, sleepily muttering, ¡°Percival is a liaaaar.......¡± while peering outside with half closed eyes.


    Apparently we have reached the inspection point at the territory¡¯s boundary. There were a few guards that ran up to meet the carriage, and their eyes looked dizzy when their gazes met with mine. They are most likely surprised to see a full body suit of armor peeking out from the carriage their lord is riding in, but that was nothingpared to the look they gave when they saw that the unfaithful prince Alexis was in the carriage as well.


    One person ran up to the carriage in a panic, but he made sure to control himself enough to speak quietly so that only Ordo could hear him. I guess trying to smuggle such a suspicious group into the territory was useless.


    In contrast, Ordo calmly raised his hand, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Let us pass,¡± and finished the issue with a word. With that signal, the security bowed their heads low and left us.


    Once everything was settled, the horse-drawn carriage finally started on its way once again, and Ordo cackled with arge smile spread across his face.


    ¡°It was bad to take our time like this. Security is a nightmare every day like this.¡±


    Ordo¡¯s tone sounded oddly satisfied despite the content of what he was saying.


    In the first ce, he seemed to have confidence in his defenses which is why he was so daring while performing certain actions.


    As if to say, ¡°I do not allow other people to enter my territory so easily,¡± but I decided that none of that had much to do with me and shrugged my shoulders before directing my eyes back out the window. After awhile, there was a second check point that did perform an examination of the carriage¨Cprobably to make sure we were not rebels holding their lord hostage and sneaking into his territory.


    It was very different from the country¡¯s border that we passed through before that went without the guards even looking inside the carriage to see who was crossing over and ended after the driver and guards had a friendly chat.


    We have fled from the royal pce to this ce, but will we be able to rest?


    Maybe if I had magical feet, I could just jump up into the clouds and rx up there.


    I thought about fluffy cloud bedding as my helmet rested back onto a cushion, sleep taking hold of me as Ordo continued to brag about the surroundingnds.


    Ordo¡¯s mansion was big enough to leave me stunned as I looked upon it, decorated with fancy trim yet having a sturdiness to it that left it intimidating like a fortress. A fountain was set up in a fine garden, and in terms of of gorgeousness and luxury, it would in no way lose ifpared to the royal pce.


    Although there were some ces with so many decorations that it felt too conspicuous, but even that served to give off that air of intimidation amoner would feel walking to a nobelman¡¯s mansion. Is it not actually a very homely mansion?


    The interior did the exterior a service, having high quality carpets that spread over long corridors and expensive vases and suits or armor lining the side as decorations.


    Ordo walked down one of these halls in a dignified manner, and for the first time since I met him I felt the dignity that came from being a lord.


    Besides the looks of reverence and respect that the servants gave Ordo as he walked past, the servants mostly just stared at the rest of us and frowned.


    Is this not a little too rude? However, Ordo vouched for us, and after hearing his words, the servants had a relieved look spread across their faces before they gave him another bow and left.


    ¡°In order to sit on the throne, you have to solidify the ground underneath you.¡±


    These were the words he said in the carriage.


    Indeed, it seems that his territory is firmlypacted and upheld.


    Walking behind such an Ordo, I stopped my feet because Percival had fallen out of line with the rest of us and was looking at a suit of armor standing at the side of a hallway.


    Tilting my helmet in curiosity, I aligned myself next to him and took a look at the piece myself. It was a decorative suit of armor that had most likely never been worn. However, the expression Percival wore as he stared at it waspletely serious.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Witch yer Percival?¡±


    ¡°.........I feel thorns in your voice when you call me like that.¡±


    ¡°It is just your imagination, Witch yer Percival.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I guess I¡¯m just being overly cautious.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right Witch yer Percival. So what are you doing? Was there something strange about this armor, Witch yer Percival?¡±


    Emphasizing the ¡®witch yer¡¯ part to try and work out some of this strange feeling bubbling in my stomach, Percival gave a small sigh before his gaze returning to the suit of armor lined up in front of him.


    Unlike armor for actual warfare, this one was polished beautifully and kept a sword decorated with ornaments tied off to its side. Would it be too luxurious to call this a masterpiece?


    ¡°It is fine.¡±


    ¡°Well, it is certainly a wonderful suit of armor.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s just fine. It is not cute.¡±


    My eyes opened wide in surprise at Percival¡¯s words.


    Armor lined up on the side of a mansion hallway, if it looks fine then that it enough. Wanting it to look cute is something nobody would want at all. Wearing hair ornaments on top of the helmet and a gorgeous dress overtop the chestte, is that what he means? It¡¯s more funny than cute.


    Even so, Percival was looking at the armor and giving himself a self-satisfied nod. Is his expression just a tad too sunny for the type of self-evident observation he is making?


    A voice called back to us to keep walking. Still, I do not know the reason at all for his observations causing my eyebrows to crease and furlough together underneath my helmet, but before I could ask him what it was he was going on about, Alexis called back to the two of us to quickly join back up with them.


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡°I cannot check all of them to be sure, but my armor was not cute at all, and the rest of these decorative pieces are just fine.¡±


    ¡°Percival, what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    I chased after him, my helmet still tilted in confusion as Percival continued to walk on while muttering something to himself.


    We walked further into the mansion, and eventually we ended up in Ordo¡¯s private office.


    It was a spacious and luxurious room decorated with art pieces collected from both masters and amateurs. I do not feel like gauging the value of this room alone.


    Although it was so elegantly furnished, Ordo walked through paying little care to trinkets and baubles he put out, so I directed Robertson up to the ceiling and asked him if he wanted to make a web for himself. If these decorations serve for no other purpose than to show off his wealth, then I am sure he will not mind if a spider makes a cozy little home for himself.


    Although a real avid collector may faint if they were to hear such a thing.


    I do not care whether a person has authority or not, but doing something like this is certainly refreshing.


    In such a room, Ordo urged each of us to take a seat on his sofa. The feeling of my body sinking into the fluffy cushions was pleasant, and my umted stress from sitting in the carriage for so long finally had a release.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not too good at opening wine bottles. Gina, Mte, do you have any requests?¡±


    ¡°My, I don¡¯t mind. Whatever Ordo chooses will be fine with me.¡±


    Ginaughed gracefully at Ordo¡¯s offer.


    I wonder if her voice was more energetic now because she had finally been offered some proper witchlike hospitality after all this time. By returning the choice for the wine back to him, it is most likely because she wants him to set the degree of hospitality with his choice of wine.


    Ordo gave a bitter smile as he realized the trouble he was in. If he put out a cheap wine that does not match the mansion or his position within it, it will damage the witches¡¯ moods. But if he puts out one of his most expensive wines, that is as good as a deration that he will do whatever necessary to keep us happy.


    ¡°I see. Offering a witch hospitality is difficult just as the rumors said.¡±


    ¡°Do not think too deeply on the subject and please use your own instincts. In some cases, there are witches who find favor in receiving just a cup of water. Mte, what kind of wine will Ordo serve us witches? Please look forward to the answer.¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t drink wine in the first ce......¡±


    I answered with a half-joking reply, but Ordo used it as an escaped and beckoned for one of his maids to bring over some juice from the corner of the room. He probably only thought of offering wine as an option due to its symbol of wealth, but with my words, he could use juice to pass the hurdle........although even I could tell he was feeling embarrassed about going this route.


    Preparations must be made in case a witch ever visits him again in the future......he was clearly thinking such things.


    ¡°We will prepare some juice for Mte. What kind is good?¡±


    ¡°Whatever Sir Ordo offers me will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Please have mercy on me, Miss Mte.¡±


    ¡°Orange.¡±


    He was sweating more than I thought possible, so when I saw the despair in his eyes, I decided to obediently put in a request. Ordo gave a relieved nod followed by a particrly bitter smile. Then he pped his hands twice, and the maids got to work.


    After waiting for awhile, the drinks and some cakes were carried into the room.


    Ordo apologized looking ashamed while saying, ¡°I try to avoid living too luxuriously at night,¡± while gesturing to the cookies and tarts lining the trays. I wonder if we were looking at the same food. I obediently went to work and epted his hospitality.


    The cookies were moderately sweet and fragrant while the tarts were rich with plenty of fruit. If he was seriously apologizing saying that this was a frugal snack, then the pastries around the world would cry right now.


    Then, rxing both my body and mind with thebination of the soft sofa and the delicious drinks and confectionery, the tense air that had dogged us all this time began to drift. That was probably why it came up,


    ¡°Could you exin what is going on?¡±


    Ordo asked.


    With a ss of poured red wine, his thick brown hair wasbed out to make him look like a lion. He had the air of royalty even when driven to this remote ce, yet the intimidation I felt from him before had drifted. Plus right now I did not feel like hiding anything or telling lies right now anyway.


    With this atmosphere, I slowly opened my mouth after taking a sip of my juice.


    ¡°........Everything has been caused by a single witch.......my sister Emilia has caused all of this.

 Chapter 43

    <h4>Armored Girl and the Sparkling Princess 1</h4>


    Ordo was the only person who looked surprised at my sudden deration.


    Alexis¡¯s eyes narrowed palpably, and the heartache was clear on Percival¡¯s face. I guess they had already guessed the correct answer as well. No, when Alexis first escaped from the pce and dered, ¡®even if it was all the effect of a witch¡¯s curse,¡¯ I¡¯m sure he had already arrived at the truth.


    Gina was the only one not affected by the reveal, continuing to elegantly sip on her ss of wine, but she most likely thought it was best not to say anything in this situation.


    ¡°Emilia Idira........she is also a witch?¡±


    ¡°........Yes, but I¡¯m not sure she is even aware of the fact.¡±


    The Idira family has witch blood in our veins, but we tossed aside our identities as witches long ago.


    Parents stopped passing their magic down to their children, and the spellbooks containing knowledge and history were abandoned in the old castle.


    With nobody to teach anything, there is no source of knowledge. There was no opportunity for Emilia tp ever learn how to use magic.


    ¡°Would it still be possible to use magic?¡±


    Ordo¡¯s question was a reasonable one, and the answer was yes.


    The way I use magic is by using my art to channel my expression and form a spell through that. There are many ways to use magic though, so it is possible that I might unintentionally cast something through other means when my emotions are unstable.


    Even if you are able to use magic, it is not like you would be able to master it though. As I told him this, I looked up to Gina to confirm who gave me a definitive nod. It was impossible.


    Saying, ¡®I can use magic,¡¯ and ¡®I have mastered magic¡¯ are twopletely different things.


    ¡°There is a possibility that you might get caught up in your own magic if used unknowingly.¡±


    ¡°.......Magic?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Strong magic can sometimes affect other witches, so if you unconsciously use a strong spell, the odds of the spell affecting the witch who cast it as well is quite high.¡±


    Gina¡¯s words caused me to murmur Emilia¡¯s name inside my helmet.


    Even without the knowledge of magic, I knew that I had the qualities to perform it. But I never imagined that it might have the power to affect another witch. But Gina is my senior witch from the long line of Avalkin family witches. There is no reason to doubt her.


    While stroking Concetta on her knee,


    ¡°It was my mistake. I thought that Alexis was the only one to be cursed, so I was careless.¡±


    Gina made as if she were talking to herself. Someone besides Alexis.....I do not have to ask who she is talking about to understand.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    It was a scar I myself felt the moment we fled from the royal pce. I properly buried the pain, but the hurt I felt during that scene was real. A sharp, almost numb pain when Emilia called my name as we left.


    However, right now I regret nothing, so there is nothing else for me than to look forward.


    ¡°It was definitely Emilia that cursed Alexis, and Emilia probably.....¡±


    In the end, it was too difficult for me to put it into words, but Ordo ignored that fact and called to me.


    ¡°Mte, I understand the feelings of thinking about your sister, but please continue.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s surprising. Ordo, you know about Mte¡¯s feelings for her sister?¡±


    ¡°Once, I said it on a formal basis. Honestly, I have nothing like positive feelings for my family, but I thought if I said that, I could understand the current situation a little quicker.¡±


    ¡°It seems that¡¯s the situation, Mte.¡±


    In this lighthearted conversation between Gina and Ordo, I couldn¡¯t help but smile underneath my helmet. Alexis and Percival were smiling as well off to the side although theirs were a tad more bitter, and I could hear Alexis grumble to himself, ¡°That¡¯s just the type of person Uncle is.¡±


    Myplexion was a little pale, but it seems that their jokes have brought me to a more temperate manner. Gina looking down at Concetta resting on herp, asking him if he wanted some bread really helped me to rx even more.


    Now that some of the tension in the air had been released, Alexis took the opportunity to call my name. When my line of sight turned to where he was sitting, I saw his deep brown eyes staring right at me.


    ¡°Mte, may I be direct?¡±


    ¡°.......yes.¡±


    ¡°I have a lot of questions for you, but right now, I must ask you to please tell my uncle everything.¡±


    Alexis shrugged his shoulders afterwards as if it couldn¡¯t be helped that his uncle took priority, but I still nodded my head.


    When I think about where his head is at right now, then I can imagine all kinds of questions he would want to ask. But that is the very reason he is putting those questions to the side so he can hear things from the beginning.


    Still, if his desperate struggle to give a smirk and a smallugh were not obvious enough, then his knuckles turning bone white from clutching the cushions so tightly would clue you in to how he was feeling at the moment. If he did not do this, I am sure that his heart would break.


    Understanding that, I shrugged my own shoulders as well,


    ¡°I suppose we should get on with it. If things go toote, then some people will end up getting sleeping and progress will slow down,¡±


    and I told my own joke. When Percival heard me, he burst into a coughing fit as if something had gotten stuck in his throat, but when I told them I was of course talking about Concetta, I made sure to stick my tongue out at him from underneath my helmet.


    Percival¡¯s bright blue blues eyes curled up for a moment, but after collecting himself, he turned his face away and said, ¡°Of course I knew that.¡± Alexis and I both had the same wry smiles as we watched him try to y it off.


    However, those wry smiles of ours were a little unnatural, and as we started exchanging words and jokes, things started to get a little warmer. It was a pleasant fight.


    As if we knew things were going to be rocky from now on, at least right now the three of us could insult each other just as he had done on our journey. Lamenting this fact, I took a small breath as Alexis once again called my name.


    ¡°Mte, tell me if you understand. What did Emilia want by cursing me? I.......was I being resented for what I did by her as well?¡±


    Alexis was clearly trying to hold back the pain in his voice. But it was useless.


    Although it was a substitute engagement made after the older sister Mte¡¯s engagement was broken off, Alexis still cherished Emilia. She was to be his future who would stand by his side leading the country together. It would be impossible for him to not be saddened by this fact.


    Although the process leading up to the engagement wasplicated, the two of them were well-suited for each other, and I had heard the citizenry pass an endless number of rumors about it through the wind.


    To find out that all that happiness was a lie would naturally bring despair to Alexis¡¯s expression. Far from being a good fianc¨¦e, to find out that she hated him so much as to manifest into a curse, how could that not hurt?


    Anyway, even the engagement with Emilia.....


    I shook my helmet once towards Alexis whose eyes had continued to grow more downcast. Alexis was cursed by Emilia. However, that is......


    ¡°Alexis was certainly cursed by Emilia, but it wasn¡¯t due to any kind of grudge.¡±


    ¡°.....There was no grudge?¡±


    ¡°Cursing Alexis was never the goal in the first ce. The curse was for another purpose, and it was cast a long time ago......¡±


    Saying this much, I took in a deep breathe.


    I can see that everyone¡¯s eyes are focused in on me. I want to quickly give them an answer, but even now the truth of the matter is acting as an iron ball rolling around in the pit of my stomach.......Everyone¡¯s gazesbined together, and the heavy atmosphere stabbed into me like sharp knives. Despite that, I have the contradictory feeling as if there were nothing there, and everything: this room, this suit of armor, my heart werepletely empty.


    Still, I slowly forced open my mouth, and apletely miserable voice escaped my lips.


    Alexis¡¯s bad luck, the rumors..........no, everything that has happened was caused by one strong wish.


    ¡°I want to be a sparkling princess.¡±


    Muttering the words that I had heard so many times, the memory so far in the past resurfaced in my mind. Glittering memories of Emilia and I resting our heads on Mother¡¯s knees as if it were a pillow andpeting to see who could spin up the most story-like fantasy.


    But now, the ¡°who did it, to whom, from when, and how the curse came to be,¡¯ were alling together.

 Chapter 44

    <h4>Armored Girl and the Sparkling Princess 2</h4>


    I became sure of myself when Emilia said, ¡°Stay by my side,¡± at the royal pce.


    I felt something wrong with Emilia¡¯s outspoken voice and presence as if she were praying, and I started to tremble as if I were submerged in snow. That feeling of unease and difort growing from the pit of my stomach was something I remember vividly.


    The cause was.....I took something out from my pouch and lightly set it on the table. It was the ne that Emilia had given me as a talisman. The stone shined beautifully when receiving the light, would you not be sucked in just by looking at it?


    ¡°Emilia gave this to me right before we left on our journey.¡±


    ¡°Emilia did, she gave this to Mte?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have had it on me ever since.¡±


    ¡°Such an expensive stone ne, how did she get something like this.....¡±


    To Alexis¡¯s mutterings, even Ordo mused, ¡°It¡¯s not something easy toe by.¡± Because two members of royalty were going so far, then this really must be quite the impressive jewel.


    But it was because Emilia¡¯s wish had soaked into this gem that I was able to notice that Emilia was a witch. It was definitely a spell affecting me that made me think that it was ¡®unavoidable¡¯ for me to stay by Emilia¡¯s side in the castle. What would have happened if Robertson hadn¡¯t jumped in when he did...


    In reverse though, it was because of this ne that I did not notice Emilia was a witch until that moment. No, it might be more urate to say that it changed my mind every time I doubted her.


    ¡°When Emilia gave this to me, I thought it might be a cursed item, so I tried testing it in the carriage......¡±


    ¡°Oh, so when you were drinking the water at that time?¡±


    I nodded my head towards Alexis¡¯s surprised voice.


    In the carriage immediately after leaving the capitol the first time, I immersed the ne I received from Emilia inside the curse sensitive water.


    If Emilia was the witch who cursed Alexis, the possibility that she was sending a cursed item to continuously apply the curse could not be overlooked......But the water did not respond. At that point any doubts I held for Emilia were erased in that moment.


    Emilia is not involved in anything.


    That girl is pure, she is waiting for my return..........and so on.


    But when we were in the royal pce, the ne responded to Emilia¡¯s honest wish, making me understand everything.


    Certainly Emilia never meant to curse me. I was her important older sister.


    .........But that is exactly why.


    Emilia¡¯s curse caused me to lock myself away in the tower.


    Never leaving, never making my way back to the royal pce. Her favorite older sister is left in a ce where she can reach until no one can interfere, until there would not be a problem even if I were to return........


    I thought I was living afortable life on my own inside the royal castle, but in actuality, I was no different than a dead pet buried close to home.


    ¡°Emilia still loves me even now. But I was in the way of her dream of bing a ¡®glittering princess¡¯.¡±


    ¡°.....that¡¯s.....¡±


    ¡°Alexis was constantly sending me apology gifts. I¡¯m sure Emilia felt anxious watching that. If I were to forgive Alexis and return to society, then there was a possibility of me bing Alexis¡¯s fianc¨¦e again.........¡±


    Human engagement isn¡¯t as light as a rtionship between animals where ¡®if this one is useless, then the next one will be fine.¡¯


    But political marriages are another breed all together. And above all, Emilia was originally, ¡®the next one.¡¯


    If <ruby>this one<rt>Mte</rt></ruby> is useless, then <ruby>that one<rt>Emilia</rt></ruby> will be fine. That is how marriage between nobles works. But with that being the case, if <ruby>this one<rt>Mte</rt></ruby> will work out, then <ruby>that one<rt>Emilia</rt></ruby> is unneeded........it would not be wrong to think this way.


    Because that idea probably wedged itself in her head, things spiraled out of control the way they did..........Emilia became flustered, and anxiety took hold. She didn¡¯t know she was a witch. She didn¡¯t know about the curse she had already created........


    There was someone who came along and wiped out all the anxiety and negative thoughts sticking themselves to her every thought.


    It was the second prince Rodel Radoll.1


    Even if her older sister were to take off her armor and return to the royal pce, he would not be affected. Since it was his brother¡¯s sin, Rodel might make some concessions and apologize for the life I lived, but that would never go as far as him having to change fianc¨¦es.


    How much must have Emilia thought about that?


    And surely Rodel gave Emilia a beautiful present to mark the asion.


    An expensive ne paid with high-end gold ted bills. Whether it be in the royal pce or meeting me on the streets, Emilia was wearing a gorgeous dress, and if you assume that Rodel was the one who gave that to her, then he was certainly treating her like the glittering princess she wanted to be.


    Nevertheless, getting rid of Alexis would be impossible. Alexis was a fine example of a nobleman, but because of that, there were probably many times that Emilia held herself back from trying to get something that she wanted in order to not appear spoiled.


    If Alexis¡¯s fianc¨¦e was anyone other than Emilia, they would have felt blessed more than anything. At the same time, they would have been worshipped as a reverent queen. Alexis, a good prince honorable amongst all other nobles, yet he also strove for the benefit and growth of the country without any wasteful government spending.


    ...........Any woman would have loved to be that venerable queen, with the exception of the ¡®glittering princess¡¯ Emilia.


    ¡°The good honor student routine bit you in the butt this time.¡±


    Everyone heard Ordo¡¯s words. There was someone who wanted to make an objection, but in the end, there was nothing anybody could say.


    As Ordo said, Emilia¡¯s choice was between the ¡®prince who thought of his country¡¯ and the ¡®prince who would spare no expenses on her.¡¯


    Even if Alexis did not feel guilty about what he had done and was trying to apologize to me, Emilia still would have dumped him because he was too good of a prince and didn¡¯t shower her with expensive gifts. How ironic.


    It would have been a year ago that such an important decision was made.


    I do not know exactly what caused the cup to spill over......the second I said that, Percival chimed in saying, ¡°It was probably because of inheritance.¡±


    ¡°His Majesty was thinking about giving the throne to Prince Alexis while he was young.....or so the rumor goes.¡±


    ¡°No, I never heard such a thing.¡±


    ¡°It was a rumor told through the knight orders. We were told to refrain from spreading because of fear of confusion spreading.¡±


    Surely, those rumors of the session to the throne reached Emilia¡¯s ears.


    Therefore Emilia........her feelings surged forth, and she cursed Alexis. To be suspicious of his affairs, to take away trust, to deprive him of the throne. And so Rodel took Alexis¡¯s spot, and Emilia truly became a wonderful ¡®sparkling princess.¡¯


    With all that happening, it will no longer be a problem if her lovable sister returns.


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Finished exining everything, I slowly breathed out.


    There was a heavy feeling in the air. As no one could bare to even look at each other, none of us were willing to try and cut through the tension with a joke.


    Meanwhile, Gina was still drinking from her cup of wine.


    ¡°Emilia Idira really has a nice story going, doesn¡¯t she?¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders.


    Everyone else¡¯s gazes fell on her. While receiving such looks, Gina let out her elegantugh while stroking Concetta on her knee.


    The girl who was in poor condition recovered physically after extensive medical treatment and headed towards the kingdom to be with her family. She received an engagement afterwards as a substitute for her sister after the prince rejected her and she hid herself away in the old castle.


    Although she lived peacefully for several years, the prince¡¯s true colors were revealed to the world right before he seeded the throne. He was a tyrant who was unfaithful to her. Emilia was a pitiful girl who had been deceived, and the person who saved her.......was the second prince.


    Emilia took the outstretched hand of the second prince who truly loved her, and he took care of her and drove out the unfaithful prince. Then the older sister who had been wounded, hiding in the old abandoned castle came back to Emilia once again.....


    It is not a conclusion where the words, ¡°Happy ending, Happy ending,¡± could be disyed in bold words.


    But it was the truth for Emilia and everyone who believed those rumors about Alexis¡¯s infidelity. Everything was going along perfectly with this storybook farce. And surely the people who heard these stories would be so moved that they would close their eyes to any of the problems with Emilia and Rodel.


    ¡°It¡¯s better than that unfaithful prince,¡± the people will say.


    Gina recited the entire story as if it were the plotline of some farce of a y looking quite bored, but when she finished it a smile broke and a mischievous look spread across her face. Then her gaze moved........onto Percival.


    ¡°It really was just like a y, every person ying their role like a puppet.....other than you.¡±


    ¡°I.......¡±


    ¡°Emilia Idira¡¯s story waspletely set in stone thanks to her magic. It should have been perfect, but a clown onstage ruined the whole act.¡±


    The only thing witch¡¯s magic doesn¡¯t work on, a <ruby>witch yer<rt>Percival</rt></ruby>.


    He took Alexis, who was cast into the role of being chased out of the country as the prince of infidelity, off the stage.


    And me......he knocked away the control string of, ¡®the older sister waiting inside the old castle,¡¯ which had been stored away in the old castle until my turn came up.


    ¡°It is annoying that magic doesn¡¯t work on you, but at least you are useful.¡±


    Percival gave a serious nod towards Gina who was still petting Concettapletely ignoring the derision in her words.


    But right now was not the time to be pleased over idle praise. His blue eyes focused in right on Gina.


    In spite of such attentiveness, Gina said nothing more to him instead directing her gaze over to me.


    ¡°That should do with the exnations for now. Mte, would you mind heading to our room and checking the luggage?¡±


    ¡°........the luggage. Right, now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it should have already been brought to our room from the carriage, but I would be troubled if anything was left behind.¡±


    So take a look for me, was what Gina was crisply saying as if there had never been a heavy air present here in the first ce.


    Besides that, ¡°Please prepare some fluffy cushions for Concetta to rest on,¡± was something else she asked me to do. I did not fully understand her intentions, but I decided to obediently nod my head and stood up with Robertson in one hand.


    ¡°Percival, you should go too.¡±


    And then Ordo summoned a maid to guide us both.


    Hearing his words, Percival¡¯s eyes showed a small bit of hesitation in them. But in the next moment, his blue eyes narrowed, and he graciously answered, ¡°I serve,¡± and stood from his seat as well.


    After the door quietly closed behind them, Alexis was left idly staring at the door that his twopanions had just walked out of. Ordo and Gina who were thest two people in the room along with him had gone silent and were doing the same as him.


    There were no reverberations from the previous story at all; now was a time for leisurely drinking wine.


    Even though it allowed him to organize his feelings for a bit.........as he was thinking that, Concetta jumped over onto hisp with a small *plop*.


    Havinge without his name being said, Concetta put his forefoot on Alexis¡¯s shoulder and brought his face within inches of Alexis¡¯s.


    It was the same position he takes whenever eating hung out bread from Alexis¡¯s mouth. But of course naturally there was no bread there now.


    Even though he was staring looking like he was looking for something, what on earth did he want to do? At the moment that he was about to ask, Concetta licked his tongue at the corner of Alexis¡¯s eye.


    Alexis¡¯s deep brown eyes went round from surprise at how rough his tongue felt.


    ¡°Concetta........¡±


    ¡®What¡¯s the matter,¡¯ those were the words that got caught in Alexis¡¯s throat. No words woulde out, but his trembling throat that could barely draw in a breath and the tears running down his cheek said more than words ever could.


    It was like Concetta¡¯s tongue was a knife cutting through the thread of tension holding him up.


    The question was solved. He knew why he was cursed. That is why the tears were overflowing now.


    He wanted to know why someone held a grudge against him so that he could apologize, even if he was not going to be forgiven. That was why he had run away from the royal pce in the first ce.


    But there was nothing. There was no grudge against anyone. He did everything right, and because of that, he was cursed and lost everything.


    Is there a more terrible story? If it is like this, then there is no emotion, feeling, or resentment from the person whopletely ruined his life.


    Alexis was silently trembling, a bitter taste soaking in his mouth.


    There was none of his usual dignity in this crying appearance of his as he took the handkerchief that Gina held out to him. But Alexis could not afford to wipe away the overflowing tears, and all he could do was tightly clutch it to his chest like it was something truly important.


    ¡°Gina, I am..........for what reason...............how do I..........¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Alexis. It is a witch¡¯s whim, but I will make that capitol roll over. I will apany you to the end. Even if you tell me you want to burn it all down.¡±


    Saying so in a calm voice, Gina gently patted his head to calm him down. Stroking him with her small, supple fingers, she would sometimes scoop up his hair. Concetta was still standing on hisp, and he also tried to provide some small relief by stroking his head against the hand Alexis was holding the handkerchief.


    Ordo watched all of this with a sideways nce and took a small breath,


    ¡°You should thank me for not allowing <ruby>Percival<rt>subordinate</rt></ruby> and <ruby>Mte<rt>former fiancee</rt></ruby> to see you crying like this.¡±


    and said such an iprehensible thing.


    Gina¡¯s gentle, quiet voice and Ordo¡¯s ridiculous yet caring words; they just made Alexis¡¯s vision blur all the more as the tears continued to overflow.


    1. It¡¯s only when the name is spelled out clear as day for me like that that I realize how terrible of a name that is.

 Chapter 45

    <h4>Armored Girl and Glittering Princess 3</h4>


    The rooms prepared for each of us could only be described as splendid with theirrge beds, fine furnishings, and decorated paintings that told anyone how expensive they were at a nce. If this were peacetime, I would have sighed in admiration for the pure luxury of it all.


    However, even though I would be staying in this gorgeous room for the time being, no emotions sprung up, and all I could do was vaguely look around me.


    On top of a desk all of my and Gina¡¯s luggage was gathered together in onerge pile. The servants in the mansion could not have known specifically what belonged to whom, so for now all they did was separate what would belong to the women and the men.


    ¡°I should separate Gina¡¯s and my baggage.......¡±


    Understanding the situation, I reached out to the baggage on the table.


    However, even though in my head I understand that I should divide our things, my body doesn¡¯t really want to do what my mind is telling it to, so rather than dividing it all up, I end up just nkly staring at it all instead.


    Meanwhile the sound of a light knocking on the door echoed inside the room. My line of sight changed from the bags towards the door, and I slowly rose up from the chair. My movements towards the door were sluggish and slow, and it seemed like soon I would move forward, but my body would be left behind.


    I¡¯m awake, but my body and heart and everything else feel wrong.


    ¡°.....Percival.¡±


    When I opened the door, it was the figure of Percival who should have been guided to a separate room standing there.


    The effects of the previous story were clearly a drain on him, yet when I opened the door, he still managed to make a gentlemanly smile and shook the box he was holding in his hand. The white colored box had the words, ¡®First-aid kit¡¯ scrawled across the front.


    ¡°Miss Mte, let me treat you.¡±


    ¡°Treat......?¡±


    ¡°Mmm, you hurt your hand using magic in the royal pce right?¡±


    I nodded my head slightly now that Percival mentioned it.


    I certainly did hurt my hand using magic in the royal pce. After that I did received some light first aid at the time. Although, I¡¯m sure a doctor would argue that wiping away the blood with a handkerchief and blowing on the wound would not necessarily count as first aid.


    Because of that, pain was still pulsing through my hand. However, I am not worried about such a paltry excuse for hand pain. My heart aches far more.


    But there is no way I can say such a thing, so I put my hand out to take the kit from him.............and my eyes go round when he instead asks for permission toe in.


    ¡°I want to treat you.......is it no good?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no good.¡±


    ¡°An immediate reply.¡±


    ¡°Even if you dide in to treat me, you would have to remove part of my armor.¡±


    I diverted my eyes away from him as I muttered my excuse.


    Even though it is just my hands, I am still afraid to expose my skin. I am like this even though I now know it was all caused by a witch¡¯s curse. My sister¡¯s curse. I¡¯m my own cage now.


    However, goingpletely against what I said, Percival narrowed his eyes slightly and gently grabbed my hand.


    ¡°We can darken the room, and I will try not to see as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°But.....¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t call you ugly. I promise.¡±


    Percival¡¯s voice was deep and resolute enough that I was almost about to believe him. It almost felt like he was rubbing my hand and whispering in my ear without an iron shell obstructing him. My gaze inevitable fell towards my hand.


    It was the back of the hand that was spilling out pain as if it were pain that was pumping through my veins instead of blood. Through the iron, I could not know the depth of the cut, and no matter how hard Percival held me, I would be unable to feel the warmth from his hand on my skin. Looking back at the backpacks littering the table, I felt slightly lost.......and invited him into the room.


    Crossing the room together, we each took a seat on a chair facing each other.


    Percival extended his hand outwards, and I replied in kind by reaching my hand out as well...........towards my shoulder.


    With a little hesitation, I heard, ¡°Miss Mte,¡± being called after my hand stoppedpletely when I heard the *conk* of my finger hitting iron.


    ¡°.......I, I know. My heart needs time to prepare though.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll wait.¡±


    At Percival¡¯s words, my thoughts returned to the armor covering my chest once again.


    I oftentimes hear the sound of metal scraping against metal as I move around, but this time the noises wereing from my flesh, from the echoes created by my heartbeat. I feel restless; I can¡¯t calm down.


    Still, I pull back the leather sps, and the color of skin begins to peek out through a gap.


    It is not a face, it is not a body, it is only a hand. Even so, a paralyzing tension spread up and dominated my body. Cold sweat traveled down my back causing my skin to stick to the inner parts of my armor, and it took everything I had to resist the urge to immediately reattach it. Alexis¡¯s former words, ¡°ugly,¡± run through my mind. But that word........I shake my head and slowly remove my gauntlet.


    My arm is a slightly pale flesh color with not a speck of silver in sight.


    ........ah, my manicure is peeling off.


    It¡¯s because of this heavy air that I¡¯m so fixated on such a tiny mistake.


    While mentally trying to repress my heart from beating right outside of my chest, I stroke my exposed arm once before extending my hand to Percival without covering it back up.


    Slightly trembling, I hesitate to allow him to actually touch my exposed skin, so my movements are slow and dull. But Percival must have sensed my unease, and he waited to take my without hurrying or forcefully moving.


    After a moment, my hand lightly touch hisrge, robust ones.


    The tension and worry running through me ebbed away slightly, and I was able to rx to an extent despite my still trembling hands.


    Percival picked up on my still lingering nervousness, and as he used the first aid kit to start treating my cut, he made sure to continue with a light touch without any sudden movements.


    On the contrary, he even tried telling me a joke saying, ¡°Just don¡¯t curse me if it ends up stinging a little.¡± This was of course to try and calm me down even more.


    ¡°Sa-Saying such a thing......Even if I tried to cast a curse on Percival, i-it would not work would it..........?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah. So I guess it will be fine to not hesitate and tighten up this bandage.¡±


    ¡°If you do that, I¡¯ll hit you with a brick......¡±


    I countered him with a voice to overturn Percival¡¯s joke.


    Tightening bandages, what a terrible treatment this is! However........I gazed down on my hand. His hand was holding mine quite tenderly despite my own still slightly trembling.


    Contrary to his words, he really was handling my treatment very gently.......


    His way of holding my hand as if he was holding a first-ss artifact caused my eyes to narrow inside my helmet.


    I could feel through my skin that the temperature of his hands was just a little higher than mine. That warmth of his hand felt like it was enveloping mine despite my hand only resting on his palm; is it because Percival¡¯s hand is so big?


    ..........Ah, it¡¯s warm when you touch someone else.


    I remembered something from such a long time ago.


    At the same time, I was ovee with a tremendous amount of self-pity that I had forgotten such a thing. I was afraid to go out in public during the day, hid myself away, and in the end I locked myself up in a huge full set of armor. It was a pathetic life, the feeling of warmth and touching another person¡¯s skin were just memories of a distant past.


    Resentment that could not be put into words started to swell up in my chest, so much so that I had to shut my eyes tight. I¡¯m d that I¡¯m wearing a helmet right now because I cannot even imagine what I must look like right now.


    Then the treatment was finished, and Percival slowly took his hands away from mine.


    At first nce, it looked like a carefully wrapped bandage done by a professional doctor, but at the same time, it felt strangely cold.


    ¡°Let¡¯s change the bandages at night.¡±


    ¡°.........yes.¡±


    I returned Percival¡¯s concern with a nod of my helmet, and Percival nodded in turn........then he took a deep sigh and muttered, ¡°All a witch¡¯s curse,¡± underneath his breath.


    ¡°............yes. That was all.¡±


    ¡°Really.¡±


    Percival did not specify what he was talking about, and I did not give a clear answer.


    Because the answer really was all of it.


    Everything was because of Emilia¡¯s magic, to make her wishe true.


    The curse of Alexis¡¯s bad luck, me secluding myself inside the old castle.......


    And why I always wear a full suit of armor.


    Even those words Alexis said that day.......


    ¡°As if I¡¯d marry an ugly woman like you!¡±


    Once I heard those words, I was fated to confine myself to a heavy suit of armor until today.


    A vivid scene with Alexis woulde up, his appearance at that time, the words he said echoing crystal clear, everything was still up there crowding around in my memory.


    It was all caused by magic.


    It was the first step in Emilia¡¯s road of bing a ¡®sparkling princess.¡¯


    Then what is the life of the heavily armored noble girl who spent most of her life wearing a full suit of armor.........?


    Lost in my own thoughts, I started to stroke my own armor.


    I heard the iron rubbing against itself. A single hand made dyed silver.......I stared at it for awhile and smiled underneath my helmet despite myself, for the arm dyed silver so long now had the color of flesh and blood instead.


    It was then that therge hand that had wrapped me up in bandages this time reached out and held the back of my hand. It was, of course, Percival.


    I raised my helmet to look at him and saw his blue eyes staring directly back at me.


    ¡°Even if everything is a witch¡¯s curse, my feelings will never change. I want to be cursed by you.¡±


    ¡°Percival, but......there is no reason for me to curse you.¡±


    The feelings of guilt Percival held towards me boiled down to, ¡®I involved Mte who was living peacefully in a bothersome affair and forced her out of the old castle.¡¯


    However, that ¡®peaceful life in the old castle,¡¯ itself was just me being stored away like a pet by Emilia. Percival had actually saved me from ending up as just a puppet with a role to y.


    In other words, there is no reason for me to curse him, but when I told him this, Percival made a soft and bitter smile.


    ¡°Still my feelings won¡¯t change. Please curse me.¡±


    ¡°........In the first ce, <ruby>Percival<rt>Witch yer</rt></ruby> can¡¯t be cursed by a witch.¡±


    ¡°Then beat me with something simr to a brick.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s simr to a brick.......?¡±


    ¡°What on earth should I beat you with,¡± Iughed bitterly from inside my helmet, but then Percival slowly moved forward........


    And with arms wide open, he pulled me in for a tight embrace.


    ¡°.........Percival?¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte, I, you........that, you are a good witch.¡±


    ¡°........huh?¡±


    ¡°Terribly, that......you are a cute, wonderful witch. I want to be cursed by you. ........if it were toe true, forever.¡±


    I twisted around in his arms and looked up at Percival¡¯s persistent words.


    A gaze that cannot his red cheeks and embarrassment. He said I am a good witch and continued to praise me by calling me cute and wonderful shamelessly. Even so, he continued to hold me in his arms and started to slowly stroke the armor¡¯s back.


    It was just like when we were in bed........oh. I tried to call his name, but before that, ¡°Miss Mte,¡± he called mine.


    ¡°Miss Mte, I am sleepy right now.¡±


    ¡°........Percival.¡±


    ¡°This is only an ¡®annoying act of the bedridden,¡¯ so you don¡¯t have to think about any of this too deeply.¡±


    So, with Percival talking in a deep, calm voice, I diverted my eyes away inside my helmet.


    So, what am I supposed to say?


    If I say a word, then I feel like the thing that I have been desperately trying to endure up until this point will give way in an instant. An unrelenting feeling inside my chest was getting stronger, and I thought to relieve some of this pressure building up inside me with a light joke and some small jabs.


    He doesn¡¯t want to be exposed in public, or so I tell myself, but when I move to try and say something, his arms just tighten around me all the more.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡°Percival, let me........¡±


    ¡°I am sleepy. Please wait for fifteen minutes.¡±


    ¡°Such a thing, if you are actually sleepy then......¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you to not cry, but don¡¯t cry alone in that armor. Miss Mte, go ahead and cry now. I¡¯m sleepy, so I will never let you get away.¡±


    His words were like a sh of lightning, and my eyes opened wide in surprise. ¡°Please cry.¡± His words easily pierced iron and melted into my ears and chest.


    It all slowly melted away. The intentions and walls I¡¯d built that were sturdier than any suit of armor. His arms hugged me all the more tightly as if he were trying to hold up the resolve that was melting away from me.


    Ah, it¡¯s useless...... Feeling my emotions overflowing from within my heart, I grabbed hold of Percival¡¯s clothes with my silver fingers.


    And for the first time since that day that everything began long ago, I took the time to say the words that I had never told anyone¨Conly allowing them a slight whisper from within my heart.


    ¡°It hurts.........¡±


    Just that.


    My voice was severely blurred, weak, miserable, and it disappeared inside my iron helmet.


    But still Percival hugged me even more tightly, and I felt a sense offort from his arms.


    Still, the sense of the hug could not be transmitted through the armor. The movement of his hand stroking my back, and the heat from his body, it was all obstructed by a welded wall of iron.


    I thought it was painful, but even though I think that it hurts I will not take off this armor making me feel all the more miserable creating a lump in my throat, and a stream of tears cascading down my cheeks.

 Chapter 46

    <h4>The Troublesome Royal Brother and the Prince who Turned the World Over 2</h4>


    Why have things be like this?


    What should I do?


    While clinging to Percival with an unspeakable appearance, I was bawling my eyes out¨Cgasping for breath inbetween the moans and sobs.


    ¡°.....Me too.¡±


    ......


    The words that followed were strained, but even then I could hear Percival softly say to me, ¡°I see.¡±


    One hand of his continued to rub the back of my armor while the other was gently holding my exposed hand. His fingers wrapped around mine tighter than those iron fingers ever had before. It might be because he had already seen everything underneath these bandages during the treatment that I didn¡¯t mind.


    I had a pink manicure on my fingertips underneath that iron armor. By now, he has already figured out my closest guarded secret that I have not told anyone, the fact that I like to try and look pretty, even though this iron armor covers it all up.


    As a matter of course, I like not wearing this armor.


    Alexis called me ugly, but I could never figure out why I was so. Since I did not know, I had no choice but to cover up my entire body.


    The word ¡®ugly¡¯ is not just limited to one¡¯s face. Your face, body, skin, hair, voice, or even hand shape could all be seen as ¡®ugly.¡¯ Even the way you move might make you look disgusting to others.


    That¡¯s why I had to cover every inch of my being although I was never able to figure out how to disguise the way my body moves.


    I even covered up my dream.


    My dream......it is not too different from Emilia wanting to be a ¡®sparkling princess.¡¯


    I have always wanted to wear beautiful things like cute clothes. It was a wish that any young girl would have.


    But what would look good overtop a suit of iron armor? Nothing.


    Or at least nothing I could think of. Thinking so, I endured the thoughts of envy I felt towards others. Inside the old castle, I have a room I can never show anyone as it is decorated with arge number of cute and pretty essories. asionally, I would allow myself to buy a gorgeous color of nail polish and decorate my fingertips, staring at the end result for hours.


    And while I was doing this, Emilia was paving the road towards her dream of being a ¡®sparkling princess¡¯.....


    With all that in mind, gloom continued to spill from my heart, right alongside my overflowing tears.


    Iined about incoherent things while swallowing down all my grudges and regrets in a hoarse voice, all the while clinging to Percival as I continued to cry my eyes out.


    Time rolled on, and after 15 minutes passes, I had regained my calm. Inbetween the hups, I slowly pulled myself off of Percival¡¯s body while still slightly shaking inside my helmet and armor. Percival¡¯s hand which was still rubbing the back of my armor slowly left me although it looked like it was still poised to hug me again in case I crumbled down again.


    I vaguely gazed at it until eventually my gaze sunk down below so that the only thing I could see was the inside of my helmet. The back of my nose hurts.


    Then taking a deep breath in order to calm my still trembling throat, I took a big sniff of air through my nose and turned my helmet away.


    ¡°......W-Well, Percival¡¯s sleeping habit is really annoying, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I gave him aint with my now hoarse voice.


    Of course I was trying to hide my embarrassment. This is the story, I am obviously embarrassed that I cried in his arms. That¡¯s why I had to take the initiative and shift the me onto him.


    Although, I¡¯m pretty sure Percival knew exactly what was going on in my heart, and that was why he just shrugged his shoulders.


    He gave me a gentle, bitter smile to show that he wouldn¡¯t say anything about it, but it only made me feel even more ufortable.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It would be a problem if you were to cling to any other witch.¡±


    ¡°........Even for me it¡¯d be a big problem. Well, if someone were to see me, they would only see a guy who gets excited by suits of armor.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a huge problem!¡±


    That should be avoided as much as possible! At Percival¡¯s words, my still moist eyes blinked a couple times while my cheeks burst into a blush.


    Is it a problem that someone gets excited by a suit of armor........? No, it most certainly is a big problem.


    I took a few steps away from Percival as those thoughts started swirling in my head.


    ¡°L-let¡¯s go back soon. I¡¯m sure Alexis will eventually start to get worried about us.¡±


    ¡°I suppose so. Over there will surely be finished by now.¡±


    ¡°........Over there?¡±


    Was there something that Alexis was doing over there? I looked at Percival curiously, but the man in question just sighed a little and shrugged his shoulders again.


    On the contrary, he just straight up and headed for the door while saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Apparently he did not want to go into details which made me create a scraping noise when I tilted my helmet, but I quickly followed after him.


    ¡°All the gloomy talk should be over by now. So, let¡¯s talk about the fun stuff while I eat my rice.¡±


    This was Ordo¡¯s remark as dinner was prepared for us.


    His eyes and curled up smile showed just how excited he was for the following talk, but that only made me and everyone else who had to listen to him feel tired.


    A map was sitting on the center of the table. The royal pce sat in the center of the map marked in red along with a few knife marks.


    So worn out......it was awkward looking at this map that had clearly gone through so much use, and I could definitely say that any type of, ¡°So much fun!¡± feeling did note up when looking at it.


    Everyone picked up their silver ted tableware with a tired expression. As expected of a royal residence, all the dishes were delicious, but I would never give the satisfaction of me saying so to thisughing old man.


    ¡°Uncle, talking about fun.....I really don¡¯t want to ask, but I¡¯ll do it anyway. What are we discussing at this moment?¡±


    ¡°That should be obvious. It is how we shall proceed from this point forward. To be specific, how are we going to put me on the throne.¡±


    ¡°As I thought.¡±


    ¡°But before that, there is something I need to check with you.¡±


    Altogether different from the amusing and loud tone he had been using until now, Ordo suddenly started speaking in a low voice while seriously staring at Alexis.


    The tension in the room quickly changed along with him, and everyone stopped eating to turn their eyes towards him. Eyes of the same color with deep brown hair, the color and faces they bore were so simr, yet the atmosphere surrounding them waspletely different.


    The two of them stared at each other, sizing the other up, and Ordo slightly sharpened his gaze.


    ¡°Alexis, do you wish to sit on the throne?¡±


    Ordo¡¯s voice not onlycked any depth of the cheer he had shown seconds before, but it also gave off a sense of intimidation and possibly even a hint of hostility.


    Depending on Alexis¡¯s answer, it was clear that things could take a dangerous turn, and the people around us could suddenly be our enemies. The silver knife held in Ordo¡¯s hand looked strangely sharper when I was hit with that hostility. It is just a kitchen knife, yet it looks like a deadly weapon when held by Ordo.


    In response to Ordo¡¯s question, Alexis stared back to reply........that was


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    an answer that seemed like it was given little thought and answered with no hesitation.


    ¡°Wonderful, but you seem so sure of yourself.¡±


    ¡°From my father, I have learned that it is a king¡¯s duty to lead and protect the people, but right now I don¡¯t think I want to them.¡±


    There was no intonation or biting emotion in Alexis¡¯s voice; it was almost disturbingly settled.


    It was clear that he had made up his mind before Ordo had brought up his question. Was this a decision he had suddenlye to during the incident at the royal pce, or was this something gradually brought about while listening to the people¡¯s words while affected by the curse?


    In any case, Alexis was clearly stating he wanted nothing to do with the session of the throne.


    I did not know what to say to him, so I remained silent and gazed at him. There was no anxiety or worry in his appearance, and he was scooping up a bit of his soup with the gracefulness you would expect from a prince.


    ¡°In the first ce, my session to the throne should already have been revoked, so I have already lost my rights to be the king. ........but¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°I have no desire to be led by Rodel.¡±


    Alexis¡¯s tone of voice was as usual, yet it felt somewhat chilly as well.


    Whether he was actually able of sounding like this..... During our journey, he had always sounded calm¨Calthough at times he sounded miserable and others kind.


    That¡¯s why when I heard him, my eyes locked squarely on him, and a slight pain was born in my heart when I noticed a few slight differences in his demeanor.


    It was because of a witch.


    This witch¡¯s curse has changed him.


    If I had realized about Emilia earlier, no, in the first ce, if I had not locked myself away in the old castle and talked to Emilia about the magic of the Idira family, she may have figured it out herself.......


    I am a witch, but I am an inexperienced witch.


    As I am thinking about these things toote to do anything about, it suddenly dawned on me that Alexis was looking at me.


    His deep brown eyes were slightly round. I could not understand the meaning of that gaze being poured on me, so I ended up lowering my eyesight a bit feeling like I had just gotten myself in trouble.


    ¡°Mte, you should not feel responsible.¡±


    ¡°........that is, but it¡¯s all due to the Idira family.¡±


    ¡°This incident certainly had a witch involved. But, the country is also at fault for being so easily swayed and going with the flow.¡±


    There is a coldness in Alexis¡¯s eyes as he tells me this, but there is also something simr to determination in there as well.


    Ordo, who saw this fighting spirit, lit up again, and his enjoyable smile returned once again.


    ¡°In other words, the king is reced by his driven brother......the fact that a witch is involved is just a minor detail.¡±


    ¡°..........yes, I suppose it is better than Rodel.¡±


    ¡°Alexis, I just thought you looked cute for the first time ever. I¡¯m thinking about hugging you, but would you mind of I kissed you on the cheek as well?¡±


    Ordo spread his arms wide with an even wider smile and told Alexis, ¡°Come,¡± to which Alexis responded with an ice cold look........before picking up a loaf of bread and shredding it to pieces.


    He waspletely ignored.


    Or maybe Ordo wasn¡¯t ignored and the loaf of bread was serving as a substitute for Ordo. That¡¯s it. I can almost hear the bread¡¯s ear-splitting screams.


    However, Alexis¡¯s expression after taking a deep breath was a mix of determination and hostility¨Can expression that I thought to greatly resemble Ordo¡¯s.

 Chapter 47

    <h4>Armored Girl and Cursed Prince¡¯s Decision (+Bonus)</h4>


    Rather than thinking up an entirely new n, we would just use Ordo¡¯s original n while throwing two witches and a witch yer at them.......was what the idea that Ordo proposed. And while he was calling it a proposal, his tone was assertive, and you could tell by his expression that he¡¯d stubbornly stand by his decision.


    It was Ordo who was inmand of this house while the two witches, the witch yer, and even the first prince Alexis were just guests in that house. He was quite clear about his decision of not just barreling through with Gina or my magic, so I just quietly sharpened my shoulders and nodded my head.


    For Ordo, this was a battle over who would sit on the throne between him and Rodel. It would lose meaning if he were to win just because he had some witches and a witch yer on his side.


    I know that. However, we cannot just leave everything to Ordo either.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    At this point, Rodel is one step away from being the king, and Emilia was right next to him.


    If he were to get too close, Ordo would be hit by the witch¡¯s curse. If he is trying to drag down both the king and Rodel, that would mean he is trying to directly interfere with Emilia¡¯s ¡®glittering princess¡¯ status. It is impossible for her magic to not sink its fangs into Ordo.


    And it¡¯s not just witch magic that we have to be vignt of.


    This is the throne room of arge country. There will be more guards there than any other ce in the country, and as soon as we show up there, each and every single one of them will draw their swords. Above all, Ordo had already repeatedly tried to assassinate the king in his sleep. If the guards so much as smell him anywhere near the capitol they will be put on high alert. The walls standing before us are looking more and more like a mountain.


    So as Ordo continued to talk whileparing the map to a sketch he had of the royal pce, Percival mumbled, ¡°The movement of the knights......¡±


    ¡°I know the movements of the knights. The actions they¡¯ll take in case of an emergency, guard cement, everything.¡±


    Percival was originally a knight that protected this country.


    Therefore, in the event of an emergency, for example¨Cthe known traitor Ordo orchestrated an attack¨Che would have had to know what to do. His knowledge was something born from repeated practice exercises and the discussions he would have had when talking to hisrades who had also dedicated their sword and shield to the protection of the country.


    How information should be transmitted in case of an emergency, how many people are ce where, how the knights would move to best protect the king and prince....


    Percival holds all that information, and he is going to give that to Ordo.


    That was the ultimate betrayal to his country and the knights he once knew as his friends.


    I watched Percival give information while pointing to different parts of the royal pce sketch with worried eyes......and pulled his sleeve just once.


    His blue eyes opened wide and turned towards me. But I did not know how to respond to those eyes of his, so I redirected my gaze towards the map that he had just been looking at before.


    ¡°Miss Mte?¡±


    ¡°......separately, no, it¡¯s nothing. Please keep going.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine, but....Thanks for worrying, but I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. There was just a bug on your sleeve, and I was trying to grab it.¡±


    ¡°Then you should give that bug you caught to Robertson.¡±


    ¡°No, Robertson is a genuine man who only eats things he caught himself.¡±


    ¡°So strong.¡±


    Percival smiled at the end of our ill-suited conversation, but his eyes inevitably turned back to the drawing of the royal pce.


    There was no sense of guilt for betraying his country, and there was no sense of guilt for betraying hisrades in the expression he now wore. There was only the determination to live in those blue eyes of his, and when I saw it, a small breath got caught in my, and a tinge of fear stained my expression underneath my helmet.


    He has also made his decision. No, he had made his decision the second he took Alexis from the pce, before any of us had even thought about it. At least, before I had.......


    Thinking that much, I picked myself up. As Gina was, I diverted my gaze to the sketch and joined in with Ordo¡¯s discussion about our strength.


    ¡°Although Emilia¡¯s magic should no longer be able to affect Mte or I, it will still cause problems if it spreads to excessively. It would be best if we were to take as few people as possible to avoid Mte and I from having to protect too many.¡±


    Too many people will get in the way, or so Gina was arguing while embracing Concetta in herp. At the same time, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t expect any decent hospitality this time either I suppose,¡± was something she said to no one in particr.


    However, as Gina said, attacking with arge number of people, would most certainly make sense unless there was magic present on the field. The more men there are, the more certain it will be that they will end up growing distant from Gina or myself. Even Ordo¡¯s subordinates can be subjected to Emilia¡¯s magic, turning them into enemies......anything could happen.


    That is why the soldiers must remain close by to remain immune to the witch¡¯s magic. That being the case, their movements will be inherently restricted.


    ¡°However, if we restrict our men, then the possibility for them to escape increases. In order for them to escape...there are escape routes they can take that not even the minister or I know about.¡±


    ¡°If we were to ever need to escape, my father taught me different ways to do it. There are at least ten......no, there are probably twice that many.¡±


    The escape routes established in the royal pce are for the sake of emergencies, so the king naturally would not yet have told his son Alexis everything. Even when he was considered a good son and a good prince, there was always a possibility of something unexpected happening, so it is natural that he would hold some information back.


    In other words, a king is a creature driven by suspicion, and this king most likely nned for even the event that Alexis would start a rebellion. This is the ideology that drives a royal family in control of a country.


    ¡°To prepare for emergencies is to suspect everything. Perhaps, Rodel is also different from Alexis and has learned of a different escape path that not even Alexis knows about.¡±


    ¡°Well, in case something does happen, Rodel would surely escape through a route that I do not know of.¡±


    There is no way to block an escape route when you don¡¯t know where it is, so we have no choice but to surround the royal pce.


    However, if we did do that, then people would inevitably be distant from me and Gina, and then Emilia would appear.....


    Worried about that, Ordo mixed in an, ¡°It¡¯s troublesome,¡± into a long sigh. There are numerous escape routes out of the pce, but we cannot just surround it. If we try to just forcibly push through with numbers, then magic would almost certainly turn some of our own men against us. Is there a more troublesome problem?


    ¡°And I really want to catch them alive if possible.¡±


    ¡°Uncle?¡±


    ¡°Stop that, of course I don¡¯t have those kinds of emotions. It¡¯s just better for us if we catch them than having them killed. That would be more convenient for me.........however¡±


    Pausing for a moment, Ordo raised his line of sight off of the sketch. His deep brown eyes were ced squarely on me and Alexis.


    ¡°My big brother of course, but it would also be best if we were to capture Rodel and Emilia alive as well. If that happens, what will you two do?¡±


    Ordo¡¯s straightforward question caught mepletely off guard, and once more I took a short breath inside my helmet.


    Obviously he is not so sentimental as to take our feelings into ount for his n. He wants to know our intentions in advance because he is worried. Worried that Alexis or I might lose our nerve and side with our family in thest minute.


    I am a witch, and in the worst case, I could probably easily push Emilia away from Ordo in case of an emergency. Alexis himself cannot use magic and has no fighting power, but he does have <ruby>Gina<rt>witch</rt></ruby> and <ruby>Percival<rt>witch yer</rt></ruby> backing him.


    ¡°After all, I cannot expect you both to do something awful to your own family. As its king, I would like to return this country to the peaceful state it was in once all this is over!¡±


    Going that far, Ordo would not be able to butt his head in next time.


    He was aware of that. Ordo¡¯s sharp gaze and wide open arms were shouting that that he had nothing hidden and spoke no falsehoods. Recognizing this, I took a small breath in my helmet.......,


    ¡°I......I will judge Emilia with my own hands.¡±


    Yes, I answered while looking directly back into his eyes.


    Listening to my reply, Alexis slowly closed his eyes and continued,


    ¡°I will not judge them......if they live and we catch father and Rodel, I will leave them to uncle at that time.¡±


    Putting an end to things and leaving the clean-up in his uncle¡¯s hands. In these replies of two extremes, Gina looked towards me with a bitter, yet rxed smile while Ordo scrunched his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders while gazing at Alexis.


    Aren¡¯t these both twopletely opposite reactions as well? However, only Percival was wearing aplex expression, silently looking between me and Alexis alternately.


    ¡°It¡¯s good, Mte seems to be alright now. She hase to a proper decision.¡±


    ¡°That Alexis is useless; he hasn¡¯t broken through his doubts yet.¡±


    Afterwards, Mte and Alexis had ended up leaving the room soon after, and these were the words shared by Gina and Ordo while sipping on their wine. ¨CBy the way, Mte had gone for a walk with Robertson to help him find some bait, and Alexis had gotten caught up with Concetta and headed towards the bathroom.¨C


    Of course it goes without saying that their words were due to the extreme replies from the earlier discussion.


    Mte had said she would take care of Emilia herself while Alexis had said he was unable to and would leave it all to Ordo. The degree of resolve is higher for Mte......and so on. Anyone would feel that way as soon as they heard the answers from the two.


    On the other hand, it was only Percival who was diverting his eyes in thought,


    ¡°I think the opposite is true,¡±


    and said this.


    ¡°Opposite.....Alexis said he would not judge his family, so he would leave them to me.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°So he still has sentimental feelings for my brother and Rodel. That¡¯s the way it is.¡±


    ¡°.......no, surely, because he has no more information left to give, he is just trusting Lord Ordo.¡±


    Alexis is irrelevant in the fight for the throne because he has already lost his right to seed, and because he has be irrelevant, he has no grounds to judge his brother or father.


    That¡¯s why he is leaving everything to Ordo. Ordo is someone who is willing to scratch out his blood brother in order to sit on the throne. To capture them alive if necessary, and if it is unnecessary, to dispose of them immediately. Plus the punishment and treatment which Ordo would give would be much more esoteric than anything Alexis, who grew up in a greenhouse called royalty, could evere up with.


    If it was a decision based on that, there is no way that there was any kind of emotion in his decision to, ¡®trust Ordo to take care of it.¡¯


    ¡°I see. Surely, there is no way for him to object if I end up deeming a course of action necessary. That bastard Alexis, did he learn something from big bro after all.......¡±


    Listening to Percival¡¯s story, Ordo cracked a smile and started tough.


    Perhaps Alexis¡¯s decision was more cunning than he thought. His distorted eyes had grown grim, but they were still severely fun.


    On the other hand, the feeling of relief that Gina had had faded.


    Mte cut off the regrets she felt towards Emilia and the Idira family, and so she decided to judge Emilia as a fellow witch..... That¡¯s what Gina thought, but Percival¡¯s face was clouded.


    ¡°.......there was a picture in the old castle where Miss Mte lived.¡±


    ¡°A picture?¡±


    ¡°Yes......It was a picture she drew with Emilia when they were both young.¡±


    A picture of a ¡®sparkling princess¡¯ painted in a child¡¯s hand. Lines that could not be drawn straight and colors that bled through the lines, it was something would only be called good as baseless ttery.


    Mte had bothered to bring such a picture with her from the Idira home to the old castle. At that time, she moved to the old castle in order to escape from the weight of the royal pce and from her family. There would have been little that she would have wanted to carry with her.


    What was necessary for her were the minimum number of books about witches and magic. She brought that picture with her to the old castle despite her arms being already full with those alone.


    And she kept it for all those years, without decorating it or tossing it away.


    Every time she saw it, she would have remembered the admiration for the ¡®sparkling princess,¡¯ and every time she held it in her hands, memories of her journey from the dissolution of her engagement to her current state inside a suit of armor would have popped up. Alexis¡¯s words would continue to surface, a knife still lodged in her heart.


    Still, Mte kept those memories with her sister on hand.


    What can be said for this type of attachment?


    And most of all, even though it is now known that everything was due to Emilia¡¯s magic, Mte still wears her armor and is afraid to take it off.


    Unlike Alexis who had decided to trust everything to Ordo, even if that meant the disposal of his family, Mte was still a prisoner held captive.


    ¡°.....That¡¯s why Miss Mte wishes to judge Emilia herself. As a witch belonging to the same Idira family, and as an older sister, she has not yete to a decision.¡±


    ¡°I understand. So it was Mte who needs to blow her doubts away?¡±


    ¡°Well, if that girl doesn¡¯t make that decision herself, then she will be stuck in that armor forever.¡±


    Ordo and Gina looked at each other with a serious look on their faces after Percival had finished speaking.


    At about the same time that Ordo was muttering to himself, ¡°Can I talk once?¡± the sound of knocking sounded in the room.


    ¡°.......I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Alexis¡¯s mind returned to the room after a knock.


    Concetta swimming around in therge bath inside Ordo¡¯s mansion was truly a sweet sight, and afterwards, Alexis returned to his room wrapped up in a wet towel.......to find Ordo sitting on his knees reaching out.


    Besides that, for some time now this uncle has been patting Alexis¡¯s head since earlier. In spite of this show of affection, Alexis¡¯s face distorted into an irregr fashion and spoke in a lower tone of voice.


    ¡°Uncle, what do you want?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just that you have grown more <ruby>stronger<rt>twisted</rt></ruby> than I thought. It¡¯s the first time in my life I¡¯ve ever felt this type of pride well up in my chest.¡±


    ¡°............that¡¯s good?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s iprehensible. Now, how about you call me Uncle Ordo just like you used to when you were a kid. Well, I was exiled from the royal pce the day after you called me that for the first time after that though.¡±


    ¡°Stop, old man, release me.¡±


    Alexis had no idea what Ordo was thinking and just released some verbal abuse on instinct.


    But for Ordo, such verbal abuse was¨C¡°A sign that Alexis is an even better student than I had imagined!¡±¨Cfavorably taken, even more so than if Alexis had called him ¡®Uncle Ordo¡¯ like he had been originally asked.


    Speaking of Mte, who hade back to her room at almost that same time that the uncle and nephew were getting to know each other better.......


    ¡°Miss Mte, I will always stay by your side no matter where you are!¡±


    Percival had sleepily barged into her room without her noticing,


    ¡°Just a little, I shall embrace Mte and heal her! Witch yers should just go to bed quietly!¡±


    and Mte was officially tired out from being sandwiched between Gina and Percival who were both trying to push the other one away.


    Bonus


    Armored Girl Mte ¡« An extra story that didn¡¯t fit earlier part 3¡«


    ¡°Actually, Concetta used to not weigh much at all during the old days.¡±


    These were the words Gina issued while stroking Concetta who was riding on her knee. Alexis listened to this gentle voice fondly reminiscing about the past with round eyes and a wide open mouth that no words came out of.


    The current Concetta was far from thin, it would be more apt to call her thick. Of course, it was not a type of fat that would endanger his health, but a body made from arge amount of fluffy hair. Still, Alexis¡¯s expression clearly showed he was unable to imagine a thinner Concetta........and so the cat withdrew from Gina¡¯s knee and stamped his paw down onto Alexis¡¯s foot.


    Was this a protest?


    ¡°I first met Concetta inside a forest. I found him on my way to the city, but no matter how much I called, he refused to leave the grass. He¡¯d scratch the grass looking scared while weakly crowing.¡±


    ¡°Huh, I can imagine it with his present figure.........no, never mind. Nothing ising up. Please continue Gina, and stop hitting me with your tail Concetta.¡±


    ¡°At first he was intimidated watching me from the grass, but he eventually came out, and I petted him for a long time. But his fur was really stiff, and if felt awful to the touch.¡±


    ¡°Concetta......¡±


    Wondering whether he remembered those days, wrinkles formed between Gina¡¯s eyebrows as she continued to talk about Concetta¡¯s fur.


    Concetta is a long hair variety type of cat. It seems that he was abandoned by his lord, and became desperate while living in the woods where he was thrown out. You cannot keep a clean coat in such an environment.


    The hair was tangled and stiff, and Gina¡¯s hands became dirty after petting him.......From Gina¡¯s point of view, Concetta was the spitting image of misery.


    ¡°So, I decided to take Concetta to my mansion. I told him that ¡®Cats are meant to be fluffy.¡¯¡±


    ¡°You told him?¡±


    ¡°I told him. He was convinced pretty easily with just that, and he diligently followed me to my mansion where he took a bath. I gave him some delicious rice, we started living together, and soon we started going out shopping together. I went out often, and because Concetta glows, it made it easy to walk.......and after awhile I noticed he glowed.¡±


    That¡¯s right, this child is capable of glowing.


    ........Were cats meant to be able to glow?


    ¡°Gina, you should have noticed Concetta could glow the second he started glowing!¡±


    ¡°I think it was about three months of him glowing before I realized that the light wasing from him. Concetta absorbed some of my magic from my witchcraft.¡±


    If Gina were to call him, Concetta would happilye with a loud ¡®nya¡¯. He would rub his fluffy body up against her feet and bring his nose up to her outstretched finger.


    This is whatfort looks like. Besides, if he was blinking brightly, that would mean he was feeling good.


    ¡°When I was watching Concetta having so much fun and purring so loudly whenever I petted him, I became so enraptured with how cute he was that I never noticed he was glowing.¡±


    ¡°Is this also because of a witch¡¯s whim?¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe.¡±


    Ginaughed while stroking Concetta¡¯s soft hair. Alexis watched her for awhile, and then his gaze moved towards something in the corner of his eye.


    Towards Mte, Percival, and Robertson to be specific.


    ¡°Miss Mte, you are a good witch.......because I will sing you a luby, please feel free to sleep soundly.¡±


    Percival was singing a luby while giving Mte ap pillow,


    ¡°I wonder if I could drink something from this position......but I don¡¯t want to risk spilling something in my helmet,¡±


    and Mte thinking about taking a drink having felt the futility of resisting at this point, and Robertson who was blinking light while standing atop Mte¡¯s helmet.


    Needless to say, Percival had gotten drowsy a couple of minutes ago. Alexis sighed at such a sight and stood up from his chair.


    ¡°Mte, there is a straw here, so don¡¯t try and drink like that.¡±


    ¡°I will not. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte, are you thirsty? Then I will help you drink.¡±


    Trying to help, Percival stabbed a straw into a cup and held it in front of Mte.


    In response to this, Mte looked dissatisfied and groaned, ¡°I¡¯d rather have it spray on my face,¡± from within her helmet. Alexis shrugged his shoulders and got to work on convincing the sleepy Percival that it would be better if he allowed Mte to drink herself.


    Meanwhile, Robertson was still blinking but had moved down and was skittering across Mte¡¯s chest te.


    Watching all of this from over her shoulder without saying anything, Ginaughed and said, ¡°This is also part of a witch¡¯s whim,¡± while holding Concetta close.

 Chapter 48

    <h4>Witch¡¯s Magic and Two Armors</h4>


    If we were going to head to the royal pce with a small group, it would be necessary to build up a specialized unit of troops.


    Everyone agreed with Ordo¡¯s point, so it was decided that we would spend the next few days inside the mansion.


    I took lessons on magic from Gina while Percival and Alexis worked alongside Ordo and his knights. We would gather together and confirm the state of the preparations over dinner......every day.


    Although we hade to the decision to effectively stage a coup, it could be said that this was the first calm time we had had since we started this journey.


    A few days passed with this calm time.


    I was wearing my armor sitting on a sofa in my room. Gina, who was sitting across from me, was watching me very closely. The view in front of me was different from the usual, some of my vision was obstructed in a strange way, and there was more darkness around me than the usual as well.


    It is hard to see.....so I scrunched my brow and narrowed my vision from within my helmet.


    A shiny silver sight different from the color I am used to and a cacophony of sounds I do not recognize ringing out every time I move causes a wave of uneasiness to wash over me. It seems that I have gotten so used to the suit of armor I have worn for so long that anything else causes me to feel obstructed and a weird sense of stuffiness.


    The thought causes an amount of self-pity to ovee me. But now is not the time toment, so I reached out towards the armor sitting upright in front of me. It was the armor that I had grown so ustomed to.


    On the other hand, the outstretched hand before me was somethingpletely unfamiliar to me. What was worn was a beautifully polished suit of armor with a refined design. It was one of the suits lined up in the mansion¡¯s corridors.


    I had to concentrate even harder due to the sense of incongruity from wearing this new armor, but soon the familiar suit of armor in front of me started to move. An empty armor moving even though nobody was touching it, isn¡¯t this a horror story?


    ¡°Good job Mte, that¡¯s the way. Is it too hot in there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m getting used to it.¡±


    ¡°Even a skilled witch has a hard time manipting things if the right conditions are not met. And even then, it will be a huge drain on their physical stamina as well. It is easier if you have a knack for it though.¡±


    I continued watching the suit of armor sitting in front of me while listening to Gina¡¯s exnation.


    Using magic from inside a suit of unfamiliar armor, the familiar armor moved with slow, jerky movements. When I ordered it to pet Concetta on top of Gina¡¯sp, the fingertips of silver steadily and gently brushed the soft hair. Concetta sniffed the iron fingers as they were brought away¨Cfeeling strange towards the awkward movements that could not be described as having belonged to a person.


    ¡°You cannot move the fingers, but it seems that you have gotten used to it rather quickly.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to Gina. If Gina were not here to tell me what to do, I would never have figured out how to do this myself.¡±


    I showed my appreciation and expressed my thanks from inside this new helmet, and Gina returned a smile to me in turn. Her pride as my senior witch was showing.


    Meanwhile, a light knock on the door echoed inside the room.


    When I called out to them, the door began to slowly open.


    The person who revealed themselves in the doorway was Percival. He took one step into the room before he stopped and his eyes opened wide in surprise. He took one look at Gina before his eyes focused in on the two suits of armor.


    ¡°.........Miss Mte?¡±


    His vision continued to alternate between me and my usual suit of armor.


    It was funny to watch, so I started speaking from inside this helmet with a grin spreading across my face. Then a, ¡°Percival, what¡¯s wrong?¡± came out in my voice.


    .........from both sets of armor. In addition, I when both sets of armor tilted their heads in confusion, I could see the question marks swirling overtop Percival¡¯s head.


    Watching both sets of armor that were making fun of him.......


    ¡°It¡¯s this one!


    he vigorously pointed to one of the armors.


    The carefully polished suit of armor. It was the armor that had originally decorated the mansion¡¯s hallway.


    However the armor stopped moving once Percival pointed at it, until, ¡°You did well,¡± a voice came from the armor and the nking of iron hitting armor rang from the armor pping its hands together.


    Of course, I was included in with the armor as well.


    ¡°That was amazing, Percival. How were you able to figure it out?¡±


    ¡°Even if they move in the same way, that armor¡¯s movements were clearly less natural.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Besides, surely because of my love¡±


    ¡°As expected Percival! As I thought I cannot underestimate the skills of a witch yer!¡±


    Gina raised a loud voice overtop of Percival and pulled me in to a tight embrace.


    At that moment I thought Percival was groaning, but while being stroked and held by Gina, I was unable to see his current state. I feel like he had said something, but I could not hear him because of Gina and it seems like I won¡¯t be able to ask him about it.


    ¡°Hey Mte, as expected of a witch yer¡¯s strength right?¡±


    ¡°I feel like it is less to do with him being a witch yer and more him having dynamic eyesight and observant eyes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true huh. Dynamic visual acuity and observational eyes, I cannot think of any other reason he would be able to pick you apart.¡±


    In Gina¡¯s affirmation, I had to tilt my helmet to see the subject of our conversation.


    Then, when my gaze fell on Percival, he narrowed his blue eyes for a moment before shaking his head and taking a seat next to the empty suit of armor.


    ¡°........Inside?¡±


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡°Robertson is inside the helmet.¡±


    Hearing my exnation, Percival once again started looking between the two suits of armor.


    Then he narrowed his eyes as if he were deep in thought..........,


    ¡°When she grows, a new armor......?¡±


    he murmured.


    ¡°Please do not talk like I have the same ecology as a hermit crab.¡±


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s just a joke. So, what are you going to do with the leftovers?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t molted either!¡±


    As I cried out myints to him, Percival responded with a jovialugh.


    As he did so, he gave me a ¡®so then¡¯ expression as if he had just finished a ceremony before turning his gaze back towards the other set of armor. I red at him for a second before taking a small breath and turning my gaze as well.


    It was the armor I usually wear. I concentrated my mind before sending out an order, and it reacted with a slow creak as it raised one hand.


    ¡°I am moving the armor with my magic. I can only do it for a short time, but the field of vision and the sounds heard by it while I am manipting it are all transmitted to me.¡±


    ¡°I was surprised. Can you do that whenever you want because you are a witch?¡±


    ¡°I can only do it if Robertson enters inside, but the further the armor is away from me the more it drains my physical strength, and the connection is immediately broken if it receives a strong shock.¡±


    Listening to my exnation, Percival breathed out as if he were impressed and knocked on the armor¡¯s chest, making a hollow *gong* *gong* echoed out.


    On the other hand, Iined because if was noisy. The sounds heard from inside this new armor and the sounds transmitted through the armor with Robertson inside were bothing into my ears.


    In the first ce, this magic is only possible for me because I had been wearing that suit of armor for many years, and because Robertson was inside. By continuously wearing it for many years, the armor had be soaked in my magic power, and Robertson allowed me to manipte that magical energy by acting as my familiar.


    And with the efficient method of using magic that Gina had taught me, I was capable of utilizing both. Without any of these three things, the empty armor in front of me would not be able make fun of Percival like it was. Controlling things with magic is a difficult thing to do.


    Of course, I cannot afford to rx just because I can use it.


    Whether I be woozy due to the double voices or because my physical strength runs out, it is a magic that cannot be used for a long period of time.


    But, if I were to put in some stronger magic......


    Thinking so, I let out a short breath.


    However Percival suddenly called my name, bringing my thoughts back to reality and drawing my gaze towards him.


    ¡°.......Miss Mte, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    With Percival¡¯s words, my polished helmet gave out a creak as I tilted my head.


    ¡®What¡¯s the matter¡¯, what does he mean? There was no mockery in Percival¡¯s eyes, and he looked almost a little worried.


    Seeing his eyes like that, my only reaction was a resounding, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with what?¡±


    ¡°No, somehow you looked hot is all.¡±


    Percival was looking straight at my helmet. No, he was looking through my helmet, right in the space where my eyes would be.


    Is that not a little too weird? Whether I look hot or not, I am wearing a full suit of armor. Naturally my face ispletely blocked off by iron as well, so it should be impossible for him to see my face.


    ¡°How can you tell if I¡¯m hot or not without being able to see anything other than my helmet?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s.....but you still looked like you were hot.¡±


    Looking like he thought it was strange himself, Percival gave an answer that couldn¡¯t really be considered an answer. Yet he continued to look right at my helmet with confidence in his thoughts.


    His blue eyes were looking directly into my own. It was as if he were staring right into my own..........thinking that far, my breath stopped for a second when I realized I was staring into his eyes as well.


    Feeling extremely self-conscious for a moment, I quickly turned my face away.


    I wear armor everyday that is able to hide my entire physical structure, and while it would be difficult for someone to see my eyes through the visor in my helm, I use witchcraft to make it impossible for anyone to peek in. I applied the same spells to this armor as well. I can see out, but nobody can see in. I¡¯ve done it this way since I first donned my armor.


    It has allowed me to rx......


    ¡°They will not be able to see my eyes even in this armor,¡± with this thought, I became careless.


    Percival is a witch yer.


    No magic will work on him. This of course also includes the magic I use to hide my eyes.


    In other words, for him this armor I am wearing is just an ordinary suit of armor. And this armor was something made as a decoration, so of course, itcks much in the way of protection in favor of a more artistic look.


    So looking directly at the helmet, you would be able to naturally see the wearer¡¯s pupils.......


    ¡°S-Sorry......!¡±


    Percival¡¯s reaction was one that screamed, ¡®I saw it.¡¯


    Meanwhile, my eyes had started to swim inside my helmet, and I was too busy cursing myself for my own idiocy to give him any kind of follow-up.


    An awkward air spread in the room.


    But even in a time like this, whileughing graciously, Gina stepped forward while while saying, ¡°So witch yers are peepers too.¡± Robertson appeared from the empty helmet and started to do a little dance on the surface, and with Concetta meowing and making noise, the awkward air quickly turned into something more normal.


    ..........Even though I wasn¡¯t feeling normal at all!


    My heart was beating like an early morning school bell. The echoes resonated through my body, and it felt like I could hear the noiseing out of every single one of my pores adding on to my uneasiness every second that passed. My insides were hot.


    It¡¯s not good for me to be seen by other people.


    But now my eyes have been seen making my heart tighten, and a cold sweat passed over me even though I knew that nobody could see any part of me now.


    A constriction and fear, emotions welled up even though such a small part of me had been seen. Both my body and my mind werepletely upied by these thoughts.


    But curiously, for some reason I felt that this difort, was just a little different than what I remember it to be.


    While thinking that, I looked up and watched Percival¡¯s back as he ran out the door with Gina calling him a peeping demon as he left.

 Chapter 49

    <h4>The Night Before</h4>


    The calmer the rest time is, the quicker it passes.


    And all too soon, the eve of our decision greeted us.


    I looked up at the night sky alone from the mansion¡¯s garden. The manor provided a moderate amount of light, yet the area still felt isted as if they were inpletely different worlds from each other. It is the perfect ce to calm one¡¯s nerves. Besides, this corner of the garden was hidden behind aplex arrangement of nts, so no one would stop by unless they had reason.


    Inside the mansion there are people constantlying and going¨Ceven at night. There are few ces where a person can go to be alone.


    This ce was somewhere that Ordo had rmended to me. I still remember the restless tone he used when he murmured, ¡°the ideal ce to think up new ns,¡± at the time.


    The wind blew across my iron shoulders while I enjoyed the silence of this ce.......


    ¡°Miss Mte?¡±


    I heard my name called and looked around to see who else was here.


    Percival was watching me from a second floor terrace overlooking this section of the garden. Realizing that the gaze from my helmet had locked on to him, he lightly waved at me........before melodramatically tilting his head to the side.


    ¡°.......Wait a moment, perhaps the armor is moving by itself without permission. Is there a proper Mte in there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in here. You¡¯re quite rude aren¡¯t you?¡±


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    I turned my head away in a huff at Percival¡¯s teasing words. Probably thinking he was funny, I could feel him smiling above me. I guess this is his way of having fun.


    ¡°Miss Mte, what are you doing there?¡±


    ¡°Just as it looks. It¡¯s an intricate ce, so why don¡¯t you......¡±


    I forcefully swallowed the words I was about to say down my throat.


    A looming shadow dimmed visibility, and a calm breeze swept through the area. Raising my helmet up in astonishment, I saw a picture of golden hair standing out against the backdrop of inky darkness.


    Percival¡¯s body passed through the sky, heading straight for me. But rather than just describing him as having ¡®gotten off¡¯, it was more like he ¡®flew off.¡¯


    And when hended near me, he took a moment to correct the wrinkles that had formed in his outerwear as he flew. Hisnding was light as if such a leap were natural, and there was no tension or worry in him.


    I cannot believe that he jumped off the top of the first floor at such a height. It would be to the extent of having jumped down to the bottom of a stairway.


    Although I was stunned with his nonchntnding, I still managed to move my lips,


    ¡°Th.............That¡¯s dangerous,¡±


    and chide him.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°What would you do if you got hurt before tomorrow? If you fractured something then we would have to take you by dragging you in the dirt!¡±


    Or so I cried, but I could tell by Percival¡¯s face that he thought my worries needless. Instead, he changed the subject with a simple and easy to understand, ¡®By the way,¡±


    ¡°By the way......what was Miss Mte doing here?¡±


    ¡°I was <i>safely</i> bathing in the moonlight. <i>Safely, as in without causing injuries to myself.


    </i>


    <i> </i>¡°Oh, yes, being safe really is for the best.¡±


    Perhaps he was finally feeling some of the pressure in my words, but Percival responded with a dryugh and a bead of sweat flowing down his forehead.


    Then Percival slowly breathed out, and with a wistful look on his face, muttered, ¡°It¡¯s tomorrow.¡± At his words, I stopped chiding him and creakily nodded my helmet.


    It¡¯s tomorrow.


    We head towards the royal pce under Ordo¡¯smand tomorrow.


    It is because Emilia does not handle mornings well that we are aiming to strike at dawn. No matter how many times I told her against it, she would always stay upte making a funny prayer that things would go well for her and her dream, so the next morning she would trudge out of bed sleepily scratching her eyes and looking like her brain was made of mud.


    It was a warm memory. However, all it did was make my chest tighten now.


    But tonight would be thest time my heart would tighten like this.


    Tomorrow everything will end. No, I will end it.


    Thinking that way, I took a deep breath, and then I looked up towards Percival.


    ¡°Percival, what are you going to do once all this is over?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll spend my days being repeatedly beat upside the head with something resembling a brick.¡±


    ¡°......that¡¯s right huh.¡±


    In his matter-of-fact reply, I could do nothing else besides shrug my shoulders.


    Even in this ce, at this time he is talking about, ¡®something simr to bricks¡¯. What a tensionless person.......I was so amazed I unintentionally released arge sigh.........and took a breath.


    Percival¡¯s eyes narrowed, staring at me as if he were loving my frustration.


    Even though normally when someone stares at me my heartbeat quickens and a cold sweat would break out, for some reason I wasn¡¯t feeling like that now.


    My heartbeat still quickened, but my heart was getting warmer........


    ¡°........Percival.¡±


    ¡°Every day, I will be beaten by something simr to a brick.¡±


    ¡°W-Well, that¡¯s right.....¡±


    ¡°Then I can see Miss Mte every day.¡±


    Percival¡¯s eyes shined like a torch in the light as my eyes went wide from his words.


    It waspletely different from the serious look he has when acting as an escort knight or the light tone he takes whenever he is up to his usual mischief. And of course, it was very different from the first time I saw him where all you could see on his face was a mixture of despair, fear, and hostility.


    Right now he looked truly happy, almost like a child.


    I was hit straight on by such a smile and panickedly turned my helmet away.


    ¡°E-every day......I am a very busy witch! I will have to use a spell to remotely hit Percival with something simr to a brick every day!¡±


    ¡°Sure, you could do it with magic. So then, Miss Mte......¡±


    So then........enunciating his words and taking a breath, Percival pulled out a small box.


    It was a tiny thing that fit snugly in the palm of his hand. I was immediately curious as to what could be inside. The box itself was well made and looked sturdy, so the contents were surely something important.


    But when Percival put his hand forward as if to offer it to me, my eyes darted between it and Percival¡¯s face.


    ¡°This is?¡±


    ¡°.....Something simr to a brick.¡±


    ¡°Something simr to a brick!? It actually exists!?¡±


    My gaze quickly focused in on the box.


    It certainly never gave me the impression that it was ¡®brick-like.¡¯ In contrary to my reaction, Percival was looking a little restless.


    He refused to answer me when I asked him what was inside instead just urging me to ept it.


    Does he want me to open it up and check the contents for myself no matter what? I tilted my helmet curiously at this, but I decided to ept the box as he prompted me to.


    It was tied up in a beautiful ribbon. It was surprisingly light in my head and was be less and less ¡®brick-like¡¯ in my opinion.


    However, even by weighing the box I am unable to guess what could be inside, so there was nothing else for me to do other than unwinding the ribbon and opening the lid......


    ¡°This......¡±


    My voice cracked.


    Inside the box, a single flower presented itself. It was not a fresh flower, but its beauty was a fine work of art with a beauty and nobility that would not lose to a fresh cut flower.


    The silver petals were adorned with scattered lightly colored gems, and it shimmered with light before the box had been fully opened. Truly wondrous. I gently took hold of it and watched as the light changed shades every time I tilted it a different direction.


    Still the light was dim enough to not be a burden when worn in your hair.


    I remember this flower.


    I saw it in the town at the border, but I gave up on it because it did not suit me.......this, it was that flower hair essory.


    ¡°Percival, this......¡±


    ¡°.....It looks like a brick.¡±


    Percival unexpectedly turned away.


    His words shocked me and my eyes naturally fell to the hair ornament in my hand.


    Of course, it does not look like a brick at all. Although he continued to insist that it was certainly, ¡®brick-like¡¯.


    I watched puzzled as Percival¡¯s face continued to die in deeper shades of embarrassment, and most likely understanding my gaze from underneath my helmet was on him, he coughed into his hand.


    ¡°That is something simr to a brick. So......¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°.......So please ept it and hit me with it when everything is done.¡±


    Percival¡¯s voice told me that something was nagging him, and it was easy to see how tense he was at a nce.


    But I cannot afford to say anything against him, let alone make fun of him. Catching sight of his vibrant blue eyes causes my back to shiver, and his words, ¡°Of course I mean the Mte in the armor,¡± echo in my heart.


    Seriously, feverishly, his unsettled look caused my heart to tighten.


    The walls are closing in on me.


    Someone had hit a bell and my cheeks had suddenly started on fire while my heart beat so hard that it hurt.


    It seems like my brain is going to melt from the heat.


    I had lived almost my whole life inside the old castle, and as I looked at this flower in my hand, I had no idea what to call this emotion surging forth from my heart.


    A hair decoration that I gave up on because it did not suit me. I would feel no pleasure in crowing it upon my silver helmeted head, but it would be a waste to have such a beautiful ornament worn underneath where no one¡¯s eyes couldy upon it.


    Either way, I thought that it would be like throwing pearls before a swine, and I even thought it would be rude of me to purchase such a treasure.


    But, there was one alternative that I had never thought of.


    If I were to not wear my helmet and not cover myself, if I were to wear the ornament normally on top of my head......


    Such unusual thoughts sprung to mind as I looked at treasure I held, but then I noticed Percival was still watching me and ripped my gaze away towards him.


    He lookedpletely embarrassed, but he kept giving me an unsettled look with the implied question, ¡°Will you ept it?¡± Compared to his usual expression and the pure smile he wore earlier, he looked kind of miserable now.


    In spite of this, I found myself smiling slightly underneath my helmet before putting the hair ornament back in its box. I put it back carefully so as to avoid putting a scratch on it before slowly closing the lid and rewrapping the ribbon.


    ¡°Yes, it certainly seems like a brick now that you mention it.¡±


    ¡°I see.........um, yes. It¡¯s simr.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. When everything is over, I¡¯ll hit Percival with this every day.¡±


    Hearing my reply, Percival broke out into arge smile and excitedly nodded his head.

 Chapter 50 - Time for a Decision 1

    <h4>Time for a Decision 1</h4>


    Just by grasping how the royal castle will move in the event of an emergency, the sess rate of our surprise attack had dramatically improved.


    Besides, the domestic impression of Alexis could not be any lower, and it was the same for Percival who had gone with him. Although they had the help of a witch, there is no way that the royal castle would suspect us making a move so soon after we had just fled it.


    And to be bringing Ordo with us. Even if more time had gone by, they would never assume abined rebellion.


    Even if Percival and Alexis were to arrive at the royal castle, a battalion of knights would note running, and there was no sign that security had been strengthened.


    There would be a warning call, but even then there was a deep-rooted mockery against Alexis embedded in the hearts of the knights. They would never think that, ¡®the unfaithful prince who misused government expenses and ran away from the royal castle,¡¯ would evere bearing down on them with Ordo¡¯s forces.


    The curse was too strong, and it caused our enemies to grow careless.


    ¡°There will be minimal contact. People in the urban area will avoid us, and you can think of the outfielders as not even being there.¡±


    It was Gina who wasughing so graciously.


    She held a sleeping Concetta in her arms while elegantly walking as if she were attending a ball. However, contrary to the lightness of her behavior, she was currently casting a wide-ranging spell.


    So that people in the city would not notice this march, they would avoid going near the royal pce.


    It was a spell developed as it was passed down the Avelkin family.


    The citizens would allfortably oversleep, and if they were already awake, they would end up forgetting or evenpletely ignoring any business they had near the castle. The person themselves would not think much about the incident, would see the mass-oversleeping as just a rare incident brought about by the change of the season........and would naturally turn their feet away from the castle.


    I watched her deftly using her magic with a warm look in my eyes, but my gaze was drawn elsewhere when I heard another voice.


    Percival had returned with several knights following him.


    He stopped in front of Ordo saying, ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± The tone of his voice sank a bit, and the expression he wore was going past serious and had gone a little stiff.


    But that should be natural. When he reached the royal pce with those few apanying knights, he immediately headed towards a watch point in the vicinity. And sealed their movements.


    ording to Percival, the watchmen guards shift at equal intervals, and they regrmunicate their status even if nothing is going on. Because he is familiar with the system, he knocked out a guard who was once his friend, and he sent out the message, ¡®There is no problem.¡¯


    His treachery has begun, and although he was determined, there is no way he would be in a good mood.


    ¡°They won¡¯t notice what has happened for awhile. I also sabotaged theirmunication ry, so even if they do realize what is going on, it will take time for reinforcements to arrive.¡±


    ¡°I see. How many are there in house?¡±


    ¡°At this time there should be no knights inside to speak of.¡±


    ¡°Right. Then we should only have to worry about the regr guards and the few knights they can summon from outside right away. Alright men, don¡¯t move out of the witch¡¯s protection.¡±


    Ordo addressed his men.


    He had hand-picked elite knights from his retinue. The number of people was small, but their strength was considerable.


    But no matter how skilled with a sword a knight is, they cannot stand before magic. Rather, if they are enthralled by Emilia¡¯s magic, then the more elite they are, the greater the risk is as having them be our enemies.


    These personal were selected with this in consideration. Can you say that this is Ordo¡¯s trust in them?


    ¡°For today, anyints or objections are strictly forbidden. Anyone who shows any frustration with me will be dealt with immediately.¡±


    Ordo was forced to go with extreme measures as a countermeasure against Emilia¡¯s magic.


    Any dissatisfaction orints made could be a sign they had been infected by magic. The n was to reap the consciousness of anyone who showed even the slightest sign of being affected.


    The men might not care now, but the magic could bring up lingering dissatisfaction with Ordo or bring out resentment for the current situation in their chests, and it would grow without their notice from there.


    Hearing all of this, the knights shared a look between each other. Not just an insult, but even a smallint would lead to such treatment, it would be natural to wonder if a witch¡¯s curse could really be that powerful..........


    I watched those knights ruminating among themselves before turning my gaze to towards Ordo.


    ¡°No questioning might be a little much.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it. Knights who have been trained this much should be able to do this much.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten paid to leave early, long holidays, and sick days. Ordo would kill me if I skimped out here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good to be healthy. Right, are we going?¡±


    Through all the knights¡¯ appeals, Ordo spread out the sketch of the royal castle he was holding in his hand.


    Of course, I know that their answers are jokes. Rather than speaking vows of loyalty, jokes are better for relieving tension while simultaneously disying one¡¯smitment. This was a service to help everyone involved.


    However, they were somewhat awkward, and I could still see the anxiety on their faces. Still, they continued to tell jokes while forcing a smile.


    Were they refusing to buckle running off of a man¡¯s pride alone? I nodded my head once without mentioning anything so as to avoid distracting them.


    The royal castle was acting as usual with no indication that their were intruders on the premises.


    Our small group moved quickly yet carefully. Even though not a single person had breathed a word about our presence, this was the royal castle where the king of a nation lived. There are people constantlying and going.


    Not just the guards patrolling the interior, but maids as well. Ordo¡¯s response to running across people was always the same, ¡°You¡¯ve earned yourself a good nap.¡± That meant a lot of unconscious bodies. There was no difference in treatment between men or women, and even the young servant girls were brought down. Girls........it is a mistake to expect this man to treat you differently just because you are a girl.


    But of course we do not have the time nor the means to stop and try to convince every single person we walk across, but the sight was still enough to make even the bitter Alexis divert his eyes away as much as possible.


    As for Ordo, he looked perfectly normal as if he were just taking a stroll in his own mansion, and Gina,


    ¡°Oh my Concetta, you bit someone again.


    she was praising Concetta who had bit a patrolling knight¡¯s ankle causing him to release a loud groan.


    No matter how thick, and adorable, and fluffy he is, Concetta is still a cat. He is also a familiar. He jumps forward with a roaring voice and a wild look in his eyes faster than most people canprehend, sinking his razor sharp fangs and ws imbued with magic into the feet of his prey. Of course, the ankle was targeted to prevent the target from moving.


    The caught knight would always copse with a groan, blood flowing from his ankle forming a puddle next to him. As expected of Gina¡¯s familiar.


    Robertson was surprisingly fiercelypetitive after seeing Concetta¡¯s sesses.


    Using swift, eye-catching movements, he approached a maid from behind. In order to avoid having her scream, he jumped right onto her hand and bit her. His quickness could only be described as splendid, and his movements as he bounced off the walls and ceilings were something that would be impossible to predict even if you saw himing.


    The little bite left the maid woozy on her feet, causing her to lean against the wall for support until inevitably copsing. It was a method thatpletely prevented her from calling for help, let alone warning any nearby people.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been worried about this since awhile ago, but why do people copse whenever Robertson bites them? ......huh, poison? You¡¯re poisonous?¡±


    The word ¡®poison¡¯ got stuck on my lips.


    Apparently Robertson has a poison that is capable of numbing people. I guess his bite became more powerful after bing my familiar. What a reliable familiar I have.


    And so we continued through the intricate royal castle dealing with everyone we came across............until suddenly I had to stop.


    Something bone chilling hade over me. The source of that coldness was.........the pouch hanging at my waist. It should be the ne resting inside.


    ¡°.......Mte, so you also noticed.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Emilia has gotten up.¡±


    ¡°Apparently she didn¡¯t feel like staying uptest night.¡±


    Gina¡¯s voice was lower than it had been before, but she did not look worried as her magical protections had not been disturbed. Concetta had also purred slightly, and his fluffy tail had risen slightly.


    Surmising the situation from our remarks, the knights became reinvigorated, and an alertness returned to their figures once again. Ordo turned to face them.


    ¡°Okay, here we shall divide in two. You men are to leave the castle as soon as you are finished.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You know the rendezvous point. Wait there, but if you start to embrace any suspicions towards me, abandon me and return home.¡±


    ¡°.........Yes.¡±


    The expressions of the knights went rigid at the word, ¡°abandon.¡±


    But they reluctantly nodded their heads in agreement when Ordo told them he would be safe.


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡°Please be careful.....¡±


    Those, were the words I used for this seperation.


    Noticing my uneasiness, Percival ced his hand on the shoulder of my armor in some small way tofor me.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll bring him back safely.¡±


    ¡°.......Yes.¡±


    Even though there was no time to spare, before separating, the surrounding knights offered me some encouraging words and confident smiles. They did not move until I nodded my approval, and then they rushed off quickly.


    The silver color of their armor shined after receiving the light from the mansion.


    Those of us left behind watched that glow slowly disappear......and then we headed towards a different ce than them.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on......?¡±


    These were Emilia¡¯s words as she was shaken awake.


    The maid who had woken her up ignored those words, handing over a coat and urging her out of the room.


    Normally acting gently, this was a maid who had always looked towards her with loving eyes as Emilia slowly rose out of bed slovenly scratching the sleep out of her eyes.


    Emilia had gotten used to hearing the words, ¡°Well, it¡¯s already noon,¡± apanied with a bitterugh when she woke up, but this time the voice she heard was harsh apanied by words of, ¡°Quickly, we must hurry.¡±


    The maid¡¯s expression was grim, and Emilia quickly realized it would be better to listen rather than going back to sleep.


    ¡°Quietly. To avoid anyone nearby from noticing....... Prince Rodel will being as well.¡±


    ¡°Rodel? Hey, what happened.......?¡±


    Leaving the room while being pulled along by the maid¡¯s hand, they walked down the hall while holding their breaths.


    The inside of the royal pce was just as it usually was despite the maid¡¯s urgent attitude. It was quiet, and there were less peopleing and going than there were during the afternoon. Emilia was weak to mornings and had never roamed the halls at this time before, although something simr to now had happened several times before.


    But for some reason, there was a strange unrest this time. Emilia reflexively ced her hand to her chest, and she wrapped her hand around the amulet ne she wore. No matter what, she had worn this ne underneath her clothes no matter how fine of jewelry she received........


    Emilia thought it strange to only worry about it this morning. Was there a reason why it felt like it was hurting her skin? This thought was dully running in her subconsciously.


    In one room they eventually passed through, Rodel¡¯s figure was standing tall.


    His expression looked grim as well, but it rxed a little upon noticing that Emilia had arrived.


    ¡°Emilia, I¡¯m d you¡¯re safe.¡±


    ¡°Rodel, what is.......?¡±


    ¡°My uncle has attacked with his knights........ And there are reports that he has my brother and a witch with him as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s, Alexis. Then the witch is probably.........¡±


    Emilia¡¯s face turned pale in an instant as a story too outrageous for her toprehend was brought before her. But before Emilia could ask any of her building questions, Rodel took her hand as there was no time to exin.


    ¡°Emilia, we must escape to a safe ce for now.¡±


    ¡°Escape......?¡±


    ¡°Yes that¡¯s right. It seems we cannot contact the knights stationed outside right now, so we cannot ask for any reinforcements. It is best for us to find a safe ce to hide, and wait for our knights to deal with things. Even if they have brought a witch with them, they cannot defeat a royal family who isn¡¯t here. I we have to do is escape, and our enemy will not have time toe search for us.¡±


    Emilia nodded her head without knowing what Rodel was really urging her to do.....but then she reflexively looked back when she heard a sound on the other side of the room.


    *Creak* It was a high-pitched, drawn out noise from the door slowly swinging open.


    Emilia cuddled up to Rodel, but her eyes remained glued to who had walked through the now open door........


    ¡°.............Sister Mte.¡±


    and then called the name of the full body suit of armor that stood there.

 Chapter 51 - Time for a Decision Part 2

    <h4>Time for a Decision Part 2</h4>


    ¡°Emilia, please calmly listen to me.¡±


    Emilia stared at the suit of armor that walked into the room with a bit of embarrassment in her as she realized that just hearing her sister Mte¡¯s voice was enough to calm down so much of the anxiety that had been building up inside her. If it were not for the heavy air pervading through the room, she would have been jumping for joy with heartfelt cheer.


    But when Emilia peeked over Mte¡¯s shoulder as the door closed behind her, she saw a guard lying on the ground. He was probably intended to guard this room. Who had defeated him? Did someonee there along with Mte, or.......?


    Either way, it meant that Mte was somehow involved in this mess, and she had somehow interfered with the security of this room. Realizing that, Emilia called out to her beloved sister.


    ¡°Sister Mte, why........¡±


    ¡°Emilia, are you aware that you are a witch?¡±


    ¡°Witch? I am?¡±


    Who is? Doubt started to spread across Emilia¡¯s face.


    There was no trace of falsehoods or deceit in Mte¡¯s tone, so for Emilia that doubt was more steered towards why a question like that would be asked under these circumstances.


    But more than anything Emilia doubted the fact that she could be a witch.


    Certainly the Idira family was a family of witches, but they had thrown away their magic and their name as witches long ago. Now the family was an aristocratic one who lived in society, and not a single one of them had something like a familiar. It was so long ago that none of their rtives ever really even talked about it.


    The first Emilia had even heard about their heritage was when she found out that all Mte had taken with her to the old castle was the collection of magical books that her family still had.


    In the first ce, Emilia found it hard to imagine what magic was. She had never seen a witch before until her beloved sister had shown up before her once again iming to be one¨Calthough even then she had not ¡®seen¡¯ her. Descriptions of witches were absent in their house, and there were even those who would shut down conversations with a, ¡°That¡¯s how they are,¡± leaving any information to hearsay and idle gossip.


    For Emilia that was all magic was.


    And even if she had been given an opportunity to learn magic, she would have much preferred to spend her time learning more about the proper mannerisms and beautiful behavior for a princess.


    With these circumstances, why on earth would anyone think she could be a witch?


    So Emilia appealed.


    She tried to hold back her trembling voice, but all that did was make her hands shiver instead.


    When he noticed, Rodel stretched out his arms before Emilia as if to protect her. It was to support Emilia, and it seemed like he believed he could protect her from anything. There was a strong alertness in his eyes.


    Even though her sister would not hurt her.........no, even though it seemed like she wouldn¡¯t, Rodel¡¯s presence was stillforting to her, and she unconsciously called out his name. His eyes were sharp with vignce, but he still made sure to give her a sideways look and aforting smile.


    ¡°Mte, why are you trying to deceive Emilia?¡±


    ¡°I am not misleading her.¡±


    ¡°Then what is your purpose? You havee here with my hated older brother and an enemy of the royal family, so why are you......¡±


    Alexis, who once threw out nothing but insults towards Mte and abandoned their engagement, and Ordo, who was kicked out of the royal family due to the high risk factor of him starting a rebellion. It was a personal selection that should be unthinkable for Mte.


    Mte¡¯s response to that was a t, ¡°Ordo is just doing whates naturally to him.¡± ¨CAt that moment Ordo, who was inside a luxurious mansion not far from them, released a violent sneeze and red at the person standing next to Gina.¨C


    However, following this was a very serious voice saying, ¡°As for Alexis......¡±


    ¡°Those words were never his true nature in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°..........Sister Mte, what does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Everything was caused by Emilia¡¯s magic.............It was all your doing.¡±


    Hearing Mte¡¯s sudden usal, Emilia gasped.


    However Rodel looked like he wasn¡¯t believing any of it. With hatred in his eyes, he looked as if he were about to me Mte of some unspeakable crime.


    No, he really was ming her. In the momentum of this attack, here she was trying to pass the me onto Emilia for all the misdeeds Alexis had perpetrated over the past year. It was impossible for him not to get angry, and even though he was unable to see inside the helmet, he did his best to meet her gaze with an intimidating re.


    Towards such a Rodel, Mte provided little thought and did her best to describe every terrible, indescribably thing that had happened.


    Just like she was trying to only state the facts. As if she were forcibly repressing her own emotions.


    From the beginning, right to this moment. Mte recanted everything that ¡®Emilia Idira¡¯s magic¡¯ had caused.


    To call the story shocking would do it a disservice, and Emilia felt the blood drain from her face. Her heart was writhing in pain, and her limbs felt cold and numb.


    ¡°That¡¯s, I........because instead of my sister, I.......¡±


    Mte was abused as an ugly wretch because of her.


    Mte was tossed away and her engagement canceled because of her.


    Because of her wishes, Alexis had tossed away Mte in favor of her, and now she had tossed away Alexis in favor of Rodel.


    Emilia¡¯s voice came out in short croaks.


    Then she looked down because she realized she was wearing fine quality sleepwear. Obviously it was not decadently adorned with jewels, but they were pajamas made from the finest quality fabrics and a design so intricate that it was a waste to only wear them for bedtime.


    Originally, when she woke up, she had already taken out a gorgeous dress that she had been nning to wear. She was going to match that gorgeous dress with some flower embroidery and a neden with arge jewel, or so she thought.


    What was today¡¯s schedule........that¡¯s right, she was supposed to meet up with some well known designers to make up the dress she was to wear for a party she was attending next month. After sharing a cup of tea, she was to change into another dress for the nned evening party Rodel had invited her to.


    Changing from a high quality nightdress to a gorgeous dress, and then an extravagant party dress.........


    Certainly you would say a person living like this was livingvishly.


    Just like a ¡®sparkling princess¡¯.


    ¡°But then, Alexis said sister.......¡±


    ¡°Alexis swore I was far too ugly, but Emilia, was I really ugly?¡±


    ¡°........Huh?¡±


    ¡°We were closer to each other than anyone else could ever dream to be, but do you remember what I look like Emilia?¡±


    When she was asked, Emilia wondered what her sister could possibly be talking about.......and then her expression distorted in confusion.


    ¡°.........Why, I cannot remember my sister¡¯s face.......I can¡¯t remember something I spent so much time with.¡±


    Even though she tried to remember, the only face for Mte she could remember was something hazy as if someone had taken a pencil eraser to her memories.


    She used to be with her from morning to end. When she went to bed, they would face each other under the covers and say, ¡°Good night,¡± and whenever she woke upte in the morning, Mte¡¯s bitter smile would always be there to wee her.


    Mte¡¯s face was there at the beginning of the day, and it was there at the end of the day.


    Even though she had seen her face more often than she had looked at her own in the mirror,


    she couldn¡¯t remember.


    Her voice, the time they spent together, she could remember every single painting that they had drawn together.


    Even though Mte¡¯s face was famous for being hideously ugly, there was not a single memory that Emilia could dredge up where Mte¡¯s face appeared.


    ¡°Sister, I......¡±


    ¡°Emilia, you were so worried about me, but not once did you ever say, ¡®You are not ugly,¡¯ or ¡®Who could think you are ugly?¡¯¡±


    ¡°...........That is, no, I¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all because of a witch¡¯s magic.¡±


    ¡°Everything was to make Emilia Idira a sparkling princess.


    Everything was to keep Emilia Idira as a sparkling princess.¡±


    With a clouded gaze, Emilia heard Mte¡¯s final conclusion and felt as if someone had locked her in a cage. It hurt. All she could manage was a few shallow breaths, and it felt like her heart was about to tear itself in two it was tightening so much.


    The question of ¡®what on earth¡¯ had evolved into ¡®perhaps¡¯. The memory of so many past events ran through her mind, appearing in new light with every doubt in herself that had been built up, and with each new doubt that umted in her, her heart continued to tighten until she had gonepletely numb from the pain.


    Certainly, she had never once told her beloved older sister, ¡®You are not ugly,¡¯ as far as she could remember. Encouraging or supporting Mte, the most she had done was feel a little anxious about her being alone in the old castle, and even then all she had done was send her a few insignificant letters. Even Alexis, the person who had supposedly driven her there, had tried to get in contact with her and sent her presents.


    Why? She couldn¡¯t understand. She had loved her older sister from the bottom of her heart, and she thought she wanted to spend time together with her again more than anything else in the world.


    It wasn¡¯t just Emilia. Nobody else had so much as sent word to Mte. Their family had not even attempted to bring her back out of the castle.


    If she is hurting, then it is better to let her slowly heal on her own¨Cwas the thought process they had used.


    But isn¡¯t that too strange? Their parents were not people who were harsh orcked in love. On the contrary, the two sisters had practically bathed in it.


    Originally, would they not have tried tofort and bring Mte back? Even if they were to remain silent on the matter, something as absurd as leaving her to stew all alone in the old castle without so much as an escort or a chaperone isn¡¯t funny!


    It was the same with Alexis.


    Had he ever acted the way the rumors described him as?


    He was always a kind person. He was always a respectable person.


    He was diligent, and even though there was that act against her sister, Emilia had always held respect for him and longed to help him. She had always wanted to be a finedy who could support him before those supposed transgressions of his were revealed.


    But, when she thought about it, why would someone as gentle as Alexis ever use such a violent attack against Mte?


    And she should have never believed that someone who loved his country and his citizens so much would ever act unfaithfully and steal from the national treasury.


    When she thought about it once again, everything was strained and distorted.


    And then the biggest distortion of all came to Emilia¡¯s mind. Why had she never felt ufortable or sad that all this was happening to people she loved?


    And the answer was,


    ¡°I am.........to be a sparkling princess I.......¡±


    Bit by bit, Emilia started to piece things together, and then the suit of armor in front of her nodded its helmet with a creak.


    ¡°........I prayed for a long time. I thought about you every night. That is, my magic. I am your sister, and Alexis........¡±


    ¡°Emilia, let¡¯s go to Ordo¡¯s ce together. You won¡¯t be able to live the life of luxury you have been until now, but I¡¯ll talk to Ordo about making sure you are taken care of.¡±


    ¡°To Sir Ordo.......¡±


    Emilia¡¯s voice had some hesitation mixed into it.


    There was a regret about the part of her that could still not ept the truth¨Cmixed in the with the insurmountable guilt she felt over what she had done to Mte and her own inability to recognize what was happening because of her own arrogant wish. And then there was the fear about what the future held and the fear of her own identity as a witch.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Everything was getting meshed together, and she was feeling overwhelmed. Then, she raised her face and saw a silver-colored hand presenting itself forward with a crisp sound.


    ¡°Sister Mte......¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Emilia. Together,¡±


    Mte¡¯s words suddenly stopped.


    It was Rodel who had interrupted her. He grabbed hold of Emilia¡¯s rising hand and restrained her after she took her first step.


    Rodel¡¯s expression had never lost the vignce he held in his eyes, but it had transformed into something holding hostility as if he were about to attack any moment now. When Emilia turned her gaze away from Mte to look at him, she recoiled after seeing the aggression in his expression.


    ¡°Rodel, with my sister I am......¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you Emilia!? Why are you believing all her lies?¡±


    ¡°My sister would not lie to me. And I have already understood.......this is all my fault.¡±


    So I have to go, Emilia appealed. She then tried to push herself out from Rodel¡¯s grasp and reached out towards Mte. A silver and slightly shaking hand reached out to meet her.


    Then, at the moment when the beautiful white hand like porcin ovepped with the silver-ted carapace......,


    ¡°Everything being because of a witch, there is no way something that convenient could be true!!!¡±


    Shouting out in an infuriated voice, Rodel grabbed Emilia¡¯s arm and tore her away with brute force.


    A high-pitched scream escaped Emilia¡¯s lips at that moment. She was torn away from her elder sister and looked on to her fiancee in astonishment. But in the next moment, her eyes went round because his expression, the one that usually carried a calm and gentlemanly smile, was distorted into one of rage and hatred.


    She had never seen him have such a cold expression before. Fear began to gush up inside her, and the arm he was gripping started to ache.


    ¡°Rodel, please let me go......¡±


    Emilia called out to Rodel in a hesitant voice. Following afterward was Mte¡¯s voice who was asking him the same thing.


    However, neither of their pleas reached Rodel¡¯s ears as his crazed eyes turned towards Mte as if she were a bug in his way. In a flurry of movement, he rushed forward and swung his fist as if he meant to hit her, only for a sharp short knife to be pulled out in his hand.


    It was probably something originally meant for self-defense. He probably thought that either he could not defeat a fully armored opponent without a ded weapon or maybe he was just rational enough to realize it would hurt to punch a suit of iron armor.


    A high-pitched screech echoed out as the de of the knife collided with iron, the resulting resonation caused the armor to take a step back and shake. Did he mean to push the armor down and sink his de into one of the armor¡¯s gaps.......?


    Everything was eerily quiet for a second before the sound of copsing armor meshed together with Emilia¡¯s screams.


    ¡°Sister Mte!¡±


    ¡°Emilia, get over here. You¡¯reing with me!¡±


    Rodel jumped out of the room without even offering so much as a sideways nce to the suit of armor he had just stabbed while forcibly dragging Emilia by her arm. Emilia tried to shake herself free while continuously calling out Mte¡¯s name, but there was no response to her cries and Rodel¡¯s grip was too tight for her to slip away.


    Even so, she continued to call out to Mte with tears in her eyes towards the copsed body she had been talking to just a moment before.


    Thest thing she saw of the silver-colored armor that had fallen to the floor.......was arge spider rolling out of the helmet.

 Chapter 52 - Time for a Decision 3

    <h4>Time for a Decision 3</h4>


    Feeling the fact that my spell had lost all its power, I took a deep breath inside my helmet.


    This ce was outside the royal castle. His Majesty had already been caught and control of the castle had more or less been aplished. Emilia¡¯s magic was a problem, but we also had to figure out how to deal with the reinforcement knights that would certainly being. We solved that problem by controlling the flow of information and selectively dealing with them as they came.


    When one of the city lords had noticed the unusual state of the castle, he was naturally confused, but since he was captured shortly after arriving, there was nothing that any of his men could do. For the knights as well, by the time they noticed anything was amiss, they were already in checkmate.


    Most of the credit for this was due to Ordo¡¯s subordinates who were able to carry out his orders to the letter using swift and effective methods.


    The movement of the outfield had been equally advantageous as Gina¡¯s magic had sessfully kept any curious onlookers away, and anyone trying to send word out to the crowds had beenpletely stifled by Percival. We had made our move in the early morning and attacked. We had gone to action with only the best possible conditions for us, but it was still a miracle that we were finishing with a result of almost zero damage to our side.


    .......However the biggest problem with this assault has always been the threat of a witch¡¯s curse. That¡¯s why no one could rest easily until Emilia had been secured.


    That¡¯s why everything was supposed to be finished with me, but with the copse of my spell, there was nothing for me to do but pick up my parchment and put it back in my pouch.


    Percival who was overlooking the situation noticed my movement and asked, ¡°Are you finished?¡± There was a small bit of worry dyed into his voice, but I was currently only capable of looking up at him and giving a small nod in reply.


    I had to make sure to look at him from the side of my helmet in order to block the sight of my eyes from his view, but I was still able to see him narrow his eyes slightly.


    ¡°It must be tiring to use magic with an unfamiliar helmet.¡±


    ¡°.......I agree.¡±


    I halfheartedly responded to Percival¡¯s musings.


    Indeed I am currently wearing a suit of armor that I am all around unfamiliar with, and I have been using magic to remotely manipte the armor I usually wear¨Cfatigue has naturally been building up. Of course, it was not physical, but mental fatigue which was wearing me down.


    But I cannotin about that right now, and Percival must have understood my feelings because he said no more on the subject. As I picked myself up from my seat on the floor, I tried to return to a more joking mood saying, ¡°More than anything this new armor gives me extremely stiff shoulders,¡± and he gave me a bitter smile in return.


    I wonder if my voice had sounded a little brighter, but as expected it is impossible for me to hide the shadow in my facial expression...even if I am wearing a helmet that covers my face.


    While thinking about that, Gina, who was watching over me the whole time I was controlling my armor, spoke to the familiar resting in her arms.


    ¡°Please go pick up Robertson, Concetta.¡±


    Please, and after listening to Gina¡¯s request and jumping out of her arms with a small *plop*, he sang out a ¡°Nya¡± before walking off.


    I was a little uneasy to see Concetta walk off alone in all this confusion, but his back as me moved forward exuded dignity. Red blotches marked his fur and cute little feet, leaving behind red footprints as he left. How dependable he is.


    I decided to entrust Robertson to such a Concetta.


    I held down my chest with the back of my hand. An unpleasant feeling like a whirlpool barreling around in my chest remained no matter how much I tried to joke things off. Emilia¡¯s voice heard through my magic was as if she were right in front of me, and the pained look on her face continued to etch itself in my mind causing my heart to burst.


    I took a deep breath out as if to expel some of these worries while Ordo, who had finished giving out follow up instructions to his subordinates, walked up to us.


    ¡°Difficulties Mte. What happened to your armor?¡±


    ¡°It was knocked down, and the helmet probably fell off.¡±


    ¡°How did that happen?¡±


    ¡°.....Rodel. Emilia tried toe with me, but Rodel found it hard to ept the situation.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so now both of my nephews have caused you undue difficulties. I am sorry.¡±


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡°No, I do not mind.¡±


    I responded with a smile hidden underneath my helmet as Ordo exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders and berated Alexis. It was a wonderful apology on his part, and presented in typical Ordo fashion.


    However, he did not seem too keen on the joke as it was not long before he returned to a sour mood and spat out a small, ¡°Idiot,¡± underneath his breath. I narrowed my eyes slightly inside my helmet, and even Alexis and Percival who overheard him raised an eyebrow at the serious frustration inside that one word.


    But there was nothing that could be done. Even after listening to me exin everything, Rodel escaped with Emilia without acknowledging anything. He pushed over the suit of armor that was reaching out towards him.........


    Without knowing that it was moving due to a witch¡¯s spell.


    ¡°The armor copsed, the helmet fell away, and the magic the armor was basking in faded away. Right now Rodel is being manipted by a witch¡¯s curse.......¡±


    Hearing my mutterings, Ordo nodded his head as he had a clear understanding of the situation.


    Prior to this expedition starting, I put a curse on the armor I normally wear.


    I put on a suit of armor that was normally lined up in the hallways of Ordo¡¯s mansion, and from this ce I moved my normal armor away as if there was someone inside. Both Emilia and Rodel¡¯s voices were clearly transmitted to me through Robertson who was inside the armor.


    But I never tried to indiscriminately curse them.


    If Emilia had taken my hand and Rodel followed suit, I nned to guide them to where Ordo was waiting without resorting to magic. At the time I would have even apologized for talking to them through an empty suit of armor.


    However, the end result was Rodel giving in to anger and knocking down that armor.


    The helmet was detached from the impact along with Robertson who was mediating the magic from inside.........and the curse that was basking in there was released.


    ¡°But what are you going to do about the cursed Rodel? Why are we waiting here?¡±


    Or so Ordo asked.


    We have already captured His Majesty, and we can say that we had been victorious in our original rebellion. But, as Emilia was with Rodel, you cannot say that things are finished.


    No matter in what way Rodel is cursed, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s finish up with this,¡± would be out of the question. Still, Ordo was being more impatient than I would have thought. Of course considering the strength of Emilia¡¯s magic, I suppose it is natural that he would be worried until things hadpletely ended.


    In response to such an Ordo, I tried to calm him down by saying, ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡±


    ¡°If we wait here, the two of them wille to us.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they will try to escape here.¡±


    ¡°There are a countless number of escape routes in the royal pce.¡±


    There was on way to be sure, was what Ordo was trying to argue, but his gaze still turned towards the door of the decayed hut we were stationed in.


    There were a countless number of escape routes in the royal pce, and there was a different exit for each one of them. There were also various roads that lead to houses and shelters for them to rest in.


    There was one worn-out path that had received minimal care which went underground and connected to a road that led to this old cabin. It was just one of the many escape routes Alexis had learned from his father.


    Rodel should choose the safest path among the escape routes that he knows. Choosing a random one or whichever one leads to a cozier shelter......it is nothing like that.


    So Ordo argued, but I responded by shaking my head.


    Indeed <i>normally </i>it would be impossible to know if he woulde here. But Rodel and Emilia would appear here.


    I spoke with certainty, and everyone¡¯s gazes fell on me.


    ¡°Rodel and Emilia will definitelye here. They will choose toe here.....they have no other choice.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Rodel¡¯s curse is not part of the magic that makes him want to turn Emilia into a ¡®sparkling princess¡¯. It is a curse that a witch purposely threw on him. Rodel has been cursed with some bad luck, and now no matter what he does, he will be moving to his own ruin.¡±


    Rodel cannot help but to choose this escape path because of the curse I ced on him. Perhaps he will unconsciously choose it, maybe he will think he is going one way and choose this one by mistake, perhaps he will choose a different escape route and then run to this hut, perhaps he will be joined by a guard and the guard will rush him here, perhaps Emilia will make a choice and have hime this way......


    Now that he has been cursed, bad luck will chase him, and his final destination will be his ruin.


    ¡°That is the witch¡¯s curse.¡±


    So I told all of them with a deep breath.


    Emilia¡¯s secret desires had identally brought about a curse, but I had used the same curse on purpose to put an end to everything.


    It was ironic......and a painful smile spread underneath my helmet as I suddenly heard a loud noise a little ways away.


    The door shook. It opened slowly with a loud creak from its rusted hinges, and the face that appeared once it was fully open.......

 Chapter 53 - Time for a Decision 4

    <h4>Time for a Decision 4</h4>


    ¡°Why.......?¡±


    Who muttered such?


    Emilia and Rodel had a startled look on their faces when they opened the doors and saw everyone waiting for them. Above all, it was probably most shocking to see a suit of armor among the crowd, making them realize that the armor they had talked with and that Rodel had stabbed was empty from the very beginning.


    Both of them realizing they had been deceived, Rodel¡¯s expression had be clouded while relief washed over Emilia¡¯s face at seeing that her sister was fine and well.


    The two walked in showingpletely opposite expressions, but when Ordo took a step forward and greeted them, ¡°Yo, you two,¡± their faces twisted into the same frightened expression. Was he using a light tone in celebration due to his victory, or was he going for intimidation by showing how much leeway he had in the current situation? Realizing that either option would have been typical Ordo behavior, Mte took a deep sigh inside her helmet.


    Looking at such an Ordo and then eyeing Alexis standing next to him, Emilia and Rodel¡¯s faces were both pale.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the two of you arriving together like this nice?¡±


    Ordo focused his eyes on the two of them whileughing heartily.


    He looked like he was having fun, but he also had a great interest in how the n had gone on so wlessly until the end. Although he was smiling, for a single second his eyes became sharp as he lowly muttered, ¡°So this is a curse,¡± in a deep voice. It was only for that second, so nobody noticed the change before he switched back to his usual smile.


    Rodel red at that obnoxious while being simultaneously confused by the words said with that smile. Alexis too was watching Ordo curiously.


    ¡°Brother, do you know what it is that you have done?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I know.¡±


    ¡°This is a betrayal against the people. Mother, Father!¡±


    Alexis looked down on his brother as Rodel riddled him withints of betrayal,.........and he simply returned them with an, ¡°I know.¡± There was no tremble in his voice that showed any regret, nor was there any signs of hesitation. His voice was not heated by anger, nor was it chilled with hatred. He spoke as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.


    Hearing him, Rodel¡¯s eyes went wide in disbelief.


    Then a scowl spread formed and his eyebrows creased as he turned his gaze away. Most likely, he was remembering every fight and painful memory of Alexis he had made over the past year.


    Next to him, Emilia¡¯s face was pointed down as if the weight of what she had caused was so heavy that she was unable to lift her head to look at Alexis.


    ¡°So brother, all of it being a witch.......¡±


    ¡°I know it was. It was certainly all due to a witch¡¯s curse. But witches have been around since long ago. A rebellion caused by a witch, it¡¯s nothing new.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s, brother.......¡±


    ¡°There was also a struggle for inheritance within the royal family, the denial of the oldest son his right to take the throne¨Cwhenpared to therger world, this isn¡¯t an umon story. The only detail was that a witch¡¯s curse was involved in this incident. It¡¯s not an unbelievable story...........as evidenced by being what has happened.¡±


    Talking simply, Alexis then looked up towards Ordo.


    His eyes showed that he wanted his uncle to confess something, and knowing exactly what that something was, Ordo made a wicked smile before exaggeratedly shrugging his shoulders. ¡°It was only ast resort though,¡± was the inexplicable reply he gave while his deep brown eyes were locked with Alexis¡¯s.


    In other words, Ordo had been thinking about drawing a witch to his side long before this incident had started to take root. That was why he had taken considerations and knew that, ¡°Hospitality for a witch is a troublesome thing,¡± when there was no real witch family in this country.


    But witches are not easy to handle, and if you are not careful you can end up wrapped around their finger. And if a witch did not care enough about him, then there is a chance they will just t out refuse to meet him. For Ordo asking a witch for help was ast resort, something to only be used when is back waspletely against the wall.


    ¡°Originally I was keeping an eye on Mte, but her aptitude as a witch was unknown. I was digging for information to see if I could count on her, or if I should seek the help of a different witch.¡±


    ¡°.......and then you picked up a servant who came with a witch attached.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was a very lucky find. I got everything I ever wanted.¡±


    Ordo broke out into another fit of jubntughter, but all Alexis did was shrug his shoulders, shake his head, and marvel at howrge his uncle¡¯s ambition was.


    Towards this Mte found herself sighing once again before turning to look at Gina who had a bit of irritation on her face, and even Percival, who had yet to drop his guard since Rodel had entered the room, was looking plenty amazed. He had been keeping an eye on potential witch¡¯s to help him, and then in one turn he obtained two witches and a witch yer on his team and stole the throne.......


    What kind of luck is that? If Ordo had the added benefit of someone like Emilia¡¯s magic.......Mte shuddered to think about it, and having had the same thoughts, Gina ced her hand on the younger witch¡¯s shoulder and shook her head.


    ¡°Sometimes you get people with strong luck like Ordo. When you have witches, curses, and even the goddess of victory¡¯s blessing, there is little that can be done.¡±


    Ordo enjoyed Gina¡¯s words with an evenrger, boastful smile andpletely ignored the tired sigh she had made afterwards.


    In an extremely disgusting tone heughed, ¡°I¡¯m not that amazing!¡± in a way that would make anyone who had even an ounce of humility immediately die of embarrassment.


    Alexis shook his head at such an Ordo before turning his eyes back on Rodel.


    ¡°Rodel, we should have been thinking like this as well.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°We were born to a royal family in a world where witches exist, yet we took no measures against them. We decided they had nothing to do with us and put no thought to those witches in foreign countries out of our sight.¡±


    ¡°But the witches......¡±


    ¡°That way of thinking is useless.¡±


    While witches were just people, there was a line there that made them seem as if they existed in apletely foreign world. They sound like beings straight from a fictional story even though you know they exist, and as long as you do not see any signs of their magic, you are left thinking that they have nothing to do with you.


    In fact, witches from other countries were always immersed in their magic inside their territories. That is why there is little recognition or acknowledgment for witches which is why some such as the Idira family abandoned their craft for more noticeable power.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Not only that, it could be said that the two princes had the same mentality when it came to Ordo.


    They knew he had not given up on taking the throne for himself, but he had already been expelled from the royal pce. They thought he would surely be rounded up and dealt with someday. That was why they had always thought of him as someone else¡¯s problem and moved their thoughts towards more pleasant thoughts that wouldn¡¯t hurt their heads.


    In the meantime Ordo ruled the frontier, gaining strength, and was even considering pulling a witch to his side.


    If he had started a rebellion at this time, what could that be called other than a disaster?


    So Alexis thought at least. That voice of his had not changed, and his eyes as he looked down on Rodel were seriouslycking in emotion.


    ¡°This situation was certainly all due to a witch. But if witches were only to me, then this country would not fall into chaos. Because of how peaceful this country is, the story would have ended with the royal family kicking out the oldest son and passing it down to the younger brother. It is not an umon story. I thought that way......but apart from that,¡±


    Alexis stopped there and took a deep breath.


    Then he closed his eyes. Everyone watched as he slowly gathered his thoughts. Receiving those gazes, he opened his eyes once again......,


    ¡°Apart from that, I realized that such a country would perish. Not because of affairs of royalty or anything like that, but because of the grudge the people would hold against you when it became clear you relied on the whims of a witch to meet your goals.¡±


    So, he was abandoned.


    Alexis removed his line of sight from Rodel and walked back to confirm the arrangement of security with Percival. It was as if he were to say that he no longer held any interest in the present situation.


    Rodel watched him go with stifled breath and then turned his attention to Emilia. His already firm grip on Emilia¡¯s hand tightened even more until she started to tremble.


    ¡°......Emilia, use magic.¡±


    ¡°Rodel......¡±


    ¡°You are the only one who can save this country. Now protect the country with your magic!¡±


    Rodel¡¯s voice rose to a hysterical roar, and his iron-tight grip refused to release Emilia¡¯s hand.


    ¡®Protect me,¡¯ this should be what Rodel¡¯s true intentions were. Underestimating a witch¡¯s power, he went along with the situation to toss out his brother, and took the throne all due to a witch¡¯s silent wishes. And still, he would put the role of saving the country to a witch.


    It was said that Alexis was a good prince who loved his countrymen, but Rodel had thought of his country just as his older brother did. Therefore he truly thought it was best for a witch to protect the country by using her powers to put an end to the rebellion.


    But Emilia was no great spell-weaver, she was an ordinary girl whose face only showed fear towards his sudden outbursts. Seeing that look, Rodel lowered his head slightly and took a step back.


    ¡°.............Rodel, but I,¡±


    ¡°Emilia, I¡¯m begging you. Use your magic!¡±


    The loud mor of Rodel¡¯s voice reached new heights, and all the strength he had went into the grip he had on her. The area around his hand was turning pale, and Emilia¡¯s frightened expression was starting to go blue from pain.


    Seeing the growing situation between the two, Mte jumped forward to try and stop Rodel from hurting Emilia any more, but she was stopped when Alexis was one step faster than her.


    Alexis wore an extremely cold and dark look in his eyes and a painfully distorted scowl on his lips, yet he still rushed straight forward and unleashed a full-powered swing with a tightly closed fist.....and a dull noise echoed in the room.


    ¡°Rodel!¡±


    Emilia¡¯s high-pitched scream echoed louder than the hit as Rodel copsed after being beaten by Alexis¡¯s fist. Emilia¡¯s face turned pale after watching such an act of violence in front of her, and she quickly knelt down and started pping Rodel¡¯s cheeks to see if she could wake him up.


    Next, Emilia directed her frightened gaze towards Alexis, but Alexis assured her there would be no more violence while taking a deep breath. After rxing a bit, Alexis then turned towards one of Ordo¡¯s guards and told him to restrain Rodel.


    ¡°I doubt he will try any other troublesome moves, but just in case......¡±


    Alexis spoke in a low voice, as if to control his breathing and help calm himself down even further. However, when he noticed the surrounding gazes still fixed on him, he lightly waved his hand, ¡°I¡¯m not used to stuff like this,¡± and shrugged his shoulders as if he were trying to show off.


    The truth was clear to anyone though. Although he had made the resolve to not forgive anyone, he was still kind to his core. His younger brother, who had the resolve to protect his country even if he had to rely on a witch, there was no way that he wasn¡¯t hurting deep down after being forced to hit him.


    That¡¯s why Mte looked after him with narrowed eyes and motioned towards his hand as he desperately tried to force a smile.


    ¡°What if you hurt your hand?¡±


    ¡°Well, then the next time I hit someone, I will be sure to borrow Mte¡¯s gauntlet.


    Haha........Alexis scratched his cheek with a simpler smile on his face.


    Towards him, Ordo released a fearlessugh and asked, ¡°So you helped him?¡± in a loud voice. Then, he motioned towards his men and gave them a signal by lightly lowering his hand.


    Mte tilted her helmet to the side curiously as she did not know what the gesture meant, but Alexis seemed to understand as he made a strong bitter smile and shrugged.


    ¡°Yes it was impossible for me to go that far. Percival, it¡¯s alright, so you can put your sword away.¡±


    ¡°........certainly.¡±


    Mte hurriedly turned her gaze towards Percival as Alexis said something extremely concerning in a very calm voice. What she saw was his hand at the handle of his sword strapped to his waist, and the de slightly peeking out from its sheath.


    Simrly, all of Ordo¡¯s men returned their swords from their slightly drawn positions and even Ordo wasughing about how, ¡°I didn¡¯t have to use it after all,¡± concerning the small dagger he was fingering near his chest.


    It goes without saying that every de there had been for the sake of cutting Emilia and Rodel down. At that moment, everyone became wary of a witch¡¯s magic and grabbed their weapons.


    But Alexis raised his fist before a de could be pointed at Rodel. It could most certainly be said that he had ¡®helped¡¯ him, and Alexis¡¯s bitter smile showed that he couldn¡¯t deny it.


    Even if he wouldn¡¯t forgive his brother, watching him get needlessly killed right in front of you would be something entirely different.


    Then Alexis turned his gaze towards Mte as if he were handing the stage over to her. Now that Rodel has been taken care of, next is........was the meaning held within those eyes.


    Knowing that, I walked over to Emilia with my iron covered legs.


    ¡°Emilia, please get caught here quietly.¡±


    ¡°.........Sister Mte.¡±


    ¡°I have also decided to side with Ordo, so if Emilia resists I will fight you as a fellow witch......but I would like to avoid that if possible.¡±


    So was my appeal. And as short as it was, it was still enough for tears to gather in Emilia¡¯s eyes when she heard it and turn as pale as if she had just learned that the world was ending.


    Still she worked up the courage to take a deep breath, and with a trembling voice responded, ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°I hurt my sister and Alexis and got Rodel involved and this country.......I know I can¡¯t be forgiven.¡±


    ¡°Emilia......¡±


    I had to take a breath in my helmet and hold myself back after seeing my younger sister look so defeated.


    But with this, things would be fine. Emilia understood.......


    So a modicum of relief entered my heart.


    By choosing to be Ordo¡¯s captive, it would give him all the reason he would need to not treat her harshly. Ordo shouldn¡¯t have any resentment built up against Emilia in the first ce. ¨CSince it¡¯s him, he might even appreciate all the work she has done which led to him taking the throne.¨C


    Surely he would find that Emilia has some utility value. At the very least, since Emilia¡¯s safety would be his best card against me, he would not do something like <ruby>letting her go.<rt>killing her</rt></ruby>


    Thinking so, I took a deep breath of relief into the air and allowed my shoulders to rx.....


    ¡°It would be best if I were to manage such a young witch personally. Come Emilia,e celebrate my victory with me.¡±


    Ordo extended his hand out to Emilia saying those words, and the deep breath I was taking got caught in my throat and echoed inside my helmet.


    ¡°Eh......¡± was all I could squeeze out.


    However the next moment a question bubbled up distorting my thinking, and an ufortable feeling swept through me as if my body were being crushed. The blood flowing through my veins was pulsating, and my chest was being squeezed until air was unable to escape my lungs.


    However, it was only that way for a moment. All the questions that were guing my mind were washed away, and a feeling of relief came over me as I realized that this was good. The voice inside my head was telling me there was nothing to worry about, and from now on, everything was going to be okay.


    .........That¡¯s right, this was good. Ordo was looking over Emilia.


    Wouldn¡¯t it be enough for her to just be a concubine? As a concubine, he would surely take excellent care of her versus her being some simple prisoner.


    Since it was Ordo, he would surely hire numerous maids to take care of her.


    Emilia¡¯s safety was guaranteed.


    If Emilia stayed near Ordo, then the two of us would be together from now on. This was good, everything would be just fine from now on.


    I could see the realization that everything would be good from now on floating from one person to the next. It¡¯s a perfect storybook ending, even such a thought sprung forward in my heart.


    In the corner of my vision, I saw Gina holding her hand to her throat, making as if she were trying to make some form of appeal, but her voice wasn¡¯t making any noise even though her mouth was moving. I hope she hasn¡¯t hurt her throat.


    But I could worry about thatter I thought as I turned my gaze back towards Emilia.


    Emilia looked at the hand Ordo had presented towards her looking puzzled. I wish she would quickly take it, so I tried rushing her in my mind.


    ¡°What.......Sir Ordo, why?¡±


    ¡°What reason is there to hesitate? Now take my hand, be mine, Emilia.¡±


    ¡°No.......no more..........Sister Mte..........¡±


    Emilia called out my name in a trembling voice. My chest started grow slightly warm, and as I watched her, Emilia started rifling through her clothes with a pale and frantic look on her face.


    I watched as Emilia continued to move in fear and wondered what she was doing.


    Instead of so frantically pulling out her prized ne, she should be hurrying up and taking Ordo¡¯s hand.............


    I feel sleepy, but I still open my mouth to try and hurry Emilia......


    ¡°..........break it........Percival!¡±


    With myst shred of sanity, I fight off the overwhelming drowsinessing over me and shout out as loud as I can to the witch yer at my back.


    At that moment, a shadow passed just beside me moving so fast, all I could see was its swaying golden hair.


    It passed me by, then Alexis who had been watching everything happen with a nonchnt look on his face, and even passed Ordo whose hand was still outstretched towards Emilia.


    Without any hesitation it headed straight for Emilia, moving its hands towards the sword at its waste and swinging with a loud, heartfelt shout.


    The shriek of something shattering echoed around us.


    At that moment, I saw the iron blocking my view as nothing more than an obstacle. If there was anything I wanted, it would be to burn this sight into my brain without anything obstructing me, and the shame I felt at still hiding my face inside a helmet had be overwhelming.

 Chapter 54 - Time for a Decision 5

    <h4>Time for a Decision 5</h4>


    With the shrill shriek of something shattering fading away, the overwhelming thought, ¡®this is good¡¯ was immediately scratched out of my mind.


    What remained was a growing frustration in the pit of my stomach, blood that ran through my veins like frozen water, and the numbing realization that I had been so easily brought under a spell. Why had I thought that it was a ¡®good¡¯ thing for Ordo to put his hands on Emilia........ No, I have no idea why. That¡¯s why not just me, but the entire room felt chilled.


    ¡°Hold that woman down! Remove all the essories she¡¯s wearing!¡±


    And then Gina¡¯s raised voice cut through the silence and shattered the cold tension guing us.


    This attitude was unlike her as she raised her voice up and shouted out directions to all the knights around her. Upon receiving those orders, everyone¡¯s senses finally returned to them, and the knights moved to restrain Emilia. Although it was quite the sight seeing so manyrge knights surround a small girl, when I looked towards Gina I saw that her eyes were cold and emptypletely different from the usual gentle look she carried. Those eyes scared me, but I was much more frightened for Emilia.


    Every button Emilia wore shined, and the men were thorough enough to take even them. Emilia was trembling, looking down at her tearing clothes as the buttons fell to the ground at the tip of a sword with a palpitatingplexion.


    Buttons make for fine decorations, but they are beautifully unnecessary for some pajamas. Still, some simple ones would have been much more preferred over the torn fabric and shiny baubles that now casuallyy on the ground.


    ¡°.......What just happened?¡±


    Ordo finally muttered something out while staring down on Emilia. Obviously he was unable to smile right now, and his eyes were sharp with a deep wrinkle between his brows.


    At that moment, Ordo had made the decision to, ¡®make Emilia mine,¡¯ and have her as a concubine. The curse had even affected him. Now he was unable to believe how he had acted, and when I turned my gaze on him, I realized I did so with some aversion in my heart rather than puzzlement.


    ¡°Emilia¡¯s magic activated. You and I were swallowed up in an instant.¡±


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡°But Emilia herself was rejecting my advances. Was this because of her original curse?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Emilia¡¯s wish was too strong. It tried to activate even though she herself didn¡¯t want it to.¡±


    At that moment, Emilia had realized the seriousness of what she had inadvertently done, and she showed no resistance. She must have been preparing herself to receive any type of punishment, and at the same time, I could tell she had understood that she would never be a ¡®sparkling princess¡¯ ever again.


    But Emilia¡¯s magic was too strong, and the wish that had turned into a curse would not allow such a development to take ce. Even in this ce, the curse had gotten Ordo involved and convinced him that as the new king, Emilia deserved to be made a ¡®sparkling princess¡¯ once again.


    If <ruby>Percival<rt>witch yer</rt></ruby> was not here, then Emilia would have been taken in as Ordo¡¯s concubine. It was an ending that she did not want, and it would have been the same as a brutal king kidnapping a young girl.


    Emilia would have been forced to sit next to him and received all that unwanted hospitality.


    When considering the gorgeous mansion Ordo had even when he wasn¡¯t a king, Emilia would have lived an extravagant life as a concubine. Since she was capable of producing a spell that overcame not only me, but Gina as well, she would have been treasured all the more.


    Beginning with Alexis, and thening to Ordo via Rodel. Every time the situation changes, the target changes with it, and the story of the ¡®sparkling princess¡¯ would continue with it.


    What a strong curse. Every ounce of Emilia¡¯s magic is being used to keep fueling her dream of being a ¡®sparkling princess.¡¯


    It does not consider the consequences or circumstances; even the will of the person in question is meaningless......


    ¡°I see, so I would have abandoned even my own dream for it? That means I was made into a character of Emilia¡¯s neverending princess story. Hey Alexis, that means I¡¯m better than you!¡±


    Whether he fully understood the situation or not, Ordo wasughing happily. That bad smile he wore was just like usual. Alexis, who was being made fun of before everyone else, faced Ordo with a tired expression......before turning away. It was negligible.


    On the contrary, he lifted up Concetta who had just returned from the royal pce carrying Robertson on his head, and Alexis started petting Concetta¡¯s bristling hair. Wasn¡¯t hepletely ignoring Ordo¡¯s barb?


    However, that attitude itself meant that Alexis had somewhat returned to how he had been before, and Ordo made a small smirk while murmuring, ¡°What a naughty nephew.


    It was both behavior that was just like them, but it was too ipatible of an interaction in this ce. I was incredulously watching them both from inside my helmet........when a sudden cough took my gaze away.


    Emilia was being led away by some of the nights, and she was coughing while holding her clothes down over her chest.


    Ah, after all........


    I narrowed my eyes when I saw the tears on Emilia¡¯s cheeks.


    I tried holding down the ache in my chest through the iron when I heard someone call, ¡°Miss Mte,¡± from behind me. Looking, it was Percival who was walking towards me while sheathing his sword.


    ¡°Miss Mte, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°...........h-huh?¡±


    Hurriedly adjusting my helmet so that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see my eyes, I soon returned to myself and nodded my head.


    ¡°Percival, thank you for helping me.¡±


    ¡°No, it goes without saying. I was the only one who was able to move in that situation, so my actions were the obvious result.¡±


    ¡°.....No, it¡¯s not just that. You could have cut Emilia down too then, but you didn¡¯t.¡±


    Saying that much, Percival bashfully nodded his head.


    In that moment, Percival could have easily cut down Emilia as well. If it was a blow from a witch yer, there would have been no way for a witch like Emilia to avoid it. Even if she were to use strong magic to mislead her surroundings, nobody here had the reflexes to intercept him.


    Especially not Emilia, who was kneeling on the ground trembling in fear. It would have been easy for the former knight Percival to cut her down. Rather, it would have been easier as it would have meant that he had arger target.


    However, he didn¡¯t do it; he only cut away the ne hanging at Emilia¡¯s chest. How hard would that have been?


    That¡¯s why I had to show him my gratitude which he received with a shrug and a bitter smile.......and then slowly put out one of his hands. Hisrge hand was closed, so it seemed that he had something to give me.


    I felt the urge to immediately ept whatever was in that hand, but I held myself back and switched my gaze between his face and that hand alternately. Then I finally gave up and tilted my helmet in confusion before Percival slowly open his grasp. I looked at what was resting inside his palm, and my breath got caught in my throat.


    ¡°......At that time, Miss Emilia was wearing it.¡±


    ¡°That is.....¡±


    In Percival¡¯s open palm was a ss ball that had been split in two. It was oddlycking in blemishes or cracks even though it was struck with a single blow that hadpletely broken it.


    It was a pretty pink ss ball. However, it did not look like something expensive, and it wasn¡¯t stylized in a special way. Even an amateur like me could tell it held no great value. No, rather than something expensive, it should be obvious to anyone that this would be considered a children¡¯s toy.


    Indeed, it was not something that the prince¡¯s fiancee should be wearing. No, when considering Emilia¡¯s age, it was something that she wouldn¡¯t wear even if she were a peasant as it was clearly made for a young child.


    Looking at that split ball, I thought my heart was going to tear apart as I muttered Emilia¡¯s name.


    I remember this ne.


    When we were young, it was the ne Emilia always wore whenever she was receiving medical treatment.


    Back then, I had one with a simr design. We had bought them ourselves with the pocket money our parents had given us, and we wore them every day.


    But that was years ago. I do not remember where the ne that I had worn could possibly be or even what it had really looked like. Did I bring it with me when I moved back to the kingdom after Emilia¡¯s recuperation was finished, or did I throw it away.......?


    It was such a long time ago that whatever memories I managed to pull out were fragmentary and broken.


    Was Emilia still wearing this ne from so long ago?


    She was wearing it from the time she first became sickly, wearing it during her recuperation, bing healthy, visiting the royal pce, bing a glittering princess: she had never let it go.


    Without knowing that it was cursed.


    And now, Emilia was finally released from her curse.


    Emilia, who was currently surrounded and being led away by knights while coughing as she had been before. The sight took me aback. The form of her coughing and suffering like that was much too simr to how she had been when we were children and she was sick.


    ¡°......that, can I take that?¡±


    ¡°Is it okay?¡±


    ¡°I cannot feel magic from it anymore. Emilia¡¯s curse has already ended, so yes, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    Deciding to take it, I held out my hands......and after thinking for only a little bit, I slowly removed my gauntlet and held the ss bead in my exposed hand. A cool air wrapped around my hot skin, but as expected I cannot feelfortable like this.


    When I exposed my hand, Percival¡¯s eyes went round as the moon. Mte, the girl who dislikes exposing her skin more than anything else, had readily exposed her hand where other people would be able to see. It is no wonder he is surprised.


    But, at least for this <ruby>ne<rt>wish</rt></ruby>, I want to be able to feel it with my own hands. I will not rush over to the captured Emilia to protect her, nor will I beg Ordo to show her mercy. Even if I know she was unaware of what was going on, I was still holding her ountable.


    I waited for a moment, but the ss beads were soon ced in the palm of my hand.


    They were strangely heavier than I expected, and for some reason it caused my heart to squeeze. I quickly took a deep breath to calm myself and hold back the sudden cry I was about to let out, and then I looked up at Percival once again.


    I stared straight at him, wondering what was going on in those blue eyes of his.


    ¡°........Percival, hands.¡±


    ¡°What about my hands?¡±


    ¡°........hand, Why are you holding mine? Your hand is, really big.......it¡¯s touching, feelsfortable.¡±


    My thoughts came out jumbled and in short spurts. Percival ignored all of myints, observations, words, and he silently reached out his other hand. Hisrge hand slowly touched mine and slowly covered mine up.


    There was a slight difference in body temperature that I could feel through our skin. It felt like the ss bead was melting inside my grip. I took another deep breath inside my helmet.....and then the tears came alongside it.


    ¡°Who, to whom, from when, and how the curse started.¡±


    How all the screws bent, every distortion and anomalous happening, everything was finally over.

 Chapter 55

    <h4>The Troublesome King and the No Longer Cursed Prince</h4>


    Before the full-length mirror with a jewel encrusted border, Alexis tightened up the chest area of the clothes he was slipping on. His dark brown hair went well with dark ck clothing, but he felt that the same same colored buttons fastening the cor covering his neck and his cuffs was a little heavy.


    He understood that both the design and the fabric were of fine quality, but they were made on the iner side so as to avoid drawing eyes.


    Finished buttoning everything up, Alexis showed his dissatisfaction with the outfit through his tired expression, and he let out a sigh while messing around with his cufflinks some more.


    ¡°Uncle, is this how it¡¯s supposed to look? It¡¯s hot.¡±


    ¡°Hot? When the audience is finished, you can soak in a bath. I know how much you think that cold water baths are better than hot ones.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because of the curse!¡±


    ¡°Liar, even if it was because of the curse, you have yet to take a warm bath sixth monthster. You expect me to believe that being cursed for a year would be enough to make you obsessed with cold baths?¡±


    ¡°......That¡¯s because of my high adaptability, but it really was because of the curse..... Anyway, anybody who would be wearing these clothes would end up hot.¡±


    Alexis looked at himself in the mirror once again while grumbling.


    The clothes he was currently wearing were tailored made with a thicker ck cloth, and it was tight around the neck and wrists. The pants were also ck in color, sporting a monochrome appearance all the way down, until you finished off with some ck leather boots. It¡¯s no wonder he was hot this early in the morning.


    Alexis continued to show off his dissatisfaction, but Ordo was taking his time sweeping from the left to the right to see Alexis from every angle. By the way, Ordo was wearing a gorgeous ensemble that was very dignified, yet cool at the same time.


    Alexis may have hated the clothes he was wearing, but after he was done observing, Ordo gave Alexis a smile through the mirror.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine, you look nice. Besides, those clothes are popr right now.¡±


    ¡°Popr huh.......¡±


    Alexis gave out another sigh, but he figured objecting any more after this was pointless. With a small droop in his shoulders, Alexis walked over and took a seat on the sofa while facing Ordo. Then he picked up a piece of paper lying on a nearby end table and read the what was written down.


    It turned out to be a petition from the people. A written request concerning the taxes that had risen since Ordo took the throne and a direct appeal. Soon a person representing the citizenry would visit the pce for an audience, and he would talk with Ordo about the requests in this petition.....however it would end up the same as every other time they did this, and it made Alexis squeeze his eyes shut tight.


    Every time. As in, this situation has be amon thing, and a representative is sent out about once a month.


    ¡°Since you¡¯ll be standing behind me, your outfit can¡¯t be so shy as to draw the eye away from me.¡±


    ¡°Tyrant.¡±


    Ordo¡¯s smile strengthened all the more as Alexis waved off his words.


    However, as Ordo said, the citizens whoe to the pce to appeal tax increases and other policy changes all have to do so in front of Alexis as well. They had believed in the baseless rumors that had dogged the prince and had even shunned him for them, toe in and ask for things to stay the same for them while looking their sin in the face would be an incredibly difficult thing to do.


    This feeling was only exacerbated by the fact that Alexis was always wearing heavy clothes during those audiences. The inky ck color was a given, but it did have a dash of color to it¨Ca blood red crest embroidered on the chest. This crest was the one that the Radoll family had originally used, but it now had a sword shoved into it. It was a terrible design with an on-the-nose meaning that was obviously designed by Ordo.


    Alexis¡¯s appearance of wearing all ck with the new crest embroidered on his chest would probably have looked like he was in mourning to whoever saw him.


    As a matter of fact, this was what Ordo was aiming for.


    Alexis wearing all ck while standing behind Ordo who would be doing business, moving around, and acting all jitter.


    Face down, not saying anything, not meeting anyone¡¯s gaze. Its an appearance that really can¡¯t be described as anything besides someone mourning, and it gave him a thin presence as if he were a ghost.


    Alexis, the good prince, was no longer there.


    An unbelievable rumor had started when the curse was lifted, and it has continued to be whispered even now. That the <ruby>good prince<rt>Alexis</rt></ruby> was actually killed during the uprising.


    What was left behind was the mourning prince that could feel nothing but pain........


    ¡°The stories these peoplee up with. It¡¯s like they can¡¯t help themselves.¡±


    ¡°People don¡¯t like feeling guilty, so they find whatever excuse they can to make a problem not their fault.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to screw with them as much as I can. After all, I am a thick uncle who protected his foolish nephew even during a witch¡¯s curse.¡±


    Alexis shook his head and called his uncle a tyrant once more. What is today¡¯s number......? Since the day he took the throne, Ordo has made it a habit to remind Alexis of how he beat the odds and imed victory despite a witch¡¯s curse at least four times a day.


    Nevertheless, Alexis wanted to take his clothes off and started fanning himself with some nearby cloth to try and cool himself off if only a little.


    That figurezing on the couch did not appear to be mourning, and obviously it was nothing like a ghost. Anyone who saw him would agree that what was sitting there was a young man who was getting tired of constantly being made to wear ck.


    In the first ce, Alexis never said a single word whenever he was in the meeting room. So the mourning prince aside, he wanted to know how the ¡®him who could feel nothing but pain¡¯, portion of the rumor ended up getting started.


    But truthfully, it did not matter.


    On asion while everyone else was conducting business Alexis would watch Concetta rolling around at his feet while ying with Robertson. Every once in awhile taking the opportunity to pet him with his feet.


    .......And sometimes falling asleep.


    ¡°I always feel so embarrassed when I wake up and realized that I¡¯m sleeping through these discussions, but does nobody notice?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that. ¡®Just being in our presence causes him harm, and it is all he can do to just be here¡¯, was what the people had to say about their sleeping mourning prince.¡±


    ¡°Everyone sure does have a rich imagination.¡±


    Even the man responsible for creating the rumors Ordo couldn¡¯t help but shake his head at the citizen¡¯s non-existent short-term memory about the dangers of unsubstantiated rumors, and he and Alexis both shrugged their shoulders.


    The reason why Alexis held no interest in correcting these numerous misunderstandings had by the people was because, honestly, he felt sick whenever he saw the guilty looks on their faces whenever he saw them.


    They knew that all of the problems over that year that they believed were caused by him was in fact a misunderstanding due to the effects of a witch¡¯s curse. And now they were fighting tooth and nail for additional tax cuts. If he were to see their frowning faces when they entered the room, he would feel a little better.


    In the first ce, the tax imposed by Ordo was not something heavy to the point that it needed to be denounced. As long as you worked properly, then the slight tax increase was something easily payable, and the citizens could still go about their lives with no changes.


    Then, this petition was actually just a grand demonstration for the citizens to show off their power to the new king. There would be no rebellions or riots so long as Ordo did nothing wrong.


    In a way, actions like these just went to show off how peaceful this country is and the citizen¡¯s cozy attitude. There is no way that seeing something like this would make Alexis happy.


    ¡°I hate it. I wonder if I¡¯ve turned into a person simr to......¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ve be just like me. There, there Alexis.¡±


    Leaving the materials he had on hand at his desk, Ordo called out to Alexis.


    In any case, his dark brown eyes locked together with Alexis¡¯s. Unlike the yful atmosphere that had persisted until now, the seriousness of the current situation would have been felt to anyone who would have been in that room.


    Looking back at him and wondering what he was thinking, Alexis mewled over it for awhile before he was asked,........


    ¡°You, would you let me adopt you?¡±


    Alexis had to take a second to make sure he heard Ordo¡¯s words right before his eyes inevitably went wide in surprise.


    ¡°Adopted by Uncle.......?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you already take track of me.¡±


    ¡°......What are you nning this time?¡±


    ¡°I like that personality.¡±


    Alexis expressed some extreme doubt towards what he was hearing, and Ordo startedughing as soon as he had voiced it.


    Ordo talked about how until now he had yet to gain an heir to the throne. There was the possibility that his urge to acquire the throne would have been reced by fatherly love if he had a child.....and,


    ¡°Besides, having a son while I am trying to overthrow my family, who is to say he wouldn¡¯t do the same? Blood is often washed with blood.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s surely......maybe. Surely if it¡¯s Uncle¡¯s son they would be dream big.¡±


    ¡°In order to not be scratched out by my son, and to avoid having to scratch him out; my options are limited if I wish to avoid conflict.¡±


    Ordo was speaking in a light-hearted tone, but it was a fact that he had taken nopanions and fathered no children. It¡¯s natural for someone in his position to have one or two women, but he had yet to choose an official partner.


    He thought that it waspletely unnecessary for his ambition. Or maybe he thought that it would be wrong of him to get someone wrapped up in his ambition?


    In any case, the current Ordo had no sessor. He would either have to work on making one, or choose to adopt......and he was now calling on Alexis for that very reason.


    ¡°However there would be some conditions to the adoption.¡±


    ¡°Conditions?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there are just two. The first is that you must wait to take the throne until I decide to hand it down. No visiting me in my sleep.¡±


    Alexis shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as Ordo started talking as if he were dealing with himself. Alexis had never even thought about being adopted in the first ce, so even if he were to tell him to wait a moment, he had no idea what he should say. Even if he had, visiting someone while they were sleeping like that was something he could barelyprehend, let alone have the stomach to go through with.


    Even so, Ordo continued listing off his second condition as if the first one wasn¡¯t a joke.


    ¡°Be more selfish. If you go back to being that good prince honor student, I will prevent you from taking the throne even if it means crushing this country.¡±


    Once again, Alexis was left speechless at Ordo¡¯s unexpected condition and could do little more than stare at him in mute amazement.


    He had always tried to be a good prince until now because he thought that doing so would make him a good king. He was hoping for that, and he had also felt those expectations from his surroundings. That is why he was unsure of how to react when he was told to do the exact opposite of that.


    But Ordo showed little concern for Alexis¡¯s dilemma and proceeded to tell him his own invented theory.


    ¡°As long as you provide the people with food, clothing, and shelter, a person who wants to be happy will be able to make themselves happy. No matter if you are a king, you have no responsibility to look after every small thing for the people. Postponing your own happiness to make everyone else happy, that type of idea will just burn you out.¡±


    ¡°......As usual I¡¯m not sure what you mean.¡±


    ¡°In the first ce, even with this current situation you were led along by your nose, suffered, and no good for the citizenry came out of it. If there is no noticeable negative feelings, then fight back against all who would seek to do you harm. Find the person who is spreading all those nasty rumors about you and kill them. That¡¯s what I¡¯d do with no hesitation.¡±


    Ordo was looking a little unhappy as he reminisced about something in the past.


    But didn¡¯t he have a point? Alexis was a little surprised, but he started to think about it seriously.


    Certainly, while nothing but evil had been tossed at him, all he had done was desperately beg for his surroundings to understand him. He despaired when he realized that such a hope was impossible, and he eventually escaped the royal pce with Percival¡¯s help.


    However, if Ordo was in the same position, he would have discovered the source of the rumors and punished them. If you believe that those around you will not support you, then retreat and return waving a different g. Even if it was a witch behind the incident, this man would have done and aplished much more.


    That was why Ordo made Alexis being more selfish as a requirement for handing over the throne.


    Following that, Alexis put that matter to the side for now.........,


    ¡°Tentatively, on hold,¡±


    and answered like that.


    With this reply, it was now Ordo¡¯s turn to open his eyes wide in surprise. It was a rare expression for a guy who usually spends his time talking down on others while wearing a mischievous smile.


    ¡°On hold?¡±


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡°Yes, on hold. Seeding Uncle doesn¡¯t sound bad, but there is something I still need to do.¡±


    ¡°What could possibly hold priority over the throne? What must you do?¡±


    ¡°A variety of things. I want to go meet other witches, but I want to spend some time searching for other witch yers as well.¡±


    ¡°How would you find witch yers?¡±


    ¡°Gina and Mte will cast a spell to make everyone sneeze. Then Percival and I, wearing Robertson on my head, will run around and try to find someone who isn¡¯t sneezing.¡±


    ¡°What a terrible carpet bombing method. Give me more details, I want toe too.¡±


    ¡°You have a job Uncle.¡±


    Ordo became excited at the interesting sounding task Alexis had given himself, but he was instantly shut down when he expressed his urge to attend.


    The trip would be a long one as they had already decided to procure a fine carriage and take things slowly. Of course, they would stay at only the very best rooms of the very best rooms, and obviously they would be ordering room service. That time they had all drawn cats together was fun, so it might be interesting to take the time to learn how to properly draw something praiseworthy up.


    As a test Alexis jokingly said, ¡°Perhaps it would be fine to go ahead and be a familiar for Gina and Mte.¡± Ordo coldly replied with, ¡°A man your size following them around like that would just be annoying.¡± It would be. Alexis was convinced of this with little argument.


    However whatever the future held there would be plenty to do, but there would be plenty of time to be the prince heir afterwards. If he was going to live for himself, then it¡¯s only natural that he should postpone his decision. And the tyrant sitting in front of him would surely sit on the throne for a long time, so there would be plenty of time for decision making.


    So Alexis argued, and Ordo was left with a small nod and a bitter smile.


    ¡°I see, try living as you like. Finish doing what you must, and your future will be waiting for you here.¡±


    ¡°I will do just that.¡±


    The two men both shared a bitter smile before simultaneously turning to look at the clock.


    It was about time for the audience to begin. Alexis started massaging his cheeks since it was going to be necessary for him to stick with the same facial expression for awhile now. Pretending to be sad all the time was painful on the cheeks.


    ¡°After we finish up with this audience we¡¯ll be meeting with a representative from a neighboring country, so I¡¯d like Gina and Mte to attend if possible.¡±


    Ordo had had several meetings with neighboring countries since his rise to the thrown. Part of it could be said to be casual greetings between kings, but it was far more likely them trying to gauge the ability of the king who had taken the throne with the help of two witches. Ordo was aware of that fact even now, but as he opened the door and left into the hallway, Alexis overheard him call out, ¡°Speak of the devil.¡±


    Alexis got up off his seat on the couch and peered at the end of the hallway over Ordo¡¯s shoulder. As if she had been summoned, there was the witch Ordo had just asked for.


    ¡°Gina, what are you doing in a ce like this?¡±


    ¡°Oh Alexis, good day.¡±


    When Alexis walked forward and called out to her, Gina replied with an elegant smile and a greeting. In front of his eyes......Concetta was sleeping with a very fluffy hairstyle while floating in mid-air.


    Alexis blinked a couple times to get himself used to the sight. However, the realization that Concetta was actually sleeping on a floating cushion did little to abate his surprise. The same could be said for Ordo who was standing right next to his nephew with equally rounded eyes. This fact did not go unnoticed by Gina who startedughing at the two while saying, ¡°you look exactly the same!¡± In her hands, a finece fan was pulled out and covered her jubntughing face.


    ¡°Since I found Concetta sleeping in the corridor, I decided to carry him along on a cushion.¡±


    ¡°Carrying.......with the fan?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I am carrying the fluffy Concetta on top of a fluffy cushion by fanning him.¡±


    While Gina exined what she was doing as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, she started waving her fan towards Concetta. Concetta¡¯s cushion was hit by the iing wind, and the sleeping Concetta started moving through the air. However, the movement speed was so slow that saying he was flying would seem inurate, and it was unknown just how long it would take them to reach the next room over.


    But Gina seemed to be having fun with that slowness as she continued to fan Concetta with a smile on her face. That¡¯s when Ordo called out her name.


    ¡°Gina, sorry to bother you, but this afternoon there is a dinner with a representative from one of the neighboring countries.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be bothered with that, and I am busy watching Concetta sleep as well.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡±


    ¡°Gina, let me just say that we will be having some delicious wine during the meal to celebrate the asion.¡±


    How about that? When Alexis forced his way into the conversation and came out with his own suggestion, Gina¡¯s face lit up at the mention of wine. It was clear proof that whenever she heard the words, ¡°delicious wine,¡± her heart would tremble.


    She then looked at Concetta with a bit of a worried look on her face. Guessing that she would need another push, Alexis came in close and whispered into her ear, ¡°Cheese and crackers will be served as well.¡±


    ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped. Concetta, let¡¯s switch directions here.¡±


    Nodding her head, Concetta turned around and started fanning Concetta the way they came.


    She had apparently epted the invitation, but she had not changed the way she would move there. Still, so long as she was heading straight for the dining room she would be there in time, so Alexis and Ordo said nothing else to her besides a, ¡°Then we will see youter.¡±


    While walking away like that, the only thing the two of them heard from her was a, ¡°The headwind is making this tough Concetta.¡±


    ¡°Do you really think she will make it in time?¡±


    ¡°Probably, but she will definitelye in her own way. Everyone will surely be surprised if a witches in while carrying a cat in mid-air.¡±


    ¡°Well regardless of whether you are a witch or not, something that could beat a ride like that is beyond human knowledge.¡±


    Ordo nodded his head while thinking about what it must feel like to float in the air. And then he started muttering, ¡°I wonder if Mte would......¡± while a sinister smile yed across his lips. Seeing that smile, Alexis grabbed his uncle by the shoulder and started to drag him further down the hall saying, ¡°Let¡¯s just leave that alone.¡±


    Then when they had both made it to the audience room, Alexis started to p both his cheeks with his hands. The purpose of this was of course to tighten his facial muscles so that he could better y the ¡®prince with no emotions other than pain¡¯ during the meeting.


    At Alexis¡¯s feet, three balls of fluff were rolling around. Arge smile spread across Alexis¡¯s face upon seeing it, but Ordo watched them move with a strange look on his face.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Concetta¡¯s hairballs. Gina sometimes controls them remotely with her magic. Perhaps she sent them here for me to y with during the audience.¡±


    ¡°During the people¡¯s desperate appeal, the prince of tragedy is secretly ying with some hairballs.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll still hear about half of what they¡¯re.........No, about half of half of what they¡¯re saying.¡±


    Alexis made a small apology for his futureck of attention, but all it did was make Ordough once again.


    Then when Alexis tried pushing one of the balls with his toe, it ended up moving away from him unexpectedly. The movement brought an evenrger smile to Alexis¡¯s face as he murmured, ¡°These ones are quite fiery.¡± He tried nudging another one with his foot, but that one ended up jumping over his foot andnding on the opposite side of him. Alexis was starting to think that he might not be able to listen to anything the representative said if the hairball¡¯s game was going to be this challenging.


    ¡°The people are counting on you to reel me in. They really have some bad luck.¡±


    So Ordo mused, and Alexis responded with his own grin.


    It was a malevolent smile that the good prince would have never made before. Then he delightfully narrowed his eyes,


    ¡°So? They have a little bad luck, but that doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    and then tightened his cor around his neck.

 Chapter 56 - Monette and Percival

    <h4>Mte and Percival</h4>


    I was reading a book while drinking some tea when I heard the faint cry of a horse in the distance making me raise my helmet.


    Closing the book andying it on my desk, I hear a pitter-patter......along with the nk of metal rapping against my door. When I got out of my seat to open the door in response to the knocking, there was Percival wearing a suit of armor waiting for me.


    It was as if he were visiting the old castle for the first time all over again. At that time, the sound of him knocking on my door echoed in the old castle just as it did now. And then when I opened the door and saw Percival and Alexis standing behind it, I had immediately mmed the door closed in front of their eyes.


    Oh how nostalgic it all is. As the memories came back to me, I tried closing the door again now with a mischievous littleugh, but Percival bitterly held the door open before I could. He smiled and said, ¡°There might be wolves out here, so please let me in,¡± telling a joke to show he remembered the old days as well.


    Both of usughed at the small bit of fun, and once we were done I opened my door and weed him inside.


    I invited him inside the room I was reading in earlier, and we sat in opposite chairs facing each other.


    I stuck out my hand to him when we got seated, and understanding what I meant, Percival nodded his head and ced a bag of sugar confections into the palm of my hand.


    The sugar confections all looked sweet and delicious while wrapped up in a lovely ribbon. Looking at them for only a second, my helmet quickly snapped back up in attention.


    ¡°......This isn¡¯t it.¡±


    ¡°I know. Please enjoy them while waiting for a second.¡±


    The bitter smile Percival mixed into his lightughter annoyed me for a second, but knowing that there was nothing for it, I shrugged my shoulders and undid the ribbon wrapped around the bag.


    A sweet aroma melted in my mouth after popping the first one in. It was so deliciously sweet. While enjoying that sweetness, Percival took a look around the room.


    ¡°Robertson, is Robertson here?¡±


    Not seeing him anywhere, Percival absentmindedly called his name, but I did not answer his question and continued to silently taste these sugared confections for ten seconds when.......


    *tsu tsu*


    a spider came crawling down from the ceiling.


    It was the aforementioned Robertson. Today too he was looking particrly plump, and as he stopped crawling down his web right in front of Percival¡¯s face, I marveled at just how dreamlike and handsome he was looking today before greeting him.


    Towards such a Robertson Percival presented a letter. Then he said just the one word, ¡°Please.¡± He spoke in quite the serious voice.


    Robertson heard that voice and received the letter......or not because of his size, so he instead jumped on top of it. He crawled around the letter as if wary of what it could contain, creating a small rustling sound as he stuck his forefoot into the gaps of the envelope.


    After investigating the letter for awhile, Robertson jumped back onto his thread as if to dere that he was finished, and then began twinkling in a light slightly brighter than usual. What is with that dazzling light?


    ¡°Yosh, then it¡¯s alright?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re worrying me.¡±


    I smiled bitterly from inside my helmet as I watched themon sight of these two interacting as such.


    Then I decided to move my hands and received an envelope from Percival.


    The name of the sender written there.........Emilia Idira.


    Emilia once lived inside the royal pce as the Prince¡¯s fiancee, but after this case was resolved, she was moved away from the kingdom by Ordo¡¯s will. She now resided in the remote area of the country that Ordo had been banished to, an area still almost quarantined by the rest of the country.


    But now all the might Ordo had built up to control the country was now being focused inward to hold the power of a single witch. Would that be irony?


    Emilia resides in a small mansion that is isted even in that ce, living with a few servants to take care of her needs.


    Quietly, frugally, free from mour. It can be said that she was truly living a life theplete opposite of what she had lived inside the pce.


    Of course, even in that quiet life she was being extensively monitored. Ordo, his men, and even some of his knights were constantly watching Emilia and taking countermeasures so thaht they could respond immediately if ever something were to happen.


    It was the witch yer Percival who tookmand. Emilia¡¯s surveince and reporting, Alexis¡¯s escort......he was much busier than before.


    Everyone was still very much wary of Emilia.


    If she were to ask, they would not allow her to have any gems or decorations, and it was even forbidden for her to eat from silver dining ware.


    As they knew that her magic had previously used glittering decorations as a medium, it seems that even shiny ss fragments have been forbidden to her.


    Amid such thoroughness, it would be natural for Emilia to feel cramped from Ordo, Percival, and even the watchful eye of Gina¡¯s magic......always living knowing that at least one other person would be watching how she moved. It¡¯s so different from her life up until now I¡¯m sure she wants to scream at the top of her lungs.


    Still, it should be better than being tried as the root of all evil. In this regard, I am thankful for Ordo¡¯s poor nature who longed for the long-term cease-firing based off of the people¡¯s guilt which allowed Emilia to live.


    ¡°How is Emilia?¡±


    ¡°Her condition has improved a lot. I was touched the morning she got up early to see me off.¡±


    Percivalughed while remembering Emilia¡¯s state at that time. There was no deceit in that expression, so surely Emilia really was showing signs of recovery.


    The wish, ¡®I want to be a sparkling princess¡¯ had been felt so strongly that it became a curse, changing everything to make Emilia capable of being that princess. Now that everything has melted away, Emilia has returned to being a sickly girl once again.


    I had an inkling when they took her away that day, but she got worse than I would have thought. At times it being difficult for her to walk, she spent many days coughing in her bed.


    Still, the condition described in the sent letter described a remarkable improvement, and it is said that she is able to freely cook and paint without depending on anyone else¡¯s help. Sometimes she sends me one of her pictures along with the letter. ¨CAlthough the first time she did I overheard Percival muttering, ¡°The drawing power of two sisters is gic......¡± before he had quickly left in a panic when he realized I was looking towards him at the time.¨C


    ¡°Emilia seems to be doing well and good.¡±


    I let out a sigh of relief as I slowly opened the envelope.


    Then moving one of my hands outwards, Percival gave me a bitter smile and wrapped my hand up in both of his. They wererge, manly hands, and they made my expression rx underneath this helmet.


    Although a year has already passed, my heart still hurts whenever I read a letter from Emilia. I had decided not to forgive her, to judge her; but the letters of apology and regret that pour forth from the pages my sister sends me while isted in a distantnd pierce my armor and cling to my heart.


    That¡¯s why whenever I read a letter from her I try to have Percival¡¯s hand in my own. The body temperature from his skin transmitted onto my own, the feeling of his skin rubbing against mine, warms my chest and makes me melt.


    Enraptured by such warmth, I carefully unfolded the stationary.


    Her current situation with family and things. What kind of days she has, the visits from the asional witches, and sometimes letters from Rodel.


    Such things were scrawled across the simple paper letter.


    ¡°She seems to like the brooch Miss Mte gave her quite a bit, and I always see her wearing it.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m happy, I tried my best when making it. ......Well, at the time I was designing it I had received quite a few strange looks.¡±


    I started grumbling my resentment towards everyone I could think of one by one with Percival still holding my hand, smiling bitterly knowing that he was one of the people on my list.


    The brooch Percival was talking about was something that I had made for Emilia. It was natural for Emilia who had used an essory to work her magic to not be allowed to keep an essory, but this was something that I hand-made for her.


    I prepared a in brooch using wood and carefully engraved the handle. It was a job that required perseverance and dexterity. At the starting line of the design stage, I decided to make a cute kitty-cat brooch.....when I was finished, everyone had something to say.


    ¡°Miss Mte, something like this is far too fashionable to give as a gift.........¡±


    and,


    ¡°Is this a curse?¡±


    and,


    ¡°That¡¯s some good wood. Hey Concetta, quit picking a fight with it!¡±


    and,


    ¡°Wow, what is that? It looks so bad!¡±


    It ended with everyone saying they really liked it. ¨CThere is no need to exin certain things, like who said what, in detail. Especially thatst one was way too severe. Just remembering the look on his pompous face as heughed makes me want to scream inside this helmet.¨C


    Alexis was still thinking seriously about the design though even in that strange situation.


    Even though he knew it would be given to Emilia when it waspleted, he still drew up a beautiful kitty-cat and flower drawing.


    I carved the brooch based off that, took the time to paint the whole thing, and then gave it to Emilia. I cannot put any glittering jewels on it, but I still think that it was a pretty brooch.


    Emilia said in the next letter she sent that she loved it, and she apparently wears it every day.


    I cannot see the figure of her wearing that brooch, but I can still smile happily at how easily it is to imagine Emilia¡¯s shining appearance while wearing it.


    Putting the letter down on my desk when I had finished reading it, Percival held one of his hands out to me again.


    He wanted to hold both my hands in his. I allowed it, and had my other hand slowly ovepped by his.


    ¡°I will make another brooch by the day I see Emilia again......¡±


    ¡°Matching, I¡¯m sure she will be pleased.¡±


    ¡°I will wear it and go see Emilia......will you go with me at that time?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I didn¡¯t realize I was holding my breath until I let it all out when Percival resolutely nodded his head.


    Since that one event, I had not met with Emilia......rather, I couldn¡¯t meet with her. Ordo had forbidden it under his name as king.


    Until we find a way topletely seal away the magic Emilia is constantly leaking out, only a <ruby>witch yer<rt>Percival</rt></ruby> or a <ruby>familiar<rt>Robertson</rt></ruby> are allowed to meet with her to exchange letters that have been checked beforehand.


    Of course, this was out of concern since I had been driven by Emilia¡¯s magic in the past, and at the same time it is Ordo¡¯s idea for trying to gain a technique to seal witchcraft away. Although it is true that he is a greedy man any way you cut it, it is a fact that this incident would not have been solved if it were not for his desire.


    Incidentally, Alexis and Rodel are in the same situation. Ordo has also forbade Alexis from going to see his brother, but he is allowing them to exchange letters. I remember the first time they were sent. The figure of Ordoughing while saying, ¡°It¡¯s a fight between my two cute nephews,¡± is something that will forever be burned into my mind.


    As for the technique to seal a person¡¯s witchcraft, the research done by Gina¡¯s Avalkin family along with a few acquaintances of hers had brought forth a few ideas.


    Actually, recently the group of witches has been split in two as one group tries to discover the method to seal a witches magic while another seeks to find a way to block magic using magic. It seems that Emilia¡¯s circumstances have already been forgotten, and the two sides are now just arguing about the best way to continue with their research.


    Witches are beings who live apart from others where they can perform research on magic by themselves for a reason after all. In the meantime, the subject was dropped after Gina simply said, ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as results are made.¡±


    ¡°With that momentum, surely Miss Emilia¡¯s magic can be sealed before too long.¡±


    ¡°I suppose. Until then the letters......¡±


    ¡°Even with the letters, Miss Emilia always cries out in joy, ¡®Sister Mte has sent a reply!¡¯ whenever she receives one.¡±


    A grin floated across Percival¡¯s face.


    Surely he was remembering the first time I had written her, when I was unsure about what to write so I just wrote whatever came to my head. When I tried to justify myself and told him that, ¡®Witches are busy,¡¯ he surely misunderstood and tried tofort me with a smile while rubbing my hands.


    How awful......I muttered in my heart, but at the same time Percival called out, ¡°Miss Mte,¡± as his mind had drifted to something else. His bright blue eyes looked more serious than usual and they were nted squarely on me. His hands felt hotter as well, most likely because of whatever was on his mind.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Miss Mte, recently you¡¯ve started exposing your hands outside......¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m fine if it¡¯s my hands or feet.¡±


    Unlike before where I refused to expose even a millimeter of my skin, I had started exposing myself little by little over this past year.


    If it is only my limbs, I can show them as long as a reliable person such as Percival is nearby. But I get nervous if attention is drawn on me, and if there are many people, I shrink back and retreat to my shell.


    Still, I recently started to be able to expose my hands and feet by myself. Like right now, I feelfortable touching another person.


    ¡°I think that it is a good thing. I know that you are trying hard to peel back your armor, but......¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°When I watch your back as you remove your armor and try to touch someone, I.......that is.......I-I get jealous.¡±


    Percival¡¯s face got progressively redder as he spoke, but I was barely able notice when the words he spoke left mepletely dumbfounded.


    The hands I was touching were hot. The words he used prated my armor and caused my chest to tighten. If I could see it right now, I¡¯m sure my face would be as red as his.


    ¡°Whether it be a gauntlet or a hand, I want to be the one holding it. I want to be the one holding this connection with you.¡±


    ¡°Such a thing, why........¡±


    ¡°........because I love you.¡±


    While being stared at by that serious look, he said those words to me, and I felt a jolt pierce right into my chest.


    His words blended into my heart, creating a rhythm at which it beat.


    I could hear the sounds of my heart as if it were a song, and a heat traveled through my body. I feltfortable as if I wereying on a fluffy cloud, and for a second I wondered if I was dreaming.


    Love, I never thought someone would direct those words towards me.


    Love, never..........


    ¡°Is it the armor!?¡±


    I found some unexpected words passing through my lips as a response.


    ¡°Hm? Ah, you are in armor.¡±


    ¡°I am wearing armor, so you can¡¯t see my face!¡±


    ¡°True, I cannot see it.¡±


    ¡°Yet you love......... No way, Percival, you have an armor fetish.¡±


    ¡°No that is an extreme misunderstanding.¡±


    Percival powerfully denied my idea, but a cloud of embarrassment was filling up my helmet, and I was unsure if I believed him.


    I am almostpletely covered in armor. From the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Although I have finally been able to work my way up to showing my hands and feet, he should not even be sure what color my hair is let alone what my face looks like.


    Yes he is making some grand appeal that he loves me. To what extent......or so I tried to ask him, but he was sharply smiling back at me.


    ¡°What for......you are extremely kind, and I find you very cute as well.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re sleepy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sleepy.¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m cute.......You know, sometimes my spirit enters some armor from the side.¡±


    Perhaps I was misunderstanding something, so my gaze fell on the suit of armor standing at the corner of the room. It was the suit I wore inside the royal pce.


    I thought about returning it to Ordo, but I had gained a strange attachment to it. Besides, it would be nice to have it if my main armor ever had to be put out to dry. It is a so-called spare.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    But the designs of the two arepletely different. Finding both armors cute would be unreasonable, but when I turned my gaze towards it, Percival¡¯s eyes followed mine to the corner,


    ¡°At that time, that armor is cute.¡±


    and dered such.


    ¡°What is with, do you just like empty suits of armor......?¡±


    ¡°I love Miss Mte. Whatever armor you wear is the cutest in the world so long as you¡¯re in it.¡±


    Speaking ever so gently, Percival slowly released my hands from his. Then he spread out both his arms in front of me.


    When he hugged me just like that, I felt like I was being silently told not to run away, and a small grunt escaped my lips underneath my helmet. If he hadn¡¯t embraced me and pulled me close, even I have to admit there was a chance I would have just run away, but like this, I learned a long time ago I can¡¯t escape out of this.


    I sat there silently while cursing his arms from inside my heart.


    It is because I think to myself what a shame it is that I can¡¯t feel how tightly he is embracing me through the armor, or what a waste it is that I can¡¯t feel the warmth of his hand rubbing my back that I realize just how much I am drawn to him. Soon such a wish like me wanting him to embrace me even more tightly will rise up in me.


    ¡°If you take off your armor someday, will youe to see me first? I wish......No, I want you to remove your armor and hug me just like this.¡±


    ¡°........Percival.¡±


    ¡°Witches, curses, or even armor mean nothing to me. I love the Miss Mte before me just the way you are. Please marry me.¡±


    Towards the heartfelt words Percival spoke out, a small sigh escaped my helmet.


    ¡°Perhaps, I will end up living my entire life just like this.¡±


    ¡°Even your armor is cute, so it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°.......Even if I take it off, I¡¯ll bepletely different from Percival¡¯s preference......I might really be ugly, so what will you do?¡±


    I understand that the words Alexis said at that time was because of the curse.


    But what if I really am ugly?


    There is a possibility that the curse took the shortest method for getting me out of my marriage which was to make Alexis vocal to my already hideous face.


    That possibility still clung to my heart, and it was why I still wore a helmet even now. Whether I¡¯m a witch or not, I can¡¯t be confident in myself as just an ordinary girl.


    My point only caused Percival no narrow his blue eyes towards me.


    ¡°I have only ever seen you with a helmet on, there is nothing that could top that.¡±


    Or so he said with augh.


    There was a little embarrassment in thatugh of his, and I found myself sighing once again. It is because he thinks in that sort of way that I.......


    That I also want to take my helmet off and face you.


    That I want to be hugged by him, without some lump of iron getting in the way.


    Such a numbing feeling sprung forth from deep inside me, and I bumped the crown of my helmet against his wide chest.


    My helmet rattled a little as it pressed into him, but it was overshadowed by Percival¡¯sugh as he started to call me an ¡®amenable cat¡¯. As part of the joke he started to stroke the back of my armor as if I really were a cat, but rather than be offended, I could only think once more about what a waste it was that I couldn¡¯t feel his touch.


    ¡°.........strange person.¡±


    I put up some small act of resistance until wrapping my arms around his back in turn. Slowly, my embrace strengthened, and this time it was me pulling him in close.


    The end result was him strengthening his smile all the more.


    ¡°I am strange indeed. However, I think something like that would work perfectly for a heavily armored noble girl.¡±


    His softly spoken words caused a small smile to form on my face. Then I closed my eyes, and the tears I had been enduring until now started to flow.


    The heavily armored noble girl. It had protected me, walling everything away from me, but now it was just a form of frustration.


    I made a promise in my heart that the day I would remove it would somedaye, but for now, I settled for tightly hugging Percival to me and quietly telling him, ¡°I feel the same way about you........¡±


    Even those all-important words came to him through a helmet. How frustrating this is.

 Chapter 57

    <h4>The Noble Girl Who Left the Heavy Armor</h4>


    If you ask someone if they¡¯d like a tailor made dress, anyone who isn¡¯t the daughter of a cow would have their eyes light up. Call up both familiar and popr designers through your social circles, and talk with them about how an ordinary piece of cloth would be transformed into something beautiful. Precious preparations and a gorgeous shine must be put into the dress, and it allows the person wearing it to feel as if they are temporarily inside a dream.


    The same can be said for even a noble girl and witch who usually wears nothing besides a full body suit of armor. I held my chest high as I looked towards the door or a room inside the royal pce.


    Today my wedding dress was being tailored. Of course, it was meant for my wedding with Percival.


    Though, it¡¯s not a gorgeous, luxurious event that is held inside some social circles. There are very few peopleing, including Alexis and the others and a few witches I had be acquainted with. It is something with an attendance that could be counted on one hand so to speak. The venue as well is my old castle. It is not certain whether this can be called an extravagant event anymore, but at the very least it is safe to call it a gorgeous tea party.


    It is certainly still going by the title of a ¡®wedding ceremony¡¯ for the moment, and thanks to Ordo who put out some money for the asion, I was able to provide some wonderful invitation cards.


    The wedding dress I would wear for such a ceremony........just thinking about it my chest started to warm up, and the feelings bouncing around my heart became even more violent.


    Today, I would be taking off my helmet in this ce.


    I would ¡®properly¡¯ wear a wedding dress that suits me for my wedding with Percival.


    Even now I repeat this to myself.


    Because Percival told me, ¡°I am cute even inside armor,¡± I was able to move forward and love myself even when I was encased in iron. That¡¯s why I strongly want to marry him as ¡®Mte¡¯ and not the ¡®Heavily Armored Noble Girl¡¯. This is why I must take off my armor.


    Take off my armor and appear in front of him wearing the best dress I can. It¡¯s okay, he will surely praise me.


    With that determination in mind, I took a deep breath in front of the door. Inside there was Percival and Gina who had brought the preparations for the dress. Inside also were a few craftsmen who had tailored such dresses before, but they were handpicked by Alexis and Ordo, so I¡¯m sure they can be trusted.


    Certainly I cannot wipe away my anxiety entirely. When I think about what people might say when they see me vulnerable, fear inevitably takes hold of me.


    But even more than that, I want to look at him with my eyes, not through some holes in a helmet. If he can, I want him to watch me take off this armor and still call me ¡®cute.¡¯


    With that thought, I took hold of the door knob with an unwavering determination.


    .......Yes, I am going to take off Mte.


    Even though I am Mte.


    ¡°Alright Mte, let¡¯s measure around your stomach. You¡¯ll be wearing a corset on the big day, so make sure you¡¯re not too hungry right now.¡±


    Well, Gina was trying to measure around the abdomen of the armor.


    Even as she did that, I murmured, ¡°I won¡¯t suck in,¡± from inside my helmet. The measuring tool seemed to be something that would measure around my waist and abdomen, but of course it would not feel anything through a case of iron. On the contrary, even if I were to take a deep breath in to try and dent my stomach, it wouldn¡¯t change anything.


    Naturally. It¡¯s a suit of armor. There is no way it would change.


    Even so, Gina has been taking measurements from the top of my armor, brought it down to my chest, and then, ¡°Some people like it a little t......¡± tried tofort me. She said so, about the chest of a full suit of armor she had been measuring.


    ¡°Hey, Gina.......¡±


    ¡°Be at ease Mte. Even if I¡¯m a little off, it can be covered up by the dress itself.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong, listen.¡±


    Hey, even though I¡¯m trying to stop her, a white cloth suddenly wrapped around the eyes of my helmet, blocking my sight. It was a beautiful white cloth though, and it shined finely while glittering as the light bounced off it.


    When I diverted my eyes to see where the fabric hade from, my eyes suddenly matched up with Percival¡¯s, who was making an extremely serious expression. He was holding several such cloths, recing one piece for another, constantly hanging them off either my helmet or my shoulder. Afterparing them several times, he eventually presented one beautifully shining piece to me.


    ¡°I think that this cloth bes you most Lady Mte, but what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Percival, you see, today I¡±


    ¡°Wait Percival, if you are picking out a veil then you should wait and see what color goes with it.¡±


    ¡°Even Alexis.......or am I wearing a helmet along with my veil?¡±


    All of the measurements for the suit of armor were being taken by Gina while Percival and Alexispared to see what fabric would look best with it. And I was left standing there sighing by myself.


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Apparently they thought I would be wearing my armor just as I had been until now, so they were doing their best to make my armor look as pretty as possible. Wondering which design looks best, what kinds of trends are most popr right now, and I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve probably seen more than a few surprising things as they did all their research for this moment. The samples of prepared cloth was stacked like a mountain, and it showed that not just this country, but even countries outside our borders had been subjects for their search.


    I am thankful to see them so very enthused about this and appreciative of all the work they are doing on my behalf.


    .......Although as they looked, I¡¯m sure that the image of a walking suit of armor wearing those veils never popped up into the merchants¡¯ minds. ¨CEven if it did, I¡¯m sure that it would be something from their nightmares. Even as I try to picture it, I see a walking suit of armor wearing a wedding dress with a horror backdrop framing it.¨C


    I imagined such an image and now a bit of weakness had gotten into my knees, but then Percival muttered, ¡°That is,¡± underneath his breath as he had noticed something.


    His eyes were pointed towards my things, but apart from my usual pouch was a small box attached to it. Having seen it, Percival¡¯s face suddenly lit up as he realized it was the hair ornament he had gotten me.


    ¡°Please wear it.¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s.......it¡¯s something you gave me.¡±


    Percival¡¯s eyes shined with a light so bright I had to look away from him.


    At that moment, the words I was about to say were interrupted by Gina, ¡°Oh no Mte. I can¡¯t measure your chest like this when you¡¯re talking,¡± who was still measuring right below my chest. Why on earth would my talking change the circumference of of a full body suit of armor? Even if I shout at the top of my lungs, the thickness of this iron won¡¯t change.


    However, as I wanted to point this out, I instead stretched out my armored arm towards the hair ornament, and seeing my intention, Percival quickly grabbed it and approached me with it in hand.


    Then he gently stretched out his hand and added the hair ornament to the top of my helmet. I heard the faint *ting* of it touching iron. Then as he looked down at me with a satisfied look on his face, I raised my face towards his,


    ¡°It suits you after all,¡±


    and had this said to me.


    There were still no color of falsehoods in his voice or deception. He had a truly joyful expression on his face, and I knew that his words were a true heartfeltpliment. Afterwards, he shifted the hair ornament slightly and moved it to the other side of my helmet adding, ¡°It looks better here.¡± I guess he really was considering my appearance.


    While Percival and was doing that, Gina had finished up doing my measurements while muttering, ¡°There should be almost no constrictions with this.¡± Alexis was still sorting through veil fabric with a serious look in his eye.......and I was still left with nothing to do other than sigh inside my helmet.


    It was somewhere deep inside my heart where I questioned whether I was fortunate to have epted my presence inside this armor, orment that I have be too epting of it.


    The tailoring of the dress was finished, and the day of the ceremony came.


    Because the venue is the old castle where I live, there is naturally not a tense atmosphere in the air. The witches that were invited all spread out on their own, and there were many who had brought along stacks of books with them saying, ¡°This one is interesting,¡± and ¡°I¡¯d like you to read this one too.¡±


    Isn¡¯t it quite the free and rxed atmosphere you would never expect from a ceremony? Moreover, since the area was littered with familiars running about and ying, anybody who did not know what was going on would never have guessed that a wedding was about to take ce.


    It could be said that this unusual air was slightly affecting me as with the usual ceremony, I should be standing with my back straight waiting patiently for things to begin. Instead, I was rarely off on my own wandering around. Was this natural because of all the witches that had gathered, or was I just moving based on my own nervousness?


    ¡°Concetta, let¡¯s wear a bow tie today. Heeeere we go.¡±


    I walked by Gina who was holding up a bow tie towards a fluffy cat. The ornate dress she was wearing was something newly prepared for today that made her look stunning, but her tone was as gentle as ever when she spoke creating a gap between her explosive beauty and humble demeanor. Sitting on Gina¡¯s knees, Concetta was sitting upright wearing a tail coat made for cats.


    Raising his face and showing his neck, a bow tie was wrapped around him which made his tail swing once in pride. Concetta had also gotten in the bath the previous night and had his hair washed and brushed creating no need for any hair care today. Even a familiar can be concerned about their personal appearance.


    Watching as Ginamended Concetta for his naturally good looks, I heard Alexis suddenly cry out.


    He was wearing a formal ck tuxedo. The embroidery had been adjusted to match his shining hair, and he looked handsome enough to have just about any woman swoon upon seeing him. Though, if they were to see therge spider clinging to his chest, those swoons would inevitably turn into screams.


    Of course, that spider was Robertson. Spiders cannot be fashionable.....whoever would say that obviously has never seen one with their eight feet painted white before. He seemed to have had them colored today, and as Alexis approached, Gina immediately started praising him saying, ¡°White gloves, so gentlemanly.¡±


    ¡°Gina, how is Mte?¡±


    ¡°Excellent. The pure white veil and dress are finished and beautiful enough on their own to make anyone marvel. Alexis, what about things with you?¡±


    ¡°Everything¡¯s perfect on my side too. No matter what he says, he looks like a prince.¡±


    While saying so, Alexis sat down next to Gina. At that time Concetta moved from Gina¡¯sp to Alexis¡¯s. As if to show off, he did a full turnabout on his knees, and with a bitter smile, Alexis started petting his head while praising him.


    While the two of them were chatting for awhile, the started loosely ying some music after seeing what the time had be.


    The witches who had been doing things on their own until now were able to read the mood bringing their familiars with them as they sat down and cing them on theirps.


    In such an atmosphere, who came walking down the isle was Ordo dressed up in a set of decadent robes. I could feel the dignity of a king from his upright walk, and when he stood before the prepared podium, he took a deep breath......,


    *Kuu*.....and while groaning slightly, he unexpectedly turned his face away from the crowd.


    ¡°My, what a rude priest.¡±


    ¡°How did Uncle be the priest in the first ce? Who thought that would work? Having such a lump of insincerity of an old man up there.¡±


    And then Gina and Alexis both made whilements from the crowd about Ordo¡¯s attitude.


    Ordo looked at them both with disgusted eyes, but even I felt like I could hear the stone podiumughing when he took his position. It must be unpleasant for him. And so the beginning of the ceremony began with a small cough.


    It wasn¡¯t something extravagant because of its small scale, buy the ceremony was able to proceed with a warm feeling.


    Ordo, who was acting as the priest, recited the words for a traditionalmitment. In addition, he added, ¡°You guys, there is no way you actually still believe that God is watching this right?¡±


    Who asked for this domineering counterfeit? But this guy insisted on acting as the priest to acquire some connections with the visiting witches. I¡¯m sure he felt some goodwill towards Percival and me, but he would be lying if he said that his main purpose here was not to draw in another country¡¯s witches as well. For such a greedy man to act as someonepletely devoted to God is too funny of a story.


    Nevertheless, the expression of our fake priest smoothed out and urged us to seal the oath with a kiss. Percival listened to him and slowly turned towards me with a smallugh. He looked happy and somewhat embarrassed, a shy look that made him look like a young boy. But his eyes were focused entirely on me, and so I turned towards him........,


    and narrowed my eyes through my helmet.


    Yes, from inside the helmet. I am wearing a full body suit of armor. No, today I was wearing a beautiful wedding dress and veil...overtop a full body suit of armor.


    The cloth the dress was made out of shined finely when it received the light, and the hem gave off a fantastic fluffy feeling whenever I moved. Goodce was interwoven around the chest area and silver thread embroidery was used to decorate the hems. The veil hiding the helmet was also colored to match the purity of the dress, and the hair ornament affixed to the helmet yed up the whole outfit.


    Speaking of its morous appearance, my eyes shone when I saw the finished tailored dress, and at the same time my heart had pounded with excitement while wondering if I was really going to get to wear this.


    However, almost immediately after that my dreams were shattered and my eyes when cloudy when I realized the dress was too big.


    Of course, the dress was too big for me because it was made to go over armor.


    And as I saw that the prepared corset was also armor-sized, my eyes stagnated going from simply cloudy, to dirty and muddy.


    And now, I was wearing that wedding dress over my usual suit of armor. There was a corset underneath my dress as well by the way. It was quite tightly squeezed, but it had absolutely no effect on my breathing.1 I was able tofortably take a deep breath and feel as if I were not wearing a corset at all.


    Percival was looking at the me who was dressed like that. For the sake of today, he had also dressed up in a way worth seeing. A tailored suit using dark blue cloth matched with his eye-catching golden hair, and the embroidered white and silver lines matched my dress creating a morous look. He had the demeanor of a brave knight, yet his beauty was like a prince from a storybook.


    When I saw him for the first time, I fell in love all over again, but my mouth took on a will of its own saying, ¡°I wonder if it will match?¡± I immediately panicked when I realized what my mouth had done and had started swinging my helmet to the left and right to see if it was a trick and someone was just trying to make me believe that I had said that.


    Contrary to my anxious reaction, there was no tightening on Percival¡¯s expression. Despite my words, he clearly looked happy standing before me.


    ¡°So embarassing.¡±


    But Percival waspletely oblivious to those thoughts, and after my attention was drawn back to the current moment, I noticed his hand slowly moving forward and drawing back the veil covering my helmet.


    An oath sealed by a kiss. My heart began beating fast as the fact that this was really happening hit me along with the sight of Percival lifting my veil. Even if I am wearing a full body suit of armor, I am still a young girl, and there is no way I wouldn¡¯t be unperturbed at a promise kiss to show off my love.


    .........However, I cannot get drunk off of my happiness like this.


    ¡°Um, Percival¡±


    ¡°.......It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m nervous too.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s something different. You see¡±


    This armor.......I tried saying something, but only air woulde out of my mouth. Percival narrowed his blue eyes and brought his face close. I saw that he was trying to kiss me, so I hurriedly closed my eyes because it felt like his lips would really touch me.


    During my wedding, we seal our love with a promised kiss until death do us part.......I fell into such an illusion.


    Well, of course our lips weren¡¯t going to touch.


    Eventually oveing the anxiety that had gripped my heart, I slowly opened my eyes again, and I saw Percival¡¯s face slightly further away than when I had saw itst with rosy cheeks. His hands were outstretched towards my helmet and stroking it as if he were stroking a woman¡¯s cheeks. He is practically petting me with the tips of his fingers, I think after seeing the way his hand moves from the corner of my vision.


    I hear a feverish breath rise up from my surroundings, and Gina leads them with an exaggerated sigh, ¡°Beautiful......¡± Alexis was sitting beside her, nodding his head in agreement with a calm expression. There was exactly one person who was holding his hand over his mouth and looking away while trembling from trying to hold back hisughter, but I decided to ignore this specific individual.


    Such a warm air, and with this atmosphere prevailing, I back up towards Percival¡¯s loving eyes.......


    ¡°It¡¯s the armor!¡±


    and gave voice to my thoughts.


    ¡°Huh, what¡¯s wrong Mte?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s armor! Percival kissed my helmet!¡±


    ¡°Well yes, but please don¡¯t shout it out like that, you¡¯ll........you¡¯re making me shy.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be shy about that!¡±


    Towards my desperate appeals, Percival just tilted his head to the side in confusion. That expression showed he was feeling truly oblivious to my point, but it wasn¡¯t just him, everyone in the room was looking at me with a giant question mark over their heads. There was one person who was holding his stomach, keeled over fromughing so hard, but if God really is here, then that guy will burst into mes any second now. I¡¯m getting off topic.


    I ignore my surroundings, take a deep breath, and plead with Percival.


    ¡°My helmet is a helmet, it¡¯s not me. So......that is, properly........I want you to properly kiss me.¡±


    ¡°...........Lady Mte, that is¡±


    ¡°W-Whatever kind of face I have, like you said before.......can you still kiss me?¡±


    My questions stunned Percival, and for a couple seconds, he just stared at me with wide eyes..........and then gave me a gentle smile and nodded deeply. That expression immediately drove away my lingering anxiety, and as he whispered the words, ¡°If it¡¯s what you want, I¡¯ll do it however many times I can,¡± washed away any tension swirling around my chest. My heart began to rhythmically beat at afortable rate as his arms began to move forward once again.


    Slowly, steadily, his hands made their way to the back of my helmet. The moment I heard the metallic nk of iron moving against iron, some small amount of tension resurfaced in the back of my mind, but seeing Percival¡¯s peaceful smile made it all melt away.


    I want to look into those eyes not through the holes of a helmet; I want to feel those lips on mine. There is no small part of me that is jealous of this helmet having received a kiss before me.


    With those thoughts abound, my helmet was removed, and I slowly raised my face to meet his.


    Percival was there in my sight. And I, without some helmet shielding me, was in his.


    The people surrounding me were speechless. Was it because of the surprise that the heavily armored noble girl had taken off her helmet, or was it out of shock at my true appearance? I was afraid to confirm the truth, but above all that silence was something painful. Was I ugly? If you think that you are disappointed, if you think such a thing......what do you think......the hands holding my helmet were trembling.


    However, my helmet has already been taken off. It is meaningless to get scared and run away. With that in mind, I pushed down the fear bubbling in my chest and waited for Percival to say something.


    His blue eyes were round and wide-eyed,pletely stunned by what he saw.........


    ¡°L-Lady of the Lake!¡±


    and shouted out something unexpected.


    To that voice, towards those words, my head tilted to the side in curiosity. This time not inside a helmet.


    ¡°Lady of the Lake?¡±


    ¡°Why are you here!? Lady Mte? Where did you go?¡±


    ¡°Percival, calm down.......Um, why are you suddenly shouting something about a Lady of the Lake?¡±


    ¡°Why, when, how, huh.........?¡±


    Where had that bravery and dignity gone, Percival was wide-eyed and his mouth pping open then shut while looking at me.......then something must have connected because he suddenly hit his hands together


    The ¡®Lady of the Lake¡¯ was a nameless woman who Percival had encountered some time during our journey.


    First at thekeside and then once again near Gina¡¯s mansion. Strangely, nobody else had seen her other than Percival, and I, who had been near the area at the same time, had felt no sign of her. From her ethereal beauty to glowing mysteriousness, Percival had imed she was clearly a ¡®foreign princess who is in actuality a water fairy that is traveling abroad while keeping her identity secret to protect herself.¡¯


    Why was he bringing up that woman now.............unless he was saying that I was the Lady of the Lake.


    ¡°That¡¯s, my spell to keep people away wouldn¡¯t have worked on a witch yer like Percival.........in other words you watched me strip off my armor!¡±


    ¡°Lady Mte is my fabled ¡®Lady of the Lake!¡¯¡±


    So we eximed at the same time.


    Then we both turned to see Gina and Alexis who would also know what we were talking about.....but Gina¡¯s was narrowly looking at us as if she was amazed by something, and Concetta was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile Alexis¡¯s mouth had been filled with a loaf of bread that appeared out of nowhere.


    I saw their mild reactions and was taken aback, ¡°Did they already know.......?¡± but then my gaze was inevitably drawn back to Percival. Whether he had the same idea as me, he was making a face as if someone had just pulled on his cheeks.


    But when he noticed my eyes on him, he quickly cleared his throat and began to scratch his head.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way Lady Mte is really the Lady of the Lake.......¡±


    ¡°Heh, I also never noticed. ..........but, I do feel relieved in a way.¡±


    ¡°.......relieved?¡±


    ¡°.......because, this..........if it¡¯s true, kiss me properly........¡±


    Hurry up and kiss me, was what I was trying to mutter. My voice had be small from the embarrassment that was filling my brain, but since I wasn¡¯t wearing my helmet, even that small voice of mine could reach Percival¡¯s ears perfectly.


    In fact, the second he heard my words, his face went as red as mine probably is.


    ¡°I-I, kiss you......¡±


    ¡°..........Yes, not the helmet, properly.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s, I understand that........but, that........!


    I looked up towards Percival whose eyes were darting around wildly. When I looked, I could see my face reflected in those blue eyes. It¡¯s not a helmet; it¡¯s my own face.


    Then I call out his name, ¡°Percival?¡± but rather than making him more apt to kiss me, I just made his face redder. But then the next moment he looked at something surprised, and his body went rigid with a sudden jerk.


    When I looked, somehow Alexis had unknowinglye up from behind Percival.


    He said nothing, but his eyebrows were slightly lowered. He had his hand firmly ced on the back of Percival¡¯s head and took a single step forward. Along with him, Robertson had somehow ced himself on top of Percival¡¯s head and was currently bouncing up and down like a loaded spring. Following that, Percival¡¯s face slowly came closer to my own. The height difference which had separated us shortened, and soon our lips were at the same level.


    Is this the brute force measure? I was stunned at the unexpected appearance of Alexis, and when he noticed my gaze on him, his expression changed into an expressively cheerful one.


    ¡°Mte is quite beautiful you know?¡±


    There falsehoods in his voice, nor were their any other secrets hidden in those words. Just the pure and sunny feeling of appreciating a beautiful friend, and then praising them.


    Isn¡¯t this too kind? That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t help myself and startedughing before thanking him. There were no falsehoods or secrets in my disposition either. I was pleased by thepliments given to me by my friend, and I wanted to return those good feelings.


    Then Alexis¡¯s smiling eyes turned towards Percival. After looking at him for a few seconds, Alexis look back at me and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°He¡¯spletely useless,¡± he said with a bitter smile.


    ¡°Do as you like.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    I extended my arms through the dress¡¯s hem and attached my hands to Percival¡¯s cheeks. His cheeks were hot, and a smile broke out across my face when I felt that heat.


    Alexis gave a small giggle and finally let go of Percival¡¯s head, instead settling for a few pats on the back. Robertson jumped off his head with a *whoosh* andnded on Alexis¡¯s shoulder. Then as the two of them returned to their seats, I overheard Gina praise them both with a, ¡°Well done,¡± that was probably louder than it needed to be.


    Wouldn¡¯t this brute force measure be something unthinkable for the Alexis of the past? I gave Percival an unexpectedly bitter smile, slowly narrowed my eyes, and brought my face close to his.


    I was nning on having him kiss me, but doing it to him isn¡¯t so bad either.


    Besides, he kissed my helmet, so if you think about it, it¡¯s my turn to give a kiss instead.


    Thinking that, the corners of my mouth rose slightly. But that smile was soon reced by my eyes widening in surprise as a pair of fingers moved to cover my lips.


    They were Percival¡¯s. He was holding down my lips so as to hold down my kiss.


    When I looked at him, his face was still red, but his eyes were still focused on me. Then he slowly lifted his hand and guided it to my removed helmet.


    He removed the hair ornament adorning it and softly added it to my hair.


    I identallyughed a little because it tickled, and then Percival¡¯s hand moved to caress my cheek. Large, masculine hands, a warmth that I was now free to feel, my eyes narrowed infort. I could finally feel his touch, and so a wave of relief washed over my heart.


    ¡°You look beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Really? I, if I take off my armor, I won¡¯t be silver all over anymore.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you certainly won¡¯t be silver. Beautiful dark blue hair, bright purple eyes that are focused on me without a helmet in the way......... I never thought someone so cute and beautiful could exist.¡±


    ¡°.......Percival.¡±


    ¡°I thought my feelings would never change no matter what you looked like underneath that armor, but apparently I was wrong.¡±


    His words washed over me and entered my ears without a helmet muffling them.


    I closed my eyes as if I had been asked to do so, and a hand continued to gently stroke my cheeks. Then, that warm feeling touched my lips.


    Instead of a helmet, not over iron, properly on the lips.


    This kiss was something awarded to me, not to an armored noble girl or a with.


    ¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤END¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤


    A word from the author: ¡®The Heavily Armoured Noble Girl Mte: How To Break a Curse You Don¡¯t Remember Casting¡¯ isplete with this! Thank you very much for seeing it through to the end!


    Below is a funny addition I added at ater date.


    A few months after Mte had taken off her helmet herself......


    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s armor today?¡±


    So Alexis asked, and I responded by nodding my helmet.


    Yes, helmet. I am wearing a helmet today. And in addition, as Alexis handed over some documents to me, I epted them with silver arms from a full body suit of armor.


    I exposed myself during my wedding ceremony, but once it was over, I adorned my helmet once again. I have been wearing my heavy clothes as I had been before.


    Although determined, when I take off my armor I get tense, and I can¡¯t calm down if I¡¯m exposed for a long period of time. I have been called the ¡®heavily armored noble girl¡¯ for a long time now, and there would be many who would be befuddled by seeing my true face knowing my nickname, and my familiarity with other witches would make things even messier. Everyone would want to take a look at the bizarre sight, and all of those attention-oriented lines of sight focused on a single point is still far too much for me to handle.


    When Percival noticed that, he personally put the helmet on my head saying, ¡°You should gradually get used to it,¡± and now here we are. There is no longer a fear in me at being exposed, so it is only necessary for me to open up more to other people. Nevertheless, I feelfortable wearing a suit of armor like this.


    ¡°It¡¯s more deeply ingrained than my baths. Truly, the times are wrong.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t praise that. It¡¯s fine, and Percival also said it¡¯s fine for me to wait.¡±


    ¡°Wait, hey.......¡±


    ¡°I mean, Percival always says <ruby>this<rt>armor</rt></ruby> is cute. Rather......please take a look at this.¡±


    I turned my gaze towards Percival who was reading some documents in the corner of a room.


    He looked up when I called him and looked at the two of us. When I pointed towards myself wearing the iron armor, a curious look crossed his face and he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Percival, what do you think of me?¡±


    ¡°Cute.¡±


    It was an immediate answer.


    Hearing it, I nodded my head and took off my helmet as if it was a matter of course. I have done so before, and I am no longer afraid of doing it. As a matter of fact, I had gotten quite quick at removing my armor recently.


    Then, once again looking at Percival, I asked him the same question as before,


    ¡°Beautiful.¡±


    He used a different word and praised me.


    I nodded my head and put on my helmet once again.


    ¡°Cute.¡±


    I take it off again.


    ¡°Beautiful.¡±


    I put it on again.


    ¡°Cute.¡±


    I take it.......I don¡¯t take it off.


    ¡°Cute.¡±


    We repeated such an interaction several times, and I turned back to Alexis after leaving my helmet on. And so I proudly puffed out my chest my chest and asked him, ¡°So how about it?¡± I know I am floating a bit.


    However, it might be a bit unreasonable for me to be on air like this. Percival praises me when I¡¯m wearing armor as cute, and when I am not wearing it I am beautiful. As expected, I suppose my armor isn¡¯t cute; it¡¯s just that this is how much Percival loves me and nothing will change that.


    Alexis took a small sigh upon seeing my magnificent mood.......but Gina promptly shut him up by shoving a piece of bread into his mouth.


    ¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤end¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤


    1. I don¡¯t know. From what I hear about corsets, I think Mte may have actually lucked out on this one.

 Chapter 58 - Extra 1

    <h4>The Witch yer Escort Knight and the Prince on Break</h4>


    ¡°Hey Percival, how long are you going to keep calling me ¡®prince¡¯?¡±


    These were the words Alexis released one peaceful day. The location was his office inside the royal pce.


    While signing off on a document and adding it to his pile of finished work, he grabbed another document from the overflowing pile taking im to the majority of his desk.......and then asked in apletely dead tone.


    It was probably because he had grown so weary of work. After putting together all the documents he had already signed off on, he filed them away and reached out for another document again......and reached out towards his cup of tea instead after thinking about it for a second.


    The figure of Alexis holding something that wasn¡¯t a pen in his hand made Percival¡¯s eyes go round as if it was the first time he had ever seen such a thing.


    Speaking of the Alexis in the past, he would never interrupt his public service work just to partake in a pleasant chat. He was a man who would silently perform his public affairs work, taking a break only during pre-scheduled time. Truly the appearance of a humble and hard working good prince.


    Yet here he was arbitrarily saying, ¡°Let¡¯s take a short break¡± after a small pause. He even cleared away documents both signed and unprocessed to give himself a little extra room as he pulls out a cookie from his desk drawer. As heid back in his chair, the ¡®short¡¯ part of his earlier statement was looking more and more unlikely.


    Following his change, Percival¨Cwho was sitting on a sofa in the room sorting through his own documents released a bitter smile. Meanwhile Mte, who was sitting down across from him, smiled while telling him, ¡°You¡¯ve be quite twisted.¡±


    Alexis pulled out two more cookies from the drawer and tossed them towards his two friends sitting away from him. This would have also been unthinkable for the previous Alexis.


    Percival raised his hand in the air and skillfully caught it. Mte watched carefully as the cookie made an arch through the sky and raised her iron arm to do the same.....and then the *konk* of the cookie hitting her helmet rung out.


    Mte held down her helmet with the back of her hand to stop the ringing. When she turned her gaze towards Percival and Alexis, they both immediately looked away. She knew they were doing their best no notugh at her, but that actually made her even angrier.


    ¡°........so, what were you talking about?¡±


    When Mte asked her question in a low voice, the intimidation and meaning of, ¡°Don¡¯t you say anything about that,¡± came across loud and clear, so despite his trembling shoulders, Alexis raised his face without saying anything.


    Although the corners of his mouth were still slightly raised, he pretended to not have seen what had happened to Mte. Although he was only a few steps away, he had unfortunately missed it. If he had seen something, or admitted to seeing something, she would most certainlye over and stomp on his feet..........like she did to Percival.


    ¡°Lady Mte, that really hurts so I would like you to forgive me soon......¡±


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Hey, you have two feet. Don¡¯t you think I lost weight?¡±


    ¡°I was wrong tough! Please, your armor lightening magic doesn¡¯t work like this!¡±


    No magic works on the witch yer Percival. So if Mte were to step on his feet, naturally the armor lightening magic wouldn¡¯t work either, so not just Mte, but the entire weight of the armor was being dug into his foot. He quickly apologized with tears in his eyes as he could not handle the full weight of it all, making Mte eventually smile underneath her helmet feeling satisfied.


    She then turned her attention towards Alexis who also had trouble holding back hisughter. When he realized where her sight was set on, Alexis quickly hid his smile and returned to the story about what Percival called him. Percival also took the opportunity to piggyback off the subject change and asked, ¡°What is wrong with the way I call you?¡±


    What a pure white master-servant rtionship. Mte muttered so underneath her breath, but she decided to not interfere with those two¡¯s conversation. She finally stopped trampling on Percival¡¯s foot and returned to her seat on the sofa.


    ¡°What is wrong with calling you Prince.....?¡±


    ¡°I am helping Uncle with his duties, but I have not yet decided whether I will seed him. Because whether you could actually call me royalty right now is in question, I feel like ¡®Prince¡¯ no longer fits me.¡±


    ¡°Well, but calling you in some other way is......¡±


    ¡°Percival saved me from my cursed fate. I have no problems letting idle formalities go.¡±


    ¡°I am honored to have you say so.¡±


    To have Alexis show such gratitude beyond their master-servant rtionship, an impressive color spread across Percival¡¯s expression.


    In fact, Percival had saved Alexis who had been cursed by a witch and isted to his bad reputation and rumors of infidelity. There was the fact that the curse did not work on him because he was a witch yer, but that was a mute point.


    While the rumors of infidelity were prevalent and the evaluation of Alexis hit rock-bottom, he still wholeheartedly believed in Alexis¡¯s innocence. He did not mind throwing away his family name and his position as a royal knight and took Alexis away from the royal pce. He moved forward with a conviction, and he led Alexis to peace while receiving jeers from his associates.


    Alexis was now thanking Percival for that loyalty, and he was telling him to abandon formalities as a show of appreciation and trust.


    It was impossible for a knight to not be pleased by that type of praise from their master.


    ¡°I never knew you were thinking so deeply for me. Then let me respond in kind and allow me to address you as ¡®Akkun¡¯ from this day forward.¡±


    ¡°So that wasn¡¯t a dream.¡±1


    ¡°Akkun, is that no good as well? If it is something that you hate, then please tell me right away Akkun.¡±


    ¡°Wait Percival, I cannot grasp the sense of distance here. When you suddenly give me a nickname like this and change the way you address me, I can¡¯t tell if we have grown closer or drifted farther apart.¡±


    At least choose one or the other.......was what Alexis was trying to say. But hearing his reaction, Mte sighed a little in her helmet,


    ¡°It¡¯s good isn¡¯t it, Akkun-sama?¡±


    and decided to jump in.


    She thought it would be interesting to poke the bear here.


    The Prince who wanted to throw away some level of formality and the loyal knight who wanted to be closer to his liege, it was a beautiful story of friendship.......but watching them dance around the issue was fun to watch.


    That is that; this is this. Even if everything was going to end up the same, she still wanted to poke it.


    ¡°Do you hate it after all, Akkun-sama?¡±


    ¡°Mte, you are using two honorifics for my name now.2¡±


    ¡°Akkun, I apologize if I have been rude. Even though you were in line to seed the throne, I still took a rude attitude towards you......¡±


    ¡°So Percival ispletely unable to gauge the distance.¡±


    Alexis shook his headpletely unable to know what he should do.


    .........and, then the sound of knocking echoed in the room, silencing all three of them. Mte¡¯s helmet creaked a little as she turned to look at the door, and Percival¡¯s gaze followed right after hers.


    Only Alexis wrinkled his brows and said, ¡°I have a bad feeling about this,¡± but those words of his identally acted as a signal allowing their new visitor toe in.


    The door opened slowly giving way to......,


    ¡°Hey hey guys, you sure are making a lot of noise. Have you finished your duties properly, Akkun?¡±


    aughing Ordo.


    ¡°So he came after all....... I figured you¡¯de down here to poke fun.¡±


    ¡°I was just passing by and heard you all talking about something interesting, and I obviously had to join in.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that kind of personality.......I mean, whether I¡¯m finished or not, this type of public service work is Uncle¡¯s job. I¡¯m doing it right now because some guy forced it all onto me.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m grateful for it. Akkun.¡±


    ¡°Shut up old man.¡±


    Alexis red at him and spoke with a low voice, but Ordo justughed. On the contrary, ¡°Don¡¯t you like your nickname, Akkun,¡± he fueled it.


    Of course course neither Percival nor Mte wanted to be left out, and they both started calling him, ¡°Akkun,¡± and ¡°Akkun-sama¡± respectively.


    ¡°Everyone seems to be having fun.....alright, call me as you wish.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, wellllllll, then allow us to do just that. Aaaaaakkkkkkkuuuuuuun. Have some bread, Aaaaaakkkkkkkuuuuuuun.


    ¡°..........Fuina.¡±


    It goes without saying that the person who brilliantly entered the room without anyone realizing it and shoved a piece of bread into Alexis¡¯s mouth was Gina. She was looking absolutely beautiful today as well, but her allure was made that much more thanks to the smell of fresh baked bread clinging to her now.............and her voice also sounded quite bold.


    Attracted to Gina¡¯s charm, Mte stood up and ran towards her yelling, ¡°Gina!¡± but a loaf of bread was gently shoved into the mouth of her helmet. ¡®Surely this was a different way of greeting¡¯, thinking so, Mte dly epted it.


    Then Mte¡¯s gaze inevitably fell towards Gina¡¯s feet where Concetta waszing around meowing. He quickly walked over and stretched out his fluffy fur covered paw and set it on Mte¡¯s iron feet.


    Does he want me to embrace him? Guessing so, Mte lifted him up. Concetta¡¯s eyes narrowed in pleasure telling her she had been right.


    But then he started meowing out and crying again. His mismatched colored eyes were looking towards.......Alexis.


    ¡°Alexi-..............Prince Akkun-sama, it looks like Concetta wants something from you.¡±


    ¡°And so the number of honorifics on my name has tripled. Concetta, is there something you need? Do you want some bread?¡±


    Come, putting the loaf of bread back into his mouth, Alexis extended both of his arms out. Concetta responded to the open invitation by jumping out of Mte¡¯s hug into Alexis¡¯s outstretched arms.


    Watching that familiar scene and dedication, Mte thought to herself, ¡°He is being used by a magical cat.¡± Well, Alexis didn¡¯t seem to mind, so it was okay.


    Mte was about to turn her helmet away with a smile on her face, but she suddenly stopped when she realized Concetta wasn¡¯t trying to eat the bread hanging from Alexis¡¯s mouth.


    Normally he would devour into the bread without mercy, yet now he wasn¡¯t touching it even though he had not yet had a bite to eat. For some reason today he was just sitting in Alexis¡¯s arms staring at him.


    ¡°Konfeffa, huts hong?¡±


    ¡°Prince Akkun-sama, it seems that Concetta is trying to tell you something.¡±


    Concetta was staring up at Alexis while opening and closing his mouth.


    While Mte was watching him to see what he was doing, Alexis was staring right back into the eyes of the cat resting in his arms.


    Soon the surrounding people also noticed, and they turned their eyes to see what was going on. Gina alone was watching on with a smug look on her face saying, ¡°I worked hard in supporting Concetta up into this point!¡±


    ¡°Concetta?¡±


    ¡°.......nyaa¡±


    When Mte called out his name, it seemed to act as a signal and a small meow leaked from Concetta¡¯s mouth. However afterwards, Concetta opened his mouth again revealing his white fangs before silently closing his mouth once again.


    Whenever Concetta opened her mouth, a small growl woulde out, and the fur on his back would stand on end before smoothing out in conjunction with his mouth.


    Then Concetta¡¯s eyes changed, and he stared at Alexis as if he had made some grand decision. He shook his fluffy tail out, and all his fur stood on end and stayed up.


    All of the surrounding eyes were focused on Concetta. Among them, Alexis¨Cthe man holding the cat in his arms¨Cwas watching him with worried eyes and once again asked, ¡°Konfeffa?¡± with the loaf of bread still in his mouth. Mte tilted her helmet to the side curiously while Percival and Ordo gathered behind to look over her shoulders.


    Receiving everyone¡¯s attention, Concetta slowly opened his mouth once again......,


    ¡°<ruby>Nyaasuuuuuun<rt>Akkun</rt></ruby>...........¡±


    and raised a cry heard by all.


    The sound of a pin could be heard dropping in the distance as the room rxed.


    What eventually broke the silence was the loud apuse and cheering from Gina who was shouting, ¡°You worked hard Concetta......!!¡± What followed was a loud *Fuun* from Concetta vigorously puffing out his chest in pride.


    Mte¡¯s eyes were wide open underneath her helmet. Alexis as well was stunned......yet he still made sure to stroke Concetta¡¯s head as the cat started eating away at the bread handing from his mouth.


    ¡°Thank you of course. I could feel the friendship,¡±


    were Akkun¡¯s words after dozen minutes or so had passed.


    Ordo had gotten tired ofughing so much, so he returned to his office, and Gina had gone back to the kitchen in order to restock on bread. Sitting on Mte¡¯sp as she sat on the sofa was a curled up and sleeping Concetta while Mte herself felt her helmet swaying as she started to nod off.


    Meanwhile, Alexis, who had returned to doing some of his public service work was muttering to himself. Percival was resting on the sofa next to Mte while looking over some of the documents himself. Then he made a small smile as he replied, ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°We weremunicating our friendship.¡±


    ¡°To that extent, you all yed quite a bit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just the type of rtionship us friends have..........Alexis.¡±


    Hearing so, Alexis looked up in surprise to see Percival smiling at him. Then, after a small sigh, Alexis returned a bitter smile right back to him.


    ...end...


    1. He¡¯s referring to the bonus in chapter 33.


    2. As in, she is calling him with -kun and -sama.

 Chapter 59 (END) - Extra 2

    <h4>The Noble Girl who Ran to an Old Castle and Her Eight Legged Friend</h4>


    Despite having run away from the kingdom and her family to find refuge in the old castle, Mte had spent thest few days feeling restless.


    There was someone watching her. This feeling had been constantly oveing her, but when she turned around to find out who it was, there was no one there, just the dirty old walls of the old castle.


    Every time she would tell herself not to mind it, but she would soon feel the gaze on her back once again soon afterward turning back around. However, when she quickly spun around on the spot, there was still nobody there...........and so on and so on for days on end.


    On that day as well, she once again felt someone¡¯s gaze on her. A wrinkle formed on her brow as she vigorously swung around as her eyes darted around every corner of the room she was in. She had the resolution to definitely not miss them this time, but once again she came up empty.


    Was there a forest animal sleeping in the castle, or was it just a ghost?


    It had been a long time since people hade or gone from this castle, so the possibility of an animal having gotten in was indeed high. And this was a building constructed inside a dense woods, so the gloomy air around it makes it seem like it is definitely haunted.


    Which would be better to encounter......thinking such a thing, Mte picked up a nearby brick that had fallen off a wall and an already litntern.


    If it is an animal, a ferocious animal, she could use the fire from thentern as a shield and throw the brick to drive it away. If it is a ghost.......would the brick be useful?


    While venturing through the castle, Mte eventually found her stalker hanging off a spider¡¯s nest on the ceiling.


    At the same time, a shrill shriek escaped her lips as the culprit was neither a vicious animal nor a ghost.


    Eight long legs and a plump body with fine hairs covering it. When it noticed that Mte had found it, it began crawling down one of its hanging threads.......


    It was a spider.


    Rather, it was quite arge spider.


    Mte took a step back, and even though she didn¡¯t know if it would have any effect or not she showed it thentern and the brick. Were spiders scared of fire? As for the brick.....even if she was capable of hitting it, the fearpletely took hold of her mental processing, and the only thing she could think of was how threatening it looked.


    Eventually, Mte¡¯s sense did return to her, and moving as slowly as she could so as to not irritate it too much, she made for the door and left the room.


    It was a spectacr defeat. As she left, a meek, ¡°Do note out too much......¡± was the only feeble resistance she could muster.


    Such a solicitation after their first encounter was in vain, and the spider continued to appear in front of Mte after that. Rather, it had started purposefully entering Mte¡¯s vision by hanging off a window frame or running across a wall. It was like it was refreshed after having been seen once, so it wanted to be seen again.


    Of course Mte screamed every time he appeared, and so he would quickly surrender and escape out of the room immediately after.


    Even when she decided to be a witch and started reading magic books, it wasrgely with the intention of finding a spell to drive away spiders.


    But no matter how giant a spider is, you gradually get used to it.


    For Mte, whose heart had been wounded, feared humans more than anything, and had run away to have the old castle be her cage, especially.


    She did not want to vomit when he saw her, nor would she break out into a cold sweat. Soon she was able to grow a sense of affinity with the spider and eventually had her first conversation with him. ¡°This shall be my room, so please don¡¯t make a nest here.¡±


    Different from the prince who called her ugly or her family who did not protect her, this was a spider who took the time to meet her right before bed and when she got up. He looked like he was telling her good night and weing her every morning. Soon, Mte was talking with him normally with him as well.


    One day, Mte called out to the spider hanging on the window sill.


    ¡°Robertson.¡±


    And just like that, the spider had a name.


    The called out spider climbed up a few centimeters after being called. Was it a substitute for his reply after hearing it? There was no confirmation, but at least it did not appear he was running away.


    This was why Mte was able to work up the courage to get as close as she could to the spider and sit next to him. She investigated the structure of an arthropod from close up and even drew an illustration of him, but for some reason, she feel like she didn¡¯t quite meet eye to eye with him even when she was looking into his eyes.


    Even the spider in the illustration hadpound eyes, but even those seemed to believe she was ugly.


    Thinking such a thing made her want to cry, but she was able to continue on by continuously telling herself it was only natural that a spider¡¯s sense of beauty would be different from a human¡¯s.


    Should Mte be thought of as fearless here, or was it just her running away from the truth? She wasn¡¯t able to tell this easier because the spider would not answer her when asked.


    ¡°Well, can I call you Robinson? It¡¯s a nice name is it not?¡±


    ¡®Robertson¡¯ was a name taken from a book that was left in the castle. Whether the castle¡¯s former owner forgot it here or just left it, it was a book filled with adventures that kids seem to like.


    Robertson is a character that is prevalent in most of the stories, and he is a reliable character that appears and helps the people whenever they are in need just like a hero. It is not a spider.


    ¡°Is it rude to give a human name to a spider like this? If you don¡¯t want it, climb down. Go up if it¡¯s okay.¡±


    Or so Mte asked. It was a way ofmunicating with a spider that is incapable of saying anything.


    However, it is not certain that he is able to understand the words she is saying in the first ce to be able to react properly. That¡¯s why she stared at Robertson intently, and as his hair covered legs trembled ever so slightly......


    *Suu Suu* he started climbing up.


    When she saw it, Mte¡¯s face lit up.


    That was an answer. There is no doubt about it. He heard her words, understood, and then he epted being called Robertson.


    When she realized it, relief and joy sprang up in Mte¡¯s heart, and she cried out, ¡°Robertson,¡± while bouncing up and down. The fear that she had felt when she first saw that figure was now a distant memory, and a feeling of love popped up in her heart when she a heart-mark like pattern in his soft and fluffy hair.


    When she extended one of her fingers to try and pet him, Robertson also put one of his hands out instead resulting in a pseudo-handshake.


    ¡°Robertson, I look forward towards our future.¡±


    When Mte started talking to him, he once again climbed up his web with a *Suu Suu*


    What a lovely and dependable friend. Trust in him began to increase as an understanding inmunication was made, and he was could give her his confirmation just by having her look at him.


    It was a reply that is determined by the way he moves. There would be no direct words from him, but they were still able tomunicate with each other.


    Realizing that, Mte narrowed her eyes slightly. Relief sprang into her heart. At the same time, however, there was just a small sense of unease along with that relief.


    ¡®I am going to be with him from now on.


    Always in this castle, no one visiting, and never visiting anyone in turn.


    I will neverugh with someone again, never touch someone.........¡¯


    What a miserable life it is.


    ¡°.......Robertson, please don¡¯t go anywhere.¡±


    There was only him now.


    So Mte entreated him with a slightly trembling voice, and Robertson responded with a small rustling as he climbed up his web.


    ..................................


    ¡°Robertson surely made the resolution to be a familiar at that time.¡±


    When Gina said that to me, I was sitting in a chair opposite her and tilted my head to the side with a creak and asked, ¡°determination to be a familiar?¡±


    This ce was one of the rooms in the old castle. In the midst of a tea party, Gina asked about how I had met Robertson, so I told her what I could remember.


    ¡°Do not witches use animals and have them be familiars?¡±


    ¡°Surely, but it¡¯s not just the witch¡¯s decision. What you need is a mutual will.¡±


    ¡°Mutual will?¡±


    I thought familiars were created when an animal had been continuously bathed in a witch¡¯s magic power, but apparently it was not just that.


    As I continued to look at her curiously, Gina crouched down and lovingly kissed Concetta who was resting on her knee.


    ¡°Witches certainly choose animals to be their familiars, but at the same time animals choose the witches they wish to have as their masters.¡±


    ¡°The witch is also chosen?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If an animal bes a familiar it will have the same lifespan as a human. This is true whether it normally lives a shorter life or a longer life. That is why when an animal bes a familiar, they will never be able to live with its species again. When an animal bes a familiar, they must be willing to make that sacrifice.¡±


    ¡®Right Concetta.¡¯ When Gina looked down and called his name, Concetta abandoned his balled up position on her knees to finally lift his face up.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    When his gaze met with Gina¡¯s, he slowly began to close his mismatched colored eyes. It was an adorable figure that makes you smile when you look at it, and you can tell from a nce the confidence and love in their rtionship.


    My expression underneath my helmet copsed when I saw the two of them, and Alexis who had been silently listening to the story from the side started to nod his head as if he were impressed.


    My gaze turned towards the window beside all of us where Robertson was currently sticking to. Next to his was the figure of Percival. He was peeping outside, staring into the rain.


    Percival should have also heard Gina¡¯s story, and slowly his face that had been stalwartly staring outside untill now slowly turned to the side.......


    ¡°Brother-inw.........¡±


    was what he called Robertson.


    From this, my armor made arge and sudden tter as I hunched over to try and prevent myself fromughing, and Alexis found his mouth stuffed with bread by Gina before he could say anything. Meanwhile I saw Concetta bat down his ears and groan a little after being put into a bad mood now that his great impression had been so suddenly cut short.


    However Percival did not notice any of this. Rather, his blue eyes were shining as he looked upon Percival more than ever before.


    ¡°As a fellow man who has made the resolution to walk beside Lady Mte from now on, there is nothing else I could call that person other than brother-inw. My brother-inw!¡±


    Towards Percival who was looking at him with bright and shining eyes, Robertson raised a hand slowly but surely. Whether he liked the new way of being called, or he shared in the sentiment, Robertson was d to be called brother by Percival at any rate.


    The rest of us were watching the exchange of these two¨Cone person and one spider brother-inw¨Cand each of us shrugged our shoulders after sharing a look. Leave it alone, this thought synchronized between all of us without any words having to be said.


    For awhile after that a persistent voice could continue being heard saying, ¡°Brother-inw Robertson¡± and the steady reply of Robertson tapping his foot.


    After awhile, Alexis and I were looking at each other with slightly dead eyes,


    ¡°Alexis, your man is saying something amazing.¡±


    ¡°Mte, your husband is saying some strange things.¡±


    And then finally, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± Gina told us both before taking out a muffin instead of a loaf of bread, and heading to where Percival was.


    Gina¡¯s muffin strike was truly a wonderful thing, allowing peace and quiet to finally return to the kingdom.........not really.


    Gina was ying with Concetta on herp, graciouslyughing as Concetta boldly struggled to fight back against the ribbon she was manipting to tie off on his head. Her elegant voice continued to cheer him on, ¡°Good job Concetta, just a little more,¡± and his constant cries would continue for the time being.


    Alexis was happily looking on before standing up to prepare his own tea. The former princeughed to himself a bit saying, ¡°It is nice having a cup that¡¯s handle will not break the instant you pick it up.¡± It seems the memories of his bad luck are still deeply rooted.


    Percival finished eating the muffin by tossing thest bite into his mouth, humming softly to himself as he caressed my helmet. My view through my helmet continued to shift as his hand continued to move my helmet back and forth along with his movements. Of course, I never asked him to stop.


    ¡°........It¡¯s be so much noisierpared to that time.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s lively. And it will continue to be lively from now on.¡±


    ¡°And if I told you ¡®you are bothering me?¡¯¡±


    Yes Iined, but still Percival¡¯s hand showed no sign of stopping. He lovingly stroked my cheek before moving to my forehead. .........That is to say, my helmet.


    I shrugged my shoulders helplessly, and then my gaze fell on Robertson who hade near me.


    ¡®Even though I thought it would be just the two of us forever.¡¯


    Was what I thought he was saying through his eyes, but then Robertson made a small *tac* sound as he raised one of his legs.


    He was happilyughing.........was what I was certain of.


    ......end......


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