Volume 3 Chapter 7 Part 3
Translator: Kurehashi Aiko Editor: Queenie
For someone who was to lead the celebrations during the Festival, such rumors could become a huge scandal. That is why it was imperative for Klanven to not do anything that would serve to develop those rumors any further or give birth to new ones. However, it seems that Klanven himself didn’t seem to care.
And it was this lenient attitude of his that was driving me crazy. That, and that gentle smile of his that was on his face all the time.
「Yes, the rumors that state that I am cheating on my husband with you. It may not be that big of a deal to you, Your Highness, but for me it can become a source of potential trouble.」
「Oho? But isn’t there a saying that goes something like “there’s always a seed of truth in every rumor”?」
「Not happening.」
I answer him immediately out of a reflex, and Klanven just looked at me for a moment, blinked for a few Times and then laughed.
「I see that you are starting to feel more and more tense around me. Not that I mind, I think it is easier for the both of us that way.」
As he said that, Klanven stood up from his chair and looked down upon me. For a moment, I thought he was messing with me again, but when I started to think about, I realized that this might not have indeed been the case.
I was really hoping that he was just teasing me again. But that was not the case. I could see it in his eyes that he was serious when he said that.
I don’t know if he was able to guess what I was thinking right now, but in any case, that smile of his was ever-present on his face, not fading away even for a moment.
「Fufufu, “rumors that I cheated on my husband”. Say what you will, but the truth is you actually like that, don’t you? That sense of danger accompanying those rumors.」
「That is your opinion. But I love my husband and I would never do something like that to him.」
I tighten my apron in order to calm myself down a little bit. Who in their right mind would love danger? And besides, Klanven should have seen it with his own eyes at the orphanage. That look in that man’s eyes. The way in which he protected those children.
The truth is, that man was the one who was “dangerous” here. If I were to ever cheat on him, who knows what might happen or what he might do?
At this point, I was sure that Klanven noticed my anger, but even so, he was still smiling at me.
「Are you really sure about that? From my experience, people, especially women, tend to tell you one thing but they are in reality thinking of something else entirely.」
「…… What are you trying to say?」
「You know, he……」
Suddenly, there was the sound of someone knocking on the door. However, it was done in such a violent manner that I reflexively turned towards the door in shock.
「………… I wonder if that is a guest? Please excuse me for a moment.」
「Filmina, please wait for a……」
But before Klanven could finish that sentence, I was already on my way towards the door, which was then bashed violently with a loud sound!
Before we even realized it, there were a bunch of cloaked individuals inside of the room with faces hidden behind masks.
「!?」
One of the figures approached me in a hurry and restrained me, grabbing me by the hand and putting a knife to my throat. I could only watch as the rest of the cloaked assailants surrounded Klanven. Even though it was still broad daylight, they managed to break in here completely unnoticed and unbothered by the guards.
I wanted to summon that man here, but while being restrained like this, I was unable to do that. I tried to struggle to break myself free, but the shadow only strengthen his grip over me and pressed the knife against my throat even harder. If this situation continues, we are both going to get ourselves killed. But strangely enough, Klanven only exhaled in an annoyed manner.
「–––––– I guess it really cannot be helped.」
The shadows that were surrounding him all pointed their knives at him at once. I cannot believe he said something like that out loud in this kind of situation.
His gaze met mine. He let out a sigh yet again.
「I really didn’t want to do this, but you leave me no choice.」
At the same time, Klanven puts his hand inside his pocket. The cloaked figures were watching his every move, and upon seeing that, their knives flew towards Klanven, but…… their blades never managed to reach him.
「Good grief, what an unsightly thing to do.」
In Klanven’s hands, there was the second device that I saw him use earlier…… a weapon called mulit-barrelled spear. While deflecting the blades that were aimed at him, Klanven pulls on the chain and the sticks of the device converge around the red magical orb in its center, forming a genuine spear.
With their weapons blown out of their hands, the Shadows draw new ones, bringing the chairs down and breaking the table in half, sending the platters, silverware and food into the air and onto the floor.
Klanven only laughed at their attempts, brandishing his spear and striking the Shadows down one after another. He didn’t kill them. He only crushed and broke their bones, making sure that they were incapacitated and unable to continue the fight.
His long, platinum hair flew in the air. The sound of steel clashing against steel sounded like festival music to my ears. It looked like some sort of a strange dance to me, and if it wasn’t for our current situation, I might have even called it charming.
Then Klanven shifted his gaze to the Shadows that held me captive. Their grip over me became even stronger, and I can feel a slight prick of pain surging through my neck. Seeing this, Klanven turned towards me with his spear at the ready.
「If I were you, I would give it a rest at this point. See? You have clearly lost, so why shed any more blood than necessary?」
「A necessary sacrifice for the sake of achieving our goals. Now, if you don’t want that woman to be harmed, drink this medicine now.」
Said the Shadow that held me while throwing a bottle of some suspicious medicine towards Klanven. It was hard for me to discern from his voice alone if he was a man or a woman. Klanven caught it in mid-air and brought the bottle closer to his face, lifting an eyebrow.
「Hmm? To achieve your goals, you say? …… Ah well, what do I care?」
Klanven said that without any kind of irony in his voice. He opened the lid of the bottle, looked at its contents and then looked at me, flashing me his usual smile. It was poison in there for sure, so what was that “It’s fine, really” kind of look on his face supposed to mean?
「Thank you so much, Filmina. Though our time together was short, it surely was a lot of fun for me.」
「!!!」
He wasn’t joking. He seriously meant what he said. It looked as though he came to terms with his fate and accepted it.
Perhaps because Klanven took the poison bottle in his hand, the grip around my body became loose. The moment I felt that, I tightly gripped the bracelet on my left wrist without any hesitation. The Shadow made another mistake that he took the knife from my throat as well. I screamed at the top of my lungs.
「–––– EDI!!!」
Bright light comes from the bracelet on my wrist. Unsurprisingly, the Shadows instantly stepped away from me and during the commotion, Klanven slipped the poison bottle out of his hand, sending it plummeting towards the ground where it shattered into pieces.
Then, as if to make sure the poison was done for, he crushed the glass shards with the heel of his shoe.
「Good grief, why is it that you always end up summoning me in the worst possible moment?」
A familiar, annoyed voice. At that time, the light from the bracelet fades, and there he stood, dressed in blue robes and with magnificently bright golden hair.
The man glanced at the Shadows and instantaneously drew his sword from its scabbard, slashing it at the Shadows and sending them flying. The Shadows hit the wall with a very loud *THUD* sound and fell to the ground, effectively knocked out.
「Edi, lka, -sama……」
「Are you alright, Filmina?」
「Yes, thanks to you.」
「Good.」
The man answers shortly and then he proceeds to tie the Shadows with a magical rope that suddenly appeared in his hands.
When the last Shadow was appropriately apprehended, we heard an uncharacteristic sound of clapping echoing throughout the room.
「Splendid job.」
「 –––––– Your Highness.」
「I get the jist of what happened here. For now, let’s just go somewhere else.」
Hearing the man’s low voice, Klanven laughs loudly.
Certainly, we won’t be able to talk at all in this place, not with the tied-up Shadows, and pieces of silverware and furniture scattered all over the floor.
Even though the man didn’t want to agree with Klanven, one look at the destroyed room made it painfully obvious that he was right. So he stepped outside, but before he did that, he rang the bell attached to a room’s wall, summoning the guards in here.
After we handed the Shadows to the guards, he put his arm around my shoulder and lead me away from here.