Chapter 50 - Lantern Festival (3)

Translator: KimmyEditor: Sasha_00

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When she first met Karl, Eva thought he was emotionless.

But after conversing with him, Eva found out that he wasn’t emotionless just that he was not used to expressing his emotions.

The muscles around his eyes and lip twitched once in a while but they always stopped moving them before a proper expression could be formed.

Even right now, he was scrunching his face to hide his embarrassment and it looked horrifying.

People moved away when they saw his intimidating face.

I feel like a sheep guard dog.

Besides, how is that even possible? Don’t facial expressions come out naturally?

Eva could not understand him.

But it was a big world, and all sorts of people lived in it.

So Eva decided to just accept him as he was.

She couldn’t meet people’s eyes when she first met them too anyway.

There was a handsome-psycho magician that dared to stalk a swordmaster in this world too.

“Come on.”

Eva continued to offer him so Karlos gave up his grand and absurd plan of preserving it and took a bite.

The harmony of the meat and the slightly burned sauce was amazing.

The gooey sauce was barbequed together with a bean sauce and it added a sweet touch and the chili powder added a hint of spicy. To the emperor who only had luxurious food, this tasted really good.

“…This would definitely be too spicy for Bri.”

“But she said she could!”

“That’s just her not admitting she can’t eat spicy food. Bri actually likes sweet things.”

“Ah, I kinda expected that. She ate biscuits when drinking.”

Eva finished her second skewer in a split second and answered.

Hm, so does he like it?

Eva noticed that Karlos’s eyes were less slanted than usual and wrote a mental note, ‘Karl’s eyebrows go slightly downwards when he is in a good mood.’

It was quite entertaining to guess what his facial expressions meant from time to time.

“Huh? Eva. Isn’t that Bri?”

“Oh? It is.”

They found a silver haired-head popping out from the crowd in the central square.

Brigitta was in the crowd watching something and clapping.

Hm? What are they watching?

As a first-timer at a festival, Karlos was excited like a puppy that was seeing a squirrel for the first time.

He stretched his neck out to look at what the crowd was watching.

No, he tried to.

But he no longer needed to since the voice in the central square got louder.

[And then Emperor Josef the 2nd shouted. You wicked scoundrels! Take my sword!]

“Ah, it’s a play about the emperor in the Northern conquest war. It’s a paper play and it seems entertaining! Quite eye-catching as well! Let’s go watch it too, Karl!”

Oh, my.

His beloved author pulled his hand but he wanted to run away after just hearing one dialogue.

[Ah! My eyes! Is this the light of the Rumilesa! The heavens left this Yorukan!]

[Do not blame the heavens. Wicked Yorukan! It is I, that’s punishing you!]

Eeeeeeek.

A screech escaped from Karlos but it was buried by the people’s screams.

W, what is that? That’s crazy! I never said anything like that! The embarrassment is all mine! Help! Get me out of here! Oh no, what is that!

Karlos’s mind went blank.

Where is this and who am I?

“Look over there. They are moving the puppets with that wooden stick. Wow, so pretty!”

The paper play was indeed eye-catching like Eva said. It was on a professional level with how the light and stage props were being controlled.

Eva was explaining things to him so he couldn’t even close his eyes.

He despised Brigitta who was laughing her heart out at this moment.

The paper play was just on the climax, and Karlos’s suffering was just beginning.

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*

This play was brutally long for Karlos.

It was praising him for battles that he barely even remembered.

But why, when even I don’t remember what happened back then?!

As time passed, Karlos grew more depressed and contrastingly, Brigitta’s laughter was getting louder.

The playwright’s adaptation—Karlos wanted to call it distortion—was so dramatic that even the first-ever Rumilesa appeared on stage.

[Ah, my most shining descendant! You’ve fulfilled my desire that bound me for so long!]

[Oh, my poor father! It was a long and sorrowful journey. Rest aside now. For the sun will no longer shine on the blood of the Holktrokhans!]

“I never really understood this part. Weren’t Holktrokhans destroyed way long ago?”

Eva rested her chin on her hand and cocked her head.

She once researched about Holka briefly so she knew what a Holktrokhan was.

A long time ago, there existed a tribal union in what was the present-day Holka.

And there existed a bloodline name like Rumilesa there called Holktrokhan, a bloodline of chiefs of the union.

But that bloodline was all killed 200 years ago because of a rebellion and the big tribe that overthrew that bloodline united all the other smaller tribes into one and created a nation called Holka.

They successfully found the country but they failed in maintaining internal peace.

It was because all the tribes had different traditions and customs, which often caused conflicts with other tribes.

The ruler decided to shift the focus to the one thing all the tribes respected, which was strength.

And it worked.

The strong takes everything. Whether it be food, people, or wealth.

The people of the North who always lacked resources cheered.

And that’s how the nightmare of Holka’s looting custom started.

“Holka used to call their kings, Khan. I heard that it’s an abbreviation for Holktrokhan but I guess they decided to incorporate them in this play.”

Karlos’s voice sounded powerless.

He was so shocked at the ‘My most shining descendant’ part that he was still recovering from it.

Karlos depressedly explained again.

“It is said that the first Rumilesa and the first Holktrokhan fought for a fairy’s love. There’s an analysis that the fairy is a metaphor for some important resources though…. Anyway, there are many endings to that tale. There is one that the two become blood-sworn enemies and another that the Holktrokhan surrendered. Seems like the play is about the first ending, Eva.”

“Woah, you know a lot! It’s hard to find stories about Holka here in Lesa…”

“Holka’s legends are passed down through the people so it’s no surprise. There is a tale compilation but this was translated twice so I’m not sure about the accuracy of it…”

Pabum.

With that sound, a mist started covering the stage.

More light was shone on Josef the 2nd’s puppet.

That never happened.

He couldn’t hold a grasp of what Karlos Josef the 2nd was to the people.

He was never dressed that fancily nor shined whenever he walked, and nor spoke so vaguely all the time.

This is slander.

The emperor was feeling horrible as he watched the play that was praising him head to toe.

“Hm~. That compilation is not available on the market right? It’s helpful to know as many legends and tales. There are many romantic ones that I could use as an inspiration.”

Lesa was trying to the blend the Holkan immigrants into the country without discrimination so based on policy, the exotic traditions of Holka were not open to the public.

Tales and legends were usually about the war between Rumilesa and Holktrokhan so despite the publishing company’s approval the printing shop refused to print them out.

She could get it if she used the black market though.

Eva contemplated.

“Do you want it?”

“What?”

She looked away from the stage and up to Karlos.

Karlos’s face was emotionless like always.

Or, it did seem like he was a little down. The light in his eyes was dimmed.

Wait, that’s not the important thing here. He’s doing it again.

Helping others without expecting in return was a sign that he was a good person but with that personality, he would have a hard time in this cruel world.

He keeps giving out expensive and rare things like giving out biscuits.

She even thought that it was a fortune that his face was intimidating so that bad people would not easily approach him.

Besides, Eva hated when innocent people received damage from something.

“Uh, Karl. Would that be alright? Books about Holkan legends are really really rare and expensive…”

“It’s alright. If it can be a help to your writing, I would gladly. I’ll get it sent to you through Bri.”

“No, but it’s really expensive…. I can’t just receive it like this!”

“Hm, I didn’t pay much for it. I don’t really need it either.”

It was true.

Karlos in fact didn’t buy the book.

It was just one of many random books he acquired when he conquered a Holkan palace.

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