Chapter 83

Chapter 83. Closer to Body and Mind (7)

(3rd person pov)

The capital suddenly became noisy again.

“We have arrested a trafficker who used black magic in Caronda in the south.”

Robert announced another great speech in front of a crowd.

“This time, Ian Wade and Annabelle Rainfield worked hard.”

Annabelle and Ian became heroes once again.

“I would like to express my gratitude once again to these two for their generous use of their abilities for the future of the Empire.”

Of course, Robert did not forget to imprint his name on the public.

“I will immediately dispatch the Imperial Knights to Caronda, and I, Robert, will continue to work hard to eradicate the evil forces.”

Everyone was astonished by the method of human trafficking using black magic.

And everyone was terrified for a long time when they learned that black magic could do extraordinary things that they could not even imagine.

In the meantime, magic had been studied only in the Magic Tower controlled by the imperial family, so it was not working much in real life.

The fact that the Rainfield family entered the Duke of Wade was not a big issue.

Rumors circulated that Aaron and Oscar were originally people who served the Duke of Wade anyways, and that Marilyn also appeared to have been hired by Leslie for a high ransom.

Only Annabelle was in a bit of a heterogeneous composition, but it didn’t surprise everyone that it was because she had teamed up with Ian twice in the meantime to fight black magic together.

Annabelle had a history of raising her reputation once just for her participation in the fight against black magic, so this time she didn’t get much attention.

But people admired it in a different way.

“Ian is amazing… For the noble purpose of exterminating black magic, he also joined hands with someone who was tied up in bad times like Annabelle.”

“Maybe it couldn’t be helped. Anyway, Annabelle Reinfield is good at her skills.”

When people gathered, everyone praised Ian’s great generosity.

Ian didn’t say a word, and his reputation grew more and more day by day.

As the rumors abated, another shocking fact awaited the people of the capital.

“Oh my god, Prince Robert invited Miss Annabelle Rainfield as his partner?”

“Are you sure Prince Robert doesn’t really like Annabelle Rainfield?”

“But, from the old days, the relationship between the two of them was not unusual.”

From scandals from the past to the secrets of her birth that were suddenly revealed, rumors about Annabelle Rainfield were bound to grow.

But the scandal with the prince was the perfect gossip.

Of course, there were other views as well.

“They seem to be conscious of the commoners’ assembly, aren’t they?”

“Right. The common people’s assembly has been criticizing the banquet culture these days.”

These days, the status of the common people in the Empire rose everyday.

With wealth on their backs, the influence of the commoners’ assembly was getting stronger.

Still, Robert had a high level of support from the common people while fighting black magic.

Therefore, his act of inviting Annabelle received attention in another sense.

In fact, even Robert was not aware of this effect.

And there was one person who was very satisfied with this.

“Robert. Drinking is great. Inviting commoners directly as a partner? Besides, Miss Annabelle Rainfield… Isn’t she a swordsman who has been 2nd place in the swordsmanship competition for 8 years?”

It was the Emperor.

He grinned and stroked his beard.

“This is going to make the commoners’ council a little quieter. For now, this banquet will pass.”

The Empress did not like the Emperor’s reaction.

These days, the name of Robert rather than the Crown Prince Carlon had been talked about more often.

Besides, Robert was a son who resembled the Emperor.

It was a public fact that the emperor favored Robert, who resembled him and had outstanding abilities.

Robert even managed to complete the tasks entrusted to him by the Emperor, and in the end he had sole power to investigate.

Considering that the Imperial Knights Templar belonged to the Crown Prince, he was treated very unconventionally.

Of course, Robert put in a lot of effort to get to that position.

For the Empress, Robert, who threatened the position of Crown Prince Carlon, could not look pretty.

“Well.”

So the Empress secretly spoke in front of the Emperor.

“Anyway, Annabelle Rainfield… She’s not very well-received, so it doesn’t seem like a wise decision.”

If she couldn’t curse Robert, she would have to cut off his limbs.

“Bad rumors?”

“She has been biting Ian Waded and doing all kinds of ugliness for eight years.”

“Ah.”

The Emperor shrugged his shoulders as if nothing had happened.

“That’s it, isn’t it all a thing of the past?”

“Well.”

The Empress couldn’t stand the ridicule and said.

“Well, where would that vulgar and rude attitude go? It would be nice if she didn’t get embarrassed at the banquet.”

Even with the Empress’s rather harsh words, the Emperor did not respond at all.

She added hastily and elegantly.

“Ah, I’m just worried about the quality of the Imperial banquet going down.”

“Hmm.”

“I know Your Majesty has high regard for swordsmen. But that’s all…”

“It’s not that I appreciate it.”

The Emperor coughed and interrupted the Empress.

“Just… I just admire swordsmanship. It’s very elegant and cool to subdue an opponent with a sword, isn’t it? And Miss Annabelle’s swordsmanship is pretty good.”

That meant that it was much more serious than a high rating.

The Empress’s brow furrowed slightly.

Apparently, the Emperor really enjoyed watching the swordsmanship competitions, so his affinity for Annabelle was higher than that of others.

Among Annabelle’s many abilities, he was obsessed with the ‘skilled swordsman’.

Anyway, his trust in Prince Robert was growing everyday.

She was the Empress and she had to be vigilant that the Emperor liked Robert’s partner.

Of course, the Emperor did not know the feelings of the Empress and was excited to hear her words.

“Of course, her basics are a little weak and the absolute speed and skills to hide the presence are a little lacking, but I like the innate feeling…”

“Your Majesty, the story of swordsmanship is not what we are talking about here.”

“When I start, two hours pass quickly by just talking about it.”

“More than that… A banquet is not a training ground.”

The Empress gently calmed the Emperor, but she was not happy inside.

And after a while, when Carlon delivered the news with a dove saying he was returning home, she received a secret letter, and only then did she calm down.

It was to bring a strong man who could easily eliminate Annabelle Rainfield.

So the Empress was excited and wrote a reply.

She said, 「Then why don’t you apply for a formal duel at Robert’s birthday banquet that’s coming soon? I want her to be humiliated in front of others!」

Even if the opponent was a foreigner, it was clear that if Annabelle was defeated mercilessly, the Emperor would be very upset.

“Also my son. This makes me wait for the banquet with excitement.”

The Empress looked forward to Carlon’s return home with a grin.

~*~

It came as no surprise that the Rainfields came to live in the Duke of Wade residence.

Even if one of them was Annabelle.

“Isn’t it something strangely foreign and familiar?”

The knights came out early in the morning and murmured as they saw Annabelle warming up her body.

“It’s quite natural here.”

Unsurprisingly, Annabelle had been coming and going there for eight years.

So, she knew not only where the knights were trained according to their rank, but also where they managed the weapons and where they rested.

“But it’s a scene I couldn’t have imagined…”

Her younger brother, Aaron, was a lieutenant there, so they couldn’t say anything out loud, but it was true that she had a strange appearance.

It was Annabelle who never hesitated to beat even the knights who stood in front of her, pouring her curses on Ian every day.

However, she was very neat and modest in her training.

And her amount of training was truly incredible. In the meantime, they could understand how she was able to keep her second place in the Empire.

All of them had no objection to her that she was a hard worker.

“There.”

Of course, not all knights were watching it silently.

“I’ve felt it before, but you use your sword really well.”

No matter how open the class was, the talented were the talented, and some knights who secretly admired them spoke.

“To be honest, the figure holding the sword is quite beautiful…”

Before Annabelle could say anything, she was interrupted by Aaron.

“They’re not allowed to flirt with my sister.”

Of course, Annabelle grumbled as if it was unfair.

“I’m fine with men talking to me, so why are you mad?”

“What are you talking about now? What if some weirdo sticks to you?”

“I can beat such a strange guy myself, what are you worried about?”

“…Ah.”

“First of all, if there is a man who clings to me, why don’t I try something called dating?”

Aaron rolled his eyes for a moment, then shook his head firmly again and said.

“But you don’t know if they’re wanting you or the Rainfield’s property. I’ve always been so vigilant. Be on your guard too.”

There was no time for Annabelle to reply.

“Dave Ramson. Circle the gym. 40 laps.”

It was because Ian, who looked at the posture of a knight from afar, spoke sharply.