CH 76

Chapter 76 - Childhood’s End

“Ummmm. Ilvalino?” 

“I don’t know what Ninjas are either.” 

“Ilvalino?!”

“Big brother?” 

Ilvalino and Dianna looked at him dubiously. Cain had called Ilvalino a ninja in the heat of the moment during his storytelling of a historic man in his past life and forgot they didn’t have ninjas in this world. 

The fact that there were no lords, ninjas, or ronin in this world and he didn’t replace the term with another suitable one like lord was a big mistake on his part. 

“Being a ninja is a hidden profession from a distant land…they serve influential people, but their existence is kept hidden.” 

“What is concealment, big brother?” 

“It is a secret. A ninja is a person that is hired in secret by a great lord. That person will hide behind walls, under floors, and on the ceiling to listen to the plans of the enemy and inform the lord. They protect themselves by hiding in the shadows…and are the ones that defeat the lord’s enemies.” 

“Woah.” 

Dianna looked at Ilvalino with sparkling eyes as if she was expecting him to do something spectacular. Ilvalino rolled his eyes and looked to Cain to save him, but Cain just smiled foolishly and gave him a thumbs up.

As if he had no choice, Ilvalino let out a sigh and stood up from the sofa. He grabbed the back of the sofa with a single hand and jumped over it. As he did this, he did a backflip and as he sank towards the floor, he stretched his body so he could kick off the floor’s surface and catapulted onto Cain’s canopy.  

Ilvalino was hidden between the canopy and the ceiling and was gone for a moment but after a moment he poked out his head and waved at them.  

“Ilvalino who is usually a nice boy who keeps silent, tends to the surroundings, and listens quietly to Dianna reading books also has an alias he presents the world! In truth, he is an escort ninja that protects Dianna!”  

“That is so cool!! Il you are so cool!” 

“…I don’t know about that.”

Dianna became very invested in the idea of an alias that she would present to the world and began to practice being a weak lady. 

That night at dinner, their parents were surprised to see Dianna being escorted by Cain. It was certainly a change from the usual sight of them hand in hand. When the door opened Dianna stood next to Cain with her hand on his arm.  

When they entered the room, Cain unlinked her arm, and Dianna placed her hand on Cain’s palm. She then entered the dining room as if she was being gently pulled by Cain. Dianna would usually run to her chair and scramble up herself or give Cain a hug before sitting. However, this time she waited for the servant to pull out her chair for her. 

“Dianna?” 

“What is the matter, Dianna?” 

Elysse and Dismiya cried in surprise at the sight of Dianna. Dismiya had been scolded earlier by Elysse for encouraging Dianna to be a knight. He was painfully aware of the events that happened during the tour of the knight training. 

They had thought she would still be upset about being scolded for practicing the sword and had expected her to pout. They had wishfully thought that Cain would be in a good mood, but this was not what they expected. 

“Father, mother. Please accept my sincerest apologies. My brother reminded me as the daughter of a duke, it is embarrassing for me to train with the knights…please forgive me.” 

“Dianna is so very adorable, and she had intended to teach herself swordsmanship so that she could protect herself in the event of an emergency. It is my sincerest regret that this went so far. Rest assured father and mother that this was in no way to undermine Dianna’s role as a lady.”[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

They bowed respectfully. Elysse and Dismiya swallowed their words for the first time at the sight of their transformation. Elysse was going to tell Dianna to not practice the sword and study hard to be a lady once again. 

Dismiya even felt a need to tell Dianna that she could not practice the sword after he heard from Elysse that she pushed her way into knights training and tried to hit Arundilano. But at the sight of their transformation, he was at a loss for words. 

“No…if you understand that’s good. Raise your heads and eat.” 

As they heard their father’s words Dianna and Cain, glanced at each other with their heads still bowed, and exchanged mischievous smiles. Things were happening according to their plan. 

Before they raised their heads, they sobered their expressions and began to eat. Dianna’s parents were happy to see that she did not make a disgusted face as she ate the beans. Instead, she ate quietly with the grace of a lady. 

***

After dinner, the three children gathered in Cain’s room again and exchanged glances. 

“It didn’t seem like mom and dad were angry.” 

The first one to start the conversation was Dianna. Cain was taken aback by how cute Dianna looked with her cheeks in her hands with her head tilted inquisitively. 

“I heard from the other room that the Madam and the Duke were completely taken in by the change you guys went through.” 

“Il, were you up in the ceiling?” 

“…It would be more natural for me to be in the next room in this case.” 

“I see!” 

Dianna was completely convinced that Ilvalino was a ninja. As Ilvalino answered Dianna’s question he glared at Cain. Now the chamberlain figure that Cain had created was no longer make believe. He was now a legitimate servant of the royal family despite his past in back dealings. Occasionally Cain would ask him to go to a seedy place or make a delivery but nothing more. 

“It’s probably because it was expressed in our attitude and not just words.” 

“Di was a lady?!”

“You were a magnificent lady! Very wonderful! Dianna’s clear face was also a great sight to see! Did you see the look on mom and dad’s face?” 

Cain praised Dianna as he stroked her hair, hugged her, and buried his face in her hair. Dianna was purring like a cat as she was praised and petted by Cain. 

“Starting tomorrow I will teach you swordsmanship and martial arts in-between your classes, as well as, in the free time before and after teatime.” 

“I want to learn the way of the ninja from Il!” 

“…if we can make time between classes.” 

“Yay, you did it!! Dianna. You can be the strongest lady!” 

“Woah! That’s the best!”

***

From that day on Dianna pretended to be polite and ladylike in front of the adults. Cain also treated Dianna like a lady in public and escorted her like a gentleman. Elysse and Dismiya were shocked at the transformation of their children but soon came to happily accept their growth.  

Behind the scenes, Cain, Dianna, and Ilvalino talked plainly in his room, and they taught Dianna swordsmanship as an extension to pretending to be the Girl Knight Nina. Cain tried to relieve Dianna’s stress by treating her like the normal Dianna when they were alone. 

Parapentle overheard them talking but didn’t say anything to their parents