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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Restless Young Master
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With a frame so gaunt she looked almost ghostly, the woman was heading somewhere.
*Where is she going at this hour?*
Mrs. Klein didn't seem to notice Lumina's presence.
Lumina quickly extinguished her gas lamp and stealthily followed her.
After sneaking around like a thief, the woman arrived at the kitchen.
Lumina stopped, fearing she'd be caught if she followed her inside.
Lumina's eyes grew cold.
"What are you doing here at this hour?!"
A moment later, Mrs. Klein was caught by a maid on patrol and chased out of the kitchen.
The flustered woman muttered a clumsy excuse, looking suspicious to anyone who saw her.
Hidden in the shadows, Lumina listened to their conversation and thought.
*She's up to something.*
Her goal is…
*Father, no doubt.*
Lumina was certain the woman hadn't become her personal tutor with pure intentions.
***
Meanwhile, back at the training grounds earlier that day.
*Thwack, thwack, thud—!*
The dull thud of wooden swords clashing echoed without cease.
It had been going on for days.
The sound rang out from the ducal training grounds day and night.
The cause was none other than the duke's only son, Karayan.
"First, he suddenly decides to stay home. Then, he storms the training grounds and starts thrashing the knights one by one. I swear, the Young Master is even harder to figure out than the Duke."
Huxley, a knight of the Dark Moon Order, grumbled.
Yuri, another knight from the order, retorted bluntly.
"What good would it do you to understand? Stop flapping your gums and get back to swinging your sword."
"Didn't you see me just now? The Young Master completely wiped the floor with me! I'm a scarecrow. A scarecrow knocked down by his wooden sword."
The Dark Moon Knights had been chosen as Karayan's sparring partners.
They took turns facing him, but strangely, only the knights ended up battered and bruised while Karayan remained completely unscathed. It was a bizarre sight.
There were many knights, yet Karayan was alone.
As some of the most renowned talents in the empire, they swung their swords with all their might, taking into account that their opponent was a Legion.
Occasionally, an opportunity to land a scratch on Karayan would arise, but each time, he would mutter.
"Not a single scratch on her body."
Lumina would readily use her power, no matter the size of the wound.
Firmly believing this, Karayan refused to let even the tip of a sword graze him.
He didn't mind his own injuries, but if they would become hers, he didn't want to see even the smallest scratch.
Once he steeled his resolve, Karayan would strike down his opponent relentlessly, as if he'd awakened some new power.
To the knights, his words were completely incomprehensible.
*Her?*
*Is he talking about himself in the third person?*
It was a little creepy, but the question faded as they struggled to parry Karayan's sharp attacks.
Physical exhaustion left no room for thought.
"But they're newlyweds! I heard a rumor he came home to spend time with his young wife. Shouldn't he be sticking closer to the young madam, then?"
"Guess he doesn't want to."
Yuri said dismissively.
But Huxley, who had been viciously pummeled by Karayan for the past few days, couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"Maybe they had a fight? A lover's quarrel?"
"Huxley."
This was the Young Master they were talking about. Yuri's tone was a clear warning to back off.
But the frequent spars with Karayan were taking a toll even on an elite knight like Huxley, and he was still sore about it.
He'd even yelled that he'd rather be out subjugating monsters, so he was in no mood to shut his mouth.
"Couples fight. I bet he had a fight with his wife and is taking it out on us!"
"It's a good thing you became a knight. I don't know how you got into the order with a head like that, but it must have been the luckiest day of your life."
Yuri delivered the insult without a change in her expression.
Huxley, accustomed to Yuri's insults, prattled on undeterred.
"Still, I'd like to see the young madam myself. Lina says she's a real-life fairy. No exaggeration!"
"Lina?"
"The name of a beautiful lady I know."
Huxley gave a greasy grin.
In other words, a maid who worked in the ducal residence.
Huxley was the biggest womanizer in the knightly order.
He probably knew every maid in the residence. He claimed he was just sociable, but no one bought it.
*That guy definitely became a knight just to hit on women.*
The other knights were all in agreement on that point.
"What would you do if you saw the young madam?"
*She's only twelve, and she's married, you lunatic.*
Yuri's gaze was filled with contempt.
"They say just looking at her can soothe a weary heart. And only Ash gets to be her escort. It's discrimination! I heard her cheeks are as white as milk and soft and squishy—"
Just then.
An object came flying toward Huxley at high speed.
Instinctively sensing the threat, Huxley dodged.
But he couldn't completely avoid the object, which carried a murderous intent as it grazed his cheek.
*Thwack—!*
A cold sweat trickled down his spine as Huxley turned his head.
A wooden sword was embedded in the wall.
A wooden sword, of all things.
If that had been a direct hit, he would be dead.
Trembling, Huxley turned toward the direction the sword had come from, blood trickling from the gash on his cheek.
"Hah."
There stood Karayan, who had been sparring with another Dark Moon Knight.
He was glaring at Huxley with a terrifying look in his eyes, the likes of which he had never seen before.
"You. Get over here."
"Yuri..."
"The Young Master is calling you. Go."
Huxley claimed he could melt any woman's heart, but Yuri, who had known him for a long time, was as cold as ice.
On the verge of tears, Huxley stood trembling before Karayan.
A moment later, Huxley's screams followed.
"Aargh! Yuri! Help me!"
"Just die."
Yuri turned her back, coldly ignoring Huxley's pleas.
*That guy. He's on the Young Master's bad side now.*
The other knights watched and clicked their tongues in pity.
After being brutally worked over until sunset, the Dark Moon Knights woke up Ash, who was dozing in a corner.
"Ash, wake up. The Dark Moon Order has been wiped out, save for you."
"Ah."
"The future of the order rests on your shoulders now. We're counting on you."
His fellow knights patted his shoulder, speaking as if they'd never see him again.
In reality, they were all just heading off to rest, leaving Ash behind.
It was a shameless act, leaving Ash alone to be Karayan's sparring partner.
"Our little rookie. You've got it tough."
"That's right, suffer a little longer. We're heading out."
The knights, who had dumped all the remaining work on Ash—the youngest of the bunch, if not the least skilled—quickly dispersed.
Huxley, in particular, practically had to crawl out of the training grounds.
After the knights had gone, Ash slowly got to his feet and approached Karayan.
"Young Master."
Karayan didn't seem to hear him, his gaze fixed on the ground.
His breathing was slightly ragged.
Even for a Legion, fighting day and night for days on end was taking its toll. Dark circles had formed under his eyes.
He looked ready to collapse, yet Karayan gave no sign of stopping.
He seemed fixated on a single thought, much like when Arabelle had paid her surprise visit.
Back then, he'd been rambling about delicious potatoes; this time, he said nothing at all.
In truth, Karayan's mind was boiling.
Simmering away.
If he stood idle, the memory of Lumina kissing his cheek would play on a loop in his mind.
*Peck.*
He felt like he was going mad, able to recall the exact sensation.
Once or twice would have been one thing, but the memory surfaced with every breath, and he began to berate himself.
*Why do I keep replaying it!*
*I'll probably obsess over that day until I die, then remember it again and shoot up from my grave like a zombie.*
*Am I crazy? A pervert?*
And so on.
He was practically half-mad.
In this state, he couldn't possibly face Lumina.
As a drastic measure to calm his mind, Karayan had come to the training grounds to exhaust his body.
Physical exhaustion was supposed to empty the mind.
But far from calming down, his heart was still burning so hot that it felt like the pot of his emotions was scorching dry.
Whatever had been inside had boiled away to nothing.
*Hoo. Calm down.*
Not feeling the least bit calm, Karayan steadied his breath.
He picked up yet another wooden sword—he'd lost count of how many he'd broken—and faced Ash.
And so began a duel that seemed destined to last until sunrise.
Or rather, it should have.
Had a sweet voice not interrupted them.
"Karayan!"
It was Lumina.
For a moment, Karayan thought he was hearing things, and his neck flushed red with embarrassment.
"Karayan! Wait, stop for a moment! I have something to tell you!"
It wasn't his imagination.
Lumina was really standing there.
Lumina raised her hands and waved them enthusiastically to make her presence known.
She didn't need to; Karayan's eyes were already fixed on her and her alone.
The moment he realized Lumina had really come to see him, Karayan lost all control of his strength.
Forgetting he was in the middle of a duel with Ash, he swung his sword with a surge of excitement.
Karayan's sword struck Ash squarely.
*CRACK—!*
In that moment, Lumina thought.
*Is he dead?*
