Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Vivian's method of subduing the thief was simple.
As the thief happened to be running towards the alleyway where they were standing, she simply and naturally tripped him.
Thanks to this, the man who had been running at full speed tumbled pathetically.
"Oh my, how clumsy."
She could have used her sword, but she chose this method in case it attracted too much attention.
However, the thief, unaware of Vivian's deeper thoughts (?), glared fiercely. He had already risen to his feet, and in his hand was a dagger with a chillingly sharp blade.
"You bitch, you wanna die...!"
Vivian's face remained calm.
The Eleonora Family was not only famous for its swordsmanship. They also actively practiced physical skills to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
In her eyes, the man's attack seemed to be in slow motion. It was so obvious and clumsy that she couldn't even laugh.
'It wouldn't be good to stand out right now, so should I just pretend to get hit?'
However, the man's dagger did not even touch a hair on Vivian's head.
"How dare you lay a hand on her."
Aslan's eyes, gripping the thief's wrist, instantly turned red.
"Kkeuaaak!"
"I asked you how dare you lay a hand on her."
From the thief's wrist, held by Aslan, came a chilling sound of cracking. Aslan was completely crushing the bones with his grip alone.
"She is someone even I dare not treat carelessly. And you, with your filthy hands...!"
Vivian felt a bad premonition. The air around them froze chillingly.
Sure enough, she could see Aslan's neck turning black. He was on the verge of losing his reason and transforming into his Demon Hand form.
If he were to transform here, a truly unprecedented disaster would occur. Who could stop the power of the great demon Astaroth, who had lost his reason!
"Aslan!"
"..."
"Aslan, I'm okay. Thanks to you protecting me, I wasn't hurt at all!"
Vivian clung to his arm. The red light falling from above her head was eerie, but she didn't back down and instead hugged his waist tightly.
"Aslan, I'm okay. So please, let that person go!"
"Why."
"Pardon?"
"Why are you stopping me? Do you have feelings for this man? Did you perhaps fall for him?"
What the hell is he talking about.
Vivian almost cursed, unable to maintain her composure at such absurd nonsense.
'No, think about survival. If Aslan transforms here, my escape plan is over!'
Suppressing the curse that had risen to the tip of her tongue, Vivian barely managed to speak.
"Who else do I have but you? I only have one fiancé."
"Who are you to me."
But Aslan didn't seem satisfied at all.
He relentlessly pressed her to say 'who' she was to him, and when Vivian hesitated to answer, he tightened his grip on the man's wrist.
Unable to withstand the demonic energy, the thief foamed at the mouth and fainted. Vivian became desperate.
"A, Aslan..."
If this fails, I really don't know what to do!
Just as Vivian buried her face in his chest, awaiting judgment, the black energy that had been spreading in all directions began to subside rapidly. Aslan's red eyes also returned to their original golden color.
'Hoo, is that the right answer for now? What on earth just happened?'
The situation was so urgent that she didn't even understand the meaning of the question and instinctively threw out an answer, but thankfully, it seemed to be the right one.
Vivian, exhausted, let out a sigh of relief.
"Ah, thank you so much!"
The woman who had recovered her mother's keepsake bowed to them repeatedly.
Vivian dusted off the bundle that had been lying on the ground and handed it to the woman.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Thanks to you, my benefactor, I'm perfectly fine. Earlier, no one was helping me, and I thought this was the end, but you bravely tripped him and stopped him. I really don't know how to repay this kindness..."
Judging by her voice, she seemed to be a young woman around her age.
However, she was wearing a large hood pulled down low, so her face was not visible.
"I owe my benefactor a lifetime of gratitude. I need my mother's keepsake to prove that I'm her daughter when I meet my father. I've never met him before."
"Oh dear, you've been through a lot."
"Yes..."
Vivian guessed that the woman had many circumstances.
It wasn't polite to pry too much, so she simply held the woman's hand tightly and encouraged her.
"Good luck."
Vivian dissuaded the woman, who said she wanted to repay her kindness in any way possible, and sent her away. She didn't care that the woman sobbed as she left, saying that she would definitely repay her in the future.
By the time she met her father and the complicated situation was resolved, she would have already faked her death and disappeared.
'I didn't even tell her my name, how would she find me?'
Vivian, staring at the woman's receding figure, suddenly realized that they were attracting too much attention. It was all because Aslan had made such a flamboyant scene.
'Oh no, it would be bad if my identity was revealed!'
She had to escape before the city guards arrived. Vivian grabbed Aslan's arm and quickly left the city.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Hoo, I'm exhausted."
"There wasn't even a chance for me to step in."
From behind Vivian, who was panting for breath on the outskirts of the city, came a low, disgruntled voice.
Aslan was looking down at her with a very dissatisfied expression.
"You're not feeling well, yet you get involved in dangerous things. What if something happened to you?"
Aslan's eyes slowly calmed down.
Vivian then realized, 'Oh no.' She realized that the terminally ill patient had been moving too energetically.
"W, well, because no one else was stepping up..."
No reaction. It seems like that's the wrong answer. Vivian quickly changed her answer.
"Why would you step in for such a trivial matter?"
"Is there a reason why I shouldn't step in?"
"You're the empire's greatest Swordmaster, aren't you? You can't use a flamethrower to catch a fly."
Vivian didn't forget to praise his skills and add a bit of flattery. But Aslan's stern face didn't soften easily.
Vivian felt a little wronged.
In the end, it did end up with a flamethrower, but she had tried to handle it quietly. It was because Aslan stepped in that things escalated like this.
But she was the only one getting all the scolding, so a sense of rebellion suddenly arose.
"There's no way you can say that! What's with me and the first thief I've ever met? Do I have feelings for him?"
Aslan subtly avoided her gaze. Vivian thought, 'Aha!'
"Don't just avoid my eyes, explain yourself, Grand Duke?"
Aslan's gaze aimlessly wandered somewhere in the distant sky. It seemed he himself was speechless.
Vivian deflated her puffed-up cheeks.
"Don't do that next time. I was really surprised just now."
"Were you that surprised?"
"Are you even asking?"
"I see, it was that serious."
"Yes!"
Vivian nodded firmly. She had to get a promise from Aslan while he was still listening.
Fortunately, Aslan seemed to be of the same opinion.
"Vivian, you are right. This was clearly my mistake. Therefore, I am not even qualified to be called Grand Duke."
"No, that's a bit..."
"Call me by my name instead."
"Pardon?"
But the direction was starting to flow in a slightly strange direction. Cold sweat started to run down Vivian's back.
"His Highness, the Second Prince of Astaroth?"
"Name."
"His Highness, Grand Duke Blackford?"
"...Name."
"A, Aslan?"
She didn't think it could be this, but it seemed to be right. Aslan's expression softened a little.
"You want me to call you by your real name?"
"Is there a problem?"
"N, no. Not at all."
Seeing Aslan's brow furrow slightly, Vivian quickly changed her words. She even raised her thumb.
'Ah, it's hard to make a living...'
For some reason, she felt like she had been dragged into something.
While Vivian was grumbling and kicking at the pebbles at her feet, Aslan reached out his hand.
"It's getting late. Let's go back now."
"Okay, Aslan."
Vivian silently took his outstretched hand.
Was it because of the setting sun? Aslan's ear, turned away, was tinged with red.
＊ ＊ ＊
At the same time, the southern Adrian Palace, used as the imperial family's villa, was bustling busily.
It was because Crown Prince Johannes of the Astaroth Empire had suddenly visited without notice.
"This relaxed and languid atmosphere. I still prefer the South."
Johannes, getting off his horse, muttered to himself. His dazzling golden hair, like sand on the beach, swayed pleasantly in the sea breeze.
The aide who was following the Crown Prince nodded in agreement.
"Because Your Highness's maternal family is in the South."
"That's right, my mother is from the South."
The servants lined up at the entrance of the palace bowed in unison as Johannes approached.
"We greet the little sun of the Empire!"
"Don't be so formal, everyone. Did you all become distant because it's been a while since I came?"
As Johannes said, he often visited the South with his mother, the Empress, or even alone. This was because his power base was concentrated in the South.
But currently, the Second Prince Aslan was staying in the South.
The Second Prince had never openly expressed his desire for power, but he also didn't hide his sharp fangs like a beast.
They couldn't help but worry that the two brothers might clash and cause problems.
Nevertheless, the atmosphere that had been stiff gradually began to loosen with Johannes's glib jokes.
