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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Holy Knight's Return
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“Come now. Please sit here and have some water. Oh dear, it seems the news was too sudden for someone so frail of heart.”
I took a sip of the water Werner offered and answered, my voice thick with unshed tears.
“N-no, it's not that. I was just so startled…”
My voice trailed off as if embarrassed by my recent display, and Werner handed me a handkerchief before returning to Tristan's side.
Tristan's continued silence bothered me, but he likely didn't know anything either.
*‘The place was already tainted with the remnants of black magic. He wouldn't think to suspect it had been used a second time.’*
This was the drawback of the detector. It could only confirm the presence of remnants, not when, how many times, or what specifically had occurred.
“…Perhaps the Holy See truly did retrieve it.”
I wondered why they would bother collecting a corpse that couldn't be used as evidence, but there was no other hypothesis.
It seemed Tristan, too, had failed to find anything suspicious about this innocent duke's daughter.
*‘Phew. I’ve cleared one hurdle.’*
The tension finally drained from my body.
I used the handkerchief Werner gave me to wipe away tears that weren't even there. Then, pushing my thoughts aside, I offered a sorrowful smile.
“I'll return this handkerchief soon, along with the one you gave me before. I don't know what to do, always being indebted to you, Sir Werner.”
“You don't have to return it, my lady.”
Of course, a mere handkerchief like this would mean little to Werner.
“No, I insist. I will return it.”
Now that they had started to suspect me, I needed to take out some insurance of my own.
*‘Black magic isn't just for creating zombies, after all.’*
And the detector wouldn't have the ability to sense black magic that hadn't yet been activated.
*‘If I mix a drop of blood into the thread I use to embroider the handkerchief, I can use it whenever I wish.’*
When and how I would use it was entirely up to me.
“I always thought the rumors in the imperial court were exaggerated. But it seems the stories about your kind nature were true.”
Werner's words were pure flattery. Everyone who worked at the imperial palace knew the story: that I was endlessly gentle and a rare noble without a shred of arrogance.
At a glance, Werner seemed genuinely moved by my kindness. Though I knew he was thinking otherwise on the inside.
“And you, Sir Werner, seem to be a man who truly understands what chivalry is.”
I was not one to be outdone when it came to flattery. We faced each other and smiled brightly.
All while hiding poison-laced swords behind our backs.
***
*Swish.*
The thread made a soft sound as it pierced the fabric. Stitch by stitch. As I embroidered with care, a brilliant rose bloomed from my fingertips.
Embroidery was one of the few things I was considered better than average at.
Having never been able to shake the label of 'ordinary' in almost every other aspect, embroidery had become a quiet companion whenever my mind was troubled.
*Swish.* Just as I was about to make another stitch.
“My lady.”
A gentle voice echoed in my ear.
“Is something troubling you?”
She knelt on one knee, meeting my gaze. Her pale blue eyes, filled with concern, looked up at me.
“It's nothing, Riley.”
“How can you say that? Ever since you were a child, you've always turned to embroidery without a word when something was on your mind.”
Riley, who had started as my childhood companion and now served as my personal maid, had keenly sensed my mood.
“The young masters and lady have been dismissing us to talk amongst themselves a lot lately. I had a feeling something was going on.”
It seems dismissing all the servants had looked suspicious after all.
“It's something you can't tell me, isn't it?”
“…Yes, it is.”
I pulled Lev, who had approached unnoticed, into my arms and placed him on my lap.
*Meeow.* A pleasant cry escaped him.
“I see. But please, if you ever need my help, just say the word. I worry because you have a tendency to carry every burden by yourself.”
The concern lacing her tone was remarkably tender.
“Oh. I almost forgot, I came to deliver this. I've been rambling.”
Riley smiled brightly and pulled a handsome envelope from her bodice.
The mark where it had been sealed with dark blue wax was distinct. The elegant lily-of-the-valley crest upon it was one I recognized.
“It says that the daughter of Count Vischet will be returning to the country tomorrow.”
“……”
With a finely trembling hand, I traced the crest. The timing was terrible.
“It seems she's returning after completing her mandatory service at the Holy See.”
Riley's words felt distant, as if from far away.
Hazel Vischet. My academy classmate and old friend…
...was a Holy Knight of the Holy See, whose very purpose was to exterminate warlocks.
***
If you were to ask how a warlock and a Holy Knight became friends, I wouldn't have an answer. I never expected Hazel to become a Holy Knight either.
House Walker and House Vischet had been close for generations, so we had associated with each other from a young age as part of our families' social obligations.
When we first entered the academy, Hazel was in the same administrative department as me.
Since Hazel's older sister was already designated as the heir to House Vischet, Hazel had probably planned to study with me and work for the imperial family, or perhaps become her sister's aide.
*‘There was a time like that...’*
Though it felt like a lifetime ago now.
*Clatter.*
A carriage bearing the lily-of-the-valley crest stopped before me.
I smoothed the hem of my simple dress and stood before the carriage. Normally, I would have asked Edmond or Isaac, who were at home, to escort me, but…
*Click.* The carriage door swung open, and she stepped out.
Unlike me, she was a woman dressed not in a gown but in a shirt and trousers. Her short-cropped, platinum-blonde hair shone beautifully in the sunlight.
Her half-lidded eyes turned toward me. The pale golden eyes, a signature of House Vischet, widened.
She was no different from the Hazel Vischet I remembered. A handsome boy rather than a pretty girl—that description still suited her best.
“Emily.”
She gave a rare, wide smile.
“It's been a while. Have you been well?”
I smiled gently back at her. She was one of my few friends, and seeing her face-to-face made all other thoughts fade.
For a moment, the reality that she was a Holy Knight and I was a warlock disappeared. We were just friends.
“Emily, you…”
Hazel strode over and circled me. Her blatant observation sent a chill down my spine.
*‘Did she notice?’*
The thought that remnants of black magic might still linger on my body flashed through my mind.
“…You seem to have lost some weight. Are you sure you've been well?”
Thankfully, that wasn't it. That took ten years off my life.
“Maybe I've slimmed down from being busy lately? It's nothing to worry about~.”
At that, Hazel suddenly pulled me into a fierce hug. I relaxed my body and patted her on the back.
Beneath her clothes, I could feel her firm, well-trained body.
“I missed you.”
“Life at the Holy See must have been hard.”
Hazel said nothing, only hugging me tighter.
All Holy Knights had to be ordained at the Holy See and then complete three years of mandatory service there.
Having transferred mid-term from the administrative department to the knightly department, Hazel had graduated two years later than everyone else, which was why she was only now, at twenty-three, able to return to the empire.
“…I tried to come back sooner. But it took longer than I thought.”
“But mandatory service is three years. Can you come back earlier?”
“It's possible if you achieve great merit.”
With her face buried in my clothes, Hazel mumbled about how she had almost caught a level-two demonic beast, but some damn rival had interfered and ruined everything.
“Sorry. I made a promise.”
“Hm?”
“I bet some strange characters picked fights with you again while I was gone.”
“Haha…”
I couldn't say that it hadn't happened.
Even back at the academy, countless people had tried to look down on me. It was only natural; wasn't I the sole blemish of the Walker family?
I was an all-too-tempting bait for those who were jealous of House Walker.
The ones who protected me then were my childhood friend, Hazel, and…
“Speaking of which, did you contact Natalie?”
It seemed likely she would have contacted Natalie when she sent me the letter.
“She said she had a prior engagement.”
Hazel clicked her tongue. It was partly Hazel's fault for sending the letter just a day before her return, but for Natalie not to make an exception for a friend returning after three years was just so... Natalie.
“She's always been selfish. It doesn't matter. I wasn't expecting anything.”
For someone who said that, she looked quite disappointed... But I decided to pretend I didn't notice.
“Well, Natalie helped me a lot while you were gone, too. So I didn't have any particular trouble.”
While Hazel had little connection to high society, I was still the Duke's Daughter of House Walker and was often summoned to various events.
Well, my brothers and Yulia were always busy. I figured I, who had the most free time, should be the one to go, so I didn't avoid it.
And every time, it was Natalie who helped me when I got caught up in all sorts of trouble.
“Now that I think about it, I feel a little bad for Natalie. I rejected every party invitation she sent me.”
The party Natalie went to today probably sent me an invitation as well. I just refused it.
It was one thing not to care what others said, but I had no hobby of actively seeking out insults.
*‘Natalie always insisted that people saw me as an easy target because I kept avoiding them, and that I should just crush them with my status if need be...’*
Natalie's confident declaration that it didn't matter when she was by my side was quite cool, but it still didn't make me want to attend those tiresome gatherings.
“Don't worry about the rumors. It's just the work of pathetic people with too much time on their hands.”
A faint scorn flickered in Hazel's eyes. That righteousness was very knight-like. Of course, Hazel had always been this way, even as a child.
“Well then, shall we go inside?”
I led Hazel toward the mansion's drawing room.
With the spring sun shining warmly, House Walker's garden was likely showing off its full beauty.
But I chose the drawing room over the garden solely because I didn't want my siblings and Hazel to cross paths.
*‘As long as I don't use black magic, there's no way I'll be caught. She never noticed back at the academy, so it should be fine.’*
But I had no idea what would happen if Hazel and my siblings were to meet.
Would her Holy Knight senses pick up on their sinister aura? What would her reaction be if she found out all my siblings were living corpses?
As if reading my mind, Hazel asked as she stepped into the house.
“By the way, where are your siblings?”
