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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Misunderstood Intentions
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Whoosh.
The conference room Daphne had left was utterly silent.
Because what the child had just done felt so unreal.
—I will not perish.
—I will survive, and I will kill you.
What utter nonsense…
Marquis Geiron and Pollin kept glancing at Heros.
Heros, whom they expected to be displeased, was surprisingly maintaining his composure.
He was merely rolling the pen Daphne had aimed at him in his hand.
‘Why isn’t he angry?’
No, that wasn’t it.
The Archduke couldn't get angry in the first place. He had become a man devoid of emotion after being cursed by a black mage.
Of course, most people did not know this.
Not only was the story of the curse kept tightly under wraps, but Heros had never been a man of great emotional change, so there was little noticeable difference.
In any case, the Archduke could not get angry, could not feel emotion. But that didn't mean he wasn't thinking.
‘What on earth is he thinking?’
The Marquis continued to observe Heros, but he couldn't guess his thoughts at all. So, he soon gave up watching him and fell deep into his own thoughts.
Daphne Akion.
A child who should never have been born.
But in the end, she was born by taking a life, and despite that, she could not overcome the curse that fated her to die soon.
So Daphne was always sick, always irritable, and always resentful. Daphne would beat the servants at any given moment and throw terrible tantrums. That's why Heros had confined her to the annex.
‘I thought she had died just like that.’
To think she not only came back to life but also caused such a huge scene today.
The thought occurred that it might not be a bad idea to watch her a little longer.
‘It seems something interesting will happen in my old age.’
Right?
Marquis Geiron, a loyal vassal of the Archducal House of Akion, looked at Pollin, Heros's loyal aide, and Pollin smiled faintly and nodded.
***
“Ah, what a relief.”
Leaving the conference room, I rubbed my stomach, feeling as if a hundred years of indigestion had finally cleared up.
The Hero's expression hadn't changed. But it didn't matter. My purpose wasn't to stir his emotions, but to declare war. Now that I've clearly conveyed my purpose, that bastard will be on edge.
“Um, Lady Daphne.”
Just then, the elf Teiti spoke cautiously.
“May I be dismissed now…?”
I glanced over at Teiti.
“No, I mean, I was hired as an elf to treat Daphne Akion, but it seems you don't need my treatment, Lady Daphne…”
“Are you trying to run away from me?”
“Of course not! Absolutely not! How could I possibly leave the side of the great Lady Daphne! If it were up to me, I would want to devote my entire life to you, but I have so many other contracts, so I can't help…”
“Your incessant chatter is quite noisy.”
“I'll shut up.”
His intention to bolt and hide was obvious, so I looked up at Teiti with a cold gaze.
“I understand that with the Black Butterfly Disease, one perishes when all four wings turn black.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“But this body's wings are only half-blackened on one wing.”
“Which means…?”
“It means I did not perish because of the curse. Someone killed this body.”
Teiti's eyes widened.
“Th-then are you telling me to find out who it was? I'm an elf, not an informant. I can connect you with a decent information guild, but anything more than that would be difficult for me…”
“No? I have no intention of giving such an order.”
“Haha, of course! The great Lady Daphne is as I expected. You're always so considerate of us lowly beings!”
“Make me a potion.”
“…Pardon?”
Teiti's eye twitched.
“Make a potion so this body can recover its stamina. Something to slow the curse and allow me to build up my strength.”
“…Lady Daphne. I'm an elf who acts as a doctor, not a pharmacist.”
“So you're saying you can't do it?”
I clenched my fist and glared at Teiti.
It was a tiny fist, small enough to kill maybe an ant, but it surely didn't look that way to Teiti.
He took a deep breath and shook his head.
“An order's an order. I'll do it.”
“Good.”
I smiled in satisfaction and crossed my arms.
“Now, all that's left is to get stronger.”
Yes.
This is just the beginning.
***
“Hasn't the Lady been acting strange lately?”
Anna said. Ann, who was arranging the tableware nearby, nodded as if she'd been waiting for her to say it.
“Yes, she's strange.”
Ann and Anna's eyes met. Anna spoke cautiously.
“The strangest thing is…”
“She hasn't thrown anything at us.”
They exclaimed at the same time.
“It's weird. It's been over a week since we were last hit by the Lady.”
“I know. Normally, we should have been hit at least once by now. What is it?”
It was true.
The old Daphne would have hit them once for every word they spoke. And she would have thrown things several times.
But the Daphne of today did not. That made Ann and Anna even more anxious. It was like the calm before the storm.
“And…”
Ann continued.
“Her way of speaking has gotten a bit strange, too.”
Before, it felt more like she was throwing a tantrum and being childish, but now, it was as if an old grandmother was speaking.
Of course, this change wasn't necessarily bad, but it was so sudden that Ann and Anna were worried.
“They say people change after they die and come back to life…”
“Could that really be why?”
Ann and Anna remembered the moment Daphne had shot up from her coffin.
How shocking it had been! It was such a spectacle that everyone in the room had jumped to their feet!
Recalling that moment, Ann and Anna's eyes welled with tears and they sniffled, as if overcome with emotion once more.
There was only one reason they cared for Daphne so much.
Daphne was the only child of their late mistress.
The mistress who had taken them in when they were struggling to survive day by day, doing menial chores at the temple.
She was the great High Priestess who represented the temple, yet she was a remarkable person who would cast a benevolent gaze even upon lowly commoners like them.
To Ann and Anna, the mistress was a savior, and they had received a debt of gratitude so great that a lifetime of devotion would not be enough to repay it.
The last gift such a mistress had left in their care was Daphne.
Because of the curse that even the mistress could not break, Daphne would one day die, but they wished for her to be happy for as long as she lived.
That was why Ann and Anna stayed by Daphne's side, no matter what abuse they received. To honor the mistress's last wish, to make her legacy shine even a little brighter.
And yet…
“These days, she's just so unpredictable.”
“That's right. She went to the training grounds again today.”
Ann frowned slightly.
The training grounds? Why on earth would she go to a place full of dust and the smell of sweat?
She had tried to stop her several times, but Daphne wouldn't listen to Ann. And she wouldn't let them follow her, either.
“What on earth could she be doing at the training grounds?”
Daphne was going to die anyway.
There was no way to break the curse of the Black Butterfly Disease.
Therefore, Daphne should be enjoying the rest of her life in comfort until she died. It was a short time, but she should be able to live it to the fullest. That's why they were there, and that's why their master gave them money.
‘I don’t understand.’
Ann chewed on her lip.
“I think I know what the Lady is doing.”
“What?”
Ann's eyes widened at Anna's words.
“You heard, didn't you? A while ago, about how she went to see the master while he was in a meeting.”
Ann nodded.
That day, Daphne had suddenly disappeared. While a startled Ann and Anna were searching the annex high and low, they heard the story from another servant. That the Lady had gone to see the master.
They didn't know what was said inside the conference room.
But more importantly, the Lady—the Lady who had always been afraid of the master—had gone to see him herself!
There must have been some kind of change.
Anna continued.
“Ever since that day, the Lady has been going to the training grounds. I saw her walking around them, little by little. Maybe she's training?”
“To get the master's attention…?”
“Yes. I definitely heard the Lady muttering ‘Hero’ while she was walking.”
Ann grew solemn.
Because she knew better than anyone how much Heros hated Daphne.
And yet, she was forcing her sick body to the training grounds just to get his attention.
“How pitiful.”
“She won't live long anyway…”
They wiped away their tears and sniffled.
Then they quickly composed themselves, thinking that if Daphne was trying so hard, they should put in more effort too.
“This won't do. I should go make her some snacks.”
“Okay. I'll help.”
They hurried toward the kitchen.
Failing to notice the eyes that were watching them.
