09. The Prince and the Big-Breasted Man (2)

Translated by: ???

“I have a rough report, but I’d like to hear the situation from your mouth again. There was a conflict with the leader of the Sidus wolves.”

“It was more of a light contact than a conflict.”

“Haha, I see. I know their young leader, too. He’s a nasty man. Did you know his identity beforehand?”

Eve thought for a moment but saw no reason to lie, so she nodded. Instead, she didn’t tell the truth about why she knew him.

“He’s a  man you can’t not know east of the river.”

“I see……. Can you tell me exactly what happened?”

Eve immediately gave a brief account of the day’s events in a somewhat stiff voice, as if a soldier was giving a debriefing. After-action briefings were something she’d done every day before becoming a leader-level hunter, so it wasn’t too difficult to verbally summarize the events.

Eve finished by telling me that she had been picking up stories on the east side of the river ever since she had realized the disappearance of the commoner women and that she had decided to use Basilio, who had approached her, to find out where they were, thinking that it might be gang-related.

Of course, she cut out all the details of what happened upstairs in the room, and ended her report with a version of events that included a bit of a fight. Alberic’s face hardened as she continued, and finally, dreading the end of her tale, he began to nag.

“He is one of the Second Prince’s men. It was reckless to think of taking him on alone.”

“It wasn’t as big of a deal as I thought. It seems like he’s been exercising a bit with all his swagger, but when we fought, he was totally soft.”

“…….”

Alberic was momentarily taken aback by Eve’s dismissive comment about the leader of the wolf of Sidus, calling him “soft”. However, he soon gave up and did not challenge her words.

“This isn’t the kind of thing you should be doing. I’ll have my men rounded up and instructed to track down the women who were supposedly abducted.”

“I can’t believe the Bureau is dismissing this as just a case of commoner women disappearing.”

“Well. If it’s a matter of publicity, I’m sure they’ll look the other way. If you are truly concerned, I will have additional knights assigned to your service.”

“Knights…….”

“Protecting the people is a natural duty of one who receives the rust of the state.”

At the mention of knights, Castel spoke up.

“I had heard reports of the rise of the serpentine gangs from somewhere else, but I had no idea they were this unscrupulous. Selling Imperial citizens into slavery is unacceptable.”

“Is there any other way for a newly established gang to raise money…… besides selling drugs, weapons, and women?”

After listening to the two in silence, Alberic spoke up.

“If it’s the Vipers, they’re already on the Bureau’s radar because they’re a new group distributing poor-quality drugs. But that they were selling humans…… is the information we haven’t gotten yet. Human gangs operate in dots, so it’s not easy to keep track of their movements……. Regardless of how ignorant the process was, the end result is a credit to you.”

“Oh, wait. It seems like my insult got naturally woven into the conversation.”

Alberic neatly dismissed her comment and continued.

“Coincidentally, His Majesty has been thinking of cleaning up the underworld of East Plumen on a large scale, so the investigation of this case will be conducted in conjunction with the operation to eradicate the gangs.”

“No, it will be too late, I meant to say that they might be leaving for the port city soon, Your Highness, I would like to join the search operation if possible.”

“The trouble is, the Central Bureau of Investigation will soon be in charge of this case.”

Eve glanced at Edward, who replied that belied his words of difficulty and made up her mind to go south, even if she was alone. As Basilio had said, it would be too late once they boarded the ship. At the very least, she would have to strike while they were on land. Watching Eve’s sinking expression, Edward suddenly asked her a question.

“Are you so confident in your own abilities that you distrust the capabilities of the…… Bureau?”

“…….”

“Very well. You will prove to me that your confidence is justified.”

“I will prove it.”

Eve’s face showed no concern or fear of defeat as she waited for his words. Edward, who laughed lightly at her enthusiasm, seemed to consider something for a moment but soon opened his mouth to speak to the man who stood like a shadow behind her.

“What do you think, Lord Castel? Sir Margaret herself has taught her to fight, so she is no less a fighter than any other; will you judge her skill for yourself?”

“If you command, I will obey.”

“Lady Evelyn, I offer you the opportunity to cross swords with the greatest swordmaster in the Empire. Will you accept?”

“I am grateful to you for this rare opportunity.”

“Haha, good, then we’ll head straight to the training grounds.”

Eve, who beautifully embellished her statement that was essentially ‘criticize if you must, damn you,’ subtly shifted her gaze towards Castel, who was standing behind Edward. He was a stern-looking man with short, ash-colored hair slicked back. His well-toned physique was not overly muscular, seeming a bit slender compared to his reputation at first glance. However, Eve noticed that he possessed an ‘impressive physique when undressed’.

Castel’s body hadn’t been bulked up haphazardly; it had been trimmed of fat and honed to the limit by constant training. Eve smiled coyly, forcing the corners of her mouth to twitch upward as she realized how many layers of fabric surrounded a fine, well-muscled body that slid in and out of place.

As if sensing her gaze, he turned his head, and their gazes locked for a moment, and Castel and Eve nodded their heads at each other, greeting each other with their bodies instead of words. The lack of consideration in their match left them unable to form coherent sentences.

‘It’s crazy, really. I’d wish I could take it off him just once. Oh, he’s got great t*ts……. How can I not…… just once……. Big breasts…….’

The crown prince and his knight walked on ahead, unaware of what the languid-looking woman was thinking. Eve retrieved her sword as she exited the chamber, winking at one of the guardsmen with a sly look before being caught by Alberic.

“Evelyn, you…….”

“No, why would you turn around at that time……!”

“We’ll talk about that …… later.”

With a small voice, Alberic turned back to Eve, who pouted a little as she sheathed her scabbard. Lately, it felt like he was nagging at her. Buying land and investing here and there to make money must have been stressing him out, and when she guessed the reason for his grumbling, she followed him.

In the direction of the palace’s patronage was a large performance hall. It was apparently a partially cleared garden set aside for Castel and the knights of the Guard, who were responsible for escorting the crown prince. It’s an extraordinary gesture that speaks volumes about the Prince’s fondness for Castel.

Soon enough, guards and servants had taken up positions around Edward and Alberic, and Eve giggled to herself as she felt a few eyes fly to her outfit. She stripped off her coat and the vest underneath, handing it to the servant at her side, and walked to the center of the ballroom where Castel was waiting.

He was dressed in full regalia, his uniform coat zipped up tight. Eve greeted him first, trying to hide her disappointment as she thought that he could have taken off at least one layer…….

“I’m still a bit inexperienced in using auras, so I’d prefer not to use sword energy and just mix swords, is that okay?”

“As you wish.”

“Then I’ll ask you to do me a favor.”

“Sure.”

Eve and Castel drew their swords at the same time. A sharp curl escaped the sword’s sheath.

They both focused on the longsword, which had a hand-and-a-half-long grip. Eve tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword, quickly strategizing. It would be difficult to overcome a fully trained male knight with strength. She would have to strike as quickly as possible. Slowly, a sharp energy began to emanate from Eve’s body.

“I’m coming!”

With a shout that sounded like a cheer, Eve’s new form disappeared in an instant. Castel didn’t panic, raising his sword to defend his neck. In the blink of an eye, Eve’s blade was blocked by the man’s sword. The sound of the two blades clashing erupted like an explosion.

Eve quickly retracted her blade, as if she knew it would be blocked, and swung it toward her next target with the fluidity of water. One by one, Castel calmly picked off the trajectory of the digging Longsword, aiming for his spine, his mantle, and the light blood in his flank. The deafening clang, clang, clang, clang, continued.

Even those watching from afar were deafened by the intense sound, like the explosion of gunpowder. As Edward watched the two swordsmen duke it out, he turned to Alberic with a subtle, unreadable expression.

“You said she first held a sword at the beginning of the summer two years ago.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Of course, Lord Castel is looking out for her, but she doesn’t seem to be lagging far behind him. Surely her talent has been recognized and nurtured in Vermell before then?”

“No. If she had, I would have reported it already.”

“I see.”

Hearing Alberic’s answer, Edward fell silent and returned to watching the scene before him. The dust on the training grounds kicked up with the vigorous movements of the two people, partially obscuring their view. The tension in the air somehow seemed to increase, and the people watching the two swordsmen secretly swallowed dryly.

Kwaang!

Ku, ku, ku kuk!

As he continued to parry the incoming attacks, Castel suddenly shifted his momentum and swung his sword in an aggressive motion. Eve, realizing this was a test of sorts, curiously caught the blade head-on. She came down with force. Eve’s brows narrowed slightly as she took in the weight of the dull blade and the man.

“Not bad.”

A dull, scraping sound of steel emanated from where sword met sword. The two were close enough to study each other’s expressions closely. The man’s eyebrows lifted slightly as if he hadn’t expected Eve to parry his blow and return it with force.

Feeling unnecessarily offended by his downward gaze, Eve lifted the corners of her mouth ferociously and slashed at him, her sword swift and quick, like a venomous serpent baring its teeth and lunging.

Margaret’s voice echoed in Eve’s head. Faster, with more power in her lower body, sharp but flexible. Eve’s blade struck harder and harder. Even as she swung, she was climbing the stairs of growth.

Kwang! Kwang!

Their momentum swirled fiercely and intertwined. Just as she was about to parry the incoming tip of the upper blade, a silver trajectory grazed her lower back. Parrying the lower strike, he rode the flow of the sword like a solid piece of metal coming to life.

It was an unbelievable, ever-changing, fluid movement. Castel looked up from his rigid face in slight surprise at the rapid and unpredictable transformation, a rush so swift that it had to be read with energy rather than sight.

Even though the direction was entirely different, the heavy sword stroke of his mother he knew was incorporated into the unconventional movements.