Chapter 6

Clatter!

A young man in a green uniform, with brown hair and light green eyes, ran into the reception room.

As if rushing over, the young man was breathing very harshly from his mouth.

“Before visiting…… you have to……make an appointment first…… I’ve told you this. Estelle.”

In the young man’s field of vision, a gorgeous, beautiful girl sitting obliquely on a silk canape and looking at a letter was shown.

She was a beautiful girl with purple eyes and with a pink hair hanging down.

She seems to be about in her mid-teens now. The girl, who must have been about fourteen or sixteen, looked at the young man and smiled wryly.

“I told you not to call me by that name when we’re alone, Rithaus.”

From the girl’s seductive red lips came a murky, low, thick voice as if she had a cold.

It was a voice of a boy who has just finished his last stage of puberty.

“Right, Astaire……”

“Good job.”

Astaire smiled lovingly at Rithaus.

But his voice was still very low-pitched.

“By the way, your lovely fiancée sent you a letter.”

Astaire waved around the paper he was reading and showed it to Rithaus.

It was a telegram letter addressed to Rithaus.

Rithaus snatched the letter from Astaire’s hand.

“Don’t read other people’s letter.”

While Rithaus scanned the letter, two slender arms were wrapped around his waist.

“I came here because you haven’t been coming to my house to play. Are you mad?”

Astaire’s silky pink hair tickled the tip of Rithaus’ nose.

A faint iris scent can be discerned.

Despite the scent being awfully feminine, Rithaus felt nothing.

“You’re still as cold as a stone. It’s no fun.”

When Rithaus showed little reaction, Astaire, intrigued, unwrapped his arms around Rithaus’s waist.

“Ah, this is boring and uninteresting. Tell me about your fiancée. I was only able to read the greeting part.”

Astaire was wearing a dress wrapped in a black lace and in a pink silk identical to his own hair color.

His long hair was braided with black satin ribbons, enhancing his beauty.

He was strikingly stunning, so much so that he could be mistaken for a very beautiful girl if he kept his mouth shut.

Astaire felt Rithaus’ face stiffen lightly as he read the letter.

What could it be? Astaire was not interested in the contents of the letter, however.

“How is your fiancée? Is she pretty?”

Astaire asked as he patted Rithaus’ waist.

But Rithaus just ignored Astaire.

“So, is she ugly?”

When he changed the question, Rithaus rolled his eyes as if telling him to stop.

“Rithaus, I’m bored.”

Rithaus sighed as he looked at the whining Astaire who laid flat on the silk canape.

The fine floral patterns of silk on the long high-quality chair suited Astaire very well.

Somehow, it was pitiful and irritating.

“There’s nothing special. My fiancée is going to attend Kratier Academy where I’m attending.”

Rithaus spoke as he read the letter carefully.

There was not a hint of affection in his voice as he talked about his fiancée.

“I’m guessing she’s trying to follow her fiancé. What a boring girl.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

Rithaus shook his head.

“What’s going on?”

Rithaus’ hand, who was holding the letter, trembled a little and fell off.

What he read seemed so ridiculous to the point that he lost his strength. 

Astaire approached Rithaus on the side to see the letter.

“……It’s a notice to break off our engagement.”

Rithaus’ face turned blue, while Astaire’s eyes lit up with interest.

******

Time flies so fast.

There was less than fifteen days left until my transfer to the Imperial Academy at Kratier.

To the good old days, I bid you farewell.

I’m gonna miss you. My leisurely life.

For two months, I used my swordsmanship classes as an excuse to invite Franz and watch over his training with [Shitsuro].

“Sister, can’t I rest today? I will train diligently even when sister isn’t around.”

“Put your hands on your chest and recall your memories, Franz. Look back and think if there has ever been a time where you trained by yourself.”

“No.”

“Then shut up and change your clothes.”

Frans is not particularly the athletic type, yet he has heavy hips.

(*heavy hips – refers to the person who like desk jobs rather than physical activities)
 

When I had [Shitsuro], I, myself, preferred to sit at my desk and spend my time reading books. So, I wasn’t able to practice [Shitsuro] on my own.

“I’ve never trained this hard with [Schuette].”

Franz complained and whined.

This is all for your sake. Young man! This is how you, me, and our parents get to live!

Even if Franz get to own [Shitsuro], it will be useless if he did not become its true master.

Franz can only be truly safe if he becomes [Shitsuro]’s master.

So, I will push Franz and do whatever it takes to make him [Shitsuro]’s master.

“[Shitsuro].”

As Franz aligned his lips with the shield symbol embedded onto his left wrist, a shield-shaped magic circle surfaced in the air.

“Woah, that’s awesome.”

Exclamations were heard everywhere.

Shitsuro looked ten times bigger than the last time I saw it.

As expected, the improvement is frighteningly great.

He’s been doing well, but doesn’t want to train, and keeps on complaining here and there.

It’s my job to prevent Franz from running away and bring him to the training ground.

I will be hard on you until the day I go to Kratier Academy, Franz.

“Back to your positions!”

As father gave a sign to the knights, one knight who belongs to the Vesta family threw a wooden sword.

But Shitsuro easily deflected the wooden sword.

The knight picked up the wooden sword and made a signal.

This time, six knights rushed around Franz in unison.

When Franz stretched out his arms, the number of shield magic circle that had been floating in the air increased to four.

Ooh, he’s pretty good, isn’t he?

Not only me, but everyone around me couldn’t take their eyes off of Franz.

When the four shields surrounded Franz, the movements of the overwhelmed knights faltered for a moment.

One of the knights, who felt that they shouldn’t be doing this, signaled again.

The knights struck Shitsuro with wooden swords, but they ended up either being crushed or being deflected.

“That’s great. You’ve already mastered the forward defense.”

Father was very impressed that it’s not enough for him to just watch, thus he clapped from his seat.

After sealing [Shitsuro], Franz blushed and looked embarrassed.

He never heard those kinds of compliments before, when he was learning swordsmanship.

Of course, it was partly because Franz is a clumsy person even though he’s talented.

“Isn’t he improving quickly? Pretty soon, range defense will be possible.”

“Range defense. How could a beginner like me……”

“No, you can definitely do it. Trust your sister.”

Range defense is a technique that expands the scope of space that needs to be protected.

By maximizing one’s skill to the maximum, this technique can make even a simple owner, not a master, protect a large castle.

However, if you become a master, that ability will all the more become stronger and powerful.

According to old history documents, [Shitsuro] once protected an entire city which was of the size of the imperial capital.

If Franz becomes [Shitsuro]’s master, I intend to protect the Vesta house’s territory with the power of [Shitsuro].

Franz still looked excited, as if he couldn’t believe what happened.

“I am thinking maybe I’m going to do well after all, as sister said. My body feels lighter than before when I had [Schuette]. I feel like [Shitsuro] is moving at my will. It’s like [Shitsuro] and I are a one whole body. I didn’t have this feeling when I had [Schuette]. I find this very strange.”

No wonder. This part has been mentioned in the original story.

Franz should have [Shitsuro], not [Schuette].

As Astaire affirmed in the original story, Franz had the qualities to be [Shitsuro]’s master.

But it wasn’t until I saw it in front of me that I was convinced.

Franz will soon become [Shitsuro]’s master.

A person who becomes the master of [Shitsuro] will be so powerful that even Astaire, who brought the Magic Tower down to his knees, will be rendered powerless.

 In the original story, Astaire said this to Franz, who was locked in the dungeon.

[I’m glad you don’t have [Shitsuro]. I wouldn’t have been able to make you mine like this.]

When I read the original story, I thought that Franz would take over [Shitsuro] and become its master after Kayla’s death.

And he would take revenge on the people who tormented and harassed him.

But it was just a McGuffin.

(*McGuffin – an object or device in a film or a book which serves merely as a trigger for the plot. I think it means that Kayla’s death is a way to catch the audience’s attention and maintain suspense but has little to no influence over the main storyline).