I Have No Intention Of Training The Male Leads - Chapter 5 Part 4

05. The One-armed Knight and the Handsome (?) Magician (4)

Translated by: ???????

Callisto chuckled softly as he cut off Margaret’s words. It was an abominable laugh that made Eve, who knew his real identity, shudder in disgust.

‘I think he’s trying to hide who he was on purpose…’

Margaret, who seemed to be aware of Callisto’s nasty temper, only laughed uncomfortably when he cut her off. However, she did not say anything to Eve, so it seems like she did not have any intentions to intervene in Callisto’s little play.

Eve had already made up her mind to treat Callisto like a child. She’ll make him lose his temper and have him revert back to his original appearance. She grinned from ear to ear and said,

“Margaret, Who is this midget, do you know him?”

“Poohahaha!”

“M-midget what?”

“Little kid, your sister is swinging her sword right now, it’s very dangerous here, so go play somewhere else.”

“Hahahaha! Yes, Callisto. Go play somewhere else.”

“Ha! What’s so dangerous about Practice Swords?”

In a blink of an eye, Eve slashed her sword horizontally towards him. It happened in a flash, and Callisto only realized what had happened when the wind pressure from the dull practice blade cut off a couple strands of his hair. His complexion turned white immediately, then it switched to blue, then crimson.

“Whew… You’re as tiny as a mouse. Even a practice sword feels like it’s iron on you, don’t you think so too, Margaret?”

“Hahaha….. That’s right.”

“M-Mouse?.. Are you crazy? Why would you swing a sword at someone who’s just standing still!”

“Ah, Callisto. I’m telling you this as an elder, if you use your magic on Evelyn, I will be forced to subdue you. So please don’t let me stun you with my own hands.”

“Are you seriousMargaret.. Y-You… even me?”

Margaret turned her back to Eve so she couldn’t see her expression, but she spat an order at Callisto. Callisto then clamped his jaw shut, his face turned red with anger as he realized just whose order and why she had come to the Cales estate.

“Oh, are you a mage?”

Margaret, who had been watching Eve smirking and chuckling while she continued to get on Callisto’s nerves, chided her.

“Evelyn. Stop provoking him.”

“Ahaha. Let’s play a little longer. Hey, can you do some magic?”

“I’ve never seen such a rude and unruly person in my life!”

“Oh… You have a knack for telling your own story as if it were someone else’s.”

As for Eve, the more Callisto trembled at the sight of her, the better. Margaret was forced to step in to mediate between the two, who seemed about to combust in flames.

“Evelyn. Finish practicing with your sword, also you get another hour of practice. You seemed to be very comfortable with your training, seeing how you’re giggling like that.”

“Ack, Margaret, what are you talking about!”

“Two hours?”

“No!”

Eve angrily moved away from them. She then resumed her stance, and began to move her body. As Margaret watched, she turned and spoke to Callisto.

“You’re already old enough, I think it’s about time for you to stop playing games like that.”

“Tsk…. Enough with the nagging.”

“You’re like a little child, you know. Honestly, sometimes I get goosebumps when I see that face.”

“Don’t you think it’s time for you to get used to this look?”

“After ten years, and you still look like a boy, how am I supposed to get used to it?”

“Anyway, it’s good to see you after all these years. Why don’t you leave it at that and come in and have a cup of tea with me.”

“Hmm…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Margaret finally decided to urge Eve to finish up with her practice, then go inside. Then She returned to the annex with Callisto. After a few moments of freedom, the maid Margaret had sent to watch over Eve’s every move came over. Eve immediately sulked and resumed her stabbing position.

Meanwhile, back in the annex, they made their way to the parlor attached to Margaret’s room.

Simple refreshments were set out on the table, and Margaret promptly waved both of her maids out.

“What a spoiled brat, did the prince really order you to protect that crazy foal?”

“A knight merely follows orders.”

“Well… I really don’t know what Edward is thinking, sometimes I want to rip his head off and see what’s inside.”

“Just think about it. Castell would behead you if you even tried that.”

“Of course.”

They both lifted their teacups and cleared their throats for a while. There was a moment of silence, and then Callisto spoke quietly.

“As for the arm, let’s see… We can try some prosthetics.”

“Never mind. I made a promise.”

“He’s crazy, there’s no point in keeping a promise to someone like that.”

“… It’s been too long since I’ve had a prosthetic arm. The nerves have long since died, and I’ll never be able to hold a sword with my right arm. In that sense, it’s a good thing I’m ambidextrous.”

“Margaret.”

“I traded my right arm for the life of the Imperial Grandson, and it was a bargain, but you were there too, so I could cut off one arm and be done with it, and I’ve always thought I owed you a debt.”

“A debt? Nonsense. I couldn’t have done anything. I’d rather… That day than…”

“Watch your mouth. He may be a madman, but he’s still the Emperor of this country.”

“He won’t be soon.”

Margaret saw traces of the deep scars on his face. A swordsman of great force, a mage of great magical talent, were but mere individuals in the face of absolute power. Callisto was a man who was proud of his accomplishments, and the memory of being unable to do anything about it must have been a great humiliation to him.

There was no one to stop the Emperor from his madness that day. The head of the Imperial Knights protecting the Emperor, the Archmage who had been given the surname Langrada, and the man in charge of the inner workings of the palace, could not stop the Emperor from going into a rampage. They could only watch helplessly as the royal courtmen of the Crown Prince’s palace were brutally cut down under the emperor’s sword.

Only Margaret Flanders, a commoner knight with no name or family to answer to, managed to leap in front of the Emperor and pleaded for his mercy. Behind her was her son and the Emperor’s youngest son.

The Emperor’s madness was caused by a long-standing resentment, and no medicine could cure it. His intermittent outbursts of aimless rage always ended in blood and terrorized the people of the Empress and the Princes palaces.

Castell had been allowed to visit the palace as the prince’s playmate from an early age to cultivate his loyalty, and on the day of his enthronement, Margaret was also allowed to stand guard at the palace. This must have been with the approval of her ex-husband, who was also the head of the First Order of Imperial Knights. Though they were divorced, the Marquis Valois still treated Margaret like his old friend.

The day the mad emperor came to the palace with his sword drawn to kill his own son was the same day that Castell entered the palace and mingled with the young prince. Had he been a day later, the precious son of the imperial family would have died that day by his father’s hand.

The Emperor then said to the commoner knight who had blocked his blade.

‘You, too, are a victim of that devil’s immorality, and for once I will overlook it. In return, I will take your right arm as punishment, and it will save that little devil’s life. If you leave now, I’ll pretend that it didn’t happen.’

Margaret stood her ground until the end. It was Arnold Wittelsbach, her ex-husband, who cut off her arm at the Emperor’s behest. Only after the Emperor had left did Callisto, with his hands trembling, used a tourniquet to stop the wound below Margaret’s shoulder from bleeding. The cut was very neat, as if there was a plan to reattach it, but Margaret lost so much blood in an instant and her face white as a sheet, so all he could do was tell her to take her arm to the Emperor.

From that day forward, Margaret resigned from her knighthood and disappeared. Callisto also resigned as a court mage and left the ducal residence, then headed north.

Though they kept in touch from time to time, it was the first time since that day that they had sat down to finally talk.

“Arnold still cries when he sees me. It’s been more than a decade, and I’m sure he and you have more regrets about my arm than I do.”

“I was just trying to get the blood flowing…. If you’d been paying attention, you wouldn’t have lost your arm.”

“You were young then, and without your assistance back then, I would have lost a lot of blood. Besides, the trade was for your arm. So don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Damn it. Don’t you think you’re being too nice? If I were you, I’d have turned the tables upside down a long time ago?”

“Just don’t let him hear you say that lest you’d be accused of committing treason.”

Margaret laughed softly at Callisto’s grumbling. They sipped their tea and changed the subject. The sooner they put the nightmare of the past behind them, the better.

“So, do you plan to stay here for a while?”

“Hmm. Until the young lady has developed her skills, Yes.”

“To what extent exactly, that’s a bit vague.”

“Haha, it’ll be shorter than you think. She’s not in bad shape at all, and she’s been training on her own. She even knows how to use her body very well. I think she’ll be able to get the hang of it in no time. Depending on how hard she tries, she might even surpass Castell’s accomplishments.”

“I don’t know much about swordsmanship, but to summarize it, it shouldn’t take long, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I guess I’ll be on your payroll for a while, and I’d love to see the look of horror on that little kid’s face when she finds out who I am.”

Looking at the fiercely grinning Callisto, Margaret considered telling him that the kid already seemed to have figured out his identity, but she kept her mouth shut and popped the treats into her mouth. Looking at the golden brown toast from front to back reminded her of Eve’s struggle to get her to agree to let her eat a snack, and she swallowed it hard.

“What happened to the Archduke, anyway?”

“Ah. You heard.”

“I don’t know the details, since you’re in charge of the north.”

“Ever since last fall, the Archduke has been acting strangely, especially this year, with doctors coming and going several times a day, and they’ve been secretly trying to find a mage who can heal him.”

Callisto said while patting his knee. Margaret, who had been listening to the story, rubbed her chin and spoke up.

“Was it an accident or an assassination?”

“I don’t know… Anyway, he’s not dead, because I saw him walking around fine the day before we left, but something must have happened, given the suddenly tight security, which makes it harder to eavesdrop, but I’m sure the spies will be in touch soon.”

“If His Majesty finds out, there’s going to be another uproar.”

“Why, I’m sure he’d summon Edward first, and have him roasting you for what you’ve done.”

“I hope it’s nothing, but… I have a feeling this is going to get messy again.”

Margaret’s expression darkened. Callisto sighed deeply and put his mouth into his teacup.

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