063. Interim evaluation (5)
Some people tend to look down on etiquette as pathetic vanity. But if I were to see a silver-haired woman sitting at a round table in the living room, sipping hot tea, I would put that thought aside.
“It’s a delicious tea.”
The first words of the woman who entered her mansion and served her tea were the above. Of course, Veris couldn’t help but think of her as strange.
“I have to re-introduce myself to you. Grand Duke of Gaul, Evangeline de Wallenstein. I am the body called the grand duke of the great kingdom.”
It’s a hard tone. However, the soft tone hidden within it had a knack for making listeners nervous without knowing why.
“What do you want?”
“Whoops, he’s a very short talker.”
Woman…… No, the Archduke smiled leisurely. Then he said, putting down the teacup and looking at Berris.
“Do you know that I am targeting you?”
“Are you targeting me? Was he a stalker after all?”
“Pufu! Illusion is free. But there is another reason why I am truly targeting you.”
Having said that, Archduke Evangeline waved her hand in the air above her.
The waves of mana spread out. Knowing that the purpose of her mana was not to kill, but to block out her noise, Veris watched what she was doing with her expressionless eyes.
“The kids are surprised.”
The sound was blocked by the mana wall. I was not in a good mood because I could see the children who jumped up from their seats and shouted something.
However, the words of the Grand Duke that followed were obviously interesting to Veris as well.
“Do you know about the Devil Cult?”
“Of course not.”
Suddenly bringing up the story of the Demon Cult?
“I leaked information when I came here. It was a very intentional, clandestine operation.”
“… ….”
“Whoa, do you really believe that the grand duke of the kingdom of Gaul innocently comes to the imperial academy in search of a husband? It had a different purpose.”
Berris frowned at the grand duke’s quiet question.
It’s hard to believe. In fact, Berris is not interested in everything in the world, so she didn’t even know that the grand duke was coming to the academy.
“I got interesting information from the manor. It’s that type of information that an order has been issued to summon the Demonic Cult’s leadership to this academy.”
Listening to her words, Berris remembered the two middle-aged men he met at the Wittelsbach estate.
They were the two members of the Devil Church, the Twelve Black Seats, who made me acquire the swordsmanship-based passive skill called [Cheongeomsik Kai].
And……. That meant that there was a possibility that the Grand Duke had fairly certain information.
“I’m pretty sure they’re up to something.”
That was what Veris agreed to. Apparently, they said they were moving for a meeting. In the meantime, meeting Veris without luck must be the root of the problem.
“So what is the purpose?”
“Purpose?”
“What is the purpose that you, the prestigious Grand Duke of Gaul, are trying to achieve by entering this academy while hiding the facts? Just because you suspect the Demon Cult?”
At Berris’ straightforward question, the Archduke buried himself deep into the sofa.
Then he crossed his legs, put his interlocking hands on his knees, and said,
“I plan to kill them all.”
“Magicism?”
“Yes.”
Veris shut her mouth at the sullen Archduke’s low opinion.
Somehow, it was because the grand duke had a face that seemed to have a story without the need to ask further.
“So you want help? The basis for that is weak.”
“Do you think my choice is poorly founded?”
“Yes. I know you’ve been watching Dalian. But you wouldn’t have thought that he was a useful talent with just a few couples.”
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“Whoops.”
The Archduke let out an evil laugh. It was Berry’s question that hit her head at first glance, but she answered with her composure.
“A hero is, how to recognize a hero.”
“What?”
“It’s a feeling. It is like an alter ego that accompanies me all my life.”
“The reason you want to subdue the Demon Cult with me is because you just feel it?”
It was the grand duke’s vague answer. It was a question that would come naturally, so the Archduke, anticipating the question, immediately added.
“I… …. You don’t know how he became a grand duke.”
“… ….”
How do I know? I thought, but Veris didn’t dare say it out of his mouth. It was thanks to the Grand Duke, who had been keeping her composure, suddenly took the weight by talking about it.
“Since I am the one who wants to cooperate with you, I have to talk about this much.”
With those words, the Grand Duke began a brief story of himself.
“I was the only daughter of Archduke Wallenstein in eastern Gaul. However, his father was beaten by the devil’s dirty tricks. He cut his father, who had lost his will and blindly followed the Demon Cult. After killing his father, I became the grand duke. I was eighteen at the time. He was the same age as you.”
After saying that, the Grand Duke had a bitter smile on his lips for the first time.
“Then I… …. How did he find out that his father was being manipulated by demons?”
The blue eyes of the Grand Duke stared at Veris. If he had a weak mind, he would have been stunned by the force, but unfortunately, it was Berris.
“How?”
“Even then, I knew it thanks to my natural intuition. Even I know that the basis is weak. But my natural intuition has never been wrong. So my intuition for wanting you is definitely ‘correct’.”
The Grand Duke has regained his original composure. He speaks in a normal tone even though it was just a moment ago that he was talking about something grim.
“And her original daughter is very strong. She is beyond your imagination. Even the swordsman genius of the Empire, Gunther, is like a firefly in front of the sun in front of me.”
“Strong?”
Light dwelled in Veris’ eyes, who had been harboring boredom throughout the conversation with the Grand Duke.
She is Veris who has seen quite a few people claiming to be strong. However, the case of the Grand Duke was different from those he had met.
What can I say……. It was thanks to the fact that it felt like clothes that fit well with the word that calls oneself strong.
‘It’s done.’
Veris, who wanted to open the status window to check his abilities, soon gave up.
It wasn’t an action worth wasting. However, should I say that he had a desire to conquer, wanting to kneel down the Grand Duke, who was enjoying his leisure time without knowing why?
“At that time, my father was the grand duke of Gaul and was called the first sword in the kingdom. How could I have killed such a person?”
“I must have killed him with a knife.”
Veris looked at the sword lying to her side. It seemed to her that the treasured sword was of such great value that her eyes would roll just by looking at the scabbard.
“Huhu, he is a very direct man. Yes, it was a knife. Underneath was my strength.”
After saying that, the Grand Duke rose from the sofa.
She didn’t expect to hear an answer from her anyway, so she said to Berris as she took her steps.
“Think carefully. And…… I like to speak louder.”
“Why me?”
“After examining you, you are younger than me. I am twenty-two It is also a law to respect elders.”
Poof!
Perhaps it was too much of a concern that Veris, the younger man, kept his tongue short the entire time.
The honor that laughs there is the honor that freezes to death. At least the age difference isn’t that great.
Beris, who was sitting on the sofa with a dazed face, had no choice but to think a little differently.
‘I’ve heard more, but he’s only 22?’
It was really sad.
* * *
The grand duke who handed over the sweet offer of subjugating the Demonic Cult was the grand duke, and for now, Berris needed to solve the task at hand.
Interim evaluation, that is, winning the tournament Dalian. And to obtain a useful sword without spending any money.
And that task was still steadily progressing. Looking at the boy with a very nervous face on the arena, an easy victory was expected this time too.
“I don’t fall down. Because there are so many friends who support me!”
“… ….”
To think that he’s not the main character in a boy’s cartoon, and that he’s confidently saying unfamiliar things, is something he’ll live to see for a long time.
“I will go higher up here. My dream is…… You will become the trainer!”
“The Trainer King?”
Literally what? It was the boy’s self-introduction that made the words come out. And strangely, it was very funny to send a hostile gaze to Veris.
“Come out! My friend!”
—Quooo!
As soon as the boy started the summoning ceremony, infused with mana, a huge cloud of light began to appear over the arena.
And then came a ferocious roar. It was a roar emitted by a wyvern, a descendant of dragons.
“Wyvern! As expected, the class is different from class A!”
“Wyvern originally refers to all reptile monsters that live in the Wight Gorge. So the exact scientific name is completely different…….”
“Shut up! I have to bet on that boy this time!”
“But think of the confidence of a student named Veris that I have shown you so far. He dropped an A-class like that Tamer in one hit.”
“Still, isn’t the story about the wyvern different?”
It was another story when the crowd started screaming in astonishment.
Tamers are as rare as Elementalists on the entire continent. Veris’ opponent, the boy, summoned a wyvern at once, as if he was a fairly capable tamer.
It is definitely surprising that he trained a monster wyvern that is famous for being strong. So, the spectacle of countless spectators betting money on an unknown boy through a gambler came into Veris’ field of vision.
‘I can’t stand this.’
To be honest, even Berris knows that gambling is bad. That’s why he has a personality that avoids gambling. But…… Isn’t it hard to endure reverse betrayal?