Ch 1 – New Knight (I)

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translator: mii

editor: sleepchaser

Leca town, located in the northwestern region of the Lesserhains’ territory.

“What nice weather,” said Vio, enjoying tea in his room as usual.

Two years had passed since that winter day. The day the real Vio died and Mikumo Yamato’s soul entered his body. Presently, Vio was fifteen years old.

Together with a few servants, he lived in a hillside mansion at Leca town.

Since Leca town was located at the foot of the Alpé mountain range, the winters stretched long. Even so, spring had finally arrived. In the garden, brightly-colored flowers had started their bloom. Vio took a sip of his tea as he gazed at Ed, the gardener who was diligently tending to the trees. He wondered if he should continue reading until lunch.

He had read through most of the books in his study in the past two years, but there wasn’t anything wrong with rereading them and reviewing the information.

Butterflies danced between the flowers. Ah, right. Maybe I should improve the technique for this bit of spirit magic. The one I prepared for entertaining people. Light shaped like butterflies fluttering in the wind…

His thoughts wandered toward the structural formula of the technique when the sound of knocking broke him free of his reverie. Vio allowed the person entry. An old butler with a good physique stepped foot within, an envelope in his hands. 

“Young Master, you have received a letter from Her Grace.”

“I see. Sorry for the trouble, Jill.”

Receiving the envelope, Vio flipped it over to its back. There, the words “Viola Lesserhain” stood out in beautiful handwriting. The name of Vio’s mother.

He then shifted his gaze to the desk in search of an envelope opener. Before he could react further, however, Jill presented one to him. “Please use this, Young Master.”

“Thank you,” said Vio, finding Jill thoughtful, sparing no time to open the seal. “My mother is such a dedicated person. She keeps sending letters once a week. Because of this, I don’t even have enough time to reply.”

“Actually, I received a letter as well. Her Grace ordered me to make sure you replied to her letters.”

“Oh, gee. Then I’m in trouble.” A wry smile spread across Vio’s lips. Even if Jill urged him to reply, he wouldn’t. He had nothing to write anyway.

“Her Grace is worried about whether Young Master is living well. After all, you are living alone in this place, far away from the Duke’s residence.”

“I feel apologetic toward my mother, but I also feel very much at ease since I don’t have to be in my brother’s presence. I’m tired of him mocking me all day. He keeps saying ‘You can’t even leave the house, how shameful,’ or calling me ‘the disgrace of our honorable family.’”

“Please do not mind that person’s abusive language. It is not Young Master’s fault that you cannot go outside,” said Jill, anger lacing his words. Then, his tone grew more gentle as he said, “Besides, Young Master excels in spirit magic. That’s already enough.” Although Jill often kept calm, his countenance would grow frightening whenever Vio so much as mentioned his elder brother, Rupheus. 

Jill was originally Vio’s mother’s personal butler. That being said, he had been concerned about Vio ever since he was a child. 

Before Yamato’s soul entered this body, Vio was nothing more than the pathetic son of the family. He was inferior to his elder brother, who was five years older than him, in everything: martial arts, studies, etiquette, and spirit magic. Because of that, everyone spoke ill of him behind his back and gave him the nickname “incompetent son.” Due to his lack of talent, even Rupheus and his father looked at him with eyes of indifference.

But Jill had watched over Vio even during those times. When they had driven Vio out of their territory alone, he volunteered to follow suit. Among the other servants, Vio trusted him the most.

“Thank you, Jill,” said Vio with a chuckle. “So, what did she write in today’s letter?”

He had expected his mother to complain that his younger sister, Flora, threw a tantrum and wanted to meet him. But what was written instead made him correct his posture out of reflex.

“Hm? Hmmm?”

He didn’t realize that he was clutching the letter. No matter how many times he reread the contents, the same thing was written.

“…This is the worst,” muttered Vio, face sullen.

Expression full of worry, Jill asked, “Are there any problems at the Duke’s residence?”

“Ah, no. My family is fine. Rather… it seems like a knight is coming here.”

“A knight?”

Vio nodded. “Yeah. According to my mother, he’s my new guardian knight. My brother hated him and discharged him, so she employed him for me.”

He sighed. His mother shouldn’t just give away a knight as if it were merely a trivial matter. It would bring the person in question discontent as well. 

Next to him, Jill frowned. A terrifying sight to behold. “Lord Rupheus did such a thing? He dismissed another knight?”

“Yeah. This will be the third instance. But this time, he had a hard time driving the knight away. Not to mention, that knight is actually this person.”

Vio held out the letter. Jill uttered, “Excuse me,” before accepting it.

“Oh! Isn’t this Sir Legion Salt?! You’re right, Lord Rupheus can’t just discharge someone like him. He’s currently the most skilled swordsman in this kingdom, isn’t he?”

A well-informed person, Jill knew how important this person was just by looking at his name. He smiled broadly, his joy evident. “Word has it he’s a wonderful person who loves justice and honesty above all. He is worthy of becoming Young Master’s guardian knight!”

“You’re overestimating me, Jill. I’m not worthy of him. Why did he even apply to become a knight of our family? He should’ve joined the Royal Knights platoon, don’t you think?”

Just like in the plot of “The Princess Dances with the Night,” the Lesserhain family currently stood at the peak of immorality among nobles, exploiting the tax system to the fullest. If the citizens couldn’t pay, they forced them to sell their daughters to brothels or volunteer in noble residences without receiving any compensation. If that was still not enough, the men in the family would be thrown into the arena, forced to go through horrible situations as a mere spectacle, even if he were the sole breadwinner of his family.

His father was vicious. His brother was fond of luxury with a terrible personality. However, their military prowess was undeniable, so much so that the laws did not apply to them.

Whenever war broke out, they would accumulate mountains of military achievements without fail. Additionally, his mother was the younger sister of the current king. No one dared to meddle with the Duke of Lesserhain.

Erik, Vio’s former guardian knight whom he had trusted immensely, betrayed his master because he had personally experienced the corruption of the Lesserhain family. After Vio had performed an investigation, he discovered that Erik’s father had been imprisoned for a false charge, perishing in jail from an illness. The nobles wouldn’t respond to Erik no matter how he had tried to bring his father’s death to their attention. Which led to the petty revenge on Vio and his subsequent disappearance.

He had yet to be caught, but Vio didn’t want to know his whereabouts. He hadn’t investigated further since his chest would throb in pain just by the memory of Erik.

Jill shook his head at Vio’s response and said insistently, “Young Master, what are you talking about? This servant knows best that you are a gentle person. The Lesserhain family has no son as splendid as you.”

“Really… What are you trying to achieve by flattering me, Jill?” Astonishment peppered his smile as Vio inserted the letter back into the envelope once Jill had returned it to him. “I’m happy that you think so highly of me, but when Sir Salt comes, send him away.”

“But, Young Master—”

“Sorry, Jill. I don’t need a guardian knight. I’m still afraid.”

The pain Vio had experienced on that day was vividly emblazoned into his being. Two years had passed, and spring danced its way in. But when he closed his eyes, all he could see was that snowy landscape. What had transpired that day still existed as a shadow in his heart.

“If that is what you wish… then I understand.” The devoted butler bowed once and left the room.

In silence, Vio dropped his gaze. His face took on an apologetic light as he listened to the sound of the door closing.

Translator ramblings:

I’m still salty at how I can’t change Legion’s surname… into something other than ‘Salt’!!!

Also, I decided to translate the honorifics into English equivalent which is a BIG. MISTAKE. I never expected that there are so many rules in addressing the nobles depending on their rank…! :blobsweats: English is really hard… QAQ

If you spot any mistakes in how they should address each other, please tell me in the comments!