VIO Ch 12 – The Young Lady’s Visit (III)

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Translator: mii

Editors: sleepchaser, ASplashofMusic

Suspicious activities from the Ruslan Kingdom, huh?

As Vio mulled over Legion’s report, he gazed at the crescent moon hanging in the night sky, bright light penetrating the windows.

In “Princess Dances with the Night,” our war with the Ruslan Kingdom isn’t supposed to start until I’m seventeen years old… But I can’t go outside anymore, and Legi is no longer Brother’s subordinate. It isn’t strange that we’ve deviated from the plotline of the manga… I guess.

Vio sat down on the bed and took a deep breath, trembling in fear. Once war broke out, incidents similar to Erik’s act of attempted murder would become an everyday occurrence. And eventually, the Lesserhains would fall from power, losing the shield that had protected them from the wrath of their subjects. Although Vio had already prepared himself for the condemnation, the thought of execution still frightened him, especially a public one by guillotine or beheading by axe.

Currently, our alliance with the Ruslan Kingdom should still be intact. The heroine, Princess Liona, is close with our kingdom’s Princess Diana. She will even receive an invitation to the Crown Prince’s 18th birthday party. But once the party progresses, Princess Liona will humiliate Brother, inciting him to dispatch an assassin for her. This will spark a war between the two kingdoms…

Brother Rupheus’ foolish move was precisely the cause of the Lesserhains’ ruin. If this kingdom were to lose in the war, the Lesserhains would naturally take responsibility, the conflict’s cause having originated from their hands. 

Actually, we may not even reach that point. Chances are the royal family will abandon us to avoid the war.

According to the manga, the conflict would escalate into war. Even so, Vio wasn’t certain as to what would happen, since there were already some inconsistencies at this point.

I can accept condemnation, but it’ll be bad if they attack this place. I don’t want the people in the town and village to suffer.

Leca town didn’t have enough funds to properly equip for battle. This was the case even after the wealth Leca flowers brought, just enough to make winter more bearable.

I don’t have the time and money to arrange for weapons and gunpowder. But I must at least repair the walls surrounding the town and prepare some makeshift weapons.

Then Vio suddenly had an epiphany.

What if I draw a magic circle that will activate according to the civilians’ thoughts, summoning a protective barrier? But then I’d have to make sure everyone has Leca ink and paper at all times. That way, even people with low magic essence reserves can power the protective barrier…

Vio groaned.

But a single mistake in the preparations would prove fatal. If the king starts to suspect this town for intending to become an autonomous region, then I would be getting my priorities backwards.

His first priority was to secure enough food for winter. It might be a good idea to set up a hiding place for it. Next would be to repair the defensive walls. Additionally, makeshift spears must be prepared for the townspeople for their own defense.

But there was one thing troubling him

Ah, my head hurts. How can I get the funds for all that?

Dejection washed over him at that thought. His plans were shattered before he could even start on them.

Typically, the younger siblings in noble families need not worry about the financial affairs of their territories. They would simply order their subordinates to manage them. Although Vio was physically still fifteen, his mental age was far older thanks to his previous life’s memories. Moreover, this world was based on a manga, and since he knew the future events, he couldn’t stay carefree. He was currently revitalizing the town through the Leca flowers, and he already had a rough plan for the allocation of funds.

Oh well, let’s just worry about the money some other time. At least I’ve decided on my priorities today. I’ll stop here and sleep.

Vio switched off his brain and slid underneath his covers, anticipating the fun things he would be doing with Flora tomorrow.

⋆̩☂︎*̣̩ ✢ ⋆̩☂︎*̣̩

“I tried cooking a meal that recovered magic essence for breakfast today,” Vio said, a smile painting his lips as he placed a plate of freshly-baked scones in front of Flora.

Flora widened her eyes. “I feel bad to have Brother serve my breakfast. What are the maids doing? Should I scold them?”

“Please don’t be angry, young lady. I just got carried away in the kitchen and made this. It looks delicious, right?”

“B-B-B-B-Brother personally made this?!” She stared at the fluffy scones in amazement.

“I only did this to kill time. But it turns out baking can be quite fun,” said Vio. He then pointed to a saucer of jam. “This is called Leca jam. I made it by preserving Leca flowers in sugar. It’s delicious, but we can’t sell it because it doesn’t last long.”

“My brother’s cooking… My brother’s serving…” mumbled Flora with a somewhat distant look to her eyes.

Vio tilted his head. “Do you not like the food I cooked? Then I’ll ask Rille to—”

“I’ll eat them with pleasure!” Flora cut the scone in half with a knife, spread some Leca jam on top, and brought the scone to her lips. Right after it entered her mouth, she broke into a smile.

She chewed for a few seconds before saying, “The outside is crunchy, but the inside is fluffy… The sweetness of the Leca jam also stands out. Brother, it’s very delicious.”

“I’m glad. I’m only a little better than Rille in making scones. It’s my favorite thing to eat.”

Although there were scones in this world, Vio prefered the crunchier, fluffier sort from his previous life. As such, he tried time and time again to make them, just so he could eat something delicious. However, his cooking skill was normal for other dishes. In fact, he only knew how to chop and grill the ingredients.

“Flora, what’s your plan today?”

“I intend to walk around town.”

“I see. Then, Flora, I want you to see many things so that you can tell me everything later.”

“Tell you?”

“Yeah. I can’t go outside, so I haven’t seen much of the town.”

Nodding with excitement shining in her eyes, she said, “Then I’ll look around closely. I will talk about many things with you after I return.”

“Thank you, Flora.”

Their harmonious laughter filled the room as they ate their breakfast.