VIO Ch 14 – The Young Lady’s Visit (V)

2 Comments

Translator: mii

Editors: sleepchaser, Fire

Right before noon, Vio heard the sound of galloping horses from his window. “It seems like they’re back.”

“Since they returned right before lunch, will you be eating lunch together?” asked Legion.

“Sure. I wonder what kind of story the little lady has for me.” Vio smiled, anticipating Flora’s sparkling eyes as she relayed what she had seen in town. He had just finished calculating the funds for the war preparation, already sporting a headache. To be in the presence of his little sister would definitely comfort him more than usual.

He left his study on the first floor. Headed straight to the entrance hall. Then he spotted Flora in her pink dress before the door.

“Welcome back, Flora. How was the town?”

“Brother!” Flora ran to Vio with a teary face. 

Reacting at once, he bent down to hug her. “Dame Calia, what happened to her?” 

“Forgive me, Lord Violant. Lady Flora came across a suspicious person in town… We were able to save her immediately, but she became frightened.”

Vio’s eyes widened at Calia’s report. “Flora? Does it hurt anywhere?” he asked as gently as possible. But not a word left her lips. She merely clung to him tightly, not wanting to let go. 

Calia answered in her stead, saying, “She suffered no injuries.” 

A wave of relief washed over him. “I’ll listen to the details later. What’s more important now is calming down Flora. Jill, can you prepare some black tea with honey?”

“Understood. I’ll do it at once,” said Jill, making for the kitchen immediately.

Vio carried Flora toward the drawing room. Sensible enough to understand his thoughts, Legion opened the door for him. 

Vio placed Flora down on the soft chaise lounge. Though she was still trembling in fear, she let go of him. Perhaps she had calmed down after he had rubbed her back consolingly. Taking a seat next to her, Vio patted her head. “It’s okay, Flora. You’re safe here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Look, Legion is the best knight in this kingdom. And so is Calia, the knight you’re proud of. Right?”

Their names suddenly brought up, Legion and Calia smiled in an awkward manner. At that moment, Rille appeared with a cup on a tray. Full of wrath, she said, “There’s also me! My Lady, please rest assured. If someone comes here to harm you, I’ll beat them into a pulp!”

Flora seemed to take the lovely Rille’s words, full of determination as they were, as a joke, a laugh finally escaping her lips. “But the enemy will hurt you before that.”

At a loss for words, Vio could only laugh.

Despite what Flora thought, Rille could probably “beat them into a pulp” without any problems. When she had sent Legion flying with a kick, Rille certainly looked gallant, just like a warrior. As the victim, Legion looked away with a complicated expression.

“To see My Lady laugh brings me joy. Here, please enjoy the tea.”

Flora nodded and received the cup of black tea with honey from Rille. After drinking it, she sighed in relief. Even so, her expression remained stiff. 

After a moment in his thoughts, Vio flipped both hands palm facing up. “Flora, I’ll show you something interesting. Watch my hands carefully.”

Eyes shining with curiosity, Flora looked at Vio’s hand as he cast a spell.

“Heed my wish. O’ myriad lights, take the form of butterflies and soar. Let there be light!” Following that, his palms glowed. Countless butterflies materialized from them, taking flight.

“Wahhh!” Flora widened her eyes, chasing the butterflies with them as they fluttered around the room. The butterflies wandered to the ceiling, shedding scales of light in their wake.

It was the spell version of the magic Vio had shown to Rille before. At that time, he had used a magic circle. The difference was, magic circles made it easier to adjust certain aspects of the magic being cast. The butterflies Rille had seen were programmed to leave behind scales the shape of flower petals.

“They’re beautiful! I’ve never seen magic like this before.”

“This is a kind of magic that I created. Do you like it?”

“Yes!” Flora nodded many times, excited. Vio grinned and clapped his hand once. The spell broke and the butterflies vanished. 

Flora appeared disappointed, but the trace of sadness enveloping her before had faded. Vio started by asking, “So Flora, what actually happened? Can you tell me?”

With a nod, she relayed what had occurred.

⋆̩☂︎*̣̩ ✢ ⋆̩☂︎*̣̩

In the shopping district, Flora disembarked from the carriage. She broke into a stroll with Calia and her maid Anna. After visiting the temple, the town hall, and the fountain square at the center of town, Flora decided to go shopping. 

At the glassware shop, Flora found a glass doll modeled off of a prince. Its atmosphere resembled that of Vio, so she jumped to purchase it. Shortly after, she made to leave the shop, looking forward to showing it to Vio.

But as soon as she had stepped through the front door, it happened.

“Lady Flora?”

“Yes?” answered Flora out of reflex. The moment she had turned around, she caught sight of an unfamiliar man.

Meanwhile, Anna was paying for the glass doll and Calia was loading the items Flora purchased elsewhere onto the carriage. Both had not been paying attention to her when that man had approached the girl.

Flora’s first impression: that man dressed too warmly for a day that was early into summer. After that, she felt slightly uncomfortable. The man’s hood covered his eyes, a cloth mask concealing everything below his nose. 

“Just as I thought,” the man muttered. All of a sudden, he thrust his hand forward, grabbing Flora’s left arm and dragging her away. Too overcome by shock to scream, she was nearly yanked into the shadows when a woman shouted, “Hey you, what are you doing?!”

“Huh? Lady Flora?!” Noticing something was strange, Calia immediately rushed to Flora’s side, sword in hand. In a flash, the man released Flora’s arm and turned around. The shadow of his retreating figure disappeared into the nearby back alley.

“Anna, stay with Lady Flora!”

“Yes!”

With that, Calia dashed after him. But she could not find a trace of him even after reaching a dead end.

⋆̩☂︎*̣̩ ✢ ⋆̩☂︎*̣̩

“After that, everyone in town shocked me,” Flora said, tears choking her voice.

“Did they do something to you?” Vio’s expression stiffened, but Flora shook her head. 

Calia answered in her stead, saying, “Apparently, the town was aware Lord Violant’s little sister would be staying here. The moment the civilians caught wind of the situation, they grew upset. Shouts of ‘I’ll search for him there,’ ‘Then I’ll take that side,’ and the like filled the air. They worked together to help us find the criminal.”

“Some members of the town also volunteered to guard her,” Anna added. “They comforted My Lady. Someone said, ‘We won’t forgive him for making a move on the reeve’s little sister!’ Another person said, ‘It’s scary, right? Don’t worry. It’s alright now. We’ll keep watch!’ Not only that, they even brought out tea and pastries for her. By the time we realized it, they had already set up a table and chair, complete with a sunshade. Shy as she is with strangers, Lady Flora was overcome with surprise.”

“Ah, I see. So that’s the reason for her tears,” said Vio, surprised as well. The people in town are all very nice, huh?

Since he had never met any of them aside from the inspectors, Vio didn’t know what kind of people they were. But now, his impression of them grew a bit more positive.

“Brother is idolized in the town. It surprised me, but I am very proud of you.”

“Thank you, Flora.” Vio took in Flora’s act of smiling loveably through tears. And his emotions overflowed. He stroked her head. If it weren’t for the fact she was holding a cup, he would have hugged her then and there.

Fighting the urge to grin, he shifted his gaze to Calia and Anna. “So what happened to that suspicious person?”

Calia and Anna both shook their heads. With a sigh, Calia said, “We failed to catch him. We couldn’t find any traces of him, as if he had vanished from thin air. In fact, even when the civilians who knew their way in town searched for him together, they were unable to find him.”

“I see… Seems like that guy isn’t simple.” Vio frowned. “Maybe he holds a grudge against the duke’s family. Or perhaps he’s a political opponent of the duke.” The gears in his head spun in overdrive. “Maybe he’s a scout or something.”

“No. He was way too careless. The impression I got was that he didn’t plan this. If he was a scout, merely gathering information would be enough. Why would he try to abduct her? For him to be an assassin is also out of the question. No assassin would do such a thing in broad daylight,” Legion said, expression serious. “I can’t think of what he might be, but it’s clear that he is quite skilled. I think it’s better to refrain from going out for a while.”

“I have the same opinion,” Calia said. 

Vio nodded. “That’s right. Flora, I’m sorry. You came here to play, but you’ll have to stay in the mansion for a while.”

“I don’t mind. I came to see Brother after all.”

Such a cute statement gave Vio the urge to hug her again. But in the end, he held it in with much difficulty.