Violant of the Silver

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Translator: mii

editors: sleepchaser, ASplashofMusic

Right after they had left Violant’s guest room, Liona clicked her tongue. “Ars, are you an idiot? Do you normally invite someone with a frail body to go for a long ride?”

“I only noticed my slip-up once we left the room. But he’s still a member of a military family, you know?”

“Whether he’s from a military family or not, anyone will grow tired from dealing with royalty.”

Realizing there was a point to Liona’s argument, Ars shut his mouth.

Liona gained a bounce to her steps, happy to have cornered him in an argument. “Setting that aside, he truly is a fascinating beauty! When he was sleeping on the chair, the scene seemed like something straight out of a painting. I even have the urge to request an artist to paint him for me. It would surely fetch for a high price!”

Tone harsh, Ars replied, “Don’t try to profit off of my cousin. You’re really…”

Liona ignored him. Still in a good mood, she said, “That was the first time a noble paid no mind to Night’s origin. He even praised his name. You have a good cousin, Ars. I’m jealous! He has both beauty and a good personality!”

“Hey, we can’t be certain of that just yet. It’s still possible that he’s merely acting…”

“Are you serious? He told me to forget his name after introducing himself. If he was acting, then there were better things that he could’ve said.”

“You may be right. But he’s from the Lesserhain family, you know?”

As they chatted, they spotted Rupheus Lesserhain further along the corridor.

Rupheus bowed to them in an exaggerated manner, saying, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, Princess Liona. Good day to you.”

Ars responded, “Good day, Rupheus. You came at the right time. We just visited Violant.”

“Oh, thank you very much for Your Highness’ compassion. However, you need not spare some of your time for my foolish younger brother. In fact, you should just ignore that disgrace altogether,” said Rupheus, not a hitch in his voice. Although he appeared calm, Ars could sense his slight unhappiness.

“He’s still resting. And I was the one who forcibly invited myself into his room,” said Ars. “I was worried for him since Legion told me he was unwell today.”

Liona said, “You’re Sir Rupheus, right? He’s your blood-related younger brother. Don’t you think that the way you speak of him is a bit too much?”

While Ars didn’t outright warn Rupheus of the indecorous nature of his words, worried about offending him, Liona freely expressed her thoughts without a care. She had come to idolize Vio after their recent exchange.

“With all due respect, Princess, my family is a distinguished military family. However, that brother of mine is merely an incompetent thing who does nothing but rest all day. He doesn’t follow the style of our family. If not for the mercy of my mother, the duchess, he would’ve been disowned a long time ago,” said Rupheus in a merciless manner, a twisted smile on his face.

His remarks surprised even Ars. He had believed that despite the viciousness of the Lesserhain family, they would at least be kind to their own.

Liona frowned. “You intended to disown him? Are you speaking the truth?”

“Yes. My father decided to cancel the disownment because my mother had threatened a divorce if he didn’t. And thanks to my parents’ deep compassion, they even gave him a rural town called Leca town. As such, it’s been two years since I last saw my foolish younger brother.”

“Two years…” Rupheus’ words bothered Ars, as well as sparked a memory in his mind. Vio had said something similar earlier.

I also remember hearing some news about Leca town somewhere recently…

As he sifted through his memories, Liona said in disinterest, “What’s with that? If you plan on throwing him away, then give him to me instead. Even if he can’t be a military officer, he can still be a civil official, right? All people have certain things they’re good at, Sir Rupheus.” Then she let out a laugh. “Ah, I see now. You just don’t have the ability to employ people according to their skill sets, do you?”

“…What did you just say?” 

Rupheus’ face contorted in anger.

Feeling like Liona had said too much, Ars said, “Princess Liona, please be more careful with your words. Each family has their own customs. I’m sure Rupheus is working hard to protect his family.”

With Ars’ mediation, Rupheus regained his composure in an instant. “As expected from Your Highness, you have such a keen eye. It’s just as you said.”

Liona retorted, “Hmm. And yet you can’t even handle one sick family member. Perhaps you’ve been working hard for the wrong things?”

Blood rushed toward Rupheus’ face due to anger. Ars noticed that other nobles in the corridor were watching them. He cleared his throat and tugged at Liona’s arm. “Excuse me, Rupheus. We should leave now. We have other matters to attend to.”

“Understood. Please excuse me,” said Rupheus with a bow.

Ars cast Rupheus one final side glance before dragging Liona away. Upon reaching an empty area, he glared at her. “What were you thinking, Liona?”

“I should be asking you that! Someone who talks about their family like that is clearly a good-for-nothing. It’s the royal family’s duty to correct their subject’s mistakes. You should have scolded him a little!”

A frown spread across Ars’ face. He recognized that Liona had once again made a fair point. “If he weren’t from the Lesserhain family, then I would have,” he said. “After humiliating him in public, you made an enemy of him. And he’s a troublesome guy who’s famous for his tenaciousness.”

However, Liona only snorted and said, “I accept his challenge. Let’s see what he can do! Isn’t that right, Night?”

“Yes.”

Even Liona’s knight had a scary expression. Ars was fed up with this master–knight pair who held a strong sense of justice.

Before parting with Ars, Liona restrained her anger and declared, “Listen. If you don’t need your cousin, then hand him over to me! I’ll take him back to my kingdom and take care of him!”

Following that, Ars made his way back to his royal villa, anger still clinging to his heart. As he breathed out a sigh, the knight accompanying him who was filled with worry asked, “Your Highness, do you think Lord Violant will be alright?”

“Regardless of how terrible Rupheus is, I don’t think he will raise a hand against his sick brother.” But for some reason, Ars grew anxious. He added, “Though what you said makes sense. Check up on him later.”

⋆̩☂︎*̣̩ ✢ ⋆̩☂︎*̣̩

Once the crown prince and princess had left, Vio sighed in relief and sat on a nearby chair. “Jill, I wasn’t rude, was I?”

“On the contrary, you dealt with them splendidly. If I were your mentor in etiquette, I would score you two hundred out of a hundred points,” Jill said, voice thick with pride and eyes narrowed. 

Next to Jill, Rille shot daggers at Legion and drew closer to him. “On the other hand, you’re horrible, Sir Legion. How could you suddenly bring His Highness the Crown Prince here?! You should’ve at least warned us beforehand. What a lack of sense,” Rille said indignantly. She lamented, “Thanks to you, Master’s precious sleeping figure has been seen by several other people! Such a waste! I feel so frustrated!”

Vio burst into laughter, amused by her interesting word choice. “Rille, what do you even mean by ‘precious sleeping figure?’ You’re exaggerating it.”

However, Legion knelt at his feet. “Rille is right. I deeply apologize for the rudeness of my actions.”

“Stop that, Legi. You just happened to encounter His Highness, right? You don’t need to worry. Moreover, we are currently staying in the royal castle. We naturally have to obey the royal family.”

“Pardon me, Young Master, but I believe there is a minimum standard in etiquette royalty must abide by as well,” commented Jill in a soft voice. Apparently, Jill agreed with Rille. 

“In any case, it’s already over. There’s no use in complaining. Rather, what’s good is that His Highness the Crown Prince will send us two knights. Legi, I’ll be relying on you to orient them on their work schedule while they’re with me.”

Legion stood up. “Understood.”

Vio’s gaze then landed on Rille. Out of nowhere, he recalled something and let out a laugh. “…Sir Cheval’s quite interesting. I never thought that he would include how cute our maid is in his report.”

Rille pouted in displeasure. “He’s too much. I was so ashamed to raise my head.”

“When he comes later, make sure to express all your complaints. It should be okay if Legi is with you. Right?”

“Of course. I will also take part in scolding him.” Legion nodded with a serious expression. Their shared anger allowed him the only opportunity to get along with Rille.

“However, it is true that Rille is cute, so things will grow troublesome if this becomes a rumor. An excellent maid like her is likely to be poached by another family.”

“Oh my! You flatter me, Master.” Rille laughed, her cheeks flushing. “Let me make you a cup of tea.” Right after, she headed toward the servants’ room, a spring in her steps.

The three men exchanged glances, then burst into laughter as well.