Chapter 34
You’re my friend’s grandson.
I’m my friend’s great-grandchild.
This messed up genealogy firmly engraved in her mind, Daphne took a deep breath and approached Heros.
“Hero.”
Heros, wondering if Daphne was perhaps ill, subtly lowered his head to examine Daphne’s face.
‘Cold sweat?’
He could see cold sweat flowing from Daphne’s forehead to her cheeks. Heros’s eyes widened.
“I…… I am.”
Daphne, completely unaware of Heros’s thoughts, took a deep breath and clenched her fists tightly.
“I request…… req…… request teachings from you! Teach me the sword!”
Teach me, teach me…… The echo resounds.
Heros momentarily thought he had misheard.
Because just an hour ago, the child who had been saying things like permitting teachings to you was Daphne.
Why suddenly? Why like this?
Don’t tell me…….
“Are you ill somewhere?”
Yes.
She’s ill.
She’s lost her mind because she’s ill!
There’s no other answer.
“If you’re ill, it would be best to go back right now. I’ll assign a doctor.”
“……I’m not ill. I’m perfectly fine.”
“What?”
Heros frowned and looked down at Daphne.
“If you’re not ill, why are you suddenly being docile?”
That’s because you’re my friend’s grandson, you rotten bastard…….
Daphne really hated the hero.
Even if she put her hatred for the hero on a scale and competed with everyone, Daphne would win. That’s how much she hated the hero.
But the hero is her friend’s grandson.
My only friend, ‘s grandson.
Probably a grandson raised with great care.
So she had to endure.
I have to endure…….
Daphne took deep breaths, huff huff, to calm her boiling emotions.
“Being nice is a pain in the ass, hero.”
“Are you really not ill?”
“I said I’m not ill! Enough, hurry and swing the sword. I’ll watch that and copy it exactly.”
It was at that moment that Heros’s eyes, which had been somewhat worried, sharpened.
“Daphne.”
The atmosphere flips in an instant.
Mana in the air, which had become extremely tense, prickled Daphne’s skin stingingly.
“Do you take the sword lightly?”
-Do you take the sword lightly?
Whoa, chills.
Daphne momentarily overlapped her friend, Bertio, over Heros.
Because their words and atmosphere were exactly the same.
“Start with push-ups. Until you’re out of breath, your head hurts, and you can’t see ahead. You brought stamina recovery potions, so you can do as much as you want.”
Having finished speaking, Heros brought a strange wooden stick from the opposite side.
At both ends of the thick wooden stick, stones were attached, and it looked heavy enough to be about half a child’s body weight.
“After that, it’s endurance. Carry this on your shoulders and repeat going down and up the hill. This too until you’re out of breath, your head hurts, and you can’t see ahead. Until you absolutely can’t move.”
Heros, who placed the exercise equipment down as if throwing it, looked down at Daphne with lowered eyes.
“You can only hold a sword if the time to complete these two exceeds 3 hours. Until then, wooden swords are confiscated.”
“…….”
Whoa, really…….
“Like grandfather, like grandson.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing at all.”
Daphne let out a hollow laugh while hearing the training content that was not different at all from when she learned from Bertio. Then she resolves.
“This time, I’ll do it to the end.”
Grinning, Daphne flashed a smile of
determination and boldly shouted at Heros.
“I’ll make it so I can hold a sword within ten days!”
Being able to learn the sword from two generations at the same time might be the first blessing bestowed upon me.
Selus thought that way and started push-ups.
***
Count Imperial is pacing the room with an anxious face.
His face, which already looks old, looks even older today.
He forcibly swept back his hair full of white strands and let out a sigh.
-Daphne Akion has become a hero. Who do you think made that hero? It’s the hero, Heros Akion!
-We should leave the archduke alone for a while. Touching him now will cause headaches.
Those are the words of the vassals who were pressuring Heros along with him.
“Damn it.”
Who would have known that Daphne Akion, who was such a notorious rascal that she was called the devil’s incarnation, would pull off something like this!
“A hero, a hero!”
Argh!
Count Imperial gulped down the stomach medicine on the desk all at once and clutched his aching stomach.
“She clearly looked like she was dying, how on earth……! Don’t tell me, she’s fully healed? Did that elf guy treat her?”
Damn. Damn!
The count now completely curled up his body and tightly grabbed his stomach.
It doesn’t make sense. Yes. This doesn’t make sense.
He could confidently say that Daphne’s ‘hero’ story is baseless nonsense.
The count, who knew Daphne’s nasty temper well, could assert that.
Probably, Daphne happened to save someone there, and that got distorted and the rumor spread.
How could such a rascal save people and stop a terror? It didn’t make sense.
“Don’t tell me, is the archduke now warning about the successor position? That the rascal will be the successor, so others shouldn’t approach? Trying to preempt public opinion?”
Count Imperial was truly a person with a rich imagination.
So sometimes he came up with strategies that caught people off guard, but mostly he exaggerated situations with misunderstandings and delusions.
This was exactly that case.
“Such a despicable bastard……! He said he wouldn’t designate a successor!”
Count Imperial was anxious.
When he saw Heros, who as a bastard took the archduke title, when he ostentatiously became a swordmaster, when he became a hero and received the emperor’s orders, he was anxious all those times.
But the most anxious thing was that guy getting a ‘successor’!
The official successor of the archduke family is only the lady, Daphne Akion.
The rest are just adopted children, so due to the vassals’ opposition, he can’t pass the family to a child other than Daphne.
That’s why the count, and those who shared his intentions, were greatly delighted as soon as they learned Daphne had an incurable disease. Even more so when they heard the child didn’t have much time left.
If Daphne dies, the archduke family’s successor disappears.
Instead of someone resembling that arrogant Heros inheriting the archduke family, it means my child can take the archduke family!
So whenever there was a chance, they tormented Daphne, pushed her away, and spread malicious rumors!
“Damn bastard! They say you can’t hide your origins, always living with lowly antics!”
The count gnawed his nails with his teeth and frowned.
That Heros guy is a very wicked one! A bad bastard trying to take everything from me despite being born lowly!
“What should I do? How can I drive out those mongrels? How……!”
“Count.”
What interrupted the count on the verge of losing his reason was a man with narrow, fox-like eyes and orange hair.
“Calm down. I have it all thought out.”
“Domit!”
The count grabbed both arms of the man called Domit.
“Do you have a way to overcome this situation? Huh?”
“I, Domit, whom the noble count personally selected, can find a way out in any situation.”
Domit folded his narrow eyes and smiled. It’s a smile containing the fox beastkin’s unique magic that seems to enchant the opponent.
“You know that the supply of mana stones has decreased.”
“Yes. Was it about a month ago?”
“It seems like an act led by a black mage organization. The investigation results say they attacked merchants and mines to rob mana stones.”
“Good heavens! Then those guys have been moving since long ago?”
Domit nodded.
“A subjugation force will be formed. So send Lady Daphne there.”
“What? Lady Daphne?”
“Ah, don’t look at me like that. I, Domit, feel hurt every time the count doesn’t acknowledge me. I’m saying this because I have it all thought out.”
“I want Lady Daphne to die, not to kill her!”
“Yes. Me too.”
Domit tightly grasped the count’s hand that was holding his arm.
“So I mean just insert her into the subjugation force. Wouldn’t the soldiers’ morale rise just by having the ‘hero’ who stopped this terror join? Well, if along the way the lady causes an incident, even better.”
In other words, it means to expose the bottom of Daphne who falsely acted as a hero.
Daphne is just a 5-year-old brat.
No matter how immersed in hero acting, once on the battlefield, she’ll reveal her nasty rascal temper and throw a fit.
Those who witness that scene will expose Daphne’s false hero acting.
This was really a good method.
“What if the archduke refuses?”
“Then rumors will spread that she’s a rascal who got the hero position by luck. No, we have to spread such rumors.”
“Ha?”
Only then did the count’s stiff face brighten up.
He had imagined the situations Domit mentioned in his mind.
“As expected! Domit! You’re the best!”
Of course.
Heaven is on my side.
Unlike the archduke who has an aide with unclear origins and utterly rude, I have a fox guy with clear origins and bloodline!
So I win.
I will never fall for that half-archduke guy’s schemes!
“Implement it immediately! Hurry!”
The count’s eyes burned fiercely.
***
“……I take back the like grandfather like grandson.”
Daphne muttered while unable to control her body that was trembling even lying down.
“The grandson bastard is worse. The grandfather wasn’t even close.”
You raised your grandson really well…….
If Bertio were in front of her, she had a ton of things to say.
Asking how much he pushed his grandson.
Saying if he’s a swordmaster after being pushed like crazy, doesn’t that mean his talent is lacking.
That if learned this much for years, even a mantis would wield a sword.
And,
That he raised him well.
That your grandson grew up really well and became a human stronger than anyone.
Enough to kill a dragon.
“……Ha?”
Thinking again, it’s funny.
I tried to kill my friend’s grandson,
And the friend’s grandson tried to kill me,
didn’t he.
‘No. He actually killed me.’
I got done in once. It subtly hurts my pride.
‘I need to win properly next time.’
Even if Heros is Bertio’s grandson, Daphne had no intention of going easy on him.
‘Of course, I won’t kill him, and if it’s dangerous, I’ll help…… I can help the family once or so…… But that’s it. I won’t forgive the hero guy!’
Completely unaware that that’s exactly going easy, Daphne clucked her tongue and muttered.
“Still, it’s fortunate I found your trace.”
With a chuckle, Daphne slowly closed her eyes. Sleep from fatigue rushes in and weighs down Daphne’s eyelids.
As she fell into slumber, Daphne earnestly wished.
To meet Bertio in her dream, to be able to call your name.
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By Anna 💓
