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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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“Father…?”
Fiore was startled to see Andrei standing behind me. Andrei looked down at his daughter with a serious expression. Fiore instinctively recoiled.
“Fiore. What is all this commotion in front of everyone?”
Fiore, realizing that the guild members had stopped training and were watching them, blushed crimson. But only for a moment. She then pointed at me accusingly.
“Father! Look who’s here! This scoundrel has the audacity to show his face and ask to see you!”
“Fiore. Your language is unbecoming of a lady. You sound like a common street urchin. If I had known you would become such a wild child, I wouldn’t have brought you to the guild. Go home and reflect on your behavior.”
“Father!”
“Do you want to be banned from the guild again?”
Fiore flinched. Her eyes welled up with tears as she glared at me, then turned and stormed off. But not before throwing a parting shot at me.
‘You’re dead! Just you wait!’
Even after all this time, her fiery temper hadn’t changed. Was it because of that temper that I had initially mistaken her for a boy when we first met? I smiled in response, and Fiore’s clenched fists trembled.
She was still an amusing character.
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“It’s been a while, Sir Andrei.”
“Allen. I never thought I’d see you again after that day.”
Andrei’s gaze was icy, the opposite of Fiore’s fiery glare, yet the meaning behind it was surprisingly similar. He didn’t even offer me a glass of water after leading me to his office.
I was an unwelcome guest, unworthy of such courtesy.
Considering the trouble I had caused, even this cold reception was more than I deserved. He wouldn’t accept any proposition I made in this state. I had to resolve our complicated history first.
I did something I would never have done before. I knelt.
“What are you doing?!”
This time, it was Andrei who was startled. As the heir to a knight’s family, albeit a small one, my status wasn’t that far below a vassal knight of a small city.
Even if I had made a grave mistake, for one of us to kneel in this situation would bring shame even to the one receiving the apology. Besides, nobles valued their pride above all else.
“I came to apologize for my past transgressions.”
“Let’s not speak of that incident. It’s a matter I’ve already settled with Sir Maxim.”
“But you haven’t received an apology from me, the one directly involved.”
Andrei, who had stood up in surprise, sat back down and narrowed his eyes. He still looked suspicious, as if he thought I was planning another act of mischief.
“Don’t you think it’s too late for an apology?”
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”
A flicker of surprise crossed Andrei’s eyes. Did he sense my sincerity? He adjusted his posture.
“Still, this is unexpected. Rather sudden, isn’t it?”
He still looked suspicious. This was within my expectations. Both my memories and the game portrayed Andrei as a frustratingly stubborn and principled knight. With someone like him, a direct approach was more effective than any scheme.
“I want to become stronger.”
“I can’t believe my ears. Weren’t you the one who always looked for opportunities to slack off when you were briefly enrolled here? And now you want to become stronger? Why? Did someone steal your favorite whore?”
I briefly wondered if Andrei knew about Lucy. Fortunately, it seemed like a casual remark.
In any case, his sarcastic tone, unlike his usual composed demeanor, indicated his lingering resentment.
However, I wasn’t disappointed. I hadn’t expected to erase my past mistakes with just a few words.
“Wars are raging across the continent. Father has been away at the front lines for a long time. I started thinking, what would happen to my family if he were to die?”
I already knew what the future held.
“The Tolbatz family became a knightly house in Father’s generation. We have no influential relatives to rely on. Therefore, I’m the only one who can protect my family in Father’s absence.”
In the game, Andrei, torn between his loyalty to the Blood Princess and his family after she fell from grace, ultimately chose his family.
He wouldn’t dismiss the importance of family.
“I’ve heard that the war isn’t going well.”
Perhaps because it involved a neighboring territory, Andrei seemed to be aware of the situation. That made things easier.
I nodded and looked up at him with a serious expression.
“The problem is that I don’t have the strength to protect my family.”
“Your dissolute lifestyle was your choice. You can’t turn back time.”
“Even so, I need strength.”
“For your family? Don’t make me laugh! Since when did you care so much for your family?”
Andrei didn’t seem convinced at all. I wasn’t disappointed. If Andrei wasn’t even slightly swayed, he wouldn’t bother continuing this conversation.
The mere fact that we were talking meant that things were going according to plan.
“I’ve realized that family is all you can trust in the end. After Father’s death, I’m the only one who can take care of my sister.”
My current situation was remarkably similar to Andrei’s past. He, too, had walked a thorny path to rebuild his fallen family while taking care of his only sister.
Andrei had pampered Fiore because she was the only remaining blood relative of his sister, who had died just before becoming a knight. Fiore probably didn’t know, but she was adopted.
This fact would be revealed later in the game’s story.
“You left out your stepmother.”
“…”
I answered with silence. Andrei leaned back in his chair and clicked his tongue.
“Baron Rasino has always been greedy and stingy with his vassals. I know because I briefly served under him. I understand your situation.”
As expected of Quaran’s most influential vassal. He had grasped my predicament with just a few pieces of information.
His tone had softened, but I didn’t let my guard down. He was also a seasoned and cunning politician. He wouldn’t be swayed by emotions.
Silence fell between us for a while.
“If you’re being sincere, prove it.”
“How?”
“If your family is so precious, you should be willing to bet everything you have. Don’t you agree?”
When I remained silent, Andrei continued, as if he had expected my reaction.
“The day Sir Maxim came here, I became a thief who stole money from a child. It was an unbearable disgrace. You want to learn from me? Then pay the price to restore my honor.”
“What price…?”
“200 gold coins. That should be enough.”
200 gold coins was equivalent to the manor’s annual budget. Even with all my reckless spending, I had never spent that much at once. If I accepted his offer, Sophia and the other vassals would seize the opportunity to tear me apart.
They might even confine me under the pretense of insanity. If news of my father’s death arrived while I was confined, I would be finished.
Andrei must have known all this. He wouldn’t have demanded a sum equivalent to the annual budget if he didn’t know I had access to the manor’s funds as the acting lord.
It was practically a rejection.
Moreover, I didn’t have that kind of money on hand. It seemed Andrei hadn’t taken into account the depleted state of the family coffers due to Sophia’s extravagance and my reckless spending.
Even so.
“I accept.”
I had a reason for accepting this seemingly impossible proposition.
I could have found another strong opponent for a smaller sum to gain experience points. However, that wasn’t my only goal.
I needed to build a relationship with Andrei, a vassal of Quaran.
“You accept? Are you serious?”
“I am.”
“Haa. 200 gold coins is a significant sum. Even you, the heir, can’t easily spend that much.”
“I’m the acting lord in Father’s absence. I can use the territory’s funds as long as there’s a justifiable reason.”
I emphasized the word “justifiable.”
“A justifiable reason?”
“I heard that herring has recently been caught in the waters near Quaran. Fishing rights would be a sufficient justification for investment.”
Andrei frowned.
“The council has already concluded that it’s a temporary phenomenon. The scholars said that this has happened several times in the past, but it always returned to normal soon after.”
The vassals of Quaran had mistaken the phenomenon caused by the Princess’s ability for a temporary occurrence. Of course, who would think it was the work of a witch? This worked in my favor.
“All I need is a plausible reason. Of course, I’ll have to contribute a portion of the 200 gold coins for that.”
The fishing rights were just a pretense. My true goal was to acquire those rights.
I planned to profit from the Princess’s ability. That was the reason I had sought out Andrei. I needed the help of an influential vassal to acquire rights such as fishing rights.
Though I hadn’t expected it to cost me 200 gold coins. If I hadn’t been so reckless with my spending, I wouldn’t have needed to spend this much.
“Hmm…”
Despite the opportunity to gain a large sum of money, Andrei looked displeased. As a principled knight, he was uncomfortable with such schemes. However, the sum was too large to refuse.
“I’ll discuss it with the council.”
Andrei’s approval, as the most influential vassal in Quaran, practically guaranteed the council’s approval. However, he still looked uncomfortable. He changed the subject.
“How do you plan to train? You’ll need to work hard to make up for lost time.”
It was time to achieve my other goal.
“That’s why I have a request.”
“A request?”
“I’d like you to spar with me.”
Andrei’s gaze shifted to my physique and the sword at my hip. He seemed to have assessed my skills to some extent.
“I doubt it would be of any use.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“You’re quite confident. You do have talent. However, even talent must bow before time. Tell you what. If you can learn swordsmanship at the guild and dodge even one of my attacks, I’ll spar with you.”
Andrei favored those with confidence, as long as it wasn’t arrogance. I had acted accordingly.
“Let’s start the test right now.”
“What?”
“You need to assess my current skill level, don’t you? To determine where and how to start my training.”
Just as Andrei was about to retort, the door burst open, and the eavesdropper appeared.
“I agree! That scoundrel needs to be taught a lesson! Though I doubt a good-for-nothing who only knows how to play around can even see Father’s attacks!”
It was Fiore, who had been ordered to stay home. Andrei facepalmed, his expression aging ten years in an instant.
“Fiore. I told you to stay home. You disobeyed my orders, barged into my office without permission while I had a guest? How dare you be so disrespectful?”
“Father, I…!”
“I don’t want to hear it. Go home now. And don’t even think about coming to the guild for a week.”
Fiore protested, but Andrei’s decision was final.
“This is all your fault!”
Fiore, her momentum broken, glared at me with teary eyes, shouted, and stormed out of the office.
Slam!
She didn’t even close the door gently. Andrei sighed as he watched the door swing shut.
“Haa, what am I going to do with that girl.”
He shook his head and sighed repeatedly before turning back to me.
“Well, that was embarrassing. I’ll have to discipline her later. I hope you understand.”
“Of course. So, are we sparring?”
“Ugh.”
Andrei, having been repeatedly embarrassed by Fiore, couldn’t refuse. Fiore, despite her intentions, had actually helped me. Though she would be furious if she knew.
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Seems like allen being hated by Fiore 🤔 anyway, I wonder how’s the spar would be.
