YnO29

GDoc here. I translated this mostly over a phone… Phones are not really convenient, at least Android gives me the ability to copy it straight into Google translate… The latter half is more sketchy, as my brain became more fried… Be warned

Nobles and Commoners (2)

AN: Slowly writing over Obon weekend, I post.

“What is this commotion?”

Leticia spoke in a clear voice.

The surroundings fell silent.
Wearing a light blue dress that gave off a tidy impression, Leticia’s slender body slowly made
its way towards Wynn’s group.

Unlike the gaudy dress she wore at the banquet, since she was having tea with close friends, her dress was embroidered with simple silver thread. The way it glistened and sparkled matched her blonde hair well.
The dress she wore as a noble lady was dazzling, but since the decorations were minimal, Leticia’s natural beauty stood out.
In addition to that, the castle evoked a solemn atmosphere, as if she were a goddess who had descended onto the earth.
The nobles, and others who had noticed the commotion, all had their gazes drawn towards Leticia.
Even those who should have been accustomed to the pretty noble lady unconsciously drew their breaths.
Even Locke and Wynn, who met the normal Leticia at the knight school and at the Wandering Bird’s Roost, forgot about the nobles surrounding them, and stared at her.
As if time had stopped, the area fell silent.
Everybody watched as the breathtaking Leticia slowly walked to Wynn’s side.

“Leti?”

Leticia grabbed Wynn’s left arm.
Leticia smiled at Wynn’s puzzled voice.
However, the smile disappeared as Leticia’s jewel-like emerald green eyes looked back at Elstead with cold anger.

—”By Her Highness, Cornelia’s orders, I’m honored to bring Leticia-sama in first.”
When they arrived at the castle and met Cornelia’s maid, Leticia was invited in first.

Although she was worried about leaving Wynn, who was unused to that sort of place, alone, Cornelia believed in her newest friend. If he was with Leticia, he wouldn’t be apprehended as a suspicious person.
The ten maids who had guided her before, now approached her with a gorgeous dress.
Cornelia prepared that dress, while taking into account the fact that Leticia liked clothes that are easy to move in.
Actually, as a noble lady with the status of a Duke’s daughter, she wasn’t lacking in dresses.
Just like when she was young, after her odyssey as the Brave, she rarely wore a dress.
Of course, they could be tailored to her as she wished.
If she ordered one of the Duke’s tailors, they would tailor it for her.
However, Leticia herself didn’t like to dress up elaborately, so for a Duke’s daughter, her wardrobe was almost empty.
“I understand that Leticia-san prefers this sort of attire, but a feminine appearance will make Wynn-kun’s heart skip a beat. ”
Cornelia spoke with a mischievous smile, and Leticia couldn’t help but agree.
She was distracted by the words “skip a beat.”
She was quickly surrounded by maids, and her clothes were changed in the blink of an eye.

“Well, you look beautiful!”

The maids, who were obviously used to such things, rapidly changed Leticia’s clothes, then raised their voices in praise.

“Do I really look beautiful?”

Even Cornelia agreed with a smile, although the Leticia who didn’t normally fuss about her clothes wasn’t bad.

“I shall go meet him now.”

‘Maybe Onii-chan will say that I’m cute?’

She soon arrived to where Wynn was, wanting to show her dressed-up appearance to him as soon as possible.

Her heart pounding, she spotted Wynn—

And Leticia’s good mood turned foul.

Unaware of what was going on in Leticia’s heart, Elstead politely bowed.

“It is an honour to meet you, Lady Mavis^[1] I am Royce van Elstead. I have been given the title of Count from His Highness. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Nice to meet you, Count Elstead. So, what is this commotion?”

“What, I was just letting this plebeian know that he was beyond his station, being in this palace by chance. I was telling him to leave.”

While bowing, Count Elstead stared at Leticia’s right hand, which was holding onto Wynn’s left hand.
The lackeys’ faces showed signs of unrest.
At those words, Leticia took a deep breath.
She was trying to suppress the anger that was building up inside.

“Count Elstead.”

Even so, she was unable to keep the cold tone from her voice.

“This personage is my master, Wynn Byrd-sama. Even if he is of unknown pedigree, as my Master, he is still an acquaintance of His Majesty, the Emperor.“

“What!?”

“The Brave’s master?”

“By the way, I heard a rumour about a young plebeian being…”

They simultaneously shouted in surprise at Leticia’s words.
The nobles that joined the banquet that celebrated the end of the coup d’etat were those of high rank, powerful noble factions, and those who performed meritorious deeds.
Being a weak noble, Count Elstead did not receive an invitation.
His face suddenly turned pale.

The one recognized by the Emperor as the “Master of the Brave.”
He might be the empire’s most influential person.
Belatedly, they recalled the maid’s words.

‘These people are the honoured friends of Her Highness the Princess, whom she had invited.’

As the Brave herself, and as an eminent noble, Leticia’s actions showed that their relationship was more intimate than that of a master and disciple.
They seemed to have finally realize that their earlier remarks and attitudes up to this point could be taken as actions that can be glared at by a poor man who has the backing of the overwhelming power of the Imperial and Duke families.

“Speaking of which, the Master of the Brave is said to be a classmate of the Princess.”

However, while the lackeys exclaimed in surprise, and regretting their previous attitudes, they timidly compared Leticia and Wynn, and only Count Elstead continued to talk, his expression unchanged.

‘Oh, as expected of the head of a small faction.’

Locke mentally reappraised Count Elstead.
Despite being faced with Leticia’s wrathful gaze a while ago, he received it straightforwardly.
Even though she had the appearance of a beautiful young lady, her body concealed the strength that could oppose a whole country, and she even held a high status in the court.
In her eyes, the noble lackeys were insignificant beings
However, despite all of that, he had a good amount of courage.

‘Is he judging her by her appearance?’

Locke thought, while closely examining Count Elstead.

“This day, Master and I have been invited by Her Highness Cornelia. There are no problems with his being here, right?”

“But what about that thing on his waist? When meeting royalty, how can we allow a dangerous weapon?”

“You mean that dagger?”

Wynn wore a dagger at his waist.
Following Count Elstead’s finger, Leticia deliberately smiled.
Then, after letting go of Wynn’s hand, she turned around, and, without minding that her dress would wrinkle, she reverently knelt down, and slowly drew the dagger.
The surroundings murmured, as the Brave, and a Duke’s daughter, to show such overwhelming respect towards a commoner like Wynn; but a larger stir was created with her next words.

“This dagger is the one that I personally gifted to Master.”

She showed the words engraved on the blade to Count Elstead.

It was the coat of arms of this country— the emblem of the Royal Family.
And on the other side was the Coat of Arms of the Mavis house.

“This, this is…!”

Even Count Elstead, who, at least on the surface, had appeared unperturbed until that point, widened his eyes upon seeing the crest on the blade.

“This dagger was conferred to me by His Highness, when I was born. It is proof of the right to the throne.”

Flabbergasted, Count Elstead became silent.

‘I was given such an important thing!’

On the other hand, even Wynn was speechless.

Although it did not have a single scratch on it, he had used it as a mere weapon, letting it face the explosion from a magic attack.
Although he had carefully maintained it, in a sense, he realized that he had treated something as valuable as a national treasure disrespectfully.

‘Will I face divine punishment?’

Locke, who had accompanied Wynn in the dagger throwing lessons, sent Wynn, who had broken into a cold sweat, a look of sympathy.

“This is the proof of my trust in him.”

Leticia held the dagger out while smiling.
Wynn stared holes into the extended hand.
Up until then, he had been casually wearing a national treasure on his waist.
He hesitated to touch it.
However, Leticia merely smiled tenderly, her eyes urging Wynn to take the dagger.
Reluctantly, Wynn, with more care than before, accepted the dagger and placed it into its scabbard.
That dagger was one of Wynn’s countermeasures against magic.
It was now impossible to use it as he had, and he absolutely couldn’t use it for practice. He vowed to be much more careful when maintaining it.

“…If that is the case, I have no choice but to concede.”

“Then, we have kept Her Highness waiting.”

The maid nodded, and bowed deeply and carefully to Count Elstead, before walking on ahead.
Wynn felt nervous around the nobles who were glaring at him, and, upon seeing that, Leticia once again grabbed his arm, and dragged him away.
Wynn just bowed down in deference to them.

“Hey, that hurts, and your chest is touching me.”

“Shut up! Onii-chan should just silently follow me!”

Wynn was strongly dragged along, as Leticia walked.
Chuckling behind the pair, Locke bowed to Count Elstead and the others, then chased after them—

“They’re still kids. Is that their weak point?”

Unconsciously turning around, Elstead and his lackeys were already walking in the opposite direction, their expressions unseen.

“What is it? Locke, we’ll leave you behind, you know?”

“Ah, I’ll go now.”

Of course, as the Princess’s guest, the maid wouldn’t actually leave Locke behind, but he still replied.
As he walked quickly to catch up to Wynn and Leticia, he once again looked back at Count Elstead, getting a bad feeling, but they had already turned the corner, their figures unseen.

When he returns home, he would ask for information from his father and elder brother.

His best friend, and the girl who was his childhood friend, wouldn’t be hindered by the inevitable obstacles.
Count Elstead had showed surprising courage to face Leticia head-on.
Speeding up to follow the two, Locke, as a person who knew the dangers of being deceived by appearances, etched the name Royce van Elstead into his memory.

AN: I plan to upload the next chapter next week. (TN: I don’t! sorry!)
Translator Notes

1. Japanese includes the fact that she is the third child (female) of a duke —back

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I updated the TOC to have a whole lot of (tentative)chapter titles, so please have a look! There’s a juicy one there, but I need to figure out exactly what “樹光下” means, and actually read the chapter before it becomes final…

By the way, do people prefer the static homepage, or the one that shows the posts? feedback please?

Happy Winter! I may not be able to post another chapter before Christmas, but I’ll try to make a new years present instead. Maybe I’ll make you guys be my witnesses when I make new years’ resolutions!