Chapter 149 – Darkmtl

Chapter 149


His sword pierced Quesa’s neck. He played the role of the adopted daughter way too well. Chapter 149

Tundra didn’t think with his head.

The moment Quesa lunged at Viola, his mind went blank, and a sense of duty to protect Viola dominated his entire being.

Tundra’s blade struck swiftly, and mana instinctively responded to his will.

Swish!

With a sharp sound of slicing air, Tundra’s heavy sword, ‘Oltega,’ made contact with Quesa’s neck.

There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation in stabbing Quesa’s neck. However, this wasn’t what Tundra wanted. He definitely intended to skewer Quesa’s neck. His attack failed because of Zeno. Zeno had intervened at the last moment and slightly deflected Tundra’s strike.

Tundra coldly regarded Zeno with his icy eyes.

“Zeno, what were you thinking?”

“Look.”

Zeno flashed a smile as he looked at Quesa. “Lord Quesa just embraced the Princess.”

That wasn’t wrong. Quesa had merely held Viola without any harmful intentions.

Quesa said, looking slightly amused,

“You really did stab me? You’re for real.”

Quesa wanted to test Tundra.

He wanted to gauge how sincere that heavy promise was. So he deliberately embraced Viola, curious to see how Tundra would react. ‘But there’s no need to risk your life, you crazy aunt!’ Viola wanted to scream.

It seemed unrealistic to expect rationality in this world.

“Hmm, nice. There’s a lot of good people around my nephew.”

“Please let go. I can’t breathe.”

“Oh my?”

Quesa released Viola. “Anyway, if it weren’t for Zeno, it would have been really dangerous. Thanks, Zeno.”

Tundra said nothing and sheathed Oltega. He felt a subtle sense of defeat. He had been hasty.

It seemed that Quesa and Zeno had anticipated Tundra’s movements.

In terms of sheer force, he was confident he wouldn’t fall behind.

But……… experience matters. Zeno and Quesa had seen something that Tundra hadn’t. Tundra still couldn’t keep up with their perceptive insights.

That made Tundra humble.

‘I’m still lacking in many ways.’

Quesa grinned. “It seems your head is all jumbled up, Partner Sword?”

Then Quesa patted Tundra on the shoulder, “It’s okay. That’s how you grow.”

Quesa liked Tundra. He thought Tundra’s actions were absolutely right.

He understood that the weight of the promise Tundra spoke of was truly heavy.

Having such good people nearby meant that Viola was a good person as well.

“Nephew, you mentioned entering the social circle?”

“Yeah, I attended the Forget-Me-Not Ball.”

“Have you developed an interest in the boys?”

No. Right now, I’m too busy just taking care of myself.

This was how he wrapped it up. “Right now, I’m focused on looking ahead.”

For my modest and happy independence and future life, “Well, considering I’m in a rush to establish my position as Bellatu, every minute counts.”

“…….”

“By the way, I like my nephew. What do you think? Isn’t my son quite handsome?”

Viola felt dizzy for a moment. It seemed she had unintentionally found favor with Quesa.

In the world of Bellatu’s shadow, marriages between fourth cousins were quite common.

Moreover, the meeting between Viola and Kirael, with not even a drop of blood mixed, posed no problem at all. Furthermore, Kirael was set up as a character who could be compared to Prince Jeremy in beauty. ‘But he’s a psychopath.’

He pretends to be flawlessly perfect on the outside, but in reality, he’s a psychopathic character. Viola absolutely did not want to get entangled with such a character.

“If the opportunity arises, I’ll meet him.”

“You must meet him?”

Quesa’s eyes narrowed. “Because I’ve chosen you as my daughter-in-law.”

If you refuse, I’ll kill you! It felt like she could hear a voice whisper that.

“I’m only thirteen.”

“People marry from fourteen, so what?”

“What if I refuse?”

“Then I have no reason to abandon the assassination request.”

He liked Viola. He would keep her alive to make her into a daughter-in-law.

Quesa intended to spin it to his sister, Isabella.

“I’m going to tell my sister that.”

“I never agreed to this.”

“That’s none of my concern.”

Quesa burst into laughter, “You being so charming is the problem.”

* Quesa was quite the chatterbox.

Even in the carriage, she never stopped talking and then stared wide-eyed.

“That Dark Magician is locked away in a spatial prison?”

She burst out laughing. “Hmm, did he throw imperial law into the poop pit?”

In fact, Viola didn’t know either. No, why on earth would you do that, Sheilan! If you’re a coward, act like one; don’t break the law when no one asked you to.

She actually wanted to grab Sheilan by the collar, but Viola couldn’t show it on her face. “Contract killing is illegal too, you know, aunt.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Quesa accepted that easily. “So, how long do you plan to stay with us?”

“To the Winter Castle.”

“Will you come with us?”

“I should probably explain things well to my sister. I think it’s better to talk face to face.”

“Are you planning to discuss the daughter-in-law matter as well?”

“Of course.”

Viola immediately wanted to chase Quesa away. However, Quesa seemed to have already made up her mind. “You should think about it too. It wouldn’t be so bad, right? The Quilton family could support you after all.”

“I’m not the one who needs support; I’m the one giving it.”

She was trying to act as arrogantly as possible, but the blinders in Quesa’s eyes wouldn’t come off. “Hmm, I really do like you.”

Quesa’s eyes sparkled with desire. It seemed Viola was quite an attraction in her eyes.

“It seems my nephew wants to chase away his aunt.”

“I want some rest.”

“Come on, don’t be so harsh.”

This time she spoke to Selbin. “Selbin, you’re happy I’m here, right?”

Quesa was an exceptionally skilled hunter and a master of barbecue. Selbin had never tasted such delicious barbecue in his life.

Selbin’s reply came quickly.

“Yes!”

“See? Even he likes me. How about you, my dear butler?”

“I’m merely a butler. My choice isn’t that significant, but with you around, I doubt any assassin would dare attempt an assassination.”

Quesa nodded repeatedly, as if pleased.

“Partner Sword, what about you?”

“It’s true that you’re a great help every night. However, I always prioritize the Princess’s wishes.”

Every night, Tundra trained with Quesa. That training took place in the woods, where Quesa would sneak attack and Tundra would defend. Tundra quite enjoyed that training.

He needed to be prepared for such ambushes to protect Viola.

In the end, Quesa ended up going with Viola to the Winter Castle.

At the halfway point, Selbin got off the carriage.

“Viola sister! See you again next time!”

Selbin waved goodbye while walking away, only to return quickly, “Sister! Can you hug me!”

A few days ago, Selbin envied when Quesa tightly hugged Viola. So Selbin also hugged Viola. Hee hee hee, successfully hugging his idol, Selbin felt like he had the whole world.

“I’ll definitely get stronger next time!”

He stood on his tiptoes. He lightly kissed Viola on the forehead, expressing affection and respect.

“I will become stronger for sure!”

Selbin vowed. He would absolutely become as strong as Viola.

“Oh, sister, can you give me just one gift?”

“A gift?”

“I want something to inspire me as a memento of you.”

Viola contemplated for a moment and then manipulated her mana to pull out several stems of Marguerite flowers contained in a ring. “Here.”

“Hehe, flowers! They’re pretty!”

Selbin accepted the flowers, jumping with joy. “I’m really going! See you next time!”

He seemed to be saying goodbye for some unknown reason. Selbin’s eyes, distant from Viola, sank deeply.

‘I couldn’t do anything in the Black Temple, just received protection.’

His cheerful demeanor before Viola had completely vanished. “I have to go to where Brother Tundra has grown.”

He was greatly impacted and inspired by Tundra. He thought that training at the ‘Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors’ would make him much stronger than now. Before long, a smile bloomed back on her face.

“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry.”

She bowed towards the west. If she didn’t hurry, the pursuers from Brandia would catch up.

“The letter should have arrived by now, right?”

There wasn’t much time to waste. So she purposefully got off the carriage, to move faster.

“I’ll be back too. Place Where the Eye Shines.”

Brandia’s youngest daughter Selbin ran away to the ‘Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors’. This was a detail that wasn’t in the novel.

*

The southern gate of Winter Castle.

Quesa Quilton was once again shocked.

“Why are you here?”

A familiar face appeared. An incredibly huge figure.

With eyes the size of giant marbles and a square jaw.

The man’s name, who bore an intimidating appearance, was Kaiser.

He was known as the King of Mercenaries, and he was an old friend of Quesa, as well as her childhood lover.

“Don’t you read the newsletters?”

She didn’t want to know about her old lover’s movements, so she hadn’t read them. Without answering, she asked back. “So what are you doing now?”

“What else, I’m the captain of the southern gate guards.”

“The King of Mercenaries? Just a gate guard?”

What on earth had he done in Winter Castle? Quesa became perplexed.

She was shocked by the strength of Winter Castle to employ the King of Mercenaries as a guard captain.

“I’m not the King of Mercenaries anymore.”

“Then?”

Kaiser burst into a loud, hearty laugh. He just laughed, and the walls trembled.

He pointed at Viola with his thick fingers.

“She’s a good friend of Viola.”

“Is that a job?”

“Isn’t it noble?”

Kaiser didn’t seem particularly waiting for Quesa’s answer. It seemed there was something more important to him. That made Quesa feel slightly insulted. “Still, you once were very into me.”

“That was when we were kids.”

There were no feelings left now. Kaiser was completely focused on something else.

He pulled something out of thin air.

He handled it as carefully as if it were a newborn baby.

Quesa asked lazily, “What is that?”

“Viola’s.”

In Kaiser’s giant palm were objects that Quesa couldn’t comprehend. “Egg Tart?”

“I lined up to buy it.”

Kaiser looked at Viola with a smile as if to say, “Didn’t I do well?”

“Oh, and there’s this too.”

While he took out the Egg Tart with utmost seriousness, he casually pulled out another one.

“I was told to hand it over immediately upon your arrival.”

In his hand was a letter. It was adorned with intricate golden threads on the paper itself.

At a glance, it was no ordinary letter.

Before even examining the contents, an inexplicable unease began to settle in.

“They say it’s from the Emperor.”