When My Enemies Began to Regret

“…”

“…”

What follows is the silence between us. While I caught my breath, the red-haired boy seemed to ponder.

“I…”

And a few seconds later. In his words, it seems like Carl had concluded about what to do.

“I’m a person who tries to be nice… but I’m not really a good person.”

“…”

“I also want the person who tries to bully me to die too. Actually, I can relate to Lady Vanora.”

It was a sentence that was difficult to understand right away from my point of view, but his words were sincere.

Carl Andras was not a good man. No one in this world is perfect.

“Before, I just talked without thinking. I didn’t mean it…”

So, the person standing in front of me also had a side like this.

“Besides, if you are already thinking of taking revenge, it must be because they’re guilty.”

“Therefore?”

“Um…”

Carl smiled awkwardly, sweeping down the back of his neck with his hand. Every time he acted like this, he looked like an innocent boy, not a war hero.

“I’ll help you. After all, I really need that holy relic.”

“…!”

“I know it’s not right, but I don’t have a choice.”

Finally, his consent fell. But before I could be happy with this, I had no choice but to be nervous at the next words he brought up.

“If Lady Vanora breaks the promise to give me the holy relic in return, then I will take revenge on you.”

A weapon with a standing blade is dangerous. Just because I had it in my hands, there was no way it wouldn’t cut me.

* * *

“Carl, I swear here that I will not defame you in the future.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s what I said. Actually, you don’t have to come forward yourself.”

After a while, I briefly pointed out the parts to be corrected in our deal.

“If I don’t take revenge with my own hands, I can’t get rid of my resentment.”

Carl, who had been quietly listening, was smiling again as usual.

“I don’t care if my reputation is tarnished. For Europa…”

“No. Maybe one day you will be the one to prove my innocence…”

I thought about the bloody things that would come and go as a chat between us.

“The reason I came here today was to tell you about my future schedule. Carl, I have a favor. I can give you time to prepare.”

For me, this was the main thing I had been longing for.

“You’re a member of Andras’s family, and I assume you have killed enemies for many years. You have a lot of experience in sparring, and maybe you have a book passed down from your family that explains a person’s vital points.”

“That’s right.”

“I want to know how to kill people. However, there are no books with such dangerous contents on the market. So I want to learn from you how to take down people with ease.”

I owned Io, so the struggle won’t be that big. However, just because I owned it and became strong enough didn’t mean that I had the skill for it. I should also consider the process. If I always solved the problem with force and the same method, I could be pushed from behind. In addition, as a result of dealing with Io, my body was easily damaged from its fatal flaw, so it was a problem in many ways.

‘I can’t trust assassins.’

In fact, the best assistant in this situation is the Assassination Guild, but… it wasn’t likely that they would sacrifice their lives only for a few bucks. Besides, evidence remains if I contact them.

“Do you need any knowledge about poison too? Due to my family circumstances, there are many cases where I encounter poison, so I think I can tell you about that.”

“Good. I like it.”

But what is this situation?

Carl quickly read what I wanted. He was more obedient than expected. Through this, I confirmed once again how important the holy relic was to him.

“It will be difficult if you’re detained, so you should avoid the eyes of others as much as possible. Then I will have to create an excuse for us to meet in the future.”

‘I’m delighted!’

After all, visiting Carl Andras was the best choice.  Even in this time period, he kept his promises very well, although his sense of ethics was vague.

‘I’ve been thinking about it for a while. He’s reluctant to kill innocent people, but he often wields his sword with violence. He’s not as nice as you think.’

So we started walking on the wide plains again and made serious plans in a peaceful atmosphere.

How will he train me in the future? What information can he get…

When I talked until my mouth felt dry, the time had passed, and when I noticed that it was lunchtime, Carl suggested that we walk back to the mansion. I followed his words. Walking quietly, I heard the grasshoppers sound from somewhere in the distance. I was subtly following the sound with my ears, then noticed the next words Carl was speaking to me.

“By the way… Lady Vanora.”

“…Ah, yes?”

He seemed to have something to say.

“You said you’d give me Europa when your 18th birthday comes, right?”

“…”

“But why is the deadline until then?”

When Carl spoke about Europe, I stopped walking.

“There’s one thing I need to apologize for.”

“Yes…? What…?”

“I lied a bit when I offered to make a deal. I couldn’t trust you at that time, so I couldn’t tell you the whole truth.”

Carl blinked his docile eyes at my words.

“First of all, I don’t have Europa in my hands right now.”

“Gasp!”

“B-But it’s true that I can give you Europa.”

Carl changed his expression from moment to moment as if he couldn’t hide his emotions despite being a noble. He was surprised at first, then turned into a face of relief.

“I know the person who has Europe. Include who they are and where they live.”

“…”

“And… when I turned 18, I decided to take over Europa from that person.”

The red-haired boy tilted his head at my explanation.

“How did that person decide to give you Europa? Why are you taking it on your 18th birthday?”

So far, he has kept his mouth shut and listened carefully, but suddenly he showed he’s suspicious of me. It’s not like he believed I would give him Europa at our first meeting.

I wondered if he had the ability to distinguish between true and false.

‘At times like this, those bright red eyes are stinging.’

It was because there was a small lie hidden in the sentence she brought up this time.

It is true that it takes about three years to receive Europa. Still, it was not a matter that was previously agreed upon with the owner of Europe ‘in this life.’ The owner of Europa at this time may not even know my existence yet. Still, I was confident that the holy relic of eternal life will surely be in my grasp three years later.

“I cannot tell you why. However…”

I spoke more slowly, comparing for a moment the grown-up Carl Andras whom I had met a few years ago with the boy in front of me now.

“I promise. I’ll definitely give you Europa. I can prove right now that I have something to do with the holy relic.”

“Haha. You don’t have to do that.”

“Um, then… Anyway, if our contract is fulfilled before three years, I will tell you how to receive Europa.”

After discussing the holy relic and returning from the riding area, the sky was still dazzling indigo. The weather was so nice that I thought my skin would have been ripe if I hadn’t worn a hat and long gloves.

“I guess we walk faster than I thought. We somehow got here before lunch.”

“…”

“Then, shall we eat something in the dining room? Today’s menu is probably the bear that I hunted a while ago. When made into a stew with spices, it will be delicious and make you feel full.”

Carl Andras was also wearing a shirt that wrapped his body tightly except for his head as if he knew the dangers of the summer sun.

“I didn’t come here to eat.”

I didn’t want to waste time doing something like that when I was already here. 

“I want to learn more about poison rather than do that.”

“Do you feel eating was a waste of time? If you don’t eat properly, you won’t gain muscle.”

Carl pointed at my skinny arm and said it would be difficult to harm a person with my condition. He also tried to feed me meals, telling me to think about my health repeatedly.

“Putting aside muscle, starving is not good for your body. First of all, let’s go eat and then study, okay?”

I suddenly felt annoyed. Irritated by stress, I showed signs of bursting at any time, even in trivial matters.

‘I said I won’t eat, but why does he keep saying that?’

If I reveal that I’m the owner of Io here, things will be easier. But no matter how heavy Carl’s mouth is, is it right to show everything to him?

That idea suddenly crossed my mind, and I swallowed my anger again. At the same time, I looked into Carl’s eyes and said,

“All right, I will eat light food.”

However, Carl has been paying attention to my actions and making remarks as if he had been digging deep inside me.

“Lady Vanora always… looked uncomfortable. You look like an angry person.”

“!”

I was silent.

When I didn’t answer, Carl smiled awkwardly with an apologetic look.

He made his way through the conversation as if I didn’t need to say anything. Then he gets his servant to bring sandwiches.

“I want to train in the training ground from now on. Lady Vanora will be looking at me from the side. So, can you bring us something to eat outside?”

“I understand. I will prepare sandwiches and bring them there.”

I, who watched Carl ask the servant in an un-noble manner, slightly adjusted my crooked hat. After a while, when the servant had already retreated into the mansion, I said,

“Carl, thank you for your consideration of the meal. But what do you mean by training ground? What about the poison?”

“My brother has the key to the medicine room. But what will he think if I borrow the key and enter the room while Lady Vanora is visiting?”

“It’s going to look weird…”

“Instead, I will lend you the related books today. After all, my family hardly reads books, so even if the book I borrowed disappears, it won’t be noticeable.”

“Can you really say something like that about your family?”

Carl took the lead, whether I was dumbfounded or not.

“Now, I need to look at your basics under the pretext of you watching my training from the side. Do you have any weapons you can handle? I don’t think there is.”

“Why are you asking when you know there’s no…”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

The Marquis’s estate was so wide that there were not only one or two giant fences made of sharp iron. So it took quite a while for us to get to the training ground, and thanks to that, we were able to chat quite a bit along the way.

“Carl, can you recommend a good weapon for me to handle?”

“What I recommend is… Ah, we’re almost there! This is the training ground.”

Carl was talking, but he ran away there when he saw the training ground. Without hesitation, I grabbed the hem of my skirt and ran with him. In the first place, I’m not a very polite young lady either.