Chapter 71
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Violet's First Words - Episode 71
"My name is Marin Sizya. My mother was a renowned priestess of the Kaizerian Theocracy. It's been ages since our family fell from grace and lost our title."
"So you are from Kaizeria after all. Are all of you?"
"Brown is from this country, and Ash selected him as a scholarship student early on. Gran, as you can see, is a close aide to Ash's mother. The other scholarship students Ash selected from the Academy are scattered throughout various places, working according to his orders."
To be honest, I found it fascinating.
"Then... are there many people like me?"
"People like you? Someone Ash personally invested in to make the Winter Queen?"
"Well, roughly speaking..."
"There's only one person like you. Do you know how terrifying Ash is? Normally, any talent he picks out becomes his own through whatever means necessary—carrot or stick, he doesn't care."
"..."
"But he just leaves you alone and watches, doesn't he?"
"Maybe I'm simply not talented enough for Ash."
At those words, Marin snorted derisively, then smiled with a hint of cunning.
"Don't say that. Time will tell."
"Marin, even if I asked you to take these clothes back, you wouldn't listen, would you?"
"Nope."
Marin spoke with absolute certainty.
"Let's have some tea. Shall we head downstairs?"
The two of them descended the stairs. At the bottom of the staircase stood Olive. She scrutinized Marin carefully.
"I refrained from intruding, assuming you were a guest of the young lady. You are a guest, correct?"
"Of course. This is my friend Marin."
Violet said. Marin took a step forward until she stood directly before Olive. The two faced each other.
"One-Horned Tiger Unit?"
Olive asked abruptly.
"The 998th Tiger."
"The signal?"
"O Divine One, punish those who lack faith in your power."
"Ha."
That was Olive.
"Heh."
That was Marin.
"White Snake Unit?"
Marin continued.
"That's correct. Ash seems far more dangerous than I initially thought. To command such formidable subordinates..."
Olive replied.
"Didn't you hear? My classification number. I'm non-combatant, they said. The truly terrifying ones are people like this sister here. The White Snake Unit, you say. Are there actually survivors from there?"
"There are. Even under unfavorable circumstances, there exist those with tenacious vitality."
"I see. Ash said he barely noticed the surveillance following him until the very end—such relentless pursuit. So it was due to that stubborn lifeline."
"Have you washed your hands."
"I have, and I'm living well in clean waters now."
"Be careful. My master's only family is Miss Violet. For all time to come."
"We're also making efforts to serve her. Who knows—perhaps your master might become our master someday."
"I would advise against harboring such hopeful prospects. Your master has already been marked by the master of this house."
Violet found herself overwhelmed by the rapid exchange of words between them, like a ball being tossed back and forth.
"What is all this?"
"Nothing at all."
That was Marin.
"Merely an unimportant conversation."
That was Olive.
"However."
Violet spoke.
"Miss, shall I prepare some tea for you?"
Olive replied. In the end, Violet and Marin made their way to the Dining Room beside the kitchen and sat across from each other. Olive set down the tea with an expressionless face and disappeared.
"Marin?"
"Hmm?"
"I heard that Olive came from some sort of... unsavory religious background. Are you perhaps—" "Yeah, listening to her speak, she's the type who was kidnapped as a child like me."
"From Kaizeria?"
"Kaizeria is the Holy Empress's nation. It moves by the will of the divine. Setting aside matters like how the land's divine power and mana run deeper there than elsewhere—" "..."
"The nation itself exists in a perpetual religious fervor. Which is precisely why all manner of deranged cults crawl up from the underground like insects, writhing into existence. There are many victims and many perpetrators. And many caught in between."
"Are there really that many illegal religions in Kaizeria?"
"Don't even ask. These twisted cults cooperate with each other, betray each other, merge, buy and sell people. It's madness, I tell you. But don't worry. Kaizeria's safe zones are perfectly peaceful. There are simply dark regions that haven't been completely rooted out..."
Violet's heart ached, wondering if Ash might be connected to such things. "You too?"
"I told you—my mother was pushed out in Kaizeria's power struggle. So what do you think became of her children."
"Are you and Olive victims of the same religion?"
"Different religions, but with similar patterns, you could say. We're from neighboring cults, so to speak. There is one divine god, but there are many evil gods. So we recognized each other's origins immediately."
"Is it written on your face or something? How did you know?"
"I'd heard beforehand. That there was a capable person who nearly succeeded in tailing Ash near you. Not many institutions can cultivate spies or assassins of that caliber. So I had a suspicion, and I was right."
"Then how did Olive recognize you?"
"It's hard to explain... We can recognize each other through feeling, intuition. There's a distinctive look and atmosphere unique to those who've lived through similar places and returned."
Neither of them had chosen to be in such a religion of their own volition. Just as Violet was about to say something, Marin gently shook her head.
"So tell me about Ash."
At Marin's words, Violet felt a strange unfamiliarity for the first time.
"Ash?"
"You noticed, didn't you? Since I'm his subordinate, it's only natural I call him that."
"But until now..."
"Until now, both Ash and I were pretending to be Academy students, so I was given special permission to use his name. Since you're Ash's friend, you can just call him by his name as usual."
"...I see."
"Anyway, I knew a day like this would come. To think I'd be giving counsel about Ash to such a lovely young lady!"
"What counsel. There's nothing special about it."
"But don't you have questions about Ash? Ah, not about his past or his parents. If it's something light, I can answer."
Violet fell silent in thought for a moment.
"Um... Does Ash happen to read Seda novels?"
"Why the sudden question?"
"Ash sent me flowers exactly like the ones in a book, and when I mentioned a certain book before, his reaction was strange. It was 【Lady Rosenis】, a novel I really like."
Marin's movements froze as if she'd been caught in a lie.
"...Rosenis?"
"Yes, it's not a very famous book. You probably wouldn't know it."
Marin's reaction was truly strange. The expression of someone who didn't know how to respond.
"What exactly did he say about that book?"
"He said he wanted to resemble Lady Rosenis, the protagonist of that book. That he truly admires her. Oh, and he also said the author who wrote it must be a genius."
"I'm going to lose it."
Marin's face showed she was barely holding back laughter, barely able to breathe.
"What is this..."
"Lady Rosenis from the novel holds very special meaning to Ash."
"So Ash really did read that book?"
"More than just read it. Lady Rosenis from the novel is Ash's future bride."
Violet took a moment to process those words.
"What?!"
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org