Chapter 54
Leonhardt smiled as he looked around.
“Still, it’s quite the sight, isn’t it? Drakanis during this season is so famous that people come here just to see it. It’s a wide river, sure, but there’s nowhere else with cherry blossoms blooming like this. These cherry trees aren’t even a native species to the Empire, so they’re rare.”
A broad, blue river. White blossoms blooming in abundance along the banks. Towering buildings of the capital rising beyond the flowering trees. Petals fluttered like snowflakes, forming a mosaic on the river’s surface. Beautiful boats glided slowly among them. A symphony rang gently in the background.
It was such a spectacular sight that it was no wonder citizens had flocked to the riverbanks. Rita herself had genuinely admired it—at least before getting on the boat.
“Yes, it’s amazing, but…”
Her voice trailed off.
Truthfully, being on a boat only brought up bad memories. No matter how beautiful the scenery, she didn’t feel relaxed.
Still, it wasn’t like the discomfort she’d felt while riding a horse. She didn’t want to ruin the mood, so she chose her words carefully.
“…It’s just that the scenery is kind of the same the whole time, so it’s getting a little boring.”
“Now that you mention it, quite some time has passed. It should be time for lunch soo—hm?”
Leonhardt, who had been speaking leisurely, suddenly looked surprised. A large boat was approaching them quite closely.
The yacht, as large as Lascaille’s own, bore a crest on the side: a pink pearl shell encircled by waves, enclosing a sailboat instead of a pearl.
Thanks to her diligent studies, Lillietta immediately recognized the emblem.
“Duyrebourg?”
As the yacht drew close enough that people on deck could converse, a passenger leaning against the railing came into view.
It was the pink-haired noble girl, Lavinia.
“Lady Lascaille!”
The girl was leaning so far over the rail that half her body hung out. She shouted toward Lillietta.
“Come here!”
Rita, caught off guard, looked at her in surprise—then noticed Anne-Marie standing behind Lavinia. She’d frozen mid-motion, having been trying to restrain Lavinia, and was now staring blankly at the person standing beside Lillietta.
Rita turned her head.
Leonhardt was staring at Anne-Marie with a complicated expression. Their eyes met, and Anne-Marie flinched in shock, then turned around and quickly disappeared into the cabin.
Leonhardt gave a bitter smile, ran a hand down his face, then returned to his composed noble expression and turned to Rita.
“Rita, since when were you close with the Lady of Duyrebourg?”
“We’re not particularly close.”
Rita had so many questions she wanted to ask him, but none that she could bring herself to voice. Instead, she offered a vague reply and stood, walking toward the railing.
Lavinia, as if forgetting she was a noble lady, waved her arms wildly from her perch on the railing until Rita drew closer—then finally stopped.
“Lady Lascaille!”
“Yes, Lady Duyrebourg.”
“I told you to just wait and see!”
“…You did, didn’t you?”
“Look! This!”
With an oddly triumphant expression, Lavinia opened a box she’d been holding. Inside, nestled in perfectly tailored silk, was a silver revolver.
“I got it! It’s from the same workshop as the one you used! A Riclèphe revolver. The latest model! I worked really hard to get it!”
Why are you showing me this here? And how is this the result of your ‘just wait and see’? Rita was dumbfounded and speechless.
Watching her reaction, Lavinia hesitated and asked meekly,
“Uh, isn’t it… impressive? Aren’t you happy?”
“Huh?”
“I tried so hard…”
Lavinia quickly grew sullen, mumbled something under her breath, then snapped the box shut and extended it to Rita.
“Here!”
“…?”
“I-I’m giving it to you. I mean… I’ll give it to you!”
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“Uh… huh? You don’t want it? It’s the latest model… Everyone said it’s the best…”
“I don’t need it.”
When Rita shook her head and didn’t take the box, Lavinia’s expression twisted.
“…A-Anne, you liar…!”
Her voice quivered as she turned toward Anne-Marie—but the woman was gone, leaving Lavinia visibly flustered. She fumbled with her words in a panic.
“A-Anne definitely said… She said if I apologized, spoke politely, gave a gift, then I could be friends with Lady Lascaille, and if we became friends, maybe you’d teach me shooting! She said it would work, but it’s not! It’s not working! She lied! She’s a liar…!”
Only then did Rita realize why Lavinia was acting so strangely. A helpless laugh escaped her.
“I don’t think it’s Anne’s fault, Lady Duyrebourg. You’re missing a few things, aren’t you?”
“Missing… things?”
“You didn’t apologize, and you weren’t polite.”
“Oh!”
Lavinia jumped in surprise, her mouth forming a triangle like a startled bunny. Rita found it oddly endearing.
“A-Apologize…”
Lavinia glanced around with wide eyes, confirmed again that Anne-Marie was gone, and then nervously asked Rita,
“Um, can I… apologize? Even though you’re a Lady too? Since we’re both from ducal families?”
“…Do noble ladies need to consider rank before apologizing?”
“I-I’m the Lady of Duyrebourg! I can’t just bow to lower people! My mother always told me never to do that! Never to use honorifics carelessly either! Otherwise people will look down on me! I have to maintain the dignity of a noble lady…”
“Then you should keep your dignity and not apologize.”
“But I want to be friends with you and learn to shoot… If I don’t apologize, will you still teach me?”
“Do you remember what I said before about who deserves to hold a gun?”
“Someone who understands the power and significance of the weapon and can take responsibility for the consequences?”
She memorized it word-for-word. Rita was a little impressed but didn’t show it.
“Do you think someone who doesn’t even recognize their own faults or know how to apologize can truly understand a weapon and take responsibility for its consequences?”
“Uh…”
“You’re still someone who shouldn’t hold a gun. Goodbye.”
Rita turned around without hesitation. Lavinia cried out desperately.
“Wait! Don’t go! I’ll apologize! I said I would! I’ll speak politely—please!”
Rita didn’t reply or look back. She heard the sound of the short girl stamping her feet.
“Ugh… Just wait and see!”
Last time her “just wait and see” resulted in a random gift, so the next one would probably be something just as absurd.
Rita smiled faintly as she returned to her seat. Honestly, it was kind of rewarding to see someone so passionately wanting to learn magic-gun techniques.
Leonhardt, waiting for her, saw the expression on her face and chuckled.
“Getting closer, are you?”
“Well, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Suddenly, a horn from the imperial ship blared in a majestic tone.
“Looks like lunch is ready. Let’s go, Rita.”
Leonhardt stood up.
As the royal ship came to a halt, the nobles’ boats gradually docked nearby. Gangplanks were laid between the royal ship and the other vessels, and nobles began to cross over for the luncheon.
Lascaille’s yacht also docked close to the royal ship, and a gangplank was laid down.
While Leonhardt conferred with a steward nearby, Lillietta leaned against the railing, watching the boards being laid. Then she noticed a yacht coming to a stop right next to them.
That crest… Marquis Bllen’s household?
Stars and olive branches. She recalled meeting the marquis couple at the debutante ball.
A family of mages. The current marquis’s father was the chairman of the Mage Association and the Tower Master. Both the marquis and marchioness are mages. Their only daughter, who’s my age, is said to be a magical prodigy…
The Marquis of Bllen was supposedly close to the Duke of Lascaille from their academy days. The connection to the Magic Tower her father once mentioned was likely through them.
She had heard that the magical sigils found on the coffin fragments and slipper pieces retrieved from the lake had been secretly submitted to the tower for analysis through the Bllen family.
I wonder when the results will be ready.
As she thought that and watched the Bllen family’s yacht, Rita’s eyes suddenly widened.
Olly…?
The marquis must have been absent, as the marchioness was standing alone in a light brown dress with a young lady beside her, waiting to cross the gangplank. This girl hadn’t been at the debutante ball and was likely the marquis’s daughter—but her face was eerily familiar.
Black bobbed hair, eyes angled like a cat’s. The girl lacked glasses, and her irises were olive-colored, not black—but her face was a near-perfect match to Olly Pascal.
Why is Olly here?
Her same-age friend. The creator and maintainer of her magic gun. A heavy drinker, a brilliant mage, and the genius often called the “Witch” of Beacon.
Rita shook her head in disbelief.
No way. After Gide, someone else who looks just like…?
….When would chapter be released?
Please tell us when a new chapter be unlocked?*
weekly one chapter will b unlock