Chapter 24, Questioning Calorego

Translator: Lizz

 

Gina stopped crying, lifted her head, and forced a smile.

“It couldn’t be helped, for both me and Edward. Malice hides and lurks, and ordinary people can’t see through it. But since we’ve been deceived once, there won’t be a second time. Besides, since we’ve both been deceived before, let’s cover each other!”

Gina said, and Edward smiled at her.

“Indeed, that’s right. I couldn’t help it either back then. I was made a complete fool… But yeah, normally you can’t see through it. It’s not our fault for being deceived; it’s the guys who deceived us who are malicious and cowardly. So, let’s protect each other so that we won’t go through such an ordeal again.”

Edward said this and then tightened his expression.

“By the way, speaking of which, isn’t that Calogero guy suspicious?”

 

Sylvia stopped clinging to Edward’s arm and stared at his face.

Gina, on the other hand, averted her gaze from Edward and pondered.

“…To be honest, I think so too. But he’s so capable that…”

Why would a priest agree to the words ‘become a butler’?

It was natural to think he was suspicious.

However, as Gina mentioned, he was capable, and there was a shortage of personnel. Gina had decided to overlook some suspicion.

Edward couldn’t overlook it though.

Both because of his own past trauma and his role as Sylvia’s knight protector, his heart warned him that overlooking this would be a bad move.

 

Edward wanted to drive out the priest named Calogero right away, even out of this fortress town. However, he understood that he couldn’t drive him out merely on suspicion. Besides, picking up Calogero’s tasks would be difficult for Gina.

Edward would gladly bear the burden after driving him out if he could, but Edward has to go all over the place for his urban rebuilding project. In the end, Gina would end up covering for him during his absence.

“~~~~~~!”

Seeing Edward holding his head, Gina was astonished that he disliked him so much, but she reconsidered, thinking everyone had their traumas. …She felt that the two of them were fundamentally incompatible, though, not just because of Edward’s trauma.

Calogero also had a certain attitude towards Edward. He usually spoke to Sylvia as if Edward wasn’t there, and when he did speak to Edward, it was often with words that indirectly expressed ‘you stay out of this’.

 

What Edward feared most was losing his place ‘by Sylvia’s side’, and Gina speculated that Calogero disliked Edward being by Sylvia’s side. That was probably why the two were at odds.

 

The next morning, as Calogero politely greeted Sylvia while ignoring the intimidating Edward, Sylvia suddenly asked,

“Why is Calogero acting as the butler?”

 

Edward and Gina were speechless.

Sylvia, probably taking the conversation from the previous day into account, seemed to be trying to resolve the matter herself. However, her childlike frankness only made things more complicated… just like the previous issue with the butler – Gina and Edward thought to themselves.

Calogero looked at Sylvia with a puzzled expression.

“It is because Lady Sylvia wished it so, but why do you ask?”

Calogero asked in return.

“I didn’t know that priests couldn’t be butlers. But now I know. So, I asked why.”

Calogero glanced at Edward.

Suddenly, Edward said,

“Lady Sylvia, at times like this, you should just straightforwardly say ‘suspicious’.”

Edward advised Sylvia with a smile.

A vein twitched on Calogero’s temple, but he ignored it.

Then, he knelt before Sylvia and took one of her hands.

“Well… There are many things I would like to share, but to put it simply, I was impressed by Lady Sylvia.”

Sylvia stared blankly at Calogero’s face. It was, of course, because she didn’t understand the complicated words.

“Sir Calogero, could you please explain it in simpler words for me to understand?”

Gina quickly came to the rescue.

Calogero nodded and smiled wryly.

“My apologies, I’m not good at explaining… The reason is that staff.”

He pointed at the staff Sylvia was holding.

Not only Sylvia but Gina and Edward also had no idea what he meant.

“I used to own that staff.”

Sylvia’s eyes widened.

Gina and Edward were also silently astonished.

The image of that shimmering magical light flashed in their minds.

“That staff was given to me by the High Priest when I was struggling to control my skills and magic in my youth. …However, the staff is quite tricky to handle… I couldn’t control it. But since it was a custom order, and it’s a very good item, I returned it to the boutique with the thought of passing it to someone with a connection. I never imagined that Lady Sylvia would come to own it.”

His voice, filled with admiration, didn’t seem like an act; he appeared genuinely impressed.

Gina, concerned, asked Calogero.

“Control… What do you mean? As Lady Sylvia’s maid, I cannot overlook her possessing something dangerous.”

Hearing those words, Calogero looked intently at Gina and then bowed deeply.

“…That is something only the person holding the staff can understand. It can simply be said that ‘it is difficult to control’.”

Edward, setting aside his resentment towards Calogero for a moment, looked at Sylvia with concern.

If it was dangerous, he would break it… or rather, he wanted to break it just because Calogero had previously possessed it. While pondering what to do with the staff, Sylvia spoke up.

“Hmm. It’s okay. I understand.”

” “Eh? Understand what?” ”

Gina and Edward simultaneously questioned. Carlogero thought the same thing inwardly, but was just barely able to restrain himself from saying it out loud.

Sylvia looked at the two.

“This staff is just like me. It absorbs magic power and releases it.”

The three were so surprised that they couldn’t utter a word.

“That’s why you need to teach it to absorb and release. I’m great, so I taught it!”

With a smug look, Sylvia puffed out her chest as if to say ‘I’m amazing!’

Both Gina and Edward were impressed.

“As expected! Lady Sylvia!”

Gina praised her, and Sylvia puffed out her chest even more.

Edward found the two adorable and smiled warmly at them, only to realize that Carlogero was looking at them with the same expression as his. They both frowned at the same time.