Volume 5 Chapter 218, Love Interests At That Time_ 4 (Seaweed)

Translator: Nonon

Proofreader: Silavin

 

POV: Ash

 

Her first partner.

If we take this statement at a face value, it would mean that Lady Scarlet and Baron Heartfield were in a romantic relationship.

If it’s true that he made a move on the Daughter of the most powerful man in the kingdom, and moreover an unmarried Princess, it would be a big problem. It would be a big problem, but…

 

“Scarlet, what do you mean by your first partner? …”

“Huh? … Ah, that’s right. Fufu, it’s true, Clo was my first partner. He desired me passionately, and I responded to him—“

“No, I don’t think that man would have the courage to lay a hand on you, and I don’t think you would have the courage to assault him by force. Please come up with a better lie.”

“What do you mean by that!?”

 

As Vermillion said, I can’t imagine Baron Heartfield making a move on Lady Scarlet. It’s not even like he hates Violet, but he’s such a wimp that he hasn’t even kissed her despite being married! There’s no way he was in a relationship with Lady Scarlet… no, it’s possible he became more reserved exactly because he was in a relationship with her.

 

“Violet and the Baron have a good relationship, but the latter was a coward who hadn’t even kissed his Wife four months after their marriage.”

“I’m sure Clo wouldn’t want to hear that from you.”

“… Anyway, there’s no way the Baron would have laid a hand on you… in fact, if he had done it, you would have settled down, the Baron would be able to reign you in, and Father would have felt so much more at ease…”

“Hahaha. Hey, Little Brother, what do you think of your Sister?”

“A monstrous wolf without a collar.”

“… You’ve sure gotten bold. Is this thanks to Mary Sue too?”

 

Certainly, if it had been the old Vermillion, he would have brushed it off and changed the topic, but the fact that he was able to speak to Lady Scarlet without hesitation, could suggest that he had changed.

Lady Scarlet didn’t get angry at being compared to a ‘monstrous wolf’, and continued speaking while looking at us with some interest.

 

“That aside, Clo hasn’t even kissed his Wife yet, huh… oh, and by the first partner I mean the first person to defeat me in a fight without magic.”

“He defeated you?”

 

Hearing her words, we responded as if we had heard something unbelievable.

Lady Scarlet is not only skilled in magic, but also possesses exceptional physical abilities, even among the Royal Family. During her time at Azalea Academy, she was undefeated, to the point that people thought they would lose even if they were the only ones using magic one-sidedly.

It’s hard to believe that he was able to defeat somebody like her… but why did they even end up fighting in the first place? I’m sure Baron Heartfield was expelled while their contact remained minimal.

 

“How it happened? Uhh…”

 

When I asked her about that, Lady Scarlet rested the knuckle of her right index finger on her chin, and said as if she was trying to remember.

 

“First of all, I wanted to give him all my first times in a relationship.”

“What the heck are you talking about?”

 

She started talking about things that were quite out there.

We were so shocked by what she said that we were worried about whether we should continue listening.

 

“So, what happened, Lady Scarlet?”

 

However, only Char was willing to listen to more.

How unusual for him… is what I thought, but judging from his expression, he was thinking ‘He beat Her Highness Scarlet?! I must use this as a reference for fighting strong opponents!.’ In short, this idiot wasn’t thinking too deeply about it.

 

“Frankly speaking, I was anxious about my chances of getting married at that time. To be honest, I think I was popular, but I got too cocky, and by the time the school festival came in my first year, I still hadn’t found anybody. I thought that if things continued this way, I would be married off to somebody Father found appropriate and lose my freedom.”

 

Apparently at that time, she was fed up with the King and Queen’s complaints, and was still in a bit of a rebellious phase, so she simply hated the idea of having a fiancé chosen for her.

However, she wasn’t just okay with anybody, and she was looking for someone with a proven track record or someone special. That was when she happened to come across Baron Heartfield.

 

“I think it was right before his fight with Carmine. I saw him a little in the first round and knew that he was a capable guy, so I thought I would at least give him a shout out.”

 

After first exchanging greetings, she apparently conveyed her interest in him.

If he performed well in the duels at the school academy, she planned to pretend to have fallen for him as a strong man, then exploit her royal status to create an irrefutable situation, and later coerce him into marriage. The King would be hesitant to marry her to a Baron, but she intended to convince him as long as the fact was established.

It seems that Lady Scarlet was planning to do something so devious…

 

“… Scarlet, I don’t think that was a good idea.”

“Well, thinking back on it, that’s true. I did think that Clo could be a good choice. After doing a bit of research, I heard that he didn’t have a fiancée, and there weren’t any bad rumors about Clo himself, so I thought he would be a good target… I thought that if I could persuade him well, I could also work as an adventurer.”

 

In fact, it seems she was actually interested after seeing how he fought in the first round. Apparently, she found his fighting skills, which barely involved the use of magic, very impressive. That said, at that point it was still just an interest.

But then there was the aforementioned duel with Carmine.

Naturally, Lady Scarlett thought the Queen would be furious, and that talk of execution would surely rise. However, she also considered that since it had happened during a duel, they would likely struggle with how to handle this matter.

However, what bothered her most was,

 

“His fighting technique and strength were incomparable to the previous match.”

 

He was apparently mesmerized by the fighting ability of Baron Heartfield. Her feelings of ‘interest’ changed to ‘I want to fight him’, and now that her feelings had changed, she felt the urge to act on them immediately.

She had an idea, so she went to where the current head of the Heartfield Family, his Eldest Son, and his Eldest Sister were gathered, and used her authority to arrange an opportunity to talk one-on-one with Baron Heartfield.

 

“But, Clo at that time was like an empty shell of himself.”

 

At first, she was overcome with the urge to fight, so she was taken aback by the change in him. However, Baron Heartfield responded to Lady Scarlett’s desire to fight, and she lost.

Since they were still inside the room, they couldn’t do anything flashy, but all of her attacks were seen through and suppressed, and she realized she simply could not win.

Once she understood, she stopped fighting and asked him why he had done what he did. At first, he said he had nothing to say, but she forced the answer out of him. And as she listened, she decided that she needed to protect him for a certain reason. She couldn’t reveal that reason though.

 

“Well, that’s how the first person I’ve lost to is Clo.”

“… I see. So that’s how it happened.”

 

After hearing the whole story, we decided that Lady Scarlet probably didn’t want our sympathy, or anything of the sort, so we nodded as expressionlessly as possible, as if acknowledging what had happened. Everyone has a past, and it just so happened that this was a conversation shared between people who knew each other, that was all there was to it.

…Still, Clo Heartfield is a peculiar man.

From what I’ve seen, he’s someone who deserves both respect and sympathy for how well he manages things in a unique place that is Shiki. However, he did not hesitate to use violence against Lord Carmine in a duel, and even silenced Lady Scarlet in a fight. He also made some strange remarks about Nephrite, and his conversation and duel with Mary made me imagine something strange.

I don’t know how to put it, but it was as if he had something similar to what Mary possessed–

 

“Oh, that’s right. I’ve got a good idea.”

 

However, while I was thinking about it, Lady Scarlet stood up and said that she had come up with a good idea.

As we watched her actions with doubt, Lady Scarlet flashed Vermillion the same smile she had shown earlier.

 

“I’m going to Shiki for a bit, so I’ll leave the rest to you, Vermillion! Tell Father that I went on a journey to find my past love!”

“Huh?! Please wait, Scarlet!!!”

 

Still in her dress, she opened (broke) the door and ran out of the room at full speed.

 

…I have to chase after her!