TVHR - Chapter 25

"...Daughter. Do you really have to go?"

Cherty Bellion asked, watching Roselyn across from him, tilting her teacup with a nonchalant expression.

"Yes. It has already been announced."

Roselyn gave an answer to the question she had already answered more than ten times, adding an explanation once again.

A few days have passed since the imperial banquet ended...

On the last day of the imperial banquet, it was announced that she was leaving for Kaluta as a diplomat.

Now, the fact that she was Kaluta's envoy could not be undone.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Of course, from the eleventh question onwards, she also lost her sincerity.

Later, she just nodded half-heartedly, whether he asked or not.

Anyway, three days left until departure.

Roselyn had one thing left to do before leaving for Kaluta.

She was attending the auction being held today.

A true dark auction selling everything from precious jewels to rare beastmen and even humans.

It was Makluxa who was holding this auction.

However, the core of Makluxa does not easily reveal itself.

This auction house also took the form of a decentralized organization like Makluxa, so while it was possible to identify the mastermind, it was impossible to find out the real successor or the 'King' of Makluxa.

Of course, Roselyn wasn't participating in the auction to find out who the King was.

It's not like they're actually going to hold an auction.

She was planning to participate in the 'pre-auction viewing' before the auction with a VIP ticket obtained by Marquis Garen.

A place where you can view items before they are put up for auction.

Since she had the right to purchase first from behind, she had no choice but to buy at the price they quoted.

It was usually set at about five to ten times the starting bid.

'The money isn't a problem since Marquis Garen gave a blank check.'

Roselyn was not an apostle of justice, so she had no grand mission to eliminate such a black auction.

In the first place, there was only one thing Roselyn was looking for.

Seeing Roselyn's composed face, Cherty let out a short sigh.

After the day the Imperial House told her to go to the library without a word, Cherty did not want to be apart from Roselyn for a while.

Roselyn recalled the look on Cherty Bellion's face, disheveled and in a mess from how much he had been searching for her that day.

The father looked quite anxious as he hugged her the moment he saw her and muttered that he thought she had disappeared again.

It was so bad that after that day, he moved out of the basement and into a room next to her.

That's all.

In the morning, they visited to have breakfast; at lunchtime, to have lunch; and in the evening, to have dinner again.

When Roselyn snapped at him, saying that if that was the case, he might as well just work here, Father replied, "I understand," and the next day, he set up a small office right in a corner of her room.

And as a result, this situation arose where people ask if it will go at any time.

Roselyn sighed, clutching her forehead.

"Roselyn, then take this at least."

Roselyn snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Cherty's voice.

He took something out of his waistband and held it out to her.

"...Dagger?"

It was a dagger contained in a leather scabbard.

Roselyn's eyes widened slightly.

As she gently drew the dagger from its scabbard, Cherty flinched.

Unlike ordinary silver blades, the blade of the dagger he gave had a subtle purple hue flowing through it; it was a dagger that appeared rough at first glance but was splendidly crafted.

"...This is."

It was a dagger that Roselyn also knew.

A dagger that would have originally belonged to Lady Carmel.

"It is a dagger I made."

"...Did father say you made it?"

Roselyn asked back in surprise.

It was what Lady Carmel always carried around proudly.

She knew that her father had given it to her, but she never imagined that he had made it.

In response to Roselyn's question, he continued speaking while slightly averting his gaze, wearing an expression that was somehow a little proud yet awkward.

"Yes, I refined it by adding my Abyss to molten iron containing special minerals."

Cherty said.

'So this is an Abyss Weapon.'

A dangerous weapon developed by her father that enabled the organization called 'Makluxa' to come out into the world

It was a secret that her father had taken from Lady Carmen, and subsequently, Makluxa ended up stealing the Duke's family's Abyss Weapon technicians.

These were the decisive reasons why the Duke of Bellion was severely shaken.

Roselyn held the incredibly light dagger in her hand and swung it slightly from top to bottom.

It was lightweight, had a good grip, and was comfortable to move around.

As if it were fitted to her hands from the very beginning.

"...It's easy to grip. Daggers are usually made for men, so they tend to be a bit thick and big for me to hold."

She let out a brief comment.

At the same time, a subtle silence descended.

She looked at Cherty, mulling over what she had said, wondering if she had made a slip of the tongue.

"...Of course, that’s because I made it with the intention of giving it to you."

"..."

Roselyn's eyes widened slightly at his words.

"Just so you know, I didn't pick it up somewhere, or think of it while walking down the street, or think of it as cheap stuff, so I'm not saying anything."

The voice, hurriedly added, sounded somewhat urgent.

'You made this for me?'

It was something she honestly never expected.

She moved her lips slightly, then closed them tightly again.

"It's not like it's strange... Anyway, with the mineral I happened to discover this time..."

Cherty's softly murmuring voice gradually faded.

"...But it might not suit a girl."

Since Roselyn didn't say anything, Cherty, who had been watching her cautiously, quietly added a remark.

"If you don't really feel like it, you can just return it or throw it away. I'm not usually good at giving these kinds of gifts..."

He stammered out an explanation, then slowly frowned.

"I felt like I always just gave flowers, so I tried to give something different... but I guess it was unnecessary meddling."

After all, the bodyguard will be with her too.

Roselyn chuckled lightly as she watched Cherty dig the ground again and start muttering something like an excuse.

"No, I like this better than flowers."

Roselyn slowly raised her sword, held it up to the sunlight streaming through the window, and spoke.

 

When held up to the light, a clean sword with a neat finish and not a single bubble was visible.

"Being protected by someone isn't my style. Thank you."

Cherty's eyes widened slightly at Roselyn's words.

He smiled lightly.

"...Is that so? Still, it's more important that you don't have any use for it."

"When did you start making this?"

Roselyn asked.

'Was it since I refused the flowers the other day?'

Cherty glanced at Roselyn and spoke.

"It has been about three and a half years."

"...Yes?"

"I discovered the mineral about five years ago, but I had a bit of trouble because it is not easy to process."

Cherty explained.

However, Roselyn could not hear properly.

'...It's already been three and a half years?'

"Of course, it is absolutely not because I am incompetent or stupid, but because the mineral itself was very hard and finicky."

The added voice felt a little distant.

'Then that dagger too...'

Even that dagger Lady Carmel carried in the original world...

Roselyn felt her fingertips grow cold.

'No. It might not have been mine in that world.'

Roselyn thought.

'It wasn't me; he might have intended to give it to Lady Carmen from the start.'

Roselyn slowly lowered the sword she was holding and thought.

Upon closer inspection, there was a small groove carved into the blade.

Rose

The flowing cursive writing resembled Cherty's handwriting, as if he had carved it himself. 

Clunk.

In that moment, her heart sank to the floor.

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