The dinner at the Spring Palace was sumptuous.
Assisted by the palace maids, we had our meal at the grandiose table. It wasn’t awkward, although I found it inconvenient to have someone serve me from the side, as if to remind me that there were still servants present.
I ate too much, and Charlotte watched me with a pleased expression as I struggled to finish everything on my plate.
In the end, Dyrus and Saviolin Turner, who were having the meal with us, were taken aback by how much I had eaten.
“Wow, did you eat all that?”
“When will I ever have the chance to eat like this again?”
Charlotte will leave Temple.
Bertus is not involved.
In the end, I couldn’t figure out what had happened here. Charlotte didn’t even explain why she was leaving Temple.
Charlotte gave me a warning.
She said that whatever happens to her, it had nothing to do with Bertus, so I shouldn’t do something stupid.
Even that might be a lie.
It was clear that there was something strange going on with Charlotte’s situation, but I couldn’t get an answer.
After dinner, we had tea time and talked about various things.
When the situation becomes too serious, people tend to talk about light topics.
If you start mentioning heavy topics, the atmosphere gets sucked into that one topic and you end up not being able to say anything.
That’s exactly how we were.
We had decided to go back after dinner, so we had to leave soon.
Even though I didn’t want to go back yet. I thought about asking Charlotte for a sleepover but Saviolin Turner would definitely disallow that.
Charlotte said goodnight, stating that she would get ready for bed.
“Farewell, Reinhardt. Lady Turner will see you off.”
And with that routine farewell.
Soon, Saviolin Turner approached me to send me off, not so much to see me off as to make sure I was on track.
“Reinhardt.”
“Oh, yes. Lady Saviolin.”
Saviolin Turner called out to me.
“Just call me Turner.”
I nodded at her stern words.
“Yes, Turner.”
“I didn’t ask you to drop the honorific.”
“Yes, Lady Turner.”
The situation was serious, but this noblewoman was strangely cute.
It’s like Ellen, really.
“Follow me. There’s something I need to check.”
Before sending me out of the palace, she seemed to have something to show me.
Was it because she had something to confirm with me that she escorted me instead of Dyrus?
She led me somewhere in the palace, perhaps the training ground.
The light was on, but there was no one there. She suddenly raised her sword.
“Take it.”
I felt a little frightened, but eventually, I took the sword handed to me.
“It’s nothing special. Let me see your skills a bit.”
“Suddenly?”
“I was curious about the future of the empire that my junior mentioned. We were at a party at the time, so I wanted to take the opportunity to check it out.”
The strongest person in the world wants to spar with me, and it seems certain that there is no ulterior motive. But the woman who handed me the sword was unarmed.
There were no other weapons in the training hall. Charlotte wouldn’t practice swordsmanship here.
“Ah, I see.”
When I stared at her, she seemed to realize it and looked at her bare hands.
“Don’t worry.”
-Vwoom
Mana began to condense in her bare hands, taking the form of a sword.
It is not even an Aura Blade that projects mana onto the sword and imbues it with mana.
She has reached the level of creating a sword with just mana.
A transcendent beyond even transcendents.
Saviolin Turner, a sword master who surpasses sword masters.
Wait, why is this noble so skilled?
“No, why can you summon something like that?”
“Don’t worry. I can control it. Right now, it’s at the level of a sturdy wooden sword.”
As if a child would know, she summoned an Aura Sword and pointed it at me.
“Ah, well, that’s a different story.”
“Do something.”
“Yes.”
Not knowing what else to do, I approached her with Turner’s sword raised.
Her shoulders shift with my movements, her steps changing even though I’m not touching her. She’s gauging the distance, reading my movements before I’ve even taken up a defensive stance, as if she knows how I’m going to attack.
Feeling like I’m going to be blocked the moment our swords meet, I step back slightly and gauge the distance again.
I had never been able to do this before.
However, it became possible after I gained “Qi sense.”
Of all the abilities I had received, Qi sense was the most deceptive.
Of course, the Hero’s Blood or Divine Spirit is also extraordinary, but the versatility of Qi sense lies in its universality.
I always feel like it’s activated. It doesn’t have a specific purpose in certain situations.
In this situation, I can see the opponent’s movements a little better. It’s not at the level of being read, but it’s more subtle.
By observing the opponent’s pre-movement in response to my actions, I can predict to some extent what kind of attack or defense will occur.
It’s not at the level of a supernatural power.
I just became able to see what Ellen could see through the assistance of my ability.
What she could do after training for a long time, I was able to emulate with the support of my abilities.
Whenever I adjust my posture and control the trajectory of my sword, she follows along.
Even though our swords haven’t clashed even once, it feels like we’ve already exchanged blows over five times.
It’s blocked if you go in head-on. So, I try other methods, then the opponent tries another method, and then I try again.
In such a repetitive cycle,the opponent’s shoulders, footsteps, and the direction they hold their sword.
Based on these subtle changes, I predict their attacks.
“….”
“…Not bad.”
She would have seen what I saw, but at a level far superior to mine. That’s why we were able to exchange blows in this unconventional way.
She tilts her head and looks at me.
For some reason…
This senior, unlike Ellen, seems readable. I often couldn’t tell what she was thinking at first, but this person is straightforward.
‘He’s not just a novice.’
‘I heard he’s only been using a sword for a year.’
‘Even if he was taught by a genius.’
‘Is this possible?’
‘What kind of talent is this?’
‘He’s also said to have enhanced his magic?’
‘They said he also has superpowers?’
‘What the hell.’
‘What a terrifying person.’
‘Should we invite him to Shanapell?’
‘I’m interested, but it would take him too long to graduate.’
She seemed to be having such thoughts.
What’s going on? Why do I feel like I’m becoming acclimated towards this person?
-Swish
“Okay. I guess I don’t need to see anymore.”
In the end, she dispelled her Aura Sword without exchanging blows with me even once. I politely returned her sword. She had a complicated look in her eyes while she looked at me, her mouth closed due to various thoughts.
I suddenly wished that Ellen would grow up like this.
“I don’t know if you are the future of the Empire, but I think Epinhauser was right about you.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“I’m just stating a fact.”
This person.
She resembles not only Ellen but also Epinhauser. Though their ages would suggest otherwise.
She looked at me with the sword sheathed.
“Follow me.”
Without saying a word, she left the training ground and went outside the Spring Palace.
It was a garden filled with flowers on a night like this. All the gardeners were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they had finished work.
-Rumble
“It looks like it’s going to rain.”
Suddenly, an ominous thunderclap rumbled in the gloomy sky.
How long has it been since the sun set? It had suddenly become cloudy like this.
She handed me an umbrella, but she didn’t use one herself.
“Don’t you need one?”
“Not really.”
She walked silently through the palace garden as if it didn’t matter that it might rain soon.
The garden was so vast that it took forever just to get out.
There was no sign of guards anywhere in the palace or the garden.
Perhaps Saviolin Turner’s presence alone replaced countless guards.
There were also quarters for guests and maids that Charlotte had shown me to, but I didn’t go in. It was clear that they were empty.
How long had we been walking?
-Tuduk
It’s raining.
I opened my umbrella, but she just let the rain hit her. She pushed me away when I tried to cover her.
She walked in the rain, silently. I could tell she was not in a good mood just by looking at her.
She and I walked through the rainy Spring Palace garden. The tram station was still far away.
Suddenly, she spoke.
“The princess said you are someone who can take her secrets to the grave.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. She also said you are someone who has helped her a lot, and a friend. So, she said it’s okay to tell you a little bit of her own secret.”
It seemed like those words were from a conversation between them.
Her own secret.
In the end.
It was the outcome I least wanted.
It was not Bertus or anything else. It was because of Charlotte’s own problems.
“So, this is a very unusual situation. You, a complete outsider, will only know the royal secret by the will of the princess. It’s not my decision to make. If this matter is revealed, not only your life but also mine will be in danger. So, from now on, only you should know what you are about to hear.”
With a sufficient warning, Saviolin Turner opened her mouth.
“Currently, the Spring Palace is prohibiting all outsiders from entering. Not only outsiders, but also most of the palace personnel, except for those who can be trusted, are forbidden entry.”
When Charlotte didn’t say anything herself, she meant for me to hear it from Saviolin Turner’s mouth.
Charlotte allowed me to know a part of her secret.
“So when Her Highness brought you, Lord Dyrus and I were perplexed. It’s not a situation where you can do that. Keep in mind that the story between me and Her Highness was circumstantial, not political. I have nothing to do with anything that comes from politics.”
“…Yes.”
Saviolin Turner.
She only holds the prestigious title of Commander of Shanapell, and has no relation to politics other than the power bestowed by the Emperor. Politics were something she eschewed.
“You are a supernatural ability user.”
“Yes.”
“Then you must know more about the dangers of supernatural abilities than ordinary people, right?”
“Yes.”
“Her Highness’s supernatural ability is one of those dangerous abilities. It’s the kind of power that is hard to control . That’s why it couldn’t be made public. Her Highness has been focusing on controlling her abilities until now.”
Charlotte’s supernatural ability.
I only predicted that it was an offensive ability and the type of power that should not be revealed.
“I can’t say it in detail. However, even the royal family and Her Highness are having difficulty controlling that ability. Therefore, Her Highness is finding it increasingly difficult to continue living as a student of Temple.”
“…Yes.”
Dangerous and uncontrollable supernatural ability users are eliminated.
Since Charlotte’s power is of that type, she could ultimately put other students at risk at Temple.
That’s why Charlotte can no longer attend Temple.
Charlotte will soon leave Temple.
It could be a month from now, or next week, or starting today.
If what Charlotte said is true, then Bertus is irrelevant.
In that case, the story of someone dying at the Spring Palace… Was it because Charlotte’s power went out of control and someone died?
Murder.
That’s why Charlotte is returning to the palace instead of the dormitory.
“Today was unusual in many ways. Don’t think it will be possible to visit the Spring Palace in the future.”
It’s not a dispute over imperial power, and Charlotte disappears from Temple due to failing to control her ability.
Before that.
What is Charlotte’s ability?
Why is Savoilin Turner here?
Why did my intuition send a warning today?
-Flash!
-Crackle!
A bolt of lightning and a flash of light, and within the confines of my mind, I see Saviolin Turner.
As I watched her while getting soaked in the rain, the raindrops running down her cheeks looked like tears.
“What happens if Charlotte completely loses control of her powers?”
I ask.
“There’s no point in telling you,” Saviolin Turner responds without looking at me.
Both her and my expressions were equally serious.
It seemed like she was preparing for something.
Preparing for something she didn’t want to prepare for.
Saviolin Turner.
Why is the strongest person in the world the only one guarding this palace?
Why is she alone?
It’s clear that aside from her, the only security force here is Dyrus.
“If Charlotte goes on a rampage, you’re here to do your duty, aren’t you?”
-Flash!
Saviolin Turner’s eyes widened in the midst of the burst of lightning.
My intuition sent me a strong warning today, and I still felt that danger signal.
That means…
Today was supposed to be the day that Charlotte dies.
By the hands of Saviolin Turner.
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