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Chapter 49.2: The Black Lions (2)
Eugene continued to observe the following two people who emerged from the carriage after the spearman, ‘That man’s a wizard….’
Though the Lionheart clan had made a name for itself as a martial clan, it still had a few wizards. Since they were coming here to check on both Wynnyd’s loan and Eward’s issue, it was only natural for them to have included a wizard in their group.
‘And behind him…. Oh, my.’
The last to emerge from the carriage was a woman with her dress uniform’s black jacket draped over her shoulders. Seeing as how she was the only one whose dress uniform was unbuttoned and draped over her shoulders while the others were wearing their dress uniforms all neatly buttoned up, it appeared as though she had the highest rank among them.
‘She’s strong.’
But what Eugene noticed before all that was the woman’s hands. Although they were covered up by leather gloves, due to the long period of time that had been spent training them as weapons, it was possible to estimate the strength of the woman’s hands through their outlines alone.
‘So she doesn’t use a sword or a spear. She’s a fist-fighter.’
“Has it been twenty years?” the woman spoke up as she looked straight at Lovellian with a cheerful smile.
“To be more precise, it’s been twenty-three years,” Lovellian corrected her.
“Has that much time really gone by already? Ah, I’ve heard the news. You’re the current Red Tower Master, right?”
“When we last met, I had already told you I would soon become the next Red Tower Master.”
“Did you really? Since so much time has passed, I can’t clearly recall it. And I probably wasn’t all that interested in the first place,” having said this, the woman turned to look at Eugene. “So you’re Eugene Lionheart.”
“Yes, ma’am,” for now, Eugene decided to just bow his head.
“...My name is… Carmen Lionheart. By all accounts, you could consider me your great-aunt, but don’t call me that, got it?”
“...Um, yes?” Eugene hesitantly responded after a few moments of trying to comprehend Carmen’s words.
Did she say that she was his great-aunt? But that would mean that this woman was Gilead’s aunt….
‘Appearance really isn’t everything,’ Eugene sighed to himself.
Among those here, Melkith alone was over sixty years old, and Lovellian was the closest to her age. But even so, these two were able to maintain unbelievably youthful looks at their respective ages, so it was no surprise for Carmen to look so young.
However, aside from her youthful appearance, it was her seniority that caused Eugene to feel so surprised that someone like her had come all the way here.
“The wind is picking up, so why don’t we head inside and talk,” Lovellian said with a grin.
They started making their way to the drawing-room located on the top floor of the Red Tower of Magic. On the way there, Eugene was able to pick up a bit more about the members of the Knights of the Black Lion who had made their way here today.
~
Carmen Lionheart, like Gion, was the younger sibling of a previous generation’s Patriarch, and again, like Gion, she hadn’t gotten married. After staying at the main estate for quite some time, she transferred to the Knights of the Black Lion. Currently, she was the captain of the Third Division of the Knights of the Black Lion.
Naishon Lionheart was the man who patted Gion on the shoulder. He was one of the commanders in the Third Division led by Carmen, and instead of the direct line, he came from one of the collateral lines.
Falgo Lionheart was the wizard. He likewise belonged to the Third Division. He was from a magic-focused branch, which was rare even among the collateral lines, and today he was the one in charge of formalizing the deal with Melkith.
~
“Although we’ve already negotiated the contents of this deal, allow me to confirm them once more,” Falgo said as he laid his staff on top of the table. “This deal involves the Storm Sword Wynnyd, which belongs to the Lionheart’s main family, and the Cloak of Darkness, which belongs to the White Tower Master. For every day that Wynnyd is borrowed, the Cloak of Darkness will be loaned out for one year…. Although the condition has been laid out like this, a day isn’t exactly the best unit to measure this by, don’t you think?”
“So, what do you propose?” Melkith asked grudgingly.
Falgo offered, “A fortnight for an hour. A month for two hours. A year for twenty-four hours. How does that sound?”
Melkith sarcastically replied, “What about the minutes?”
“Although that’s possible, I’m afraid it might be a bit cumbersome to do so,” Falgo politely admitted.
“So if I borrow it for ten minutes, you’ll still get to play with my Cloak of Darkness for an hour,” Melkith snorted in exasperation.
Right away, it was obvious that such a condition wasn’t favorable to her.
“Please understand our position,” Falgo requested. “The Storm Sword Wynnyd is a sword that was personally used by our ancestor, and it’s one of a handful of the rarest treasures in the Lionheart clan’s possession.”
“Is that the only condition you’re insisting on?” Melkith finally asked.
“Yes, we’ve already prepared a contract,” Falgo said with a sly smile as he pulled out a contract from his pocket.
The contract then needed to be checked over, not just by Melkith but by Eugene as well.
What was emphasized in bolded characters was that Melkith was not allowed to risk destroying Wynnyd.
“...If that occurs, you must pay the corresponding price. Isn’t that rather vague wording?” Melkith complained.
Falgo explained, “We just hope to show our desire for there to be no incidents.”
“Well then, just in case, I would like to hear what would happen if I did destroy Wynnyd?” Melkith insisted on asking.
“Then you would have to pay for it with your life.”
The one who replied to Melkith’s question was Carmen. Instead of sitting in the seat offered to her, Carmen was sitting on the window sill as she looked out the window. It was impossible to associate that crooked and rakish appearance with someone who should, by all rights, be Gilead’s elderly aunt.
Carmen continued, “The Storm Sword Wynnyd is a treasure of priceless value. If you really want to borrow it, then, of course, you should be prepared to risk your life.”
“Even though my life also has incalculable value?” Melkith asked challengingly.
“Although that might be the case for Aroth, that doesn’t apply to the Lionheart clan,” Carmen said in a cold voice as she pulled out a rolled-up cigar.
After looking at Carmen, staring out the window as she chewed on a cigar, Eugene shook his head.
‘Even though she isn’t a teenager anymore.’
Looking at this pretentious rascal, Eugene was reminded of Cyan from a few years ago. His twin, Ciel, had only started showing symptoms of going through puberty this year, but Cyan had begun showing the signs of going through puberty two years ago when he was fifteen. Cyan had started to enjoy wearing the black clothes that he had somehow gotten his hands on, and when he had tried to get into alcohol and cigarettes by stealing them from the footmen, he had been harshly scolded by Ancilla.
“And what will you do if I say that I won’t pay with my life?” Melkith challenged her.
“Now, now, there’s really no need to offer up your life,” Falgo intervened while trying to maintain a wavering smile. “I have faith in the White Tower Master. I also have respect for you as a fellow wizard. I don’t truly believe that the White Tower Master will make such a clumsy mistake of destroying the catalyst while trying to make a contract with the spirit.”
“...Hmph,” Melkith snorted, still displeased.
Fargo tried to smooth things over, “In any case… should Wynnyd be destroyed, we will discuss the matter again at that time.”
Melkith remained unmoved, “But what you’re saying is that it will still be up to the Lionheart clan to decide first, right?”
“If you don’t like it, then give up on borrowing Wynnyd,” Carmen said as she continued to look out the window while chewing on her cigar. Despite having had it in her mouth for a while, she had yet to light it. “The truth is, no one on the Lionheart side is desperate to make this deal. If the Patriarch hadn’t personally requested it, I wouldn’t even have come here.”
“Hmph, if someone heard you say that, they’d think you came all the way here because of me,” Melkith implied slyly.
“Of course, I’ve come here for the truly important issue, not this trivial matter,” mumbling this, Carmen took out a pocket watch from her vest.
To think she was carrying a pocket watch… Eugene held back the laughter that unconsciously threatened to burst out. It was the first time he had seen someone carrying such an uncomfortable and heavy watch in their vest pocket.
“If you’re going to go around carrying a pocket watch, why are you also wearing a wristwatch?” Unlike Eugene, who was holding back his urge to make a retort, Melkith questioned Carmen without any hesitation. “Also, why do you keep chewing on a cigar you haven’t even lit?”
“...I’ve made an appointment to visit the Black Tower of Magic in an hour from now,” Carmen said, refusing to respond to Melkith’s retorts…. “I need to have a conversation with Balzac Ludbeth about the incident with Eward. And after that, I will be accompanying him to Aroth’s prison.”
“Why go to the prison?” Melkith asked.
“To interrogate the cheeky black wizard who dared to teach black magic to the eldest son of the Lionheart clan.”
These words were the complete opposite of Gilead’s previous response. Gilead had said that he would allow Aroth’s laws to hold precedence in judging Gavid’s case.
“...That seems to be a bit different from what Gilead had decided,” even Lovellian couldn’t allow such behavior to go unchallenged after hearing these words.
He was a longtime friend of Gilead, and his sympathies laid with the Lionheart Clan. But even so, Lovellian was Aroth’s Red Tower Master. He couldn’t simply overlook it when a powerful clan from a foreign country talked about ignoring Aroth’s laws.
“Although the Patriarch may have made his decision, the Council has reached a different decision. The name of the Lionheart clan was dirtied due to the previous incident. The person who caused such filth to tarnish our name needs to be held accountable,” Carmen stated with a smirk as she stared at Lovellian. “I have already obtained permission from Aroth’s royal family and parliament. Rather than tearing at each other's faces over this issue, wouldn’t it be a lot cleaner to allow us to interrogate and punish him?”
“Of course, it isn’t clean,” Lovellian still objected.
“It seems like you misunderstand something. The Council has no intention of relying on the Lionheart name to push this matter. Since the Lionheart’s eldest son was involved in this incident, we’ve already agreed to show enough sincerity to Aroth. Besides, the price of that sinner’s life is worth nothing.”
Since Carmen had said all that, Lovellian could no longer raise any objections. Magic research required a lot of money. For this reason, substantial tourist fees were set for all of the tourist attractions in the capital city of Pentagon.
On top of that, rather than making money by revealing and utilizing the magic they had studied, most wizards were the type to hole up and devote themselves to research. He didn’t know how much money the Lionheart clan must have paid for the right to interrogate and punish the criminal, but… the Council must have paid a large enough bribe that no one had sought to refuse.
“As such, what are you going to do?” Carmen prompted. “Are you going to take the deal? I don’t have much time, so answer quickly.”
“I’ll take it,” Melkith replied with a frown, even as she thought, ‘So they want to go by hours instead of days? That works out better for me since three hours should already be enough.’
Thanks to this condition, no matter how long it might feel, she would be able to get her Cloak of Darkness back within two months.
As Melkith signed the contract, she held back the urge to burst into laughter.