When My Enemies Began to Regret

“…”

“…”

What followed was the silence between the two. While Fanora caught her breath, the red-haired boy seemed to ponder.

“I…”

And a few seconds later. In his words, it seems like Carl had concluded about what to do.

“I’m a person who tries to be nice… but I’m not really a good person.”

“…”

“I also want the person who tries to bully me to die too. Actually, I can relate to Lady Fanora.”

It was a sentence that was difficult to understand right away from Fanora’s point of view, but his words were sincere. Carl Andras was not a good man. No one in this world was perfect.

“Before, I just talked without thinking. I didn’t mean it…”

“Besides, if you are already thinking of taking revenge, it must be because they’re guilty.”

“Therefore?”

“Um…” Carl smiled awkwardly, sweeping down the back of his neck with his hand. Every time he acted like this, he looked like an innocent boy, not a war hero. 

“I’ll help you. After all, I really need that holy relic.”

“…!”

“I know it’s not right, but I don’t have a choice.”

Finally, his consent fell. But before Fanora could be happy with this, shg=e had no choice but to be nervous at the next words he brought up.

“If Lady Fanora breaks the promise to give me the holy relic, then I will take revenge on you.”

A weapon with a standing blade was dangerous. Just because she had it in her hands, there was no way it wouldn’t cut her.

* * *

“Carl, I swear here that I will not defame you in the future.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s what I said. Actually, you don’t have to come forward yourself.”

After a while, Fanora briefly pointed out the parts to be corrected in their deal.

“If I don’t take revenge with my own hands, I can’t get rid of my resentment.”

Carl, who had been quietly listening, was smiling again as usual. “I don’t care if my reputation is tarnished. For Europa…”

“No. Maybe one day you will be the one to prove my innocence…”

It felt like bloody conversation was coming and going between the two. 

“The reason I came here today was to tell you about my future schedule. Carl, I have a favor to ask you. I can give you time to prepare.”

For Fanora, this was the main thing she had been longing for. “You’re a member of Andras’s family, and I assume you have killed enemies for many years. You have a lot of experience in sparring, and maybe you have a book passed down from your family that explains a person’s vital points.”

“That’s right.”

“I want to know how to kill people. However, there are no books with such dangerous contents on the market. So I want to learn from you how to take down people with ease.”

Fanora owned Io, so the struggle won’t be that big. However, just because she owned it and became strong enough didn’t mean that she had the skill for it. She should also consider the process. If she always solved the problem with force and the same method, she could be pushed from behind. In addition, as a result of dealing with Io, her body was easily damaged from its fatal flaw, so it was a problem in many ways.

In fact, the best assistant in this situation was the Assassination Guild, but… it wasn’t likely that they would sacrifice their lives only for a few bucks. Besides, evidence remained if she contacted them.

“Do you need any knowledge about poison too? Due to my family circumstances, there are many cases where I encounter poison, so I think I can tell you about that.”

“Good. I like it.”

But what was this situation? Carl quickly read what Fanora wanted. He was more obedient than expected. Through this, she confirmed once again how important the holy relic was to him.

“It will be difficult if you’re detained, so you should avoid the eyes of others as much as possible. Then I will have to create an excuse for us to meet in the future.”

After all, visiting Carl Andras was the best choice.  Even in this time period, he kept his promises very well, although his sense of ethics was vague.

So they started walking on the wide plains again and made serious plans in a peaceful atmosphere. How would he train Fabira in the future? What information could he get…

When they talked until her mouth felt dry, the time had passed, and when she noticed that it was lunchtime, Carl suggested that they walk back to the mansion. Fanora followed his words. 

Walking quietly, Fanora heard the grasshoppers sound from somewhere in the distance. she was subtly following the sound with her ears, then noticed the next words Carl was speaking to her.

“By the way… Lady Fanora.”

“…Ah, yes?”

He seemed to have something to say.

“You said you’d give me Europa when your 18th birthday comes, right?”

“…”

“But why is the deadline until then?”

When Carl spoke about Europe, Fanora stopped walking. “There’s one thing I need to apologize for.”

“Yes…? What…?”

“I lied a bit when I offered to make a deal. I couldn’t trust you at that time, so I couldn’t tell you the whole truth.”

Carl blinked his docile eyes at her words.

“First of all, I don’t have Europa in my hands right now.”

“Gasp!”

“B-But it’s true that I can give you Europa.”

Carl changed his expression from moment to moment as if he couldn’t hide his emotions despite being a noble. He was surprised at first, then turned into a face of relief.

“I know the person who has Europe. Include who they are and where they live.”

“…”

“And… when I turned 18, I decided to take over Europa from that person.”

The red-haired boy tilted his head at Fanora’s explanation. “How did that person decide to give you Europa? Why are you taking it on your 18th birthday?”

So far, he has kept his mouth shut and listened carefully, but suddenly he showed he was suspicious of her. It wasn’t like he believed she would give him Europa at their first meeting.

Fanora wondered if he had the ability to distinguish between truth and lies. 

It was because there was a small lie hidden in the sentence she brought up this time.

It was true that it took about three years to receive Europa. Still, it was not a matter that was previously agreed upon with the owner of Europe ‘in this life.’ The owner of Europa at this time might not even know about Fanora’s existence yet. Still, she was confident that the holy relic of eternal life would surely be in her grasp three years later.

“I cannot tell you why. However…” Fanora spoke more slowly, comparing for a moment the grown-up Carl Andras whom she had met a few years ago with the boy in front of her now.

“I promise. I’ll definitely give you Europa. I can prove right now that I have something to do with the holy relic.”

“Haha. You don’t have to do that.”

“Um, then… Anyway, if our contract is fulfilled before three years, I will tell you how to receive Europa.”

After discussing the holy relic and returning from the riding area, the sky was still dazzling indigo. The weather was so nice that Fanora thought her skin would have been ripe if she hadn’t worn a hat and long gloves.

“I guess we walk faster than I thought. We somehow got here before lunch.”

“…”

“Then, shall we eat something in the dining room? Today’s menu is probably the bear that I hunted a while ago. When made into a stew with spices, it will be delicious and make you feel full.”

Carl Andras was also wearing a shirt that wrapped his body tightly except for his head as if he knew the dangers of the summer sun.

“I didn’t come here to eat.”

She didn’t want to waste time doing something like that when she was already here. “I want to learn more about poison rather than do that.”

“Do you feel eating was a waste of time? If you don’t eat properly, you won’t gain muscle.”

Carl pointed at her skinny arms and said it would be difficult to harm a person with her current condition. He also tried to feed her meals, telling her to think about her health repeatedly.

“Putting aside muscle, starving is not good for your body. First of all, let’s go eat and then study, okay?”

Fanora suddenly felt annoyed. Irritated by stress, she showed signs of bursting at any time, even in trivial matters.

If she revealed that she was the owner of Io here, things would be easier. But no matter how heavy Carl’s mouth was, was it right to tell everything to him?

That idea suddenly crossed her mind, and Fanora swallowed her anger again. At the same time, shelooked into Carl’s eyes and said, “All right, I will eat light food.”

However, Carl has been paying attention to her actions and making remarks as if he had been digging deep inside here. “Lady Fanora always… looked uncomfortable. You look like an angry person.”

“!”

Fanora was silent. When she didn’t answer, Carl smiled awkwardly with an apologetic look. He made his way through the conversation as if she didn’t need to say anything. Then he got his servant to bring sandwiches.

“I want to train in the training ground from now on. Lady Fanora will be looking at me from the side. So, can you bring us something to eat outside?”

“I understand. I will prepare sandwiches and bring them there.”

Fanora, who watched Carl ask the servant in an un-noble manner, slightly adjusted her crooked hat. After a while, when the servant had already retreated into the mansion, she said, “Carl, thank you for your consideration of the meal. But what do you mean by training ground? What about the poison?”

“My brother has the key to the medicine room. But what will he think if I borrow the key and enter the room while Lady Fanora is visiting?”

“It’s going to look weird…”

“Instead, I will lend you the related books today. After all, my family hardly reads books, so even if the book I borrowed disappears, it won’t be noticeable.”

“Can you really say something like that about your family?”

Carl took the lead, whether she was dumbfounded or not.

“Now, I need to look at Lady’s basics under the pretext of Lady watching my training from the side. Do you have any weapons you can handle? I don’t think there is.”

“Why are you asking when you know there’s no…”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

The Marquis’s estate was so wide that there were not only one or two giant fences made of sharp iron. So it took quite a while for them to get to the training ground, and thanks to that, they were able to chat quite a bit along the way.

“Carl, can you recommend a good weapon for me to handle?”

“What I recommend is… Ah, we’re almost there! This is the training ground.”

Carl was talking, but he ran away there when he saw the training ground. Without hesitation, Fanora grabbed the hem of her skirt and ran with him. In the first place, she was not a very polite young lady either.