Book 12: Prologue
Vol. 12: Prologue
[TL/N: Edward-kun is here!!]
"Yadaaaa!*" [TL/N: Means "No" basically.]
Black hair like his father's. Blue eyes inherited from his mother.
Edward Sera Banfield, a boy with short hair, swings a wooden sword at his opponent.
The opponent is a female knight with long shiny red hair in a ponytail.
She is a cool beauty with squinted eyes.
She was dressed in a red knight's outfit and had a white cloak draped over her shoulders.
The white cloak was embroidered with the number three.
Her knight's suit and cloak, decorated with gold and silver without being too flashy, indicate that she is a high-ranking knight.
In her hand is a toy sword.
The blade is made of a soft, spongy material, but even if it is a toy, it is a weapon that can kill a person if held by Ellen Sera Tyller, who holds a full license in the School of One-Flash.
"You're not so quick on the uptake."
When she flicked away Ed's wooden sword, she grazed the back of his left hand.
Ed's left hand turns red and slowly bleeds.
Ed held his left hand with his right hand and fell to his knees on the spot with tears in his eyes.
"It hurts, Ellen."
As the heir to the Duke of Banfield's family, Ellen is a vassal to Ed.
He calls Ellen by her name, but she blames him for his words and actions.
"I will not allow you to call out to your master. Ed, you may be the son of a master, the head of the Banfield family, but to me you are a disciple of the One-Flash. When you call me, call me master."
Ed looks up with teary eyes and glares at Ellen.
"You used to allow me to call you by your name before."
"Now that we are officially master and disciple, I will not tolerate any laxity."
Ed turned his face away from Ellen, who did not change her stern attitude.
Ed was seven years old. [TL/N: Kids grows up too fast *cries*.]
He experienced the educational capsule once and spent six months in the capsule since he was five years old. After going outside, he spent another six months in rehabilitation.
Then, as he began his daily life, his swordsmanship master, who had been kind to him before he entered the capsule, became stern.
Ed puffed out his cheeks.
"I liked it better before."
Ellen narrows her eyes at Ed, who says he doesn't want to be strict.
"I will train you harder from now on."
Ed, annoyed at the knight's disobedience, stands up, clasps his hands, and raises his voice.
"I'll ask my father and mother to scold you Ellen!"
Ed's father is Liam.
His mother is Rosetta.
They are the Duke and Duchess of Banfield, one or two of the greatest nobles in the Algrand Empire.
In addition to the doctors and nurses who were waiting around, and the magic users and knights - other than the maids and knights who were watching over Ed, there were also children of the same age.
They were children, but they were future vassals being raised alongside Ed.
They were assigned to Ed's side for the purpose of emotional education.
They come from various backgrounds, including aristocrats, Banfield family members, and even Kukri's subordinates dispatched from the dark side.
The fact that they were sent from the dark side is kept secret, but Ellen seems to be aware of it.
They are momentarily dismayed when Liam and Rosetta's names are mentioned.
Ellen, however, does not lose her attitude.
"Young Master--did you think that mentioning the names of the master and mistress would make me change my mind? Change your soft thoughts immediately."
Ed despairs when he sees that Ellen does not change her mind even after he mentions his father and mother's names.
Ellen smiled at Ed, but only her eyes did not smile.
It looked like a terrible, scary smile to Ed.
Ellen says gently and with a strong will that she will correct him and never allow him to be spoiled.
"Pick up your wooden sword and hold it at the ready."
I [Liam Sera Banfield] was looking down on the courtyard of the mansion from my office window.
There, Ellen is teaching Ed the One-Flash.
For a young child, he was seeing the harsh training.
To be precise, the window is just a reflection of the training.
If I open the window, I would not see Ellen or Ed there.
-however, I am curious about the training.
"More strict--no, but a little too strict. Or not."
I am ashamed of myself for worrying about One-Flash training, although I leave it to Ellen.
It seems that it was not a mistake to leave Ed in Ellen's hands.
While I was looking out the window, people were coming in outside the office.
The knight guarding the office asks me for permission to enter.
"Master Liam, the butler, has brought Lady Serena."
"Let them through."
As I say this, the door to the office opens and two people enter.
One of them is Brian, dressed in his usual tails, but Serena's is in plain clothes.
I sit back in my chair and Serena does a great courtesy. It's a greeting of bending the knees while pulling one leg back and straightening the spine.
"Thank you for all you have done for me."
The reason Serena came to visit me was because she was leaving the Banfield family.
"Thanks to you, I now have a house with the prestige that matches my status. I am grateful to you."
I said with a smile, and Serena gave a fake smile.
"Liam-sama's foul mouth was the only thing that didn't get fixed by the end."
"I'm not going to fix it."
As I was making light talk, Brian looked at Serena forlornly.
"I wanted Serena to stay in the mansion, though."
"I have a family of my own, you know. Besides, I've done my part."
I wanted her to stay, too, but I didn't want her to leave.
I also wanted her to stay, but it would be tactless to keep her.
"I'll have Tia send you to the capital city."
"It pains me to ask you to go that far."
I laughed with a bad look on my face at Serena who refrained from doing so.
"Tell the Prime Minister I send my regards."
There I saw Serena's eyes flicker for a moment.
Brian, whether he's aware of our conversation or just doesn't think anything of it, gets off the subject.
'"Liam-sama, you have dark circles."
"--Noisy."
"After all, the battle with the High Kingdoms is raging--"
"Brian, shut up."
"Yes, sir."
Several years have passed since the war with the High Kingdom ended, and it has left a deep scar on my heart.
Thanks to that, I have been having nightmares.
I could have been cured, but for some reason I refused to do so because I felt like I had lost to the High King.
There was no way I was losing to the High King!
As I was complaining, Brian's cheeks relaxed when he saw Ed's reflection in the window.
--Oh, no...I forgot to turn it off.
"Were you worried about the young master? You told me to raise him strictly with my mouth, but you were concerned about him too, weren't you, Liam-sama?"
My butler doesn't read the atmosphere of the place, what should I do?
"I don't care, just send Serena off to the spaceport."
He gestures away with his hand, and Brian and Serena leave the office.
As the door closes, Kukri, who has been in the room for some time, advises me.
"Is everything all right? Serena is a spy sent by the Prime Minister."
Kukri already knew that Serena had passed on information about the Banfield family to the Prime Minister.
But I had decided not to discuss anything about punishment.
"Serena was useful. Send her safely back to the capital planet. --You should also keep an eye on her so that no one will be foolish enough to misunderstand my orders."
Kukri nodded his head as I reminded him not to do anything stupid.
"Ha!"
After saying that, Kukri disappears as he sinks to the floor, I quickly get up and approach the window.
I look and see Ellen blowing Ed away with a toy sword.
"That's too much! No, no, didn't I do this much too?"
As I was wondering to myself, it seemed that the training was over.
As Ed collapsed on the patio grass, doctors and nurses rushed to him and began treating him.
As I watched, I recalled how Amagi and Brian had treated my injuries when I was a child.
I remembered that I am who I am today because I met and trained with One-Flash at a very young age.
"Would I be better off letting Ellen and Klaus take care of my child rather than me, a villain, raising a child?"
If I were to raise a child today, it would surely have a negative impact.
I don't know how Ed will grow up, but he will be unhappy to have a villain like me as a father.
I touch the windowpane.
A small window appeared on the monitor screen.
The person projected in the window is Amagi.
"Master, what can I do for you?"
Amagi appeared, as usual, but I didn't care and told her what I wanted to talk about.
"Ellen and Ed's training is over. Ellen must be tired, so get her some tea and snacks. --Oh, right, that's right. There are children here, so I'd better prepare something sweet for them."
I told her to be mindful of Ellen and to prepare sweets for the children as well.
Amagi smiled slightly.
"Yes, sir. So I will prepare sweets for Ellen-sama and Edward-sama?"
"--Yes."
"I will arrange it immediately."
When the communication is over, I cover my face with my right hand, even though no one sees me.
"This should be good--maybe."
I should have been able to maintain my dignity as a villainous lord.
Probably.
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