Chapter 17 - A Scoundrel Just Acted Like a Scoundrel (1)
The talent of an ancestor who had slaughtered even the mighty Giant King with a single sword, that was the legacy Adelia Bayern had inherited.
□ Adelia Bayern [Female, 17], [Maid]
□ Aptitude. [Swordsmanship-S], [Mana Sensitivity-A]
□ Traits. [Butcher], [Warmonger], [Faint-hearted], [Devoted Care], [Servile Nature]
If A-rank was a genius that encompassed a single kingdom, then S-rank was a genius that encompassed the entire continent. She possessed an S-rank potential that surpassed A-rank.
But there was a problem.
"What's with the state of her traits?"
The words filling the trait section were seriously strange.
Going crazy at the sight of blood [Butcher],
A crazy bitch who goes wild for battle [Warmonger],
Having a tender heart [Faint-hearted],
Specializing in taking care of others [Devoted Care],
Being dependent and passive [Servile Nature].
This mismatched combination of phrases were the words that defined Adelia Bayern.
"Your Highness?"
Looking at her gazing at me with deer-like eyes, my confusion worsened even further.
Complete and utter chaos.
That was exactly how I felt right now.
What on earth was this terrible hybrid?
I felt conflicted.
The potential Adelia Bayern possessed was undoubtedly an incredible thing that was hard to come by. But at the same time, it was also like a taboo that should not be opened.
[Butcher] and [Warmonger] were the problems.
A woman with unrivaled potential is a crazy bitch obsessed with blood and battle. That could truly become a terrible disaster.
The descendant of the Bayern family had inherited her ancestor's talent for the sword and that madness, but she had not inherited the reason to control it. She lacked the [Cool-headed Commander] and [Cold Reason] traits that the Sword Marquis possessed.
That meant she did not possess any means whatsoever to control the madness inside her on her own.
"Your Highness?"
At my gaze, Adelia Bayern shrank her shoulders. It was the face and gesture of a terrified herbivore. The madness existing within her had not yet awakened.
Was it alright for me to unleash that madness upon the world?
I agonized over it. But the answer had been decided from the very beginning.
"Adelia Bayern. Swear loyalty to me."
The S-rank talent she possessed was a temptation I could never refuse.
"Y-Your Highness? What are you suddenly..."
"I am telling you to become my knight."
I intentionally commanded her forcefully.
In this moment, the only things I could trust were her [Faint-hearted] and [Servile Nature] traits.
If she could not control the madness on her own, I intended to seize the reins of that madness myself.
"Y-Your Highness. I am nothing but a lowly maid employed by the Ministry of the Royal Household."
She prostrated on the floor with a nervous face.
"Swear it right here, right now."
"Your Highness. I cannot handle it."
"You said it was an insignificant family, right? You must have entered the royal palace to provide for your family. I will take responsibility for your family."
Her shoulders gave a flinch. I could not see her face, but I could feel it. She was feeling conflicted.
"Your Highness. What is it that you want from me?"
"Swear loyalty to me, and serve me as your master. That is what I want from you."
After a few more coerced demands, Adelia Bayern opened her mouth.
"Your Highness."
Slowly raising her head, she hesitated before asking.
"Will you truly take responsibility for our family?"
"Of course I will. If you want, I can summon them to The Capital and arrange for you to see them whenever you wish."
At my answer, she bowed her head once more.
"The eldest daughter of the Bayern family, Adelia, swears loyalty to His Highness Prince Adrian Leonberk. I will serve you as my master and devote myself to you for the rest of my life."
Words of oath just as crude as the vow Arwen Kirgayen had made, she prostrated on the floor and displayed her submission with her entire body.
It was a relief.
S-rank potential was like a flower bud that would bloom with just a slight touch.
Even if it weren't me, her talent was bound to stick out like an awl in a pocket someday, and that sharp tip could perhaps have been aimed at me.
It was the karma that the original owner of this body had piled up.
'That scoundrel bastard. He should have picked his targets carefully when picking fights.'
Looking at the scars carved into her fine skin, I felt a needless chill run down my spine.
"From now on, you are to obey my commands unconditionally."
I emphasized it over and over. I had to imprint on her [Servile Nature] exactly who it needed to follow.
"I shall do so."
Adelia Bayern respectfully bowed her head and studied my expression. She had a look that said she had something she wanted to say.
"Call for all your family members. I will prepare a separate place for them to stay."
"Thank you. Your Highness. Thank you so much."
It seemed I had hit the mark, as she expressed her gratitude over and over with a face that looked ready to shed tears.
"Are there many people to call?"
"My parents passed away five years ago, and I have one younger brother below me. Right now, my aunt is taking care of him."
At the mention of a younger brother, my eyes widened.
Just as she had inherited the blood of the Sword Marquis, her younger brother had inherited that blood as well. Perhaps the younger brother might also have a special talent.
"Unlike me, he is a very bright child."
When I asked about her younger brother, she spoke with quite a proud face. I ordered her to bring her family into the palace the moment they arrived in The Capital.
* * *
I stated my business to the Palace Count, who came running after receiving my summons.
"Your Highness. It seems my ears are failing me and I did not hear correctly. I apologize, but could you say it once more?"
"Adelia Bayern is no longer affiliated with the Ministry of the Royal Household; she is directly under me."
"She has been Your Highness the Prince's direct maid from the very beginning."
At the Palace Count's words, I wagged a single finger side to side.
"I'm not talking about that kind of employment relationship. I mean she is my person now."
The Palace Count still looked like he couldn't understand what I was saying.
"Are my words that difficult? I'm telling you to remove her from the Ministry of the Royal Household."
Wrinkles formed on the old Palace Count's forehead. It was a face that completely failed to comprehend my meaning.
"Have you perhaps taken a liking to her?"
"Nope."
Because I wasn't crazy enough to view a woman with the [Butcher] and [Warmonger] traits romantically.
"Hmm."
The Palace Count stared at me intently. As expected, he didn't seem to believe me. The Palace Count's gaze looked at me as if I were the greatest lecher in the world.
'Ah, seriously. I need to flip everything upside down one of these days.'
I furrowed my brow and was about to say something, but the Palace Count opened his mouth faster than I could.
"Ahem. Then I shall send someone else to fill her vacancy."
He was one quick-witted old man.
"Your Highness. Forgive my presumption, but may I ask how you plan to handle her position moving forward?"
Since his job was to leave records of palace affairs no matter how small they were, I replied bluntly to the Palace Count's words.
"I am going to make her my personal knight."
The Palace Count blinked blankly before his face twisted in sheer shock. It was a face that seemed to say he was hearing the most bizarre nonsense.
"And I plan to bring her family to The Capital, so talk with her and secure a suitable house."
She really is a concubine! The Palace Count's face was practically saying that.
"Get out!"
I shouted furiously and chased the annoying old man out.
Not long after sending the Palace Count away like that, the King's messenger came to find me. It was a summons from the King.
"I am on the verge of a headache cleaning up the mess you made, yet here you are fooling around with wenches."
As soon as he saw my face, the King abruptly poured out sharp words.
"First you take in the daughter of the Kirgayen family as a knight, and now you plan to make a maid into a knight? Have you developed a new hobby in the meantime?"
The King clicked his tongue, asking if I had developed a hobby of lusting after women wearing armor and carrying swords.
'The Palace Count, that loud-mouthed old man. He ran over and tattled right away.'
Recalling the Palace Count's face, I hurled curses at him in my head. Even while doing so, the words of reprimand continued.
"You should be ashamed."
Instead of explaining the situation, I kept my mouth shut. He wouldn't believe me even if I told him anyway.
"Tsk."
It was only after quite a long time had passed that the King's nagging finally ended.
"You must ensure that the palace does not become disturbed because of you again."
With a warning-filled word serving as a farewell, the King kicked me out.
"Ah, this is so annoying."
I was already in a bad mood from the King's nagging, but even my uncle came by and rubbed me the wrong way.
"Have you given up on the match?"
"That won't happen, so don't say pointless things."
When I spoke irritably, my uncle clicked his tongue once and turned away briskly.
"I see you've caused quite a proper mess?"
"Why are you here too?"
After my uncle left, the Third Prince came to visit.
"You're making a maid into a knight? Pfft. That's truly fitting of you, Brother."
"Please just leave."
Fortunately, that Third Prince bastard didn't stay long.
"I'll look forward to seeing just how great of a knight will be born."
After chattering a few words, he left, telling me to do well.
"The Queen has..."
"Ah, come on!"
I had just laid down thinking I could finally rest, but this time the Queen came to visit.
"Just when it seemed you had finally turned over a new leaf, you have gone back to your old ways again."
Asking why on earth I hung out with such degenerates, saying that's why such an incident occurred, and asking if I knew how greatly His Majesty was worried because of me, her nagging continued endlessly.
Of course, I didn't even pretend to listen to those words.
"This won't do. You are acting like this all because you are not settled down. You are acting this way because there is no one to support you from within."
What kind of nonsense was this now. As I furrowed my brow, the Queen spoke.
"It is already quite late. You should have done this a long time ago, but because you were greedy and missed the marriageable age, you are wandering astray like this."
I wondered what she was talking about, but it seemed it was about marriage.
"I have no inten..."
"Have at least a minimal sense of awareness as a prince. Moreover, are you not the eldest son?"
The normally gentle Queen was nowhere to be found. The Queen spoke with a rare, firm attitude.
"All the other princes have their own spouses, but you are the only one who doesn't, are you not?"
Hearing those words, it did feel strange.
The scoundrel's age was sixteen, an age where royalty should have taken a wife a long time ago.
"Trust your mother. This time, the same thing as last time will not happen."
Listening to her words, it seemed there was some backstory. I was curious, but asking needlessly would only drag the conversation out, so I firmly suppressed my curiosity.
And it was only after the Queen left that I called Adelia and asked.
"Well, that is..."
With an extremely troubled face, she hesitated for a long while before opening her mouth.
"Whenever a matchmaker was sent, coincidentally, those specific families always suffered some misfortune..."
"Misfortune?"
"Such as someone in the household suddenly falling ill and needing nursing, or the prospective bride herself suddenly suffering a decline in health. Or..."
'I got rejected. I got totally dumped.'
Just how pathetic must he have been for a prince—and the First Prince closest to the right of succession at that—to not even be able to find his own partner?
I could neither laugh nor cry.
Because that pathetic loser was now me.
The scoundrel bastard sure took a lot of shits for me to clean up. Now I even had to bear the stigma of getting dumped by women, which was just absurd.
"Heh."
Feeling despondent and dumbfounded, I could only let out a hollow laugh.
But that was only for a moment. My face quickly stiffened.
The breed known as nobles were sensitive to the flow of power. And those nobles desperately avoided getting tied to the scoundrel.
The meaning behind all of that was self-evident.
'This bastard was completely washed up.'
I recalled the face of the King, who hadn't even treated me like a human being, let alone shown any familial affection.
"Well, it doesn't matter to me."
I happened to occupy this body, but I truly had no intention of acting like a prince. I didn't care who the throne was passed down to, either.
"But why isn't that Eli bastard coming?"
That Eli bastard who seemed like he would come soon was completely silent, and only uninvited guests kept visiting, making it a truly annoying day.
"Shall I send a message?"
"Yeah. Tell him it won't be fun if he's late."
I watched Adelia writing the letter before casually walking over and snatching it away.
"Now that I think about it, you're not a maid anymore."
I forcefully sat her down in her seat.
"Your Highness?"
"You can learn Swordsmanship gradually, but let's learn something else first."
At my words, she asked with a slightly expectant face.
"By any chance... will I also develop this thing called mana?"
It seemed she had picked up bits and pieces of information from somewhere.
"Yeah. You will."
'And a very special mana, at that.'
"Then shall we begin?"
The world had completely forgotten the Sword Marquis. But not me.
The footprints she had stepped on and left behind,
The sword that danced at her fingertips,
And even the grand, rhythmic beating of her heart.
I remembered all of it.
