Chapter 27
Curio was excellent physically, but he also belonged to the category of those with strong willpower.
For her, harsh training was a part of daily life.
She had shed blood and sweat competing in places where one could not survive with average willpower.
It was not without reason that she had achieved so much from such a young age.
“……”
Yet, before Villed, she completely crumbled.
‘From the beginning.’
With just those words, Curio’s mind went completely blank.
Her body felt as stiff as a hardened tree.
She could not even tell if she was breathing.
‘He knew from the beginning……?’
There were three reasons why Curio was in such extreme confusion.
First, the despair of failing her mission for the very first time.
Second, the unease of having her stealth discovered for the very first time.
Third, the fear of Villed, who had utterly shattered the self she believed had grown.
‘Dangerous.’
Villed, this man was truly dangerous.
Curio had thought so from the moment he appeared out of the shade.
It was not even that hot a day. Yet, from his gaze alone, her whole body was drenched in sweat.
‘Not even a high-ranking mage, just a mere student, how could…….’
She did not sense strong mana from Villed. He did not particularly stand out either.
That was precisely what made it so terrifying.
‘This man is hiding something.’
His attribute, his mana, his skill?
No, it was not something of that level.
Something beyond that.
‘A monster.’
Villed was thoroughly hiding the monster that was his ‘true self.’
A monster shrouded in the unknown, one that Curio could never possibly grasp.
Curio had been a spy who monitored many nobles and important figures.
Even outstanding knights or mages from neighboring countries had never noticed Curio’s presence.
‘When monitoring, there were always many who muttered to themselves.’
Villed too muttered like any of the others.
But the difference was that he turned his cold gaze toward Curio and met her eyes.
From that moment, she realized those words were not mutters to himself, but words directed at her.
It felt as though she had been struck on the head with a giant hammer.
She had not felt such emotions since she was taken in by the Princess.
‘Since the Princess ordered me to watch him, I did think he might be unusual.’
As expected, the Princess’s eyes were correct.
However, the fact that she could not carry out the order given by the Princess due to her own limitations—
That turned into disappointment in herself.
‘That he knew of my presence from the very beginning.’
She remembered when Villed suddenly started digging a pond.
That action was surely to act as though he were ordinary.
‘I was completely deceived.’
From the very first day of her mission, until now.
She had been in the palm of Villed’s hand.
---
‘No, isn’t she overreacting just because I noticed her stealth?’
Honestly, I’m the one who feels baffled.
Curio was standing stiffly upright, her face pale white, sweat streaming down her body.
‘That reaction is way too much.’
I did intend to scold her a little, but seeing that response, the thought vanished.
‘She doesn’t even look like she wants to speak anymore.’
I had no idea what Curio was thinking, but—
In that mental state, it seemed impossible to have a proper conversation with her.
‘Well, whatever the case, I should at least make sure she can’t keep spying on me.’
Being free from surveillance was the most important part after all.
I slowly approached Curio.
“What’s so curious about a person who just wants to live quietly, that you have to keep watching him like that?”
“……”
Curio avoided my gaze, so I answered with a faint smile.
“Now stop this useless business. Give my regards to Her Highness the Princess.”
As expected.
At those words, Curio changed.
“……!”
She looked as if she were about to answer, but closed her mouth tightly again.
“……”
She opened her mouth once more, but again could not give any reply.
‘Yeah, in such a messy situation, she’ll only get more troubled.’
This was what one would call being stuck in a dilemma.
If she answered how I knew, she would be admitting that the Princess had given the order.
‘But she can’t just stay silent either.’
Excessive silence would become an affirmation.
That left her with only one option.
To wriggle out of the situation with a shameless lie, as sly as a snake climbing a wall.
But Curio could not do that.
‘Luck or not, everything has already been exposed.’
Her vaunted stealth.
The Princess’s personal order.
All of it had already been revealed.
She couldn’t even imagine that a lie would work on me.
‘A perfect checkmate.’
With all options cut off, Curio became nothing more than a broken machine.
---
Four days had passed since she gave Curio the order.
Princess Arlhardt was on the terrace, gazing out at the barley fields.
From the shade of a willow tree, a human form emerged.
She had been eagerly awaiting Curio’s appearance.
“Well, what have you gained today, Curio?”
Villed’s daily life, or perhaps something he was hiding.
Curio should have extracted everything thoroughly. With that information, the Princess intended to organize her understanding of Villed.
But what Curio said was beyond the Princess’s expectations.
“……I am sorry.”
When she first heard those words, she never once imagined Curio would fail a mission.
Curio reported what had happened today.
That Villed had called out to her.
That he had noticed the surveillance from the very first day, and even went as far as to ask her to send his regards to the Princess.
“So that’s what happened.”
The Princess replied in a calm tone.
But inside, her mind was in turmoil.
She had never imagined Curio would fail in her mission.
‘It is shocking enough that he noticed Curio’s surveillance, but how did he even know of my order?’
For some reason, Villed seemed to have seen through everything.
It was understandable that Curio bore such a disheartened expression.
‘Curio’s stealth is not something that can be noticed so easily.’
Villed had picked up on it so lightly.
But Curio was by no means someone to be underestimated.
The Royal Guard was a post permitted only to the finest soldiers.
Curio had seized that position in just four years, carrying out every mission flawlessly without a single failure, the most elite among soldiers.
And yet, it was Villed who had brought her her very first failure.
‘But how did he know it was my order?’
That part was puzzling, but she could easily form a hypothesis.
‘As the son of a high noble, he may have had access to much information.’
That was why he had already seen through that the Princess had her own closest aides.
‘He may have known Curio was superior to her peers at the Academy, so it was easy for him to notice.’
The Princess drew her conclusion that way.
“What was it like, talking with him?”
Curio hesitated, her face still crestfallen, before answering.
“……It is hard to put into words, but it is certain he is no ordinary man.”
“Did he seem stronger than you?”
“He may be two steps, no… three steps above me.”
Curio did not like to exaggerate.
With keen judgment, she only ever reported as it was.
And since the Princess knew Curio well, she could always trust his words.
‘Villed, to think he would be such a man.’
Upon hearing Curio’s words, her evaluation of Villed rose even higher.
‘If he is three steps above Curio…….’
The only one who came to mind was Luga, the honorary captain of the Royal Guard, the Princess’s closest aide, ‘Narrow-Eyed Luga.’
But she soon shook her head.
‘That is absurd.’
It was not that she doubted Curio’s words.
But comparing him to Luga was beyond reason.
‘There are very few in this country as skilled as Luga.’
Princess Arlhardt could state that with certainty.
Ten years ago, at just twelve years of age, he had annihilated three enemy companies all on his own, a feat that still remained a legend.
‘An army in and of himself.’
Before battle, Luga wore a mask, earning him the name ‘Black Demon.’
The fact that behind that mask lay a man named Luga was known only to the royal family and high nobles.
Thus, at Yggdrasil, none recognized Luga.
‘……I must assume Curio’s words are half wrong and half right.’
If it were Luga, then surely he could have noticed Curio’s stealth.
‘Villed may not have Luga’s level of combat ability, but when it comes to awareness, perhaps he has reached a similar realm.’
The more she dug, the deeper her worries grew.
‘Truly, he is a man not to be taken lightly.’
The plan to keep him under surveillance had collapsed.
Now she had to wonder—how should she gather information on Villed?
It was a matter that weighed heavily on Princess Arlhardt’s mind.
---
I finished filling the perimeter of the pond.
I sat down to catch my breath and glanced at some branches.
Curio was nowhere to be seen anymore.
Since her stealth had been discovered, she must have judged surveillance meaningless.
‘But why me of all people?’
Really.
What had I even done?
‘There was that setup about the Princess sending someone to check if I was doing my livestock shed work properly…….’
Could it really be that surveillance was because of that?
‘It is a little strange.’
The fact that she sent Curio, not just some ordinary soldier, felt excessive.
‘She wouldn’t report that I focused more on making the pond than on tending the shed, would she?’
That would be a little scary.
It would be troublesome if I were punished more harshly for doing some “other work.”
‘Please only report moderately, Curio.’
Thinking that, I turned to the final tasks left.
‘All that’s left is to prepare a hiding spot, plant aquatic weeds, and fill the water.’
Fortunately, it seemed the hiding spot part was already being resolved.
* Kkureuk, Beep!
The sea otter was gathering branches at the bottom of the pond, building its own home.
It looked like it was fixing them against rocks to make a sturdy house.
‘Let’s hurry up and finish the remaining work.’
I got up from my seat and glanced around when—
‘Someone’s coming?’
Even from quite a distance, I could tell who it was because of her hair color.
“Hi.”
It was Lapin, greeting me as she came close.
She had no lamb in her arms today, probably because she had not received permission.
“What are you doing here?”
“I didn’t see you for a few days, so I was curious what you were up to.”
So she only got interested on the fourth day, huh.
Lapin looked at the pond full of stones and tilted her head.
“Hm……”
After thinking for a while, her eyes widened as if she understood, and she opened her mouth.
“Whose grave is this?”
“It’s a pond without water.”
Well, without water, it did look like a stone grave.
Just as I was staring at her absentmindedly—
She had a shell in each of her hands.
“What’s that?”
“They were pretty, so I picked them up on the way.”
She must have found them while walking along the riverside.
When I searched for stones by the riverside, I had never found shells, but somehow Lapin had found two.
* Beep!
Before I knew it, the sea otter ran up to me.
It hid behind me, half its body poking out.
Its gaze was fixed on the shells.
“Hm……”
Lapin tilted her head, then held out both hands toward the sea otter.
“Here, want to eat?”
* Piiiiiik!
The sea otter immediately threw itself at Lapin.
With tears of gratitude in its eyes, it accepted the shells with both hands.