9-1
The Fierce Persona and Its True Nature
Translator : PolterGlast
Recap of the
Previous Chapter
Ashley's
father, Emperor Ferdinand, deeply regretted his life. He regretted
spending his life running away from Ashley, the life born in exchange
for the life of the woman he loved. He tried to be a good Emperor, but he was
never a good parent.
Before the Emperor
on his deathbed, the Evil Dragon Zirant appeared. Zirant
guaranteed that Ashley was indeed the proof of the Imperial Family's
pure blood, his son, and that she would continue to watch over Ashley
from now on.
Acknowledge Ashley
as a Prince and grant him the rightful succession rights. Finding salvation
in Zirant, the Emperor decided to bet everything on her.
・
The day after
returning to the Imperial Capital, Princess Atomina made a fuss
about Ashley not having formal wear. Dulin, who had become Atomina's
lady-in-waiting, went to call Ashley and prepared formal wear for him.
The clothes Georg
wore during his military academy days were re-tailored with gold and silver
threads created by alchemy magic, and Ashley wore them to visit the Red
Dragon Palace where the Emperor was.
There, father and
son met face-to-face, and the father apologized for the cold treatment up to
that day. In response, Ashley vented the intense emotions he hadn't been
aware of until that day. Even if he understood with words, he couldn't forgive
his father emotionally yet.
A territory and the
seventh succession right were to be given to Ashley, but he refused
them, accepting only the freedom to call himself the Emperor's child before
leaving.
The next day, Ashley
headed to the Adventurer's Guild. The darkness infesting the Empire. It was
drawn in by the Emperor's illness.
To survive the
turbulence ahead, he desired even stronger power. Ashley took a herb
gathering request near Erin, the territory he was supposed to receive,
and left the guild.
While gathering
on-site, two Abyss Hounds were fighting over children who had wandered
into the forest. After securing the children first, Ashley engaged in a life-or-death
battle with the remaining Abyss Hound.
However, Ashley's
Shovel, which cuts even iron, had poor compatibility with the Abyss
Hound. Watching this, Zirant grew impatient and lent her power,
granting the power of ice to a single attack to instantly kill the enemy.
However, the Abyss
Hound that fled returned to the scene. As he engaged that monster, Black
Horn Sigrun suddenly appeared and finished off the great wolf of hell.
Reunited, they
stayed the night at Erin Village and headed to the nearby Maritime City Naglfar.
There, Ashley finally completed the Book of the Evil Dragon's
quota of going around Naglfar, while being mooched off of by the
penniless Sigrun.
The next day,
parting ways with Sigrun, Ashley left Naglfar. But on the
way, he inadvertently stopped by the land of Erin, which he was supposed
to inherit. In that land, Ashley witnessed the harsh reality of Erin
and the corruption of the Empire once again.
Returning to the Imperial
Capital, he met with his father again and decided to accept the territory
and succession rights on the premise that he would leave the Empire once his
father passed away.
Forgiving his
father's sins and expressing gratitude, Ashley steeled his resolve for
the sake of Georg and Atomina, who had protected him until today.
Until the Emperor's
life runs out, Ashley swore in his heart to become a demon and slaughter
evil. He is the darkness of the Imperial Family. As darkness, he will slaughter
the Empire's evil in the way of darkness.
――――――――――――――――
Waltz of Ash and
Wolf
The Strange Book
Says: Dispel the Empire's Darkness
――――――――――――――――
9-1 The Harsh
Persona and Its True Nature
Should I call it
strange, or should I say I don't quite get it? Leaving the Red Dragon Palace
after finishing the audience with Father, I had a strange illusion as if my
body, the air, and everything had become lighter.
As if the
composition of the world itself had changed, everything had regained the
freshness of my childhood.
This palace I had hated
for so long looked like the crystallization of the efforts of generations of
artists. Especially this garden and corridor are nice. Open and beautiful, I
found myself stopping to gaze at them blankly.
「Even
you must be tired, as
expected. No matter how much you train, mental fatigue is something you can't
help.」
「No, it
seems I no longer have those kinds of feelings toward Father.」
I had forgotten Georg-aniue was next to me. The man called Aniue
isn't harsh to people unless necessary. When I looked, the figure of the kind Georg-aniue from the past was there.
「Really?
Is that so, that's good... It
seems like a load is finally off your shoulders...」
「Yeah,
that is—that person is my father. That reality is just sinking in now... So, if
Father wishes, I don't mind meeting him again. Without the formalities next
time.」
I felt like I also
understood a little why such an Aniue had changed.
「Oi...
Before being a father, he is the Emperor. Rather, to reassure him, do it more
properly next time.」
「Impossible.
I haven't been taught such things.」
Aniue entered
the military academy and changed after facing something there. But one piece
that created that result lies in the special status of being a Prince.
As the Emperor's
child, the more earnestly one accepts their role, the heavier the
responsibility weighs on the spirit. That's why Aniue stopped scattering
kindness to people and began showing the emotions suppressed in his chest
through actions.
「Kh,
this won't do as is... If it comes to this, hmm, I see, first I should assign a
tutor...」
「Don't
tell me you mean for me? I refuse; I have no time for such things.」
In short, Aniue
is harsh toward me because of strong emotions he has no choice but to suppress.
Just like Atomina-aneue, Aniue
loves me. With a single-mindedness different from Aneue's.
「You
are going to be a lord! And a hidden blade to protect the Imperial Capital
at that! Minimal etiquette and education are—」
「That's
another daunting story. When the time comes, I will leave the Empire; on this
alone, I absolutely will not yield.」
「Hmph,
then so you won't be troubled afterward, you must acquire a thorough basic
education.」
「You're
persistent. Then try it if you can; I won't meet any teacher. My teacher is this
(book), not a person.」
「You
said it! Try if I can, you just said that now, Ashley!」
「Yeah,
give it up. I already have the best teacher. I don't need a tutor.」
The situation looks
bad. I immediately parted with Georg and disappeared outside the castle,
as it would be trouble if he chased me.
Humans live carrying
many burdens and guilts in their subconsciousness. Apparently, my subconsciousness held deep
dissatisfaction with the unfortunate treatment up to today.
Being shunned even
by my father seems to have been unbearably painful for the true me. I was
released from such subconsciousness.
I am Georg-aniue's
younger brother.
Now that I have
obtained the rightful succession rank of Seventh, I gained the legitimate right
to adore Aniue as a younger brother. That fact is more pleasing than
anything else.
Then, not to lose
the smile Aniue showed today, I had to aim for even greater heights.
By the time I
slipped out of the palace, the setting sun was shining. So I entered a
tavern-inn near the Adventurer's Guild and decided to start for real from
tomorrow.
Today, I'll store nourishment for tomorrow while reading a book from the other world in this noisy dining area. With my stomach full and the night deepening from reading, I moved to my room and closed my heavy eyelids.
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