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Chapter 17
In the middle of the wide room stood a single table, draped in red velvet. Looking closer, Violette saw a longsword resting atop it.
The blade gleamed so brightly that her face was reflected in it, and the hilt—pristine and flawless—was a pure, luminous white that felt almost sacred. A transparent gem set into the center of the hilt especially caught her eye.
“Wow…”
Absentmindedly staring at the sword, Violette set the egg she had been holding under her arm down on the floor and, as if possessed, grasped the hilt.
That was the moment it happened.
The instant her hand touched it, a brilliant violet light burst forth from the sword, filling the entire room.
Though she felt fear at the strange sight, Violette instinctively tightened her grip on the hilt. The light gathered above the sword, forming a round orb, but it wavered unsteadily, unable to hold its shape.
‘What is your name?’
A low voice echoed from the sword, filling the room. Violet light rippled like waves within Violette’s eyes. Dumbfounded by the unbelievable scene, she stared blankly at the glow before answering in a low voice.
“Violette… Violette Rascal….”
‘Violette. A fine name that suits your aura.’
“What does that even—”
‘You should be able to wield this power well. I look forward to working with you.’
At her reply, the wavering light settled into a perfect sphere. It slowly began to fade, and just before disappearing completely, it suddenly plunged into Violette’s chest.
“W–What was that?”
After that, the surroundings fell silent, as though nothing had happened. Startled, Violette patted at her chest, but she felt nothing out of the ordinary.
Then she noticed the sword in front of her, and her face turned deathly pale.
The sword that had been resting on the table just moments ago was nowhere to be seen. In its place sat a fingernail-sized violet amethyst. When Violette picked it up in shock, the longsword instantly appeared in her hand once more.
When she set the sword down again, it turned back into the amethyst. Blinking blankly, Violette finally grasped the situation and dragged a hand down her face.
“Ah, damn it. I’m screwed…”
She instinctively sensed that she had caused a serious problem. Just imagining telling Narcissa about this made it feel like her ears were already starting to ooze.
“Back already?”
Violette met Narcissa about ten minutes later. After searching the mansion for quite some time, she found him absorbed in reading in the farthest room on the first floor.
She had originally planned to snap at him for leaving her behind, but seeing his serious expression as he examined the book, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Pouting, she complained in a sulky voice,
“You could’ve at least told me you were going downstairs. I was looking for you forever.”
“Oh, sorry. You were looking for me? I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. I found a book and wanted to take a closer look.”
Even as he spoke, Narcissa didn’t lift his eyes from the page. He traced the lines with one hand and picked up a quill with the other, copying down notes. Violette’s face brightened briefly at the mention of finding something, but she soon started fidgeting nervously.
“Violette, take a look at this. According to these records, among the monsters that appeared five hundred years ago, there were several fire-type monsters. The egg looks quite similar to the descriptions. I’ll need to check more sources, but there’s a strong chance it’s a fire-type monster.”
“Oh… that’s bad.”
“The good news is that baby monsters aren’t much different from ordinary animals. If they’re raised by humans from a young age, they can grow up just like normal beasts. Apparently, after the war, some commoners even raised monsters as livestock. Anyway, it doesn’t look like we’re going to be eaten like you imagined.”
“Oh. That’s a relief.”
Her lukewarm response finally made him sense something was off. Narcissa lifted his head and stared straight at her. The way she fidgeted and avoided his gaze looked extremely suspicious.
“…Why do you look like that? Did something happen?”
“Huh? No. Of course not.”
Violette’s eyes darted to the left again. But Narcissa, quick to notice, immediately stiffened. He hadn’t known her long, but that expression felt oddly familiar.
Just like the time she had hidden the monster egg in her arms.
In a low voice, he asked,
“You caused trouble, didn’t you?”
A brief silence fell between them. He desperately hoped she would say no, but contrary to his wish, Violette lowered her head, lips pressed tightly together, without a word.
“….”
“Haah. I’m seriously losing my mind.”
With a deep sigh, Narcissa buried his face in both hands and muttered in a voice full of despair. Startled by his reaction, Violette hurriedly waved her hands and added,
“No, I mean—I’m not sure if it counts as causing trouble, but…”
Hesitating, she confessed what had just happened: how she’d found a sword while looking for him, how she’d grabbed it without thinking and it had emitted light and spoken to her, and how it had then turned into a tiny amethyst. When she finished, Violette blinked and forced an awkward smile.
“Is that sword… really valuable?”
Instead of immediately scolding her as she’d expected, Narcissa fell into deep thought, his expression rigid. He stroked his lips with one hand, looking unusually serious.
That reaction only made Violette even more anxious. As she silently begged him to just yell at her already, Narcissa finally looked at her and spoke slowly.
“You’re saying the sword emitted light and spoke to you?”
“I know it sounds like a lie, but it’s true! Violet light just exploded out of it—I was so shocked! But I didn’t touch it on purpose! It just happened! I’m really sorry! If it’s broken, I’ll compensate you!”
She rattled off her words in a rush. Seeing his reaction, she was certain she’d ruined something incredibly precious.
But his reply went far beyond anything she’d expected.
“That was a holy sword.”
“Huh?”
“You know that the Kegreiner family is one of the founding merit families of the empire, right?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
“Our ancestor—the first Duke of Kegreiner—was awarded that sword directly by His Majesty the first emperor after earning great merit during the imperial wars. It’s a family heirloom.”
Mentions of the first duke and imperial wars drained the color from Violette’s face. She had expected it to be a valuable sword, but never something of this magnitude.
If it had just been expensive, she could’ve paid for it somehow. But a holy sword was sacred by its very existence—there was nothing she could do to make amends. Flustered, Violette blurted out,
“N–No, I mean, why would something that valuable be left in such a shabby place—! No, wait, it’s definitely my fault for touching it without permission, but then what do we do? Is it really broken? Huh?”
“Let’s go check it first.”
They immediately headed to the room where the holy sword had been kept. Just as Violette had said, in the place where the sword had once rested sat a fingernail-sized amethyst. Still looking uneasy, she pointed at it.
“That’s it.”
“That’s the holy sword?”
“Yeah. When you pick it up, it turns back into a sword.”
Frowning, Narcissa picked up the amethyst. But unlike when Violette had touched it earlier, nothing happened.
“It’s not changing.”
“Huh? That’s weird. It definitely turned back into a sword before…”
Panicking, Violette took the amethyst from his hand. Instantly, the holy sword appeared in her grasp. When she released the hilt, it reverted back into the amethyst.
The amethyst showed no reaction in Narcissa’s hand, responding only to Violette’s touch. While Violette stood there dumbfounded, Narcissa fell into serious contemplation.
“…It looks like the holy sword has recognized you as its master.”
“What? Why?”
“How should I know? It said your name suited you, didn’t it? Seems like it took a liking to you.”
“No, why me? You said it’s your family’s heirloom. Then why me?!”
“That’s what I find strange too. Normally, the holy sword only reacts to Kegreiner blood. But for over two hundred years, it hasn’t responded to anyone at all, so we thought its power had run dry. That’s why I moved it to the annex to investigate it separately. There was no progress… and then it suddenly reacts to you.”
“Only to Kegreiner blood?”
Violette tilted her head, puzzled. Narcissa nodded slightly, then swept his gaze over her cautiously from head to toe. Realizing his implication, Violette shouted in disbelief,
“I’m not some adopted kid! I’m the spitting image of my family! What are you saying? Are you doubting my parents now? They love each other, okay? They had four kids!”
“I’m not doubting them. It’s just that otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.”
Despite her heated reaction, Narcissa merely shrugged as if it were nothing. Just as Violette was about to point a finger at him in protest, a certain thought suddenly crossed her mind.
