Translator and Editor: Skye and Nabi

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Chapter 28

Xenon delivered absurd news with a bright face.

“I resigned, princess.”

Saying so, he grinned.

“I’m not going to be a butler anymore.”

Falling on one knee, in one hand, he was holding strawberry ade with ice. “Do you mind if I become your good adult? I’ll be an even better adult than Sir Hickson.”

“….”

Viola’s head got complicated. In the novel 「 The Shadow of Verratoux 」 Viola and Xenon are colleagues who work together until the second half of the story. So, why does he mean he would resign all of a sudden…?

Too much of a factor to change.

‘What kind of resignation is this?’

Her head was still a bit complicated, but Viola still accepted the strawberry ade.

And, another day passed.

Consequently, Xenon’s resignation was rejected.

It was arranged by Butler Carlton.

‘You didn’t fulfil the seven-year mandatory period.’‘If you still want to resign, follow the contract.’‘The penalty is ten billion Dahlia.’

Viola, sitting on the chair, laughed in bewilderment.

‘10 billion Dahlia?’

Dahlia is similar to Korea’s currency, Won. Therefore, ten billion Dahlias means that it is around ten billion won in Korean money.[ E/N: That’s around 9 million USD. ]

“You mean you signed such a ridiculous contract?”

In the novel, the details of the contract were not clearly described. So, it was Viola’s first time hearing this as well.

As for the reason,

‘Well, I didn’t look over the details of termination because I never thought I would have to resign. The other conditions were very good.’

That was Xenon’s answer…

Viola let out a sigh of relief.

‘There shouldn’t be this many variables.

It’s understandable that there will be twists in a novel, but there shouldn’t be too many variables. If she does something wrong, her neck will be severed! This is a flying world.

So, that means carefully, she has to slowly change everyone little by little.

Xenon came into her room.

Even today, he had brought strawberry ade in his hand.

“Well, that’s too bad for you.”

“Yes, I know.”

What a bummer!

It is also mentioned directly in the novel. Only a few butlers are as good and capable as Xenon.

‘This competent butler… there’s no way he hasn’t gone through the contract thoroughly.’

He must have known the terms of the contract. That’s why he seemed to have taken a super strong initiative to resign. However, Butler Carlton wouldn’t accept his resignation, and even if he does, Xenon wouldn’t have been able to pay the penalty.

That means, he tested me without being obvious, and it seemed like he was testing me cleverly like this.

Truly, he’s an outstanding character.

She almost fell for him once again. ‘Get your acts together.’ Even if she gets bitten by Xenon, she can live as long as she gets her act together.

‘Why is he so good at acting?’

And then,

“Strawberry ade is so amazing.” She said, sucking the straw happily.

‘Strawberry ade is incredibly delicious…’

She has never had such a delicious strawberry ade on Earth in the 21st century. Furthermore, as her taste got younger, the strawberry ade that Xenon made was more impressive.

Viola then said it with all her heart. “You cannot be freed from being a butler.”

“I thought so.”

“So, stay by my side as a competent butler.”

“Of course.” He said, then took a notebook out of his arms. “But, there’s something I need to report to you, Princess.”

“Report?”

“That’s…”

Hesitantly, he scratched the back of his head. He wasn’t sure how he would approach Viola with this information.

“It’s all right, tell me.”

“It’s the princess’ dog…”

“Tundra?”

“Yes. He was beaten to death every day, but he still could not kill his temper. There’s also a rumor going around that he may die if this keeps up.”

“He’s not going to die.”

“I’ve been observing discreetly, and he is really beaten to death several times now.” Xenon seemed a little concerned as murder within the Winter Castle is strictly prohibited.

Even if it’sHickson, he will be beheaded if he kills inside the Winter Castle.

“No, he won’t die. He’s just going to hit right before he would actually die.”

It is the same in the novel. On the surface, it may seem as if he was being beaten, but that wasn’t the case. Through that beating, Tundra will grow brilliantly.

Knowing everything from the novel, Viola is relaxed.

Xenon’s eyes narrowed.

“Do you have complete faith in Sir Hickson?”

“Trust me, he’s not gonna kill my dog. It’s mine.”

“I hope so.”

It seemed to Xenon that Viola believed Hickson entirely. For a moment, Xenon was astonished. “I think I’ve developed feelings.”

And, the name of this emotion is…

‘Is it jealousy that I’ve only heard before?’ To be honest, he couldn’t understand why she believed in only Hickson so much.

A hero of the past, but hasn’t he been like a scoundrel for three years?

So, why does she trust only Hickson this much?

‘Do I, to Sir Hickson, feel jealous…?’

Still, Xenon tried to put on a nonchalant look. He suddenly remembered Viola’s words.

[ “So, you stay by my side as a butler.” ]

What Viola Verratoux wanted was Xenon, a competent butler. Then, he will be Xenon, the butler.

Thinking so, he put his mind together.

Viola Verratoux is a voracious Verratoux.

He must become the Verratoux butler that she wanted. Jealousy is a feeling that he doesn’t need at all as a butler. Xenon decided to cut out the feelings.

“Why don’t you stop by the training area, princess?”

“Why?”

“To see Sir Hickson. You’d better see for yourself how he treats your dog, right?”

Viola tilted her head.

Why would she have to, anyway?

It felt as though Xenon was messing around with something. For some reason, Viola felt like he didn’t like Hickson.

‘…But, it must be just my feelings, right?’

Thinking back, he has been acting quite peculiar lately, but it’s probably one of his tests.

‘Yes, it must be so because Xenon is a character that has little to no emotion.’

Maybe it’s just her feeling.

Viola thought so.

* * *

In the end, Viola agreed.

To be fair, she is curious about how Tundra is training as well. She wondered how well he’s growing up.

‘I may be upset if I saw him in person.’

Tundra with Kang Han-Joon’s face…

Saying that she’s not scared would be a lie.

It wasn’t long before she arrived at the training area. Viola peered inside the area with an absurd look.

‘Huh? Why…?’

There, she saw Vixen and Tundra wielding their own weapons at each other, exuding brutality.

“…Why is he here?”

Gazing at them confusingly, she could feel the intense atmosphere. It was as if it was poking her skin like a sharp awl.

‘Why is he covered in blood once again? What on earth is going on?’

Hickson, who is sitting on a bench on one side, came close and asked.

“Hoo, you’re here?”

“Why, Why are they fighting?”

“It’s just a duel. Duel.”

“That’s a duel?”

‘Do you have to be so reckless in life?’

Looking at the scene, it was more like they were trying to take each other’s lives.

“Oh, it’s just a duel. Don’t worry.”

Hickson grinned and put his hand on his waist.

“Look, you’ve lost weight, haven’t you? Did you feel any better?”

Even though there is a fierce knife dance going on in front of them, Hickson seems to be in another world, chatting nonchalantly with her instead.

‘It’s really all right, right?’

At the very least, he is sober. So, Viola decided she could trust him in that predicament and answered his question.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I went to the welcome dinner yesterday.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Unfortunately, my father was there.”

Compared to Duke Heron, most people in this world look like a squid. Though she is a bean curd myself, that fact is still true. Duke Heron’s beauty has the ability to make people around him ugly, regardless of age or sex.

“Compared to my father, you are like an old squid.”

“I’ve never heard such novel poetry before, and it’s surprisingly offensive. I don’t like being perfectly understood.”

He then frowned heavily. “Also…”

Hickson’s eyebrows wriggled. He uttered out the part that was bothering him. “Did you say ‘my father’?”

“Yes, Duke Heron Verratoux.”

“Since when have you called him father? Are you that close to Heron now?”

“Is he the type of person you can get along with?”

“It’s to be expected, isn’t it?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Frowning, Hickson asked again. “You’re not close to him, are you?”

“It’s difficult to say if we’re close or not.”

“Yeah, yeah. He’s a tough guy. It’s hard to get close to someone like him.” Saying so, he had a look of satisfaction.

“But, why are they fighting?”

“I told you it’s a duel, didn’t I?”

Viola turned towards Vixen and Tundra, who were in the middle of a battle. Seeing the scene, it is too intense to be considered as a duel at this point.

While Vixen was holding a wooden dagger, a long wooden sword was in Tundra’s hand.

Let’s just say, if those weapons weren’t wood, it wouldn’t be strange if one of them ended up dead by now.

Regardless, Hickson had a funny look on his face. He lowered his voice and asked playfully.

“Who do you think will win if those two fight?”

“Please ask me the question straightaway.”

“What do you mean?”

“Who would win if the two of them fought, or who would win in that situation?”

Hickson’s eyes narrowed.

‘Look at this little girl!’

Although he already knew Viola is an extraordinary girl, he didn’t expect her to point out critical points like this.

For instance, in this very situation,

1. There’s an opening in the space.2. Viola is aware that the opponent is attacking Tundra skillfully.3. A situation in which a life-threatening wooden knife is being used to fight.

And, most importantly…

4. It hasn’t been long since Tundra mastered swordsmanship.

If things change, so will the results.

Taking all these factors into mind, Han Arin recited what she read as a reader of the novel. “Vixen will win today.”

“Why do you think so?”

“That’s because Vixen is stronger.”

The male lead, Tundra, is endowed with tremendous qualities and talent. He is a genius as in a novel. However, does that mean that Vixen falls far behind in talent than Tundra?

In fact, that’s not the case at all.

“Vixen has been trained since birth. Besides, he’s a pureblood Verratoux, so isn’t it weird for him to lose?”

“Then, why did you point out ‘that’s the situation’?”

Before she knew it, all the mischief was gone from Hickson’s expression. His mood suddenly shifted, and he waited for Viola’s answer.

“That’s because Vixen and Tundra’s swordsmanship is different.”

Hickson’s heart began to pound rapidly.

Recently, rumors are circulating in the duke’s residence about the insight of the adopted youngest daughter. Rumor has it that she is the most insightful child compared to others in terms of abilities.

“How are they different?”

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