TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 46
Rattle-
With the sound of the carriage echoing, Kraush opened his previously closed eyes.
It had been several days since he decided to return to Balheim.
Kraush had been living in the carriage nonstop.
But it wouldn’t be for much longer.
They would be arriving soon.
In Kraush’s sight appeared Bianca, who was sleeping while tightly hugging his arm.
Ever since Kraush regained his right arm recently, she had been wrapping herself around it as she slept.
It seemed the memory of Kraush losing his arm had become a trauma for Bianca.
Kraush gently raised his hand and stroked Bianca’s white hair slowly.
Her small head swayed back and forth following Kraush’s hand, and soon her tightly shut eyes slightly furrowed.
It conveyed a tone of annoyance, as if telling him not to disturb her sleep.
“Mmm.”
Even so, she nuzzled her head closer into his hand, which made Kraush chuckle involuntarily.
Clank!
At that moment, the carriage came to a halt.
Kraush, worried that Bianca might fall off the seat, held her securely and lifted his head.
What he saw was a familiar scene.
The Green Pine Mansion.
They had finally returned to this place.
“Bianca.”
When Kraush called Bianca, she belatedly opened her eyelids slightly.
Still half-asleep, she blinked groggily and looked around.
“We’re here. Go to your room and sleep.”
“Okay.”
Bianca staggered as she got up from her seat.
Watching her unsteady movements with concern, Kraush, as expected, caught her as she nearly fell at the carriage door.
With a resigned sigh, he ended up supporting her legs and body, lifting her up entirely.
Bianca, still not having reached her growth spurt, was incredibly light.
Trusting Kraush, she naturally leaned her head against his chest.
As a result, Kraush had to disembark from the carriage while holding her like that.
“Young Master Kraush, it’s been a while.”
At that moment, Kraush noticed Aliod, who had come to greet him.
It truly had been a long time.
All this trouble just to get a single Golden Dragon Grass.
Before he knew it, winter had ended, and spring was right around the corner.
‘Soon, the first admissions to Rahelrn Academy will begin.’
Kraush was still only 14 years old.
He didn’t yet meet the minimum age requirement for the Academy.
He would need to train diligently without fail until next year.
“Aliod, I’ll take Bianca to her room. Report to me on what has happened at the Green Pine Mansion in the meantime.”
“Yes. First, upon hearing that Young Master Kraush was in Hardenhartz, someone sent by the Main House came looking for you.”
Normally, it would suffice to deny everything, but this time that wasn’t an option.
“Therefore, I prepared a report stating that Young Master Kraush had gone to the Main House with Miss Bianca, ensuring no objections could be raised against the Green Pine Mansion. The person in question, who often belittled you as a Half-Penny and handled tasks sloppily, was investigated for their usual behavior and work performance, and consequently dismissed by the Main House.”
No one knew exactly how it had been handled, but it seemed Aliod had resolved it all on his own.
As expected of Aliod.
He was competent.
“Next.”
“The Main House held further discussions regarding the Butcher Dog you dealt with.”
As expected.
Kraush had anticipated this outcome.
Through several recent incidents, Kraush had sparked questions in Balheim.
This latest event must have put an end to those doubts.
That the Half-Penny of Balheim had made a comeback.
“It seems the Head Butler will soon be visiting the Green Pine Mansion.”
The Head Butler.
The highest-ranking butler in Balheim, and the only one who evaluates the direct line.
After scoring the direct line, he sends those scores directly to the Patriarch under his authority.
Based on those scores, the future treatment of the direct line members is decided.
Kraush’s scores in such evaluations had been the lowest.
Thus, he ended up in the Green Pine Mansion.
But with Kraush seemingly changed, the Head Butler was coming to reassess him.
‘What a hassle.’
Originally, Kraush had intended to only plant a sense of foreboding in Balheim if possible.
But due to this incident, he could no longer avoid their scrutiny.
‘Well, it’s fine. There are ways I can use this to my advantage.’
Above all, he needed Balheim’s power to meet someone possessing the Lunar Body.
“What’s next?”
“Miss Danphelion has sent a message. She requests you bring the materials upon your return.”
So that side was ready too.
It had all started with the search for materials to produce an elixir.
Kraush gave a nod.
“Good work.”
“It was nothing. Also, Young Master Kraush—”
Thinking Aliod had more to report, Kraush turned to him.
Then, Aliod showed a slightly troubled expression, which was rare for him.
It was unusual to see Aliod make such an expression.
Kraush looked at him with curiosity.
“Miss Charlotte is currently staying at the Green Pine Mansion.”
But the moment Kraush heard those words, his body froze.
What had he just heard?
Who was staying at the Green Pine Mansion?
“…Aliod, say that again.”
“Miss Charlotte is currently staying at the Green Pine Mansion. She has taken up residence in your room without permission.”
Hearing the latter part, Kraush felt a wave of dizziness.
‘Her cooldown must have ended.’
Charlotte had a habit of occasionally visiting the Green Pine Mansion.
There was no particular reason for it.
She would simply show up, talk endlessly about herself, and leave after thoroughly exhausting him.
Every time, it drained him so much that he didn’t even want to think about it.
And now, Charlotte was here.
Which meant who knew what chaos would ensue.
“Did you tell her I’ve arrived?”
“Not yet.”
Just as Kraush was about to instruct him not to inform her—
In that instant, Kraush’s Sixth Sense instinctively tingled.
“…It’s too late.”
From around the corner of the hallway came the sound of approaching footsteps.
Hearing that, Kraush clicked his tongue and turned in that direction.
In that moment, hair shimmering with both blue and black hues fluttered into view.
She walked slowly, her height slightly surpassing Kraush’s, making her presence even more striking.
Her sharp eyes resembled Kraush’s, but her vibrant beauty, befitting Aria’s daughter, made her stand out.
Particularly, her unique eyes, devoid of almost any light, had a chilling effect on those who looked at them.
“Ah.”
Sword Star.
Charlotte Balheim.
The one who was Kraush’s sister had appeared.
She glanced briefly at Kraush’s right arm, raising only the corners of her mouth in a smile that did not reach her eyes.
Charlotte’s characteristic smile sent shivers down one’s spine for no apparent reason.
Her eyes never smiled.
Only her lips curled into a sneer, which could barely be called a “smile.”
“Hello, little brother. You kept your sister waiting so long I thought I’d die of boredom.”
“…Sister.”
Kraush looked at her with a hint of discomfort.
She was supposed to be on an expedition against World Erosion, yet here she was, back already.
‘I’ve never seen Charlotte like this at this time.’
Seeing the overwhelming aura emanating from her, Kraush chuckled hollowly.
‘She’s surpassed it.’
She had broken through the wall of Master.
And at the age of just fifteen.
‘Is she a monster?’
This was an event so rare that even within Balheim, it was nearly unheard of.
To step into the threshold of Master at fifteen—there was no other word for it but monstrous.
Some, even with Regression, were still far from becoming a Master.
Yet she had reached the level of Master purely through raw talent at the age of fifteen, without Regression.
What Kraush truly considered monstrous about her, however, lay elsewhere.
Charlotte had not made any contracts with gods.
And she never would, even in the future.
Despite likely having received more offers for divine contracts than anyone else in the world, she rejected them all.
With nothing but a single sword, she ascended to the pinnacle of the sword’s domain—a living human legend.
That was the monstrous being known as Charlotte Balheim.
‘Unbelievable.’
Once again overwhelmed by Charlotte’s talent, Kraush let out a hollow laugh.
While some devoured everything they could and struggled desperately, she had reached the peak with sheer talent alone.
The sheer, unfathomable gap between such paths went without saying.
“Little brother, I’ve been hearing some interesting rumors lately.”
At that moment, Charlotte stepped closer to Kraush.
Still wearing that faint smile, she pressed her hand against Bianca’s cheek, whom Kraush was holding.
“They say you’ve become a gallant knight throwing yourself into danger to save your fiancée.”
Kraush turned his body, shielding Bianca from Charlotte’s touch.
Watching him, Charlotte stared at Kraush for a moment before withdrawing her hand.
“Don’t worry. I won’t take her. She’s your precious fiancée, after all.”
She was unpredictable.
Unsure of what she might do, Kraush tensed in her presence.
“Still, it does bother me a little. Seeing my little brother looking at me like that.”
“It’s hard to look favorably upon someone who barges into my home uninvited.”
Charlotte tilted her head.
“Your home? Little brother, Balheim is our home, no matter where it is.”
With that, she tapped the nearby wall lightly with her hand.
The arrogance on her face made it clear she saw Balheim as entirely hers.
“Anywhere with the name Balheim is our home. And yet, when I come to my own home, I get treated so poorly.”
In that instant, Kraush instinctively put some distance between them.
The aura emanating from her was oppressive enough to compel him.
“Don’t you think that’s too much, little brother?”
Charlotte had an unrestrained personality.
Unlike her father Balrok’s cold eyes, her mother Aria’s emotional tendencies showed strongly in her character.
In truth, Kraush was the same in that regard.
They were siblings, after all.
However, the dissonance between Charlotte’s appearance and character was particularly extreme.
She was perhaps the furthest from the adage “people live as their faces suggest.”
And now, Kraush felt that oppressive aura from her once more.
For some reason, Charlotte was angry.
From the very moment she first laid eyes on him.
“…Sister, are you angry right now?”
Thus, Kraush asked her directly.
With Charlotte, a straightforward approach was better than any underhanded tactics.
“How do I seem?”
“You seem angry.”
“Correct. I’m angry right now. I thought I was the closest to my little brother, but you never tell me anything.”
Closest? What nonsense.
For a moment, Kraush felt utterly dumbfounded.
“Little brother, you made a contract with a god, didn’t you?”
Yet Charlotte had already deduced that Kraush had formed a divine contract the moment she saw him.
“And you’ve reached mid-level Expert. My little brother has grown tremendously.”
Charlotte continued to state his level of strength.
Kraush bit his lip.
He understood what she had awakened to.
‘Heart’s Eye.’
The ability to see through all things.
It was a skill so rare that many could not attain it in a lifetime, but she had awakened it merely through talent.
And with it, she had seen right through Kraush’s abilities.
“And for some reason, I feel a distinctly unpleasant energy from you.”
At her next words, Kraush froze.
What she had awakened to was not Heart’s Eye.
It was the next stage.
‘Star’s Eye?’
Was Charlotte truly this advanced at this point in time?
Star’s Eye, which could even see through World Erosion, was a power beyond comprehension.
Yet, as Crimson Garden had said, even Charlotte wouldn’t necessarily identify it as World Erosion’s energy.
She likely perceived it as a curse.
‘No wonder the Butcher Dog was defeated by Charlotte in the past.’
Against someone who had awakened Star’s Eye, the Butcher Dog’s illusions were meaningless.
Star’s Eye would have seen through them all.
The problem now was that Kraush, too, was entirely exposed to Charlotte.
With the power of World Erosion within him, there was no way she would look upon him favorably.
Perhaps even Charlotte might decide to kill him.
Thus, he had no choice but to brazenly feign ignorance about the curse.
“What’s all this you’re dragging around with you?”
“It’s about trying everything once.”
Charlotte gazed silently at Kraush.
He thought she might make some remark about him carrying a curse, but thankfully, she said nothing.
“Well, the youngest takes after me.”
In fact, she seemed rather convinced.
After all, if her personality was as tenacious as his, she would inevitably swallow poison sooner or later.
‘Though it’s more likely she takes after her mother than Charlotte.’
Kraush didn’t bother to correct her.
“Thanks to that, she even took down the Butcher Dog. Our youngest has grown so strong.”
While Kraush was tense, Charlotte’s lips slowly curved into a smile again.
“Leave that in her room and come to the training ground.”
With that, Charlotte turned around.
“I need to see for myself how skilled the youngest has become.”
Suddenly, a sparring match with Charlotte was decided.