"Hehe. It's a knife. It really is a knife."
A cold sweat ran down Viola's back.
'If he really is Vixen that I know...' He would say something like, 'All right, let's have a sword fight together! I'm excited!' and this character would take out the dagger and swung it in a heartbeat.
'Huh?'
But he didn't.
'He is still standing still.' Vixen didn't seem to care about the thought of wielding a knife in the slightest. Viola wasn't sure if it was good or not, but he had been a little cautious today.
Then, Vixen, who was a little modest today, asked with a bright smile.
"What were you doing?"
"I was just looking in the mirror."
"Why? You got a princess disease?"
Perhaps the eight years old Vixen, when he stared at the mirror, seemed to think that he was a princess. Viola frowned at his words slightly.
"Why are you here?"
"I'm hurt." He then proceeded to point to his knee.
"I had one, too."
Surprisingly, she also had a wound on her knee as well though it wasn't big or anything.
"What? Does it hurt a lot?"
He used to say it didn't hurt even if he got stabbed, so what's wrong with him worrying about small stuff like this now? Vixen spoke confidently with a look as he became more serious.
"Apply some ointment, and for me as well."
"Why would I?"
"Hey, doesn't Viola apply ointment?"
"Apply it yourself."
"I've never put it on myself. I don't know how."
"Then, ask your butler."
"No."
"Why?"
"I don't want to!"
Vixen proudly extended the ointment.
"Here. Here."
Viola would lie if she said he wasn't scary at all, but he still had some cute sides. Right now, he just looked like an eight years old child asking for medicine. Well, he was still a little boy. However, nothing is free. If she ended up doing everything he asked for, he would be incredibly spoiled.
Viola asked. "What are you going to do for me, then?"
"Do I have to do something?"
"Of course."
"And if I don't want to?"
"Then, I won't put the ointment on for you."
Hearing so, Vixen pouted his lips.
'Hm, well, I'm just going to put that on my wound first.' And swiftly, Viola turned her back towards him moments later.
"What can I do for you?"
"Do me a favor later."
"Favor?" He scratched his head confusingly.
Vixen thought about it for a moment. If it was a favor, he thought it shouldn't be something too grand.
After seeing him being somewhat swayed by the thought, Viola didn't miss the timing and opened the ointment lid. She then scooped out some ointment with her fingers and teasingly moved her hand to the left and right. Vixen's eyes moved along with the movement as well. He had the eyes of a dog chasing a snack while wagging its tail gently.
"Well, here." Smiling proudly, she stuck out a paper.
"Come on. Sign here."
"Sign?"
"Yes. I'll apply some medicine for you if you sign."
A contract was very important. Once I applied it for him, he was going to make my wish come true. It would be a very profitable business.
"Here's a pe-..."
She was planning to hand him a pen, but Vixen didn't wait. After biting his index finger, he signed the paper with the blood dripping.
'Wah, I'm scared...'
He was out of his mind. Viola hurriedly bowed her head to hide her surprised look. Hiding her trembling heart, she applied the ointment at his knee.
"Ugh! T-that stings! Apply it gently!"
Vixen gave a big blow, but fortunately, Viola was done applying it.
He stood in a huddle and mumbled. "What are you doing? Are you not going to apply it here, too? Hehe." He then brought out his index finger towards her.
"Put some here as well. See, it's still bleeding."
'That's because you didn't choose to use a pen like a normal person and just bit your finger... Ah, I guess his obsession with ointment is much worse than I thought.'
"You know, Viola." Peering at me, it seemed that he was thinking hard about something.
Instinctively, Viola had a strange feeling that he didn't want to leave this room. It looked as though he was trying to find a reason to stay. However, no matter how hard he thought about it, there was no legitimate reason, so he just blurted whatever came to his mind.
"Did you know that I'm jealous of you?"
"Why?"
"Because you have a welcome dinner."
"And you're jealous of that?"
"Yes, I didn't have that."
Well, of course, that would be the case. Vixen was born a Verratoux. Thus, there was no welcome dinner because he wasn't adopted.
"I'm told not to say anything. They just want me to eat, that's all."
Viola realized this. If siblings didn't say anything at the welcome dinner, she should just be on her best manners. The main characters of the reception are Duke Heron, Duchess Isabelle, and Viola.
'Because it's not just a welcoming dinner.'
If it were a real 'welcome dinner,' family members would greet each other, familiarize each other's faces, and have a good time. Although Viola wasn't sure if that would be the case here.
The actual title of this scene in the novel was "The Duchy's Cruel Test." This was a place to evaluate and test Viola's qualifications as a Verratoux.
"Brother, we would only be eating."
"...Okay." Vixen became sullen.
"So, let's have fun next time."
"Okay!"
He then raised his pinky eagerly.
"You promise to do something fun with me?"
"Yeah."
"All right. Keep your promise, okay?"
"I got it." Vixen, who was fully energized, went outside with a grin.
In an instant, he acted like a good child again.
It had been a day like that.
***
It was four A.M.
Xenon woke up Viola.
"Princess?"
She sleepily murmured unconsciously.
"...I want to sleep."
'Hmm, mmm.' Viola squirmed as if she was eating something in her dreams. Xenon glanced back at his watch before staring back at Viola, who had fallen back asleep already.
"One more minute..."
After hearing her mumbled, he watched her for a moment with warm eyes and stood up. 'Five. Four. Three. Two. One.' Exactly a minute had passed, and it was time for him to wake her up.
"Princess?"
He bowed his head.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to shake you a little." Xenon touched her shoulder and shook her lightly, attempting to wake her up. At that moment, Viola's pocket knife flew towards his neck.
"Eutcha!" [ Sound effect for getting up. ]
He swiftly avoided the blade. Manna was still embedded in her hand. Murmuring, he said, "She'll cut a thin steel plate in half without difficulty..."
Then, Xenon tried to wake her up again as if nothing had happened.
"Princess, you have to get up, okay?"
Eventually, Viola finally woke up. She had no recognition that she had swung the blade unconsciously.
"It's four o'clock in the morning, Xenon."
'Are you crazy? Why did he wake me up at four A.M.?'
"You have to get ready."
She repeated annoyingly, "It's four o'clock in the morning."
"The welcome dinner is scheduled at nine A.M."
"I know, but it's still four in the morning!"
'The welcome dinner is at nine. So, why do you wake me up at four A.M.? Does he really want to die?' Viola's eyes were filled with rage.
Xenon grinned.
"We don't have much time. I know the princess is still sleepy, but please get up."
He supported Viola on her back and raised her. 'Oh, I'm still sleepy. I want to sleep some more...' Her seven years old body was too fragile to overcome the desire to sleep.
'Sleepy.'
Unknowingly, her eyes were slowly shutting. Viola could feel her body being moved, but it felt as though she was still dreaming. Seeing so, Xenon grinned and spoke.
"Did you know that my carotid artery almost got cut open, princess?"
He protested. Xenon grabbed her wrist that was falling while carrying her and placed it on top of Viola again.
"I apologize for waking you up early, but you don't have to attack my throat, all right?"
"...Huh."
'I didn't do that.'
This was the second time that her body moved on its own. Even though Viola wanted to say that, she couldn't. Sleepy, she kept dozing off.
"Next time, turn the angle to the left about three degrees."
Xenon smiled and pointed at his shoulder muscles. "If you relax and swing here, your chances of killing someone will increase by more than ten percent."
Viola lifted her body up from his arms carefully.
"Sir Seivan is waiting."
Nod, nod. Couldn't beat the tiredness, she kept dozing off and couldn't remember exactly what had happened after. Sleeping through the entire process, the maids were giving her baths filled with spices while massaging her, then dressed her up in fancy dresses.
'Ah, it's eight thirty A.M.'
It was eight thirty. At this point, she was slowly coming to her senses, and she was all ready. Viola, who was mostly asleep the whole time, had nothing to feel uncomfortable about. When she opened her eyes, most of the preparations were finished.
Arin, who is most bothered by the cold and dry hair in this world, experienced unexpected convenience from it.
Then, a voice resounded.
"You are so beautiful, princess. You are more elegant and beautiful than any other seven years old kids I've ever seen."
The voice was definitely Seivan, but the interesting fact was that his face was different. And Viola knew exactly why. 'He's a masquerader who creates and puts on the masks out of the faces of the bodies he had killed..' When Viola recalled that fact, a cold sweat flowed down her back.
He shuddered.
"At this point, I felt a little bit out of breath. I think it's safe to say that you have Duke Heron's blood."
The mere thought of the duke made him excited.
Seivan's reflection in the mirror smiled brightly. Wondering, she could see a slight scar near his neck, though it looked somewhat like a scratch.
"Princess, could you put the scissors down?"
Without realizing, she saw a scissor in her hand.
This wasn't the first time she heard these words? Why were her shoulders so stiff, as if she was swinging something way too much?
"I almost died three times."
Seivan just simply laughed.
(1758 words)