Published at 17th of January 2021 10:29:26 AM
Chapter 48
[I’m really, really sorry!]
Two weeks after the conclusion of the Spirit Festival, a loud apology, spoken in Elandic, echoed inside the attic of Hannah’s Orphanage .
The orphanage’s attic wasn’t as well illuminated as the rest of the place, but even so, the figure of a petite black-haired girl, with pale skin and amethyst eyes, could still be seen prostrating herself on the hard, wooden floor .
[I just wanted to make some easy money! I swear! I never thought that would happen! Please, forgive me!]
The words spoken by the black-haired girl weren’t nearly as lovely as her appearance, but the two boys, who were leaning against the wall with arms crossed, didn’t seem to mind that .
One of the boys was really tall; he had brown skin, and it was like he had a permanent frown plastered all over his face . The other boy was way shorter, in comparison; his skin was slightly tanned, and he had a way more normal look on his face .
Although the two boys looked completely different, appearance-wise, there was only one thing that they had in common: The two were staring at the girl, or rather, at Leo, with an expressionless look on their faces .
[I know I did something shouldn’t have done, okay? So… can you two stop staring at me like I’m trash? I won’t try to do something like that ever again… I promise… just, please, help me fix this mess… that’s all I’m asking… . ] – Said Leo, in a low tone, as he pressed his forehead even further against the wooden floor .
Even though he was apologizing to his friends, Leo still took advantage of the situation to try and make a deal with them . However, his friends weren’t having none of that, so they just continued silently staring at him .
Since his first attempt at persuading the two didn’t work, Leo retrieved a small pouch from his pocket and showed it it to the normal-looking boy… Leena .
[Here… as a sign of good will, I’ll give you my prized collection of Named Bronze Coins… it took me five years to collect all of them… I hope you’ll appreciate them as much as I do… . ] – Said Leo, in a mortified tone, as he presented the small pouch to Leena with displeased look on his face .
However, his determination was all for nothing .
With an angry look on her face, Leena stepped forward, before yelling–
[–You think my forgiveness is that cheap!? Dude, you can’t even buy new clothes with that amount of money! You have a lot of guts to come here and offer me just that!]
[“Just that!?” So my prized collection is “just that” now!? You don’t need to act all snob just because you’re making a lot of money, you show-off!]
[Oh, so I’m a show-off now!? You’re the one who came here asking for my forgiveness, and a favor, in exchange for that crap, so I have all the right to be angry! Besides, as far as I know, you’re not broke or anything, so pay up! I won’t let you trick me!]
Leo staggered a bit after hearing that, but he quickly recomposed himself .
[I-I may not be broke right now, but what’s the point in having money if you’re just gonna spend it on stupid things!? It’s common sense that you have to save money if you want to be rich!]
[You see!? That is what’s wrong with you! Who would think about saving money, when you have to compensate another person for destroying their life!? It’s like you’re a cat who left a dead mouse on top of his owner’s bed, in order to apologize for destroying his couch! That’s why I’m angry with you, stupid! Because you’re trying to give me that crap!]
[Wh!? M-my prized collection isn’t crap!]
Leo was visibly shaken after Leena slandered his collection of bronze coins, however, he couldn’t stop thinking about the things that she said . He knew that he had to compensate her in some way, but the problem was–
[–I don’t know what to do to compensate you, Leena… . ]
To tell the truth, Leo was really troubled about that . Two weeks had already passed since the day Albert showed his face to the people of the Empire, and to be honest, that’s just how much time it took Leo to convince everyone into letting him visit the orphanage, just so he could apologize to Leena for what happened .
By the way, Bruno only tagged along because he wanted to keep an eye on Leena . He was afraid that she would try to kill Leo if he didn’t .
[Huh…? You don’t know how to compensate me? I waited two weeks for you to come here and that’s your excuse? There’s a limit to being shameless, you know? …By the way, why the hell did you bring all those knights with you?] – Said Leena, as she stared at the door of the attic with a curious look on her face .
Please download our sponsor's game to support RLN!
document.write('');
That last question was something that everyone wanted to know, after all, this time, Leo came to the orphanage with over 20 knights dressed in plate armor . If it was just Kai, then Leo would easily find a way to fool the butler into letting him talk alone with Leena . But fooling all of those knights, at the same time, was something nearly impossible for him to do alone .
Thankfully though, Hannah managed to persuade the knights into letting the three kids be, by saying that they were going to have a secret business meeting . However, Leo wasn’t so sure that the knights wouldn’t try to eavesdrop on their conversation, so he secretly brought a curtain enchanted with soundproof magic from the Harkenberg’s mansion and hung it over the attic’s entrance . That way, they would be able to talk freely without any interruptions .
[Having these many knights following you everywhere must be a pain, huh…?]
[Well, at least they are taking care of your body, so isn’t that fine? Besides, I know there must be a good reason for why there are so many of them…] – Said Bruno, as he turned to look at Leo .
With that as his cue, Leo then told the two why there were so many knights following him .
It all started on the day after the spirit festival . 10 army officers arrived at the Harkenberg estate on that day . Apparently, the royal family had sent them to the Harkenbergs as a gift .
But that wasn’t all .
Each of the officers were leading a unit of at least a 100 people . In other words, they wanted to make all those 1 . 000 knights escort Leo at all times .
However, as expected, Emilia wasn’t so fond of that idea .
“These rugged men aren’t pleasing to the eyes . I don’t think my granddaughter will be at ease with them following her everywhere she goes . ” – Said the Marchioness, as she dismissed the knights .
But then, on the next day, 12 people dressed in black arrived at the mansion .
Like the others, they were also a gift of the royal family . The only problem, however, is that they were literally the best assassins of the Empire, which made Leo freak out a bit, when he learned about that .
Sponsored Content
However, this time, it wasn’t Emilia, but Klaus, who dismissed them .
“Hmm… I’m sure my granddaughter won’t be at ease with these many people stalking her everywhere she goes, so I’ll have to return you guys . ” – Said the Marquis .
Leena and Bruno were at a lost for words after hearing that .
The common sense of the royal family was completely out of the norm, but, thankfully, the Marquis couple had a good head on their shoulders… or at least, that’s what they thought .
[But then, on the next day, Gustav-sensei arrived at the mansion with his Holy Knights, and said that he wanted to establish the Leonora’s Knight Order . Honestly, I thought your grandparents would send them back right away, like they did with the rest… but they didn’t…]
Klaus was so happy to have Gustav Schneider working under him, that the following days were filled with nothing but mock battles between the Dragon Knights and the Holy Knights . He wanted to make sure that only the best of the best would stay by his granddaughter’s side, so he chose 20 of the strongest knights and created the Leonora’s Protection Squad .
“But that’s just a problem . It takes days and I don’t really need it! Persuading him, however, he said that he became a one-day escort only today because he couldn’t fit in with what he gave himself up . Twenty thousand people, and only today, right? It ’s better, is n’t it? What! ?? 』
[I tried to convince your grandfather that I didn’t need those knights, but then he threatened me! He said I had to chose between 20 of the best knights, or all of them! I mean, who would chose 500 plus people following them everywhere!? The answer was obvious right!? …*Ahem*…Well, we managed to reach agreement in the end, so everything’s okay now…]
[You two made a deal…?] (Leena)
[Yes, I told your grandfather that I would keep the 20 knights he chose for me, on the condition that he used the rest of the knights to repair the vandalized churches throughout the Empire . See? It was a good deal, right? That way, I won’t have to worry about an army following me everywhere I go . ]
Indeed, Leena also thought that that was a good deal . However, Leo forgot that he was the Altruistic Saintess, not just a normal noble lady, so his choice of prioritizing the vandalized churches*, over his own protection, would only make the legend of Leonora, the Saint, grow even more . (*Tl/n: The ones that got destroyed during Harlet’s incident . )
(Haaah∼, I shouldn’t have asked that question… knowing that is only going to give me even more headaches…) – Thought Leena, as she massaged her temples .
Sponsored Content
Since thinking about those things wouldn’t bring her anywhere, Leena decided to focus on the most important matter at hand, which was retuning to their original bodies, before something irreversible happened .
[Hey, Leo, do you have enough magic power to cast that spell?] – Asked Leena, in a tired tone, as she approached her business partner .
Last time, they couldn’t return to their original bodies because Leo didn’t have enough magic power to cast the spell, but since so much time had already passed, they would probably be able to switch bodies now .
[Eh!? We can go back to our bodies!? Really!?]
[Yup, but it’ll depend on how much magic power you have…]
[Hmm… I’m sure I have enough magic power by now… I mean, aside from the past two weeks, I used to train everyday with that spell* you taught me, Leena, so I think we’re good to go . ] – Said Leo, as he stared at Leena with an expectant look on his face . (*Tl/n: Spy Crystal . )
Knowing how dedicated Leo was with his training was a pleasant surprise to Leena . She thought he would only have enough magic power to cast the body switch spell once, but with this new piece of information, she was now looking forward to the results of his training .
However, when Leena touched him, she didn’t feel anything .
[Huh…? N-nothing…?]
[…???…What do you mean by nothing…?]
[T-there’s nothing inside you! You don’t have magic power in your body!]
Surprised by the unexpected turn of events, Leo let out a confused, and panicked, scream .