Violant of the Silver - Chapter 81

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Translator: mii

editor: sleepchaser

Cheval, disguised as a servant, knocked on the carriage’s door. Right after he entered, he said, “This is bad, Dame Lio.”

“What? The carriage has moved, hasn’t it?”

“That particular problem has been solved, but… the passerby who helped us is… Lord Violant.”

“What?!” Even Liona was surprised. This coincidence was too shocking; they even went on this trip in secret and in disguise.

“I heard they have a doctor with them. Would you like to have him examine you, Lady Liselotte?” asked Lantz. He was as calm as usual, unlike the restless Cheval.

Then Millicent replied, face pale, “…No. Please tell them that there’s no need for the doctor to come. I often get a headache during bad weather.”

“Understood,” said Cheval. He stopped Lantz, who was about to head back, from moving. “Hey, you should be a little more careful. Legi’s intuition is unmatchable. He’ll sniff us out soon.”

“That’s because you are acting suspiciously,” said Lantz. “You should behave as usual at times like this. Please stay here.” Following that, he approached Jill in brisk strides. They conversed for a bit. After a while, Lantz returned with something in hand. Presenting a small paper bag to Millicent, he said, “I received a painkiller from the doctor.”

“Oh, a painkiller? Thank you.” She received the paper bag, a wave of relief washing over her.

Lantz said, “They recommended drinking it with tea. Whenever a headache rolls along, you should close the curtains, darken the room, and relax in a quiet place. It’ll take another day until we reach Degas town, so they also recommended taking a break in the ranger’s hut nearby. Since they’re going in the same direction, they will guide us.”

In a flash, Liona and the others exchanged glances. “Then we should take a break in that hut today… Are they planning to rest there too?”

“No. It seems like they are planning to stay in the ranger’s hut nearby. They will reach it around the evening. There seems to be a village beyond that, but it’s probably impossible to reach that by night.”

“Then it should be fine. Let’s accept their offer. Tell them we’re thankful for their kindness.”

As soon as Lantz went to give their reply, Millicent hung her head, apologetic. “I’m sorry… It’s my fault.”

“I don’t want to see you collapse, so don’t worry about it,” Liona said.

“Yes…”

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The ranger’s hut was actually a large house made of logs, not looking like a hut at all.

A ranger’s main job was to take care of the forest and monitor poachers. As such, they stayed in the hut for a long period each year. Especially in the autumn; most remained overnight to monitor the situation.

However, it was currently summer. A majority of the rangers were the people from nearby villages. It’s highly possible that they didn’t stay in the hut due to being too busy raising goats and sheep.

Nobody had been there when Vio and his group headed to the royal capital. But now, they caught sight of the unmistakable wisps of smoke coming from the chimney.

Noticing Vio’s carriage stop in the light rain, Legion decided to go ahead and speak to the owner of the hut. But before he arrived at the front door, suspicion hit him: he could sense someone looking at him from the window… No, several people.

“Sir Legion?” Jill called out, about to get off the carriage. But Legion raised his right hand to stop him. He then immediately returned to the carriage and scanned the surroundings.

Legion had not noticed this before since they were in a hurry, but there were multiple footprints and hoofprints littered around the hut.

Suddenly, the door swung open in a bang, masked men leaping forward from the hut. “We’ve been waiting for you!”

“You guys are a lot faster than we expected. This saves us more time!”

At first glance, it seemed like they were a group of nearly fifteen people. They eyed the carriages, confused for some reason.

“Hey, there are two carriages. Which one is it?”

“It should be the green one, right? We’re aiming for the little brat of the Lesserhains.”

Legion unsheathed his sword on his horse. “You all aren’t just thieves? So you’re ambushing us!”

“Yeah. If we kill a punk called Violant, he’ll give us money.”

“No way… Lord Rupheus would actually go that far?” Legion muttered in a growl. Never had he imagined Rupheus’ hatred for his younger brother to run so deep, so much so that he’d stoop to sending assassins.

But the masked men were puzzled. “Rupheus?”

Noticing their appearance, Legion asked sharply, “Am I wrong? If so, who sent you here?!”

“Why should we answer that?” said a one-eyed man with the biggest build. Then he gestured as he added, “Hey, you guys, let’s go!”

And all of the masked men charged toward Vio’s carriage.

“Mister Dawn! Run to that carriage! I’ll handle this!” Legion shouted.

“I-I understand!” Dawn urged his donkey and called out to the carriage that had followed them from behind.

On horseback, Legion cut down the incoming bandits.

“Hey, don’t you dare get close to Young Master’s carriage!” yelled Hauser, taking out the iron rod he had always kept ready under the coachman’s seat. He struck the bandits down, thrusting the rod at the throats and bellies of the opponents who came in succession, restraining them with his martial arts.

Six people were defeated in a blink of an eye. To the bandits, this could only be upsetting.

“Hey, this should be an easy job, shouldn’t it? You said he didn’t have many escorts, Boss!”

“Calm down! Our opponent is only two people. Why are you scared!?” shouted the leader, snapping the other bandits back to their senses. They stood with their weapons at ready.

“It’s not only two people.”

“There are actually four!”

Such words were said by Jill and Rille, who exited the carriage and stood guard before the door.

The bandits couldn’t help but laugh from that sight. “What? We have an old man and a woman now?”

“Hey, it’d be easier to take them as hostage, right?”

Jill remained calm as usual, not batting an eye at the men who mocked him. “My, my. Don’t you know? Most of the people who serve the Lesserhains have mastered martial arts. For example, like this.” In a blur of motion, Jill slipped his hand out of his jacket’s inner pocket, swinging like a blade.

A scream tore through the air, and someone fell off his horse. Piercing his shoulder was a slender knife.

“As expected from Mister Jill!” said Rille, eyes sparkling. A gentle smile graced his lips as he replied, “We can’t let them run away with this. Hauser, Sir Legion, no need to restrain yourself.”

“Leave this to me!” said Hauser, brimming with energy.

However, Legion wore a bitter smile at Hauser’s response. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but… I’d like to ask them questions later.”

Rille was ready to fight. She bent her body down and raised her fist. “I won’t lose either!”

Thus, despite the small number of people on their side, a one-sided battle began. They defeated the bandits in no time at all.