Chapter 44: Master Pasifal Gets Obliterated
“Guest?” Lady Catherine’s face darkened. “Is it Mr. Carlos?”
The anxious voice of the maid outside rushed in, “Yes! Mr. Carlos seems to want to see the Duke, but Master Pasifal won’t let him in! They’re at the front gate now, Lady! You need to check! I’m worried they might start fighting…”
“Fighting?” Lady Catherine exploded, her eyebrows shooting straight up. She sprang to her feet. “What nonsense! What could possibly lead to a fight?! What’s that little brat thinking? Has he forgotten the decorum of the Winter Moon? This is just embarrassing!”
Her fury was rather intimidating, and the maid outside went silent for a moment, clearly intimidated, before mumbling, “Lady, we can’t stop Master Pasifal… The hunters are egging them on…”
“Can’t they just let me have some peace…”
I watched her pinching her forehead with her thumb and index finger, totally getting why she was feeling stressed.
Carlos was the Pope Knight and had a friendly relationship with the Duke. If this silly little spat messed that up, Master Pasifal wouldn’t just be in for a whacking; it would be a whole new level of trouble.
Lady Catherine fell silent for a while, finally shifting her attention away from me. I quickly seized the moment to grab the long robe lying on the bed and slipped it back on.
Then I caught a whiff of that earthy smell.
After sweating a fair bit, the floral scent of the robe was clashing weirdly with the dirt smell. I hadn’t noticed much before, but now it hit me, and suddenly I felt really uncomfortable.
…A bath sounds wonderful.
“Alright, I get it, you can go back to your thing now.”
Her voice sounded tired as she spoke again.
“Yes, Lady.”
The maid gradually walked away. Lady Catherine took a deep breath and turned back to fix my hair.
“Miss Silvya, do you know what’s going on?”
“I don’t know!” I quickly shook my head.
What kind of joke is that? There’s no way I’d admit to anything at a time like this—I’m not an idiot!
Lady Catherine was already boiling from the morning’s events; the Duke made a smart exit, while I played the obedient little angel, leaving her with nowhere to vent her frustrations. And then Pasifal decides to pop up and stir the pot…
I silently mourned for him for three seconds.
But sympathy or not, I definitely wasn’t taking the heat with him. I was just a little starving cutie!
With that thought, I lightly rubbed my belly, then, seizing the moment when Lady Catherine was putting the gauze back into the cabinet, I quickly rubbed my cheeks.
“Lady, you should go check. I’m going back to take a bath and change clothes.”
As I said this, I blinked my big eyes twice, my voice all sweet like I just had a mouthful of honey.
I naturally lifted my foot and started towards the door.
“Hmm, go on then.”
Lady Catherine’s mind seemed elsewhere as she responded, but just as I took a couple of steps, she suddenly reached out to stop me. “Wait a second.”
I felt a chill run down my spine and straightened up. “W-What?”
She looked at me curiously.
“I just wanted you to take this medicine back. Why are you so nervous?” She shook the vial of medicine in her hand and tossed it my way. “Here, this is sap from the wilting tree; it works wonders on bruises. Remember to apply it again tonight.”
I fumbled to catch it.
Honestly, I didn’t need this right now… I had to get out of here, like, now! Once I was out of this room, away from Lady Catherine’s gaze, the rest wouldn’t concern me.
“Thanks.” I forced a smile and headed for the door again.
Suddenly, Lady Catherine seemed to remember something, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“Hold on.”
My feet froze, and after a couple of seconds of confusion, I turned my head and adjusted my posture in one fluid motion.
“W-What now, Lady?”
Ah! I accidentally bit my tongue. Ouch!
Her eyes narrowed even more. “You should come with me.”
“Uh, maybe let’s not… I just wanna go take a bath…”
As I spoke, I subtly sidled towards the door, casting a glance over my shoulder. I was still about five steps away!
If I utilized the Power of Order, I could sprint to the door in an instant, dash out before she grabbed me…
I could make it!
But Lady Catherine saw right through my little plan.
She quickly stepped in front of me, grabbed my hand, and smiled at me despite my protests.
“I thought about it. You’re the most familiar with Mr. Carlos; talking to him might be more effective than me. You heard the maid; if it really turns into a fight, your Duke uncle isn’t around. The only one who can stop Mr. Carlos is probably you. So, please, let’s go together.”
While she spoke, she pulled me out of the room towards the door. I didn’t realize it at first, but then my mind raced with panic.
Suddenly, I bent my legs, instinctively halting my steps and sinking my backside down, refusing to budge.
“Lady, I… I haven’t changed, I’m dirty!”
“No way, you can’t be dirty! This is your glorious battle mark! You were having so much fun this morning, weren’t you?”
Her grip was ludicrously strong, dragging me forward without an ounce of mercy.
I panicked, “They’ll laugh at me! I’m a girl; it’s embarrassing…”
“Don’t worry! With me around, they won’t dare laugh at you.” Lady Catherine maintained her cheerful smile and added after a thought, “They might just chuckle in their hearts.”
“But I really don’t want to go! Ah!”
“Miss Silvya, you’re a hero of humanity! This isn’t a good look for you. Or are you hiding something?”
“I’m not!”
I quickly retorted.
“Then let’s go check it out.”
Lady Catherine’s tone was resolute; it was evident she didn’t regard me as a mere acquaintance of the recently met Pope Knight, and she didn’t sound particularly polite about it either.
Of course, I could struggle, but that would not only confirm her suspicions but might also hurt her… but on the other hand, I really didn’t want to go, so I found myself in quite the dilemma.
So, I kept my eyes tightly shut, positioning my backside as far back as possible, and stubbornly allowed myself to be dragged to the castle entrance.
From far away, I could hear the hunters’ raucous cheers.
“Pasifal!”
“Pasifal!”
With each shout, Lady Catherine’s face grew darker.
“Move aside.”
Pulling me through the encircling hunters, she spotted a ragged-looking Bearded Swordsman lounging at the center of the chaos.
Carlos held his sword, looking decidedly unimpressed as he stared at a rather tense Pasifal. Just as we arrived in the crowd, Pasifal swung his comically oversized sword and charged at Carlos like a determined knight of yore.
“Ah—!!”
“Stop! You fool!”
But the giant sword whooshed through the air toward Carlos.
Carlos’s eyes sharpened; he deftly shifted to the side as his right hand moved with speed.
Clang—
The unsheathed sword easily blocked the massive sword’s assault; Pasifal’s full-force strike hardly budged Carlos an inch.
Once the long sword was reversed, it deflected the giant sword, and the scabbard jabbed into Pasifal’s chest.
“Ugh!”
Pasifal let out a groan, crashing down to the ground like a sack of potatoes. At the same moment, Carlos’s gaze turned toward us.
“Oh, Lady Catherine! Miss Silvya! You came at just the right time. Is the Duke inside the castle?”
His question came as naturally as if the sprawled-out Pasifal at his feet was nonexistent.
Lady Catherine furrowed her brow. “Mr. Carlos, what’s going on?”
“What do you mean, what’s going on?”
Carlos responded with a question of his own but suddenly seemed to remember something, his face shifting to one of smug realization.
He poked Pasifal with the sword’s scabbard, scratching his head in a mock-confused manner.
“You mean him? I’m not really sure. He came charging at me out of nowhere and startled me, which made me react…”
He shrugged innocently toward Lady Catherine as if he were a mere victim.
“You’re making stuff up! Ahem.” Pasifal was struggling to rise from the ground. “Am I the type to be unreasonable? Who charged at who? If you keep slandering me, I’ll fight you!”
“You mean, you already fought?” Carlos shrugged.
“I still have all my brothers behind me!”
Pasifal proudly glanced back, but to his dismay found the hunters had collectively taken a step back.
“Master Pasifal, don’t drag us into this!”
“Yeah, we’re not as brave as you!”
“Bravo, Master!”
“Bwahahaha!”
Their unrestrained laughter infuriated Pasifal.
“You guys! Last night, you all swore to help me, and now you’re scared?!”
“You asked us to help you against a swordsman, but you didn’t say that swordsman is Mr. Carlos!”
“Right? Fighting him is just plain unwise.”
“Alright, everyone be quiet!”
Lady Catherine’s roar silenced the crowd instantly.
“Pasifal, what on earth are you doing?! As if this isn’t embarrassing enough!”
“Mom, I—”
“What did you just call me?”
“…Mother dear, I-I was just dueling with Mr. Carlos.”
“Dueling?”
Lady Catherine looked puzzled as she turned to Carlos, who by now had tied his sword back to his waist and shrugged again, wearing that same innocent look.
So, she redirected her gaze back at Pasifal.
“Do you have nothing better to do? This is outrageous!”
Pasifal opened his eyes wide.
“Outrageous? I wasn’t being outrageous!” He pointed at Carlos, “Mother, he bullied Pepé!”
Lady Catherine’s brows knitted together.
I felt her glance toward me from the corner of her eye, and my heart raced.
“Bullied Pepé? Who told you that? Mr. Carlos wouldn’t do something like that!”
“Really! If you don’t believe me, just ask her—”
Lady Catherine turned her head to me at a leisurely pace.
“What’s going on?”
