I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 42. The Flower of Haldenhartz

Bianca and Krash were in the middle of their meal.

Meanwhile, in an open council session at Haldenhartz, discussion was underway.

“What is Krash Balheim’s condition?”

In the conference hall of Haldenhartz.

Meliocan, the eldest son, acting as house lord in place of his father who had stepped away momentarily, posed the question to the assembled retainers.

“He is well. It is regrettable that he has lost an arm, but I believe the matter can be resolved by summoning a High Priest from the Holy Kingdom to restore it.”

That much, at least, was fortunate news.

The incident had occurred within their own domain.

If Balheim were to demand accountability, there could be no greater inconvenience.

“Have we sent word to the Holy Kingdom?”
“Yes, we have submitted a request for a High Priest.”
“That will cost us dearly.”

Meliocan let out a heavy sigh.

The expense was bitter, but there was nothing to gain by provoking Balheim.

“Request that they come with haste, as this is urgent.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Then let us move to the next matter. What are your thoughts on Krash Balheim’s slaying of that beast?”

The matter of Krash’s condition and his arm could be resolved one way or another.

Though the recovery of his arm through priestly magic would not come without its own recovery period and cost, at least it would be resolved.

The true reason they had convened this council today was something else entirely—the matter of Krash’s martial prowess in defeating that beast.

Investigation revealed that Berkman, the beast, had originally reached the upper ranks of Expert.

Having become a spawn of the World Eater, he had grown further still, and the conclusion was that his current power had reached the highest reaches of Expert.

Yet Krash, who had faced Berkman, was merely fourteen years old.

He was a half-blood of Balheim, a bloodline that even the gods had supposedly taken no interest in.

How could he have defeated Berkman?

“There is a rumor that has been circulating recently.”

One of the retainers brought up a rumor that had spread widely of late.

A rumor about Krash’s martial prowess—what he had demonstrated against Anix at the Star Sanctuary.

“Could this not be the belated awakening of the blood’s power running through Balheim’s veins?”
“You all share that view?”

When Meliocan posed the question, his retainers all nodded in agreement.

“Good news for Haldenhartz.”
“Precisely. Isn’t he of the same bloodline as the renowned Sword Saint, Charlotte Balheim? If that bloodline manifests now, he’ll surely grow into an even greater figure in the future.”

This was extraordinary good fortune for Haldenhartz.

Krash was already betrothed to Bianca.

If Krash rose to prominence in Balheim, then Haldenhartz, bound by betrothal, would benefit accordingly.

“Yet, Meliocan, there is the matter of Bianca…”

One small detail gave them pause: Bianca herself.

Bianca was a cursed child, cast out and shunned.

Originally, Krash had been a card Balheim meant to discard, which was why the betrothal had been possible at all.

But if he were no longer a half-blood, if he rose to true standing, the betrothal itself might become a liability.

“Meliocan, wouldn’t it be wiser to change the betrothal now, while we still can?”
“Change it to whom?”
“To Jenika, surely. She is here, after all.”

Though two years Krash’s senior, Jenika was a woman of striking beauty.

She was steady enough—her recklessness only surfaced when Bianca was involved. Otherwise, she gave no real cause for complaint.

“Would it not damage our position to break the betrothal suddenly?”
“On the contrary, wouldn’t a broken betrothal be the greater catastrophe? Balheim would far prefer Jenika to a cursed child.”

A cursed girl was hardly comparable to someone of sound blood.

“Would Jenika consent?”
“She must be persuaded.”

It was for Haldenhartz’s sake.

Jenika’s objections would make little difference.

“Very well. Send for Jenika. And have word brought to Bianca as well—tell her to return.”
“Yes, my lord.”

And so Haldenhartz’s council concluded, neither of the two young women aware of what had just been decided.

＊ ＊ ＊

At that very moment, Krash was walking through a corridor with Bianca.

“Can you see clearly now?”
“Yes, I see fine.”

When Krash glanced at her, he saw that Bianca’s large eyes had finally returned to their proper state.

There was still some swelling, but it would subside by evening.

“How does it feel to have your emotions back?”

Krash wondered if Bianca might somehow become like a ghost again, so he ventured a careful question.

“I’m not sure. I felt something yesterday when I cried for the first time, but now it’s just… nothing in particular.”

Yet Bianca’s response was oddly ambiguous.

Unlike yesterday when she had wept openly, her expression was now blank.

To any observer, it would be impossible to tell whether she had truly recovered her emotions or not.

But there was no helping it.

Having never used the muscles of her face in her entire life, she had no idea how to make an expression.

“Then try thinking of something that would make you angry.”
“What would make me angry?”
“Only you would know that. Isn’t it common for people to feel angry when someone takes something from them, or when they can’t do something as well as others?”

After hearing Krash’s words, Bianca fell into contemplation.

Then her eyebrows twitched slightly and her lips pressed together.

It was only a subtle shift from her blankness, yet it marked tremendous progress.

“So, what did you think of?”

Curious about what Bianca considered to be something that would make her angry, Krash asked, and she turned to face him.

“That you were close with Darling.”
“Why would that make you angry?”
“I don’t know.”

A strange one, indeed.

“Then what does happiness feel like?”

She had experienced sorrow fully enough yesterday.

Shouldn’t she learn joy as well this time?

Unlike when she had deliberated over anger, Bianca’s response suggested she already knew what happiness was.

Then, quite suddenly, she took his left hand and placed it softly atop her head.

Her expression still awkward, she managed to lift the corners of her mouth.

“This is happiness.”

Krash gazed at Bianca for a moment, then naturally began to stroke her hair.

Still small, her head swayed gently left and right beneath his hand.

A faint laugh escaped him.

He moved his hand down from her head and cupped her cheek.

“If you’re going to smile, do it properly. You can’t just lift the corners of your mouth and call that a smile.”
“But I am smiling.”
“Hardly. Your mouth corners need to lift more, and your eyes need to look like this.”

Krash ran his left hand across Bianca’s face, molding it gently this way and that.

The soft, pillowy sensation was more addictive than he’d expected.

“Like this?”

But the result that emerged was ambiguous at best.

The corners of her mouth had lifted and her eyes had closed, but it fell far short of a true smile.

“I’ll need to practice expressions starting today.”

Still, with time, she would eventually smile naturally enough.

So long as Bianca didn’t meet the same end as her predecessor, nothing else mattered.

“Bianca.”

In that moment, a figure appeared at the far end of the corridor.

Snow-white hair and a face that bore Bianca’s features.

It was none other than Jenika.

And she was the one who had tormented Bianca so relentlessly.

The moment Jenika appeared, Bianca slipped quietly behind Krash’s back.

It was not something she would have done before.

When she’d had no emotions, fear had not existed within her either.

But now that she’d reclaimed her feelings, Bianca found it difficult to face Jenika.

Sensing this, Krash moved to shield her, turning his attention to Jenika.

“What brings you here?”

At Krash’s question, Jenika looked toward him.

Her gaze caught on his arm, and she flinched before looking away.

The sight of the knight’s corpse from not long ago had left its trauma burned into her.

“…Brother told me to come get Bianca and bring her with me.”

Even as she spoke, her eyes flickered toward Bianca, hidden behind Krash’s back.

When Bianca had thrown herself alongside the butcher’s hound instead of letting Jenika fall, she’d been powerless to act.

She could only stand frozen, watching Bianca plummet.

After standing there for what felt like an eternity, she finally came to her senses and climbed back up the cliff.

Her hands were scraped raw in the process, but confusion had overwhelmed any pain.

Bianca had saved her.

But why?

It was she herself who had tormented Bianca day after day.

So why had Bianca saved her?

Jenika’s lips pressed together.

That little girl had saved her.

Saved her—her own sister.

Jenika had been helpless in that moment, unable to do anything, yet Bianca had moved with more courage than anyone else.

That fact filled her with a profound self-loathing.

Helplessness had weighed her down heavily, but it was that very loathing that lifted her back to her feet.

If Bianca were to die as things stood, Jenika felt she could never forgive herself.

So afterward, she had returned to Haldenhartz, reported what had happened, and scoured Rocal Mountain alongside the knights.

Though Krash found and rescued Bianca first, Jenika had searched through the falling snow all night long, never stopping.

But that could not absolve her.

So Jenika did not know how to face Bianca as she was now.

Because now she hated herself even more.

Even an apology—she could not tell if it was for Bianca’s sake or merely an indulgence for herself.

“……Brother called for me. And Bianca, it’s been a while.”

With that, Jenika turned and left first.

Only after she fled and disappeared did Bianca emerge from behind Krash.

Krash watched Jenika’s retreating figure.

In the account Bianca had given him before returning to this timeline, Jenika had apparently sought something not quite forgiveness, yet something like it.

And from what he had just witnessed, it seemed to Krash that Jenika had begun to change.

“Bianca.”

Krash looked at Bianca as she peeked out in response to his call, and spoke.

“Even if Jenika’s attitude toward you shifts, you don’t have to forgive her.”

Jenika might seek forgiveness, but whether to grant it was ultimately Bianca’s choice alone.

A plea for forgiveness could not undo all the wrongs committed in the past.

Krash, understanding this well, continued speaking to Bianca.

“So if it doesn’t sit right with you, just ignore it all and come with me. I’ll take you home.”

If Bianca disliked being at Haldenhartz, he would take her and return to Cheongsong Manor instead.

After all, Cheongsong Manor was her home now too.

Hearing Krash’s words, Bianca regarded him in silence for a moment.

Then she lifted the corners of her mouth with both index fingers.

“What I’m feeling right now is joy.”

With that, she turned to leave.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Watching her hurry away on her short legs, Krash let out a soft laugh.

“She laughs better than I expected.”

She hadn’t realized she’d been smiling even before she used her own fingers to lift her lips that way.

“Evelask, you’re nearby.”

Bianca vanished, and Krash called out to Evelask.

At that, a rat scurried up from the direction of the window.

The rat, missing one eye, was already a corpse long since dead.

“Lend me your ears.”

At Krash’s request, the rat immediately scampered across the corridor.

Just try speaking nonsense.

I’ll show you what happens when a fickle Balheim half-blood causes trouble.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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