My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 83

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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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During the banquet, the Black Panther Man had clung to the Princess like a shadow. Now he was smiling at the Marquess’s Daughter instead.
“Excellent work, my lady. Time is short—shall we depart?”
“Very well. Princess, I’m afraid I must take my leave. Duty calls.”
They loaded the deer carcass onto the cart and drove away. The Princess watched them go for a long moment.
Her shoulders sagged; the hand holding the Crossbow hung limp at her side. When she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper.
“I could have made that kill. I really wanted to best the Marquess’s Daughter this time…….”
The Princess turned to face me. Her green eyes glimmered, and then she smiled.
“But Balanus will drive something even better my way, won’t you?”
“Of course. We may have missed the deer, but the final prize will fall to you, I assure you.”
“Is that so? What do you think, Arkel?”
The Princess fixed her gaze on Arkel. The air of the Hunting Ground seemed to tighten. Arkel glanced at Gai, then opened his mouth.
“……You can manage it, Princess.”
“Even though my marksmanship is rather poor?”
“You’re far more skilled than the Marquess’s Daughter, who shoots like a……mere novice.”
His voice sounded as if it were being torn from him. Here was Arkel, straining with all his might to offer flattery.
The Princess seemed satisfied. She turned the conversation with a laugh.
“Not bad at all.”
Whether she meant her own skill or Arkel’s flattery, I couldn’t say.
But either way, her mood had clearly lifted. Arkel, though, looked exhausted. He wiped his face with a dry hand and spoke.
“I don’t understand how you find this so easy. Fighting in the Dogfighting Arena was almost easier.”
“Now you understand how remarkable I am, don’t you?”
Arkel didn’t answer Gai’s teasing remark. He simply walked on, his face hollow and blank.
As we wandered through the forest, we encountered prey several times, but they were only rabbits—nothing of consequence.
“I suppose my lack of skill is to blame, isn’t it, Arkel?”
“……No. It’s my fault.”
“The Marquess’s Daughter was right—I have nothing but passion. She hunts better than me, she’s wiser, she’s more beautiful…….”
“N-no. You are……far, far more beautiful, Princess…….”
It seemed as though Arkel were coughing up blood. I’d never seen him push himself this hard. While the Princess was satisfied, I murmured to Arkel.
“When Gai returns, go scout for more prey. I’ll handle things here.”
“No. For Balanus, I can grovel like a slave in the Dogfighting Arena, or play puppet for the Princess. I can do anything.”
That frightened me—not because it was flattery, but because he meant every word. How far was he willing to go? Just then, Gai burst from the underbrush, breathless.
“Princess! There’s a wild boar over there!”
“Really? How exciting!”
I followed Gai to where he pointed, and there lay a massive boar, asleep.
Asleep, despite all the commotion in the forest? I found it odd, but the excited Princess raised her Crossbow.
“Don’t help me this time. I can do this myself.”
Help or no help, there would be trouble either way. All I could do was hope she’d bring it down in one shot.
Everyone held their breath. The boar’s eyes snapped open—dull and clouded. The Princess panicked, and hastily fired her bolt.
Crack!
The bolt struck true between the boar’s eyes. It shrieked and collapsed at once.
But something felt wrong. It was as if the boar had deliberately thrust its head toward the path of the incoming bolt…….
Before I could dwell on it, Gai’s delighted voice rang out.
“Truly, you are magnificent, Princess! A clean shot through the skull in one go! Genius! Even the Marquess’s Daughter couldn’t manage that!”
“Wow, I didn’t know I had such talent!”
The Princess bubbled with excitement, chattering away, while Gai played along. With the help of her Guards, she descended lightly to the ground.
“Everyone’s worked hard. Let’s rest awhile—please, take some time for yourselves too.”
At her word, the Guards bustled about preparing to rest. The way they spread out blankets and angled parasols showed practiced ease.
We sat on the ground, taking our ease. Gai stood apart, unwilling to soil his clothes with dirt, but I watched him carefully.
“You’re quite skilled at Necromancy.”
“Thank you for the compliment, sir.”
The moment I saw the boar’s vacant eyes, I understood. Gai was controlling it with Necromancy.
“An assistant shouldn’t be the one killing the prey—surely you know that.”
“As long as no one finds out, it doesn’t matter, does it?”
Gai raised his index finger to his lips, smiling mysteriously.
“I poisoned it, so it won’t be discovered easily.”
It was a shortcut. Yet undeniably, Gai’s methods were helping us. They had been all along.
He was being cocky, but he was genuinely assisting us. There would have been no need to appease the Princess without his aid.
“Maybe I should try to become the Princess’s lover while I’m at it.”
……There seemed to be a personal motive at work. Arkel closed his waterskin and set it aside.
“Your master must have told you not to pull such stunts.”
“Is that what you call a stunt? That’s the thinking of someone who’s never been in love.”
Gai was being sarcastic, but Arkel showed little reaction. He merely checked the condition of his dagger. Gai, leaning against a tree, watched him with an air of bemused wonder.
“You’re quite patient, aren’t you? Cesare would’ve thrown a punch by now.”
“Hitting you won’t change your behavior or your thinking anyway.”
“Is that so? Then you’re naturally lenient with me?”
Arkel was certainly more indifferent to Gai than he was toward Cesare or Bella. Gai’s violet eyes fixed on Arkel.
“You didn’t say a word when I betrayed Cesare.”
“The stabbing is in the past.”
“So you forgive me?”
“No. The wound may have healed, but the money is a different matter.”
It was the sort of remark that would make Cesare shout if he heard it. Arkel’s gaze turned glacial.
“You’ll repay every coin you extorted from Cesare. Your purpose is to serve Balanus.”
“You define other people’s existence for them, and I’m supposed to be grateful? What if I become useless?”
“I’ll keep only what’s useful.”
“And what would that be? My face?”
Arkel met his gaze directly.
“Your corpse.”
It wasn’t a threat or mockery. Gai felt a fresh chill at the realization that Arkel didn’t see him as a person at all.
Did one harbor anger toward a blade for having pierced a man? Did one continue using a sword after it dulled, no matter how long one had relied on it?
That was precisely the extent of Arkel’s regard. The cold, indifferent words hung in the air. Gai fell silent for a moment, then quirked his lips and laughed brightly.
“Still, I’m useful, aren’t I? I was useful today, wasn’t I?”
“Yes.”
“Thank goodness. I’ll live another day.”
Whether it was good humor or mental fortitude was unclear. The Princess, who had been fanned for some time, rose from her seat.
The rest was over. Gai scurried to the Princess and personally helped her mount her horse. His attentiveness was meticulous.
Arkel watched him in silence, as one might observe a sword. Then he spoke to me.
“Should I hate Gai?”
“Would you hate him if I did?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s talk about this when we return home. At length.”
It wasn’t something that could be resolved here and now. For the moment, we decided to focus on assisting the Princess.
Thanks to Gai’s initiative, the hunt proceeded smoothly. He had clearly made considerable preparations during his brief absence.
“Your Highness! There’s a deer over there!”
“Your Highness, I’ve found a fox!”
“Your Highness, a plover’s nest! People would be astounded by that!”
Gai brought animals from every direction. Or rather, their carcasses.
The procession of corpses pleased the Princess, while her guards watched Gai with astonished eyes.
“My choice to select Balanus was certainly sound!”
“Of course, Your Highness. How could your judgment ever be mistaken?”
Gai made a show of kissing the back of the Princess’s hand. This sort of thing truly had become second nature to him.
Even as his complexion worsened from the exertion, he never neglected his flattery.
Yet when he brought down even the more challenging prey with ease, the Princess’s face brightened considerably. Seeing the cart growing heavy with spoils, she spoke.
“Shall we head back soon?”
“One moment, Your Highness. There seems to be a commotion nearby.”
Excited voices could be heard not far off. The Princess’s eyes gleamed.
“There must be something larger! Lead the way!”
Despite the cart being laden with game, she showed no sign of satisfaction. We turned toward the clamor.
“Curse it, drive it this way!”
“Keep it steady so the Marquess’s Daughter can take it!”
Amid violent shouts and the reek of blood, a massive silhouette emerged. A bear.
The Black Panther Man and several others surrounded it, pressing in from all sides. Arrows protruded from the bear’s body, yet it showed no sign of falling.
The Marquess’s Daughter was drawing her bow repeatedly. The moment the Princess saw this, she dismounted.
She had already drawn a crossbow. She took her firing stance.
“You can let me have this, can’t you? Since it’s Balanus.”
—Twang!
The crossbow bolt struck the bear’s back with a sharp crack. As the beast roared, the Marquess’s Daughter spotted us.
“Your Highness, don’t place a teaspoon on the table I’ve set!”
“I’m simply helping since the party table wasn’t finished.”
The Marquess’s Daughter pressed her lips tight and raised her bow again. As arrows and bolts flew between them, the Princess whispered.
“Dein, block the Marquess’s Daughter for me.”
Block the Marquess’s Daughter? It was an absurd request. Yet I drew my sword anyway.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
When ordered, one obeys. Of course, in a way that didn’t cost Balanus anything. I moved beside Gai and whispered to him.
“Are there still bodies left?”
He flashed a sly smile, his eyes crinkling with understanding. As if he already knew what I was plotting.
“Planning something like that. You’re quite the wicked master, aren’t you?”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
I quietly laid out my scheme to him. Gai let out a low chuckle and snapped his fingers.
“A wicked master indeed. We think alike, don’t we?”

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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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