The Eldest Daughter Walks Down The Flower Path - Chapter 117

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Eldest Daughter Walks the Path of Flowers Episode 117

Yael finished her report about the events at the Archives while prostrated at Olivier’s feet.

“…After that, Earl Sheldon met his death due to Gias going out of control. His close friend Earl Claudio personally recovered his body and laid it to rest in the Knights’ Cemetery.”

The events at the Archives and Daniel Sheldon’s death were thoroughly buried in darkness by the Emperor of the Empire.

Since the Emperor executed countless people to bury that incident, it took quite a long time to uncover this much information.

Feeling guilty about this fact, Yael slightly raised her gaze to look at Olivier.

Olivier, who had sunk deep into his chair, maintained his usual perfect expressionless mask, making it difficult to gauge his state of mind.

His gaze was fixed on the blade of a razor lying on the table.

The razor with its carved ivory handle looked like a work of art when lying still.

No one would know how sharp that blade was until it was wielded to cut through something.

After an unbearably heavy silence, Olivier’s lips parted.

“Her?”

At his voice, which was colder than necessary, Joel, who had brought a vest, hurriedly answered.

“By divine fortune, the magical device malfunctioned at the very moment His Majesty the Emperor tried to cast Gias on her. The young lady escaped the scene without receiving Gias.”

Olivier asked in a voice so smooth it was chilling.

“Was she hurt?”

The moment he heard those words, Joel felt as if the smooth surface of a blade was grazing the back of his neck.

Joel spoke in an unwavering tone while keeping his head bowed.

“She didn’t shed a single drop of blood.”

“Is that so?”

Olivier looked at the cream-colored vest Joel had set down with transparent eyes that held no emotion.

‘The Emperor tried to cast two Gias on her?’

Olivier stared intently at the vest delicately embroidered with silk thread that had a pearl-like luster.

The silk vest felt like someone’s pale skin had been peeled off.

The opal buttons attached to it were staring at him intently.

‘He tried to place an unbreakable curse on her, to make her his forever?’

Olivier covered the jewel with his hand, blocking that gaze.

The lukewarm, round texture of the jewel felt exactly like an eyeball.

The thought that such a sinister gaze had touched her made his head feel like it was turning upside down.

‘With her heart in your grasp, what were you planning to do? Why do you desire everything even though you already possess so much?’

Originally, the emotions he harbored toward the Emperor of the Empire were impossible to summarize in any single word.

Intense hatred, faint hope, sticky disgust that clung like glue and wouldn’t be erased, extremely suppressed desperation, and capricious winds mixed together like pieces of colored glass forming a stained glass window, creating different colors at every moment.

The Emperor of the Empire had shattered it today.

Olivier scraped together the finely broken glass shards with his bare hands.

Needle-thin glass fragments slashed his tender flesh in multiple directions, causing bright red blood to flow, but he continued gathering them without care.

And he looked into what had gathered in his hands.

That was hatred.

Olivier asked in a dry tone.

“Did you confirm Earl Sheldon’s body?”

Yael, who had been applying fragrant oil to his silver hair and combing it down, frowned slightly as she answered.

“I confirmed the body laid to rest in the cemetery. However, it was burned black by the curse’s influence, so I couldn’t be certain it was Earl Sheldon.”

Olivier stood up from his seat as he spoke.

“Gias isn’t that kind of curse. Earl Sheldon is probably alive.”

“If Earl Sheldon is alive, what happened to his Gias?”

“That’s something we’ll have to think about from now on.”

Faint cheers could be heard from beyond the window.

The sound was coming from the direction of the Imperial Arena.

Today was the day when the knight from the South, Robert Rodrick, would challenge the ‘Trial of White Heat’ to receive the Master’s seal.

Lord Zenon, a knight of House Relbelloa and the 14th Master, would be his opponent.

Joel draped the vest over his shoulders.

The sweet musk scent slightly permeating the clothes felt like the smell of blood, but Olivier didn’t care.

He spread his arms and let Joel button the vest and tighten the waist ties while thinking of other things.

Such as the Emperor’s death, which he had only vaguely considered until now.

He had never particularly wished for the Emperor to die.

Rather, if the Emperor died too quickly, it would disrupt his plans, so he somewhat hoped the Emperor would remain in that position for as long as possible.

However, he was now imagining the Emperor’s death for the first time.

In his mind, the Emperor’s hands that had dared to try to bind her stiffened white like candle wax without grasping anything.

The Emperor’s brain that had desired to possess her also rotted away after being devoured by worms.

Olivier watched until the end as the Emperor’s greasy eyes that had gazed at her greedily, even if only for a brief moment, grew dim and sank into empty sockets before completely disappearing.

The man who once owned the Empire would not be purified by sacred fire.

He didn’t deserve such treatment.

Rotting away like a wild animal abandoned in a field would be a fitting end for him.

After all that process was complete, those bones would be buried in the path she walked.

Olivier would fill his wounded hands with cold, damp earth and sprinkle it over them.

His hatred would finally be quenched at that moment.

“Lord Olivier.”

Yael, who had brought a box containing cravats, called to him.

“Which one would you like?”

Olivier, who had been lost in bloody fantasies, raised his head.

He ran his fingertips over the box full of soft things before choosing one.

“I’ll take this one.”

It was when Yael picked up a golden-brown cravat that would match well with the opal buttons set in pure gold bezels.

Olivier’s long, delicate fingers lifted a vivid red cravat from the box.

He held it up to his collar while looking in the mirror.

The intensely red cravat was beautiful but didn’t quite suit his outfit for today.

Joel asked carefully.

“Would you like to change clothes?”

Olivier, who seemed somewhat tired after completing a long and cruel revenge in his fantasy, answered in a somewhat languid voice.

“No, never mind. Today’s protagonist will be the new Master, so it would be better not to stand out too much.”

Olivier lightly touched his lips to the red cravat.

The infinitely soft and smooth silk felt like her skin.

Olivier closed his eyes and spoke to her.

‘I’m truly glad you weren’t hurt. If you had been, I might have gone mad just now.’

The ‘Trial of White Heat’ proceeded according to the procedures that Ardon, the commander of the Black Knight Order, had explained in advance.

In fact, the qualification for Master was simply whether one could handle sword energy, nothing more.

And that qualification had already been proven through the preceding processes.

The final procedure, a duel between the Master and Master candidate, had more meaning as a kind of instructional sparring rather than for verification.

The Master participating in the duel would guide the candidate to fully display their abilities, and the candidate had to respond accordingly.

That duel had another purpose as well.

By showing the skills of the knights who protected the Empire to the public, it would enhance the Empire’s prestige and boost morale.

For this reason, the duel between Master Lord Zenon and candidate Robert was held at the Imperial Arena.

The crowd that gathered to watch the duel was enormous.

Among them were ambassadors from other countries who had visited the Empire for diplomatic purposes.

From what she heard, it seemed the diplomatic delegation from Laphal was also here.

It was the first moment she understood why Eve had ordered such expensive and magnificent armor for just one duel.

“I never thought there would be so many spectators. And foreigners too…”

Robert seemed more flustered than ever.

His brown, tanned face looked somewhat pale.

Radis, who was helping him put on his armor, was equally flustered.

However, she couldn’t show her confusion in front of Robert, who would soon have to face the duel before that crowd.

Radis said with a smile.

“Once you go out to the arena, you won’t even see the audience. Your opponent is the 14th Master. If you let your guard down for even a moment, you’ll be defeated instantly, you know?”

Radis was performing the role of Robert’s squire today.

It was something she only learned after coming here, but even if briefly, the candidate’s squire also had to enter the arena.

Originally, she had planned to wear comfortable clothes that wouldn’t matter if they got dirty, but fortunately she had worn the Black Knight Order’s uniform just in case.

Radis took a step back from Robert, who was sitting fully armored, and looked at his entire figure.

Then she raised both thumbs up.

“You look so cool…!”

It wasn’t empty flattery.

Robert’s appearance, wearing shining armor engraved with the Black Lion Knight Order’s emblem and draped in a black cloak embroidered with the Russel Estate’s shield-shaped crest, was like a knight from mythology.

“Stop it.”

Perhaps finding her praise quite embarrassing, he slightly furrowed his brow while his straight cheeks turned faintly red.

Seeing that, Radis thought.

‘I’m really glad I didn’t burn off his eyebrows…!’

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