The Genius Perfumer of the Fallen Cult - Chapter 6
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
The Genius Perfumer of the Fallen Religious Order Episode 6
Still, no sound escaped from his lips. Only his roughly tied red hair swayed chaotically.
He knew there were people somewhere who dreamed such dreams. Even when the two of them wandered as orphans with nowhere to turn, the children of well-off families in every village all dreamed such dreams.
Leaving this palm-sized village to start as a mercenary and become a mercenary king, catching a knight’s eye to become a squire, displaying outstanding swordsmanship to defeat monsters and receive titles and territory to rise in the world…
But this too was the kind of fantasy one graduated from around age five.
He and Prim were now ten years old and still having such dreams?
Though he was indeed far stronger and larger than his peers, how could he compare to real knights?
Moreover, who would employ someone with such red hair? Wouldn’t it be fortunate if they didn’t shun him for bringing monsters?
Even if he were lucky enough to become a knight, living and dying as a wandering knight would be a blessing from Aiser and Noxrak.
But when he tried to argue with Prim, no words came to mind. Prim was quietly staring at him. In one of Prim’s clear light green eyes, he could read tension.
She seemed worried that he might say he wouldn’t become a knight, that it was nonsense.
Rozien stopped tugging at his hair for now. He swallowed his saliva.
“…Fine, I understand. I’ll become a squire to a passing knight and then become a knight myself. Got it. And then, now…”
“After receiving several fiefs, you’ll establish territory and gradually expand to become a great lord.”
“…”
Rozien, who was about to ask ‘Is that it now?’, only swallowed dry saliva.
He’d escaped the frying pan only to land straight in the fire.
In truth, just becoming temple orphans instead of wandering orphans was already an enormous rise in status.
But on top of that, becoming a knight and then a great lord?
Wasn’t the dream a bit too big?
Even those well-off children stopped their fantasies at the level of becoming knights—they didn’t dream as far as great lords.
Rozien tried to moisten his parched lips. He felt at a loss for what to say.
As a beggar, as an orphan, rolling around with nowhere to belong, he had picked up quite a bit of knowledge.
How would one meet a lord to grant fiefs, and even if granted such land, how would one expand it—everything was vague and like grasping at clouds.
But Prim had never once spoken of grasping at clouds.
When Prim had taken the curse in his place, she had calmly concluded, ‘It would be better if we went our separate ways now.’
As vagrants, if one couldn’t even walk, there was no reason to stay together.
How much trouble he’d gone through to make her retract those words. Worried that Prim might run away in the night, bleeding from her feet, he used to tie their hands together tightly with old cloth when they slept.
If that same friend was speaking this seriously, he couldn’t deny it. But he spoke carefully.
“Um, Prim. You know, the thing is. A knight maybe, but a great lord is really… truly impossible… don’t you think?”
Actually, he thought becoming a knight was incredibly impossible too, but after being hit with the word ‘great lord,’ he had the strange illusion that becoming a knight might somehow be manageable.
“You can do it.”
“No, I can’t…”
“You can do it.”
Prim spoke with a voice full of conviction, as if she had seen the future where he succeeded.
“Y-yes, I understand…”
Rozien decided to nod while scratching the back of his head. It would be embarrassing to keep refusing when a friend was saying it would work out.
“Right! Great lord—what’s so hard about that? Let’s give it a try.”
Prim watched Rozien awkwardly rubbing his neck and realized she had gone too far.
Her resolution to express herself properly seemed to have been excessive. She hurriedly added:
“…Of course, I’ll become a perfumer and help you. And about being a great lord—well, if you don’t want to become a great lord, you don’t have to.”
But Prim couldn’t bring herself to say ‘Let’s do what you want to do.’
That was what she had told him in her past life too. Back then, Rozien had said he just wanted to serve as Prim’s hands and feet. And that wish had made him the lord of the Dark Cave.
But that lord of the Dark Cave was now rolling his eyes around, wondering how to handle this topic.
“Whether to become a great lord or not? We’ll think about it when the time comes?”
“Yes.”
“You and me, two orphans?”
“Yes.”
Suddenly Rozien burst into loud laughter. As he held his stomach and laughed, Prim just blinked and stared at him.
“…I know why you’re laughing. But Rozien, you really have talent.”
“No, no. It’s not that, it’s not because of that… Ah, I understand. We’ll manage somehow. I’m strong, after all.”
“Yes.”
Then the sound of a bell rang out from the distance. It was the bell that Marseria Priest rang to gather the orphans.
Rozien noticed the reason for the bell and glanced at Prim.
“Um, Prim. Should we just keep swinging?”
Today was the day Baron and Baroness Corvus were visiting. Last time they came, Prim had made an excuse about being sick and lay in her room.
Still, the Baron and Baroness Corvus had insisted on checking on Prim, nursing the supposedly sick Prim before returning.
Prim let out a short sigh as she recalled the couple’s faces.
“No, I’ll go down.”
At Prim’s words, he naturally offered his back. Prim climbed on and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
* * *
“Oh my, Prim! You look so pretty today too. Have you been well? You seem a bit thin. I brought this for you.”
While the other children stood to greet them, Prim couldn’t stand and welcomed the Baron and his wife from her chair. The Baroness barely acknowledged the other children before rushing straight to Prim and holding out a small box.
Inside were deep purple, somewhat oddly-shaped candy-like things.
“Wow!”
The children watching from a distance exclaimed in admiration without even knowing what it was. Baroness Corvus smiled as she explained.
“These are violet candies. They’re made by picking violet petals and coating them with sugar. Very fragrant, isn’t it?”
Prim looked at the Baron and his wife while smelling the violet candy.
Her explanation was perfectly accurate, but these violet candies were old—the floral fragrance had almost disappeared, leaving only the smell of stale sugar, dried egg whites, and lies.
Marseria Priest also seemed to notice that the candy Prim received was an old, low-grade product, but composed his awkward expression and stepped in for Prim.
“Thank you so much, both of you. To bring such things…”
“How could we not, when the child is so adorable.”
“Prim is like our own daughter.”
Even so, it was something the impoverished orphanage could never have seen. The Baron and Baroness exchanged smiles.
Prim was fiddling with the box containing the violet candy when she noticed a piercing gaze from afar and turned her head.
A girl with jet-black hair and bright blue eyes, notably pretty, was hiding in the building’s shadow and glaring at Prim.
Baron and Baroness Corvus had been very fond of that girl, Bianna.
Until Prim appeared at this orphanage.
They had shown affection for Bianna again only after Prim rejected their adoption proposal.
And no one ever saw Bianna again after she was adopted in Prim’s place.
Because she couldn’t even leave behind a corpse.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————