Flower of Steel - CHapter 116

Oh my god, so Uncle was right! “How strong is he?” I asked.

Daisy rolled her eyes a bit and let out a short sigh with the answer, “I couldn’t even dare try to do anything in front of him. If a sword master tried, I’d be a dead man in seconds.”

I see. From my point of view, Daisy seems strong enough… Wait. Was the suspicious man I saw at the old bookstore a sword master too?

“Daisy. What about the man we saw at the…”

I was bringing up the question, to which Daisy immediately denied, “No. He was a bit weird. Assassins have developed senses as we have to act in the darkness. But that man seemed like… a being from another dimension instead of a swordsman. But his skills must be close to a sword master, just like you guessed. I barely managed to stand in front of him, to be honest.”

I felt dazed by her words. I see. So, my mysterious enemy truly sent a powerful being to me to kill me out of fear! But I can’t give up only because my enemy is strong! In chess, the weaker pieces often capture the queen, the strongest piece in the game. Even a strong being will have a weakness. I felt I could see how I was being looked down upon by my enemy, revealing their strongest piece like that. But in battle, you can never relax. The outcome can never be predicted if you hold yourself tight to the end.

“I’m tired now. I should sleep.”

“Of course, milady. Good night.”

Daisy turned the light off and left. I laid myself on the bed and began guessing about the genius Uncle mentioned through my numbing sensation. If I could make the genius be on my side, my safety was assured. If so, I need to know who that genius is. But who could they be? I kept thinking about it, then realized I was thinking nonsense and laughed.

‘How could I know that person will side with me if I ask for help?’ I stopped my pointless thoughts, lost consciousness, and fell asleep.

***

Today was my day off, so I was resting at home with an uncombed look. Daisy made me wash my face, but I was too lazy to do anything else, so I even skipped breakfast as I lay in my bed. Then I became hungry and went down to head for the kitchen.

“Marin!”

The familiar voice struck me on the spot. I turned my head toward the voice and saw a person who had no chance of existing in this mansion, sitting down at the chair of the lobby.

“R-Rian? Why are you here?” I asked.

“Hahaha. Did I surprise you? The Captain called me in.”

I was startled by his visit, but I remembered he was a member of the Central Knights as I heard him saying it was an errand from my uncle and quickly accepted the reason he existed in this space. But right now, I was in an unsightly state, completely unarmed. The hunger disappeared, and I thought I should run to my room right now. I quickly turned to escape back to my room on the second floor when Rain called me.

“Marin, do you like watching theatricals?”

I had to think about his sudden question. Theatricals? Well… My family wasn’t in a financial position to enjoy such lavish hobbies until very recently. I have never seen them, so I can’t say if I like them or not.

“I’m not sure? Actually… I’ve never seen one.”

It was enough to be looked down upon if I said that, but Rian still just smiled and spoke in this way.