VIO Ch 15 – Dark Clouds (I)

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Translator: mii

Editors: sleepchaser, Katie_WanderingFujoshi, ASplashofMusic

After a late lunch, Flora began to doze off.
Noticing that, Vio carried her to the guest room.
Once he had placed her on the bed, he made his way out, gently closing the door behind him with his head lowered.
A breath of relief escaped his lips.
He lifted his head, ready to return to his room, only to see Anna and Calia standing before him with contrite expressions.

Anna bowed her head and said, “Please forgive me, My Lord.” She was a woman in her early thirties, red locks paired with indigo eyes.
As a veteran maid, she had waited on Flora since Vio had still resided in Nada town.
“I’m prepared to accept my punishment for my blunder.”

“Me too,” said Calia.

Both of them hung their heads in shame, their faces pale.
Vio’s gaze fell upon them, a wry smile tugging at his lips.
He let out a small sigh.
Such a reaction caused both women to hunch their shoulders.

Am I that scary? He scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
The original Vio, the villain in “Princess Dances with the Night,” was certainly scary.
In the midst of his father and brother’s unfair treatment toward him, his most trusted knight had betrayed him, causing him to distrust everyone.
Causing him to treat the people around him awfully.

Although the current Vio hated knights, he hadn’t lost trust in other people.
On the contrary, he was even grateful to his servants.
They were the reason why he was able to support his current lifestyle, unable to step foot outside the mansion as he was.
If they had chosen to abandon him, only death would have awaited him.
As such, ever since that incident in the winter, he never acted arrogantly towards his servants.
To be honest, he had never ordered for the deaths of anyone in the first place.
So Vio couldn’t comprehend their fear toward him.

“Why should I punish you? Your master is Flora.”

“B-but it wouldn’t be strange for His Grace and Lord Rupheus to behead us for this blunder,” Anna said, her voice trembling. 

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Vio sighed again.
“Both of you have already been punished.”

Their voices overlapped as they exclaimed, “Huh?”

“Your faces are so pale, like you’re on the verge of death.
Besides, from just a glance, I can see that you’ve been sincerely reflecting on your mistakes.
There’s no need for me to blame you any further, right? Not to mention, you already know what you should do in the future.”

Vio swept his gaze from Anna to Calia.  Anna nodded, eyes bright with determination.
“I won’t take my eyes off Lady Flora.
If I have to leave her side, I will make sure to have someone else accompany her in my stead.”

“I’m the same,” said Calia.
“I won’t leave her side, especially when we’re outside.”

Vio nodded in approval.
“I know it’s difficult taking care of that energetic child, but I’ll entrust her safety to you.
Also, don’t bother reporting this to Father and Brother.
Inform the others of this as well.” 

 “Yes.” 

“As you wish.”

Satisfied with their responses, Vio clapped to break the heavy atmosphere.
“Then, we’re done with this conversation.
At the moment, there is another maid named… Gina, was it? Anyway, she’s attending to Flora now, so you both can go ahead and take a rest.
You appear haggard.
Flora will be worried if she catches sight of you two in this state.
Right, ask Rille to prepare a hot drink for each of you.”

“But⁠—”

Vio raised his hand in one swift motion.
“This is an order.
Have a hot drink and finish it slowly.
If you return in less than a minute, I’ll be angry.
Go now.”

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They looked at each other in consternation, but ultimately, they accepted his decision.
They bowed to him and went downstairs.

After they had left, Vio sighed.
He went down the stairs to the entrance hall. I need to tell Flora to shield them from Father and Brother later. 

At the entrance hall, Jill was speaking with Inspector Rourke.

“Rourke? What’s wrong?” asked Vio.
“Is there a problem in town?”

Rourke looked up at him upon hearing his question.
“Oh, Lord Violant!” Then he bowed to Vio, holding his hat under his arm.
“Um, I just came… as a… representative, and—”

 “What?” asked Vio, tilting his head in confusion.

Jill laughed and said, “The townspeople came to visit you, Young Master.
They’re currently waiting outside.
May you give them a moment of your time?”

“The townspeople? I’m sorry, but I can’t leave the mansion.”

In a flustered manner, Rourke said, “A-ah! We are aware of Lord Violant’s condition.
It would be enough if you could see them from the door… I apologize sincerely for being unreasonable!”

“Calm down.
I’m not reprimanding you…”

Rourke was skilled at his job, but he easily grew flustered when dealing with someone of high social status.
Seeing him descend into his usual flustered state Vio calmed him down.

Expression stern, Legion approached them in a rush and asked, “What happened?” Since he had been silent in his approach, his voice surprised everyone.

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Vio said, “It seems like members of the town have gathered outside.”

“Should I drive them away?”

Noticing Legion’s expression grow wary, Vio immediately said, “It’s fine.
If they’re planning to harm me, they won’t wait outside, right?”

Once again in a panic, Rourke waved as he said, “No, there’s no way we would harm you! Everyone is simply worried about Young Lady Flora.
They only wish to know her current condition.”

Jill added, “I’ve already told them she was fine, but they refused to listen.
Perhaps the members of the town won’t feel relieved until they get to hear these words from Young Master yourself.”

Vio glanced at Legion.
“See? It’ll be fine.”

Legion’s countenance softened immediately.
“Yes.”

Estimating that there were at most five people outside the mansion, he told Jill to open the door.
Contrary to his expectations, a sea of people stood behind it.
The moment they caught sight of Vio, the excited buzz of conversation filled the air. 

“Thanks for coming all this way to see my sister.
I’m sorry, but she has just fallen asleep.
So may you please keep quiet?” said Vio, placing his finger against his mouth in a gesture for silence. 

In a flash, every member of the crowd covered their mouths with their hands.
Such a sight was comical and amusing, but Vio was just relieved that they had listened to him obediently.

Recalling the manner in which his brother had spoken to the civilians, he deepened his voice to sound as solemn as possible.
“Sorry for the late introduction.
I’m Violant Lesserhain.
As the reeve of Leca town and Amade village, I’m happy to see everyone’s faces.
Thank you for your utmost efforts in searching for the perpetrator and ensuring my little sister’s safety today.
I’m very grateful,” said Vio, offering a faint smile.
The townspeople only nodded silence.
For some reason, some elderly and adult women burst into tears.
Startled, he beckoned to Rourke and asked in a whisper, “Sorry for asking, Rourke, but why are they crying? I don’t remember saying anything mean to them.”

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“Ah.
Please ignore them.
They are just moved to tears.
They had always wanted to meet the reeve who saved the town through the use of Leca flowers.”

“H-huh? Really?”

Unable to fully understand the reason for their tears, Vio decided to leave it alone.
In any case, it didn’t seem as if he had hurt their feelings.

He turned to the townspeople again and said as quietly as possible, “I’m sorry that I can only greet you from here, everyone.
Things are fine now, so please return home.
Thank you very much for today.”

As Vio waved to bid them goodbye, everyone returned the gesture, bowing their heads and walking back to town without a sound.
After their figures had grown distant, Vio turned to Jill Asked him to shut the door.
Once he turned back around, Rourke was bowing deeply as well.
“Thank you very much for listening to our selfish request,” he said.

“No, I’m happy to comply.
Rather, I think it was rude of me to not go outside and to interact with them.
I apologize for that.”

In a fit of desperation, Rourke reassured Vio by saying, “No, no, please don’t say that! Everyone understands your condition, so I’m sure no one thinks that you were being rude, My Lord!”

He then thanked him repeatedly before leaving the mansion.

“Young Master, you were very splendid just now.
I can’t wait to inform Her Grace of this good news!”

“Jill! You’re exaggerating.
I just greeted them briefly.”

For some reason, Jill was overjoyed to the point of tears. 

Surprised by his emotional outburst, Vio handed him a handkerchief.