20 years had passed when I woke up! ~ The villain's daughter’s thereafter and after that ~ - Chapter 28

Translator: Darling | Editor: Nebosuke

 

This was how the five people gathered at the Matthias’ House.

Former Pope Marcos. His brother Lawrence.

Lawrence’s former classmate, Fioria the “Empress of Blizzard”. Her butler, Lex.

Carl, the son of the current Pope.

“Oh, you are here too.”

Carl spoke with his cocky voice when he noticed Fioria. 

“Lawrence might ask you to resolve the issue, but he picked the wrong person. I’ve investigated who you are. You are nothing but an iron fist, aren’t you? When you are in trouble, you just intimidate people with your << Wand of Divine Punishment >>.  You barely have intelligence.”

“…Well, maybe.”

Fioria nodded.

What Carl said was untruthful and unfair, but she didn’t talk back.

Take, for example, what was now happening in the Regalia Empire.

There was the rebellion of aristocrats, the formation of coalition forces by the surrounding countries against Regalia, and the alliance with Tristan Kingdom (equivalent to a subjugated country).

Fioria mapped out all of these. 

Yet, she didn’t dare to brag about her credits. She believed in the saying, “Cats hide their claws.”

She also thought that it was convenient if people looked down on her as “a savage,” “a fruitcake,” or “her head is packed with slime.”

As Fioria didn’t speak further, Carl kept talking as if he was a bumptious know-all. 

“You have no chance in this case. Let me show you what a wise man does. You may not know this, but people in the church see me as “intelligent as Heinkel Winfield”.

“Alright…”

Was it true?

Judging from what Fioria’s information network told her, all the people close to Carl flattered him, saying, “You’re such a great talent,” and “No wonder you’re a son of the Pope.”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t think Heinkel was a big deal. He was fond of you, wasn’t he? As they say, ‘You attract what you are,’ his intelligence was at your level. He was just overestimated because he had good looks. I may be the only person who has both the intelligence and good looks.”

“…I may value nothing but your sheer confidence.”

“You are barking like a losing dog. It’s time for the young. From today on, a 37-year-old hag should enjoy her retirement living in the countryside.”

Carl’s foul mouth went on to be even nastier. 

Did he forget that he was warded off by Fioria’s mettle three days ago?

Wasn’t he scared of talking about her real age?

Carl triumphantly headed off to interview Marcos.

Fioria, Lawrence, and Lex were left in the reception room of the Matthias Trading Corp.

“…………..”

“…………..”

“…………..”

The room had an awkward silence.

Fioria was the cause.

As for Fioria, who was always full of self-esteem and confidence, it was unusual for her to be at the bottom.

“37 years old…well, yeah, that’s right. I’m in my 30s…… No, close to my 40s………”

“My Lady, go easy.”

Lex tried to comfort her.

“No matter how old you are, you will be beautiful. Don’t worry about it.”

“I know I’m beautiful, but that’s not the point.”

Fioria sighed.

“Aging isn’t a curse. But it’s always annoying for every single woman…”

“Hey, aren’t you 17?”

Lawrence said so as if he took it for granted. 

“Fio, you’ve been in a coma for 20 years. Those 20 years don’t count. You’re still 17 years old! You haven’t changed at all. Look at me. I’m an old fart now.”

He shrugged his shoulders like he was clowning around.

Fioria let out a small chuckle.

“Don’t put yourself down. You look more attractive than you were 20 years ago.”

He had a bulky body with light brown skin.

Lawrence looked like a bouncer at the bar, but in fact, he was a savvy businessman who rebuilt his company, the Matthias Trading Corp.

A couple of the top buttons on his shirt were off, which revealed his collarbones under the neck. He looked stylish.

He was still single, but many women surely had a crush on him.

“I am extremely grateful for the compliment. Then, in return, shall I treat you to dinner?”

“Let me think about it. In the meantime, consider a partnership with the Granford Company.”

“Hey, is it about business? Where is the romance?”

Despite his voice of tone, Lawrence delightedly smiled.

Fioria felt better. She looked happier. 

* *

“Everyone, look at this.”

Shortly after, Carl gathered the other four in the reception room. It looked like he was going to talk about his crucial finding in this case.

It was like the climax of a detective drama.

“Actually, that blackmail letter has a trick on it. It’s invisible ink.”

Carl proudly showed the letter.

A burn mark remained in the lower right part. …He might have intended to roast it with his flame magic, but he had accidentally set it on fire.

Anyways, what message came up on the paper was: “… I’ll get your life on a full moon night.”

That was it. 

“Oh, what…!”

Marcos fell on his buttocks in surprise. He purposely looked done. 

“Seriously, I’ve never thought about it.”

On the other hand, Lawrence still had his poker face. He was a good businessman, after all.

“………..”

“………..”

Fioria and Lex dared not to say anything.

As a matter of fact, Fioria noticed the invisible-ink trick when she first saw the blackmail letter two days ago and let the other three know.

Without heating it up, she applied her controlled magic light and managed to see the hidden message. 

Fioria was a master of light magic, and so it was a piece of cake for her.

“Fioria, you couldn’t find out such a basic trick. Who is an excellent detective here? It’s obviously me.”

Carl boasted about himself.

The other four looked at him uninterestedly, but he was completely unaware of it.

“But now we know what the culprit is going to do. Let’s set up a trap. Marcos, you will be the decoy to get Heinkel out? Can you cooperate with us?”

“……One question?”

Fioria interrupted, “You think Heinkel might be the culprit. Are you really sure about that?”

“Well, well… What are you talking about?” Carl combed his front hair upward and answered conceitedly, “The initials on the letter are W.H. They are W for Winfield and H for Heinkel.”

“Why does his last initial come first? Normally, his initials should be H.W..”

“That is…” Carl couldn’t explain. 

Fioria was quite disappointed. Didn’t you expect that question?

“That’s right… Yeah! Heinkel was traveling to the East! The last name comes first over there. He followed that custom of the East!”

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. But it’s okay.”

Fioria looked at Lex. “Are they ready?”

“Yes, they’re right here.”

Lex took out two pieces of paper.

“Receive the blade of my revenge. Make up for your sin with your life.” The letters were written in bloody red ink.

The exact same message, which was on the letter arrived at Marcos, was on the two blackmail letters.

“Ooooooh! What the heck does it mean? The handwritings are totally different!” 

“These two handwritings are the same and neat, but the other one that came to us had such messy handwriting.”

Marcos gave his exaggerated reaction, while Lawrence remained unruffled. 

Fioria went on talking while she thought that these brothers were funny, acting in contrast. 

“A few others received the blackmail letter apart from Marcos. Five of them. I borrowed two among them.”

“What…?”

Carl didn’t seem to expect it. He instantly froze with a startled look.

“No way, how on earth…”

“Connection.”

When she was still a saint, Fioria was close to the young priests who were unsatisfied with how the church was managed. 

Some of them managed to climb up the ladder of the church hierarchy and secured a position in the upper management of Monadism.

She secretly obtained these blackmail letters through her connection.

“As you can see, only the letter sent to Marcos is different. The original blackmail letters have different handwriting, and there is no invisible-ink trick.”

“What does it mean by that?”

“It’s easy, Lawrence. The blackmail letter that came to your brother is a fake. A piggybacker might post it. ….This self-proclaimed clever guy should be aware of this, though.”

She looked at Carl. 

The young man who referred to himself “as intelligent as Heinkel” had a bluish pale face and was trembling. 

“Um…, of course! Hey, I was going to say that right now…!”

“Surely, while I’m at it, let’s sort it out in context.”

Fioria said so and looked around.

Carl no longer had his lead. Fioria pinched it.

“W.H. sent the blackmail letters to the five people who supposedly betrayed him. I will disregard who W.H. really is. It has nothing to do with this case.”

“What did you say……?”

Marcos was confused.

“Isn’t Heinkel going to get revenge on me?”

“No, that’s your misunderstanding. I’ve investigated those five persons who received the letter. All of them made certain people hold grudges here and there.”

20 years ago, the 13th expedition of Holy Crusaders.

The five of them took advantage of the turmoil in their retrieval battles and secretly tried to murder their boss, their lover’s fiancé, or their political opponents.

One of their victims was probably W.H.

“Marcos, the person who sent you the letter is just a piggybacker. That person just copied the letter thoughtlessly. So, I’m guessing W.H.’s identity is a waste of time.”

“A piggybacker…? Who on earth do you think he is?”

“Well, why? Maybe this cleaver guy might know why?” she asked Carl again.

There was no reply.

He turned really pale, and his eyes were quivering. 

Fioria suspected Carl as the culprit in this case.

Carl was a son of the Pope, and because of his position, he was able to see the five blackmail letters.

He might take advantage of it in order to try to raise his fame.

The blackmail letter was duplicated and sent to the former Pope, Marcos.

After that, he intended to work out the case as if he were a smart detective.

He said he discovered the invisible ink, but it was a fib since he put that on.

(He may be too young.)

According to the gathered information, Carl had great pride in his intelligence.

He might want to make himself look good, and it resulted in this scam. 

His father, Howl III, was always involved in political disputes since the day he became the Pope. Carl was sort of neglected.

This partly motivated him to commit this fraud, perhaps. 

I don’t think Carl orchestrated everything for this blackmailing.

Fioria felt that Carl wasn’t as intelligent as he believed it. 

Someone was behind it.

Fioria wanted to somehow drag that mastermind out.

Therefore…

“Anyways, let’s do what Carl says. Marcos, can you be the decoy?”

She avoided accusing Carl for the time being and moved on. 

* *

The operation was simple.

There was an annex building in the Matthias’ residence.

Marcos spent the night there in order to attract the attacker.

“I’ll be hiding near the annex. I want the rest of you to wait in the mansion. If the attacker sees some of us, he might not come out.” 

Carl didn’t give up. 

Although his plan had already been tattered, he still tried to carry on as planned.

“……He has some grit.”

Fioria revised Carl’s strength a little.

What he is trying to do isn’t great, but I don’t despise his never-give-up spirit.

If he is rubbed and polished, he may turn into a gem. Well, I won’t forgive him for calling me an old hag, though. 

Night fell. 

Fioria was hiding in the bush near the annex looking for what might happen. 

Carl, who was supposed to be Marcos’ guide, wandered around outside… and he eventually headed behind the annex building.

“Um… My plan should work. It’s gonna be okay… My father will look at me now…”

He muttered as if he were convincing himself. He took a deep breath and cried, “You criminal! I won’t let you kill Marcos! Oooh, I underestimated you. But I have my flame magic. Let me completely burn you off!”

It sounded like a fierce battle was about to occur if his words were taken out, but nothing was actually happening.

He was just acting and trumped up. 

“No, are you going to run away?”

Carl’s scenario was something along the lines of, “He managed to drive off the attacker, but he couldn’t catch him.”…But if there was no trace of a battle, it wasn’t really convincing.

Fioria sighed, “What? A demon!? You bastard!”

Carl yelled out and took out a dark magic stone from his inner pocket.

He threw it on the ground.

Shortly after, the black mist spread and eventually formed a shape.

“Cool…”

Fioria grinned and felt it becoming a little more interesting.

It was unknown as to where exactly he got it from, but Carl had the magic stone with a demon encapsulated in it.

He planned to beat the demon and use it as proof of defending Marcos. It was his self-made performance.

“Oooooooooooooh!”

What appeared from the black mist was a knight in armor with no head.

It was a Dullahan, a type of undead.

He held a huge sword in the right hand and a large shield with glittering decorations in the left hand.

“Oh, no. Noooooooo!”

Carl was totally terrified and fell on his butt, despite summoning the Dullahan himself.

“What the hell is going on! It’s different from what is supposed to be! Isn’t it a feeble one?……… Help! Help me!”

Carl screamed.

Right above his head, the Dullahan growled, “Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrh!”

Dullahan slashed his sword. 

Carl’s life was about to end. Was Carl going to die at the cost of his trumping-up?

“Stop right there.”

A shadow swiftly moved in between the Dullahan and Carl.

Her golden hair waved in the air.

Her jade-colored eyes shined with her strong spirit in the dark.

“Fio…ria…?”

“Stop pretending as if you are big, Carl. If you try to butter yourself up, you will end up cutting your own throat.”

Fioria level-headedly told him. 

The Dullahan’s attack didn’t get him. 

“Gowwwwwww…?!”

“Um, where has your mighty power gone? A Dullahan is supposed to be the mightiest among the undead.”

Fioria was putting her left hand up.

She had white, slender fingertips.

Between her index and middle fingers, she sandwiched and held the Dullahan’s giant sword. 

“Gaaaaaah!”

The Dullahan put force into his arms.

However, the tip of his sword didn’t budge at all.

On the contrary….

“This sword is a piece of junk.”

Fioria tightened her two fingers.

Crack…

An ominous crack echoed around the area.

Crack…. crack…. crack……

“Lament, for you will now reach your end.”

Snap! 

Countless cracks ran down in the Dullahan’s huge sword, and then it sort of shattered as if it exploded from the inside.

The undead had no emotions.

Despite that fact, the Dullahan stepped backward as if he was stunned. 

“The sword should be used like this.”

Fioria pulled out her saber from her waist.

She had bought the weapon from the Matthias Trading Corp.

Its sheath was golden.

Its blade was thin and shined in bluish silver.

“………. << Thunderstorm Sword >>”

As Fioria called out, thunder rippled out of her sword.

High-level light magic called the << Judgment of Thunder Emperor>> was empowered into the sword.

“If you are proud of being a knight even at the very moment of your death, endure up to the 3rd strike.”

Her stepping-in was so quick. 

It was divinely fast. 

She slashed her sword diagonally from his left shoulder to his right torso.

The Dullahan couldn’t do anything but thrust out his large shield in defense.

The thunderous sword cut his large shield into halves.

But, the tip didn’t reach the Dullahan’s body.

……Or so it seemed.

“No, not yet.”

Her sword flashed.

No.

Lightning was released from the sword.

Bluish white lightning penetrated the Dullahan and burnt his insides completely. 

His body was wrapped in flames.

He fell down as if a tall tree was axed.

Boom!

A blast blew and violently shook the surrounding trees.

“…A little bit of overkill.”

In the end, a small crater was left in the splendid garden of the Matthias’ residence.

* *

“…… I’m sorry.”

As his plan ended in failure, he was no longer arrogant. His stuck-up attitude was now gone.

Carl honestly admitted his wrongdoing. 

“I can’t accuse anyone else.”

Marcos, who was the direct victim, never tried to blame Carl.

“In order to get the Pope’s seat, I once did many stupid things that made me feel guilty. So, I’m not entitled to rebuke you… If I dare say it, I’d like for you to reflect on what you’ve done and learn to better your future. Or else, a fruitless life like mine will be waiting for you.”

“But a sin is a sin. I think you should be punished.”

His younger brother Lawrence sounded serious, but he didn’t seem to blame Carl more than necessary.

“My bloody big brother was able to get back on the right track because he was properly punished. ……Hey Fio, what should we do with him? It’s gonna be troublesome if we make a big deal out of it. There is no good if the church gets involved either.”

“I know a trustworthy bishop in my network. I’m going to hand him over to the bishop. Is that okay, Carl?”

“Yes… I’m really sorry.”

“Well, that’s fine.”

Lawrence grinned.

He then looked at Marcos.

“But, brother, it isn’t good that you hired an assassin 20 years ago. As a matter of fact, Heinkel was supposed to be killed. It’s not too late yet, but give yourself up to the church. I’ll come with you.”

“…… You’re right.”

Marcos nodded and agreed. 

“This incident may be a heavenly message. After all, heaven is watching everything. I’ll go to church.”

“Just in case, I’ll investigate Heinkel’s whereabouts. His corpse has not been discovered yet, right?”

And in her carriage on the way back, Fioria was surprised by her own words.

“Heinkel’s whereabouts…”

He joined the 13th Holy Crusaders and went missing in the Black Forest.

20 years had passed since then. He couldn’t be alive.

“The death of someone who was close to me is tough to swallow.”

She said so in sorrow and brushed her long hair upward. 

The carriage didn’t return straightaway to the royal capital. She decided to take a detour to a merchant city in the plains along the way.

There was a branch of the Granford Company, and she wanted to visit it.

“Lex, can you make up a report about this branch? I’d like to walk around the city real quick.”

After finishing her audit, she ordered Lex and walked out. 

The foundation of a business was to feel the people’s ordinary lives.

That was what Fioria thought.

“…But it doesn’t mean I want to be in trouble.”

She sighed and inadvertently stepped into the back alley, but she was soon surrounded by a few bad-looking men.

“Hey sweetie, you look gorgeous. Shall we play with you, huh?”

“You know, it’s social study. I’ll make you a real grownup. Heh!”

“Maybe you can boast to my mum and dad. Well, maybe I’ll be a mum instead!”

It was obvious that those men were thinking about something bad. 

She thought that it would take only a blink of an eye to knock all of them out, and sometimes it might be a good chance to observe the behavioral ecology of dickheads.

“There are better manners to ask a girl to go out with. You guys look so pathetic.”

With the voice of a man, water came down from the sky and splashed on them.

It was not raining.

A chunk of water that looked like a bucket was overturned.

The three men got soaked on the spot.

Was it a kind of water magic?

“No!”

“What the hell did you do?”

“A…a…achoo! Damn, who did this? Who’s getting in our way?”

“… It’s me.”

A young man in armor suddenly appeared from the street corner.

He had a mesmerizingly handsome profile.

His light-pigmented blond hair was eye-catching, and he had a noble ambiance.

“You’re kidding….”

Fioria was dismayed, which was very unusual for her because this young man looked very familiar. 

He had gotten taller and had a grownup face.

……But she noticed at one glance. She knew him. What a coincidence!

“It’s better to run away. Otherwise, I will freeze you to death.”

He showed a stern smile and snapped his fingers.

An icy cold wind blew.

Water puddles around their feet started freezing right before their eyes.

“Oh, no!”

“I remember this!”

“Don’t think you can get away from us!”

The men turned around and ran away in panic.

Fioria and the young man were left behind.

“Are you alright?…… A woman shouldn’t walk alone in a back alley. Shall I take you to one of the main streets?”

“You… Heinkel?” Fioria asked.

Although he was much taller than when he was 8 years old, there was no doubt.

He was definitely Heinkel.

“…Do you know me?”

On the other hand, his reaction was dull. 

“If that’s the case, I’m afraid I have no memory of what happened 6 years ago and before that. It’s a so-called memory-loss.”

 

1. So what does this incident mean?

 

The 5 persons who first received the blackmail letter deceived many people in the 13th Holy Crusade 20 years ago. They were also involved in Heinkel’s disappearance.

W.H.: One of the victims, who was hoaxed by the 5 persons above, wrote the blackmail letter with his/her initials. It had nothing to do with Heinkel. 

Carl: He copied the blackmail letter and sent it to Marcos. He applied invisible ink on the letter. He learned the trick from his grandpa when he was little. According to his plan, he should have gained fame as “a hero who saved the crisis of the former Pope.”

Marcos: He mistakenly regarded the initials W.H. on the received blackmail letter to be Heinkel’s.

Lawrence: A 37-year-old single man.