, the most powerful woman in the kingdom, would have such a naive and nonchalant personality. Each time Orvieto did something or said something, Valeria would feel the original impression she had of her slowly disintegrate.Valeria rubbed her solar plexus with her hand, then said in a low voice:
“May I ask… um.. can you tell me why you’ve a.s.signed that young man to be my Hiera Glaphicos?”
“Like I said before, because your Crests are extremely dense and complex, there are only a handful of Hiera Glaphicos’ who can handle them. In fact, there’s so few of them that we can count them by hand! Also, your father has given the Academy a fair amount of money so that we a.s.sign a Hiera Glaphicos that is powerful enough to protect you from harm.”
“M-my father!”
“Therefore, we concluded that Dimitar was the best choice of personnel… no, the only choice of personnel.”
“Please don’t decide on things so casually!!”
Valeria was so angry that she’d already forgotten who she was talking to, slamming her fist into the table so hard that shook and rattled.
“He’s a guy! A guy!!!!”
“Yeah, he’s a pretty reliable man, and his sword skills are top notch–”
“But still, he’s a guy! A man! How many times do I have to tell you that he’s a man?! I’m a girl, for goodness sakes, how can you a.s.sign a male Hiera Glaphicos to me?! It-it’s…… too embarra.s.sing!”
“Ooooohhh, so you were worried about that, huh?”
“To me, it’s a big problem!!!!”
Valeria shouted with a red face:
“— I’m a Dominus? No, even if I wasn’t a Dominus, what would happen if an accident happens…”
TL Note – Accident, as in getting $%^%$^%ed
“Valeria, you don’t have to worry about that.”
Orvieto cut off Valeria in mid-sentence, then said in a nonchalant manner:
“Di’s only interested in older women. That’s how he’s always been.”
“Wh-wh-what does that mean?”
“In other words, he won’t lay his hands on you, my little girl.”
TL Note: LOLI!!!!
“H-how… do you know that for sure?!! n.o.body knows what goes on in a man’s mind–”
“Valeria.”
Orvieto cut her off mid-sentence again, then said warmly, though with an indescribable might:
“I’ve already said there won’t be a problem, so there won’t be a problem. Di won’t do anything transgressing to you — if you still aren’t convinced, then I’ll vouch for what I’ve said with my life.”
“Headmaster….!”
Since Orvieto had already said she’d wager her life, there was nothing more Valeria could say. Even though her lips were still trembling, as if she wanted to continue voicing out her opinions, she knew that she could not win against Orvieto in an argument. And like that, their meeting concluded, and Valeria left the office in a dejected manner.
“Uwu… uwahhhhh–”
Valeria did not know why, but the tabard she was wearing for the first time felt strangely heavy. She was so downcast that she didn’t notice the people who bowed their head down in respect of her when she pa.s.sed them. To Valeria, the anger and frustration she felt of having a male Hiera Glaphicos had already buried the joy she felt at having been selected as a Dominus.
Unconsciously, she was already thinking of how to change this reality.
First, let’s stop worrying over whether or not it was because of my family that I was a.s.signed a male Hiera Glaphicos. Even though I can’t confirm whether Orvieto really is that kind of person — it seems that she trusts that Dimitar very much. Based on the meeting just now, I can tell that no matter how many times I request Orvieto to change my Hiera Glaphicos, she won’t switch Dimitar for somebody else.
But even so, I cannot give up on being a Dominus.
Dominus’ were the wives of G.o.d, and there were only 12 of them within the 7 countries that comprised the . Even the strongest Kingdom in the continent, Yamoda, had only 3 Dominus’. To young women who possessed magical talent, becoming a Dominus was something more glorious and honourable than being fancied by the children of n.o.bles. It was their ultimate dream.
Not to mention, Valeria had the responsibility of restoring the Costacurta Family name. No matter what, she could not give up this hard earned opportunity just because her Hiera Glaphicos was a man.
“–”
Valeria rubbed her pouting lips with her hands whilst walking, before stopping dead in her tracks right as she stepped out of the courtyard of the Magic Academy.
She’d seen the young man who was basking in the sunlight by the side of the fountain, yawning ceaselessly. His current lazy, lax and indolent expression made him seem like a different person from the smart young man who was in the office just moments ago. Maybe this was his true nature.
Valeria frowned, then walked over to Dimitar Richternarch.
“Richternach-dono.”
“…. huh?”
Dimitar looked at Valeria, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his hands.
“I’m going to be frank with you.”
“Say what?”
“Please resign immediately.”
“What in the world are you saying?!”
Dimitar said rudely. The sincereness from back then had disappeared without a trace. He’d only act like a good, polite boy in front of Orvieto. Even though it was pot calling the kettle black, as Valeria herself was pretty rude towards Dimitar, but since Dimitar was speaking to her with such a rude tone, continuing to call him “dono” would be rather stupid.
Valeria furrowed her brows in anger, then pointed her finger at Dimitar’s nose and said:
“Hiera Glaphicos! Hiera Glaphicos! I want you to resign from your post as my Hiera Glaphicos!”
“What are you babbling on about?!”
Batting away Valeria’s finger lightly, Dimitar stood up.
The height difference was immediately noticeable – Dimitar was taller than Valeria by a head. Therefore, Valeria had no choice but to lift her head to look at him. However, this did not suppress her imposing manner, and she raised her finger again to point it at Dimitar’s nose.
“Just what is wrong with you?!! This is no way to treat a Dominus! There is no way I can accept the fact that you’re going to be my Hiera Glaphicos. Resign now before you make the Headmaster lose face!!”
“It’s my freedom, my right to decide whether or not I resign, not yours. Stop sticking your nose into things that do not concern you.”
Dimitar swatted away Valeria’s hand once again, pressed his middle finger on Valeria’s nose, and said in an unpleasant manner:
“Sure, I’m your Hiera Glaphicos, but in no way does it mean that I’m your servant. During work, I’ll treat you with the required etiquette and formality, but I won’t treat you like a king at other times… really, casually telling somebody to resign from their post as Hiera Glaphicos… just who do you think you are?!”
“Uuuu!”
“What an idiot. Stop trying to stick your nose into other people’s business when you should sort yourself out first. Sigh, honestly… If you get into trouble, my daily life is going to be affected!!”
“Y-y-you, do you have brain problems?!”
Valeria tilted her head to knock off Dimitar’s finger. Headstrong and stubborn, she was about to lecture Dimitar on how rude he was to her.
“I’m a Dominus. How dare you–”
“Hey~~”
As she was about to vent her anger and frustration at Dimitar, a deep voice of greeting came from behind them. Startled by the suddenness of the greeting, she hastily turned her head backwards.
“I’ve heard that you guys had already met, so I guessed that ya’ll were probably still around. Ah, it’s good to see the two of you.”
A young man dressed in the uniform of the Seal Knights Corps said with a faint smile.
“–Lucius-dono!”
Valeria pushed Dimitar to one side, then ran towards the young man.
“It’s been so long, Lucius-dono!”
“Your eminence Costacurta… congratulations on officially becoming a Dominus.”
After Lucius saluted her respectfully, he took hold and kissed lightly the back of Valeria’s right hand.
“Don’t treat me like such an outsider… Valeria is fine, Lucius-dono ♡.”
Valeria stuck her b.u.t.t out and leaned forward seductively, staring at Lucius with eyes of adoration.
Lucius was the vice-commander of the Seal Knight Corps, a man that many young lady aristocrats yearned for. Not only was he handsome and a genius, he was humble, polite and kind to others even if they were of a lower status. And coupled with the fact he was only 20 this year and Orvieto’s only son, there was a high probability that he was going to take over the Richternach Family in the future. Lucius’ qualifications made the young women who wanted a rich and powerful husband even more crazy about him.
Valeria, obviously, was no exception. Back then when she’d just been selected as a Dominus candidate and had to go in and out the Royal Palace often, she’d always try to find opportunities to get closer to him and make him remember her name and face. Even though her best friend Karin looked down upon her actions, she did not care, because if she was really selected as a Dominus, then she would not be able to live the life of a normal young woman for 9 years. Finding opportunities to get close to Lucius was one of the only joys she had during that period of time.
“Lucius-dono! It’s a personal affair, but I hope you’ll say yes…. to celebrate my inauguration as Dominus, I’m going to be hosting a little party at my house. If you have time, I hope that you’ll come–”
“Hehe, I’m sorry, but can we talk about this at a later date? — I’m really sorry.”
Lucius, without malice, interrupted Valeria, adjusted and sorted out his cape which denoted his position as vice-commander of the Seal Knights Corpse, then walked over to Dimitar.
“I’ve already heard from mother. Di, you’ve been working pretty hard this time, eh?”
“Haha, not that hard as of yet.”
“Chi……?”
Valeria widened her eyes in shock once again upon noticing how intimately Lucius and Dimitar were conversing. Even the n.o.bles who went in and out the Palace frequently could only exchange greetings of courtesy with Lucius. However, this unruly, rude and galling young man could make Lucius take the initiative to speak with him. Not only that, the young man looked uninterested with conversing with Lucius, and even tilted his head to one side! Valeria, who’d noticed Dimitar’s actions, found it extremely unbelievable.
“But, being the exclusive Hiera Glaphicos of a Dominus is not a job that everyone can do. Well, at least it’s different to serving as a Seal Knight, which any n.o.ble can become. This is a world where strength is everything, isn’t it, Dimitar?”
“Is it all thanks to Aunt that I’ve been appointed as a Hiera Glaphicos to a Dominus?”
“Even if it’s a relative, mother won’t allow people to do jobs that they don’t have the ability to do. Mother appointed you as the exclusive Hiera Glaphicos of a Dominus because she believes you have the power and the ability to do the job well — don’t underestimate your Aunt, Di!”
“N-no, that wasn’t what I meant…”
Dimitar shook his head, then gave a shy smile.
“Huh??!! W-w-w-wh-whatttt!!!!!!”
Valeria, who’d finally recovered from her initial shock, let out strange sounds of surprise and confusion, breaking the atmosphere of intimacy between Dimitar and Lucius. Walking in between them, she asked:
“— Lucius-dono, what’s all this about?”
“Ah?! No, I don’t even know where to begin…”
Lucius, who was a bit perplexed over where to start, looked to Dimitar for a.s.sistance.
“Did you not tell Ms. Valeria?”
“I have no duty to do so.”
“You’re so… ugh.” Lucius sighed wryly, before saying:
“Maybe you’ve already heard it from my mother, but Dimitar is my relative; my mother and his mother were cousins.”
“I-I-I’ve heard about that.”
Valeria did not want to ask about this, but why they had such a good relationship. Even though Lucius’ mother and Dimitar’s mother were cousins, their sons shouldn’t be so close to each other. Most second cousins only knew each other’s names; some may not even know each other’s names – after all, the familial relationship that tied second cousins together were pretty much non-existent.
However, Lucius and Dimitar’s relationship was so good that they seemed like best friends! Valeria just could not accept that. Well, to be more accurate, she was envious of Dimitar.
Dimitar, who’d been watching Valeria’s facial expression change and change and change, gave a “malicious” smile and put his arm over Lucius’ shoulder.
“Ah! Ah! AHHHH….!”
“Because my parents died when I was very young, I lived at Lucius’ house before I was old enough to start to living by myself.”
“H-h-how d-d-dare you not call Lucius-dono with honorifics…..! And you even leeched off Lucius and his family, eating and living for free at his place!”
Valeria felt her blood boil in anger. Lucius, who’d probably expected her indignant reaction, shook his head and smiled:
“He didn’t leech off my family. To me, Di is my little brother.”
“L-l-li-little brother…..!”
Dimitar, who’d been observing Valeria’s reactions from the very start, gave a smile of victory once again!
“You want to know why Dimitar is a little brother to me? It’s because the only members of the Richternach Family still alive are me, my mother and Di. So whether it’s me or my mother, we view Di as our closest family; we also rely on him very much too!”
“Lucius, don’t say it like that, I’ve never done anything for you guys. I’m always on the receiving end.”
As if he wanted Valeria to see it, Dimitar purposely patted Lucius on the shoulder. No, it was not “as if”. Dimitar really “wanted” Valeria to see it, as he could see that Valeria fancied Lucius.
Even though he’d noticed that Valeria was clenching her teeth so hard it might break in anger, Lucius pretended that he still did not know what Valeria was thinking and said heartily to her:
“But Di here did not rely on his relationship with my mother to become your Hiera Glaphicos.”
“U, uuu, uuuuu, then its no problem now….”
“Di is not only an excellent Hiera Glaphicos, he’s an amazing bodyguard as well. It’s just that he’s a bit rude….”
“Umu, mn…..”
Even though Valeria wanted to argue that Dimitar was more than a little rude, she could not oppose what Lucius said. In the end, there was nothing she could do but reluctantly give a stiff smile as a response.
“— If you get into danger or trouble that you can’t get out of, go find Di for help no matter what. Don’t underestimate him because he looks so young – Di’s actually seen a lot of the world!”
Valeria wanted to tell Lucius that the current situation was already trouble she couldn’t get out of, but in no way was she going to say it out aloud. In the end, she moved the stiff muscles on her face to give an unconvincing smile.
“Then I’ll be leaving now, Ms. Valeria — Di, I hope that you’ll protect her well.”
“Yes, Luc.”
Dimitar waved Lucius goodbye and watched him leave, whilst Valeria tried to curtsy elegantly without her tabard touching the floor, which took her quite a bit of work.
“– see you.”
Just as Lucius disappeared from their field of vision, Dimitar gave a few big yawns, then strode away in a hurry to leave.
“Ah — wait, wait!”
Valeria called out to Dimitar suddenly.
“I haven’t finished talking –”
Dimitar turned his head back to look at Valeria, snorting and smirking:
“… Please bring your request to His Majesty if you want me to resign from my post as your Hiera Glaphicos — but if you do so, you’d be making my aunt, the Headmaster, lose face. I hope you think carefully before making a decision.”
“….!”
When Valeria finally registered what he’d said, Dimitar was long gone already.
She did not know why, but she felt a sense of defeat at not being able to rebut Dimitar’s last point. Not resigned to the end result, she clenched her hands into claws and tore at her nicely braided hair, tearing it into messy clumps.