"…."
"…."

As I entered the makeshift training hall, it was quiet. It felt desolate and awkward. All the way here, Yulia had kept her mouth tightly shut, not saying a word.

When I subtly checked to see if she was following, she quickly turned her head away to ignore me. I was about to lose it. At least she wasn’t sulking this time, but she was still avoiding me.

'Am I not completely hated?'

Still, the fact that she tried to hold my hand means she doesn’t dislike me enough to want to kill me, right?
Is that even possible? After looking at this face?
I felt a bit puzzled.

'Perhaps the effect of my skill, Villain's Fate, isn't as overwhelming as I thought.'

At first, I believed the skill's effect was absolute.
After all, everyone I met either frowned or trembled in fear.
So instead of showing direct goodwill, I usually hid my kindness behind a pretext of looking out for myself.

I understood that when others looked at me, they could only see a villain, like a veil obscuring their vision. But nowadays, it feels like that veil is lifting, at least among those who have known me for a while.

If I play my cards right, I might avoid a bloody future.
Just as that hope began to grow, a familiar face came running toward me from afar.

"Sir! You’re here! But you two look awkward! What happened? Did something happen!?"
"Ah, no!"

Yulia denied it vehemently at Charlotte’s sharp observation.
But if Charlotte is here, does that mean the performance test is already over?
A slight sense of disappointment washed over me.

"Was the performance demonstration successful?"
"Ah! It hasn’t started yet!"
"What? Why not?"
"Well, you didn’t come, did you?"
"…?"

As I tilted my head in confusion, Charlotte looked at me as if asking why I was questioning the obvious.
I was the one who was puzzled here, not her!

"Didn’t Sylvia tell you I’d be late?"
"She did. But you said you would be late, not that you couldn’t come. So naturally, we should wait! I wanted you to see it for sure!"
"What about the crowd? I heard quite a few people gathered to see the performance test."
"Everyone left!"
"…."

Of course.
If you tell everyone to wait over two hours for something to start, everyone will leave.
Though it was absurd, Charlotte remained cheerful.
She seemed to have a slight flush on her cheeks.

"It’s actually better to do it without any distractions!"
"…."

[The Evil God, 'Carly', nods in agreement, saying our Dark Knight's words are absolutely correct.]

I decided not to voice any complaints since I didn’t have any.

Entering the makeshift training hall with Charlotte and Yulia.
There was no ceiling, just a pathetic facility divided by a fence.
But that made it perfect for testing the power of the powerful sword.
The ceiling would just get destroyed immediately anyway.

"How will the performance test proceed?"
"We’ll surround the powerful sword with a small flame…."

She’s talking about the aura.

"We’ll measure the amount of mana consumed and the destructive power. Then, we’ll increase the size of the small flame…."

Let me reiterate, she’s talking about the sword aura.

"We’ll make it bigger and keep repeating! This way, we can measure mana efficiency for each size!"
"Oh ho."

I thought it would be haphazard, but surprisingly, it was a scientific and useful measurement method.
Mana efficiency is incredibly important as well.
In car terms, it’s like fuel efficiency.

"Okay! I’m starting!"

Charlotte took out the powerful sword.
With a whoosh, a purple light shimmered along the blade of the powerful sword.
The aura—flames proving her mastery as a Swordmaster—burned atop Charlotte’s hand.

With a serious gaze, Charlotte raised the powerful sword.
She aimed it at the empty space, and then…

"Boom!"

With an embarrassingly loud incantation, she swung down the sword.
In an instant, the aura sliced through the air.
I thought the small size would only cleave the little rock ahead.

"Uh?"
"…Huh?"

The size of the aura erupting from the sword’s tip grew larger and larger.
It expanded so much that it seemed poised to pierce the sky.
In response, Charlotte froze in shock.

I shouted urgently.
"Bring it down, Charlotte! It’ll keep growing until it’s released!"
"Y-yes! Boom!!!"

Only then did Charlotte move.
The sword came crashing down, and a massive purple flash painted the sky.
Then, there was a tremendous impact as the ground shook.

"Cough, cough!"

As the dust began to settle, what appeared before my eyes was
Charlotte sprawled out on the ground, and the earth split apart like a canyon before her.

"Whew, I didn’t expect to shoot something this big…."

"Charlotte."
"I-it’s true! I managed to maintain a small flame before!"
"I know. It was probably the incantation that caused it."
"Incantation?"
"I suppose it's more appropriate to call it a technique name. Boom. The moment you named that technique, 'Boom' ceased to be a simple word. It became a technique name with characteristics and power. That’s why it automatically outputted the same amount as when you first fired it."
"So that’s how it was…!"

Whether it’s a magical incantation or a sword technique name, it’s all the same concept.
Deeply engraved in a person’s subconscious, repeating the same routine.
In the case of 'Boom,' it likely became imprinted in Charlotte’s body as a technique that draws all her remaining mana and releases it in the form of an aura.
The result? Charlotte, smiling brightly despite almost kissing the ground due to mana exhaustion.

"I almost said 'Boom' by mistake before… That could have been a disaster…."
"…Now that you know, be careful."

A chill ran down my spine.
To think a technique capable of splitting mountains and turning an intact field into a canyon almost got used in my mansion?
But I was fortunate to know before any accidents happened.
I couldn’t bring myself to scold Charlotte, letting out a sigh of relief instead.

'She’s already managing to harness the power of the incantation. Her growth is faster than I expected.'

Techniques that imbue words with power.
Yulia uses it in the form of verbal commands.
Charlotte uses it in the form of incantations.

Though they seem insignificant,
Using words to imbue power is a level only skilled wizards or swordsmen can achieve.
I did help them awaken, but even considering that, their speed of growth is astounding.

"I’ll be careful… But I can’t move my body, so could you help me up?"
"Your voice is so weak, it sounds like you’re about to die."
"Ugh! Please stop saying that…."

Charlotte blushed with embarrassment.
I still couldn’t forget her pitiful expression from when she was close to death.
As I smiled while holding Charlotte, I noticed her body temperature was unusually high.

"Charlotte, you’re hot."
"Hehe. I know… I’m hot because I moved a lot, so that’s natural…."
"No, I mean you’re abnormally hot."

[The Evil God, 'Carly', seriously suggests you check on your Dark Knight’s temperature.]

I placed my hand lightly on Charlotte's forehead.
I quickly realized her temperature was spiking, and beads of cold sweat were forming.
Damn it. She was really sick.

[The Evil God, 'Carly', is pacing around, saying our Dark Knight is going to die!]

"Silvia! Call a healer. Hurry!"
"Yes!"

An emergency was declared in an instant.

"It seems it’s just a light cold. Drink plenty of water and get some good rest, and you’ll be fine."
"Nonsense. Do you think this fool would catch a cold? On a day like this? If you don’t want to turn me into an enemy, you’d better examine me closely again."
"It’s really a cold… Please believe me, Count…"

As I glared, the healer, trembling, checked Charlotte’s temperature again.
In times like this, the Villain’s Fate skill really comes in handy.
After a long while of checking (or pretending to check), the healer bowed his head, trembling, and spoke.

"It’s definitely… definitely a cold… No matter how you look at it, it’s cold symptoms… I swear it…!"
"Hmm."
"Why would I lie to you, Count? If I’m wrong, I’ll offer my head…!"
"Hmm."
"I’ll sacrifice the lives of my wife and kids as well…!"
"Alright. I get it. You can go now."
"Thank you!"

I threw him a coin worth about 1 million Lark and sent him on his way.
Just a cold? I still find it hard to believe.
This healthy Charlotte suddenly like this?

"It’s a famous healer known for their skill and reputation. I think it’s safe to trust them."
"…."

I can see it looks like a cold.
It’s just a slight fever, so it’s not that serious.
I think she’ll probably be fine after a good rest, but…

[The Evil God, 'Carly', strongly demands you take care of our Dark Knight throughout the night!]

Just in case, I should keep an eye on her.
I nodded at Carly’s request and pulled a chair over to sit in front of Charlotte’s pillow.

"Ugh, ugh…"
"Are you dreaming?"

Charlotte, who had closed her eyes, tossed and turned, letting out moans.
Is she having a nightmare?
Just to be sure, I touched Charlotte’s forehead again, then reassured her by brushing her hair aside.

Her temperature hadn’t risen any further.
In fact, it seemed to have gone down a little.
At that moment, Yulia’s face peeked out from outside the door.

"Charlotte… Are you okay? …?"
"They said it’s just a mild cold. She’ll be fine. Did Charlotte ever get sick like this before?"
"Um, no. Just very occasionally when I played too much, I would get a cold and lie down? But other than that, I haven’t really been sick. …"
"…."

In that case, the chances of a chronic illness were extremely low.
That’s a relief.
I was shocked to see someone so healthy suddenly like this.

"You should hurry and go to bed. Ah. Do you need my hand to sleep?"
"No way. I think I can sleep without that. Please take care of Charlotte instead. …"

Turning coolly, Yulia started to leave.
Will she really be able to sleep?
I have no confidence, but right now, it’s time to focus on Charlotte.

"By the way, what’s the problem? Did one of the employees catch a cold and pass it on to Charlotte? We need to root out anyone with a cold and keep them from coming to work."

[The Evil God, 'Carly', cheers for your wise decision.]

Of course, I meant to give them paid leave.

'I should at least bring a book.'

I might as well read something piled up while keeping watch over Charlotte.
Just as I quietly pulled the chair back and was about to stand up.

"Do, don’t go… Mom…."
"…."

Yank.
Charlotte’s tiny fingers gripped my sleeve.
Having swung a sword so diligently, her hands had become much more calloused.
That pitiful hand was desperately clutching at my clothing, refusing to let go even in her sleep.

With a deep sigh, I returned to my seat.
"I’m not going anywhere, so please sleep well."
"Ugh…."

I had forgotten she was such a bright and cheerful girl.
Charlotte was also an orphan who had experienced the pain of losing her parents.

As I wiped away the single tear streaming down Charlotte’s cheek, I held her hand tightly.
Only then did Charlotte stop her whimpering.
The grip that had held my clothing loosened, and her entire body relaxed.

"Ah, both of you are really a handful."

What can I say?
It was a type of annoyance that I didn’t really dislike.
It seems tonight will be quite long.