WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

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◈ Copy Skills with Affinity! ◈

Chapter 39: Delegation

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A few hours earlier.

The Imperial Capital's military headquarters was always busy, but anyone could see that its current bustle was abnormal.

Every staff member who could move was rushing about without a moment to spare. It was enough to make Aiden wonder whether he should really be sitting here doing nothing.

'Hm.'

Aiden rolled his eyes around and swallowed a groan.

He already knew that the delegation had come for him. The problem was the people included in it.

With an expression that suggested he had everything under control, Aiden rested his chin on the desk.

'Princess Laila...'

He murmured the name meaningfully.

He might not have been anyone remarkable, but he had the devastating advantage of knowledge from the original story.

He could deal with anyone. After all, he would know in advance who they were.

'Who the hell is that...?'

... Or he should have.

No matter how hard he searched his memory, he could not remember hearing that name before.

No, seriously. Who was that person?

"...."

Even as the blood drained from his face beneath that expressionless mask, one thought flashed through Aiden's mind.

This was strange.

Considering what he knew about the Holy Empire's major figures, that was only natural.

Even taking into account that the Craven Holy Empire's royal family tree was the most complicated on the continent, Aiden knew all the important people within it.

It made no sense for someone he had never heard of to come in a delegation dispatched to the Empire.

'This is really strange.'

Something felt off. It was as though some hidden intention lay behind this, one he knew nothing about.

Still, strange was strange. The delegation approaching his doorstep was cold reality.

The quickest way to get even a little relevant information was...

"Katia?"

"Yes?"

"What do you know about Princess Laila?"

"Nothing?"

"...."

"Other than my brother, nobody ever even had a simple conversation with me."

... Right.

Asking this person something like that had been thoughtless.

"... Still, I think I can tell you one thing for certain."

"Excuse me?"

"Promise me one thing."

Aiden tilted his head at Katia's calm words.

Had this person ever spoken so seriously before?

"I'd like you not to get too angry."

"... Excuse me?"

"No matter what happens, don't get too angry."

"...."

Aiden blinked blankly.

"What are you suddenly talking about?"

"... Just because."

Katia muttered expressionlessly.

"People from the Holy Empire are kind of like that."

"...."

"I'm uncomfortable around them, and they're probably uncomfortable around me too."

"...."

Well.

He already knew that, but it did not feel as if Katia were saying it simply to inform him.

It felt like a warning.

"Then why are you suddenly telling me this?"

"When you get angry, you charge in without thinking about the consequences."

Katia narrowed her eyes and spoke evenly.

"I'm fine, so don't do anything unnecessary. This time, there really won't be any way to clean up afterward."

"...."

"The person coming this time isn't some dissolute royal pushed outside the line of succession, like the one you meddled with last time. Nor is she someone from the Empire. She's royalty from another country, and a powerful country at that."

-If you cause trouble this time, you really won't be able to handle it. Understand?

At words that sounded as though Katia were trying to reason with him, Aiden's expression stiffened as he met her steady gaze.

'... What's with her all of a sudden?'

Why was someone who normally acted as if nothing mattered suddenly saying this?

Before he could think any further, a booming voice cut into his thoughts.

"Princess Laila is entering!"

With that announcement, the headquarters' front doors swung wide open, and a group entered in orderly formation.

Paladins clad in full plate bearing the Holy Empire's emblem. Maids, servants, civil officials.

And at their head stood a woman with an exceptionally sharp appearance.

A monocle. Gray hair. An antique-style dress.

'-Huh?'

The moment Aiden saw her, he frowned.

It was a very strange feeling.

He had never heard the name Princess Laila before, but he felt sure he had seen her somewhere.

He could not remember her face. Yet an indescribable sense of familiarity surged through his mind...

"Mr. Aiden. Are you ready?"

But Stella's question cut off his thoughts again, snapping him back to his senses.

"Yes. I'm ready."

"She is coming upstairs now. Please take your seat."

The moment she finished speaking, the office door flew open.

There had been no knock or request for permission to enter. The people around them clearly looked startled by the way the group barged in as though this were their own home, but Princess Laila at its head plainly did not care in the slightest.

She strode into the room, her eyes sweeping coldly around it before stopping in one place.

"Aiden Kellermain?"

At the haughty voice, Aiden bowed politely.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Laila."

"Sit. We have much to discuss."

... Well.

She seemed exhausting in more ways than one.

▣

Considering his goal, winning her favor had to come first.

'The Holy Empire's royal family is basically a gold mine.'

As befitted a country where one could retain royal status only by wielding the ability known as Divine Power, every member of the Holy Empire's royal family possessed all kinds of unique traits related to it.

They might not be on Katia's level, where Divine Power made its wielder immortal outright, but each of them had several sets of powerful traits that aided the use of Divine Power.

At the very least, Princess Laila surely possessed abilities that would be immensely helpful in the upcoming Lord Protector subjugation battle.

And from the perspective of someone dwelling on that goal, Aiden could say one thing for certain.

It was useless to him.

At least where this person was concerned.

"You must be tired after such a long journey. Would you like something to drink..."

"Do you know why I came?"

"...."

-No matter how powerful she was, he had to win her favor before he could copy any of it.

Aiden's temples immediately began to throb at her attitude, which made it clear she had no intention of speaking with him at all.

"... I heard you came because I can wield Divine Power."

"Divine Power is a resource unique to the Craven Holy Empire. Anyone able to wield it is among the most important people the state must oversee. They are among those supporting the foundation of our homeland. If you can use Divine Power, you are one of them as well."

"Ah."

"Therefore, I was dispatched to bring you back to our homeland."

Laila then stated calmly,

"The day after tomorrow. Prepare yourself."

... A bombshell that immediately made reality seem far away.

"...."

After blinking blankly for some time, Aiden finally spoke with a dazed expression.

"Excuse me?"

"If you're going somewhere else, you need to settle your affairs first, don't you? Considering the matter, I should take you immediately, but custom requires that I give you two days..."

"No, wait a moment."

Aiden hurriedly cut her off.

"At the very least, you should make sure we understand each other's positions before saying something like that. Isn't this far too sudden?"

"I believe you are mistaken. This is not a negotiation."

Regardless of his reaction, Princess Laila replied without blinking.

"You will soon be taken under guard to the Holy Empire. I have no intention of considering your circumstances one by one."

"...."

"Make your preparations. It will proceed according to the schedule I have given you."

... Her voice was so utterly confident that it was difficult to respond at once.

At his side, Stella stood with her mouth hanging open.

Rudeness at this level was not merely a diplomatic incident. It was close to tyranny. It might as well have been an invitation to fight.

The mood in the room rapidly turned cold. The Holy Empire's people and the armed personnel led by Stella sensed it most keenly.

Just as more people began fidgeting with their weapons' scabbards, someone's voice fell into the tense atmosphere.

"Hey."

It was Katia, who had remained silent beside Aiden until then.

"Isn't that going a little too far?"

Katia spoke with a faint smile.

Laila's gaze slowly turned toward her, as if only then recognizing that Katia was there. As if she had not cared enough to notice before.

And when she saw Katia, what filled the eye beneath her monocle was unmistakable.

Mockery and contempt.

The look one gave something pathetic.

"Even in diplomacy between nations, there are standards of common decency. This makes you nothing but a thug..."

"Princess Katia."

Laila's cold words carried the same sentiment.

"Who said you could speak?"

Aiden's expression immediately hardened.

... Even after hearing that, Katia maintained her smile.

"You are nothing but a watchdog that exists to handle Her Holiness the Pontiff's affairs. If you could not even properly fulfill the purpose of your existence, you should remain silent."

"...."

"If you had succeeded properly in the first place, I would not have had to come all the way here."

Aiden narrowed his eyes at Katia, who obediently fell silent at those words.

There was even a familiarity about her, as though she had endured this sort of thing countless times.

'... What is this?'

He already knew that Katia was not treated well in the Holy Empire.

Even so.

This kind of treatment clearly crossed a line.

Considering they were both royalty, it was an insult severe enough that a duel to the death would not have been surprising.

What followed was even worse.

Colorless flames burst to life around Princess Laila's body.

Divine Power. At a considerable temperature. Filled with unmistakable hostility.

"....!"

The Empire's people cried out and drew their swords. In response, the Holy Empire's paladins also drew their weapons.

"Katia."

Laila's voice fell coldly.

"Answer me."

As though she meant to make perfectly clear who stood above whom.

As though she were disciplining an animal that had dared defy her.

"You have something to do, don't you?"

"...."

"Shouldn't you apologize?"

Her Divine Power moved at once.

"Get on your knees."

Then.

In an instant, the Divine Power that reached Katia pierced through her knee joint as she stood there.

It was a merciless strike. One strong enough to rob her leg of its use at once. As though it did not matter if she was hurt because she would regenerate anyway.

Her leg gave way in an instant, as if she were kneeling.

"What the hell is this..."

Before the words could burst from Aiden's throat, he stopped himself.

Katia had extended one hand toward him.

As though telling him not to interfere.

... Still smiling.

The meaning in Katia's eyes as she glanced at him was obvious to anyone.

-I'd like you not to get too angry.

-I'm fine, so don't do anything unnecessary. This time, there really won't be any way to clean up afterward.

-The person coming this time isn't some dissolute royal pushed outside the line of succession, nor is she someone from the Empire, where there are forces protecting you. She's royalty from another country, and a powerful country at that.

"...."

Only now did he understand.

Why Katia had told him those things in advance.

Because if he saw how she was normally treated, Aiden would certainly become furious and charge in.

"Are you not going to apologize?"

"...."

As Laila prepared her next attack without a change in expression, Aiden's gaze flickered toward her.

... Honestly, he could not believe it.

Why did he not know who this person was?

How could he fail to remember information about someone this awful?

And as his head burned with rage,

Aiden's gaze fixed on the Divine Power Laila was wielding.

"...?"

Something.

That was when he noticed something strange.

He frowned, slowly following the path of the Divine Power the princess controlled.

'-Ah.'

And then, at some point.

He understood the source of the unease he had felt all this time.

What that sense of familiarity upon seeing Laila had been.

A switch flipped in Aiden's mind with a click.

The mechanism that always activated whenever he had to act in a desperate situation.

"-"

His calculations were quick.

His decision was even quicker.

In an instant, he determined what he had to do here.

"Katia, it is not as if you have gone mute. Shall I break your other leg too?"

"I'm sorr..."

Katia began to speak with a smile, but Aiden cut her off.

"Princess."

Katia's eyes widened as she turned toward him.

There was anxiety on her face, as though she were begging him not to cause trouble.

If things escalated, Aiden would certainly suffer for it, even if she did not. So please, do not step in...

That was probably what she meant.

But Aiden was already certain. He knew what he was allowed to do here.

In other words, what he had to do.

"Apologize."

"... What?"

As Princess Laila asked in a disbelieving voice, Divine Power rose from Aiden's body.

"You heard me perfectly well. Don't pretend otherwise, Princess."

Then.

The Divine Power Aiden unleashed severed Laila's Divine Power that had pierced Katia's knee.

As though declaring that his Divine Power was superior to hers.

"...!"

As Laila's eyes widened, Aiden walked toward Katia, still kneeling on the floor.

"This is not a negotiation. I am giving you the same notice."

He took her shoulder and helped her to her feet, speaking calmly.

As though returning the words he had just heard.

"Apologize before you get beaten senseless. To my friend."

"...."

"I'll give you five seconds."

Laila's expression froze.

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