Abandoned Bastard of the Royal Family Volume 3 Chapter 14 (Patreon)

TL Note: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Chapter 14 – Women of the Past: Lagothe and Sae

“Well, that's easy. That’s because the vigilante corps doesn’t comprise of any men, Carney.”

“Eh?”

“Yep, you heard it right. It’s a completely-women army, unlike the royal capital whom majority of the soldiers are men. And the Count is the only one that has this kind of oddity in the country. That, I’m very sure.”

Carney let a drop of sweat run down her cheeks, wondering how thorough this person was in their being.

“The Count’s abilities are not only in managing the territory. As eccentric they could sound, they were able to thoroughly train their female soldiers to the extent that they could work as well as the men. It was as if the Count had a natural talent for combat and command in exchange for their hate for men. To sum it up, just being led by the Count can turn even a sheep into a wolf.”

“I can’t believe it. The Count is this talented!?”

“Yes. And because the person is capable, they also hated incompetence, viewing them as “ugly”.

The path through the dense forest continued.

“But that does not mean that the vigilante corps of West Adele is weak without Count Mariastel. In fact, many other powerful warmaidens have also made a name for themselves in battle just this recently!”

“Really?”

“Yes, Miss Carney! Especially the three on the top spots, which became the Count’s favorites. They are said to be the most skilled and battle-hardened in the territory, that they are given special permissions to report to the Count directly! But that’s not only it!”

Kelechi continued enthusiastically.

“Actually, their accomplishments in the territory were so great that each of them is given a name by the Count themselves! For this, they are now known as “The Three Flowers” of the territory!”

“Wait, what? This is the first time I heard about this!”

Schild, who had taken refuge under Count Mariastel for a time, tilted his head.

“Does that mean there are new hires who made a name for themselves since I left!?”

“Well, that’s not actually “Three Flowers”. But considering the three female warriors who report directly to Count Mariastel were given the names of “Lotus,” “Camellia,” and “White Lily”, which are all names of flowers, people started calling them “Three Flowers” when they are referred as a group for convenience’s sake instead. But because they are new, even though it is only within the bounds of the territory, the three were only second in popularity, just below Count Mariastel, and are always the center of every gossip in every tavern I visit! Also……”

“Hey, time out.”

◆

After interrupting Kelechi’s incessant chattering, Schild signaled them to stop walking all of a sudden.

They were still a long walk to reach the end of the forest.

Leaves rustled in the breeze, and somewhere a bird cackled eerily.

“What’s the matter, Mr. Schild?”

“Bandits are easily mowed down, and the territory is now safer and more habitable, my ass. That Mariastel has skipped out on their bandit hunt, aren’t they!?”

“What do you, eeh!?”

“There are presences of people watching us coming from deep within this forest. How else can you explain it?”

Kelechi was shocked by the sudden announcement of threat, while Carney had already placed their luggage on the side of the road and already had her hand on the sword on her hip.

“A-are you just mistaken, Mr. Schild? T-there’s no way-“

“Nope. It’s not a monster, that, I’m sure. And they have been hiding and watching at us since earlier. Pretty much hard to believe they’re just villagers picking wild plants for them to do this. Also, Carney.”

“Yes, Lord Schild?”

“You haven’t cut down a man before, have you? So stay back and protect the horses and Kelechi instead.”

“B-but I cannot just leave everything to you alone, Lord Schild!”

Unfortunately, before they were even able to implement a plan, the other side already came attacking.

One has a huge body approaching with steps that seemed to shake the ground yet was as fast as a charging wild boar.

Then, a huge sword that looked more like an ax with its T-like tip came to Schild’s view and struck him from above.

The speed of the attack was too fast for Schild to take any action in time, so he could only catch it with the sword he had already raised.

“What!? This big sword……”

Something struck Schild’s mind when he saw the unique shape of the sword, but the other party didn’t let him reminisce.

“Kuh!? There's another one!?”

Carney was also attacked by another assailant and was forced to engage.

With the sword she drew, she narrowly parried a barrage of blows that came out like a dance.

“What the hell is this strange sword style!? And that sword!?”

As for Carney, instead of brute force, she was subjected to fast, peculiar movements that she had never seen before.

It was a completely different style of sword fighting than the one she had learned in the Knight Order, and the sword of the assailant itself was a unique type that Carney did not remember seeing at all.

It was a thin single-edged sword with a slightly curved blade.

“That’s enough!”

Schild kicked away the wielder of the uniquely-shaped great sword that was slashing at him and also blew away with force the thin-sword user who was barraging attacks at Carney.

“Kyaaa!?”

“Uguo…… you’re as relentless as ever.”

There were only two attackers.

There were no other signs of life deep in the forest. But who are these two people?

“I never thought I’d see you guys here. Even more surprising is that the two of you are hanging out together. What brings you here? Lagothe, and Sae.”

Suddenly, Schild began to speak as if he was already familiar with these two.

The attackers were both women.

The greatsword wielder had a sturdy physique befitting her weapon and was almost half-naked. If it weren’t for her large, assertive breasts, one would have mistaken her for a man.

The other one, the thin sword wielder, was dressed in an unusual attire that was never before seen in this country, a kind of robe but with fluttery sleeves.

“Her outfit is called a haori for the upper garment and hakama for the pant-like skirt if I remember correctly.”

Schild explained to Carney, whose expression was full of questions.

“Lord Schild, do you know these two people?”

“Yeah. They are both Subjugators I have teamed with in the past.”

However, Carney still has not erased her confusion with that explanation, so Schild, for the moment, put down his sword, making the other two follow in response in which they started explaining as well.

“Did our surprise attack catch you off-guard that much? Haha~. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, so I wanted to see if your skills had improved.”

“This humble one apologizes for her behavior. Still, this one is also curious and would like to see how good your knight’s skills are. In any case, please forgive this one for her rudeness.”

Despite the huge contrasts in their behaviors, looks, swords, and personalities, the wild woman with the big sword and barely wore any clothing and the refined woman with a thin blade but with an excessive amount of clothing expressed friendly tones to Schild.

“Also, you said “fellow subjugators” just now. Then that means……”

“You know that before I entered the royal capital, I hunted monsters from place to place, right? That’s where we both met and teamed up to kill monsters. Though I actually teamed up with them individually, hence my surprise seeing them together.”

Indeed, the places and timings of Schild’s encounters with the greatsword user and the thin-sword user were completely separate from each other.

But why are they here? And together at that?

“Well, since I never met you two before, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lagothe, and I’m under the care of the lord of this place.”

“Likewise. This humble one’s name is Sae, and this one also belongs to Count Mariastel’s vigilante corps. And my sword is called a tachi.”

The greatsword-wielder Lagothe

The tachi-wielder Sae.

Both of them had the strength and boldness of fighters, but they were also the kind of beauties that could not be found in other people.

“You guys are working for that Count now!?”

“Yep! And just as you left! We heard a rumor that you were here and came to visit you, but you were already gone when we arrived.”

“The same goes for this humble one. This one also asked Count Mariastel of your esteemed destination, but this humble one wasn’t always given a clear answer. After this one and Miss Lagothe had wasted a lot of time in this territory fighting monsters here and there, before this one knew it, not to mention the titles bestowed upon us for our achievements, our group names were now changed to “Three Flowers” which troubled this humble one greatly.”

The Three Flowers.

The name Schild just learned a few minutes ago.

“T-then you guys are……!”

The person who said it, Kelechi, reacted loudly.

“My, my, are we that famous already? Yes, I’m Lagothe the “Lotus “, one of the “Three Flowers” and Count Mariastel’s direct subordinates.”

“T-this one is Sae the “Camelia”.”

There was a hint of embarrassment on both of their faces as they said their names.

Well, if you address yourself with such a cringy title, you would become embarrassed as well.

“My acquaintances became the Count’s protégé after I left? What a small world.”

“You’re the one who drew us under that guy’s thumb, though.”

“This one and Miss Lagothe were notified of a report that there was a possibility of your return to this territory, so this one and Miss Lagothe opted to await your arrival. As you can see, this humble one desired for our reunion as soon as possible.”

The girls were happy to see Schild again, but there was also another kind of emotion being shown beneath their nostalgia-filled faces.

It was a sticky, wet, and fragrant feeling.

The one who smelled this was Carney, who found out in some ways that she was exactly the same kind of person as these two women.

The more you smell like yourself, the more sensitive you become to the smell of people similar to yourself.

“Uhm, I know you have a lot to talk about, but don’t you have something you need to do first?”

Carney interrupted their reminiscing.

“I know you’re already wanting it, so let’s all have sex together.”

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