Chapter 83: Freedom weights over Kingdom
***
Kylian, who was downed by the slick shoulder throw of the young lady, jumped on his feet and looked at her with serious eyes, as he towered over her, standing tall at 212 cm.
"Little girl, drop your weapon if you don't want to get hurt. Just follow me, without fighting back.."
"Heh … Good joke, Uncle Kylian." commented Bonney, who took a defensive stance when noticing the middle-aged man sprinting at her with a visible quickness in his steps.
And from nowhere, a bastard sword appeared in Kylian's hand as he slashed at Bonney, in an attempt at cowering her and making her lose all desire to oppose him.
Yet, what the pink-haired girl did to fight against his strike was to start stepping back, avoiding the attack, and later with swift movements, she entered in melee range thinking about utilizing her Devil Powers to defeat Kylian in one fell swoop since her hand was in reach and the middle-aged man couldn't even foresee such ability.
Yet in those moments, the voice of a certain someone, telling her with a serene, warm tone resurfaced.
「Little Bonney, you have to be cautious when utilizing your Devil Powers, because it will attract unwanted attention to you. Once this information that you have such a unique Devil Power reaches the wrong people, we'll get in trouble.」
「While I can defend you from most of those monsters in this World, I am not perfect. I still didn't reach their power to be fully unmatched.」
Remembering Vlad's warning with regard to randomly utilizing her Devil Powers when it wasn't required, she dropped the idea of turning Kylian into a child, and only punched his stomach with all her strength.
"Anne, are you trying to anger, uncle with such an attack?" inquired Kylian who took some steps back feeling the damage caused by the young lady, who was following after him, sending a high kick targeting his chin.
"Hmph. It was you who attacked me. Hypocrites don't change regardless of time, uncle Kylian."
Hearing her insult, Kylian's patience was slowly crumbling, and to block that attack he didn't use his sword, not wanting to cut her Niece, regardless of how rebellious she was.
Blocking her high kick with his left hand, catching her leg quickly, believing it would take just moments before pinning her down. She spun along with the momentum she gained from her high kick getting closer to Kylian and slashing her dagger at his upper body, resulting in Kylian abandoning his initial plan.
The fight between the two relatives ensued, revealing to the small audience in the streets how the pink-haired girl wasn't a pushover to be captured easily by Kylian, and by extension she was showcasing and testing all of the skills she learned from Vlad, shocking her adversary.
"You thought I would be the same little Anne from the last few years? Hah, you are looking down on me Uncle with such a pathetic attempt at capturing me to have your own way."
"Not bad, it seems that Picodrian managed to teach you some basics, but trust me. If I get serious against you, you'll not stand a single chance. Drop all your resistance, Anne, or I will really hurt you."
"Go on, try to hurt me. You'll see what will happen to you."
Kylian only sighed, and the atmosphere around his body changed considerably, something Bonney could feel from where she was standing, and without any further warnings, the blue-haired man sprinted with a speed that exceeded what he revealed initially.
Swinging his sword targeting her legs, it made her get nervous a bit thinking her Uncle wasn't a weakling. Nonetheless, Vlad instructed her on all sorts of scenarios a swordsman might choose when attacking an enemy, with the legs being one of the main targets.
Focusing on her breathing, and before the sword even touched her flesh she did a sidestep that came from her instincts, instilled by the daily drills performed with Vlad in the mornings.
Kylian sensing he was open to counterattacks from Bonney also used his footwork to dodge her dagger strike which targeted his wrists.
As the fight between them started intensifying, from the initial stalemate Bonney and Kylian reached with no party able to harm one another, the middle-aged man increased his intensity and started pushing Bonney around the Central Square of Everfall.
The sound of whispering and open discussion of the people who started gathering to see the fight, attracted the attention of a black-haired woman who was inside a shop relatively close to the center of action.
"Eleine, was that voice belonging to Bonney-chan?"
"... Also that voice belongs to the guy from three days ago … Kylian."
Both Titania and Eleine who were indulging themselves in some relaxing shopping stopped what they were doing to pick on the noise outside, and when they confirmed it was Bonney's voice they were hearing, taunting Kylian, they forgot about all their bought clothes, arriving in the Central Square where Kylian was pressuring Bonney into submission.
"Will you surrender, or do you want to be punished in front of all those people? Hah, to think the Princess of Sorbet would behave like some ruffian. This is how much you want freedom, Anne Cormac? That you'll dirty yourself, trying to defeat me?"
Bonney's outfit was indeed dirtied by the mud and wet snow, since she had to roll from some strikes that were intended on harming her.
"Say what you wish Kylian! But my freedom is far more important than this Kingdom."
With an angered expression, Kylian unleashed another strike where he placed far more power than intended, something he wasn't sure Bonney was capable of blocking or dodging.
Yet, a newly arrived black-haired woman whose expression was akin to a Banshee clashed swords with Kylian even pushing him back.
"Oh my, Oh my. To think a gentleman of the Sorbet Kingdom would drop so low to attack a little girl? What's more, attacking one of my companions … Are you by chance looking forward to getting killed?"
"Mind your business, woman. Interfering in the internal affairs of the Royal Family can deem you a criminal."
"Says who? A pathetic fuck incapable of accepting a No?" inquired Eleine who was far quicker than Bonney, reaching a speed that was similar to Kylians, and when she got in melee range, she striked one of his vital points.
In those moments, Eleine was only thinking about murdering Kylian who pushed Bonney to her breaking point, and for the most part she had a lot of success even cutting his shoulder and stomach area.
Titania was standing on Bonney's shoulder, touching her face and asking her with a worried tone.
"Did he hurt you anywhere?"
"My stomach hurts from one of his kicks, but … overall I'll be fine. Thank you … for being with me right now."
"What's the need for thanking us? We are companions, sisters who watch our backs even in the face of death."
"... Thank you." said Bonney with emotions in her eyes, turning her head to see Eleine dominating over Kylian with a plethora of sword techniques taught to her by Vlad, something she didn't yet reach.
"Eleine is truly strong. Far stronger than me."
"Yeah, as much as we like to butt heads, I can't deny that she is a talented woman, who dedicated most of her time in training in a religious fashion whatever Vlad teaches her."
"I have to get more advice from her, in regard to the complicated sword strikes."
She got up on her feet, and with an envigored mind seeing that someone had her back, protecting those desires for freedom, returned back in action, continuing to push Kylian until his mates arrived just in time to block both girls from possibly killing the blue-haired man.
The conflict reached a state that it even attracted the attention of the Royal Guards, and one of the Captains under Fischer who were part of the Ursus Incident, noticed who the parties involved in this conflict were.
"Lord Kylian, Miss Eleine, Miss Fairy, … Princess … I respectfully ask you to drop your fight, and resolve this amiable. Otherwise, the Royal Guards will be forced to interfere and stop all of you from causing further disturbance for the citizens of Everfall."
Eleine and the girls who were facing 4 guys currently, consisting of Kylian and other 3 of his close mates, dropped a bit of her murderous and twisted personality, later on calmly looking at the Captain, asking him a sensible question.
"If you make this gentleman get lost from my sight. I will drop all of my aggression. Hmph, daring to hurt my little Bon Bon, YOU DESERVE TO DIE YOU CONTROLLING BASTARDS!"
"... Shut up, you foreigner woman. Talk when you know the current situation."
"Ohh but I fully know what happened. You bastards want to force this girl to take over responsibilities she doesn't want to have anything to do about. Simple as that, and what's more. You are acting like a "Righteous" person, believing that what you are doing is right."
"Hmph, you better pray that you don't die in the following days because of your stupid choice of attacking Bonney."
Kylian looked murderously at Eleine, but noticing how a lot of citizens gathered around, and even the Royal Guards, he dropped attempting to capture Bonney and take her to the castle.
Not feeling like staying in the sight of the people, he takes his men and walks off, while the girls do the same, leaving only the gathered people who were whispering and discussing about this incident, that it spread like wildfire by the time they returned to the Caravel.
"Sorry, Eleine. I got you entangled with my problems."
"What problems girl? Those are problems? Bah, don't trouble yourself with anything that pig says to you. Once Vlad returns home, we'll have a talk with him, and maybe … suggest he doesn't kill this Kylian guy."
"Yeah … I think we better tell Vlad not to kill Uncle Kylian, or all Hell will break loose in Everfall … better said the entire Sorbet."
.
.
Meanwhile, in the time the girls were spending their time outside, and even the fight ensued in the City Center, a white-haired young man inside a decently sized cabin that was transformed into a private room with a desk and various books talking about fighting arts, felt his stomach turning around.
"Tch, I am hungry again. Training in Haki truly consumes a lot of energy, but I guess I am alone in the ship today and can move around freely without annoying eyes staring at my back."
Going out from his cabin while wearing some casual clothes the people of Sorbet Kingdom would wear, with his black wings making their way out from the constraints of the fabrics, he checked around cautiously in case someone might check the Caravel, and quickly made his way to the Kitchen.
"Phew … it was clear. No ant checking the ship. Let's see what food supplies I have that can be used for a quick meal."
Moving around the Kitchen with some sense of familiarity, he started picking up various ingredients, bear meat and vegetables, and slowly he was preparing his ingredients for a meal worthy of a King and God.
Everything went on smoothly for him as he was relaxing himself by cooking, all according to some recipes he learned from his predecessor who watched over the Temple before departing to the far world known as the New World, all until he heard some commotion in the city with his keen senses.
Activating his Observation Haki, the commotion got even louder, and out of curiosity, he got out from the kitchen and like a flash took off to the skies, noticing who was the cause of the commotion.
"That crazy woman plans to kill that ant by chance? Well, none of my concerns since things look to be going in her way."
Descending on the Caravel and returning to his Kitchen, he had a wide smile when being greeted by the enticing smells of the food.
"Marvelous job. I can't wait to eat this."
Before he was finished with the food, settling at the table with plates of steaming food surrounding his red eyes, he lowered his guard, and in that moment the door of the Kitchen was opened up by Eleine who kicked it open, clear frustration on her expression as she was followed by Bonney and Titania.
"Wh …"
Dalyon's brain short-circuited because he never expected the girls would return so quickly at the ship, being watched as he was about to eat.
"Stop acting like some shy bitch, Dalyon. You made food, enjoy it since I want to drink some wine to calm my anger."
"..."
Eleine was quick to find a bottle of wine, which she opened effortlessly later on gulping a mouthful of the liquid, settling down not far from Dalyon who didn't know if he should eat or return to his room.
"Do you still have food? After this mouthful of wine, I need to fill myself with some food."
"... It's on the cauldron. Also, what happened to you? Did you lose that fight?"
"Me? Losing? Ridiculous, I got interrupted by some fucks, while being this close at cutting the guys throat." replied Eleine while signalling with her fingers how close she was on ending Kylian.
This attracted Dalyon's attention, and instead of moving to his room, he started asking Eleine various questions, rubbing salt on her wounds.
.
On the other hand, Vlad who reached a deal with Conney was quick at work, being taken to a medical room by Fischer and Conney, revealing inside the room some familiar presences and smells.
Viril and the other 4 old men turned their attention to the newly arrived, and when they noticed it was Vlad who looked different from the past month, immediately said something that surprised him.
"Heal us, Ohh Great Healer. We don't want to die from those demons. We learned our lesson, and will work for the Queen until our final breath."
– 'So they reached their breaking point … Well, it usually happens when you are close to Death's Door, that people reach enlightenment.'
Vlad turned his head to look at Conney, who had a straight expression as if she didn't care if those doctors truly died, but considering that one of the terms of his deal was healing Viril and his acolytes, he doesn't shy from doing a dark-humoured joke.
"My, my, was it so hard to act like this from the first day we met? Arrogance sometimes can cause many deaths, most of them being cruel ones."
"In fact, you should have owned your prestige and tried to find a cure for the worms. Was it so hard to ask some guards? Or even fool them into telling you the method if they were instructed not to share it."
"Forget it. I no longer get any entertainment right now in seeing old fools reaching their end of the road. Queen, bring those aspiring doctors you've mentioned, so I can give them their first lesson."
"Fischer, bring them from the guest's room."
"Right away, Your Majesty."
While Fischer was away to bring the people he was supposed to teach, he moved closer to Viril and the other old men, who looked at him with a different gaze, instead of being hateful like in the first day, they saw hope in front of their eyes. It was something ironic for Vlad, who infected them with the Maggris Worm because he knew they wouldn't budge from their arrogance and belief they were some grand doctors.
"Your Majesty, sir Dracul … I have returned with the waiting gentlemen." called out Fischer as he returned to the medical room, followed by 20 other guys that Vlad could see having ages ranging from 18 to late 40 years old.
– 'Seems like a decent choice, old queen. Twenty is something manageable for me, and from their appearances, they seem to be bookworms. Giving them the materials they need to study, and also giving them examples and chances to perform on cadavers would build their confidence faster than by watching me.'
"Greetings, Your Majesty. Thank you for giving us this chance to serve the Cormac House and the Kingdom." greeted one of the middle-aged scholar-looking guys, bowing respectfully at the old lady not far from Vlad.
"Mhm. Make sure to grasp all chances to learn from Mister Vlad Dracul, one of the bright minds in the medical domain inside South Blue."
"Ahhh, the gentleman is the Distinguished doctor mentioned by Lord General? We greet you, sir. Also, we greet the teachers."
*Cough* "If I may ask a question, to sir Dracul?" asked another middle-aged man from the group of people he should teach.
"Go ahead." replied Vlad without caring much about any of the newly arrived, moving his eyes around each of the guys.
"I am curious to hear from which Esteemed Doctor you've learned the Art of Medicine?"
"Curious, but I doubt you even heard his name, but sure, as a teacher, I have to respond to my students' questions. My mentor's name is Patrick Cochrane."
"... Unfortunately it isn't a familiar name." commented the aspiring doctor, who looked a bit disappointed since Vlad wasn't the disciple of some famous doctor from South Blue.
Yet, only a person in this room looked to be affected by the reveal Vlad offered for free, when he mentioned Patrick's full name, and combined with the certain idea of what was Vlad's real identity, it only brought her old memories.
– 'Patrick Cochrane? As in 'The Sea Devil of Kaysang'? But I heard he died 20 years ago when Kaysang warred against Roshwan Kingdom …'
– 'Maybe it was a lie to have him retire from his Admiral Position in Kaysang. Apart from his fearsome reputation in South Blue, I heard Count Cochrane was a man of great talent, being a trusted Advisor to Ríon Siloriel.'
This was something the Queen kept to herself, not wanting to steer a hot pot now that she managed to cool it down and have Vlad work for her, and as the black-haired man was taking various tools from an extensive tool selection she chose to remain and observe him teach his first class.
The aspiring doctors were taken by surprise, but they were silenced by Vlad who acted like a draconian person, not allowing anyone to talk, except for Queen Conney who he had no control over.
Similar to when he instructed Fischer and his soldiers, he began explaining to the newly arrived some fundamental basis a doctor should be aware of, before taking actions in operating on Viril.
"Old man, I will start with you since I placed the Maggris Worm first on you. Any problems or complaints?
Even if you had any, the window reserved for complaints has expired."
Saying that, with a swift hit, he knocked Viril unconscious, later on making sure to shut down some nerves that might trigger his awakening.
"... Fourth rule, don't try to mimic what I do. When you need to do an operation do a local or general anesthesia to avoid any long term damage."
The doctors nodded their heads and saw Vlad move Viril to another table, where he had all of his tools ready. Without further comments or questions from the doctors he began the operation which reminded Fischer of the first time he watched Vlad work.
It only took him one operation for the aspiring doctors to be full of awe at how smooth each of his movements were, akin to a painter with his canvas.
– 'Trully, a masterful person, by how decisive each of his movements are when cutting Viril.'
The Queen watched Vlad operate on Viril like he was opening up a pig carcass, void of emotions, and as she was observing the black-haired man, the aura around him changed, becoming heavier, of a dark murky abyss no human can escape.
– 'If he reaches maturity age and goes to the Grand Line and New World, his fame and name will resound in the world. His strength is beyond the levels of the South Blue, and this is why he plans not to stay too long in Everfall.'
Vlad who operated on each of the older doctors only being watched by the aspiring doctors since Conney and Fischer withdrew themselves to attend to the other matters of the Kingdom.
Without knowing the news from outside, Vlad stayed at the Castle until midnight, leaving the doctors who constantly bombarded him with all sorts of questions after each operation resulted in success.
To their delight, Vlad took his time to explain to those guys, all sort of medical terms, even guiding them to easy to find bibliography and references, something they could find in Valent and by extension Kaysang Kingdom.
"Lord Dracul, but we don't have the funds to journey out to Valent and reach that information. Besides, they have an overcomplicated system of managing the distribution of knowledge. Requiring us to request permits which by themselves costs hundreds of thousands we can't afford."
"Then you better work and earn money from the Queen and afterward invest it on your knowledge regardless of how complicated the procedure sounds. As people of alchemy, science and medicine, we will learn until death would stop us from our endless thrist for knowledge."
"You might think I am some amazing doctor based on what you've seen and heard, but believe me. There are true masters of this craft that I can't compare with."
Nonetheless, he revealed his extensive knowledge by responding to the basic questions of those doctors, who he understood were former disciples of Viril and the other 4 old men he operated.
And yet, even after everything was shared between the men, there was a seemingly invisible Barrier where Vlad didn't care about their opinions, either if they respected him or dismissed him, especially when he left the 5 old doctors in their hands after a successful operation for each of them.
Moving on the oil lamp-lighted hallways of the Castle, passing by the stationed Royal Guards who were informed about his job as Instructor and Teacher, they saw him carrying a glass jar containing 5 ugly crimson-dark Maggris Worms which repulsed their sight, shifting their attention to the passing man instead of what he was carrying.
"Good night, doctor."
"... Sure. Same to you soldiers." responded Vlad casually, as he glanced at the Maggris Worms, starting to think about how much improvement he needed to make with his recipe for
The first rendition of this alchemical serum was a failure which would have caused him a slow and painful death from all the poisoning his organs suffered, which were only cleared by Nihiloor and his shocking abilities that made his mind wander various rabbit holes.
He returns on the ship moving at a steady pace, while in the Castle there were tense spirits with each key player being gathered such as Garald, Fischer, Kylian, Conney and Taelar.
Everyone looked at the old madame with confusion and even indignation such was the case for Kylian who was dumbfounded when the old woman shared the deal she made with Vlad, except for the two Generals.
"Granny, did he also spellbound you by manipulating you like little Anne? Is he that great of a talker to fool you into selling your own granddaughter?" asked Kylian who was seated on a chair, with some bandages around his hands from the cuts he suffered against Eleine, clear disdain to even mention Vlad's name.
"Hah, you just sold your own blood to the Wolf." commented Taelar after how Bonney sealed a death sentence for their Kingdom by inviting a monster inside.
"Stop acting hot-headed and listen to me, you dumb old Ox, you Kylian should shut up. Even if you are a man in all right, I am still your adopted mother and can pull on your ears for as much as I want. Now, listen to what I have to say, based on the productivity this Dracul showed so far."
"Let's start with the important point. Viril and the other 4 fools are alive and will fully cooperate with me until they die. Besides them, now I can build-up 20 promising youngsters into doctors, by giving them top-notch education that will solidify and repair one of the main flaws in this Kingdom … the Medical System that was blasted by a lack of medical skills of our doctors, to assure that no innocent lives go wasted."
"You understand how hard it is to get knowledge, and how restrictive the World Government is when it comes to the distribution of books, especially the forbidden ones, which will place us in danger, similar to what happened in Ohara."
"And yet? You two hot-headed buffoons want to accuse me of selling, Anne. But have you ever placed the question differently? If she so decides to join the doctor Vlad Dracul … What can I do about it? Do you wish I could chain that little girl? Would that bring peace to your minds?"
"Yeah? Then would you want to be chained, unable to see the World? Think you fools before accusing me with such harsh words."
"The doctor has started his work flawlessly by teaching the 20 selected individuals how to operate and remove the Maggris Worms in case the affliction moves past the point Fischer and his lads can contain. Based on that, I can tell he is someone who keeps to his deals, even if it's disadvantageous to him."
"As he told me, he will stay one, or two months where he will share the rudimentary information those doctors would require, so they can start their own journey in medicine."
.
Back to the harbor, with Vlad returning to the Caravel holding his glass filled with Maggris Worms, he could feel a down atmosphere in the ship, and when he called everyone in his Captain's Cabin after placing his treasure jar, he saw Eleine having an annoyed expression.
"So? What happened to you to be in an emotional turmoil?"
"... Nothing."
"Bonney?"
"..."
"Titania?"
"..."
The girls didn't want to respond to Vlad, already settling that they wouldn't follow up with any revenge against Kylian, but when the black-haired man shifted his eyes on the white-haired Lunarian who had a proud stand, not caring much about Vlad, he started chuckling.
"Something funny, Lunarian?"
*Laugh* "Yeah, just remembering her reaction was tasty. They got themselves defeated by some guy called Kylian, who apparently has some problem with the pink-haired one." remarked Dalyon with a satisfied expression on his face, as he shifted an eye at Eleine, who wasn't impressed by what he just did, spilling all the beans.
"Is that so? Mind sharing what happened? Each of you?"
"If you promise you'll not do something rash."
"Of course. Don't boil me and my curiosity since I am weak to interesting stories."