Chapter 21 Training the Untamable
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Today was a holiday, and the Academy was closed.
I spent the morning in my room, checking a package that had just arrived.
Morning light came through the windows, making the shiny silk of the dress glow. It was an outfit made for the dancers of the desert kingdom of Zahara. Even with its daring, skin-showing design, the shining gold threads gave it a truly elegant look.
I’d had my maids, Lilia and Mina, try it on earlier—a sight worth seeing, for sure.
”Hmm, not bad,” I said to myself. “The beast-kin costume I had custom-made was good, but this foreign style has its own charm.”
I ran my fingers over the smooth fabric, smiling with satisfaction.
This was for the “theater restaurant” I had Balthazar—the son of that slave trader, Lazarus Zaitz—setting up for me. The preparations seemed to be going well; I’d have to go see how things were coming along soon.
Just as I was looking at the dancer’s outfit, my butler entered the room as quiet as a shadow.
”Master, you have a visitor,” the butler said with a bow.
”Who is it?” I asked.
”Cecilia Vermillion-sama, sir.”
Cecilia, then. My fiancée, and the woman now “cheating” on me with Prince Liam.
According to recent reports, Prince Liam was successfully getting closer to the princess of the Adrastea Empire, Elisabeth—a political match. Maybe because things were stable on that front, he had room to breathe. Word was, he’d started playing with Cecilia again on the side.
Given the situation, there was only one reason for her visit. She was finally here to force the issue of ending our engagement.
She must be getting impatient.
(…I guess I can’t put this off anymore.)
Without minding my own footsteps on the cold floor, I walked quietly toward the reception room where she was waiting.
”Xenos-sama, I will be blunt,” Cecilia said, her voice shaking a little. “Please tell me your schedule for ending our engagement. I won’t demand it be right now, but as soon as possible…! I have my own arrangements to make before I can become Prince Liam’s concubine.”
The moment I stepped into the room, Cecilia got straight to the point, her face tight like a wire pulled to its breaking point.
It was exactly what I had expected.
I understood her worry. If she ended our engagement and then went straight to Liam, it would look bad for her reputation. They needed a wait time until the gossip died down.
So, the sooner the engagement was broken, the better.
I suppose it was time to put my own plan into action. Well, “plan” might be a bit too strong…
”I see. I understand the situation,” I replied calmly. “Now, let me make sure of your wishes one last time. Do you truly want to break your engagement to me?”
I stood up from the sofa and began to walk toward her, slow and steady—like a hunter stalking its prey.
”That is not even a question!” she cried, pulling back. “I have not the slightest wish to marry you! Isn’t that exactly why I’ve been getting closer to Lord Liam, just as you said I should!”
Wary of me as I closed the distance, Cecilia shot back with sharp words. Her shoulders were shaking.
”I know you hate me,” I said, still moving forward. “But surely you know that physical chemistry is something you can only find out after actually touching, don’t you?”
As I spoke, I held out my hand. Palm up, an invitation. A suggestion to find out for ourselves, right here, right now.
In that moment, Cecilia jumped to her feet as if struck. Desperate to put distance between us—
Her right hand was already holding a magic wand that hadn’t been there a moment ago, the tip pointed right at my heart.
”This won’t be like when you beat Luca,” she warned, her eyes blazing. “Even at this range, I can cast a simple spell instantly. Faster than you can strike me—!”
Her burning red hair shimmered, showing just how angry she was.
—It was beautiful.
That hair, swaying like it was alive, looked like a predator scaring its prey.
A huge surge of magical energy vibrated through the air in the room, creating pressure like static electricity. It was aimed at me as pure hatred.
(…I didn’t realize she hated me that much. That stings a little.)
No, I knew she didn’t like me to some degree, but I hadn’t expected her to pull a wand on me the moment she arrived. I glanced at the ceiling for a second.
(…Wait. My approach just now… was that a bit much?)
Having the pink-haired daughter of a count, Lizel, constantly throwing herself at me lately must have made me less careful. Looking back, a man being asked to end an engagement shouldn’t jump to “checking for physical chemistry.”
I was basically acting like a creep.
Still, I would think about my actions, but I would not turn back. What I decide, I follow through.
I chose to push ahead, forcefully.
”Let’s put it to the test, then,” I said with a grin. “We’ll see which is faster—me catching you, or your magic.”
I flashed a daring smile, and Cecilia let out a spell without a moment’s hesitation.
Her specialty: fire magic.
A fireball the size of a ping-pong ball burst out with a bright light—flying toward my face like a bullet.
True to her word, it was a fast spell with less power.
Even so, if it hit, my face would be burned at best, and I’d be badly hurt—or dead—at worst.
She’d meant to kill me without a second thought. This woman—
(I mean, you don’t have to hate me that much…)
Pushing down the sadness inside, I kept my face calm. I asked her,
”—Are you satisfied now?”
The fireball she’d sent, right before it touched me, made a sound like embers falling into water—snap—and with a blinding flash, it disappeared into thin air.
The effect of the “Magic Seal” centered around my body.
The afterimage of the dying flame burned into my eyes.
”Wh—!?” Cecilia gasped, clearly shocked.
Cecilia was shocked that her magic had been put out. But it lasted only a moment.
She quickly pulled herself together, breathing hard as she shot off another round of fireballs.
But the result was the same.
Every flame disappeared into nothing without ever touching me.
I slowly closed the gap, taking one step, then another, surely and steadily.
Then, I reached out and firmly grabbed the hand she used to hold her wand, stopping her useless struggle without a second’s delay. Her hand was cold, and it was shaking.
”Game’s over,” I said. “Now, it’s time for me to teach this wild filly some manners.1“
I pulled her toward me, meaning to take her to the bedroom.
”Let go of me!” she demanded.
Cecilia tried to use magic to make herself stronger, trying to break my hold.
But she was already inside the range of my “Magic Seal.” Her mana scattered, and the boost never worked.
Meanwhile, I moved my own mana inside me, keeping my physical boost active.
Hmm—at this distance, I’m unbeatable.
Cecilia struggled hard, but it was no use. I ordered the butler waiting outside the room loud enough for him to hear.
”She is staying here tonight. Send word to the Vermillion house.”
At those words, her struggle became even wilder.
”You…! You’re getting close to Lizel, aren’t you!? What do you plan to tell her after doing this to me!”
(Oh? She’d noticed. I thought I was acting normal at the Academy… A woman’s intuition is not to be underestimated.)
”What’s this? Are you jealous?” I asked.
”W-Who would ever be jealous of someone like you!!” she shot back.
”Relax. I don’t plan to be rough.”
There was no point in taking her by force. I knew her heart still belonged to Prince Liam.
But they do say a woman’s heart is as changeable as the autumn sky.
I gathered her small, struggling body into my arms, holding her gently—as if she were something fragile—yet firmly, and headed for the bedroom.
The night was young—if I could just turn her heart toward me, even a little, it would be a job well done.
—
Summary:
Xenos confronts his fiancée, Cecilia, who is desperate to break their engagement to be with Prince Liam. When Cecilia draws a wand to threaten him, Xenos uses his Magic Seal to nullify her attacks, easily overpowering her. He forcibly claims her for the night, leaving Cecilia’s future uncertain as Xenos begins his “taming” process.
—
Trivia:
- Xenos is actively working on a theater restaurant project involving Balthazar, a slave trader’s son.
- The dancer’s outfit is inspired by the desert kingdom of Zahara.
- Cecilia’s magic is suppressed by Xenos’s constant Magic Seal aura, rendering her standard abilities useless within his proximity.
- Xenos is aware that Cecilia correctly intuited his relationship with Lizel.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Lilia – A voluptuous, mature maid and former slave, she serves Xenos with absolute loyalty, deep affection, and refined, sycophantic deference. Bearing a chest tattoo and nullified abdominal crest, she recently wore a glossy bunny suit or dancer’s outfit at his request. Exuding a sweet fragrance, she shares an intimate bond with him, tenderly caring for him and reacting sensitively to his mana testing.
• Mina – Kai’s younger sister is an innocent, childlike maid serving Xenos in the Grimlock household alongside Lilia. Separated from Kai after being sold to a slave trader, she is deeply loyal and affectionate to her master—even wearing a dancer’s outfit at his request due to her lack of adult subtext. Fearful of strangers, she has soft brown hair, anxious eyes, and an adorable white rabbit kigurumi.
• Balthazar – A merchant at the Zaitz Merchant Guild with a penchant for bizarre desires and questionable business ethics. The son of Lazarus Seitz. A short, plump man with greasy skin and childish arrogance, he wears expensive, stained clothing and smells of sweet pastries.
• Lazarus – Lazarus Seitz is a thin, sallow-skinned slave trader with slicked-back black hair and deep green eyes. He maintains a long-standing business relationship with the Grimlock family, supplying them with various slaves.
• Vermillion – The Vermillion family name, carried by Cecilia, belongs to a distinguished, long-running noble house of sorcery enduring for generations. This prestigious family is connected to the protagonist, Xenos, via a high-profile noble engagement.
• Cecilia – The eldest daughter of the Vermillion Duchy is a noblewoman with burning crimson hair and cobalt-blue eyes. Cold and status-driven, she holds her fiancé, Xenos, in icy contempt due to his lack of magic and is desperately seeking an annulment. While secretly entangled with Prince Liam to become his concubine, her soul has already been subjugated and marked with Xenos’s crest.
• Liam – As the influential, idealistic First Prince and game protagonist, he leads with a calm, amused, yet detached demeanor. While engaged to Princess Elisabeth, he secretly loves Cecilia. Balancing complex political duties and personal desires, he actively opposes the Grimlock family’s war stance, rallying academy allies to his cause.
• Elisabeth – A transfer student from the Adrastea Empire who is an imperial princess. She has deep blue hair that reflects the night sky and an icy, emotionless expression with a straight-backed, dignified posture.
• Adrastea – The imperial family name carried by Princess Elisabeth, representing the majesty of the enemy nation.
• Xenos – A reincarnated nobleman, hated villain protagonist, and calm head of the Grimlock family, he masks his immense power and Magic Seal behind a “Zero Mana” facade of incompetence. Using calculated manipulation and game-script knowledge, he dominates targets, controls the underworld, relaxes only around servants, acts as Mina’s benefactor, and is currently forcing an annulment with his fiancée.
• Luca – A prideful, blonde-haired noble student and fiancé of Lizel, this former lackey to Xenos initially used water magic to bully the weak. Following a sudden, aggressive personality change, he wields vast, dark Mana. Despite his posturing, his fragile arrogance crumbles into trembling terror during a high-altitude duel, leaving him easily cowed when faced with true opposition.
• Lizel – A doll-like, graceful count’s daughter of the Blanchet family, this magic academy student has vivid pink hair, overwhelming wind magic, and a high-handed, volatile temper. Fiancée to Luca Dalton and Master to the purchased slave Kai, she acts as a bullying victim to be shielded from assault. Despite her tantrums and poor negotiation skills, she harbors hidden romantic feelings for Xenos.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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