Chapter 127

Lion of the Allied Army (2)

Adrian's declaration that he would refuse the countship was shocking. Seraphia desperately tried to persuade him, but his resolve was firm.

Seeing him so resolute suddenly brought a memory back to her. When had it been? A conversation they had once had over a meal.

["I have no intention of becoming the head of House Whitewolf. Even less of becoming lord of the county."]

["Is it... because of me?"]

["Yes."]

Adrian had made no attempt to deny it. He hadn't even seemed to consider denying it. Back then, it had hurt. It had hurt so terribly.

["Then why did you come back to the house? If you don't intend to become its head or the lord, why—"]

["I have something to do."]

["Something... to do?"]

["..."]

["... Will you leave the house once you're done?"]

["Once it's done. One way or another, you and I will never see each other again."]

She hadn't known what he needed to do. He hadn't seemed inclined to tell her. But it meant he would stay with the house until then.

She had vowed to change his mind. Vowed that she would make sure he didn't leave the house. Over and over, she had promised herself she would never give up.

But—

"I will not inherit the countship."

... It seemed she hadn't managed it. Adrian had finished what he needed to do, and Seraphia had failed to change his mind. In the end, she hadn't managed to become his little sister. And now he intended to leave the house.

Seraphia caught her breath.

"I'll! I'll work harder! I'll study and try even harder than I do now! Anything!"

She clenched both fists tightly.

"You don't have to handle the house's affairs! I'll do everything to do with running the territory! I know I'm nowhere near as capable as you, Brother..."

Her voice grew increasingly choked.

"I might not be of any help to you... but at least I won't hold you back."

Her eyes reddened.

"So...! So, please...!!"

Please don't leave.

Those final words caught in her throat. She couldn't get another sound out. If she opened her mouth even a little, she felt she would burst into tears.

She was afraid Adrian would dislike her for whining. That he would think she was childish, petulant, pathetic. That then she really, truly would never see him again.

Somehow, Seraphia swallowed her sobs. She bit down hard on her trembling lip. But the tears welling in her eyes threatened to spill of their own accord. She lowered her head.

And at that very moment:

"I'm not leaving."

... Huh?

* * *

Seraphia slowly lifted her head, her eyes rimmed with red.

"You're... not leaving the house?"

"That's right."

I didn't know what ideas she'd gotten into her head, but I had no intention of leaving the county.

"B-but you just said you wouldn't inherit the countship..."

"And that's all I meant. Why would you take that to mean I'm leaving the county?"

Just as I'd said, I simply wasn't going to inherit the countship.

"Seraphia, you inherit it."

"Huh...?"

"I'll do my own work in the county."

"What?"

"I mean I'll help you."

It wasn't that I had accepted her. My feelings toward her hadn't changed. They probably never would.

Seraphia. The Sovereign of Bitter Cold. The Allied Army's Greatest Enemy. The witch who had taken the Hero Ian's left arm.

I knew. I knew it had all happened in my previous life. But it was still vivid: my comrades, frozen solid and dead. My subordinates in the special task force, turned into cold, lifeless tombs.

I still couldn't accept Seraphia, and I never would. But that was a separate matter.

'There's no longer any reason to kill her.'

I had to acknowledge what was undeniable. The reason was simple. When, where, how, and why had Seraphia fallen to become the Sovereign of Bitter Cold? I had found the answers.

She had awakened the Authority of Bitter Cold through the Elixir of Infinity. She had awakened as the Sovereign of Bitter Cold at The Forgotten Social Gathering.

But things were different now. Seraphia had awakened the Authority of Bitter Cold through Iliana's cure. She had awakened as the Sovereign of Bitter Cold through the Bond Skill Mental Empathy[E]. As a result, she hadn't "fallen." She hadn't succumbed to the she-spider of the Abyss.

As long as she remained under the influence of Successor's Will[EX], she wouldn't fall in the future, either. So it was time to make a decision.

'I won't kill Seraphia.'

Even without hearing Ian's regrets. Now it was the other way around. Even if Ian tried to kill her, I would stop him and talk him out of it.

That was my first reason for giving up the countship. The second was...

'The empire will start taking action.'

The Memorier had fallen at my hands. The cultivation ground had come to nothing. Luseria and the she-spider of the Abyss had been annihilated. Queen Marceline had been imprisoned as a traitor. The Kingdom of Battenberg was no longer in the Emperor's grasp.

The Emperor wouldn't simply sit back and do nothing. This was the kingdom to which the appointed one (The Predestined One)—Seraphia—belonged.

The Emperor would keep reaching for her. If only to stop him, I couldn't leave the county. No, I wouldn't leave.

Moreover, the Emperor would try to bring the Kingdom of Battenberg under his control by whatever means necessary. Perhaps armed intervention. He might even be willing to wage war.

I couldn't rely solely on Ian drawing his attention. In truth, until now, it had only been speculation. I hadn't been certain Ian was keeping him occupied. But now I was.

The fall of Violess. Luseria had said it dealt a devastating blow to the Dark Merchant Company. The rumors had caused an uproar across the continent; the company knew, and so did everyone else. Naturally, word would have reached Ian as well. And Violess hadn't fallen in my previous life.

Of course, it was known as Isolde's doing. My name had been left out entirely. And thanks to her rampage, even the Dark Merchant Company hadn't discovered my involvement.

But there was no way Ian wouldn't know. He was certain to recognize my presence behind an event as momentous as the fall of Violess. If he still hadn't shown himself, that meant...

'Ian is in the empire right now.'

He was drawing the Emperor's attention there, tying him down so he couldn't act freely. After all, Iratum had said in Violess:

["In any case, since Aucta From Afar and the Great One are currently unable to act, nothing must be allowed to go awry."]

The Emperor was currently unable to act. More importantly, he was searching for Ian. In other words, the empire and the Emperor had all their attention focused on him.

That was why they had taken no further significant measures despite the severe blow to their plans. And—why I had been able to move freely all this time.

But I could no longer rely solely on Ian to draw their attention. The slaying of the lycanthrope. The downfall of Avarus. The annihilation of Iratum and Kraulgar. The fall of Violess. The death of the Memorier. And now, the annihilation of Luseria and the she-spider of the Abyss.

'The empire will turn its attention this way.'

Ian would no longer be its sole focus. So I intended to investigate the empire myself—to monitor its movements, search for Ian, and enter imperial territory if necessary.

Under these circumstances...

'Becoming count would be a bad idea.'

It would restrict my activities. Bound by the kingdom's laws and the rules of noble society, I would be unable to handle matters that couldn't be resolved through legitimate means.

[We hide in the moonlight and walk beneath the stars.]

A member of the special task force under the allied army's Operations Command. Chief of Covert Operations in the special warfare unit. I needed to hide, not in the brilliant starlight of a count—but in the dark moonlight of a wastrel.

◆Then what about the quest?!?

A message suddenly appeared before my eyes.

◆If you don't inherit the countship, you can't complete the Territory Quest!!

◆Then the functions of 「Management Mode」 will be restricted?!

◆Are you going to wash your hands of the county now?!?!

As usual, the messages seemed to be reading my thoughts, but of course I wasn't going to wash my hands of Whitewolf county. I had no intention of abandoning it. Far from it—I intended to make it prosper even more.

That meant I needed 「Management Mode」. It was indispensable for running the county stably. But this wasn't a problem, either.

==[I'm Succeeding You as Count, Father!] ==

[Objective] - Obtain the royal family's recognition

[Reward] - Unlock some functions of 「Management Mode」

[If Refused] - Restrict the functions of 「Management Mode」

As the quest objective made clear, I needed to obtain the royal family's "recognition." That didn't necessarily mean I had to "inherit" the countship.

◆Huh...?

I didn't have to officially inherit it. The royal family's recognition—until recently, I would have had to obtain it from Queen Marceline. That had made succession the only option. She would never have recognized me otherwise.

But things were different now. With Leon in power, the situation had completely reversed. In other words, obtaining the royal family's recognition now meant getting it from the man before me.

"This is quite unexpected. I'm rather taken aback," Leon murmured.

But perhaps he had sensed how firm my resolve was.

"Hmm. This makes things very difficult..." he muttered, his expression grave.

"Is there a problem?"

"There is. An enormous one."

"Can't you simply accept my father's will as it stands?"

If anything, that would save him the trouble of complicating matters. So what was the problem? Leon continued, his gaze serious.

"Adrian, this was the second matter I wanted to discuss with you."

"Please, go ahead."

"I was going to ask for Seraphia's hand in marriage."

... What the fuck was he talking about all of a sudden?

"But if Seraphia becomes countess, I can't propose to her, can I?"

He couldn't take a ruling countess as his princess consort. Leon would have to marry into her house instead. But a prince couldn't very well do that.

"Adrian, just become count yourself."

Without further ado, Leon tried to stamp the royal seal.

SMACK!

I barely managed to grab his hand before he brought the seal down.

"What is this insanity you're spouting?"

Seriously, what kind of insanity was this?

"Huh...?"

She was the Sovereign of Bitter Cold. Of course, I wouldn't let her awaken as the Sovereign of Bitter Cold anymore, but even so.

"Absolutely not."

Absolutely not. I didn't care whom Seraphia married, but not Leon. Marry off the Lion of the Allied Army to the Sovereign of Bitter Cold? There were limits even to insanity.

"Let go."

"I can't."

"That's an order. Let go at once."

"Make me."

"Resorting to brute strength? That's underhanded."

"And pulling rank isn't?"

Our eyes met.

"She's already made her debut in high society, hasn't she?"

"A debut doesn't necessarily lead to marriage."

"That's your opinion."

We both turned to Seraphia at once.

"H-huh...?"

She was utterly bewildered.

Leon asked in the warmest voice imaginable, "Seraphia, what do you think?"

"Pardon? What?"

"I want to hear how you feel."

"Ah, well..."

Her gaze darted about in confusion, but only for a moment.

"I am deeply honored that Your Highness regards me so fondly—"

She continued, choosing each word carefully.

"But if my brother objects, then I, too..."

Leon let out a short sigh. For a moment, I thought he was giving up, but—

"So you're the one I need to win over after all."

He looked at me with a grimly determined expression.

"This is the third matter I wanted to discuss with you."

"What are you suddenly—"

"A terrible incident occurred in Veneron viscounty, I hear."

"..."

"And there's something odd about the death of Count Edmond, who granted Viscount Veneron his title."

The atrocities Avarus had committed. He had murdered Count Edmond and disguised it as an accident, used Transmog to become Viscount Veneron, and swallowed up the viscounty. Then he had turned all the residents into homunculi, but I had ruined his plans. In the process, all the evidence had disappeared as well.

But Leon had Present Vision[L]. Retroactive Perception, which allowed him to retrace part of the past from present information. It seemed he had pieced everything together from the report submitted by the royal investigation team that had visited the county.

... What a fucking broken ability. Seriously. There was a reason I'd thought he would have become Supreme Commander of the allied army if Ian hadn't been around.

In any case, judging by the circumstances alone, I was the culprit. Of course, Avarus had done it all. But there was no way to prove that.

"At first, I wasn't certain. I found it hard to believe Whitewolf county's forces could have destroyed Veneron viscounty."

"..."

"But after watching you fight, I understood. No, I became certain."

... Damn it.

"Did you know? Murdering a noble is a serious crime punishable by death. All the more so if you've massacred every resident of Veneron viscounty as well."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Of course not."

Leon flashed a grin.

"I'm trying to get on your good side."

"... Pardon?"

"I'll cover it up."

"Can you really just cover something like that up?"

"Why not? I'm the regent."

... Talk about abusing his power.

"Since we've come this far, let me be clear: I wasn't responsible for the tragedy in Veneron viscounty."

"I know."

"...?"

"No matter how I look at you, you aren't that sort of person. Of course I knew you wouldn't do something so terrible."

"Then aren't you going to catch the real culprit?"

"Haven't you already done that?"

Leon's Present Vision[L]. The more I saw of it, the more fucking broken it seemed. Seriously.

"But the other nobles won't see it that way. So I'll cover it up for you. All of it, including your looting of the vault. I'll even waive the taxes."

"Why?"

"Why else? To score points with my future brother-in-law."

Leon smiled at ease. I considered giving him a piece of my mind, then decided against it. The Veneron viscounty incident had been a lingering concern. It would have been a serious headache if the royal court had decided to make an issue of it. If he was volunteering to cover it up, there was no need to refuse.

"How many points did I earn?"

"Five."

"Oh! Anything else I can do to earn more?"

"If you would recognize me as a noble by the authority of the royal family—"

"I recognize you."

◆You have... c-completed... the Territory Quest... [I'm Succeeding You as Count, Father!]...

That actually worked.

◆You have gained 3,178,000 quest experience!

◆You have leveled up!

The completion experience followed shortly after. It was a substantial amount, but it only raised my level by +1. That brought me to level 109. Ever since I'd passed level 100, the experience requirements had gone completely insane. Still, a huge amount of experience hadn't been the reward I was after with this quest.

◆The [Resources] function of 「Management Mode」 has been unlocked.

◆You can now use the [Resources] tab in 「Management Mode」 to view information on your realm's resources, including buried rare minerals, undeveloped farmland, and abandoned ruins.

◆A new function, [Resource Search], has been added!

"How many points did I earn this time?"

"... Ninety."

"Oh! Then how many more do I need before you approve the marriage?"

"Aleph-null points."

"Hm? What's aleph-null?"

"It means I'll never give my permission as long as I live."

"This is the fourth matter I wanted to discuss with you."

"What are you talking about now—"

"I'll give you Veneron viscounty."

Seriously, what was wrong with him?