Change
An eerie silence settled over the hall.
It was a cold, suffocating stillness.
While everyone’s eyes—Valkan’s included—were fixed on us, I kept staring at the man in front of me.
This is working surprisingly well.
If I had to describe my current state, the truth was that I was invincible.
No, more precisely, I should say I was in a complete state of arrest.
In other words, the fist trapped in my grasp had been sealed inside a frozen stretch of time.
It was useless to wrench against it with brute force beyond reason or to flood it with mana and try to tear it free.
The very space around his fist had stopped moving.
...I really should stop now.
It was a cheating ability, all right, but I didn’t have enough Mental Image to keep it up forever.
More importantly, if I pushed him much further, he looked liable to get angry enough to cut off his own arm.
Unless I intended to make him my enemy for the rest of his life, there was no reason to take this any further.
So I released the flow of time only around his face and spoke in a low voice.
“Have you confirmed it, Kalen?”
“…….”
He stared at me with his face twisted into a vicious scowl.
In this place, where Valkan, more than twenty agents from Arkan’s side, and even the Third Lord had gathered, I was openly putting on a show.
And a rather overwhelming one, at that.
The reaction I got back was equally unusual.
Valkan looked back and forth between me and the Third Lord, stunned, and the others were no different.
The Third Lord let out a rough breath, unable to contain his frustration, then frowned as though irritated by the whole affair.
“...That’s enough.”
His voice was as heavy as his frame.
“Let’s stop here.”
He glared at me with a look that mixed indignation and anger, but his tone was calmer than before.
Once he made up his mind, he never backtracked. He had clearly accepted the result.
When I let the flow of time resume, Kalen jerked his right arm back, the torn flesh and twisted joints still visible for a moment.
Before long, I could see the wound closing under the pressure of his prodigious regenerative ability.
Kalen glanced at his hanging right arm, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
The booming sound shook the floor, and everyone around us looked thoroughly bewildered.
When he finally stopped laughing, he looked at me again.
The murderous light in his eyes from moments ago had been replaced with naked curiosity, and a meaningful smile curved his lips.
“You’re no ordinary human.”
Our eyes met.
In the clarity of his gaze, I could see a fighter’s pride blazing like a flame.
He was exactly as I remembered him from the novel: boisterous, without a mean bone in his body, and the sort of man who would honor every word he spoke.
“I expected the Great Lord had her reasons for shielding you, but this is beyond what I imagined.”
I remained silent.
Whether Kalen chose to misunderstand things or not, there was no need for me to explain myself or offer any excuses.
Right now, silence was the wisest response.
Honestly, all I wanted was for him to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Kalen knew nothing about the true nature of my power.
It was only natural; this strange power born from the Time Rune was not easy to identify from the victim’s side.
All he knew was that he had been completely overpowered.
He might even be mistaking me for someone at the level of a lord—or higher.
Judging by his reaction, the situation was unfolding exactly as I had intended.
Kalen grinned and extended his uninjured left hand in a handshake.
“I’m Kalen, Third Lord of the Monarch Assembly. People call me the Fist King.”
“Luke. Luke Richter.”
“Luke Richter, huh...”
Kalen spoke as casually as if he were not the least bit surprised, then fixed his gaze on me again.
“I don’t know how someone like you only showed up now, but I suppose it doesn’t matter. We’ll probably be family soon enough.”
What’s stranger is that a mere noble like me is someone the Third Lord would even know.
For now, we only know each other because our paths happened to cross.
...Wait. What did he just say? Family?
When I looked at him like I had no idea what he was talking about, he tilted his head.
“So this is the first you’ve heard of it, then.”
“I’d appreciate it if you could explain in detail.”
“A meeting was held a few days ago. The agenda covered the appointment of a new lord, as well as the matter of what sort of relationship the Monarch Assembly would maintain with the imperial court going forward.”
“...Don’t tell me the new lord he’s talking about is...”
“That’s right. A human named Luke Richter.”
Kalen lifted the corner of his mouth and continued his explanation.
“At first, opinions were divided, but the Great Lord stepped in personally and said she would vouch for your qualifications, and that settled it.”
“...I never agreed to that.”
“That’s not really my concern.”
At my question, Kalen replied in a calm voice.
“But I heard you set a condition. You said relations with the imperial court had to be improved first.”
“……”
“So the Great Lord went straight to the imperial palace. Just yesterday evening.”
I blinked at him blankly.
Of course Arkan had said she was going to meet the emperor.
Still, I never imagined she’d move this quickly, much less barrel ahead without hesitation, and I gave a hollow laugh.
I had at least thought something this significant would require a majority vote from the lords.
...What if the entire Monarch Assembly really is siding with the imperial court?
I couldn’t make sense of what the hell was going on.
Wasn’t the Monarch Assembly supposed to be a thoroughly neutral force?
The Great Lord was the group’s head and public face, yes, but that didn’t mean the other lords had sworn loyalty to her.
They were less subordinates than comrades who trusted one another enough to watch each other’s backs.
They were certainly not the kind of people who would obey a single word from the Great Lord without question.
“You approved too?”
“I did.”
“Why? The five lords, excluding the Great Lord, were supposed to be hostile toward the imperial court.”
“They were. But if the emperor is willing to guarantee the autonomy of each lord’s domain personally, there’s no reason to refuse.”
“Then why wasn’t that negotiated all this time?”
“No idea. I suppose nobody felt it was necessary.”
Kalen jerked his chin as if to say what was the problem.
But unlike his opinion, there were plenty of problems.
First, I had absolutely no interest in a lordship—not even the width of a hair.
Second, my opinion had not been reflected in a single part of this arrangement.
And finally, once I thought about the fallout of Arkan personally telling the emperor a bunch of nonsense about me, I could already feel a headache building.
Had a civil servant ever held a lord’s seat in history?
Never once.
My name was already at the center of all kinds of absurd rumors in high society—some said I was a hidden mastermind, others insisted I was a dragon in disguise—and if this mess was added on top of that... I couldn’t even imagine what would happen next.
“Anyway, I should be going.”
The Third Lord, Kalen, let out a snort and turned away.
Then he added one last thing.
“The other lords will probably pay this place a visit at some point too, besides me.”
“……”
“Next time, I’ll bring a gift.”
He tossed out those words—each more dizzying than the last—then gave me a carefree grin.
“See you around, Sixth Lord.”
And just like that, he walked off with a cool, easygoing swagger.
Valkan’s eyes were trembling from the excitement of it all, but...
“...This is fucking insane.”
All I could feel was dizzy.
Very, very dizzy.
Meanwhile.
“……”
With a soft trickle of tea, the emperor slowly filled an empty cup with herbal tea.
Then, from across the table, a bright and innocent voice drifted over.
“So, have you thought about my proposal?”
“……”
The emperor remained silent.
He merely raised his head at a deliberate pace and looked at the woman seated opposite him.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious.”
“Arkan, this wasn’t just your own unilateral decision, was it?”
“Well, I did lean on the others quite a bit, but the other lords didn’t object much. So, can you give me your answer quickly? I’m a little busy.”
The emperor’s face was filled with stunned disbelief.
Arkan tapped her fingertips against the side table, looking impatient.
It was one of her habits whenever her temper ran hot.
“Still, it’s not a bad condition for the imperial court.”
“Are you kidding? At this point, it’s basically being served on a platter.”
“Yes. If the Monarch Assembly lends its strength, that would indeed be a tremendous reassurance. However.”
The emperor lowered his head slightly, and the red hair characteristic of the imperial bloodline fell into disarray.
Through it, a flash of golden irises glimmered.
“Luke Richter. Was his opinion taken into account?”
“……”
Arkan blinked blankly.
She had said something to him, but she hadn’t exactly gotten his permission.
Still, she didn’t want to think about it too carefully.
She liked him, and she wanted him by her side no matter what.
“Um... probably?”
Well, it’ll be fine.
I’ll just treat him well.
So well he won’t be able to get away.
Thinking that, Arkan let out a soft, pleased chuckle.
How much time had passed?
The emperor and Arkan’s secret negotiations were finally wrapped up, and now it was time to speak directly with Luke Richter.
He had to be brought to the imperial palace.
But for some reason, everyone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs flatly refused to go on an assignment to Blackmore.
The expressions on those who had previously met Luke Richter and returned were especially dreadful.
In the end, the person selected was...
“What?! Me?”
The principal of the Empire’s finest educational institution, the Academy, and the deputy tower master of the Red Magic Tower.
Above all, a woman who knew Luke Richter personally and possessed the status to match.
“You want me to go meet Luke Richter?!”
Selena Lugrite.
It was her.