Declaration of War Before Becoming Duke?
Kaizen, true to his northern warrior roots, was disassembling and inspecting a multitude of firearms.
"So."
The brown-haired, stern-looking woman who had come to his room was Bella, another illegitimate child of the Nebula Ducal Residence just like him.
"How did the raid go?"
Kaizen ignored her words, wiping away the grime from his guns. As a northern warrior, meticulously checking his weapons in preparation for the battles ahead was a vital ritual. He'd already cleaned and sharpened his sword; now it was time for the firearms.
Bam!
Perhaps displeased by Kaizen's demeanor, Bella frowned at him before striding forward and slamming her palm on the desk, opening her mouth once more.
"Let me ask again. I provided the funds, just as you said. Shouldn't you at least report on the progress?"
Her words were polite on the surface, but the tone was pure command.
Kaizen growled in response, eyeing the gun parts that had fallen from the impact of her slam.
"Can't you wait even a moment..."
"Oh? I don't recall us being the type to show such consideration."
Damn woman.
Kaizen couldn't help thinking that as he watched Bella shrug her shoulders right in front of him. Another illegitimate child brought into this ducal house like him. But what right did she have to act so arrogantly, like some noble?
Not a single thing about her sat right with him.
That thought ignited a blaze of anger in Kaizen's mind.
Should I kill her?
For a fleeting moment, his hand twitched. With his ability, she wasn't someone he couldn't beat. No, with her near-total lack of real combat experience, he could probably take her head right then and there.
Click.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a revolver was already in Kaizen's hand. His mana began surging into the revolver's cylinder—a signal that Magic Bullets was ready to activate.
Whirr.
Bella, seeing this, unleashed her own mana with such force that the surrounding furniture rattled. Countless mana amplifiers adorned her body, resonating and emitting power that distorted the very air around them.
"..."
"..."
It was a powder keg on the verge of explosion.
No.
But Kaizen suppressed his rising killing intent. He lowered his revolver first, and Bella retracted her mana in response.
If he and Bella were the only illegitimate children, he would've handled it swiftly—assassination or whatever. But there was one variable.
Abel...
Kaizen murmured the name of the other illegitimate child in his mind. The man he'd glimpsed briefly after passing out from the humiliation of his first defeat at the duke's hands, emerging from his room. And while he'd been scrambling to study—which he never did before—and earn the knights' trust on the duke's orders, that guy hadn't made a single move.
At first, he'd dismissed him as a total slacker. Holed up in his room, who knew what he was doing.
But things had changed.
Ordinary folk might not know, but nobles and those in power were well aware of the empire's current state. He and Bella had learned of the capital's events through the ducal intelligence network.
Normally, it would've been mere idle gossip. Airship terrorism, necromancy outbreaks in the empire—distant tales to Kaizen.
They didn't affect him directly, so no real thrill.
But.
The Saintess...
The moment he heard Abel had made connections with the Saintess, the capital's events ceased to be someone else's problem.
The Saintess. Ariel of the surging Church of Light, no less?
Dangerous.
That was his immediate thought upon learning it. Bella felt the same.
Thus, their temporary alliance formed. Bella provided the funds to hire mercenaries; Kaizen used his northern connections to seal the contracts.
"Wait."
The intelligence reports offered no gauge of Abel's strength. All info on the other illegitimate children was classified as top secret for a "fair competition," inaccessible even to them.
Not knowing that bastard Abel's power is a bit concerning...
"I hired about ten mercenary bands and ordered the raids."
That level of force would surely leave a mark, one way or another. Whether physical exhaustion or mental breakdown, damage would accumulate.
"They set out two days ago, so the first band probably hit Abel today."
"..."
"Nonstop raids day and night will shatter his nerves."
But they didn't know.
They were both creatures of the light, after all.
Kaizen, a promising warrior from the north.
Bella, the elite top graduate of the magic academy.
So they couldn't comprehend.
Endless raids would wear anyone down.
Their thinking wasn't entirely wrong.
But ceaseless assassination threats were everyday life for Abel.
His mind wasn't fragile enough to crumble from that alone.
Besides, for psychological damage, irregular ambushes were far more effective than predictable assaults.
"I told them to grind him down guerrilla-style. Now we wait."
Their hired mercenaries would hit and run, wearing him out. Then, he and Bella would finish the exhausted Abel together.
In this Nebula Ducal Residence, defeat was an indelible stain. No one bowed to a man who'd once fallen.
"Got it. Then I'll prepare to deal with that slacker."
Bella nodded as if receiving a subordinate's report.
Her arrogance stirred his killing intent again, but Kaizen suppressed it once more.
Bang!
"Oh my."
Yeah, he held back.
Instead of pumping dozens of rounds into her forehead, he'd settled for one bullet. A shot of near-godly speed.
Bella hadn't even seen him draw, aim, and fire—the motion was that swift.
"That's dangerous, you know?"
But Kaizen's shot was blocked by Bella's ever-active shield magic.
The bullet clattered harmlessly to the floor. Gazing down at it, Bella flashed a sly smile.
"You shoot to make it dangerous. Who shoots hoping for safety?"
"Is that so?"
Bella inwardly chuckled, pleased that things were going according to plan. That shot had let her roughly gauge Kaizen's power.
Provoking him with her haughty attitude had paid off.
The impact on her shield. Reverse-engineering the mana gathered at his barrel during their staredown—she could infer his strength.
"Too bad. Next time, I'll expect a more gentlemanly reception."
Bang!
Kaizen answered with another shot.
Thud.
The door slammed shut behind her.
"Damn woman..."
Her attitude, her schemes—nothing about her appealed.
Kaizen clicked his tongue, picked up the fallen gun parts, and resumed his inspection.
Time passed.
One day later.
"What? Total wipeout?"
Kaizen learned that three mercenary bands sent after Abel had been annihilated. He'd reemphasized to all remaining bands that the raids weren't the goal—hit-and-run guerrilla tactics were key.
Three days later.
"What?! I told you! Hit and run guerrilla-style!!"
This time, five bands wiped out.
Final five days.
"Heh... wiped clean."
Hearing the last two bands had fallen, Kaizen drastically revised his estimate of Abel's power upward, staring blankly at the ceiling in hollow defeat.
Five days later.
"We've arrived."
Mist's voice reached my ears as I briefly rested with eyes closed. Peeking out one eye at the window, the Nebula Ducal Residence came into view.
"Hoo... yeah. We're here."
"Yes."
With that, Mist smoothly pulled into the ducal parking lot.
"..."
Perfectly steady parking, without a hint of wobble.
I hadn't noticed on the bumpy unpaved roads, but once we hit pavement, her skill shone through.
Someone once said that if passengers fall asleep without realizing it, that's a mark of true driving mastery.
By that metric, Mist was flawless.
"Nngh..."
I stretched lightly to loosen my stiff body.
I felt her gaze on me via the rearview mirror, but after so many times, I was used to it.
Clunk.
Stepping out, I rubbed my still-sore neck.
"If it's uncomfortable, would you like me to give you a massage?"
"Huh? Nah, it's fine. Besides, we've got work to do."
Declining Mist's offer, I slowly headed toward the mansion.
On the way here, ten raids from the hired mercenary bands.
Plus twenty-five more from bandit groups they seemed to have rallied.
A solid five days, thirty-five attacks total.
Fine, the bandits I get. With the empire's terrorism stirring unrest—whatever the cause—their numbers had swelled, I knew that much.
But the mercenaries? That was different.
Not mana-less bandits, but pros clearly taking orders.
So who hired them to come after me?
"Let's go see the family head first."
Simple enough.
Who benefits from attacks on me? The other illegitimate kids here—Kaizen and Bella. Had to be them.
"Damn. Can't have a fuss when cleaning up the illegitimate brats."
Truth be told, it was half an excuse.
"So I need the family head's permission."
Just a pretext to justify facing the family head I didn't even want to see.
I quickened my pace to meet the head of the Nebula Ducal Residence.
"So, what is it?"
"...I've got something to say."
"?"
His injuries from our fight must've been fatal; the duke looked even worse than before. I slowly opened my mouth.
"From now on, I'm taking it all. Every bit of power your house has built."
"..."
"For myself alone."
The mysterious organization opposing me. I knew nothing of their forces, intel, or funds—shrouded in veils.
To face them, personal strength had clear limits.
So now, I had to become the head of the Nebula Ducal Residence.
"Block me if you can—right now."
The duke before me probably wouldn't see me in a good light.
Of course not. Already suffering from poison, he'd taken grievous wounds in our clash.
Sure, he'd struck first, but people are fickle. Even the attacker feels wronged when paying the price.
"And don't think of scheming from the shadows."
With that, I exhaled a long plume of cigar smoke in his room—the first time I'd ever smoked here.