The Die Has Been Cast
The easiest way to move people. The die had been cast.
The Nebula Duke's ability was dangerous.
Moreover, it was a power highly specialized for assassinations and ambushes rather than frontal assaults.
That's why I'd come directly.
Facing him head-on and declaring war first would make dealing with the rest much smoother.
In fact, that's why I'd spat out those half-provocative words.
'Now, how will you respond...'
I had plenty of smoke built up in my body.
The Duke had taken internal injuries from our previous fight, leaving his condition in rapid decline. Plus, before coming here, the illegitimate sons' attacks had kept him sleepless for about three days, so we were on equal footing physically.
"..." "..."
The Duke and I stared silently at each other for dozens of seconds.
"Puhahaha! Hahahaha!!"
Suddenly, the Duke burst into laughter that shook the entire room.
Painful groans leaked between his laughs, but he seemed utterly unconcerned.
"...?"
'Is he insane?'
Ah, he was insane, alright.
"Hahaha. Koff! Keheuhuhu... Cough..."
Watching him cough up blood-mixed phlegm while laughing uncontrollably right in front of me—who else but a madman could do that?
About a minute later.
"Hahaha. Right. You'll devour the Nebula Ducal Residence?"
The Duke beamed at me, ignoring the blood on his lips.
I had no time to worry about that now; I needed to focus on his next words.
"I don't care." "What...?"
He didn't care?
For a split second, I thought I'd misheard and reflexively expelled mana to check for hallucinations.
"I said I don't care. But."
He barely reacted to my outburst, slowly raising a finger that looked like it belonged to a skeleton wrapped only in skin.
"Devouring it is fine, but first, you must meet a condition." "...Taking down all the illegitimate sons?" "No. Do whatever you want with them."
The Duke waved dismissively, speaking in a calm, indifferent tone.
"[Shadow]." "[Shadow]?" "Yes. Earn their recognition." "...[Shadow] really exists?"
During my underworld days, I'd heard rumors of the Nebula Ducal Residence's [Shadow].
But to most, it was little more than an urban legend, dismissed as baseless gossip.
"Yes. It exists."
The Duke confirmed it lightly.
"The sharpest blade of the Nebula Ducal Residence. And its most secretly guarded secret. To claim the dukedom, their recognition is absolutely essential."
This was a tradition established long ago—around the time the Nebula Ducal Residence was founded.
"Even if you defeat all the other illegitimate sons, without [Shadow]'s approval, it'll be quite difficult."
The Duke chuckled softly as he said it.
By this point, I couldn't help but realize it.
The Duke actually thought pretty highly of me.
'Well, damn.'
Logically speaking, I was the one who'd put him in that half-dead state.
His injuries were dire; judging by his condition, three more years would be a miracle.
He seemed to be forcibly sustaining his broken body with mana.
The only difference from our first meeting was that back then, using mana to cling to life hadn't been this agonizing.
It was like pouring water into a bottomless bucket.
And yet, the guy I had reduced to this felt fondness toward me?
"Ask Mist, the girl who swore loyalty to you, for the details."
Ignoring my disgusted stare, the Duke continued nonchalantly.
"..."
As expected.
That was the first thought that hit me upon hearing him.
I'd known from the start he wasn't normal.
Even Lena of [Shadow] clearly feared Mist.
And then I recalled meeting Bella.
The maid silently watching me from behind her.
"You assigned [Shadow] to the other illegitimate sons too, didn't you?"
My senses, honed to the extreme from the fight with the Duke, had warned me about that maid.
I'd thought she was unusual then, but since it wasn't my business, I'd forgotten it quickly.
Now, it all clicked into place.
The Duke gave no reply, just stared at me.
Silent affirmation.
"...Fine. Then earning [Shadow]'s recognition can wait."
I had priorities.
Or rather, prior commitments.
"I'll deal with those illegitimate bastards first, then meet [Shadow]." "...Do as you please."
At the Duke's words, I stood immediately, removing the cigar from my mouth for the first time and exhaling a thin wisp of smoke.
The faint smoke I'd held back in front of the Duke.
"Then, I'm off."
Confirming the smoke, I left the Duke's room without delay.
Liking me was fine, but I wasn't thick-skinned enough to chat casually with him.
"I expect great things."
Kiiiek.
Thud.
His words, right as I exited.
Expect great things?
"Hoo..."
Expectations, huh. Well, from his perspective, what I was about to do would be plenty entertaining.
Hoooow...
I exhaled the cigar smoke I'd inhaled, long and thin.
My smoke began slowly permeating the entire Nebula Ducal Residence.
A technique I rarely used.
Not that I couldn't—it just had no real purpose and was easily disrupted, so no point.
The faint smoke enveloping the Nebula Ducal Residence.
Too weak for any attack, scattering at the slightest mana touch.
"Ahem..."
This wasn't an attack. Nor defense.
I consciously linked the smoke spreading through the mansion with my voice from my throat.
The smoke quivered faintly. Like tuning audio equipment, I adjusted it, then murmured lowly.
Aa, testing.
My voice erupted from the smoke enveloping the mansion.
"..."
The Duke, staring at the spot where I'd left, couldn't suppress his rising laughter.
The situation had unfolded better than imagined.
I'd already grasped that Abel had no interest in the ducal seat.
"Keheuhu..."
So he'd pondered.
How to make Abel care about becoming the head of the house.
Creating a connection with the Saintess was part of that.
If Abel built ties with her and got entangled with power players or equivalents, he'd inevitably maintain noble connections, whether he liked it or not.
Nobles were tenacious; power holders even more so.
In that context, an Abel linked to the useful Saintess appears?
His name would circulate in noble society, knowingly or not.
That was the Duke's scheme.
Best to start small.
But that scheme had delightfully backfired.
Abel had personally declared war, vowing to swallow everything the Duke built and claim the seat.
"..."
Yes, that's it!
Anyone aiming for head of the Nebula Ducal Residence needed that kind of spirit!
"Huhahaha!!"
If it had been another illegitimate son, he wouldn't feel this thrilled.
He'd dismiss it as a weakling's bravado or a frog in a well.
But Abel was different.
Not weakling's bravado, nor frog in a well.
It was a thoroughly pragmatic judgment, leading to this direct challenge.
He knew the Duke's power and how tricky it was, so he chose frontal confrontation first.
How could that be mere bravado?
"..."
After laughing long, the Duke eyed the smoke Abel left behind.
Faintly rippling smoke.
Its power was negligible.
Even with ulterior motives, this frail mana-laced smoke couldn't support a proper follow-up.
Aa, testing.
As Abel's voice burst from the smoke, the Duke grinned ear-to-ear unwittingly.
"Haha."
> My name is Abel. I'm one of the illegitimate sons in the Nebula Ducal Residence right now.
......
"Hm?"
Karon, attending Kaizen, looked up at the ceiling at Abel's sudden voice echoing through the entire mansion.
Faint smoke rippling in one corner of the ceiling. The voice emanated from it.
......
> Due to relentless attacks over the past three days just to reach the Nebula Ducal Residence, I haven't slept or rested properly.
"Eh...?"
Nella, sipping an overly sweet drink that numbed her tongue, glanced at a corner of the dining hall at the sudden voice.
"What is this?"
Abel openly revealing his weakness—his exhausted state.
Nella naturally recalled one tactic.
Backwater formation.
......
"Hahaha. This guy's beyond expectations."
Head butler Sebastian chuckled lightly at Abel's voice resounding through the mansion.
> If you don't believe I've had no proper rest, I swear on the God of Contracts—it's the truth.
He'd voluntarily exposed his current weakened state, a critical vulnerability.
The reason was simple.
> So here's my proposal. From now on, I won't sleep a wink.
"Hahahaha."
> So, Kaizen, and Bella. Fight me for the ducal heir position.
What if they ignored this proposal?
No matter how I thought about it, nothing good would come of it.
"Hehehe."
Sleep was vital for survival.
Even a Master-level powerhouse's strength plummets without it for days.
By revealing this disadvantage first and challenging them in that state, ignoring it would crumble the support base Kaizen and Bella had desperately built.
> Right now's fine, tomorrow's fine too. Ah, but two days from now might be pushing it.
Playfully, cheekily, Abel provoked the other two illegitimate sons.
......
"Kuhahahahaha!!!!!"
The Duke laughed.
Even if it came with the pain of vomiting blood, how could he stop?
He'd never heard such a exhilarating declaration of war in his life.
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
For a while, laughter echoed nonstop from the Duke's room.
......
"Alright, then."
Mist gazed quietly at Abel speaking before her.
"The venue is the Knight Arena of the Nebula Ducal Residence!"
The attacks had been relentless, but with Abel's forces, he could've used Smoke Clones as sentries for ample rest.
Yet he hadn't rested.
She knew he'd forcibly shaken off encroaching drowsiness with mana.
As far as Mist could judge, the only break he'd taken was briefly closing his eyes upon finally arriving at the mansion.
> If you don't show at the arena by 11:59 PM tomorrow afternoon, it'll be seen as fleeing from me in my wrecked state.
Mist closed her eyes, savoring Abel's voice.
'Aa, as expected.'
> That's all. Broadcast end.
'...'
"Alright, let's get going... Mist. That look."
'...'
"The look. Eheh, the look. Change it back quick."
But it took about 30 minutes for Mist's gaze to return to normal.
All while inwardly cursing her body for twitching due to her constraints.