Chapter 325
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 325
Chapter Title: Who Do You Take Me For?
After taking an utterly unexpected blow from Sigrin.
"Go on ahead. Aren't you in a hurry?"
Krash was practically chased out by Sigrin and had to leave Lagren.
Even after pulling that stunt, Sigrin brazenly flashed a mischievous grin.
He'd thought she had zero interest in anything romantic.
She'd always been playful about that sort of thing, after all—no matter what else.
In truth, just as Krash had figured, it really had been a joke back then.
But time had passed, and now it had all flipped in an instant.
Unaware of even that much, Krash felt all the more dumbfounded.
The citrus scent still lingered at the tip of his nose.
The sensation on his lips resurfaced, and Krash shook his head.
"......I can't figure out what she's thinking."
Krash scratched the back of his head vigorously to clear his jumbled thoughts.
At the same time, Haring and Evelask came to mind.
He hadn't been able to check on them, with no time to wait for treatment.
'Soon as this is wrapped up.'
He needed to go see them.
Krash lifted his head.
Where had he ended up?
None other than the Valheim family estate—the most renowned house in all of Staron.
In his dazed state, he'd somehow dragged himself along, taking the nearest teleport facility from Lagren, past Raheln Academy, and straight to the Valheim main house.
There was no direct line between Lagren and Valheim, so this had been unavoidable.
'Fine. I'll think about her later.'
Krash shoved Sigrin to the back of his mind.
For now, securing the Valheim main force to save the empire took priority over her.
With that, he strode purposefully into the estate.
Servants who recognized him along the way bowed in startled haste.
No one had heard he was coming back.
"Lord Krash Valheim."
Soon, the head butler appeared.
Unfazed by Krash's sudden arrival, he bowed politely.
"You seem to be in a rush. Tell me what it is, and I'll handle it right away."
He astutely cut to the chase.
He hadn't served as head butler of the Valheims for decades for nothing.
"The empire's in crisis. I'm taking the Valheim Knights to support them."
But the response made even the butler's face stiffen.
Staron and the empire were bitter rivals.
Even with Krash's engagement to the imperial princess, tensions between the nations hadn't fully thawed.
That said, it wasn't for the butler to decide.
"Among those currently residing at Valheim, the only one with that authority is the Vice Family Head."
The Valheim Vice Family Head, Rai Valheim.
Krash's eldest brother.
'Perfect timing. He's here.'
This worked out better.
Rai was the type to approve without hesitation if there was just cause and profit involved.
'I was bracing for a tussle with those stuffy elders.'
This would make things smoother.
"I'll see my brother. Let him know ahead of time."
"Yes, sir. I'll prepare his presence immediately."
The butler moved ahead with swift steps.
He was clearly walking, yet he vanished down the corridor in a flash.
Meanwhile, another servant appeared at Krash's side to guide him to Rai's office.
Krash followed, taking in the familiar sights of the Valheim estate after so long.
By the time they reached the office, the butler was already waiting at the entrance.
Confirming Krash's arrival, he knocked twice.
"Vice Family Head, Lord Krash Valheim has arrived."
"Come in."
With the reply, the attendant and butler opened the doors from both sides.
Krash stepped inside with determined strides.
There sat Rai, handling paperwork at his desk.
True to his title as Vice Family Head, he was buried in work.
The family head, Martial Emperor Balok Valheim, lived practically in seclusion.
Which meant Rai shouldered most of the duties.
"Brother, you must have it rough as always."
Krash offered some words of comfort.
He had zero interest in becoming family head, after all.
The last thing he wanted was to touch those responsibilities.
"I heard about your business from the butler."
True to form, Rai got straight to the point.
"I've heard about the empire's crisis just now. And you want to help them."
Rai set down his pen.
Then, slowly, he rubbed his face with his hand.
"Not a bad deal."
And just like that, Rai had already weighed the full situation.
Aiding the empire brought Valheim no shortage of gains.
From the prestige boost as heroic saviors of an enemy...
To leveraging the favor in future dealings with the empire.
Everything spelled pure profit for Valheim.
Rai had surely seen that much right away.
"I approve."
True enough, Rai gave the knight deployment a clean go-ahead.
But his earlier words were the issue.
"My approval."
"By Valheim law, foreign aid requires approval from both representatives unless decreed directly by the family head."
Krash got the picture.
"The Six Elders need a majority vote."
Krash bit his lip.
The Six Elders—the stuffy ones he'd mentioned.
He despised them for a reason.
They were the very ones who'd confined him to Green Pine Pavilion.
Spouting flowery nonsense about Valheim's welfare while scrambling to cover up their own mistakes.
That was the Six Elders.
They probably still didn't welcome him with open arms.
Age hardens thinking, strengthens stubbornness.
They likely clung to their image of him as a half-baked failure.
'Blinded by Charlotte sis, those fools.'
Faced with Charlotte's shining star, the Six Elders had gone fully blind.
They lived only to crown her family head.
'Should've brought Charlotte sis after all.'
Krash clicked his tongue at his own shortsighted haste and bowed his head.
"Understood. I'll convince them."
Rai had given his blessing as vice head.
Leveraging that, swaying the elders wasn't impossible.
Even they weren't so rigid as to ignore profit.
'The annoying part is...'
Whether Charlotte fanatics like them would cheer him stealing the spotlight.
"Krash."
Just then, Rai called him back.
As Krash turned in confusion, Rai scribbled something on a memo pad and tossed it over.
Catching it, Krash listened as Rai instructed him.
"If the elders stonewall you, take this to Guardian Sword."
Guardian Sword, captain of the One Sword Knights.
Krash pocketed the memo securely.
"Thank you, brother."
"And before facing the Six Elders, see Mother first. It'll go smoother."
Rai added one more piece of advice.
His "Mother" meant Aria Valheim, the family matriarch.
Not his birth mother, but as Valheim's lady, she was mother to all.
"The Six Elders follow her lead."
For Krash, on bad terms with Aria, it was the worst possible news.
But Rai had given all the guidance his position allowed.
Krash bowed in thanks once more and left the room.
"......Of all people, I end up facing the one I least want to see."
Another showdown with Aria, just like old times.
Krash's head already throbbed.
＊ ＊ ＊
Aria Valheim.
Perhaps Krash's birth mother—and one of the people he hated most.
She was his life's first trauma.
Guided by a servant to her chambers, Krash let out a breath.
Then he knocked twice.
"Mother, it's Krash Valheim."
After the knock and his voice, a response came from within.
Opening the door was Valkyrie, the matriarch's personal guard knight.
Given their bad blood, Krash glanced warily before entering.
Right on cue, Aria greeted him with her usual benevolent smile.
"It's been a while, my son. I'm delighted you've come to see your mother."
This was the first time seeing her since she'd meddled with his engagement to Sigrin.
Her unchanged beauty stood out as she spoke warmly.
"So, what brings you here this time?"
"Do I need a reason to visit my mother?"
Of course, he had business—so he marched over, pulled out a chair, and sat before her.
"I'm taking the Valheim Knights to aid the empire. Please convince the Six Elders to approve the dispatch."
Aria sipped slowly from her teacup upon hearing this.
Ever since the Six Elders fell for Charlotte's genius.
Aria had been the first to win them over.
Charlotte was her own daughter.
Supporting Charlotte gave Aria the same power.
These days, the Six Elders' word in Valheim was as good as hers.
The woman excelled at seizing positions like this.
Snagging the matriarch role, now commandeering the elders' authority too.
"Very well. Why would a mother oppose her son doing good?"
And surprisingly, Aria agreed readily.
Krash, who'd braced for a fight, eyed her oddly.
Noticing his gaze, Aria smiled with her eyes.
"But let's add a condition."
"Can't live without slapping one on, can you?"
Just as he'd expected.
"Try to understand your mother's position. I had to quash all the backlash from your little unilateral wedding stunt. Felt like I aged ten years."
Aria cradled her face dramatically.
As if that viper, far from old age, knew what she was talking about.
'So that's why Valheim stayed surprisingly quiet about my marriage.'
Aria must've pulled strings everywhere.
Made sense—she wouldn't welcome any bad press from Krash.
He'd become another card for her influence in Valheim.
No way she'd squander that over something trivial.
"Prepare to inherit the family head position."
"What nonsense is that?"
Krash scowled fiercely.
Valheim already had Rai, practically the head in all but name.
And Charlotte, whom the elders adored.
Why shove his face into that mess?
Aria looked at him like a sulky teen.
"Son, this is for your own good too."
"Where's the 'good' in any of that?"
"Then rephrase: It's also for the sake of the wife you went and married."
Those words halted Krash cold.
"Being family head lets you bulldoze a lot. Like untangling that engagement mess with the empire from your wedding stunt."
The emperor had ordered Krash to marry Sigrin first.
But Krash had flipped him off by wedding Bianca instead.
For the empire's royal family—self-proclaimed world's greatest—that was a humiliating slap.
"But if you become head, it'll all fade away. The empire gets a direct blood tie to Valheim's head, one way or another. They won't balk at their princess entering as a concubine."
The title of Valheim family head carried unimaginable weight.
They called it the world's strongest house for a reason.
Naturally, its head wielded commensurate power and rights.
Not even a future emperor could claim it easily—let alone a distant princess.
"Declare your bid for head, and at least until then, the empire stays quiet on it."
"But fail, and I'll pay dearly."
Krash had met the emperor face-to-face.
He wasn't the type to let a face-slapper walk free.
Aria chuckled at his words, amused.
"What worry? Just become head, and it's done."
Did she think family head was some playground prize?
"Charlotte sis exists, doesn't she? Why push me there?"
Aria had backed Charlotte for head all along.
Krash couldn't fathom the sudden shift.
"You're right—Charlotte could take it. But she's too free-spirited."
Krash couldn't deny that.
Charlotte was free.
Too strong, too talented—no one in the world could bind her.
Not even the mighty Valheim family.
She had the talent for head.
But if her interest waned even slightly, she'd drop it without a second thought.
"She takes after your father. Blood will tell."
Like Balok Valheim holing up in the forbidden zone.
Charlotte had inherited that trait.
So Aria was telling Krash this:
He wouldn't abandon the seat like Charlotte would.
For her, that was ideal.
Her ambitions stopped at securing power within Valheim.
With her son holding the head seat firmly, she'd live worry-free forever.
"Haha."
Catching on, Krash burst into laughter.
As Aria tilted her head slightly, he spoke.
"You think if I become head, I'll just let you be?"
A chilling aura emanated from Krash.
Who do you take me for?