Chapter 13: Do Not Speak That Name Lightly
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 13: Do Not Speak That Name Lightly
“There is a statue of Marquis Dakuren in the center of the Lord’s Castle, but that is not his grave.”
The place Count Dakuus led me to was not a tomb, but a room.
I could tell at a glance that it was the room the Marquis had used during his life.
“Since we couldn’t even recover the bodies, we originally intended to bury the personal effects of the Marquis and his eldest son, Young Master Janks, in coffins.”
“I take it you never got around to making those graves, old man?”
“The Young Lady could not bear the solitude of being left alone or the loss of her family. We compromised by preserving their rooms as they were.”
“The Young Lady?”
I remembered her, though she was a presence I had almost forgotten.
The Marquis’s wife had passed away early, and he had raised his son and daughter alone without ever remarrying.
According to Janks—the Marquis’s son and my fellow squad mate in the Bertrand Unit—she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Everyone used to tease him for being such a doting fool, but I had only been envious of the fact that he had a family at all.
“Lady Airune Dakuren. She is the sole legitimate successor to the city of Dakuren and the region of Hus.”
“Then why are you acting as the Lord instead of the Lady?”
“I am the Acting Lord. Ironically, the Marquis intended for Young Master Janks to inherit the title, so he gave Lady Airune no education in governance whatsoever. She is only just beginning to learn, bit by bit.”
It was complicated.
The world of noble rule and politics was far too complex for me.
However, the truth remains the same everywhere: when someone is thrust into a heavy responsibility without preparation or rises to a position they don’t fit, disasters are bound to happen.
Just look at me. I coveted a position I didn’t fit—trying to be the ‘man’ of a party and start a family—and look how that turned out.
A part of me wondered if that was really such a great greed to harbor, but reality is what it is.
“So she’s been learning for five years, yet she still hasn’t been inaugurated as the ruler of Hus and Dakuren?”
“She believes she falls short of the Marquis and Young Master Janks, so she continues to delay it.”
“Are you sure it’s not just that you have no intention of stepping down, old man?”
“What did you say?”
When I shot him a suspicious look, the Count grabbed me by the collar.
Since he was taller than me, he hauled me up until my feet were slightly off the ground.
“I thought you’d only lost your venom after the Final War, but it seems your wits have vanished along with it. To utter such nonsense…!”
“I’m the one who should be suspicious. Weren’t you always full of schemes to swallow Hus and the Kingdom by constantly exhausting the private armies?”
He had flaunted his ambition so blatantly that I wondered if even Marquis Dakuren had simply let it slide despite knowing.
He used to give orders that made no sense—why delay here, why charge there—and while they were never fatal to the overall war effort, they were just enough of a nuisance to be incredibly irritating.
“I will not deny that I harbored great ambitions in those days.”
The old man huffed and growled.
“But after witnessing that carnage—after seeing those who stepped forward to protect their country, humanity, and their families die so miserably—I abandoned those hollow dreams of world conquest long ago. The world wants peace. You were there at that horrific, terrifying scene yourself; do you truly think I am mad enough to bring that devastation back with my own hands?!”
The look in the old man’s eyes was genuine.
The ambitious fire had indeed left him, leaving behind the same weary old man I had seen at the victory commemoration ceremony.
“…That was a slip of the tongue. I apologize.”
“An apology? From the Bloodhound?”
The old man let go of my collar and let out a hollow laugh.
“You really have lost all your venom.”
“That war took a lot from us. From families to men… and the Heroes, too.”
And now, I was standing in the childhood home of one of those Four Heroes.
The Absolute Shield of the Kingdom, Marquis Vanguardier Dakuren.
The vanguard and tank of the Hero’s party.
The only Hero hailing from our Kingdom.
Our hero, who possessed a frame as solid as a rock and a masculine impression, now remained only as a single portrait painted before the departure for the Final War.
“The incense is here.”
I took the long stick of incense the old man handed me and lit it.
I slowly circled it twice and planted it in the incense burner.
It smelled more of burning than fragrance, but that suited the Marquis better.
“Shouldn’t I meet the Young Lady as well?”
“The Young Lady is busy with her lessons and is away today. I will arrange a time for you to meet soon.”
Ugh, that means I have to come here again.
I hated being stuck among nobles; it felt suffocating.
“I can see exactly what you’re thinking, you brat. Regardless, I am merely the Acting Lord. A male who has immigrated here must at least show his face to the legitimate successor. The settlement subsidy will be paid then as well.”
That sly old fox!
“I don’t know. Since I’m ugly, wouldn’t it be better for the Young Lady if I just remained a name on a ledger?”
“Is that the main reason you left that Hero-rank party in Lukart?”
“……”
Sly old fox.
He was like this on the battlefield, too.
It brought back memories of days spent on edge, trying to find each other’s weaknesses.
Seriously, being around this man is exhausting.
“…I can’t say it had nothing to do with it, but regardless of that, it’s a fact that I’m ugly, isn’t it? Dark skin and plain features. In this world of beauties, I’m just an eyesore.”
“I can’t agree with you on the skin, at least.”
You should be disagreeing with the ‘plain features’ part, not the skin.
That’s the main component of looks.
“Is our skin not dark because of demonic energy? It is a glorious badge of honor held by every veteran who served on the front lines.”
There are fewer than ten of those veterans left, old man.
Of course, a soldier and a noble like him might think that way.
When demons unleash magic, it leaves behind a flash and the searing heat of demonic energy.
Because we had to face them head-on, soldiers were exposed to that magical light and heat, causing their skin to burn dark sooner or later.
Hardly anyone knows that, except for the comrades who fought alongside us.
You might as well say no one knows.
“It seems you have no intention of telling me why you left Lukart.”
“Ha… I just paid my respects to the Marquis. I don’t want to fight in front of him again.”
“Agreed. Let us set that matter aside for now. However, the woman in the drawing room earlier is the Branch Manager of the Dakuren Adventurer Guild. I have already been informed by the Lukart Branch Manager and the headquarters about who you really are.”
“This is getting troublesome.”
I hoped she wouldn’t be a nuisance like the Lukart Branch Manager, but it didn’t seem likely.
Thanks to the luck of surviving, my utility had become far too high, in inverse proportion to my face.
“Do not worry. Even if you are the Bloodhound, if you wish to live quietly, we will respect that. However, we must devise some sort of plan to keep you hidden.”
“So, it’s time for some desk-jockeying.”
“My favorite pastime.”
Of course it is.
This old man loves sitting at a desk, spinning fantasies based on his own settings—wondering ‘what if we do this?’ or ‘what if we do that?’
I used to wonder if all commanders were like that, but thinking of Marquis Dakuren, that definitely wasn’t the case.
“Can’t I just stay quiet like I did in Lukart?”
“The situation won’t allow you to just stay quiet. You certainly managed to leave with remarkably little noise for someone of your stature, but the identity you revealed has become a source of clamor in itself.”
“What is it about being a National Merit Recipient that causes such a fuss? We’re just lucky survivors, scars of a war.”
“We are symbols of victory. That is why the high and mighty want to keep us in their grasp and dote on us.”
Politics really doesn’t suit me.
Trying to manipulate people regardless of their will—I’d honestly prefer the blatant control of the military.
“I say this half-jokingly, but it might not be a bad idea to stop thinking and just mingle with the politicians. How about becoming just a ‘Hound’ instead of the ‘Bloodhound’? They’ll find you a wife and give you even more money.”
“Isn’t that a bit much, even for a joke?”
I didn’t hide my discomfort, but the old man only gave a villainous, despicable smirk.
Since I had made a mistake earlier regarding the Dakuren succession, I decided to let this one slide.
“There, I can already see your head starting to ache. Are you starting to understand?”
“Understand what?”
“That even if you want to be left alone, the world won’t let you. The Adventurer Guild headquarters already knows, and since you listed yourself as a National Merit Recipient on your withdrawal form, the application for your veteran pension has been filed. The bank will know soon as well.”
“Sigh…”
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
This was all because of that loan.
If not for that, I could have slipped away quietly and lived a peaceful life in Hus.
And when I thought about the reason for that loan, the pain of the wounds I brought from Lukart felt sharper than the joy of arriving in Hus.
“If you wish, Hus will protect you with everything we have.”
“That’s just more politics, old man.”
“I suppose it is.”
The old man stroked his chin and gave a bitter smile.
“But what can be done when the name of this war is politics? You must admit that while you, the Bloodhound, were a powerful weapon in an actual war, I am the effective weapon on this battlefield.”
“Yes, yes, of course.”
When I slumped my shoulders in surrender, the old man gently opened the door for me.
“Say your final goodbye to the Marquis, and let us return to the drawing room.”
“I get it.”
Perhaps pleased by my lack of resistance, the old man did something uncharacteristic and patted me on the back.
“Welcome to Hus, Bloodhound.”
But having reached my limit, I let out a low growl.
“Count, I truly appreciate the welcome, but stop calling me by that nickname. That guy is asleep. He’s been asleep ever since the Demon King died in the Final War.”
“Ho…”
It’s annoying when you keep calling for someone who isn’t me.
Do you really want to see the true nature of the Bloodhound?
“So that’s how it is.”
The old man took the lead and walked out the door.
“I shall be careful.”
The look he gave me before leaving was filled with a sense of kinship and pity.