Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Family Feud
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“Lord Romandro? Where has Lord Ian gone?”
Butler Samen asked quizzically as he spotted Romandro walking down the corridor alone. He waved it off as if it were nothing and promptly made his requests before stepping inside.
“Bring me parchment, a pen, and ink.”
“Yes. Understood.”
As he entered the bedroom, the sharp tang of blood hit him. Along with it came the thick smoke of mana cigarettes. From the inner room came Dive’s incessant sobbing, while Lady Rien sat impassively on the sofa.
“You’re here? What about Lord Ian?”
“Something came up, so he’ll be back soon. My lady.”
Romandro glanced around as he sat opposite her. It was obvious he had something to say, and Lady Rien eyed him knowingly, her attention fixed on the inner bedroom.
“What is it?”
“My lady, Lord Ian asked me to relay a message. If you’ve secured the seal, it’s best to hold onto it as is.”
“Ah.”
The lady let out a small exclamation of surprise. Ian had sent word. If she made up her mind, he would lend his strength to overturning Merelrof.
Romandro poured himself some cold tea and murmured quietly.
“I will submit a report for now, but depending on the discussions at the top, an investigator might be dispatched again. At that point, neither I nor Lord Ian—who’s on the route to the capital—will be able to assist you directly.”
“So I have to handle it alone.”
“I’ll explain the detailed plan once things settle. For now, will you keep holding the seal?”
It was a question of whether she dared to become the family head.
The lady glanced toward the inner bedroom. Dive had stormed in without so much as a greeting. A former slave as sister-in-law? She found it utterly beneath their station. If that man became the next count, not only Clark but her own safety would be in jeopardy.
No, in truth, no matter who it was, the only way to protect herself was to rise to the top.
“Yes. I’ll manage the seal.”
“Good. Then there’s one thing you need to do. First, dismiss the knights as enemies.”
“Th-the Three Knights?”
“Didn’t Lord Ian mention that?”
“He did earlier. Said they’re not cost-effective and to cut the knights first when managing the estate.”
Romandro gave a faint smile at her words.
“Well, that’s not entirely wrong. But procedure matters. If they die as knights of House Merelrof, their names must be listed in the report to the palace, but otherwise, there’s no need to mention them.”
‘If they die as knights of House Merelrof.’
Lady Rien’s green-tinged eyes gleamed. Romandro was saying he would kill them all.
“Ah. I see.”
“I trust you understand.”
“Yes. Completely.”
Ian was under scrutiny from the palace. If it got out that he’d intervened in the succession by killing Merelrof’s knights amid all that, it would spell serious trouble. Lady Rien nodded and glanced once more toward the bedroom. Dive’s fake sobs were dying down.
“What about him?”
“Lord Ian will handle him personally, so leave it to him. However, here’s what I need you to promise.”
It was the condition to bind Ian and the lady tightly together.
“5,000 gold coins.”
“No problem. I’ll sell land if I have to.”
“Keep the number of soldiers at half or less of the current count.”
It was to check Merelrof. A treaty for mutual peace in case Ian was away. Naturally, it posed no issue for the lady.
“Fine.”
“In all transactions granted to you, give Lord Ian right of first refusal. Of course, you retain the right to veto his proposals.”
The nearest territory was Ian’s anyway, so his would come up first in any deals or exchanges. The lady nodded that this was also no problem.
“If you agree, we’ll draw up a formal contract once things are sorted.”
“I have no retreat. I’m fine with all of it.”
“Yes. Oh, and about this Clark fellow.”
Lady Rien’s expression hardened slightly. She’d racked her brains, but saw no path for that. The best she could squeeze out was becoming lord and pardoning him.
But until then, would Dive and the knights even keep Clark alive? As Ian said, it was a miracle he was still breathing.
What tortures he’d endured in the underground dungeon, whether he was even alive—she knew nothing from the bedroom.
“Is there a way?”
“There is, but...”
As Romandro started to continue, Dive appeared, dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief. He’d sounded like he was about to collapse from the sobs earlier, yet his face wasn’t swollen at all. Meaning he’d just raised his voice.
“Sister-in-law. I regret how things have turned out.”
“So you see me now. Earlier, you ignored me without a greeting. Is it because Lord Romandro’s here?”
Spot on. As an official advisor dispatched from the palace who’d submit a notarized report, he was managing his image. But Dive didn’t bat an eye.
“No way. I was so shocked by brother’s death that I rushed straight to the bedroom. Sister-in-law, you look as lovely as ever.”
“Of course. You haven’t changed either, Dive.”
Zzzt. Sparks seemed to fly between them. Romandro cleared his throat awkwardly and interjected.
“Please calm down and take a seat.”
“Yes, Lord Romandro. Sad as it is, we must handle what needs handling. I hear the brutal slave who did this to brother is still clinging to life in the underground dungeon.”
“His name is Clark.”
“Please detail the incident fully in the report to the palace, and include the notification of title succession.”
Unlike Ian’s case of receiving a new house and title, this was internal succession. No imperial permission needed—just report to the center.
Dive’s butler brought parchment and writing tools. Romandro nodded as he dipped his pen in ink.
“Of course. What tragedy is this in the world? A slave killing his master... a noble, no less. By the way, Dive, do you have no separate family?”
“I do, but.”
“Ah, I heard you believe in the subterranean god.”
“Me? No. Who said that? Sister-in-law?”
Dive flatly denied it. Bariel allowed religious freedom, but that was mainly for atheists. In an empire officially serving gods under the Papal Court, heresy was another matter.
Being on the frontier meant no direct sanctions, but disadvantages were certain. Mentioning the subterranean god at home or making its prayer gestures—he’d have restrained himself if he knew the neighboring lord was Ian.
“Or was it Lord Ian?”
“Whoever said it doesn’t matter. The fact itself does. Right?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“I see. Understood.”
He denied his faith in an instant for the title. Dive found this lamentable situation agonizing and yearned to offer repentance prayers at once.
But outwardly, he acted unfazed and changed the subject.
“With this unfortunate affair, we can’t hold a grand succession ceremony. Let’s do it simply tomorrow and then hold brother’s funeral.”
“No. The funeral comes first. That’s proper etiquette.”
Romandro cut him off firmly. They needed time for the lady to clean house with the knights. Dive, about to argue, clamped his mouth shut at “proper etiquette.” Wasn’t that what nobles upheld above all?
“I’ll ask a few questions to detail the report. Is that alright?”
“Go ahead.”
“If you succeed, you’ll be the ninth head, since brother was the eighth?”
Romandro diligently scribbled as he asked various questions. Meanwhile, the lady’s mind boiled hot. The urge to erase every trace of her husband surged within her.
Start anew. Discard everything and begin fresh.
Survive first, even if she discarded it all again later—survival was key.
‘Clark...’
“...My lady?”
“Yes?”
“Were you listening?”
“Ah, sorry. I missed that. What did you say?”
Lady Rien turned to Romandro with a bright smile. Dive seemed displeased even by her demeanor, his tongue-clicking growing overt.
“I asked you to announce the matter to the territory folk today and handle the estate cleanup.”
“Ah, the estate cleanup. Of course.”
It meant dismissing the knights as discussed earlier. As the lady nodded she’d handle it promptly, Dive cut in with a truly displeased look.
“No. No need.”
“No need?”
“Why have someone leaving the estate manage it? I’ll handle it from now on, so sister-in-law, please step back and take care of your health.”
‘Someone leaving the estate’ cut deep. Don’t even dream of staying as family, slave-born. And he worried she might abscond with the furnishings while temporarily in charge.
As Romandro tried to mediate, Lady Rien shot back sharply.
“Haven’t you been ousted from the estate for quite a while? Even if you take charge now, you wouldn’t know where to start.”
“Sister-in-law. Mind your tongue.”
“Really? If it feels that way, I’m not sorry. The count’s funeral isn’t even held, and you’re already bloodshot-eyed for the title. I understand you were expelled for your heresy, but there’s such a thing as propriety.”
Each word was a barbed attack. Dive raised his hand as if to strike her, and Romandro and the butler hurriedly blocked him.
“Good grief, what is this? Lord Dive.”
“Lord Dive! You can’t do this!”
“Even ousted, you’re pure Merelrof blood. Quick to raise a hand, just like brothers.”
But the lady drove the wedge without flinching. The venom of a woman with nothing left to lose was fierce.
Dive, humiliated at being contradicted by a slave-born, trembled and bellowed.
“You don’t know your place, you lowly thing!”
“Exactly. Putting that lowly thing in the countess seat—truly, the count was mad. Out of his mind. Same blood, so you’re the same, right? Well, madness explains it.”
Dive swung his arm wildly, but couldn’t overpower Romandro and the butler. As the lady said, the brothers even shared lean builds.
The lady moistened her lips with tea and glanced at the door.
Amid the sudden commotion, a knight was peering in from inside.
“You there.”
At her call, the knight raised a brow. She nodded toward Dive and asked in an exasperated tone.
“If you were the count’s knights, isn’t protecting me your duty too?”
“My lady, until the truth of the count’s death is revealed, we can’t protect you.”
“With Clark locked in the underground dungeon, what more truth is there? If that’s your stance, I have no choice.”
It was a look that asked what she’d do if she had no choice.
“Lord Romandro has confirmed the estate’s management falls to me until the funeral. I hereby dismiss all three knights of House Merelrof.”
“Dismiss?”
The knight laughed again. Dismissal—what did it even mean? But at that moment.
KABOOM!
A foreign roar echoed from below.
Not an explosion, but something massive crumpling and shattering.
The knight puzzledly shifted his gaze down the hall. Someone was ascending the stairs with ferocious momentum.