Chapter 230
Chapter 230
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: Shattering the Love Triangle
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The North of the Empire is locked in the depths of winter, a land where time itself seems preserved in ice.
Without wrapping yourself in fur hides, it feels like your breath could stop at any moment. Even washing clothes means worrying if they'll shatter from the frost. Firewood is a matter of life and death, and every scrap of meat is precious.
Why is nature so cruel to the North? Against this merciless environment, people have no choice but to fight for survival, day by day.
That's why they are strong.
That's why it's barren. Even people's hearts.
The young Elvirion had once seen his father's weakness. During the reign of the previous Northern Grand Duke, he muttered gloomily, crushed by fatigue.
"......Refusing the summons again?"
"Yes. They insolently demand that if there's business, you come in person. Ungrateful for the Grand Ducal house's grace...!"
"It's my fault. My fault for sharing power with the provinces. A hyena with meat in its jaws will naturally grow greedy. Everyone has greed......"
The previous Northern Grand Duke was a kind and gentle man. Had he been born in a land where spring arrived, he would have been an excellent lord dispensing benevolence, but sadly, he didn't suit winter.
He was weak. An idealist.
He deemed it unjust for the Grand Ducal house to hoard all the North's power in one place.
While the Grand Ducal direct territories lived lavishly, wasting firewood like it was nothing, people in distant lands were still freezing to death.
He believed that dividing the power gripped by the Grand Ducal house across the North would benefit everyone. It wasn't a wrong idea. If only it could be realized.
The previous Northern Grand Duke entrusted power to reliable retainers and sent them to the provinces. The result? Division in the North.
Retainers who had been utterly loyal when the Grand Ducal house stood at the pinnacle began to think they could become heads themselves once the leader weakened. Loyalty fell second to greed.
Heartbroken, the previous Northern Grand Duke fell ill.
"......Do not show mercy. Do not toss meat to hyenas. Do not trust others. I still regret that moment......"
He left these words as his last will to his eldest son, Elvirion Julius, and died.
"Yes, Father."
Elvirion engraved those words deep in his heart.
And the first act of the newly enthroned Northern Grand Duke Elvirion Julius?
He hanged the corpses of the sinners who had divided and thrown the North into chaos—the retainers of the previous Grand Duke—from the central square.
They say there were once glorious days in the past. Under Julius's banner, all the people of winter united as one, channeling the strength born of survival in a single direction.
The Grand Ducal house of that era deserved to be called giants.
But what about now? The divided North is a pathetic sight. The Grand Duke's name has long been an empty shell. If the imperial family learned of this state, they might revoke the title altogether.
Division. That damned division that forced him to hang his dead father's neck.
Gazing at his kind, warm father's corpse being chipped away by stones from the furious crowd, Elvirion Julius swore an oath.
If possessing a springtime heart in winter lands was the problem, then he would become the North's coldest winter.
And so he did.
He killed or exiled his own blood siblings. To leave no room for division, he bit them all to death, eliminating any possible future threats.
If there was the slightest suspicion, he cut until it vanished. Those who raised voices of rebellion were thrown naked into the snowfields. They fell silent soon enough.
Thus, he ruthlessly gathered power into one place.
To bolster his strength even a little, he entered political marriages. He gave no affection to his children. If he must favor one, it had to be the most outstanding and capable heir.
Indiscriminate favoritism could breed strife.
He applied the same icy standard to his family. The children of wives from other lands? He stripped their inheritance rights by any means necessary. Sending his eldest daughter to a convent was part of that.
The result of all those efforts, freezing his own heart in the process? Success. Not as prosperous as before, but the Grand Ducal house had recovered its power, and the blade forged in winter was sharp.
Now, only war with the splinter factions that broke away loomed ahead.
This was why the Northern Grand Duke needed strength. That was the reason for entering the Hero Selection Tournament. War devours power and food in vast quantities. Anything that could be gathered beforehand had to be collected.
A lonely, ruthless life.
Yet even in Elvirion Julius's existence, there had been one fragment of spring.
It was before he fully bared his claws. To make potential enemies underestimate him, he bought a woman.
There was a ridiculous prostitute who sold "conversation only." Spending money on such nonsense would make him look like a fool, so he chose her. How laughable—paying and still not getting laid.
There, he met her.
Sometimes a philosopher, a poet, a critic, a good friend, a charming lover, a loving mother.
"People can't become winter or steel, 'Daisy.' We can resemble them greatly, but we mustn't forget our essence is flesh. That's merely the exterior."
"......So what are you saying?"
"In other words...... 'Daisy' needs conversations with people. Humans are social animals, after all!"
Heart. The woman of illusion.
The mask I'm wearing is a bit different, but it's nice to see an old friend after so long. Maybe from all the rolling around in hardship when young, he feels much more worn down than expected.
Has time passed that much?
I retired from Heart in Lion Year 448...... so about five years ago. Even reunited, that mug is perfectly Northern Grand Duke material.
Like berserkers sizing up each other's power, I kneaded "Daisy's" arm to check her muscles. Well-maintained body, but it could be even better.
"Seems a bit low on body fat for your build. You eating properly?"
"Lots of veggies, moderate meat. That's how I eat."
"Whoever taught you did a great job! Yeah, keep it up. But bump up the portions a little. Try eating just a bit more."
"I'll do that. Heart."
Not Heart, I said.
With "Daisy" tossing in that one word, Irid—who'd been watching with arms crossed—muttered quietly.
"......Not?"
Not Centra either, man. Not even a Centra ancestor. This avatar's codename is Love.
It was a safety measure in case casually reusing names caused real trouble. See? Victory of preparation. Perfect defense against Irid's intrusion emergency!
"Enjoying any hobbies?"
"None in particular. My one hobby vanished five years ago."
"The diet advisor doesn't mention this? You gotta enjoy life for it to feel worth living. Got time? Wanna catch a bard performance with me?"
"If invited, gladly. For you, I could spare a day."
Street busking quick hit? Daisy nodded coolly. Yeah, been a while, so hang out, drinks for dinner, then head out.
But he's married with kids now, so no worries there. Eye scan shows no pink-tinted emotions.
"......Then I'll cover the bill. I'll even support the dessert costs."
"Why you—no...... Second Prince. Please rest. The Empire's pillar can't lose his mind."
"Refusing support? Does that mean your main consort isn't the Northern Grand Duke......?"
"Someone, fetch a priest. Quickly."
On the other hand, Irid looked like a time traveler facing a paradox, lost in heavy thoughts. In the worldline where the Northern Grand Duke and "Love" hook up, does Centra appear or not?
If yes, just push the couple and it's fine.
But if "Love" connects to someone else, Irid ends up erasing Centra with his own hands. The Second Prince was agonizing in that paradox gap.
The usually sharp kid suddenly seeming like his IQ plummeted? Probably 'cause most of his brain's tied up pondering the paradox.
Thinking one choice makes your heroine vanish forever? Even I'd panic and shake.
Well then.
How about snapping Irid back to reality while we're at it?
I mean...... hammer in that they can't meet. Drop multiverse hints: Centra's worldline diverged long ago from a distant, unchangeable past.
Whatever Irid does now, Centra can't exist in this world...... get him to accept that.
Cruel, sure. But isn't leaving him trapped in false hope even crueler? Especially since Centra's just an illusion.
Unattainable love needs cutting quick. If Irid never marries or enjoys family joys because of this, the guilt would hit hard.
Alright.
Since we're spooning in some multiverse anyway...... let's make this "Love" character from another world too. Why'd she come to this one?
Aftermath of some mad dimensional mage's dimension-overlap spell.
To give Sissel her chance, pulled Karen from a parallel world—but as a side effect, Love got dragged along. Unfold the story with that setup.
Legally wipes Karen from this world, frees Irid from illusion, blocks "Daisy" seeking Love,
And naturally justifies me meeting the Northern Grand Duke.
Direct it right, and it should work.
"Hey, but—"
Was there originally a dessert cafe here? By my memory, this spot's a tavern.
As I geared up to say that, my sight caught a mysterious girl X on the rooftop making an X with her arms. Yuna, why?
Yuna kept signaling. Pure love, destroy, no way. Pure love destroy where? I'm saving poor lives hooked on vtubers in one shot.
Not getting my drift, Yuna linked a hotline to my mind. I figured she'd verbally explain, but the connection's off.
The hotline hooked to the Academy's sim machine, and the voice that came through was someone else's.
-Uh, hello, Creator......
Centra's voice pack.
"What the fuck."
There's a limit to surprises. I jolted up in shock. The chair I'd hooked my leg on clattered across the floor.
My concept utterly shattered, and the two guys jumped up startled too.
"......Heart? Suddenly cursing—did I commit some rudeness?"
"Does that mean your true wife really isn't the Northern Grand Duke?"
"N-no, no, I...... gotta hit the bathroom quick! Real bathroom, don't follow! And it's not Heart, it's Love!"
"Wait, hold on! Love!"
Leaving the flustered Northern Grand Duke behind, I bolted from the scene like Cinderella past midnight. Then, in a deserted, quiet spot, I checked the hotline.
Not like I'm under illusion magic or anything.
-If the bathroom's urgent, should I wait a bit......?
"No, who the hell are you? Only three can access that machine, and they're all in the Holy City. What's your goal? Whatever it is, don't log—just name it, I'll give anything!"
-We-well...... if I have to say what I want, I wanna meet Irid.
"You already parsed the whole log?!?"
Cold sweat poured as an unknown entity seized the system I'd built my life around. Fixing that'll take forever. God save me.
Pop.
Yuna appeared beside my trembling self.
"Tower Master! Some hacker's invading our baby right now......!!"
"That's Centra. Remember I showed you before? You didn't believe me...... Your AI has self-awareness. For real."
"Pardon?"
"Abraham, Pero, Oh Hyein—even the unstable Namgoong siblings—they've got it. Inside the sim......"
My head went white from the sudden genre shift.
Why self-awareness? Shouldn't have it? Bug?
"......Don't kill them! Don't kill our NPCs!!"
-De-Destroyer God. If I did something wrong, I'm fine vanishing, but please spare the others......!
Watching Yuna plead while dangling from my leg, I thought blankly. Sentient AI...... Skynet...... Machine intelligence mercilessly oppressing humanity......
What the fuck did I create?