Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Mother's Verdict
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"Good."
Pleased with her children's responses, Elena von Carviot flashed a sweet smile.
"Sir Merlin, gather the magic corps for me. Every single one, no exceptions. We'll need plenty of mages' hands to repair the Trial Tower."
The family's chief mage, Merlin, bowed his head at her mother's words.
"Understood, Countess. I'll prepare so we can start the repairs tomorrow right aw—"
"No, Sir Merlin. Let's go right now."
Her mother cut Merlin off decisively.
"I'm curious how much the family's magic corps has advanced while I was away at the Magic Tower. I'll watch how you improve the Trial Tower before I lay a hand on it myself."
Drag!
Her mother rose from her seat as if her business was done and headed for the conference room door.
... Gulp!
"...Y-yes, ma'am. Let's go right now."
It wasn't his imagination—Merlin's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed dryly. His face slightly pale, Merlin trailed after her mother like a lamb being led to slaughter, shuffling along awkwardly.
One crucial fact here: from the moment she entered the conference room to this very instant as she left.
Her mother hadn't once looked at my face.
No, to be precise, she hadn't seen me as a 'person' present in this room at all.
"Mother, I hope you've been well."
I, seated at the farthest edge of the conference room, greeted her as she moved to open the door. Without even glancing my way, she turned back toward Sir Merlin and spoke.
"My, how curious. Sir Merlin, while I was away at the Magic Tower, the family developed quite an amusing spell, didn't they?"
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Well, a spell that lets bugs speak human words. Hehe, how entertaining."
"...!!"
Hearing that old slur after so long—and the harsh treatment from the past—made even Chief Mage Merlin look uncomfortable, so I spoke up again.
"Mother, the truth is, I..."
"Shut your mouth."
But she still refused to acknowledge me.
"The Carviot count family, where I came as a bride, is the kingdom's greatest house. It bears the honor of shielding the great Ikenia Kingdom at the forefront against the Empire. In such a shining family, only the best must always exist."
Swipe!
Only then did she finally turn her head, her gaze as cold as ice.
"You are indeed the son I love, Jerome. But if the name 'Carviot' attaches after your given name 'Jerome,' that meaning changes entirely."
She finally glanced briefly at me in the corner and continued.
"You become a child who's nothing but a lump of every flaw unfit for the position of Shield Family direct descendant. Before the weight of that family name, my personal feelings as your mother hold no meaning."
It was a brutally cold evaluation no parent should ever give a child.
"It's been quite some time since I left Banten, so I hoped maybe things had changed. But my faint hope was in vain. You're still just a bug of a child."
Her eyes turned to my brother and sister.
"At this crucial moment deciding the heir, why are you huddled in the corner of the conference room, a step behind? Why do you say nothing, as if just listening to others? Giving up before it even starts... Truly, there's no knowing how low you'll sink."
Bang!
"From now on, wherever you go, don't dare claim to be a direct descendant of the Carviot count family. That name is still far too heavy for you to bear."
With those icy words, her mother opened the conference room door.
"W-wait, ma'am! I'm coming with you!"
Merlin hurriedly chased after her.
"......"
"......"
A chill hung in the conference room after her mother left.
...Hm.
After returning to the past, she'd never once come back to Banten, so I'd thought it unlikely.
"My lord, does the countess truly not know what I've been doing?"
Step by step.
With each footfall, Elena von Carviot's expression twisted, though her face itself remained composed.
'It really hurts my heart.'
Elena had always been the best.
As a scion of a prestigious house, she'd topped the magic academy, married the finest husband amid her stunning beauty.
Her children had always been hailed as the kingdom's top talents.
Yes.
All except the third, that is.
The one worry in her life.
Embarrassed and ashamed by rumors of that worry, she'd shut out the world in the royal Magic Tower, devoting herself solely to magic research.
Cutting off all news from outside.
For fear it might include evaluations of her third child's bug-like existence.
But her husband's letter after so long sparked a sliver of hope.
If it was a major event selecting the heir, even her lacking third might pull himself together and show some ambition.
But that faint hope proved useless.
'Why on earth did he just sit there silently?'
She'd deliberately excluded the third.
Focused solely on the first and second, ignoring him completely.
Acted as if he'd been utterly cut from the heir selection.
If he were a direct descendant of this kingdom's Shield Family—no, even without such grand terms.
At least as a Carviot man, her son, she'd expected his pride to be wounded.
'A vain hope, in the end.'
For her young third, she'd spared no support.
Swordsmanship, magic—only the best teachers.
She didn't blame her child's lack of talent.
After touching the Ideals and glimpsing truth's facet, she'd accepted the unbridgeable gap of innate talent.
But she couldn't tolerate the unseemly sight of no effort, no wounded pride.
"Merlin, cancel all magic corps schedules starting today. Nothing takes priority until the Trial Tower repairs are done."
Elena's voice brimmed with resolve.
'No choice. I'll think about the third later. For now, focus everything on the first and second.'
This family, where she reigned as lady, had to remain the best. Fortunately, the first and second met her standards as top candidates.
Even if the first or second were injured—or died—carrying honor and duty for the kingdom's greatest house.
To keep it supreme, she could do anything. Others might call it strange, but this was her way of loving.
"I'll make them learn what true trials are."
Elena's eyes flashed fiercely.
Well, that makes sense.
My abandoning the Banten heirship—and receiving Olivia territory—was top secret, known to only a handful.
Especially the Olivia grant: just Father, Sir Arandal, Dwayne, and Beskin.
So her words about why I didn't step up for the heir selection, or giving up before starting, were understandable.
She didn't know.
But still. Even if she'd buried herself in Magic Tower research.
'...Not knowing a single thing I've done is too much.'
Creak!
I'd tensed up hearing from Dwayne that Mother was coming.
That tension differed from Father's, the doting husband.
In my childhood, she'd given me only the best teachers.
But back then, I'd ignored her efforts. And given only disappointment.
So amid the tension, this time I could stand tall.
To say, your son has achieved this, he'll no longer be lacking.
Yet that gaze of hers.
Seeing eyes full of disappointment, devoid of expectation, sparked my defiance.
'No, wait.'
If I played this situation right, I could shake that 'inside man' with justification.
Without dropping my defiant glare, I said to Father.
"...My lord. No, Father. May I also challenge the Trial Tower?"
"Hm?"
Father Bacchus von Carviot and Sir Arandal's eyes shifted subtly.
"I want to challenge the Trial Tower... and prove I have the qualifications."
My resolute words, avoiding the word 'heir' entirely.
Only Father and Sir Arandal caught the nuance in this room.
"...Do as you like."
Father's permission. We both knew it wasn't for the heirship, but to others' ears, it would sound exactly like it.
"...!!"
My brother and sister's faces shifted through countless expressions, proving my guess spot-on.
Shock like a blow to the back of the head, yet joy and relief at fair competition—emotions mingled, capturing this sudden twist no one had anticipated.
Excluding Mother, who knew 'nothing,' no one here denied I had the highest chance of conquering the Trial Tower.
Thus.
'The inside man must be panicking at this.'
If his backed candidate failed as heir, raising his own value as mole would be tough.
So high chance he'd act during Trial Tower prep.
And with Hans's ledger added to that action.
'Time to pull out my fourth request to Father.'
...That was the outward reason I'd tell Dwayne. Personally, to the lofty mage Elena von Carviot who'd touched the Ideals.
I wanted to clearly show that Jerome von Carviot, Shield Family direct descendant, was no longer a bug.
As a son who'd thoroughly rotted his parents' hearts, showing I'd 'properly' grown was instinct.
A dark room.
"Hmm..."
A man lounged in a chair, staring silently at the box before his feet.
Inside were elixirs and treasures seized from the tools.
"What to do."
Ares and Mercy's realms were a paper-thin difference.
Either becoming heir felt natural.
Thus, he'd planned to slip some items to his favored heir, keeping the rest for his Empire defection.
But the third young master's sudden Trial Tower entry ruined it perfectly.
Grind!
"Damn it, he should've just meekly given up like Bacchus said..."
Bzzz!
Just then, a faint vibration hummed from under the man's bed.
"!"
Lifting the bed at the sensation, a small crystal orb glowed and vibrated.
The man carefully lifted it, channeling aura. The clear orb rippled, projecting a figure.
A beautiful woman, exuding the dignity of a warrior who could kneel multitudes.
The Holy Empire's Third Imperial Princess, Iberella von Hekaron.
Confirming the communication spell complete, the man knelt on one knee and bowed to Iberella.
"Infinite glory to the Third Princess who shall rule tomorrow's continent."
-Spare the formalities. How's it going?
Iberella brushed off his courtesy and cut to the chase.
"...A variable has emerged. The third young master, Jerome von Carviot, has entered the heir trial he previously abandoned."
Iberella let out a small sigh at his words.
-Hah, that bug again...
She pinched her furrowed brow, clearly vexed.
"Third Princess, what shall we do?"
-Hm?
She stared at him through the orb as if he'd said something odd.
-That's for you to handle. Do I have to micromanage everything?
"...My apologies."
-Next report, I'd prefer seeing Mercy—your pick—as heir, Darcan. Otherwise, I'll be quite disappointed in you.
As Iberella finished, her rippling image in the orb faded.
Once the vibrations fully stopped and communication ended, fury filled the eyes of the dark knight, Darcan.
Grind!
"Damn brat, so arrogant...!"
Gnashing his teeth while fiddling with the box's contents, he soon shut it decisively, resolve firm.
"No helping it. Can't skimp on small things now."
To make Mercy crush the third young master, no holding back.
Wealth could be remade after claiming a seat in the Empire, he steeled himself, grabbing the box and rising.
He needed to bolster Mercy before the Trial Tower opened, even a little faster.
Was it haste, or complacency from long years as Carviot's shield?
He failed to notice.
The thread coiled under his bed, trailing out the window.