Broken Engagement
Father collapsed. It was from mental exhaustion and overwhelming stress. Of course, the root cause was that damn older brother of mine going missing. The moment the head of the Hoenberg family vacated his office, the second son naturally inherited all the administrative duties of the county. It happened occasionally, so no one made a fuss about it.
“This is exactly why raising your children right matters. The eldest is a complete idiot, so the second son has to work twice as hard.”
Normally, when the head of the house steps down, isn’t the eldest supposed to take over? Ugh, that worthless eldest son. Just because he was born first, he gets treated like the heir. We’re only two years apart, for crying out loud.
“Kyaaak! He’s so incredibly cute!”
“As expected, my eye for talent is never wrong!”
I was rolling my pen between my fingers, lost in pointless thoughts, when the sudden commotion reached me. Voices rang out as if a celebrity had arrived. Soon the office door burst open, revealing the source of all the noise.
It was a girl with curly mint-green hair. I couldn’t help but stare in confusion at her new outfit.
“What the hell is that?”
“I put it on to help Edan!”
Instead of her usual rags that could barely be called traveling clothes, Lue was now wearing a monochrome tailcoat. A black tailcoat. A crisp white dress shirt that contrasted beautifully with it. Luxurious silk gloves and an adorable short necktie completed the look. It was an outfit that loudly screamed “cute,” which made it perfect for the character who served as the story’s official mascot.
“We Luinong fairies are smart and knowledgeable from the moment we’re born! We’re on a completely different level from those dim-witted humans! So just leave everything to me!”
She puffed out her flat chest with a proud “Ahem! Ahem, ahem!” as she boasted about her species’ superiority. Was she trying to declare herself a genius of wisdom or something?
I nodded at Lue’s bold declaration and asked her to sort through the mountain of documents piled on the desk. She beamed and scampered over with quick little steps.
“Hehe, a Luinong fairy never forgets a favor!”
“Like when you got chased by monsters and rescued by the Saintess’s party?”
Luinong, the heretic who had escaped from her isolated sanctuary because she longed for the free outside world. But before she could even properly enjoy that freedom, she found herself in mortal danger, cornered by starving monsters. The one who saved her was none other than the Hero, Maximilian.
She wanted to repay the debt. So she began following her benefactor around like a piece of gum stuck to his shoe.
Recalling the lively early chapters of the story, I let out a small chuckle.
“Ooh, how did you know that? Did Max tell you?”
“Well… something like that.”
I couldn’t exactly say, “Because I read the whole damn thing until the very end,” so I answered vaguely. Lue’s antennae-like hair tufts wiggled excitedly back and forth.
She looked so happy. Seeing her blush and react so strongly made my conscience sting a little.
“Young master.”
Knock, knock.
A neat knock sounded at the door. When I gave permission, an elderly butler entered the office.
“A letter has arrived from the imperial palace.”
“Hmm, it must be from Princess Ludmila.”
The seal stamped with a golden lion confirmed it was indeed from the imperial family. She had said she would send a letter as soon as she arrived in the capital. Remembering her parting words, I accepted the envelope.
We hereby order the Hoenberg family, which has unilaterally broken off its engagement with the imperial family, to pay reparations.
“What is it? What is it?”
The elegantly decorated letter was more than enough to spark the fairy’s curiosity. She poked her head forward like a curious child.
With a small snap, I broke the seal using a paper knife. Then, under Lue’s wide, sparkling gaze, I opened the letter.
“Aaaack…!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Goddamn it! It really is from the imperial palace!”
“Hieek!”
I shot up from my seat with a scream. Lue let out a short yelp and fell flat on her backside.
Reparations. In other words, they were going to make us pay in cash for breaking the engagement. If it had been a conflict with another noble house, we could have asked the capital to mediate. Unfortunately, the faction currently hostile toward the Hoenberg family was the imperial family itself. And since that damn bastard who had arbitrarily declared the breakup was entirely at fault, we didn’t even have a chance to protest.
“S-so… how much is it…?”
“Enough to fill a reservoir with all the Nong-jjuk Candy you’ve been eating.”
7.8 billion Rachel. In silver, that was 120,000 pounds. For reference, the annual tax revenue of the Hoenberg County was 80,000 pounds. In short, they were demanding a year and a half’s worth of revenue.
‘Still, it’s not the worst-case scenario. Actually, this is pretty generous. If I were the emperor, I would have squeezed the Hoenberg County until it could never recover. Looks like Princess Ludmila must have spoken up for us.’
It was an astronomical sum that could make someone scream. But it wasn’t impossible to pay. If we implemented tax increases and austerity measures for the next several years, we could repay it.
“E-Edan…! Are we going to end up on the streets now? Uuu… I won’t eat Nong-jjuk Candy anymore.”
The fairy, who had been happily munching on her favorite candy and enjoying its sweetness, suddenly looked devastated. She seemed convinced that the enormous reparations would completely destroy the Hoenberg family.
Her antennae drooped pitifully. Then she spat out the Nong-jjuk Candy she had been humming happily over just moments ago. She even looked tormented by the thought that her snacking might have caused us harm.
“Things will be tight from now on… but we won’t have our assets seized. A prestigious family in the east with such a long history isn’t going to collapse that easily, right?”
“Hup.”
The moment I told her there was no need to worry so much, Lue quickly popped the discarded Nong-jjuk Candy back into her mouth.
‘Do I really have to sell that thing my damn brother left behind at the black market…?’
The first thing I needed to do to raise the reparations was to liquidate everything that bastard had left behind and turn it into cash. His clothes, personal items, the funds he had stockpiled while claiming to be the Hero, and all the rare gold and treasures he had collected from completing countless heroic deeds. If I sold everything, it might be enough to cover the reparations.
It was only fair karmic retribution. If he had even a shred of shame left, he wouldn’t be able to complain.
‘Maybe I should sell the Holy Sword stored in the underground vault too. The Holy Kingdom would probably pay a fortune for it.’
The Four Star Swords of Demon Destruction. The four divine blades that symbolized the Hero Maximilian and served as his weapons. One of the holy swords that had slaughtered countless demons and monsters was currently stored in the Hoenberg family vault.
It had once boasted unmatched power in its prime, but now it was nothing more than an antique. I pondered whether to dispose of it while thinking about the weapon that had fallen so far from its former glory.
If the devotees who worshipped the Holy Swords heard about this, they would foam at the mouth in rage. But paying the reparations came first, so I had no choice.
The Saintess’s party had slain the final dark mastermind—the Demon King—and reached the epilogue. Yet even so, countless threats still lurked across the world, endangering mortal society.
The remnants of the Demon King’s army. Cultists who worshipped evil gods. Grotesque monsters that had crossed over from unknown dimensions.
Was it because a new phase—Part 2—existed? Even after overcoming all hardships to reach the grand finale, the heroic tale of the Saintess’s party remained incomplete. It had ended not with a perfect conclusion, but an imperfect one.
That was why the countless dark forces banished by the Saintess’s party had hidden themselves in the abyss, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
The restraining force that had blocked the ascension of evil had vanished in an instant. The Evil God had granted them an opportunity. The leaders who had been plotting their comeback raised their heads high.
A vacuum of restraint meant backlash and expansion. As if to prove it, the cowards who had suffered crushing defeat at the hands of the Saintess’s party rose in fury, drawing their blades once more. They would shatter this world stained with hypocrisy and enact a perfect revenge tragedy.
The ones seeking to revive their factions. The ones moving to spread their faith and doctrine. And the ones trying to devour every living being on the continent. The reasons for pursuing the ascension of evil were all different.
Just as good came in many forms, evil too existed in many shapes.
And among those unleashed from their chains were the vengeful spirits. They had no grand cause like expanding their faction or spreading their faith. All that existed within them was pure hatred toward the enemies who had stolen their purpose.
That was why, the moment they were freed from restraint, they prepared to carry out the revenge they had sharpened their teeth for over the years.
“MAXIMILIAAAAAAN!!!”
The Hero, Maximilian. The strongest member of the Saintess’s party. The hero who had mercilessly cut down countless evils. It was only natural—as inevitable as gravity pulling things downward—that arrows of vengeance would be aimed at him.