Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: The Venice Family
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The hearing concluded without a hitch.
A joint effort between the Hero and the Emperor.
The sly ones might have noticed, but it changed nothing.
The highest authority and the strongest power had joined hands. Who would dare stand against such a combination?
Even if they were displeased, they had to grovel.
Most of them must have realized it. The moment they got on our bad side, their safety net would disappear.
For instance…
Oh no! The Demon King's army has invaded my territory?
I must call the Hero at once! Or at least get support from the Imperial Army!
Such situations weren't common, but you never know what the world will throw at you.
That immutable truth was proven once again.
Who would have thought that the promising heir of a great family would defect to the Demon King's army?
The power of a great family surpassed that of a minor kingdom.
If he had just been a little more patient, he could have lived like a king.
But Cedric defied common sense and betrayed them.
To think that was all he amounted to—a very disappointing outcome. Even if a spy from the Demon King's army had played some dirty tricks, if his own will had been strong, he would have easily endured it.
“…”
Hmm, is that a bit shameless of me?
It's hard to be so definitive when I've walked a similar path myself. After a moment's thought, I offered Cedric my sincere condolences.
Just… think of it as bad luck!
In some other timeline, maybe you're the protagonist? Since it's come to this, try to get along with the Demon King's army.
With this, I've fulfilled the bare minimum of my duty to him.
A being who will one day become one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings and stand in the Hero's way.
When that time comes, I'll finish him off in one go, without a hint of hesitation.
If I let him go, he'll keep showing up and being a nuisance.
Like the Jace from the original story, he'll take up a significant amount of screen time despite not being an ally.
He'll become too strong to ignore, but I have carefully chosen companions by my side.
They all possess immense potential, so I have nothing to fear.
That's not all.
The privilege of the Hero's party. It's perfectly legal to gang up on him.
It's recognized as a legitimate right; no one considers it cheap. Even the Demon King's army seems to accept it as a matter of course.
Besides, the Four Heavenly Kings act individually.
It might change in the latter half of the story, but until then, it's possible to overwhelm them with numbers.
By the time I finished my thoughts, the sun was already setting. Chloe, who was beside me, spoke with a restless air.
“Um, Jace… what if my father refuses your offer…?”
“Well. We'll have to think about that when the time comes.”
Shild Venice.
The seasoned head of a great family.
He's suffered because of his son, but he's still not someone to be taken lightly.
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have stood a chance against him. In fact, even now, I wasn't confident I could control him.
He was in a different league.
He's practically the pinnacle of villainous nobles; I felt like he'd backstab me no matter what I did.
If possible, I'd want to place Chloe in his position, but that's next to impossible.
No matter how powerful the Hero's authority is, I can't just meddle in another family's affairs.
Well, since I saved the family from near ruin, there was a chance he might accept my suggestion to make Chloe the new heir.
“For some reason, this feels a bit burdensome…”
“Huh??”
Hmm? Burdensome how?
You're the type who covets power, aren't you?
This is the girl who wanted to surpass Cedric.
Even though he's gone, her lust for power should remain.
Even without my intervention, she should be striving to claim the position of heir.
“It's all good, but… I feel like I'm becoming too indebted to you.”
She looked apologetic for a moment, but then her gaze turned deep and meaningful. It was obvious that feelings of affection were blossoming.
Whoa, don't get the wrong idea!
I'm doing this purely for my own benefit!
I can't trust Shild, but I can rest easy with Chloe. She still has some innocence left, so it's fine. As long as she's indebted to me, she'll use her family's power to support me without holding back.
“I knew you'd say that. You're just pretending to want something in return when you actually want nothing. You're just trying to make me feel at ease.”
“Huh??”
My dignity was almost shattered.
I couldn't believe how absurd this was. This is why a girl in love is so terrifying!
“Did you know… that your noble consideration makes my heart flutter?”
“Wha—!!”
No, how did it come to this?
All I wanted was the power of the Venice family…
I was looking ahead, not just for now, but even after dealing with the Demon King.
Since they're masters of commerce, I figured I could learn a lot from them business-wise. My grand plan was to build villas in famous resort spots across the continent and travel with Ceria and Aruru…
Naturally, I needed a fair bit of money for that.
Everything I've built up until now was to achieve that ultimate goal.
But the girl before me was lost in her own delusion. The atmosphere was turning into one where she might ask me to hug her just once.
Just then, Shild appeared.
For a moment, the girl furrowed her brows at him.
I could see precisely the kind of situation that makes a daughter resent her father.
Anyway, this brought us to the final stage.
Time to threaten… no, to put it nicely, to collect my reward for helping.
However, the look in his eyes was unusual. Like his son, Shild openly showed his hostility.
“…”
“…”
Hey, why!
I saved you from the clutches of the other nobles!
It seems he's seen through my intentions.
Even so, the proper thing to do would be to express his gratitude first…
“You're far more political than I'd heard. Your coordination with His Majesty was very impressive.”
“…”
“Well, thanks to you, I was able to catch my breath. I'm grateful for that, but…”
As if he had figured everything out, Shild's gaze grew sharper.
“I'll be direct. What is it you want?”
He cuts straight to the chase.
Beating around the bush isn't my style either.
“If I were to ask you to step down, would you do it?”
“Hmph, don't be ridiculous. The very survival of my family could be at stake, and you want me to just stand by?”
It was the reaction I expected. To put it in an analogy, they'd essentially been given a suspended sentence.
They had to be extremely careful from now on, so maintaining the existing system and uniting around the family head was the best course of action.
“Then how about making your daughter the heir?”
It wouldn't be an unreasonable demand.
They'd need to appoint a new heir anyway.
The sooner they could erase the traces of Cedric, the fatal stain on their family, the better. It was so obvious that he nodded as if he understood.
“I see, so there was a reason you protected Chloe… You are a truly fearsome man. Like a hundred-year-old serpent. Your cunning is truly terrifying…”
“Huh??”
What, what's the problem now?
He sees what he wants to see, showering me with accusations. As if that weren't enough, he gets angry at my indignant reaction.
“Did you think I wouldn't know? This is a ploy to use Chloe to swallow the Venice family whole!”
“Wha—!!”
“The audacity! To feign ignorance even after being found out… Ha, at this point, I'm speechless. To think that a despicable man like you would be born into the Crodain family, which has steadfastly upheld the traditions of a warrior house… You may deceive the world, but you cannot deceive my eyes…”
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
I felt like I'd just had a head-on collision with a freight truck.
*I'm right, no matter what!*
He went far beyond that.
It was enough to make me wonder, *‘Huh? Was that my plan? Maybe it was?’*
I was trembling.
To hear this from a villainous noble…
The darkness within me stirred violently. The urge to do something rash skyrocketed.
“You must have made a deal with His Majesty. To help strengthen the imperial authority in exchange for solidifying your position as number one…”
“…”
I must endure.
I struggled to maintain my composure. I belatedly realized that Shild was not in his right mind.
His trusted son had committed an act of betrayal of epic proportions.
It would have been far better if he had died fighting valiantly.
But the reality was the absolute worst. Cedric had committed an act of high treason by staging a terrorist attack and then defecting to the Demon King's army.
From Shild's perspective, it was a soul-crushing situation.
On top of that, he had exhausted a great deal of mental energy trying to protect his family. He was in a state where he wanted to lash out at anything, and I just happened to be the target.
Right, I should be the bigger person and understand. In truth, my proposal did have some room for an interpretation like Shild's delusion.
The relationship between our two families wasn't great to begin with.
The Venice family had unilaterally established a rivalry, but the Crodain family couldn't completely ignore it, so we were on edge as well.
Hmm, maybe I was being too greedy…
Just as I was about to give up on the plan, Chloe suddenly stepped forward.
“Father, Jace isn't that kind of person!”
The desperate sight of a daughter taking my side.
Needless to say, it was like pouring oil on a raging fire.
“Hmm, it seems you've already fallen for him…”
“That's not it!”
“Enough. You stay out of this!”
“Please, just listen to me!”
The father and daughter raised their voices at each other.
Somehow, it felt like my fault, but no matter how I thought about it, that didn't seem right.
Well, it must be my imagination. I leisurely watched the situation unfold.
“You have a sharp mind, yet you still don't see it? Jace is only pretending to love you; he's undoubtedly just playing with you…”
“No, what are you talking about? I've already been rejected!”
“Huh??”
“…”
A girl blushing from embarrassment, not knowing what to do.
A father, dumbfounded at having put his daughter in such a state.
The scene brought me a small amount of pleasure. *Hmm, this is surprisingly amusing. Maybe there's a reward for my patience?*
Unfortunately, I couldn't watch any longer. The father and daughter glanced at me before scurrying off to a corner.
They whispered to each other.
After finishing their private conversation, they returned.
Chloe's head was bowed low.
It seemed she had confessed everything; she looked like she wanted to die of embarrassment.
“Ahem, it seems I misunderstood something… Please forget what happened just now.”
An awkward cough.
Shild's state wasn't great either, but it seemed a conversation was now possible.
“It's fine. It's true that I want to borrow the power of the Venice family.”
Like the magnanimous person I am, I accepted his apology.
Finally, he began to show his true feelings.
“Let me be frank. You may already know this, but I despise you. So much so that I wish I could just get rid of you.”
“Huh??”
Hey, I didn't need that much honesty!
It was easy to guess why he hated me. Probably…
“Your influence was a major factor in what happened to my son… it was likely absolute.”
“…”
He wasn't wrong.
In the original story, Cedric was fine. If Jace had been expelled from the academy, none of this would have happened.
For a while, Shild expressed his rage with his entire body. The object of his hatred… was himself.
“When you get down to it… the greatest fault is mine.”
He suddenly began to blame himself, letting out a sigh.
I silently watched the man who was overcome with regret.