Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The War Hero Becomes a Fairy Godmother (7)
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[Late at night, Senderan Duchy, Marquis Glasion's residence. The underground secret chamber.]
Deep within the castle of the Glasion Marquis household, a white-haired man descended the dark spiral staircase lined with bricks on all sides, holding a candelabrum aloft.
Dressed in the typical frilled noble attire, he exuded a refined middle-aged charm that suited it perfectly, gracefully stepping down the stone stairs.
Yet no footsteps echoed.
Whether he was truly treading the stairs or gliding through the air before they even touched his feet, the nobleman—Marquis Glasion—produced not a single sound as he extended his hand toward the firmly sealed iron door at the bottom of the thousand steps.
Even with his eyes closed, no—not even squinting—everything was visible to him as if laid bare.
Weeeeng.
Red mana flickered from Marquis Glasion's hand, and a hexagram materialized on the iron door.
Soon, the door rose upward, and Marquis Glasion stepped into the chamber filled only with darkness.
In the center stood a vast obsidian altar.
Standing before the altar, where black sheen gleamed alongside faint red cracks like lightning strikes within, Marquis Glasion spread both arms wide toward it.
"Awaken."
Fwaaah.
At the marquis's gesture, a circular pool-like depression formed at the heart of the black obsidian altar, and beyond it, a man knelt in obeisance toward the marquis.
"Jackson."
Yes, Master...!
The man called Jackson.
Anyone who knew him would immediately recognize him as a knight from the Arsin Barony—and there he was, face-to-face with Marquis Glasion through magic in real time.
"I've heard the news. An amnesiac knight from outside subdued your entire mercenary band."
Th-that's correct.
"Even Trimien had her wrist snapped. And that same man stepped up to help Diela?"
Y-yes! H-he seems like he'll get seriously involved.
"Why?"
I don't know the details, but maybe he just took a liking to Diela.
"...How very Wilhelm-like."
Wilhelm-like.
At those words, Jackson's eyes trembled violently.
"For a man with overwhelming strength to throw himself into mortal danger over something as simple as 'a beautiful woman'."
M-Master.
"But those who were simply mad for women all ended up dead. That's just a fool obsessed with skirts. Calling it 'Wilhelm-like'... means he possesses power so immense it doesn't matter if he does such things."
Flash.
As Marquis Glasion opened his eyes, ruby-red pupils slit vertically long gleamed with light.
"That man called Yuri... at minimum, he's formal knight-grade."
Y-yes.
"And the thieves' guild?"
I'm sorry. The thieves' guild says they're all tied up right now...
"Tied up?"
Since Hans Wilhelm went missing, requests to find him are pouring in from everywhere. Not just Grates Kingdom, but even the Empire is secretly searching for Wilhelm.
"Ha."
Marquis Glasion's white eyebrows twitched.
"What is it about that Red Devil that's so appealing?"
.........
"It's partly his strength, but surely they can't forget what he did at night. Grates Kingdom basically abandoned him... Tch, damn it. That rotten bastard."
Marquis Glasion's voice dripped with deep hatred and rage toward Hans Wilhelm.
"Because of him, our princess... Haa, never mind. No point dwelling on it. Jackson. I have orders."
Give your command.
"Somehow get the Arsin Barony's magic armor, the Battle Dress, out of the armory. Once you break the mana seal linked to it and bring it out, I'll handle the rest myself."
R-really?
"Yes. If need be... yes, guide Diela to show up at the banquet hall in the Battle Dress. I'll take care of everything after that."
Marquis Glasion flashed a brilliant smile.
"Conveniently, I need a sacrifice too."
Beneath his widely bared grin, sharp fangs caught the candlelight and sparkled.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next morning.
After Diela decided to accept my assistance, and I resolved to help her in earnest.
"Mother. I have something to discuss regarding the use of the family's assets."
Diela brought me along and arranged a meeting with Baroness Trimien.
Without any ceremonial greetings, Diela dove straight into the Arsin Barony's biggest problem.
"Oh my, my dear daughter. Is something wrong?"
Despite Diela's aggressive approach from the morning, Baroness Trimien smiled gracefully.
"Coming to me so early, you must have agonized over this for a long time. Go on, tell me. Your mother will hear any worry you have."
In the subtle power plays among women in high society, Baroness Trimien naturally held the edge in experience.
"Mother, as I said, I'm here to talk about the use of the barony's assets."
Yet Diela didn't back down.
The baroness might have age and broad experience on her side, but Diela had lived as a 'noble' for twenty years.
"Very well, what misuse are you referring to?"
"Overspending."
"Oh dear, overspending? On what?"
"Don't keep dodging like that. You know exactly what I mean."
"...I see."
The baroness lifted her teacup, glancing alternately at Diela and me standing behind her.
"You think the new dresses and jewels that your sister and I buy are overspending?"
"Yes."
"It's unavoidable, dear. Marrying good men is the way to restore the Arsin Barony, isn't it?"
"It's not ruined enough to need 'restoring,' but you're the one ruining it."
"You've come prepared today, haven't you?"
At Diela's overt hostility, the baroness's eyes flickered slightly.
Diela usually had a herbivore vibe—like a rabbit—so seeing that rabbit bare its claws was bound to unsettle her a bit.
"Are you relying on the butler here?"
Though she did have some tiger—or dragon—standing at her back.
"No. I'm doing this as blood of the Arsin Barony, for the barony itself."
Anyone who's rolled in battlefields knows: even among rabbits, some can chew through knights aplenty.
Like rabbit beastmen, or the white rabbit revered as a god beneath their canyons.
"I'm always grateful that you saved Father's life. But that doesn't mean I can stand by while you, as baroness, destroy the entire barony."
"I see. So the actions I've taken for the barony look like destruction to you, born a noble."
"Yes."
"........."
Born noble.
Vs. one elevated to nobility through wartime merit.
A conflict in a minor barony of a small duchy, yet this was the era's rift spanning the Alliance Kingdoms and the entire Europan continent.
"Fine. I may not know noble customs intimately, so from your perspective as one born noble, my ways might seem problematic. I understand that."
"Then—"
"But Diela, you haven't attended recent banquets, so you might not know, but today's high society gatherings are quite different from the noble affairs you remember."
"What do you mean?"
"Nobles are noblesse—noble blood. That bloodline comes from invitations, of course. But were those inviting heads... born nobles?"
"So what are you saying—"
"Hans Wilhelm."
Diela flinched.
"That great hero of the continent was a commoner too. While born nobles sipped wine and nibbled cheese at banquets, gossiping 'Oh my, how dreadful,' it was men like him shedding blood on the battlefield that brought this peace."
"So you're saying, Mother, that because you earned merits in war like that great hero Hans Wilhelm, you deserve recognition as a noble?"
"Exactly. On the continent's scale, it's modest, but compared to the Arsin Barony, I did just as much, didn't I? I saved the baron."
"........."
It was a pretty smug claim, but she couldn't just dismiss it as 'You're wrong.'
"Or what? Should those who fought, wounded on the battlefield, bleeding from head to toe, dancing on death's doorstep every day, be denied nobility and rewards, forced back to mercenary life?"
War was horrific.
Hans Wilhelm himself had argued that those who forged the armistice deserved ample recompense.
"No, of course not."
"Right? Then—"
"But that doesn't mean Sir Hans Wilhelm squandered the kingdom's wealth on luxury and indulgence."
"........."
"He could have toppled Grates Kingdom's royal line and founded the Wilhelm dynasty, claimed the entire treasury as his own—yet he took only a frugal share and ran his house modestly."
"Ugh..."
"If you're going to compare yourself to that great hero, why not adopt his noble mindset? That's the noblesse oblige—the responsibility for the privileges we nobles enjoy."
"...Ha."
Always the same.
"You young thing, so ignorant of the world, speaking so boldly and rough."
People like the baroness thought showing even a hint of anger put them in control, trying to crush opponents with force.
"You..."
"And one more thing. As I said, about the barony's assets."
Diela drew an object from her bosom.
"The magic armor in the armory."
"......!"
"I'll wear it to the banquet. The armistice memorial banquet hosted by the Grand Duke."
The armory key.
Diela slipped it between her breasts and squared her shoulders.
"As the representative of the Arsin Barony."
"You...!"
"Oh."
Diela beamed, arms crossed, lifting them slightly.
"I've already replied to the invitation from the Grand Duke's household."
"What...?"
"You entrusted this to me, right? Isn't that so, Yuri?"
"Yes, that's correct, Miss."
I stood behind Diela, gently placing both hands on her shoulders.
Who's right?
I simply follow what my heart tells me.
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