Chapter 6: The Count’s Delinquent Son (1)
The blizzard that seemed poised to engulf the entire world subsided.
The Northern Snowy Mountains remained bitter and merciless, their brutal cold having extinguished all warmth and life.
Against the pure-white snowfield—
His dark black hair stood out immediately.
The soldiers watching him from atop the wall instantly recognized the approaching man.
People with black hair were exceptionally rare on the continent.
Moreover, no soldier stationed at the Count’s Castle could possibly fail to recognize that delicately handsome face.
“W-What should we do, Centurion?”
Centurion answered the soldier firmly.
“Do not let him inside.”
“Pardon….? But Lord Adrian is—”
“I know.”
Adrian, the eldest son of House White Wolf. He was the rightful master of this castle.
Refusing to admit its master was equivalent to disrupting the order of the county, but—
“The Former Count refused to acknowledge Lord Adrian until the very end.”
Adrian, the count’s delinquent son. Adrian’s very existence disrupted the order of the county.
Considering all the atrocities and disturbances he would cause upon returning, this decision could not be considered wrong.
“Sir Kai also ordered us not to allow Lord Adrian into the castle.”
Kai, the Chief Knight of House White Wolf.
Despite being only twenty years old, Kai had already risen to become the most powerful combatant in White Wolf County.
He was a naturally gifted knight who was practically guaranteed to reach the rank of Master one day.
He was a genius among geniuses who had even received recruitment offers from the Royal Guard.
The Former Count had trusted Kai more than Adrian.
Consequently, Kai’s influence within the Count’s Castle was overwhelming.
This was especially true among soldiers who strictly obeyed the chain of command.
To them, Kai’s orders were virtually indistinguishable from the Lord’s commands.
“Understood.”
The soldiers immediately nodded upon hearing Kai’s name.
That was when it happened.
“Open it.”
A sharp voice came from behind them.
They turned toward the source. A man was walking toward them with measured footsteps.
“Head Butler!”
The soldiers saluted in unison.
The Head Butler soon stopped before Centurion.
“Open the gate.”
“B-But….”
“Lord Adrian is the legitimate eldest son of House White Wolf. He is the Young Lord of this county.”
“However, the will left behind by the Former Count—”
“The Royal Decree has not yet been issued. Until the Royal Family formally approves the Former Count’s will, Lord Adrian retains the authority of the legitimate eldest son.”
“......”
“I said to open the gate immediately.”
Centurion bit his lower lip.
During an emergency, the Head Butler was granted the authority of an “Acting Lord”.
And now that the Former Count had passed away—
The Head Butler would serve as the Acting Lord until the next Lord was officially confirmed.
“....Understood.”
Left with no other choice, Centurion opened the firmly sealed gate.
Rumble!
The gate, constructed from thick timber, opened with a tremendous roar.
The gate slowly and obediently swung open.
* * *
Without realizing it, I tilted my head.
“There’s surprisingly little resistance.”
It was not merely little. There had been no resistance at all.
Honestly, I had been certain that they would refuse to open the gate.
There was no one in the house who liked me when I was the count’s delinquent son.
Since even my father’s will had named Seraphia instead of me, I had become nothing more than an unwanted burden.
I was the legitimate eldest son of the count’s family only by blood. In reality, I was merely a delinquent with neither authority nor influence.
I had even prepared myself for a fight with the soldiers.
“If I’d known this would happen, perhaps I should have come straight here.”
I had needlessly suffered in the blizzard-ravaged mountains just to raise my level.
After some time, the gate opened completely. The snow piled upon it crumbled down, briefly obscuring my vision.
Once that artificial flurry of snow passed—
A man emerged from beyond the gate. He wore a neat and immaculate black suit. He appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties.
His collar was arranged perfectly, without the slightest wrinkle. His reddish-brown hair was meticulously combed back. His appearance revealed a personality that did not tolerate even the smallest mistake.
“I shall escort you inside.”
His low, gentle voice contained almost no emotion.
I remembered his face.
He was one of the retainers of House White Wolf.
His name was probably….
“What is your name?”
I could not remember it properly. The man’s eyebrows twitched at my question.
From his perspective, only about a week had passed since I ran away from the house.
To put it bluntly, I must have appeared to possess the memory of a goldfish.
He might even have considered that an insult to goldfish.
Nevertheless, the man quickly composed his expression and answered.
“My name is Bernard.”
“Bernard?”
“That is correct.”
“Bernard….Bernard….”
Even after hearing his name, I could not readily remember him.
It was only natural, considering that I had severed all ties with the house more than fifteen years ago.
Furthermore, my memories had been severely stained and corrupted by the war against the emperor.
That left me with even fewer memories of the house.
Still, hearing his name directly caused several faint memories to resurface.
If those memories were correct—
“Bernard Neville?”
“That is correct.”
Bernard lightly bowed his head as he answered.
Even that simple gesture possessed discipline as precise and sharp as that of a knight.
His disciplined bearing brought back several more memories.
‘He was the Head Butler, wasn’t he?’
The Head Butler held an important position comparable to that of an “Acting Lord”.
Consequently, both the person’s abilities and background were carefully considered before an appointment was made.
In that regard, Bernard was a “noble”.
Nobles were creatures who valued rules and justifications. They were particularly inclined to obsess over bloodlines.
That tendency had caused no end of trouble during the coalition army’s early days.
Those worthless fools had possessed voices louder than Ogres despite having no actual ability.
In any case, Bernard was one of those nobles.
He was a strict man of principle who valued rules and proper justification above everything else.
However, he was also highly “competent”.
That was why my father had trusted him and appointed Bernard as Head Butler despite his young age.
‘He was also the only person in the house who took my side, wasn’t he?’
It was not because he thought well of me. He had supported me because doing so was “proper”.
When the title of a high-ranking noble of Count or above was inherited by someone other than the legitimate eldest son or daughter, permission from the Royal Family was required through a Royal Decree.
House White Wolf possessed the high-ranking title of “Count”.
In other words, until the Royal Family recognized my father’s will, I retained the authority of the legitimate eldest son.
‘Well, it’s only a matter of time.’
My father’s will had certainly not been forged.
My father had left everything belonging to the house to Seraphia instead of me.
Therefore, I had no rights that I could reclaim.
Now that every retainer of the house had already turned against me, what could I possibly obtain?
That was why I had fled the house in my previous life.
Nothing had changed now.
I had not returned to reclaim some insignificant right belonging to the legitimate eldest son.
‘Until Ian returns.’
I intended to remain with the house only until then.
Likewise, I intended to keep Seraphia alive only until then.
More precisely, I planned to learn why Ian regretted killing Seraphia before deciding her fate.
What if his reason was utterly ridiculous?
What if Ian regretted killing Seraphia simply because he was in love with her?
Of course, Ian would never do such a thing.
As the Hero of the continent and commander-in-chief of the coalition army, Ian would never regret killing Seraphia for such a trivial reason.
I could stake my life on that.
There had to be a “rational reason” why Ian regretted killing Seraphia.
However, there was no guarantee that it would be a reason I could “accept”.
And if it was not something I could accept—
I would kill Seraphia without hesitation.
Therefore, I had neither the need nor any reason to obsess over the hollow authority of the legitimate eldest son.
What mattered now was gathering forces capable of opposing the imperial army—
And obtaining the power necessary to confront the emperor.
“Your room has been thoroughly cleaned. As usual, I shall have your meal delivered there. Please rest comfortably.”
I stopped Bernard as he turned to leave.
“No. Don’t bring my meal to my room. Take it somewhere else.”
* * *
Centurion stood rigidly upright, his expression stiff.
Kai’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“Did I not explicitly order you never to allow him inside?”
Centurion immediately straightened further, assuming a perfect position of attention.
With his face and expression both rigid, Kai questioned him.
“Why did you allow him inside despite my orders?”
“That is….the Head Butler ordered us to do so, leaving us no choice.”
“The Head Butler did?”
The instant doubt appeared on Kai’s face—
“I was the one who escorted Lord Adrian inside.”
Bernard approached from the direction of the Lord’s Castle within the Count’s Castle.
Not a single flaw could be found in his measured gait. It was difficult to tell whether he was a butler or a knight.
“You have returned, Lady Seraphia.”
Bernard bowed respectfully to Seraphia.
He addressed her neither as the Count nor as the Lord, but as Lady Seraphia.
Bernard treated her not as the next Lord, but as the eldest daughter of the count’s family.
That was proper according to the rules. Therefore, Bernard’s conduct was justified.
There had been no problem with the procedure either.
Rather, Kai’s attempt to prevent Adrian from entering had been an unjustified abuse of authority.
While Kai lowered his gaze, Seraphia tilted her head and asked—
“Head Butler Bernard, what are you holding?”
A covered tray rested in Bernard’s hands.
Bernard removed the cover and showed them its contents. A beautifully browned roasted turkey lay upon the tray.
“This is the meal that will be delivered to Lord Adrian.”
A peculiar light briefly flashed through Kai’s eyes.
Turkey was a valuable ingredient.
It was the kind of dish served only during festivals or commemorative occasions.
Especially here in the Northern Region, it was such a precious ingredient that it was difficult to obtain even for those special occasions.
Kai clenched his fist with a crunch.
It was bad enough that Adrian had needlessly returned to the house.
Kai could not tolerate him consuming the territory’s precious food immediately upon his return.
“Where is he?”
Kai asked Bernard where Adrian had gone.
Ordinarily, Adrian should have been confined to his room.
Every time Adrian went outside, he committed all kinds of atrocities.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, the Former Count had eventually confined Adrian to his room.
However, the Former Count had passed away several days ago. The only person capable of restraining Adrian’s misconduct was gone.
Perhaps Adrian had already extorted money from the territory by invoking his rights as the legitimate eldest son and then gone gambling.
Or perhaps he was harassing the women of the county. Causing trouble in a tavern. Beating residents because he disliked their appearances. Threatening people for daring to look directly at him.
Imprisoning innocent residents because he believed they had disrespected him. Getting drunk, indiscriminately attacking people in the streets, and destroying merchants’ stalls.
The atrocities Adrian had committed went on and on.
The mere thought already made Kai’s teeth tremble with rage.
And sure enough—
“Lord Adrian is not currently in the Lord’s Castle.”
Adrian was not in the Lord’s Castle.
Kai was already too late. Without realizing it, he ground his teeth.
As expected, Adrian had to die. In a sense, killing him would be like a knight stabbing his own liege in the back.
However, it was necessary. No, it absolutely had to be done.
Just as intense killing intent surfaced within Kai’s blue eyes—
“Lord Adrian is currently at the ‘Frost Trial Grounds’.”
“Pardon?”
“......”
Bernard’s answer left Kai wearing a blank, almost idiotic expression.
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