Game's Hidden Encounter Comes to Reality 29
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Game's Hidden Encounter Comes to Reality 29
10. Time for Revenge (1)
Although an unexpected mishap occurred in the middle, our territory army, which had participated in the war against the Kroisen Empire, was able to arrive safely at its destination.
"Adrian! Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Mother, please calm down. I'm perfectly fine."
"You worked hard."
"Thank you, Father."
At last, I had returned home.
It had been exactly three months since the departure ceremony in the territory.
Since I had already been awarded a medal on the battlefield, under normal circumstances it would not have been strange for this to lead into a parade.
But the territory was as quiet as a mouse, and the only ones who welcomed me were my father, my mother, and a few retainers.
"I'm sorry. We should have welcomed you with a grand reception...."
Seeing my father's bitter smile as he said he had no face to show, I roughly understood the situation.
This was Anna and Cedric's doing.
They probably thought, why hold a parade for someone who's going to die anyway.
"You're not exactly the type who likes a noisy scene, either."
My father kept apologizing over and over, and led me to the lord's castle.
"Instead, we've prepared a very lavish meal, so let's eat and drink and enjoy the joy of your safe return."
Just by having my mother welcome me safely, my father could be said to have fulfilled his role properly.
His response when I was poisoned was beyond disappointing, but thinking about it now, I feel that might have been the best he could do.
If we had dug deeply into the incident back then and provoked Anna, we would have been unquestionably wiped out by her maternal family.
All these humiliations are because our family lacks power.
Just before entering the lord's castle, I glanced up at the sky fortress floating above the territory.
[Energy Saving Mode]
Then, after reading the information displayed in the Myriad View, I curved the corners of my lips in satisfaction.
The banquet for the soldiers had been set up in the lord's castle garden, and maids and servants hurriedly carried food and alcohol around.
But the soldiers were perceptive enough not to blindly welcome the reception; they were too busy watching my reaction.
"What are you all doing? This reception is for us, so enjoy it."
My parents, who did not know the reason, tilted their heads in confusion at the strange atmosphere, but from the expedition army's perspective, who knew my true nature, it was no different from being in a hair-trigger situation that could explode at any moment.
As I joked and winked, William and the other vanguards nodded vigorously and raised their voices.
"Y-yes, sir! Understood!"
"Come on! Raise your glasses!"
Seeing all of their subordinates treat me with great respect and also with a hint of fear, my father and mother looked astonished.
Both of them reacted as if asking what on earth was going on.
"Sir William, you've worked hard."
"It was an honor to fight alongside you!"
"Sir Albert, you've worked hard too."
"I was able to come back alive thanks to young master! Thank you!"
And as I watched them, along with the encouragement I gave the knights and officers, my parents' puzzled reactions only grew stronger.
The reason was that even the ones called the Anna + Cedric faction were bowing and scraping to me.
Then, when I approached the soldiers, they burst into cheers as if welcoming a victorious general.
Even though I had returned after earning great merit, the territory, which had been quiet as a mouse, felt lively and noisy thanks to them.
"So you've learned how to win people's hearts on the battlefield."
My father looked over the expedition army with a face that seemed both happy to see me being recognized by everyone and bitter at the same time.
Even though he wasn't paying much attention to it, my father's face was full of remorse.
It felt as if that expression was telling me he was sorry.
It seems the one who needs comfort is not me, but my father.
"From now on, Father won't have to show a weak side anymore."
A statement packed with many meanings.
Naturally, my parents were startled.
And before they could say anything more....
"Adrian!?"
A guest appeared.
A very welcome guest.
"It's been three months since I last saw you."
Escorted by the commander of the knights and the butler, I politely greeted Anna and Cedric as they approached.
But as I slowly lifted my head, I looked Anna in the eye and gave a sneer; her expression, as if she had seen a ghost, twisted at my smile.
"Y-yeah. You've come back well."
But behind Anna, one person with an unusually bright expression caught my eye.
Wondering who it was, I checked and saw it was none other than Anna's closest aide, her butler, which made it all the more puzzling.
[Morris Goodyear]
Age: 61
Affiliation: Kingdom of Reinharts, Lawrence Viscounty, Chief Butler of the Lord's Castle
Talents: Administrative Ability (High), Intellectual Ability (Medium), Magic Power (Low)
Trait: Quick-witted
Disposition: Favorable / Hostile Faction
Status: Relief, Joy
What is with this guy?
I'd heard he had worked as Anna's right-hand man for over 30 years, but according to the information in the Myriad View, it was as if he was under her only because he had no choice, and I could glimpse a certain favorability toward me.
"An unexpected discovery, huh? If I can make him switch sides, it wouldn't be bad to put him to use."
Next, my gaze turned to the commander of the knights, the core strength of the Anna Cedric faction.
[Claud Dyke / Aura Expert]
Age: 61
Affiliation: Kingdom of Reinharts, Lawrence Viscounty, Commander of the Knights
Talents: Physical Ability (High), Aura (High), Learning Ability (Medium), Intellectual Ability (Medium)
Trait: Power-oriented Maneuvering
Disposition: Hostile / Hostile Faction
Status: Doubt, Puzzlement
As expected of the commander of the knights, his specs are excellent.
However, seeing that his trait is not combat ability but the strange "power-oriented maneuvering," I got goosebumps for no reason.
I had thought he was a calculating person, and it seems that was due to his trait.
"Anna and Cedric really are insignificant."
After checking Anna and Cedric's stats through the Myriad View, I sighed inwardly.
They were the typical kind of people who are nothing without power.
The fact that I'd let myself be toyed with by such trash made my insides boil.
"You've achieved a fairly decent merit, enough that it doesn't disgrace the family. Well, it's not satisfying, but I'll at least say you've worked hard."
In my heart, I wanted to cut off his head on the spot, but before that, I plan to pile up a few justifications.
After all I've suffered at these bastards' hands, how could I let them die cleanly.
I'll turn the ground into a swamp, exploit them thoroughly, and only when they're in despair will I tighten the noose.
So for now, I merely gave a meaningless smile at Cedric's sneering face.
"Is it that great to get a bit of praise? You tasteless brat."
Ah, of course that doesn't mean I intend to tolerate everything he does and let it slide.
That would be far too frustrating.
"As if I'd be happy just because you praised me, Brother. I'm just dumbfounded that you talk as if you're something."
"What?"
You have to gently scratch at his insides for him to reveal his true colors.
The justification I want is to create that kind of atmosphere.
A justification that these guys deserve to die.
"In that sense, discovering that butler can be considered a decent gain."
I had thought it would be hard to identify the mastermind behind the assassins, but at this rate, I might be able to bring that incident to the surface.
In many ways, it's the best situation.
I poured my current mood out through my mouth.
Very cheerfully.
"If Brother leads these men onto the battlefield, they'll end up annihilated, nothing less. I can see the scene clearly: botching the tactics completely, charging blindly, and getting wiped out."
"Y-you little bastard!?"
"And when a person grows older, they should be able to think a bit more complexly. To take my smile at face value as emotion this is exactly why the retainers call you a single-celled dimwit, Brother."
From Cedric's perspective, it was a critical hit he could never have imagined.
Having been beaten down by words, Cedric's mouth flapped like a carp's, and he could only spit out meaningless exclamations of "Y-you!"
But my sudden actions had an unexpected side effect: my father and mother were so shocked that they turned to stone on the spot.
Only Anna remained composed, hiding her expression by covering her mouth with the fan in her hand.
However, her eyes were telling me this:
"So you're desperate to die, huh?"
She looked bewildered that I, who should have been killed by assassins, had returned so confidently, but the belief that they were in an absolutely dominant position was clearly written on her face.
I smiled at Anna and spoke.
"Ah, so Brother's ignorance is due to maternal influence, is it."
A single light, weightless remark.
Clatter!
Thud!
But just that one line made the maids, who were carrying food to welcome the territory army's return, drop their trays, and the servants busily pouring drinks dropped their bottles.
This time, even Anna seemed unable to maintain her expression; her face turned bright red, and like Cedric, she could only stammer "Y-you!"
"What is it? If you have something to say, say it straight. Don't act all refined when it doesn't suit you."
Like mother, like son. The reaction is exactly the same.
Feigning innocence and wondering what was wrong with these people, I looked at Arsia, and she, who had been chewing on a sausage beside me like a rabbit eating a carrot, just shrugged, saying she had no idea either.
"Hahahahaha!"
But Cedric's reaction that followed was quite unexpected.
Out of nowhere, he burst into hearty laughter.
"The brat went to the battlefield and got rather rough, huh. He's completely lost his sense of fear."
And sure enough.
Cedric drew the decorative dagger hanging at his waist and pointed it at me.
"Cedric!"
My father and mother, who had been in a panic because of my sudden behavior, hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.
"What are you all doing on such a joyous day!"
"Adrian has just returned from the battlefield and must be tired! Please, put that sword down first…"
My father scolded us, and my mother desperately tried to defend me, but Cedric was not the type to listen to such words.
When he closed the distance with a look that said he really meant to stab me, Father truly grew angry.
"Can you not lower that sword!"
"Father, I'm sorry, but please stay quiet and just watch."
When the first son tries to harm the second son, what father could just stand by and watch?
However, what Cedric said next was something none of us, myself included, had expected.
"Adrian, this older brother of yours is someone who plays above your head. I also know very well why you're suddenly rampaging like this. Isn't all of this because you've been incited by a rebel element?"
At the word "rebellion," which nobles cannot help but be sensitive to, Father's expression hardened.
And Cedric's dagger turned not toward me, but toward William, the vice commander of the knights.
"You dare aim to overturn the family? You've gone mad."
I stared at Cedric in bafflement, and William also tilted his head, asking what on earth he was talking about.
"Weren't you trying to persuade Adrian so you could split the family in two!"
It seemed someone had overheard the initial proposal William made to me.
That had reached Cedric and led to this situation.
"This is utterly absurd. Sir William, is it true?"
Anna must have thought Cedric's response wasn't bad, as she added her voice, fixing her gaze on Father.
At this accusation directed at William, Father could not hide his bewilderment.
Naturally so, since William was a key figure of the lord's faction.
"Hurry up and bind this rebel!"
Cedric's triumphant shout.
"What are you all doing! Hurry and carry out the order!"
The command to bind William was directed at the expeditionary force who had fought alongside him on campaign.
Anna and Cedric hold the real power in the family.
Even if they had shared life and death with William on the battlefield, they were not supposed to defy his orders…
"If you want Vice Commander William bound, Young Master Cedric, you can do it yourself."
The situation now was different from the past.
Among the expeditionary force that had returned with me, there was not a single person who acknowledged Cedric.
"What? Sir Berto, what did you just say?"
Berto was the knight who had once volunteered to be Cedric's eyes and watch over me.
Cedric had been confident enough in him to entrust him with secret missions; who would have imagined mockery would come out of that man's mouth?
"Pff…"
In the end, I burst out laughing.
Following my lead, quiet snickers spread here and there among the expeditionary force.
This reaction was something even Cedric himself…
Even Anna, who held the family's real power…
Even Father, the head of the house…
Even Mother, who had raised me for half her life… had not anticipated.
"Everyone here knows it. That the Sir William you want to cut down, Brother, is in fact the loyal retainer."
"You bastards dare…"
The first humiliation he had ever suffered.
Countless emotions that could not be put into words flickered across Cedric's face.
In the end, his gaze fixed on me as he searched for an outlet for his rage.
Unable to contain his anger, Cedric flew into a frenzy and swung his dagger.
Thock!
"W-what the… woman."
But Cedric's dagger never reached me; it was caught by Arsia, who was in the middle of tearing into a whole turkey leg.
Chew. Chew.
Compared to Cedric, who stood over 190 centimeters tall, Arsia's build was that of an ordinary woman and seemed infinitely small.
Yet because his arm was caught so effortlessly by such an Arsia, Cedric's expression twisted even more viciously.
"Let go!"
Cedric thrashed about, but it was as if his arm were clamped to a boulder it did not budge in the slightest.
The difference in pure physical strength, with no aura to supplement it.
Unlike me, she was a homunculus of a great mage, refined purely into a warrior type, so it was inevitable.
A mere neighborhood bully like Cedric was no match for her in terms of strength.
And what followed was
Smack!
Cedric getting slapped across the face by a turkey leg.