Chapter 97
"Haa..."
The reception room after Abel had left.
Adrian collapsed into a chair, let out a sigh, and muttered.
"What a relief."
What a relief. It really was.
From Adrian's perspective, it would not be an exaggeration to call this the best possible outcome.
There was still some forgiveness left for Saintess Ariel.
Even so, his confrontation with Abel, which he had thought would be the most difficult, had led to the best possible result.
"..."
Of course, Adrian knew full well that this had not been achieved through his own ability or outstanding eloquence.
He had never been particularly skilled at such rhetoric in the first place.
It had happened because Abel, the victim in every respect and heir to House Nebla, had yielded.
Once he reached that thought, Adrian could not suppress the question that naturally arose.
"How remarkable."
Hadn't they said he was an illegitimate child?
Yet Abel, as he had faced Adrian and guided the conversation, had been so aristocratic that the term illegitimate child never even came to mind.
He knew how to see the bigger picture and fully understood that this was a conversation between two houses; instead, he had even managed to make House Stellaraim indebted to him.
"..."
As the times changed, the notion that class was determined by blood, and that royal blood was something separate, had disappeared long ago.
Adrian himself knew perfectly well that commoners could, depending on the circumstances, excel in areas where nobles did not.
But.
No matter how talented a commoner might be, there was inevitably a period of time needed to hone and develop that talent.
"Now, let me see."
Adrian recalled the information about Abel's past once more.
A powerful man born in a slum in the back alleys, who awakened his ability and carved out a domain of his own in the underworld.
And after it was revealed that he was an illegitimate child of House Nebla and he entered the family, he was chosen as its heir in less than half a year.
"...Hmm."
They were both dukes, and Adrian knew Serban's personality fairly well, having once challenged the former strongest man himself.
That man had met Abel for only half a year—no, considerably less if counted in days—and had recognized him as heir?
"You've been blessed with an heir. Truly."
Adrian had felt a little envious, but immediately cast the thought far away.
No matter how outstanding another family's heir was, comparing him to his own son, Kairun, would be unfair to the boy.
Squeeze.
At the thought of Kairun, his hand naturally began to tense.
Yes. He supposed he had raised him too indulgently after losing his wife.
Fortunately, he had thought that both children his wife had left behind were growing up well, since neither had a difficult personality.
'When the time comes to wield the rod, I suppose I must do it properly.'
Tap. Tap. Tap.
As Adrian thought about Kairun and tapped a finger on the table, he muttered quietly.
"He did say... that he's an adult now, didn't he?"
The same age as his son Kairun.
A powerful individual capable of recognizing the strength he had concealed.
"Hmm... That might not be so bad."
Adrian muttered that and rose from his seat.
***
"You're planning to go by yourself?"
"Yes..."
The room Duke Adrian had prepared.
While spending time there reading a novel popular among the public that he had brought from House Nebla, I took my eyes off the book and stared at Mist when she suddenly spoke.
"..."
Mist quietly gazed at me.
Looking at Mist like that, I opened my mouth.
"Why?"
"You intend to go to the place believed to be the headquarters of [Lainas], don't you?"
There had been two reasons I came here.
One. To speak with Duke Stellaraim and bring this incident to a swift conclusion.
Two. To raid the headquarters of those [Lainas] bastards who were practically directly hostile to me—or rather, hated me.
Knowing that, I gave Mist's words a slight nod.
"Yes. That's right."
"The reason I intend to go alone is that it is the most efficient course of action."
Efficiency?
"Explain in detail."
"...First, Lord Abel. I am about to say something quite rude to you. Is that all right?"
Something rude?
At Mist's sudden words, I studied her face for a moment.
She looked at me with calm eyes, as though what she had said were the truth.
"I don't mind."
Something rude?
Well, I was not the sort of person to care about such things, and in the first place, I knew that Mist was the person who served me above all else.
If she was saying something like this, it must be necessary.
Thud.
"Go ahead."
Closing the open novel, I straightened my posture and looked at her.
At my actions, Mist closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly began to voice the rude thing she had warned me about.
"Allow me to venture a guess as to why you went to Marita, the City of Artists, last time."
"..."
"Under normal circumstances, having both you and Lord Bellias travel together would be far too risky."
Naturally. Abel, heir to a ducal house, and Bellias, a direct descendant of House Nebla despite his concealed identity.
Having the two of them carry out an operation together meant taking an excessively great risk.
"But you went through with it, Lord Abel."
Even using yourself as bait to lure out the enemy.
Flinch.
My fingertips twitched involuntarily.
Mist seemed to gain a small measure of certainty from my reaction and continued.
"I thought about why."
Given what she knew of her master's personality, would Abel really take such a risk merely because cigars were at stake?
Well, they said one could never know what was in another person's heart, but if she dared to judge, it did not seem like something Abel would do.
That was Mist's conclusion.
But.
"What happened before Marita."
Richard, who had died on Saria Island at Abel's command.
He had not simply died; he had been cruelly tortured by the enemy, and in the end, his head had been placed in a salt jar and delivered before Abel.
"If I may venture my opinion, I believe you acted personally to avoid any unnecessary deaths because of that incident."
"..."
I listened quietly to Mist, closed my eyes, and said nothing.
Trauma?
It was not that.
I had already felt that emotion to the point of exhaustion in my previous life; how could it be trauma?
If I counted only the people who had died on my orders, the number was close to three digits.
If I dwelled on every one of those deaths and blamed myself excessively, I would have collapsed long ago.
I was not that sentimental a person.
So, simply put, I had gone to Marita to test a new technique.
"I apologize for overstepping my station. I was presumptuous enough to pry into my master's emotions and have disturbed you, Lord Abel."
[Air Buster]
A technique I had newly created.
I had done it because I wanted to create and try out a close-range technique for use against an opponent—one that would knock them down by shattering a vacuum-filled orb and causing a vacuum explosion.
I really was fine, though.
Good grief.
"I understand. Perhaps even going to Marita last time was nothing more than a momentary deviation."
Mist looked at Abel, who was gazing at her with a wry smile.
She already knew that he was not suffering from any particular trauma or mental anguish.
"However, as I said before, I believe it would be more appropriate for me to go there alone this time."
Therefore.
"Would you give me an order?"
Leave this matter to me. That was what Mist was saying.
"..."
At Mist's words, I quietly closed my eyes. After a while, I met Mist's gaze and spoke.
"Mist."
"Yes, my master."
"From now on, go to the Frozen Mountain Range and investigate the terrorist organization [Lainas], which is hostile to me."
At my words, she grasped the hem of her maid uniform with both hands, lifted it, and bowed her head like a courtly greeting in high society.
"I shall obey your command."
***
After giving Mist the order.
Some time passed, and when I opened the dining room door after arriving under the butler's guidance, a rather familiar aroma began to envelop me.
'This is...'
It smelled quite similar to seolleongtang or galbitang, which I had often eaten in my previous life.
'It's been a while.'
Of course, perhaps because the spices used were different, it gave off a slightly different scent, but the underlying similarity made it quite close.
"You arrived quickly."
At the center of the dining table.
Duke Adrian de Stellaraim looked at me and spoke.
"Thank you once again for your hospitality."
This time, I properly greeted the duke according to the etiquette I had learned from House Nebla.
Back then, we had met as the victim and the perpetrator's father, but now we were meeting as a duke and the heir to another ducal house, so a greeting was only natural.
"Yes. Sit down. Today, I've filled the table with the finest dishes Stellaraim has to offer."
Perhaps because it was a cold region, there were quite a lot of soup and stew dishes.
The scent I had just found similar to seolleongtang and galbitang was probably coming from those dishes.
Adrian then reached out and showed me the many liquors he had prepared.
"Here, have some. I heard you enjoy cocktails, so I prepared as many kinds of liquor as possible."
"Oh. Is this [Winter Heart]?"
"You know it well."
[Winter Heart]
Simply put, it was a type of liquor that, as far as I knew, could only be consumed in the cold Stellaraim Duchy.
A high-proof liquor made from fruit saturated with the mana of this cold region.
One of the distinctive features of [Winter Heart] was that it naturally maintained a low temperature.
It was also renowned as a fine liquor, counted among those that drinkers had to try at least once before they died.
"Here, have some."
The glass Adrian had personally poured for me.
"Thank you."
Gulp.
I accepted the cold glass and took a sip of the liquor, which gave off a chill intense enough to make my hand ache.
The fragrance of countless fruits.
And the fiery sensation of alcohol that descended heavily afterward.
But the cold temperature of the liquor itself neutralized that fiery alcoholic sensation.
With all of it blending together in one place, it truly deserved to be called a fine liquor.
"Whew..."
Feeling the liquor slide down my throat and savoring the lingering aftertaste, I couldn't help but understand why it was so highly regarded.
It had an aroma and flavor that made it immediately obvious why this liquor was so renowned among drinkers.
"You certainly know how to enjoy liquor."
Watching me, Adrian began recommending the many other liquors to me.
"Now, this is a liquor often drunk on the northern front lines. It's famous for being extremely strong."
One glass.
"This is a fermented liquor made primarily from grains. Its very clean taste is its finest quality."
Two glasses.
"This one tastes best when warmed in a unique way. Here, give it a try."
Three glasses.
After we drank enough that I had to use mana to suppress my intoxication, Duke Adrian looked at me and cautiously opened his mouth.
"Ah, come to think of it, there's one thing I'm curious about."
"Please, ask."
"Since you're the heir to House Nebla, do you have a young lady in mind as a fiancée?”