"My Wallenstein family has caused you, Lord Alan, tremendous trouble, and I, as head of the household, wish to offer my sincerest apologies. Through Lord Geese's mediation, I have been given this opportunity to make amends. I am truly sorry for what has transpired."
The young man prostrating himself before me was Bruce.
According to Geese, he was the new head of the Wallenstein family.
Come to think of it, even in another world they had the dogeza style, huh?
It seemed he had already grown tired of the previous head long before I took care of him, and upon learning of the latest incident, he had come to apologize to me personally.
He had also not come empty-handed—he brought 200,000 gold coins.
Furthermore, he was prepared to accept a collar of subjugation if that wasn't enough.
...This was decent. Normal.
Wasn't this the first time I'd ever been treated this reasonably?
"No, there's no need to go that far. You've apologized properly. I don't need a collar, and I don't need the gold coins either. Please use it to restore the Wallenstein family."
He still couldn't handle his beard properly—despite me telling him not to break anything, he'd gotten carried away and destroyed several buildings along the way.
"I am grateful for your boundless kindness, Lord Alan, deeper than the sea itself."
You're being way too dramatic.
Either way, this matter with the Wallenstein family was now settled.
There was nothing more I needed to do.
"My foolish younger brother has been admitted to a treatment facility reserved for nobles."
And after that, he died of illness when treatment proved futile, I see.
◇◇◇
The Third Princess, Selene Gloria, had gone missing.
King Salvann was desperately searching.
Because the mystery skill that the Church touted as a "Hazard Skill" — unreadable and unusable — had in truth been passed down through generations of kings as a powerful ability, should it ever awaken.
Whether the rare bearer of a Hazard Skill would ever awaken remained uncertain.
In the end, it seemed most went through life without ever awakening.
The Third Princess, Selene, also possessed a Hazard Skill.
There was no sign of it awakening yet, but should it ever do so, it could prove enormously useful.
And so he had kept her alive — only for her to vanish without a trace.
A lookalike of Selene had been impersonating her and carrying out her royal duties, but one day she was caught using a skill she should not have been able to, and the deception was exposed.
The impostor died during interrogation, and time simply continued to pass with no one knowing where the real Selene was.
King Salvann had been searching in secret.
But even he could not keep it hidden forever — rumors began to spread among the nobles, gradually reaching the common folk, and eventually coming to Alan's attention.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse], [Divine Eye], [Sword God], [Gentleman Thief], [Dark Magic], [Ironstone Magic], [Holy Magic], [Space-Time Magic], [Scorching Magic], [Freezing Magic], [Magic Hand], [Seduction], [Pain Mitigation], [Complete Status Ailment Resistance], [Flame Spirit's Protection], [Phantom Demon], [Gale Thunder], [Dark Spirit's Protection], [Monstrous Strength], [Thunder God Sword], [Fortune], [Clear Sky Magic], [Humility], [Heaven's Gate], [Ninja Master], [Eloquence], [Seeker of Truth], [Abyss Whisper], [Super Instinct], [Spear God], [Fist God]
Rank: Orichalcon
Thank you, as always, for reading! 😊