The northern noble house — the Harvist Earldom.
Its current head, Asrak von Harvist, harbored a deep resentment.
His grievance was one thing and one thing only: why was his house
merely
an earldom, of all things?
His magic was, admittedly, within the confines of what an earldom could produce... or so people said. He didn't see it that way himself, but he'd heard the whispers — that he was rather weak for an earldom.
And yet. The earldom — his house — should have possessed a cadre of rigorously trained mages and military strength more than enough to compensate for that.
But those fools from fellow earldoms and marquisates understood none of it. They looked only at Bloodline Magic and made a laughingstock of him. He was thoroughly sick of those idiots.
The age of Bloodline Magic is over — numbers are what matter now. Go ahead, keep acting smug while you still can — he stuck his tongue out at them in his mind.
...But he couldn't bring himself to say any of that to their faces, and so he drifted through his days in sullen silence.
Someday, surely, the ones around him would be the ones left behind by the times.
Clinging to that belief, enduring in patience... while in truth doing nothing at all, came one day —
His outwardly peaceful daily life was thrown into upheaval. A massive army calling itself the Northern Alliance appeared, and word reached him that back in the Royal Capital —
a coup d'état
had erupted.
And then — at that very moment, she appeared before him.
The Third Princess, Liliana. A publicly declared justification against the First Prince who had unjustly seized the throne — and a convenient symbol for his own rise to power.
This is it, he thought.
The greatest piece for his own ascent — the very thing that would sweep aside all those around him who had done nothing but spout incomprehensible, off-the-mark drivel like "Don't over-rely on military strength" and "Don't neglect your training for when the time comes" — had just come leaping before his eyes.
Everything he had endured up until now—it was all for this moment. This princess must surely be none other than a reward sent by God Himself. He was absolutely certain of it.
There seemed to be a fair number of reasonably powerful bloodline magic users in her retinue...but no matter. They were the sort who couldn't hope to match his own bloodline magic users, and to him, they were nothing more than "a mere six."
He'd just have to make the best use of them, then. Without bothering to conceal the contempt in his eyes, he laid his conditions before the princess—conditions extremely favorable to himself, though the count himself considered them entirely reasonable—as expected from a princess who looked thoroughly lethargic.
This too was no concern of his. They had come seeking the aid of Count Harvist's house precisely because they couldn't handle the situation on their own, which meant they had no choice but to accept his terms if they wished to quell the northern rebellion.
Besides, even if by some unlikely chance they refused—even if they turned the count away—it wouldn't matter in the slightest.
Because he had—
one more insurance policy
at his disposal.
Fully confident in his victory, the count sank into contemplation.
Right about now, that useless princess and her retainers were probably wracking their brains over the terms he'd laid down. They might be trying to extract some concessions, but it was pointless—he didn't intend to yield a single thing.
He would manipulate them however he pleased and seize power in the next generation's kingdom. That princess, once she grew into her looks, would undoubtedly become a great beauty. His son, turning twenty this year, would surely be pleased...no, come to think of it, it might be a waste to give her to his son alone.
These were the kinds of thoughts that floated through his head without the slightest hesitation.
He could hardly wait for the moment when they would desperately rack their brains to present a counterproposal, only for him to flatly reject it.
As he indulged in these expectations...at the same time, the door to the room was knocked upon.
The ones who entered were the princess and her four retainers.
Deciding that no one besides the princess was worth a moment of courtesy, the count immediately directed his gaze to Liliana alone and spoke with a pleasant smile on the surface—though his heart seethed with contempt.
"Have you reached a decision?"
"Yes."
The one who answered was not Liliana.
Stepping forward from beside her was a boy who appeared to be a servant of the Trackia Duke House—Liliana's backers. His name was...Ermes, wasn't it?
This guy again. The Count sighed inwardly, but having understood from their prior discussion that this youth would likely begin the negotiations as a proxy, he called out to him.
"You, is it? Very well. Surely you don't intend to cut him loose—dismissing it as 'just a servant speaking on his own'—if things get inconvenient?"
"Not at all. We've discussed everything thoroughly as a group. You may consider my words here to be Liliana's words—that is, Her Highness the Third Princess Liliana."
At the words "cut him loose," something happened—behind him, the purple-haired girl, the Trackia daughter, was emanating such tremendous fury that he instinctively flinched. He straightened his posture and faced forward again.
"That's reassuring. Then—might I hear your answer once more?"
"Yes. We wish to continue working hand in hand with the Count to put down the Northern Rebellion.
However... there are certain parts of the Count's terms we find difficult to accept. We were hoping to work through those discrepancies this time."
Here it comes.
The Count smiled inwardly with anticipation, looking forward to the moment he would reject their words, and began to speak.
"I see. But on our end, we can't simply withdraw so easily either. There's a weight to those in positions of authority that someone like you, a servant, wouldn't be familiar with."
"Yes, I'm well aware of that."
Yet the youth cheerfully brushed aside even the Count's sarcasm.
"—By the way, though,"
He continued, his tone dropping slightly.
"Let me say this again: we wish to join hands with the Count to crush the Northern Federation. You share this goal, don't you?"
"? What are you talking about? Of course we—"
"Good. The reason I ask is—"
A chill.
Before he could identify the source of that inexplicable feeling, Ermes smiled.
"Just a moment ago,
The Church
and
the Northern Alliance—
a declaration of war
letter
has been sent.
.
"Our Third Princess faction… has joined forces with the Harvist Earl House, and we are preparing to bring you down. 'Just you wait'—that's what I told them."
"...Wh-"
What.
What was this person saying?
"I apologize for acting unilaterally, but if I hadn't put some pressure on them ahead of time, there was a real chance the Northern Alliance would try to take this place all at once.
Once they learn that the Earl and I have formally joined hands, they won't be so quick to make a move. That gives us time to sit down and properly discuss—"
"W-W-Wait, wait, wait, wait! That's… that's a problem!"
Unacceptable.
That she'd done something like this without his permission was one thing, but—
This was bad. This was—very, very bad!
"A problem? Why? I'll admit I may have gotten slightly ahead of myself, but the Church and the Northern Alliance are invaders the Earl should want driven out all the same. All I did was send the declaration a little early—I don't see how that's such a problem?"
But as for what the Earl truly felt about all this—
It wasn't that she didn't know. She knew perfectly well. With an expression that saw right through him, Ermes looked at him once more.
"—Or perhaps—"
She spoke those fatal words.
"
abandon us
and your
subordinates
,
hand over
the princess
to the Church
and they'd
welcome you—
.
That you'd received such an invitation from the Church—that's not really the case, is it?"
◆
Just as expected.
Seeing the Earl's face drawn tight and slick with cold sweat, Ermes was certain.
Something had been wrong from the very start.
It was true that without the Earl's forces, they couldn't stand against the Northern Alliance. But—the Earl's side should have known that without their personal combat strength, they couldn't stand against the Northern Alliance either... especially not against Lucius.
In other words, if negotiations collapsed, the Earl would be in just as much trouble.
The reason they had grown so bold despite everything—the very foundation of that brazen posturing, as if to declare "we couldn't care less if negotiations fall through."
That was this.
Namely—
If they refused to comply,
the princess
would simply be seized,
spirited away to the Church,
and given asylum.
That was all.
They were bold precisely because they had this insurance—a fallback that simple.
And so, he cut off that option first.
By announcing that a declaration of war against the Church had been issued under the joint names of the Earl and himself, he severed the other side's insurance of defecting to the Church—and only then did he proceed to the negotiating table.
Now, at last, they could have the meaningful discussion that had been originally intended.
"—D-Don't be ridiculous!!"
The Earl, caught completely off guard, turned on Ermes in a fury.
"S-Such an outrageous thing! How can this be allowed?! Recall that letter at once!"
"I'm afraid it's already too late. The messenger has already departed. Lord Albert... with the speed of a wind Bloodline Magic user, no one can catch him now."
Only then did the Earl finally notice that Albert—one of Liliana's subordinates—had vanished from the group. He turned deathly pale, trembling—then converted that shock into even greater fury.
"T-Then that makes it all the more reason! I absolutely cannot agree to your demands now! You went and did something so high-handed without my permission! How do you intend to take responsibility?! Since it's come to this, everything will go exactly as I say—"
"More importantly—"
But Ermes cut him off with quiet, commanding words.
The Earl was swallowed by his oppressive presence. From behind Ermes, Liliana calmly stepped forward.
Though she had already known, her face bore a slightly shaken expression as she posed her confirming question.
"Earl, is it true? Did you truly... attempt to sell me to the Church?"
"Th—that's a misunderstanding, Your Highness!"
Yes — it was Liliana's distrust, born from having this matter exposed to her. So long as it remained, the Earl's scheme could never succeed, and he could do nothing but desperately try to explain himself.
"Is this not entirely baseless?! The reason I was so flustered was precisely because that retainer over there acted selfishly, without any understanding of the weight nobility carries!
A loyal subject of the royal family selling out Your Highness! To begin with — where is there any evidence of such a thing?! This is nothing more than a trap that man over there has orchestrated to frame me!"
The Earl, in his desperation, tried to use the very absence of evidence as a shield to deflect the accusation — exactly as expected.
And since it had been expected, countermeasures were naturally already in place.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door. Ermes, knowing who stood on the other side, turned and called out.
"Come in,
Albert."
"W-what—"
Ignoring the Earl's startled cry, the one who entered was Albert. Every pair of eyes turned toward him — and toward the documents in his hands.
"...I never imagined I'd end up playing the part of a thief."
Albert spoke with an expression that defied easy reading. In his hands, the documents bore a seal pressed onto the envelope — unmistakably that of the Church.
"But it was worth the effort. Upon entering the document vault, I found correspondence from the Church, just like this. As for the contents... well, I hardly think any explanation is necessary."
Having said that, Albert directed a gaze of equal contempt toward the Earl.
"That is probably what Ermes just explained. Because that is exactly what was written there."
"You... why... I was told you brought out a declaration of war letter."
"Ah, that was of course a lie. Even if it was just a declaration, as you said, there was no way I could release something like that without the Earl's permission."
Incidentally, this was also the reason Ermes had become the negotiator.
His emotions were thin and hard to read on the surface — in other words, it was difficult to see through his lies and bluffs. He was the perfect person to draw out a slip of the tongue from the Earl with a preceding bluff.
Originally, Katia, who had devised this plan, was also supposed to handle the negotiations... but Ermes had said, "Because Lady Katia cannot lie," and everyone agreed, so she was replaced. Katia yielded with some dissatisfaction and a blush born of the embarrassment of her own self-awareness, though she did accept the reasoning.
But now that things had come to this —
The weight of her words as the Duke House's successor bore its fangs. She stepped forward, wearing the unyielding dignity of the highest-ranking noble — one who would not tolerate falsehood.
"Now then, Earl. In addition to the solid evidence that confirms everything you said, and your reaction when Ermes confronted you... will you still make a fool of yourself trying to weasel your way out?"
"...!"
The Earl tried to say something, but he could not find the words, and crushed under the weight of Katia's gaze, he could not produce a sound from his throat.
Having confirmed that — finally, Liliana stepped forward.
"Lady Liliana."
"I am all right, Master. ...This much, at least, I must do myself."
Stopping the worried Ermes, Liliana took her place before the Earl.
"...Then, Earl Harvist. The crime of treating my vassals with contempt and targeting my person — I cannot forgive it.
— In the name of the Third Princess, Liliana, I hereby strip you of your title as Earl. Management will be temporarily entrusted to the Trackia Duke House, and proper proceedings shall follow once this upheaval has settled."
"Y-Your Highness!"
Perhaps seeing her as more manageable than Katia —
The Earl, who had been silent, opened his mouth once more. He put on an expression of the utmost concern for her and assumed a posture of earnest pleading.
"Please, I beg you, lend an ear to my words!
Those people are seditious counselors! They are goading Your Highness, manipulating you at will, and plotting to seize the next kingdom for themselves! Your Highness has been deceived!"
"......"
"Your Highness is still young and has little experience of the outside world! You cannot yet discern the proper order of things! Do you truly have that much confidence and sense of responsibility in your own judgment!?"
An utterly despicable argument — one that turned even Liliana's own circumstances against her.
But she did not waver.
"......They chose to support someone like me, who has nothing to offer. When we fled the Royal Capital, they protected me and guided me. That fact has not changed. ──So,"
After a brief pause, she took a step back. As if demonstrating the trust she placed in Ermes standing behind her, she gathered the hem of her skirt and drew close to him.
"If it is them ── if it is my masters ──
even
if I am
being deceived
I don't
care."
Words from the heart, brimming with absolute trust. Everyone in the room was momentarily overwhelmed.
The Earl was no exception — sensing that his persuasion had failed and he had finally been backed into a corner.
"Gh——!"
As a last resort, he moved to summon the soldiers standing by nearby.
"It's futile. This room is already enveloped by Salla's barrier. No half-baked opponent can even enter, and no voice can reach through."
Liliana stated flatly what Ermes had already foreseen and instructed Salla to carry out. The Earl — perhaps as a reaction to being cornered — finally turned his dark, seething rage upon Liliana.
"You... you defective royal who can do nothing but nod along to what everyone around you says — a mere puppet who can only follow orders — how dare you...!"
He had completely forgotten that he himself had been about to do the very same thing — without a thought for the consequences, he moved to use his Bloodline Magic against Liliana.
But, as expected—
"At any rate, against the likes of you—!"
"—I will grant you this much: the sheer recklessness of still trying to stand your ground at this point is almost admirable."
Before he could open his mouth to chant — faster than he could even begin activating his Bloodline Magic—
Ermes unleashed an Enhanced universal magic at a speed no one present could follow. A single streak of wind blade lashed out and tore across the earl's cheek.
"Gah...! It—it hurts—!"
The wound shouldn't have been that deep, yet the earl clutched his cheek dramatically and thrashed about on the floor. Between his reaction and his movements, it was plain that he was utterly unaccustomed to fighting with Bloodline Magic. He had likely grown complacent with his military strength and thoroughly neglected his own training.
"I have just one last bit of reality for you."
He lightly sliced the other cheek as well. Standing at close range before the earl, who was trembling from pain and fear, Ermes spoke.
"Someone like you won't be able to keep up with where this country is headed.—
You are
obsolete."
"
The very belief he had been relying on had been thrust back at him in the most twisted form imaginable.
His spirit completely broken, the earl hung his head in total defeat.
◆
The earl was taken into custody and locked away inside Salla's barrier. This arrangement was appropriate both for extracting information and for the negotiations with the soldiers that would follow.
"..."
And so, while they were carrying out the follow-up procedures.
Ermes noticed Liliana sitting with her head bowed, lost in thought.
……He had a vague sense of what she was thinking about.
He approached — and, softly — placed his hand on top of Liliana's head.
"……Master?"
"There's no need to dwell on what they said — calling you a defective royal, a puppet."
Liliana's eyes widened. He had most likely hit the mark on exactly what she'd been thinking.
Ermes offered a wry smile and continued.
"True, there's not much you can do right now. But what we're looking at is your potential. There's no need to fixate on everything where you currently fall short."
"B-But……"
Even so, it wasn't acceptable to simply be content with her position, and there wasn't that much time to spare either.
Sensing Liliana's thoughts, Ermes went on.
"With that said, if you wish to catch up as quickly as possible…… then for the first time in a while, let me give you some advice worthy of a master."
Having said that, he offered one sentence toward Liliana, who was now looking at him with a mix of doubt and hope.
"Find a magic that is yours and yours alone."
"M-Mine…… alone?"
"Yes. Lillie-sama shares my same Incompatibility, and like me, you can handle the same '
Primal Inscription
.' "
However, he paused, then spoke again in a voice slightly imitating that of his own master.
──That said, there's no need for you to be able to do exactly what I can.
"……Th-that"
He was simply repeating what he had once told Rose.
"I don't mean that in a bad way. Nobody can ever do exactly the same thing as someone else. My master can naturally use the same magic, but his approach differs slightly from mine."
"Eh……"
"In the same way, please find your own way of wielding the"
Primal Inscription
"."
"──Just like the"
Disruption of Activation
"you displayed during our escape from the Royal Capital. I'm certain that what you find will become your path forward…… in every sense of the word."
Advice for her, who was still uncertain about her clear path forward as a member of the royal family.
As Liliana savored his words, Ermes gently ran his hand through the hair beneath it.
"……Also. When you said, 'It's fine even if I'm being deceived'──that you trusted me that much truly made me happy."
"──Fweh"
"As long as you feel that way, I will never give up on you. So rest assured…… and find your own path."
Those words, spoken with a gentleness that startled her.
Liliana looked away bashfully, trying at the same time to mask her joy.
"That's…… why I keep telling you not to spoil me……!"
Yet despite her words, she pressed both her small hands against his hand atop her head.
Like a small animal, she timidly pressed her head against his from the other side.
And so, letting Liliana have her way...
Ermes turned in the opposite direction... turning his face toward Yurugen, who was watching the master and disciple with an amused smile.
"Now that I mention it, Duke."
"Hm? What is it?"
Yurugen tilted his head with a smile.
Facing him, Ermes spoke in a slightly reproachful tone.
"Duke —
you knew
everything
from the very start,
didn't you?"
At those words, Katia and the others, who had been busy with other tasks, turned around.
"That the Count was in league with the Church, and that there was no other path but to handle them that way...
...Actually, you would have been better suited for the negotiating role, Duke. It was supposed to be a crisis for our faction, but your silence was a bit much, wasn't it..."
"Ah... um, are you angry?"
"A little. Well, I more or less understand your intentions, so it's not enough to truly reproach you."
At Ermes's slightly narrowed eyes, Yurugen raised his hand in a gesture of sincere reflection.
"I'm sorry. I understood everything you're saying, but I kept quiet anyway. The reason is just as you surmised, Ermes... I wanted you to figure it out for yourselves."
At those words, everyone paused what they were doing and lent an ear.
"You all figured it out too, right? This time, the Church had already made their move to drive a wedge between us — anticipating that we would rely on the Earl."
"..."
"That's what it means to take on an organization. They'll use every underhanded trick in the book, and they won't hesitate to resort to methods you'd never see coming.
Needless to say, don't expect the kind of self-serving arrogance and brute force you've dealt with until now — in every sense of the word,
the ones
we've faced
before
are different."
The words resonated.
They had managed to avoid it this time, but in a sense, this too could have been a dead end if things had gone wrong.
"From now on, there may be situations that arise where I'm not around to see them. That's exactly why I wanted you to handle this one on your own. ...I'm sorry."
"F-Father... I knew you had your reasons. And since you've explained everything properly this time, I have no intention of blaming you."
Yurugen bowed his head sincerely, and though slightly taken aback, Katia forgave him.
"Anyway... next up is the negotiation with the soldiers.
If that's the case, we'll handle as much of it as we can from here. But — if things genuinely get dangerous, you'd better send us backup, all right?"
At his daughter's slightly petulant words, Yurugen raised his face with a wry smile.
And so, they overcame yet another crisis. At last, they were finally able to take a step forward.
Papa Yurugen had his own training plan, after all.
And Lady Lily was also destined to grow immensely through this northern rebellion.
I'd be grateful if you'd keep reading and look forward to that as well…!
Next time: it's negotiation time with the soldiers. Stay tuned!