TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 7/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
Join the discord! Here
Today's friend may be tomorrow's enemy.
Upon hearing of Perrian's death, Ian was getting ready to make his move.
News of Robert's death had reached Rudy, who remained quiet.
But that didn't an Ian had any reason to console Rudy or wait for him.
With Perrian gone, the Duke's position was now vacant.
Soone needed to fill it quickly for the sake of stabilizing the political situation.
Ian was moving for that very purpose.
"Do you think Rudy is capable of inheriting the title?"
"Hmm..."
"Don't be coy, speak your mind."
Ian was in the midst of a eting with his close associates from the Astria family.
"It's not unlikely..."
"Why do you think so?"
"Because the internal political situation of the empire has tilted towards the Emperor's faction with the disappearance of the forr head."
"It's not because of my lack of ability?"
The nobleman Ian was speaking to waved his hand dismissively.
"That's absurd. Your abilities far surpass those of Rudy Astria. If it were purely about ability, you're the rightful heir."
"Is that so? Then."
Ian looked the nobleman straight in the eye and spoke.
"What do you think will happen over ti?"
"Ah..."
"What about comparing Rudy and 10, 20 years from now?"
"That is..."
The nobleman couldn't give a definite answer.
Ian smiled at this hesitance.
"Of course, you wouldn't know. Humans can't see even an inch into their future."
"But... We believe you are the superior one. That's why we are here."
"Thanks for saying that."
Ian was pleased with the noble's honest words.
"We all feel the sa way."
"The position of the head of the family belongs to you, Ian."
The nearby nobles agreed.
Hearing this, Ian stood up.
"Thank you, everyone. Let's conclude the eting here."
Ian smiled and left his seat.
Walking out of the room and through the hallway, Ian's smile gradually faded.
"The head of the family..."
Ian's plans had never changed.
To beco the head of the Astria family and rise to the highest position in the empire.
However.
As Ian pushed Perrian into a corner, he watched Rudy and observed his surroundings.
They were not so different from himself.
All striving for a higher position.
From afar, he thought they were no different from him.
But getting closer revealed a new scene.
They were not just striving for high positions.
They were looking beyond.
Reaching a high position was rely a step, not the goal.
Thinking this, Ian wondered about Perrian.
If Perrian had achieved immortality and the empire using mana stones and amplifiers, what would he have done?
No need to consider others.
'If I were to ascend to the Duke's position, what then? What should I do next?'
Questions were the only things floating in Ian's mind.
---
Raei Translations
---
"Sorry for leaving you alone for a bit. I brought so tea."
"If you need any snacks, just say the word. I'll bring them over."
"Do you like the tea? If not, I can get a different kind."
I smiled warmly at the person in front of , offering the best kindness I could muster.
Despite my goodwill, the person in front of was extrely uncomfortable.
"Ru, Rudy. Since it's just us, you can act as usual..."
"This is my usual."
I was extending hospitality to Karen.
It had been a few days since I returned to the capital.
I was making various efforts to inherit the Duke's title.
Practicing spatial magic, eting people who would support , doing various things.
During this ti, one person ca to visit.
Karen Mayer.
I was surprised to see her.
I had clearly told Count Mayer that I had no intentions of marriage or anything else, yet here she was.
I thought quickly.
I needed to make this person detach her feelings from .
So, I treated Karen with all the kindness I could muster.
Showing the utmost courtesy I was capable of.
That was the thod I chose to push Karen away.
"Ru, Rudy..."
"Is there sothing wrong? Are you feeling ill? Or is there so food you can't eat?"
"Rudy..."
"Hm?"
Karen just repeated my na, saying nothing else.
As expected, she was at a loss for how to react to my kindness.
After shuffling her feet for a few minutes, Karen stood up.
"I'll co back... next ti."
"Sure, you're welco anyti."
I sent Karen off with a smile and returned to my room.
"Ha..."
I like to think I'm not a bad person, but offering excessive kindness was exhausting.
I sighed and looked at where Karen had disappeared.
"What should I do?"
I felt sorry for Karen, but I had no feelings for her.
She was rely a bridge I intended to use to approach the Mayer family.
Thinking this way, I was truly despicable.
But there was a tiny bit of injustice.
How could I have known that Karen harbored such feelings for ?
I intended to use Karen, but I never planned to harm her.
I just wanted to keep our relationship strictly business.
"Also, what would Rie say..."
I sighed and stood up.
Dealing with Karen was troubleso, but for now, I had other things to do.
The struggle for the head of the family position.
I need to think about this.
Normally, securing the position of the head of the family involves many steps. The family's internal mbers evaluate the candidates and compete fairly.
However, such evaluations was aningless now.
With Perrian's death, soone needed to quickly take the Duke's position.
There were rebels outside, and we needed to create a stable situation internally.
The question was, how do we evaluate soone?
We couldn't take as long for evaluations as before, nor could we conclude everything with a vote among the internal mbers.
We needed sothing for the two contenders to compete in.
But we couldn't just have a brawl like children.
If they fought normally, soone could get hurt or even die, which could weaken the empire's strength and be a disgrace.
Therefore, we needed a fair fight under specific rules.
Recently, an answer erged through a eting of the empire.
Whoever accumulates greater achievents.
It was decided to compete in this way.
Over a certain period, accumulate achievents and evaluate them.
This was the best option for the empire as well.
We could win battles against the rebels or stabilize the internal chaos caused by them.
Evaluating soone based on their achievents allowed us to assess various aspects of that person, making it a good proposal for both us and the empire.
Then the inevitable question arose.
What kind of achievents should I accumulate?
Ian had the Royal army with him, but I was alone.
Though I had so people to help , I didn't have an army.
"Achievents..."
I began to ponder this slowly.
What do I have that's superior to Ian?
In terms of spatial magic or other magical abilities, I'm inferior to Ian.
Even politically, I'm below him.
The only advantage I had was 'information'.
I knew various things about the rebels.
I had faced Aryandor's ti magic and knew about the other leaders as well.
Besides information about the rebels, I also had much knowledge acquired from the academy.
So, I had to use that information to accomplish sothing.
"Rudy Astria. Are you there?"
Just then, a voice was heard from outside.
I imdiately went outside upon hearing it.
Since there were no servants, I had to go out myself.
"Rudy Astria. How have you been?"
As I went outside, I saw the figure of Franz, the head wizard.
"What brings you here?"
"Haha, just stopping by."
The head wizard of the empire visited my mansion without any particular reason.
I was puzzled by the situation.
I didn't have a deep connection with Franz.
Apart from the ti we cooperated, I had hardly ever seen his face.
"I ca because I have sothing for you."
"For ?"
Franz took a small letter out of his pocket.
"It's sothing Robert left behind."
"Professor Robert?"
I took the letter with wide eyes.
"It's the last letter he gave , but it looks like it's sothing you need, so I ca."
I looked at Franz with a bewildered expression.
---Toggle New Ads
1/7 Enjoy the chappy!
Please give the book a rating and a review on NovelUpdates.
It helps the website and helps people find this novel!
If you'd like to make a one-ti donation to support our translations or subscribe to read up to 15 chapters or more (depending on the novel) ahead, you can do so via Ko-fi.
Click here!
Reviews
All reviews (0)