Chapter 183. Obediently
The youngest son of Count Conte.
Derd Conte.
The words used to describe him were truly spectacular.
“Fucking bastards....”
“Young Master, why are you suddenly swearing?”
“That damned Ingwang Kingdom or whatever the hell it’s called is treating our words like horse shit. How am I supposed to not get angry?”
Born into a prestigious count’s family, he was known as an unprecedented spoiled bastard.
An idiot who could be taught yet never learn.
An old dog who struggled to learn anything and still had no idea how to use what he learned.
An immature brat who never grew up no matter how old he became.
Still only in his late twenties, Derd had somehow collected nearly every possible insult throughout his life.
And that life was as gloomy as the shabby tavern he now sat in.
“Oh my. Still no reply?”
A woman across from him smiled.
“My~ How rude~”
Derd was drinking with a member of an organization called the Silver Bell Gathering, a name that would have made Ingwang’s eyes quietly sharpen had he heard it.
“Hey, trash.”
Derd glared at her.
“Your plan is definitely going to work, right?”
“Oh my, oh my. This isn’t my plan.”
She waved a hand.
“The entire Silver Bell Gathering came up with it, remember?”
Her smile widened.
“Of course it’ll succeed~”
“Then why the hell isn’t she here yet?!”
Derd slammed the table.
“She should at least say whether she’s coming or not!”
“Oh, come now~”
The woman laughed.
“She’s probably dressing herself up before coming to meet our future Count~”
She leaned closer.
“You know what they say. All the daughters of House Yustria are ugly, so they can’t even leave the house without getting dressed up first.”
“...Is that so?”
Within that gathering, Derd found the pride and satisfaction he could never obtain inside his own family.
He enjoyed throwing pointless tantrums.
Putting on airs for no reason.
Spouting curses for no reason.
Because every time he did, the people around him bowed their heads and told him exactly what he wanted to hear.
“More importantly, whether Aien de Yustria comes or not doesn’t actually matter for this plan.”
“It’s still better if she comes!”
“Oh, of course~!”
The woman soothed him.
“I’m just telling you not to worry~”
“...Hmph.”
If Aien came, Derd could interrogate her and extract information about the Demon King’s weaknesses.
That would become his achievement.
If she didn’t come, it would give them justification to clean up the entire Yustria family, who had survived until now by clinging to others.
That too would become Derd’s achievement.
“Haha. You worry sooo much~!”
The woman clapped.
“As expected of the cautious and wise Lord Derd!”
Her eyes gleamed.
“The young blood of Conte!”
“A new generation breathing fresh life into ancient veins!”
“How wonderful!”
Of course, if they forced Aien to return, they would be directly antagonizing Ingwang.
That could put the entire Conte family at risk.
But that was something for his father and his accomplished older brothers to worry about.
It had nothing to do with Derd.
In fact...
If the Demon King invaded and his brothers died in the ensuing battle, Derd would become the heir.
That wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
“Hahaha! Exactly!”
Derd slapped his knee.
“Of course!”
And if Aien didn’t return and her family suffered as a result...
Ingwang would naturally move.
And if he decided that someone had touched one of his people...
Derd, and perhaps even the very roots of House Conte, might be crushed underfoot.
But in Derd’s eyes, Ingwang was merely a former Hero.
A worthless otherworlder.
The name of the Empire, protected by the strongest Great Hero, was more than enough to blind both his eyes and ears.
“Still.”
Derd frowned.
“If that Aien really comes, then I’ll technically be engaged to her.”
His face twisted.
“Do I really have to enter that kind of relationship with some milk-smelling brat from a fallen family?”
“Awww~”
The woman he had met through the Silver Bell Gathering, the one who always treated him especially well, slipped into his arms.
Derd cleared his throat and tried to look dignified.
His face betrayed him completely.
“Of course that’s only on the surface~”
She whispered.
“Don’t concern yourself with some weak little girl who won’t even be able to speak properly in front of Lord Derd.”
She smiled.
“She’s merely a tool.”
“Ahem! Exactly!”
The woman pouted playfully.
“But if that girl turns out to be sooo much more beautiful than expected, you mustn’t forget about me~”
Derd straightened.
“Now, now! What kind of thing are you saying?”
He placed a hand on his chest.
“Do I look like such a heartless man?”
“This Derd is not the kind of man who would be shaken by mere appearance!”
He puffed himself up.
“Have you forgotten that ours is a family of knights?”
“Hehe. Of course I believe you.”
Clunk!
At that moment, Derd’s personal butler opened the tavern door and hurried inside.
He bent close to whisper into Derd’s ear.
“She has arrived...!”
Derd’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, she finally came?”
He stood.
“Took her long enough.”
His face was filled with annoyance as he headed toward the mansion.
“Good luck~!”
Derd heard the cheerful voice behind him.
He coughed and tried to maintain his composure.
Still...
A smile crept across his face.
“Ahem! Something like this is easy.”
“Derd!”
Just as he reached the mansion and was heading toward Aien, his two older brothers approached him.
Normally, Derd couldn’t even meet their eyes.
Their accomplishments, everything he had never achieved, pressed down on him like a weight.
But today...
Derd was overflowing with confidence.
“Yes! What is it?”
His eldest brother glared at him.
“Y-You! What the hell did you do?!”
“Aien de Yustria?!”
His other brother shouted.
“Isn’t she one of the Demon King of Madness’s closest subordinates?!”
Derd clicked his tongue.
“Goodness. It seems my two brothers simply don’t understand.”
He raised his chin.
“Who is Aien de Yustria?”
He answered his own question.
“A knight of the Empire who awakened Mind Power!”
“Yes!”
His brother snapped.
“And that knight was completely taken over by Madness!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Derd looked at his two brothers as if they were truly pathetic.
How could everyone praise people with heads this stupid sitting on their shoulders?
He recalled what he had heard at the Silver Bell Gathering and began explaining it.
Or trying to.
Even though the information directly benefited him, he had apparently failed to remember it properly.
He struggled to speak without stumbling.
“Aien de Yustria was originally the follower of the Indomitable Hero.”
He pointed at them.
“Isn’t that right?”
His brother nearly shouted.
“That Indomitable Hero is the current Demon King of Madness!”
He grabbed his forehead.
“What is wrong with you?! You’d been quiet lately, and now this?!”
“Now, now!”
Derd waved him off.
“Aien de Yustria served him as a knight when he was still a Hero!”
His expression turned smug.
“But now that he has become a Demon King, she has returned!”
“She simply spent so long serving him as the Indomitable Hero that she couldn’t immediately abandon him!”
His older brother stared at him in disbelief.
“Do you even hear yourself?!”
He clenched his teeth.
“You say that because you’ve never fought people who possess Mind Power on the battlefield!”
“They are different from ordinary people!”
“Their way of thinking is different from ours!”
Derd snapped.
“So what?!”
“I’ll handle it myself!”
He puffed up his chest.
“Why are you so nervous about me winning her over and extracting the Demon King’s weaknesses?!”
Both of Derd’s brothers felt dizzy.
There was hardly anyone in their entire territory capable of stopping Aien right now.
