I Was Reincarnated as the Most Wicked Aristocrat Who Rules Over the Kingdom’s Darkness in an R-18 Eroge, but I Don’t Like Abnormal Situations, so I Tried to Live a Normal and Peaceful Life, but I’m Somehow in the Same Situation as the Original Scenario - Chapter 4 - Interlude 1 - The Family’s Misconception and Lumiere’s Feelings

Chapter 4 – Interlude 1 – The Family’s Misconception and Lumiere’s Feelings

If a Zesphilia stares at you, even the Queen cannot escape.

The Marquis family holds a special position in the Ringveid Kingdom.

Zesphilia is one of the few noble families that has survived since the country’s founding… and the very embodiment of the kingdom’s shadow.

Having taken on all sorts of dirty work, they had gained so much power that they were even called the de facto rulers of the kingdom.

However… That is now nothing more than a past glory.

Now Zesphilia is nothing more than an errand boy for the Queen.

The noble family that once controlled the kingdom from behind the scenes, had influence over the royal family, and was supposed to have held the kingdom in check is now on the path to decline.

And that is why…

The current head of the family, Richard Zesphilia, trembled at his birth.

Demon possession.

And what’s more, with half of his face deformed, he was exactly the same as the first head of the Zesphilia family, known as the Night King.

Seeing this, Richard came to the conclusion that his child was the Night King’s reincarnation.

The Zesphilia family was in decline, and in response, the royal family was gaining power.

The Night King had returned to the present world to solve these problems.

It was because Richard had come to this conclusion that he gave his child the same name as the first head.

And now…

Even after Alvart had left and Lumiere had been treated, he was still on his knees——shedding torrential tears.

“I knew it…! I was right all along…!”

His treatment of Alvart was tantamount to abuse.

It was intended to stimulate the spirit of the first head within him.

Even if the first head had never awakened and had remained his child, if his supernatural powers had awakened, that would be enough.

If that were to happen, he, his wife, and Lumiere would surely all be killed… But if it meant that Zesphilia’s power would return to what it was at its height, he would gladly sacrifice his life for it.

But in the end, Alvart let them live.

Though remembering that time, Richard asked his wife.

“Almeria. Did you see his eyes?”

“Yes, yes. Those jet black eyes, as if all the darkness of the world had been condensed into them… That was not the Alvart we knew before.”

That in itself was a fact, but… Everything they spoke of from here on was a massive mistake.

“The magnanimity to let go of all the cruel treatment he had received up until now… There’s no doubt about it.”

“Yes, the current Alvart is——”

“”——the reincarnation of the first head…!””

If Alvart were here, he would surely say, “Who’s that?”

“But… as expected of the first head. Who would have thought that he would wish to enroll in the academy?”

“There is nothing for him to learn. And yet, he has chosen to transfer…”

“Yes. He must have keenly sensed the presence of the demons lurking in the academy.”

No one interrupted the two as they shared their own misconceptions.

“Perhaps… First, he intends to expose the dark side of the academy and control it… and then save the kingdom from peril?”

“Ah, the first head…! It’s because of our incompetence…”

Misconception after misconception.

At the end of that, the two turned their eyes to Lumiere.

Now that she had finished healing and returned to her normal state, she was on her knees, gazing fixedly in one direction.

It was where Alvart had been standing a moment ago.

As she gazed into the void, her beautiful face bore not a trace of the bitterness of defeat.

Rather, she was smiling ecstatically, her cheeks flushed crimson.

“Lumiere, you will also be transferring to the academy along with that person.”

“Of course, you should not be a burden to him. You should be of use in any way you can. Do you understand?”

However, there was no response from Lumiere.

There was no longer any room in Lumiere’s mind for the other two.

Her head and heart were now filled entirely by one person.

“Nii-sama♥”

Alvart Zesphilia——The man inside him desired an ordinary life.

However, he had no way of knowing that it wasn’t just the original scenario that was beginning to fall apart.

The scenario he himself had written was also beginning to crumble.