The Expelled Boy Does All Sorts of Things with the Onee-sans He Saved. - Chapter 68 & 69 & 70 & 71
Chapter 068: Grand Duke Assassination Defense Operation ①
After Rosaria and the others departed, I returned to the mansion.
“Shall we head to the castle?”
Mother said. She fully understood what was coming.
We were both the bait and the guards. If we failed, this country would be in serious trouble.
“Let’s take the carriage.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“Fufu, don’t be too nervous.”
“It’ll be fine, Al.”
Mother spoke in her usual gentle tone. By the way, Father is also coming with us this time. Father’s sword skills are actually quite impressive.
“That’s right. This time, we’ll have Aira and the others participate as well.”
“Eh!? Really?”
“Yes. They are adventurers, after all.”
I thought they were staying at the house.
“But is the house going to be okay?”
“Yes. We’ve increased security, and Beatrix sent us several trustworthy adventurers.”
That’s reassuring.
A short while later, the three of them arrived wearing their adventurer outfits for the first time in a while.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you three in those outfits.”
“Yes. Lately we’ve been wearing maid uniforms most of the time.”
Mana’s robe look really suits her.
“For this operation, you may call Master whatever you like.”
“Is that really okay, Sophia-san!?”
Aira sounded surprised. The other two reacted the same way.
“You’ve all worked hard up until now. This much should be fine.”
Sophia answered with an expressionless face, but her tone carried a sense of appreciation for them.
“Alright, let’s go!!”
It’s different from Rosaria and the others, but we have our own battlefield. We’ll definitely win and return home alive!!
～～～～～～～～～～
“We have been waiting for you.”
At the castle entrance, the maids welcomed us. There were noticeably more armed personnel than before. Well, according to my older sister, information has been leaking heavily.
From behind them, Kei-oneechan and a woman in armor approached.
“Hey, Al. Glad you could make it.”
“Oneechan!!”
I ran over to my older sister.
“Fufu, I’m glad you’re doing well. Things are going to get a bit tough from here. I’m counting on you.”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
“Is it really okay for the Magic Division Captain to act like that?”
Sophia immediately interjected from behind.
“And aren’t you standing a bit too close to your master?”
“I have received permission from the Lady (Mother-in-law).”
“That’s strange. I feel like the nuance is different somehow…”
These two have been butting heads a lot lately. Hmm. I understand what they’re fighting over, but if I get involved it’ll only get worse.
“Kei. It’s good that you two get along, but now is not the time.”
The woman in armor beside her cautioned.
“Sorry, Rina. Al, this is the Captain of the Imperial Guard Knight Order.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Caterina, Captain of the Imperial Guard Knight Order.”
She was a woman with blonde hair tied back in a single ponytail and light blue eyes. She looked somewhat similar to the Grand Duke’s family.
“She is from the Grand Duke’s branch family.”
“Yes, it has been a while, Lord Reislott.”
“Haha, you’ve grown into a fine woman.”
“You know her, Father?”
“She was one of my students three years ago.”
I see. Father teaches swordsmanship at the school sometimes. So she learned from him.
I’m also learning, but I’m not very good at it yet. I need more training.
Also, that explains why she looks similar to the Grand Duke’s family, like Mom said.
Caterina smiled gently at me.
“The Grand Duke is waiting.”
She quickly returned to her professional expression and guided us to the reception room where the Grand Duke and his family were waiting.
“Grand Duke. The Belladonna family has arrived.”
“Come in.”
Hearing the voice from inside, the door opened. I entered the same room as last time.
“Alphonse-sama!!”
Charlotte-sama came running over.
“Charlotte-sama, you’re too close!!”
The Grand Duke’s daughter brought her face very close to mine.
“It’s fine!! We’re friends!!”
Friends… I think this feels like more than that.
“Charlotte. You’re troubling Alphonse-sama.”
Thanks to Angelica-sama stopping her, things didn’t escalate.
Mafalda-sama and Annetta-sama were also there. The entire family was present.
“Now then, this time we will hold a meeting while luring out and capturing all those aiming for us in one sweep.”
“Yes, we understand.”
Mother nodded at the Grand Duke’s words.
“And this time, they are here as well.”
At the Grand Duke’s signal, a person entered from the adjacent room.
“Duke Arbonne.”
“………”
Yes, it was Kei-oneechan and Dan’s father — Duke Arbonne.
“I heard my son is the leader of that group. As his father, I’ve come to settle this matter.”
“He has submitted a request to revoke Dan’s designation as successor.”
“What do you intend to do, Grand Duke?”
“I am thinking of accepting it. However—”
“What about the Duke family’s assets and successor?”
“That’s the problem. Kei is stubbornly saying she needs time to think about it.”
I glanced at my older sister. She smiled with a complicated, sad expression. I could tell she had mixed feelings.
“Well, let’s think about that later. For now, we focus on the immediate matter.”
Everyone nodded at the Grand Duke’s words.
“Then, let’s go over the plan.”
The Grand Duke began to explain the operation.
Chapter 069: Grand Duke Assassination Defense Operation ②
Dan Side
“It failed!?”
I felt rage at the report. Damn it, those useless incompetents!!
“S-so, what should we do, Dan-sama?”
The young noble beside me asked.
“Then we’ll use force!! We’ll storm the house of those poisonous insects and execute them all!!”
I declared strongly. However, the reaction was lukewarm.
“What’s wrong? Are you scared?”
“But that house has the Silver Wolf, the one called the Holy Kingdom’s Guardian, and other powerful fighters—”
“There’s no way we can win with our strength!!”
“You idiots!!”
I punched the ones who were whining.
They fell off their chairs.
“They’re just women!! What can they possibly do!? Even if they’re strong, they’re no match for a former S-rank like me.”
At my words, everyone in the room raised their voices in agreement.
“Besides, we have superior numbers. There’s no chance they can win against a large group.”
Voices of approval came from the men around me. That’s right. This is the correct way.
“T-This is terrible!!”
One of the organization members rushed in panic.
“What happened?!”
“The Holy Kingdom! The Holy Kingdom has invaded!!”
“What?!”
The room became noisy. The Holy Kingdom should have had a non-aggression treaty, yet—
“It’s information from my father. It’s reliable.”
“Your father?”
“Yeah. He’s a minister of this country.”
“Hou. Then, is there any other information?”
“Yeah. Because of that, it seems the Empire’s Black Panther, the Holy Kingdom’s Guardian, and the Silver Wolf have all gone off to war.”
Which means that guy’s house is now empty.
“Furthermore, the head of the Belladonna family and the Grand Duke are going to have a meeting about war supplies!!”
“What?!”
This was perfect. Fortune was on our side.
“Alright!!”
I came up with a plan.
“During that meeting, we’ll slaughter the entire Grand Duke family and the entire Belladonna family!!”
“But that’s…”
“It’s precisely because we care about this country.”
“But what about the next Grand Duke!?”
One person asked.
“There is no need to worry about that.”
The man in the black robe spoke up.
“Where have you been?”
“Eliminating evidence.”
“I see. So, why is there no need to worry?”
“The Toscani family, who guard the borders of the Grand Duchy, carry the blood of the Grand Duke from three generations ago. The current head is very ambitious. If we put him in power—”
“I see.”
As expected of my right-hand man.
“Then, what should we do?”
“I have people inside the castle. We should sneak in at midnight.”
“Wouldn’t it be better during the meeting?”
“That would mean the guards are more concentrated. It’s better when they’re tired at night.”
“Got it.”
I was confident. This time I would take action myself. There was no way we would fail.
“Alright, everyone move out!! We’re going to restore this country to its rightful form!!”
“””Ooooooooooooooooooh!!!”””
The room echoed with their shouts.
“You participate this time too. Help me.”
“Understood.”
Al. I will never forgive you. And I will make this country the way it should be!!
～～～～～～～～～～
Al Side
They will launch their attack at midnight.
“Umm, is it really okay for us to be doing this?”
We were currently having dinner around the table.
“It’s fine, Al-kun.”
“Mom. Is it really?”
“Yes. They haven’t entered yet.”
She told me in a quiet voice. It seemed that to make the enemy let their guard down, it was better to act as normally as possible.
“By the way, Alphonse.”
“Yes.”
The Grand Duke spoke to me. Even in this situation, his mental fortitude was impressive.
“What do you want to do in the future?”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that. Your plans going forward.”
“Let’s see. Things have been busy, so I think I’d like to take it easy for a while.”
“I see.”
“But I will study to become the head of the family, and from the age of 13 I will attend school.”
“The academy in Trinto, south of Riema, right?”
“Yes.”
The academy city of Trinto, a short carriage ride from here. Father also works there.
It’s a bit far, so Father leaves early in the morning by carriage. He basically doesn’t return to Versha and lives in Riema.
“Lord Reislott, it must be hard not being able to see your son often?”
“That is certainly true. However, he takes after me and has the ability to think and act on his own, and he has inherited his mother’s talent. So I’m not too worried. Besides, if my wife is worried, that’s enough. I focus on supporting him from behind.”
“Hmm. Even though your family is quite scattered, you’ve built a good relationship. What’s your secret?”
“Well. I’ve never really thought about it. In fact, maybe not thinking about it is the key.”
“My, that’s quite a good thing for you to say.”
“Even I manage it sometimes.”
Father and Mother have their issues, but they’re basically on good terms.
“You have wonderful parents, Alphonse-sama.”
Charlotte-sama said. I nodded in agreement.
At a table a little further away, the Duke was apologizing to Aira and the others.
“My son has caused you all trouble.”
“Please raise your head!!”
All three of them were very flustered. Well, what Dan did can’t be erased.
As I was watching them,
“By the way, that maid behind you is quite skilled, isn’t she?”
Mafalda-sama’s eyes sparkled as she spoke. Did she like people like that?
“I heard she helped capture the attackers together with the Silver Wolf and the others during the raid.”
“Well, yes.”
I glanced at Sophia. As expected of Sophia — she stood behind me without changing her expression at all. By the way, I wanted Sophia to sit and eat with us, but she refused, saying “This is work.”
“Hahaha!! She really is amazing, Your Highness.”
Kei-oneechan chimed in.
“I’m interested as well.”
Even Caterina joined in…
“Hey? You. Won’t you become my maid? When that happens—”
“I must decline.”
Sophia immediately rejected Mafalda-sama’s offer.
“My!!”
Angelica-sama covered her mouth, smiling with amusement.
“I am the maid who serves Alphonse-sama. That will not change in the future.”
“How stubborn.”
“It’s impossible. No matter how much money you offer or how good the conditions, she won’t go.”
“Kei, you know her well.”
“Well, yes.”
My older sister answered somewhat vaguely.
“Sigh, can’t be helped. I really wanted her, but if her will is that firm, it’s impossible.”
“Mafalda. Your desire for talented people never changes.”
“Mother. Talented people who can support this country are not born from bloodline alone. We must gather those with talent from a wide range.”
So that’s why she was so open to Rosaria and the others. She really thinks about a lot of things.
“Well, we’ve talked enough for now. Let’s continue tomorrow. We have precious guests after all. Please stay the night.”
“Thank you for your kind offer.”
Mother answered Angelica-sama’s scripted suggestion in a similarly scripted way.
Hmm. It makes me a bit sad thinking they might actually fall for this, but—
“Then, let’s get ready.”
“Yes!!”
At Caterina-san’s words, I headed to my assigned position.
Tonight was the decisive moment.
Chapter 070: Grand Duke Assassination Defense Operation ③
Dan Side
When the surroundings grew dark and the lights in the rooms were extinguished, we began to move.
“Alright, let’s go!!”
I called out in a suppressed voice. My comrades raised their weapons in response.
The gate guards had already been replaced in advance by people my right-hand man had arranged. We would enter through that gate.
After successfully infiltrating the castle,
“Hey, doesn’t it feel kinda cold in here?”
One of them said.
“It’s nighttime, that’s why.”
“Even so…”
“Shut up!!”
I silenced the guy. That kind of thing didn’t matter right now. When we reached the stairs,
“Split up!!”
We divided into two groups: one to assassinate the Grand Duke, and one to kill the Belladonna family. I chose the Belladonna family.
After splitting up, each group climbed the stairs toward their targets.
“Al. Your life ends today!!”
I headed toward the rooms where the Belladonna family was supposedly staying.
There were several doors. Which one we entered from was important.
“Hey, three people per door!!”
There were three doors. With nine people, this was the safest approach.
“Got it? We go in at the same time!!”
I made sure everyone could hear me, and they nodded.
“Now!! Charge!!”
At my signal, everyone rushed into the rooms.
“Alphonse!!”
I swung my sword down at the bed where the brat should have been sleeping.
However,
“What the—?”
The sword felt far too light. There was no sensation of cutting anything.
“That’s because I’m over here.”
When I turned toward the voice,
“It’s been a while, Dan.”
There stood the brat, glaring at me.
～～～～～～～～～～
Al Side
How foolish.
They call it an assassination, yet we could clearly hear their instructions from outside the room.
“Do they even understand what assassination means?”
Sophia’s exasperated voice rang out. When Sophia says it, it sounds especially convincing.
We were now fully armed, standing by with soldiers right in front of the room door.
Kei-oneechan and Caterina-san were with the Grand Duke’s side.
Then, without any hesitation, they opened the door and burst in.
““Uwooooooh!!””
They charged in with great momentum, but the moment they saw us fully prepared and waiting,
“Eh? Waaaaaaaah!!”
“W-why are you awake!?”
They panicked, couldn’t do anything, and fled. Per the plan, we didn’t capture them at this stage.
Instead, we had the guards chase them.
“According to plan?”
“Yes, Master. Madam, are you injured? Just to be sure.”
“I’m fine. I have Ray with me. Sophia, please take care of Al-kun.”
“Understood.”
“Ray” is one of the names Mother uses for Father.
Well, with the two of them together, there shouldn’t be any problem.
“Then, we need to deal with Dan and the others next.”
I called out to him as he stared in confusion at the bed he had just slashed.
“It’s been a while, Dan.”
“You damn brat!!”
He glared at me with pure hatred. What exactly did I ever do to him?
“Because of you, my life is ruined!!”
“You were the one who got yourself expelled from the party!!”
“Shut up!! If only you weren’t there, I would’ve—!”
How selfish can a person be? It’s sad that he can only think in ways that suit his own convenience.
“I’ll kill you!! I’ll kill you!!”
“………”
There was no longer any point in talking.
“You guys, let’s go!!”
Dan called out to the two beside him.
“Master, there is no need for you to dirty your own hands. Allow me.”
Sophia stepped forward.
“Hah!! What can a mere woman do? Die!!”
Dan spat those words and charged at Sophia together with the other two.
“Know your place!!”
Sophia swiftly drew her sword and unleashed attacks at a speed that completely overwhelmed the three.
They couldn’t keep up with her speed. However, Sophia was clearly holding back — she only left shallow cuts.
“Hii!!”
“Blood!! There’s blood on my arm!!”
As expected of a former adventurer, Dan didn’t flinch from this much.
But,
“Dan, let’s pull back for now!! It’s impossible. We can’t win!!”
“Hah!? Is this all you’ve got? You cowards!!”
Dan readied his sword again and charged at Sophia.
“Haaaaah!!”
He swung his sword down from above.
“Sigh. How boring.”
Sophia sighed, easily caught the blade, and drove her elbow into Dan’s solar plexus with her other arm.
“Gufuh!?”
Dan collapsed from the elbow strike and writhed in agony.
“Dan!!”
His two comrades rushed over, grabbed his shoulders, and dragged him out of the room.
“Was that supposed to be an assassination attempt?”
“Sigh, that was definitely Dan. The other two were also students I’ve seen at the academy.”
Father said with a sad tone. That’s right — since he’s a teacher, he knows them too.
“To be honest, they didn’t have a good reputation at school either. They threw their weight around because they were nobles and often got warned by us.”
“They haven’t changed at all.”
Mother sounded fed up.
Then, from the communication crystal,
“Over here the enemies have fled according to plan. How about your side?”
Kei-oneechan’s voice came through.
“Yes, they ran away here too. Now we just need to gather them at the points.”
“Yeah, we’ll catch them all in one sweep.”
That’s right. Catching them one by one would be too much trouble, so the plan was to herd them all together at once.
Well, part of the reason was that Her Highness the Princess said, “Catching them right away would be boring,” and the Grand Duke’s family agreed. This family is honestly a bit scary.
“So, what about him?”
“It’s fine. We’re already done on our end too.”
Oneechan said proudly.
“Sigh, that’s only because Alphonse-kun’s detection magic was there.”
Caterina-san interjected. Well, that’s true.
“Anyway, Al-kun, is the guiding going well?”
“Yeah. I froze the entrances so they can’t open, and there are ice walls all over the castle, so I think I’m guiding them properly.”
“Then we’ll leave the rest to the guards and head to the final point.”
At Father’s words, we began to move.
We’ll leave the rest of the guiding to Aira and the others.
～～～～～～～～～～
Dan Side
“Damn it!!”
I, of all people, was being pushed back. It was just luck. That’s right — I just wasn’t serious back then. Next time I won’t lose.
“Dan, let’s hide here.”
One of the guys supporting my shoulder opened a nearby storage room.
“Let’s rest here and wait it out.”
“Don’t screw around. After we rest, we’re going again!!”
“B-but—”
“Then you guys stay here. I’m going.”
“Why? If we get caught, what will happen to us…?”
“Sigh, you don’t get it. We’re nobles. We have noble blood. Even if we get caught, we won’t be executed.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. The nobles of this country will save us.”
“Amazing!!”
Nobles are absolute. We are the ones who support this country. Therefore, we won’t be discarded.
Well, first let’s take a break.
As I sat down to rest,
“Did you find them?”
“No, they’re nowhere!!”
It was the guards. They couldn’t find us and were struggling.
But right as I felt relieved, the door to the room opened.
“Aira, are they in here?”
“High possibility. I think they’re hiding here.”
Aira? Those guys were still alive? And that’s Tina. Then Mana must be here too.
“Dan. What do we do?”
“Leave it to me. Those guys are my tools.”
I grinned and stepped out.
“Hey. Aira.”
“Dan!!”
“You’re alive. I’m glad!!”
“You almost killed us!!”
Tina shouted.
“No way. I just trusted in your strength and asked for help.”
“D-don’t lie!!”
Mana, you’ve gotten quite assertive.
“Hey. For old times’ sake, help me out.”
“I refuse.”
Huh? What is Aira saying?
“Refuse? What will happen to your families?”
“Hmph. I knew you’d say that. But that doesn’t work on us anymore.”
“What?”
“Our families no longer serve the Arbonne Ducal House.”
“Hah!?”
They don’t serve them? Ridiculous!!
“We now serve the Belladonna family.”
“The Belladonna family!? Traitors!!”
“We don’t want to hear that from a traitor to this country!!”
What? Talking back to me? I’m the one who truly cares about this country!!
“You two, ready your swords. We’re killing them.”
I ordered the two behind me.
“We won’t fall for that anymore.”
“What?”
“This is how it’s done!!”
Aira took something out of her bag and pressed a button.
Immediately, a loud, piercing alarm rang throughout the castle.
Chapter 071: Grand Duke Assassination Defense Operation ④
Dan Side
“What the hell is that!?”
Aira used something I had never seen before.
“You threw it away from the carriage when you went to the labyrinth, remember? That’s what we picked up!!”
“What did you say!?”
“This doesn’t just make noise. It’s also set to report to the Guild.”
“To the Guild!!”
“Dan. I heard you got demoted to E-rank.”
“Hah!?”
What is this bitch saying?
“It’s over. You’re going to be expelled from the Guild.”
“Huh? What the hell? There’s no way that’s true!!”
“You think you can get away with trying to assassinate the Grand Duke?”
“There’s no way a noble would be treated like—”
“Just because you’re a noble doesn’t mean you’ll get away with it. What exactly did you study at the academy?”
What is Aira even talking about? The academy? That gathering place for commoners — I didn’t need to learn anything there.
“Hmph, I don’t know. Anyway, get out of the way!! I’ll kill you!!”
“…Go ahead.”
The women stepped aside.
“W-why?”
This was too suspicious.
“People will be here soon. We’ll leave it to them.”
It was suspicious, but they were clearly letting their guard down. Idiots. They’ll regret this later.
“What a commendable attitude.”
We walked out of the room boldly. My solar plexus still hurt a little, but it wasn’t a problem.
“Let’s go!!”
We started running again. First, we needed to regroup with the team targeting the Grand Duke.
After a while, we saw a group coming down from the upper floor.
“Dan, it’s no good! We were ambushed!!”
“We should pull back and regroup—”
“…Tch.”
If even the upper floor failed, we had no choice.
“We’ll reorganize. Move!!”
“””Yeah!!”””
We ran toward the entrance. However,
“What the!? Cold air from the door?”
The door we had entered through was completely frozen shut and wouldn’t open.
“Damn it!!”
“Wait!!”
One guy tried to open it by grabbing the handle, but—
“Gwaaaaaah!!”
He clutched his hand and rolled on the floor. His hand was covered in frostbite.
“Find another exit!! Hurry!!”
If we stayed like this, we’d be trapped.
We searched everywhere, but every route was frozen solid.
“Shit!!”
“Dan, this is bad!! There are ice walls all over the corridors!!”
The guys who had checked other routes came back to report.
“The only one who can do something like this is…”
Al. It has to be that brat!!
“That damn kid!! I’ll kill him!!”
My anger exploded.
“Dan, calm down!!”
“Hey, where is he!?”
I called out to my right-hand man.
“I’m here.”
The guy appeared.
“Where were you?”
“Don’t worry, I was—”
“I asked where you were!! Answer my question!!”
I poured magic power into my body to enhance my physical ability and sliced off the black-clothed man’s arm.
“Guuh!!”
The man must not have expected it. His reaction was slow and he took the hit.
“W-why?”
“You keep disappearing somewhere. This is your punishment.”
“That’s…”
The man fell silent. I didn’t care.
“Let’s go. We’ll head upstairs, climb out from the terrace onto the wall, and escape.”
We took the only remaining path.
As we advanced,
“This is the audience chamber.”
There should be a large terrace here. This was our chance. I carefully opened the door without making noise. However—
“Hey. I’ve been waiting, Dan.”
The Grand Duke and Al’s group were waiting for us there.
～～～～～～～～～～
Al Side
Thanks to Aira and the others’ actions, we knew they were in one of the rooms on the first floor.
I blocked more routes again to guide them toward the audience chamber.
“Good work, Aira-san, Mana-san, Tina-san.”
When I praised the three of them, their faces turned red with embarrassment.
“It was just luck, Al-kun.”
It had been a while since Aira called me that.
“My dear.”
Angelica-sama called out to the Grand Duke.
“Mm.”
The Grand Duke nodded, stood up from his throne, and ordered,
“Prepare yourselves!!”
“””Yes!!”””
The guards began moving into position. However, their formation was surprising.
“Is this okay?”
When I checked,
“Yes, Alphonse. Use your magic to handle the rest first.”
The guards were positioned toward the edges as much as possible to avoid injury. Father stood beside Mother to protect her.
The Grand Duke and Mother were sitting like spectators. Kei-oneechan and the others stood in front of the Grand Duke’s family.
What kind of formation was this?
A short while later, the door opened and Dan’s group entered.
There were about 19 of them. One man in black clothing was missing an arm and holding the wound — it looked like he had just been cut.
“Master. Do your best.”
Sophia… really now.
I tried to look as composed as possible and spoke.
“Hey. I’ve been waiting, Dan.”
How was that? Did it sound cool?
“Shit, why…?”
Dan and the others raised panicked voices.
“Dan = Malq = Arbonne.”
The Grand Duke spoke.
“It appears you intended to massacre my entire family and the Belladonna family.”
At those words, the people behind Dan turned pale.
However, Dan remained unfazed.
“What are you talking about?”
“Then what is that sword? Why did you infiltrate the castle in the middle of the night?”
“To eliminate the poisonous insects of this country.”
“Hou.”
“The Belladonna family is sucking the wealth out of this nation. We, who put the peace of the people first, rose up to save the people from the Belladonna family.”
He didn’t even try to deny trying to kill us.
“And then?”
“Eh?”
“Where is the evidence?”
“E-evidence?”
“Yes. If you’re going to make accusations, you need something that justifies certainty.”
“That would be me!!”
“””…………Huh?”””
“I was dragged down from glory by the power of the Belladonna family. This proves their evil deeds.”
What was he saying? Was he really so proud of that?
“Didn’t you expel Alphonse from the party?”
“That was to save the party from being poisoned by a poisonous insect.”
Anger gradually welled up inside me. He really doesn’t know what remorse is.
“Sigh. Unfortunately, your opinion cannot serve as evidence.”
“W-what did you say!?”
Ah, his tone slipped.
“Don’t screw with me!! You foolish ruler!! Someone like you doesn’t deserve to be Grand Duke. You neglect the nobles!!”
“Bloodline alone cannot run a country. Isn’t it you lot who have grown corrupt and made no effort?”
“What!?”
The guards tightened their grip on their spears.
The Grand Duke suddenly turned his gaze to the man in black clothing.
“You are from the Empire, aren’t you?”
“!!”
The black-clothed man’s body twitched.
“Moreover, you serve the Minister of Agriculture.”
“……”
“Staying silent is useless. We have already investigated.”
At the Grand Duke’s words, Caterina-san added,
“The Minister of Agriculture has territory near the Empire. He accepted refugees from the Empire as labor, but occasionally welcomed talented individuals as civil officials.”
“You are one of them. To think you were a spy.”
“Kh…”
The man, whose identity had been exposed, looked down. The people around him couldn’t keep up with the situation.
“Shut up!!”
Dan shouted.
“At this point, it doesn’t matter. Hey, you — kill the Grand Duke. I’ll give you a chance to restore your honor.”
“Let’s stop. That’s clearly—”
“Shut your mouth!!”
“Ugh!”
One person was punched and collapsed.
“I see. So, where did you go wrong in raising him?”
The Grand Duke spoke to him. That person was—
“Dan.”
“Father!!”
It was Dan’s father.
“Father!! You’ve been captured! I’ll save you right now!!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!!”
The Duke raised his voice. Even Dan couldn’t hide his agitation.
“Why!? Why are you like this!!”
“Father?”
“No matter how much I scolded you, you never listened!!”
“That’s because I’m right!!”
“You’re wrong!!”
His voice boomed, echoing through the audience chamber.
“You never reflect. You don’t respect others. You don’t honor others.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I have no more words for you. I hereby disown you from the Arbonne Ducal House.”
“What!?”
“I no longer consider you a member of my family!!”
He declared it firmly. Dan looked down.
“What… the…”
“Dan?”
One of his comrades called out to him, but—
“Don’t screw with me!!”
His eyes were bloodshot as he glared with pure rage.
“I did it for you! To restore the ducal house!! And yet!!”
“Why didn’t you consult with me? You chose the wrong method.”
“I’m not wrong!!”
Dan drew his sword.
“I’ll kill you all. With the power that allowed me to climb to S-rank, I’ll slaughter every last one of you!!”
“Al-kun!!”
Mother called out from behind.
The Grand Duke nodded.
I felt a little sad. We had spent some time together, even if it was short, but—
“I can’t forgive you!!”
I activated my magic. A magic formation spread out across the floor with me at the center.
“What? Cold air!?”
Dan seemed to have noticed.
“I’m going to capture you all. I’m sorry, but please give up.”
“Hmph!! Perfect. I’ll at least carve you up and kill you!!”
“Dan. That’s terrible. But…”
I activated the magic. Cold air filled the entire room, and from within that cold air, a large black shadow rose.
“First, could you take on this child?”
“This child?”
“Yeah. Go get them, Ice Serpent!!”
It was a huge snake-like monster with a body made of ice.
Comments for chapter "Chapter 68 & 69 & 70 & 71"
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