The maiden’s body stood tall.
Looking back, had I-an ever called her ‘Rainelle’ even once?
Many nobles, including Delphine, had called her ‘Rainelle.’
To a noble, a clan was akin to identity. So, it was not an issue to address her with just her surname.
However, I-an had never once called Elsi ‘Rainelle.’
Sometimes, he would only use her name in a reprimanding tone accompanied by her surname.
From the beginning to the end.
Not even once.
Elsi’s flushed mind was instantly cooled.
“……Uncle Raymond.”
It had been a long time since Elsi spoke Raymond’s name.
Just when Raymond thought the persuasion was over and turned his head, he had to cast his gaze upon Elsi once more.
Elsi thought.
I-an was the only existence for her.
The only master, the only love, and the only one who saw her as ‘Elsi.’
Raymond must have had such an existence too.
“……Have you forgotten? The person you loved.”
Raymond seemed quite surprised by that question.
He couldn’t open his mouth for a while.
He parted his lips, then closed them again.
He repeated that several times.
Raymond couldn’t continue speaking and lowered his gaze.
The answer he reluctantly managed to squeeze out was just a single word.
“……Yeah.”
But despite that content, his voice was laden with lingering feelings.
“Ha, ahahaha…!”
Elsi couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Raymond, taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor, could say nothing.
He merely looked at Elsi with slight surprise.
No, not only Raymond, but everyone who overheard the conversation felt the same way.
Regardless, Elsi continued to laugh, now holding her stomach.
And at the end of that diminishing laughter, Elsi unleashed her specialty.
“Ah ha, ha… That damned old geezer really makes me feel it!”
It was an outright curse.
The temperature around dropped several degrees.
It was an impertinence that crossed the line by a long shot.
After all, the opponent was a senior noble of her clan.
It was such a grave insult that even Raymond tightened his brow in response.
“……What?”
“Didn’t you hear? I said ‘old geezer,’ Uncle.”
However, Elsi showed no signs of backing down anymore.
Her tone instead overflowed with growling defiance.
It was an expression of boiling anger.
Unable to hold back, Raymond attempted to raise his voice for the first time.
“Elsi, what a disrespectful…!”
“And what if I did?”
As she said this, Elsi took a step forward.
Raymond, caught off guard by her fierce momentum, unconsciously closed his mouth.
His eyes reflected confusion.
Yet, Elsi’s voice didn’t subside.
“You’re regretting it, aren’t you? You still can’t forget…! But you want your niece to do the very thing you regret?!”
“……Elsi.”
That was a difficult statement for Raymond to endure, as he panted while responding.
“It was just a childish whim from my youth. In the end, I cannot escape the clan’s constraints. You know, the fate of Rainelle is that Rainelle will…”
“Shut up!”
However, Raymond’s persuasion had no effect.
Elsi was rummaging through her belongings and swiftly produced a token.
A golden emblem engraved with two intersecting laurel trees.
It was a symbol representing the lineage of the Rainelle clan.
Raymond stared blankly at the golden emblem.
Every noble should cherish their clan’s token.
Elsi surely knew what it meant to cast it aside.
“I am Elsi! Not ‘Rainelle,’ but ‘Elsi Rainelle’! I grew up being beaten like a dog in my childhood, and I’ve obediently followed like a dog since!”
The pain that had been concentrated over a long time erupted into anger.
In the wake of that heartfelt emotion, Raymond could only open his mouth in shock.
“But… But now you want me to abandon the one I love?!”
“……Elsi.”
It was a cry he barely managed to squeeze out.
The expression of Raymond, who feigned a solemn voice, appeared complicated.
He looked sad, worried, and even somewhat pained.
It was a rich expression of emotion that was hard to believe.
He quietly delivered his ultimatum.
“It’s a dog’s death.”
With a huff, Elsi burst into a hollow laugh and took a step back.
“A ‘dog’s death,’ you say?”
How ridiculous!
If one lived and died as a dog, then all deaths were dog deaths.
Whether it was dying as a fighting dog of the Rainelle clan or dying to save I-an.
If either way was a ‘dog’s death,’ then Elsi’s answer was virtually predetermined.
“Bark bark!”
With that one word, she bent her hands like a puppy’s paws.
Raymond couldn’t have been so foolish as not to understand the implication of mockery.
His gaze at Elsi turned dazed.
Regardless, Elsi merely declared with a cute smile.
“Elsi, is a loyal pet serving Master I-an! So…”
Then she added in an utterly cold voice.
“……whether I live or die, mind your business. This is the fate I’ve chosen.”
That was the last of it.
Elsi immediately dashed after Selin.
After all, she was a mage. Even if she provided long-distance fire support, there would be no loss of strength.
It wouldn’t matter if she was a bit late.
At the end of that stormy argument, what remained was Raymond standing still and the fallen golden emblem of the Rainelle clan.
Everyone watched in silence, gauging Raymond’s feelings.
Excluding the Lady Virgin Saint, he was the highest-ranking individual present. Moreover, he was the most skilled among the countless forces gathered in Perkus Manor.
He was someone they had to be careful around for many reasons.
After standing still for quite a while, Raymond finally took a step forward.
He walked over, bending at the waist.
His hand reached toward the ground.
The spot where the golden emblem of the Rainelle clan had fallen.
He carefully picked up the emblem, letting out a hollow laugh.
“……That temper of theirs.”
Recalling how he had been told as a child that he looked just like his brother, Raymond wore a wry smile.
Indeed, his words were correct.
The clan’s blood couldn’t be deceived.
In Elsi resided the temper of the Countess Rainelle and the wandering spirit of Raymond himself.
It was evident to anyone that Elsi was the true heir of Rainelle.
Raymond gazed blankly at Elsi’s retreating figure.
Until Administrator Arthur of the Empire approached him.
“Everyone has gone mad…”
Arthur trembled as if disgusted.
His expression reflected a complete lack of understanding.
By now, even the Lady Virgin Saint had pushed Yulen aside and headed to the battlefield.
“How can they think of charging at such a monster?! This is a collective madness! Everyone needs counseling!”
He now appeared on the verge of panic and anxiety.
No matter how many guards there were, it wasn’t enough, and already a significant portion of the main forces had deserted.
It was certainly not a positive sign.
As an ordinary commoner who valued his life above all else, Arthur spoke to Raymond with a trembling voice.
“We, we should at least! Let’s escape together… The refugees are still around, and there might be corpses rising…”
“No.”
His tone was firm, as if not allowing any arguments.
With that sudden declaration, Arthur was left aback.
Thus, he had to ask again, filled with disbelief.
“Y-you mean we can’t?”
“Yes, we can’t.”
Yet no matter how many times he asked, Raymond’s answer remained unchanged.
To Arthur, it felt like he had unexpectedly lost a steadfast ally.
At last, Arthur couldn’t contain himself any longer and raised his voice.
“But… But you just said it’ll only be a dog’s death a moment ago…!”
“Administrator.”
It was a voice devoid of any tremor.
In stark contrast to Arthur’s quaking voice.
As Raymond’s blue eyes glided toward him, Arthur involuntarily shuddered.
They were the eyes of someone who had gone through numerous battles.
Not the kind of eyes a timid scholar could face boldly.
“The fate of Rainelle is determined by Rainelle. And now, our little Rainelle has decided her fate.”
Though the honorifics had lowered somewhat, Arthur dared not voice any complaints.
It was rather natural for Raymond to speak down to him.
Even though Arthur was the Emperor’s administrator, he was still a commoner, and Raymond was a high-ranking noble.
Being addressed at all was already a stroke of luck.
In return, Arthur could only shake his head articulately.
“Please, Raymond… regain your sanity. How can we defeat that monster! The Countess Rainelle also instructed to conserve strength…!”
“Then would you have me let my niece die like this?”
His tone was chillingly icy.
Arthur felt as though his heart had stopped at that cold retort.
He immediately began to sweat profusely and stepped back.
No matter how urgent he felt, he had to realize by now.
From the start, Raymond was not someone Arthur could contend with.
Finally losing interest, Raymond turned his gaze away from Arthur.
He then summoned the magic troops that had been lingering around.
“Everyone’s attention, we are preparing a large-scale magic circle… First, we will focus on restraining that monster, while in the meantime, a few of you should rescue Lord I-an and Elsi.”
The voices of the magic troops responding to Raymond’s orders were resounding.
Raymond didn’t think they could defeat that monster.
He merely believed that with the magic troops exerting all their efforts, they could tether the monster for a while.
During that time, he and a few skilled individuals planned to rescue I-an and Elsi.
As he was about to embark on this significant task, Raymond suddenly glanced down at the golden emblem of the Rainelle clan in his hand.
“……Fate, huh.”
Could it be that I-an, and Elsi, could change the fate of Perkus Manor?
Even while thinking it was nonsensical, Raymond found himself unconsciously wearing a faint smile.
The decision for the magic troops of the Rainelle clan to participate had been made.
