Grand Lord… no, the Emperor’s scheme completely ensnared me that day.
I’ve lost count of how many days have passed since then.
The Grand Lord was relentless in transferring the governance of the 2nd Lord’s Domain to me, and as a result, piles of交接 documents have been accumulating daily.
“6th Lord, here are the交接 documents I mentioned earlier.”
“……”
“Starting from the top, there’s the confirmation document for the territorial boundaries of the 2nd Lord’s Domain, the list of currently enforced laws and decrees within the fief… Ah! Also, you need to confirm the roster of subordinate nobles and merchant guilds. Lastly, there’s the financial report and major trade agreement contracts, so we hope you can review them as quickly as possible.”
“……”
“Also, there are documents detailing the status of key resources within the domain and the extraction rights, as well as the locations of core fortresses and castles. Additionally, separate documents with designs of military installations are included for your review.”
Damn, damn, damn.
I don’t usually curse, but in this situation, cursing was all that came out.
This was outright violence.
I was literally drowning in a sea of documents.
Thanks to the power of Runes protecting my body, I didn’t have to worry about aging and death, but I could somehow feel wrinkles forming in real-time.
Rudine, who had entered the office unnoticed, tilted her head as she looked at me.
“Luke, are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay.”
“Then why don’t you just quit?”
“……”
The thought of just walking away crossed my mind daily.
But the cunning Emperor had anticipated this and already deployed a large number of royal personnel to the 2nd Lord’s Domain.
Though document approvals were still my responsibility as a Lord, my workload did feel lighter thanks to the additional staff. It was tolerable…just barely.
This was an absolutely ruthless situation.
I glanced up and down at Rudine.
After days of avoiding my gaze since the chaos of the Heavenly Killing Star’s influence, she finally seemed to be back to her usual self.
One difference from her normal demeanor was the sheathed sword at her waist.
The Yoyo Sword, the Evil Consumption Sword.
It was a weapon crafted specifically for Rudine, obtained after infiltrating the 2nd Lord’s Domain in order to control her Heavenly Killing Star.
The sword wasn’t just called the Yoyo Sword because of its grotesque appearance—it also had three special abilities.
The first was Resonance of Qi.
The Evil Consumption Sword absorbed Heavenly Killing Star energy, creating a real-time exchange of Qi between it and its user. This process naturally strengthened the user’s Qi manipulation.
The second was Slaughter Assimilation.
The ability to absorb an enemy’s killing intent and make it one’s own. The stronger the opponent’s malevolence, the more the sword’s power amplified, making it perfect for one-against-many battles.
The third was the Reversing Hand Seal.
A special engraved seal on the sword that could store the absorbed Heavenly Killing Star energy and release it all at once. Like releasing the water from a dam, this gave it explosive power during critical moments.
For Rudine, who was born with the Heavenly Killing Star in her soul, it was essentially a limitless power source, excellent for group battles, and also equipped with a lethal finishing move.
It was truly a game-breaking item designed exclusively for Rudine.
“Did you test the abilities?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it helping you control the Heavenly Killing Star?”
“…This much is enough.”
Yes, that’s both disappointing and fortunate.
I cleared my mind of the pile of documents cluttering my thoughts.
At least the urgent approvals were taken care of, so I could just offload the rest to Siron.
If I had known things would end up like this, I wouldn’t have bothered with bureaucracy in the first place. But fate had twisted things too tightly for escape.
Still, regret was useless; I shook it off and decided to focus on the immediate tasks at hand.
“…Title Award Ceremony.”
The Title Award Ceremony was first on the agenda.
It was originally scheduled, but the unusual part is that it skipped directly from the Count to the Duke title.
It was the Emperor’s decision, so enforcement was assured, but I was truly confused.
Granting a Duke title to someone of illegitimate birth? The noble factions would never tolerate that.
As expected, they’d likely oppose it fiercely, and I assumed the ceremony would be postponed indefinitely. However, the result was alarmingly swift.
“Exactly what scheme is he pulling?”
I already knew from the original work that the current Emperor was competent, but even so, he was excessively skillful.
There was a reason why only the Empire remained strong amidst the world’s downfall.
As I sighed, Rudine, who’d been quietly observing, finally spoke.
“Must I attend the Title Award Ceremony?”
“Why?”
“…I just don’t really want to go.”
Her response made me look up at her. Her face was somber, and it was clear she didn’t want to go.
She usually followed me wherever I went, so her reluctance puzzled me at first, but I soon understood the reason.
‘Because of the Carlisle Count House.’
The Carlisle Count House, one of the three great guardian families of the Northern Continent.
Rudine, being the illegitimate second daughter of the Count House, had not been treated well in her childhood mansion and was eventually exiled to Blackmore.
Of course, meeting the Carlisle Count at the Title Award Ceremony would likely be distressing for her.
I nodded after a moment of contemplation.
“You don’t have to go.”
“…Thank you.”
As I reflected, I realized it wasn’t just her problem.
Rudine wasn’t the only one—after all, I too was an illegitimate child of the Richter Count House.
The Title Award Ceremony, being a national event, would attract nobles from all over the continent, and the Richter Count would probably be among them.
‘Oh, this is going to be troublesome.’
There had been quite a bit of noise when I left home for the academy, so I already anticipated how annoying this meeting would be. Moreover, even though I was born into a Count’s house, I would now receive a Duke title.
What should have been a moment of joy for any parent would likely leave them gnashing their teeth with anger. It was unfair from my perspective.
After all, they had initiated all sorts of petty schemes towards me as an illegitimate child, which left me with no choice but to counter. Somehow, we had become mortal enemies.
‘…Well, it’ll work out somehow.’
Thinking this, I tried to settle my thoughts when another bomb was dropped by Siron, who had silently entered the room.
“6th Lord, here are the alliance and trade agreements with neighboring territories. Below is the maintenance plan for the current road and bridge conditions. Budget approval is needed for the management of current waterways and port facilities…”
“……”
Damn it all.
*
Days passed this way.
While wrestling with the growing piles of documents, I suddenly realized the day of the Title Award Ceremony was drawing near.
“6th Lord, we’ve arrived.”
Clad in a pristine white uniform personally chosen by the Grand Lord, I stepped out of the carriage. The sunlight was dazzling.
The majesty of the royal palace that greeted my eyes was as overwhelming as ever. The towering golden spires and massive walls created a grand ensemble that left observers breathless.
The interior of the royal palace was already bustling with nobility.
Before the official Title Award Ceremony began, the nobles gathered in the royal banquet hall to chat casually and pass the time.
The splendidly dressed nobles were gathered in scattered clusters across the space, while servants busily circulated, serving champagne and snacks.
What seemed like a social event was, in reality, just another political arena. Beneath their polite inquiries about each other’s health laid cold calculations.
Above all—
“……”
A ripple of murmurs followed me as I strolled through the corridors.
Of course, I had no reason to care about their gazes and passed by nonchalantly, stepping through the marble hallways.
Since I wanted to avoid public attention as much as possible, I chose the less crowded paths, inadvertently leading me through unexpected corners of the royal palace.
“…Huh?”
A woman caught my eye.
She was dressed unlike the typical nobles—instead of an elaborate gown, she wore a black pair of pants and a white blouse with a simple silver vest.
Her long black hair flowed down to her waist, and her features carried distinctly Eastern characteristics, rare in this empire.
Her unique appearance was unmistakable.
That was none other than…
‘…Silvia?’
Silvia Martina. The protagonist of the world I had reincarnated into—the original story’s main character.
And on the other side—
“……?”
She couldn’t help but feel alarmed.
A man’s insistent gaze had been following her.
Not only that.
[ SYSTEM : ‘6th Lord: Luke Richter’ detected.]
[ ※Caution: Unobservable entity detected!]
[Target’s interest is rising abnormally!]
[Entity unanalyzable by system!]
[ ※Analysis of relationship with the Star Sect in progress…]
[ – Relationship with Star Sect: Worst ]
[ – Star Sect Hostility Index: SSS+ ]
[ – Probability of future conflict: Certain ]
[ !!!Warning: Potential conflict with Luke Richter leads to the following hostile forces: ]
[ – Direct forces under the Grand Lord ]
[ – The Guild of Lords ]
[ – The Imperial Royal Family ]
[ – The Alliance of the Seven Dukedoms ]
[ – The White-Haired Tribe ]
[ – Numerous other unconfirmed entities ]
[ ※Alert: Engaging conflict with these entities results in survival rate of less than 0.001% ]
“…Huh?”
Silvia began sweating cold beads as she stared at the system warning windows densely plastered across her vision.
