“So much has changed in barely ten days……”
Sian thought as he walked slowly down the ever-bustling streets of the capital with his seniors beside him.
“When you arrive at Count Kerbel’s household, they will tell you in detail what post you are to take. I will not tell you to raise the fame of House Roman. But conduct yourself with the dignity befitting a noble, remember noblesse oblige, and please, do not cause any trouble!”
Those were the words his father, Count Roman, had repeated over and over before he left home. Sian had wanted to say something in reply, but even he was not confident in what he might say, so he had simply listened and left.
The residence of Count Kerbel, located a little distance from the royal palace, Tobe-Tian, stood in the exact opposite direction from the Roman family’s mansion, so it took roughly three hours by carriage after he left home to arrive there.
Count Kerbel, who came out to receive him, held a simple welcoming ceremony and then immediately told him what work he was to do.
And from that day onward, Sian had been staying at the Kerbel count’s household and, in his own way, faithfully carrying out his duties.
“The Capital Security Corps, huh……”
The Capital Security Corps, Guarran-Tia (GUARRAN-TIA).
It was the collective name for those who handled public order throughout the capital of Tian, excluding the royal palace.
The Guarran-Tia were no mere rabble. If the Royal Guard Knights were the ones who protected the royal palace, then the Guarran-Tia were the ones tasked with protecting the rest of the capital and maintaining its security.
Due to the nature of the capital, there were far more high nobles and powerful individuals here than in other cities, and so the number of major incidents was extremely high. Gather together a crowd of prideful bastards who knew no fear of the heavens, and it would be stranger if such incidents did not happen.
When such incidents occurred, even ordinary guard and security duties required a considerable level of rank and martial power in order to deal with them swiftly. If the ranks were filled with useless, bumbling fools, the troublemaker would either run away or prove impossible to control.
The Guarran-Tia, designed and created for that purpose, demanded a considerable level of martial strength from each individual, and along with that they were granted a high degree of authority in the field as well as limited immunity.
In fact, the Guarran-Tia were famous for how difficult they were to enter. Various tests were prepared, along with aptitude and personality assessments, and if the performance evaluation judged one’s judgment or martial strength to be lacking, one was mercilessly thrown out.
Despite that, the high salary, various authorities, and the special recruitment rights that allowed one to enter the Royal Guard Knights if one steadily rose through the ranks meant that competition was always fierce.
He had heard that his older brother Rian had also started here at first. Saying that he did not want to rely on the family’s backing… though he had been promoted to the Royal Guard Knights in less than a year.
Sian, however, was more than ready to make good use of that backing, so when Count Kerbel asked whether he wished to take the test, he proudly received a letter of recommendation and entered as a parachute hire.
The looks poured upon him on his first day fell into exactly three kinds.
The first was curiosity toward the rumored second son.
The second was doubt as to whether someone who looked so frail could truly be the second son of House Roman.
The last was contempt toward a fellow who had come in on the strength of his family’s influence.
Because he carried the name of a count’s household, they did not show their contempt and doubt openly, but he could feel the atmosphere of subtle exclusion. Along with gazes that were quietly trying to size him up……
“Starting with the seniors right beside me, at that.”
A newcomer formed a team of three with two seniors and went on patrol with them for a week-long training period. Even though the training period was nearly over, his seniors had taught him only the most basic things and not a single detail beyond that. From what he had heard, one was the son of a baronial family and the other the son of a merchant house, and it was plain to see that they did not like him.
But they were not particularly harming him, nor had they skipped over any items that absolutely had to be handed over, so he decided to simply maintain this level of distance. Once he thought of it that way, it actually felt much more comfortable for neither side to pay attention to the other.
The work was easier than he had expected, too. From what he had heard, incidents supposedly broke out almost every day and caused no end of headaches, so he had been tense, but so far nothing at all had happened.
The changed environment suited him far better than he had expected, and Sian found himself in a naturally good mood.
The work was easy, and when he returned home, the conversations he shared with the count’s beautiful daughter, Miss Charlotte, were pleasant as well. When he saw the modest Miss Charlotte, he was often reminded of his mother, Lady Celine.
For some reason, Miss Charlotte looked at his way of life with a strange gaze, though.
As he was thinking pleasant thoughts, he heard some sort of commotion in the distance.
☆ ☆ ☆
Taron, the second son of the head of the Laron Merchant Company, which was responsible for the distribution of grain and spices in the capital, did not like the newcomer beside him at all.
At first, when they heard that the second son of Count Roman’s family was coming in, everyone had expectations.
After all, the eldest son Rian, who had entered before him, had broken every record of the Guarran-Tia in the shortest time and made history by joining the Royal Knights as the youngest member ever.
Everyone’s opinions had been divided. Could the second son really break the eldest son’s records and write a new history? Though he had come in through connections… if he was a child of Count Roman’s family, was that not as good as a guarantee? At the very least, Taron himself had thought it would be a waste for him to take some pointless exam.
But from the moment he first saw the second son, and over the course of the week that followed, Taron felt his expectations gradually turn into disappointment.
At first, he thought one of the Guarran-Tia’s administrative officers had taken a wrong turn and wandered in. That was how little the fellow looked like a man of arms. Up to that point, it was fine. In the end, martial strength was measured by Vander, and the second son’s figure of 57 was high enough to be counted among the best. (Taron himself had recorded 33.)
But he quickly realized he had been mistaken. Though he had never verified the man’s martial strength and thus could not know for certain, looking at this fellow’s way of life gave him a fair guess as to his strength as well. If a fellow like this was strong, then it had to be a fatal mistake on the War God’s part! That was how lazy he was.
Due to the nature of the Guarran-Tia, martial strength was the most basic of basics, so outside of ordinary security work, most of their time was spent training. Taron himself stayed in the dedicated dormitory assigned to the Guarran-Tia and spent his days training with his peers and carrying out his duties.
But this fellow Sian, the so-called second son, was completely different.
Seeing how the guy had never once arrived even a second early and rushed out of headquarters the moment work ended, Taron could only be dumbfounded.
Once, they had even received word that an incident had broken out in the building right next door, and while they were on their way there, Sian had gone home because his working hours were over.
On top of that, the incident had involved Count Nasus, who was infamous for his foul temper. When Taron thought about how he had missed his evening training to deal with the aftermath of that incident and returned to the dorm exhausted, his teeth still ground together.
After that, he had made up his mind. The next time something happened, he would dump it all on this guy! Having reached that agreement with his fellow recruit beside him, Keran, he had been hoping that an incident would occur before this newcomer’s training period was over.
Then, at last, his chance came! From far away came the sound of something being broken and smashed.
Not about to miss this opportunity, he dragged along the newcomer beside him and his fellow recruit, then began running toward the source of the noisy incident.
☆ ☆ ☆
The movements of the Guarran-Tia were arranged organically. The areas they usually monitored were divided among them, but if an incident occurred, the team members closest to the scene could immediately rush over.
The district Taron and Keran were usually responsible for was not one where major incidents happened particularly often.
Because it was an area where middle-to-upper-class commoners lived, it was far more peaceful than districts where lower nobles or wealthy merchants lived in groups—wherever one went, it was always the half-baked ones who caused trouble—or places like Traan Street, where the lowest-class residents lived.
That was precisely why a newcomer had been assigned to their team, yet whether some ill luck had attached itself to them or not, two incidents had occurred in less than a week.
“No, one of them was actually lucky, wasn’t it?”
Still grinding his teeth whenever he thought of the incident from a few days ago, Taron fervently prayed that this incident would be one that could properly screw over the newcomer beside him, who did not have a single cute quality to speak of. Just as he himself had been screwed over.
When they arrived, the street had already become a complete mess. From the look of it, it seemed as though a fight had broken out in the middle of the street, and Taron sighed inwardly.
Most fights that occurred here were usually brawls between ordinary commoners or fights among mercenaries. There was no way those powerless(?) classes could defy the Guarran-Tia, who were responsible for the capital’s security, and that meant the incident would be over the moment they arrived. It looked as though they would only end up giving the newcomer a chance to show off.
Lamenting the thought that they would have to send the newcomer off unscathed, Taron entered the street of stalls, but the situation was unfolding somewhat differently from what he had imagined.
☆ ☆ ☆
When his seniors suddenly began running frantically toward the source of the commotion, Sian ran along with them and felt that these seniors truly had a strong sense of duty. It must be because they possessed such an attitude of wishing for the citizens’ well-being that they could serve as members of the Guarran-Tia.
Seeing them eat and sleep in the dormitory every day, he had felt a little sorry for them, thinking they must be so poor they could not even get a house in the capital, but since they had such admirable attitudes, he hoped they would succeed someday.
In any case, once Sian entered the street where the commotion was taking place, he frowned.
The street was already a mess. The ordinary residents seemed to have evacuated long ago, and the stalls laid out along the street had been smashed by men who had been sent flying here and there and were now sprawled across them.
No, it did not seem accurate to call it a standoff between groups. One side certainly had numerous men gathered around a man at the center, but the other side was alone, glaring at the opposite side with fierce eyes.
“It’s a composition I feel like I’ve seen often in fairy tales. Several thugs surrounding one female knight. Wouldn’t you say so?”
Sian, having seen the scene within, spoke as though amused. He felt as if he had read many stories like this in books when he was young. Though, to be precise, his mother had forcibly sat him down and made him read them……
A scene where the son of a noble family who had been pestering a beautiful female knight even mobilized his guards to try something, only to be collectively beaten up and carried away by the female knight who had been hiding her skills.
As a related product, there was also the setup where the female lead had hidden her abilities as well, but when she fell into danger because the villain had also been hiding his abilities, she was helped by the male lead nearby, who had also been hiding his abilities, and a love line began. After reading that book, he remembered feeling a sense of kinship deep down, thinking that hiding one’s abilities was indeed a historical trend.
Ignoring Sian’s chatter with one ear, Taron assessed the situation and smiled inwardly in triumph.
Judging by the situation, contrary to his expectations, it was a confrontation between nobles. Though she wore ordinary clothes, if a woman who had barehandedly wrecked three or four sturdy men was not a Vander, that would be stranger. The group on the other side was clustered around one young man who, at a glance, was practically advertising with his entire body, “I am a noble,” along with what appeared to be a swarm of guards.
If so, this would be his last chance to screw over the newcomer.
Having finished thinking that far, Taron opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“Hey, go in there quickly and try to bring the situation under control. We can’t do it for you forever. Since something like this happened before your training period ended, it’ll be good experience.”
“That’s right. You’ve learned all the basics, so there shouldn’t be any particular problem. And as it happens, today there’s plenty of time left before clock. out. time, so you should be able to wrap it up before then.”
Keran chimed in from the side with perfect timing.
It was a reasonable thing to say. Naturally, one had to earn his keep while receiving a salary (the standard of how diligently to work existed in his mind), and if he tried it once while his seniors were watching during the training period, it would be easier to handle work next time as well. Thinking, “There are seniors behind me, so nothing serious will happen……,” he planned to try up to that point and, if things went wrong, pass it off to the seniors behind him and step back (wasn’t that why seniors were attached during the training period!). Sian began organizing his thoughts on what to do.
“Let’s see… First, control the situation and reveal our identities, then confirm the parties’ identities, was it?”
Recalling the first step of the manual hanging at his side, which he had not yet fully memorized, Sian slowly walked out toward the chaotic scene before him.
“Greetings. I am Sian of Galan
-thia. From now on, I will be taking control of the situation, so please follow my directions, and I ask that the parties present here present identification that can verify your identities.”
Seeing the Galan
-thia member approaching her lazily and speaking to her, Celine felt her mood sink to the very bottom.
Where on earth had things gotten so twisted?
Until she had first left the knight order, her mood had definitely been good. Even when her beloved younger sister had called her out, saying she had much to talk about, she had been filled with anticipation at leaving the stiff knight order and enjoying delicious desserts and fun conversation for the first time in a while. She had even prepared a gift for her beloved sister.
It had also been nice to take off her armor and wear casual clothes for the first time in a while. The armor she usually wore every day, although it was incredibly light thanks to the latest smelting method using Talic Stones from the Exile
-Grand Magic Council, was very dull and gloomy in design, perhaps because it was made by stuffy mages. Taking off such armor and wearing casual clothes put her in an even better mood for no reason.
The distance from the knight order’s dormitory to the mansion where her sister lived was not far, so she could go and return leisurely using her day off. Thus, she had set out with a light heart.
Up to here, everything had been perfect.
Her mood had begun to sink when some punk had latched onto her midway.
This was the drawback of casual clothes. There were no fools who picked a fight upon seeing the Royal Guard Knight Order armor she usually wore. But when she wore casual clothes, minnows who couldn’t even meet her eyes would swarm and pester her. It was the fate a woman of her beauty had to endure. Normally, she would have carried her identity plaque and chased them off, but thinking nothing could happen at such a close distance, leaving it at the dormitory had been the problem.
If this had been before she joined the knight order, there would have been no reason for her mood to turn foul. Before her mood could sour, the bastard before her would have become minced meat.
But after joining the knight order, she could not do that. It was unthinkable for a knight to cause an incident outside while on leave or during an outing.
Of course, it was not forbidden. But after she had once turned a man who pestered her into a bloody pulp while out on leave and was summoned by her grandfather to receive special training, she had resolved never to cause an incident again. It was the first time in her life she had resented the Vander, which was said to expand the limits of humans.
That was why she had tried to end things quietly at first. Because this matter must not reach her grandfather’s ears. Normally, if she roughed up a few of them, they would tuck tail and run, but this fearless bastard had kicked up a huge fuss, screaming and yelling about who she was.
As a result, the situation had come to this.
Now that Galan
-thia had arrived, quietly resolving this was out of the question. There was now only one way to resolve this situation:
-thia fellow alone and began walking toward the rabble before her.
☆ ☆ ☆Sian watched the woman who left him alone and began walking toward the rabble before her.
Despite the woman approaching, the rabble could not react at all. They were already overwhelmed by her momentum. Though they had been making a loud fuss, it was merely like a frightened cat puffing up its fur—rampaging out of terror. In fact, even though the woman had approached right before their noses, none of the rabble could move.
When the woman reached the rabble and whispered something to a man who appeared to be a noble, showing him something, the man’s face turned pale. Soon after, when the woman said something, the man bowed and scraped, giving orders to the guards around him, and they gathered their already pulped comrades and shoved them into a corner of the broken stall area.
The seniors, who had been observing the situation, sensed the atmosphere was unusual and slowly walked over to stand behind Sian and began assessing the situation.
The woman, having settled the situation with the rabble, soon looked at Sian and began walking straight toward him. Then she opened her mouth.
“I am… Celine de Kiraine of the Kiraine Ducal House. This matter has been safely resolved as an internal issue, so I would like it to pass quietly… what do you think?”
At the woman murmuring in a half-threatening tone, Sian wore an expression of utter absurdity.
This woman was undoubtedly seeing him as a pushover right now.
She kicked up this mess in the middle of the street and now called it an internal issue? Was he supposed to believe that? After beating the other side to a pulp like that?
And her claim to be a person from a ducal house was extremely suspicious. What kind of idle duke’s daughter wandered around a commoners’ district in casual clothes without any guards and got into a scuffle?
In fact, when he turned around, the seniors were also looking at the woman with suspicious expressions (the seniors knew of a person named Celine de Kiraine by reputation, but she was thirty-five, and the woman before them looked twenty at most—her age did not match at all).
Sian let the woman’s words go in one ear and out the other, then looked at her and spoke as written in the second clause of the manual.
“In that case, please present your identification. Then you need only come with me to the station to write an agreement and a damage compensation payment guarantee.”
“Gnash! I have not brought my identification… but I believe this shall suffice as proof of my status. And as this is an internal matter, an agreement should be unnecessary… as for compensation, those sub. or. di. nates of mine lying over there will handle it, so resolving it like this should pose no problem.”
The woman, grinding her teeth as she spoke, extended her palm. Soon, blue mist began to swirl from her slender hand, forming a beautiful lily emblem above her palm.
Sian stared blankly with an expression asking what she was doing, but the two seniors behind him turned pale. The unique blue lily shape that appeared when wielding the Kiraine Ducal House’s secret Vander
-loa was unmistakably the symbol of the Kiraine Ducal House. There was no way to confirm whether the woman before them was Celine de Kiraine, but it was certain she was a person of the Kiraine Ducal House.
In that case, it would be better to cover up this incident here. Even if they handled it by the book, a person from the Kiraine Ducal House would not harm them (though, seeing her grinding her teeth, they could not be sure), but if she had lowered herself to that degree, giving her face and ending things amicably was the better look.
Taron, having judged thus far, exchanged a glance with Kaeran to align their intentions and was about to open his mouth toward the self-proclaimed Lady Celine before them.
At that moment, Sian, who had been staring blankly at her palm and rummaging through the manual beside him, opened his mouth first.
“Hmm… such a verification method is not listed in the clauses. Identity verification is impossible.
If you do not have your identification, you must come with me to the station and remain there until someone who can vouch for your identity arrives.
Ah! And if what you said is correct, then according to the clauses, it seems writing an agreement and a damage compensation payment guarantee will be unnecessary.”
Watching Sian finish his statement exactly as written in the manual regardless of whether the two seniors behind him turned pale, Celine felt something snap in her head.
He had thrown fuel onto the irritation and anger that had been building up all this time!
There was no way someone who had entered Galan
-thia would be unable to recognize the house emblems that appeared when wielding Vander
-loa. In that case, this bastard was knowingly exploiting his own disadvantage to humiliate her!
Having reached this conclusion, Celine resolved to pay the price today even if she received hellish training from her grandfather, and immediately moved to action.
“Hey, you bastard!”
Celine’s fist, filled with fury, flew toward Sian’s face, cutting through the wind.
☆ ☆ ☆Sian looked at the flying fist and agonized. He had not read in the manual how to deal with such a situation.
To throw a fist so recklessly at him while he was diligently working… For Sian, who had only seen refined ladies among noblewomen, such as his mother Lady Celinne or Count Kerbel’s daughter Charlotte, this was a very novel experience. He had heard there were women like this wild monkey, but to think he would encounter one himself!
Normally, he would have simply dodged. Since childhood, his mother had drummed into his ears that one must not brawl with a lady. Perhaps she had foreseen that when such a situation arose, the other party would not let one off and would kick one’s behind even if one claimed to be a woman, for she had always emphasized it with unusual force.
But if he dodged here, what would become of the seniors standing behind him, who were frightened by this current situation?
They would be beaten to a pulp by that woman, who seemed to harbor animosity toward the very organization of Galan
-thia that tried to suppress her.
To avoid such a lamentable situation, Sian looked at the flying fist, resolved to resolve this situation himself, and picked up the manual again. It was already too late to solve it his own way; all that remained was to resolve it according to the organization’s rules.
Glancing at the fist still flying toward his chin, Sian took out the manual book at his waist. He had worried it might tear, but fortunately, it seemed to be made quite sturdily and did not rip.
There was still quite some time before the fist arrived. At that speed, he should be able to find the clause in the manual book on how to deal with the current situation.
☆ ☆ ☆Celine, filled with fury, was diligently calculating the next sequence in her head. “First, three hard blows… then left ribs, right ribs… then solar plexus… and then….” Calculating where to diligently hammer him and resolving to keep this bastard bedridden in Galan
-thia’s exclusive hospital for at least four to five weeks, Celine was bewildered by what followed.
‘Huh?’
Clearly, her fist should have connected and sent his jaw flying, but somehow the bastard had slightly turned his chin to evade the punch and was now reading the book that had been hanging at his waist.
She had no idea when he had dodged, or when the book had gotten into his previously empty hand.
It felt as if she had swung with all her might at empty air beside a man who had been reading a book from the beginning. But that couldn’t be. How many jaws had she sent flying by now to throw a complete whiff?
The bastard, looking at her unable to follow up due to the unexpected situation, suddenly snapped the book shut and spoke.
“The current situation is one where charges of obstruction of official duties and assault on a Galan
-thia officer may be added. At present, it is at the level of obstruction of official duties, so if there is no further resistance, it is a level where you may be detained at Galan
-thia for one day or released on bail after a guarantor’s identity verification and bail payment. If you resist, I will proceed to subdue you.”
He recited it in a row with a blank face, as if reading from a textbook, but for some reason, that expression seemed to say that he would have liked it if she had resisted.
She knew that expression well. Because she had done the same.
When working with the Royal Guard Knight Order and dealing with high-ranking nobles involved in tax evasion and other corrupt acts who resisted, she had always made that expression. To pummel the unpleasant opponent under the justifiable pretext of suppressing resistance.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, she came to her senses and inadvertently looked into the eyes of the bastard before her.
If her guess was right, this fellow was a powerhouse fully capable of subduing her... The moment their eyes met, an overwhelming force should have poured out and seized the initiative. (This, too, was a method she often used. Of course, after doing that, she did not stop there; she would rough up the subdued opponent a few more times.) And yet...
“Huh?”
It was nothing like that at all. No force powerful enough to make her shrink back came pouring from his eyes... nor did he suppress her... There was nothing of the sort.
He was just ordinary. So ordinary that it was strange he was even in Garan-Tia, a place one could only enter after accumulating considerable training.
Only, for a man, he had far too beautiful a pair of blue eyes.
The moment she looked into those eyes, all the strength went out of her. Then her anger subsided, and she gradually began coming back to her senses.
‘What the hell did I just do... Ugh...!’
As if it had not been enough to cause trouble first, she had tried to use her family’s power to smooth things over, and on top of that, she had even swung her fist at Garan-Tia. She had done exactly what those wretches she usually despised would do.
No matter how afraid she had been of being scolded by her grandfather, no matter how blinded she had been by anger, no matter how irritating the fellow before her had been, this was not right.
Having thought that far, Celine withdrew the fist she had thrown out and held out both hands. Then she spat out curtly.
“What are you doing? Tie me up. And sorry for swinging my fist.”
She had done wrong, but the fellow in front of her was still irritating, so even after deciding to let herself be taken away, her apology came out with an edge.
She was as good as dead if she had to be rolled around by her grandfather for a while and then rolled around in the Royal Guard Knights... But once she decided it was best to end things this way, even now, Celine’s heart actually grew lighter.
Seeing the woman before him suddenly show an attitude of remorse and become docile, Sian thought that perhaps she was not as unreasonable as he had expected.
It was unlikely she had been intimidated by him or anything like that. After all, he had already graduated from the idiocy of going around leaking Vander everywhere when he was ten.
Since the manual did not allow him to commit a preemptive assault, Sian had secretly hoped that this reckless woman would resist just once. He was a little disappointed, but decided to be satisfied that the situation had been resolved amicably. In fact, he could feel the expressions of his seniors behind him visibly improving.
“Then you will accompany us to the branch. Ah, and who should we call as your guarantor?”
“My guarantor will be... the commander of the Third Order of the Royal Guard Knights, Rian von Roman... Ugh... Tell him it is Celine de Kirline, deputy commander of the Third Knight Order.”
When his older brother’s name suddenly came up, Sian was startled. To think his brother’s name would come out of this hot-blooded woman’s mouth.
‘Well... it doesn’t matter.’
Even if this woman complained about him to his brother, all he had done was resolve the situation according to the manual. After checking once more that there was not a single thing for him to feel guilty about, Sian looked proudly at the seniors standing behind him, pleased that he had handled the situation well.
Kaeran and Taron, looking at this rookie who was not only lazy but also hopelessly lacking in tact, nevertheless let out sighs of relief that the matter had not grown any bigger. They told the rookie to clock out before he caused any further trouble, then surrounded Celine and began returning to the branch.
☆ ☆ ☆
Count Kerbel sat in the study of his mansion, gazing out the window.
Seeing Sian coming in from far away with a snack in his mouth, the count checked the clock.
‘Six-oh-eight... That boy really is something. He comes back exactly on time every single day without fail.’
Looking at the way Sian had left work on the dot every day without exception for nearly ten days since he had started working, the count thought to himself.
Considering that it took about eight minutes to walk from the main building of Garan-Tia to here, that meant Sian was kicking out of his workplace the very moment it became exactly six o’clock. To come home so precisely on time without caring about appearances, even during his training period... Was he bold, or did he simply not care if he was fired?
He was indolent, but at that level, the count thought he was remarkably diligent and sincere in his indolence.
If one looked only at that side of him, it was no wonder his daughter, Charlotte, thought that boy Sian was pathetic.
But Count Kerbel, having heard Count Roman’s story, could not think of it so simply.
‘It is hard to believe... To think that at such a young age, he is stronger than Count Roman, a Grand-Vander.’
Count Kerbel gave a bitter smile as he recalled the conversation he had had with Count Roman at the latter’s mansion ten days earlier. What he had heard there about Sian was something even Count Kerbel, who dealt with all manner of information and records, had never heard before.
‘He only does what he wants to do. He hates difficult things. He hates doing anything that does not produce results even more. And yet he is strong. Stronger even than me!’
It was the complete opposite of the ideal temperament of a warrior in full command of his power. Apart from the fact that he disliked causing harm to others, it was the typical personality of a wayward young nobleman from an aristocratic house.
But when it came to ability, he was already above the count himself. Count Roman had said that even he no longer knew exactly how far his son had reached.
What came next was even harder to believe. The value measured at the Blessing Ceremony when the boy was born. A value so extraordinary that Count Roman had had to pay a Lawmaster a vast sum and use Exar to bind him with a secret oath. If it had not been Count Kerbel, and if Count Roman had not been in need of his sincere advice, he would never have spoken of it.
Afraid that the moment that value became known, the child would be swept up in a storm from the outside world, the count had raised Sian inside the mansion and avoided contact with outsiders as much as possible. At least until he had enough strength to live the life he wanted.
It was a truly absurd value. The moment Count Kerbel heard that number, he could understand to some extent why Sian had developed such a personality. If swinging a sword was far too easy, then there was no way other difficult things could be interesting. And if things turned out the way he thought even when he did them roughly, there was no way he would want to work hard and suffer for it.
Count Kerbel instead thought Count Roman and Lady Celine were remarkable for educating the boy so that he had not gone more astray and had remained at this level. When one was too exceptional, one was bound to run wild.
In any case, Count Kerbel had initially gone simply to discuss the Guardian Corps, but after unexpectedly hearing about Sian, he began arranging a new board so that Count Roman, Sian, and he himself could all obtain the situation they desired.
At present, the capital appeared peaceful, but it was a powder keg on the verge of exploding. Not because of the selection ceremony for the Guardian Corps, but because of the Guardian Corps that would soon be returning.
In truth, the talents selected to leave for the Guardian Corps were outstanding, but they were somewhat lacking as the core forces of each faction.
That was precisely why they were selected for the Guardian Corps. As insurance for five years later. Therefore, while they were important, in the present situation they held little meaning.
The true core forces of each faction and family—the Masters, the Grand-Vanders, the powerhouses of Second-Class Lawmaster and above—were coiled here in the capital of Roa-Tian, sharpening their blades. If they saw an opening, they would drive those blades into their opponents in a single breath...
It was laughable, but they committed stronger forces to their own small battlefield than to the Great Northern Wall, where men risked their lives to defend the continent, and gnawed away at one another.
Nobles were selfish and cruel by nature. They had always taken what belonged to others and climbed up by trampling someone down, and that was why they could hold onto their positions.
Herbivores could survive by eating only grass, but carnivores had to devour someone in order to survive.
Outwardly, they armed themselves with honor and reason, but that was merely a means of avoiding needless conflict. Inside, they were more violent and more beastlike than anyone else. The moment they sensed they were stronger than their opponent, they would rush in and tear them apart.
Until now, the balance of power between them had not differed greatly, so they had remained quiet, thinking that fighting would bring heavy losses. But soon, the people who had left for the Guardian Corps five years ago would return, and once the balance of power collapsed, the capital would become a battlefield.
The Guardians selected five years ago had already been composed solely of those who, compared to their age, were stronger than anyone in their respective factions and capable of giving their lives for their families, and they had gone forth to the Great Northern Wall. And after living for five years amid violence, war, and death, they would return just as violent and just as strong. The investment made five years ago would have grown into excellent results and returned here, to the capital.
And into this place, now like a powder keg, they would set a fire more grand than any other, announcing the beginning of the War of Succession.
‘The War of Succession.’
To prevent it, Count Kerbel had begun arranging the board in advance. The Guardian Corps would soon return.
The place he had put Sian for that purpose was the capital security force, Garan-Tia. For now, since he was in his probationary period, he had been assigned to the easiest place, but once that probation ended, he would be put in charge of the streets where the royal palace and the mansions of high nobles were concentrated—the very center of the coming war.
Count Kerbel had no intention of making any particular demands of Sian. It would likely only earn his dislike, and it would not have any effect anyway.
But if things went according to his thoughts, and if Sian merely did his assigned duty well, then the situation would flow in the direction desired by Sian, Count Roman, and himself.
‘It has to go well... just as I think. I’m counting on you, Sian.’
Having thought that far, Count Kerbel set aside his thoughts, hoping Sian would play his role well in the future. Before he knew it, the sun was setting.
‘By the way, why has that girl Celine not arrived? Did she not say she was coming to see Charlotte today? Strange. She is not the kind of child to break a promise...’
Count Kerbel, realizing that Celine—whom he knew Charlotte, lately full of various complaints, had invited today to be comforted—had still not arrived, found it odd.
But he was not particularly worried.
The distance was not far, so there was no reason for anything to happen. Nor were there many beings who could try to overpower that child, called the
Thinking that she would arrive soon if there was some circumstance, since there had been no other message, Count Kerbel went downstairs to eat. He thought he ought to talk with Sian and Charlotte about what kind of day they had had.