Chapter 111: Chapter 111
Chapter 111 - I Don’t Want to Give Up
It was when Erembalt was on his way to House Rosnova.
Inside the carriage, he thought to himself.
’Yes... this was the right choice.’
That declaring the severing of ties had been the correct decision.
After enduring Erdes’s relentless scrutiny and pressure until clumps of his hair had begun falling out, those days were finally over.
Now that he had received confirmation that Ferda no longer had anything to do with him, they were complete strangers.
No—if anything, Erembalt would be the victim in all of this.
"I’ll never have to get tangled up with that damned delinquent again. This is enough."
"What delinquent are you talking about?"
"Gah!"
He looked up at the familiar voice.
He was inside the carriage.
The seat across from him was supposed to be completely empty.
Yet a teenage girl was sitting there.
Platinum-blond hair and blue eyes filled with Mana.
Her name was Erdes Roton.
The President of the Magic Association on the Cerdes Continent, a living calamity, and a magic-wielding delinquent.
"Why are you staring like that?"
She smiled mischievously.
"Repeat what you just said. I’m curious too."
"I-I have committed a crime worthy of death. I spoke disrespectfully about you, President—"
"Do you think I came all the way here just to hear your petty confession?"
She was, in fact, infamous for holding grudges.
But that wasn’t why Erdes had come today.
"Tell me what you discussed with the Regent."
"It wasn’t anything important."
"Nothing important? Then why are Valdrova’s Attendant and the Regent traveling together?"
Erembalt froze.
"W-Where are they going?"
"I don’t know. Judging by the direction, it looked like they were heading toward House Rosnova."
She grinned.
"Maybe they’re going to wipe out the entire family themselves."
Erembalt’s face turned pale.
Cold sweat streamed down his back.
Seeing his reaction, even Erdes—who had only been joking—was taken aback.
"What? Why are you reacting like that?"
"It’s... nothing."
"Don’t give me that. You reacted because you thought I guessed right, didn’t you? Sounds like your conversation got pretty intense."
"It was nothing. I merely told Regent Valdrova that Ferda was no longer related to our family. She simply overreacted on her own."
"...What?"
Upon hearing that, Erdes neither smiled nor became angry.
She simply stared at Erembalt with a completely expressionless face.
That made her all the more terrifying.
"As I said, Regent Ferda does not carry our bloodline. Aside from his gray hair, there isn’t a single resemblance between us."
"Hmm. So you’re saying you disowned him?"
"That’s correct."
"Hmm..."
After hearing the answer, Erdes merely tapped her chin with her index finger.
Someone had to break the uncomfortable silence.
"And... Ferda is definitely using Black Magic."
"...Why?"
"When I told him I was cutting all ties with him, he used Black Magic to create a hand! He tried to strangle me with it!"
Erembalt deliberately pretended not to notice.
If he acknowledged the truth, he was certain he would die on the spot.
Her eyes shifted slightly.
"So... did he strangle you?"
"He... didn’t. He withdrew it immediately..."
"How well-behaved."
"Y-Yes?"
Erembalt blinked in confusion.
She, who hated Black Magic more than anyone, seemed utterly unconcerned about the fact that it had been used.
"He didn’t even strangle the father who came to sever ties with him. That’s why I said he’s well-behaved."
Not only that...
She was defending him.
Unable to understand, Erembalt asked directly.
"What are you planning to do about Regent Ferda?"
"Do? I’m not going to do anything."
"Even after he tried to kill me with Black Magic?"
"Yeah. Whether you die or not has absolutely nothing to do with me."
The young woman’s arrogant voice let out a long sigh.
"Seriously... every move you make is such a complete failure that it’s making me feel pathetic. The heavens really are helping that brat."
Erdes rose from her seat.
"I’m sick of you. Don’t let me see your face again. If I catch you pulling any stupid tricks, even I won’t know what I’ll do to you. Understood?"
"Y-Yes... I’ll live... humbly."
As though he wasn’t even worth speaking to anymore, she disappeared.
Silence once again filled the carriage.
"...Phew."
Erembalt unconsciously placed a hand on his neck.
Only after confirming that his head was still attached did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
A trace of guilt lingered over having cast out his son.
But it vanished like a passing breeze.
What truly relieved him was the thought that he would never again have to see that delinquent—or that filthy thing.
***
The President’s Office of the Magic Association on the Cerdes Continent.
A circular gate opened, and Erdes stepped out of it.
As though it were the most natural thing in the world, her secretary, Lu, was sitting at the President’s desk, handling all of her work.
"So where did you run off to this time after abandoning all your work?"
Lu asked with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
Erdes turned sharply and glared at him.
She looked irritated.
"I went to strengthen the foundation in the Far East. Why?"
"Weren’t you supposed to hate that Regent?"
"Yeah. Damn it all. I really acted like a complete idiot."
Cursing nonstop, Erdes threw herself onto the sofa.
Convincing the workers to form a labor union and creating a force to oppose him had been a good idea.
But the opponent had been far stronger than she had imagined.
"Wasn’t Stephan Pascal supposed to be a nobody?"
"He’s the future chairman of the Pascal Trading Company."
"What?"
Erdes looked up.
She looked as though this was the first she’d ever heard of it.
"Since when? Besides, weren’t there two incredibly strong competitors?"
"How old is that information? The eldest daughter disappeared with her husband to a village in the west, and the eldest son tried to become independent but eventually handed control of the Pascal Mercenary Company over to Stephan."
"Why didn’t I know any of this?"
"Because you’ve never been interested in that sort of thing."
"Then why didn’t you tell me?"
"Because you’ve never been interested in that sort of thing."
Erdes shot him a vicious glare.
Lu awkwardly smiled.
"Um... is that really my fault?"
"If you’re my secretary, shouldn’t you handle these things properly? Even if I say I’m not interested, you should still insist, ’Please take just one look,’ and shove the report in front of me."
"...That sounds like you’re talking about feeding a baby... Fine. I’ll go learn mind-reading magic starting today."
Lu answered with a look of complete disbelief.
"And Erembalt!"
The second thing that had irritated her.
"Who would’ve thought that coward was that spineless? A man from a Knight Family, terrified of a single Mage?"
"Well, everyone who wasn’t afraid of you ended up dying by your hand. You should be able to understand."
"Even so, how can someone throw away his own son?"
"Didn’t he say the boy wasn’t his blood? Besides, he already has two perfectly healthy sons. He was even willing to offer Ferda as a sacrifice. It would be strange for him to suddenly act fatherly now."
Crossing her arms, Erdes grumbled unhappily.
"Even so... after living together for eighteen years, shouldn’t there at least be some affection? If it were me, I’d at least remember the time we’d spent together."
Lu’s eyes widened in shock.
"You... would?"
"What? Got a problem? You think you’ve survived all this time after constantly talking back to me because you’re that talented?"
Lu immediately shrank back.
"Anyway... I couldn’t even find a weakness. If there’d been even a little affection left, I could’ve used it as leverage to threaten that brat..."
Instead...
All she had learned was just how miserable his life had been.
Erdes didn’t like that at all.
"Blue."
"Yes?"
"Am I really that bad at judging people?"
"So you’ve finally realized it?"
"You seriously want to die?"
"To answer honestly... you’re not particularly good at it."
"But the Association runs just fine, doesn’t it? Is that because I’m good at my job?"
"That’s because you’ll chop off heads if it doesn’t. Everyone’s terrified, so they somehow keep things running."
"Hmm... so that’s how it is. I suppose it’s time for a change."
"Indeed. Perhaps you should reorganize the personnel and replace everyone. Just like when you hired me."
Lu subtly suggested it.
Erdes stared directly into his face.
"Even if you say that, I’m never canceling your lifetime secretary contract."
"Damn it."
Once again today, Lu—the secretary of the President of the Magic Association—failed to escape.
***
After confessing his anxieties, Ferda returned to his work.
Although the wounds left behind by Erembalt had somewhat healed, the aftereffects lingered in the form of uncertainty.
’No matter what, the fact remains that my power is unstable.’
The possibility that another emotion could interfere, rather than acting through a single emotion alone, was something unprecedented.
If this had been the Ferda from before his regression, he would have eagerly experimented with it however he could.
To a mage possessing the Red Circle, emotions other than a single focused one were nothing more than brakes.
Ferda understood that balance better than anyone.
’Losing control only leads to tragedy.’
He would eventually oppose Valdrova’s will.
And as Valdrova’s Attendant, Luri would make him pay for his sins.
Being killed by Luri would certainly be a tragedy.
’But an even greater tragedy would be...’
Killing Luri instead.
’If I were to kill the only child Valdrova truly believes in...’
The loneliness Valdrova had carried flooded vividly into his heart.
After the Dragon-Demon War, she had lived for one hundred and fifty years burdened by guilt and loneliness.
Yet she still possessed one faint hope.
She knew that Luri still stood by her side.
In his previous life...
Even that had disappeared.
Which meant there had been no one left for Valdrova.
Only despair.
’If it were me... I would’ve gone insane long ago.’
Yet she hadn’t.
In the end, she had even given her heart to Ferda, who hated her.
Not an act of surrender born from despair...
But one final sacrifice in the hope of creating a new future.
’A woman like that...’
How could he abandon her?
How could he hurt her?
It was as though the rope he had thrown into the pit of despair had actually been rotten all along.
Instead of saving her, he would only leave her with even deeper wounds.
Just like...
The image of himself strangling her in that dream.
Don’t be anxious.
Whenever that happened, a sweet voice whispered into his ears.
There’s no reason for you to worry about that.
Because you’re strong.
Just do what you’re best at.
Ferda didn’t answer the voice.
He ignored it.
Again and again.
Until it finally subsided.
’I have to pull myself together.’
He had to steady his heart so he wouldn’t lose to that overwhelming temptation.
Ferda Valdrova.
A man who had always found an answer to every problem.
He decided to believe that he would find an answer this time as well.
’In the worst-case scenario...’
He would simply give up his life as a mage.
That would be far better than living while carrying a bomb that could explode at any moment.
’If that happens... what will I have left?’
Luri had asked only one thing of him.
To become a fiancé worthy of Valdrova’s stature.
Contrary to his expectation that time would gradually improve things, all he had come to realize was just how insignificant he truly was.
The only things he possessed were a little knowledge of the future and his magical knowledge.
By Luri’s standards...
He was already out.
It was a cruel situation.
The moment he abandoned either side, the balance would collapse.
And everything would fall apart.
I don’t want to give up.
Just as she had never given up on him, no matter what happened...
Ferda also didn’t want to give up on her.
Boom!
It was then.
A tremendous tremor shook the castle, powerful enough to reverberate throughout the entire fortress.
’Valdrova’s Bloodlust?’
No.
The vibration traveling up through his feet felt different.
This tremor had originated from inside the castle.
It felt as though someone had caused an enormous accident.
’Was there any experiment large enough to produce a shockwave like this?’
Ferda rose from his seat and headed toward the research wing.
The castle corridors were already packed with confused people.
"What’s all the commotion?"
"We were just on our way to find out ourselves."
"Didn’t the explosion come from your laboratory?"
"An explosion of this magnitude couldn’t possibly happen in our lab."
Everyone who could have been responsible for such an explosion wore equally bewildered expressions.
Even Ferda had naturally assumed it had come from Vernel’s laboratory.
’If it wasn’t there...’
There was only one possible source of an explosion on that scale.
"Sir Ferda."
Luri approached and reported.
"There was a massive surge of Mana. The location is—"
"The library?"
"How did you know?"
Luri narrowed her eyes as she asked.
Her gaze clearly carried the question:
Was it you, Ferda?
"If it wasn’t here, then the only person capable of causing an explosion like that would be Echidna."
This week was her turn to look after Mori.
Which meant Echidna should have been in the library, quietly enjoying Mori’s company.
With Luri beside him, Ferda headed for the library.
The moment they opened the door, they found the room in complete disarray.
Mori was sitting there.
Calmly brushing aside papers scattered everywhere like late-autumn leaves, she quietly continued her work.
The massive explosion seemed completely irrelevant to her.
"Mori."
At the sound of her name, she stopped writing and looked up.
Even at this moment, her eyes shone with pure innocence.
No...
If anything, she somehow looked refreshed.
"What happened here?"
Mori wrote her answer on a sheet of paper.
—Echidna has been annihilated.
It was written simply and concisely.
Yet the contents were extraordinarily grave.
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