Chapter 430

Chapter 430

‘It’s not easy. I’m Eri’s mom, I’m too easy on people.’
Adrian’s eyes were as cold as frost. His grip on the reins was firm, and the way he paced the room gave him the air of a master of a great house. He was the polar opposite of Erzebet, who looked stoic and had a screw loose.
“Lo, Ronan—Kek.”
Suddenly, Asel called out to me. He was struggling to shake off the chains around his neck with his fern-like hands.
“Asel.”
“I’m fine—hee hee, if it’s a secret, don’t tell, run, hit—.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks, pale from suffocation. The hand that gripped the hilt of his sword grew strong.
What kind of pants-pissing douchebag is trying to be respectful?
For a guy I barely spoke to, right before he was hanged.
“What an asshole.”
“Hoo hoo, that’s a beautiful friendship, but I don’t think Ronan will make it.”
“Why do you think that?”
“There must be something you’re looking for in this Acalusia, judging by the fact that you stopped your sword despite its power, it must be important to you somehow?”
“—Did you know that?”
“Do not underestimate the lion that roars under the moon. I sensed the power differential from the moment you two set foot on the estate.”
Adrian sipped his black tea. His laid-back demeanor gave me goosebumps.
This charming lady knew everything from the start. She even tolerated the loss of the invitation so that she could take matters into her own hands.
“Of course, some of the challengers are already strong enough, but they come to us for the benefit of carrying the Akalusian name on their backs–a category I personally shy away from–but I’m willing to give them a test if I think it will benefit Akalusia. Ronan, however, is a different story.”
“Different orbits?”
“You’re too strong, too strong, and I honestly don’t think I could beat you with all my might. The only two times I’ve ever felt this way were when I met the Fire Mother and Lorhon the Archmage.”
“——!”
“I wondered what the hell this creature was doing here, and I tried to find its purpose in its conversation and demeanor, but it didn’t seem particularly interested in the honor or privilege of being a noble, even if it had stolen the invitation Adeshan had given it.”
My shoulders twitched involuntarily. It’s a name I miss with a sickening sense of nostalgia. I can’t even remember the last time I saw his face.
Adrian concluded with an ultimatum.
“Please tell me the truth, Ronan, why did you come to Acalusia?
“I am—.”
“If you lie to me or resort to force, I, Adrian de Acalucia, will deal with you on the honor of my family, and I assure you that you may step on my corpse, but you will not take anything you want.”
Her eyes, revealed above the fan, stared back at me, unwavering. They were as beautiful as amethyst. The fierce determination of a patriarch to defend his family name at all costs blossomed from beyond those saccharine pupils.
You have a wonderful mother, Eri.
With that, he lowered the sword he had pointed at Adrian.
“Okay, I lose.”
“Hmm?”
“I didn’t mean to deceive you, I was in a hurry, and I was just thinking out loud, but it came back to bite me.”
He sighed softly. The chain was still around Asel’s neck.
I put the sword down on the table altogether, and Adrian bowed his head before he could say anything.
“First, let me apologize, I’m sorry.”
“——Do you have that kind of power and you keep your head down?”
Adrian’s eyes widened; she was genuinely horrified.
I slowly lifted my head, revealing a smiling face.
“Power is irrelevant, wrong is wrong.”
“Most people don’t know that. Hmm, that’s embarrassing.”
“I’ll start from the beginning, but first, can you get him off me?”
“Well–okay, as long as I show you my good faith first.”
Adrian, staring at me, folded the fan that shrouded his lower body. A beautiful face was revealed, and the chains that bound Asher vanished.
“Poohaha! Kek! Kek!”
Free, Asel flopped down on the couch. He rubbed his neck again and again, and tears began to fall. So much bravado for such a terrifying subject.
“Tough. Asshole.”
“Ronan, it’s because of me—!”
“Never mind, it’s not like that. In retrospect, I should have done this a long time ago.”
“Well, that’s great, but—right, the poison?!”
“Oh, right.”
I snapped my fingers. Given the circumstances, I’d completely forgotten. I quickly glanced at Adrian, not wanting to melt all over myself.
“Take it.”
She waved it off as if it was no big deal. The bottle with the antidote was still on the table. I picked up the bottle, looking a little skeptical.
I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the antidote was also a trap.
“I’ll have half a drink first, Asel. Is that okay?”
“Ha, but—.”
“I’ll die later than you, even if it’s fake, so drink up.”
When I opened the bottle, I was greeted with a sweet aroma. It smelled like orange juice and looked like orange juice. The cold liquid slid down my throat.
“Cook.”
The corners of Adrian’s mouth lifted, and Asell, catching the small change, sucked in a breath. I swallowed and squinted.
“This is—!”
A shiver ran down my spine.
I drank exactly half of it and took my mouth off the bottle.
“——Orange juice.”
“That’s right, I didn’t put any poison in it in the first place, and my acting is pretty good, don’t you think?”
“Holy shit. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
I gulped down the remaining juice and grabbed the empty bottle. When I opened my hand again, shards of crushed glass fell out like grains of sand.
A new scream burst from Asel’s mouth.
“Pfft! Do it, antidote!”
“It’s juice, asshole. It’s the freshest orange juice I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Woohoo, hoohoo, hoohoo—!”
Adrian let out a weak laugh. He shielded his eyes with his fan, and the giggling was not the least bit regrettable. He puffed on his cigarette and winced.
“You’re very naughty, my lord. Did you know my liver was up to my uvula because I didn’t show it? Honestly, if you were any less pretty, I would have thrown that stupid bottle in your face.”
“Woohoo, woohoo, I’m sorry, they’re my daughter’s age, they’re lying, but they don’t seem like really bad people, so I cheated a little bit.”
“If you didn’t meet those conditions, you really took the poison pill, didn’t you?”
“No, no. I would have just magically disposed of him, and he would have been reduced to a handful of ashes and scattered into the Taimen River before he even entered the mansion, let alone met me, and I don’t have a lot of time on my hands.”
“Hic.”
Asel froze at the ghastly remark. I wasn’t surprised, as I thought it was only natural. In fact, the fact that Gaju had been alone with me since dawn meant that he didn’t see us in a bad light.
Damn, I still have a fresh taste in my mouth.
I sat back down on the couch and opened my mouth.
“Then I’ll tell you what you’ve been wondering, and it’s going to be pretty long, are you okay with that?”
“I don’t care if I hear it over the course of days, as long as it’s the truth.”
“It won’t take more than a few days, so where do I start—.”
I hesitated for a moment and decided to just tell it all from the beginning.
As with all the parallel worlds I’ve traveled through, I needed to share what I knew with the world’s powers that be in order to smoothly prepare for its destruction.
The master of Acalusia, the great house that bisects the empire, was a perfect fit.
“Regression? Parallel worlds—? Are you expecting me to believe that?”
“You’d better believe it, it’s my job to make it happen.”
I offered as evidence information that only those who had traveled back in time could know. I had little contact with Akalusia, but I was able to convince them with a list of scoops from the wizarding world and politics.
“In the basement of the Dawn Demon Tower, the Bazura of Destruction is on the loose, the Squadron Master has long since been swallowed up, and the head of Akalusia, as you’ve probably noticed, is a bastard named Varka who’s currently pandering to the Emperor. Have you noticed that the demigods are shifting a bit?”
“It’s top secret, top secret, top secret, how could you—!”
“I know a lot of more secretive things, too, like the recent—.”
Before I knew it, Adrian was listening with rapt attention. So was Asel, who listened once more.
Regressions and parallel worlds, giant invasions and zealots, and romance with Adeshan.
By the time I’d explained all the backstory and tied up the loose ends, explaining that I was here to find a magic tool to track Akasha, the sun was already rising outside the window.
“Yes, it’s over, and that’s why I came to Acalucia.”
“—— in the world.”
Adrian exclaimed.
She’d been up all night, but there was no sign of fatigue on her uplifted face. She was repeating what I had said, and then she stopped.
“So it was meant to be, I thought the Empire was rapidly falling ill, but I never thought such evil was behind it, Nebula Clazier—.”
“I know you don’t like it, but we have to work with Grancia as well, and in the original world, Erzebeth was the bridgehead—right, where is she now?”
“Eri will be in her room, and I don’t know what miracle has happened to turn her into a social butterfly, but it’s impossible right now, because the girl who was like a sister to me has been completely destroyed since she left.”
Adrian bit his lip and released it. For a moment, his heart sank.
I knew who ‘that kid’ was referring to.
Adrian straightened his expression.
“I can’t believe you were Adeshan’s lover. Your insight is unusually sharp, and you are indeed a warlord.”
“How was it? You as a foster daughter.”
“She was a very bright child, very talented, but also beautiful and thoughtful, and she was loved by so many people—in fact, she was Eri’s only friend, and when she died, I was heartbroken.”
A shadow fell over Adrian’s face, and it didn’t take much effort to realize that she was grieving like someone who had lost a biological daughter.
Calm down, you were shaking enough in the last world.
He swiped his hand across his face, then asked.
“Will we ever know how he died?”
“It was an accident, I tripped on a cliff on the estate, and by the time Eri heard me and ran to me, it was too late.”
Adeshan of this world died of a fall. Beneath the distant cliffs was an all-devouring swamp.
Erzebet ran screaming, and by the time he used his magic to tear the swamp apart and pull her out, she was already a suffocated corpse.
“—Okay, it’s an accident.”
“It’s something I never want to think about again. Eri didn’t eat for almost a month after the funeral, just crying. She’s a little better now, but—it’s going to take more time to heal.”
Adrian sighed heavily. I didn’t answer.
Not because I was sad, but because my doubts deepened. It seemed unlikely that a warlord who had once regressed would die of a mere slip and fall, no matter how swampy the ground beneath him.
“That’s weird.
Something smelled bad. Intended death. The certainty of death creeped up on me.
But who and why?
A heavy silence followed. Adrian took a sip of his tea and smiled.
“I hope for the love of all the world you’re happy for that child, but you’re getting a little depressing, so why don’t we change the subject?”
“Oh, okay.”
“Well, I see your point, and it would be strange for me not to believe you after all this evidence. I, Adrian de Acalusia, am willing to assist you, Ronan, in your quest to capture the villain known as Akasha.”
“Be merciful.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. He was a man of words, after all.
It was a moment of honesty, and a sigh of relief.
“But Asel coming to Acalusia is a different story.”
“Yes?”
“The way it’s supposed to be, no one can enter Acalusia without an invitation, and while I recognize the value of Ronan’s story and the fact that he lied about having an invitation and did it for a friend who fell on hard times, we have to stick to the rules.”
“—And does this poor dwarf become a wild dog again?”
“Uh, no. I can’t admit you right away, but I’ll let you take the test itself, because you’ve come all this way and gone through all this trouble, and it would be a bit harsh to just turn you away.”
“Uh, really?”
Asel raised an eyebrow. Adrian answered with a benevolent smile.
Her smile was benevolent, but I had to fight back a giggle as I realized that was her strategy, too.
‘You must be quite covetous of Asel, she’s not an easy woman to please.
It was a ploy to bind him more tightly to Akalusi. If she let him in without formalities, as she was doing with me, he would never feel a sense of belonging or accomplishment like the other sheep, so she was making him take the test. She locked eyes with him.
“It won’t be easy, but if you pass the test and prove your talent, you’ll become part of the Acalusia family and receive all the support you deserve. We’ll invest heavily in your admission to Phileon Academy, your future, and your independence.”
“Yes, I’ll do it—! But what if I fail the test?”
“Hoo hoo–you’re asking the obvious.”
Adrian smirked. A seductive laugh echoed through the parlor.
I waited for an answer, imagining horrible penalties like exile or assassination for secrecy.
“We’ll provide you with a carriage and you can go home.”
“E–is that it?”
“Oh, and there’s a little something for you as an incentive. Oh, I forgot to mention that.”
Adrian clapped lightly. The gift, by the way, was a tea set from the Acalusian estate.
Me and Asel were completely dumbfounded.
“Uh-huh. I see.”
“Huh? Why?”
“No–I honestly thought they’d handle it a little more coldly, like poisoning his meals or sending assassins–making him pay for daring to look up to the sky.”
“Oh, no, that’s not possible, we wouldn’t do anything that even the pigs in Gracia wouldn’t do.”
Adrian exclaimed in disbelief, straightening her clothes as she spoke.
“Talent is a beautiful flower, but if it doesn’t have soil to root in, it won’t bloom. It always needs the help of seemingly ordinary beings to break through the hard shell and sprout.”
“Huh.”
“So feel free to take the test. I’m going to need some time to support Ronan anyway, so get a good night’s rest and take it tomorrow.”
I forgot what I was going to say. Acalusia was not a great house that bisected an empire for nothing.
In retrospect, Erzebet was as kind-hearted as Arsèle when it came to talking about sheep and wolves.
Tearing my gaze away from her face, I ruffled Asel’s hair.
“On these terms, I’ll take it, Asel.”
“Hoo hoo, it’s not going to be that easy, because we’re going to prepare you for the hardest test you’ll ever take, and it’s a test that no more than three people have passed in nearly a decade.”
“I don’t care what it is, this dwarf is a monster, right?”
“I, I am a person—!”
Asel put up a futile resistance. I was about to pick him up, telling him that he’s human and he’s going to pee. Adrian’s face, which had been smiling at us, suddenly hardened.
“—Since when.”
“Huh?”
The look in her eyes was strange. I hurriedly turned my head in the direction she was looking. A girl’s figure peeked through the doorway into the parlor.
Hair that fell like a weeping willow and shielded her face, a flowing nightgown, and a fine line of flesh that peeked over her shoulders. She looked so different, but I knew she was someone I knew.
I met her violet eyes and reflexively blurted out her name.
“Erzebet.”