Chapter 7 – Misunderstanding (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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In truth, Alon had expected this sort of problem to some degree.

In the game, House Palladio existed mostly as fertilizer for the protagonist’s growth.

But within the Kingdom of Asteria, the name itself carried real weight.

Not honorable weight, admittedly.

Even if three generations earlier the family had once been counted among the kingdom’s more prestigious houses, the current House Palladio was famous for a different reason.

It was known throughout the east as a family of uncontrollable noble delinquents.

To put it more precisely, it was the sort of delinquent noble house that became extremely troublesome the moment anyone touched it.

“…”

If there was one thing Alon had overlooked despite knowing all of that.

“This wine has quite a distinctive taste.”

“Ah, th-that… yes…”

“I enjoy wine quite a lot, and this one has a remarkably unusual aroma. I would like to keep a few bottles at home.”

“I-I’ll ask Father and have them sent to you…!”

“…Pardon?”

It was just how far House Palladio’s delinquent reputation had gone beyond his imagination.

“…”

As he watched the young lady bow frantically, then run off as if chased, Alon could only stare blankly.

“L-look at that. He threatened Lady Malantino and forced her to hand over the estate’s specialty wine…”

“I-is that what happened?”

“Listen to his tone. It’s exactly how the eldest son of House Palladio used to threaten people. It’s a regional limited vintage too…”

Hearing the whispers around him, Alon could only think.

‘Leo. You absolute bastard.’

When he looked toward the group of ladies who had been chatting moments earlier, they hurriedly lowered their heads and disappeared before their eyes could meet his.

Alon truly could not understand the situation.

‘Wasn’t this just one of many delinquent noble families in the east…?’

Of course, he had expected bad rumors about himself.

He could understand other nobles keeping their distance from him.

But he had never imagined it would be to this degree.

More precisely, he had not known that House Palladio was so thoroughly established among the nobility as a family of complete thugs.

Or rather, the better way to put it was this.

He had not known that merely being misunderstood as the man who had brought down all the Palladio wastrels would earn him treatment like this.

‘So much for building connections.’

Just as Alon let out a small sigh.

“Hello.”

At the voice, he turned his head.

There stood a girl in a black dress, smiling alluringly.

Even among the noble ladies at this ball, her beauty stood out immediately.

Alon returned the greeting.

“Hello, Lady Xenonia.”

“My, you know me?”

“Of course.”

From Alon’s perspective, there was no way he could fail to know her.

The girl in front of him was the eldest daughter of Count Xenonia, another aristocratic house famous for its thuggishness, this one in the west.

Six years from now, she would no longer be merely the count’s daughter.

She would become Count Xenonia herself.

And later, she would be one of the three great hidden powers the protagonist would eventually have to deal with.

“You are famous in many ways.”

“Famous? Is that so?”

“It is.”

In short, she was the kind of person with whom getting entangled brought no benefit at all.

Seeing a subtle emotion flicker across Lady Xenonia’s eyes, Alon continued.

“Because you are beautiful.”

Noble society was, by nature, terribly complicated.

Within Asteria alone there were several factions.

Within those factions, royalists and noble partisans split again and fought their political struggles with enthusiasm.

And they were not struggles in name alone.

Real profit and power were at stake.

That made politics one of the most important matters in a noble’s life.

Of course, the reason Alon had come to the ball and tried to build connections was not that he wanted to play politics.

His goal, though already half damaged, was still to live peacefully.

And he knew very well that the words peace and politics could never truly coexist.

Still, he had wanted at least a minimal network.

Even the smallest web of acquaintances helped in noble life.

‘Except with this one.’

Alon looked at Lady Xenonia.

Like House Palladio, her house was treated as a western thug family.

But unlike House Palladio, which stayed away from politics because it had nothing to lose, House Xenonia made active use of political conditions.

In other words, compared with the Palladios, they were a smarter kind of thug.

Corporate-style gangsters, perhaps, was the more accurate description.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“It’s only the truth.”

From another angle, one might think that if Alon had no intention of entering politics, building ties with Lady Xenonia would not be a bad move.

That would have been a mistake.

People gathered with their own kind.

Politicians gathered around politicians.

Gangsters gathered around gangsters.

So what would happen if he built ties with Lady Xenonia?

If he intended to enter the sort of illegal business his dead Palladio brothers had enjoyed, there could be no better contact.

If not, it would become irreversible.

At worst, there was a strong chance he would end up as one of Lady Xenonia’s chess pieces.

Despite the outside rumors that he commanded a hidden organization with a Swordmaster behind it, Alon was, in reality, a thoroughly ordinary noble with nothing.

“I’d like to talk more. What do you think?”

“In my heart I would like that as well, but unfortunately I should be on my way for today.”

“…Is that so?”

For an instant, Lady Xenonia’s eyes narrowed and gave off the atmosphere of a predator.

An unreadable expression.

Then, in the next moment.

“…!”

Something seemed to surprise her.

Her eyes opened a little.

Then, as if she had understood something, she smiled and nodded.

“So the rumors were true after all.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing. I look forward to meeting you again.”

With that, she brushed past him.

“…?”

Alon turned to look after her in confusion.

* * *

Malantino’s specialty wine.

Penia’s citrus tea.

Billanda’s crafted metalwork.

One luxury horse from Paldion.

Those were the spoils Alon had gained after deciding, once Lady Xenonia left, that since he was already here he might as well at least try mingling a few times.

Not friends.

Spoils.

‘Building connections is hopeless.’

Alon let out a dumbfounded laugh at the collection he had gained in place of friendships.

‘If this was going to happen, I shouldn’t have bothered studying noble hobbies like wine at all.’

Just as he clicked his tongue and turned to do what he had originally come for.

“Please wait a moment.”

“?”

Another voice stopped him.

“Hello.”

When he turned this time, he saw a woman in an extravagant red dress, adorned in all kinds of ornament.

She looked as though care had been poured into every little detail.

Yet unlike that painstaking appearance, there was almost no emotion visible on her face.

“Good evening.”

As he returned the greeting to the woman who looked as though she were wearing clothes that did not suit her, she immediately asked,

“If your time permits, could we talk for a moment?”

At that question, Alon looked at her with renewed attention.

After all, only one other person at this ball had approached him first.

‘Is she from the same side as the Xenonia woman?’

In a single instant, Asteria’s list of hidden powers flashed through his mind.

Then he nodded.

“Very well.”

He did not know her intentions.

She was not on the hidden-power list in his head.

And above all, she had been the one to ask first.

So the two of them stepped out onto the terrace to talk.

“May I ask your name first?”

“My introduction was late. I am Roria, the third daughter of House Altia.”

“Ah… House Altia.”

Alon let out a sigh inwardly.

House Altia was another noble family of monsters, this one in northern Asteria.

Like Lady Xenonia, Duke Altia was one of the three major hidden powers.

‘Figures. No one who walks up to me first would be normal. I should have asked the name first.’

Thinking that, Alon quickly reviewed what he remembered.

And then he noticed it.

‘…Why don’t I remember her?’

He looked carefully at Roria’s face.

With all that elaborate adornment, her already remarkable beauty had only been heightened further.

‘With a face like that, there is no way I wouldn’t remember.’

In Psychedelia, House Altia was the one house where every single family member appeared as a hidden power.

Which meant that if she was truly an Altia daughter, then even if Alon could not remember every face after many repeated playthroughs, he should at least have remembered the name.

As he puzzled over that.

“…May I be blunt?”

“About what?”

“Please lend me your strength.”

“…My strength?”

“I am going to be assassinated soon.”

The instant he heard that, Alon understood one truth.

She was the missing piece.

Roria.

The daughter who died before the original story properly began.

That was why he had no memory of her.

“Go on.”

“The duke’s condition is no longer good. Once Father dies, my life will not last long either. I need power that can keep me alive.”

“And you thought of me?”

“Yes. The rumors surrounding Count Palladio are more than enough reason.”

Her voice remained calm.

But within that calmness, anxiety was unmistakably mixed in.

“Even if only temporarily, if I can borrow your strength, I can live.”

Alon looked at her in silence.

He understood her position.

He even knew that within House Altia, once the duke died, someone like her could easily be eliminated before the game’s story ever properly reached her.

Still.

“I refuse.”

“…May I ask why?”

“Because I do not have enough to give you.”

For the first time, real emotion appeared in Roria’s face.

She had probably assumed he would at least negotiate.

“I can offer compensation.”

“That is not the issue.”

“Then what is?”

“I am not as impressive as the rumors make me sound.”

That was the simple truth.

Leo’s death had not been his doing.

Avalon’s fall had not been his doing either.

He had no hidden organization.

He had no Swordmaster-class force he could lend to another noble house.

What surrounded him now was misunderstanding.

Nothing more.

“If I step in carelessly, I may not even be able to protect myself, much less you.”

“…”

“So I cannot accept.”

Roria lowered her eyes.

Then she raised them again.

At some point, desperation had crept into them.

“Even if that means I die?”

Alon did not answer immediately.

He disliked hearing a question like that.

But nothing changed.

“Even so.”

That was all he could say.

Roria stood there in silence for a while.

Then she gave a small nod.

“I understand.”

Her face had gone still again.

Too still.

Seeing that, some small remnant of discomfort pricked at Alon.

He could not help it.

He did not have the power to save her.

Not in the way she wanted.

Even so, as he turned away, one thought lingered.

‘If possible, I would prefer to see her alive again.’

That was all.

High above the terrace.

On the roof.

Two people hidden in the darkness quietly watched the exchange.

One was Deus.

The other was a woman beside him.

They had been keeping watch because of Yutia’s order.

If any information connected to the Avalon matter seemed likely to spread, they were to cut it off immediately.

“Should we report this to the Red Moon?”

At Deus’s question, the woman answered quietly.

“No. There is no need.”

“Why?”

“Because she is not among the ones Radan intends to kill. If that remains true, we do not need to move.”

“I see.”

Then Deus’s eyes shifted.

They had spotted yet another presence keeping watch on Alon from the shadows.

“Someone is following him.”

For a moment, mana rose in Deus as though he were about to move.

Then it stopped.

Yutia’s words had returned to him.

Do not think on your own.

Do not judge on your own.

Move only when ordered.

“…Let’s just watch for now.”

So the two of them remained in place.

Silently observing.