Chapter – 94
On the way back to the capital.
“What are you thinking about, Young Master?”
“Nothing much.”
Carlile responded to Maranello’s question.
“This old man finds you endlessly fascinating, Young Master.”
“Where did that come from?”
“You’ve caused quite a major incident, haven’t you?”
“Did I?”
“…Young Master.”
Maranello closed his eyes tightly at Carlile’s reaction.
“Young Master, you are attempting to break the order that the United Kingdom has maintained for the past several hundred years.”
“So what?”
“Young Master, this is truly a serious matter. The entire Kingdom could be shaken…”
“If it shakes, it shakes.”
Carlile retorted as if it were no big deal.
“It was something that would have been revealed someday, even if it wasn’t me. Did you really think this disgusting charade would last forever?”
“Uhm.”
“What’s bound to happen will happen. The resulting chaos is only natural.”
“But……”
“Many people will die. Because there will be a war. I know that much.”
Anyone who had played the game [Overlord] would know that fact.
The moment the truth is revealed, tension would grip the United Kingdom, and the accumulated dissatisfaction and hatred towards the royal family would erupt, clearly leading to war.
That was also the main scenario of the game [Overlord].
“Ultimately, as long as the North is fine, isn’t that enough?”
“Huh…?”
“Whether the United Kingdom falls or not. Whether the royal family is deposed or not. Whether the other families tear each other apart and fight. What does that have to do with us?”
“That’s not an incorrect statement.”
The United Kingdom was literally a federation of 13 families, including the royal family and the 12 great territories.
The territories ruled by each family and the people living rooted there had different identities and did not consider themselves the same ethnicity.
Their temperaments were different, their values were different, and as such, their ways of thinking were also distinct.
The reason the royal family, despite pushing their precognition, couldn’t completely unify the United Kingdom and remained at the level of reigning over it was also due to this.
“We just need to live well. The Sigmunds have protected the United Kingdom from barbarian invasions for the past several hundred years. What was the reward for that?”
“That is……”
“We received no such reward, only hollow honor. On the contrary, we only shed our blood, and the lives of the Northerners only became increasingly impoverished, rather than improving. We shed blood for hundreds of years, and this is all we get? Does that make sense?”
“Your words are correct.”
“So, whether chaos comes or not, it’s none of my business. We just need to watch the fire from across the river and profit from the middle.”
“It won’t be easy.”
“We have to make it so. We know the royal family’s secret, and the other families don’t. If we roll and roll this advantage into a snowball, it shouldn’t be an impossible story.”
“You are wise. Truly wise.”
“The wise one isn’t me. The Grand Duke, Selena, and Frey are the ones who need to be wise.”
Carlile answered indifferently and continued walking.
* * *
For the remainder of his vacation, Carlile quietly holed up in his room, reading books during the day and training in swordsmanship with Maranello at night.
His vacation was almost over, with about 3 days left until his return to his unit.
“Maranello.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Is Frey home right now?”
“By now…”
Maranello took out the pocket watch he always carried, checked the time, and answered.
“He should be training in swordsmanship with His Grace the Grand Duke.”
“When does it end?”
“Training usually lasts about an hour, so it should end soon.”
“Tell him to come see me later tonight after his training ends.”
“What is the reason for suddenly seeking out Young Master Frey?”
Maranello asked, puzzled.
It went without saying, but Carlile and Frey were not close.
It wasn’t that they fought or anything.
It was just that Carlile had lost Frey’s respect during his delinquent days.
Of course, Frey still treated Carlile as an older brother, but there had been no private interaction between them for the past several years.
“I’m thinking of playing the part of the older brother.”
“Huh…?”
“What, is it strange that someone like me wants to act like an older brother?”
“How could that be?”
Maranello waved his hands as if it were unthinkable.
“It’s just that you’ve been so distant until now, so I was surprised. If the older brother says he will act like one, how could this old man find it strange?”
“Being an older brother is a role for those who are fit for it, and I’m not.”
“Hmm, hmm hmm.”
“What, why.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing, my foot. You’re making a face that says ‘Did the person who knows that ever act like it?'”
“Ah, no.”
“Nothing, huh.”
Carlile shot Maranello a look.
“Anyway, go and tell him. Say I’ll be waiting, so tell him to come out by midnight.”
“Understood.”
Maranello grinned and bowed his head to Carlile.
‘I don’t know what it’s about, but it’s a good thing. The Young Master is now starting to look after the youngest Young Master as well.’
Mending a broken relationship is very difficult.
But if they are family, people of the same blood, it’s not an impossible story.
Moreover, although Carlile had been a delinquent, he had never directly caused trouble for his family, so there was still plenty of room for relationship restoration.
That night.
As midnight approached, Carlile headed to the meeting place with Frey.
“You’re here, Hyung.”
Frey, who had arrived first and was waiting, greeted Carlile.
“Yeah, sure.”
Perhaps because it was the first time he was having a conversation alone with Frey, Carlile replied in an awkward tone.
‘It’s strange how awkward it feels, even though I know him better than anyone.’
Carlile scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
Frey van Sigmund.
One of the main characters in the game [Overlord].
As the young lord of Decaron, his goal is to rebuild the Sigmund family, which suffered near-annihilation due to a certain incident, and furthermore, achieve complete independence for the North.
Of course, that was nine years later, and it was no exaggeration to say that such a situation would not occur as long as Carlile was present.
Because he intended to block the tragedy that would befall the Sigmund family at its source.
“Follow me.”
“Okay.”
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence flowed.
They were distant from each other and had nothing particular to talk about, so neither of them opened their mouths.
Carlile was the type to state his business simply, and Frey, though kind, couldn’t think of any topic to discuss with Carlile, hence the situation.
“Hey, Hyung.”
“What.”
“What was the battlefield like?”
“Heh.”
Carlile laughed.
“After all the trouble of thinking of a conversation topic, that’s the best you could come up with?”
“……”
“The battlefield. It’s dirty, uncomfortable, noisy, horrible, tiring. Well, yeah.”
“I, I see. Was it difficult?”
“What I just said *was* about it being difficult.”
“Ah…?”
“If you don’t have anything to say, you don’t have to force conversation.”
“Mm.”
The place Carlile took Frey was a location he had visited once before.
Arriving in front of a wall, Carlile looked back at Frey.
“Your hand.”
“Huh?”
“Give me your hand.”
“Yikes!”
As Carlile drew a dagger across his palm, Frey flinched back and created distance.
‘Since when?’
Carlile was quite surprised by Frey’s quick movements.
He was amazed that Frey had created a distance of almost 5 meters in the blink of an eye.
‘As expected of Frey, I guess.’
While Carlile was inwardly impressed, Frey frowned and spoke.
“What are you doing, Hyung?”
“Stop yelling and come here.”
“I asked what you’re doing.”
“Just come if I tell you to. There’s a reason.”
“Ah, alright.”
Frey approached Carlile with a slightly tense expression.
“Don’t be startled.”
Carlile grabbed Frey’s wrist and pressed his bleeding palm against the brick.
*Sluurp*. Then, the wall distorted, and a door leading to the Sigmund family’s secret passage appeared.
“W-what is this?”
“A door leading to our family’s secret vault.”
“Gasp.”
“You need our family’s blood to enter here. That’s why I cut your palm.”
“But you could have done it yourself?”
“Then it would hurt me.”
“……”
“And since you’re the younger brother, you should do it.”
Frey looked resentful, but Carlile didn’t bat an eye.
“Here.”
Carlile handed a potion and a handkerchief to Frey.
“Ah, this much is fine. I’ll just take the handkerchief.”
Frey said, wiping the blood away with the handkerchief.
“It might hurt if you leave it.”
“It’ll heal quickly. Look.”
Frey showed his palm as if to prove it.
“W-what the.”
Carlile frowned as he looked at Frey’s palm.
Because the cut on his palm from the dagger moments ago was healing in real time.
“Why are you so surprised? We’re Sigmunds.”
“What does being a Sigmund have to do with wounds healing quickly?”
“Why wouldn’t it? We heal quickly no matter where we’re hurt. You too, Hyung.”
“Me?”
“Have you already forgotten the time you fell off a cliff while running away?”
“Hmm.”
“An ordinary person would never have been able to recover. Back then, your head was cracked, your spine broken, and your arteries ruptured. If you weren’t a Sigmund, you never would have survived.”
Frey showed a proud expression, filled with self-esteem.
‘Sigmund… Perhaps they are even more monstrous than I thought.’
Carlile thought so and shook his head.
* * *
Meanwhile, Grand Duke Guntram had been anxiously worrying and fretting for the past few days, and when a letter arrived from the royal family, he became intensely nervous.
His second son… that worst good-for-nothing in Northern history might have caused an unforgivable incident, so even Grand Duke Guntram couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Under such circumstances, a letter arrived from the royal family, so it was only natural for Guntram to be tense.
However, the content of the letter he actually opened was nothing for Guntram to worry about.
It was rather somewhat surprising.
“…It says they will launch a full-scale offensive against the barbarians this fall, as a preventive war.”
At any other time, it would have been enough to make Guntram’s blood boil.
Usually, when the royal family ordered a full-scale offensive, they only mobilized Decaron’s forces.
Each time, Decaron suffered immense damage, and even if they won the battle, they always ended up at a loss when calculating gains and losses.
Of course, it was a gain for the royal family and the United Kingdom as a whole.
But this time was different.
“To gather and send troops from the 12 great territories, excluding Decaron… What is this…”
Surprisingly, the letter stated that the royal family would send a large reinforcement force.
And the scale was said to be at least 50,000 troops, so even Grand Duke Guntram began to doubt if this was truly a letter from the royal family.
The royal family, which had always forced only Decaron to sacrifice, was now going to extract troops from the other families and send them…?
Suddenly, the words Carlile had spoken flashed through Guntram’s mind.
> – They’ll conclude it was the barbarians’ doing and sweep it under the rug. On the contrary, they’ll probably extract troops from the other families and send them. Because the North lacks the capacity to retaliate against the barbarians on behalf of the royal family.
“…That kid was right.”
The royal family was moving exactly as Carlile had predicted.
