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by Afuhfuihgs
A heavy silence hung in the air within the Lord’s chamber of the Frax family. The statement that I wanted Frax could be interpreted in various ways.
The Archduke only had one child, Ilia, and since I, as her boyfriend’s younger brother, wouldn’t possibly want to marry Ilia, the direction of interpretation was, in fact, pretty much set.
The Archduke observed me with an intrigued expression, then asked in a low voice.
,You say you want Frax… Before I misunderstand, can you explain directly what you mean by that statement?
The Northern Archduke, Illerid, wore a smile on his lips, but he exuded the aura of a wild beast ready to tear at the throat of anyone who showed even the slightest opening.
,I plan to unite the strength of the North.
Perhaps thinking my words were youthful folly, Illerid smiled and turned his head towards Raellan, who was silently observing the conversation, and said.
,The Perkus family has already agreed to join forces.
Raellan met my gaze and stared at me with emotionless eyes before opening his mouth.
,That’s correct. The reason I came here was also to cooperate with Frax.
,Is there a reason to unite the North?
Seeing Illerid stroking his chin with a ‘why bother?’ expression on his face, I gestured with my eyes towards the magic stone bomb in Illerid’s hand and said.
,It’s the same reason you brought this to the Frax family, who are closer to being rivals than collaborators with Perkus.
I took a breath. This is where it gets important. I need to continue speaking confidently and without hesitation. I said forcefully.
,A powerful enemy, incomparable to the demons sealed in the North, is coming. If we don’t unite the strength of the North to prepare against an enemy that will destroy everything, the damage will be beyond repair by time alone.
Everyone in the Lord’s chamber looked at me at my grim warning. The emotions in their gazes were different.
,Who is this enemy you speak of?
To Illerid’s question, I answered without hesitation.
,It’s the god believed in by the Chaos Church, commonly known as the cult.
,The god of the Chaos Church…?
Perhaps it was a completely unexpected answer, as Illerid and Illeyd both tilted their heads in unison.
,You’re saying that a pseudo-religious group is the enemy that will destroy the North?
I sensed a feeling of ‘just that?’ in Illerid’s voice. The North and East were far apart. Even with portals, there were only a few cities you could go to directly.
Unlike the East, the North had never suffered direct damage from the cult, so they were unable to respond and collapsed easily.
,The cult plans to bring their god into this world and destroy it. They think of themselves as fish trapped in a fishbowl. They want to break the fishbowl and gain freedom through death.
,Crazy bastards.
I nodded at Illeyd’s short assessment and said.
,What’s more dangerous is that the cult’s influence is spread everywhere. Of course, in the North as well. Even among those associated with the Frax family, there are cult followers.
Illeyd stroked his chin with a strange expression and said.
,We can’t punish people simply for believing in a pseudo-religion. That’s a personal choice. If they haven’t harmed anyone else, we can’t do anything.
,That’s how it has to be. Because the rotten parts will spread.
Our gazes locked in the air. I glared at Illeyd without backing down and continued.
,If the rotten parts aren’t cut out, the North will collapse not because of external forces, but because of internal problems. And they will already be acting according to the cult’s will.
Unlike the East, which united to fight against the demons, the North collapsed without much resistance due to internal divisions.
Of course, the Frax family fought hard, but they couldn’t protect the entire North alone.
Except for Ilia, who was with Roel, the Frax family was completely killed by the cult followers, whom they believed to be fellow Northerners and opened their doors to. Even the children and maids.
After thinking for a moment, Illerid met my eyes and opened his mouth.
,Seeing that the Perkus family is joining forces, I don’t think your words are false. But our Frax family cannot join. We are the Archduke family that supports the North. It is more important to deal with the monsters that directly threaten everyone in the North than to fight an invisible enemy.
Illerid placed the magic stone bomb he was holding on the table and continued.
,How about we invest in the magic stone bomb, and if a real danger arises, we support you then? For the safety of the North, I’m even willing to invest more money than expected.
I understood Illerid’s intention in making such a sweet offer. The Frax family wouldn’t step forward until the North was in danger.
Preserving their strength was only natural from the Lord’s perspective… I asked with a bitter smile.
,You’re speaking from the position of the Lord of Frax, not the Archduke of the North.
Instantly, an immense energy surged from Illerid’s body. It was such a powerful energy that I felt my chest being pressed by something invisible, making it difficult to breathe.
,Watch your words.
At Illerid’s grim warning, I turned my head to look at Raellan.
He raised his eyebrows as if he was dissatisfied that I had come to Frax first without even talking about the magic stone bomb, indicating that he wouldn’t be involved in this matter, and I twisted one corner of my lips.
,I believe you now fully understand how valuable the magic stone bomb is.
,Yes, it’s definitely a great invention. The magic stone bomb will be a great help to the North.
,Have you not considered why you brought such a great invention to the Frax family, rather than the Perkus family, who are collaborators?
The pressure pressing down on my body intensified. As if this was the last warning, he raised his aura without hiding it, and I countered by drawing up my magic power to push back the pressure and said.
,I didn’t come to Frax just to solve money problems. The magic stone bomb is an invention that could easily find investors even in the capital. But I brought it here on purpose because I thought the magic stone bomb was the most necessary item for Frax, the family that protects the walls of the North.
I raised my hand and roughly wiped my face. Then, I turned my head to Illeyd and met his gaze.
Looking at Illeyd, who was looking at me not with his usual playful and friendly old man’s appearance, but with the serious demeanor of the previous Lord of the Frax family, I spoke the words that remained in my memory clearly and forcefully.
The words he had heard from him when he solved the secret of the lighthouse, words that had been passed down in the North since ancient times.
-For humanity.
I put strength into my voice. So that the disappointment and anger I felt could be clearly revealed.
,I remember that everyone in the North knows that saying. And you’re telling me that the Frax family, the center of the North, is not preparing for anything and is saying that you will observe the situation because you are afraid of losing something?
Saying that, I reached into my pocket. It was time to use what I had put in beforehand, just in case.
I took out the golden identification plaque I had received from Bella and placed it on the table as if throwing it down.
There was no way the Archduke wouldn’t know what a golden identification plaque was. Illerid’s eyes widened as he checked the plaque and asked.
,How did you get this…?
,Even the Crown Princess, who will ascend to the throne, is joining forces. Our backgrounds, ages, and possessions are all different, but our goal is the same. For humanity. We have gathered to save the world.
I wasn’t excited. My voice just got a little louder.
,Are you saying that the best family that has protected the North for hundreds of years will not join that noble journey!
….
Illerid and Illeyd made the cowardly choice of silence instead of answering. A heavy silence settled in the Lord’s chamber.
I sighed. I knew why Illerid was hesitating. It was because of me. I was neither a noble from a famous family nor a boy who had reached the realm of transcendence.
Even if a high school graduate says the right thing, it’s only natural to feel more persuaded by the words of a Harvard graduate. Just the top graduate of the combat department and the golden identification plaque received from the Crown Princess were not enough to move the overlord of the North.
So, what I had to do next was pretty much decided. The reason I had raised my voice to persuade them until now was also a build-up for this moment.
I reached out my hand over the table and drew up my magic power to create a snow globe containing my memories.
I felt dizzy because I had used a lot of magic power, but I endured it and said.
,This contains clear evidence that my words are true.
Illeyd groaned.
,That’s…
,It’s magic that can convey my memories. You will be able to clearly realize what the true enemy of the North is.
With those words, I didn’t say anything more. I judged that further persuasion was meaningless.
After being lost in thought for a while, Illeyd and Illerid smiled and placed their hands on the snow globe. Then, the snow globe emitted light.
A moment later, the snow globe that had been emitting light disappeared, and when the father and son of Frax, who had been closing their eyes, opened them… I could tell from the emotions swirling in their eyes.
That the North had completely become my ally.
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