episode_0268

Clearly, I think it was not a wrong judgment.

Successor to the Bagrand Dukes.

Rumors spread following the symposium and martial arts competition results.

The vassals who openly showed their intention to restrain Arina on her birthday.

Finally, someone’s inferiority complex.

This situation would not be beneficial in the long run, no matter what direction it was taken. It would be better to firmly explain that you are not interested in becoming the successor, so as not to create enemies.

So, I wanted to meet Marquis Magnuel and make it clear that I had no desire for the succession.

Of course, as the episode progresses, there may be choices that arise. That part should be taken into account to some extent, but it was possible to respond sufficiently with the information in the game.

The conversation continued smoothly.

Marquis Magnus initially balked as if asking why he was asking to talk to his rival’s sponsor, but when he chose the appropriate option and responded, they stopped tackling him further.

I went straight to the point and proved that I had no interest in succession.

Yeah, everything went well up to that point.

I thought that if I gave him an appropriate answer and then added the results, he would be convinced.

however…

“Of all places, Claire would come in.”

The pink-haired crazy bitch burst through the door with a message saying that this conversation had been leaked for some reason.

Even the end of the conversation I heard was when I said that I was going to leave the Duke’s house anyway.

“Tsk. It’s a good thing I changed the subject somehow. I almost got caught.”

Because he was able to properly explain that leaving the Duke’s house was more like leaving the family than becoming a monk, it didn’t lead to anything bigger.

However, this is something you really need to be careful about.

“You might think it was just bad luck since Claire, who was passing by, heard about it, but it was also my recklessness that played a part.”

If one more word were to come out, if one more word from my heart were to reach Claire’s ears…

Just thinking about it sends a chill down my spine.

Also, if my escape plan all goes down the drain, the system won’t give any answer. Since my other plan was ruined, I guess I could have gotten the bad ending.

“But should we consider it as at least half a success?”

▶Intimacy with certain characters has increased.◀

[ Marquis Magnuel ]

[Current intimacy: 20%]

As the next candidate for the Duke, he was lined up with Arina, and was showing a very poor level of intimacy with Karsain.

According to Harnie, this kind of competition among the nobles was so bloody that even within the same family, there were factions and divisions of voice, so it wasn’t surprising that it was wearing an ashen box.

But because of those few words of conversation, the gray intimacy box that had shown a -5% intimacy value suddenly increased to 20% and turned into a white box.

At this point, we can put aside any worries about interference between the Marquis Magnus and his vassals. Of course, we must be careful not to appear to be breaking our promise.

-Tiring!

▶10 minutes left until the start of the arena event.◀

“The time seems to be just right… Let’s go back soon.”

***

That was something that usually happened to vassals of noble families.

Supporting an outstanding family.

A vassal of a family with such lofty fame, power, and wealth must have had a very solid backing.

At this time, the opinions of the vassals are not greatly divided. This is because they join forces for the sake of their own power and the growth of their representative family.

But that golden age cannot last forever.

When the time comes, the next generation of patriarchs will inherit the family.

If you have only one child, it may be okay, but it is not too far off to think that if you have two or more children, competition will start to heat up.

From then on, the vassals also split into factions.

Even if they share the same goals when running towards them, when the time comes for a new leader to reign, they will each take their own rights.

The Marquis Magnuel was not much different from those nobles.

The time had come for a new head to emerge for him, who was also under the largest family under the Peselos Imperial House, the Bagrand Dukes, and he reached out to grab some more advantageous rights.

Why shouldn’t I trample on others for my own profit?

In the process, there were also dirty and petty numbers involved.

They also secretly tried to defeat other families.

He was trying to take the position he wanted with a spiteful look on his face.

Because that’s normal.

Even if they were vassals of the same duke’s family, it would not have been strange for them to eliminate their rivals.

Humans are beings who are endlessly consumed by greed.

They are beings who will do anything to gain wealth and power.

I am sure that no matter what kind of adult gentleman comes, the Marquis Magnus will never be put into that sugar-coating.

however.

The boy said.

There is no interest whatsoever in becoming the successor to the House of Bagrand.

There is no need for the title of Duke of Bagrand, which would not be strange if you looked down on everything in the world.

This is clearly nonsense.

No matter what status one has, there is no one who would not look down on that position.

Even among the imperial families of the world, there is no one who does not covet the position of emperor, as they are competing for the position.

but…

He was sincere.

“…If you had blamed me right away, it would have led to a favorable fight.”

The Marquis would have framed the other person if he were in that position. He would have taken advantage of the situation and given the conditions so easily, so there would be no reason to hesitate.

However, carcein was not used.

Rather, it helped the Marquis avoid a potentially difficult situation.

Claire clearly corrected the misunderstanding and eliminated any punishment that might have been imposed on the Marquis.

That was… honesty itself.

“I still can’t believe it even when I think about it again.”

Marquis Magnuel muttered with a hollow smile.

After carefully considering Karsain’s words and actions, he realizes that something was wrong even before Claire barged in.

“Yeah. Now that I think about it, it was like he figured out my intentions right away.”

He clearly indicated that he had come to see Marquis Magnuel, a vassal of the Bagrand Dukes, and not the patron of Arina Bagrand, and he saw through the meaning contained therein.

“The same thing happened with Mugu and Gwangsan. I also noticed what Princess Arina enjoyed, and why I became her sponsor.”

From his point of view, he is nothing more than a vassal.

However, without looking down on or letting down our guard, we thoroughly and deeply investigated and extracted all the information.

Since they ended up using it as a weapon and responding appropriately, it was safe to say that their plan had been completely seen through.

When you put all this together.

The Marquis Magnus was not superior to Carcein in any way.

The Marquis, who realized that fact, laughed in vain again, pulling out the poison from inside him.

“Are you saying that my eyes’ depth was that lacking?”

I had a prejudice against the other person because he was a commoner.

They were so absorbed in the qualities of a successor that they failed to recognize the brilliantly shining diamond that was there.

The depth of the eyes was really lacking.

– Prince Karsain will definitely stand out someday. I wonder if the Marquis’ vision is too shallow.

As Viscount Ptois said.

“Huh. Right. You were right. It seems my taste is behind yours.”

Among the vassal families of the Duke, the differences between the Marquis Magnuel and the Viscount Ptois were considerable. However, at this moment, I had no choice but to acknowledge his insight.

The Marquis’s cloudy eyes, which had always been filled with venom, were filled with a bright vitality.

“What a shame. If Confucius had been more interested in the succession, he could have fought a fair fight this time.”

It was truly a shame.

***

Harnie, sitting in the stands, buried his face in his hands.

‘I did it!’

The events of this morning are still vivid in my mind.

I thought it was my duty to repay you for your concern by carrying me in your arms since I was asleep at dawn and saying such things.

So I thought it would be better to do something before the game starts…

I hated material things.

I wanted to repay you with my heart.

What would be something that would satisfy him, but also not be awkward and have a little bit of a black eye?

As I was looking for something like that, I ended up choosing the cheering ball kiss.

But once you actually do something like that, all kinds of emotions come rushing in.

The heat from my face won’t go away.

My heart, which has been pounding loudly since a while ago, shows no signs of stopping.

Something, whether it’s shame or satisfaction, keeps making my body twitch.

The feeling of his cheek touching these lips comes back vividly.

As I was holding my trembling heart and lightly touching her lips, I heard Mina’s cries belatedly.

“Oh my. Miss!”

“Mi, Mina?”

“The game is starting, what should I do if I stay like that!”

Mina, who couldn’t stand to watch, called out for a while and pointed over there.

“Master Karsain, you’re just coming out here. Shouldn’t you be looking at all of that manly figure?”

“…”

It hasn’t really calmed down yet though.

That doesn’t mean I can’t watch Karthusian’s matches.

Also, there is something I need to say at this time.

Harnie shouted loudly, holding her trembling heart.

“Cheer up, Carcein!”

I hope so.

The fiance’s victory.

It contains everything without missing a single one.

A cool look for the man I like.

That’s what she has to do now.

***

-Tiring!

▶The arena event has begun.◀

▶If you win a fight against an opponent, your ranking will rise and you will earn points.◀

Is this finally the start of the final event, the arena event?

The main episode actually looks like it will be easy to clear no matter what you do in the arena.

But I had to achieve a certain level of grades, which was an invisible condition.

‘Arina will be furious at me for tarnishing my honor by being the Duke of Bagrand.’

Even though it wasn’t visible in the status window, it was something that could be guessed to some extent. Also, it was actually like that in the game.

The classic way to clear the stage was to fall from an appropriate location.

If you fight for too long, you will lose stamina and your work efficiency will decrease.

Considering the fact that only the winner advances in a 1:1 tournament format and the number of participants, it is more efficient to be eliminated around the round of 16 or quarterfinals. That is also an easy situation where there are no other options.

However, this time I won’t be following the classic clearing method.

“Yaaap!!!”

-Kaang! Kang! Bang!

“Ugh?!”

-Whew.

“Da, just two sums! The winner is decided in just two sums! The winner is Karsain Bagrand!”

─Wow!!!

There will definitely be a need for a process to resolve someone’s inferiority complex.