Ch.730Political screening begins.

“Valenstein? Is it the same Valenstein I know?”

I asked sharply, almost interrogating.

Valenstein.

That was the surname of a senile old man who put on all sorts of pretentious airs about being a Ghost Blade, only to actually become a wandering spirit.

“If you’re referring to the Marquis Valenstein family, then yes, your assumption is correct.”

The girl, Belnesia, nodded slightly with a bow.

No wonder the atmosphere felt familiar—she’s the spitting image of that old man. Is she his granddaughter or something?

…No, something’s strange.

That traitor had relatives? That can’t be right. That bastard was definitely a lonely old man growing old in solitude, without even a wife, let alone children.

To begin with, it’s strange that a supposed granddaughter of an old man who committed treason would be alive and well. Wouldn’t she normally be executed under guilt by association, or at best, enslaved?

“I never heard that the senile old Incompetent Blade had a granddaughter.”

“……”

As Belnesia fell silent with trembling eyes, seemingly at a loss for words, Eleonora, who had been moistening her throat with tea, spoke up to explain the situation.

“The child is not a direct descendant of Werner Valenstein. She merely inherited the name, being from a distant branch of the family.”

Ah, a distant relative. So that’s how she survived. It seems they don’t exterminate entire families for being related to traitors here.

“I’ve been close with the child’s mother for a long time, so I took in Belnesia as my lady-in-waiting when she had nowhere to go after her parents’ deaths.”

“Ah… I see. I apologize for my rudeness.”

So while she wasn’t going to be dragged down by guilt by association, she was on the verge of ruin, but survived somehow thanks to her parents’ connections.

It was slightly suspicious, but the explanation made sense.

Given that Leopold left her alone despite being related to the traitor’s bloodline, he must have deemed her harmless.

Still, just to be safe… let me probe a bit more.

“I thought that senile old man might have had a hidden child somewhere. His swordsmanship was terrible, but seeing how he was involved with Isabella, it seems his hip movements were still decent at that age.”

I shrugged lightly, speaking in a tone full of contempt to insult Werner, while watching Belnesia’s expression from the corner of my eye.

“A child? How could that be? The age difference would be over fifty years.”

Was my sarcasm too obvious? Eleonora’s eyes trembled slightly as she answered.

She glanced cautiously at Belnesia, seemingly concerned about how the girl felt hearing her family head being insulted, despite being a distant relative. Though it felt more like she was gauging the reaction rather than being concerned.

“……”

Belnesia herself showed almost no change in expression. She was skilled at managing her face. Still, she couldn’t hide her quickening heartbeat and rising body temperature.

Is she uncomfortable with her family head being insulted, even if he was a traitor? That wasn’t a desirable response.

Respecting Werner Valenstein as her family head meant she might harbor resentment toward Leopold and me, who drove him to his death.

Perhaps even toward Eleonora, Leopold’s sister.

“Well, he was a shameless old man with no skill, nothing but filthy greed, incompetence, and a senile mind… who knows if he went around looking for young women claiming he wanted to rejuvenate himself.”

To test her loyalty more thoroughly, I raised the level of provocation.

“Baron Median, you seem to hold Werner Valenstein in great contempt, speaking like this in such a setting.”

Eleonora commented in a tone suggesting I should be more mindful. In my view, she was the one lacking awareness.

No, don’t you understand? The woman you’ve taken in as your lady-in-waiting could stab your throat in the middle of the night! I’m conducting this ideological screening to prevent such a thing from happening.

“Isn’t contempt only natural? Unable to overcome the wall, he betrayed the Empire, claiming he would plunge it into chaos. How does that make any sense?”

In truth, considering the Heaven’s Wall and the Holy Grail, his judgment wasn’t entirely wrong.

Creating chaos and conflict to fill the world with death was indeed the answer to removing the constraints placed on the entire world.

But I couldn’t affirm that. Even if becoming stronger meant turning the whole world into a slaughterhouse, how could I not despise a madman who actually put that into practice?

Moreover, thinking back, even his end was laughable.

“Look at how many people have crossed the wall in less than a year since that old man died.”

If he had just been patient for a few months, he could have reached the realm of heroes he so desired. But he couldn’t wait and ended up dying without ever crossing the wall.

I wonder if he’s beating the ground in regret in the afterlife right now?

“Even seventeen-year-olds have crossed the wall to reach the realm of heroes, yet he betrayed because he couldn’t do it… there’s a limit to incompetence and stupidity.”

The Empire alone had six swordsmen who had reached the realm of heroes. Including the Ka’har, it was close to ten. Including those who weren’t swordsmen, the number would be even higher.

So how ridiculous is it? The old man who would stop at nothing to reach the realm of heroes never set foot in that realm himself and only ended up helping others.

No, his death was self-inflicted from the beginning.

The conflict he started elevated me to the realm of heroes, and thanks to that, I was able to surpass him and cut him down in the final moment.

I continued to observe Belnesia’s reactions as I elaborated on this line of reasoning.

“……”

“You look like you have a lot to say.”

Her face remained expressionless, but as the colorful mockery of the Ghost Blade continued, her breathing gradually quickened.

“What, are you uncomfortable hearing criticism of your former family head?”

“…He’s someone unrelated to me. Just…”

“Just what? If you have something to say, speak freely. I’ll listen.”

“His Majesty Leopold and Her Highness Eleonora don’t have much time to converse. I don’t think it’s appropriate to waste that time criticizing someone who’s already dead…”

…An unexpectedly sound argument.

“Right, this isn’t the time for such talk.”

Leopold, who had been quietly listening to my words, subtly suggested it was time to stop.

“I don’t know what your intention was in bringing this up, but Miss Belnesia has nothing to do with the Ghost Blade. Werner Valenstein never even met or showed interest in his branch family members throughout his life.”

…Well, if that’s the case.

“Yes, I went too far. I apologize.”

I nodded slightly to Leopold and Eleonora in apology, then turned to Belnesia to offer her a light apology as well.

“Belnesia, was it? I apologize. My suspicion was excessive. Though you share the same surname, no sane person would respect such an old man.”

“…It’s nothing.”

Belnesia bowed deeply, hiding her face, and stepped back with an empty tray. As if asking if she could leave now that she had served the tea and refreshments.

“You’ve done well. Go and rest.”

“Yes, my lady.”

As soon as Eleonora dismissed her, Belnesia backed away and left the reception room as if she had been waiting for it.

I watched her leave intently, and only after the door closed did I turn back to Leopold and Eleonora.

Though I had wasted some time due to the unexpected identity of the lady-in-waiting, now that she was gone, it was time to discuss the main reason I had come here.

“Baron Median, you are quite an impressive person in many ways.”

To Eleonora, whose impression of me seemed to have significantly deteriorated due to what just happened, I was about to offer the position of advisor in the kingdom I would establish.

…Is this really okay?

—-

“So… what brings my brother and the Baron here? Surely my busy brother hasn’t come just for a simple introduction.”

Eleonora, who had been savoring her tea with the utmost elegance, asked as she placed her teacup back on the saucer.

“Indeed. Now that we’ve refreshed ourselves, it’s time to get to the point…”

Leopold nodded. He subtly avoided my gaze, which was questioning whether this was really a good idea.

“Eleonora, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“A favor… seeing that you’ve brought Baron Median, I assume it’s related to him…?”

Eleonora let out a faint sigh, as if anxious about what was to come.

“Haa… please go on.”

“You’re right, Eleonora. What I want to ask of you is—”

Leopold laid out the detailed explanation.

He explained his plan to grant me independence from the Empire to suppress the interference of the Church and the discontent of the nobles, but since my political capabilities remained unproven, he wanted to assign her as my advisor.

“So… you’re asking me to become a close aide to Baron Median—no, to the Queen…?”

Eleonora asked with slightly parted lips and a somewhat dazed tone. It seemed this was beyond her imagination, as her eyes trembled like an earthquake despite her effort to maintain a neutral expression.

“Yes. Rather than spending the rest of your life secluded in this ruined island mansion, wouldn’t it be better for you to follow the Baron and live more freely? It would be safer for you too.”

“Safer…?”

Eleonora glanced at me. A faint fear flickered in her trembling eyes. Fear? Huh, that’s ridiculous.

What, does she think I’m going to eat her or something?