Ch.7979. Huh, I’m not going to do that anymore.

“Sophia Leyton, that’s my name.”

Sophia Leyton.

For casual readers of the novel “The Youngest Son of a Brilliant Family,” she’s a character whose name they might not even properly remember.

However, I know.

The fact that she too will soon die.

As the only daughter of the Leyton family, she is the closest confidant of the Etherian Princess.

She’s someone who provides power.

Of course, since Sophia is still young, she’s connected through her father.

“Yes, it’s a pretty name.”

“Your eyes don’t seem to be saying the same thing about prettiness.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Just that you seem to be looking at me with pity right now.”

It was the same thing the Etherian Princess said.

I deliberately blinked my eyes and laughed heartily.

“What are you talking about? Let’s have a drink!”

One bottle became two, and two became three.

She seemed like quite the drinker.

Throughout the drinking session, Lina Covet repeatedly apologized to me, saying the rumors shouldn’t be believed.

Each time, I told her it was fine since the rumors about me being a good-for-nothing were true, but by now, including Rohan, no one seemed to believe it.

By the way.

It was a very strange feeling.

Had I ever had someone who spoke casually with me like a friend without formalities?

No, really, there hadn’t been anyone.

Even though I was in exile, to not have made a single friend…

Tears seemed to blur my vision.

But.

Drinking and chatting with them now brought back memories of meeting friends before I was possessed as “Selden Alphonse.”

Memories of huddling together and laughing at things we didn’t even know why they were funny.

It was quite similar to now.

While I was lost in my sentiments, Rohan pointed at me and looked at Sophia.

“Oh right, I heard Selden will also attend the banquet in two days. We’re totally fated to meet, aren’t we?”

Since most of the conversation at the drinking table had been led by Lina and Rohan, Sophia, who had been quietly sipping her drink, widened her eyes for the first time.

“You know the Etherian Princess?”

Since I had already mentioned it once, I nodded nonchalantly.

“We are acquainted.”

“I see.”

Then, Rohan looked around once and carefully opened his mouth.

“The Etherian Princess… isn’t she really scary?”

“Haha! Is she?”

“But, is the Princess really close with our Sophia?”

I suppose so.

For the Etherian Princess, the Leyton family is a strong supporter in the succession dispute, and Sophia is the eldest daughter of that family.

Plus, they’ve been acquainted since childhood.

Sophia didn’t respond and just continued to sip her drink, and I smiled gently at the sight and continued.

“Then I’ve made quite a remarkable connection today.”

“Come on, if Lina knows about it, your family must be just as significant, right?”

“What does it matter? I’m a good-for-nothing.”

For a moment, there was silence, and then Lina and Rohan burst into laughter, except for Sophia.

“Wow! Selden, even after Lina apologized so much, you’re really holding a grudge!”

“Haha! I was just joking.”

“Look, Lina’s face is turning red again. What are you going to do about it!”

Just as laughter was in full bloom at the drinking table, there was a commotion from behind.

“Hey, do you know who I am?”

In any world, in any place, “Do you know who I am?” seemed to be a universal language.

I turned my head at the disturbance.

There, a man was raising his voice while grabbing a woman’s hair.

“How dare you ignore me?”

“Ugh! W-why are you doing this to me?”

“Why are you playing hard to get when I just asked you to have a drink with me! Your family is going downhill anyway.”

The funny thing was, the woman whose hair was grabbed and the men who were drinking with her were all silent as if they were mute.

It seemed they knew exactly who the troublemaker was.

A great family, and the son of that great family.

How impressive must he be for such incidents to occur frequently?

My brow furrowed at the situation, but I turned my body back toward the table.

Looking at Lina and Rohan sitting across from me, it was clear they knew the man.

Rohan bit his lip and looked at Sophia.

“Sophia, shouldn’t we stop Reagan?”

Ah, so it was Reagan?

No wonder he reeked of being a good-for-nothing.

Like Sophia, he’s from a family that’s closest to the Etherian Princess.

Probably the only son of the Strom family.

And.

In the end, both Sophia and Reagan will be killed by the protagonist, Serion.

The downfall of these two families was also a crucial turning point that significantly reduced the power of the Etherian Princess, as if her arms were cut off.

I quietly shifted my gaze to Sophia.

I was quite curious about what choice she would make.

“If I intervene, the situation will be resolved, but the consequences will fall entirely on you all.”

Lina Covet’s face flushed.

Rohan was the same, but he didn’t back down.

“What, because our families are less powerful than theirs?”

“Yes, they might not be able to do anything to me, but from Reagan’s perspective, you all are different. It means you could become targets for his anger.”

“We can handle that much on our own!!”

As Rohan raised his voice, Sophia disregarded it and turned her gaze to me.

“Really? Then we should ask for Selden’s opinion too.”

At Sophia’s words, Lina and Rohan turned their heads toward me.

Why is she asking this?

Is she implying that just because we’re sitting at the same table, Reagan could harm me too?

Without a tremor in my breath, I calmly spoke.

“Reagan, was it? Even the people who came with that man are trying to stop him. Surely, things won’t escalate further?”

Sophia slowly nodded at my words.

“Yes, the woman is said to be a noble too. If Reagan has any sense, he won’t make a bigger scene.”

Rohan showed a slightly disappointed expression.

“Selden, we might not be able to stop him, but Sophia could.”

“She said it could harm us.”

“What’s so scary about that?”

“What if it’s an issue that could spread not just to us but to our families?”

Rohan was about to open his mouth but then flinched.

It’s not for nothing that they say children’s fights can escalate into adult conflicts.

Sophia, of course, knew this fact, which is why she refused.

To others, it might seem cold, but Sophia’s choice was realistic.

I also didn’t want to get involved and have sparks fly my way.

As silence fell over our table, Reagan’s voice grew louder.

This time, it seemed to be a friction with the people who came with him.

“Why are you all trying to stop me? Can you handle the consequences?”

“W-well, what I mean is… there are many eyes watching, that’s all.”

“So what? Who here is someone I should fear!”

“…Alright.”

Even the people who came with him couldn’t stop Reagan.

I quietly held my glass, hoping the commotion would subside quickly.

“Kyaaah-!”

“Hahaha! Look at her chest. It’s huge!!”

Is he a bandit, not a noble?

No, even bandits these days wouldn’t do such things in a clearly visible tavern.

I wondered how he grew up with such an arrogant personality.

I’ve said it many times, but I’m not a hero.

I certainly don’t have a competitive spirit, and I’m a selfish person who does his best only to live well for himself.

But.

My fingers trembled at the woman’s scream.

It was absurd that such a thing was happening in the middle of a tavern, but it was even more so because there wasn’t a single person to help.

Reagan’s behavior was becoming increasingly rough, and people were quietly slipping away, one table at a time.

I turned my head.

A woman forced to sit on Reagan’s lap, tears streaming down her face.

As if possessed by something, I slowly rose.

Sophia firmly grabbed my forearm.

“Are you going?”

“Yeah.”

“Where to?”

“Not home, that’s for sure.”

“…You’ll definitely regret it.”

Regret…

No, the calculation is clear now.

I know myself well, don’t I?

I don’t take dangerous gambles.

If Reagan were to cause harm to me or my family?

I’ll erase him.

I will single-handedly erase the “Strom” family from the Eastern Continent.

Even the protagonist, Serion Lycus, did it easily, so there’s no reason I couldn’t.

Of course, the original story might get jumbled, but I decided to worry about that later.

Right now, I’m very angry.

Rohan and Lina also seemed to read the atmosphere, swallowing dry saliva.

I spoke to Sophia, who was holding my forearm.

“It’s okay. I’m not afraid of anything as long as you don’t spread rumors that we slept together.”

Sophia chuckled at my joke but then put on a serious expression again.

“If you go to Reagan now, you might not be able to play the good-for-nothing anymore.”

I also put a gentle smile on my face and slowly unwound Sophia’s hand.

“Yeah, I’m planning to stop doing that now.”