Chapter 102: Flancia (1)

The news that Hero Wolf had beaten the head of the Allend family to death spread instantly.

The nobles, like beasts seeking shelter from a storm, sought ways to survive in various directions.

There were people who disparaged the hero for lacking refinement, citing the fact that he brutally killed an old man who came to beg for forgiveness at his gate. There were also people who argued that they would be next, and therefore, they needed to strike first before that happened.

Some nobles attempted to retire to the countryside, claiming they wouldn’t die futilely in political struggles, while others felt reassured, thinking they wouldn’t be involved.

“We must actually grow closer to the hero’s family through marriage. He’s someone who fiercely protects his own family, isn’t he? Even if he’s a beast, he surely wouldn’t outright kill someone who isn’t just an in-law, but a double in-law, would he? We will survive this chaotic era as the hero’s strongest supporters and companions.”

The Flancia family was the type to harbor ambitions of becoming the center of noble society by forming a closer relationship with the hero’s family through this opportunity. The head of the Flancia family strongly stated his opinion while stroking his long mustache.

Most nobles nodded as if agreeing with his words, and some even admired it as a brilliant idea, sending applause. Amidst the imposing crowd, a man leaning back nonchalantly asked the head of the family.

“But who is marrying whom? Isn’t it ridiculous to even call the hero’s family a ‘family’? Who would want to marry into a family of street thugs? Huh? Even that girl who married off last time has become completely vulgar.”

The head of the family frowned at her words. This was because, as he said, hardly anyone from the Flancia family wanted to marry into the hero’s household. If the unremarkable family that the girl, who was practically given up on, had married into wasn’t related to the hero… and if the hero’s family and the Flancia family hadn’t become in-laws, this political marriage wouldn’t even have been considered.

A woman wearing a large wig, unfolding a wide fan, spoke in a low voice.

“Well. You know her. Flancia Isabel.”

The head of the family frowned at her words. This was because Flancia Isabel truly had nothing. Her ex-husband was a demon, her current husband was a slave, and all she owned was a dilapidated house. What kind of criticism was he supposed to endure by offering such a woman as a candidate for a political marriage?

The head of the family rebuked the woman for her careless remark.

“What does Flancia Isabel even have? At least if it were her daughter, Alice, but…”

A man wearing glasses retorted to the head of the family’s words.

“Wouldn’t it be too much of a waste of our investment to keep Flancia Alice tied down with a political marriage within the family? If we support her, she’s a child capable of exerting significant influence in the legal field. It would be far more profitable to connect her with a reputable family in the legal field than to give her to those thugs.”

The woman holding the fan smirked and said.

“There’s a rumor that the supposedly penniless Flancia Isabel recently acquired ownership of all the nearby vineyards. So now, she’s not just some girl with nothing; she’s the proprietor of a fairly sizable vineyard.”

“Her?”

The head of the family’s face contorted. He remembered Flancia Isabel well from her childhood. She had a beautiful appearance, but she was a timid child who couldn’t do anything properly. How could she possibly be sweet-talking local figures and controlling the vineyards?

The head of the family shook his head and said.

“I can’t understand it.”

The woman closed her fan and said.

“Does it matter whether she has ability or not? With that much wealth, even the hero’s family wouldn’t refuse. On the condition of handing over ownership of a provincial vineyard and a beautiful widow.”

“But hasn’t she already married? What do you plan to do about her husband?”

“We’ll just have to get her divorced again.”

“A woman divorced twice? The hero’s family will surely be thrilled.”

As the head of the family said sarcastically, the woman nodded brazenly and said.

“Isabel. She’s such a beautiful girl. If the marriage partner just looks at Isabel’s beauty, they won’t care if she’s been divorced twice or four times, right? Besides, a vineyard is just falling into their laps! You know how delicious the wine from there is, don’t you?”

“How do you plan to make her divorce him? Just telling them to divorce won’t work, will it? Since she has her own financial backing, we can’t threaten to cut off support for Alice. Besides, after Carson died, we haven’t provided any support to Isabel either.”

“We just need to create grounds for divorce. That’s all. Her husband is a hick and a former slave, isn’t he? We can find some fault with him somehow, right? First, invite them to come up to the capital.”

“And after inviting them?”

The woman clapped her hands together. As soon as the ‘clap clap’ sound was heard, a woman with her face covered by a hood appeared from behind the curtain.

“This is a girl who works under me. Isn’t she pretty?”

“So, are you planning to use this girl for an assassination?”

“If we kill him, there will be gossip. This girl will seduce Flancia Isabel’s husband. After luring the husband to the bed, she’ll perform the act, and then scream. She’ll claim Isabel’s husband raped her, saying he lunged at her with such sudden force that she couldn’t resist.”

The head of the family scoffed. Despite hearing the plan that treated her like a tool, the masked woman merely nodded with an expressionless face. The woman said.

“To rape a servant in the Flancia mansion… this isn’t just a matter for divorce; it’s something that warrants severe punishment, isn’t it? It’s a matter that could be dealt with very seriously within the family. If she truly loves him, we could bargain with his life. And if this incident has cooled her love, we can simply detain him at the mansion and push through the political marriage immediately.”

It was a fairly plausible plan.

The family’s summons was something Flancia Isabel couldn’t ignore. And the trap the woman set was a powerful one that Flancia Isabel’s husband could never escape. Whether the man refused or not, the initiative was theirs.

“It’s a decent plan.”

“Such a low-class man doesn’t suit the Flancia family, so we’ll divorce him and insert a man from the hero’s family. Well, he’ll probably end up involved with equally low-class people anyway, so he probably won’t complain much, right?”

The head of the family said with a satisfied expression.

“Good. Then write the invitation right now. Make sure to tell Flancia Isabel to come with her husband. After divorcing the husband, we’ll forcibly push the marriage through.”

The woman waved her fan cheerfully as she laughed, and the head of the family stroked his mustache and turned away.

The carriage wheels stopped. Bright sunlight was shining down on the home I had returned to after a long time. I was carrying a boy on my back, and Lumia stood beside me, greeting the priest. The priest glanced once at the boy I was carrying on my back and asked.

“Did you adopt him?”

I passed through the entrance without answering, as it was too bothersome. Lumia explained the situation briefly to the priest in my stead. The story of being tortured by Priest Andre was changed to being tortured by bandits, and the name ‘Amaranth Training Center’ became a bandit stronghold.

The priest, having heard the situation, clicked his tongue with a sympathetic expression, turned, and began to focus on his duties again. Lumia said to me in a quiet voice.

“Would you please go to the mansion first? I’ll report and then come up.”

“Uh, yeah. Take care.”

I patted her shoulder and then walked towards the mansion. The boy, exhausted from long torture and abuse, could barely walk and was markedly quiet. I kept talking to the boy.

“Now, there’s no one to bother you, and no one telling you to steal things.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. Really.”

The mansion was close. I gently opened the rusty gate and walked towards the main entrance. Since I hadn’t set a date for my return, I expected I could face normalcy upon opening this gate.

I took a deep breath. I felt the boy tightly clutching the hem of my clothes.

“Do I have to live here?”

“No.”

The boy’s voice held a sense of unease. It was probably because the gloomy outer walls and dismal iron gate seemed to imply a harsher life than the Amaranth Training Center. However, I had no intention of letting this boy live in my house.

Letting in an unnecessary outsider would reduce Sophia’s and my range of action. Because he was young, I also had to hide the fact that I am a demon. Besides, I didn’t particularly want to brainwash him either.

The reason I brought this child here now was… simply because I wanted to feed him and change his clothes before sending him to the farm.

“The farm is much cleaner, and there are many good people there. Don’t worry.”

Saying that, I opened the gate.

“Oh? Master!”

Sophia, who happened to be carrying laundry, looked at me with a bright smile. Elena, who was in the kitchen, peeked her head out and saw me.

“Oh? Evan! You’re back now? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Then, the sound of running footsteps came from the second floor, and Isabel appeared, grabbing the staircase railing.

“Evan!”

Then, the three women simultaneously looked at the boy behind my back, and suddenly frowned, looking at me.

“What is it? Why? What? Why?”

Sophia said with an intrigued expression.

“Master. Did you have that kind of taste too?”

Elena shook her head and said.

“Evan. Isn’t he a bit… too young? And he’s a boy.”

Isabel fidgeted with her fingers and said cautiously.

“E-Evan… umm… Ah, never mind…”

Behind my back, the boy was trembling with fear.

“Ah, fuck.”