Chapter 172

“Whoa…?!”

The sound burst from the mouth of Hank, the loyal knight commander of the Celtrine family. His mouth hung open, letting the cold wind in as he stood frozen in shock.

“W-what…?!”

“What, what is this…?!”

“This must be a dream! It has to be a dream!”

The reactions of the other Celtrine knights were no different from Hank’s. Their faces were filled with astonishment, as if they had witnessed something impossible.

It was understandable.

The person they knew best, the troublemaking young lord, had defeated a renowned warrior from the east with remarkable martial prowess. The young lord, whose shallow skills they were well aware of, had done the unthinkable. How could they not be shocked?

“V-very impressive…”

Hank mumbled to himself, finally accepting the reality. But his mind struggled to comprehend. He knew this wasn’t just the result of significant improvement.

This was a level that would require being reborn from the ground up.

Meanwhile…

“Yes, I knew it! I believed in him! I always believed in him!”

The Count of Celtrine rejoiced as if his wife had given birth to their first child. Isabel, too, lost her composure and jumped from joy.

“Oh, my goodness! Our son did it! Our son actually did it!”

The two clasped hands and shook them vigorously.

“Brother…You might have looked a bit cool…No, no way!”

Liss felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought and shook her head vigorously.

Finally…

“Phew.”

Regina smiled faintly, her eyebrows forming a gentle curve.

This was the reaction of the Celtrine family.

* * *

“ …This…is this…real?! ”

“ N-No way…! ”

“ Yo-Young Master lost…?!”

The Cavern knights were in shock, their eyes wide open and their mouths agape.

They were veteran knights, who had been on countless battlefields with Arhin.

They knew.

How valiant and strong Arhin was.

They even secretly believed that he was second to none among his generation.

But he was defeated, miserably.

By the good-for-nothing eldest son of the Celtrine family, no less.

It was as if they were trapped in a nightmare.

Meanwhile…

“ Huh…Hmm…”

Marquis Cavern was someone who rarely showed any emotion.

His nickname, “Iron Wall Marquis,” didn’t just refer to his competence.

But right now, he was clearly shaken.

A rare sight.

His eyes trembled, and his shoulders, drooped lower than usual, were shaking.

His usually composed face was distorted, and he looked a decade older.

“ Ma-Marquis! He must have used some kind of trickery! ”

“ Exactly! He probably resorted to some cowardly tactic…”

“ Silence!”

Marquis Cavern roared.

The knights who had been voicing their suspicions shut their mouths immediately.

An overwhelming presence.

The atmosphere, which had been chaotic just moments ago, became icy cold.

Marquis Cavern turned his gaze to Count Celtrine.

“ Congratulations. You’ve raised a fine son.”

“ Ahem…No, no. It’s just…luck was on my son’s side.”

Count Celtrine quickly regained his composure and answered.

“ Luck? ”

Marquis Cavern’s eyes narrowed.

“ N-No…Th-That’s not what I meant…”

“ Humph, regardless…You’re a sly one. You managed to hide your ambition all this time. To think you’ve been raising a tiger cub while disguised as a dog…”

“ Huh?”

Count Celtrine blinked, his eyes wide.

It was an absurd claim, so it was only natural for him to react this way.

But now, that reaction looked insincere to Marquis Cavern.

A cunning schemer who was hiding his true intentions.

“ Good, that’s how it should be. It’s always best to be thorough, to the very end.”

Marquis Cavern continued, a sneer on his face,

“ I understand my old friend’s intentions now. I couldn’t understand why he offered that strategic marriage, when he cherished his granddaughter so much. He already knew. Like father, like son.”

A strategic marriage for a man is completely different from a strategic marriage for a woman.

A man brings someone into his family, but a woman leaves her family and becomes part of another.

Therefore, the weight of the strategic marriages proposed by the Caverns and the Ernberts was completely different.

“ Umm…what do you…”

Count Celtrine, thanks to his son, had suddenly become an ambitious schemer who the Iron Wall Marquis was wary of. He scratched his head, looking bewildered.

“ The Ernberts…yes, they’re a good choice. But you should remember one thing. The Ernberts failed to eradicate the barbarians, but we, destroyed the pirates.”

“…”

“ Then I hope to see you again, in a more peaceful setting.”

Marquis Cavern turned around.

His knights quickly carried away the unconscious Arhin.

And so, the important guest who had visited the Celtrine family vanished, with an unforgettable memory.

Our family was finally gathered together, peacefully.

Of course, it was my first time.

It was even my first time seeing the Count and Countess of Celtrine.

But this is…overwhelming.

…Those gazes…filled with love for their son.

“ Hahaha! Good job, you did well. I believed in you all along.”

That’s like the tenth time you’ve said that, Father.

“ My son, our lovely son. I can’t believe how much you’ve grown.”

The Countess was holding onto my hand, not letting go.

I’m old enough to be independent, but it feels like I’m ten years old again, Mother.

“…”

Crunch.

Liss, seemingly used to this, casually took a bite of the fruit before her.

Wait a minute.

Hey, guys.

If you openly shower one child with all your love, the other child will definitely grow up warped, you know?

Well, I guess she’s already warped?

…Actually, it’s Max who became a good-for-nothing.

But even he…I get the feeling that he was spoiled rotten, and simply snapped.

It’s all because of bad parenting.

Well, it doesn’t matter now.

“ Father, Mother. I have something to say.”

I changed the subject.

Finally, the mood shifted.

“ Oh, yes, tell us.”

“ We’re going all the way.”

“ Hmm? Going all the way?”

“ I’m going all the way with Regina. “

I reached out and held Regina’s hand.

It’s a bit embarrassing, but I guess this is how we show our affection.

“ Haha, I see, I see. I was too flustered earlier, but it’s truly a joyous occasion. Truly, truly.”

Count Celtrine said with a happy smile.

“ Yes, honey. I was so worried, I’m so relieved it all worked out. I feel at peace now.”

The Countess said, her eyes brimming with tears.

She must have been truly worried.

The Countess bowed her head slightly towards Regina, and said,

“ Thank you, Regina. For being so forgiving of my son’s…unforgivable wrongdoings.”

The Countess’s attitude showed that they were even more distant than I had expected.

Well, Max had screwed up big time…

“ It was…very difficult, Mother.”

A cold reply, coming out of nowhere, completely unexpected.

“Cough, cough, cough! ”

I coughed violently.

“ Hack, hack, hack…”

Liss, her face turning red, started choking, as if the fruit was stuck in her throat.

“ Re-Liss! ”

The Count hurriedly patted Liss’s back.

…What a sitcom-like scene.

“ I-I-I see, of course…I-If it were me…”

The Countess was at a loss for words.

Then…

“ Oh, Mother, I was just joking.”

Regina’s demeanor changed 180 degrees, and she gave a bright smile.

But I knew.

She wasn’t joking earlier.

I saw that “After all I’ve endured, one comment is okay, right?” look in her eyes.

“ Ha Ha Ha Ha! You’re good at lightening the mood with jokes, Regina. As expected of a lady from a prestigious family. Ha Ha Ha Ha! ”

Count Celtrine quickly recovered and laughed.

But it’s a bit too obvious that you’re forcing it, Father.

And…

“ Hack, hack, hack…”

Keep patting your daughter’s back, you fool!

“ Oh, oh my! Was that a joke? I had no idea…”

Thank you, Mother.

For understanding so perfectly.

…But now that I’m looking at them properly, I see it clearly.

She’s definitely the in-law…but she’s not in an inferior position. It’s the other way around.

It probably wouldn’t be like this normally.

Because of all the crap her son had pulled, they’re in a weak position.

I understand, I understand.

I shook my head, clicking my tongue.

Just then…

“ Liss.”

Thump.

Regina touched a spot somewhere.

The piece of fruit that was stuck in Liss’s throat, flew out.

“ Gasp…gasp…”

Liss finally caught her breath.

“ You okay? ”

Regina asked.

Liss hurriedly waved her hands.

“ Ahaha, o-of course, I’m fine! Don’t worry about it! ”

My family is truly at her mercy.

“ Anyway, Regina is my fiancee, and your future daughter-in-law. She’s part of our family. So please treat her comfortably, like family, Father, Mother.”

I couldn’t stand by and watch anymore.

And it would make it easier for Regina too.

“ No, that’s…”

“ We should be respectful until the actual marriage.”

“ Right, right, brother.”

“…”

My family’s opposition shut me up.

…There are times when even the words of a beloved son don’t work.

I guess I should just shut up.

“ Ahem, okay, okay. Do whatever you want.”

I took a sip of cold water and got to the point.

“ Father, I have something to tell you.”

“ Haha, tell me anything, son.”

“ You know that we’re on bad terms with the Caverns now, right?”

“ Hmm, well…it seemed like it. I didn’t know he was so narrow-minded, though.”

“ He’s not narrow-minded. He acknowledged you as a rival, Father.”

“ A-A rival? Me? What kind of rival…”

Count Celtrine looked bewildered.

He didn’t seem to have a high opinion of himself.

He’s no match for the Iron Wall Marquis, to be honest.

But in my eyes, Count Celtrine was no ordinary man.

Just by the fact that he was able to maintain his standing, in the central region, the heart of the Empire, where everyone was vying for power, he was a capable lord.

“ It doesn’t matter how you see yourself, Father. That’s how it is now. So forget about having a good relationship with the East.”

The Cavern family is a major noble family, the leader of the East.

If they’re on bad terms with the Caverns now, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that maintaining good relations with the other nobles of the East would be impossible.

“ No, but…we’re all nobles of the Empire…”

Count Celtrine looked at me, as if to say, “ Don’t say such things.”

He’s a good man.

“ I’m not saying to make them an enemy.”

I softened my words to persuade him.

“ I’m saying to solidify our stance.”

“ Our stance?”

“ Yes, we’ve been ambiguous so far, haven’t we?”

This isn’t a guess.

It’s a certainty.

Every time I played the game, the Celtrines sided with one faction in the civil war, and then another in the next playthrough.

It was obvious how things worked.

They were simply looking for the safest option after breaking ties with the Ernberts.

Things are unfolding in the same pattern.

They had a strategic marriage, but it was practically falling apart.

So it was only natural that their stance was ambiguous.

“ Hmm…”

Count Celtrine, finally understanding my point, became serious.

He looked at Regina.

He seemed to be uneasy.

“ I will stand with him… with the Celtrine family, Father.”

It was the strongest affirmation that Regina could make.

Count Celtrine’s face relaxed, but there was still a problem.

Regina is an important figure in the Ernbert family, but she’s not the head.

There was still uncertainty.

And those in the North would probably be thinking the same thing.

“ We need assurance. A guarantee that this bond won’t break. For both sides.”

I said.

“ Your thoughts have… deepened, son. Do you have a solution in mind?”

“ We have to show sincerity first. We have to make the first move.”

I said without hesitation.

Max was the one who screwed up, creating uncertainty in our relationship.

So, we should be the one to reach out first, taking responsibility.

With genuine sincerity.

“ Hmm, sincerity… What kind of sincerity are you talking about?”

“ This.”

I grinned, drawing a circle with my finger.

“ War funds. Funds to raise an army, an army that will eradicate the barbarians.”