Chapter 140

Grand Duke Pret glanced at the reception hall.

He was wondering if it was really okay to have a secret conversation.

“Don’t worry,” I said.

“I entrusted the design of this balcony to Meh.”

“Meh al-Hmed?”

“Yes, he’s an excellent technician.”

“Hmm……”

The Grand Duke stroked his beard.

He knew of Meh al-Hmed and that his skills were trustworthy.

“Speak with ease.”

“…Still, I am wary……”

“Who on earth is it that makes the great Grand Duke Pret so cautious?”

“Who do you think it is?”

Grand Duke Pret’s eyes turned sharp.

“It’s you, Shion.”

“What about me?”

“You ask because you don’t know?”

“I asked because I don’t know.”

The Grand Duke snorted at my shameless tone.

“A bundle of secrets. When you get involved, nothing goes as expected.”

“Didn’t I bring you profits beyond your expectations?”

“That’s why I’m more cautious. No matter how I think about it, it feels like I’m being played by you.”

“Me, playing Grand Duke Pret?”

I smiled.

“People would laugh. A guy like me, playing the master of West-Erta.”

“…The master of West-Erta is its people.”

“I understand. You have to say that for public appearances.”

“……”

Grand Duke Pret’s eyes sank sharply.

Maesh, Schmeizen, Erta.

The three great nations of the West, rich in history.

But now, Erta was split in two.

The cause was the conflict between the royalist and aristocratic factions that had continued for a century.

The emotional rift had deepened with time.

Finally, 53 years ago, the war with Cordis had split the nation in two.

Into West-Erta and East-Erta.

Into the pro-Empire faction and the anti-Empire faction.

Into the aristocratic faction and the royalist faction.

If the master of East-Erta was the king, then the master of West-Erta was the head of the aristocratic council, Grand Duke Pret.

It was an open secret known to all in the West.

Even facing a man of power before whom even Princess Masiet had to bow her head, I was not just composed but shameless.

I was Shion Pollinglight, who had not bent even before the Great Emperor Continua.

If I were to bend just because my opponent was strong, how could I dream the foolish dream of bringing down the Empire?

Grand Duke Pret did not like my attitude.

But if asked if he was displeased, the answer was no.

He was curious as to what secrets I hid to be so confident and he also had the desire to make me his ally.

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“Let’s see. It was so long ago.”

“Long ago? It was just one year ago. Didn’t you suddenly walk into my office and say you wanted to buy a seat in the Dawn Brotherhood’s Lower House?”

“Ah, I think that might have happened.”

“I said it then. That you were either a massive liar or a massive madman.”

“Which do you think it is?”

“Which is it?”

Grand Duke Pret stroked his beard.

“Both.”

“You think I’m a massive liar and a massive madman?”

“Am I wrong?”

“You’re completely wrong.”

“See, I was right. It’s another lie.”

The Grand Duke chuckled softly.

“They say you brought down Del Conti not in a year, but in five days.”

“I prepared for a long time.”

“And on top of that, you swallowed their businesses whole.”

“I have indigestion because of it.”

The Grand Duke shot a look at me.

Though he still had a smile on his face, he was brimming with killing intent.

“What I demanded was their collapse.”

“They did collapse. The current head of the family is dead, and I’ve even made the former head our accountant. Could they have collapsed more miserably?”

“You know who was behind them! They’re puppets of Cordis!”

He did not hide his anger.

The hatred for the Empire was so palpable that I even felt a sense of welcome.

“You should have exterminated them, not swallowed them! So whatever tricks the Empire bastards pulled would be useless!”

“Then you should have said so. Our deal was only for me to bring down Del Conti. What I do with their businesses is not a matter for the Grand Duke to interfere in.”

“……”

My eyes shone blue.

There was a spirit in them that could make even Grand Duke Pret stop talking.

“Perhaps you’ve misunderstood because I’ve been so compliant, Grand Duke?”

“……”

“I am not your subordinate, but your business partner.”

The Grand Duke’s hand trembled.

It was as if it were being pressed down by an unknown force.

In fact, it was. From the moment my eyes had sunk deep, dozens of ‘Fantasy Fingers’ had been floating around.

Ready to twist Grand Duke Pret’s neck at any moment.

“Just give me the promised payment.”

“…I will.”

The Grand Duke took out a small box.

I saw through it that the box had eight layers of protective magic cast on it.

“…I went to great lengths. I put my all into it, not doubting for a moment that you would continue to be of help to me.”

He opened the box and took out its contents.

It was a silver brooch.

An emblem of the sun rising over a mountain range was engraved on it.

“You’re not unaware of what this brooch signifies.”

“This is……”

I accepted the silver brooch.

It wasn’t with admiration.

I had seen it to the point of being sick of it before my regression, and it was the same object I had worn on my chest for a long time.

My emotion was closer to a kind of nostalgia.

A faint, blooming emotion, as if I had finally met an old friend.

“It is the symbol that you are now a Lower House Member of the Dawn Brotherhood.”

The secret society of 88, the Dawn Brotherhood.

There were seventy-one Lower House Members, and above them were seventeen Upper House Members called the Elders.

Even being a Lower House Member was not a title to be taken lightly.

For instance, Bishop Hille, for instance, Princess Masiet, for instance, Madwir Mol Meder.

If one wasn’t considered the best in their field, they were not qualified to be a member of the Dawn Brotherhood.

“How do you feel, Shion?”

“Not bad.”

I carefully placed the silver brooch inside my coat.

The Dawn Brotherhood was, after all, a secret society.

It held the 11 nations of the West in its hand and controlled them, but ordinary people, even most nobles, did not even know of their existence.

“There will be a regular meeting soon. I will let you know about the meeting another time.”

Grand Duke Pret said so and drained his wine.

I chuckled, watching the Grand Duke continuously glancing at me.

“Are you having second thoughts?”

“……!”

“You look like you’re thinking, ‘I’ve brought him in, but what if this bastard turns out to be pro-Empire?’”

“…You’re like a ghost.”

Grand Duke Pret almost spat out his wine.

I was right.

Within the Dawn Brotherhood, there was an invisible factional split.

It was a conflict not just within the Dawn Brotherhood, but one that all of the West was experiencing.

It was the confrontation between the pro-Empire and anti-Empire factions.

Half a century had passed since the war with the Cordis Empire.

Animosity remained, but not many who had actually experienced the war were left.

“Every country is suffering from it.”

Grand Duke Pret looked very displeased.

His already stern face became even sterner.

“Do you know what the young ones are saying?”

“What are they saying?”

“‘We must accept the good things from Cordis,’ ‘Emperor Ferbias is different from the Great Emperor Continua,’ ‘Aren’t they also pursuing a pro-West policy,’ ‘What is there to gain by antagonizing such a powerful thousand-year empire!’”

The Grand Duke gave an impassioned speech, and I chuckled.

The sight of the Grand Duke fuming, his mustache trembling, was amusing, and I couldn’t help but laugh at those who advocated for understanding the Cordis Empire.

From my perspective, as the regressor prince who knew the Empire would soon invade, it was simply laughable.

“So, you’re worried that since I’m also a young pup, I’ll act the same way?”

“It would be a lie to say I’m not.”

“I think this gift might help clear up any misunderstanding.”

I held out a thick stack of papers.

“What is this?”

“The Del Conti family’s secret ledger.”

“……!!!”

Grand Duke Pret’s eyes shot up in surprise.

He wondered if this was how I had managed to swallow Del Conti whole, by getting my hands on their secret ledger.

“With this data, you should be able to root out a good number of the Empire’s puppets.”

“…This will be very useful.”

He did not hesitate to express his gratitude.

For the staunchly anti-Empire Grand Duke, Del Conti’s secret ledger would be a great help.

It would also be easier to weed out the spies within West-Erta.

“Since I’ve received a gift, I can’t just stand by.”

The Grand Duke said, stroking his mustache.

“I’ll create an official identity for you. Think of it as a wedding gift.”

“What will you give me?”

“You said you received a title in Maesh under the name Viscount Rampo?”

“It’s an honorary viscountcy. I bought it with money.”

“Next week, a real viscount of the same name will be born in West-Erta.”

Grand Duke Pret casually said he would appoint me as a viscount.

Even knowing I was an honorary noble of Maesh, he meant to make me a noble of West-Erta.

It was something that required a great deal of diplomatic and political cost, but for Grand Duke Pret, it was an endlessly simple matter.

“I’m counting on you, Shion. We must stop the Empire. We cannot let those bastards run rampant.”

He was absolutely right. Setting aside the question of whether Grand Duke Pret was a man I could trust, I nodded my head.

“Even though Del Conti is gone, the Guidone family remains. Keep them in check, so that Bururade is not swayed by the Empire’s influence!”

***

“…The Dawn Brotherhood.”

Grand Duke Pret left, and I remained alone on the balcony, fiddling with the brooch.

Before my regression, I wore not a silver but a gold brooch.

It was because I was one of the seventeen Upper House Members called the Elders and probably, in the not-too-distant future, I would wear a gold brooch again.

Just as I had obtained a silver brooch by bringing down Del Conti in five days.

“You’re doing well, Shion.”

“……!”

I was startled. It was because of the voice that spoke to me, appearing so casually in this secret space.

I turned my head, bringing out a ‘Fantasy Finger’, and soon made a disgusted face.

“Who…! Ah……”

“Merion has become yours, and now a seat in the Dawn Brotherhood’s Lower House? You’re really going to swallow the West now.”

“…You again?”

“Still, aren’t you playing too small? You said you’d bring down the Empire, but you’ve been dragging your feet with just one city for too long. When are you going to swallow the West!”

“…Right, who else but you would expose the secrets of this Shion Pollinglight like that?”

There was a face painted with powder.

I recalled seven years ago, when I had fled from Amethus and entered Rubeko Valley.

It was a night with a beautiful moon, just like back then.

I let out a deep sigh and covered my face with my hands.

“…What brings you here, Last Clown?”

“That’s right. It’s me, me!”

The powdered face smiled brightly and twirled around.

He juggled daggers he had pulled from who knows where and rolled a large ball.

Yet, no one in the reception hall noticed his presence.

“The jester who loves to appear at important moments and ruin the mood, one of the Eight Gods of Hotus!”

The Last Clown chattered away beside me.

Just like seven years ago when he appeared in the valley, just like when he stopped time on the corpse of the horned white snake to block Amethus, just like he had suddenly leaped from the audience to the stage, he laughed, ruthlessly messing up all sense of time and context.

“Beila Beile!”

There was a woman next to the clown. He patted the woman’s shoulder.

I saw that the woman’s body was covered in white scales and she had white horns on her head.

“And his companion… What are you doing? Introduce yourself, quickly!”

“…His companion, the horned white snake, La, La, Lacrosha……!”

The white-scaled woman introduced herself as Lacrosha and struck an awkward pose.

Her face was bright red, and she looked very embarrassed.

The Last Clown sighed and shook his head.

“Hey, hey, Lacrosha. Are you embarrassed of me?”

“…Of course, Beila.”

She was Lacrosha.

The master of Rubeko Valley who had delivered my master’s gift, but had been chopped to pieces by Amethus, the thousand-year-old white snake revived by the Last Clown.

I felt a renewed sense of welcome.

Besides, today was my wedding; I was even willing to show a little bit of goodwill.

“What business brings you here, Last Clown?”

“Ah. It’s a wedding, isn’t it? A reception isn’t complete without a clown.”

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t appear again?”

“Did I?”

Beila Beile giggled.

He was a man who knew how to enjoy a lie, though perhaps not to my extent.

“Actually, I had so many complaints I had no choice but to come. I had no choice but to ask what you’re planning to do from now on.”

“Many complaints? Who?”

“Huh? Did I say that? No, no one! No one is watching your story or anything like that!”

You must think you’re some kind of novel protagonist, don’t you, Shion? The clown let out a deliberately forced, loud laugh.

“More importantly, hurry up and tell me. We might as well get it all sorted out. What you’ve done so far, and what you’ll do from now on, just a little whisper to this tight-lipped Beila Beile!”

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