Chapter 152

“It’s raining.”

Shion glanced out the window.

“Amethus, do you remember seven years ago?”

“What part of seven years ago are you talking about?”

“When we met for the second time.”

“When was that….”

Amethus fiddled with his chin.

“The first time was in the hallway. You were holding a pumpkin pie, Shion.”

“I had it brought to me.”

“You had that prepared in advance too, didn't you?”

“Of course. I thought there would be at least one guy like you, so I was planning to act like a child.”

Shion chuckled.

On the first day of his regression, Ferbias had caught him in the hallway after the Succession War proclamation.

He had tried to question him, but Pies Roesti brought a pumpkin pie, allowing him to escape.

“So, I’m asking if you remember the second time.”

“The second time… ah, it was then. The day you obtained the treasure of the library.”

“That’s right. That was it. You came running in a hurry.”

Amethus nodded his head.

Back when Shion had no choice but to use the name Zionis, the 5th Prince, no one paid him any mind.

That is, until the news that he had obtained the treasure of the library was heard.

Ferbias wanted to confirm the truth of the news, and his confidant, Amethus, had come to see Shion.

“Even though I was expecting it, it was quite troublesome. It hadn't even been ten days since I came back.”

“I should have been quicker on the uptake back then.”

“…Listen to this guy, will you?”

Shion and Amethus smiled at each other.

The master and servant who shared the same hatred had grown quite close over the past seven years.

“This time, you’re the one receiving the guest.”

“Who do you think will come?”

“Who else?”

He waved his hand dismissively, as if it were a no-brainer.

“The person who will react most sensitively to the marriage between Guidone and the Cordis imperial family will come.”

“Grand Duke Pret, the representative of the anti-Empire faction, I presume.”

“Yes. The Grand Duke will come. He’ll probably make the trip himself.”

Shion tapped his head.

The journey from West-Erta, where Grand Duke Pret was, to Merion was about a three-day carriage ride.

However, a man of Grand Duke Pret’s stature would have many ways to make a three-day journey in half a day.

“He’ll come with a heart full of regrets. He’ll have no choice but to be anxious because he needs us.”

He looked down at his chest.

A silver brooch was visible.

It was the symbol of the Lower House of the Dawn Brotherhood.

It was a position held by only 71 people in the Western world, but Shion was not at all satisfied with it.

“I have to get something bigger.”

***

Grand Duke Pret flew through the sky.

Of course, it wasn't because he was a Three-Star Mage capable of levitation magic or possessed an Ars that allowed him to walk on air.

He had rushed to Merion on a glider, one of only five in West-Erta.

He had the glider and his people wait in a secluded place near Merion and then hurried on foot.

Thanks to flying, the three-day journey took less than half a day. Of course, complex diplomatic procedures were required to pass through the airspace of other countries, but it wasn't a difficult task for someone of Grand Duke Pret's stature.

He just had to convey that it was an urgent request, and the powers of other nations would understand.

“The Verchello estate is….”

There was a slight sense of anxiety.

He had flown in such a hurry that he hadn't been able to properly contact Shion.

If he had left his seat, things would become complicated.

But fortunately, Shion was at the Verchello estate.

No, he was not just there; he was fully prepared to give his guest a lavish reception.

“…This isn’t the kind of preparation you can do in a day or two.”

It was as if he knew Grand Duke Pret would come rushing.

The Grand Duke got a strange feeling, but the matter was urgent, so he quickened his pace.

Young maids of the Verchello family guided him.

Since Shion became Verchello’s son-in-law, the number of employees had increased significantly.

“Welcome, Grand Duke Pret.”

“…Shion.”

Seeing Shion greeting him in the reception room, Grand Duke Pret let out a groan.

Seeing him grin slyly, as if he already knew everything, made him feel like he was already being drawn into his pace.

Yet, it was the Grand Duke who was desperate, so he had no choice but to open his mouth.

“You’ve heard the news, I presume.”

“What news?”

“There’s no time for jokes!”

Grand Duke Pret raised his voice.

Although he lived pretending to be genteel in his old age, he was a warrior by birth.

When his heart grew urgent, the warrior's temperament would pop out.

“Do you know at what speed Guidone is preparing for the wedding ceremony? The princess arrives next month, and three weeks after her arrival, they say they will hold the ceremony!”

“Aha, I see. They’re in quite a hurry.”

Shion smiled faintly.

“Actually, of course I know. The Lord of Guidone’s marriage partner is so surprising that I did some separate investigation.”

“…You say it as if it’s someone else’s problem.”

“Because it is someone else’s problem.”

Shion swept back his blond hair.

“I also don’t quite understand why someone of Grand Duke Pret’s stature is in such a rush over a single marriage contract.”

“…You don’t know what it means to form a marriage contract with the Cordis imperial family? There’s no way.”

“It’s how Cordis creates its vassal states. Haven’t they been nibbling away at territory like that for a thousand years?”

For example, the Duchy of Volmark, for example, the eastern island nation of Penteira and many other countries.

The nations that formed a marriage contract with the Cordis imperial family all, with only differences in timing, were eventually incorporated as part of the Cordis Empire. Except for Volmark and Penteira, they had become so integrated with the Empire that their names no longer remained.

“Are you going to let the Cordis Empire swallow Guidone, the Bururade Peninsula?”

“It has nothing to do with me.”

“How does it not concern you! You said you hated the Empire, clearly!”

Grand Duke Pret felt as if his insides were burning.

He had thought Shion would cooperate with him without a second thought and rightly so, as the Grand Duke considered Shion as nothing more than a pawn on a chessboard.

A young punk with a grudge against the Empire, who seems to have a hidden agenda but is a novice who can be handled sufficiently.

That was Grand Duke Pret’s view of Shion.

But to think he would become so anxious.

‘The situation is not good, the situation….’

The Grand Duke groaned inwardly. If the marriage between Guidone and Cordis came to fruition, Grand Duke Pret would be in a very difficult position.

The wedding ceremony had to be stopped and there was no one as suitable for this job as Shion.

‘…All I can do is plead.’

If the Grand Duke knew that even creating this situation was Shion’s plan, he would have been unable to contain his anger and would have fainted on the spot.

Shion decided not to mention that Amethus had stirred up the hatchery to advance the Guidone marriage incident, for the sake of the Grand Duke’s health.

He just acted as if all events, by coincidence, had flowed in a direction favorable to Shion.

“I’ll stop with the transparent games as well. So, Your Grace, you should start talking too.”

“……”

“What exactly do you want from me?”

Grand Duke Pret bit his lip hard.

When he came out this honestly, there was no way to avoid it.

The Grand Duke had to honestly convey his demands to Shion.

He would have to offer a corresponding price as well.

He felt bad, as if he had been played by Shion.

“…The marriage of the Lord of Guidone and the Cordis princess must be stopped, by any means necessary.”

He quickly regained his firm voice.

It was because he remembered that the mission he had to protect was greater than the price he had to pay Shion.

“The Empire will try to swallow Guidone and the Bururade Peninsula starting with the marriage. We must not give them an opening. If we give them even a single opening, the pro-Empire faction bastards will rise up like a swarm of bees in no time.”

“That cannot be allowed.”

Shion smiled.

The rise of a pro-Empire faction was not something Shion Pollinglight welcomed at all.

“In that case, how should we stop the marriage?”

“Guidone’s marriage is so sudden and a matter of grave importance that the Dawn Brotherhood has formed a special delegation. It is to monitor under the pretext of helping with the wedding ceremony.”

“And you want to include me in it?”

“You’re already on the list.”

“Without my consent? That’s slightly unpleasant.”

“I told you I knew you would consent.”

Grand Duke Pret caught his breath.

He looked around, worried that someone might hear.

Shion reassured the Grand Duke, saying that the conversation here would not leak anywhere.

Only then did Grand Duke Pret slowly, but still cautiously, open his lips.

“…When you see an opportunity, eliminate the Second Princess of Cordis, Santia Hostanio.”

Shion looked at the Grand Duke.

Then he giggled. His blue eyes curved.

“You’re saying something quite outrageous, Your Grace.”

“What Guidone did is even more outrageous.”

“If I do as you say, the pro-Empire faction will certainly have no reason to rise up.”

Shion stroked his chin. The Grand Duke found his calm blue eyes unsettling.

“But you’re asking for something tremendous. To kill the princess of Cordis….”

“…Hey! Don’t say it out loud!”

“Didn’t you ask me for a favor that is dangerous even to say out loud, Your Grace?”

He took out a metal case from his pocket.

It was the candy he always ate.

The way he chewed on it was even annoying.

Shion continued to chew on the candy.

Hearing the name after a long time brought various thoughts to mind.

Second Princess, Santia Hostanio.

Shion’s half-sister who had also participated in the Succession War long ago.

He suddenly thought of the silver-haired princess, Leniar de Volmark.

What was she doing? Her younger brother’s illness must have been cured.

Having been asked to kill his half-sister, Shion couldn't help but smile faintly.

“What do I get, Your Grace?”

“…Whatever you want, you will get.”

“And you know what I want?”

“What do you want?”

The smile deepens.

He had waited for Grand Duke Pret for this very moment.

“The seat that Verchello originally held.”

“……!!!”

There was a clinking sound.

It was the sound of the teacup that Grand Duke Pret had dropped, shattering.

The Grand Duke didn't even look at the broken teacup and his hands trembled.

He slowly glared at Shion.

“You knew….”

“Why did you think I wouldn’t know?”

Shion took the silver brooch from his chest.

“The Lower House of the Dawn Brotherhood. A position held by only 71 people in the West. Above this in the West are only the Upper House of the Dawn Brotherhood, the Seventeen Elders.”

“…You are demanding that seat right now. On equal footing with me, you want to become one of the Seventeen Elders!!”

“You heard me correctly.”

It was a position equivalent to being a master of the Western world.

The Seventeen Elders of the West had to be at least the de facto rulers of a country. Grand Duke Pret shook his head.

“That’s ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous……. It was an exception among exceptions that you even joined the Lower House, and now suddenly the Upper House….”

But Grand Duke Pret realized that the current situation was the most ridiculous thing of all.

Guidone was marrying Cordis, and he had no one to rely on but this young punk.

What could be more ridiculous than this? The old nobleman bit his lip.

“…Yes, there is a justification. You succeeded Verchello. Verchello was originally one of the Seventeen Elders….”

And a seat just so happens to be vacant.

“If this job is finished well, it’s really not out of the question….”

“Then it is settled.”

“…Are you even twenty yet? And you want to become a master of the Western world. What an ambition….”

“My ability backs it up, so it’s not an overreach, is it?”

“……”

It was an arrogant statement, yet he couldn't deny it.

Grand Duke Pret closed his mouth.

“When does the special delegation depart?”

“Next week.”

“They’re in quite a hurry.”

Shion nodded his head.

“I must pack my things. Will you be staying the night, Your Grace?”

“…No, I will return. I have urgent business.”

“I understand. I won’t keep you.”

Grand Duke Pret shot up from his seat. Shion waved his hand as if to see him off.

“Leave it to me, Your Grace. There will be good results.”

***

Grand Duke Pret returned.

Only then did Amethus walk out from the secret space behind the bookshelf.

“Will the Grand Duke give you a seat among the Seventeen Elders?”

“Is there any chance of that?”

Shion let out a scoff.

“In the first place, it’s not a seat that Grand Duke Pret can give even if he wants to. It’s a position equal to his own.”

“In that case?”

“Still, he’ll make a show of trying to help. That will definitely be helpful.”

Amethus nodded his head.

“I see.”

“Don’t waste time, just ask, Amethus.”

Shion’s eyes shone blue.

“You have something else you really want to ask.”

“Sometimes I think the nickname ‘diviner’ suits you better than me….”

Amethus wiped his face.

Then he asked quietly.

“…Are you really going to kill Her Highness Santia Hostanio, Shion?”

“Why not?”

Shion spat out the words that he would kill his half-sister with great composure.

He had already killed his half-brother, Nebulo, so it wouldn't be difficult.

As long as it helps to bring down the Empire, as long as this hateful Cordis can be destroyed, what could be difficult?

“But there’s no absolute reason to kill her either. I’ll have to see how the situation plays out for that.”

Shion stood up abruptly.

“Now, the big one is coming. The very big one we’ve been waiting for for a long time.”

“Are you going to make the final preparations?”

“I have to. I worked very hard while you were destroying the hatchery.”

He started walking with Amethus.

A full-scale war with the Empire is near.

The Empire’s conspiracy would be revealed through the marriage of Guidone and Cordis.

No, he would make it be revealed.

Therefore, many of the regressed prince’s secrets would also be revealed.

“I should go pay my respects to my master after a long time.”