Chapter 33

After stepping out of the carriage, Marquis Lilith raised a hand to shield his eyes.

The weather at the Kreutz estate—normally buried beneath endless snowstorms—was unusually clear today.

Squinting into the sunlight, the marquis slowly curled his lips into a grin.

“Do not be nervous, Tex. All you need to do is display your power.”

“There aren’t even any other real candidates besides me anyway.”

Tex swaggered out of the carriage behind him.

“Even if I fail the heir selection trial, Duke Kreutz will still want me.”

Marquis Lilith smiled automatically at the reassuring sight of his son.

But the moment he stepped through the castle gates—

The marquis unconsciously faltered before the towering Kreutz castle, which rose like an enormous spire.

“...I’ll admit one thing. It certainly is magnificent.”

It was natural for a noble family’s castle to be lavish.

But the Kreutz estate had a somewhat different atmosphere.

Because of the region’s terrain, fierce winds constantly blew through it, and monster invasions were frequent, so the castle had been built from solid brick like a massive fortress.

Not a single flashy jewel decorated it, yet somehow that only made him feel even smaller in comparison.

“Impressive. Truly impressive.”

How ridiculously overdone.

The marquis pursed his lips sourly.

But then he changed his thinking.

Before long, that enormous castle will belong to me.

Marquis Lilith licked his lips greedily.

At present, Tex was the only heir capable of continuing the Kreutz family line.

They were calling this an heir selection trial, but in truth, Tex was practically already the next head of the family.

With that thought, the marquis happily looked around the grounds.

“Rage.”

“Yes, sir.”

Suddenly clicking his tongue irritably, Marquis Lilith called for his aide.

“Once Tex becomes the head of the family, tear out this entire garden.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll cover it with flowers I actually like. This castle contains far too many things that remind me of Duke Calypse.”

For example, the wolf statues symbolizing the Kreutz family.

And those unsightly training grounds placed everywhere throughout the estate.

Of course, they were a knight family responsible for guarding the end of the world, so perhaps it couldn’t be helped. But if some uninformed noble visited the estate—

They’d definitely look down on the Kreutz family. They should at least stick diamonds onto those wolf statues.

Tsk, tsk.

If I managed the Kreutz family, I wouldn’t destroy the aesthetics like this.

“The training grounds should be hidden away somewhere behind the estate where nobody can see them, and the knight uniforms ought to be redesigned to look more noble too. As long as you have the power of ice, monsters are easy to deal with anyway, so why obsess over knights and training grounds like this?”

At those words, several Kreutz servants nearby shot him dirty looks.

But Marquis Lilith had good reason to be so confident.

A few days earlier, when he had gone to meet those bastards in order to buy more potions—

Oh? So you’re using monsters for the heir selection trial? Living ones?

Why do you ask?

How about this, then?

The bastards had laughed in amusement while holding something out to him.

A small needle and a vial filled with potion.

It’s a madness enhancer. Inject it into a monster and things become wonderfully entertaining.

Marquis Lilith frowned in confusion.

Why are you showing this to me?

Because it’s funny! Hahahahaha!

Truly incomprehensible lunatics.

Watching the robe-cloaked men laugh with their mouths wide open, the marquis inwardly clicked his tongue.

Then suddenly, an excellent idea occurred to him.

I can just inject it into whatever monster that brat Aisha faces.

Of course, even without something like that, Tex—the power holder—would win anyway.

Still, one could never be too careful.

How much?

Oho. I knew you’d be interested!

The men burst into laughter again before simply handing over the drug.

This one’s free. It’s still a sample, so it hasn’t been commercialized yet. Try it out and let us know how it goes.

......

A sample?

Giving him an unfinished product?

The marquis felt uneasy, but accepted it anyway.

Whether it worked or not, he had nothing to lose.

“As long as my son becomes the heir, I don’t care what happens.”

Heh heh.

In any case, the goddess of victory was smiling upon him.

After confirming the poison needle hidden in his pocket once more, the marquis’s lips twisted upward ominously.

The ruler of the north would soon no longer be the Kreutz family.

It would be the Lilith family instead.

***

Near the end of the world.

An enormous circular training ground constructed from granite.

Even though they were technically indoors, Marquis Lilith desperately wished for fur clothing more than ever before as he shouted furiously,

“Is this a training ground or a backyard?! What idiot leaves one entire side of a building completely open?! It’s freezing!”

The training grounds of the Kreutz family, located near the end of the world, had one entire side completely exposed, almost like a terrace without windows.

As a result, Marquis Lilith and the other attendants were forced to sit in their chairs while directly facing the northern winds blasting through like a snowstorm.

“What a barren place for training grounds. The Kreutz family truly doesn’t spend money.”

“Exactly. This isn’t a training ground. It’s a battlefield.”

“Hahaha!”

The attendants around the marquis burst into laughter.

“Ahem!”

The attendants sitting opposite them coughed pointedly as though telling them to be quiet.

Why should I care? Our Tex is going to become the heir anyway.

Just as the marquis smugly curled his lips upward—

“Thank you all for coming such a long way.”

Duke Kreutz appeared at the front entrance of the training grounds alongside Knox.

“Let us begin the meeting.”

His low voice was dry, yet commanding enough to fill the entire training ground.

The seated attendants began whispering in slight surprise.

“You removed your mask!”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen your real face.”

The duke had removed his mask.

Red eyes that contrasted sharply against skin pale enough to look bloodless.

And beneath neatly styled black hair pushed back with pomade for the official meeting, his firm forehead and brows were fully visible.

Even the sharp sensitivity he had carried ever since losing his family seemed to have disappeared alongside the mask.

The ruler of the north.

Within the harsh winds stood crimson eyes like those of a wolf commanding a massive pack.

...Damn it. Why is his presence so overwhelming?

Even Marquis Lilith instinctively flinched slightly.

Pretending to bow his head respectfully, the marquis tightly gripped the madness enhancer hidden inside his jacket.

Just a little longer.

If he waited just a little longer, he would be able to shatter that stone-faced expression of Duke Kreutz into pieces.

“Today’s regular meeting is for selecting the heir candidates you have all been waiting for.”

And as if answering the marquis’s wish—

“The heir candidates will be Tex of the Lilith marquis’s family, as well as Kreutz Aisha, who recently joined the direct line.”

At the end of the duke’s introduction, a tiny child completely unsuited to the training grounds appeared.

Four years old?

No, maybe five at most.

“Hello. I am Lady Aisha of the Kreutz family.”

Barely tall enough to reach Duke Calypse’s thigh.

Golden twin braids neatly curled at the ends.

Bright eyes full of childlike curiosity.

“Please take care of me!”

The child bowed energetically without a trace of shyness despite being only five years old.

Jingle—

Her short twin braids swung like little bells.

“So that’s the young lady who was recently adopted into the direct line.”

“I heard Duke Calypse removed his mask because of her.”

“She looks quite clever from the way she greets people.”

The expressions of the attendants sitting opposite Marquis Lilith softened.

Certainly, Aisha was the sort of child who would naturally earn affection from anyone meeting her for the first time.

Unfortunately, that was all she had going for her.

“But she’s not a power holder, correct? Can she really win?”

“At this point, winning or losing isn’t even the issue. It simply seems dangerous.”

Could that child even lift a sword?

A little girl who looked as though she didn’t even know the first syllable of fighting stood bravely among adults five times her size.

Eyebrows raised like little chevrons.

And tiny clenched fists made from maple-leaf-sized fingers.

Anyone can see this match is already decided.

Sitting in his chair, Marquis Lilith smirked coldly.

At that moment—

“Marquis. Shall we prepare in advance?”

His aide Rage silently approached and whispered with his head lowered.

“Let’s watch for now.”

Unexpectedly, the marquis shook his head.

Looks like Duke Pose never saw the child in person.

Use ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the madness enhancer to defeat her?

At this point, it didn’t even seem necessary anymore.