The Marquis’ Eldest Son’s Lascivious Story

Vol.
2 Chapter 224

Single-edged Sword

Translated by Raizu

 

Wheat with drooping ears almost touching the ground and a sickle to reap it.
And a single-edged sword leaning diagonally.
The crest on the ornament worn on the chest represents the arch-enemy of the Quordenze family.
The man spread his arms lightly while his bright crimson cloak fluttered.

[Romilie.]

His low-pitched voice quietly melted into the tense atmosphere.
After hearing the name being uttered, I gently let go of her hand.
I am strongly aware that it will be a natural movement without shaking it off or letting me regret it.

The person I danced with by chance was actually a Princess of the Sperzeig family, and I was surprised even though it was an evening party… and it was actually quite deliberate too.
The fact that it was a party, that the dress she was wearing had no coat of arms to indicate her home, that we did not reveal our identities to each other, and that I let go of her hands as soon as I learned the name Romilie.
If anyone takes these into consideration, they should be able to understand that I have not forgotten my position as the next head of the Quordenze family.
externally.

[My father is calling me.]

Romilie Spierzeig.
She is the eldest daughter of the Spierzeig family and the younger sister of Verret Spierzeig, whom I personally killed during Operation Serpent’s Fang.
I guessed her true identity the moment I entered the hall and saw her back.

There is something called class in what a Noble wears.
The more powerful a Noble is, the higher quality they wear, and they must wear them.
No matter how you look at it, Romilie’s dress isn’t something that a Princess from a small Noble family would wear.
On a scale of 5, it can be said that it belongs to 4 or 5.
And since the people of the Eruo continent have colorful hair and eye colors, it’s relatively easy to obtain that kind of information.
It’s hard to hide it if it’s a Princess of the main family who is not of a shadow house.
The Quordenze family even knows that she was nicknamed Jade Princess when she was a child.
One can make an educated guess by comparing information such as the crimson dress, bluish green hair, approximate age, and the sense of urgency in the hall.

[Then, let’s say goodbye here.]

[Yes.
Let’s.]

She left my side and went to Duke Spierzeig’s.
Then, the Duke gave me the gesture that he wants to talk with me, before slowly approaching.
My father, reflected in the corner of my vision, did not move.
Are you worried about the impact of immediately following the child, or are you deliberately watching the situation to find out my true intentions? The only thing that I know is that I can’t turn my tail around and run away from this place now.

Romilie is attractive, but my attitude towards the Spierzeig family is another matter.
In order to create a certain sense of distance, I dared to reveal my cautious posture and waited for the Duke.

[As a father, I thank you for protecting my son’s dignity.]

Without introducing himself or saying hello, he said so first.
Although it’s obvious, revealing each other’s identities here could push the tension in this space to its limits.
That’s probably why the servants of the Levios family, who were reflected in the edge of my vision earlier, seemed to be in a panic.

Even so, just like my father, he is the head of a Great Noble family, and his way of speaking and his facial expressions are dignified.
Despite being overwhelmed by me in terms of magical power, the Noble pressure that comes from that gesture almost crushes my heart and thoughts.

I tried my best to stay calm, sharpen my thoughts to the limit, and politely reply to each and every word.
Right now, I’m in a state where I’m talking to both Duke Spierzeig and Marquis Quordenze.
I can see that my mental strength is being cut down with tremendous force.

The Duke said he was relieved that Verret’s body had not been humiliated.
But even so, it’s hard to get used to the fact that a parent whose child was killed would be grateful for the enemy.
I can still understand better if someone suddenly throws insults at me.
Well, his heart may be boiling with hatred for me.
In a sense, the expression of the colorless Duke was similar to that of my expressionless father.

[I’m not interested in humiliation.]

While saying that, I felt like the voice of a stubborn tsundere girl resounded in my head, saying, [It’s not like I was paying special attention to the Spierzeig family! Don’t get me wrong! I’m not interested in playing with corpses!].

[…Hou?]

However, Tsundere-chan’s terribly obvious lines don’t work on the Eruo continent.
Duke Spierzeig was looking at me as if he’s seeing something incomprehensible.
This is probably an act of asking me to explain why.
I decided to present the lines I had prepared just in case.

[The honor is in the victory, it’s only appropriate to show some mercy.]

There was no change in the Duke’s face.

“The honor is in the victory, it’s only appropriate to show some mercy” was a slogan that was said to be coined by Emperor Zinkaen, when he sought to unify Alpeo region.
During that operation, quick marching was required.
So rather than wasting time playing with the corpses of the Nobles they defeated, they continue to march for another victory instead.
As usual, it feels like a bogus slogan that my grandmother fabricated.
But, it is known to the world as a maxim of Emperor Zinkaen, who succeeded in unification through blitzkrieg-like tactics.

If you were to take my words honestly, it would sound like, [Since I’ve won the great honor of winning the Highlords duel, I’ll show you mercy without playing with death].
However, considering the original story, it would also sound like [I won’t get true honor until I destroy the Spierzeig family, so I don’t have time to mess around with corpses].

[My blood knows the pain of losing a loved one.]

And then I concluded with sarcasm.
If you just take my words literally, I’ll look like a saint who has awakened to compassion, but no one should take it literally.
Born in the Quordentze family, I know the grudge against the Spierzeig family who killed my uncle.

Duke Spierzeig’s gaze, which seemed to see right through my heart, made me sweat.
The servants of the Levios family moving around in the distance were a terrible eyesore.

[As it should be.]

It was my father’s voice.
I thought that my father would come after a certain amount of verbal warfare, but he joined the war unexpectedly early.
When my father started glaring at Duke Spierzeig, I tried to find out what was going on around him, but it didn’t seem like his actions were particularly condemned.

By handing over the main role of the verbal battle to my father, I was able to relax a little.

It is said that it was after the fall of Reisleaf Castle that the Levios family was informed by the Spierzeig family that they would participate in the Royal Capital’s social gatherings.
However, it is an official notice.
Including the adjustment period, it should be considered that the talks were progressing long before that.
According to my father, he had been feeling the shadow of Spierzeig, who was acting behind the scenes since the end of the internal conflict between Levios and Milendorva.
However, it is hard to imagine that they planned to participate in social activities right now.
At that time, the Spierzeig family was not yet in a hurry to visit the Royal Capital.
It is more reasonable to think that they were trying to cross over with the Levios family with a completely different strategy.
It seems that the Levios family wants to stop the expansion of the Quordenze family, so it would not be surprising if they were thinking of making good use of the Spierzeig family, and it would not be too difficult for Duke Spierzeig to predict that idea.
My father gathered the Quordenze Allied Forces and attacked Nambonan City mainly to deal with the increasing influence of the Milendorva and Adellahan families, but I think there were also some concerns about Spierzeig’s movements.
.

However, in the end, all of the plots that were wriggling behind the scenes were crushed by Operation Serpent’s Fang.

It must have been a last-minute decision for Duke Spierzeig to steer to participate in the Royal Capital’s social gatherings.
I wonder if the Levios family had only a place to drop it there.
Participation in social gatherings is strictly under the jurisdiction of the Royal family, and basically any Noble who is not hostile to the Levios family can participate.
The Kingdom and the Empire are in a bad mood, but they are not clearly hostile, nor are the Levios and Spierzeig families in a state of war.
“The Levios family supports the cause of the war that the Quordenze family advocates, but it’s wrong.
I want you to explain it in the Royal Capital” .
This is because if you refuse, you may point your finger back, saying, [Is the Levios family obeying the Quordenze family?].
And most of all, my father participated in the Royal Capital’s social gathering when he was still an Imperial Noble.
Even though it was just before the defection from the Empire, none other than the Quordenze family set a precedent.
There was no weak point about the participation of the Spierzeig family that could be criticized out loud.

Either way, it can be said that attending the social gathering in the Royal Capital is quite a big adventure.
Although the Royal family guarantees the safety of the participants with its prestige, it ends there if anyone dies.
Well, it can be said that the Spierzeig family is cornered to that extent.
Even moving to the Royal Capital is difficult.
Naturally, they cannot pass through the Quordenze, Sylopea, and Evenafis territories.
In the Spierzeig family’s major rebellious operation, the Noble families located on the west and south sides of the Evenafis family were moving as subordinates, so it is likely that they could still peacefully pass through the Quordenze faction via these families’ bidding to the Royal Capital…..
As long as we didn’t declare our refusal to participate, we can’t question him.
Either way, they should still be passing through Lake Meo, so I wonder if we can sink their ship on our way home.
Let’s say, launching an attack with all forces from Hartinos city? Will that be too underhanded?

While thinking about such things, I looked at Romilie standing diagonally behind the Duke.
Then, I made eye contact with her.
She didn’t smile amiably, she didn’t stare back at me, she just stood there dignified.
She’s the picture of a perfect woman.
Rose’s evaluation of Romilie was spot on.
Once I return back to Quordenze, I will pour plenty of my seeds into her as a reward.

[…Blood is passed down from parent to children.]

Although the number of words is small, the father and the Duke are engaged in a crackling war of words.
The child generation is completely left behind.
It’s almost as if the quarrel has slowly gone back in time and reached the founding of each family.

The relationship between the Quordenze family and the Spierzeig family began with the founding of the Quordenze family.

In the era of priesthood, Noble families across the continent were under the control of high-ranking priests in charge of their districts.
However, these priests often stayed in the Holy City Maguose, and the ones who were actually coordinating and coordinating the nobility in the field were the Nobles obedient and officially appointed as assistants to the Zeth Holy High Council.
The heads of the family who were appointed to this role were called Guides.
The founder of the Quordenze family, Priest Quordenze, sought the position of Guide before entering Newnelly so that he would not be underestimated by the surrounding Nobles after becoming one himself.
The fact that he himself was descended from the main family of sacred bloodline Pruotista, how he would become a priestly Noble, based in the major city of Newnelly, and how the Spierzeig family was appointed as the Guide of the Voistra district prior, made him think that it wouldn’t be difficult to obtain said position.

However, his hope didn’t come into fruition.
The documents remaining in the Quordenze family estate spoke of how the failure was mostly caused by Spierzeig’s sabotage.
It must’ve been an unexpected betrayal for Priest Quordenze, that he left behind a long line of sentences worthy of being called a curse in the document.

[…The blood is also the same if you trace it back.
How about an attitude that doesn’t fit in this place where people who share blood are holding hands?]

Duke Spierzeig took the sarcasm from my father in stride, mentioning that the theme of the Royal Capital’s social gathering was a gathering to celebrate the end of the internal conflict between the Levios and Milendorva families.
Priest Quordenze, the founder of the Quordenze family, and Priest Spierzeig, the founder of the Spierzeig family.
Both of them were from the sacred bloodline of the Pruotista family.
These two families who hate each other are like brothers descended from the same family.

My father didn’t show any anger and smiled fearlessly.

[Your idea will not be accepted in the land of the Kingdom.
Why don’t you just return to your home and take care of your family heirloom or something.]

The family heirloom my father mentioned was the single-edged sword that the Spierzeig family probably possessed.
There are various designs for the crests of Noble families, but not many houses depict single-edged swords.
A single-edged sword is a symbol of an obedient weapon that can be wielded by priests as it does not have an edge facing the owner’s side.

The Zeldomitra family, Adellahan family, and Milendorva family also have swords drawn on their crests, but they are all double-edged swords.
The Zeldomitra family didn’t play the role of guide, so they couldn’t use it.
In the case of the Adellahan family and the Milendorva family, whose history is short, I think they avoided using the single-edged sword as a symbol of subordination to the priest.

My father’s hatred is his anger at having his brother killed.
Mixing it with the events of the past that go back a long way, he insists that there is no way he can do it.
Well, in the end, I think that the cause is the result of the grudge that has been passed down from generation to generation from Priest Spierzeig and has continued to this day.

On the front lines of hatred that confronted me and Romilie, the words we exchanged decreased little by little.
There is no longer any room for repairing the relationship between my father and the Duke.
It’s completely broken.
After a short period of silence due to the lack of conversation, Duke Spierzeig took Romilie and left.

[Moonlight illuminates the truth.]

That was the last thing the Duke said.

…..What does that mean?
I have a hard time remembering quotes from minor figures.
Certainly, I feel like it was a maxim left by an old craftsman or something.
I wondered for a moment what kind of craftsman he was, and remembered from Romilie’s earlier conversation that these words were left behind by a perfume-making craftsman.
A top perfumer does a perfume blend under the moon or something.
In the darkness, without looking at unnecessary information, escaping from the hustle and bustle, and focusing only on the scent, the really important things came to the fore.

Considering that it was a Duke’s remark, it should be considered as an allusion related to Romilie.
Since the moon signifies the night, it seems that the good feeling that I had for her at the evening party is your truth.
It’s like, over all the family feud, what I feel tonight is the truth.

[Even animal trails look like the right path when illuminated.]

My father said that only beasts can travel through the darkness.
I guess it means that I shouldn’t be misled by Duke Spierzeig’s remarks.
While I was thinking about this and that, the Duke had left the hall.
The faintly sweet scent of flowers that remained seemingly depicted Romilie’s reluctance to leave.

[The evening party will end soon.]

I can’t question him right now, so I should ask him once we return to the Quordenze residence… I could easily understand what my father was saying.

[Right.
It will be crowded right after the end, so let’s stay close.]

If I move on my own after this and meet Duke Spierzeig again, I really can’t do anything, so I’ll stick to my father as it is.
There’s not much time left, so it won’t seem strange for a child to be with their parents.
I have to improve my mental image even a little.

My father and I sat down at a table near the wall.
I’m at a distance from the surrounding Nobles, and I don’t think they’ll find out even if he were to give me a few sermons here.
My heart was pounding to see if the sermon would suddenly start.

[The honor is in the victory…that was pretty good.
Enough to rattle him that it shows in his expression.]

My father said in a slightly good mood.
From my point of view, the Duke didn’t feel panicked at all, but from my father’s point of view, he was more than a little frightened.
To be honest, I didn’t think it would be such a critical response, so I asked my father frankly.

[…..Hmm? I only brought up Arpeo history because it’s a prime example of taking great restraint for a greater goal though?]

There seems to be a misunderstanding.
When I explained what I was thinking when I made that statement, my father agreed after thinking for a while.

[I see.
Wilk doesn’t know about your uncle’s final moments…]

[Yes.
Not in detail.]

How should I put it, it’s a very difficult topic to ask.
The civil officers would always tell me to ask my father for the details, while the knights would only answer vaguely, so there was no reliable source of information.
It could be that they’re too embarrassed to talk about their own misfortune, or that they don’t want to talk about the scandal that caused their master’s death, or both.
I’ll have to find out someday, but I’ve been procrastinating on that day.
As long as there is social interaction in the future, I would like to hear what you have to say today.

[Then, we should talk about it.]

[…is it alright to talk about it here?]

If possible, I wanted to talk about it after we returned to the Quordenze residence.
If we digest the story here, after returning to the mansion, all that will be left is the sermon.

[It’s fine because it’s here.]

To calm down, my father looked down and exhaled deeply.
No need to rush.
I was just going to wait in silence for my father to calm down.

However, I immediately felt uncomfortable with the atmosphere of the hall.
Even though the tension should have been relieved by Duke Spierzeig’s departure, the servants of the Levios family still had a stiff expression.
On the contrary, Levios knights began to enter and leave the venue one after another, and even the atmosphere began to drift.

It seemed that my father sensed the change in the atmosphere at about the same time as I did.
As soon as he stopped taking a deep breath and checked his surroundings, he immediately tried to send the attendant maid to run.
But, it was an unnecessary order.
Because one of the Levios knights walked up to our table earlier than he could finish.
The knight’s attitude was brimming with that of a military tone.

[It’s a mature demon beast.]