Clatter! Clatter!
After finishing our journey to the Hughes Snow Mountain, we were on our way back to the Pruckus Count's estate. I stared blankly out the carriage window. The changing scenery was interesting at first, but now it was unbearably boring.
'The biggest downside of this world is the lack of entertainment.'
I glanced around the carriage.
Yuria, sitting next to me, was quietly maintaining a proper posture. Lucy was leaning against the carriage wall, asleep, while Kyle was deep in thought.
'I shouldn't have called Kyle. I should've come alone with Yuria.'
If that were the case, I could've spent a pleasant time teasing Yuria inside the carriage.
"Hmm. I've decided."
Suddenly, Kyle spoke. I tilted my head and looked at him.
"Brother Kyle, what are you talking about? What have you decided?"
"I've realized something during this trip. I want to learn more about this world. I want to see and experience things firsthand."
"You want to become a traveller?"
"Yes… You don't seem surprised, Eugene. I thought you'd be shocked when you heard this."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"I expected it. I had a feeling Brother Kyle might do something like this."
It was simply following the original story. Kyle's decision came a bit sooner than I expected. It seems this trip to Hughes Snow Mountain was the trigger.
"Do you have a plan?"
"…First, I'll live as an adventurer. Travelling adventurers are relatively common, right?"
Kyle will wander the continent and eventually head to the labyrinth city of Rhabit.
There, he'll reunite with one of the heroines, Claudia, and return to the Pruckus Count's estate as her companion.
'He'll have matured by then.'
I have no intention of leaving Kyle alone. If I don't intervene at all, Kyle will become an uncontrollable powerhouse.
At the very least, I need to delay him from becoming an Aura Master. If he returns to the Count's estate as an Aura Master like in the original story, the title of Count will be his.
'In the original story, Zent tried to scheme to take the heir's position from Kyle, who had become an Aura Master, but things went awry, and he ended up dead.'
I must prevent Kyle from becoming an Aura Master.
'He can become an Aura Master after I become the Count of Pruckus.'
Given Kyle's personality, he won't rebel against me. Instead, he'll become a valuable tactical asset, moving according to my will.
"My first destination will be the Kerto Kingdom. I want to see the Sky Plains with my own eyes."
It's a place located in the southern part of the Kerto Kingdom.
The Sky Plains are as vast as the sky, as the name suggests. The plains are so expansive that they overwhelm anyone who sees them.
"Your journey… sounds good. But how are you going to convince Mother?"
"...."
Kyle fell silent.
Elaine is a reasonable woman. If there's a valid reason, she'll allow Kyle's journey.
'The problem is, there's no valid reason.'
If he were an ordinary noble's child, Elaine might have allowed his journey. But Kyle is the second son of the Pruckus family. The son of an important noble. Moreover, the family's heir hasn't been decided yet.
'The reason I was allowed to go on this trip to the Hughes Snow Mountain is because I'm also the Lord of Tebura, and I had a clear schedule and stayed within Elaine's control.'
Kyle's journey has no clear end date. Moreover, he plans to travel alone as an adventurer. There's no way Elaine would allow it.
"Uh, what should I do? Is there no way?"
Kyle asked me, panicked.
"I don't know. There's no way. At least, you can't convince Mother with words."
Kyle isn't particularly persuasive. On the other hand, Elaine is a mid-level mage and has been managing the family's internal affairs. Half-baked logic will only get him refuted.
"Is there really no way?"
"At least, I don't think there's any way."
"Ugh…"
In the end, it's obvious that Kyle will run away from home, just like in the original story.
Elaine won't send knights or soldiers to catch Kyle after he runs away. Doing so would damage the family's reputation. Instead, she'll secretly assign people to keep an eye on him.
"Anyway, I respect your decision, Brother. If you need my help during your journey, don't hesitate to ask. I'll do everything I can to help."
"Eugene…! Thank you."
"No problem. We're brothers, after all. Even if we only share half our blood."
"Eugene, don't say that. We're not half-blooded brothers. We're brothers who share blood. You're my only brother."
"You'll help me if I'm in danger, right?"
"Of course. Just say the word, and I'll be there!"
I smiled.
In my mind, I imagined a future where I could use this fool to my advantage.
***
The title conferment ceremony was held modestly.
It was a ceremony to bestow the lowest rank among the five ranks of nobility: Baron.
Even though I'm the son of a Grand Lord, it would be embarrassing to hold a banquet for just receiving a Baron title.
'This time, I'm grateful to Ention.'
Elaine insisted on holding a banquet, but Ention, the family head, refused, saying it wasn't appropriate to hold a banquet for such a trivial matter.
Thus, the title conferment ceremony was attended only by the direct family members of the Pruckus family and a few vassals.
Dressed in ceremonial attire, I knelt before Ention and looked up at him. I had already gone through all the tedious rituals. This was the final part of the ceremony.
"Eugene Pruckus. Are you prepared to dedicate everything to the kingdom?"
"Yes. As a noble of the Rapherry Kingdom, I pledge all my loyalty and respect to His Majesty, the King of Rapherry. I will not neglect my duties, and I swear my soul will willingly serve the Rapherry Kingdom."
My words contained 0% sincerity.
I had already made five oaths today. This was the last one, and I had no intention of keeping any of them. They were just ceremonial oaths.
"Eugene Pruckus. On behalf of His Majesty, the King of Rapherry, and in the name of the Count of Pruckus, I bestow upon you the title of Baron and your territory."
Ention handed me a ring. I carefully took the ring and placed it on the index finger of my left hand.
It was a ring symbolizing my status as the Lord of Tebura.
'Well, this is just symbolic. I'll need to get the official documents from Elaine later.'
The documents were far more important than this ring.
"With this, the conferment ceremony is concluded."
With Ention's solemn declaration, the vassals began to applaud.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Among the applauding vassals, I saw Zent. He was clapping lazily, mocking me.
I had to resist the urge to punch that annoying face.
'I'll remember this… for sure.'
I stroked the ring on my left index finger and repeated to myself.
I'll leave this mansion tomorrow.
***
Kyle, who was heading to his personal training ground as usual, ran into Yuria in the hallway.
Kyle felt his body tense up and was puzzled. It was just the two of them in the hallway. So why was he so nervous?
'Have I always been this conscious of Yuria?'
Thinking about it, this was the first time they were alone together. Whenever he met Yuria, there was almost always someone else around.
Yuria bowed her head in greeting. She was just a maid. He could've just acknowledged her and walked past. But Kyle couldn't take his eyes off her and opened his mouth to ask a question.
"Yuria, what are you doing?"
Even he thought it was a pathetic question.
"I was checking the luggage in the carriage and heading back to my room."
"Ah. You're leaving for Tebura with Eugene tomorrow, right?"
"Yes. We're scheduled to depart right after breakfast."
"You don't have to go, do you? Your relative, Head Butler Hassent, is staying at the mansion."
Kyle was surprised by his own question. Yuria was his younger brother's personal maid. He had no right to tell her what to do.
"No. I am Young Master Eugene's personal maid. It's only natural that I accompany him to Tebura."
"...I see."
Kyle barely managed to reply. It might've been his imagination, but Yuria's eyes seemed to sparkle when she mentioned Eugene's name.
'For a moment, I almost hated Eugene. Is this… jealousy? Do I like Yuria?'
But Kyle quickly shook his head.
'…That can't be.'
He and Yuria weren't that close. They only exchanged greetings when they happened to meet. Love at first sight? Kyle didn't believe in such things.
"That brooch… I've always thought it was beautiful. May I take a closer look?"
"Ah. This brooch?"
It was a golden plum blossom brooch that Eugene had given him some time ago.
Kyle, who loved plum blossoms, always wore it on his collar.
"Sure. Here."
Kyle took off the brooch and handed it to Yuria. As he did, their hands touched. Kyle's face turned slightly red. He pretended not to notice.
"It's even more beautiful up close. You've taken good care of it."
"It's a gift from Eugene, so I treasure it."
"I see."
As Yuria examined the brooch, a white handkerchief fell from her pocket. Kyle instinctively bent down and reached for it.
"Ah. There's no need for you to do that, Young Master Kyle…"
"No. It's fine. It's nothing."
Despite her flustered voice, Yuria's face remained expressionless. Her hand moved quickly. She opened the hidden back of the golden brooch and replaced a small battery.
By the time Kyle looked up, the battery had already been perfectly replaced.
"Here. Your handkerchief."
"...I'm embarrassed. To make you bend down like that…"
"Don't worry about it. If you're free later, would you like to have some tea? Lucy mentioned that some good tea arrived recently."
"I'm sorry. I have to prepare for Young Master Eugene's teatime later…"
"If you're busy, that's fine."
"Here's your brooch."
Kyle took the brooch back. Yuria bowed to him and began to head back to her room. Kyle watched her calm retreating figure and sighed.
'Asking her to have tea… Why did I do that?'
It was an offhand suggestion. Kyle scratched his head awkwardly and headed to his personal training ground.
'It's probably because I won't be able to see Yuria anymore. It's not a big deal.'
***
As a Baron arriving in Tebura, I felt a sense of emptiness.
I've visited Tebura a few times before. I needed to check on the Frost Hammer Tribe dwarf slaves building my mansion and the affairs of the Korea Trading Company.
'To think this hopeless territory is now mine…'
I can't just do nothing. Since I haven't given up my position as the heir to the Pruckus Count's family, I need to impress Ention and the vassals with my competence.
And the only way to prove my competence is to develop this territory into something remarkable.
'I can do it. Of course, I can. Developing this kind of territory is a piece of cake.'
I can bring modern items here. I also have 88 dwarf slaves.
'Let's think positively. Here, I'm the king. I don't have to worry about others' opinions.'
That doesn't mean I can act recklessly. It's highly likely that Ention or Elaine is watching my every move.
'That bastard Zent probably has people planted here.'
Still, being the top dog here is a big advantage.
I headed to the mansion where I would stay with Yuria.
However, the mansion wasn't completed. Despite giving them a full two weeks, only about 70% of the work was done.
"These damn dwarf bastards…!"
There are 88 dwarfs, known as the race of craftsmen. With 88 of them, young and old, working on the mansion, they should've finished it in a week!
I called out to Pethas, who was giving instructions to the dwarfs with a fierce look.
"Pethas!"
"Gasp! Master!"
"Don't call me Master. Your rough voice is ruining my ears!"
"T-Then what should I call you?"
"Call me Lord Eugene."
"Yes, Lord Eugene! You're here! I heard you were coming today, but I didn't expect you so soon…"
I kicked the dwarf slave, knocking him over.
"Stand straight, Pethas."
"…Yes, Lord Eugene."
Pethas quickly stood up and assumed a rigid posture.
"Why isn't the mansion completed yet?"
"W-Well, the mansion is just too big. It's five stories with underground spaces… Over 100 rooms… It's larger than most grand mansions… And the concrete material is unfamiliar…"
I started stomping on Pethas. This guy, as the slave manager, wasn't doing his job properly.
"You dwarfs talk too much! If you hadn't been slacking off, the mansion would've been more completed by now!"
***
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