Chapter 730

“Valenstein? Is that the Valenstein I know?”

I asked sharply, pressing for an answer.

Valenstein.

That was the surname of the old man who boasted about being the “Ghost Sword” but ended up becoming a real ghost. A senile old man.

“If you’re referring to the Marquis Valenstein family, then your assumption is correct.”

The girl, Belnesia, nodded slightly in affirmation.

No wonder the atmosphere felt familiar. Now that I think about it, she’s a spitting image of that old man. Is she his granddaughter or something?

…Wait, that’s weird.

Did that traitor have relatives? No way. That guy was a lonely old man who grew old without a wife or children.

Besides, it’s strange that the granddaughter of a traitor is still alive and well. Normally, they’d be executed under the law of collective punishment or, at best, enslaved, right?

“I’ve never heard of that senile old man having a granddaughter.”

“……”

As Belnesia fell silent, perhaps at a loss for words, Eleonora, who had been sipping tea, spoke up to explain.

“That child isn’t a direct descendant of Werner Valenstein. She merely inherited the surname from a distant branch of the family.”

Ah, a distant branch. So that’s why she survived. It seems they don’t exterminate the entire bloodline of traitors here.

“I was close with her mother for a long time, so I took Belnesia in as my maid after her parents passed away.”

“Oh… I see. My apologies.”

Even if she wasn’t dragged into collective punishment, she was on the verge of ruin. But thanks to her parents’ connections, she managed to survive.

It was a bit suspicious, but the explanation made sense.

If Leopold left her alone despite being a distant relative of a traitor, it must mean she wasn’t a threat.

Still, just in case… let’s poke a bit.

“I thought maybe that senile old man had a hidden child or something. His swordsmanship was pathetic, but given how he clung to Isabella, he must’ve been decent at… other things.”

I shrugged, my tone dripping with contempt, while keeping an eye on Belnesia’s reaction.

“…A child? That’s impossible. The age difference alone would be over fifty years.”

Was that a bit too blatant? Eleonora’s eyes twitched slightly as she answered.

She also glanced cautiously at Belnesia, as if worried about the girl’s feelings. Or maybe she was just gauging her reaction.

“……”

Belnesia, however, showed almost no change in expression. She was good at keeping a poker face. Though she couldn’t hide her slightly faster heartbeat and rising body temperature.

Even if he was a traitor, hearing her family head insulted must’ve been unpleasant. Not a desirable reaction.

Respecting Werner Valenstein as the head of her family meant she might harbor resentment toward Leopold and me, who drove him to his death.

Maybe even toward Eleonora, Leopold’s sister.

“Well, he was a shameless old man with no skill, only greed, senility, and a pathetic mind… Who knows, maybe he went around looking for young women, thinking it’d make him young again.”

To test her further, I raised the stakes of my provocation.

“Marquis Median, you seem to despise Werner Valenstein deeply. To speak so harshly of him in such a setting.”

Eleonora interjected, her tone suggesting I should be more mindful. Though, in my opinion, she was the one lacking awareness.

No, don’t you realize the girl you brought in as a maid might stab you in the back one night? I’m just making sure that doesn’t happen by testing her loyalty.

“Isn’t it natural to despise him? He betrayed the Empire, causing chaos just because he couldn’t surpass the Heavenly Barrier. Does that even make sense?”

In truth, considering the Heavenly Barrier and the Holy Grail, his judgment wasn’t entirely wrong.

Creating chaos and conflict to fill the world with death was indeed a way to break the constraints placed on the world.

But I couldn’t openly agree with that. Even if the only way to grow stronger was to turn the world into a slaughterhouse, I couldn’t help but despise the lunatic who actually did it.

In fact, looking back, even his end was laughable.

“Less than a year after that old man died, people started surpassing the Heavenly Barrier like mushrooms after rain.”

If he had just waited a few more months, he could’ve reached the Realm of Heroes. But he couldn’t wait, and in the end, he died without ever surpassing the barrier.

He’s probably in the afterlife, kicking himself in regret.

“Even seventeen-year-olds are surpassing the barrier and reaching the Realm of Heroes now. To betray the Empire because he couldn’t do it… How incompetent and stupid can you be?”

There are already six Imperial swordsmen who’ve reached the Realm of Heroes. Including Ka`har, that makes ten. And that’s not counting non-swordsmen.

How ridiculous is that? The old man who would stop at nothing to reach the Realm of Heroes ended up helping others achieve it while he himself never did.

In fact, his own death was a result of his own actions.

The conflict he started propelled me to the Realm of Heroes, allowing me to surpass and kill him in the end.

I continued to gauge Belnesia’s reaction as I spoke.

“……”

“You look like you have a lot to say.”

Her expression remained unchanged, but her breathing grew slightly faster as my insults toward the Ghost Sword continued.

“What, does hearing your former family head insulted bother you?”

“…He has nothing to do with me. It’s just…”

“Just what? If you have something to say, speak up. I’ll listen.”

“The time His Majesty Leopold and Her Highness Eleonora have for conversation isn’t long. Wasting it on insults toward someone already dead doesn’t seem… ideal.”

…An unexpectedly reasonable point.

“Right, this isn’t the time for such talk.”

Leopold, who had been quietly listening, also subtly signaled for me to stop.

“I know what you’re trying to do, but Belnesia has nothing to do with the Ghost Sword. Werner Valenstein never even met his distant relatives, let alone cared about them.”

…Well, if that’s the case.

“Right. I went a bit too far. My apologies.”

I bowed slightly to Leopold and Eleonora, then turned to Belnesia and offered a light apology.

“Belnesia, was it? My apologies. My suspicions went too far. Even if you share the same surname, no sane person would respect that old man.”

“…It’s fine.”

Belnesia bowed deeply, hiding her face, and took a step back with the empty tray, as if asking if she could leave now.

“You’ve done well. Go rest.”

“Yes, my lady.”

As soon as Eleonora dismissed her, Belnesia quickly retreated from the reception room.

I watched her leave intently, only turning back to Leopold and Eleonora after the door closed.

We wasted some time due to the unexpected identity of the maid, but now that she was gone, it was time to get to the main point of our visit.

“Marquis Median, you’re quite an impressive person.”

I explained to Eleonora, whose opinion of me had clearly dropped, that I wanted her to serve as an advisor in the kingdom I was establishing.

…Is this really okay?

—

“So… why have you and the Marquis come to see me, brother? Surely you didn’t come all this way just for a simple introduction.”

Eleonora, who had been elegantly sipping her tea, set her cup down and asked.

“Right. Now that we’ve had our tea, let’s get to the point…”

Leopold nodded, subtly avoiding my gaze, which was clearly asking, “Is this really okay?”

“Eleonora, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“A favor… Given that you’ve brought Marquis Median, it must be related to him, right…?”

Eleonora sighed lightly, as if bracing herself for what was to come.

“Ha… Go on.”

“You’re right, Eleonora. What I want to ask of you is—”

Leopold began to explain in detail.

To suppress the interference of the Church Order and the dissatisfaction of the nobles, he planned to make me independent from the Empire. However, since my political capabilities were unproven, he wanted her to serve as my advisor.

“So… you’re asking me to become the close aide of Marquis Median—no, the Queen…?”

Eleonora’s mouth opened slightly, her tone dazed. It was clearly something she hadn’t expected, and though she tried to maintain her composure, her eyes trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

“Yes. Rather than spending the rest of your life secluded in the ruined mansion of the Imperial Capital, wouldn’t it be better to live more freely with the Marquis? It’d be safer too.”

“Safer…?”

Eleonora glanced at me. Her trembling eyes held a faint trace of fear. Fear? Seriously, how ridiculous.

What, do you think I’m going to eat you or something?