Duke Arkham Round was said to wield the greatest power among True King Julian's factions.
It was said that if the electoral system still remained, he would have undoubtedly been the next to ascend to that seat.
"Hmm… This isn't looking good…"
Under the king's decree, he had reluctantly raised taxes in his territory to five times their previous rate, but tax revenue had actually decreased.
According to his civil officials' analysis, this was because people's willingness to work had dropped, and as he was pondering what to do about it—
"…Who's there? I don't recall summoning anyone."
It felt like it had been a while since someone noticed his presence before he could call out to them.
No wonder Lord Harold had placed this person at the very top of his list.
"You're sharp. Truly worthy of the regard Lord Harold holds for you."
"State your business, and your name."
"My name is Alan. You haven't summoned anyone, have you?"
Don't go yelling "Intruder!" or anything.
He was remarkably calm.
It almost felt like resignation, though.
"You must have slipped through this estate's security with ease, then? Calling out would have been pointless. If this were an assassination attempt, I'd already be dead. I'll ask again—what is your business?"
"Please withdraw from True King Julian's faction."
"That's an impossible request. I can neither defect nor remain neutral."
"Why not?"
"My daughter is married to the True King's eldest son. I already have grandchildren."
But anyway, it's already been resolved.
"Thinking this might happen, I had them brought here."
When I deactivated the Gentleman Thief skill *Stealth*, a woman and a small child appeared before us.
"Catalina! Rashan!"
"Papa!"
"Grandpa!"
Little Rashan toddled over to the Marquis Launde and was scooped up into his arms.
"How did you two get here…"
"I'll explain, Papa. But first, someone needs to watch Rashan for a bit. Is there anyone around?"
But nobody came.
Oh, right—sorry, I'd isolated the space out of habit.
I deactivated Dimmocation, a Space-Time Magic spell, restoring the Marquis's office to its original location.
"Papa, nobody's coming."
"Oh, sorry about that. They'll come if you call now."
The Marquis rang the small bell on his desk with a soft chime, and the butler promptly entered.
"My Lord, is everything all right? Lady Catalina, Master Rashan—when did you return? And as for that gentleman, I was wondering whether today's visitors included a young boy—"
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Just look after Rashan for a little while."
"Yes, sir."
◇◇◇
After the butler led young Rashan out of the room, Lady Catalina began to speak in a calm, composed tone.
"I was being treated terribly by my husband. He would berate me, hit me, throw things at me, force himself on me when I was unwell — it was truly awful."
"That can't be right. When I met you the other day, you seemed perfectly happy. You were dressed beautifully, and you were looking after your children just fine."
"That man is cunning. Whenever he knew I would be meeting with you, Father, he would stop the abuse days in advance. And he never struck me anywhere visible, like my face."
"He did that…? But then why didn't you tell me about it right away? You must have had countless opportunities. Could it be you endured it because you had children? Or was it for the sake of the faction?"
The Marquis was on the verge of erupting, but he was still holding onto his composure.
However, he could not endure what Catalina said next.
"That man… put a transparent collar of servitude on me."
"Gather your soldiers immediately!!"
The Marquis roared at the top of his lungs.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse] [Divine Eye] [Sword God] [Fist God] [Spear God] [Scorching Magic] [Frozen Ice Magic] [Clear Storm Magic] [Rock Iron Magic] [Holy Magic] [Dark Magic] [Space-Time Magic] [Thunder God Sword] [Phantom Thief Gentleman] [Ninja Master] [Seeker of Truth] [Superhuman Strength] [Windfoot] [Pain Dulling] [Complete Status Abnormality Resistance] [Dark Spirit Protection] [Super Intuition] [Heaven's Gate] [Abyss Contractee] [Magic Hand] [Treasure Search] [Temptation] [Incitement] [Telemesmerism] [Eloquence] [Strong Luck] [Growth Speed ×10] [Growth Limit Breakthrough]
Rank: Orichalcum
Thank you for reading!