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Chapter 30 - Road Construction (1)

The sun rose.

The state of the mansion, visited once and then abandoned by Irene, was in shambles.

The iron gates at the front entrance were completely smashed.

The outer wall of the office was shattered to pieces.

And Sylvia was a bloody mess...

"The office will be unusable for a while. I\'ve moved everything to the adjacent room to use it as a temporary office."

"...Why are you okay?"

Huh.

Wasn\'t she on the verge of death yesterday?

I watched her being treated with bandages wrapped all over her by a physician before I fell asleep.

When I woke up, Sylvia was standing by my side, looking perfectly fine.

"Those kinds of wounds heal overnight."

"..."

Sylvia nonchalantly discarded the remaining bandages.

Her smooth skin, without a single scar, was revealed.

Does Sylvia have some kind of super healing ability?

"More than that, the wounds to my pride are greater."

"Wounds to your pride?"

"Charlotte unleashed an aura the moment she gripped her sword, but even after more than two years of fighting on the battlefield, I haven\'t even glimpsed such power..."

Sylvia bit her lip, looking slightly dejected.

A bit of inferiority, perhaps.

Well, it’s fine.

For a villain, inferiority is a precursor to turning evil, but...

For someone like Sylvia, it can be a good motivator for improvement.

Judging by her expression, it seems less like she envies Charlotte and more like she\'s determined to push herself further, feeling a bit of self-doubt.

"If you listen well from now on, I\'ll recharge your mana bit by bit."

"Really!?"

Sylvia’s face brightened with joy.

Without mana, practicing aura techniques is impossible.

So far, Sylvia must have had to put her training as a Sword Master on hold.

But if I kill spirits and recharge her mana little by little, it will be enough for her training.

\'And I realized yesterday. Sylvia, as our greatest strength, must always be in top condition.\'

Strictly speaking, the greatest strength is Charlotte, who can split mountains.

But Charlotte\'s control is still incomplete.

Therefore, the first line of defense and the greatest power in guarding the mansion is undoubtedly Sylvia.

If Sylvia is left weak and without mana...

The mansion will be breached easily, as it was yesterday.

I need to ensure Sylvia is always at full power.

If she becomes a Sword Master through her training, that’s all the better.

[The evil god \'Kali\' is proud of you.]

Yes. You did well.

This time, thanks to Kali, we were able to overcome the crisis.

Not because Kali is strong, but just because of her presence...

"So, what do we do now? Lady Irene has effectively declared war..."

"That\'s the end of the declaration. Irene can\'t do much. I’m the heir and future Count; how could she interfere?"

"Ah..."

There’s no need to fear her coming back and causing trouble like yesterday.

Because all Irene can do is threaten me.

If she had the authority to interfere in the family, she would have obstructed me constantly already.

\'It doesn\'t seem like her goal is to ruin the family.\'

All Irene has is brute force.

If she wanted to destroy the mansion and kill me, she could have done so instead of just making threats.

By not doing that, it\'s clear that Irene doesn\'t want the Vermont family to fall.

Irene Vermont can’t attack me head-on.

She can’t obstruct me professionally.

She can’t destroy the family entirely.

So, do I have any reason to fear Irene Vermont?

None at all.

I can confidently say that...

\'Shit.\'

Thinking of her high heels and the claws that scratched my cheek makes me instinctively shrink.

Is it inevitable for a younger brother to fear his older sister?

It’s a biological limitation.

There\'s no helping it.

"Oh! You’re hurt too!"

"Me? Where?"

"Your cheek!"

"This will heal on its own."

"You can\'t just leave it like that with your beautiful skin! Your skin is much more sensitive than knight’s..."

Charlotte gestured for me to show my face.

I bent down, and Charlotte grabbed my cheek.

Following the red scratch line, she licked it.

"...What are you doing? That\'s gross."

"They say saliva helps it heal!"

"Pfft. Saliva is for comfort when there\'s no medicine. Charlotte, you still believe such superstitions?"

"..."

Charlotte’s face contorted with anger at Julia’s mockery.

With an audible crack, Charlotte clenched her fist.

She looked genuinely angry.

"Julia, who can\'t sleep without Mister, is acting all tough!"

"Wh-what!? No, who says that?"

"I saw it. Lying on the desk in the office, rubbing your cheek against Mister’s hand like a piece of furniture. Haha. Julia can\'t sleep without human warmth, huh?"

"I-I can\'t help it because of my condition!"

"I heard you’re over that. How strange."

"Charlotte!!!"

Please, Charlotte, stop.

Julia\'s face turned beet red, ready to explode.

Julia, fuming, grabbed my ear and pulled me down.

She slapped a bandage on my cheek roughly.

"If you get a scar on your already ugly face, you\'ll be even uglier! Just leave this on! ...Okay?"

"Are you worried or venting your anger? Pick one."

"Who said I was worried! It’s not venting! ...Okay?"

Julia turned and stormed off, unable to hide her flustered state.

She’ll come back tonight, asking to hold my hand to sleep, after all that tough talk.

It’s ridiculous.

"Young master, a cavalry procession is approaching."

"Describe what you see."

"The emblem... It\'s the Arient family\'s emblem, and there are about ten people. Two are armed."

Arient? That family is far from Vermont, and we have little interaction. I checked the direction they were coming from, realizing they must have seen the split mountain and decided to visit.

They must be here to introduce themselves, like new neighbors bringing rice cakes.

They seem to know proper etiquette.

I put on the most amiable smile I could muster and stepped forward.

"Ugh...!"

They were startled, the lead horse reared, and everyone’s expressions turned sour.

Okay. I won\'t use this smile again.

"Damn, my back is killing me from the rough road..."

"We had to take the fastest route."

A group dismounted and approached.

The man in front was a young man with a red beard.

Listening to them talk, it seems they set off right after seeing the mountain split, using the corridor to cross the mountain range.

Thanks to that, we know the gap is wide enough for horses.

It won’t be hard to expand it into a two-lane road for carriages.

"Welcome. I’m Aslan Vermont, head of the Vermont family."

"Thank you for the welcome. I’m Heijik Arient, eldest son of Count Arient."

"Oh, not the count, but his son. Let’s head to the reception room."

"...!?"

These bastards.

They sent the eldest son, thinking I’m just the heir who hasn’t inherited the title yet, trying to match ranks.

Heijik’s red beard twitched at my rude reply.

"Hahaha. This is a bit awkward. You’re younger than me..."

"Get to the point. Coming through an unpaved road means it’s urgent. Better to say your business quickly."

"...I have a proposal that could be very beneficial for Vermont."

Heijik forced a smile, trembling slightly.

This feels ominous.

It’s definitely a sales pitch smile.

"Would you look at this? Bridges, roads, buildings, etc. Arient has built many infrastructures. The mountain range was eroded mysteriously, right? Arient will build a road through that gap. Vermont will no longer be a frontier! Here, just sign the contract."

"..."

"Just sign here, and we’ll start construction with a small investment from you. We’ll repay the investment with a 2% interest. What do you think? Isn’t it a great deal?"

"Ha..."

I skimmed the contract and couldn’t help but laugh.

These bastards. They’re trying to take the road construction rights for free.

Do they still see me as the gullible fool Aslan?

"Hey."

"...Yes?"

The atmosphere grew heavy, and Heijik swallowed nervously.

"Alright, I’ll sign. Just add a few conditions."

"Excellent choice! What conditions do you want?"

A good idea came to mind.

A way to use these bastards to our advantage.