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Volume 3 Chapter 1 Part 7

「I have no objections to that, but that is just not how I fight. 」

「That just means that you have no ambition and no real will to protect your allies. Because of the existence of the Lords that are just like you, nothing can be done about Chaos, and it will continue to exist forever. Ever since you obtained a Crest, your destiny changed to the one of battle, because in the end, there can only be one person who will obtain the Grancrest and become the Emperor. Because of that, settling the matter as soon as possible would have been ideal, but most of the Lords are too content with the lands and peerage that they currently possess, and they do not even pretend to try to quell the influence of Chaos, being too busy with the exploitation of their subjects for their own personal gain! 」

Milza shook his fists and yelled. It was surprising to Theo, but he made a surprising amount of sense with what he was saying right now.

「If it is the Grancrest that will bring about an Age of Order, then quelling the Chaos, stealing the Crests from other Lords, and raising one’s peerage is the true way to become a Lord, a fact that I realized as I traveled around the continent. You have been a Wandering Lord yourself, correct? Then tell me: what exactly did you see with your eyes during your travels? 」

「Perhaps I saw the same thing as you have seen, Your Highness. 」

Theo replied quietly.

「And? What have you learned from it? 」

「Until I met Siluca, I did not know what was it that I wanted to do as a Lord. My dream… I had it, but I had no way of actually making it a reality and saving the people of my hometown… If it was not for her, then it could be entirely possible that I would have just given up on it entirely. 」

「If that is how you felt, then that is what you should have done. Not everyone needs to be a Lord. You seem to have a peculiar talent that allows you to put yourself in the shoes of others and get along with them more easily because of it, and that in turn makes the people that you met more inclined to become your allies. However, as good of a talent as it is, its quality is exceptionally poor. Many people have already died because of your instigation, and if you will not do anything to improve yourself, then those around you that have chosen to follow you will just keep on dying. 」

「That may very well be so. 」

Theo seemed to understand the source of Milza’s anger towards him

「You have your ideals, and those ideals of yours are what is making the banner that your Crest bestows upon you. And if you want to walk down the path that is going to lead you to Grancrest and becoming Emperor, then you should walk down the path of supremacy. 」

「Exactly. I know that the path that the Lords are supposed to go down is the path on which their enemies can either join them or perish, but just because it us supposed to be the right path that we should go down does not mean that I would be willing to turn every Lord on the entire continent into my sworn enemy. I have no intention of abandoning my ambitions, I think that in order to become an Emperor, geographical advantage and having the right amount of luck at the right time is just as necessary. 」

「Unfortunately for me, I have neither of those things right now. But as the Viceroy of Dartania, I have no choice but to become the blade of the one who will eventually become emperor. I expect that the one who will wield that blade in the end will be Lord Villar… 」

Milza’s words faltered slightly at the very end.

Theo thought to himself that this was probably because he did not know one more thing about Vilar’s true intentions, even though the prince of Dartania constantly acted and spoke as if he wanted to test the Earl, so Theo did not answer him in any way and simply thanked him for the training fight once more.

「I do not want to do it ever again. 」

Milza sheathed his sword and kicked down the bonfire with irritation. Burning firewood got scattered and sparks from it flew into the air.

「Everything about you is extremely unpleasant in my eyes. The next time we cross swords is probably going to be on the battlefield. That is when and where I will show you just how serious I am. 」

「I pray for that day to never come then. 」

Theo wished so from the bottom of his heart.

「I will look forward to it though. 」

And while leaving only those rough words behind, Milza walked out of the backyard and disappeared as if she melted into the darkness and became one with it.

「That was so intense even I felt as if I was there fighting him. 」

Siluca came to Theo with her body still shaking from watching the duel between the two.

「I think so too. I never had to move my body so much in my entire life before. 」

「I am sorry that I was not be able to be of any help. I wanted to stop Lord Milza’s sword with some Movement Magic, but I could not find the right opportunity to use it. 」

Siluca’s voice was also trembling for a bit as she admitted that.

「Do not worry. I managed to get some good training done because of it. 」

Theo smiled back at her and began to return to the castle.

「By the way, what do you make of prince Milza’s words? How did they sound to you? 」

Theo asked Siluca slowly as they continued to walk side by side.

「… The way he was talking, I think that he saw the same things that you saw on your own journeys as a Wandering Lord, but the path that he decided to take after seeing them seems to be the exact opposite of yours, Lord Theo. 」
Siluca thought about it for a while, and then she spoke by choosing her words carefully.

「I feel like wherever this person chooses to go, the corpses of his enemies will follow him. But on the other hand, wherever I will choose to go, the corpses of my allies may follow. 」

Theo said quietly.

「Unfortunately, that is what it means to walk down the road of the Lord. 」

Siluca answered while keeping her emotions in check just like her adoptive father would do, but since Theo still looked as if he was hesitant about this entire matter, she did not know whether or not she made the right choice there.

with restraint in his emotions, like his adoptive father. Because Theo felt hesitant.

「If that is really what that entails… then I do not think that I want to go down that road. 」

「If that is your wish, then I am going to respect it, Lord Theo. 」

Siluca said calmly.

「However, Lord Milza had no choice but to admit that you are good at showing empathy towards others and putting yourself in their shoes.

I think that it is an admirable quality to have, and I think that your dream was born because you understand just how strong the desire to escape the threat of Chaos and the oppression of a tyrannical Lord really is. 」

Hearing those words, Theo suddenly stopped and stared at Siluca. Siluca’s chest felt like it was tightening up, but she nevertheless accepted his gaze with an expressionless face.

「You know, just now, I forgot that you are actually a Witch. 」

Theo took a deep breath after saying that.

「My dream is your dream as well, right? 」

「Of course! 」

Siluca puts her entire strength and resolve into her voice, since right now was the best time and a good place to express her honest feelings.

「It was not until I met you that I started seriously aiming for having my dream fulfilled, but even if I am walking down the road that you have showed me, it was entirely my own decision to make that first step. 」

Theo bowed to Siluca and said, 「I am sorry for making you stick with me because of it. 」.

「I am not asking for an apology from you… 」

Siluca slowly shook her head.

「I just want you to never forget the value of human life. 」