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Volume 6 Chapter 3 Part 8

But now, that same young man has already become an Earl across the span of only a few short years? Who would have thought that this is how his life and career as a Lord would go?

However, it wasn’t just blind luck that brought Theo to the place where he was today. He was capable of much more than that, and he owed it all to his hard work and effort which were tempered through experience. Without those things, he would’ve never achieved his current rank.

Also, now that he has taken Sistina back from the Rossinis by himself just like he planned to do, he became a Lord to whom all the other Lords on the continent had to start paying close attention to.

「Now, as long as you return to the continent before the promised date, it’ll mean that you managed to fulfill your promise to Lord Lassic and the rest of the Artuk Treaty. Of course, I won’t allow Moreno-senpai to raise any objections to it. 」

Siluca snorted proudly. Whenever it came to anything that even remotely involved Lassic David’s contracted Mage Moreno Dortus, Siluca couldn’t help it but to feel an unrestrained sense of hostility towards him.

「Of course, but the biggest question here is what the rest of the Lords of the Artuk Treaty are going to have to say about it. 」

Theo pointed that out while smiling bitterly.

Carrying on the will of the late Vilar Constance, the Earl of Artuk, Lassic David is currently holding the position of the leader of the gathering of various Lords from around Artuk who’ve called themselves The Artuk Treaty. However, as per his agreement with Theo, if Theo managed to liberate his home island of Sistina from the rule of the Rossini family and return to the continent before one year would come to pass, Lassic promised that he would step down from this position and give it to Theo while becoming his subordinate Lord.

「Given how much time has passed, I think it should be safe to say that your current reputation has already reached all the Lords of the Artuk Treaty, so even if they wanted, they’re not going to have much room for raising their objections, Lord Theo. On top of that, if Lord Lassic of Selvis and the Lords of Veltava, Ozer, Kirchs and Mansoor are all going to become your subordinate Lords, then I think your rank and peerage will be raised enough for you to claim the rank of a Marquis, which means that you’re going to be a Lord with the highest rank in the entire Artuk Treaty. 」
「A Marquis, huh? 」

Theo was stunned for a moment as he processed that thought. If he really were to become a Marquis, that would mean that he’d become one of the greatest nobles on the entire continent, someone on par with Alexis and Marine.

「Am I even going to live long enough to see myself becoming something as great as that? 」

「It may not happen soon, but I think you’re going to have a wonderful life leading to it. 」

Siluca said this with a straight face. Of course, her words also included herself in that statement.

「Yes, I’m sure that’s certainly going to be the case. 」

Theo nodded sheepishly.

「From the moment I was born, my life was filled with so much danger that I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended suddenly anytime soon. In this world, even if I just tried to live a normal life, I still cannot help but be worried that I might die at any moment due to a Chaotic accident or Chaos Disaster… but you know, if you think about that, even if I die now, I guess you could say that I was pretty satisfied with the way I lived. 」

「No matter what’s going to happen in the future, I’m sure you’ll bring forth a miracle, Lord Theo. If it’s you, I feel like you can make anything possible. 」

Siluca said and smiled at Theo.

「I don’t know how far I’ll go, but I’m determined to live to the fullest until I die. I think I have to do this for the sake of the people who died while I was still alive. 」

Many people lost their lives to overthrow the Rossini family. Theo’s heart hurt every time he thought about them , and so he carved that oath into his heart.
「Actually, I think you’re already working as hard as you can. 」

When Siluca said that, she looked at him and laughed. Naturally, it was a tired laugh. It’s no joke as well, she felt she could easily collapse from overwork at any time.

Siluca has paperwork to do, and Theo’s daily routine is to patrol the former slums at night. Although his purpose is to maintain public order, he also has the purpose of observing the personalities and abilities of the soldiers he patrols with. Theo has great empathy, so he was able to see through them in a short amount of time. He is also good at motivating people, turning lazy people into hard workers in no time.

However, Siluca entrusted her body to Theo, thinking that it would be okay to take a little break.

Theo gently hugged her and brought his face closer to her, and Siluca accepted it with her eyes closed, taking advantage of Irvin not being there right now…

… but then she noticed that the Chaos Globe in her magic wand was emitting a faint light.

The Chaos Globe vibrated faintly, and through magic it could be made to resonate with another Chaos Globe far away. This allowed for conversations with other Mages and the Mages Association.

「Who is it? 」

Unable to leave it alone, Siluca moved away from Theo, since there are times when it’d be better for Theo to not hear conversations between Mages.

「Deadri… Niklae… 」

When she manipulated the Chaos Globe and made it resonate with hers, a voice came out.

「Lady Deadri? 」

Siluca said, surprised.
Deadri is the contracted Mage and wife of Eugen Niklae, a Baron from Artuk with whom she should be engaged in guerrilla warfare against Dartania’s Viceroy, Milza. She had been in touch with her from time to time to exchange information, but the timing was worrisome.

(Something must’ve happened…)

A disgusting premonition crossed her mind. Unfortunately, that premonition turned out to be true.

「My husband, Eugen… has been killed in battle. 」
「Deirdre said with a quiet voice. Her tone was firm, but even through the magic, she could feel the deep sadness emanating from her.

「Lord Eugen… 」

Siluca was also taken aback.

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Eugen was now the representative ruler of Artuk, and he hid in the mountains and led the harsh guerrilla war after the attacks on the Artuk Treaty stopped. Thanks to him, Dartania had a hard time ruling Artuk in peace.

「It seems that my husband’s last words were to ask Lord Theo to return To Artuk. Please take care of it. 」

After saying that, Deirdre turned off the synchronization of her magic wand.

「Lady Deadri! 」

Siluca shouts into her magic wand. She feared that she too was going to share her husband’s fate.

「Baron Eugen was killed in battle, right? 」

Theo calls out to her with a grim expression. Siluca looked back at Theo, and she nodded silently and conveyed Eugen’s last words to him.

「If only I had returned sooner… 」

Theo grumbled regretfully.

「We have to cut back on our plans, since from now on, Milza’s offensive against the Lords of the Artuk Treaty might be intensifying. 」

「I agree. 」

Theo nodded his head.

「I thought that the next person that I would have to fight after dealing with the Rossini family would be Milza anyway. Because as we do not defeat him once and for all, there is going to be no future for the Artuk Treaty whatsoever. 」

「Yes, but he’s definitely going to be a tough opponent. 」

Milza is the strongest warrior that Dartania had to offer, and as long as he’s going to have his army backing him up, his troops are going to be just as strong as he is. Even Lassic said that if it was at all possible, then he wouldn’t want to cross blades with Milza for a second time.

「I know that Milza doesn’t care about me or my ideals in the slightest, but ever since he challenged me to that practice sparring back during the Lord’s Conference in Halusia, I was prepared for the eventuality that I’d have to fight him someday. 」

The path that Milza walks down is the path of conquest, while Theo is walking down the path of Lordship. These two paths can never become one, both of them are heading towards the same destination.

And if there’ll ever come a day that these two paths will be inevitably forced to interject…

… one of them is going to have to disappear as a result.

『To be Continued in Volume 7」