Chapter 149
It’s been ten days since Arellin woke up.
When Arellin was brought to the hospital, Halbern Mansion was once again at peace, though it had felt as if it had been weighed down by an unstoppable magic bomb that could go off at any moment.
Of course, that was only on the outside, and things were complicated on the inside.
“It happened anyway.”
Arellin hadn’t said much since her private audience with Duke Ludwig.
“Have you forgiven him?”
“No. He said it was karmic payback.”
“…!”
The people of Halbern Mansion were moved by Arellin’s decision to accept Duke Ludwig on his knees.
“My lady, how can you be so good?”
On the other hand, public opinion of Duke Ludwig has only grown worse.
He was already an unwelcome visitor, and on bad terms with his lord and master, the Archduke of Halbern.
The little information that was provided when everyone was wondering why Duke Ludwig had kidnapped Arellin and was still living in the mansion despite his bad relationship with the Archduke of Halbern made him seem like a nobody.
Duke Ludwig reputation among the Halbern vassals plummeted from ‘a piece of trash that will soon be gone’ to ‘a piece of trash that sticks around.
“Haha, daughter, you’re kidding, right?”
“I’m not kidding.”
“… You’re lying, right?”
“I’m not lying.”
“…”
So no one was surprised to see Valar laughing with his mouth but never with his eyes.
“Wait, does this mean we have more rivals?”
“I can’t share your undivided attention for one second, damn it.”
The selfless parenting group sighed.
“It must have been a difficult choice, but there you are, my dear Arel, learning forgiveness and tolerance when I never taught you.”
This was met with enthusiasm from Mehen, who suddenly became interested in Arel’s character education.
So Duke Ludwig took one of the annexes as his residence and settled down in Halbern.
“My dear, are you cheating on me? Do you prefer another man while I’m lying here with my eyes wide open?”
“Do you really want to die, do you want to settle this today?”
“Honey, you made me feel bad at first. I feel bad.”
“Aaah!”
Valar unleashed a mental attack on Mehen, apparently unhappy that Mehen had tolerated the Duke Ludwig presence, but it didn’t change what had already been decided.
“My lord, perhaps you could learn a little forgiveness and tolerance. Eh?”
“Forgiveness and tolerance? I was raised without them. Give it up.”
“So you’re going to learn them now. What the hell have you been learning all these years?”
“Oh, nothing. Unfortunately, I had parents, but they were worse than nothing, so I was self-educated. I had an older sister who was like a mom to me…”
“…”
“I lost her to someone.”
Mehen’s 1 loss.
“I hate him, honey.”
“I hate you even more!”
“You hate me? Are you ashamed? It’s okay, honey, I know how you feel.”
“…? What did I say? I hate you.”
“Yep. I love you too, honey.”
“Ew, get off me now. Stop talking bullshit before I kill you!”
“You love me to death? I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never heard such a passionate confession.”
“Ew, I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill you!”
Mehen knew in his head that he was only making Valar more amused by his rampage, but he couldn’t stand the sound of Valar’s ‘honey’.
He’d barely gotten used to Arellin’s ‘mommy’ and it still startled him every once in a while!
“Come here, you bastard!”
The Knights of Saren, who had returned half a dozen times over thanks to Mehen, who was indeed running amok with his sword, clapped and cheered.
“Go, Mehen, give your lord a taste of the sword!”
“Mehen, you could be our lord if we could only get rid of him! Come on!”
But despite the Knights of Saren’s enthusiastic cheering and subtle offers of help, Mehen could not even touch Valar’s toes.
“So, with that, you are hereby confirmed as Archduchess of Halbern, Mehen.”
“I vote yes.”
“I am in favor.”
“I vote yes too!”
The new hierarchy of the Knights of Saren was set. Jaren, on behalf of the Order, congratulated Mehen.
“Congratulations on your marriage, Mehen.”
“If you want to die, shut up, Jaren.”
“No, what did I do to deserve that?”
Jaren protested, but as usual, none of the Saren knights stood up for him.
“Jaren is bullying Mehen!”
“What? Jaren bullies Mehen?!”
“It must be Jaren’s fault again.”
“I feel sorry for Mehen.”
“It’s always Jaren’s fault.”
“What is Jaren’s character?”
Jaren shuddered at the familiar pattern of being the bad guy again.
“Hey, knights, why are your eyes so wide open, huh? Why do you talk like that?”
“Angry Jaren is coming to oppress us!”
“Run!”
And so the chaos in Halbern Mansion grew.
Soon, only one truth stuck in the minds of the people of Halbern.
Arellin is the current number one in Halbern, Mehen is number two, Archduke Valar is number three, the Nurserymen are number four, the Knights of Saren are number five, and Duke Ludwig is only number six!
“I, the number one ranked Duke Ludwig of the Southern Empire, am the lowest ranked in this world?”
“What? Young lady, what are you suddenly talking about…?”
“Huh? It’s nothing, I’m talking to myself.”
Arellin, who had unintentionally shouted out an industry jargon, broke out in a cold sweat and laughed.
***
Taking up residence in Halbern’s western annex, Duke Ludwig lived a quiet life, despite the notoriety he had accumulated.
Perhaps it was because the vassals and users of the main building were so reluctant to deal with him, but considering his arrogant nature, it was actually normal for him to be loud at least once.
“My lord, are you all right?”
The shadowy escort, for whom silence was a virtue, dared to speak to Ludwig presumptuously, but the expected response was not forthcoming.
‘What in the world has happened to you…?’
The Shadow expressed concern at the uncharacteristic behavior of Ludwig.
Ludwig was reflecting on many things.
‘What went wrong?’
The beginning of this twisted and tortuous relationship.
‘From here, I suppose.’
Meeting Sione Sigria Halbern.
How he fell in love with her.
Making a deal with the great Archduke Halbern against Sione’s wishes.
Ludwig closed his eyes, feeling the dizzying sensation of a past choice that he could not undo now.
Days wasted, consumed by the hell and hurt Sione had given him.
Ludwig smiled bitterly at himself for coming so close to losing Sione and then Arellin.
‘I thought I would never be forgiven.’
Arellin was Sione’s daughter, he thought, and like Sione, she would never forgive him, so forgiveness was not something he wanted in the first place.
The possibility that maybe, just maybe, he could be forgiven, and the tenuous hope that he could start from scratch, unlike Sione, was the last ray of light in Ludwig’s otherwise hellish life.
‘It’s karmic liquidation…’
If Arellin had asked him to give up his entire fortune, he would have done so; if she had asked him to surrender his position as Duke, he would have done so; if she had asked for the Southern Empire, he would have given it to her, but karmic redemption seemed too merciful.
He can see why the Halbernians are crazy about Arellin.
And then Ludwig joined them.
Ludwig was the first to recognize the power structure in Halbern and approach Mehen. Mehen was surprised at the quality of the material he was suddenly given.
“Why are you giving me this advanced information…?”
“I made a promise to Arellin. To work hard to clear the karma I’ve accumulated.”
“?”
“If you wish, I will give you access to my intelligence organization.”
“…!”
Halbern had his own intelligence organization, but the intelligence organization of the Duke, the so-called de facto master of the Southern Empire?
Mehen could not resist the temptation.
“Take care.”
“On my honor.”
Ludwig, who had drastically reduced his risk of being thrown out by simply partnering with Mehen, was in no hurry to do anything.
He just wanted to see Arellin’s face.
It was enough to see her from afar, but it would be nice to be able to talk to her.
That was what he did today when he stepped into the main building.
“?”
“What is it, My lord?”
He caught sight of a suspicious scene.
Three little kids are sneaking around, making sure they don’t look like assassins.
Even the Saren knights who were supposed to be guarding the main building were laughing and desperately pretending not to notice the children.
What a bizarre scene.
“What are they?”
Just like that, Ludwig had succeeded in capturing three wild children.
