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My mornings start early.
I wake up at sunrise, or just before, and get myself ready for the day.
Just as I finished changing into my workout clothes, there was a knock at the door.
「Young Master, it’s Feri.」
「Come in.」
With my permission, Feri, the head servant, entered the room.
Feri oversees the other servants responsible for various tasks around the estate. She’s capable enough that I actually remember her name.
She’s not human either, but I couldn’t care less about that.
Like Gaddem, Feri was purchased from a slave merchant the previous head of the family, Damian, had ties with. He belongs to the rare Delphen race.
Her dark, bronze skin and sharply pointed ears give her a distinctive appearance. Her almond-shaped, hazel eyes glimmer with an eerie light.
Appearance-wise, I suppose she’s decent enough to present to outsiders as a servant.
Because of these features, the Delphen are often prized as playthings, but I’m not so vulgar as to indulge in meaningless acts without love.
That’s why I’ve given Feri work suited to her actual abilities.
Like Gaddem, Feri is highly loyal to the Aster family.
Well, considering I restored her from a state where her limbs and tongue had been cut off and she was used as nothing more than a sex doll, that loyalty is only natural.
If she wasn’t loyal after all that, I wouldn’t have kept her alive.
Even now, I’m not entirely sure why I bought Feri in such a wretched condition.
It simply felt like ‘I had to buy her’.
Probably just a whim.
The restoration process was a massive hassle.
I had to use fairly advanced magic and burned through several costly catalysts.
In the end, reviving her cost me far more than what I paid for her, which still makes me laugh at myself.
「Gaddem-dono is already prepared and waiting at the training grounds. Helga-sama has also begun her duties. There are no other matters to report.」
「I see. Carry on.」
「Understood. I shall take my leave.」
With that, I made my way to the training grounds.
As for what I planned to do there, obviously, training.
Those of the Aster family must be strong.
Originally, such an obsession with power isn’t something required of a ducal house. But there’s a reason for it.
The Guynes Empire has twenty-four ducal families. Twelve of them differ from typical noble houses, each carrying a special role and being spread across the Empire’s territory.
That special role is serving as the foundation of the Empire’s defense.
The other ducal houses also hold defensive responsibilities, of course, but their primary duty is to govern vast territories.
In contrast, the twelve noble houses, known as the Twelve Great Houses, hold far less land and are stationed to protect critical points across the Empire.
In particular, the Aster and Sarion ducal families hold no territory at all. We’re what you’d call court nobility, entrusted with the defense of the Imperial Capital itself.
This peculiar noble structure of the Guynes Empire might seem strange to outsiders, but it was shaped by necessity.
After all, the Empire has always stood on the front lines of the war against the Demon King’s army. That alone explains how things came to be this way.
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—Well, not that I care about those roles anyway.
Thinking that, I knocked the side of Gaddem’s descending greataxe with the back of my fist, throwing off its trajectory.
Then, closing the distance with one, two quick steps, I drove my right fist into his exposed side.
If an average low-ranking knight with some basic training took that blow, their upper body might well be torn clean off.
But Gaddem clenched his teeth and endured it.
More than that,
「Ngh, guh, ooooooh!! I’ll kill you!!!」
He swung his greataxe wildly, genuinely trying to cut me down.
I didn’t mind a little foul language during training.
If they held back, it wouldn’t be proper training.
Kill me, die, excellent.
No one in the world says something polite like 「May I trouble you」 when they’re trying to kill their opponent.
This time, I didn’t bother to evade or deflect the attacks. I chose to accept them.
—Wii Pru (Repulsion Field)
A nearly invisible membrane formed along the surface of my body, stopping the greataxe perfectly in place just a paper-thin distance from my neck.
There are many types of defensive magic.
Some solidify magic power into literal walls, others create localized air currents to block formless attacks like fire.
Mine is convenient for training because it doesn’t harm the attacking person or their weapon.
Gaddem bared his sharp fangs, his entire body trembling as he poured every ounce of strength into the axe.
「Gadddeeem!!! Pour out every last bit of strength! Just land a single blow on me and I’ll praise you!」
I shouted encouragement at Gaddem, and then,
「Alright, that’s enough.」
I called an end to the training.
If I let him put any more strength into it, his arms would snap.
He’s the kind of man who doesn’t know how to hold back. If I told him to pour out every last drop of strength, he would keep going until his arms broke… no, even after they broke, he’d keep going.
A truly admirable trait.
As I’ve mentioned before, Gaddem is quite capable. Up to a certain level of intensity, he can keep up with my training.
If I tell him not to hold back, he really doesn’t. Thanks to that, I can maintain my combat instincts.
Whether this counts as real training for me is… questionable, but at the very least, it’s good training for Gaddem.
As a gatekeeper of the Aster Ducal House, Gaddem must become even stronger.
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「Training for this morning is over. Gaddem, return to your duties after a break.」
Without waiting for a reply, I returned to my room, tidied myself up once more, and this time headed off to have breakfast.
◆
「Good morning, Hein. Another hard morning, I see.」
「Good morning, Mother. Not at all, I enjoy my training. To me, it’s the academy that feels unbearable.」
「You mustn’t slack off. Be nice to your classmates, alright?」
「Of course, Mother. No matter how many worthless inferior beings fill my vision, I’ll endure it.」
Love often comes with suffering.
Mother loves me, which is precisely why she places these trials before me.
「Y-yes… do your best to endure… You can handle it, I’m sure.」
For some reason, Mother looked troubled, but she quickly smiled again and encouraged me.
That’s right, I can do it. Without a doubt.
§
「Well then, I’m off, Mother.」
「Take care, do your best, Hein.」
After Mother kissed my cheek, I cheerfully made my way toward the academy.
And then,
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I immediately sensed something unpleasant approaching.
Rather than a presence, it was more like a shift in the air… the feeling that trouble was drawing near.
The reason was simple. That Sarion girl had said this to me first thing in the morning.
「Good morning. I was wondering if I could speak with you after class? Do you have time?」
「No. I don’t.」
Naturally, I refused.
As if I would have time for that.
I don’t know what she wants to talk about, but the more time I spend talking, the less time I have with Mother!
That Sarion girl wouldn’t understand, but we mortals lose time with every passing second, simply by existing.
It’s tragic… but it’s true for Mother as well.
The merciless flow of time shows no mercy to anyone. I can’t help but feel outraged by it.
Precisely because of that, I choose to live every second without regret.
Which means I can’t spare even a single moment for Sarion’s sake.
If possible, I wouldn’t bother with carriages and would fly straight home myself.
If I didn’t care about the damage it would cause to the surroundings, it wouldn’t even take five minutes.
But that would only trouble Mother with the aftermath, so I refrain from doing it.
「I see… understood. Then, how about during the break?」
「No. I have things to think about. But if you insist, speak here. There’s still fifteen minutes before class starts, isn’t there?」
Break time is for thinking about Mother.
I need to close my eyes, immerse myself completely in my own world, and project Mother’s figure onto the endless night sky of my mental world.
I must pray for her health, for her happiness… offer up my prayers of love.
That’s why I have no time. But… Mother did say I should be nice to my classmates.
Of course, that Sarion girl is no friend of mine. But Mother, in her boundless kindness, seems to think all the inferior beings at the academy are my friends.
Thus, I decided to make this excessive concession and allow her to speak here.
「Here, you mean… very well.」
She looked like she had something on her mind, but it seems she realized this was her last chance.
I thought the Sarion Ducal House was incompetent, but it seems this Sarion girl is at least somewhat capable.
She opened her mouth to speak, but,
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「Hey, Hein, how about trying to get along with everyone a little more? I get that you don’t like dealing with people, but if you talk to them, you might find they’re not so bad, you know? It wouldn’t kill you to chat during break time. Emmy might even have something to say that she doesn’t want others hearing, right? Come on, Hein, just spare her a little time, I’m begging you!」
The one butting in without reading the mood was that Alphide.
「No.」
There was no anger in my reply.
On the battlefield or elsewhere, you sometimes get people who’ve lost their minds and end up talking to walls for hours on end.
I don’t really feel anything in particular toward such people. But even if they speak rudely to me, would it really mean anything to get angry?
At first, I let that Alphide’s rudeness get to me and lost my temper, but I’m not the kind of man who forgets his lessons.
Mother praised me for that too. 「You study so well. I’m proud of you.」
That’s why I grow day by day… though it seems this Sarion girl has yet to reach such enlightenment.
「…Huh? Umm, you’re Azel-sama, aren’t you? I’m speaking with Hein-sama right now, so if you need something, please wait your turn. Also, we’re not close friends or anything. We barely know each other. There’s a huge gap between our family ranks as well. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to me so casually.」
Her gaze toward that Alphide was far from friendly.
Rather, she looked angry.
Not that I intended to take her side, but it was only natural for Sarion to be angry.
The academy claims to set aside status differences, but that’s only on the surface.
In reality, it’s customary for those of lower rank to show a certain level of respect to those above them.
And yet, that Alphide, despite being the son of a count, speaks so casually to Sarion, a duke’s daughter, and to me.
Well, it’s just a surface-level rule in the end, so it’s not enough to file an official complaint, but still.
By the way, Emmy is a nickname for Esmeralda.
There’s a common custom where longer names often get shortened into nicknames.
But those nicknames are usually only used between close individuals, often with romantic implications. It’s not something you casually use, nor do you allow just anyone to use it.
Sarion getting upset was probably because that Alphide mishandled that unspoken rule around nicknames.
But thinking back to the other day, does the Alphide Count’s family not even provide the most basic education?
「…Huh?」
Judging by the dumbfounded look on his face as he stared at Sarion, it’s obvious they don’t.
It was written all over his expression, like he was thinking, 『Huh? Why is she looking at me like that? We’ve always been such good friends!』
But despite how insensitive that Alphide seemed, he surprisingly apologized without resistance.
「Ah, yeah… sorry about that. My apologies…」
Saying that, he left, though as he did, he muttered something strange.
—「Right… because h.i.s.t.o.r.y. has changed, me and Emmy too…」
It piqued my curiosity, but honestly, it wasn’t worth dwelling on. What was worth noting…
「Good morning, everyone.」
…was the teacher entering the classroom.
In other words, I no longer had to talk to Sarion.
Since I had already agreed to listen, I would’ve had to lend her a proper ear to avoid damaging my pride. But my instincts whispered that her topic was going to be tedious.
I owed that Alphide a bit of gratitude for saving me from that.
「Sorry, we’ll have to continue this another time. If you want to resent someone, resent him.」
With that, I cut the conversation with Sarion short.
She gave me a bitter, resentful look, but that wasn’t my problem.
◆◆◆
In the “original history,” the Aster Ducal House made countless blunders, but among them, their brutal persecution of demi-humans was a particularly disgraceful stain on their name.
The catalyst for that disaster was an incident involving a Delphen girl named Fenry.
Captivated by her exquisite beauty, Hein purchased Fenry, driven by sadistic desire, and subjected her to unspeakably vile treatment.
Specifically, he severed her long, graceful limbs, cut out her tongue, and reduced her to nothing more than a flesh doll meant solely to satisfy lust.
Originally, Hein wasn’t even that cruel by nature, but it’s not uncommon for one’s environment to twist their personality.
All the sins he’d committed up to that point naturally came back upon him, dragging Hein and the name of the Aster Ducal House through the mud.
Thus, Hein’s mind grew more and more warped, spiraling into depravity.
Even if she was a demi-human, even if the entire Guynes Empire was steeped in prejudice against demi-humans, Hein’s actions had clearly gone too far.
Once it came to light, the already declining Aster Ducal House would face even greater disgrace.
And naturally, it did come to light.
When Fenry’s corpse, lifeless after enduring Hein’s relentless cruelty, was smuggled out of the Aster estate, a night watchman stopped the laborers carrying the body, and the truth was exposed.
What made matters worse wasn’t just the abuse itself. Fenry had been of noble lineage among the Delphen.
The incident spread like wildfire throughout the Imperial Capital, igniting a storm of fury among the demi-human population.
Protests grew louder by the day, until the demi-humans finally staged a large-scale demonstration within the capital.
But Hein refused to listen to their pleas and chose military suppression instead.
As a result, countless demi-humans who had joined the protest were killed or wounded.
That tragedy firmly branded Hein as the enemy of all demi-humans.
Even the Empire itself began to view his extreme actions as a problem.
Far from fulfilling his responsibilities as a duke, he had sparked the flames of civil unrest.
This chain of events severely damaged the reputation of the Aster Ducal House, leaving their standing within the Empire as fragile as a castle built on sand.
But… that was the “original history.”
In this parallel world, the Fenry known as Feri pledged fierce, unwavering loyalty to Hein, the one who restored her body.
Upon learning she was of noble Delphen blood, Hein, disliking complications, attempted to send her back to the forest.
But Feri tearfully refused, begging to be allowed to repay the debt she owed him.
Now, she manages the household affairs of the Aster estate and oversees its security.
As a natural-born assassin, highly skilled in concealing her presence, she has quietly sent countless assassins plotting Hein’s death into an eternal sleep.
Incidentally, the name Feri came about when Hein asked for her name. With her tongue still unsteady, she weakly uttered 「Fe…i…」 and Hein decided on the name Feri right then and there.
Fei-ri (Feri) — a name that means “Night Forest.”
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