Ark House
A few days had passed since the Hero caused the incident, and today was finally the day for settlement negotiations between the Mirai House, who supported the Hero, and the Ark House, who suffered damages from the Hero's actions.
This time, Absolute was not only defamed in front of his classmates by the Hero but also ambushed. Even though he's the Hero, his status is that of a commoner, while Absolute, who was harmed, is a high-ranking noble. Originally, the Hero could have been executed, but after pleas from the royal family, that was no longer an option.
Instead, Absolute received several magical items from the royal family’s Treasure Vault. These were necessary for completing future original events. Absolute basically intended to ignore any events that didn't concern him or his subordinates. However, there was an event within the year that would result in many deaths, and there was a possibility that the Ark House faction would also be affected. He believed that he had to intervene to prevent things from progressing according to the original story. He gave up on the Hero's life this time and settled for the magical items.
Absolute and his father, Villain, were discussing the upcoming settlement negotiations with the Mirai House.
"Hmm. I don't mind you leading the proceedings, Absolute, but are you sure about the final terms? It’ll certainly damage the Mirai House, but strengthening the outer walls will cause a backlash from the surrounding nobles, you know?"
Villain couldn't agree with the settlement terms Absolute had in mind. Absolute was trying to use the Anti-Magic Stones he could obtain from the Mirai House to reinforce the outer walls, in addition to receiving compensation. The reason was in preparation for a future war with the country, but Villain, not seeing things the same way, couldn't understand.
"No, I think it will be fine since I received permission from the royal family as well. Besides, I think it is more important to have sincerity shown in some tangible form rather than just an apology. It’ll be a great loss for the main culprit, the Hero, too, so I'll steer it in this direction."
"...I see. Well, you're the one leading this, Absolute, so do as you please. But absolutely do not show any mercy. This wouldn't have happened if the Mirai House hadn't neglected the Hero's education."
"Yes, rest assured. It's impossible for evil to show mercy to its enemies."
(Though it's eighty percent the Saint's fault, huh? But this is a chance to separate the Hero from the Mirai House. I'll definitely cut them off.)
Knock, knock.
Just as their conversation was coming to an end, a knock sounded on the door of the room.
"Enter."
"Forgive me for interrupting your discussion. The Mirai House has arrived."
Maria, who had been waiting outside, informed them of the Mirai House's arrival.
"I see. Show them to the reception room. Well then, let’s finish this tea before we head over."
(There's no need to accommodate them. Let’s make them wait and get impatient.)
Villain understood Absolute's intention, and they both took a moment to finish their tea before heading to the settlement.
After finishing their tea, Absolute and Villain headed to the reception room where the Mirai Marquis was waiting.
The nobles of the Rainana Kingdom are broadly divided into three factions. The Royal Faction, which supports the King. The Nobility Faction, which fears that too much power is concentrated in the royal family and tries to gather power among the nobles. And the Neutral Faction, which stands between the Royal and Nobility Factions, balancing the two.
The Mirai Marquis belongs to the Royal Faction and is famous for having increased influence and power within the faction since the engagement between the Hero and Alicia was decided.
Absolute and Villain entered the room. Inside were the Mirai Marquis and Alicia, who was covered in bruises. When the Mirai Marquis and Alicia saw the two enter, they stood up and bowed deeply. Absolute and his father almost froze for a moment when they saw Alicia covered in bruises, but they sat down in the seats opposite them as if nothing had happened.
"Mirai Marquis, Lady Alicia, please be seated."
Absolute urged the two to sit, and they took their seats.
(Isn't the Mirai Marquis going a bit too far? Even without the Saint, your negligence in education is a much bigger fault. Is he perhaps trying to put all the responsibility on Alicia? He didn’t bring the Hero, huh… Well, you never know what he's capable of.)
The Mirai Marquis was the first to speak.
"Lord Ark, Lord Absolute. I deeply apologize for the Hero's foolish actions. Especially to Lord Absolute, he has done something that can never be forgiven, no matter how much I apologize. I originally intended to bring him along, but I thought he would only cause discomfort since he showed no remorse, so I have him confined at the mansion. I am truly sorry."
The Mirai Marquis and Alicia bowed deeply.
"Even though he is the Hero, he's just a commoner who committed a crime; there's no way this can be overlooked. Mirai Marquis, what exactly have you been teaching the Hero? He called me a criminal without any evidence. Don’t tell me the Mirai House has been teaching him that the Ark House is a criminal organization?"
"No, I have not taught him any such thing. In my house, we thought it would be best if the Hero's tutor was the same age, so I entrusted it entirely to my daughter, Alicia."
(So, he's shifting the responsibility to Alicia, huh… Scum.)
"Despite that, such a thing has happened... This foolish daughter of mine!"
Smack!
A dull sound echoed as Alicia was struck. Alicia was knocked off her chair with the force of the blow.
"I... I'm sorry..."
The Mirai Marquis raised his hand to strike Alicia again.
"You bastard! Apologizing won't solve anyth—"
"Silence…"
A quiet, low voice echoed in the room. The Mirai Marquis felt an unprecedented pressure all over his body from Absolute's Intimidation. The Mirai Marquis wore an expression that said he couldn’t believe that a student could exude such pressure. He felt his breathing naturally becoming irregular and erratic.
"Where do you think you are, Mirai Marquis? Why are we being subjected to your third-rate theatrics? If you continue this farce any longer, I'll kill you, you know?"
"I-I'm very sorry…"
The Mirai Marquis apologized respectfully, forgetting that Absolute was younger than him due to the overwhelming pressure. He then quietly sat down in his seat, still breathing heavily due to Absolute's Intimidation.
"Enough. Your apology is worthless. The Ark House has three demands for this settlement.
First, you must provide the Anti-Magic Stones necessary to repair the outer walls of the Ark Territory.
Second, the Mirai House and the Hero must pay Absolute twenty billion in compensation. The Hero will be responsible for half of that amount. He will also be suspended from the academy until it is paid off.
Third, the engagement between the Hero and Alicia will be annulled—We demand these three things. I will not accept any objections, understand?"
"T-That's… Twenty billion?! And annul the engagement? This engagement was approved by His Majesty!"
The Mirai Marquis was distraught. In order to settle the matter, Absolute used Ark House’s intelligence agents to investigate the Mirai House's tax revenue and demanded the absolute limit they could pay, ignoring market prices.
As for the Hero, no matter how great his Hero Skill might be, it would be impossible to earn that amount unless he accomplished great feats such as saving the country. However, what the Mirai Marquis wanted to avoid the most was the annulment of the engagement. For the Marquis, who had gained his current position within the faction through his engagement with the Hero, annulling it would mean losing his status.
"Originally, the Hero should have been executed, you know? It's only because of the royal family's intervention that it's ending with just this. Oh, right, it seems that if you pay the full amount of the compensation, you can cancel the annulment of the engagement. What a lenient decision. Also, Mirai Marquis, I will have you transferred to His Majesty's custody. This is a royal order, so you can't refuse."
"W-Why me?!"
"Why? You are the Mirai Marquis, aren't you? You were just shifting the responsibility onto Lady Alicia, but originally, the Hero's education should have been the responsibility of you, his supporter and guardian. Yet, you neglected that and failed to educate the Hero, who will be a key asset for the nation in the future. Therefore, you must take responsibility. You can take your excuses to the royal family. Now then, Father, please take the Mirai Marquis away."
"Yes. I'll leave Lady Alicia to you."
Villain forcefully dragged the Mirai Marquis, who was trying to resist, out of the room.
With the nuisance gone, Absolute turned to face Alicia.
"The settlement is now over. It took the form of a one-sided imposition of our demands. A notarized document with the contents and signature will be delivered by the royal family at a later date. Well, in addition to that, your father will at the very least be removed from his position as head of the family."
This was something that had been decided in advance during negotiations with the royal family. Whether the Mirai Marquis accepted the demands or not, the outcome would have been the same.
"…I see. I'm sorry… It's because I wasn't reliable enough that I caused trouble for everyone. It's all my fault."
Alicia continued, sounding strained as she spoke through her cut lip, which was caused by the Mirai Marquis' slap.
"It's my fault that Alto harbored animosity towards the Ark House, because I didn't stop him properly. It's also because I wasn't watching that he was making advances on your maid."
Alicia stood up and faced Absolute.
Alicia's emotions broke down as she shed tears, and her words gradually became more emotional.
"Calling you a criminal, attacking the teacher... it's all my fault, right?! Hey! Why do I always have to be the one to suffer?! I didn't do anything wrong, but every time Alto does something, I'm the one who gets scolded, and now, is it my fault that it's developed into a problem between our houses? Don't be ridiculous! There's no way I can handle such a self-righteous person with that much power... It's impossible for me…"
It was like a monologue to unleash all the anger she had been holding back.
In the original story, the Hero wasn't as terrible as he was now, thanks to Maria's education. In addition to that, Alicia's mental state was maintained with Maria secretly supporting her. In this world, Maria wasn't in the Mirai House. Alicia had been carrying everything on her own all along.
Absolute listened to Alicia's monologue without saying a word, accepting everything.
"I'm sorry. You're the victim, but I'm acting like the victim."
Absolute shook his head as if to say that wasn't the case. Then, Absolute took Alicia's hand and cast a Regeneration spell.
"Lord Absolute? Eh, a Regeneration spell?!"
Absolute said to Alicia, who was surprised that he could use the rare Regeneration spell:
"Alicia Mirai. You are not at fault this time. The ones at fault are the rampaging Hero and your parents, who let him do as he pleased… And me."
"Eh? No, you're not at fault! You're the victim!"
Alicia denied it, but Absolute continued.
"If I had more overwhelming power, the Hero wouldn't have even thought about laying a hand on me. I had to show my power clearly in a way that even an idiot could understand."
"That's not true…"
"That's why… Alicia Mirai. You can hate me, you know."
"What are you saying?"
Alicia didn't understand what Absolute was saying.
"I'm telling you to blame everything on me and make it easier on yourself. I am evil in this country. Your resentment alone means nothing to me. Won't it be better if you think that all your misdirected emotions are my fault?"
Alicia didn't understand what he was saying for a moment, but after understanding, her expression softened slightly.
"Thank you. But I'll have to decline; if I'm going to lash out, I'd rather do it to Alto than to you, who did nothing wrong… I see, I should have done that from the beginning… I was just being stupid, bottling everything up and exploding on my own."
Alicia seemed to have digested something, and she wore a satisfied expression.
The Alicia who looked like she was about to break down earlier was no longer there. It seemed that the evil spirit within her had been exorcised.
"Lord Absolute, you have a scary and terribly unpleasant aura, but I think I understand why the nobles under your command admire you. You're actually a pretty good person."
Absolute made a disgusted face upon hearing Alicia's words.
"Are you out of your mind, saying that I'm a good person? I'm the bad guy in this country. Those words from earlier weren't for your sake. Don't get the wrong idea. The Regeneration spell was only because your injury was unsightly."
Alicia smiled, finding the way Absolute denied it with a disgusted face amusing.
"Hehe. It's strange, I feel like I haven't laughed in a long time. Thank you, Lord Absolute."
"Hmph. It seems you're living a pretty boring life."
"Yes… It's been really hard days."
Alicia looked up at the ceiling as if reminiscing.
After a short pause, Absolute spoke.
"Hey, Alicia Mirai."
"What is it?"
After a short pause, he spoke:
"Why don't you come to my side?"
