"Prince Michael's celebratory party was held at the Royal Castle in the heart of the Rainana Kingdom's capital, far from the Ark Territory.
I, Absolute, along with my father, Villain, offered our praises to the King and Prince Michael, and dealt with the nobles who came to greet us. Despite the dark rumors surrounding him, the Ark Duke was a high-ranking noble, so the lesser nobles had to come, however reluctantly.
Some of our subordinate nobles came to greet me with their sons, but thanks to the impression debuff from my 【Absolute Evil】 skill, the sons were often scared of me. There were many instances where the parents noticed their son’s silence and left looking apologetic.
After we had finished most of the greetings, my father told me that the rest was for the adults and had me taken to a floor where the children were gathering.
Many sons and daughters of nobles were already gathered there, and all eyes turned to me as I arrived late. I was met with gazes of aversion and contempt, which I found unpleasant, so I glared back. Everyone immediately averted their eyes.
“Hmph.”
I chuckled softly. Looking around, I could see that several sons and daughters were being harassed. On closer inspection, I realized they were members of the Ark Duke House's faction.
"Your family is connected to the underworld, aren't they?! How dare you show your faces at a celebration! Get out of here right now!"
"Yeah! Yeah!" They surrounded the Ark House's subordinates, showering them with insults. The subordinates being surrounded were mostly lower-ranking nobles. Some gritted their teeth and endured, while others burst into tears. Some tried to resist, but were beaten.
Absolute watched the scene with cold eyes.
How unpleasant. Just a bunch of small fries drunk on the power of numbers, getting carried away.
Absolute unconsciously superimposed his own end from the original story onto the current scene. The image of Absolute defeated by an overwhelming numerical disadvantage overlapped with the image of his current subordinates.
Before I knew it, I had intervened.
"What are you doing?!"
I activated the intimidating aura of the 【King's Rule】 skill, pushing my way into the group of nobles and standing between them and my subordinates, shielding them.
"I'll say it again. What are you doing to these members of the Ark House's faction? It seems some of you have resorted to violence. I'd like to hear your reasons."
I spoke with a tone of anger, but the intimidating aura of 【King's Rule】, combined with the impression debuff from 【Absolute Evil】, amplified the terror, causing some to lose control of their bladders and others to faint.
Since no one answered, I turned to the son of the highest-ranking marquis family and declared, "Laying your hands on the Ark House's subordinates is the same as declaring war on the Ark House, is that understood? I've memorized all your faces. You can all await your fates!"
"U-uwaaaaaah!!!"
The nobles, their fear reaching its limit, scattered in all directions. Absolute turned to face his subordinates. As soon as I turned to face the subordinates, their expressions changed drastically. They were frozen in fear, some even taking steps back. I realized I had forgotten to release my aura.
Oops, I forgot to turn off the intimidation.
"A-Absolute-sama, thank you for saving us… And we are sorry for tarnishing the name of the Ark faction…"
The son of the earl family, who had been subjected to violence, knelt and apologized on behalf of the group. Seeing this, the surrounding people panicked and tried to kneel as well, but I stopped them with a gesture.
I placed my hand on the shoulder of the kneeling earl's son and used healing magic. The earl's son and those around him were surprised by my healing magic. Absolute addressed the earl's son.
"You're Chris from the House Hosa Earl, aren't you? You were in a terrible state, weren't you?"
I asked, indirectly showing my concern.
"Yes! I apologize for showing you such an unsightly display. There were many high-ranking nobles, so I couldn't resist. As a result, things escalated. I take full responsibility for everything. Please, spare the others…"
Hearing this, one of the subordinate young ladies interrupted.
"Excuse me for interjecting. I am Lady Cruel from the House Cruel Viscount. Chris-sama was injured protecting us. We are responsible. Please, spare Chris-sama from punishment!"
The others all lowered their heads and begged for forgiveness.
Chris is more popular than me. N-Not that I’m jealous or anything!
But why did this happen in the first place? Unless that was addressed, punishing just one person wouldn't solve anything. Absolute decided to try to resolve this issue as the next head of the family.
"I understand the situation. However, this incident is not just Chris's fault, nor is it just the fault of the others. It is the fault of all of you. Do you know why? Chris, answer on behalf of everyone."
"I-Is it because they looked down on us since we are lower-ranking nobles?"
"That's part of it, but you should have known that our reputation is terrible. Why did you all diligently gather in this place anyway? You knew that you would be targeted if you were alone without any high-ranking nobles around, didn't you?"
Chris spoke with a tormented expression.
"Then what do you want us to do?!"
I looked Chris in the eye. His face was filled with painful emotions. Absolute said to Chris,
"Why didn't you wait for me?"
Everyone looked up with a surprised expression.
"This incident happened because you are lower-ranking and your opponents are higher-ranking, as Chris said earlier. So, what if I had been there? You wouldn't have been allowed to do as you pleased, like just now."
Everyone is listening to me. This time, the other party is overwhelmingly at fault, but these guys are also partly responsible for leaving early because they were scared, even though I hadn't finished greeting the other nobles yet. Therefore, I will punish them.
"Now, as I said, you are all responsible for this incident. Therefore, I will punish you."
Everyone trembled. Some looked resigned, while others looked like they were about to cry.
"In the future, whenever you attend these kinds of events or enter the academy, try to stay within my sight. That will be your punishment for this incident."
Everyone wore expressions of surprise at the unexpected conclusion.
Well, it's probably unpleasant for you to be with someone like me, but you'll have to put up with it. There's also the possibility that those who I couldn't protect might betray me.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm doing this for the sake of the Ark House. It's not like I'm protecting you. It seems like my ride has arrived. You all should return to your parents now. Don't go wandering off on your own next time."
And with that, Absolute left the scene, bringing the turbulent party to a close.
Absolute Ark
10 years old
Skills:
・【Charisma】Lv.6… Modifies charm
・【King's Rule】Lv.6… Increases own stats
Decreases enemy stats
・【Absolute Evil】Lv.10… Stats grow more easily
Worsens impressions on others
Special bonus against those of the holy
Stats:
Level: 49
Physical Ability: 60
Magical Power: 550
Intelligence: 70
Learned Magic:
Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Healing, Darkness
Techniques:
Swordsmanship, Torture, Gore Resistance
