Volume 3 Chapter 4-2 Lord Noble
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Sir Arbalest, I didn’t hear anything about a development of that scale.”
”Ah, I didn’t mention it. It’s fine. Once we have a certain level of infrastructure set up, we’ll recruit migrants from Abyss Vena. If we grant development permission for single-family homes with gardens, I think they’ll be happy to move there. Well, I think it will take at least a year to get there. So, the I will lend Akebus family the eastern garrison, so they can live there. This is only because I’m talking with Kent and Akebus, but currently, the garrison is absent. They can use the vacant house freely.”
What Arbalest said was completely unexpected.
”That’s the first I’ve heard of it! What do you mean the garrison is absent? They are supposed to defend Abyss Vena, and to protect against monsters flowing in from the south into the True Demon Kingdom, right? How can they not be present?”
If Arbalest’s words are true, then I can only think that Abyss Vena currently has an extremely small military force.
Arbalest, pressed by my questioning, starts to speak with a sulky tone.
”I want to know too! That incompetent fool Karvai, in his pursuit of personal fame, took the entire garrison soldier to hunt a beast monster that appeared at Felward Fort. Moreover, he’s doing it under royal orders!”
Arbalest slammed his hand on the table.
”A royal order for subjugating beast monsters… but isn’t that the job of the central army? Why is the southern garrison involved?”
It seemed that Akebus, having served the previous Margrave, was also knowledgeable about military matters.
”You could say the cause lies with Kent. My brother was furious about Milly’s incident and refused reinforcements from the central army, and then…”
”Uncle!”
Milly silenced Arbalest when he tried to speak.
Even though I’m slow to act now, I can sense that Milly is hiding something.
”Milly, if you want to be my wife, please don’t hide anything from me”
I took Milly’s hand, looked straight ahead, and pleaded with her.
”Kent… I know. It was only a matter of time before I had to stay quiet… The truth is, I was disowned by my father, and my mother was divorced by him. I could have managed with just that, but, he even excluded my mother from the ranks of the succubi! He publicly insulted her, saying she was no longer needed! For a succubus, being stripped of ownership by their master is far more cruel than being told to die. Knowing that, he must have done it on purpose!”
”My brother, Gwain, who is Milly’s father, was apparently furious to hear that Milly rejected the Demon Lord’s bride and was going to marry some random guy like Kent. As Milly said, he excluded Lady Lila from her top rank, and made Lady Estelle, who gave birth to the current Demon Lord Shifa’s wife Irmgarde, the new first wife.”
I was boiling with rage when I heard Milly’s and Arbalest’s story.
However, I can understand how Gwain feels. If his precious daughter suddenly decided to marry a young guy like me, who he doesn’t even know, he would definitely be furious.
But to place the blame on the mother and get a divorce is unforgivable, especially in such a sneaky way that humiliates her in public.
I felt guilty towards Milly’s mother, whom I had never met.
”That would be to protect Mr. Gwain’s reputation, wouldn’t it? Lady Miriallia, who is the first to ever reject the Demon Lord’s bride, is quite famous in the kingdom. However, Lady Miriallia is going to marry someone like the Lord, whose identity is a mystery, and even though he is the father-in-law of the current Demon Lord, it would be bad for his reputation, so he has decided to take this opportunity to replace his problematic wife.”
Akebus seemed to be calmly listening to the entire conversation.
”Well, if I tell Mr. Gwain that I have the [Red] card, everything will be fine. [Red] cards are very rare.”
””Kent!””
Arbalest and Milly gave me a look that said it was a secret.
Oops, I had forgotten there was a confidentiality agreement.
Akebus was watching what I said with a skeptical expression.
”Ah, well, it can’t be helped. If it’s come to this, I’ll spill everything, so keep what you’re about to hear a secret among the 4 of us. Especially you, Kent, what I’m about to say concerns your life. Now then, Akebus, what he’s going to show you next is classified information.”
I was prompted by Arbalest to conjure a card on the back of my hand.
Akebus’s expression froze in shock upon seeing the card.
”O-oh, my lord! N-no, it’s red! Am I dreaming? To think my master would have [red] and even have 3 concubines from my family… this must be a dream!”
Akebus’s flustered reactions were quite the spectacle.
He pinched his cheeks repeatedly, confirming over and over that I would indeed take concubines.
”Akebus, as you can see, Kent has a card of color [red]. What’s even more amazing is that Kent is a person from Another World, a ‘Lost One’.”
Akebus’s face again froze, this time with a look of questioning.
Perhaps he was in shock, having realized that his master was from Another World, causing his thoughts to come to a standstill.
If that’s the case, then I feel a bit sorry for him.
”O-oh, my lord, you are not from this world!”
”Ah, there’s a high possibility that I was reincarnated or summoned to this Grimoire from another world.”
I had become so accustomed to life here that I had almost forgotten, but I came from Another World.
”What’s more, he has 4 gifts, all of which are unique skills: [Handsome Guy], [Protective Instinct], [Woman Killer], and [Sexual Prowess]. The situation caused by these skill combos may be more troublesome, since he has the ability to completely captivate women at will.”
When Arbalest tells him about the Handsome Guy virus again, it makes me sound like a villain.
Akebus glanced at me.
”Normally, I control my Skills with these glasses so they don’t activate carelessly.”
I took off the Illusion Glasses and give them to Akebus.
Akebus, wearing glasses, seemed convinced when she saw that Milly had turned into a man.
”How rare is my lord… to possess the ability to charm women as an Another World person while being a [Red] holder. Furthermore, to take as his wife Lady Miriallia, a famous candidate for the former Demon Lord’s bride and the owner of the Dream Demon’s Black Dagger… to take her… to take her… huh!”
Akebus looked as if he had realized something.
”Did you notice something, Akebus?”
”Is my lord the closest being to the Demon Lord and someone who could become the banner of the anti-Demon Lord?”
”Well, that’s almost correct. If Kent sets his mind to it, he could drag down the current Demon Lord. First of all, he possesses a [Red] card that allows him to attain absolute power, and he also has the ability to manipulate a woman who occupies half of the True Demon Kingdom at will. Moreover, he has Milly, who owns the ‘Dream Demon’s Black Dagger,’ a proof of the Dream Demon chieftain, making her his wife. Just these 3 points alone ensure that Kent will definitely be hailed as the banner of the anti-Demon Lord. Besides, Kent is quite eager to have children with his concubines, including Rakshasa, Garuda, Asura, Dream Demon, Ghost, and Majin. This will likely cause the spread of [Red] within the kingdom.”
”Then, it doesn’t matter which tribe stands up as the anti-Demon Lord. Also, if the True Demon and the Black Dragon clan learn of my lord’s [Red] status, their attitudes may change, especially since the queen of the Black Dragon clan can be manipulated however by my lord’s ability.”
In other words, from the Demon Lord’s perspective, I possess the ability to spread [Red], akin to a nuclear weapon, which is dangerous.
I barely have the ability to guarantee the livelihood of a hundred people, yet people tend to overestimate me.
”Sir Arbalest, I have no intentions of becoming a Demon Lord. I’m too busy thinking about how to earn enough to feed the Akebus starting tomorrow.”
”But think about it from the opposite angle. What would you do if you found someone among your subjects who has significantly better ability and lineage than you?”
”I would just dump everything on that person and run away. They seem like they could handle things better than I can.”
”Kent has no greed. However, those in power are fearful of individuals who threaten their position. And when they continue to feel fear, they grow resentful and eventually seek to eliminate the source of their fear.”
It seems Arbalest wants to say that my existence threatens the current Demon Lord’s position.
”Kent… If word gets out about you, His Majesty Shifa will surely hear about it, and those around him, including that guy, will fill His Majesty’s ears with whatever they can think of. Once that happens, it will just be a matter of waiting to disappear like a dew on the execution grounds.”
Milly isn’t as severe as Arbalest, but she claims that I will be killed by a close aide of the current Demon Lord.
”My lord… unfortunately, those who are overwhelmingly weaker must rely not on brute strength, but on power to protect their position.”
Akebus has also hinted that I would be killed through power.
It seems I must live in this world considering monsters and even the Demon Lord as potential enemies, based on the warnings given by the 3.
”I see, but I have absolutely no intention of doing that… Am I really that unbelievable?”
The only way left for me is to fully utilize the abilities of [Red], obtain overwhelming strength that no one else can match, and use Handsome Guy Carrier to make all the women in the kingdom my allies.
I was depressed because I was forced to take on a new task.
”But don’t worry. I’ve forged Kent’s card color to [blue]. Thanks to that and the order to keep quiet, no one has found out yet.”
”What are the chances it won’t be discovered?”
”It could go either way, or it might get found out by tomorrow.”
For a moment, I held a faint hope, but that hope was mercilessly crushed.
As expected, I had no choice but to grow stronger.
”I see, then to avoid being killed, all I can do is obtain overwhelming strength before the forgery is discovered.”
”Well, that’s true. However, Kent already has considerable power. First of all, you are married to Milly, the leader of the Dream Demons, so as long as Milly supports Kent, the Dream Demons are on Kent’s side. Plus, since you have the daughter of the Dorman family as a concubine, Cefiro, a powerful member of the Rakshasa, also supports Kent. Moreover, the girl named Aurelia, who is with you, is a noblewoman from the Klaushten family, which was a major noble family that competed with His Majesty Shifa and the leaders before its downfall. Among the Asura clan, there are those, including myself, who harbor bitterness towards His Majesty Shifa’s policies. If we elevate Aurelia as a figurehead, we can rally that dissatisfaction. More surprisingly, the daughter of the leader of the Garuda clan, Talia, disguised her identity and was at the Abyss Vena clinic, but I never would have expected she would become a concubine.”
So Talia really was a well-bred young lady.
I thought it was strange that a noble didn’t have their family name displayed, but she was the daughter of the Garuda leader.
Ines and Manon might faint if they heard about this.
Also, I heard a bit about Aurelia’s family, but I had no idea she was such a major noble’s daughter.
”Is that so… I didn’t want the power or bloodline they possess. I just wanted them because I like them. That’s the only selfish thing about me.”
”I think so. Kent doesn’t choose a woman based on power or lineage! You only goes after the one you’ve attracted to, right? “
Arbalest asked with a dirty old man’s face.
But what he says is so right that I can’t argue with it.
”That’s right…”
”Milly, the legitimate wife, should be able to manage that well.”
”Uncle, that’s something our head maid, Ms. Annabella, will handle properly, so I can rest assured even if Kent takes on a new concubine.”
Annabella is certainly competent; she’s the kind of strong woman who will have done a background check on any girl I take an interest in beforehand.
Thanks to her, I’m in perfect shape when it comes to my intimate affairs.
”I see you have someone on your side as well. Well then, it’s just a matter of Kent getting stronger. If I have some free time, I could give you some training. I have to get some exercise sometimes, or I’ll become unable to move.”
Arbalest was happily patting my back.
I don’t know Arbalest’s strength, but I should ask for some training soon.
I can’t believe that Arbalest, who serves as the Margrave of the southern important post, is strong enough, so it will surely be good training.
”Understood. I’ll leave the training arrangements to you.”
”Alright. Then, let’s keep everything we just talked about confidential. If this conversation reaches His Majesty’s ears, I might be suspected of treason and end up being killed. So please, keep it under wraps.”
”””Yes”””
Thanks to Arbalest’s repeated insistence, I decided to keep this in my heart.
For now, I have no choice but to get stronger while pretending to be an ordinary citizen so that I don’t attract the attention of the His Majesty the Demon Lord.
I don’t want to die yet.
With that thought in mind, I was leaving Milly and Arbalest’s castle behind.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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