Chapter 6 Duke Negotiations
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The morning after my meeting with Ashraf, I set my sights on the Vermillion Duchy.
The Vermillion Duchy.
Since the founding of the Asgard Kingdom, they have been a prestigious noble house serving the Royal Family.
Their influence is among the most formidable in the kingdom. The wealth generated from their vast territories and their profound influence over the military are factors even my own Grimlock family cannot ignore. Although we have been sworn allies since ancient times, their power has always been a subject of caution.
They also share deep ties with the Royal Family, but because they openly oppose the current King’s policy of reconciliation with the Empire, those relations have grown frigid in recent years.
Given such a volatile political climate, a betrothal was arranged between the eldest daughter of the Vermillion house, Cecilia Vermillion, and myself. It is, in essence, a strategic marriage to solidify a pact for the next generation.
But now that it is widely known my Mana is “zero,” that bond is flickering like a candle in the wind.
For a house with the pedigree of the Vermillions, a groom without Mana is nothing but a disgrace.
The other party has surely been moving toward breaking off the engagement for some time now.
Considering the war with the peace-faction that will likely break out in three years, I cannot afford to lose this powerful ally. The relationship with the Vermillion house must be maintained above all else.
”I’m heading over to the Vermillion estate now. Ashraf, you’re coming with me,” I said.
”At once, my lord. It shall be done,” Ashraf replied.
The demon, lingering like a butler, wears his usual bottomless smile.
Contrary to his shadiness, the uncanny, eerie pressure he radiates is the real deal.
To conduct today’s negotiation to my advantage, the presence of this demon is indispensable.
I instructed him to remain out of sight until I give the signal, then I boarded the carriage bearing the crest of the Grimlock family alone. I let my body sink into the hard leather seat and, inside the slightly swaying cabin, focused on the negotiation ahead.
I arrived at the magnificent Vermillion mansion and was guided by a steward to a reception room lined with imposing furnishings.
A polished wood-grain table, portraits of successive heads of the family hung on the walls, and sitting in the center of the room on a deep crimson sofa, a middle-aged man stared at me with eyes that seemed to be weighing my value.
The head of the house, Duke Elick Vermillion.
His gaze reflects the light like the blade of a sharp knife.
”…Well then, what business do you have with me?” he asked.
A voice dripping with undisguised displeasure.
The ice-cold resonance makes the air in the room even heavier.
From his perspective, I am nothing but a brat who stole the position of head of the family from his capable older brother.
On top of that, I am a dropout who lacks Mana—the very definition of noble worth—so this is, naturally, the expected reaction.
However, word has also reached him that I recently struck down my brother in a duel and seized the seat of the next head of the Grimlock family through raw ability.
That is precisely why he cannot just turn me away at the gate, and why he is showing at least the posture of listening.
On the Duke’s face, along with irritation, there is a faint shadow of wariness.
The negotiation here will decide my fate—no, the fate of this country.
I desperately hid the tension stiffening my body and plastered on the cool expression I had practiced. Sweat faintly seeped onto my forehead, but I would not let him notice.
”I have come today to confirm, once again, the intent of Your Excellency regarding the betrothal between myself and Cecilia-jou,” I stated.
”Hmph. There is no need for confirmation. I cannot let a daughter of my Vermillion line marry someone who possesses no Mana. It would be a disgrace to my house, nay, to the kingdom itself,” he retorted.
As expected, the Duke is pushing to break the engagement using every rationale he can find.
Under the pressure of those words, my heart was beating like a funeral bell. But my face did not betray the calm smile I held. And, judging that the time was ripe, I took my trump card from my inner pocket.
”Pardon me, Your Excellency. But first, please take a look at this,” I said.
What I pulled out was a crystal ball about the size of a marble.
It is a magic recording medium containing a certain video.
It fits in the palm of my hand, cold to the touch.
I focused my consciousness on it and poured in my Mana. The crystal ball emitted a pale light and began to project an image onto the wall in front of us, much like a projector.
Displayed there was a bedroom at night. And, the Duke Vermillion himself, intimate with a woman I did not recognize.
”――!”
The Duke gasped for a fleeting moment.
As if his throat had been grabbed, his expression froze.
However, he is a seasoned power-broker after all. He immediately regained his composure and glared at me with an eye capable of killing on the spot. His gaze felt like an ice blade stabbing into me.
”You… how did you obtain this footage?” he demanded.
At that gaze filled with murderous intent, I screamed inwardly.
(Wait… seriously! Stop glaring with that scary face. You’re scaring me… but, if I get scared here, I lose. ――Stay calm, stay calm.)
While intimidated by the Duke’s intensity, I feigned composure and continued the conversation with a nonchalant smile.
”It’s simple. By using the ‘power’ I possess, of course,” I answered.
When it comes to the Duke Vermillion, his personal security is absolute.
The entire mansion is protected by the latest, cutting-edge anti-intrusion and anti-detection barriers, the peak of modern magic. Any distant viewing magic, any hidden magic tool, should have been rendered powerless before this barrier.
And yet, I have made the impossible possible and am in possession of this footage.
I could see the Duke’s eyes staining with genuine murderous intent. I felt the temperature in the room drop several degrees in an instant.
”…Let me explain the trick,” I said.
I made an effort to keep a calm face and snapped my fingers, click.
The dry sound echoed through the silent reception room.
In that instant, the space behind me warped without a sound, and a man appeared from thin air. It was as if he were bleeding out of the wall.
”Wh-what, that’s impossible! How did you get into this room…!? By turning invisible? No, the barriers of my mansion should not have missed a single intruder! And you didn’t even leave a trace of entry!?” he roared.
To the Duke, who opened his eyes in astonishment, Ashraf bowed respectfully.
There was not a single wasted movement in his gesture.
”This man is the teleportation demon, Ashraf. He is my familiar,” I declared.
And then, I spoke a plausible lie to convince the Duke.
”The reason my Mana is zero is because I am expending all of my own Mana solely to bind and command this ancient demon. I have no intention of showing you my full hand, but surely this is enough to satisfy you?” I asked.
”The… teleportation demon, you say…” he whispered.
At my words, the Duke looked back and forth between Ashraf’s existence and the footage before him, apparently understanding the implications exactly. A shadow the color of despair crossed his face.
To be able to intrude while ignoring the latest magic barriers as if they were scraps of paper, without even triggering an alarm—
That ability meant that he could sneak into the bedroom of any adversary, slit their throat, or steal the highest state secrets; it was proof that everything was within his control.
It was like tightening an invisible chain around the Duke’s neck.
After a moment of silence, the Duke Vermillion let out a deep, heavy sigh.
There was the bitterness of defeat mixed into that breath.
”…Very well. Xenos Grimlock. The betrothal between you and my daughter, Cecilia, shall continue henceforth,” he conceded.
Thus, in my first negotiation, I had grasped the victory I had hoped for.
Outside the window, a gentle sunlight was falling.
—
Summary:
Xenos arrives at the Vermillion estate to secure his political engagement against the Duke’s attempts to dissolve it. He confronts the Duke with compromising evidence he secretly obtained. After demonstrating his control over the teleportation demon Ashraf, he forces the Duke to relent and maintain the alliance.
—
Trivia:
- The Asgard Kingdom’s Royal Family is currently pursuing a reconciliation policy with the Empire.
- The Vermillion house is the primary political opponent to this reconciliation policy.
- Xenos is physically suffering from the strain of his own deception, even though he projects confidence.
- The Duke assumes Xenos has no Mana, which Xenos exploits by claiming his Mana is entirely dedicated to binding Ashraf.
Notes:
• Vermillion – A prestigious, wealthy Duke house in the kingdom allied with the Grimlock family. Elick and Cecilia’s family name.
• Ashraf – A stoic, emotionless demon serving the Grimlock household as Xenos’s butler. Clad in a formal uniform with pitch-black sclera and golden pupils, he possesses supernatural teleportation and excels in covert operations. While he maintains an eerie, obedient facade and perfect decorum, his inorganic demeanor and mysterious motivations leave his true, underlying loyalty a subject of constant suspicion.
• Grimlock – The military noble family to which Xenos and Gaius (his father) belongs.
• Cecilia – The eldest daughter of the Vermillion Duchy and Xenos’s betrothed in a strategic political marriage, she is a noblewoman with flaming red hair and exceptional magical talent. Possessing a disdainful, intense personality, she treats Xenos with cold, piercing contempt. Beneath her outward focus on status and power, she watches him with complex, conflicted emotions of disappointment and anger.
• Elick – The Duke of the Vermillion house and a formidable political player. He opposes the current King’s reconciliation policies and possesses deep suspicion of Xenos.
• Xenos – A man who acts as the protagonist of his own calculated path, concealing his true ability of Magic Seal while posing as a coward to ensure his survival and long-term planning. A student known as the ‘Zero of Defeat’ who possesses zero Mana and is treated as a social pariah. Despite his reputation, he is a calculated and manipulative individual who hides his true abilities to clear the game. A young male noble who has been named the next head of the Grimlock family. He possesses zero Mana, a fact that has made him an outcast at the Academy. He uses a facade of haughty aristocratic confidence to mask his internal panic and anxiety. A young noble who has recently seized his family’s headship. He possesses no Mana but commands a powerful extradimensional familiar and uses strategic intelligence to maintain political standing. The protagonist and reincarnation who possesses memories of a game script. He manipulates those around him while maintaining a facade of incompetence.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply