The Council of Elders of the Delgado family consisted of several families derived from the Delgado family.

Befitting a family with a very long history, there were many branch families that branched out from Delgado in the Cronotia Empire.

The elders of each family would gather at the Delgado ducal residence to hold council meetings, and their influence was quite significant.

To the extent of being involved in the succession of the vacant duke position after the former Duke Delgado died in the war.

This was also partly the fault of Duke Delgado, who left without properly designating a successor.

“You have arrived.”

An elderly butler in a black three-piece suit and bow tie bowed deeply in greeting.

“The old men?”

“They have already arrived. They seem displeased about being summoned late in the evening.”

“They shouldn’t be able to complain when you think about the money they’re quietly siphoning from the Delgado family.”

Dietrich coldly retorted as he stood directly in front of the large doors ahead.

As he did not enter immediately, the elderly butler beside him added a comment.

“The Duchess has just arrived as well. She is inside.”

Dietrich immediately clenched his fist tightly before relaxing it.

The current Duchess of the Delgado ducal family.

She was the birth mother of his younger brother twelve years his junior, and the incomparably benevolent mistress of the Delgado ducal family.

“…How diligent of her.”

She must be dying of curiosity about Dietrich’s intentions in suddenly convening the Council of Elders.

‘Thanks to ‘Harpe’ that I coincidentally discovered today, this tedious succession battle will end.’

A cool evening breeze gently blew through the open corridor windows.

“Young Lord Dietrich Delgado has arrived.”

The attendant standing by the door opened it wide.

The gazes of the Council of Elders members seated in a circle around the table immediately turned to him.

The looks were not particularly friendly.

Nevertheless, Dietrich showed no signs of being intimidated.

As always, he entered the meeting room confidently and at ease, and the attendant outside closed the door with a thud.

[This is the timeline separator]

“I wonder if Dietrich is doing well?”

In an empty room.

I was sitting absentmindedly on his bed in a room with such a bleak atmosphere that I briefly wondered if it could even be called a place for resting and sleeping.

As soon as he discovered me, he convened the Council of Elders because he wanted to resolve the issue of duke succession as soon as possible.

But it won’t be easy.

If the duke succession issue could be resolved so easily, Dietrich wouldn’t have suffered so much in the original work.

‘Moreover, the Duchess will properly interfere, so that’s that.’

I slowly recalled the Duchess as she was described in the original work.

Perhaps because I had a lot of time and was bored just waiting, it wasn’t bad to revisit the original story.

Leriana Delgado was said to have a very beautiful appearance.

Although she was a commoner, Leriana caught the eye of Duke Delgado thanks to her dazzlingly beautiful appearance.

On the way back after the war ended, the two who met by chance and fell head over heels for each other promised eternity, and Leriana naturally entered the Delgado ducal residence.

By then Kate, the first wife, was already there, but the Duke had no qualms.

What returned to her, who had been endlessly waiting for her husband to return from war, was not the kind and warm husband, but an unfamiliar man with another woman in his arms.

At the time, Dietrich was still young, but he couldn’t have not known this fact.

That he and his mother had already fallen out of his father’s favor.

Leriana soon became pregnant, and the Delgado ducal family faced a new phase.

Dietrich, son of the first wife Kate, and Yurian, son of Leriana.

Yurian was too young to become the next duke, but it was clear who had the Duke’s love.

Around that time, Dietrich’s mother was driven out of the Delgado ducal residence.

There was no detailed explanation of how Kate, who was the youngest daughter of a count family, was driven out of the ducal residence without being able to say a word.

This part was just briefly added as a very short explanation to show how lonely Dietrich grew up.

Left alone in the huge ducal residence, Dietrich grew up without receiving his father’s love.

And after Duke Delgado died in the war, a debate unfolded over who should succeed the duke position.

This was the very beginning of the novel.

Even though he brought Harpe, the treasured sword of Delgado, the Council of Elders did not make a decision in the original work.

The influence of the Duchess, who was the real power in the Delgado ducal family, must have played a role.

And then…

‘What did Dietrich do with Harpe again?’

Just as I was pondering, I was startled by the sound of the door suddenly swinging open and turned my head.

There stood Dietrich, emanating an atmosphere so cold it could freeze his surroundings solid.

His blue eyes tinged with teal were filled with a mix of anger and irritation.

If I said the wrong thing now, I might not even be able to pick up my bones?

Though I wanted to ask how it went, I decided to keep my mouth shut for now and quietly observed him.

He seemed very angry, but his face was still stunningly handsome.

Who did he take after?

Was Duke Delgado said to be that handsome too?

Or was his mother an exceptionally beautiful woman?

I had to think of useless things to ignore that fierce gaze.

However, my distraction didn’t last long.

“…Hah.”

Dietrich, who was looking down at Harpe casually placed on the bed, let out a short sigh.

If he had taken the sword to the meeting, he could have cut down all those old men.

Roughly running his hand through his silver-gray hair, he picked up Harpe.

Then, glancing at me sitting quietly beside him, he muttered lowly.

“I picked up a useless sword.”

That bastard, he just spoke while looking at me!

It was obvious even at a glance that things hadn’t gone according to his plan.

[Now that I’ve brought Harpe, we can make a decision on the duke succession. Let’s make a proper decision now.] […I’m sorry, Young Lord, but even though you found the treasured sword, only one who can properly wield this sword can become the true head of the Delgado ducal family.]

Recalling the words of one of the Council of Elders nobles, Dietrich muttered.

“Should I kill all those old men?”

His slightly furrowed brows twitched, full of displeasure.

“I expected this kind of response, but it’s still annoying.”

As expected, it seems the Council of Elders postponed the decision on duke succession.

I could see clearly what happened without even looking.

“Didn’t go well?”

Oh dear.

As if this made him even more displeased, the corners of his eyes that had been frowning trembled slightly.

“Aha ha. So you should have taken me to the meeting. Why didn’t you take me?”

I hurriedly added the latter part to try to smooth things over, but it didn’t seem to have any effect.

Dietrich looked at me with coldly frozen eyes and said.

“It wouldn’t have made any difference even if I had taken you. They would have postponed the decision citing all sorts of reasons even if I shoved the sword right in their faces.”

I knew it well too.

The Council of Elders does not want Dietrich to succeed the duke position.

It was a waste to even show Harpe to them.

If he had taken it unnecessarily, it might have caught the eye of the Duchess who covets anything valuable belonging to the Delgado ducal family.

Thoroughly heated by the Council of Elders’ attitude of not making a decision on the duke position, he raised the sword he was holding in his hand.

Harpe in his hand boasted an excellent appearance as if it had been his from the beginning.

A beautiful sword in the hand of a beautiful man.

Unlike ordinary swords, there was a deep green gem embedded in the middle of the scabbard.

Nobles who claimed to have some money would sometimes embed jewels in decorative swords, but real swordsmen who used actual swords didn’t do such foolish things.

It was a waste of money to embed jewels in swords that were frequently replaced if they weren’t going to cherish them preciously.

So this Harpe was a very rare and precious sword.

The treasured sword of the Delgado ducal family, the greatest swordsmanship family in the Cronotia Empire.

It was a treasure that anyone would covet.

But not to this irritating male protagonist, it seemed.

“I don’t need this kind of sword anymore.”

Dietrich, who threw Harpe on the floor with a thud, nodded at me half-heartedly.

“Go back to the cave you were originally in.”

“Wh-What?”

What a bolt from the blue!

Thanks to Dietrich whose heart changes like a reed swaying in the wind, there’s no time to be bored.

No, I’d like it to be a bit boring.

I looked up at him with a dumb face and shouted.

“How can you suddenly tell me to go back? Besides, I don’t even know where that cave is!”

“Then I guess we’ll have to sell it. It would be troublesome if the Duchess finds it. To a place where it can never be seen again.”

What do you mean sell it!

Thanks to Dietrich who was talking about selling the family’s treasured sword, I snapped back to my senses.

It was only natural to feel a sense of crisis.

‘This guy, he’s already made up his mind.’

Judging by how intently he was looking at the sword, it seemed he was really considering how to dispose of it.

Even so, this is too much.

Saying he’ll sell the family’s treasured sword…

Though we’ve only met for a few hours, I’m already tired of Dietrich’s unpredictable personality.

“Sell it? I’m still a treasure of the Delgado ducal family…”

“What good is being a treasure? It’s of no help in succeeding the duke position. I have no problem handling swords even without a treasured sword anyway.”

Frustratingly, there was nothing wrong with what Dietrich said.

Even though he brought Harpe, the Council of Elders’ response was lukewarm, and Dietrich could become duke without Harpe.

But it was different for me.

Without Dietrich, I might be abandoned in a cold cave and trapped there for life!

“Ah, since it’s useless anyway, it would be best to smash it and throw it away.”

At his words about smashing and throwing away the treasured sword after all that, I cried out with a horrified face.

“Y-You’ll die if you do that!”

“…Hah.”

Sighing and tilting his head slightly, he smirked as if he had heard something ridiculous.

“Are you saying anything to avoid being thrown away?”

“It’s not like that. You’ll really die.”

Oh well, whatever.

It’s all the same whether I get thrown away for lying or not.

I put my hands on my hips and continued speaking with a shameless face.

“From the moment you picked up the sword, you already became my master. If you put me far away, you’ll die due to the contract.”

Dietrich’s handsome face, who had suddenly become a master, hardened in bewilderment.