Though Claire was choked with shame, Gibnen did not even flinch. Instead, Ryan and Lady Viscount, who seemed to wonder what the fuss was about, were only surprised when they saw the two.

Upon seeing Lady Viscount standing beside Ryan, Gibnen spoke sarcastically to Ryan.

“Seems the lady who went shopping with your eldest daughter has returned.”

“……Ahem.”

“You’ll need to pay more attention to your domestic education. I heard you were more fond of your younger daughter, but this is quite rude, considering that. I’ll let it slide this time, but if you insult my wife again, I won’t let it pass.”

In the end, Claire could not contain her anger and burst into tears.

Lady Viscount, taken aback, comforted Claire, and Ryan, with rage boiling within, saw Gibnen off.

“Please be careful on your way.”

The noise of Claire’s sobbing and Ryan’s scolding resonated throughout the mansion long after he had left.

(This is a time divider.)

Count Ermainz fell ill, unable to overcome extreme physical exhaustion and mental shock. More than five doctors bustled around, checking his condition.

And as always, the diagnosis was a natural decline in health due to aging.

Upon this, Rosh Ermainz, the eldest and heir of the Ermainz family, exploded at the doctors.

“How could his health deteriorate so quickly! What on earth are you all doing!”

“We are doing our best…… But the frailty of the body due to aging is not something humans can resist.”

“Who told you to come here and say such nonsense? Ha, all doctors are the same… Enough, just go.”

The attending physician and the remaining doctors hastily left the room, and Rosh sat down with a sigh, clutching his father’s hand.

“Don’t worry too much. We’ve called an able magical healer, there must be something that can be done.”

Count Ermainz could not reply to his son’s words, only gritting his teeth.

Rosh Ermainz knew nothing of what had happened.

He thought his father’s health had suddenly worsened, but the real reason Count Ermainz had come to this state was due to extreme physical exhaustion and mental shock from using longdistance teleportation.

Count Ermainz knew the reason for his illness but could not confide in his son.

He was too ashamed.

“……Leave me, I want to be alone.”

“Then I will return to Eldras first.”

“Yes.”

His son was already busy competing fiercely for the next Mage Tower Master position in Eldras, wasting such a busy son’s time… Count Ermainz realized his incompetence and was furious.

“Damn, damn!”

He had prevented the incident from escalating but had not recovered his shattered pride.

It was all incomprehensible. What did the Mage Tower Master of Horizon want with her? Why did he personally travel so far to defend her? What did they really do that day after fleeing to the hotel?

“……Those damned XX.”

He caught no relief from his anger, only becoming more ensnared.

And the Mage Tower Master of Horizon wouldn’t let this go. He’d bribed journalists to cover the scene, so a nationwide news story might soon break.

Just as ‘Gibnen Lianster’s love affair had covered the country, he would surely make this incident public. So, Count Ermainz was more anxious than ever.

Now was the most crucial time. His trusted and reliable eldest son was in the middle of a test for the ‘Eldras Mage Tower Master’ position.

He’d received public criticism for his peculiar sexual taste, preferring young girls, but he hadn’t cared much since it was a matter of private life, whether a relationship or marriage.
Among the nobility, private scandals occurred frequently, so they were often taken lightly and weren’t seen as a major issue, but murder was a different matter.

This was an illegal act and a crime.

“Gibnen Lianster has become the owner of the tower. He is the first to successfully unify the ownership and management of the great tower. The prestige of Horizon seems to pierce the sky. It’s threatening enough that he was a disciple of the great magician Yung… As soon as Yung’s will was made public and the next tower owner was appointed, the Lianster family seemed to have been waiting and immediately bought the tower with a huge amount of money, and even His Majesty turned a blind eye… If it continues this way, we will be under the monopoly of Horizon.”

“Yung’s death has brought out an even worse guy. There’s always someone flying above the one who’s running… I wondered why they were going to hand over the tower owner’s position to that young thing, but he’s even more of a monster than Yung.”

“We must hurry and make the Ermaints family successful in unifying the Eldras tower. How long will you keep a professional manager in the tower owner’s seat? Other tower owners are also striving hard to cultivate outstanding successors to continue the tower owner’s name for generations. Lord Roshe needs to quickly ascend to the tower owner’s seat and establish a solid foundation, so that your talented youngest grandson can lead Eldras without difficulty.”

His son Roshe’s competition for the tower owner’s position was more important than anything else.