Life Will Change

The roof of the manor.

The appointed time was almost here.

I fixed the rope to the chimney and ran a final check.

Rope length — good.

Two-stage release — confirmed.

Shoes — rubber-soled, no sound when I move.

I checked the knot at my waist, then looked down.

Clairvoyance. Infrared mode.

Heat signatures moving inside the building came into view.

A figure seated in the chair in the study, surrounded by six others.

From the layout, the one in the chair was the count, and the rest were elves.

And currently approaching through the corridor — that was Melius.

“……”

People marvel at elven hearing, and they keep a respectful distance because of it.

But having drilled elves as soldiers, I had learned a great deal.

First: elves can dial their hearing down.

When you can hear conversations happening outside the house while you’re indoors, that level of sensitivity never switches off — it would be unbearable. Imagine mosquitoes buzzing in your ears constantly.

So elves were capable of reducing their own hearing.

The downside was that dialing it down felt uncomfortable and muffled. For that reason, most elves preferred not to.

Second: elves placed far too much trust in their own hearing.

With ears like theirs, they were confident they could never be ambushed.

It was true that ambushing an elf was difficult.

But catching a complacent enemy off-guard was easy.

“……”

Good. Melius had entered the room.

I confirmed him making his approach in a straight line, exactly as agreed.

Just as I had suspected, the figure in the chair was the count.

Tap.

I broke into a run across the roof and hurled myself off the edge.

A bungee drop — and midway through the fall, I redirected with telekinesis.

Whoooosh!

My body swung like a pendulum, arcing directly in through the study window.

Hitting glass with nothing but your body leaves you covered in blood — so I reinforced myself with magic first.

Crash!

“Argh!”

“Ghh!”

The moment I came through the window, screams erupted all at once.

Third: ambush an elf with a sudden, explosive noise and they panic harder than any human.

Six elves clutched their ears in pain.

I detached the rope and launched myself forward.

“Out of the way!”

“GHRAK!”

I drove my fist straight into the first one and charged the second.

“Hff!”

Staggering from the ringing in his ears, the elf summoned his magic anyway.

In a panic, he covered his entire body — automatic defense, at least. These were trained fighters.

“Hah!”

But I had already read it. I grabbed his arm and flung him hard to the side.

Grab a man who’s locked behind a guard and the guard means nothing.

And in their panicked state, the elves weren’t responding properly.

“Ugh!”

Melius — who had reduced his hearing in advance — had two more pinned.

The moment I reached the count’s chair, the count shouted over my shoulder.

“Behind you!”

I planted my hand on the desk and threw a spinning kick.

Magic wrapped around my leg.

Thwack!

Leg met leg — the impact rang up through both of them.

The red-haired elf stumbled back in surprise, then laughed.

“You’re strong, for a human!”

We were both reeling from the exchange, but I had used the desk and telekinesis to correct my balance — I recovered faster.

I charged off the desk and the elf dropped low and covered with his arms.

Thwack! Thud!

I drove a low kick at his legs, then immediately followed with a magic-charged fist to the upper body.

Leading with the unenhanced hit sometimes baited the guard down — but this one held steady on the upper body.

And then he countered.

Whoosh!

A fast, heavy punch.

I twisted to redirect it and started to counter — then pulled back.

I had read his eyes.

“……”

If I had extended that arm, he would have snatched it.

Multiple enemies in a closed space — get grabbed and I lose.

“Ha! Who knew a place like this had someone like you!”

He pressed the advantage and came charging in. I flipped backward in place, letting the charge pass under me, and kicked upward on the way.

Rigen’s body was short on raw strength, but the flexibility was decent.

The somersault kick connected cleanly.

“Ugh!”

The elf staggered, catching it squarely on the chin.

“Why did you come to my house, my house, my houuuse~.”

I reached out, grabbed the chair the count had been sitting in, and hurled it.

“Ngh!”

The elf threw his arms up to cover his head on instinct — and I followed through by seizing the iron desk with both hands.

A second-rank magic couldn’t lift something this heavy outright, so I layered telekinesis on top.

“Wait, wait, wait——!”

KA-BOOM!

The desk slammed into the red-headed elf and he screamed as he was driven into the wall.

“STOP!”

A sharp voice cut through the room.

But I was currently beating the living daylights out of the people who had broken into my home. Was I supposed to politely pause?

On top of that, this red-headed one was no grunt.

I needed him put down while I had the chance.

“You came here to get hit, you came, you came, you caaame~.”

KA-BOOM!

I grabbed the red-head by the head as he reeled and drove it into the wall.

The brain-rattling concussion — I gave him no time to recover, following up with a rapid burst of short strikes.

Crash! Crash! CRASH!

“Ugh!”

After taking hit after hit to the skull, the red-head panicked and threw full-body magic protection over himself.

So I wrapped my hands in magic and pressed his head against the wall with telekinesis layered on top.

“GRRAAAAGH!”

Controlled — just enough pressure to crack the wall, but not enough to splatter his skull.

Just enough to make it impossible to move.

Subdued.

“Hgh, ugh……”

Magic defense breaks against a magic-charged attack.

And with his face shoved into the wall, breathing was becoming difficult.

Of course, he could force his way free by burning more magic — but doing so would lower his head protection. Miscalculate by even a fraction and his skull would cave in.

“I told you to stop!”

“Good thing I haven’t killed him yet.”

I kept the red-head’s head pinned and turned around calmly.

Third rank — I let the yellow magic flare visibly from my body.

Showing that I was not someone to take lightly.

The shouting came from the black-haired elf — one of the two Melius was holding.

“Hey, Wayne! What stop. I’m right in the middle of——”

Crack.

The red-head said something ill-advised, so I ground my foot down on his ankle.

Hard enough to shatter asphalt.

“HRGH!”

The red-head had been focused entirely on protecting his head and screamed.

The other elves who had stumbled back from the earlier blows froze and stared at me.

I said it quickly.

“Let the count out first.”

When the brawl broke out, the count had quickly retreated behind Melius.

The black-haired elf responded immediately.

“Everyone, stand down.”

“……”

The elves — all except the one I was holding — stepped back without argument.

I turned to the count.

“Please go find Roderic, Your Grace.”

“Right. Take care.”

The count made no objections and cleared the room without hesitation.

With the head of the family present, there was nothing to be gained for Librata — and it narrowed my own options. He understood that and acted without a second thought.

Once the count was gone, Melius came and stood at my side.

“Right then. Shall we settle accounts?”

I released the red-head and stepped back.

Holding him continuously would cost magic, and magic was not something I had in abundance. My distribution was efficient — my reserves were not.

Keeping a hostage indefinitely would only exhaust me.

“……What even is that?”

The red-head staggered back and wiped the corner of his mouth, staring at me.

I ignored him, dragged over a guest chair, and sat down.

Crossed my legs while I was at it.

“The youngest of this house. Rigen Librata.”

“……”

Six elves, all turned out in formal dress.

Coordinated uniforms — an effort to intimidate.

But I sat back and received them at my leisure.

It might look like a bluff — except I had just given them a rather convincing practical demonstration.

The elves had gone noticeably tense. They had experienced firsthand that I was not an ordinary human.

The black-haired elf inclined his head in my direction.

“My apologies for the intrusion. I am Wayne — an elf escorting Her Highness the Fourth Princess.”

“And the red-headed one?”

“Berk.”

Wayne and Berk.

Even at a glance, the two of them were a cut above the others.

I gave a short nod, and Wayne spoke.

“There seems to have been some misunderstanding between us……”

“Oh, spare me. You come in here using the Wind Blessing and then want to talk misunderstandings?”

I said it sharply.

“Do you think I don’t know that elves bursting unannounced into the master of a household’s private room and surrounding him is about the most egregious breach of conduct that exists?”

“……We simply wished to have a conversation.”

“Spare me. Say that again and I’ll take it as a declaration that you want to finish this.”

Wayne flustered — and looked at Melius.

Melius gave a short nod.

“He is exceptionally well-versed in our customs. Don’t try any tricks.”

“……Very well, I apologize.”

Wayne conceded.

Librata operated under elven patronage — but that did not mean subordination.

Even elves couldn’t openly mistreat human nobility.

In principle, the two sides were equals — business partners.

I pressed the initiative forward quickly.

“Some time ago, elves arrived without warning and behaved in a reprehensible and disrespectful manner. They interrupted a family meal, insulted the hosts outright, and kicked dirt onto the food. Under elven law, that would be grounds for death, wouldn’t it?”

“……”

“And beyond that, they committed the grave offense of speaking with contempt toward the first emperor. The elves escorting the Princess, what were they thinking?”

Wayne hesitated and glanced at Berk.

Berk responded by slowly sticking out his tongue.

Two heads on one body — that was obvious at a glance.

Wayne pressed his mouth into a tight line.

“……That is a one-sided account from Librata’s perspective. We will look into it on our end.”

“Very textbook. Then will you take the testimony of the elves I corrected? I still have four of them.”

Patrick had escaped, but four were still held.

I tapped the desk lightly.

“And then there was your most recent behavior, wasn’t that also disrespectful? Even if my household is human, having a party of strangers burst into the master bedroom without warning still feels threatening.”

“……”

“Oh, don’t overthink it. I’ll accept a damages payment and we’ll call it even.”

I gave Wayne a smile.

“We’re past the point where a verbal apology resolves anything. Three billion. Hand it over.”

“……Are you out of your mind?”

“I’ve discounted it heavily.”

Wayne turned and fixed Melius with a hard stare.

“Melius, have you spent so many years among humans here that your mind has become entirely theirs?”

“Why is the arrow pointing at me?”

“You drew the elves’ attention, which is what let me swing in through the window.”

Melius looked genuinely perplexed.

“The breach of proper visitation customs was yours.”

“House Librata is a human family. There was no need for us to……”

Wayne started. I cut it off with a flat look.

“Listen to these people. You apply elven protocol when it suits you and throw it out when it doesn’t. What is this, a buffet? Pick what you like and leave the rest?”

Elves had always been like this — insisting on their own customs and culture while conveniently discarding them the moment the same customs became inconvenient.

People in general did this, but elves were egregious about it.

Old memories from my emperor days were surfacing, and they were not pleasant ones.

I looked at Berk.

“You. You gave Patrick the order to rattle our household, didn’t you?”

“Never happened.”

“Patrick talked. And the other four have already given their testimony.”

“Nonsense. Those ones……”

Berk stopped himself.

It had been a simple probe — and he had shown a gap.

“What? Was it a private directive just for Patrick?”

“……”

“My, if that got out, it would be quite a scandal. The escort of the Fourth Princess secretly ordering the destruction of Librata, one of the twelve houses.”

I said it quietly, letting the weight of it settle.

“I imagine the other races would find this far more interesting than Crocell’s conspiracy.”

“……”

Wayne let out a long, heavy breath.

From what I could read: Patrick’s business was Berk’s unilateral decision. But the responsible party was Wayne.

“……What do you want?”

“I already said. Three billion. Pay it.”

For an individual, a staggering sum — but for an entire race, entirely manageable.

Wayne spoke with deliberate gravity.

“Three billion is not something the elves can simply……”

“Save it. Your people received more than enough when the imperial railway was built.”

The railway I had constructed as emperor.

It had run directly through territory the elves had inhabited for centuries, and I had paid out generous compensation.

To claim they had burned through all of it in a hundred years was nothing but nonsense.

“……”

Wayne spent a moment running the calculation behind his eyes.

Pay me off and silence me with money — or silence me with a sword.

In the end, Wayne gave a short nod.

“Understood. Though Patrick’s actions were his own unauthorized decision, this is a deeply regrettable affair. I will speak to those above me about paying a modest sum in exchange for putting this matter to rest.”

“I don’t want your words. We do this in writing.”

I produced the contract I had prepared before coming down.

Written in Elven script, with a dark elf notary and Heinkel’s signature already affixed.

Heinkel had practically jumped at the chance to make elves squirm. He had participated with visible enthusiasm.

“Oh, a dark elf notary bothers you? Don’t worry. See that special clause? Once the contract is signed, the notary agrees to keep all of this in confidence as well.”

“Hey, Wayne. Are you actually going through with this?”

Berk looked incredulous.

Wayne exhaled slowly.

“Be quiet. This concerns Her Highness’s reputation as well.”

“This is completely……”

“I will handle it.”

Wayne cut him off and signed.

I collected the contract and smiled.

“Good. The moment those three billion arrive, House Librata will erase every memory of Patrick’s little rampage. Now, what else did you come here for?”

Naturally, they would try to dress up the study raid in political language.

Time to get to the real matter.

Wayne spoke.

“Her Highness the Fourth Princess has long concerned herself with the future of the empire. Now, learning of the gravity of the Marquis Crocell affair, she has come to look into it personally. We ask that you turn over the witness, Alicia Crocell.”

“That’s odd.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Princess came in person just to collect Alicia?”

I gestured at the painting on the wall — the symbol of Librata, a pair of scales.

“On one side of those scales, a princess. On the other, a marquis’s daughter. The weights don’t match.”

“……I’m not privy to the full background.”

“Really? Then why did you send Patrick to tear this place apart in the first place?”

I smiled, and Berk’s stare sharpened.

“Hey, stop glaring. I said I’d forget about it once the money comes through. It hasn’t arrived yet? And when exactly did any of you respect the authority of the imperial family, anyway?”

My fourth daughter had little standing to speak within the elven ranks — that much I already knew.

Patrick being sent by Berk. Wayne trying to take the count hostage. Both decisions made independently.

Which meant the move to secure Alicia had also been someone else’s decision, not hers.

Afraid the elves’ dealings with the treasonous Marquis Crocell would come to light.

Silencing the witness.

That was why the elves had moved with such uncharacteristic speed.

And Wayne and Berk had received those orders.

The princess was nothing more than a figurehead.

“Is this coming from the Princess, or from someone above her? Who exactly gave you this specific instruction?”

The look in Berk’s eyes changed.

Killing intent.

I was pressing too deep, and now he was thinking about shutting me up permanently.

Typical of their kind.

Of course, I had made the implication deliberately.

Get Berk to make his move — and use that as leverage to put the elves firmly under my thumb.

It was something I had done countless times as emperor, bringing the seven races to heel.

The air in the room went taut.

A single spark away from ignition.

Then, from outside — a voice.

“Her Highness the Fourth Princess has arrived!”

“……”

Berk held my gaze for a long moment, then slowly let it drop.

I felt the tension leave my own body as well.

The fight could wait.

Because just then, something else was pulling at me harder than any of it.

My daughter. Seeing her again.

Longing and relief — and beneath both, a thread of something like fear.

I rose quickly from my chair and straightened myself up.

Fixed the hair falling across my forehead.

No time for a mirror, so I turned to Melius.

“How do I look?”

“You’re standing.”

“……”

This man, honestly.

Click.

The door opened.

My fourth daughter.

Lisera Karakas.