We're All Here to Watch

Morning. The gymnasium.

The sweat from individual training had cooled.

Now it was time for a sparring match — a bout with real blades.

His opponent was his escort, Garul.

Garul spoke, visibly tense.

“I’ll begin. Young Master, as I mentioned — these are real swords, so please be careful. Extremely careful.”

“God, what a tiny liver you have. I won’t hold it against you if you stab me, so let’s get on with it.”

“Hah!”

When Garul thrust his sword forward, I deflected it lightly and kicked out.

But in terms of weight and raw physical specs, I came up short.

When Garul pushed in with his shoulder… I ducked sharply, hooked his inner leg, and sent him tumbling.

“Waaagh!”

Garul stumbled, but he rolled with the fall and sprang right back up.

Even flustered, his body reacted on instinct — exactly what you’d expect from someone the knights regarded highly.

But in that same instant, I flung my sword and charged.

The moment Garul ducked to dodge the throw, a soccer kick landed squarely.

“Ugh!”

Garul dropped his sword and went rolling.

By the time he hit the ground, I had already scooped the sword back up.

“Hey, you all right?”

“Y-yes. I’m fine.”

“Your nose is bleeding. Stop it.”

Blood was streaming freely from Garul’s handsome nose.

I tossed him a towel and waited for the bleeding to stop.

Garul stared up at the ceiling.

“Young Master, wasn’t that a bit reckless just now? If I had swung my sword while face-down, you could have taken a hit to the legs.”

“My path was straight. Yours was curved. Which one’s faster?”

Garul had swung in an arc; I had kicked straight forward.

It was obvious which would land first.

Garul tilted his head and asked,

“What if I had thrust straight at you?”

“Then I’d have jumped back and stomped on your head.”

I smiled.

“The moment your stance breaks, initiative passes to your opponent. Stop groaning and accept it.”

“No, I mean…”

“You think fighting without magic puts you at a disadvantage? Should I start using it, then?”

When I gathered magic into my hand, Garul’s eyes went wide.

“N-no! Young Master! Is that — is that magic?”

“Hey, calm down. Your nosebleed is turning into a tsunami.”

Garul’s excitement had sent the blood dripping down in a torrent.

He went back to staring at the ceiling.

“So you’ve awakened your magic. What a relief. No one will look down on you anymore, Young Master!”

“Actually, I’m going to let them.”

“Pardon?”

“That I can use magic — keep it a secret. Don’t go spreading it around.”

Garul looked puzzled, so I smiled and explained.

“I just want to live quietly and without any fuss. Keep it that way and don’t tell anyone.”

“But Young Master—”

“If I show people I can use magic, they’ll all start acknowledging me. What’s the point at this stage?”

I shook my head.

“When the time comes, I’ll handle it myself. Keep your mouth shut until then.”

“…Understood.”

Well — the fact that I had awakened my magic wasn’t something I absolutely had to hide.

But there was something that nagged at me.

My heart.

This heart that had been endlessly absorbing magic without limit.

As far as I knew — from my days as emperor — there was only one known case of something like this.

I wanted to find out why it happened to be inside Rigen’s body. Whether it was coincidence or something more.

It could get noisy if word spread, so — quietly, for now.

“Has the nosebleed stopped? Tell me when it does.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not stopping.”

Garul was struggling with it when he spoke offhandedly.

“May I ask you something?”

“Ask.”

“I’ve heard a rumor that the young lady of Marquis Crocell will be arriving soon. Apparently she’ll be accompanied by the son of Marquis Burzak from the neighboring territory.”

Garul said it with open resentment.

“Isn’t she your fiancée, Young Master? Traveling alongside another nobleman — what kind of disrespect is that?”

“The neighboring territory is close by. He’s probably escorting her.”

“Absolutely not! There was a rampant rumor that while the young lady was staying at Marquis Burzak’s estate, all manner of inappropriate behavior was taking place!”

“And that gossip has made it all the way here.”

Garul spoke with full seriousness.

“I will fight to defend your honor, Young Master. Please trust me and leave it in my hands.”

“Sure. That nosebleed is at least impressively trustworthy.”

“…This will stop soon. Anyway.”

I smiled.

“You mean a noble’s duel? If the young Marquis Burzak sends out a knight, you’d fight as my representative?”

Knights serving nobles sometimes stood in for their lords’ honor.

Nobles could fight duels directly, but it was just as common to settle things through their respective escort knights going at each other instead.

Garul said with energy,

“I will absolutely win!”

“I’m breaking the engagement.”

Garul — cloth still pressed to his nose — opened his mouth and stared at me.

An utterly dumbfounded look.

“Hey, getting worked up only makes it bleed more. Calm down.”

“Y-Young Master. Are you… are you enduring this as a sacrifice for the family?”

Garul asked in a trembling voice.

I smiled.

“I want the consolation payment.”

“…Pardon? Yes?”

“When other people get married, they receive a dowry, don’t they? I’m going to receive one for breaking the engagement instead.”

Garul stared at me blankly after that explanation.

“…But the young lady of Marquis Crocell is said to be remarkably beautiful. And if you married her, Young Master, your life would truly spread its wings.”

“What good is spreading wings inside a coffin?”

Marriage…… is a man’s grave.

That is an eternal truth.

I say this as a man who has been married eight times!

Praise can make even a whale dance, but marriage can make even an emperor miserable.

Click.

At that moment, the gymnasium door opened and someone walked in.

A familiar face.

My brother, Roderic Librata.

“…”

Roderic glanced at me without a word and began changing his clothes.

Muscle came into view.

“…Hm.”

Considerably well-trained.

Seven out of ten.

Garul, whose nosebleed had finally stopped, watched for my reaction.

“Should I excuse myself?”

“I’m scared. Stay beside me.”

“…”

Even though I said it loud enough for him to hear, Roderic ignored it.

But reading his expression, it was clear he had come knowing I was in the gymnasium.

The fact that he’d brought no one with him meant there was a reason for it.

Roderic picked up a barbell and, without preamble, spoke.

“I’ve been told that the young lady of Marquis Crocell will be arriving this afternoon — with the son of Marquis Burzak.”

“Everyone seems to know.”

And they would all be watching, curious to see how House Librata’s count would respond.

Would we bow to Burzak’s insolent demand for a broken engagement, or would we push back?

Roderic said bluntly,

“I spoke with Father. If you want it, I’ll back you up.”

“Oh? I thought you were keeping your distance from me.”

“…This is an outside matter.”

Roderic let the words trail off vaguely.

I smiled and pressed.

“So — even if you don’t care much for your brother, you can’t stand watching some marquis from the next territory throw a tantrum. As a member of the same family, you’re willing to offer your support. Is that it?”

“Marquis Burzak’s house has been picking fights with us for a long time.”

Roderic set down the barbell.

“They’ve never accepted that House Librata was chosen as one of the twelve houses ahead of them. This is just more of the same.”

“Then what on earth is Marquis Crocell thinking? If you became emperor, the engagement would be a prize — but as things stand…”

“…”

Roderic shot me a sharp look.

An angry stare.

I scratched my chin and smiled.

“That’s an honest question. No need to glare.”

“…Whatever you choose to do is your own business. If you need my support, say so. But whatever happens — don’t bring shame to the name of House Librata.”

“It’s already pitch black, but all right. I’ll head out.”

I tapped Garul on the arm and walked out of the gymnasium.

Garul was watching for my reaction, so I asked,

“What do you think?”

“Hm? My nosebleed stopped.”

“Glad to hear about your nose…”

I clicked my tongue.

“The moment I mentioned Roderic might become emperor, he suddenly glared like I’d slapped him. Quite the emotional reaction.”

“Well, there’s no chance at all of that happening. That’s probably why Marquis Crocell thinks the same and wants to switch sides, isn’t it?”

“Ah. Is that it?”

When I thought about it, the reason my engagement was under threat was precisely because Roderic had no chance of becoming emperor.

If Roderic had a strong chance of taking the throne?

Marquis Crocell would be desperate to marry his daughter to me — the emperor’s younger brother.

So it seemed Roderic felt responsible.

Like this was a mess of his own making, born from his own inadequacy.

“Honestly, I’m grateful for it.”

“He’s the eldest. He would feel the weight of it.”

“House Librata is the weakest of the twelve, and there’s no chance of the eldest becoming emperor…”

In the end, I was just the youngest son of House Librata — and that was how everyone treated me.

And when House Librata got looked down upon, I got dragged along with it.

“Picking a fight every single time to fix it is exhausting…”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. I’m just a little annoyed.”

I nodded to myself and walked forward.

“Might as well do something about the family’s reputation while I’m at it.”

Afternoon arrived.

I was in the study reading when Amelia came to find me.

“Young Master, it’s nearly time. We should prepare to receive the young lady of Marquis Crocell.”

“Right.”

I had dressed in advance.

I closed the book and rose without complaint, and Amelia gave me an odd look.

A yellow aura.

“Why are you on guard?”

“…You’re being so well-behaved, Young Master. I was bracing myself for you to run off to the village again, like before.”

“Did I do that?”

I asked genuinely, but Amelia seemed to take it as me playing coy.

“Every time the young lady visited, you made every excuse and reason imaginable to avoid her and disappear. And then you would do something improper.”

“Wow — it’s a miracle the engagement survived.”

That amounted to running off to other women every single time his fiancée came calling.

Amelia looked relieved as she straightened the front of my shirt.

“I’m so relieved that you’ve changed, Young Master. Please treat the young lady with proper courtesy. I’m sure she’ll forget everything that’s happened before and treat you kindly in return.”

“You think a goldfish trailing something foul looks beautiful?”

I followed Amelia’s lead to the manor’s front entrance.

Receiving guests — a lord’s duty.

As the family representative, it was proper to greet them in person.

A carriage came rolling up in the distance.

Six pure white horses pulled it, ornate and unmistakably expensive.

As I watched, Amelia beside me let out a troubled murmur.

“…That is not a carriage from Marquis Crocell’s house.”

“Then whose is it?”

Wolf beastpeople have sharp eyesight.

Amelia said hesitantly,

“A black shield crest. It’s a carriage from Marquis Burzak’s house.”

“They’ve come all this way to spite me.”

I had come out to receive my fiancée, only for a completely different carriage to roll up — and from the very family that had been sniffing around her, no less.

The intent was obvious.

“Proper decorum means they couldn’t share a carriage. A herald would never travel by carriage. And this isn’t a matter important enough to warrant the marquis himself making the trip. So — the one who’s been making moves on my fiancée has come in person.”

He had come to declare war.

Amelia looked startled at my analysis.

She thought it over and gave a small nod.

“Yes, you’re right, Young Master. Shall I inform the count?”

“No. I’ll handle this myself.”

By then the carriage had drawn close.

The other servants had recognized the crest and were murmuring among themselves.

The carriage came to a stop in front of the manor.

As the servants began descending the steps to open the carriage door, I spoke.

“Everyone, hold.”

“Yes?”

Everyone hesitated.

Opening the carriage door for an arriving guest was noble custom — something the host’s servants were expected to do.

I watched the horses hitched to the carriage and focused my mind.

Psychic ability. Telekinesis.

At my current level, I could at least cause pain.

Neeeigh!

The stationary horses suddenly screamed and began stamping and tossing their heads.

“Whoa! Whoa, whoa!”

The coachman panicked and tried to calm them, but it was no use.

I kept prodding all six horses on the legs in staggered intervals.

Just enough to sting.

Even a saint can’t endure a bee sting.

Neeeigh!

All six horses erupted into wild thrashing.

The carriage swayed so violently it looked ready to tip over entirely.

“Aaagh!”

Then the carriage door flew open and a golden-haired man came tumbling out.

He scrambled out in a panic and couldn’t find his footing — rolling ungracefully across the ground.

His pristine white tunic was caked in dirt in an instant.

“Nnggh!”

The man who had rolled messily across the dirt raised his head.

A reasonably handsome face — currently coated in dust.

Dominic Burzak.

The son of the noble house from the neighboring territory, and the one said to have been making moves on my fiancée.

He shouted furiously at the servants standing around me.

“You fools! Are you just going to stand there and watch?!”

“Yes. Everyone’s going to enjoy the show.”

I said with a smile.

Who would pass up entertainment like this?