An event to appoint a master to rule over a nameless land, the Conferment Ceremony of the Grand Duke Betius Title. And who is this Grand Duke Betius… me.
It sounds nice to be called a grand duke, but in reality, there’s nothing. It was essentially an exile without even proper pretense—giving me a single crumbling castle in a poor wasteland and telling me to live or die there as I please.
‘It’s the northernmost region. I hate the cold!’
To think I’d have to shiver day and night in a damn wasteland where half the year is winter. No matter how I look at it, this is definitely a possession scam.
‘…Wait, could this actually be good?’
The far North, so distant you can’t even go there without deliberate resolve. If I quietly bury myself there and live as if dead, the protagonist will guide this story to its ending on his own.
“Excellent.”
“…Pardon?”
“Hm.”
It was a soliloquy, but the attendant gripping the broom responded. He had already cleaned up all the vase fragments and was restlessly reading my mood.
Looking closely, the attendant was also quite young. With a youthful impression that made me wonder if he was even twenty yet, and showing somewhat clumsy corners, it seemed he’d either just joined or was assigned to attend me because he was young.
Anyway, this guy and that guy are all young.
“May I leave now, Your Majesty?”
“What are you going to do after leaving?”
“Well…”
At the unexpected question, the attendant widened his eyes and answered.
“I’ll dispose of the glass fragments and come back to wait for Your Majesty’s summons?”
“What if I don’t call?”
For a moment, the emotion of ‘that would be really nice’ flashed quickly across the attendant’s face.
“Even so, I never know, so I’ll be on standby.”
“What do you mean ‘never know.’ Forget it.”
I waved my hand dismissively and answered in an annoyed tone.
“I won’t have anything to call you for. Today, go to your room and rest, or go out and have fun.”
“But…”
“But what.”
You’re young, why are you working? Just slack off appropriately.
“It’s an order. Go to your quarters right now and laze around to your heart’s content. Come out at breakfast tomorrow morning.”
“…”
“Answer.”
“Y-yes!”
I urgently grabbed the guy who was about to rush out.
“Wait!”
“…Yes?”
“Um, you know.”
I scratched my cheek with an awkward expression and said.
“Take me to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor before you go.”
***
A grand duke in name only. A human disaster imposed upon the already struggling refugees of the North. A tyrant with only a pretty face.
It goes without saying, but I didn’t want to live like that.
However, I do have to become the grand duke. It was because of the ‘Law of Preserving the Original Work’ that what must happen must surely happen.
Even if I use loopholes to avoid going, someone will ultimately become the master of that wasteland. That means one of the Emperor’s relatives excluding me would sit in that position, and if that happens…
‘Lenox would end up going.’
No matter how much I hate the cold more than death, I couldn’t send a nine-year-old to such a place. Wasn’t the title Betius my surname to begin with? It meant that only me going there would have meaning.
So, if it’s a place I have to go anyway.
“Please send me to the North.”
I’ll go on my own feet.
As soon as I threw out that one line confidently upon arriving at the audience chamber, the surroundings became quiet. The Emperor sitting in the seat of honor pressed his index and middle fingers firmly against his brow bone and asked me.
“…What did you just say, Achille.”
To think his hearing is already failing when he’s still young, how unfortunate. I decided to display kindness for my pitiful older brother.
“I mean the wasteland in the North. That cold place. I’m saying I’ll go there.”
“You mean the border area with the ruined castle?”
“Well, does this country have two borders?”
I glanced at the Crown Prince sitting in the adjacent seat—he was scanning me with a deeply furrowed brow. It was a look of suspicion about what scheme this crazy person was plotting this time.
‘It seems that guy was the one who proposed kicking me out to the North.’
That made sense. No matter how much he’s the Crown Prince, the emperors who are alive and well can’t help but be bothersome. Even if they have no particular ambition for the throne or are just punks causing useless trouble, he’d feel at ease only by getting them far away.
I also didn’t want to unnecessarily hang around and receive unfair suspicion. So it’s a good choice for both of us. Originally, the more distant a grown family is, the more beautiful it becomes.
“I have conditions.”
I said with my hands clasped behind my back.
“I need money.”
“…Money?”
“Yes, money.”
After thinking for a moment, I added.
“If money is awkward, goods are fine too. Gold, jewels, cloth, seeds, grain, farming tools—what else is there? Pack as many more types, as many more pieces of things that seem like I’d need them while living.”
If a master were to appear in a place where refugees huddle together barely getting by, who would be happy? It was natural that rejection would come before welcome.
But what if the outsider who suddenly appeared took responsibility for their livelihood? If in exchange for appropriately collecting taxes, they guaranteed safety and shared necessary goods, at least they wouldn’t stage a protest throwing stones at the castle telling me to get lost.
‘It’s cold enough already, so it should at least be livable.’
There was also the calculation that if I eat well and live well there appropriately, neither the Emperor nor the Crown Prince would worry unnecessarily.
“Why did you suddenly think like that? You used to say you’d stay in the capital even if you died soon.”
“Don’t people’s hearts change? I must have matured, I suppose.”
As I answered pretending to be dignified, system windows with red borders suddenly began appearing.
[Warning! You are acting against the ‘Character Guidelines’!]
[The surrounding characters feel dissonance toward your existence.]
[Fate doubts your identity.]
[Measuring standards, recording numbers…]
Soon after, one window that appeared sparkled and caught my attention for a moment.
[Current Chaos Meter: 81%]
Wait, hold on. When I broke the window earlier, it was 93 percent. Can it be shaved down this much just from saying a few words?
My head started throbbing painfully from the shock. Frowning from the headache, I asked in a somewhat sullen tone.
“Is it not allowed?”
“It’s not that it’s not allowed… And why do you need the things you requested?”
“What do you mean why do I need them? I have to live. Do I use the territory all by myself?”
Why are you asking something so obvious? It’s common sense.
“That’s what I mean. Achille, I’m asking since when did you care about other people.”
“That’s because I need to make that land at least livable to live there without problems…”
The throbbing headache spread like wildfire. The inside of my eyes and my nose felt burning, making it difficult to manage my expression.
Something was wrong.
[Current Chaos Meter: 72%]
The tens digit of the Chaos Meter changed—the moment I thought that, something trickled down from my nose.
“…Huh.”
When I fumbled over my face, what was abundantly smeared on my fingertips was… blood.
“Achille!”
“Your Imperial Majesty the Emperor!”
Only then did I realize the cause of the pain that had been continuing since earlier, and this nosebleed that was starting to pour out.
‘Don’t tell me this was the reason they kept warning me by showing the Chaos Meter.’
The system that read my mind trembled and sent new content.
[.·´¯(>▂<)´¯·.]
[Actions befitting the ‘Character Guidelines’ are needed!]
[Actions befitting the ‘Character Guidelines’ are needed!]
[Actions befitting the ‘Character Guidelines’ are needed!]
Even if you tell me to act like a scoundrel, what can I do in this state?
I tried to somehow block it by covering my nose and mouth with both hands, but I couldn’t stop the blood falling through the gaps between my fingers. The faces of the Emperor and Crown Prince that I glanced at were also as pale as mine.
“Your Majesty, you mustn’t!”
The Crown Prince restrained the Emperor who was trying to approach me.
“…He might have other ulterior motives! Uncle has always been like that!”
What ulterior motives could there be when a person is bleeding this much? I looked at the Crown Prince with an absurd gaze.
‘The family’s circumstances are running just great.’
I rubbed my nose with the back of my hand and said.
“Sure, whatever. I won’t die from a little nosebleed. Do as you please.”
Even if they came over and took care of me meticulously, it wouldn’t stop, so it would just be troublesome. I covered my messed-up face while earnestly thinking about how to raise this damn Chaos Meter.
However, even that attitude was taken as being overly dignified, and the Chaos Meter, which had already been mercilessly decreasing, dropped even further.
[Current Chaos Meter: 68%]
[Beware of loss of consciousness!]
‘…Don’t tell me I’ll actually die?’
Unfortunately, I didn’t hear an answer. Because I fainted just like that.
