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The End of House Duke Abacam

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「Um, Brother?」

「What is it?」

After seeing Wellmy and her companions off, Maleficent returned to the tea table with his sister Dalistia. Seated across from him, she posed her question with a look of lingering bewilderment.

「What did you mean when you said I would not cease to be a duke’s daughter?」

At that, Maleficent nodded with a faint smile and spoke quietly.

「It has been decided that our father will be entering retirement.」

「...!?」

As Dalistia gasped, he proceeded to explain the circumstances.

「Eides’s primary concern regarding the engagement between Crown Prince Leonir and Countess Iola was, above all, our father’s movements.」

Years ago.

Like her, Maleficent himself had been ordered by their father to 「seize supremacy.」 He understood all too well the demands that had been placed upon Dalistia as well.

(I remember vividly when I first began to feel rage toward that fact.)

「Father systematically eliminated any obstacles in your path. The reason Prince Leonir had so few potential candidates for a fiancée was because of him.」

Until recently, his methods hadn't been overtly vicious. He would arrange marriages for ladies of slightly lower standing by leveraging their inability to refuse, or apply subtle pressure on nobles whose daughters had made minor social blunders to withdraw them from the list of candidates.

As a result, Dalistia remained the leading candidate among the few who were left. Maleficent, knowing his sister's hard work, had always felt her position would have been secure even without such underhanded schemes.

However, the situation shifted when the brilliant Countess Iola and Prince Leonir fell in love.

Maleficent had learned the reason for Dalistia’s strange behavior—the way she carried an air of resignation—on the day of the incident at the evening party hosted by Eides. He, too, had been invited and was present that night.

But their father, hearing rumors of Countess Iola, refused to give up and laid hands on a taboo.

「Father went too far. After learning the details regarding Countess Iola and Lady Wellmy that Eides was involved in, he plotted an assassination. It could not be overlooked.」

「How could he...」

Dalistia turned pale.

「By royal decree, I could not tell you until the official engagement with Countess Iola was finalized.」

Maleficent, who was in the best position to discover the plot, had gone straight to the King and Eides with the facts the moment he heard them.

「I was the one ordered to plan the assassination and execute it without being discovered. Precisely because of that, the assassination never came to pass. Eides suggested using Wellmy as a decoy, and Countess Iola went into hiding.」

He had bought time with evasive excuses, claiming he couldn't track Iola’s movements or that sending men was difficult due to the security at the Magic Research Institute. Just as his father turned his sights toward Lady Wellmy—who had been set up as a bluff candidate—Zumiano made his move.

「The incident involving Lady Wellmy and yourself was unexpected for everyone. However, it was something we could use. ...No matter how much Father lost his patience and tried to act himself, it would have been difficult to eliminate those young lords.」

In the face of Sophoyl, a hero of monster extermination, direct assassination was out of the question. For anyone plotting poison, there were Wellmy’s sharp eyes and Schizolda’s intellect, while Seifahrt, Zumiano’s protégé, kept a watchful eye.

Even trying to lean on political power, they would be blocked by Eides and the profoundly strategic Zumiano.

Though they didn't know each other’s true intentions, as long as the goals of Eides, Zumiano, and the King were aligned, their father’s conspiracy was destined to fail.

(And I cooperated because I knew that my beautiful, clever, and headstrong sister didn't truly love Prince Leonir.)

「After establishing an ironclad defense for Lady Wellmy and Countess Iola, Prince Leonir gathered evidence in secret and confronted Father with everything at the Royal Castle. The condition for preserving the Ducal House and keeping his crimes from the public eye was his retirement.」

In reality, it was life imprisonment.

Under the guise of convalescing in the remote reaches of the ducal territory, he would enter a tower in the Royal Castle where magic was neutralized—a place designed to secretly confine high-born individuals who plotted high treason.

「Father accepted the terms.」

Maleficent understood that the look in his father's eyes when he looked at him—a son who had sided with the Royal House of Lionel—was one of a man gambling on the next generation to keep the Ducal House alive.

(Such a delusion is meaningless.)

It was all for his father's self-satisfaction, and Maleficent and Dalistia were merely the ones forced to go along with it. However, Maleficent had escaped that delusion thanks to Eides, and Dalistia had escaped as well—whether through her own strength or someone’s guidance, he did not know.

「I will succeed him as Duke, and once things settle, I will be granted the position of Minister of Magic. After all, Eides and I are the only Magus Lords.」

「Then Lord Eides is...」

「He will settle into the position of Special Task Minister. As internal troubles have unexpectedly subsided... Lady Wellmy is slated to be Eides’s fiancée, and Prince Leonir has found his partner. The heirs of the influential Ducal and Marquis houses, as well as the Viscount house that will likely grow into the largest merchant family, are all connected through Countess Iola and Lady Wellmy. There is no worry of betrayal.」

The young lords would likely face some hardships, but Eides and Lady Wellmy were keeping the most concerning one, Zumiano, in check. Even Tsurgis, who was said to be unreliable, would likely see his reputation change soon, judging by that look on his face.

As for Schizolda, while he had a soft spot for his inner circle, there was no longer any need for concern after this incident. And Seifahrt is currently just the heir to an Earldom, but... if what Zumiano and Eides said is true, he will eventually become a powerful asset.

「The King said that it would be better to have Eides focus on the movements of the Archduchy of Nobren in the south, the Balzam Empire in the west, and the Church of Saint Teresalno as the Special Task Minister.」

Another move had been made regarding the Church, but Dalistia wouldn't learn of it until a bit later.

「Do you have any other questions?」

He smiled at his dear sister as he set down his tea cup. Dalistia, still pale, thought for a moment and then murmured softly.

「This might not be related, but... you really trusted the Magus Lord Ormirage, didn't you, Brother?」

「Is that surprising?」

「Yes. It was the general rumor that the two of you were at odds.」

「We maintained that appearance since our days at the academy to deceive Father’s eyes.」

Eides was the one who had stood before Maleficent, who was constantly told to seize supremacy. They were classmates at the noble academy, and Eides had consistently held the top spot in every aspect since they entered. He was also the first to be knighted as a Magus Lord.

It was also true that Maleficent, educated as a pawn for his father’s delusions, had once felt an emotion close to hatred for Eides.

「He lost something precious when he was young.」

「...Yes. I have heard of it.」

Maleficent learned what kind of results that incident brought about during their third year at the academy.

「Once, having reached the limit of my patience, I questioned Eides. I had tasted defeat and was unable to surpass him. Unable to do anything about my broken pride... casting aside shame and hatred, I questioned him in a fit of self-abandonment.」

『How can I become like you? Why do you strip everything away from me like this?』 he had said.

「It was like a toddler’s tantrum. To that, Eides responded with a smile.」

『Why is there any need for you to become like me? You haven't lost anything precious yet. Maleficent, I envy you,』 he said.

「It was a shock. I knew of the past misfortune that had befallen Eides. But I never imagined for a moment that a man who seemed to have everything was envious of me.」

『If I gain something precious in the future, I am seeking power so that I may never lose it again. To erase the curses that drive people mad from this world.』

That was why, Eides had said. He had looked at Maleficent not with his usual cold gaze, but with a look filled with loneliness and longing.

『You should realize it. Turn your eyes to the precious things you have now. So that you never lose them, not even once.』

Being told that was the first time Maleficent had truly looked at what he possessed.

His sister, who was trapped in their father's delusions yet was noble and worked so hard. The pitiful way her life was being used, which he had considered natural until then.

「It was Eides who made me realize I should cherish and protect you.」

「...So that was the reason you were so kind to me, Brother.」

Tears welled up in Dalistia’s eyes.

Their mother had been quite old when she gave birth to a sister ten years his junior. She had fulfilled Father’s wish and then passed away while Dalistia was still very young.

Maleficent had at least received affection from their mother, but Dalistia had not. If so, it was his role to provide it.

「I am grateful to Eides. And to you, my dear, for growing up so wonderfully. ...You and the others taught me the importance of protecting something.」

Not just seeking things, but the joy, fun, and necessity of being sought and loved. That a person does not live alone.

Eides had found a partner as well.

『Wellmy is interesting. She is devoted, yet strong at the same time. I’ve finally found the person I want to stay beside and protect, Maleficent.』

He had wholeheartedly congratulated Eides, who had told him that with a look of genuine happiness.

「I intend to find someone once you are off my hands. So, hurry and find someone you love and live for yourself, Dalistia.」

When he teased her at the end, Dalistia’s cheeks flushed.

「...It might not be that far off, Brother.」

「Have you taken a liking to Tsurgis?」

Maleficent thought that while it wasn't exactly pleasant, he would approve if it was someone his sister chose. Of course, on the premise that there were no issues with his character... but that brat who had continued to love Dalistia wouldn't treat her poorly.

「Um... I don't know, but it's the first time I've known that a gentleman other than you, Brother, felt that way about me...」

As she cupped her cheeks in her hands, she could only be described as lovely.

「I think once the shackle of being Prince Leonir's fiancée is removed, you'll have your pick of suitors. ...I won't stop you. Also, if you're free, help me a bit with the household management. I can't keep up with it all.」

「Yes. If I can be of any help, however slight.」

Confirming that his sister had regained her spirit, Maleficent stood up to return to his duties. Even if he had handled much of the work until now, succeeding as Duke while taking over as Special Task Minister was no small task.

「Be happy, Dalistia.」

When he placed a hand on her shoulder, she broke into a radiant smile.

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