I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 63
Caesar’s sudden punch toward Aldo caught Joseph off guard, and he couldn’t react in time.
“Urggghhhh!”
Caesar kicked Aldo, who had fallen with a bloody nose.
“You dare inherit the Baron title when you have no respect or reverence for knights?! Huh?!”
“L-Lord Caesar!”
“Master!”
Joseph and Gloria hurriedly tried to stop Caesar.
“Don’t even think about inheriting the family! I’ll make sure you die young!”
“H-How dare you hi-hit me? I-I’ll formally protest this.”
“Go ahead and protest! I’ll tear you apart!”
Caesar shook off Joseph and Gloria.
Then he approached Gideon.
Joseph squeezed his eyes shut as he watched Caesar grab his axe.
Since Aldo had refused the blood price, Caesar would kill Gideon.
“Gideon.”
Thud!
Caesar planted his axe right in front of Gideon’s nose.
“I’ll keep your secret. But from now on, you’re mine. Come work under me. Understood?”
Gideon glanced at the fallen Aldo.
-…If it means saving my son.
“Yes. I understand.”
This guy will serve me faithfully from now on, as much as he loves his son.
***
Showing mercy to a duel opponent.
In this era of many scandals and troubles, where human life is treated like flies and people work 72 hours a week without labor unions, there couldn’t be a more beautiful story.
[Caesar shows mercy to Gideon.]
[Holy Knight Joseph saw the divine light of Goddess Dre in Caesar’s face.]
[Just how far does Caesar’s charm go, even seducing his duel opponents?]
[Homigraph: Knight aspirants increase exponentially.]
Journalists put praise for Caesar on the front page of both morning and evening papers without fail.
They had no choice, since citizens would buy any newspaper regardless of its stance as long as it had Caesar’s name on it.
“Kyah… I’m swooning.”
“Not seeing Lord Caesar’s duel will be my eternal regret.”
“Did you not see it?”
“You speak as if you saw it yourself.”
“Ahem! Who do you think I am? I’m the janitor at the Sapientia dueling grounds. Who else would have wiped up Lord Caesar’s sweat and blood?”
The man raised his hand high.
“That’s right, I wiped it with these very hands! Holy blood touched these hands!”
“Wh-What?! Quick, tell us more. How did Lord Caesar defeat Gideon?”
“Just like that?”
“H-Here’s a mug of beer! No, bring a whole cask!”
As Caesar’s fame grew, the nobles of Homigraph started going crazy.
[Dear Lord Caesar,
First, congratulations on your victory in the duel.
By the way, it seems you still haven’t found a lord to serve, and I’m curious about the exact reason.
If it’s a problem I can solve, I can resolve it right away.
I can also offer a salary befitting your dignity…]
[Respected Lord Caesar,
I sincerely congratulate you on your victory in the duel.
I clearly remember when my daughter’s eyes met yours as you were returning after defeating Lord Gideon.
I heard you’re not yet engaged.
If you’d be interested in seriously meeting my daughter…]
Caesar tossed the letters aside.
“Harrison, how many of these have we received in total?”
“183 letters regarding knight appointment, 571 about engagement, and over 800 letters of sponsorship and congratulations.”
“Sigh, how can we reply to all of these one by one?”
“That’s why we hired 3 more butlers specializing in letters and protocol. Knox can’t handle all this alone.”
To think I’d end up hiring ghostwriters.
This is why being popular is so tiring.
Caesar gestured toward the door and asked.
“By the way, how long has he been waiting?”
Harrison checked the clock and replied.
“It’s been about 2 hours now.”
“Should be well-done then. Bring him in.”
“Yes, understood.”
Harrison left the office and returned with someone.
It was Eric Silvatil.
Caesar approached Eric and offered a handshake.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting, Brother Eric. Please, have a seat.”
Eric glanced at the letters piled up in Caesar’s office and spoke.
“…No need to apologize. It happens when you’re busy.”
-To make me wait for 2 hours when there wasn’t a single visitor.
-He’s trying to tame me.
-…But this is Caesar’s front yard.
-There’s nothing good about getting on his nerves.
Perhaps because he’s the second son, this guy is quite perceptive.
Should I say he’s much sharper than Aldo?
Well, not that it changes anything.
Caesar sat down and said.
“By the way, when I first met you, I didn’t ask about the Baron’s condition. How is he?”
“No improvement. Even potions can’t cure old age.”
“Is that so? Then I should visit him soon.”
“…When will you come?”
“Shall I go down with you when you return? No matter how busy I am, I should see my father’s face.”
“Yes, you should see him once.”
Eric lit a cigar and fell into thought.
-A guy who hasn’t shown his face once in half a year after discharge suddenly wants to see father?
-It’s so transparent it’s ridiculous.
-But that makes it all the more fatal.
Eric’s eyes turned to the letters in the office.
-I need to figure out exactly what he’s after.
“By the way, little brother. There’s something I’m curious about.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“I hear you’re getting offers for knighthood from various places, so why remain a wandering knight?”
Caesar took a sip of tea.
“There are three reasons why a knight becomes a wandering knight. First, incompetence. Second, a bad reputation. Third, no need to put a noble above one’s head.”
Eric’s eyes wavered slightly at Caesar’s words.
“Which one do you think I am?”
“…Are you planning to inherit the Silvatil Baron title?”
Eric finally revealed his true thoughts.
“So you’re saying the reason I’m building such fame, running businesses, and gathering money is to become the head of the Silvatil Baron family by overtaking my two brothers?”
“Otherwise, you wouldn’t have made Sir Gideon your man. Sir Gideon is still the Silvatil family’s knight and the captain of the Tiger Knights. If you’re not interested in the Baron title…”
“No. I am interested.”
Eric’s fists clenched at Caesar’s words.
His face reddened as he struggled to maintain his composure.
“You’re a bastard. Our family has never had a bastard inherit the title.”
“But I’m a knight. For 200 years, the Silvatil family head has never not been a knight. But you’re not a knight, brother.”
“Weren’t you completely uninterested in family affairs? All you did since childhood was train to become a knight! And now you say you want to join the succession race? Does that make any sense?!”
“It must make sense, or why would you be so agitated, brother?”
Caesar put a cigar in his mouth.
“Being a bastard isn’t a big problem. If I say I’ll inherit the Baron title, many families would welcome it with open arms. Especially Count Vex.”
The Silvatil Baron family is under the Count Vex family.
If Caesar, who’s famous in the empire, inherits the Baron title, Count Vex would naturally gain a route to use Caesar, so he couldn’t help but like it.
Caesar pulled out a letter from his chest.
Eric was so surprised at seeing the letter’s seal that he stopped smoking his cigar.
That sword-shaped seal.
It’s the seal of the Count Vex family that rules over Vex province.
“As it happens, I received a letter from Count Vex. I’d like to tell you all its contents, but it’s personal so that would be difficult.”
Caesar put the letter back in his chest.
Eric took a deep drag of nicotine to maintain his composure as much as possible.
Yes, you must be burning inside.
But this is the difference between you and me.
Someone like Eric needed to be thoroughly subjugated.
“…Tell me what you want.”
This is what’s different from Aldo.
While Aldo gets excited easily, Eric calmly reads the other person’s intentions and knows when to lower his tail.
This is the kind of person who should be Baron.
“First, I’d like to see what I should receive.”
Eric pulled out an envelope from his chest.
“These are the statements for your salary and combat allowance paid by the empire. It adds up to slightly over 240,000 del.”
240,000 del over three years.
It’s a drop in the bucket compared to what Caesar earns now, but considering Caesar’s skills and reputation at the time, 240,000 del is awkwardly good.
Even this was only because Caesar was a wandering knight directly employed by the emperor and received regular payments. If he had been a knight under some obscure noble, he wouldn’t have seen any money at all.
“And… This is a special sponsorship from the family.”
Caesar checked the check.
60,000 Del.
Caesar decided to focus on understanding the meaning behind the check rather than fixating on the number.
-These damn expenses are too high.
-But if we don’t give him this much, he’ll be difficult about it.
-We’ve given him a clean 300,000 Del, shouldn’t he be satisfied with this?
-If he tries to squeeze out more… It’ll be hard to handle.
So this is pretty much the maximum, huh.
Caesar put the check in the envelope.
“Since this is only natural, I won’t say thank you.”
“…I know. Now tell me what you want.”
“I don’t know?”
“What?”
“I don’t know what the Silvatil Baronial family has, what you have, or what I want. Since I don’t know anything, I don’t know what I should receive from you. However, you must know what you can give me.”
Eric continued puffing on his cigar.
Usually, these kinds of deals aren’t done with money.
Money disappears when spent, but power is eternal.
The question was whether it would be right to let Caesar meddle in every affair of the Silvatil Baronial family.
Eric must be judging this.
“…Do you want the position of Tiger Knights Commander?”
“Would I want such a position?”
“I’m saying I’ll let you choose whatever personnel appointment you want.”
This person really doesn’t get it at all.
Caesar decided to give his dense brother an answer.
“Brother. Why do you think I came to Homigraph right after being discharged?”
“…”
“It was because I didn’t think I could handle the territorialism from my brothers. Look even now. Only after I gained fame and power did you give me the compensation I rightfully deserved?”
“So what is it that you want?”
“Give Brother Aldo some proper businesses and a room in the mansion.”
“What?!”
Caesar took a long drag from his cigar and said.
“Shouldn’t I have someone on my side when I return home? I’d like my eldest brother to take my side.”
“Do you think brother will accept that?! And aren’t you completely at odds with the eldest brother?”
“Brother Aldo no longer has any power. To be honest, the only reason Brother Aldo could stand against you was because of Lord Gideon, but didn’t Brother Aldo give up Sir Gideon himself? If Brother Aldo wants to live, he’ll have no choice but to drink the poisoned chalice I’m offering.”
Eric shuddered at Caesar’s ruthlessness.
For a bastard to place a legitimate son beneath him.
Knowing Elder Brother Aldo’s terrible greed, Eric knew very well that Aldo would have no choice but to accept this proposal.
But this was something that had to be rejected.
“There’s no precedent in history of a second son putting the firstborn beneath him! They either killed them all or exiled them to the frontier. And you’re telling me to live together with him in Vex Province? Do you think that makes any sense?”
“Then why did you come looking for me when I was doing well and keep picking at me?”
Caesar emanated a thick killing intent.
“While I wasn’t even dead, you tried to extort my wealth, and when that failed, you used Brother Aldo to force a duel with my disciple. Don’t you think this level of revenge is warranted? Honestly, I want nothing more than to duel you and drive you out of the family.”
“…I never instigated anything. It was all because Brother Aldo got excited and acted on his own.”
“Fucking hell, is that what you have to say?!”
Caesar smashed the table.
Eric was startled and dropped his cigar.
Sparks from the end of the cigar burned into Eric’s knee.
“In the end, you did try to steal my wealth one way or another! You haven’t even apologized for that once until now! If I were the older brother, I would have gotten down on my knees and begged for forgiveness the moment I came in! But what? You never instigated anything? Ha! This is ridiculous.”
Caesar threw away the broken cigar and lit a new one.
“What? Now that you’ve pushed aside Brother Aldo, you think you’re the Baron? Should I go down to Vex Province properly and show you some swordplay? Want to experience what it feels like to hold an empty Baron title?!”
Eric acknowledged that he had lost control of his emotions and made a big mistake.
“…I’m sorry about that.”
“Look at this now. You only apologize when I demand it. Why did you let things get to this point when it could have been resolved nicely with just a simple apology?”
Caesar took a long drag from his cigar and calmed his excitement.
“I can’t give an inch. If you can’t get along with the eldest brother, I might as well support him instead.”
“You don’t know Brother Aldo. Brother is just greedy and incompetent! Do you think it makes sense to lead the family with such a brother? That’s the path to splitting the family in two!”
“That’s something you’ll have to deal with. Try talking things through with Brother Aldo. Who knows? You might get along surprisingly well.”
Eric understood exactly what Caesar wanted.
This is revenge.
Revenge for not only daring to touch the sleeping lion’s whiskers but pulling them out.
‘I should have been more careful.’
What use was there in regret now?
The only thing Eric and Aldo could do now was endure until Caesar’s terrible thirst for revenge subsided.
Eric took a deep breath before speaking.
“…I understand well enough what you want. I’ll review it as positively as possible.”
With those words, Eric left the study.
TL NOTE:
Schedule: Every {Wed-Sat}
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