The Villainous Noble’s Father - Chapter 5

The soft light of dawn slipped in through the window, and I woke up in bed.

It didn’t seem like much time had passed since sunrise. I stared up at the slightly dark canopy above me.

“If this were a novel or manga, this would be the moment the character says, ‘I don’t recognize this ceiling,’” I muttered.

Too bad this bed has a canopy, so I can’t even see the ceiling. 

Saying something so pointless to myself, I stretched and got out of the unnecessarily large bed.

It had been a while since I used the bed in the royal capital’s mansion, and of course, it was top-tier in quality. I woke up feeling surprisingly good.

I caught sight of myself in the mirror across the room.

There I was, shirtless.

For my age, I’d say I was still in decent shape. Old scars from past battles marked my body, but it was lean and toned, with no extra fat. My eyes were a little puffy, probably because I’d stayed up late crying and hugging Leonard last night.

“Whew… I’m getting old,” I sighed as I opened the window.

From there, I could see the mansion’s spacious courtyard.

…Hm? Is that Leonard?

Sure enough, I spotted Leonard in the courtyard, swinging his sword.

He must have been at it since before sunrise. He was drenched in sweat, like someone had dumped a bucket of water over him.

“Alright, then.”

Our ducal family’s estate in the royal capital is huge. Ridiculously huge. And absurdly extravagant, picture over-the-top Rococo and Baroque styling, the full-on noble aesthetic.

It’s also in a prime location, we’re close to the royal palace and right off the main street. Which, of course, makes the upkeep ridiculously expensive. 

Honestly, I wanted to get rid of this place during the postwar chaos, but the royal family, my wife, and my aides all found out and gave me hell for it.

As a duke, it’s apparently my duty to help keep the nation’s economy going. How could the head of a top noble family even think of abandoning such a key estate?

It’s just… the maintenance costs are insane.

I once joked that if they’re going to guilt me into keeping it, they could at least lower my taxes. The king was genuinely exasperated.

Thinking back on that foolish memory, I made my way to the courtyard.

“19876! 19877! 19878! 19879!”

Leonard was off by the gazebo in a corner of the courtyard, completely focused on his sword training. His technique wasn’t bad. With the speed unique to nobles who possess magical power, his blade cut through the air so fast it was almost invisible.

Wearing nothing but a thin shirt, his whole body shook with every swing, muscles trembling with effort.

“You’re working hard, Leonard.”

“F-Father!?”

My voice must’ve broken his concentration. The magical energy surrounding his body instantly scattered.

“Ah, um… After our talk yesterday, I realized I couldn’t stay the same. I just… I don’t know, I suddenly felt like I had to do something…”

Leonard stammered, a little awkwardly. Maybe even a bit embarrassed.

“I see. Well, you’ve got that duel with the commoner boy coming up. There’s still nearly two months, but pushing yourself early isn’t a bad idea.”

“Ah! N-no. Actually, I think that duel was a mistake. It was careless and went against the country’s principles. I was thinking… maybe I should apologize to him personally.”

An apology, huh?

That’s fair. After all, the boy he challenged is the protagonist of the game. If the story follows its original path, Leonard gets disinherited. Naturally, as his father, I don’t want anything bad to happen to my son.

Leonard’s right. Apologizing and backing off would probably be the safest move.

But… my position as a duke, one of the country’s top officials, gets in the way of that line of thinking.

“…Personally, I see that duel as a rare opportunity. That is, if you’re okay with it, Leonard.”

“An opportunity…?”

Leonard tilted his head, confused.

“Yes. From our position in the country’s leadership, it’s clear that over the next few years, we’ll see a steady increase in commoners enrolling at the academy.”

“More commoners with magic… Wait, of course! This must be one of the aftereffects of the war!”

Hmm… quick-thinking, this one. Just like yesterday.

Feeling pleased, I encouraged him to continue.

“The last great war severely damaged our nation, especially the noble class who carry magic. Many noble houses couldn’t survive after the war and were forced to live as commoners.”

Exactly right.

Normally, the government or powerful nobles would help out struggling houses, but back then, no one had the resources to do so. Not to mention, wartime saw an increase in… darker things. Assaults, raids by enemy demons, and so on.

And it wasn’t rare for nobles heading to the front lines to fall in love in a blaze of passion. Sometimes with commoners. In fact, Leonard was born after one of my such fiery moments before being deployed. His mother was a noble, though.

“Exactly. It’s been 15 years since the war ended. From now on, we’ll start seeing more magic-wielding commoners enter the academy. And that’ll naturally cause friction between nobles and commoners.”

When it comes to stable government, conflict between the ruling class and common people helps no one. If it were just a handful, we could handle it quietly. But even based on the numbers we do know, there’s a large and growing population of commoner children with magic.

It’s time for us nobles to update our worldview.

That’s where this duel comes in. You see, our nobility is built around being warriors. In simple terms, most of us are muscle heads.

Traditionally, this country values strength over rank.

If Leonard faces off in a duel and the commoner boy displays real power, it could force other noble kids to change how they see commoners.

I explained all this to Leonard and…

“…Now that you put it that way, it makes perfect sense! Damn it, how could I be so blind? If we can successfully bring commoners with magic into the fold, the nation’s power will grow immensely.”

“There are more commoners than nobles, after all! Even a small increase in magic users could have huge effects… Wait, maybe the real target should be war orphans? No, maybe families with magical children…”

He started muttering to himself, eyes glinting with something… unsettling. Honestly, it was a little scary. I feel like I just discovered a whole new side of a son I barely knew before.