July 11, early morning, the Laval Mansion dining room.
Allen sat leisurely at the head of the table, enjoying butter and jam-slathered toast while flipping through today’s fresh edition of the Lucerne Daily.
His expression was relaxed and content, as if the heart-pounding death match from the previous day had been nothing more than an ordinary daily occurrence.
Today’s front-page headline, printed in the most striking bold font, featured a report on his duel with Livia.
The most interesting part was that this detailed, soul-stirring article had been written by Allen himself. Under his gifted pen, a bloody struggle had been transformed into a romantic duel filled with heroic tragedy and a sense of destiny.
As it turned out, the masses loved that sort of thing.
According to the old butler, the newspaper had sold out almost immediately upon release. The printing presses had been running all night, yet they still could not keep up with the demand.
Those nobles who had been unable to attend the event in person felt immense regret after reading the report and hearing the boasts of colleagues who had narrowly escaped the claws of the Madwhisper Beast.
For these people living in comfort, witnessing the “Duel of the Century” between Allen and Livia, combined with the appearance of the legendary Madwhisper Beast, was a topic they could brag about for a lifetime. To them, it would have been worth the price of admission even if they had died!
At the end of the report, Allen “mercifully” defined the duel’s result as a draw. It was a small bit of tenderness left for his heroic lady, who was currently still unconscious.
Thinking of Livia, Allen’s pleasant mood was tinged with a bit of complexity. The predestined heroine of the original story was currently acting as a sleeping beauty in one of his guest rooms.
It was a long story, but in short, under the emergency treatment of the Judgement Court’s physicians and the dual effect of his Holy Power, Livia’s Crest Backlash had finally been suppressed. She was merely unconscious from exhaustion and was in no life-threatening danger.
However, a problem arose. As a Sword-Bearing Noble and a powerful Crestbearer, her political status was extremely sensitive, making it inappropriate for her to stay at the Church.
Furthermore, the holy field of the Saint Elliott Cathedral blocked out the Supreme Heaven. For a Crestbearer like Livia, who needed to absorb Engraved Emblem Power to recover, that place was no different from a gas chamber.
Ultimately, under the “kind and friendly” suggestion of Grand Inquisitor Guillaume, Allen had no choice but to bring her home. After all, his Black Sword possessed a Crest-augmentation mode. Staying by his side was undoubtedly the most stable choice for Livia to recover her “blue bar.”
As for the Evil God’s Corruption, there was no need to worry for now. His Holy Power had dispersed the whispers of the Evil God from Livia, returning her to a pure and harmless initial state. In theory, she should not go into a frenzy as she had during the duel.
There had been a small interlude during this process.
When the Count of the Borderlands, Friedrich, learned that his daughter had been “snatched” away to the Laval home, he immediately brought his men over to take Livia back.
Allen, upholding the principle of respecting Livia’s personal wish to “run away from home,” rejected him without hesitation.
He even issued a half-joking threat, stating that if the Stern family pushed this little ancestor to darken again, he wouldn’t mind packaging the entire Stern family and sending them to meet the Creator before the next duel. He had nearly lost his life cleaning up their mess once; he had no desire for a second round.
In the end, the Count of the Borderlands was “persuaded.”
After all, the Laval House was no longer what it once was. Today, his father, Bernard de Laval, would formally have an audience with the King to be appointed as the Minister of Finance. While a Count of the Borderlands and a future Minister of Finance might be equal in status, the difference in actual power was like heaven and earth.
Both parties reached an agreement: since the duel ended without a winner, the marriage contract remained valid. As Allen’s fiancée, Livia would temporarily stay at the Laval Mansion to recover from her injuries. The two young people staying together to “deepen their relationship” was a result that allowed everyone involved to save face.
After this battle, Allen and Livia were essentially locked together in the eyes of the Capital’s public, becoming a popular “love-hate” pair.
As a super-beautiful girl with pure Sigil blood, the astonishing combat power Livia displayed—being able to tear a monster apart by hand—caused her value in the marriage market to plummet. No noble gentleman dared to harbor any unrealistic fantasies about this Valkyrie anymore.
Combined with Allen’s exaggerated “Yuri side-news,” everyone was now more interested in discussing Livia’s sexual orientation over tea. Of course, Livia herself didn’t know about this yet. If she found out, Allen suspected he would receive a genuine thrashing.
On the contrary, Allen himself—the legendary “powerhouse without a Crest”—had seen his popularity soar among noble daughters. If it weren’t for the fact that a great figure like Livia was staying at his home, the carriages visiting the mansion would likely have stretched from the Laval Mansion to the city gates.
That was the thing about hype; it would eventually come back to haunt you.
Allen took a sip of sweet milk, but his mouth felt bitter. Just because Livia had temporarily returned to her pure self didn’t mean the Evil Gods would stop. Quite the opposite; it only meant their script had turned to the next page.
That was what truly gave Allen a headache.
The upcoming plot would likely involve a romantic comedy between him and Livia, plus the yandere maid Marianne… Just thinking about it made Allen’s stomach ache.
Dealing with these messy interpersonal relationships was his greatest weakness. Having died 999 times in a romance game, he now had to personally step onto the stage and play the role of the villainous scoundrel who destroyed a sacred Yuri bond? Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner!
If he could have dated a girl of Livia’s caliber when he first crossed over, he would have been happy to die for it. But now, he only felt physically and mentally exhausted.
The Evil Gods had indeed found his weakness. He could sacrifice everything and use a heart that would never corrode to save humanity, but he simply could not manage a proper romance.
The main reason could now be revealed—Allen’s “heart wall” was ridiculously thick, so thick that if he were in a different setting, it could probably generate a literal AT Field.
During the duel with Livia, he had vaguely sensed that a massive secret was still hidden within him. Whether it was the “Observer” or the Evil Gods, they all seemed to know about it, while he was the only one kept in the dark.
It was normal for a transmigrator to have secrets, but if he wasn’t a transmigrator at all and was instead… something else, then the situation was truly dire. He even suspected that if he truly opened his heart to someone, it might trigger a disaster that even the Evil Gods could not predict.
In short, maintaining the status quo and keeping everyone calm was for the best.
However… certain disobedient little ones did indeed need to be “educated” properly.
“Marianne, I’d like to ask what you mean by this.”
Allen spoke without raising his head, his tone carrying a trace of helplessness.
Without him noticing, Marianne—his most beloved and most troublesome head maid, his “little sister,” Livia’s official Yuri partner, and the yandere killer who had sent Allen back to his save point countless times—had silently squeezed into his arms.
She was affectionately leaning her small head against his shoulder, looking at the newspaper with him with great interest.
“What’s wrong, Master?” Marianne blinked her crimson eyes, feigning innocence.
“Where do you think your place is?”
“Wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be.”
She answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, even intentionally shrinking further into Allen’s embrace to find a more comfortable position.
Allen sighed.
Marianne was already petite and delicate; curling up in his arms like a kitten didn’t actually hinder him from reading the paper or eating breakfast. But this posture was far too intimate! Especially in the dining room, in front of all the servants!
Was he, Allen de Laval, some kind of personal sofa?
The ambiguous “Master sure is something” looks from the passing servants made him feel like a total scumbag who was two-timing.
Although the servants were actually impressed that their young master was so capable as to bring Miss Livia home, Allen still felt a strong sense of guilt.
‘This is painful; my carefully nurtured lily garden is about to be uprooted by a thorny, yandere rose.’
“Marianne,” Allen said irritably, well aware of her small schemes, “I know Livia’s arrival has made you feel insecure. But have you forgotten what you said? Forgotten our great plan? Your task is to crawl into Livia’s bed and get close to her, not to stick to me. I’m uncomfortable.”
“Eh? Are you asking me to warm the bed in advance?” Marianne intentionally tilted her head up, looking at Allen with a giggle. She lightly rubbed her cheek against his neck, causing a faint itch. “But… Livia is still unconscious… Are you really in such a rush to do something to her?”
A sweet, expensive perfume scent wafted from the girl. After achieving financial freedom, she was no longer the country maid who could only afford cheap perfume, but she seemed to still take pride in that identity.
“I didn’t expect you to have reached the point where you’d make dirty jokes about your best friend.”
Allen raised his hand and gave Marianne a light flick on the forehead.
After the duel, Marianne’s inner turmoil seemed to have completely resolved. With her beloved Master and her best friend both safe, she had become much more vibrant, though her yandere possessiveness had only increased with Livia’s presence.
She had said she wouldn’t be jealous of Livia, but it had turned out like this anyway.
If Allen were truly a dense “kindhearted” protagonist, it would be one thing, but this man’s ability to see through people was incredibly strong. Aside from self-hypnosis by telling himself ‘this is for the sake of the Yuri cause,’ he really couldn’t think of a better way to solve this damned harem situation.
His stomach hurt. Who on earth invented the anti-human genre of romantic comedy?
The core of comedy was tragedy.
He only wanted to watch other people’s tragedies; he had no desire to experience one personally.
He was already tragic enough.
Looking at the clingy kitten in his arms, Allen helplessly rubbed her black hair and changed the subject to business. “I heard that cultists from the Cult have infiltrated Heaven’s Haven. Is that true?”
“Yes.” Marianne nodded, her small legs wrapped in white stockings swaying gently. Her body remained pressed tightly against Allen as she lowered her voice. “Master, do you know who the spy is?”
“You people really think I’m omniscient.” Allen didn’t feel any tension regarding this matter.
“When we absorbed the Wild Dog Gang, the Pseudo-Mark Knight from the Cult was among them. It’s not surprising at all that he developed a few subordinates within.”
“Is all of this within your calculations?”
“Not necessarily.” Allen turned a page of the newspaper.
“I just know what will happen. The Evil Gods simply want to plant the seeds of suspicion within us. It’s hard to say if there really is a spy or how many there are. For now, just leave it alone.”
“Eh?” Marianne was truly surprised that Allen, who was usually so vigilant against the Evil Gods, would say something so dismissive.
Allen explained, “First, on the matter of pushing for change and overturning the Old World, the Evil Gods’ goals are temporarily aligned with ours. That’s the only way they get to enjoy the show. Second, there will always be traitors. But if we start chasing shadows now and suspect every comrade, we’ll fall right into the enemy’s trap and cause internal division. Our current policy is to learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones and to treat the illness to save the patient.”
Allen held up one finger, his expression certain.
“So, the solution is simple. First, strengthen anti-cult ideological education. Make all comrades understand that the Evil Gods only view mortals as entertainment; nothing good comes from believing in them. Leave this task to Comrade Victor; he’s a professional.”
“Second, issue repeated orders within the organization strictly forbidding any form of small cliques, secret societies, or factionalism. Cultists are best at this sort of internal sabotage, corrupting hearts through the smallest cracks.”
“And third…” A mischievous smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Lock the doors and release Anna.”
“Understood.” Marianne immediately caught his drift.
“I will take Anna to Heaven’s Haven. Her nose for evil scents is better than the best hunting dog’s. She is indeed the best candidate for catching moles.”
Having said that, she buried her head back into Allen’s chest and added in a small voice.
“However, until Livia wakes up, Master’s embrace belongs to me alone.”
“You…” Allen smiled helplessly.