Jason was anxious.
Born as the third son of a baronial knight family, ruling over a small, almost village-like, remote fief that was almost too small to even be considered a noble domain, he had ironically wielded a sickle and hoe more than a sword.
Compared to the eldest son who inherited even a tiny fief, Jason was practically a commoner.
Though Jason felt despair over his situation, he never made much of an effort to change it, nor did he have the ability to surpass his older brother.
Still, he decided to try something, leaving his hometown to start a business and even becoming a mercenary, but he ended up losing everything.
Then, by sheer luck, he happened to visit the Evergarden fief and heard that they were recruiting soldiers.
Unlike others, he used the title of “junior baron” to unexpectedly become a soldier for Evergarden.
Meals were served, money was paid, and there was even cramped lodging.
Jason was content.
He spent over a decade repeating the life of basic training, reading military manuals, and patrolling.
Jason thought his life would continue peacefully like this, but things suddenly took a sharp turn.
The sudden death of the previous head of the household, followed by a series of deaths of the heirs.
And the one who remained in the seat was none other than Dariann.
Surprisingly, when Dariann took over as the head of the family, no one doubted the deaths of the heirs.
This was because everyone in the mansion knew Dariann didn’t have the intelligence to plot such ambitions.
Afterward, as everyone knows, Dariann ruled with tyranny within the fief, and unlike the former head of the household’s virtuous leadership, all the knights under him abandoned their posts and left.
This demonstrated how good the former head of the family was as a ruler, and how much the knights despised working under Dariann.
A large number of soldiers, including knights, left, and by sheer coincidence, Jason became the senior soldier.
Dariann, who cared about noble titles and appearances, decided that no noble should be without a knight and gave Jason a position equivalent to that of a junior baron.
Though Jason received the knight title by accident, he was enjoying the best period of his life.
Formally, Jason was the highest-ranking knight among those holding swords in the fief, and with that came responsibilities related to maintaining order, which he was tasked with.
At first, Jason tried hard to do well, but as someone who had been a common soldier, his sudden rise to such responsibility couldn’t have been smooth.
And those who approached Jason were the criminals from the underworld.
When Jason saw them casually slipping a pouch of gold coins, his eyes lit up. He began to turn a blind eye to their criminal activities, accepting bribes and engaging in corruption.
Despite openly accepting bribes, the foolish count and countess didn’t seem to care, so Jason’s pockets and belly kept getting fuller.
But then, everything changed.
“Why are we suddenly sweeping the back alleys?!”
Jason, taken aback by the sudden back-alley cleanup operation ordered by Dariann and Freya, felt both confused and anxious.
Just yesterday, he was appointed alongside some beast-woman knight, and now he was being asked to destroy the very “piggy bank” he had been filling up until now.
Jason started to resist without thinking.
“…Why do you think that, Sir Jason?”
“Uh…well…Yes! A large-scale operation like that could harm neighboring fiefs, and there might be unexpected casualties.”
‘Wow, that excuse was almost perfect.’
Jason, who quickly came up with an excuse, admired himself inwardly, as it seemed like a reasonable objection.
“This operation is necessary to completely cut out the rotten roots within the fief. The alleys themselves are far from the neighboring districts, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Ah…well, that’s…”
“However, I understand your concern. As a knight, you prioritize the safety of the people, don’t you?”
“Ha, haha…! Of course, that’s the mindset of a knight!”
“Then you understand how important this operation is.”
“…Yes?”
“It seems there’s fierce fighting between the criminal organizations in the alleys, and it’s gotten quite messy. As a result, innocent people are being caught in the crossfire and are suffering.”
“In this situation, we’ll divide our forces. Half will take care of clearing the area, while the other half will focus on rescuing civilians. We will prevent anyone from accidentally wandering into the alleys or getting caught in the crossfire.”
“And for the area cleanup, we can trust you with that, can we, Sir Jason?”
“Milady…!”
“I believe that Sir Jason, with his noble mindset to prioritize the safety of the people, will surely carry out this task excellently.”
However, Jason’s face stiffened as his excuse was turned back on him.
“Ha, but…well…”
Seeing Jason mumble, Dariann, who had been silently observing from Freya’s side, spoke up.
“Hey. You.”
“Y-Yes?!”
“What’s your problem?”
“…Are you talking to me?”
“Yeah, you. What’s your deal?”
“Well, I’m… Jason, responsible for maintaining order in the fief…”
“Goddammit!”
Bang.
Dariann slammed his fist on the table in anger, and Jason flinched, closing his eyes in shock.
“Who the hell is your superior? Me, right? I gave you the title of knight, fed you, paid you, and let you sleep. Is that not right?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“Then why the hell are you talking so much?! Just do as you’re told! If there’s a good reason, then fine. If you don’t want to, then say it, you bastard! Just get out of here if you don’t want to do it!”
“S-Sorry! I’ll do it!”
“…You should’ve said that sooner. Always making me angry.
Eventually, as Dariann held the ink bottle that was now on the table in his fist, threatening Jason, Jason had no choice but to bow his head.
“…Ahem. Now, let me explain the upcoming purging operation.”
“Hey, keep your stupid head up and open your blocked ears to listen. If you forget this later, you’re dead.”
“Ah, understood!!”
As the logical Freya and the coercive Dariann started pressuring him, Jason eventually betrayed the criminals who had been feeding him all this time.
Well, on the other hand, considering he was already a knight of the Count’s household, one could say it wasn’t truly a betrayal but rather a loyal act to the Count’s family.
“Ha… it’s so frustrating.”
After finishing his morning workout, Dariann murmured as he washed the sweat off his face with water from a basin.
The plan was progressing smoothly.
Under Freya’s leadership, the alley cleanup operation was underway without any problems.
However, Dariann wanted to go personally.
Dariann, who cared deeply about saving people, was also quite skilled at causing harm to those who endangered others.
Moreover, having been cooped up in the mansion every day, he was going crazy from boredom.
So, Dariann asked Freya if he could join the purging operation, but was immediately turned down.
The reason was that it was inappropriate for the head of the household to personally get involved in such operations, especially since it could be dangerous.
“…What’s so dangerous? It’s what I’ve always done.”
After all, in modern times, throwing oneself into a fiery pit was a job, so Dariann felt frustrated by the sudden claim of danger.
But, since this wasn’t the modern world, and since her husband had been struggling lately, Dariann had no choice but to accept the decision.
Bored.
A few days of rest might be fine, but Dariann, who had never been one to stay in one place, was finding the boredom unbearable.
If only she could have a goal like Freya, something to immerse herself in like Felix, or even pass the time like Rosaria with no thoughts.
But Dariann had none of those things.
So, as Dariann sighed heavily while sitting by the well, it happened.
“Lady, the morning breeze is quite cold.”
“Ah, thank you. You didn’t have to bring it.”
Gordon, the butler, approached with Dariann’s outerwear in hand.
“Lady, it seems like you’re troubled these days. If it’s not too much trouble, may I offer my assistance?”
“Shouldn’t it be more difficult for my husband… or rather, Freya?”
“For a while, an excellent person will be assisting the lady, leaving me some free time. And you, Lady, are my master. How could I be at ease?”
“Hmm… troubled, troubled…”
Dariann thought for a moment in response to Gordon’s question.
“Ah, I just remembered. It’s that thing.”
“That thing? What do you mean?”
“Remember when we brought that little one in.”
“You mean Tené? Only you would call her a little one, Lady.”
As Dariann mentioned her first meeting with Tené and called her a “little one,” Gordon, who had firsthand experience with Tené’s skills, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he recalled the incident.
“Anyway, that thing we saw. It was something like… a sword, but it had a… color? Or was it something like that?”
“A sword with a color… Ah, you mean Sword Aura?”
“That’s it?”
“Yes, is this what you mean?”
Swoosh—
“Ah, yes! This!”
Gordon, who had understood Dariann’s vague explanation perfectly, quickly pulled out a letter opener from his pocket and imbued it with Sword Aura.
The blue hue faintly visible amidst the shimmering air surrounding the letter opener was so beautiful it resembled the Northern Lights.
“Sword Aura, for what kind of situation—”
“Teach me how to do that.”
“…Yes?”
‘I need to do something too.’
Unable to withstand the boredom any longer, Dariann, without thinking, had stumbled upon the monumental goal of mastering Sword Aura.
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