Chapter 80
After Kyle left,
Abel sat in the chair in his office, his mind filled with complex thoughts.
‘…….’
Adolf.
In truth, they had maintained a relatively amicable relationship.
Especially over the past ten years.
Though the family’s power had been divided into two factions, Adolf had never openly bared his fangs against him.
Moreover, this sort of thing was fairly common.
If someone gave up on succession just because they weren’t the eldest, they would be completely pushed out of power.
From that point on, there was no telling what would happen to them in the future.
Even if their nose was cut off right in front of their eyes, they would be powerless to resist.
That was why heirs to noble families typically built their own power bases.
Even if a successor was officially chosen, having a solid foundation ensured that their rights would still be protected.
If one had no power, they would be trampled.
Survival of the fittest applied not only to beasts but also to human society.
Even though his instincts had been warning him, he still had a sense of disbelief.
‘Surely I’m not the only one thinking this way.’
His loyal retainers, as well as most of the Seltarion estate, would have come to the same conclusion.
They saw it as nothing more than a passing illness, a temporary fever.
Abel himself had thought the same.
Adolf.
Even if he were chosen as the next head of the family, Abel had no intention of resisting it.
It wasn’t as if he lacked ambition.
But he had no intention of resorting to extreme measures.
He simply considered preserving the family far more important than his own personal advancement.
However, it seemed that his younger brother did not share that sentiment.
The Ancient Spirit of Light.
If that spirit’s words were true, then bloodshed was inevitable.
As he continued to contemplate,
Knock, knock.
A knock echoed from the door.
—”Brother, it’s me. May I come in?”
He immediately recognized the voice.
After all, he had been thinking about its owner just moments ago.
“……Come in.”
“It’s been nearly two weeks. I apologize for not visiting sooner, elder brother.”
“No need. You must have been busy. I should apologize instead. Sit down.”
Shortly after, tea was placed before them.
“Have you been doing well?”
“Yes. There hasn’t been much of note.”
Abel quietly nodded at Adolf’s gentle smile.
“And you, brother? Have you been well?”
“Yes. Aside from overseeing the training of the 3rd and 4th Corps, there hasn’t been much else.”
“I see.”
“I heard that there were some minor incidents in the 5th Corps recently. Is everything alright?”
At Abel’s words, Adolf’s brows furrowed slightly.
But only for a brief moment.
Almost immediately, he smiled as if it were nothing.
“Yes. It seems some soldiers couldn’t suppress their youthful vigor. But that’s how military organizations are, isn’t it? When men are confined together, it’s natural for scuffles to break out.”
After taking a sip of his tea, Adolf continued.
“……But through such trials, bonds become stronger. I see it as a necessary step toward making them even more resilient.”
“I see. Now that I think about it, I was quite concerned at first. When you first formed the 5th Corps, your personnel choices were quite drastic. While criminals have been used as soldiers before, they were usually nothing more than cannon fodder.”
“Yes, that’s correct. I had my fair share of concerns as well. But I believed that, within a structured military environment, they could be sufficiently reformed. And the results have not been bad.”
Abel silently nodded at Adolf’s words.
“Seeing that you’ve managed them without major incidents so far is somewhat reassuring. The recent issues don’t seem too severe either.”
“Thank you. Regardless of which one of us is chosen as the next head of the family, those soldiers will prove to be an invaluable asset. They are all elite fighters. I have already spoken with them about the matter.”
As Adolf spoke so casually, a chilling sensation crept into Abel’s heart.
‘…….’
Kyle Seltarion.
If Kyle had never brought this up, Abel wouldn’t have even considered this possibility.
Right now, Adolf looked like nothing more than a good-natured younger brother who would accept any outcome.
Who could have imagined that beneath that warm smile lurked a sharpened blade?
Even now, it was hard to believe.
Forcing himself to suppress the stiffness in his expression, Abel slowly formed a smile.
Now was not the time to reveal his suspicions.
As silence briefly settled between them,
Adolf took another sip of his tea and let out a subtle smile.
To Abel, it looked strangely eerie.
“The tea that you personally brew is always the best, brother.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. The taste of this tea alone makes it impossible not to visit. By the way, I heard that you’ve been teaching Duke recently.”
“Yes. To be honest, even though he’s my younger brother, I felt that I had been too indifferent to him, so I decided to visit him. Aren’t you also teaching Duke swordsmanship?”
“……Yes, that’s correct. Actually, that’s why I was a bit surprised. Kyle, honestly, is a child whose skills improve rapidly, but Duke is different, isn’t he? I didn’t expect you to personally instruct him.”
“I intend to interact more with my younger brothers from now on. In truth, though you and I share the same mother, Kyle and Duke do not. That might be why we’ve treated them like strangers, even though they are our brothers.”
“……I see.”
Thus, the two continued their conversation while carefully concealing their true thoughts.
Thirty minutes later.
After finishing his conversation with Abel, Adolf’s face had hardened considerably.
The reason was simple.
Abel.
It seemed like he was trying to hide it, but—
‘Hostility, huh.’
Unlike Kyle, whose thoughts were completely unreadable, Abel’s actions revealed a few emotions.
And the strongest among them was hostility.
All this time, Adolf had maintained the facade of a decent younger brother, getting along well with Abel.
But now, Abel was suddenly showing hostility?
Either there was a plausible reason for it, or—
With the succession ceremony approaching, his wariness might have increased.
Power.
There was no human who was free from its influence.
It was a temptation so great that it could split apart parents and children, brothers and sisters in an instant.
Just like how he himself was planning to wipe out the family to seize the sweet fruit of power.
Perhaps Abel, too, was beginning to awaken to it.
‘So, in the end, you’re the same as me.’
Adolf.
A faint smile spread across his lips as he finished his thoughts.
***
Ten days passed after his meeting with Abel.
‘Only about ten days left now.’
With the succession ceremony drawing near, the atmosphere in the family had heated up considerably.
During that time, I continued training in magic.
I had already memorized most of the 1st-circle spells in the library a long time ago.
Now, I was learning one new 2nd-circle spell each day.
If any other mages saw this, they would be left speechless by the sheer speed.
Heart Eye—an overpowered talent.
Along with the assistance of Mana Delay, the more I deciphered magic tomes, the more knowledge accumulated in my mind.
Thanks to the two rings I wore, I could handle the mana consumption required for reading these tomes, as long as they weren’t the originals.
Starting from Target-On magic that could designate a specific target, to Detect that allowed tracking, and even Hide Mana Force that concealed magical energy upon activation—
I had devised a mixed operation method for nine useful support spells.
‘It’s a shame they weren’t the originals… but those aren’t easy to come by anyway.’
While continuing my training, I was also working on something else whenever I had spare time.
Inside my magic pouch, carefully stored, was a magic bomb.
A magic bomb.
It was something similar to a grenade.
However, its destructive power was entirely different.
Unlike real grenades, which could cripple dozens of people with their shrapnel upon detonation, magic bombs had almost no lethality.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Creating a disposable artifact with the power of a real grenade came with too many restrictions.
From materials to time, everything was an issue.
‘Well, the materials can be managed somehow.’
But the biggest problem was time.
High-grade artifacts required an extensive amount of time to craft.
For an artifact with the power of a grenade, it would be considered a much higher-tier artifact than a magic bomb.
Even if I worked tirelessly, I’d barely be able to make ten of them.
In a scenario where fourteen thousand madmen would soon be unleashed, such a small number of artifacts would be useless.
That’s why I opted for the magic bomb instead.
It had far less lethality, but one significant advantage.
‘Its shockwave is incredibly strong.’
Normally, it was designed to knock over soldiers within a 1.5-meter radius, but due to my modifications, the effective radius had increased to 3 meters.
One of the most critical aspects of large-scale battles was maintaining formation.
There was a reason why military formations appeared so frequently in novels like Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
If I threw these magic bombs into enemy formations?
The results would be quite a spectacle.
The materials were easy to acquire, and the crafting process wasn’t too complicated.
Over the past ten days, I had made a total of forty.
If I kept up this pace, I could barely reach one hundred before the deadline.
That should be enough to shatter enemy formations with ease.
While I was busy crafting magic bombs in my room, a knock sounded at the door.
Leonhardt entered with a stiff expression and spoke.
“Young Master. The Second Master is coming to visit.”
Oh.
Just the other day, he had barged in without warning, and now he was observing proper etiquette?
At least it wouldn’t be difficult to tidy up the room before he arrived.
It had been quite some time since I last saw him.
Just as I finished organizing my workspace,
Knock, knock.
—”It’s me, Kyle. May I come in?”
An all-too-familiar voice rang out.
I wondered what business he had this time.
“Yes, Brother.”
At my response, the door swung open.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment