Arc-7 Ch-31

"I'm sorry. Because of my own carelessness, I caused trouble for everyone."

"…My lord, I believe it would be wiser to first properly explain to your sons and daughters the reason why you are apologizing. The conversation should start from there."

In the room of Yumeria's house that served simultaneously as kitchen, living room, and guest room, besides myself and Leon, the six children and the military affairs responsible sergeant major were all gathered.

The owner of the house, Yumeria, had been asked to evacuate outside. Although she had been dragged into this, she was strictly an outsider.

This was the result of arrangements made so that she would not face any form of punishment after the commotion settled.

The single room, with only the bare minimum layout for a mother and child to live in, was far too cramped for a total of nine people, so some had no choice but to sit on cushions and the like to somehow get into a posture where they could listen.

I myself was sitting in a chair with the youngest child, Dylan, riding on my lap. Leon's attitude of trying to apologize was commendable.

However, there are many cases where sincerity toward the other party does not come across sufficiently unless attention is paid to such details.

After Leon finished speaking, I planned to give him some advice about that aspect as well.

"Father, for what reason exactly are you apologizing to us?"

"It's because I dragged you all into this incident for my own selfish convenience."

"I think Mother ending up in that state was just a coincidence, though."

"To begin with, I already knew in advance that the elf village had an unsettling atmosphere, yet I disguised it as a family trip to deceive the elves and exposed my family to danger."

"What? I hadn't heard anything about that at all."

"You're being way too honest, Leon. Telling the truth does not always lead to good results."

"Trying to handle both family bonding and the investigation at the same time, or prioritizing human lives on the spot in a half-hearted way, or trying to avoid worsening relationships , the result of all that is this situation, right? I've never been that skillful of a person to begin with. I was somehow managing to pull it off thanks to Angie and the others helping me, but before I knew it I got carried away, and this is the mess I caused. To turn things around from here, I think it's better to properly apologize to everyone."

"Well… that may be true…"

I too had underestimated the situation, thinking that as long as the lost item cooperated, this investigation could be completed safely.

There was clearly some complacency somewhere in my heart. Bringing young children along to a dangerous place was, as a parent, an obviously abnormal decision.

The very plan of investigating the reality of the elf radicals and the ruins' condition, then handing everything over to the people in the capital and pretending to enjoy sightseeing as if nothing had happened, lacked any sense of being a stakeholder.

If the result of that was a rejuvenated body, then there was no choice but to accept it. People receive the appropriate retribution for their own actions.

This was not a responsibility that Leon alone should bear; it was one that I too should shoulder.

"Being busy and often away from home, trying to kill two birds with one stone by combining a mission with family bonding was an unreasonable idea from the start. I got carried away and forgot that I'm not the kind of person who can pull off something that skillful. Because of that, I really involved all of you. I'm truly sorry. Once we get back alive, I will definitely make it up to you."

"Father, what is this 'mission' you're talking about?"

"The people in the capital told me to investigate because the elf village had become unstable."

"Why would Father, who is a lord, do something like that? Isn't that the job of spies or secret agents?"

"There are various circumstances involved."

At this point, it became necessary to explain the circumstances Leon was carrying to the children.

If I explained it to them while omitting the parts that were classified and forbidden to disclose, then Leon would end up being presented as an external collaborator of the Holfort Kingdom's intelligence organization.

Although Leon himself evaluated his own abilities lowly, he was an excellent soldier, his infiltration skills were extremely high, and he had repeatedly achieved results through operations in cooperation with a self-aware lost item.

In the past he had held important positions in state-run financial institutions and served as an advisor in food production-related matters; moreover, as the son-in-law of the Redgrave ducal house, the leading faction among the feudal noble faction, he also served as a mediator between the royal family and the emerging nobles.

Considering the achievements and position Leon had brought to the Holfort Kingdom, promotion to marquis rank would be well within the realm of possibility.

The only reason he did not put those things forward was purely because Leon himself disliked standing out in high society and getting caught up in unnecessary disputes.

I had told him many times that if he showed just a little more ambition or desire for advancement, the voices calling him an upstart would decrease, but my husband was a man who valued not having his time with family reduced over status or fame.

For his own actions to cause even his own children to look down on him would be completely putting the cart before the horse.

Even while listening to Leon's story, the children's expressions kept changing. They had inherited the blood of Leon and me, yet their reactions were distinctly different, making me feel the mysteriousness of life.

Lionel gradually stiffened his expression, while Roxanne and Melanie stared at Leon's face in stunned silence.

On the other hand, Ariel and Leah looked intensely interested, and Dylan, who was still too young to understand the content, restlessly moved his arms and legs in small motions on my lap.

By the time he finally finished speaking, the room was wrapped in a heavy, oppressive atmosphere.

Even though the circumstances regarding the main body of the lost item and the origins of the Barfort family had been omitted, these were still facts too heavy for children in their teens to know.

Leon must have wanted to keep such shady realities from the children as much as possible. The expression on his face after finishing the explanation had become considerably gloomy.

Normally, whenever he was in a difficult situation or feeling down, I would subtly help him, but in this situation where I had become a young child myself, I could not think of any effective way to do so.

Gritting my teeth at my own powerlessness, I tightened my arms around the youngest child, and Dylan gently stroked my hand in return.

"Well… Father, who usually hates going out, suddenly said we were going on a family trip, so everyone felt that something was different from usual. We all thought maybe you had a fight with Mother and came to a tourist spot to make up."

"No, well, it's true that I had a bit of a quarrel with Angie. But I absolutely don't think that you all don't matter to me or anything like that."

"Father says that, but the current situation is exactly this. Please explain in detail how you intend to take responsibility."

"Roxanne, that's going a bit too far."

"Mother is also making a sour face, so maybe you should leave it at that."

My second daughter, Roxanne, had inherited the most aristocratic way of thinking among the children I had borne.

In terms of nobility of spirit and eloquence, she might one day rival me or even Dorothea, with whom I regularly maintain family relations.

However, at this point when she has not even made her social debut, behaving in such an excessively derogatory manner toward her own biological father is an intolerably ugly conduct that cannot be overlooked.

Looking back at the past, I myself in my younger days must have been quite the cheeky and sarcastic little brat, just like the current Roxanne.

If someone were to ask whether I had ever unconsciously acted superior because of my bloodline or position and harshly criticized other noble young ladies without realizing it, I would not have the confidence to deny it.

"…I'm sorry, Mother."

"The person you should apologize to is not me."

"It's fine, Angie. I'm not angry or anything."

"Because Leon is always so lenient with the children like that, the role of scolding them always falls on me."

"Sorry. I'll make sure to correct myself properly from now on."

"The 'from now on' and 'next time' that you always say are completely untrustworthy."

While the attitude of Leon reflecting on himself and acknowledging his responsibility is certainly a virtue, being overly honest is also problematic both as a noble and as a father.

In high society, where schemes and intrigues are constantly swirling, failing to maintain a solid sense of self can become an opening for others to exploit. I have scolded him about this many times since we first got married.

Yet it was precisely that honesty and pure-heartedness that attracted me, and it is why we have been able to continue as husband and wife for nearly twenty years.

In a way, I might be the person in the world who is the most lenient toward Leon.

"Let us put the conversation between my lord and his family on hold for the moment. What we should discuss now is what course of action we will take going forward."

"Ah, yes. That's right."

The only person in this room who was not a relative of the Bartfort family , the sergeant major , pulled the conversation back on track.

Somehow, when it is just my husband, the children, and me, the discussion immediately veers off course. At this rate, we would never be able to have a proper talk about our future policy.

I calmed my mind and closed my mouth. During this conversation, I would refrain from lecturing Leon and the children.

"One of the reasons the current disturbance in the elf village has grown so large is that my own indecisive actions were partly to blame."

"Indecisive?"

"First and foremost, trying to handle both work and family bonding at the same time was the biggest mistake. I also had the intention of disguising myself as a noble tourist, but if that was the case, I should have simply played the role of a noble pretending to be an adventurer coming to explore the dungeon."

"Why would Father do something like that…?"

"No, listen. Because I'm often away from home, I feel like you all have been a little distant toward me."

"It can't be helped. We just started attending the Royal Academy this year."

"But whenever I try to visit you, you refuse, don't you?"

"Of course I refuse. We're living in the dorms if our parents come to visit, my friends will start weird rumors about us."

"And the ones living in the territory also keep a certain distance from me."

"Young noble ladies are like that. It would be strange if we were all clingy with Father."

"Honestly, it's more relaxing when Father isn't around."

"…Help me out here, Angie. All my daughters are being so cold to me."

"I'll comfort you later, so just keep talking for now, Leon."

"O-I'm happy with Father!"

"Thank you, Leah. As a special reward, I'll increase your monthly allowance."

"Yes!"

"Hey! That's not fair!"

"Wow… Father buying his children's trust with money is the absolute worst…"

"Doing things like creating differences like that — I don't think it's good."

"Father, you're throwing your own trust into the ditch yourself, you know."

The moment Leon brought up the topic of allowances, the children started making a commotion. At this rate, no matter how much we try to move the conversation forward, it won't progress.

I lifted Dylan off my lap, set him down on the chair, stood up, and lightly tapped the heads of the five children.

Toward Leon, who had disrupted the atmosphere with his foolish remark, I brought my fist down with considerably more force.

"GET. ON. WITH. THE. CONVERSATION."

With an emotionless voice, I coldly urged them to continue. Perhaps intimidated by the hidden anger in my tone, everyone shut their mouths.

"…The next failure was prioritizing the elf investigation, which caused me to separate from Angie and the others during the dungeon exploration."

"That matter couldn't be helped. Right before the appointed meeting time, monsters suddenly attacked people inside the dungeon there was no way to predict that."

"Even so, if I had been there with you, the outcome would undoubtedly have been much better."

"That may be true, but my own actions were also reckless, I cannot deny it. Still, if I had not headed into the dungeon interior at that moment, the number of victims would have kept increasing. There was also the possibility that we would have been attacked outside the dungeon. If I had simply stood by and watched without doing anything back then, it might have given heartless people ammunition to criticize us for abandoning our duty as nobles."

Many nobles consider it nothing more than a pretense, but the unwritten rule that 'nobles must protect the weak' cannot be ignored within the current Holfort Kingdom.

Of course, I fully understand that in an unfamiliar situation one may become confused and unable to act satisfactorily, or that women and children with little strength may be unable to fight.

Nevertheless, if one were to flee in a daze while someone was being attacked right in front of them, one would certainly be looked down upon by other nobles.

Moreover, possessing at least minimal weapons for dungeon exploration had been permitted by the rulers of this village. To carry weapons and yet ignore others being attacked and flee for one's own safety would undoubtedly invite condemnation as conduct unbecoming of a noble.

If limited to that specific moment, my actions were by no means wrong. It was simply that the results brought about by my conduct were far too unexpected. 

"Having Lionel and Ariel accompany me to rescue Angie was also a mistake."

"What? Are you saying that we were just hindrances, Father?"

"Stop it."

"That's not it. I just took you two along for the sake of rescuing Angie, but if we were going to split up midway anyway, it would have been safer to have you wait outside from the beginning. Prioritizing Angie's rescue by leaving the two of you in the dungeon and going deeper alone was, no matter how you look at it, a bad move. The fact that we couldn't properly explore the ruins back then is what's coming back to bite us now."

Leon says he was worried about Lionel and Ariel, but the truth is probably not quite that.

He considers it a mistaken judgment that he assigned that lost item to guard the two of them and went to rescue me all by himself.

The entity I encountered in the deepest part, what could be called the will of the ruins, is without a doubt the same kind of existence as the lost item that has been acting together with us.

Whether we deepen our exchange and persuade it, or whether we end up clashing due to conflicting objectives, we should have prioritized dialogue with the ruins over my rescue.

If things had gone well, the current disturbance might have been brought to an end right at that moment. When I think about it that way, I can't help but resent myself for holding Leon back.

"Also, I've been doing various things behind the scenes since yesterday, but there haven't been many noticeable results."

"Did you manage to get any information from the elves who attacked us?"

"Those guys are disposable grunts. They're the type of lowlifes who hate humans, get incited by someone, get handed some money, and then attack humans without thinking twice. Beating up small fry like them isn't going to hurt the ones giving orders from above at all."

"According to reports from the subordinates who are monitoring, there have been no noticeable changes at the elf fortress from last night until now. However, in the town and at the airport, the movements of the town guards and airport security have become somewhat hectic. Most likely, the current village chief issued orders to maintain public order because of my lord's combat."

"Damn it, this isn't going well at all. The plan was supposed to be to lure out the ones pulling strings from behind the scenes, but in the end it's become harder to get out of the elf village."

"If I may offer my speculation?"

"Go ahead. Continue."

"The elf radicals are either sticking firmly to a policy of not moving a single step from the fortress, or else they have already moved to the ruins existing beneath the dungeon. Since last night, not a single person has approached the fortress."

"So that fortress is already used up, huh? Continuing to provoke them won't mean anything and it'll just end like this. Damn it."

Leon starts scratching his head and groaning. It is only natural that he would feel this way once he realizes that staying alone in the inn and repelling the attackers turned out to be completely futile.

People who have only heard rumors or secondhand accounts often misunderstand this, but it is true that Leon is an outstanding soldier, possesses talent as a spy, and has achieved results in tactics.

However, he is not skillful enough to improvise responses to constantly changing situations on the fly.

In peacetime he steadily accumulates the knowledge he needs, and in emergencies he gathers detailed information, predicts the opponent's actions, and simply selects the option with the highest chance of success.

Because of that, he naturally loses to those stronger than himself, and falls behind those wiser than himself.

The ruthless measures he takes, the kind that earn him labels like "villainous knight", are nothing more than the strategies of the weak. He adopts them because he is facing opponents far more powerful than himself and cannot win otherwise.

In situations where complex circumstances are intertwined and the situation changes moment by moment, it is difficult to respond with Leon's abilities alone. To begin with, there is already a shortage of excellent personnel, and the presence of our family has become a shackle restricting his actions.

"In that case, let's go back to basics first. Sergeant major, what are the fundamentals of tactics?"

"Clarify the objective and establish priorities. Make the plan clear and concise. Act swiftly and without waste."

"Good. Then I'll tell you our policy going forward."

Leon begins combing his disheveled hair with his fingers. His narrowed eyes gradually take on a cold, harsh impression. Even the children seem to vaguely understand the change.

The usual Leon almost never shows an openly displeased expression in front of the children. Now their father is beginning to display blatantly bad-tempered behavior and discourteous attitude.

It must be bewildering for them, as if an entirely different person with the same face has appeared. Even I, when I first saw this side of Leon, felt fear before I felt reassured.

"First of all, my lord, what do you intend to prioritize? Our actions will change depending on that."

"The absolute top priority is the safety of my family. I will ensure that my beloved wife and my precious children return safely to the estate. That is the one thing we must defend at all costs."

"When you say your family, does that mean you are excluding your own life, my lord?"

"If I don't put my life on the line the most, the success rate drops dramatically. Ah, I'll have all of you working too, but try not to die if you can. Writing death reports and calculating survivor pensions is a huge pain."

"We will do our utmost."

"If it comes down to it, take everyone and evacuate from this floating island. I authorize you to flee while leaving me behind."

"Understood."

The primary duty of knights and soldiers serving a noble is to protect the one who rules the house. That is, the head of the family.

To put it harshly, for high-ranking nobles, even if they lose a wife, they can simply remarry the daughter of another noble and replace her sufficiently. Children can be born anew from the new wife.

In the ruthless world of nobility, the lives of wife and children are so light as to carry almost no meaning in the face of rationality. No matter how much affection a lord is said to have by those around him, when it comes to choosing between house and family, he chooses the former.

In some cases, one offers one's own life in exchange for the survival of the house. Many nobles are educated from childhood that this is the proper way for a noble to live.

Yet Leon puts his own life on the line first. Moreover, he behaves like a mere common soldier and personally rushes into danger ahead of everyone.

Perhaps because of his background rising through the military ranks, or because as a newly risen noble he does not fully understand the importance of the house, or perhaps because he did not receive sufficient education as someone who was never supposed to inherit the low-ranking Bartfort house, whichever it is.

In any case, my husband is a lord who does not hesitate to sacrifice his own life to protect his family. Because of this nature of Leon's, how many times have I been tormented since we married?

And yet I feel not the slightest unpleasantness. That is because the happiness of being loved so deeply by him outweighs everything. In love, the one who falls is the loser.

"Next is returning Angie to normal. In the worst case, we can postpone that until after the suppression of the elf radicals, which will be carried out following the arrival of the kingdom army."

"Is that acceptable?"

"There's still no guarantee that she'll return for sure. If contact with me is lost, wait quietly for the kingdom army."

"In that case, how should command authority be handled?"

"You take command. However, regarding meetings with the kingdom and future policy decisions, I leave those entirely to Angie. This is strictly a temporary delegation of command authority."

"Understood."

"Me acting as the acting head of the house? I don't particularly mind, but what exactly do you plan to do, Leon?"

"For now, I'm heading to the dungeon alone from here."

"…Tch."

An involuntary click of the tongue escapes me. The problem with Leon is that he says outrageous things and takes outrageous actions without any hesitation.

What makes it so troublesome is that whenever he employs such eccentric strategies or deliberately risky tactics, things somehow end up succeeding perfectly as if it had all been planned in advance, leaving no room for anyone to complain.

Normally he prefers steady, methodical, and unglamorous approaches, yet because he has this side to him, doesn't he realize that people end up making unreasonable demands of him?

To begin with, the very reason the people in the capital are using him so conveniently in this matter is because they believe that if it's Leon, he can skillfully investigate the elf village.

Wouldn't experiencing at least one serious failure make him more cautious about exposing himself to danger?

For a moment, an unworthy thought wishing misfortune on Leon flashed through my mind, and I shook my head to deny it.

"Explain in detail why it has to be that way."

"It's simple. The root cause of this disturbance is the ruins located beneath the dungeon. No matter how much we mess around on the surface, if we don't strike the source, we'll just keep falling further behind. We have no geographical advantage, and we don't have enough pieces to play with. In a situation like this, the most effective ways to turn things around are either to disrupt their command structure or to destroy key points necessary for maintaining their fighting strength."

"I can accept that much, though I have to swallow my dissatisfaction to do so. But why does Leon have to act alone?"

"Of course it's because moving by myself makes it easier and lets me finish things more efficiently."

"…As your subordinate, I must respectfully advise my lord. At the very least, it would be safer to take several subordinates along."

"Denied."

"The current situation inside the dungeon and the ruins remains unconfirmed. There is an extremely high possibility that the monsters mentioned in testimony or the elf radicals are lurking there. If my lord heads there alone, it is no different from walking straight into death."

"In a situation like that, having one or two extra guards wouldn't make much difference anyway. In fact, the more people there are, the higher the chance of being discovered."

"However—"

"Besides, if there's anyone else who has better skills as a spy than I do and is more knowledgeable about ancient ruins, by all means introduce them to me."

"…"

The sergeant major was at a loss for words. Partly because Leon is his superior, but also because it was an undeniable fact.

Among everyone present here, only the sergeant major has not been informed about the existence of the sentient lost item.

The children came to know about it purely by chance. Originally, it was intended to remain a secret shared only by Leon and me, to be buried along with our deaths.

Anyone who knows even a little about the history of the Holfort royal family can easily understand that if the lost item's power is used effectively, it could even raise up an entire nation.

If its existence became known, the risk of being targeted by those plotting to misuse it would naturally increase. That is precisely why we have been so careful not to let the secret leak to others.

As a result, the achievements Leon has brought about with the lost item's cooperation are perceived by those around him as things he accomplished entirely on his own.

To the Bartfort territorial army and the kingdom's intelligence organizations, Leon Fou Bartfort is surely recognized as a noble who is also an outstanding spy and, moreover, a rare man with profound knowledge of ancient civilizations.

That is why the sergeant major cannot refute Leon. Because of the image we ourselves have created, he mistakenly believes that this is the most efficient approach.

Because of this overestimation of Leon, he ends up under the illusion that having him act alone is more efficient than taking subordinates along.

How frustrating and unbearable that is. The real Leon is far more ordinary and fragile than what those around him imagine.

Because we prioritized secrecy, I cannot stop Leon from heading alone into a dungeon where monsters and elf radicals are lurking ,all for my sake.

Is this punishment for us having made use of the lost item's power? When I think that way, my own actions seem so shallow, and all I could do was let out a voiceless lament.

"Yes."

A voice that belonged neither to Leon nor to the sergeant major echoed in the room.

When I turned my gaze, Lionel had raised his hand and was about to offer an opinion.

"What is it, Lionel?"

"I have a proposal."

"What is it?"

"I will accompany Father as well."

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Authors Note

┻━⁠━━━━⁠━━⁠━━━⁠┻

In the original work, Leon often underestimates his ability to control situations and ends up getting a harsh backlash. In this story, however, Leon has more people to protect and Luxion is not obedient to him, so things are going even less smoothly.  

The family views Leon as a great man because of his achievements and reputation, but they are gradually coming to understand what their father is really like.  

Lionel-kun dropped a bombshell statement. His intentions will be revealed in the next chapter.  

I will keep writing while waiting for the new Mobuseka comic adaptation.  

Addendum: At the requester's request, illustrations were drawn by Hyakunichiyume-sama, MIDNIGHTBLUE03-sama, Oswana-sama, and ponyo-sama.  

Also, the illustration previously received from 9430-sama has been posted on pixiv.  

Thank you so much.  

Hyakunichiyume-sama: Pixiv  

MIDNIGHTBLUE03-sama: Pixiv  

Oswana-sama: Pixiv (NSFW warning)  

ponyo-sama: Pixiv  

9430-sama: Pixiv  

I would appreciate any opinions or impressions you may have, as they would encourage me going forward.