Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 45: Beggar Siblings – Marquis Benar Tatian
45 - Beggar Siblings – Marquis Benar Tatian
[Achievement: Noble Killer – All nobles feel a slight fear towards you.]
[Achievement: Long Live the Launo Family – You gain slight favor with the thugs belonging to the Launo Family and slight hostility from families hostile to the Launo Family.]
The Marquis's son, Toton Tatian, died at Leo's hands. After a successful big job, Leo rose to the rank of an executive within the Launo Family.
This was thanks to Toton Tatian ignoring the final ultimatum issued by the Marquis. As soon as he recovered, he headed to the royal palace to see the princess.
"I love her, Father, truly."
The Marquis Benar Tatian called his son to ask his intentions, but Toton kept repeating that he loved the princess.
Love? The Marquis thought his son surely had other schemes. He must have plotted something with the princess and whoever was behind her.
The Marquis replied with a knowing smile and told his son he understood, then never summoned him again.
Even after that, Toton Tatian continued visiting the royal palace, and the Swordmaster faction began to regard the Marquis with cold eyes.
Their leader, Count Herman Forte, had sent his troublesome son to the capital churChapter So unless the Marquis intended to confront them head-on, he needed to show some additional convincing actions.
Even the Royalist faction, who supported the Marquis, were anxiously watching his behavior, putting him in a politically awkward situation.
However, Marquis Benar Tatian leisurely sipped his wine in his study as usual.
He was not concerned with the petty nobles of the Royalist or Swordmaster factions. He didn't even care about his son's actions.
The only ones he paid close attention to were the King and the Swordmaster. The scattered documents on his massive desk were all about those two.
Count Herman Forte was an extremely right-wing individual. He was passionate about increasing military strength and often showed reverence for brute force.
With such a person in power, kingdoms without Swordmasters had no choice but to diplomatically back down against the Kingdom of Bellita, and the citizens and nobles of Bellita cheered for the Count, supporting him.
Of course, Marquis Tatian did not judge people by appearances alone. In his view, the Count had merely positioned himself where he could best showcase his strengths politically.
Yet, the recent actions of the Count were entirely unexpected.
For some reason, the Swordmaster did not deploy the 1st and 2nd knight divisions despite the outbreak of war. He himself did not head to the battlefield but quietly stayed in place.
The Marquis gathered the scattered documents, neatly organized them, and tossed them aside. He then picked up his wine glass again, lost in thought.
He couldn't understand the Swordmaster's actions.
The war was a moment to showcase the results of the Count's constant calls for strengthening the nation through military power, and at the same time, it was a golden opportunity to expand his political influence by achieving military success.
‘He must have a bigger scheme in mind...’
He was convinced that Count Herman Forte was plotting something.
He had realized it when the princess and Gilbert Forte shared a kiss. The Count had used his son to start a war.
But the subsequent actions of his own son and the princess were entirely unexpected.
What trick did the Count use to move the princess? Was the King involved? What price did his son agree to with the Count?
Why are the knight divisions not sent to the battlefield and kept in the capital while clashing with the Royalist faction?
The Marquis chuckled at the obvious ploy but then tilted his head in puzzlement.
It was too obvious. If the Swordmaster rashly mobilized the knight divisions, he would die at the Marquis's hands.
Unless the Swordmaster himself ran to this mansion and chopped off the Marquis's head before mobilizing the knight divisions, of course.
But that wouldn't happen.
‘I should watch for more information since it's still lacking...’
The Marquis set aside thoughts of the Swordmaster and turned to other matters. He tapped the huge table, briefly thought about the silent King, and then dismissed that thought as well, turning to his foolish son.
Pathetic.
‘It was a mistake to have only one son. He tries to take this position too easily.’
The Marquis rose and approached the large portrait of his now-deceased wife on one wall of the study.
He softly spoke to it.
“I'm sorry, but I don't think I can keep my promise. I have found a better son.”
Her last wish was for him to raise their only son well. He had wanted to honor her wish as much as possible due to their shared affection, but now it had become futile.
He planned to kill his son and erase the pretext for the Swordmaster to attack the Royalist faction.
Smiling, he decided he would take down that portrait as well and turned around.
Looking out the window, a young man came to mind.
Does that young man deserve the throne?
For now, he passed.
He had entrusted his son's assassination to the young man, and the replacement had performed the task faithfully.
*
The day after his son died, the young man who killed him came to see the Marquis.
"Good job."
The Marquis offered Leo a seat and opened the cabinet to take out some wine.
Then he felt a cold sensation run down his back.
[Achievement: Noble Killer – All nobles feel a slight fear towards you.]
What is this feeling?
He is indeed a strange young man. No, I should now call him a useful son.
Even while taking out the wine and glasses, he was acutely aware of Leo behind him, and turning around, he asked him.
“Would you like a drink?”
“It would be an honor.”
The Marquis personally filled Leo's glass and handed it to him. The young man received it with impeccable etiquette. Then, a forgotten question resurfaced.
‘But why doesn't his sister know any manners? Judging by their appearance, they must be blood siblings...’
The Marquis chuckled at his rising curiosity and raised his glass. A truly rare card had fallen into his hands.
The two lightly clinked their glasses. They each took a sip, but conversation did not flow, and the two men silently sipped the strong liquor.
Only then did the Marquis realize. Such situations were rare, so his reaction was slow.
‘Heh heh heh. I see. Now it's my turn to negotiate.’
He had shown enough; now it was the young man’s turn.
A cute audacity. The Marquis found it rather refreshing and tapped his glass lightly before starting the conversation.
“You mentioned you have some expertise in swordsmanship. Do you still train?”
“I practice whenever I can find the time. The night sky has become quite beautiful now that the weather has warmed.”
Working by day and practicing alone by night. It indicated a life of hardship. That’s the life of a lowly thug.
“Spring is almost over... It will get hotter soon, and you'll need a shady place to cool off.”
“Indeed. A place with a cool well would be perfect.”
The Marquis's thin eyebrows twitched. A well symbolized family or community. It was a request not only for a swordsmanship mentor but also to be adopted as a son.
The Marquis chuckled lowly.
“A well... That brings back memories. I can’t remember the last time I drew water from one.”
He intended to adopt him anyway, but there were still things he wanted to know.
‘You should at least tell me your family background.’
He knew nothing about this young man except his name, Leo, his swordsmanship skills, and that he had used a prostitute to enter the Rauno family.
He had confirmed that his swordsmanship was good enough to easily pierce a carriage door.
One of his knights, upon seeing the door, said,
“It’s quite impressive. But curious. This wasn’t done with brute force. It was purely skillful swordsmanship. Given his frail physique, it doesn’t make sense. It seems he hasn’t trained much, yet he has a natural talent for swordsmanship.”
‘Could he be an illegitimate child of Count Forte? Or part of some conspiracy?’
The Marquis quickly dismissed that thought.
The Count was the type who would make even an illegitimate child or a complete stranger his heir if they had exceptional swordsmanship skills. He wouldn’t waste such a person.
The Marquis rubbed his thin lips as he sifted through his mental list.
‘Which fallen knightly family could he belong to?’
A body capable of hosting mana was inherited differently than a mage's mana sensitivity. While swordsmanship talent and physical prowess were separate, they weren’t completely unrelated to the family, and the Marquis believed that talent must be nurtured from a young age.
However, no particular family came to mind.
Knightly families were generally poor in etiquette, but this young man's manners were too impeccable to be explained by anything less than a prestigious family.
‘Is he really an illegitimate child? No. Who would treat such a child with neglect? Right. He’s been cast out. He must have been exiled for some reason.’
The Marquis was convinced.
This young man came from abroad. As far as he knew, there were no such siblings in any noble family in the kingdom of Bellita.
“Haha. Did you personally draw water from the well, Marquis? It must be a memorable experience.”
The young man gave a vague response, and the Marquis, pretending to reminisce, nodded along.
But inside, he was filled with frustration and questions. This guy refused to reveal his past.
The Marquis lightly stroked his chin, pondering.
Such a strange fellow. Is his past something to hide from someone like me? From this Benar Tatian? Why would he conceal his past while trying to become the adopted son of a major noble family in the western part of Bellita Kingdom? More importantly, where did he come from?
He was burning with curiosity and desire.
The Marquis wanted to adopt these siblings as his son and daughter. The cards they presented were too tempting to refuse.
He was interested in Leo, but... Lena, the girl, was of exceptional value.
The Marquis had never seen such a beautiful woman. Despite wearing shabby dresses and cheap jewelry, she was dazzlingly beautiful.
‘They dressed her poorly... but a simple dress suits such a beautiful lady better.’
He imposed his preferences onto Lena.
A woman of her beauty didn’t need fancy clothes.
Simple clothes that highlighted her looks and subtle jewelry to draw focus would suffice.
In fact, her appearance would shine no matter what she wore...
In his imagination, the Marquis’s gaze traced up from Lena’s feet, finally reaching her face.
Meeting her sparkling, smiling eyes, the Marquis felt another wave of admiration.
Her golden eyes.
They held immense value. Golden eyes were a symbol of the imperial family of the Arcaea Empire.
Over the years, the imperial blood had spread and the golden eye color had faded, making it almost impossible to find recently. But occasionally, nobles or royals with imperial blood were born with such eyes.
Very rarely, commoners with such eyes appeared, and their ancestry could be traced back to the imperial family of the Arcaea Empire.
If that commoner were a woman, she might curse her ancestors...
The Marquis scrutinized the young man before him.
Bright golden eyes. However, the young man’s eyes weren’t particularly useful. They were pleasing to look at, but that was all. The value of a nobleman depended on his abilities, title, and the power of his family.
On the other hand, the girl Lena’s eyes held value. A noblewoman’s worth was influenced by factors beyond her family’s power, such as appearance, lineage, and character.
The Marquis, like a horse trader, appraised Lena and considered where to place her.
‘If I adopt her and marry her to a prince...’
If the prince favored Lena, the royalist faction would gain significant power. Even if his reaction was lukewarm, at least the Marquis’s family would maintain its influence as the royal in-laws.
Count Herman Forte, no matter how closely he clung to the prince, could not control the prince’s reaction to an extraordinary beauty.
“I don’t have many fond memories. My only precious sibling, my sister...”
At that moment, the young man cheerfully poured more liquor.
The Marquis grinned. This young man’s evasiveness and secrecy about his past didn’t matter.
‘I can tolerate that much.’
And he would find out eventually.
The Marquis Benar Tatian was confident he wouldn’t suffer a single loss. There was a reason the scales, the symbol of the Tatian Marquis family, were always tilted from the start.
He clinked glasses with the young man, Leo, and Leo smiled brightly, feeling he had finally succeeded.
.
!
Chapter 45: Beggar Siblings – Marquis Benar Tatian
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