Chapter 280
For the man named Jakaran, he recognizes it as common sense, without needing to reconsider, that this world is his.
Therefore, he perceives houses in town where people live as them just living there without permission. If there's a food stall cooking, he perceives it as being prepared for the moment he, Jakaran, casually drops by to eat.
The ultimate form of egocentric thinking.
He recognizes himself as the center of the world, and furthermore, perceives all existence as his own. The only reason he could live without facing contradictions in this mindset is solely because he had power.
Since childhood, he possessed brute strength that put adults to shame. He could run faster than a horse, and jump high enough to easily clear small castle walls.
At first, everyone envied that power. However, once Jakaran, possessing that power, recognized himself as special and the ruler destined to govern this world, the looks of envy gradually changed to looks of fear.
The stronger his power grew, the less patience Jakaran had. He knew that anything he couldn't obtain, he could take by force.
That's precisely why he never considered, never knew, and never took an interest in the necessity of patience.
Currently, he is provided with various things through the power of authority, but his actions are restricted. Originally, Jakaran's nature is to rampage without caring about such things and live as he pleases.
However, when it comes to manipulating people, Duke Boltlinde was far more skilled. The Duke showed him that while some things could be gained by rampaging, there were also things that *couldn't* be obtained that way. He made Jakaran understand their value and successfully suppressed his rampage.
He prepared places for Jakaran to wield violence, and offered the things he desired as rewards for that violence. He created that cycle and trained him.
Jakaran is unaware of this. Or rather, Duke Boltlinde hasn't let him become aware.
Instinctively, he feels dissatisfied. But his barely functioning rationality, though inferior to a normal person's, makes him *mistakenly* believe he's 'profiting,' which suppresses his instinctive dissatisfaction.
"Hmph."
But that dissatisfaction is gradually boiling over.
Good wine, beautiful women, excessive amounts of food, jesters who appear when called, singers who come immediately when told to sing.
Beings kept solely to kill time for Jakaran, confined by the Duke's authority.
*This* is a life of debauchery. Jakaran, living such extravagant days where one might mistakenly think he had obtained everything, was bored with this life.
And he felt a discomfort with his current situation.
Freedom is Jakaran's essence; restraint is what he instinctively understands as most abhorrent.
Jakaran, who feels the greatest pleasure in moving according to his desires like a beast, is beginning to feel starved amidst this manufactured luxury.
Even now, a beautiful woman pours wine for him, he drinks it, and feels the intoxication setting in, but he no longer finds it tasty or fresh like before.
He has tasted all the beautiful women dancing before him and feels the excitement fading.
Even when the meat dish he points to with his chin is brought to his mouth and he eats it, while he thinks it's delicious, the feeling of finding it 'boring' dominates.
When he first came to this mansion, he was excited about being allowed to 'do as he pleased,' but the beast confined to this prison named 'debauchery,' unable to move freely, feels dissatisfied with this life.
Jakaran, who has no concept of hiding his feelings, openly shows his displeasure and begins to intimidate those around him. Jakaran is like a bomb to the residents of this mansion.
The dancers desperately try to be alluring, the cooks move to prepare something new, the butler heads to the warehouse to get more wine. Everyone is desperately thinking of a way to dispel this bad mood.
Until recently, he could walk freely through the town, which served as a distraction, but since he started kidnapping people, he's often confined to the mansion like this.
Everyone present thought that staying cooped up in the mansion like this was reaching its limit.
"By the way..." one woman, who had remained next to this volatile presence, hiding her inner fear while pouring wine, spoke up in a soothing, gentle voice to offer a topic."Hah?"
The topic didn't resonate with Jakaran. His only memory of meeting the King, when he was taken by Duke Boltlinde, was being prevented from taking various women home.
The food was scarce, he couldn't drink wine freely, and all the conversations were boring.
There was no reason for such a place to interest him, and just as his mood was about to worsen further...
"I heard a rumor that a beautiful princess will be attending that soirée."
The words spun from the woman's mouth stopped that decline dead. Jakaran, who hadn't glanced at her until now, became interested in the conversation and looked at the woman speaking.
"A beautiful woman, you say?"
Even if he was getting bored, he was originally an unparalleled womanizer. The woman, knowing the retaliation Jakaran would inflict if the information she provided was false, instinctively sensed that this information had credibility.
'I haven't heard that,' Jakaran's eyes widened, and he furrowed his brow. No wonder, as the master of this mansion, the Duke, had intentionally avoided this conversation. It was obvious that hearing about women would make him uncontrollable. And the rumored beauties were women Duke Boltlinde couldn't control freely. Therefore, he had suppressed the information, seeing no value in something that would only cause a rampage.
"Yes, I hear they are sisters from a certain Ducal house. Rumors say the elder sister recently had her engagement broken and might be looking for a new fiancé."
Instead of retorting 'You didn't know?' to Jakaran's attitude, she delved deeper into the details.
So why did this woman know the information the Duke had suppressed? The reason was simple: this topic was gossip among the nobility that the mansion's servants had gathered for the women tasked with keeping Jakaran in a good mood.
To prevent their important shield from breaking, out of concern, and while sensing their master's true intentions but prioritizing self-preservation, they provided it with the preface, 'It's just a rumor, but...'
He couldn't dismiss it with 'It's just a rumor, right?' Noble rumors often held truth.
Hearing 'Ducal daughters,' Jakaran recalled the woman he desired, hidden by that annoying man. And that woman should have had a sister.
If it was the woman from Jakaran's memory, then her sister undoubtedly matched the description this woman gave without falsehood.
Jakaran's heart raced for the first time in a long while. 'I want her, I must have her no matter what,' his feelings grew heated. Sensing this as a trigger, the woman, feeling him about to stand, smoothly took the wine cup to make it easier for him and headed for the exit.
Without panic, Jakaran walked on, paying no mind to the butler opening the door for him.
Within the mansion, Jakaran could go almost anywhere.
People passing by immediately made way when they saw Jakaran. Not just butlers and maids, but even the guard soldiers smoothly cleared the path.
It showed just how feared Jakaran was. And as a result of walking without hesitation, he reached the supposedly important Duke's study in no time.
"Hey, Duke!""...What do you want?"
Despite the presence of guard soldiers, no one stopped him. The Duke, who should have reprimanded him for opening the door without permission, merely frowned at Jakaran and dismissed it with a sigh—evidence enough of the current situation.
"You're going to a soirée, I hear.""Ah, the soirée this weekend. What about it? You dislike such stiff places, don't you?"
There was no doubt this was routine. Jakaran stated his business without preamble. The Duke's eyes sharpened momentarily at the content, but he immediately lowered his gaze to his documents and continued the conversation. His reply, while sounding considerate, conveyed his reluctance to take Jakaran to the soirée.
"I hate it! But I heard there are beautiful women there!!""...I have heard that the Edelgard sisters will be attending the soirée."
Without sensing that reluctance in the slightest, Jakaran persisted with his desire. Duke Boltlinde, who couldn't afford to upset his currently useful pawn, Jakaran, discerned which beautiful woman he was referring to.
"Then I'm going too!!""...Understood. I'll make the arrangements."
And he also discerned that this beautiful woman was a trap. Someone had deliberately laid the groundwork with other nobles, orchestrating for the rumor to reach Boltlinde's territory.
It was clearer than fire who they were trying to lure. However, he found it unsettling that the purpose was unclear.
Satisfied with the Duke's words, the tyrant left, his mind clearly occupied only with thoughts of how to play with that woman.
"Is that wise, Your Grace?""Consider it a small price if it keeps him quiet until the soirée."
Duke Boltlinde, thinking this would bring peace to the mansion for a while, scoffed at his subordinate's question and answered.
"More importantly, continue your report.""Yes, sir. According to the report from that man, there were intruders near the ruins.""Did you identify whose agents they were?""No, sir. The opponents seemed quite skilled. There were signs of intrusion, but no further traces remain. We are exhausting all means, but nothing yet."
Jakaran's selfishness was nothing new. He could deal with the soirée later; Duke Boltlinde had no time to spare for such nonsense. Intruders had entered the ruins he had kept hidden with utmost care.
Though his expression didn't show it, unpleasant emotions churned within him.
His expression didn't change even at the bad report from his subordinate, but the thought crossed his mind that his imagined plans might be starting to encounter obstacles.
"Send one unit from the covert ops. Uncover their identity at all costs.""Understood."
The current plan was in the secrecy phase. It must not be exposed. There were plenty who wanted to probe Duke Boltlinde's information.
Currently, the prime candidate was the most opposed house, the Edelgards. They were sending spies against each other, fighting over information.
They were suspicious, but it wasn't conclusive.
Even Duke Boltlinde, skilled in covert activities, would never conceive that spirits, acting on a divine oracle, had moved to investigate. He was falling into paranoia, suspecting Duke Edelgard had made a move.
After dismissing his subordinate and being left alone, he glanced towards a corner of the room.
"Duplo, can you assassinate Edelgard?""I must say it would be difficult. Their covert operatives are also quite skilled, and on top of that, one troublesome brat has appeared.""Troublesome brat?"
The shadow always entrusted with his security, his confidant whom he had instructed to remain undetected when Jakaran entered and to eliminate him from behind if necessary.
"Yes, the brat who fought in that exhibition match you also know about.""That one, huh.""Yes, for some reason, he just went outside the capital for a few days and came back taller."
Duke Boltlinde dug out the person his confidant indicated from his memory, and the image of the child who defeated his subordinate flashed in his mind.
"While it's not certain what he did, we lost contact with several subordinates after he made contact with Duke Edelgard."
That image etched itself into his mind.
"......Eliminate him. This country has no need for heroes.""Understood."
Thus, he recognized him as an enemy.