Kapitel 171: [Chapter 171] Nelucian, a Good Liar
Nelucian was taken aback when he saw Neris, who had just left and suddenly returned, calling for him.
"What's wrong, Neris? What happened?"
The place the watchman guided them to was a gathering with a mix of men and women, mostly noble ladies with daughters. Originally, it was a place where the Viscountess should have attended with Valentine.
However, since she was currently estranged from the Viscount, if she appeared unnecessarily, it would cause unnecessary gossip, so Nelucian had to come. Surprisingly, the noble ladies seemed rather pleased by this fact.
As Nelucian stood near the entrance of the spacious reception room, the noble ladies giggled. Ignoring the gazes that seemed to scan even herself, Neris spoke wearily.
"Brother, should I go in first...?"
"Why? Are you not feeling well?"
With a concerned expression, Nelucian touched Neris's cheek.
Unlike Cladwin's cloak that felt cold and silent, Nelucian's hand carried a strong scent of cologne.
There was a time when she liked this scent a long time ago. However, perhaps because she had just decided to leave the Viscount's estate soon, today, it felt strangely repulsive.
A scent that seemed overpowering and assertive. A fragrance that mimicked harmless floral scents but ultimately confused the senses and controlled the situation, much like Nelucian himself.
Neris subtly moved back a bit. Unintentionally, she gave him a slightly hurt look, as if she was too scared.
"I just... I just want to go in. Is that not possible...?"
"Of course. You seem tired. It's indeed quite challenging. Let's go."
Nelucian quickly escorted Neris out of there. As they walked, a few gazes alternated between following him and Neris.
As they were about to leave the corridor, where the ears around seemed to disappear, Nelucian whispered, "Are you really not feeling well? Should I call a doctor?"
"I'm not feeling unwell. Let's go back to the mansion first, and I'll explain. Besides, you were in an important conversation with others, so I shouldn't have called you out for no reason. Should I just go in alone?"
"It wasn't anything particularly important. Just casual conversation."
"Some were eyeing you. The young ladies who wanted to talk more with you might resent me."
Neris's voice, lacking energy, carried a hint of playfulness.
Nelucian keenly noticed the teasing tone in Neris's lackluster voice. He looked at her for a moment, then raised the corner of his mouth.
"Are you upset?"
A straightforward question devoid of humility. Her eyes flickered.
Her beautiful and clear gaze was unlike anything Nelucian had seen before. His chest tightened as if someone had grabbed his heart. He felt a lump in his throat.
He wondered how she would respond. Would she say she was upset? Or would she close her mouth, knowing her status?
What was the basis of the trust she showed him?
Neris, looking at Nelucian, smiled as if she understood something. The smile was very polite and affectionate, but for a very brief moment, Nelucian thought he saw something cold pass through her eyes.
Contempt?
He wouldn't do that.
He muttered foolishly to himself.
Neris liked him. Hadn't she always followed him well since she was young? And wasn't it inevitable? He had always done well for someone like her.
Yes, he wouldn't do that.
It was more of a hope based on a solid belief. However, Nelucian believed in his own thoughts. He was very... good at lying.
Even to himself.
Nelucian quickly recovered his words with a soft smile on his momentarily stiffened lips.
"I thought you might be upset by the staring. You don't know those people well."
"I don't completely not know them. The young ladies who are still unmarried were at the school when I enrolled. And I didn't feel too bad. You're a really wonderful person, so even I would feel uncomfortable."
In her previous life, Neris had truly cared a lot for Nelucian. Thinking back to those times, she put all the false sincerity she could muster into her words.
Nelucian felt relieved. Unaware that deep within his subconscious, he was genuinely anxious.
"Thank you for saying that. Let's go inside for now."
***
"What? What did the investigator do?"
The Elendria Viscount paled upon hearing about Neris's experience today. Nelucian's face was equally a mess.
On their way to the investigation, the palace investigator took Neris down a suspicious path and tried to kill her there. The Viscount was accused as the culprit.
It was a truthful account, but Neris conveniently omitted the part where she implicated Kemil first. Therefore, to the Viscount, the palace investigator, or rather Eunwol's assassin, seemed to have appeared from the start to sow discord between Neris and the Viscount.
Furthermore, by describing the situation as if the assassin awkwardly gave up the mission, excluding the part where Cladwin and Dora rescued her, the term 'discord' became a reality in the Viscount's mind.
"Oh, Your Highness."
Neris, with a pale face, spoke the words the Viscount had yet to say.
"Um, it's just that you spoke so loudly in the palace... I was afraid others might hear. I knew it was an outrageous accusation as soon as I heard it, so I'm telling you right away... I don't know who might overhear and misunderstand."
"Right. Thank you for telling me quickly, Neris. Were you very surprised?"
Nelucian, gently stroking Neris's forearm, looked into her eyes affectionately.
The Viscount agreed with his son's gratitude for speaking quickly. He was in a state of great confusion.
The Viscount's state was not good. Debt collectors with polite tones sent letters asking for repayment every day, and the Emperor urged for promptness.
Pay the money as usual and praise the palace as usual. Show your loyalty to the Emperor by bustling around the palace every day as his most faithful servant.
But how could one do things 'as usual' in the current situation?
The Viscount knew well. The Emperor's constant demands for help despite knowing the Viscount's situation were simply because it was 'possible.'
Seeing a weakness, he wanted to crush any spirit of resistance. To prevent any distractions.
It was just that for now, but if a pretext was found, the palace would take everything they could from the Elendria family. There were suspicions that the combined power of the Wells and Elendria families might have grown strong enough to challenge the palace.
"The damn palace."
This despicable way of establishing authority was one of the reasons the Elendria family had to break away from the empire.
There were other reasons, of course.
"Without Elendria, those things wouldn't have even started."
Isn't the absolute support from the palace based on that? Being the direct descendants of the three heroes who defeated the evil dragon.
In the eyes of the Viscount. And in the eyes of many previous Viscounts of this family, the current situation was unfair.
Why should only the brave descendants of Visto receive absolute support when they all defeated the dragon together?
Why should the descendants of the other two heroes kneel and offer taxes and hostages to them?
While the Viscount granted titles, it was difficult to see that the palace paid a price to the descendants of the other two heroes for the crown. Similar or even greater titles were bestowed upon individuals unrelated to the three heroes, like the Maindland Duke or the Grunehalz Viscount.
If receiving a hefty price, what meaning did loyalty and trust hold? The previous Elendria Viscount who did not ask such questions would not exist.
And it was his duty to finally find a satisfactory answer to that question.
Nelucian had always been special from a young age. He inherited only the most pleasing features from the Viscount and Viscountess's exceptional appearances. Moreover, he was intelligent and spoke kindly, winning everyone's favor. However, what the Viscount valued most in his son was his coldness.
Nelucian had a knack for making difficult, cold judgments from a young age that even the adult Viscount found challenging. And if there was even a slight benefit to gain, he would ruthlessly seize it.
No foolish prince could follow suit. So the Viscount finally believed the time had come to realize the family's ambitions and began to envision the complete picture of his two children's future.
Moreover, with the birth of a daughter in the succession, it couldn't be more perfect than this.
However, why at this point is his wife suddenly becoming unreasonably sensitive?
And why at this point is the palace being obstructive?
He felt a considerable sense of frustration and anger in the current situation, where things were going awry, precisely because he was so confident.
"Princess Kemil has already harbored hostile intentions towards us."
Princess Kemil had not been particularly noticeable. She didn't often show her face at glamorous social gatherings, and even when she did, she didn't flaunt her authority.
So the imperial citizens believed that Kemil was very quiet and reserved, and the fact that the Emperor and Empress passed her over for the prince position in favor of her younger brother was because Abelus was much more suited to be the Emperor.
It was a ridiculous notion. The Viscount knew very well that even noble elders decades older than Kemil couldn't impress him as much as she did.
Yet, why did the Emperor and Empress insist on giving the prince position to Abelus?
"Because she always harbors some hidden agenda, and if she's annoyed, my parents will also be in trouble."
The reason the Emperor and Empress gave the prince position to Abelus was that they couldn't properly follow the thoughts Kemil held. It was as if she always carried a hidden dagger within her.
And this time, that dagger seemed to be aimed at the Elendria family. They might not have known that they could lose everything from the family's position to the jewel in the succession.
It was well known in the Elendria family that Kemil had her sights set on Neris. Adrian had mentioned it in that manner even after selling Neris initially.
"Viscount, do you understand how much I've put into this? That princess is also desired by the princess. But once she enters the palace, it will be the end between my family and hers forever."
He thought it was over once she was brought into the family. They were under investigation, but how far would that really go?
Nelucian to realize his duty.
With that thought, the Viscount sighed. He was very tired.
Smart. Then he heard a cautious knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened slightly, and a young man entered. Confirming that the young man was Joseph Carren, his son's playmate and squire, the Viscount narrowed his eyes.
"Nelucian is not here."
"Yes, sir. I took the opportunity while the young master was away."
The whole household knew how loyal Joseph was to Nelucian. But did Joseph have something to say secretly to Nelucian?
The Viscount looked at Joseph with a suspicious expression.
Joseph swallowed and spoke.
"I saw the Maindland Duke at the palace today. He was with Lady Trued. Their relationship... seemed very close."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein