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Chapter 40
The Northern Frontline.
Every day, hundreds of people die, only to be replaced by more, as humanity continues its desperate battle against monsters. This was the last stronghold of mankind.
“What?! What happened to Lady Arellin?!”
A loud shout echoed through the Northern Castle, which stood at the heart of the frontline.
In this place, so fittingly harsh, where people turning into puddings, puddings mimicking people, or exploding into goo was hardly surprising anymore, the knights stationed at the Northern Castle were trembling with shock.
“What reason could that young, cute, and lovable lady have to collapse?!”
“Who did it?! Who the hell was it?! I’m going to bury them in the north!”
“Wait, seriously?! She really collapsed? Why?!”
“Is she awake? What happened exactly?!”
They had just returned from another grueling fight with monsters when the unexpected news hit them like a brick.
The knights’ minds were in chaos.
“Apparently she collapsed, but I don’t know the details either.”
Zaren scratched his head.
Mehen had thrown in the report via emergency transmission and immediately hung up.
The knights grumbled at Zaren’s unhelpful attitude.
“Zaren, you idiot! That’s something you should’ve listened to properly!”
“Yeah, Zaren, you’ve got no sense. You trying to get us killed? Is this all part of some master plan to kill us with suspense?”
“Boo~ Zaren, know your place and reflect.”
Zaren protested the sudden beating.
“Hey, Mehen cut off the transmission before I could say anything! I kept trying to reach him and he didn’t answer! How is that my fault?!”
“Well, maybe if you hadn’t been such a brat to Mehen all the time…”
“Yeah, this is just your karma, Zaren.”
“Anyway, it’s still your fault!”
“Why don’t you know the details?! Why are you so incompetent when our cute lady collapsed?! Why are you acting so calm?!”
“Boo~ Zaren, go die! Atone with your death!”
“What the hell is wrong with you people?!”
Just as a heated brawl was about to break out between Zaren and the rest of the knights—
Ssshhk.
A silent shadow fell over them.
Instinctively, all the knights froze, even holding their breath, and turned toward the figure casting the shadow.
“L-Lord Duke?”
Grand Duke Halbern had silently appeared, removing gloves soaked in blood—not his own—and letting them drop to the floor with a wet, heavy sound.
His dry violet eyes glinted with something unreadable as he stared at Zaren and the knights.
“Explain.”
All eyes immediately shifted away, passing the responsibility like a hot potato.
“Uh, we don’t know much either. Zaren’s the one in charge of communication with the capital anyway, right?”
“Hey, that’s not just me!”
“Well, due to the chronic personnel shortage on the front, it kind of became your job.”
“You guys are totally dumping this on me, aren’t you?!”
“Well, you are the vice captain, after all.”
“And what the hell does that even get me?!”
Zaren had long harbored resentment for being stuck with the communications duty.
Just as the second great internal conflict of the Saren Order was about to erupt—
“Enough.”
A cold voice cut through the tension.
Just a single word was enough to smother the brewing flames.
“Do you all have nothing to do?”
Zaren flinched.
Though the voice was quiet, the threat laced underneath—“If you don’t, I’ll make sure you do”—was clear. One by one, the knights made excuses and fled the scene.
“Oh, I think my sword’s calling for me.”
“Did I just hear a monster barking somewhere? Time to go shut it up.”
“Wow, what lovely weather today.”
“…It’s nighttime. What weather?”
The knights scattered, leaving Zaren alone under the Grand Duke’s piercing gaze.
Zaren flinched again.
“What?”
“Explain.”
“Sigh… I only heard the basics… Mehen said he went out with the lady and she collapsed.”
A dangerous energy prickled at Zaren’s skin. He suddenly wanted to cry.
“She’s been unconscious for days.”
The Grand Duke’s eyes flicked to the few remaining knights. They violently shook their heads and bodies in denial.
“T-That’s all we heard too!”
There was no further interrogation.
The Grand Duke vanished as suddenly as he had appeared, his movement too fast to follow.
“He’s gone?”
“Yeah, he’s gone.”
“Phew. Thought I was gonna get punched.”
The knights tilted their heads.
“But… why was he in such a foul mood?”
“Yeah, that was intense.”
“He was scarier than usual today.”
As the murmurs continued, Zaren frowned, feeling a similar unease.
Meanwhile, Halbern had returned inside the castle and held a communication orb in his hand.
The orb directly connected to Mehen at the capital residence.
As the long-dormant orb activated and began to glow—
“Explain, Mehen.”
“…That’s odd.”
After the transmission ended, Mehen sat deep in thought.
The call had come from the Northern Castle.
And it had been his master—the Grand Duke—requesting a private conversation for the first time in ages.
Tuk tuk.
He tapped the desk with his finger before brushing back his hair.
“I thought he didn’t care in the slightest…”
He couldn’t help thinking that way.
No matter what question or news he sent, the responses had always been cold and dismissive.
Did the man even care about his one and only daughter?
—“Next time, if she collapses again, report to me immediately.”
The Grand Duke had cut the call the moment he heard Arellin had regained consciousness.
But he made sure to leave that one request.
Is that just another whim? Or… genuine concern?
Mehen, who prided himself on knowing Halbern better than anyone, let out a deep sigh.
“Ugh.”
A strange feeling continued to sit like a stone in his throat.
“Damn it. Just my luck to end up with this master…”
His fate had really taken a turn for the worse.
“Then again, maybe it all started going downhill the day I entered this household.”
He sometimes still remembered fragments of that distant past—
The small hand that had reached out without hesitation to a boy with nowhere to go.
“Come with me.”
Mehen chuckled.
“You told me to come with you… and then locked yourself away in the Northern Castle, huh, Master?”
Once Arellin regained consciousness and daily life at House Halbern returned to normal—
The very first thing Mehen did was file lawsuits against both the Mage Tower and the Paraltree family.
“…His eyes are gone cold.”
“Didn’t he always go crazy when it came to the young lady?”
“His eyes are smiling but he’s terrifying.”
Even the veteran nannies who had been with Mehen for years were chilled by the pressure he gave off.
Whether he was finally releasing pent-up stress or not, before the trial even began, both the Mage Tower and the Paraltree family had sent letters and gifts begging for forgiveness. The boxes piled high in House Halbern.
“Please spare us.”
Even Arellin received letters of pleading.
Naturally, House Halbern won the trial.
Each of the Mage Tower and Paraltree family had to pay 3 million gold in damages, totaling a whopping 6 million gold.
“Thank you, truly thank you.”
“We’ll transfer the compensation immediately.”
Both parties seemed almost grateful it ended there.
“Yes. Originally, I was going to wring every last coin out of you.”
Six million gold was already a huge sum—but he was planning to take more?
“There were multiple follow-up lawsuits ready to go as well.”
Mehen smiled pleasantly, but everyone trembled.
“But since the young lady said she’s fine, I’ll consider it settled here.”
“…O-Okay.”
Arellin made a reluctant face as she munched on a cookie Mehen had handed her.
Munch munch. Her small mouth chewed busily, and Mehen smiled warmly.
“Would you like another?”
“Mm? I’ll finish this first.”
She waved the cookies in both hands, shaking her head. Mehen gently wiped crumbs from her cheek and nodded.
“The entire compensation, minus taxes, has been deposited into your account, Lady.”
“Eh? Why?”
“Because it was all compensation won on your behalf.”
“O-Oh…”
“Please consider it as pocket money.”
What kind of “pocket money” comes in millions?
She murmured something under her breath, but Mehen didn’t catch it.
“Do you have anything you’d like to do? Now that you have quite a bit saved up.”
“Hmm…”
Still chewing, Arellin tilted her head in thought.
She looked so cute eating like that, everyone—including Mehen and the caretakers—had started stacking different kinds of desserts on her plate, to the point that there was no space left.
“Something I want to do…”
“If nothing comes to mind now, you can tell me later.”
“No, I have one.”
Arellin turned to Mehen and the caretakers with a firm look.
“I want to give Mehen a bonus.”
“…Huh?”
“I want to give you a bonus since you couldn’t take any time off.”
“Uh…”
“So… financial healing?”
Healed by cuteness.
