🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 14
Too Much Karma to Confess
The enforcer, who had been stationed at Salevbrums the whole time, finally returned to the Parliament.
“Ahhh! Enforcer!”
A superior who bounced unpredictably like a rubber ball.
Cameron, the assistant who had been anxiously waiting, ran over breathlessly.
“You made it on time. I was worried you might not come back!”
Cameron immediately grabbed the black robe and rushed toward his superior.
“The Parliament session will start in ten minutes. You should hurry.”
“Hmm…”
The superior gave only a vague response.
The law enforcer everyone feared.
His superior rarely engaged in idle chatter unless necessary.
He was even too lazy to talk casually in the first place.
To be precise, he wasn’t the type to pay much attention to others.
“Let’s go then.”
Accustomed to such situations, Cameron followed Brandon, now in his robe, toward the Parliament hall.
“Cameron, what do you think?”
“Pardon?”
“What do you think Dorothy might have said about me?”
“…Eh?”
It wasn’t unusual for Brandon to smile.
But today, something felt different.
He seemed oddly cheerful.
“Um, we’ll reach the hall shortly.”
Having been an assistant for several years, Cameron knew it was best to change the topic in such moments.
After all, his superior probably wasn’t expecting a specific answer when he asked.
“The regular session meets every month, so it shouldn’t run long.”
Even within the Gorsaute Parliament, Brandon was the only man who directly got his hands dirty.
Assisting such an enforcer was certainly no easy task.
The dangers aside, chronic understaffing meant overtime was a daily occurrence.
Yet there were a few reasons Cameron stayed by Brandon’s side.
“Enforcer. I’ll open the door.”
As the door opened, the previously noisy hall fell silent.
Among the gray-robed parliament members,
Brandon’s black velvet robe stood out.
Even in a Parliament dominated by nobles, only the high-ranking could wear such attire.
Serving someone of this stature gave a strange sense of satisfaction.
Even if it wasn’t him wearing it, there was the illusion of being someone special.
The hall went quiet at Brandon’s entrance.
“Wow, Marquis Arneon! It’s been a while!”
“Your Grace, Duke…”
As expected, his superior didn’t care about the atmosphere at all.
Instead, he spoke amicably to a senior senator.
“It’s been a while, Your Grace…”
Most, however, feared Brandon.
Capricious and cruel by nature.
A loyal hound to the Chairman.
“Eh, calling him a Duke.”
Whether Arneon Marquis was sweating nervously or not, Brandon casually draped his arm around him.
“Call me Brandon. We’re family enough for that.”
Once, someone had foolishly tried to befriend Brandon.
Rather than forming a bond, they earned a glare and their house was ruined.
Thus, it was best to avoid getting involved before disaster struck.
“I already consider everyone here family.”
“Haha… th-thank you.”
“Of course, you consider me family too, right?”
“Of… course. Family.”
“We’ve lived together for years. Hmm, that’s basically family!”
Though he didn’t quite know what family truly meant.
“Now that we’re family, let me suggest something.”
The more Brandon smiled, the paler the Marquis became.
The Duke could mention something shocking at any moment.
“How about you visit the Kaishuner estate next time?”
“Eh? Me, at the Kaishuner estate?”
“Well, family members visiting each other’s estates is natural.”
“B-but…”
If he went alone, who knew what might happen.
At this rate, Marquis Arneon might really faint.
Cameron realized now was the moment to step in.
“Enforcer. The Chairman will be waiting.”
At the word ‘Chairman,’ Brandon’s smile vanished instantly.
His face stiffened, and Marquis Arneon even hiccupped.
“Right.”
Brandon said lazily.
“Let’s go.”
He smiled at the Marquis again, patted his shoulder, and headed for the second floor, where the Chairman’s office was.
Cameron, waiting beside him, followed.
“…Thank you, truly.”
From behind Cameron came the Marquis’s tearful voice.
Life-saving.
The second reason he risked leaving his post as an assistant.
Whenever they went to the second floor, it sent a shiver down the spine.
“Just the second floor, yet so many stairs. Making the subordinates suffer.”
Brandon talked more than usual on the way up.
“The Chairman likes to look down on people, after all.”
When they finally reached the second floor,
the Chairman spent only about three hours in Parliament each day.
The second floor was more lavish than most palaces.
It almost felt like an audience hall rather than a simple office.
“I’ll wait outside.”
Even assistants were not allowed inside the Chairman’s office.
Cameron bowed and stepped aside.
Alone, Brandon took a deep breath in front of the door.
Then he knocked.
“Enter.”
No one else was in the office, but a tense atmosphere lingered.
“Come in.”
The Chairman, Grand Duke Tavelon, welcomed Brandon.
“It’s been a while.”
Brandon kneeled slightly in respect.
“You don’t need to be so formal.”
The Grand Duke patted Brandon’s back.
“You’re like a son to me.”
“……”
“No father asks his son to kneel. Stand up.”
After the Kaishuner Duchy fractured through divorce,
it was Grand Duke Tavelon who took in the orphaned Brandon.
Swordsmanship, strategy, accounting, and even the philosophy of rulership.
The childless Duke raised Brandon as his heir.
So Brandon considered the Chairman as a father figure.
Of course, it wasn’t always easy.
“Thank you for always welcoming me warmly, Chairman.”
Brandon smiled and stood.
“I called you here because I have something to say.”
Their greetings were always brief.
“I want to see Rose’s face again.”
He got straight to the point.
“There’s always a place for her in the Gorsaute Parliament, so don’t worry, but…”
He threw a box toward Brandon with a snake-like grin.
“Don’t make me wait too long. This is the robe Rose will someday wear.”
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Chairman.”
He added,
“Count Alot, who has been resting, is finally returning to the capital.”
The Grand Duke gestured at Brandon.
“You’ll take care of it.”
“……”
“Keep an eye on her. Make sure she’s not up to anything.”
“Understood.”
“And if watching her becomes a problem later… it wouldn’t hurt to kill her in advance.”
After all, she was just a puppet with severed strings.
“You can do this for the father who took you in, right?”
“…Of course.”
“That’s all I wanted to say.”
The Grand Duke dismissed him.
“I’ll leave now.”
Without looking back, the Grand Duke exited, letting out a soft chuckle.
“Father… interesting.”
No matter how he tried, a light laugh escaped his lips.
“What father orders his child to kill someone…?”
He already knew the Grand Duke didn’t truly see him as a son.
But he didn’t resist.
He didn’t feel wronged.
Why care if he was used?
With nowhere to return to anyway.
He smirked and left the second floor.
“Welcome, Enforcer.”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Diligent Cameron had brought something along.
“I’ll have the clothes you wore yesterday handed to the servants immediately.”
“Do as you wish.”
“But… what about the items you packed?”
“Items?”
Brandon blinked.
“There was something inside the clothes.”
It was chocolate.
“Oh, this…”
Judging by the wrapping, it was from the bakery they visited yesterday.
He remembered how Dorothy had paid unusual attention to it.
At first, he thought she just wanted to eat it.
But…
“…It wasn’t that.”
“Huh?”
She had set aside chocolates specifically for him.
He couldn’t help but laugh.
He thought she only cared about her sister.
It seemed she had thought of him a little.
“How could I eat this… it’s too precious…”
He suddenly remembered what his sister had said.
“I couldn’t eat this either.”
“Huh? Why? Did the chocolate go bad?”
He wasn’t lingering out of mere curiosity or amusement.
Rather… he didn’t know why, even after thinking about it.
But one thing was certain.
“I simply don’t want to stop.”
He fiddled with the chocolate in his hand.
