Chapter 43

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: There Is No Mercy - Chapter 43

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Aden fixed his gaze on me steadily, then leaned back slowly and opened his mouth.

"This incident—was it Bellieta's doing too?"

"That's what I think."

I hadn't anticipated this situation from the start.

Just as Bellieta had people tailing me, I'd done the same to her.

I needed to secure information in advance to thwart whatever schemes she might hatch.

Thanks to that, I'd confirmed her secretly meeting with some man.

That man was Krembel, who had been attached to Count Oxiaad's side.

Suspecting she might use him for some plot, I'd put people on him to observe his activities—one of which was the military supplies conference.

"I could handle the other matters on my own, but not the military supplies conference. No matter how much I pulled strings, some things were beyond my reach. Things like the armament vote, for instance. That's why I prepared the gate ahead of time."

"Honestly, I was pretty shocked when I got your letter. I never imagined you'd invest this much in something so uncertain. And even if that weren't the case, handling every single detail from one to ten isn't easy at all. This kind of response only comes from truly knowing your opponent."

I smiled wordlessly at Aden's words.

He was right, to a certain extent.

No matter how much surveillance you put on people, human affairs can still produce unexpected outcomes.

If I didn't know Bellieta well, I probably couldn't have responded like this either.

'Would she really meddle in the military supplies conference? Even if Brilloxen takes heavy damage, it's not like she'll be the only one to fall.'

If I'd thought so complacently, I'd have been caught off guard this time too.

But because I knew Bellieta, I knew she'd gladly kill a hundred to torment just me.

Her personality and methods.

I'd experienced them for decades already.

So much it made me sick of it.

"But was all this really necessary?"

"What do you mean?"

I tilted my head in puzzlement.

Was he saying my response had been overkill?

Or did he mean something else?

As I eyed him curiously, Aden set down his glass.

"Even if the bill passes, couldn't you block it in the internal revision meeting? My influence carries more weight there than in this military supplies conference, so I could have vetoed the passed bill at your request. Wouldn't that have been more effective than going to all this expense?"

At first glance, it sounded like he was calling my actions hasty or excessive.

But Aden's eyes weren't asking that.

He was simply questioning why I'd chosen this approach.

I sipped my juice in silence, and Aden, watching me, added,

"I'm not doubting your abilities or blaming your actions."

"I know. I get what you're asking. You think I wouldn't even figure that much out?"

I smiled brightly and set down my glass. Aden's expression softened a touch.

Like Aden, I leaned back against the chair and gazed out the window.

A sunlit afternoon.

The sunset stretched long, heralding the day's end.

I paused, staring at the sunset, then closed my eyes.

"You know the type? Someone who's incredibly petty about the tiniest things, refusing to lose even at those. Not clear-cut wins or losses like games, tests, or work results—but something like, I can eat what they can't, or I finish my meal faster than they do... refusing to lose even at stuff that trivial."

I turned my gaze from the window to Aden.

His shoulders rose and fell as he watched me calmly.

I let my eyes drift down diagonally to the glass in my hand.

"That's exactly Bellieta with me. Not just someone I don't want to lose to—she's the one who took everything from me. Her mere existence in this world ignites my rage. She's someone I must end with my own hands."

I set the empty glass on the table.

Droplets clinging to it trickled down, spreading across the surface.

Raising my gaze from its slant, I met Aden's eyes and continued.

"Of course, as you said, there was the option of letting it pass and dealing with it later. I had considered that too. But since she's already interfering here, there's no guarantee she won't later. That's one reason I blocked it preemptively."

As I'd told Chellano, handling it afterward was an option.

It was reliable, but carried some risk.

"Of course, that's not the only reason I acted. Backing down here would mean dancing to Bellieta's tune in the end. Avalanches start with a single snowball rolling, eventually moving the whole mountain, Aden."

I called his name curtly, and his golden eyes flickered.

Meeting his gaze, I hardened mine.

"I won't even leave that slight possibility open. I want to stop Bellieta from snowballing her next move in her drunken victory. That's why I called you here—and why this level of investment doesn't feel excessive to me."

I watched Aden narrow his eyes, crossed my legs, and lifted my chin.

Tilting my head slightly, my hair swayed, tickling my cheek.

I tucked the fallen strands behind my ear, exhaled, and smiled. Aden's eyes wavered.

I extended a slender finger, pointing at him.

"It's thanks to you, Aden."

"......"

"The moment I gained you, any investment after that became trivial."

"......"

"That's what you are to me. Right now, the most important person in my world. Someone I can trust and rely on."

I smiled at Aden, who was proving even more helpful than I'd imagined.

"You're the most precious person I could never meet anywhere else. Someone irreplaceable, no matter what I offered. That's why, in a way, I'm grateful to Bellieta."

I picked up our two empty glasses, clinking them together, and raised my chin.

"For not accepting you."

That, at least, was one thing Bellieta did right.

She'd handed me an enormous gift.

"Thanks to that, I have you."

Aden Riplton.

Piolett Baylor approached Bellieta, who was leisurely sipping tea in the garden.

Bellieta glanced at her and smiled faintly before excusing herself to the countess seated across from her.

Leaving the countess with her empty smile behind, Bellieta rose and went to Piolett.

As Piolett crossed her arms questioningly, she whispered in the tiniest voice,

"Marquis Mormond has come to see you."

"Send him away, Piolett. Father's in the capital, and so is Mother. Besides, I'm not merciful enough to meet with failures."

"......But if you turn him away, he's in such an unstable state he might do something unpredictable. Wouldn't it be better to see him?"

"What do you mean by 'something unpredictable'?"

Piolett's urgent gaze lifted as she continued quietly.

Bellieta stared at her blankly, her expression impassive.

As Piolett faltered in confusion, Bellieta's lips curved up slowly.

She smiled sweetly and stepped closer to Piolett.

"I'm kidding. Of course I should meet him, if Marquis Mormond has come seeking me."

"......"

"He's dangerous enough to threaten the daughter of Bozbon, after all. Naturally, I must see him. Don't you think, Piolett?"

Piolett bit her lip silently.

Bellieta watched her intently, then quietly turned and headed to the drawing room.

She entered to find Marquis Mormond's knights lined up inside.

The marquis, waiting within, jumped to his feet the moment he saw her and shouted,

"Bel...!"

"What brings you here, Marquis Mormond? I believe I said we shouldn't meet like this."

Bellieta's voice cut him off sharply at the end. Beneath her apparent calm, she concealed her simmering anger.

She dismissed all the attending maids, then took her seat.

As she elegantly crossed her legs, the marquis's eyes narrowed.

Bellieta neatly folded her hands on her lap, gesturing for him to speak.

The marquis exhaled and blinked.

"What are you going to do now, my lady? I followed your orders exactly, and now my position is in jeopardy because of it. How do you intend to take responsibility?"

"Responsibility...? That's an odd thing to say. What responsibility are you referring to?"

"Are you pretending not to know? Didn't you tell me to back Count Oxiaad at the military supplies conference?!"

"Let's be precise. It wasn't me—it was my father."

"Trying to weasel out? You think I don't know the truth?"

The marquis vented his fury at Bellieta, who was deflecting.

Born into a military family, facing a dishonorable discharge unlike anything he'd known, his rage was immense.

The thought of his name living on in history for all the wrong reasons turned his stomach.

"I was always neutral on Count Oxiaad's bill—leaning against, if anything. But it was Bozbon who dragged me into supporting it. Wasn't it?"

"That's strange. It doesn't seem like you were dragged in."

Bellieta tilted her head and let out a slow laugh.

The marquis, seething inside, finally exploded at her smile and shot to his feet.

"You're toying with me...!"

"Didn't you choose it yourself? To gain the commander-in-chief position you'd never reached in your life."