TMLOH 132

Chapter : 132

If you lived in Albrecht, there was a name you couldn’t escape hearing.

The Five Great Ducal Houses.

Halbern, Sperom, Muvysk, Gremwart, and Idichels.

Just as in Korea you couldn’t avoid Samsung, Hyundai, or LG, in Albrecht it was the same with them.

Anything of note—Halbern was there. Go anywhere—Sperom had its hand in it. Nine out of ten legendary heroes bore the Muvysk name. The greatest adventurers? Almost always from Gremwart. And the most famous society gatherings? They all traced back to Idichels.

The Idichels Duchy—masters of diplomacy and mediation.

Because their clan was scattered all across the world, they didn’t show up in stories as often. Still, I liked this house.

Why?

‘Because they always gave me the vibe of overworked government officials trapped by a bad boss, unable to go home on time.’

The first time I’d heard about them, I pictured them hosting some elegant assembly, weaving schemes, pulling strings behind the scenes. But the reality? They were poor clerks endlessly swamped with malicious complaints and appeals.

“I don’t have much power.”

“I figured as much.”

“…You don’t seem disappointed.”

“No, I’m used to the pattern by now.”

I had asked for help, but I wasn’t expecting much.

It wasn’t realistic for some benefactor to appear out of nowhere and solve my problems.

I was a very practical child.

“But, Duke, why are you here?”

“There’s a sad legend tied to this place…”

“I don’t believe in legends.”

“???”

“No, please continue.”

The Duke of Idichels’ eyes wavered briefly at me, then he launched into a long, drawn-out lament—dating back six years ago.

And when I heard it…

‘Uncomfortable! This is insanely uncomfortable!’

Damn it! This was all because of Dad?! Dad, why would you throw me into such trials?!

“…Anyway, to prevent the war—”

“Y-you must have suffered a lot.”

“Sniff… To think someone would recognize my hardships. Such a kind young lady, unlike a Halbern!”

I grew solemn.

I’m sorry. My dad’s just… childish.

“You must’ve had it rough at such a young age too. I heard you were kidnapped?”

“Yes. I didn’t exactly arrive here through normal means.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“?”

Why ask something so obvious?

I blinked wide-eyed, and the Duke of Idichels gave me a curious look.

“Strange.”

“What is?”

“You don’t have the typical Halbern shadow.”

What shadow?

“Children from Halbern always had this gloomy aura, like they carried the world’s secrets on their shoulders. Shione was like that too.”

The name slipped out naturally, and I reacted without meaning to.

“You know Shione?”

“Haha, of course. She was my peer. We even attended the Academy together.”

I was amazed.

Why? Because she suddenly felt real.

Dad and the Regent Duke never spoke of anyone else, so sometimes Shione seemed like nothing more than their delusion. But hearing her mentioned unexpectedly, by someone else—it hit me: she really existed.

“Haha, Shione was my first love, you know.”

…If only the Duke hadn’t confessed, with a bashful face, that he once had a childhood crush on her.

“She always seemed to live in another world.”

“I see…”

“Of course, back then Halbern’s influence was so overwhelming, even if I’d sent a marriage proposal, nothing would have come of it.”

“Does the Regent Duke know about this?”

“….”

The Duke flinched.

“…Could you keep it a secret?”

“Depends on how you behave.”

The Duke looked pitiful, like a man about to cry. Poor guy. I decided not to tease him further.

“A-anyway, Halbern never responded well to Idichels’ abilities, so no matter what I tried, it probably wouldn’t have worked out.”

That awkward excuse only piqued my curiosity.

“I heard Idichels’ ability has something to do with seeing people’s favorability.”

“That’s right. Sometimes, I can even see dialogue options that might raise it. Though it doesn’t work so well against people with certain abilities, like Halbern…”

“Oh? Then you can’t see my favorability either?!”

“Correct.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

The more I heard, the more fascinating it became.

He could see people’s affection points… plus choices to raise them?

Idichels’ life was basically a dating sim.

“I wish I could know my own favorability score.”

I was curious. Just how much did people like me?

“Well, there is a way.”

“Oh? How?”

“If you allow it.”

“How do I allow it?”

The Duke took my hand, meeting my eyes slowly.

“Imagine opening your heart to me.”

That’s all it took?

It was hard, but I focused with all my might. Show me the numbers, show me!

“Do you see it?!”

“Y-yes.”

He looked somewhat dazed as he answered.

“What’s my score?!”

“Well…”

“Well?”

“Fifty.”

“Fifty?!”

That high?!

Normally, favorability when meeting someone new hovered around 10–20.

Was I such a shining beacon of humanity?!

I gasped in astonishment—

“No, minus fifty.”

“…?”

The Duke calmly read out what he saw.

[♡ -50 Thorough Distrust]

“Ah…”

Of course.

I nodded knowingly. Meanwhile, the Duke looked at me with a pitiful expression.

“Am I really that awful?”

“Haha.”

I tried to brush it off with an awkward laugh. But then he gave me an even more tragic look.

“Do you… dislike people in general?”

I only smiled in reply.

* * *

-50, he said, was usually reserved for a sworn enemy who’d stolen your money. The thirty-something Duke stressed he’d never once cheated anyone of their money, and I nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

‘I really want to see other people’s scores too.’

Especially my score toward Mehen.

Since I liked him the most.

‘Still, if Duke Idichels makes it back safely to Albrecht, he promised to lend me an item that lets me check favorability.’

Clearly, he wanted to earn my trust, despite the -50 and the “thorough distrust” tag.

It was in his nature—wherever there were people, Idichels had to charm them, had to make friends. Honestly, it was overwhelming.

I was sure his MBTI type was the most extreme form of E.

Still, he did help me with one thing.

“Simply smashing things up to bleed the Archduke of Roch’s fortune? That’s amateurish.”

For a second, I almost teared up.

“Demand it boldly and take him for a fortune.”

What sound advice! This must be what they call the wisdom of adults.

Yes, I had learned a new skill.

The legendary move: “Dad, buy me this!”

“This one. Give it to me.”

I grabbed an artifact—something the Duke had secretly tipped me off about. Something so valuable, you could buy an entire castle with it.

The Regent Duke’s calm eyes turned to me.

Now, how would he respond?!

If he refused, I had a backup plan ready.

I’d shout “You promised you’d give me anything!” and accuse him of being a liar!

Come on, say it already!

“…All right. Take it.”

“…?”

Wait, what? That wasn’t the script.

Did I accidentally pick something cheap? Something he could easily give away?

Determined, I reached for another item—one that was clearly priceless, irreplaceable, and definitely too valuable to hand over.

“This one too.”

“Fine.”

“Ugh, that one as well!”

“Take it.”

What the hell?!

I frowned, and he only chuckled, answering leisurely.

“They’ll all be yours anyway, so what does it matter?”

That one relaxed remark shattered my patience. What?!

I’ll make you regret this!

Something truly expensive. Rare. Impossible to replace.

“Then give me the Quill of Truth, the Tear of a Fairy, a Leaf of the World Tree, and the Morning Dew of the Snow Country!”

My grand ambition: to make him regret ever promising to give me whatever I wanted.

I rattled off a list of legendary treasures so rare, even Sperom’s auction house had never managed to put them up for bid.

And the next day—

“….”

I was speechless as the items were delivered before me.

“His Highness ordered that everything be brought from the royal treasury.”

Why… why would you actually give them to me?!

Sob…

I’d gotten everything I wanted, but I felt miserable.

Worse, his smug, victorious face as he asked leisurely—

“Is there anything else you desire?”

Infuriating!