Chapter: 03
#1. The Valiert Family’s Mad Dog and Little Puppy
Perhaps the most peaceful nation on the continent today was the Warford Empire.
Before the previous emperor established his rule, Warford had fought countless wars—the Continental War, the Ancient Relics War, and many others. It had once been known as a land soaked with the blood and bones of innumerable battles.
Now, in the hard-won peace, the Empire’s Sun, Celedor, ruled above all, while the Four Ducal Houses shared the greatest authority beneath the imperial family, supporting Warford like four great pillars.
Valiert. Cadier. Deslin. Notium.
Among them, House Valiert—my own bloodline—had the shortest history.
Yet despite that, it had earned more glory and titles than anyone could count.
After all, it was my grandfather who had placed the previous emperor on the throne and ensured that the current emperor’s reign remained secure.
Our family was also famous for amassing the greatest fortune in the shortest amount of time.
Even excluding our own territory and the lands owned by the imperial family, House Valiert still possessed more than a third of the capital. Calling us wealthy wasn’t an exaggeration.
There were also two other reasons the Valiert name was so famous.
One was my incredible mother.
The other was my uncle.
…Mom is the best!
Since talking about Mom is precious, I’ll save that story for later.
My uncle was the strongest swordsman in the Empire, a man whose mastery of the blade was so overwhelming that people called him a weapon in human form.
That said, many believed he had poured every single stat point into his looks and swordsmanship, leaving almost nothing for his personality.
His temperament was so disastrous that even the current emperor supposedly found him impossible to handle and spent more time calming him down than commanding him.
In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that stories about my uncle made up the largest portion of all the rumors surrounding House Valiert.
That’s what Mom told me.
But if you’re wondering why I was recklessly risking my life in front of someone like that…
“Uncle! No!”
“Let go.”
Crunch.
I heard his teeth grinding again.
“I said no! Don’t go!”
I clung to his long leg like a cicada, wrapping both my arms and legs around it.
If I did this, it’d be too heavy for him to walk, right?
Maybe one of his legs would even break.
I felt a little sorry because it would hurt him…
But that would still be better.
Going there now was the same as marching to his death, you idiot uncle!
“H-Huh?”
But this monster didn’t seem bothered by my weight at all.
He simply started walking as if nothing were hanging from his leg.
The momentum nearly threw me off, so I bit down on his pants instead.
“Mmmph! Mmff! (Don’t go!)”
My uncle immediately stopped.
A moment later, a sigh so deep it felt like it could make the earth collapse escaped from above my head.
I flinched.
That low sigh carried enough weight to drag down the very air around us.
Enough to freeze my whole body.
I have a lot I’d like to say too.
But a secret was something you had to protect, no matter how suffocating it became.
That was the lesson Mom had engraved into my heart.
More importantly…
It was a promise between Mom and me.
Mom wasn’t in this world anymore.
I didn’t want to break my promise.
Because I could never make another secret with her.
This was the last promise we had shared.
“Hey, Peanut.”
At my uncle’s voice, I let go of his pants and looked up.
My arms were aching, and drool dampened the corners of my mouth.
“I’m not Peanut!”
First things first—I had to correct what he called me.
“Get down.”
“No. If I do, you’ll leave.”
I tried being a little rebellious.
Still hanging from him, I casually wiped the drool from my mouth onto his pants.
There.
Now that his pants were dirty, he couldn’t leave… right?
My uncle glanced down at the wet stain and twisted his face into a grimace.
“If you know that, then get down.”
“…Are you going to throw me if I don’t?”
I put on the saddest face I could manage.
“Hah… You’re driving me insane. Why do you pick a fight with me over every little thing? I told you to stay out of my sight.”
A fight?
I was trying to save your life!
If you weren’t Mom’s little brother, I wouldn’t even care!
It wasn’t fair.
But I knew he wouldn’t believe me even if I told him, so I swallowed my complaint once again.
“…”
The fierce expression on his face relaxed ever so slightly, as though he had half given up.
“You inherited your mother’s damn stubbornness.”
“My mom wasn’t stubborn.”
“You never let a single word slide.”
“Uncle.”
“What.”
At least he always answered.
Even if his eyes still looked ready to devour me whole.
“Uncle… I’ll give you all my snacks. Please don’t go. Okay?”
He stared at me as though I’d completely lost my mind.
“Seriously… Did that old man put you up to this?”
“Put me up to it? What’s that?”
“Get down before I throw you.”
He enunciated every single word.
Without realizing it, I shrank back.
But I couldn’t give up now.
I tightened my grip around his leg with all the strength I had.
My fingers hurt so much they felt like they were burning.
If Uncle keeps this up…
I’ll have no choice but to use that method.
If I couldn’t stop him today, he would run into someone from House Hendel, one of House Valiert’s sworn enemies.
“…”
“I said. Get. Down.”
To be more precise…
He wouldn’t just run into them.
The Hendel heir would provoke him.
Then Uncle, already in a terrible mood, would beat the Hendel heir half to death.
And then?
Things would spiral completely out of control until House Hendel was drowned in blood.
“Uncle! Just once! Please! Grant Aika one wish!”
“Get. Down.”
“…Hmph…”
House Hendel had always hated the fact that a chancellor had come from House Valiert.
They had also picked pointless fights during every regular council meeting, making them an even bigger thorn in Uncle’s side.
After that…
The family war would begin.
Many of House Valiert’s territories would burn.
Uncle was already in the middle of dealing with everyone who had ever been hostile toward House Valiert.
Grandfather had ordered him to find whoever was behind the carriage attack after discovering it hadn’t been an accident at all.
Uncle thought I didn’t know.
But when I was pretending to sleep after the funeral, I had heard every word of his conversation with Grandfather.
I wanted to investigate too.
Unfortunately, I’d hit my head during the carriage accident, and most of my memories were gone.
I couldn’t help.
Either way…
If things continued like this, Uncle would eventually lose his life.
This was one spark I could still extinguish.
In my dream, House Hendel wasn’t the one that killed Mom.
So no matter what…
I had to stop him.
“Uncle… I miss Mom…”
I finally ran out of strength.
Still clinging to his leg, my hands slipped.
I slid down with a thump and landed on my bottom.
The moment the word “Mom” left my mouth…
Uncle suddenly fell silent.
Then—
“Eep?”
Something grabbed the back of my neck.
Well…
Technically, it grabbed the back of my clothes.
Dangling like a doll in Uncle’s hand, I found myself staring straight into his terrifying golden eyes.
“Then go look in a mirror.”
Seeing that some of the anger had faded from his gaze, I shook my head.
“I don’t look that much like Mom. You look way more like her! You’re exactly like Mom!”
I smiled brightly.
Besides, unlike Mom and Uncle, I didn’t even have red hair!
Everyone said my golden eyes were exactly the same as Mom’s.
But my hair was jet black instead of red.
Mom always told me it was beautiful—like a night sky that no one could ever reach.
“Damn it!”
After staring at me for a long moment, Uncle suddenly raked a hand roughly through his own hair as though he wanted to tear it out.
Then, still holding me in one hand, he turned and headed somewhere.
I stayed perfectly quiet.
If I kept talking, I had a feeling he really might throw me out the hallway window.
Thankfully, the place he carried me to was my bedroom.
He tossed me onto the bed as though throwing away a sack of potatoes, then sat down casually on the edge and glared at me like he wanted me dead.
Good grief…
Isn’t he cold walking around without even wearing proper clothes?
Afraid he might run away again, I quickly crawled across the bed on all fours and grabbed hold of his pants.
“Hey, Peanut.”
