Chapter 67

(Harold’s Point of View)

Having completed the sightseeing tour, a necessary formality, Harold decided to return to the Berlioz mansion with Erica. Erica remained silent, a smile playing on her lips, walking a few steps behind Harold.

Meanwhile, Harold struggled to regain his composure.

Earlier, a kind of mental disorientation had momentarily clouded his vision. He couldn’t deny that being held by her hand had had an effect, but the emotions he felt were certainly not love.

As a man, there was no way he could remain entirely indifferent to a beautiful woman like Erica taking his hand, so his reaction was unavoidable. However, that didn’t imply any special significance either.

Furthermore, considering the roles he and Erica were playing, and the future that lay ahead for this world, he couldn’t possibly allow himself to be attracted to her or anything of the sort.

As Harold mentally cataloged these negative considerations, his composure returned.

Still, it was rather mischievous of Erica to tease him like this. Though physically they were the same age, mentally, Harold was ten years her senior. His honor as a man was at stake, being led by the nose by a teenager barely in her twenties, despite being a fully grown adult himself.

I need to calm down, Harold silently urged himself. And with that, the heat in his face and the racing of his heart subsided.

Harold and Erica arrived at the Berlioz residence without incident. Aurelian, who had been waiting for Harold, apologized, effectively smoothing over the lunch-time incident.

Not only did Aurelian not blame Harold for his extreme rudeness, but he apologized to him instead. Harold was astonished by Itsuki’s negotiation skills, who had remained on the scene and steered the situation in that direction. It seemed that his title as the next head of the Sumeragi household was more than just a formality.

To show his appreciation to Itsuki, Harold resolved to properly complete the task assigned to him. Well, if Itsuki hadn’t given him the task, Harold wouldn’t have been rude to Aurelian, but still, Harold decided to use this as motivation, as he wasn’t particularly motivated to do the job in the first place. If he slacked off and failed his mission, Harold didn’t know what kind of retribution he would face from Justus and Itsuki.

And then, one hour after Harold and Erica returned, the party commenced. Apparently, most of the attendees in the assembly hall had arrived by boat.

After the hosts, Itsuki and Sylvie, greeted the guests on the banquet hall’s stage, they circulated through the room, thanking the attendees for their congratulatory words. And in a flash, the two of them vanished, absorbed into the crowd.

Even so, the number of people they could address simultaneously was limited; they couldn’t easily manage the entire crowd. So, in the meantime, the attendees who weren’t otherwise occupied entertained themselves as they pleased; chatting with each other, enjoying the food and drink, or dancing to the orchestra’s performance.

But, frankly speaking, the most popular activity was flirting.

However, it wasn’t the casual flirting one might see in town; here, they were aiming for future companions and connections. As one might expect, this type of socializing was very common among the sons of aristocrats and wealthy merchants.

And as Harold had somehow anticipated, Erica was an obvious target for these men. Breathtakingly beautiful, from a distinguished family, and unmarried, she was the most popular among the seemingly noble women beautifully dressed in the assembly hall.

Which meant that Harold’s work kept him all the more busy. The men who began their advances on Erica were knocked back one by one by Harold’s forceful words, but far from decreasing, their numbers grew.

At a certain point, the crowd surrounding Erica was as large as the crowd surrounding Itsuki.

【”Beautiful lady, may I inquire about your name?”】

【”Would you grant me the honor of dancing with me?”】

【”How about we leave here and go to my room? I have some exquisite wine there.”】

Several men were whispering pick-up lines to her. Harold wasn’t Prince Shōtoku; he could only hear three people at a time, that was his limit. As for the voices of the others, they were just noise.

These men were extremely troublesome. And they seemed to be deliberately ignoring Harold’s presence, who was standing next to Erica. In other words, he was also completely surrounded, just like her.

The situation seemed on the verge of escalating. Erica was at a loss for how to respond to them.

Even though she tried to reply to everyone, every time she answered, three or four other voices would emerge, so she couldn’t keep up. But that was only natural; she only had one mouth.

Her patience was wearing thin.

Harold’s right arm forcefully pushed its way through the men, as if to protect Erica. At this point, it seemed impossible for them to ignore Harold, and so they began to threaten him with sharp voices, completely different from those they used with Erica.

【”Who the hell are you? Get out of my way.”】

【”What boorish behavior.”】

【”Seriously. How could a rude man like you possibly stand next to Erica? Know your place.”】

【”Why are you so silent? Too cowardly to act like a knight?”】

Harold was under a concentrated barrage of insults.

But this wasn’t yet a situation that would trigger Harold’s “switch.” Instead, he was concerned by their behavior, believing that one shouldn’t simply hurl abuse at someone without knowing their identity.

At least some of them should have recognized that Erica was the host’s younger sister, and since Harold had been escorting her the entire time, they should have considered whether Harold was one of the Sumeragi or Berlioz family officials.

Well, normally, at these kinds of gatherings, everyone knew the names, faces, titles, and official positions of everyone else, so these men probably dismissed Harold as someone who wasn’t on their personal list.

Harold put those minor thoughts aside for now. The immediate problem was how to disperse these men.

In this festive occasion, violence was strictly forbidden, let alone brandishing a weapon. If he caused a commotion, he would be disrupting the party.

But, that said, persuading them with words wasn’t even worth trying. In any case, even if he tried, he would only provoke them, insult them, and make things worse.

So, what should I do? Harold wondered, and could only think of one thing.

Harold took a deep breath, clearing his mind of unnecessary emotions. What he needed was pure killing intent.

He visualized the men in front of him as powerful, clearly hostile foes. He pictured them as sworn enemies at Justus’ level. And with that, a burning flame colder than ice ignited and flickered within his mind.

Raging hostility, simmering malice, and pure killing intent merged into a single, harmonious entity within him. Then, Harold channeled those feelings into words, unleashing them upon the men without mercy.

【”Get out of my sight.”】

It was just one short sentence. However, within that sentence was an intensely dense, illusory aura of death.

Harold was thinking of frightening the men and making them flee.

However, the power of Harold’s killing intent—his thirst for blood—was no longer at that level. No one moved from their spot. Of course, it wasn’t because the thirst for blood wasn’t effective.

It was actually too effective. For someone not accustomed to death or the brink of death, it was unbearable. It could even create a tangible physical pressure.

A thud echoed. Looking at the source of the sound, one of the men surrounding Erica had lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground. As if taking that noise as a signal, several other men collapsed as well.

Reactions varied. Some fainted like the others, some trembled with fear and couldn’t stand, and some, perceiving their own impending doom, wept and begged for their lives.

It was a bizarre spectacle, naturally attracting the attention of those around.

From a gap in the crowd, Harold could see Itsuki, placing his right hand to his head, as if to say, “Oops.”

And Harold found himself in a similar state of mind, due to these unexpected results.

From this day forward, a story, seemingly close to the truth, began to circulate among the aristocracy.

“The daughter of the Sumeragi has a watchdog that could bite a death god to death.”

◇

(???’s Point of View)

The man thought he had died. Or, more accurately, he thought he had been killed.

However, either way, he was wrong.

But he had certainly felt a sword pierce his abdomen. He even had the illusion that it had cut his neck.

And the source of that feeling was someone’s thirst for blood.

However, it seemed not directed at him. As he turned and looked behind him, several people lay on the ground, among them a beautiful woman in a kimono, and a young man standing beside her as if to protect her.

Judging by the situation, the young man was likely the one who unleashed that thirst for blood. Considering that the man had only felt the after-effects of that thirst for blood, yet it had given him such a vivid image of death, there was no way that young man was ordinary.

Who was that young man? How strong was he? And why was he here? Though the man had many questions, none of these mattered.

Because the man’s eyes were completely fixed on the beautiful woman next to the young man. She was like a lovely, fragile flower bathed in moonlight. But in her presence, even the brightest flowers, the most dazzling butterflies, or the most perfect paradise would pale.

Her beauty was that powerful. Which is why the young man’s existence instantly faded from the man’s mind, and before he realized it, he was approaching the woman.

【”Meeting you today is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me. And I’d like to share this wonderful feeling with you. But first, may I know your name, my lady?”】

【”I am the daughter of the Sumeragi family, Erica Sumeragi. I would be pleased to make your acquaintance.”】

【”Oh, Erica! A lovely name, fitting your beauty. I am—”】

【”—Francis J. Arkwright.”】

The man’s—Francis’s—words were interrupted by the young man. The young man, standing next to Erica, had correctly guessed Francis’s name before he could introduce himself.

And that felt suspicious to him. Francis had decided to attend this event at the last minute. In other words, his name wasn’t on the list of attendees. This meant the young man knew about Francis beforehand.

【”Do you know me? Well, I am famous after all.”】

【”Yes, your bad habits are famous.”】

【”Wha……! You seem to know me very well. But that information is already outdated.”】

Francis knelt, taking Erica’s hand.

【”Because my heart will be completely devoted to Erica from now on!”】

【”Mr. Arkwright, even if you suddenly say that, I am not going to—”】

【”Arkwright is too formal! Call me Franck.”】

Erica was perplexed by Francis’s passionate approach. However, this was his style.

When he seduced a woman, he did it with passion, and if pushing wasn’t enough, he pushed harder. Up to now, Francis had conquered many women using this technique.

However, now that he had met Erica, he was confident that all the women he had conquered were merely training to win over Erica’s heart.

But that wasn’t all. He believed that his naturally handsome looks, as well as everything he inherited through his lineage, were all part of the fate bestowed upon him by God, ensuring he wouldn’t be inferior to Erica.

If anyone stood in the way of that fate, he wouldn’t hesitate to face a monster capable of killing with a mere thirst for blood, and Francis believed he would definitely prevail. With that conviction, Francis looked at the young man beside Erica.

But the young man’s eyes seemed completely indifferent, as if Francis’s strong conviction meant nothing to him. This surprised Francis.

He expected at least some reaction.

【”This is quite unexpected. Are you not going to stop me?”】

【”You seem like a different kind of fool from the masses who tumbled around here. Do as you please.”】

As he said that, the young man crossed his arms and leaned against the wall behind him. From the young man’s attitude, Francis could sense that he didn’t really care about what was happening.

Was he not Erica’s servant or fiancé?

Though Francis still had many doubts, the young man had said he wouldn’t interfere, which was convenient for him. And so, as he was about to renew his attack on Erica…

【”Well, that is, if you can get that guy’s permission.”】

The young man added, as Francis felt a hand on his shoulder.

That hand possessed such strength that it felt like it would crush his shoulder. But it was that very pain that triggered Francis’s memory.

He had been distracted by her first name, but the woman had certainly called herself Sumeragi. And Francis knew someone with the same surname.

He cautiously turned his head. There, stood someone on friendly terms with Francis, his friend, Itsuki Sumeragi.

Francis, instantly understanding the situation and the relationship between Itsuki and Erica, spoke without hesitation.

【”Itsuki, allow me to call you my brother-in-law from now on.”】

【”Call me what?! Get your hands off Erica, you lustful scoundrel!”】

Itsuki’s angry voice echoed throughout the Berlioz mansion.