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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Fraternal Deception
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Thud, thud!
Upon the report from soldiers searching the outer walls, the Eldest Young Lord Alex Lichtenauer and the search party rushed to the main gate of the family manor. They were utterly speechless at the sight of the Second Young Lord.
His disheveled hair and ragged clothes.
The Second Young Lord, Ian Lichtenauer, was covered head to toe in dirt, looking every bit like a beggar from the back alleys.
Scratch, scratch!
Was it because of the clumps of dirt that hadn't fully fallen off yet?
As he scratched vigorously at the back of his head from the irritating sensation on his scalp, the remaining dirt crumbled down in a shower.
"Yaaawn... You're all working hard early in the morning, huh? What's all this fuss about?"
...Twitch!
Seeing Ian casually gaping wide and yawning, the veins on the foreheads of every search party member throbbed. They had been up before dawn, enduring the stench of dung and the reek of horse sweat in their grueling ordeal.
"Second Young Lord, where on earth have you been all this time and what have you been doing...?"
No matter that he was one of the only two direct descendants alongside the Eldest Young Lord, they could no longer hold back.
"Search captain, enough."
It was none other than the Eldest Young Lord who stopped the search captain from speaking out, even at the risk of punishment.
Thud, thud!
The Eldest Young Lord, Alex Lichtenauer, walked slowly toward Ian.
"...?"
Ian stared at Alex, clueless as to what was happening.
Whoosh!
Alex silently pulled Ian into a tight embrace.
Even as the dirt smeared onto his neatly groomed appearance and pristine clothes, Alex didn't mind one bit.
"You rascal, where on earth have you been wandering off to without a word? Do you know how worried everyone was? We searched high and low for you."
Stroke, stroke!
Compared to Lucas, his hands were small like a meerkat's, but compared to Ian, they felt reassuringly sturdy as they gently patted Ian's head.
"I want to ask why you suddenly vanished, but... you're back safe and sound, so that's what matters. Go inside and rest up for now. We'll talk later. As for the Gate Opening Ceremony, I'll speak to Father about it, so don't worry."
'Gate Opening Ceremony?'
What was that?
Unaware of the full context, Ian pondered. Alex simply gazed at him with warm, affectionate eyes, seemingly oblivious to Ian's confusion.
'Well, now...'
To any onlooker, it was the picture of brotherly love. Yet Ian stared straight into Alex's eyes.
And soon enough...
...Heh!
Ian hugged his brother Alex's back in return.
"Sorry for making you worry, brother."
"...?"
Alex's body stiffened for a split second at his strangely unfamiliar tone, but no one noticed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Splash!
"Haaaah..."
Soaking in the warm water eased away the fatigue from last night's ordeals, melting it like mist.
Though his soul was that of the Overlord who had dominated the Northern Continent, his body was still that of a half-crippled child.
A body that had nearly been buried alive in a remote mountain—it couldn't help but feel the languor.
Gazing blankly at the steam rising to the ceiling, Ian recalled the man he'd just met.
'Alex, huh...'
Alex Lichtenauer.
The pride of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan from the Southern Continent—the Eldest Young Lord.
The treasure of the family, beloved not just by the clan but by everyone in the Titan Domain.
He was known for his warm and gentle heart, never scolding even his flawed younger brother Ian.
Ian could sense that the original owner of this body held good memories of Alex as well.
But Ian instinctively knew otherwise.
Alex Lichtenauer couldn't be all that saintly.
"He reeks of it, that scent. Usually, the ones who look flawless on the outside are the ones stirring up trouble from behind."
The faint killing intent he'd felt during the embrace.
The senses of Lucas—the Overlord who had devoured the savage Northern Continent and ascended to supreme heights—were screaming it.
Beware Alex Lichtenauer.
'Still, it's odd.'
The man called Alex, Ian's elder brother, possessed a physique and frame befitting the Lichtenauers' future—a perfect heir.
He was the firstborn son, not even the precarious second.
So why would someone like that harbor killing intent toward Ian?
He could secure the heir position just by biding his time.
'Well, time will tell if I wait patiently.'
Blorp!
Ian dunked his head under the warm water, halting his thoughts.
If his senses weren't mistaken, then with Ian—who should have died—alive and back, Alex Lichtenauer would make some move.
In that case, Ian's task was simple.
Devote himself fully to reclaiming his past power.
An Overlord never bends to schemes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Huff, huff!"
On the mountain slope as dawn broke.
The two thugs, beaten like dogs in summer heat by Ian, dragged their battered bodies down the mountain at last.
They headed in the opposite direction from the Titan Domain.
"Urgh, everything aches. Damn it. Looks like we've gotten ourselves in deep."
He'd thought it'd be a simple snatch-and-grab of some naive young master. Who knew that young master was no ordinary fool?
"Th-that monster bastard... Wh-why did he let us live?"
"How the hell should I know, you idiot! Just hurry up and move. My gut's screaming this ain't good."
Unlike his subordinate, who was simply glad to be alive, the thug couldn't shake the ominous premonition.
'That kid's strength was no joke. To subdue a kid like that and drug him...'
It had to be some heavyweight faction behind it.
People like that would have long noticed the kid's safe return.
And there'd be no mercy for screw-ups like them.
"From now on—no, for the rest of our lives—stay the hell away from Titan Domain. That's our only shot at living."
"Y-yes...? But our organization's in Titan Domain..."
"You moron! Think it'll still be standing? We gotta wash our names clean, fake new identities, and start over! We picked the wrong fight!"
He yelled at his dim-witted underling, who still hadn't grasped the situation.
'Damn it, shouldn't have taken this gig for the fat pay.'
The terms had seemed too good from the start—suspiciously so.
"No time to dawdle. We'll grab the stash we hid in the domain later."
"..."
As the dimwit stayed mute, the thug scowled and barked.
"What're you doing, idiot? Hurry up! Time's ticking!"
"..."
Even after his prodding, no response. Irritated, the thug whipped his head around.
"You bastard, where the hell is your head at—?!"
He couldn't finish.
First, shock—his diligently trailing underling lay collapsed in a pool of blood.
Second, a headless corpse couldn't speak.
Drip, drip!
From the slender rapier, crimson droplets trailed down.
"Useless trash."
Whoosh!
A masked man shook the blood from his rapier, his gloomy voice dripping contempt for the thugs.
Swish, swish!
Shadows rose one by one behind him, as if they'd always been there.
"All members of Spotty Family in the domain have been eliminated."
"Survivors?"
"None."
"Good work."
The man gave the shadows curt praise.
His lord's command.
No outsiders could know of that potentially damaging order.
Even ignorance didn't matter.
Any link to those who knew of the commission was reason enough for death.
"Return to the manor."
At his word, the shadows melted into the darkness one by one.
All that remained in their wake were the thugs' pathetic corpses.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Wipe, wipe!
A man with exquisitely handsome features, like a masterpiece sculpture, meticulously cleaned his hands with a handkerchief.
One wondered just how filthy they must be to warrant such diligent scrubbing.
...Halt!
His endless wiping stopped abruptly.
"Cleanup... done thoroughly?"
It was odd. The room was empty save for himself, yet he addressed the empty air as if someone were there.
Swish!
As if to prove his sanity, a shadow stretched long from the ceiling, revealing a figure.
"No outsiders with even a hint of knowledge of your lordship's secret order remain in the domain."
"Good. I knew you'd handle those third-rate hacks properly, unlike them."
The man's—Eldest Young Lord Alex Lichtenauer's—icy gaze fell on the shadow.
"Still, blood is blood, I suppose? Entrusting it to total outsiders was clever enough. But keeping around the incompetent fool who hired those hacks? That's on me."
"...!!"
The shadow bowed so low its head nearly touched the floor under the Eldest Young Lord's freezing stare.
"I-I'm sorry."
A tremor leaked into the shadow's voice.
His lord, Eldest Young Lord Alex Lichtenauer, hid a ruthless, ferocious nature beneath his kind and benevolent facade.
"...Enough. I ordered maximum cover-up myself, so it's my fault too. How could you have known that idiot would survive even drugged?"
"..."
The shadow stayed silent. His words sought no agreement.
"I talked to Father and pushed the Gate Opening Ceremony to tomorrow somehow..."
Creeeak!
Alex slowly rose from his chair and walked to the window.
A sky where the moon had set, twinkling with a few stars. Gazing at it, Alex muttered offhandedly.
"With our incompetent little brother's talents, he'll surely be humiliated by the collaterals and executives at the family Gate Opening Ceremony. If I foresaw that... wouldn't it be the bare minimum brotherly duty to prevent it?"
"...!!"
Grasping the implication of Alex's 'soliloquy,' the shadow silently bowed to him and slipped out of the room.
Swish!
Alex didn't even turn toward the vanishing shadow. His gaze remained fixed on the twinkling stars.
"Tsk tsk, little brother. I don't know how you came back, but wouldn't it have been better to just quietly drift off in a drugged haze?"
Alex clicked his tongue softly at his brother, who had rejected his mercy and returned.
The few stars reflected in Alex's eyes shone especially bright, devouring the surrounding starlight.
Among them, the largest and brightest—the South Star.
Alex firmly believed that star, the most radiant in the Southern Continent, was his.
A fitting star for the future head of the mighty Lichtenauer Martial Clan.
Humans couldn't touch the stars, but Alex had long imagined.
If one could reach the sky.
How to make the South Star shine brightest.
To make the radiant South Star stand out, Alex concluded two things were needed.
One: Pluck away stars nearly as bright, though not quite.
Two: Remove the dim specks that couldn't even glow, tarnishing the South Star's dignity.
"There are just too many useless stars around."
Third-rate specks dragging down the South Star's grace. Alex decided to start by clearing that trash.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The shadow headed straight for the Second Young Lord's, Ian's, room.
...Click!
Quietly removing the latch from the outer window, it slowly slid it open.
Despite the large window opening, the movement was so stealthy that only a faint breeze whispered—no other sound.
Swish!
Blending seamlessly with the darkness, it infiltrated Ian's room. It was the shadow spurred by Alex's 'soliloquy.'
His lord had given no explicit 'order.'
Even if things went wrong, it wouldn't harm his lord.
'Not that it will.'
It was just eliminating the family outcast Second Young Lord.
A rotten fish still swam; he'd survived the thugs by luck.
But he couldn't dodge the blade of an elite Shadow Unit operative like himself.
Look at him now.
Ian sat cross-legged, eyes closed, oblivious to the intruder's presence.
No way that vermin could cultivate aura. He was probably just mimicking meditation he'd seen, preparing for tomorrow's Gate Opening Ceremony.
'Second Young Lord, Ian Lichtenauer.'
A blemish on his lord—the next head of the great Lichtenauer family—Alex Lichtenauer.
Swish!
The shadow cautiously raised its hand.