Chapter 6: Brotherly Conflict (5)
“Young Master is taking too long.”
Among the nobles watching, the only one showing clear anxiety was Count Antoni, Yulian’s maternal uncle.
If Yulian failed to inherit the position of successor, his connection to the Renorf Marquis family would end that very day.
He couldn’t hide his unease.
“Haha, just wait without worrying.”
“The outcome is practically decided already.”
The other nobles tried to reassure him in calm tones.
But Antoni couldn’t relax.
Yulian was talented, yes.
But there was no absolute guarantee he would win.
He couldn’t understand why everyone else seemed so at ease.
“Aren’t any of you concerned about what if something unexpected happens?”
At his question, the nobles around him all burst out laughing.
“Count, do you not know what kind of person Ian is?”
“I heard he once had considerable talent…”
“That was all in the past.”
The one who answered on behalf of the others was a middle-aged man wearing a monocle.
Antoni recognized him immediately.
One of Yulian’s close allies, and part of a branch family supporting the house.
“No matter how great one’s talent is, neglect will make it rust. Ian is like iron sunk to the bottom of the sea.”
The monocled man pointed at the dark barrier before them.
“You can tell just from the fact he hasn’t dispelled even that simple spell. Ian has absolutely no chance of winning.”
That barrier completely blocking outside vision was obviously a trap meant to kill him.
Ian should know that.
The fact he still hadn’t responded proved how poor his ability was.
“I see…”
Antoni narrowed his eyes at the barrier, trying to see through it.
Impossible.
“Is there no way to look inside?”
“It is possible by creating an opening with magic, but that would violate the duel’s rules.”
“And if one breaks the rules?”
“Immediate expulsion.”
Expulsion.
Being cast out of the family.
No longer recognized as one of its members.
A harsh punishment for nobles who valued honor.
But in the North…
Its weight was even greater.
“So that’s why everyone is quietly waiting.”
“Yes. Without the marquis family’s protection, no one survives here.”
This northern region was full of monsters and foreign tribes.
Only the Renorf Marquis family, and specifically the main house, was allowed to raise private soldiers without restriction.
Other nobles could defend their lands with only about a hundred soldiers.
Under such conditions…
The Renorf family’s influence was beyond imagination.
‘Power gained in exchange for swearing loyalty to the Empire.’
Antoni recalled the contract passed down through the marquis line.
‘If Yulian wins this duel, he’ll wear the same shackles.’
Without realizing it, Antoni had already been influenced by the other nobles.
He, too, had started believing in Yulian’s victory.
Yet inside the black barrier…
Something no one expected was happening.
***
Honestly…
If I could, I wanted to stay sitting right there.
Now that the tension had broken, my hands and legs trembled.
My breathing came rough.
The joy of winning a life-or-death struggle…
And the terror of nearly dying…
Both crashed into me at once.
But this wasn’t the time to relax.
I forced myself up and walked to Yulian.
He was unconscious.
But I had no idea when he might wake.
So as a precaution, I tore strips from outer clothing and tied his hands tightly.
“Strange… even though he’s unconscious, the barrier isn’t disappearing.”
Normally magic vanished if its caster lost consciousness.
To avoid that, you needed to pour in huge amounts of mana for duration…
Or set a release condition in advance.
“He fired off spells right away, so he probably didn’t dump mana into maintaining it…”
“Then it must have a condition.”
I didn’t need to overthink it.
Since he meant to kill me and make it look like an accident…
My death was almost certainly the release condition.
“He’s really sincere about killing his little brother.”
I remembered the Empire’s culture from the game.
A nation where only the capable were valued.
Where even falling victim to plots was seen as proof of weakness.
Among imperial nobles, siblings trying to kill each other wasn’t unusual.
Personal affection meant less than honor and position.
Being ruled by emotion is for the weak.
Even the Emperor had proven that by purging his siblings.
If the ruler behaved that way…
Of course the nobles learned the same.
“If I don’t settle this properly, he’ll keep coming after me.”
I stared at the unconscious Yulian.
If I killed him now…
Life might become easier immediately.
The Renorf family was powerful.
Becoming successor had many benefits.
But would the family welcome an illegitimate second son taking the seat?
Of course not.
Especially those five branch nobles.
They’d see me as a thorn.
And likely use even worse methods than Yulian.
“It’s a problem I could solve slowly over time…”
I had cleared Survival Fantasy countless times.
Even side quests unrelated to the main story—I remembered their solutions.
But I didn’t want to spend time clearing this quest.
The Renorf family questline was only a side story.
Even clearing it only added convenience.
It had no impact on the main story.
Of course…
That was from the protagonist’s point of view.
Right now I wasn’t the protagonist.
I was Ian, the marquis’s bastard son.
And seen from that angle…
This quest had a fatal flaw.
“Setting everything else aside… this part is absolutely unacceptable.”
I lowered my gaze to the contract in my hand.
A Unique-grade item that forced obedience.
The reason the Renorf family could prepare something this rare for every succession duel…
Was their contract with the Emperor.
The victor shall swear loyalty and absolute obedience to the Emperor.
Written in red on the first line.
By signing this, every new Renorf head gained power and prestige backed by the Emperor.
It was supposedly a reward for founding the Empire.
But really…
It was a slave contract with your life as collateral.
And I wanted no part of it.
The Emperor was one of the main obstacles in the main quest.
Obey him?
No thanks.
Being unable to use magic was penalty enough.
Add more disadvantages, and clearing the game might become impossible.
“Good thing the barrier blocks all vision.”
This was a space only Yulian and I could see.
Whatever happened here…
Only we would know.
No negotiation could leak outside.
The spell Yulian used to trap me…
Had become his own prison.
***
“Let’s see… add this clause here…”
“Then all that’s left is for both of us to sign.”
Yulian slowly regained consciousness and heard me muttering.
Before he understood what was happening, he noticed—
His hands.
Bound.
“Damn it…!”
He frowned and tried to rise.
But with bound hands he couldn’t even balance.
He writhed on the floor like a caterpillar.
“You’re awake.”
When I approached, Yulian inhaled sharply.
“What did you do to me?!”
“Beat you up and tied you. Do I really have to explain?”
“You bastard…!”
He hated everything about my attitude.
The smile.
The way I looked down at him.
If he could, he wanted to throw every spell he knew at me.
But he couldn’t.
“Fireball!”
He shouted desperately.
A fireball formed.
But instead of flying at me…
It wobbled in front of him.
Then exploded.
“AAARGH!”
I stepped back in time.
Yulian couldn’t.
He took the blast head-on.
Thrown backward, singed and battered.
“Cough! Cough!”
He coughed dryly, stunned.
If the spell had fully formed…
Burns would have been the least of his problems.
“Damn…”
To make a fool of himself like this in front of me…
Humiliation.
And I only made it worse.
“Looks like you can’t control magic with your hands bound.”
“Shut up…”
“Happens often to mages who memorize theory without real combat. Don’t be too embarrassed.”
“I said shut up!”
He roared.
But lying on the floor with tied hands…
He was hardly threatening.
And realizing that only enraged him more.
“Why keep me alive? To mock me and satisfy your inferiority complex?”
“Inferiority complex? Mine?”
I burst out laughing.
His face twisted more and more.
“What’s so funny?”
“The guy who panicked and poisoned his brother before a duel talking about inferiority is hilarious.”
“T-That was a precaution!”
“A precaution? Even though your younger brother abandoned magic and chased women, you still poisoned him in case you might lose?”
I looked at him with open scorn.
His face burned with shame.
“How little confidence do you have to do something like that?”
Each word stabbed him.
He couldn’t even lift his head.
Couldn’t refute me.
Only pray for the humiliation to end.
“You could at least have won. You acted that pathetically and still lost.”
“…”
“I wonder what people would say if they saw this.”
“Stop…”
He pleaded.
“Did you keep me alive just to insult me? Kill me instead!”
“Dying won’t restore your honor. It’ll only add ‘idiot trapped by his own scheme’ to your name.”
“Then what do you want?! Do you want me begging on my knees?!”
He shouted desperately.
I shook my head.
“No. Just sign this.”
I held out the contract.
He immediately recognized it.
“Are you insane?”
He read it.
And stared.
Ian von Renorf acknowledges defeat and permanently renounces succession rights.
Beneath the Emperor loyalty clause…
I had added my own.
I was declaring my own defeat.
“You’re giving up a fight you already won? Why?”
“Read below.”
He followed my finger.
The victor shall support the loser materially and otherwise whenever requested.
Yulian looked dumbfounded.
“You mean I get the succession seat… and become your caretaker?”
“You get honor and position. I get practical benefits. Fair, right?”
It was hard for him to refuse.
Far better to keep succession and carry some burden…
Than lose everything in disgrace.
But there was one more clause.
The victor and loser shall die at the same date and hour.
Short.
But impossible to ignore.
“What is this last clause?”
“Insurance.”
“Insurance?”
“Considering everything you’ve done, this much protection is only reasonable.”
Hearing that, Yulian recalled all his assassination attempts.
‘If even one had worked, it wouldn’t have come to this.’
He clicked his tongue in regret.
Not reflection.
Regret.
“Damn it.”
He couldn’t bear rejecting the offer and accepting defeat.
Everything he’d secretly done to undermine me would come back on him.
In the end…
He gave up.
Raised his bound hands.
And pressed his mark onto the contract.
The moment both our consent was confirmed—
The contract glowed.
And vanished.
