Chapter 61  

In the Eastern Continent, the various kingdoms had always been fighting for dominance—small and large power struggles alike.

But recently, the western kingdom, Pantheon, suddenly rose as the new leader.

It was all thanks to the ambition of King Aren, who ruled Pantheon.

Even though he had been politically sidelined in the imperial palace, Tiaan had continued studying diplomacy without neglect. So naturally, when he heard the recent rumors, something clicked in his mind.

“Don’t tell me… King Aren is preparing for a conquest war?”

If that was true, everything made sense.

If Aren used his geographical advantage to cut off the sea route to the Western Continent,
And shut down all trade routes—

Then yes, that would explain why the entire Eastern market had suddenly collapsed.

Tiaan had started investigating from a small suspicion.

But the deeper he dug, the more shocking the information became—the kind of intelligence you couldn’t buy even with mountains of gold.

‘Aside from Pantheon, the entire Eastern Continent has united into an Allied Force.
And they’re searching for a weapons supplier.’

As soon as Tiaan heard this, he rushed to the Emperor and reported it.

The Emperor was delighted.

‘We cannot allow Aren to unify the Eastern Continent.
A man like him will definitely set his sights on our Western lands next.’

And so, the Empire decided to support the Eastern Allied Forces with weapons.

But unbelievably—

Empress Karin had already sent Abner a contract termination notice.

The emperor exploded in anger and scolded her harshly.

Because of that, Empress Karin became the person who made a terrible mistake right before a major international conflict.

On the other hand, Tiaan became the one who foresaw the Eastern crisis ahead of time—
the key contributor to solving the situation.

* * *

“He’s faster than I expected…”

I watched Tiaan leave the meeting hall, tilting my head slightly.

Surrounding him were several guards wearing special uniforms.

Among them, I spotted a familiar face.

“Logrio.”

He looked younger than the Logrio I had met in my previous life.

His expression looked much brighter, and—most noticeably—
His left hand was still attached.

“That means Tiaan safely delivered the Lubawen and Lubarina to him.”

He must have used them to help heal his injuries and return to the palace.

Feeling proud, I kept glancing at Logrio’s left hand.

Tiaan had said that the recommendation letter had already been submitted to the pharmacy academy.

Now Lubarina and Lubawen only needed to be officially registered.

“Good for Tiaan too—he finally has a loyal guard.”

I was thinking about all that when—

“The meeting took longer than expected.”

A deep voice broke the silence of the hall.

It was Sharon Abner.

Earlier, she had politely asked Tiaan to step out until the meeting wrapped up.

Tiaan agreed pleasantly and had just left.

“It seems there were more topics than usual today.
What do you all think?”

Sharon Abner’s violet eyes gleamed sharply.

Even Lady Larien, who normally yelled loudly, stayed silent at that moment.

So did Viscount Kainton and Chairman Herrmann.

“Returning to the original topic…”

Sharon looked down at the old history book lying in front of Kainton.

“So, there were past records showing that a title was passed on to a spouse.
And this letter from Lloyd.”

The branch family members swallowed nervously.

The materials I brought today were not ordinary.

Each one was like magic—perfect for proving Sharon Abner’s legitimacy.

Sharon gently touched the letter written by Lloyd.

A letter expressing his wish for her to become the next head of the family.

“I should have cleaned out the library archives earlier.
It would have saved us all these pointless power struggles.”

Her cold gaze swept across the branch families.

They all sat frozen, not daring to move a finger.

“Let’s be honest. I’ve always known why you oppose me.
Who wouldn’t know?”

Sharon’s expression looked angry… but also strangely sad.

“I thought that if I worked hard, my lack of bloodline legitimacy would eventually be made up for with achievements.
I wanted to prove myself not through blood, but through results.
Because I, too, am an Abner—and I wanted to respect all of you.”

Silence.

“But now… this situation has become ridiculous.”

Chairman Herrmann gripped his robe nervously.

The branch families lowered their eyes anxiously.

“I wonder… Am I angry?
Perhaps I am.”

Sharon’s voice dropped even lower.

Just as I turned to look at her—

“Then how about killing them all?”

From beside her—

“Why not just cut off all their heads at once?
They’re disgusting and insolent.”

For the first time since the meeting began, Jaden spoke.

He had a picture-perfect smile on his lips.

The branch family members turned pale instantly.

“They schemed endlessly to put a knife to your throat, Mother.
These filthy pigs.”

“They’re incompetent fools who dared to run their mouths freely all this time.”

Jaden’s voice was strangely pleasant to listen to—

which only made the chilling aura around him even more unsettling.

“Right now, no one here would dare oppose you.
Just give the order. I’ll handle it personally.”

He casually placed his hand on the sword at his waist.

“A-AAA—! That’s not true!!”

Lady Larien shrieked as she jumped up.

“W-we were only thinking about the family! We didn’t know the will of the former Duke!
We didn’t know history had such records!”

“Y-yes, exactly! And wasn’t the Elder Council the one who pushed all of this in the first place?!”

Soon the whole hall broke into chaos.

Elders and branch families began pointing fingers at one another in desperation.

They had finally realized they were trapped in a lion’s den.

Unless someone became the scapegoat, their heads would roll.

“I—I didn’t even know what was happening! The Elders forced me to attend—!”

“M-me too! I never strongly opposed Your Grace! Never!”

People who had always called her “family head” were now hurriedly switching to “Your Grace.”

No one dared make eye contact with Sharon anymore.

I let out a long sigh.

“They change sides faster than paper flipping in the wind…”

It was almost impressive how instantly their attitudes reversed.

Then Jaden spoke again.

“See, Mother?
Aren’t they repulsive?”

My eyes naturally shifted to him.

“Wouldn’t it be best to just kill them?
All of them.
Right here.”

I was honestly speechless.

Jaden had colluded with Kainton earlier, yet he was now cutting ties without hesitation.

Weren’t these the same branch families who had supported him until now?

And he could suggest killing them without a second thought?

I looked at Sharon anxiously.

Her expression was complicated—not openly agreeing, but not rejecting it either.

“She’s not planning to accept his suggestion… right?”

I carefully approached Sharon.

“Um… Duchess?”

Up to this point, everything was fine.

She had regained her authority, and the branch families had surely learned their lesson.

But if this all ended with a massacre—

That would be a catastrophe.

“I know a really good punishment!”

Everyone, including Jaden, turned their eyes toward me.

The branch families were still trembling like frightened rabbits.

Of course they were terrified.

Even Sharon hadn’t dismissed Jaden’s terrifying suggestion yet.

“The branch families honestly deserve it, but…”

I put my hands on my hips and lifted my chin confidently.

“Ria thinks the Elders and all the retainers did a very bad thing!
They should get a big punishment!”

Chairman Herrmann stiffened.

Lady Larien froze.

I made sure to speak clearly enough for everyone to hear.

“Actually, all of this happened because you didn’t study hard!
You didn’t know the duchess is the strongest and shouldn’t be disrespected!”

Everyone stared at me with miserable faces.

“So I think…”

I smiled brightly.

“You should do copywork!
Rewrite the entire rulebook FIVE times!”

A suffocating silence filled the room.

And then—

“W-we’ll do it!! I’ll write it right now!!”

“M-me too! Please, let me copy it!!”

The room erupted with desperate agreement.