After having our meal at the restaurant, we returned to the Brutein mansion, and I called Chris, the head butler, and ordered him to find a talented artist.
"My lord, if I recall well, you also asked for me to find a person?"
"Yes."
The main character – Ciel Midford fled from Louerg into the frozen wilds, so I don't think he would be around Brutein, at least for now.
There is also a scene in the novel where Euphemia tells Ciel Midford what kind of family the Bruiteins are.
Unless he is an idiot, he would never come to a place where his 'enemy's' influence is the greatest.
But I can't rule out the possibility.
I don't want to wake up getting stabbed if possible, so I must spread the net as far as I can.
I need to act as if I have forgotten about his very existence, while also preparing my trap.
"Yes, I indeed tasked you with finding this person… and if you really find him, and if it's possible, kill him and bring his head to me."
"My lord, seeing that you are wary of this individual, is there something I should be aware of?"
"Your target has the talent to become an Auror Knight, and I suspect he will embark on that path if he survives the frozen wilds."
Neither Ciel Midford himself, the protagonist, nor Euphemia, the 'Heroine', knew, but as a reader, I am aware of the Main Character's strength and talents.
Among those that can wield mana.
The step to reach the Auror knight level – the Efflorescence – is considered to be the most difficult trial.
At the final moment of the 'Efflorescence', the individual's mana radiates beyond his body and takes most optimal form for the user, containing anti-magical properties
In general, interfering with a spell being cast is the most common way to destroy a magical phenomenon, but the Auror Knight's attack, infused with anti-magic energy, can destroy the whole phenomenon even after the said spell is completed.
The mana of an Auror Knight is the antithesis of any magical phenomenon.
Therefore, its name, Anti-Magic.
"The loyal dog who was guarding his owner fled with his tail between his legs, so I am sure that one day this dog will try to bite me. For this reason, I will be borrowing the resources of Brutein."
Our family's influence is most predominant in the 'Central Brutein.'
But on the outskirts of the Brutein family's territory, where our influence is not concrete, I will need to make use of the young aristocrats who will attend the academy.
Those nobles would jump at the opportunity to build some connections with the Bruteins, and gain our favor. But since I'm not some kind of third-rate villain, information about the target having the potential to be an Auror Knight will also be divulged.
"That's why I need you to find me an artist, so my target's portrait will be finished as soon as possible."
"Worry not my lord, despite your and master's …. 'conflicted' childhood, Brutein will always stand with you"
"... "
"So my lord, please feel free to depend on your family a little more, even the head of the family thinks so too, even if he talks with his back turned to you…"
"That's enough Chris, I do not doubt my brother's sincerity."
As I slowly walked out of the office, I could see the scenery being painted in the shade of tangerine by the setting sun.
In both winter and spring, the sun only rises for a short time.
While thinking about these miscellaneous things, I entered the bathroom for a quick bath and went into my room.
"...!"
Euphemia, who was quietly reading a book while resting on the bed, looked at me cautiously.
"There was nothing I could do… and there were some books from the study lying around… so-"
"It's fine."
I wouldn't be offended by Euphemia taking a book and reading it, but something about her reactions and her need to explain everything to me was oddly… amusing.
"Enjoy your book, as I deal with some business."
Sitting in front of my desk, I prepared a pen, ink, and some sheets of paper while fixing them with a thumbtack.
'It's not surprising that we would have nothing to say to each other.'
This thumbtack prevents the paper from shaking while one writes on it.
It was funny seeing how naturally these small habits were integrated into my body. Focusing on the task at hand, I wrote down the life of Isabel Ron Pierre Genova, whom I had a glimpse of.
If I use all my mana, I could maintain a rate of 40~50% understanding of her corpse.
But in order to extract her powers fully as an Euclidean-class elemental wizard, I need to reach at least 60% of understanding.
'... '
After writing down all the events of her life that I could remember, I was amazed to see that the letters were perfectly symmetrical.
Even though I had a talent related to writing, how much effort does one person have to put in to make such a thing possible?
And so, I felt a little sympathy for Ferzen's life, because of what he must have suffered in order to accomplish something like this.
* * * * *
Clink.
After I organized my insights on Isabel's life, receiving near-instantaneous feedback, as I felt my synchronization rate increase, I put my pen down and stood up while massaging my sore wrists.
'This is enough for today.'
The synchronization rate that I achieved for compiling the memories I've seen was only 0.3%.
It may not seem like much, but you need to consider that it's virtually impossible to comprehend someone else's life completely.
Parents, their children, wives, and husbands.
We as humans can't fully claim that we have a 100% understanding of each other.
"... "
As I looked at the clock, I saw that it was 8:40 PM now.
Euphemia, who was quietly reading her book, was now asleep.
So I took a little peek at the cover to see what sort of book she was reading…
The title 'Understanding the Five Blessings' caught my eye.
'At least she is reading a good book.'
⸄༺ The Five Gods ༻⸅
Although other gods certainly exist in this world, the gods who are the patrons of the humans and grant them their blessings are called the 'Five Gods of Fortune.'
As the name suggests, they are the overseers of five domains.
Protection
Love
Art
Abundance
Wisdom
Among these, the God of Art, is the most well-known one, with the most number of blessings bestowed.
If you go to Rosenberg right now, you will be able to see artists who have received a blessing.
Of course, the power of said blessing is not that much.
This blessing only grants small benefits, like blessing them with more creativity or making them unable to break their instrument until the end of their lives.
Still, even with those minor blessings, he was still recognized and venerated as a God.
This, in turn, empowers the Gods.
However, not every God's blessings are equal.
An example of this would be the Gods of Protection and Wisdom
Since those blessings are rare, those who have received them are given relatively special and powerful abilities
The First Imperial Princess is blessed by the God of Wisdom, and as such, she can have a premonition about plans and events yet to transpire.
Knock, Knock
After I picked up the book, I heard a faint knock on the door, so I walked to it and opened the door.
"My lord, Master instructed me to ask you about your plans for dinner. What would you like?"
"Inform my Lord Brother that I shall be going to sleep early today, and as such, I won't join him for dinner."
"As you wish, my Lord, have a pleasant sleep."
Seeing the maid bowing and turning around, I closed the door and turned off all the lights that were illuminating the room.
Creak!
Then I lay in my bed and looked at Eupehmia's appearance while being subjected to the gaze of the moon.
The perfect golden ratio that puts my mind at ease no matter how many times I look at it, I can't get enough of it.
'... '
As I began to gently stroke her beautiful hair, a thought suddenly came to my mind. Lowering my hand, I touched Euphemia's navel.
Given my current predicament, wouldn't it be better to have a child with Euphemia rather than slowly trying to win her over?
Knowing her low self-esteem, it would be easy enough to have my way with her.
Being pregnant and becoming a mother can have great implications for the life of a woman.
And once I become a professor at the imperial academy, I will spend even less time with her than usual.
"What are you doing... "
I guess she wasn't in as deep slumber as I thought she would be.
Euphemia, who awakened to my hand stroking her navel, slowly backed away with a wary expression on her face.
"Ah !"
Grabbing her slender ankle, I pulled her close to me with astonishing ease.
While doing so, her pure white and plump thighs caught my eye.
Although Seo-jin's ego dwelling inside of me revealed his objection after seeing Euphemia's frightful face, it was not difficult to ease this feeling because of the fact we were married and both Ferzen's and Seo-jin's ego would never hurt Euphemia, they had enough affection for her.
In the first place, the ego that merged with Ferzen's didn't belong to a Saint.
At best, it was the ego of an ordinary model citizen from a modern world.
And it was natural to lose your rationality while being swept away by desire.
"Y-you are really going to embrace a lowly woman like me…?!"
"Yes"
After I rolled up my sleeves neatly, I looked down at Euphemia and said:
"If you hang a pearl necklace on a pig's neck, those around you would be ashamed and disgusted by it, but if a voguish person is the one wearing an unsightly necklace, they will try to find some meaning in it."
"Ah... "
"It is the noble name of Brutein that makes a lowlife worthy. So you don't have to worry about that."
"No…"
"Euphemia El Lauren Louerg, above all, you are my wife. And as such you have the obligation to receive my seed and give birth to strong descendants"
Euphemia stopped her struggle and looked almost… resigned.
Her quivering body looked like it was about to break at any moment, but the knowledge of how to handle such a delicate thing was engraved in my very soul.
Oky lads, here's the thing. i know I'm a horrible person for blue balling u guys right on the cusp of the snu snu chapter, but I had some pretty serious irl stuff, and I couldn't translate for almost 2 weeks, so you guys are reading my stockpile. And imma take the next 7 days to build it again, so you can have a more pleasant experience with no cliffhangers. ( but I gotta admit… that's is pretty damn good cliff-hanging ya'll)