# Chapter 161
—
It had been two days since leaving Arcane.
Arthur gazed out the window, lost in thought.
*‘I wonder what Mother and my little sister are doing.’*
Seven years had passed. Surely, the two of them must have changed a great deal.
Especially Irene. It was very likely she had grown up, just like Julie had.
*‘Since she’s about the same age as Julie… she must be a young lady by now, right?’*
For a moment, Arthur worried that he might not recognize his sister after all these years.
But he soon shook his head, dismissing the thought.
No matter how much she had changed, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize his own sister.
And surely, Irene would be the same with him.
Nodding to himself, Arthur turned back to the window.
*‘Just one more day.’*
In one day, he would arrive at the imperial capital.
The moment that thought made his eyes gleam, the door to his cabin burst open.
Arthur instinctively turned his head.
It was Jeannie, dressed in a maid’s uniform.
Blinking, Arthur asked,
“Jeannie.”
“Yes?”
“…Do you have a headache?”
Jeannie blinked back at him in confusion.
“What do you mean, Young Master?”
“…No, it’s just… you suddenly showed up wearing a maid outfit.”
Jeannie’s lips curled into a smile.
“Fufu… does it suit me?”
“…?”
“Before we visit House Bayern, I thought I’d try it on as practice. It’s not too bad, I think. The fabric feels nice, too.”
Her voice carried an unusual excitement, while Arthur’s face stiffened with discomfort.
It wasn’t the maid outfit itself that bothered him—but the sight of Jeannie humming happily in it somehow looked bizarre.
Then, sitting across from him, Jeannie suddenly bowed her head.
Startled, Arthur instinctively leaned back, only for Jeannie to murmur with a mischievous grin on her lips,
“Master\~”
“…?”
“Would you like anything to drink? Coffee, tea? Just say the word and I’ll bring it right away.”
Arthur’s mouth opened slightly.
“…Jeannie.”
“Yes, Master!”
“…I’m sorry to say this, but… that was honestly creepy.”
Jeannie’s expression immediately crumpled.
“Creepy? Isn’t that a bit much?”
“…Sorry. But it really was creepy.”
“…Did it not suit me *that* badly?”
“Yes.”
Deflated by his blunt reply, Jeannie quietly straightened up and left the cabin.
Scratching his head as he watched her leave, Arthur muttered,
“…Hmm. Should I at least have said it looked good, even as a white lie?”
But after a moment of thought, he shook his head.
Even as a lie, it would have been impossible to say it looked good—because it truly had been bizarre.
Just then, the cabin door flung open again.
Arthur turned his head, startled once more, only to see Jeannie—her face now flushed bright red.
“Yo-Young Master—!”
Her urgent cry widened his eyes.
She rushed toward him, trembling as she thrust a newspaper into his hands.
“H-here…”
Regaining his composure, Arthur took it.
Naturally, his eyes fell on the huge headline printed on the front page.
A hollow laugh escaped him as he read it.
“…What is this?”
The newspaper crumpled in his grip.
“Irene… is having an engagement ceremony with *Bill Dormund*?”
—
—
Irene sat restlessly in her chair.
She fidgeted with her dress, opening and closing her hands, her eyes trembling without pause.
Anna could feel her anxiety without needing to ask.
Startled, Irene turned her head.
“…Anna?”
At her call, Anna gently massaged her shoulders and asked,
“Are you feeling very uneasy, My Lady?”
Irene hesitated, then answered honestly.
“Yes. I’m anxious.”
“Shall we… call it off, even now?”
“……”
Irene fell silent. The nervous tremors she had shown moments earlier ceased.
After a pause, she gave a bitter smile.
“…If it were up to my heart, I’d want that.”
“I’m always on your side, My Lady.”
“Thank you, Anna. Even if it’s just words.”
“It’s not just words, My Lady. I mean it.”
Irene smiled.
But it was far too mature a smile for a girl of fifteen.
Anna let out a heavy sigh.
*‘The heavens are cruel… how could they burden such a young girl with trials like this?’*
She was only fifteen.
An age when other children went to school, played with friends, and perhaps even experienced the trembling of a first love.
Yet Irene Bayern had inherited her family’s house.
Not just any house—but Bayern, the largest and most prestigious noble house in the empire.
By choice or by force, she had no option but to become an adult earlier than anyone else.
Anna found it unbearably tragic.
Why should such a beautiful girl already have to live as an adult?
She should have been able to visit cafés, gossip with friends, and fall in love for the first time before stepping into adulthood.
At that moment, a voice came from beyond the door, where the family’s knight stood guard.
“Lady. Count Cain Dormund and Young Master Bill Dormund have arrived.”
At Haruden’s report, both Irene and Anna flinched.
It was Irene who first regained composure, managing to reply,
“…Show them in.”
With that, the door swung open.
A man with a lion’s mane of red hair strode boldly inside.
Cain Dormund.
The most powerful man in the empire.
At his entrance, Irene involuntarily shivered.
*‘No! You mustn’t be afraid here, Irene Bayern!’*
Scolding herself inwardly, she barely managed to curve her lips into something resembling a smile.
Cain watched her for a moment before chuckling.
“It’s been a while, Lady.”
“Welcome, Count.”
“And the Duke? Where is she?”
“…She is unwell, and could not come.”
“Then I must send him some medicine. How could a mother fail to appear at her own daughter’s betrothal discussion?”
“……”
Irene faltered, struggling to answer.
But before she could, the door opened again and another man stumbled in.
“…Kekeke. Irene!”
The greatest fool in the capital—“Crazy Bill” Dormund.
One eye covered with a patch, drooling, arms flailing in the air.
Irene grimaced in disgust, while Cain muttered,
“…Then, let us begin the discussion.”
His gaze shifted from his son to Irene, who could not hide her distaste.
“The engagement between my son, Bill Dormund… and Lady Irene Bayern.”
—
—
The imperial capital buzzed with commotion.
The cause: the announcement of an unprecedented engagement.
“What? Bayern and Dormund are holding an engagement ceremony?”
“*Those* two houses?”
“…How is that possible? Bayern and Dormund together?”
Dormund—the house of the empire’s most powerful figure.
Bayern—the oldest and most venerable house since the founding of the empire.
The news of an engagement between two houses as incompatible as water and oil left citizens murmuring across all ranks.
“…But really, isn’t this just selling her off?”
“What!? Selling her off? Who?”
“Who else? The Lady of Bayern, of course.”
One citizen shrugged.
“Her fiancé is *Bill Dormund*. The idiot son of the Count.”
Gasps and murmurs followed.
“No way… The brilliant Lady Bayern, engaged to that fool?”
“And she’s the heir to the ducal house too, isn’t she?”
“Then this means… Bayern will be absorbed by Dormund, doesn’t it?”
None believed the engagement was merely a gesture of goodwill.
Everyone knew it was politically motivated.
So while the announcement caused a stir, few were truly surprised.
After all, many had long expected Count Dormund to eventually devour Bayern.
Thus, the public’s concern turned elsewhere.
“…Will Count Dormund actually let the Bayerns live?”
Cain Dormund—swallowing Bayern whole.
The question was whether he would allow Irene and Yonel Bayern to survive.
—
—
Upon hearing of Irene and Bill’s engagement, Arthur thought,
*‘…So the future changed like this, huh?’*
In his past life too, Bill and Irene had been wed.
Technically, it had been marriage, not just engagement—but among noble houses, there was little difference.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
*‘Things are unfolding in an amusing way.’*
What timing—returning to the capital only to be greeted by this news.
Was it good luck or misfortune? Arthur wasn’t sure.
But he soon shook his head.
*‘Doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’ve returned to the capital.’*
Lifting his head, he caught sight of the massive city cloaked in darkness.
Arcane had been grand, but it was nothing compared to the imperial capital.
Even shrouded in night, the thousand-year-old city radiated its dignity.
As he gazed at it, Arthur shuddered.
The madness within him, long dormant, began to stir again.
*‘Ah… it’s been a while, this feeling.’*
Not since Ian Dormund had the world looked this insane.
A slow grin spread across his lips.
There was only one reason his madness had flared again.
*‘Cain Dormund. That man is here, in this city.’*
A thrill coursed through him as he began to walk.
Startled, Jeannie cried out beside him,
“Y-Young Master! Where are you going?”
“To House Dormund.”
“…!”
“I need to have a little chat with them. They say my sister is engaged, after all.”
Jeannie’s jaw dropped.
*‘I-Is he really saying he’ll just march straight to the Dormund estate?’*
Had it been anyone else, she would have dismissed it as a tasteless joke.
But Arthur Bayern was no one else.
Seven years ago, he had already proven the depth of his hatred for Dormund.
*‘He went all the way to the northern snowfields just to kill Ian Dormund with his own hands.’*
There was no way he would sit quietly now, after they forced an engagement upon his sister.
*‘Someone will surely be killed or injured… and if it happens inside the Dormund estate…’*
That someone would almost certainly be Arthur Bayern.
Desperate, Jeannie stepped in front of him.
“…What do you think you’re doing, Jeannie?”
“You’ll die if you go, Young Master!”
Arthur smiled faintly.
“Why would I die, Jeannie?”
“You *will*! Please, think rationally!”
“I am rational right now.”
“No, Young Master, right now you’re…”
Her words trailed off as a shiver ran through her body.
Arthur Bayern’s eyes had completely changed.
The eyes of a man gone mad.
*‘A-a madman has gone even madder!’*
She had to stop him, no matter what.
Arthur was not himself right now.
But before she could speak again, Arthur murmured,
“Noom.”
“…!”
At his call, the spirit of earth appeared, binding Jeannie’s ankles.
Her eyes went wide with shock, while Arthur smiled gently.
“I’ll see you later, Jeannie.”
“Young Master!!”
Ignoring her desperate cry, Arthur strode forward.
His destination: the grand mansion of Cain Dormund.
Even under the cover of night, there was no risk of losing his way.
That grotesque mansion stood out too much, even in darkness.
Without hesitation, Arthur approached, and soon stood before the Dormund estate.
A low murmur escaped his lips.
“…Ah. I can feel it.”
Cain Dormund.
That man’s stench—an unforgettable mix of blood and cologne.
Arthur ran a hand over his face.
*‘He’s in there.’*
Drawing his weapon, he cocked it with a sharp click.
Step by step, the closer he drew, the stronger Cain’s stench became.
It made his lips curl into a grin.
But then—an unfamiliar laugh pierced his ears.
“…Puhahahaha!”
“…?”
“You really haven’t changed a bit. I half-doubted you’d come here, but you actually did.”
In an instant, the twisted colors of the world snapped back to normal.
“…Huh?”
Arthur turned his head, startled.
A man, vaguely familiar, was watching him from the shadows.
“You are…”
Arthur’s eyes widened as the man greeted him.
“It’s been a while, my friend. Arthur Bayern.”
