The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 27. A Guest Arrives at Whitewolf Territory (2)
Beyond the frost-laden window stretched a snowy plain blanketed in white.
Before the window stood a large desk crafted from dark wood.
Its surface lay scattered with various documents and maps in disarray, while a quill and inkwell rested neatly beside them.
Across from the desk, a small fireplace burned with modest flames.
Yet the meager fire could not warm the entire room, and cold air lingered throughout the chamber.
Still, separate from that chill, Seraphia’s cheeks burned inexplicably hot.
‘Why did my brother suddenly….’
Adrian had appeared without warning in Seraphia’s room.
Without question, if she looked at her reflection in the mirror now, it would be filled with bewilderment.
She couldn’t even remember the last time she and Adrian had been alone together.
Even searching her memory yielded nothing.
Seraphia barely managed to compose her trembling heart.
Then, cautiously, she glanced at Adrian sitting before her.
His deep black hair caught the light, emanating a subtle sheen.
The strands falling slightly across his forehead accentuated his sharp, refined features, while his deep, piercing gaze held an intense charisma that seemed to see through everything.
His physique was well-muscled in proportion.
Strong and firm.
That he and Kai had subjugated Gelu Drake was no fabrication.
Thus, his long lashes and sharp jawline emanated an aura both cold and mysterious.
‘He seems like a completely different person….’
He looked so different from the Adrian she knew.
His appearance hadn’t changed much.
But the atmosphere—how should she describe it?
Adrian had become far more mature and incredibly more captivating.
“Do you intend not to answer my question?”
Above all, that voice, not particularly low, caressed her ears sweetly—
“…Y-yes? Yes, yes!”
“I asked who the guest visiting Whitewolf Territory is.”
“Oh, oh my! Y-yes, that’s right…!”
Her face flushed even deeper.
Seraphia took a deep breath and pressed her hand to her startled chest.
Then, ahem.
She cleared her throat lightly and composed herself before speaking.
“They were someone from Beneron Barony House.”
“Beneron Barony House?”
Adrian tilted his head in confusion.
He clearly didn’t know about Beneron Barony House.
“Well, you see….”
Seraphia perceptively explained about Beneron Barony House.
“They’re a noble house from a territory adjacent to House Whitewolf.”
The Northern Region is broadly divided into three areas: the Frozen Tundra Zone, the Snowy Plain, and the Snowy Mountain.
And Beneron Barony House is a noble family and territory situated in the Frozen Tundra Zone.
“It’s also a territory with relatively abundant resources.”
Since the Frozen Tundra Zone had an environment where vegetation could flourish, hunting and fishing activities were possible.
Animals like reindeer could be raised there as well.
“Most importantly, timber is their specialty product—’Beneron timber’ is so renowned that there’s hardly anyone in the kingdom who hasn’t heard of it.”
Trees that grow while enduring the bitter cold of the Frozen Lands.
Their quality was so exceptional that calling them the finest across the entire Continent would be no exaggeration.
And all of this was knowledge that Seraphia had studied tirelessly.
She had sacrificed sleep, studying night after night to be of help to Whitewolf Territory, to be of help to Adrian—knowledge she continued to acquire.
“What was the name of the one who came visiting?”
But Adrian seemed utterly uninterested.
He showed interest only in the guest who had arrived.
She hadn’t expected praise, but she never imagined he wouldn’t care at all.
…It stung a little.
Still, Seraphia didn’t let it show.
“I’m not entirely certain of the name…. Since it was a messenger from Beneron Barony House. They simply delivered their message and left.”
“I see.”
Adrian fell silent after those words.
And Seraphia could discern an unmistakable sense of disappointment in Adrian’s expression.
“You’re not going to ask what message Beneron Barony House delivered…?”
“Should I?”
Adrian truly had no interest whatsoever.
“No! If you’re not curious, you don’t have to ask!”
Seraphia hastily waved her hands.
‘…Thank goodness.’
And she felt genuinely relieved.
If Adrian had asked why Beneron Barony House had come seeking him, she would have been quite at a loss for how to deflect.
Soon after, Adrian rose to his feet.
He was leaving, as though he had no further business here.
“Wait, just a moment!!”
Seraphia caught hold of Adrian.
Fortunately, Adrian paused his steps.
His eyes, as if brimming with fresh crimson blood.
Though their bloodline didn’t connect, the one feature they shared—their eyes—met as Seraphia’s crimson gaze locked with his.
“I have something to tell you!”
Adrian responded with a slight nod of his chin.
Seraphia gathered her courage and opened her mouth once more.
“So…!”
Yet my trembling heart made my voice waver uncontrollably.
Anxiety caused my eyes to dart back and forth nervously.
“I, I have something to t-tell you….”
I wanted to say something, but my lips quivered and the words kept tangling on my tongue.
Embarrassment and awkwardness flooded through me, my face flushing crimson as my gaze scattered everywhere except Adrian’s face.
“S, so what I m-mean is….”
My lips formed a few words before I bit them shut.
No matter how hard I tried to maintain composure, my body kept shrinking inward as though someone had my heart in an iron grip.
Would my throat be strangled again like last time?
The bruises on my nape had only just faded….
“If you have nothing to say, I’m leaving.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Adrian turned to go.
In that moment, I thought: to hell with it.
I squeezed my eyes shut!
“Would you have a meal with me, with me?!!”
I screamed, drawing upon every ounce of courage in existence.
And once those words left my lips, the anxiety didn’t just fade—it shattered into exhilaration.
I couldn’t bring myself to lift my head, instead fidgeting with my hair as I waited for Adrian’s response.
But as the silence stretched on, Adrian offered no answer at all.
Tentatively, I lifted my gaze.
And there I saw Adrian’s face twisted as though he were looking at something utterly repulsive.
“Ha…?”
His expression was grotesquely contorted.
* * *
My heart was pounding so violently I thought I might lose my mind.
I never expected to actually share a meal with Adrian right now.
When I mentioned a meal, I had meant ‘someday’.
I hadn’t meant for it to happen immediately.
But as they say, strike while the iron is hot.
Adrian had arranged for a meal to happen this very moment.
‘What do I do…! What do I do…!’
My mind had gone completely blank.
I had thrown out those words with courage, but I never imagined they would actually come true.
Neither Adrian nor I spoke a word.
The silence stretched on endlessly.
Only the clinking of dishes echoed through the Dining Hall.
This was my first meal together with Adrian.
I couldn’t let it end so disappointingly.
Besides, I hadn’t even accomplished the purpose of arranging this meal.
Gathering my courage, I opened my mouth.
“I… Brother.”
Adrian’s eyebrows twitched suddenly as he was piercing meat with his fork.
It seemed he had become quite irritated by the word “brother.”
Sure enough, Adrian’s gaze toward Seraphia was laden with considerable annoyance. There was even a hint of disgust, as though he were looking at an insect.
I had no such intention whatsoever.
…Somehow, I seemed to have earned his hatred.
Seraphia quickly opened her mouth.
“It’s nothing else—I simply wish to return the position of lord to you, Brother.”
Adrian’s eyes, which had been filled with irritation, flickered with intrigue. And this time, he did not grow angry at the word “brother.”
This was Seraphia’s moment!
She spoke the word “brother” once more.
“If you would have no objection, Brother, I intend to present this when the Royal Court’s messenger arrives.”
Seraphia quietly handed Adrian a document she had prepared beforehand.
The document contained her renunciation of the position of lord of Whitewolf Territory and head of House Whitewolf.
In truth, this had been my intention from the beginning.
I had never harbored any desire to become lord of Whitewolf Territory or head of the House Whitewolf.
As the eldest daughter of House Whitewolf and Adrian’s sister, I would be satisfied if I could simply be of service to him.
Lord, head of house—
Such titles held no meaning for me whatsoever.
Adrian picked up the document.
As he began to read through its contents carefully, line by line, Seraphia’s heart grew anxious.
Perhaps he would come to understand her heart, even a little.
Seraphia waited for Adrian’s response with trembling anticipation.
And soon, she heard his answer.
“I have no intention of becoming head of House Whitewolf.”
Yet his words were far removed from what Seraphia had anticipated.
“…I beg your pardon?”
“I have even less intention of becoming lord of Whitewolf Territory.”
“But… surely—!”
“Is this not good news for you?”
“It is not!”
Seraphia cried out and bolted from her seat. Then, startled by her own outburst, she hastily covered her mouth with both hands.
“…Ah!”
She quickly sat back down and lowered her head.
Fortunately, Adrian said nothing in particular.
As she slowly raised her head, Adrian was clattering his dishes with an indifferent expression.
He did not seem to believe her words at all.
“Is it… because of me?”
“Yes.”
Adrian made no effort to deny it.
He didn’t even seem inclined to deny it.
This was truly.
Truly heartbreaking.
“Then why have you returned to the family? If you have no intention of becoming the head or the lord, why—”
“I have something to do.”
“Something to do…?”
Seraphia asked, but this time Adrian’s answer didn’t come. He merely focused on eating, the utensils clinking softly against his plate.
He clearly had no intention of revealing what that task was.
Yet Seraphia still wanted to ask.
But faced with Adrian’s cold expression, she closed her mouth.
Her gaze dropped without her realizing it.
Seraphia bit her lower lip firmly and spoke.
“…Once you’ve finished what you need to do, will you leave the family?”
“Once the task is complete.”
Adrian set down his fork and knife gently.
He wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and rose from his seat.
“One way or another, you and I will have no reason to meet again.”
Until then.
“I hope we don’t cross paths.”
With that, Adrian left the Dining Hall.
Seraphia sat alone, abandoned in the empty Dining Hall.
Adrian—each step closer only pushed him ten steps further away.
She didn’t even dare hope to be a beloved sister.
Could they not at least live as ordinary siblings?
“….”
But even that seemed too much to ask.
…Her heart was being torn apart.
Yet Seraphia did not break.
If she were to shatter over something this small, she would have crumbled long ago.
‘He said he has something to do.’
Adrian had clearly stated he had a task to accomplish within the family.
She couldn’t know what that task was.
Adrian showed no intention of telling her.
But until then.
‘He said he would remain in the family.’
That meant she could be under the same roof as Adrian.
It meant there was still room and opportunity to change his heart.
‘Without fail.’
She would turn Adrian’s heart around.
Seraphia made this vow to herself, again and again.
* * *
It happened the moment I stepped out of the Dining Hall.
◆Seraphia’s favorability toward you is in the [Trust] state.
◆A person in the [Trust] state believes in you completely, relies on you entirely, and follows you in all things.
◆Seraphia would willingly bear any loss for your sake.
…I honestly couldn’t comprehend it.
There were two people my family wanted me to kill.
Seraphia, and Kai.
My favorability toward both of them was identical: [Hatred].
I harbored an active, aggressive intent to destroy and kill them both.
Yet conversely, their favorability toward me was at opposite extremes.
Kai’s favorability toward me was [Disgust].
Seraphia’s favorability toward me was [Trust].
Kai’s reaction was normal.
Seraphia was utterly incomprehensible.
I had no memory of ever treating Seraphia kindly. From the moment she entered the family as an adopted daughter, I despised and hated her.
Yet why did Seraphia [Trust] me now?
That was precisely what baffled me.
The current Seraphia was not the fallen witch I remembered.
Even if she possessed the power of the Frost, she was not The Frost Lord.
The meal Seraphia suddenly proposed.
That was why I accepted it.
She was far too different from the Seraphia I remembered.
Could Seraphia be acting right now?
Could she be concealing her true nature and deceiving me?
In my reckless days, I could have been deceived easily enough.
But I am not that person anymore.
As commander of the Special Operations Unit, I have interrogated and tortured countless Imperial Army soldiers. I have also experienced torture myself.
To exaggerate slightly, I can tell whether someone is lying just by watching their eyes move.
So I can say with certainty.
…It was not an act.
Not in the content of the agreement, nor in her favorability.
Seraphia genuinely [Trusted] me.
Yet the Seraphia I knew was undoubtedly a fallen witch.
The Frost Lord who mercilessly slaughtered my comrades in the Allied Forces, who took Ian’s left arm.
What exactly.
Had caused Seraphia to fall into becoming The Frost Lord?
In my previous life, I knew nothing because I fled the family. In my previous life, I wandered the streets like a vagrant.
Consumed by hunger, I tore out my own heart and eventually went mad.
Until I met Ian, my life was no different from that of a monster.
Ever since the day I fled the family.
Ever since the day I ran from Icetroll’s pursuit.
What in the world had transpired in Whitewolf Territory?
“…Enough.”
I cast the thoughts aside.
Dwelling on it would yield nothing of value.
The vivid image of the Frost Lord slaughtering my comrades from the Allied Forces still burned in my mind.
Seraphia could never be allowed to live.
The only reason I haven’t killed her this instant is because of Ian.
Moreover, I had no intention of becoming the lord of House Whitewolf at present.
Once Ian finds me, I will begin preparations for forming the Allied Forces. In doing so, I must also devour the abilities of rare monsters scattered across the entire Continent.
In every respect, I have neither the time, the leisure, nor the reason to be confined to this remote northern territory.
But….
“It wasn’t Ian.”
The guest who came to Whitewolf Territory this time was not Ian.
Nearly a month had passed since I returned to the past.
It was long past the time when Ian should have found me.
Yet Ian still showed no sign of appearing….
“He doesn’t seem to know that I’ve returned to the past.”
It appeared that Ian was unaware I had returned to the past.
Predation [S+].
My ability to devour the heart of a living creature and obtain that creature’s power.
Yet whether it was absorption or replication remained unclear.
If absorption, then I had ‘stolen’ the ability from Ian.
If replication, then both Ian and I possessed the ability.
But regardless of whether it was absorption or replication, one thing was certain—Ian possessed a ‘Regression’ ability.
For I did not have a skill like Regression [EX].
“Ian definitely returned to the past with me.”
But it was possible that Ian didn’t know this.
There was a possibility that Ian was unaware I had returned to the past alongside him.
This could be inferred from what Ian had said to me.
Our defeat in the final confrontation with the Emperor.
Before Ian handed over his heart to me, he had said this.
-Adrian.
-What is it.
-There’s one last thing I want to ask. Will you hear me out?
-I’ll grant it, minus the “last” part.
-….
Ian did not answer that he would.
Last.
Ian told me it was the last time.
But why had Ian said such a thing to me?
If he possessed the ability to regress, he should never have spoken of anything being final.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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