The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 44

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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 44.

I fixed Arthur with my most persuasive look.
From the beginning, Vulcan’s opposition to their marriage had hinged largely on Andy’s circumstances. A youngest daughter of Vulcan was wasted on a borderland soldier with neither fortune nor title.
But if Andy was to become the one and only Griffin Knight Order on the Continent, there was no real reason to object on the grounds of his qualifications, was there?
Arthur spoke up.
“When you say this knight order—you really mean a properly inaugurated Knight Inauguration, correct?”
“Of course. Our lord intends to conduct the ceremony himself. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”
I jabbed Caiius in the ribs with my elbow. He’d been eyeing me with obvious displeasure, but he yielded to a reluctant nod.
“That’s right. The Griffin Knight Order will be the one and only official knight order on the Continent.”
Arthur’s gaze drifted across the table.
His face had grown thoughtful.
Almost there. I could feel it.
I withdrew the Vulcan Brooch from my pocket and laid it on the table.
“Mary carries this with her, you know.”
“This is….”
“She said she received it as a gift when she was young—and she keeps it very close to her heart.”
Truth be told, she’d given it to me, but she was carrying it, so the embellishment was fair game. Persuasion, after all, is one part truth and ninety-nine parts seasoning.
“It may be presumptuous of me to say, but Mary may desperately need someone she can lean on. If you became her advocate, Arthur, it would be an enormous strength for her.”
Arthur clamped his mouth shut.
“Who knows? Later on, you might find someone you want to marry too. When that time comes, Mary might be the strength you need.”
He flinched.
Arthur’s shoulders tensed, and he lifted his head to stare directly at me.
For a moment he held that gaze, his lips moving silently before he nodded.
“I’ll consider it favorably. Though convincing my father will be another matter entirely.”
Good. Good.
He’d better think it over carefully and make sure our Armor gets done too.
Business is never simple.
“There’s… something I’d like to ask you.”
“Yes, please—ask me anything!”
Arthur’s face had flushed.
What kind of question was he working up to?
After hesitating for a long time, he began to speak with visible effort, watching my expression carefully.
“Is it possible that you, the sorceress, are actually mar—”
“Big brother!”
Then it happened.
A sharp, resonant voice cut through the Banquet Hall, and every eye in the room snapped toward its source.
Mary stood in the entrance of the Banquet Hall, shoulders heaving.
“You….”
“You actually came here yourself? Did Father send you? What did you say to the sorceress?”
Mary rushed forward and wedged herself between Arthur and me, pressing him urgently.
I felt Caiius’s piercing stare from beside me. I rubbed my tingling cheeks and muttered defensively.
“I… I was the one who called for you.”
I’d summoned him to smooth things over while the mood was favorable. I hadn’t expected him to arrive so quickly.
“No matter how much Big Brother and Father object, I’m not leaving Andy. I won’t settle for anyone but him!”
“M-Mary…!”
Mary dragged Andy before Arthur and embraced him openly. Andy, a full head shorter than she was, nestled into her arms like a key chain, swinging helplessly in her hold.
Gasps and sighs erupted from all corners of the hall.
Love and war, indeed.
This is the first time I’ve actually seen something like this.
Come to think of it, I’d thought Andy had decent build, but standing beside Arthur and Mary, he looked as insubstantial as tissue paper.
Eden, who had drifted to my side at some point, murmured softly.
“Wow, the siblings have exactly the same taste.”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“Never mind.”
Everyone held their breath, watching them. The musicians had even stopped playing, leaving only heavy silence to fill the Banquet Hall.
“Mary Vulcan.”
Arthur addressed her in a low voice.
Mary glared back at him defiantly, as if to say try me—while Andy, still tucked in her arm, trembled slightly.
“Me, Mary. Hurry and apologize to your brother….”
“Is this man really so precious to you?”
“What?”
At Arthur’s sudden question, Mary—who had been braced for combat—blinked in confusion. Arthur held her gaze, waiting for her response.
Mary looked between her brother and husband with bewilderment, then pressed her lips together and nodded with fierce resolve.
“Of course! I love Andy!”
I love Andy!
I love Andy!
I love him!
…….
“M-Mary….”
Andy’s cheeks flushed with shyness.
“Andy, you saw that, right? I can’t live without you!”
“I-I too….”
Wow.
This is gold.
This drama is genuinely entertaining.
I munched on dried snacks like popcorn, savoring their passionate romantic melodrama.
Arthur, who had been staring at the two of them, squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.
“Did you say Andy?”
“Yes, yes, sir!”
“Once you’ve completed your training, I’ll see that you undergo the Knight Inauguration properly. And then….”
He paused for a moment.
“I’ll do my best to persuade Father.”
Whoa, this is huge.
The Banquet Hall fell into a different kind of silence. Mary, who had been clutching Andy like a precious keepsake, gently set him down.
“…Brother, do you mean…?”
“I’m saying I’ll be on your side, at least for now.”
Oh my, oh my.
So this isn’t a love melodrama—it’s a touching family drama.
Mary, her face radiant with emotion, threw her arms around Arthur.
“Brother! Thank you! Andy will do great. Won’t you, Andy?”
“…Yes!”
Wow!
Everyone who had been holding their breath erupted in cheers. Applause broke out from all corners.
Ah, a beautiful ending.
Good.
The armor commission should go through without issue.
Watching the siblings embrace, I quietly turned my head away.
I’d orchestrated this scene and summoned them for exactly this, but family drama still didn’t sit right with me. It felt like ages since I’d experienced any kinship or familial bonds.
As a heaviness settled in my chest, I scratched my cheek absently and let my gaze wander—when it suddenly caught on Caiius. In that same instant, I froze without meaning to.
Caiius was watching Arthur and Mary with an expression that defied any simple description.
“…Ah.”
A short sigh escaped as something struck me forcefully.
I had just realized that Caiius was far more like me than I’d thought.
I carefully reached out and tugged gently at the edge of his sleeve.
He pulled his gaze away from where it had been fixed across the room and looked down at me.
“Your Grace, would you like to step outside for some air?”
“…At this moment?”
He furrowed his brow in his habitual way, as if puzzled by my intent.
Ugh.
Just come with me.
“Come with me.”
I had just grasped his hand and was quietly slipping out of the Banquet Hall when—
“Magister!”
Huh?
“Thank you so much. This is all thanks to you.”
Mary, having finished her embrace with her brother some time ago, was beaming at me with gratitude.
And here I was, trying to slip away—only to have all eyes turn to me.
I’m grateful, but I’m not.
“…I haven’t really done much, have I?”
“You’ve done plenty. I know you put in considerable effort behind the scenes.”
She wasn’t wrong about that.
But it was all for the sake of smoothing the armor commission process, nothing more.
Yet Mary’s eyes were already shining with trust and gratitude toward me.
It wasn’t just Mary. Andy and everyone else around the table were watching me with those gleaming, eager eyes.
Why is this happening?
I don’t want this kind of attention.
Before I could even speak, an oak cup brimming with makgeolli was thrust toward me with a soft clink.
“Surely the mage deserves to give the toast, being the hero of the hour?”
Sparkle, sparkle.
Glimmer, glimmer.
The weight of their expectant gazes fell on me like shards of starlight, piercing my cheeks.
If I refuse now, I’ll definitely ruin the mood, won’t I?
…I should have drafted an escape clause beforehand.
“…All right, just one glass, then….”
I awkwardly raised the cup. The crowd erupted in cheers, lifting their own vessels high in unison with mine.
…And that was the last thing I remembered.

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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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