They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 112

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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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They say an age gap of nnn years doesn’t even warrant checking compatibility.
Chapter 112
Seeing Raern give me a thumbs up behind his back where only I could see it, I realized he had grasped my intention perfectly.
“Kailyb, don’t forget that the longer it takes for the traitors to learn of our return, the easier it will be to apprehend them.”
“Yes, Commander. I will proceed with utmost discretion and conceal our identities thoroughly.”
Kailyb nodded and strode toward the bedroom as he spoke.
“First, I should detain anyone who overheard our conversation.”
“Wait, hold on—!”
Before I could stop him, Kailyb flung open the door and reached beyond the curtain.
The figure Kailyb dragged out was, unsurprisingly, the Border Count.
The Border Count, who had been frozen in shock all this while, offered no resistance as he was pulled forward and looked at us.
“That’s Count Loenval. Treat him with proper respect.”
At my words, Kailyb startled and released the Border Count.
“I had intended to explain slowly, but I’ve frightened you. My apologies, Border Count.”
The Border Count flinched violently at Elhart’s apology and shook his head.
“No… not at all.”
“As you’ve heard, I intend to entrust the cleanup of this matter to Lord Kailyb.”
The Border Count blinked several times, glanced at Kailyb, and spoke.
“Understood. Then at first light, I shall introduce you to people who might be of assistance.”
As the conversation seemed to wind down, I gestured to Raern.
“Let’s go. We need to inspect the Lord’s Castle.”
I needed to locate a stable coordinate we could use reliably, rather than relying on temporary ones.
“Yes, understood.”
….
As Kailyb followed naturally behind Raern and me onto the terrace, the Border Count’s voice reached us from behind.
“Your Majesty, my hearing has been poor lately, and I fear I may have misheard something. Isn’t that so?”
He had tried to lower his voice as much as possible, but there was no way we couldn’t hear him.
After we stepped into the corridor, Raern spoke.
“It’s natural to find it unbelievable.”
I shared the same sentiment.
“That’s true. Unless I openly use magic, he’d think it was a joke.”
“Why is that, sir?”
Kailyb asked, seeming puzzled.
“Well…”
“Because he forgot.”
I answered in place of Raern, who was choosing his words carefully.
“Too much time has passed to remember and wait.”
“Kailyb, you must have met your descendants too.”
At Raern’s words, Kailyb came to an abrupt halt.
Sensing something amiss, I looked at Kailyb and asked.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“I… haven’t been able to meet him yet.”
“What? Why not?”
A month had easily passed since our return, so what had he been doing all that time?
“They wouldn’t let me in. The soldiers guarding the fief said they’d never heard of a castle called Rusbel.”
“…And?”
“While staying in the fief to investigate further, I discovered he had changed the castle’s name during the period when Kailyb was purging the meritorious families. From Rusbel to… Libran.”
Libran…?
“That Libran?!”
“Yes.”
Marquis Emilio Libran.
A figure who stood at the head of the traitors.
That he was Kailyb’s descendant—I couldn’t close my mouth in shock.
“I thought rushing to find him might complicate matters, so I refrained from meeting him and joined you at Brin Castle instead.”
I studied Kailyb intently.
Since he was someone who naturally concealed emotion on his face, I couldn’t discern what he was thinking.
Yet…
“Are you alright?”
The tendons in his jaw stood taut, as if he were grinding his teeth.
He must have wanted nothing more than to find Marquis Libran immediately and end him with his own hands.
“I’m… not entirely sure.”
“I’m saying this just in case, but it’s not your fault, so don’t blame yourself.”
“I understand.”
At Kailyb’s resolute answer, Raern let out a small laugh.
“In this regard, it’s fortunate he’s your descendant.”
“…?”
“If it were someone else, there would have been tears and chaos.”
“Emotional appeals resolve nothing.”
Yes, Raern was certainly right about that.
With Kailyb, at least we could handle this rationally.
If he had been Raern’s descendant instead?
By now, Count Brin’s castle would have been reduced to ash.
And he might have fled to the far end of the continent, unable to face the other expedition members.
“However, if you would permit it, Commander, there is one matter I wish to undertake myself.”
I sensed what Kailyb was about to request.
“Please allow me to personally judge the Libran Family, who have brought harm to the nation and its people.”
…If I entrusted this to him, I had a premonition he would truly annihilate the entire bloodline—children, adults, everyone without exception.
“I’ll make a request to the Emperor.”
“Yes, Commander. Thank you.”
Thank you for what.
For some reason, a bitter taste lingered in my mouth as I turned away and quickened my pace.
There were two suitable locations within the Lord’s Castle for magic portal coordinates.
One of them was a place Raern had selected, but…
“I’m rejecting it because it seems like you’ll disappear whenever you get the chance.”
“You don’t trust your brother?”
“Would you trust me?”
As I surveyed the underground wine cellar filled with fine wines that Marquis Ramon had collected, even my resolve began to waver.
“Raern, show some respect to the commander…”
I pushed Raern and Kailyb out the door.
Raern glanced back with reluctant eyes.
“Then just one bottle.”
“…Let’s ask the Border Count about it later.”
I should grab a bottle for myself while we’re at it.
The other candidate was the Chapel attached directly beside the main building of the Lord’s Castle.
“This place is nice. We can offer prayers every time we come and go.”
It was certainly a place that naturally filled one’s heart with reverence.
“Yes, yes. Of course.”
“Raern, what’s with this irreverent attitude?”
In the end, Raern and Kailyb had another quarrel, but since the coordinates were finalized, wasn’t that a good outcome?
I let the two fight and found my way to the second-floor guest room I had noticed earlier, where I caught a brief nap.
And when I opened my eyes as morning arrived.
“Aaaagh! Let go, let me go!”
The first thing my ears caught was a pitiful scream.
“I’m innocent, I tell you!”
“Count Roenval! Just once, please give me just one chance…!”
Half-asleep, I rose from the bed and gazed out the window.
The front of the castle had become a scene of chaos.
“What…what is this…?”
Bound people were streaming into the Lord’s Castle, shrouded in cold mist.
There were dozens of them.
Some wore nightclothes, while others had hastily thrown coats over their robes.
Some were even barefoot.
The soldiers escorting them all bore pale expressions.
Yet their hands remained resolute, unhesitatingly kicking the prisoners’ knees to force them to the ground.
Click.
Click.
The sound of handcuffs and shackles being fastened rang out with a chilling clarity.
“By the order of Count Roenval, you are all under arrest on charges of treason.”
A low, cold voice resonated throughout the entire Lord’s Castle.
“Resist and you will be executed on the spot.”
And at the center of it all.
“…Kailyb.”
A man in uniform stood there.
With ash-gray hair neatly swept back, he held a stack of documents in one hand while looking down at the prisoners.
His expression was composed, as though he were simply processing scheduled business.
“Next.”
At his single word, the soldiers moved with practiced efficiency.
“Baron Homen.”
“Conspiracy with Marquis Ramon in illegal trafficking of fief residents. Forging border passage permits and conducting illicit dealings with Imperial Nobility.”
The kneeling baron’s face drained of all color.
“Add charges of treason.”
“Wait, please! I was merely following orders….”
Thud!
A soldier’s kick sent the baron sprawling across the floor.
Kailyb flipped through the documents and spoke without emotion.
“Your excuses can be heard in the interrogation room. Next.”
“Please, spare me just once! I know nothing! My wife did everything behind my back….”
“Nonsense. Next.”
“If it’s money, I can pay any amount…!”
“Next.”
Screams and pleas poured forth, yet Kailyb’s expression remained utterly unmoved.
I leaned against the windowsill, watching the spectacle unfold below for some time.
“Wow, that’s Kailyb for you.”
Raern, who had been lounging on the sofa behind me, murmured.
“That madman turned the entire fief upside down without sleeping a wink?”
“Indeed, quite industrious.”

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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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