“Everything you need, I’ll support. And through that support... rebuild your bloodline, and become its new head. Sir Ariella.”

Hearing that, I couldn’t help being shocked.

According to Ariella, relations between the other bloodlines were bad.

But.

‘Since coming to this land, not a single thing Ariella’s said has been right.’

Apparently.

Even what I’d assumed was the most basic thing—how those bloodlines related to each other—was the same.

“If you were a petty noble with no talent and no ability, I wouldn’t be asking this of you. But you weren’t.”

“What do you mean...?”

“In my memories from long ago... honestly, back then you looked like a low noble who wouldn’t stand out even next to a decent knight—barely even a junior baron. But what about you now?”

“That’s...”

“You said your seal was released only after you came to this land, didn’t you? That means it’s been, at most, two years since those days. The moment you slipped free of Isabella’s embrace and gained your freedom, you built up this level of power in that short time!”

...It wasn’t something Ariella accomplished entirely on her own.

A big part of it was probably that the Legion’s operations had unfolded in a way that made it easy for her to grow stronger.

[You are a night noble chosen by Grand Duke Isabella, head of the Karshtein Bloodline.]

But thinking back.

There was something the system had said when I first recruited her.

[Though your rank within the bloodline is only at the very bottom, you are a thrall with remarkable talent.]

Even setting aside my support and the Legion’s.

It was true—her talent was outstanding enough that the system stated it outright.

“Isabella truly wasted you. Dragging you around like a doll, and nothing more.”

The grand duke looked at Ariella with an expression that made it seem like he found it a shame.

“If you had been a member of my bloodline, I would’ve supported you fully and helped that growth along. No matter how low your origin might be, if the talent is great, isn’t it only right that you can shine as a noble?”

“......”

“And... if you’re willing, I’d like to do even now what Isabella couldn’t. What do you say?”

At those words.

Ariella clenched her teeth and fired back a question.

“Reviving another bloodline—what do you gain from that, Grand Duke?”

“The glory of our kind existed in the era when multiple bloodlines competed with one another. Ariella. The bloodlines of an era you don’t know have done nothing but repeat decline. Even if restoring the other two bloodlines that vanished completely would be difficult... competition between Karshtein and Melchiorn could call back that glory.”

“......”

Hearing that much, I glanced aside and looked down at Ariella.

“To revive my bloodline...”

“......”

“I—someone who only ever heard I was a toy—becoming the head...”

Ariella... was wavering.

I’d expected she would the moment she heard it.

‘This one’s hunger to rise is insane.’

Ariella had talent, and she had the Legion’s support and mine.

But if I had to name the biggest reason she’d reached this level of power—

it was that hunger to rise.

If it meant strengthening herself, Ariella refused nothing.

Even becoming my thrall—once she realized it would let her grow stronger faster—she’d accepted it gladly.

This proposal would sound sweet to her, too.

But.

What mattered wasn’t her...

‘It’s my choice.’

In the end, Ariella was bound to me by the pact between master and thrall.

That hunger to rise had only been able to shine because I’d allowed it.

‘Can I accept this offer?’

On the surface, that man was being favorable toward Ariella.

Using that favor might not be a bad move.

But.

‘This man.’

If there was one thing that bothered me...

‘...There’s no [Taste].’

From him...

I couldn’t taste the flavor of ‘emotion’ at all.

***

Ever since the moment the grand duke and Ariella started talking.

That sense of wrongness I’d been feeling.

From him, there wasn’t even the slightest taste of emotion—something I should’ve been able to taste through [Taste Bud Enhancement].

Even when he was outwardly showing unmistakable anger.

My tongue didn’t pick up a single thing.

There was only one explanation that fit.

‘Is he controlling it... so the taste of emotion doesn’t leak outward...?’

I didn’t want to believe it.

But that meant he was so skilled at tuning emotion he could fool my trait.

At minimum, he was an ancient monster that had lived for thousands of years.

A powerhouse who, as the head of a faction, had protected his bloodline even as all other bloodlines collapsed.

My trait wasn’t invincible either, so it wouldn’t be strange if he had the ability to deceive it.

Still, he wasn’t some existence that truly felt nothing.

Because.

It hadn’t been like this from the start.

‘When he heard the name Karshtein.’

Back then—

I’d clearly tasted a massive shock from him.

I didn’t know what that name meant to him.

But even a man who could hide the ‘taste’ of emotion itself...

hadn’t been able to hide it in that moment.

Either way.

What mattered right now was that one of my key traits didn’t work on him.

I’d never seen a case like this among anyone I’d met so far.

Mirinae seemed to have realized I was tasting their emotions, so maybe they could’ve hidden it if they wanted to, but...

‘With this, it’s hard to tell whether he’s sincere or not.’

And.

If we refused his offer, not knowing how he’d react was a problem too.

He was being friendly now, but the instant we rejected him, he might flip his attitude 180 degrees and attack us.

I wrestled with it for a while... and in the end.

Nod...

I nodded, very slightly.

‘There’s no need to provoke the grand duke.’

At first, I’d come here prepared even for a fight.

But the power I was planning to use is the kind you want to save as much as possible if you can.

And the grand duke I met in person radiated the kind of strength that made me wonder if I could even escape afterward, even if I did use it.

Even if I ran later.

There was no need to go against ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) him right here.

“...If you really can revive a bloodline.”

“I mean it.”

“Then... I will accept your proposal, Grand Duke.”

“Good choice.”

When Ariella saw my gesture and nodded, the grand duke smiled in satisfaction.

“By the way....”

Then.

With a strange look, he alternated his gaze between me and Ariella.

“Looks like you have quite a lot of trust in your knight?”

“...Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing. Listening closely to the opinion of a subordinate you can trust when making important decisions—now that is the posture of a fine ruler.”

The grand duke stroked his chin as he looked at me and Ariella, then clapped his hands together sharply.

“Then shall we start the support immediately? First....”

And when he separated his hands—

from between them...

from between them...

“You’ll need a title that matches that power.”

With a fwoooosh—

a massive flood of blood poured out and wrapped around this entire space.

“......!”

At first I thought it was an attack.

But it didn’t take long to understand what it was.

[Your thrall is advancing to the next stage!]

Because those words rose before my eyes as I looked at Ariella, swallowed in blood.

***

Kwaaaahhhh...!

An enormous amount of blood formed a huge vortex.

And that vortex filled this massive room.

It didn’t take long to realize what was happening.

Because I’d experienced it before.

‘Advancement.’

When she first advanced to baron.

I’d seen her red eyes shining in the darkness.

When she advanced to viscount.

I’d seen a child, filthy with filth, who looked a lot like her.

And now...

‘Who is that?’

A black-haired little girl.

Beautiful, but—

a child with an atmosphere completely different from Ariella’s appeared.

—So you finally stopped crying.

And then.

She looked at ‘me’ and said,

“But don’t be too sad.”

As she took the hand of someone there,

“We’re now—”

She was about to say something...

“Knight.”

Right as I was about to see her speak—

my head suddenly slammed downward.

“Looking at it now, you were quite a rude knight, weren’t you?”

“......!”

I tried to raise my head in shock.

But that hand, packed with tremendous strength, didn’t budge even a little.

“No matter how much trust has built up between vassal and liege, there are lines you don’t cross.”

When I shifted my eyes slightly.

A massive man—like me—was bowed with his head down, staring at the floor.

The grand duke was there.

“To try and peek into your master’s [inside]. That isn’t proper, is it.”

‘This man too... can enter here.’

No.

More accurately—

‘This space is something this man made.’

According to Ariella, she had already surpassed viscount-level power long ago.

And yet the reason she couldn’t become a count was because she hadn’t been able to undergo a legitimate succession ceremony overseen by a grand noble.

Kwaaaahhhh!!!

Beyond my lowered head.

A huge sound roared as if something unbelievable was happening up ahead.

The wind it kicked up shook my hair violently.

“Keep your head lowered and wait. Until the... succession ceremony conducted under a grand duke’s witness is finished.”

So what was happening right now—

was that ‘legitimate succession ceremony.’

But...

Grit.

‘How dare you...!’

I ground my teeth hard, glaring at him through half-lidded eyes.

By his logic.

If I were truly Ariella’s knight, then it might be rude to watch.

But.

‘Ariella is my thrall.’

The process of my thrall’s advancement—

was stolen by someone else’s hands.

And I was forced to bow my head so I couldn’t even see it.

“As you said, Grand Duke, the trust between me and my master is quite deep.”

This was... how should I put it.

“If it were my master, I believe my master would’ve permitted me to observe the advancement.”

“Hm?”

“I’m concerned that you... may have interfered too much.”

I was furious.

“...Ho. Is that so.”

“......”

“If that’s truly the case, then my meddling—without understanding Sir Ariella’s intent—was me interfering in another noble’s ceremony. That would be a clear mistake on my part. I’ll compensate you separately later.”

At my words.

He lowered his head even further, then—

“Of course, that’s only...”

From beneath my face.

With a smile that looked genuinely intrigued, he lifted his eyes to stare straight up into mine.

“...if what you said is true.”

***

[Advancement Complete!]

[Thrall]

[Night Count, Ariella Bimanaro Karshtein (New!)]

[Titles]

[Count of the Karshtein Bloodline]

[Captain of the [Steel Legion]’s royal guard]

[Lord of the [Shadow Veil]]

[Heir of the Bloodline]

[You are a night grand duke chosen by Grand Duke Isabella, head of the Karshtein Bloodline.]

[Though your original rank was only at the very bottom, you succeeded in ascending to the title of count in a short time through your brilliant talent.]

[A count can serve as the bloodline’s judge.]

[Eight guillotines take their place within the fortress inside the veil.]

[A count can serve as the bloodline’s torturer.]

[One ivory tower is erected within the fortress inside the veil.]

[A count can host the bloodline’s council.]

[A twelve-seat round table takes its place within the fortress inside the veil.]

[A count is clearly within the ranks of the grand nobility!]

[No one— not even the heads of each bloodline—will be able to easily ignore her now that she has risen into the ranks of the grand nobility.]

In the end, like that.

While I was forced to keep my head lowered, Ariella’s advancement finished.

“...Hah.”

When I raised my head.

I saw Ariella letting out a dazed sigh, her face blank.

And.

[Combat Power Meter]

In the view of my trait, her mana was...

a very deep blue.

So deep that, around its edges...

‘A hint of indigo.’

‘A hint of indigo.’

An indigo shimmer was flickering there.

“Now you, too, are clearly a grand noble.”

“...Thank you, Grand Duke.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m the one asking the favor.”

The grand duke looked at Ariella with gentle eyes as he spoke.

“As for the authority you’ve gained by entering the ranks of the grand nobility, you’ll likely come to understand it naturally as time passes.”

“Yes... I can feel it. The guillotines, and the tower...”

Ariella murmured in an overwhelmed voice.

It seemed something inside her had changed from that advancement.

“Hm. Looks like there were no issues with the advancement.”

After that as well.

The grand duke diligently checked Ariella’s condition, confirmed there were no problems, then smiled.

“I hate to say this to someone who’s just entered the ranks of the grand nobility, but you still lack the standing to take on the role of bloodline head. You understand that as well, don’t you?”

“...Yes. All the bloodline heads held the standing of a grand duke.”

“Well, you don’t have to reach quite that far. To become the head of a great house worthy of being called a bloodline, at minimum you’d need to be a marquis. I’d like to support you even more, but...”

As he spoke that far, he stroked his chin, looking regretful.

“If I give you any more of my blood, I fear the Karshtein blood you carry will become too thin. If that happens, the purpose of reviving another bloodline will lose its meaning, so it’s best not to force it. Can you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Thank you. Though I wouldn’t quite call it a substitute...”

Then.

He turned his head.

“I’ll support your growth in another way.”

“...Pardon?”

“I happened to notice one suitable method, actually.”

The grand duke looked toward a certain spot.

And.

At the end of that gaze was—

“...?”

Me.

“Grand Duke?”

While I—of course—

and even Ariella stared at him with confusion.

“Mm, let’s see... it should be somewhere around here.”

The grand duke reached out and began to grope around somewhere in front of me.

Me and Ariella.

That huge hand moving back and forth as if rummaging through something between us.

“Ah.”

And then.

His hand suddenly stopped at one point.

“I’ve finally found it!”

Crunch.

The grand duke’s massive hand—

clenched down hard on something.

‘...What?’

Something between me and Ariella.

He grabbed that ‘something.’

“Hm-hm. I see. Judging by this thickness, it seems it was made when you were quite weak. Well, I expected as much.”

“G-Grand Duke...?”

“I don’t know the contents... but judging by the direction the mana flows, it’s certain the terms are unfavorable to you.”

The moment that something was seized.

For some reason, I felt like my skin was being pulled tight.

“Thankfully, if it’s this thin, it won’t be a big problem.”

“What are you even saying—”

“Didn’t I say I would help your growth? So.”

And then.

“I’ll remove what’s suppressing you.”

After saying that. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Riiip!!!

He tore away that something in his hand, brutally.

And in that instant—

“...Ghk...! Huh!?”

I groaned in pain like my flesh was being ripped off while I was still alive.

‘Wh... at.’

My back buckled from pain so intense cold sweat ran down me.

Clenching my mind as hard as I could, I forced my head up.

And what appeared in front of me was—

[Warning!!! Warning!!! Warning!!!]

A system message.

Filling my vision.

‘Ah.’

Only after reading it did I realize what he had torn away.

Me and Ariella.

The thing lodged between us.

[The ‘Thrall Pact’ has been severely damaged!]

...Something that started from my body—

and ran to her.

[Thrall — ‘Night Count, Ariella Bimanaro Karshtein’ has broken free of the pact’s influence!]

[Restore the pact as quickly as possible!]

[If you fail to do so.]

[A thrall freed from the pact may retaliate in any way!]

The thrall pact.

Had just been broken.