I'm the Crazy One in the Family-Chapter 258: The Royal Conference (3)

The moment he heard the name, Keter jolted in surprise. “Misteltein!”

“Judging by your reaction, I’m guessing you know what it is?” Daat asked. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“No. I’m surprised because I don’t know. From the name alone, it sounds like an artifact.”

“It makes sense you wouldn’t know. I doubt even the patriarch of Sefira knows.”

“You managed to find something even my father doesn’t know. So? What is it?”

“Sorry to dampen the mood, but the information isn’t one hundred percent confirmed.”

“Is it at least ninety percent?”

“Barely.”

“That’s good enough. Go on.”

“Misteltein likely refers to an arrow.”

“An arrow you use with a bow?”

“Yes. But not an ordinary arrow—an arrow capable of killing a god.”

At that, Keter let out a short, incredulous laugh.

“Dork, there are already known god-slaying weapons—the Five Divine Relics. No one even knows for sure if all five truly exist, and even the ones confirmed to exist are nearly impossible to obtain. Not even the emperor of the Samael Empire could get his hands on them so easily.”

One of the most well-known among the Five Divine Relics was the Necronomicon. To make it, one had to collect five tomes, and each tome required gathering and merging multiple pages. Even after collecting all five tomes, the Necronomicon did not simply appear—a special ritual was needed. Only after completing all these steps did a true Necronomicon gain the power to kill gods. However, Daat was saying that this so-called Misteltein just had that kind of power.

“Well, I suppose something that absurd is exactly the sort of thing Lillian would target Sefira for. So this Misteltein is currently at Sefira, and Lillian wants it?” Keter added.

“Rather than want, I think she wants it back. The arrow was originally a gift from the queen to Sefira’s first patriarch,” Daat replied.

“Ha. She wants to take back something she herself gave? Why not just ask for it outright?”

“You can say that so casually, but nobles aren’t like that, and the queen is the leader of all those nobles. For someone who calls herself a goddess to tell a mortal to give something back... Don’t you think her pride would take a hit?”

“So in summary: Lillian needs Misteltein, this god-slaying arrow. She wants to reclaim it, but asking directly would bruise her pride, so she chose to destroy Sefira and naturally retrieve it in the process?”

“I’m not sure if she needs Misteltein. But she does want to retrieve it quietly—that’s the key point of my theory.”

“Then if we just hand Misteltein over to her, she’d leave Sefira alone?”

Daat didn’t answer immediately. He hesitated, thinking carefully.

“I’ve never seen Lillian myself... but you know that saying that you can tell a person’s character by looking at their home, right? And the palace is Lillian’s home. I looked at it very closely.”

Daat wondered about the fact that there was only a single entrance leading to the palace, that the divine barrier prevented the use of aura or magic outside but allowed its use inside, and that there was a maze that one could wander forever without a guide.

Then, he shook his head firmly.

“Even if we give Lillian the Misteltein, she’ll destroy Sefira. She’s that kind of person... no, that kind of being.”

Keter nodded. “I think so too. I’ve never seen her, but she’s a selfish bitch. I’ll have to kill her after all.”

“Sure, but you have to know where she is to kill her.”

“That’s something my Dork will figure out, isn’t that right?”

“I don’t think I even need to try. Once you turn the kingdom upside down, she’ll show up on her own.”

“Hmm...!” This time, Keter thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No. Even if this entire country turns to ash, Lillian won’t come out. She’s that kind of bitch.”

“Now that you say it, I agree. But waiting for her to come is uncomfortable too. That’s not your style anyway.”

“Think you can find her? Lillian?”

“Should I look openly, or discreetly?”

Lillian wasn’t just some beautiful woman; she was the queen. If even the country’s full intelligence network couldn’t find her, how could a single person possibly track her down? It was an obvious joke, yet Keter was completely serious.

“Search discreetly. Maybe we could be more open about it if she were one of the Four Lords, but we can’t take her on just yet.”

“Big Brother... have you already grown into a Prime?”

“No, not yet. But if it's just a lord, I can figure out a way to beat them.”

“Come to think of it, you said before that becoming a Prime requires losing something precious. What did you sacrifice?”

“Me? Obviously...”

Just as Keter was about to answer confidently, the servant who had fainted earlier groaned awake.

“I’ll tell you next time,” Keter said.

“Hey! I told you everything!”

“And who told you to build suspense twice in one day?”

Putting his blindfold back on, Keter forcibly woke the half-conscious servant and returned to his original position.

* * *

In front of Her Majesty’s Bridge, many patriarchs of noble families were waiting.

It was because of the second prince’s order from the day before: no one was to cross the bridge until noon.

“Only one minute left.”

“Hah... all because of that delinquent Keter, look at the mess we’re in.”

They all grumbled as they checked their watches. The reason they were waiting until noon was Keter. Even if there were still two days left before the official summons, this was the crown prince’s call. No noble, even the most courageous of them all, would dare arrive fashionably late to the palace. And if Keter decided to block the bridge again, it would be a disaster.

Among them were nobles confident in their strength who even wanted to test themselves against Keter, but not all of them were strong. The noble families specializing in domestic affairs stood no chance against the young powerhouse.

“Twelve! It’s noon!”

It was finally time. The leading noble placed his foot onto the bridge when...

“Sorry for the wait. You must’ve been waiting for me?”

Keter appeared at the far end of the bridge.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! He shows up the moment it turns noon?!”

“Wait... something’s strange.”

The nobles who cursed at his appearance narrowed their eyes. Even with a blindfold, a Master-level fighter should have no trouble sensing his surroundings. And Keter walked down the center of the bridge alone, without a servant, without hesitation.

The nobles at the front faltered. They were from weaker, domestic-focused families; they couldn’t possibly compete with Keter’s strength. They stepped back instinctively.

At that moment, one man stepped forward. He was a young patriarch around Keter’s age.

“Keter. I’ve been waiting for you.”

It was Volus, head of the Bydent family, who specialized in spearmanship. He approached with venom in his eyes.

“I heard you’ve been blocking this bridge by force. I challenge you.”

Volus was muscular but not large, and he wasn’t known for exceptional strength. The idea that he could overpower Keter, the man who had defeated the Wolf of the North, was absurd.

Of course, Volus had no intention of winning by strength. He intended to kill Keter with poison.

Hehehe... Keter. The other patriarchs were foolish enough to humor your strength games, but you’ll die here by my hand. Even if I kill you, what can you or Sefira do about it?

He had coated the underside of his fingernails with a lethal toxin. When they locked hands in a test of strength, he would jab Keter’s hand with his nails.

A poison that kills not just five-star Masters, but even ogres in one strike.

Even with countless heads of houses watching behind him, even if he’d be cursed at or condemned afterward, the killing intent in Volus’ eyes was blatant and unmistakable.

“Oh, about that. I’m not doing that anymore.”

“Good, you came to your... what?”

Keter stepped aside and gestured across the bridge.

“As you can see, my eyes are like this. I can’t do stupid things anymore,” he said, pointing at his blindfold.

Hearing that, Volus exploded.

“You think that excuse will work now?!”

Volus ripped off Keter’s blindfold. The nobles gasped.

“W–what is that?!”

There were clear horizontal scars across his eye. Keter covered his eyes with a hand.

“Mm. This is a bit embarassing. The wounds haven’t completely healed yet.”

“What nonsense...!”

Volus refused to believe that Keter had suddenly gone blind. He opened his mouth to shout that it was all an act, but the palace servant, who had followed Keter, interrupted. “Lord Keter lost his sight yesterday in battle against a dark wizard who infiltrated the palace! His Majesty was deeply moved by Lord Keter’s bravery and ordered that he be treated as an honored guest.”

“...!”

It was the palace servant speaking, and he wasn’t someone they could dismiss.

“Are we really supposed to believe that he found and fought a dark wizard who infiltrated the palace in just a day—no, in half a day—and then came back? Does that even make sense?! Do any of you actually believe this?!” screamed Volus, grabbing Keter by the collar.

Keter calmly grabbed his wrist and twisted.

“Believe it or don’t. And blind or not, I haven’t gotten weaker.”

“Agh!!”

Volus struggled desperately, but escaping Keter’s grip was impossible.

Now!

Volus tried to plunge his poisoned nail into Keter’s skin. He had sharpened his nail like a blade for this moment, so it should have cut through human flesh easily... or so he thought.

W-what? It won’t go in?

The poison only worked once it entered the bloodstream. However, he couldn’t even pierce the skin.

“How ridiculous! My nails can slice leather, but not you?!”

In his panic, Volus accidentally announced his thoughts aloud.

Keter tightened his grip on Volus’ wrist and brought his hand toward his own face.

“Why are you trying to scratch someone else’s hand? You into that or something?”

“N-no, that’s not...!”

Before he could explain, Keter cut him off. “Even if I were into men, you’re not my type!”

Keter forced Volus’ own fist into his mouth.

“Kak...”

His lips tore, and tears welled up in his eyes as his sharpened nails scraped his tongue.

Thud!

Keter kicked Volus away and dusted his hands off, then addressed the watching nobles. “This guy picked the fight first, okay?”

Then he turned around with Decameron and walked off the bridge.

The nobles stared blankly for a moment at how he appeared and disappeared like the wind. Then, one by one, they crossed the bridge, pausing only to glare at the trembling Volus on the ground.

“This is how troublemakers end up.”

“You dug your own grave, Volus.”

Volus had a terrible reputation among the nobles. It was natural, as rumors spread fast in high society, especially the ugly ones. The rumor that Volus had harmed Patrah, the previous head of Bydent, and seized the position by force was almost certainly true. Because of that, the other patriarchs didn’t even consider him one. All of them thought Volus was nothing more than a parricidal bastard.

In addition, none of them thought Volus had suffered any serious injury. At most, his own fist had gone into his mouth and torn it a bit. Since they had no idea about the poison under his nails, the nobles simply assumed he was exaggerating and putting on an act. Everyone ignored him and passed by—except for one man.

“I told you not to show off, didn’t I?”

It was Nether, the empire’s Solver, whom Volus hired.

“Gh... ghuhh...!”

The corners of his mouth were torn, and the poison made speaking impossible. Even so, Nether understood him.

“You want the antidote, right? I brought one just in case.”

He pulled a small vial from his coat. Hope flickered in Volus’ eyes.

“But it’s not for you.”

“...?!”

“Just die, Volus. It’ll be more helpful that way.”

“Ghm. Ghmm!!”

As Volus thrashed desperately, the nearby nobles glanced over, curious. Nether quickly stuffed a wad of cloth into Volus’ mouth.

“My lord, please calm down! If you keep trying to speak, the bleeding will worsen.”

Playing the part of a loyal retainer, Nether lifted Volus onto his back.

Then, in a whisper only Volus could hear, he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll continue with the job of dealing with Keter, just as agreed. Even if you die, I’ve already forged your handwriting so Bydent will keep supporting myTiger Unit.”

Volus twitched violently as the poison spread faster. He couldn’t even make a sound, let alone move a single muscle.

Nether gave his final farewell. “You should’ve stuck to what you were good at.”

Volus’ head drooped, as if he had simply fallen asleep. It was a quiet end, unbefitting of a man who murdered his own father and tried to destroy an entire family for power.

* * *

The summons for the heads of the families had come to an end. Though the kingdom had faced two major incidents—the public announcement of Duke Lerkin’s royal candidacy and the infiltration of a dark wizard—the palace continued its affairs as if nothing had happened.

The summons had been issued for the royal conference. It was a gathering where all the heads of noble families across the nation convened to determine the kingdom’s fate.

In the grand conference hall of the palace, Crown Prince Rukan, the host of the assembly, sat at the highest seat, while Second Prince Rakan sat to his right, and Lerkin, the leader of a newly emerged faction, sat to his left.

Below the high seat, the room descended in a flight of stairs. The gathered heads of families were seated according to rank: regular nobles and baronets at the lowest stairs closest to the floor, the nobles of the House of Representatives in the middle, the Senate nobles on the higher stairs. Of the high nobles, the heads of master families sat at the highest stairs, closest to the crown.

All the assembled patriarchs sat silent and tense, unable to hide their anxiety. No one knew why Rukan had convened the royal conference, but such a meeting would never be held over a trivial issue; this conference being called was almost synonymous with preparing for war.

Hissop, who was attending in Besil’s place, felt dizzy. Hundreds of patriarchs were gathered. On both sides stood the heads of the kingdom’s most powerful military families. And above them all, the princes—the ultimate holders of power—looked down at him from their seats. To feel anything but nervous in this situation would have been strange.

...Keter. What would you have done?

Thinking of Keter made Hissop smile unexpectedly in such a grave setting.

Just before the assembly began, Hisop had asked Keter something.

“Keter, give me some advice. What mindset should I have when I attend the royal conference?”

However, Keter only shrugged.

“You’re the acting head of Sefira, Big Brother. Just do whatever you want.”

Hissop knew full well what position Keter held within Sefira and how much influence he wielded. Frankly, if Keter wanted something done, Hissop would have no choice but to comply. But Keter showed that he expected nothing of the sort. Hissop was grateful that Keter acknowledged him as the patriarch. No matter how many people tried to sow discord by claiming Keter would be the true successor, Hissop never doubted him.

Thank you, Keter... for trusting me.

And because Keter trusted him, Hissop trusted Keter in return.

He took a deep breath. His vision, once narrow and dizzy, cleared.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Rukan struck the gavel. The already-tense patriarchs immediately straightened their backs.

“We will now begin the Ninety-Second Royal Conference. All patriarchs, rise.”

Thus began the royal conference, an event that would determine the fate of Sefira and the Lillian Kingdom.