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[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 53: A Good Neighbor
After wrapping up his oh-so-“peaceful” meeting with Lord Royce, Calyx headed to the next room.
He’d asked Lana to handle the cleanup with Royce and Beric.
Sure, one of them was foaming at the mouth, and the other looked half-insane—but if anyone could tidy up that mess, it was Lana. Calyx trusted her.
As Calyx stepped into the adjacent room, he found an old man seated, his long beard flowing like he’d walked out of a history book. The man sat calmly at the head seat.
Calyx gave a polite bow and spoke.
“Apologies for the disturbance at this late hour, Elder Roan.”
His name was Roan Klaus—former Lord of Klaus and the head of House Klaus.
At Calyx’s words, Roan responded with composed regret.
“No, I should be the one apologizing. It’s this old fool’s fault for raising his son poorly, Lord Calyx.”
“That’s not true, Elder.”
Roan had fathered a child late in life. And because of that, he’d spoiled the boy rotten, cherishing him like a rare treasure. The result? Royce grew into an entitled noble brat with zero self-awareness.
Roan had known—deep down—that if he handed over the estate and the house title as things stood, Royce would run the entire house straight into the ground. So Roan stepped back early, naming Royce as the new lord while keeping his own role as the family head.
His plan was simple: let Royce face the harsh realities of ruling. Let him learn the hard way.
Meanwhile, Roan kept control of key responsibilities, like managing the garrison, to prevent his son from going full tyrant with unchecked power.
At least, that was the idea.
What Roan hadn’t seen coming—what slipped past even his seasoned eyes—was just how reckless and deranged Royce could be.
The reason Roan didn’t catch on sooner?
One man: Beric, Royce’s aide.
Royce had known he’d need to deceive his father to pull off his food-supply sabotage plan. So he had Beric start forging reports and intercepting communications.
And Beric… had a real talent for that sort of shady business.
He doctored official documents with such precision—mixing truth and fiction so seamlessly—that Roan didn’t notice anything was wrong until the desert floods had already begun. By then, it was far too late.
“So…”
Roan asked, voice heavy.
“...What do you intend to do with House Klaus now?”
Roan was torn.
Right now, Calyx was treating him with respect due to an elder—but make no mistake, the fate of House Klaus was in Calyx’s hands.
Yes, the Platinum Council banned unprovoked invasions. But that wasn’t absolute.
If a house screwed up badly enough—as Klaus had—and if a nation like Cron had enough reason and bribes, the Council would likely look the other way.
Right now, Calyx could do anything short of outright extermination.
He could force Roan to issue a family decree stripping Royce of his title, then install a puppet lord loyal to Cron.
Or he could demand reparations so massive that Klaus would be reduced to an economic vassal.
Roan, recalling all the grim endings he’d seen in his life, quietly braced himself for the worst.
But then—Calyx said something completely unexpected.
“I won’t do anything.”
“…Are you being serious?”
Roan blinked in disbelief.
He’d taken over the entire fortress… and he’s saying he’s not going to use that power?
He thought Calyx was bluffing—until Calyx continued:
“To be precise: I’ll collect the contracted wheat and the penalty for breaching the agreement. That’s it. There will be no pillaging. No harm will come to your people.”
Roan still looked skeptical.
“Is that really possible? Even if you mean it, your soldiers won’t be as noble or just.”
Calyx didn’t even hesitate.
“It is possible. We can do it.”
And just then, in the city center of Klaus, the knights of Cron were managing the streets with strict discipline.
They stood in formation, calm, unwavering. No looting. No violence. No chaos.
Why?
Because she was at the center of it all.
“Anyone who tries anything shady gets a one-way ticket to the afterlife. Capisce?!”
[ “YES, MA’AM!!” ]
Sword glowing with a greenish light, Azelle commanded the Cron knights like a storm in armor.
Though a member of the Golden Knights, she’d been granted deputy-commander status within the Cron Knights thanks to Calyx’s strong recommendation. And she was crushing it.
She wasn’t the kind of knight who turned a blind eye.
If she caught someone doing something unjust—even her own lord—she wouldn’t hesitate to run them through.
Everyone in the Cron Knights knew what happened to dishonorable soldiers under her command.
So, yeah—Calyx could sit across from Roan and keep the conversation going with zero worries.
“Lord Roan, it’s deeply unfortunate that things turned out this way… but we truly intend to return peacefully. And from here on, I hope the Klaus family and my own can become good neighbors.”
At Calyx’s words, Roan’s eyebrow twitched.
He was certain Calyx had some kind of scheme.
’There’s no way he’s walking away without a reason.’
Lord Roan had spent decades observing the Empire.
He’d learned that no action was ever meaningless—every move had hidden motives lurking underneath.
As he analyzed the situation, a chilling conclusion crept into his mind.
’No… could it be… is Lord Calyx planning to use the Klaus family as a buffer zone?’
To the north of Klaus territory lay the domains ruled by the Northern Grand Duke’s faction.
If Cron directly annexed Klaus now, it would set up a head-on clash: the northbound advance of Cron against the southbound ambitions of the Northern Grand Duke’s camp. A direct confrontation was inevitable.
Worse still, by occupying Klaus under such pretense, Cron might alienate the Platinum Council, who could view the move as an aggressive overreach.
But if Calyx withdrew now, this incident could be brushed off as a minor territorial skirmish between noble houses. At least, on the surface.
From Klaus’ perspective, though, their main keep had already been seized once by Cron.
There were whispers of a traitor who had opened the gates—and knowing how people tend to side with strength, Roan feared more collaborators would crawl out of the woodwork.
To root them out would require a massive purge. But doing so could provoke Cron to respond under a righteous banner—just like they had with Hadem—claiming to depose a tyrant under imperial authority and installing a puppet noble from the Klaus bloodline.
And surrendering to the Northern Grand Duke’s faction? That could be even worse. Who knew what the internal turncoats would do then?
After all, the Dreihart family had been wiped out by assassins overnight.
Roan had once believed that was truly the work of a Bloodkin.
But now… it seemed far more likely that Cron had orchestrated the whole thing—sending assassins to destabilize Dreihart and then publicly declaring that even they had suffered attacks from the blood assassins to build an alibi.
It was almost too perfect.
After mapping it all out in his mind, Roan felt a chill run down his spine—for only the second time in his life.
There was only one path left open to him.
“Lord Calyx… are you familiar with the Klaus family’s house maxim?”
“I am, sir. ‘A good house…’”
“…keeps good neighbors.”
Roan finished it for him.
“If we become good neighbors, will Cron support the Klaus family?”
He needed to hear it from Calyx’s own lips, even if this was only a verbal agreement—because Roan had no other options.
“Of course, sir. Cron does not abandon its friends.”
Calyx answered without a second of hesitation.
To Roan, his voice rang with sincerity. No deceit. No hidden agenda.
If this whole buffer zone thing was just a ploy to throw Klaus to the wolves, Roan would rather resist to the death—even if it meant the destruction of his house.
But if that wasn’t the case…
If, like Dreihart and Raion, the Klaus family could prosper by standing beside Cron—then perhaps it wasn’t such a terrible idea to take Calyx’s outstretched hand.
“Very well. And… thank you for giving the Klaus family another chance.”
Roan bowed his head low.
Startled, Calyx panicked, as if the Confucian dragon in his soul had reared its head.
“Please raise your head, sir!”
“Don’t worry—I’ll make sure to properly educate my useless son.”
Calyx blinked at the fire suddenly burning in Roan’s eyes.
All he said was “let’s be good neighbors”—so why was this old man acting like they’d just signed a blood pact?
Weird guy…
Still, despite a small misunderstanding, the talks between the two houses ended on a hopeful note.
As Calyx was about to leave the room, Roan spoke again.
“By the way, Lord Calyx… has anyone ever told you who you resemble?”
“No, sir. Who do I resemble?”
“…Just an old man’s memories. Pay it no mind.”
As he conversed with Calyx, someone had come to Roan’s mind—a man who had once cut off all his escape routes with ruthless strategy, only to extend a lifeline in a warm voice.
Roan never knew whether that lifeline was sturdy or rotten. But in that moment, he had no choice but to grab it.
That man… was the Emperor.
The very first person to ever make Roan feel that same bone-deep chill.
And now, in Calyx, Roan saw the image of the Emperor in his younger days.
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[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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