From a Broken Engagement to the Northern Grand Duke's Son-in-Law

I gazed at the Veilmaster, a little smirk tugging at my lips.

Things had gone better than expected.

I’d suspected as much, but it seemed Kai was utterly indispensable to the Veilmaster. Of course he was—that’s why the man had passed the position to Kai before my regression, wasn’t it?

Though I hadn’t expected him to squirm quite so dramatically.

The realization sparked a darker thought.

I didn’t necessarily need to install Kai as Veilmaster at all. I could simply have him learn the techniques, then conveniently forget to mention the whole “successor” business. Let the Veilmaster handle all the tedious organizational affairs himself.

Pleasure without responsibility—isn’t that the perfect arrangement?

Still grinning, I asked the Veilmaster, “So then, is it possible or not?”

“It’s possible, but—”

The Veilmaster’s words died in his throat. He knew perfectly well this was a loss for him. Yet he had no grounds to refuse—Kai with his Slayer’s Birthright was essential to his plans.

Refusal simply wasn’t an option.

“…Curses.” The Veilmaster exhaled slowly.

He was about to voice his reluctant agreement when—

“And who gave you permission to decide that?”

A woman’s voice cut through the tension of the private chamber.

We turned as one to see a short-haired woman stride toward us, her footsteps sharp against the stone floor.

“…Veilwarden.”

The woman swept her hair back with practiced irritation. “When exactly did Death Veil become a playground for brats like these?”

Her critique hit like a blade.

The Veilwarden’s gaze swept over me and my companions with obvious disdain before she continued, “If we’re going to do this, why not simply kill them all and take only the boy?”

“Mind your tongue, Veilwarden.”

“You should mind your tongue, Veilmaster. Being pushed around by a mere brat—is this befitting of Death Veil’s leader?”

“Veilwarden!”

The Veilmaster’s fist slammed against his throne with explosive force.

Killing intent poured from him like a physical thing, but the Veilwarden merely snorted dismissively and approached Kai.

“Besides, I don’t understand why we need this boy at all. The old man’s bloodline? Is that really so crucial?”

“I said that’s enough!”

“Oh, so what then? We just let ourselves be manipulated? Was our grand vision of Death Veil really about playing games with children like these?”

The woman grabbed Kai’s face, turning it this way and that before releasing him with a dismissive flick.

“Ugh. Imagine being controlled by such worthless cretins. Boys, kill them all. Let us at least teach them the meaning of fear. Killing the son of House Berg should earn us some infamy, at least.”

Having delivered her orders, the Veilwarden turned away.

Several assassins launched themselves from the shadows.

“How dare you ignore my authority!” The Veilmaster’s roar echoed through the chamber.

I sneered, drawing forth my Aura. “Just another household divided against itself, I see.”

The air itself seemed to shiver as my power manifested. My arrows began spinning as they gathered my energy, gradually taking shape until they formed the massive silhouettes of Imugi.

The creatures flickered forked tongues as if tasting the air itself.

This was my evolved Divine Beast Invocation, achieved after reaching Aura Master level.

“Kill them.”

The arrows—no, the Imugi—shot toward the assassins with predatory grace.

The sounds that followed were sickening. Bodies severed, scattered across the floor in pieces.

I watched the carnage with quiet satisfaction.

Do they think themselves the Veilmaster or what?

Unless they possessed the skill of the Veilmaster or that old gatekeeper, these assassins were no match for my power.

My expanded Aura sense pinpointed every assassin’s location with perfect clarity, and my overwhelming energy tore them apart like paper.

Moreover, that woman wouldn’t be my match either.

The Veilwarden. I couldn’t recall any intelligence about such a female assassin in Death Veil’s ranks. She’d probably gained her position through connections rather than genuine strength.

Not that it mattered.

After finishing off the assassins charging toward me, I fired an arrow at the remaining Veilwarden.

But out of nowhere, the Veilmaster appeared before the Veilwarden like a shadow given form.

BOOM!

He drew his dagger and beheaded all the Imugi in one fluid motion, his blade moving faster than thought.

The morphed creatures regained their arrow form, clattering to the floor with broken arrowheads.

The Veilmaster scattered crimson Aura and fixed me with a murderous glare. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Self-defense, as you can plainly see.”

“How dare you slaughter my subordinates before my very eyes!”

The Veilmaster’s bellow carried such killing intent that I wondered if he might unleash Dread Aura again.

But this was different—pure, unadulterated rage.

I spoke quietly to the furious man before me. “Should I have simply let them proceed?”

“Yes! If you’d stayed put, I would have handled everything—”

“What utter bullshit.”

“…What?”

My profanity made the Veilmaster pause mid-sentence, as if he’d heard something completely unexpected.

But my own irritation had reached its peak.

“If you’d actually been governing this place properly, none of this would have happened. We might have both achieved our goals and parted ways peacefully. But what is this?”

“That’s—”

“And what’s this about you handling everything?”

I fixed the Veilmaster with a cold stare.

“If you could have handled it, none of this would have occurred in the first place.”

Silence.

“We nearly lost our lives. Not just me, but Kai—grandson of Master Max—almost died here as well.”

The Veilmaster couldn’t respond to my continued accusations. He simply listened in tense silence, chewing his lip with obvious frustration.

The Veilmaster bit down hard enough to draw blood. Killing intent swirled in his eyes, but it wasn’t directed at me—it was aimed squarely at the Veilwarden beside him.

“For that, I… apologize.”

He uttered each word with obvious effort, as if forcibly suppressing his rage.

But I had no intention of accepting his apology so easily. “No, there’s no need for that. I must have been mistaken about something.”

“…What?”

“We’re leaving. Let’s pretend none of this ever happened.”

Honestly, I did need the Death Veil organization, but alternatives existed.

If I truly desired it, creating a new Death Veil would be entirely feasible. With future knowledge and Kai’s potential, it would be simple enough.

Sensing the sincerity behind my words, the Veilmaster’s expression darkened considerably.

At that moment, the Veilwarden shouted her defiance. “Ha! You think we’ll just let you walk away?”

Still utterly clueless, this woman.

“What happens if you don’t let us leave peacefully? I guarantee that every assassin here except the Veilmaster will die.”

“…What?”

“I’m sure we’ll all die too. But we won’t go down without taking you with us.”

“Y-you think that’s possible?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? My master is the Divine Archer. And your leader seems to have already realized I’m telling the truth.”

The Veilwarden turned her head sharply.

The Veilmaster slowly began to speak, still worrying his bloodied lip.

“…There was a mistake on our part. Would you be willing to forgive us?”

The Veilmaster’s repeated apology sent shockwaves through the assembled assassins.

In truth, the Veilmaster could kill us all if he truly committed to it. Even if I made my Aura run wild in a final desperate gambit, I likely couldn’t bring him down.

But as I’d stated, more than half of their assassins would die alongside me, and half of the survivors would live as cripples for the rest of their days.

In other words, Death Veil would collapse entirely.

Moreover, they believed I had direct connections to the Divine Archer, making them even more cautious about provoking a wider conflict.

“…Have it your way. I’ll maintain the boy as heir while granting him complete freedom of movement. I’ll also ensure he can learn all my techniques without restriction.”

The Veilmaster offered complete capitulation.

The Veilwarden’s eyes widened as she turned on him with obvious shock. “Veilmaster! What are you—”

The Veilmaster’s eyes flashed with dangerous intent as his hand cracked across the Veilwarden’s cheek.

The sound echoed through the chamber like a whip crack.

“Until now, I’ve tolerated you out of old friendship. I overlooked your creation of factions within Death Veil, even your constant opposition to my leadership. But I never expected it to come to this.”

“…Veilmaster.”

“As of today, you’re dismissed from your position as Veilwarden. Your loyal assassins will be disposed of, and you’ll no longer live as a member of Death Veil. Do you understand?”

His tone carried absolute finality.

Everyone fell silent at the Veilmaster’s pronouncement. Though their comrades had fallen, none dared object.

The current schism was both deep and inevitable—this moment had been building for some time.

In this tense atmosphere, only one person spoke—the Veilwarden herself.

She glared at me with pure hatred, chewing her lips, then drew a ragged breath and stood with whatever dignity she could muster.

“…Fine. Let’s see how well you manage without me. I’ll be watching your failures from the outside.”

With those final words, the Veilwarden walked toward the exit with measured steps. 

I watched her departure with quiet amusement.

After she had completely disappeared from view, I looked at the Veilmaster and spoke with a knowing tone. “You’re not much of an actor, are you?”

“…Was it that obvious?”

“Well, that woman seemed to fall for it completely.”

The Veilmaster’s actions were an implication, a request to spare her life. In exchange, he would do anything in return for that single mercy.

Naturally, I accepted his proposal without hesitation.

Killing the Veilwarden would have been satisfying in the moment, but Death Veil’s complete surrender was far more practical in the long term.

While creating an alternative organization was certainly possible, it would also represent a massive headache I preferred to avoid.

I settled my Aura and addressed the Veilmaster with renewed focus.

“So let’s discuss this arrangement again. You make Kai your heir and support him until he attains the rank of Thief Master. Is that the agreement?”

“…It seems to have grown slightly in scope, but that’s essentially correct.”

The Veilmaster nodded with obvious resignation.

Normally, I would have accepted his agreement and concluded our business there. But that was before the little incident we just had.

Now that we held the superior position, I had no intention of stopping with such modest gains.

“Additionally, you’ll bestow upon Kai all of Death Veil’s divine artifacts along with the elixirs necessary to achieve Thief Master rank.”

“…You really are stripping us to the damned bone. Very well.” The Veilmaster nodded as if sick of the entire negotiation.

He agreed readily, probably because Kai would become his successor anyway—the artifacts and elixirs would ultimately serve Death Veil’s interests.

However, things would be rather different from his expectations.

I looked at the Veilmaster with a knowing smile. Everything up to this point represented compensation for forgiving the earlier situation. Sparing the Veilwarden’s life was an entirely separate transaction.

My eyes gleamed with anticipation as I continued, “The position of Veilwarden is now vacant, isn’t it?”

“…That’s correct. Why?”

The corner of my mouth curved as I delivered my final demand.

“Give that position to me.”

I had every right to claim the price of that woman’s life.