I Don’t Want To Be the Main Character

114. With great power comes great responsibility (1)

1.

The event, which had lasted for several long hours, was over.

It was a boring and exhausting time for the person involved, Ludrick, but the nobles who were still present whispered a word because of the dinner that followed.

“This appointment ceremony was very short. It almost seemed like the Count of the Palace handled it hastily.”

“You were still a lump of flesh at the last appointment ceremony.”

“My mother told me it would be so long that it would make my neck ache, so I prepared myself.”

It was such a short ceremony that it made one wonder if it was okay for the nobles to end so blandly. Considering that most events hosted directly by the imperial family are usually filled with useless ceremonies from a practical standpoint, this appointment ceremony ended too quickly.

Of course, apart from the fact that it ended quickly, the political implications that Eileen had expressed as the ‘coronation’ were enormous, but that was only the inside story that was not revealed on the surface.

At least for now, everyone was busy enjoying a sumptuous meal and chatting about the inauguration ceremony that had just taken place.

And today’s protagonist, Ludrick, was no different.

A place to reminisce with family members you haven’t seen in a long time.

Some nobles looked at him with open interest, but most of them kept their attention aside for a moment so as not to disturb their families, so it was not a bad environment to focus on the meal and conversation.

“So now our son has a higher rank than this mother. So now you too must behave in a dignified manner.”

“……Dignity?”

“Aren’t there many ears listening as you come and go? Especially in the case of the palace, there must be even more ears listening. It means that you should conduct yourself in a manner befitting your position.”

Count Weiss said as he cut the steak that was served as the main dish.

Although it was a small fief, it was advice that reflected the experience of a noble who had managed the Vice County for decades.

Until recently, Ludrick was a half-wild man, only a disciple of Lorenzo, with no official title. However, he has now been given the official title of court magician.

The empire is stupid, so it doesn’t provide research funds for the position and only makes it hereditary, but it doesn’t treat it like a marquis.

Count Alin Weiss was also clearly aware of that point.

“If someone were to hear what you said so casually, they would inevitably give it an exaggerated meaning. So wouldn’t it be best to not do anything that would get others to blame in the first place?”

“……That’s true.”

“And you must also keep in mind that, although privately this mother is your parent, publicly she is the court wizard of the Esgelant Empire and Count Weiss.”

“You’re not going to start talking to me formally like that, are you?”

“Didn’t I just say that? Don’t do anything that would get you caught by others. Is there any need to get on other people’s nerves?”

“I can’t quite picture my mother speaking to me formally…….”

Keck.

Ludrick, imagining that scene, made a face as if he was disgusted, but Serilla also intervened from the side.

“Mother is right.”

“But that doesn’t mean I can tell my sister to do this or that.”

“Why? When I’m standing guard at the palace, I follow your orders.”

As soon as Serilla tilted her head, Ludrick frowned and asked.

“If I told you that I was tired and asked you to come and rub my shoulders and give me a massage, would you do it? No, but that’s not something you would ask a guard on duty to do in the first place.”

“……Well, that’s true.”

Serilla muttered, then suddenly had an idea.

He was a younger sibling who had grown up so much that I didn’t recognize him for 10 years. Normally, siblings are polar opposites who can’t get along well, but when there’s this much of an age difference, the story is a little different.

When Serilla first came to Tokyo to enroll in the academy, she was a gloomy little girl, but now she has grown up so much that as soon as she mentions her younger brother, her classmates are flooding her asking if she can introduce them to them.

Even if she told him to come and rub her shoulders because she was tired, Serilla would gladly do it for her cute youngest sibling.

In fact, the problem was that whenever I got closer, I felt a strangely good scent and my heart would suddenly flutter.

‘… … Come on, you crazy b*tch. It’s your little sister, it’s your little sister.’

Serilla, who was shaking her head, hurriedly added at the end, afraid that someone might catch her thinking this.

“Anyway, you’re the superior. If you’re going to be picky, you have to be picky. That’s what organizational life is all about. The ranks are thugs.”

“But we’re family…….”

“Why, should I give you a summoning artifact so you can call out to me whenever you’re tired?”

“Is it okay?”

Serilla smiled, thinking that it was cute to see Ludrick looking so unwilling.

As I watched him ticking away like that, I realized that my youngest sibling, who I had raised like a piggyback ride when he was little, had definitely grown up well.

2.

It was a friendly family scene. There were some nobles who were interested in the conversations between family members, but most of them felt that there was no need to interfere in the private conversation and kept their guard up. A few pairs of eyes were focused on the table where Ludrick was sitting.

“……I’m jealous. I want to chat with Ludrick too.”

“Hey, you want to just barge in without any sense? Come to your senses, you rascal.”

“Adjutant, I know that. But you can at least say what you want. Do you really have to embarrass your superior like that?”

“How could a man like a woman who has no tact?”

sniffling.

Although he was supposedly a VIP, Rasil was left to drink with his adjutant Crow in a miserable state.

She was a powerful figure in her own right, holding the power of the Imperial Navy, but she had no political connections in the capital, so she was not suited to social gatherings like this. There were nobles who approached her simply to gain her favor, but she simply dismissed them all as mere soldiers.

Sitting at the large table are only Rasil and Crow.

Rasil, who had been lamenting that he was in a situation where he could only drink wine, muttered.

“Adjutant, what is love?”

“Are you drunk already?”

“No, that’s not it… It’s just something I’ve been feeling lately.”

“What is that?”

Not paying attention to Crow’s indifferent response, Rasil spoke with a very serious expression.

“I have a wish. I told Ludrick about it when he came to my villa last time.”

“So, you mean, we can go on a boat together and leisurely go boating and look at the ocean with that person?”

“Yeah, that’s it. So you got your wish back then.”

“If you’ve achieved it, what else is there to worry about?”

“I’ve been feeling this way ever since. Now, I just enjoy watching it. I just love it so much I can’t stand it.”

“You’re drunk.”

Crow, who had been responding annoyedly, clicked his tongue.

Be that as it may, Rasil thought, sipping his glass and keeping his eyes fixed on Ludrick.

At first, I thought it was a ridiculous suggestion, but if love is an addiction, then the poison has already spread throughout her body to the point where she can’t do anything. Now, it’s okay to just watch from afar.

Just looking at it makes a thrilling electric current run through my heart, and I feel something tingling from the tips of my fingers and toes.

Yeah, if you don’t call this love, then what do you call love?

“……So, you see, I just said that was okay too.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Yes, there is something like that. It’s nice just to look at, but how much better it would be if we lived together. After all, they say that newlyweds are full of love and happiness.”

“……Huh?”

Crow’s eyes, which had been consistently blunt, widened.

Crow, who was about to raise his voice naturally, realized that he was in a bad mood and managed to lower his voice. He asked urgently.

“What, you said yes? Did you get a proposal? No, did the guy propose first?”

“Use it.”

Rasil thought for a moment. Was it really right to respond that he had been proposed to?

It may not be the kind of married life that people imagine, but in any case, it can be seen as a proposal. It wasn’t even something that Rudrick said directly, but Rasil heard about it later from Eileen and just bit the bullet and said that was fine.

After going through a series of steps to organize his thoughts, Rasil nodded.

“Well, if I was proposed to, then I guess I could say I was proposed to. I don’t know when the wedding will take place, though.”

“No, so it really worked…?”

“Adjutant, what worked?”

“……Actually, that’s what I told you. I just learned it in theory.”

Crow muttered with a bewildered expression.

The secret to love that Crow taught Rasil.

Crow, however, was still single even though he was over thirty years old. Even for a sailor who did hard work, especially considering that he was not just a sailor but a member of the navy, he was in a very urgent situation to get married. By the standards of this world, he could be considered a very late spinster.

Crow blurted out, scratching his sun-tanned skin.

“Actually, I thought it was nonsense as I was saying it, but it turned out to be effective.”

As if he knew it, Rasil replied with a smirk.

“I thought so. That’s why I didn’t use anything the adjutant told me. If what you told me really worked, he wouldn’t be living alone at that age.”

“…….”

Instead of responding, Crow hesitated and picked up the glass in front of him.

It was bitter.

Her boss, who she had firmly believed to be her comrade, was so jealous of her that he had already arranged their marriage without her even knowing.

But if she finds out that the wedding is about a quintessentially married man, she might still be jealous.