The So-Called Justice

"Little Aili, we..." Degas hesitated, ultimately letting out only a heavy sigh.

Because of what had just happened, a faint blush rose on Alice's face. "What is it, Uncle Degas?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking..." A smile reappeared on Degas's face—or rather, he gave Alice an ambiguous look.

He truly hadn't expected his unintentional choice to have worked out rather well for little Aili.

"How is he? I mean, what's his character like?" Degas winked at Alice.

Alice grew embarrassed and angry. With a cold snort, she set down the white porcelain teacup in her hand with a heavy thud, making her feelings clear.

At that moment, a respectful knock sounded from outside. The butler, dressed in a black tailcoat, slowly entered, whispered a few words into Degas's ear, then respectfully withdrew.

"What is it?"

The butler's voice had been soft, but Alice's keen ears still caught something. It seemed to have something to do with "Aaron"?

"Mm, nothing much. He survived. It seems the Blazing Sun Potion really is..." Degas struggled to find the right words.

He survived?

Alice pressed her lips together, her feelings complicated. She didn't know whether she should be happy or sad—or perhaps both.

"Well then, little Aili, let's discuss something serious." The smile on Degas's face faded slightly as he spoke to Alice with a hint of solemnity.

"What is it?"

"It's about your engagement. What I mean is... Ah, no, what Ed and I mean is..." Degas exchanged a glance with Ed before continuing, "If you're unwilling to fulfill the contract, we have a way to let you..."

Alice's expression gradually darkened. In the end, she cut Degas off directly. "Uncle Degas, what do you mean by that?"

Ed coughed several times and forced out a faint smile. "Alice, what we mean is..."

"I know what you mean, but..." She pursed her lips. "Why?"

"For your happiness, little Aili," Degas said.

"Then you can just abandon the family's honor? If word of this got out, what would that become?"

"If we simply don't let it get out, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

"If we don't let it get out, what about the contract? What are we going to do about it?"

"I'll find a way to resolve it, little Aili. The key lies with you." Degas gave Alice a deep look.

"Me?"

"The key is whether you want to."

Alice's lips moved several times, but she couldn't bring herself to speak. She looked at Ed and Degas, unsure what to say.

"Alice, I understand that you want to sacrifice yourself for the family. But in truth, we can look at this from another angle, can't we? Perhaps..." Degas carefully chose his words, afraid of touching the most vulnerable spot in Alice's heart. "Perhaps you've already fulfilled the duty you owed the family?"

Alice took a deep breath. For the first time, she felt that the incense had made the entire room stuffy. The air seemed too oppressive, leaving her somewhat breathless, just like when she had first encountered the Crawling Hand.

Duty...

The Grand Duke of Iris had personally said that word to her, too.

She gave a self-mocking laugh, as though speaking to Degas and Ed, yet also as though muttering to herself. "Do I have any other use?"

Degas and Ed fell silent. Degas simply pulled out that long cigar again, held it between his teeth, and bit down viciously, leaving a clear tooth mark in it.

"Uncle Degas, I understand your good intentions, but... Since I'm a member of House of Iris, I..." Alice paused for several seconds, seemingly hesitant, then slowly said, "I should bear the family's duties and responsibilities."

"But does the family really need you?" Ed finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Alice, I watched you grow up. I know you, and you know me. We traveled all the way from Uruk to Leyden together. I know you've always been unhappy. Lady Alice, I know perfectly well that you detest this engagement."

"And what other choice do I have?" Alice countered. "The family motto of House of Iris is perfectly clear: Truth above all, power eternal."

She wore a bitter smile, as though trying to convince herself. "After all, I'm the weakest one."

House of Iris had always been fair and impartial, treating everyone equally. In theory, every member of the family had a chance to become the next Grand Duke of Iris.

Of course, that was only in theory. In reality, fairness and impartiality also meant, to some extent, that things were not entirely fair.

Or rather, once relative fairness and impartiality had been achieved, there would naturally be things that were less fair and impartial—for example, the core factor affecting the competition for the position of family head: Bloodline Concentration.

Yes, Bloodline Concentration was an absurd yet extremely fair standard.

Before Bloodline Concentration, every member of House of Iris had a chance to become the Grand Duke of Iris, but only one person could become the Grand Duke of Iris.

Unfortunately, Alice was the unluckiest among the lucky. She had barely reached the Bloodline Concentration required to compete for the position of Grand Duke of Iris—only barely.

That meant she could appear before everyone under the identity of a candidate heir to the Grand Duke of Iris, while within the family, everyone knew that she could never become the Grand Duke of Iris.

The bloodline of House of Iris came from the descendants of the ancient Titans: the Mountain Giants.

No one knew how the first Grand Duke of Iris had found this lost bloodline inheritance, but he had indeed made it the ancestral bloodline of House of Iris.

That was also why Alice could send Ed flying with a single sword strike—the thin Mountain Giant bloodline had granted her strength far beyond that of an ordinary person.

However, her Bloodline Concentration was insufficient to awaken the will of the Mountain Giant within her. That meant she was merely a warrior, not an Awakened capable of activating the Mountain Giant bloodline.

"Ed, I understand. I understand it all..." Alice looked at her right hand, which radiated a silvery-white light, and sighed softly. "If I could truly become an Awakened, if I could use supernatural power to awaken the dormant bloodline within me, I would never agree to this marriage, no matter what. But unfortunately..."

She gave a strained smile, a hint of helplessness in it. "But I can't, Ed. I can't..."

The girl's voice fell, and the usually tough Alice rarely revealed a trace of weakness and helplessness.

"Sometimes, I wonder if those third-rate knight novels were written for noble young ladies like me. Perhaps we willingly put on the shackles of family honor, yet still yearn for the air of freedom."

She gently shook her arm, as though she were wearing a heavy pair of shackles. She could even faintly hear the crisp clinking of iron chains.

Her gaze met, one after another, the eyes of the two people who cherished her. In the end, all three let out a long sigh together.

Only, Alice would never know what Degas and Ed were sighing about.

Mm, let me say a few more words about the cameo-character corner. Some of the cameo-character setups from certain readers are really hard for me to fit in...

For example, someone's grandson, Sun—"mentally ill"—Xuan. Just imagine that person appearing in a fantasy world...

You really are here to wreck the place!

Because this book is based on DND, with my own modifications added in, there may be many deviations. For example, the classes. I hope everyone can forgive me for that...