IMYL 9

Chapter 9

The Western Duchy of Nogen.

Late at night, the Duke of Nogen frowned deeply.

“What is this?”

Duke Nogen—Hilbury Nogen—was an elderly man with white hair.

He had a robust build and well-defined features, but wore an eyepatch over one eye, and one of his legs was a prosthetic.

Holding a thick stack of reports, he tapped one particular line with his finger.

“Timber to be used for furniture reconstruction? Olive wood?”

“Oh, it’s nothing you need to worry about,”
the aide replied respectfully.

“It was an unexpected influx of lumber, so we decided to purchase it using the budget for supporting the domain’s residents. The wood is sturdy and beautiful, quite distinct from ordinary relief supplies, so in times like these it should greatly help raise the morale of the common folk—”

“Hm? From Sears, you say.”

Hilbury narrowed his eyes as he stroked his beard.

“I was under the impression that the new Marquis of Sears is currently absent.”

The Ducal House of Nogen and the Marquessate of Sears were both ancient noble families, recognized as founding contributors to the Empire.

However, while the Marquessate of Sears had steadily declined—its influence now weaker than even that of a remote count’s house—the House of Nogen had taken the opposite path.

The Nogen Duchy bordered the vast western granary lands and prospered without end. With such wealth and prestige came an intelligence network that was in an entirely different league.

“I believe it was ordered by Miss Brisa,” the aide said.
“A grain merchant came demanding repayment of a debt, and she offered timber instead.”

“Hm.”

Hilbury did not know the details of the relationship between a mere grain merchant and the marquisate.

Nor was the purchase of furniture-grade lumber for relief efforts something that normally warranted his attention.

Under ordinary circumstances, he would have let it pass.

If not for the name Sears—
or if not for the girl named Brisa standing behind this unexpected shipment of timber.

Hilbury narrowed his eyes and muttered,

“Leopold sent flowers to this girl anonymously, didn’t he?”

“……He wished to keep it a secret. He controlled the information very thoroughly.”

“In this land, there is nothing I do not know. A mere fourteen-year-old cannot hide things from my eyes.”

Hilbury calmly exposed the boy’s private affairs.

“Especially when it concerns my only grandson, who is to inherit this domain.”

Leopold Nogen.

A fourteen-year-old heir of the ducal house, who looked remarkably like Hilbury himself in his youth.

The western duchy was blessed with fertile grain lands and mines, making it abundantly wealthy.

Yet every year, a calamity known as the Monster Wave swept through.

This year’s Monster Wave had arrived earlier than usual, and its scale surpassed every recorded instance.

As a result, Leopold had been deployed directly to the front lines without even attending his academy graduation ceremony.

He had inherited the Nogen family’s extraordinary power strongly—making him indispensable in a Monster Wave.

“While rushing toward the battlefield in such chaos… he still found time to send flowers…”

It was an obligation no heir of Nogen could escape.

Hilbury himself had lost one eye and one leg in the process. And so, he had no choice but to send his grandson to the battlefield.

Even after his own son and daughter-in-law—sent to war ten years ago—had returned as cold corpses.

“Well, um… I suppose,”
the aide said cautiously, trying to protect the boy’s privacy,
“since he was unable to attend the late Marquis of Sears’ funeral, perhaps he was simply looking after her as a fellow academy student?”

The aide was desperate. Knowing Hilbury’s temperament, he tried all the harder.

“It’s something anyone might do, hahaha. Hahahahahaha.”

“…….”

“Hahahahahahahaha.”

“…….”

“Haha.”

The effort failed completely.

Instead of brushing it off, Hilbury raised an eyebrow.

Under normal circumstances, he would never have paid this any mind. Even if Leopold had sent the girl flowers.

The House of Nogen is far too busy to concern itself with some unremarkable central noble family.

But this incident was… interesting.

“The olive trees of Sears are entwined with the family’s very history. Cutting them down is not something one does lightly.”

Hilbury sifted through his memories.

Had Leopold ever spoken about Brisa during his academy days…?

He recalled a conversation they had at the ducal residence during the previous winter break.

“The instructor spoke highly of you. Said that while your looks are what draw attention, objectively you excel at everything. Hoho. Since you’ve never lost first place in any exam, being valedictorian is only natural. Then who do you expect to take second place?”

“The same person ranked second in every exam, so I believe she will be runner-up.”

“Oh? And who would that be?”

“Brisa Sears.”

“Wasn’t she admitted two years earlier than the others? And yet she placed second in every exam?”

“That is what the results show.”

As always, Leopold had answered with a dry tone that revealed nothing of his inner thoughts.

Instead, Sylvia—his cheerful cousin sitting beside him—had cut in brightly.

“But she’s always in the library all night long. She works that hard and still can’t beat Leo, so honestly, I think her intelligence itself is only about on par with mine. Right, Leo?”

To which Leopold replied,

“That’s an interesting opinion.”

A noble way of saying, That’s nonsense.

As befitted the heir of the western duchy, Leopold never revealed his true thoughts outright.

“She’s so aloof and prickly, she doesn’t even have friends. She’s unbelievably pretty, like a porcelain doll, but I’ve never seen her smile or get excited. Her personality must be really strange. Don’t you think so, Leo?”

“That point is open to debate.”

Which meant, I don’t agree.

Sylvia shot Leopold a glance and continued chatting away.

“But her jewelry and belongings are all top-tier. Most people wouldn’t even imagine that the Marquessate of Sears is on the verge of collapse. Honestly, I wonder if she herself doesn’t even know?”

“Sylvia.”

Leopold spoke without changing his expression.

“Isn’t the pepper flavor in this duck a bit too strong?”

Which meant, I don’t want to hear any more of your nonsense.

At the time, Hilbury had thought nothing of it.

But now, looking back…

“I should send an agent to Sears.”

Hilbury raised his eyebrow as he gave the order.

“I need to know.”

The old man’s remaining golden eye gleamed calmly.

“Leopold seems to hold that girl in high regard. I want to know whether she’s someone worth my own evaluation as well.”

A few days later, the Marquessate of Sears.

“Today, the Marquis should arrive, shouldn’t he?”

It was the day Alphiers was scheduled to return.

Philip, planting the remaining seed potatoes, fidgeted with excitement.

“As long as he catches the warp on time, he should be back by this afternoon.”

When I didn’t respond, Philip gave an awkward laugh and continued,

“As for Wendy… well, Alphiers will probably scold her severely.”

Wendy had been exempted from the potato field labor.

No one seemed to take the punishment I’d given her seriously.

“We’re not that thoughtless, you know.”

Philip spoke as if he’d forgotten how rudely he’d confronted me at first.

“She just… has issues. She worships Lord Alphiers too much and crossed the line.”

I looked out over the ‘former olive plain,’ now turned into a field of seed potatoes, and let out a faint sigh.

Up to this point, things were still manageable—something I could clean up by claiming I’d gone a bit crazy.

I’m just a little unhinged, that’s all. I just hope Alphiers comes back.

I really didn’t want the early-novel hardship arc where everyone starts starving.

But even by the afternoon, Alphiers had not returned.

Instead, late at night, one of Alphiers’ elite knights stumbled into the marquis’ residence.

“It seems His Lordship will be delayed longer than expected.”

He spoke with a pained expression.

“At present… the Marquis has abruptly headed east to rescue His Highness the Second Prince. I alone was sent to relay the situation.”

I pressed my fingers to my forehead and sighed.

As expected—exactly the same future I already knew.

Langsi, who had been working overtime as usual, rushed over and asked breathlessly,

“The east? Why’s everyone suddenly going east?”

The knight of Alphiers spoke while struggling to catch his breath.

“A Monster Wave has begun in the eastern sea. Our benefactor—no, His Highness the Second Prince—is currently trapped there… and the only person who can acknowledge the Marquis’ achievements in the northern war is the Second Prince.”

It matched the original storyline perfectly.

I decided to stop doubting it.

I really did know the future.

Fortunately, I had been preparing accordingly.

“He couldn’t come back empty-handed, and the two of them are comrades-in-arms. So His Lordship had no choice but to go.”

“But why was the Second Prince there in the first place?” Langsi protested.
“Wasn’t he supposed to be at a victory banquet? Why would someone that high up even go there?”

According to the original story, the capable Second Prince—born of a commoner consort—would fall victim to the Crown Prince’s schemes and die in the east around this time.

“How would I know? Must’ve been orders from someone even higher up,” the knight replied.
“Still, with warp travel, he should be back within three days, right?”

Three days? Not a chance. This was just the beginning of warp instability.

This knight alone arrived half a day late already…

Warp travel ran on mana. Once mana-bearing monsters began to appear, its operation was inevitably affected.

And so, the problem arose the very next morning.