Copy Skills with Affinity! - Chapter 54

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Copy Skills with Affinity! ◈

Chapter 54: Retribution

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...And it was clear that the beginning would not always go smoothly.

Inside the estate they had entered at Grand Duke Aslan’s invitation, Aiden looked around uneasily.

They had been shown inside, but...

‘The atmosphere is a little...’

Everyone was on edge.

Leaving aside the fact that no one moving through the estate seemed pleased to see outsiders, not a single person seated in the hall and watching them looked friendly.

And some people stood out more than others in that regard.

“I don’t like the way they’re looking at us.”

“Please bear with it.”

Aiden muttered listlessly at Katia, who said that with a smile.

She was basically a ticking time bomb, so every time she said something like that, it made him nervous.

‘It’s not that I don’t understand.’

Still, this time, the others’ attitude was bad enough that he could not exactly blame Katia.

With that thought, Aiden swept his gaze over the people glaring at them.

They were all retainers under Grand Duke Aslan, but they belonged to different factions beneath him. You could tell from their attire.

‘Damian Aslan, Liza Aslan...’

The Grand Duke’s eldest son and second daughter. The leading figures in the succession struggle within the grand ducal house that had the entire Empire tearing its hair out.

Neither was present, apparently, but the people under them were still openly hostile toward Aiden’s group.

They sat so far apart across a table as vast as an open sea that they could barely make out each other’s faces, yet the atmosphere came through with perfect clarity.

“They probably feel we are meddling in another family’s affairs.”

Noel murmured as she sat beside Aiden, her eyes narrowed.

Just as she was receiving unpleasant looks, she did not look especially pleasant herself.

“Basically, Aiden and I are seen as belonging to His Majesty the Emperor’s faction. They are probably wary that this is political interference.”

“...Isn’t the Night of the Hunt about to happen?”

Whatever the internal situation of the territory, they had been invited to help with the disaster that would soon strike.

If these people still intended to fight over interests in the face of something so serious, there was nothing more to say.

“That would be the sensible reaction. But...”

Noel let out a short sigh.

“...The retainers of the Aslan Ducal House have never had a good reputation in that regard.”

Self-preservation. Protecting their own turf. Fighting over interests.

Those were said to be the greatest problems eating away at the Aslan Ducal House, a prestigious martial family, and their infamy was already widespread throughout the Empire.

As that thought crossed his mind, a voice came from across the table.

“You must have had a difficult journey!”

It was a man with a distinctive goatee.

Judging by the epaulet on his shoulder, he belonged to Damian Aslan.

The distance was so great that he had raised his voice, which only made his intentions clearer.

“Your schedule must be busy. What brings someone as remarkable as Lionheart all the way to a backwater like this?”

The mocking implication was clear. Why had people like them crawled all the way here?

“...”

Noel tilted her head with a gesture that clearly said, Of course it is like this.

“My fiancé received an invitation from the Grand Duke. With the Night of the Hunt approaching, we have come to offer support.”

At that, the goateed man and everyone around him abruptly changed expression.

That sentence meant Aiden, not Noel, was the main figure here.

In other words.

The Grand Duke was more interested in Lionheart’s husband than in Lionheart herself.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward Aiden at once. After looking him over from head to toe, the goateed man gave a simple assessment.

“That guy?”

At the scornful remark, Noel’s expression hardened, while Katia’s face twitched even more violently.

‘...I can see why.’

As far as Aiden was concerned, it was not that strange.

Unlike Noel or Katia, he was not someone widely known for anything impressive, nor did he enjoy that sort of attention.

Still.

“...Your Highness.”

“I know, I know. I won’t cause trouble.”

Katia answered calmly. Her face showed no sign of anger, either.

“It’s fine. For now.”

...Though to Aiden, she had already begun to look like a bomb with its fuse lit.

“Well, if the Grand Duke invited you, there must be a reason.”

Fortunately, the goateed man did not seem inclined to press further.

“We have no intention of interfering in your family affairs.”

Matching that mood, Aiden did his best to keep the conflict from escalating as he spoke.

“We only intend to resolve the matter the Grand Duke requested as peacefully as possible, then leave...”

“Ah, of course.”

He might have maintained that attitude if the goateed man had not interrupted him before he could finish.

“Of course you do.”

“...”

Aiden narrowed his eyes at the obvious sarcasm.

...No matter how he looked at it, this clearly was not a situation where they could keep smiling at one another until the end.

▣

In truth, the atmosphere afterward did not stray from that feeling at all.

The friction was not openly displayed, but every word and gesture felt increasingly sharp.

“Could we at least receive information on the magical beasts that frequently appear in the territory...?”

“That is confidential. It would be difficult to provide it to outsiders.”

“...Then how much material and personnel support can we expect?”

“Why not discuss that directly with the Grand Duke? I don’t know.”

“...”

This guy was incredibly irritating.

Every response made Aiden feel that way.

With the conversation continuing like this, Aiden found it difficult to say anything more, while Noel and Katia’s moods steadily worsened.

“...At this rate, it will be difficult to receive any cooperation.”

Lady Noel whispered those words to Aiden.

The anger in her voice was far from ordinary.

“I understand they are busy fighting among themselves, but this is too much. Is protecting civilians not the basic duty of those with power?”

...He could only agree.

Aiden twisted his head in displeasure.

“This is irritating me too.”

A large-scale magical beast incident was about to strike, yet they were busy guarding their own interests and holding others back. It was truly ugly.

Especially considering the current situation.

‘...This is no ordinary incident.’

Even in the original game, this magical beast incident was so large that it could never be handled without outside help, and the duchy falling into utter chaos was a foregone conclusion. If they treated even helpers from outside like this, difficulties in handling it were obvious.

Aiden looked over the people who still made no effort to hide that they did not welcome them, his gaze filled with contempt.

‘The Prince was better than this.’

At least the Prince had more than enough of the qualities expected of a ruler.

These people were parasites. Halfwits so blinded by their own gain that they could not grasp what was coming, people who cared more about their power when lives were at stake.

Which meant...

There was no reason to treat them like people.

‘Hmm...’

Aiden tapped his fingers against the table as he sank into thought.

Information about priorities and objectives passed through his mind.

As always, his two greatest goals were simple.

Resolve the main quest, and copy the skills of important characters.

So, in the end.

The action he needed to take to accomplish both of those things was...

“...”

Aiden ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

Well.

Lately, he felt as though his personality was gradually changing.

Thoughts this insane should not come to him so naturally.

“Lady Noel.”

At his sudden words, Noel turned to him with her eyes widening slightly.

The moment she heard what Aiden said next, however, her expression froze.

“Do you trust me?”

“...”

A flicker of intense unease passed through Noel’s eyes.

“...I do.”

“...That took you a very long time to answer.”

“Would you place a hand over your heart and reflect on what you have done so far?”

“...”

“Why do you think it took me so long to answer?”

...He did not really have anything to say to that.

Once he started causing trouble, he did so spectacularly enough that even Katia had admitted he was utterly ruthless about it.

“Please trust me. I have a plan.”

“...”

“So, will you cooperate quietly?”

“...”

The longer Aiden spoke, the more worry settled over Noel’s face.

“...Fine. Give it a try.”

Still, her permission came more readily than he had expected.

She did not like it, but she would go along with him anyway.

That was faster than expected, Aiden thought, tilting his head as he rose from his seat.

Well, he had permission, so it should be fine to do it.

He gathered several bottles of wine into his arms and strode toward the goateed man.

“...If you are asking for a drink together, I must decline. We are not close enough to share alcohol.”

Aiden stared at the goateed man, who said that with a thin smile, then tilted his head.

“I don’t particularly want to, either.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Actually, I was thinking as I walked over. If you had been even a little less rude, I think I might have felt guilty.”

“What are you...”

“But I don’t think I need to.”

Before the goateed man could ask anything further, Aiden swung a wine bottle with full force and smashed it down squarely on top of his head.

Glass shards flew in every direction. Red wine and blood, even redder than the wine, splashed into the air.

As the goateed man immediately collapsed unconscious onto the table, the people around him let out screams and cries.

“W-What the hell are you doing?!”

A wine bottle came down on the head of someone who had been about to scream.

Another person collapsed beside the goateed man.

“This is tyranny! Who let a madman like this into the terri...!”

Crash!

One more person collapsed.

“Guards! Call the gua...!”

Crash!

One more person collapsed.

“...”

Silence filled the hall.

After knocking out several more people in an instant, Aiden looked around with his usual slightly tired expression.

“Anyone else want to shout?”

“...”

“Anyone else want to be rude?”

“...”

“No?”

“...”

Everyone’s eyes went to the several wine bottles Aiden still held in his arms.

Aiden’s tone was utterly calm, but his intent was delivered perfectly. If anyone said anything here, he would introduce their head to one of those bottles.

“Then I have a few questions, and I would appreciate sincere answers.”

“...”

“I will take silence as agreement.”

As everyone remained silent before Aiden, who was politely saying insane things, Noel rubbed both hands down her face.

“...Aiden.”

With a trembling voice, she barely managed to form a sentence.

“...Did you not say you had a good idea and that I should trust you...?”

Seeing Lady Noel, who looked as though she could not understand what exactly she was supposed to trust here, Aiden nodded.

“It’s fine, Lady Noel.”

“...What is?”

“With things like this, you have to keep hitting until the other side cannot make a sound.”

“Excuse me?”