WeTried Translations
Translator: Goku
Editor: Sty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The War Hero in the NTR Game Wants to Die ◈
Chapter 009
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Lingering Ties (3)
If a prominent family holds a ball, the lights in the mansion usually don't go out for at least a week.
The Monbern Marquisate was no different.
Even as night deepened, the chandeliers showed no sign of dimming, and the music, laughter, and clinking of glasses flowed ceaselessly.
Even after that bastard Riehen had just snapped at Roseline, who was practically his owner.
For Riehen, it would be the end of the world.
Because this idiot was one of the many people who believed the world would collapse if they dared to defy their parents or those who held them in their grip.
Yet, in the end, only he himself would collapse.
I wandered aimlessly through the ballroom.
I wasn't looking for a dance partner, nor was I simply wandering because I enjoyed the atmosphere.
It was just a feeling, for some unknown reason, that I had to wander around this place...
Anyway, as I wandered, a few people saw the Gryan family crest and spoke to me.
I didn't reply, just continued to wander aimlessly and blankly.
Then, a man grabbed my shoulder.
"You, are you Riehen?"
When I turned, I saw a somewhat familiar face.
Rummaging through my memories, he was a peer I had attended the Academy with.
Behind him, two more stood close by, scrutinizing me up and down, a sneer playing on their lips.
Every one of them looked familiar.
Even though it was my first time meeting them.
"The guy who couldn't even get into the knight order... I was surprised to hear he became a war hero in the North, you've changed a lot!"
The hand that patted my shoulder, as if in greeting, carried a faint sneer.
"How have you been doing these days?"
Another one next to him chimed in with a snicker.
"Well, you still can't join the knight order, but I suppose you're doing well, given how solid your family is."
"Ah, didn't Lady Rione say she would inherit that anyway?"
"Even if Riehen is a good person... inheriting the family is a bit... you know."
The three of them gathered and started snickering.
During Academy days, every time I heard such words, I think I just kept my mouth shut and forced a smile.
Because being pointed at and talked about behind my back was an everyday occurrence anyway.
It seems I thought it was better to just keep quiet and smile than to ruin the atmosphere.
It's not that I wonder what kind of idiot this is... Riehen truly is an idiot.
Moreover, it seems that I, in those days, felt a strange inferiority complex even towards these kinds of people.
"You, what was your name again?"
"…Riehen. Are you talking to me?"
"Don't answer a question with a question."
I kicked the shin of the man standing in front of me.
I grabbed the hair of the stumbling fellow.
And then I slapped his cheek.
Around the third slap, three teeth rolled across the floor.
I continued to slap his cheek, unconcerned.
The snickering laughter instantly vanished.
His cheek, swollen red from the slaps, split open, and blood splattered with each hit.
"This isn't the Academy, is it? And this isn't a place where being good with a sword matters."
I put strength into the hand holding his hair, forcing his head up, and the man groaned with choked sounds.
As soon as the name Gryan came up, the other two tried to intervene but froze, not daring to step in.
When I released the hair I was holding, the man slumped to the floor, gasping for breath.
I could hear murmuring from around me, but I didn't care.
I extended my hand slightly, looked at the other two, and opened my mouth.
"Give."
They did step back, with expressions of injured pride... but it was meaningless.
"I'll let this slide if you give it to me. Or, if you want to challenge me to a duel, I'll accept."
As children of humble families anyway, there was no way they would dare to challenge me.
The Head of the family or Rione wouldn't care whether I won or lost... but those fellows' superiors, or their surrounding bosses, would care.
Because a subordinate had attacked a superior.
No matter how useless a piece of trash that superior might be.
In the end, one of them gritted his teeth first and brought his face to my outstretched hand.
When I lightly patted his cheek, he looked utterly bewildered.
Then, as he looked up with eyes that seemed either injured in pride or disdainful of me... I drove my knee into his face.
As for the last one... I just hit him.
Because I didn't like how he looked.
Naturally, the ball descended into chaos.
My reputation would certainly hit rock bottom, but I don't even know if there's any meaning in a non-existent reputation falling further.
I was at least certain that no trouble would arise.
Since I've lived a truly shitty life just because I carried the Gryan name since childhood, it should be fine to use it at a time like this.
Whether it displeases the family head or not, if I can use it, I should use it.
Whether that person gets into trouble or not.
Whether Marquis Monbern or the Head of the Gryan family gets into trouble is none of my business, is it?
Anyway, my heart is still pounding, and it hasn't subsided.
It probably isn't because I just thrashed the peers I once felt inferior to.
A dog often feels anxious when its owner drops its leash.
So why wouldn't I be anxious, having just snapped at Roseline, whom I had served as my master for years?
Ultimately, why was I still lingering and wandering in the ballroom?
I could have just gone up to the railing like when I first arrived, killed some time, spent the night, and then left after meeting Marquis Monbern's daughter tomorrow.
Perhaps I was waiting for her to come find me and put the leash back on.
Because nothing would be as comfortable as Roseline's leash.
At least, that's how Riehen felt.
Perhaps I.
Fleeing the commotion, I grabbed a few snacks and two bottles of wine from a table in the corner of the ballroom and secluded myself in a suitable room to hide.
Perhaps because I had just caused trouble, fortunately, no one tried to stop me or engage in conversation.
I briefly thought of just heading to the capital, but even though I didn't care if the dignity of high-ranking people was thrown into the cesspool, I declined the idea of things getting unnecessarily complicated.
Because the family head might use the excuse that I broke my promise to attend the ball to manipulate me again.
There was no mention of not causing trouble, so I hadn't broken the promise yet.
It just... seems absurd, but what can I do when Gryan is such a place?
This will probably be the last time I come to a place like this anyway.
I fumbled through my pocket to pull out a cigar... but it seems the one Roseline took earlier was the last.
Which means... Roseline didn't even return to the ballroom despite such a commotion.
I poured the wine I didn't even like into a glass and gulped it down in one go.
After drinking an entire bottle, and when the remaining wine was about half empty, my body went limp.
From the ballroom, the music started again... and the murmuring laughter and sounds of conversation blended together.
As if the commotion that had just happened was merely something fleeting.
How can everyone here put on a smile and live as if they're happy in such a place?
When there's no sign of love, and no sign of humanity.
* * *
I opened my eyes only when the sun was high in the sky.
My head throbbed as if it would split, but a hangover was a trifle compared to dying and coming back to life.
On the bedside table, the half-empty wine bottle from yesterday lay discarded.
As I sat blankly on the bed, holding my throbbing head, a knock sounded at the door.
I thought Rione had come to scold me about yesterday's events... but fortunately, it wasn't Rione.
I casually put on some clothes and came out to find a single servant standing before me.
The place the servant guided me to was the reception room.
In the reception room sat Marquis Monbern and a woman who seemed somewhat displeased.
The reason I was called to such a meeting first thing in the morning was obvious without needing to rack my brain.
Marquis Monbern didn't mention yesterday's events, merely exchanged light greetings, saying he was pleased to meet a hero, and then left the room, stating it was better for an awkward old man to step aside than to occupy the space.
She seemed to be of an age more fitting to be called a girl... rather than a lady.
Especially seeing her face full of mischief.
"You're not as slick-looking as you were in the weekly magazine. And I expected a war hero to be a bit more flashy."
She said so, and then casually placed a newspaper from beside her onto the table.
I don't know when it was published, but my name was plastered all over it, and there was a drawing of someone I didn't even know.
A hero arbitrarily crafted by an artist I had never met.
As I stared at the face, which was far more plausible than my real one, a hollow laugh escaped me.
"Miss!"
A servant behind me seemed about to make a fuss, so I raised my hand to indicate it was fine.
The servant, sensing my mood, backed away.
"If you're disappointed, I apologize."
"No, well, I'm not greatly disappointed. It's not too bad even now."
The Marquis's daughter continued with a grin.
"Well, you've probably heard, but I should introduce myself anyway. My name is Adelaide Monbern."
"My name is Riehen Gryan."
"Riehen, do you know why this meeting was arranged?"
"I'm not sure, I don't know."
"I pestered my father until he arranged it. I was curious to know what kind of man that Roseline Avenberg, of all people, always kept by her side and never even introduced!"
She never introduced me because... she didn't want to show someone like me publicly.
It must have been because I was like a shameful secret Roseline had to keep hidden.
She had never tried to reveal me to others.
Except for truly necessary occasions, that is.
Now that I think about it, Roseline once complained.
About there always being... some audacious little brat who tried to imitate and check her.
Though I never expected to meet her like this.
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