Chapter 34 - Humiliation Play
The moment the succession ceremony ended, the nobles who had attended all rushed forward, eager to move ahead of one another. In the blink of an eye, a long line had formed.
Not before Nia, the newly appointed head of the house—but before my mother, Layla.
“Lady Layla, how radiant you look today! It is an honor to meet you!”
“Has your health been well...? Our family hails from a line of apothecaries, and as a token of friendship, please accept this—our highest-grade potion.”
“Lord Heisenberg is not present, I see. I had so hoped to pay my respects to him at least once...”
They call us an evil noble house. They call us the kingdom’s shadow. They call us the untouchables. People say all sorts of things about us…
But in truth, there were plenty of nobles who wanted to cozy up to our family.
In the end, those with power always drew in the vultures hoping for scraps.
“Fufu, thank you for your kind concern.”
My mother smiled gently as she handled the barrage of greetings and questions with practiced grace. Then, just for an instant, her eyes flicked toward me.
It seemed to mean: Go on ahead to Nia.
I gave her a small nod and made my way toward the powder room where Nia was likely resting. Knocking three times—tok tok tok—I called out:
“It’s me.”
“Hollow? Please, come in.”
When I opened the door, I found Nia seated in a chair, staring at me wide-eyed.
“What? Do I have something on my face?”
“No... I just didn’t expect you to actually knock. I thought you’d come barging in, kicking the door down.”
“…What exactly do you take me for?”
My sloth and arrogance were all just an act.
Breaking down someone else’s door like that—well... the original Hollow did it often enough, come to think of it.
“Hehe, I’m joking, I’m joking.”
She smiled softly, waving her right hand in a light flutter.
“Thank you, Hollow. Truly... I was so happy.”
She was probably referring to how I had been the first to applaud her.
It wasn’t anything worth thanking me for, so I just snorted through my nose and brushed it off.
“But still, I never imagined there’d be such fierce opposition... Everyone had always called me the ‘next head of the family’ ever since I was little. But the moment the time actually came, their eyes turned cold, and they lashed out at me. It really caught me off guard.”
Her gaze drifted off into the distance, and she let out a small yet heavy sigh.
“If not for your instructions, Hollow, I doubt I would’ve been able to stay so calm. ...You saved me again.”
“Yeah. Don’t forget the debt.”
“Fufu, you’re as sharp-tongued as ever. But... your blunt honesty is strangely comforting right now.”
She smiled faintly, with a fragile air about her.
She’s... more shaken than I thought.
She had endured a storm of personal attacks from her relatives, carried the burden of hosting her grandfather’s funeral in a hall of daggers, and inherited the family headship without a single blessing.
For a fifteen-year-old girl, that was far too heavy a load.
If anything, it was remarkable she had managed this well.
In the main route, the Ainsworth power that Nia wields is a key asset. I need her to keep functioning properly for my sake.
I supposed I had no choice.
Time to offer a bit of support.
“Well, don’t let it weigh you down. Succession disputes are always like this.”
“Even in the Heisenberg family...?”
“Unfortunately, mine’s just me alone. There are a few branch families, sure, but… if any of them ever tried to interfere, well...”
I conjured a sphere of pitch-black void above my palm—then crushed it in my grip with a snap.
“Ah—um... right. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
She gave me a troubled smile.
“You may be surrounded by enemies for now, but in the end, results are all that matter. You’ve inherited Ainsworth, gaining immense power and status. Use it wisely, and silence the opposition. With the strength of the Four Great Noble Houses, the lesser nobles can be crushed like insects.”
“...Yes, you’re right! I’ll become a proper head of the family—one everyone can acknowledge!”
That bright, determined side of hers really was one of her greatest charms.
Just being near her had a way of invigorating me.
Truly fitting of a heroine.
“By the way, Hollow, about that will—”
“—I told you before. No prying.”
“Hmph... stingy.”
“I’m not stingy.”
As I traded lighthearted banter with a fully revitalized Nia, a knock suddenly sounded at the door behind me.
“Layla Toa Heisenberg here. Might my son Hollow be troubling you in this room?”
“Oh! P-please, come in!”
Nia hurriedly sprang to her feet, her back snapping straight like a drawn bow.
The door slowly opened, and the moment my mother stepped inside, Nia immediately offered a formal greeting.
“I-It is an honor to meet you, Duchess Heisenberg. I am Nia le Ainsworth, twelfth head of the Ainsworth family.”
Her nervousness was plain even to the eye.
My mother, on the other hand, carried herself with serene composure, smiling gently.
Layla Toa Heisenberg, thirty-eight years old.
She stood at one hundred seventy centimeters, with flowing crimson hair and a beautiful yet kind countenance. A true “bewitching beauty.”
Her appearance in no way looked like that of a thirty-eight-year-old; she could have easily passed for someone in her early twenties.
Once, she had been known as the “Fastest Sword Saint,” and in the original story she had ranked among the very top, both in swordsmanship skill and overwhelming physical might.
But... her softness had been her undoing. She had been defeated by the Heaven-Eater, and until recently, she had lain bedridden.
Nia and my mother might hold near-equal positions now... but the weight of years between them was leagues apart.
On one side, a girl who had only just assumed the role of family head.
On the other, the lady of the infamous Heisenberg family, who had long exercised power and influence.
It was no wonder Nia was so on edge.
“Fufu, just call me Layla. In return, may I call you Nia?”
“Huh?—Oh, y-yes! It’s an honor... um... Miss... Layla?”
Nia cautiously addressed her in a more familiar tone.
“Yes, that’s perfect. Nice to meet you, Miss Nia.”
My mother nodded in satisfaction.
Once the brief introductions were over, Nia straightened her posture and dipped into a graceful bow.
“Once again, thank you very much for acting as a witness for today’s succession ceremony. I cannot begin to express my gratitude.”
“Think nothing of it. When my dear Hollow asks for a favor, I could never refuse.”
“Hollow... did?”
“Yes. He said to me: ‘A friend of mine is in trouble. Could you lend her your support?’”
“I see... (Fufu, Hollow really is twisted. But still... that gentle side of him—)”
Nia’s gaze warmed with quiet emotion, but I quickly shot my mother a look of protest.
“...Mother?”
“Oh, don’t glare at your mother like that.”
She waved her hand playfully, then her expression grew a touch complicated as she spoke to Nia.
“The truth is, I’d been bedridden all this time from Heaven-Eater’s curse. I couldn’t do anything for Hollow as a mother. When I finally woke up, he had grown so tall, so capable, doing everything by himself... and he never leaned on me at all. It made me lonely.”
“Miss Layla...”
“But this time, for the very first time, he asked for my help! I was so happy I could burst! I even shoved all my official duties onto Daphnes and forced my schedule open!”
Ohh... so that explained it.
Father’s recent workaholic frenzy had been because he was covering for Mother’s neglected duties.
It was exactly the sort of thing a devoted husband like him would do.
“I see. Please, then, convey my gratitude to Lord Heisenberg as well. (Miss Layla... I had always imagined that the wife of such an infamous noble would be terrifying. But she’s bright, lively, kind... Not quite like Hollow at all, is she?)”
Just as Nia said that, a knock sounded—tok tok tok.
“This is Olvin Dunkelt.”
“That’s our head butler. May he come in?”
“Ah—yes, please, by all means.”
At Nia’s permission, Mister Olvin entered the room.
“You’ve worked hard. I’m sorry for pushing the troublesome aftermath onto you.”
“Not at all, Madam, think nothing of it. ...More importantly, what are your orders concerning today’s matter?”
At his pointed question, my mother’s eyes instantly sharpened.
“Let’s see... Baron Nect’s family, who had the nerve to attend this joyous day in mourning clothes. Viscount Taylor’s family, who spread rumors during the ceremony. And Count Berendorf’s family, who couldn’t even bring themselves to clap in the end. As of today, our ties with those three houses are finished.”
“Yes, madam. Understood.”
“I despise petty bullying like that. To pull such childish stunts at an occasion where my family was involved—it’s unforgivable. Just remembering it makes my skin crawl.”
“Of course. I will see to it immediately.”
Mister Olvin bowed deeply, then departed the powder room as silently as a shadow.
My mother was, at her core, a bright and gentle person—someone who treated nobles and commoners alike with the warmth of the sun.
But... she absolutely despised anything crooked, and she never, ever forgave bullying.
If those three families had earned her wrath... they were finished.
The nobility lived in a world where every breath required painstaking caution.
Who attended whose soirée, who was on good terms with which house, who had quarreled with whom... They sharpened their ears and nerves to those family-to-family connections.
Put plainly, they read the social atmosphere at a pathological level.
Now, with Baron Nect’s Household, Viscount Taylor’s Household, and Count Berendorf’s Household having earned the disfavor of the Heisenbergs, word would race through the kingdom’s high society.
The nobles connected to them would scatter like spiders under torchlight.
And the three houses would be left politically, economically, socially—utterly isolated.
They would lose all voice in politics, be cut off from trade, excluded from gatherings, and treated as pariahs.
That would be the end of them. Their downfall was inevitable.
Well... serves them right.
Cause and effect. They had brought it on themselves with their petty harassment.
I sighed, half in exasperation.
...I-I take that back. With this mercilessness, she really is Hollow’s mother...
For some reason, Nia was trembling, her shoulders rattling.
“So, Miss Nia, how far have you and my Hollow gotten?”
“...Pardon?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb. You’re dating, aren’t you?”
“N-no, no! Nothing like that yet, not yet... ah—”
Nia let slip an unguarded word, and Mother’s lips curled into a grin.
“...‘Yet’? You just said yet, didn’t you? Meaning you do have feelings for him!”
“T-that... um...”
Nia’s face flushed scarlet, her eyes flickering toward me in embarrassment.
No. Don’t look at me. You blew yourself up—deal with it.
“So then, what do you like about him? His ridiculously handsome face? His unbelievable strength? His terrifyingly sharp mind? Or... the way he’s actually kind beneath it all?”
Bombarded by Mother’s rapid-fire choices, Nia mumbled her answer.
“Th-the kind part...”
At that moment—
“You... you understand!”
Mother’s face froze for an instant, then lit up like the dawn.
“Yes, exactly! People misunderstand him because of his sharp tongue, but deep down, he’s such a gentle boy!”
That must have been the “correct answer.”
Mother was suddenly in the highest of spirits.
“So, how far have you two gone? Have you kissed?”
...Hey, Nia. You know what to do here, right?
Don’t feed her. Don’t add fuel to the fire.
Lie if you must—call it diplomacy. That kind of flexibility should come naturally to the head of Ainsworth.
But alas, my hopes were in vain.
“...Y-yes...”
Ears blazing red, Nia gave the tiniest nod—and Mother squealed, “Kyaaa?!” in delight.
“What?! Which one of you started it? It had to be my son, right? No, wait—your reaction... it was you, wasn’t it?!”
“I... I, um, leaned in first...”
“Oh my, how bold! But I love a girl like that!”
Mother squealed with glee like a child, while Nia’s eyes spun in helpless circles.
...She’s done for. Beyond saving.
Poor girl.
A pitiful self-destruction, yes, but who could have imagined that on the very day of her succession, she would be subjected to such a “humiliation play”?
“Hollow, I’m taking my future daughter-in-law candidate out for lunch. Will you come too?”
“No, I’ll pass.”
“All right then. Let’s go, Miss Nia! We’re going to have a wonderful time!”
Mother seized Nia’s left hand in an iron grip and marched her toward the door with spirited energy.
As they passed me, Nia stretched out her right hand in desperation.
“Hollow, please, help me...!”
“Give it up. Socializing like this is part of a family head’s duty.”
“S-say it isn’t so...!”
And with that, poor Nia was dragged away like a calf to market, pulled along by my ever-energetic mother.
...Well. All I could do was wish her strength.
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