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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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Eleanor’s ability absorbed the luck of those around her, making it her own. An individual who was constantly deprived of their luck could even die.
Her ability became stronger the closer someone was to her, and even stronger if they were an enemy.
Thanks to this, she was the most difficult of the seven witches to deal with, despite her lack of personal skill.
Lots of players had to deal with sudden natural disasters or new reinforcements when they were up against her.
These crises, which seemed to come out of nowhere and didn’t seem realistic, were often seen as developers favouring certain players.
‘I got screwed again!’
Posts with this nuance on the game’s community forums usually meant the player had been severely affected by Eleanor’s ability.
Of course, the tenacious Koreans wouldn’t give up so easily. They were a people who could tolerate anything except for being bad at games.
The players, through their collective intelligence, thoroughly investigated Eleanor’s ability. As a result, several effective strategies were founded.
‘Super easy. Just capture a witch and use her as a shield.’
The first established strategy utilized the fact that witches’ abilities didn’t affect each other.
By bringing a captured witch along in a party or army, players could suppress the most troublesome of Eleanor’s abilities as the natural disasters.
The problem was that it wasn’t a perfect solution.
Eleanor’s ability would cleverly shift its focus, ensuring that the captured witch wasn’t harmed.
For example, a sudden flood would block the path, delaying the player.
This wasted time would allow more reinforcements to appear, blocking the player’s advance.
While it was better than not having a captured witch, it was still a troublesome ability.
‘The range is surprisingly narrow if you’re not hostile.’
The next method exploited a loophole in the game’s settings.
The ability was stronger if you were hostile? Then why not maintain a neutral or friendly relationship with her and deal with the other witches first?
Of course, that wasn’t easy.
The Witches’ Coven, which appeared in the mid-game, made attacking other witches the same as attacking Eleanor.
However, a few skilled players had managed to eliminate the other witches before the Coven was formed. Eleanor couldn’t stop them after they had grown so powerful.
‘But now I know an even easier way.’ Recruit a witch, have her befriend Eleanor, and then attack under the pretext of attacking the recruited witch.
That way, Eleanor’s ability wouldn’t be able to help the witch, as witches’ abilities didn’t affect each other, and she would ultimately suffer a loss.
Of course, a direct attack on Eleanor would trigger her ability, so the same method would have to be repeated several times to accumulate losses.
‘Now I have to prevent that from happening.’ Like a witch, I was also immune to her ability.
That meant Eleanor’s ability wouldn’t be triggered when someone targeted me. In other words, it was better for both of us if we stayed apart.
In any case, Eleanor’s ability was so powerful that even the collective intelligence of the game-obsessed Koreans could only partially mitigate it.
Bronce II must have known this, which was why he had exiled her to Quaran, at the southernmost tip of the continent.
However, he seemed to be unaware of the ability’s range.
‘Even if someone is considered an enemy, the ability’s range is limited to the neighboring territory.’
It wasn’t strange.
Who would be foolish enough to test the ability’s range? What if it was wider than expected and the tester died?
That was only possible in a game where you could restart.
“I-It was all planned from the beginning! She came to take revenge for her exile…!”
That was why Bronce II had misunderstood. He believed that the ability had been triggered the moment he exiled Eleanor. The Trolls Blade was the proof.
Even Eleanor had thought her ability had been triggered when I asked for the Trolls Blade.
‘Wait, was that really a misunderstanding?’
Eleanor had taken the Trolls Blade, which she hadn’t even known existed in the royal treasury, before she even met me.
That would have been impossible unless her ability had foreseen that I would need the Trolls Blade and that I would be of help to her.
The strange thing was that I was an exception to her ability.
Just as I had only discovered the loophole in her ability after using Anya, was there another way her ability worked that I didn’t know about?
It was impossible to know. I decided not to dwell on it.
Whether it was a coincidence or her ability, it wouldn’t harm me.
Eleanor had already opened her heart to me. What mattered now was the repercussions of the King’s misunderstanding.
‘Do I need to change my plan?’
My original plan was to have the King protect my territory and my people while I was on the expedition to the Northern Continent.
However, the King had not only forced me to choose a side, but had also tried to use Count Bruah’s territory as a leash to control me.
If I had gone along with it, I would have been fighting Dressten as the King’s pawn instead of saving the witches in the Northern Continent.
That was why I had intended to instigate a war by exploiting the conflict between the royalists and the nobles.
I wanted to increase my value so that the King couldn’t treat me lightly, and to have him protect my territory and my people in exchange for my help.
A return to the original plan.
However, the King was now under the impression that this was all Eleanor’s revenge.
“It’s a misunderstanding. The princess was hurt by her exile, but that’s not a reason to take revenge on her only brother.”
The wall blocked Bronce II’s retreat. Startled, he turned and realized it was a wall, sighing in relief.
Of course, when he faced me again, he pointed at me, sputtering…
“S-So it’s true! She holds a grudge against me!! That’s why she sent you to take revenge!”
He refused to believe me, no matter how much I insisted it was a misunderstanding. He only heard what he wanted to hear.
“Your Majesty…!”
The royal knights, bewildered by the King’s sudden erratic behavior, didn’t know what to do. They still surrounded me, trying to gauge the King’s intentions.
“K-Kill him! No, wait! If I kill him, I’ll die too! No, no…!”
Bronce II’s incoherent rambling made the royal knights exchange glances. Of course, they couldn’t find an answer.
‘This isn’t a misunderstanding I can resolve on my own.’
To be fair, if I were the King, I wouldn’t have dismissed it as a mere coincidence either.
I clicked my tongue inwardly and scrapped my original plan. If I couldn’t clear up the misunderstanding, the option of siding with the King was gone.
The only silver lining was that I had secured the necessary troops for the expedition to the Northern Continent from Aaron, so I could leave my own troops and knights in my territory.
Fortunately, the King, Aaron, and Count Dressten’s schemes ultimately worked in my favor.
Now, all that remained was to see what I could gain from the King’s misunderstanding.
An idea came to me.
“You’re still brothers, aren’t you? If you apologize, she’ll definitely forgive you.”
“I apologized last time!”
“It was a hollow apology. And you even used the princess’s possessions as a prize in the mock battle. You’ve only made things worse.”
“Count Bruah’s territory was originally mine!”
Despite his confusion, Bronce II’s voice was firm. He seemed to genuinely believe it.
“Then there’s nothing more to discuss.”
I turned my back, as if I were about to leave. Bronce II have to face reality.
With the nobles staring at him viciously, it would be quite troublesome if they also became his enemies.
Of course, he would see Eleanor’s ability as the greatest threat. Even though it was all a misunderstanding.
“Your Majesty, your orders…!”
The royal knights, having witnessed their comrade’s gruesome death without even being able to put up a fight, flinched and turned to the King.
“W-Wait! I’m not finished!”
Bronce II quickly stopped me. I looked at him silently, as if I were willing to listen.
“I just have to hand over Count Bruah’s territory…? Then my sister will forgive me?”
“At the very least, she won’t be hostile. You’re still brothers, aren’t you?”
“Bring me a parchment.”
He eventually wrote a document ceding ownership of Count Bruah’s territory to Eleanor. He then heated his ring over a candle and pressed it onto the signature line.
A faint smell of burning and the imprint of his ring were left on the document. The document, bearing the King’s seal, would be undeniable proof.
I took it and clicked my tongue.
“If Your Majesty had trusted your sister and hadn’t been so greedy, you would have gained a great deal of power.”
I was being sincere, but Bronce II didn’t believe me.
“Nonsense! Did you think I wouldn’t see through your scheme! You’ve gotten what you wanted, so leave! I don’t want to see you again…!”
“I’ll end it here for today.”
“For today…?”
Since things had come to this, I had to take everything I could. A dowry, for example.
I turned my back on the wide-eyed Bronce II and left.
“Betrayal. Betrayal. My sister has betrayed me. I knew it. I knew it…!”
Even after Allen left, Bronce II couldn’t leave. He paced back and forth around the throne, muttering like a madman.
He had bitten his nails to the quick, and beads of blood were forming.
One of the royal knights, watching the King’s erratic behavior with concern, spoke cautiously,
“Your Majesty, shall I summon Archbishop Racheni?”
Bronce II froze in place. With a creaking sound, his head turned toward the royal knight, moving like a poorly oiled robot. His eyes were bloodshot.
“You, you’re betraying me too! Is that it!?”
Archbishop Racheni was known for his public criticism of the King. In turn, the king took every opportunity to torment him. Their relationship was terrible beyond measure.
The royal knight quickly replied…
“I am your loyal servant, Your Majesty. I simply thought that the devout Archbishop Racheni might be able to counter the evil magic.”
The royal knight, having witnessed Allen’s superhuman strength and the King’s descent into madness, had concluded that Allen had used evil magic.
Therefore, he thought of seeking help from Archbishop Racheni, who was renowned for his piety.
The other royal knights, understanding their comrade’s intentions, also chimed in.
“The Archbishop has close ties to the Pope! The Pope will obviously have a way!”
“Now is the time to put aside personal feelings!”
“Of course! The Pope might have a solution. Yes. He must…!”
Bronce II’s eyes lit up, and he gradually regained his composure. The royal knight who had first proposed the idea bowed and exclaimed…
“I will summon Archbishop Racheni.”
“Yes! Bring him here as quickly as possible. Hurry up!”
“Your command is my will!”
The knights all left the room to find Archbishop Racheni.
Left alone, Bronce II resumed biting his nails and muttering…
“If I just leave him be, he’ll take everything from me… everything…!”
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“The King won’t just stand by.”
After being betrayed by her own brother, Eleanor had taken to calling him the King. It was a measure of her great sense of betrayal.
“He, of all people, knows how dangerous your ability is.”
“That’s why he might act even more rashly. He’s the one who exiled me to Quaran as soon as he learned about the side effects of my ability.”
I didn’t take Eleanor’s words lightly. My knowledge of Bronce II was limited to his superficial appearances in the game.
Eleanor, who had lived with him for half her life, would have a more accurate understanding of him.
“I’ll have Jin monitor the King’s every move.”
I also planned to leave my knights behind, so they would be able to hold out until I returned, no matter what the King did.
Despite my explanation, Eleanor’s expression remained grim.
“In the end, I was no help at all.”
Eleanor sighed, blaming herself. She had insisted on accompanying me to my audience with the King, believing she could help.
However, the result was the opposite.
Despite her vouching for me, the King hadn’t trusted me. He had tried to use Count Bruah’s territory as a leash to control me.
Bronce II was no longer the kind, older brother she had once known.
I took Eleanor’s hand.
“I’ve gained full ownership of Count Bruah’s territory, and if I win the mock battle tomorrow, I’ll have a chance to become a titled noble. While it’s different from my original plan, the outcome is better.”
“That’s because you handled it well. I was no help at all. And… that won’t change in the future, will it?”
“Eleanor…”
I pulled her into my arms. She didn’t resist and buried her face in my chest.
“It’s true, isn’t it? My ability doesn’t work on you. And without my ability, I’m just a useless woman, abandoned even by my own family. Maybe… yes. Maybe it’s better if we keep our distance. So my ability can be triggered.”
For Eleanor’s ability to be triggered, not only I, but also Anya, would have to be away from her. In other words, she would be alone again.
How could she possibly want that?
I gently lifted her head and saw her tears filled eyes.
“You’ll be lonely.”
“I endured it before. I can do it for you.”
I shook my head, looking into her eyes, which were on the verge of tears.
“It will be different from before. You’ve already tasted the joy of companionship.”
“Then… you can visit me sometimes. Once… once a month…?”
“I won’t be able to last a single day.”
“Hmph… you have plenty of women around you, don’t you? Anya and Fiore, and those two from Rasino have been giving you the eye. Aren’t they enough?”
Eleanor pouted and grumbled.
I saw through her. She wanted to be of help to me, but she also wanted me to hold on to her. Her jealousy was proof.
I kissed her softly and whispered…
“They’re all charming in their own way. But they can’t replace you. I’ll never give you up. And I’m not so weak as to rely on your ability.”
“I want to be of help to you.”
“Then will you help me with this first?”
I glanced down at my groin, which had been tenting my trousers. Eleanor, following my gaze, laughed in disbelief.
“Ah, really… you have no sense of timing, do you?”
“So, you refuse?”
“Who said I refused?”
Eleanor grabbed it.
She had never accepted me unless Anya was with us. And even then, she had been passive, as if she were being forced into it because of Anya.
And now, she had initiated contact. I couldn’t hide my surprise, and Eleanor averted her gaze.
I couldn’t help but smirk.
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