An Unwelcome Homecoming

"Fool! How dare you show your face here?!"

"I..."

In the lands of the House Argus, both shouts and fists flew through the manor house.

"I beg your forgiveness, father... Please..."

"You've really stepped in it this time! An official match before the court, three against one, fighting some random worthless bumpkin, and you lost without landing a single blow—do I have that right? How could you screw up that badly?!"

"That is what happened, but he—"

"No excuses!!!"

"Gaaah...!" Lord Argus's fists pounded Margus relentlessly.

"And even worse, that 'uncut gem' girl had already attached herself to your opponent, hadn't she? What on earth possessed you to set yourself against the royal family?!"

"But that was the whole point! If I won, she would confer that honor onto me!"

"And instead you earned nothing but shame!"

Margus hung his head, unable to reply. Everything had been going so well since he'd left home. He'd been training hard, and had found worthy companions as well as a useful slave. It was supposed to have been smooth sailing from here.

Until one single moment had ruined everything. "We thought... That guy was just supposed to be our errand boy and servant! We never imagined he could be that strong..."

"It was obvious! How could you be this oblivious?! The uncut gem may be just a girl, but she possesses our national treasure. Did you not stop to consider that at all?! How the hell did you manage to get this stupid? I should have just had you killed before you could leave home."

Margus ground his teeth at his father's harsh words, but the lecture continued before he had a chance to speak.

"The uncut gem and her Eye of Appraisal—under its guidance, even a random peasant could be taught to gain skills in just a few days. That power has traditionally been used within the royal order of chivalry or other facets of the kingdom's military forces. But now it's been used on this single man, a simple country bumpkin no less...This is a national disgrace. If you were going to be dumb enough to accept the challenge, you had to put a stop to the whole thing then and there!"

Hearing those words, Margus finally understood. He knew why he had lost. Or he thought he did, at least—his mind was so warped that he fixated on his mistaken idea. "So that's why he got so strong so fast."

"As your disgrace brings shame upon the entire house, it cannot be allowed to stand. You must find a way to clear your name, or else..."

"You can't be serious!"

"You brought this all upon yourself, you fool!"

Margus was the fourth son of a noble house. His whole life had been one long exercise in schooling himself to patience. He'd received none of his family's lands to manage. He'd been unlucky literally from birth.

At least, that's how he himself saw it; the truth was rather different. As the baby of the family, he had been cherished and spoiled rotten, and was really the only member of the household who had any real freedom. And yet Margus had done nothing but complain about his lot, completely oblivious to the privilege he'd been given. That obliviousness was all the more reason that Margus had failed to grasp the reality of his current situation. Surely someone would come to his rescue, he thought. Surely if he returned home, his powerful father would find some way to punish Remille. He had been so certain.

"What do I do now...?" It wasn't until he saw the pitying looks from his brothers and the household staff, and endured his father's blows, and finally had it spelled out for him in so many words, that the reality dawned on him. He was in serious trouble.

"What do you do? The treasure of our kingdom cannot be allowed to spend all her time with some nobody from who-knows-where, can she?" Lord Argus smirked meaningfully.

Margus felt a wave of relief at his father's expression. That smirk suggested that there was a way to fix things and earn his forgiveness.

"Get her back. Return the kingdom's jewel to its proper place."

"Get her back...how?"

"It won't be easy. And there are things that must be done to prepare."

"Like what?"

"Just getting her back won't confer any special advantage on our house. First I must insinuate myself in the royal capital. Then when you bring the princess back, you will be the one benefiting from her powers."

"So you're saying...?"

"You stay here for the time being, to recover and continue training. And get your head screwed on straight while you're at it."

"Yessir," Margus agreed enthusiastically. He'd been forgiven and given something to do on his family's lands. That seemed like a good deal to him. He had no idea that not only was he far from the path of redemption, but the path he now faced was only going to get worse and worse.

And the Earl of Argus himself, so sure that as long as he took care of things himself it would all go smoothly, had no idea that he was making exactly the same mistake as his son.