Chapter 30: Over Before It Even Began

“Father, you wanted to see me?”

After walking across the wide courtyard of the Campbell Ducal Estate, Muen finally reached the front gates—where he saw Duke Lorne Campbell himself. And...

“Huh? Mother’s here too?”

“How’s your body, Little Muen?”

Noias Campbell, his charmingly cheap mother, was already there waiting. The moment she saw him, she rushed over with a face full of concern and pulled him into a tight hug.

“That healing spell from before didn’t leave any side effects, right? Sigh, I told you not to get too close to that princess—she’s got the face of a husband-killer. And look what happened—our sweet Little Muen nearly died because of her!”

“Urgh... you don’t need to worry, Mother. I’m fine now, really.”

Half-suffocating in her motherly chest-slam embrace, Muen gave a strained smile.

“Though if you don’t let go soon, I might die from asphyxiation.”

“Hmph. Can’t I hug my precious son if I want to?”

Noias pouted like a teenage girl, reluctantly letting go.

“You spoil him too much,” Lorne Campbell added, strolling up and pretending to be stern.

“A man’s supposed to go through a little suffering! That’s how you grow!”

“Suffering, suffering—you know your son nearly died because of all that ‘growth’ you keep preaching!”

Noias’s voice rose again, her eyes rimmed red as she clutched Muen tighter.

“Little Muen, promise me, okay? Stay away from that woman from now on, will you?”

“...I’ll try.”

Muen’s expression twitched.

Of course he wanted to stay away from Celicia—for now. He still didn’t know how to face her.

But wasn’t it you two who arranged the engagement in the first place? With that contract still intact, where exactly was I supposed to go?

“Hmph. It’s all that useless old man’s fault.”

As if reading his mind, Noias glared sideways at Lorne.

“Can’t even cancel a simple engagement.”

“Ahahaha, well... I mean, Celicia is His Majesty’s beloved daughter. If I brought up the engagement now, I might be handed a poisoned chalice on the spot.”

Lorne scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly.

“Heh...”

Muen gave two stiff laughs of his own, then quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, Father—you called me here. What’s this about?”

He glanced past the two of them and noticed a lavish carriage parked by the gate. But what really caught his attention was the creature pulling it.

A griffin.

Not a regular horse. A full-blown armored griffin.

“...You’re going out? And with a griffin—don’t tell me it’s a long trip?”

“That’s right. That’s exactly what I needed to tell you.”

Lorne let out a sigh.

“Your mother and I are heading out for a while. And we might not be back any time soon.”

“...How long # Nоvеlight # is ‘a while’?”

Muen’s brain short-circuited for a moment.

He had just built an entire survival plan around his father’s presence. If his father left, what was he supposed to do?

“Well... I can’t say for sure. Too many variables. But in the short term... definitely not.”

Knowing how sudden it all was, Lorne gave an apologetic half-smile.

“It came up out of nowhere. I didn’t have a choice.”

“What do you mean, ‘out of nowhere’?”

“The Abyss on the western front—those damned demons are stirring again.”

“...The Abyss.”

Muen’s expression blanked.

The “Abyss” referred to a warped, nightmarish realm overrun by demons—humanity’s greatest and most ancient enemy. Even with the Demon God sealed away, the abyssal races still used that twisted plane as a staging ground for attacks against the human realm, constantly testing borders in hopes of launching a successful rescue operation for their dark deity.

The Leopold Empire shared the largest border with the Abyss. That was partly due to the Empire’s size and strength... but it also meant that it bore the brunt of the demonic threat.

So when the Abyss stirred, the Empire had no choice but to mobilize.

If the front lines were breached, the scale of the disaster would be immeasurable.

And when things were that serious—serious enough to make the Empire break out the griffins—you could be sure it wasn’t going to be wrapped up any time soon.

“Wait. That’s right.”

Muen’s eyes widened.

“There was a mention of this in the original novel... a demon incursion at the western front. But it was just a feint—a smokescreen to distract humanity and lay the groundwork for a major plan that would unfold three years later.”

“And that three-year mark... that’s when the protagonist enters the Savior Arc.”

“Wait... three years?!”

Muen’s face went pale.

So his father would be stuck on the front lines for at least three years?

What about his plan?

His teacher?

His security blanket?

His grand strategy of hiding away like a shut-in and only emerging as a Tier 5 badass to shock the world?

With Father gone...

Poof. Gone with the wind.

Didn’t even make it to the implementation phase before it collapsed.

“D-Does it have to be you, Father?” Muen stammered. “Can’t someone else go?”

Thinking Muen was worried about his safety, Lorne smiled warmly and patted him on the shoulder.

“I know you’re worried about me. But this time... I have to go.”

“Why?”

“Because of this.”

Lorne pulled aside his cloak, revealing the emblem pinned to his chest.

The Campbell family crest.

A sword forged to slay dragons.

From the founding of the Empire, the Campbell line had always been the Empire’s sharpest blade.

So when war came—Lorne Campbell was duty-bound to lead from the front.

“...I see.”

Muen knew there was no point arguing anymore.

“Then... Mother?”

He turned to Noias, puzzled.

“Are you going to the front too?”

“Of course not,” she scoffed. “Your father’s just giving me a ride.”

“A ride? Where to?”

“Back to our family’s territory. The Campbell Domain.”

“What? Why? Why are you going there alone?”

“Because...”

Noias’s expression suddenly turned a bit bashful.

“There’s something we haven’t had a chance to tell you yet, Little Muen.”

“...What is it?”

She gently touched her belly, a soft smile blooming across her face.

“You’re going to have a younger sibling.”

“...Or maybe a little sister,” Lorne added, taking her hand with the same soft expression.

“Well? Are you happy?”

“...Huh?”

Happy? Muen wasn’t sure if he was happy. The only thing he was sure of was that he was stunned.

(⊙o⊙) What?

A younger brother or sister?

Are you kidding me?

The Campbell family’s been single-line inheritance for generations. You two just casually broke that?

“Sigh... I never thought I’d be the one to break the Campbell family’s one-child-per-generation curse.”

The ever-macho, lionhearted Duke Campbell actually wiped away a tear.

“Thank the heavens. The ancestors must be smiling on us right now.”

“So.”

Noias followed up.

“To ensure a safe pregnancy, I’ll be staying in the countryside of the Campbell Domain for a while. After all, you’ll be heading off to school soon, and I’d be all alone here at the estate. Back home, I’ll be free from those annoying noble ladies too—it’s peaceful, you know?”