The Game Difficulty
Is Crazy
Chapter 6
“Ah, I guess you haven’t heard yet. Just like I said, Glen.”
The family head will be leaving the territory for one month.
‘Suddenly?’
A question flashed through his mind.
And a few seconds later, he reached a conclusion.
“A month, huh… Is it because of a meeting being held in the capital?”
“How did you know?”
Tris tilted her head.
It wasn’t anything impressive.
“At a time like this, if Father is going to the capital, wouldn’t that be the only reason?”
“I see. You’re right. Since the war will resume soon, they’re holding a countermeasure meeting after receiving a divine oracle in the capital of the Papal State.”
“So it’s the Holy War council.”
Holy War.
A war fought to drive out darkness and the moon and reclaim the continent, following the teachings of Minith, the god of light and the sun.
The meeting for that war is held in Istirenne, the capital of the Papal State.
The Pope and the cardinals who assist him attend the meeting, along with the great lords of each region.
“That’s right. Father was summoned by His Holiness the Pope. After all, he is the head of the Wordsworth family.”
Glen nodded.
Though diminished compared to the past, Henry Wordsworth was still undeniably a great lord.
Since he had many minor nobles serving under him, it was only natural for him to attend the Holy War council.
The meeting itself would last about a week.
Adding the one-week journey by horse from the territory to the capital, the total came to about one month.
“Well, it just means the war is getting closer. It doesn’t mean anything special will happen to us, Glen. There’s nothing to worry about.”
‘No, Sister. At least for me, something very big is going to happen.’
The lord is the ruler of the territory.
Such a person leaving their seat means an absence of governance.
Of course, to prevent problems, the lord appoints a proxy to act in his place while he is gone.
And that was where the problem began.
“If it’s for a month, who will act as the family head’s proxy during that time?”
At Glen’s question, Tris touched her lips.
“Hm… Wouldn’t it naturally be Edgar? He’s the eldest son and the legitimate heir.”
“I figured as much.”
Glen secretly bit his lip.
‘This is troublesome.’
Edgar already hated him, and had even tried to kill him recently.
And now that hostile person would hold the authority of the family head for a full month?
‘He’ll keep trying to restrain me or kill me whenever he gets the chance.’
Of course, Edgar wouldn’t do something as crude as openly ordering the family’s knights to kill him.
And there was also the excellent butler, Fred, who would place limits on Edgar’s actions.
But that didn’t mean Edgar couldn’t do anything to him.
‘Edgar is hot-tempered and emotional, but he isn’t stupid.’
He would surely cause trouble in various ways, disadvantage him, or push him into deadly situations.
Just thinking about the road ahead was already giving him a headache.
Could this be another lunatic element?
He checked the system messages, but there was no special notification.
‘Should I oppose it using Sister Tris?’
When the family head is absent, it is the rule for the heir to act as proxy.
However, in the Papal State where holy power is authority and strength, if someone has high holy power and strong virtue, that authority can even be entrusted to the eldest daughter.
‘And besides, Edgar doesn’t even have Ensir, the symbol of succession.’
Glen soon shook his head.
If the family head were leaving for several months or half a year, he might be able to persuade him using that argument.
But this time, it was only one month.
—Why are you struggling so hard over such a trivial decision? What are you plotting?
That was likely how the family head would scold him.
No matter what, Edgar acting as proxy for one month would not change.
His mouth felt bitter.
“Glen? What are you thinking about?”
Tris tilted her head and stared at him.
“Ah, sorry, Sister.”
“…Are you worried Edgar might do something to you?”
“Well… Brother doesn’t really like me.”
“Come on. Even so, you’re brothers. Do you really think he’d do something?”
Tris smiled innocently.
‘Yes. Just a few days ago, he ordered Robert to kill me.’
The words rose to his throat.
“If Edgar tries anything, tell your sister. I’ll stop it as much as I can.”
“Haha, just hearing that is enough. Thank you.”
Glen smiled bitterly.
Even so, his thoughts were racing rapidly.
But no matter what, what Glen had to do did not change.
He could only hope that Edgar wouldn’t interfere too excessively.
‘For now, let’s watch how things go.’
Meanwhile, Edgar had been summoned to the family head’s office.
“Then I will take my leave.”
“Very well.”
The family head gestured with his hand.
Edgar bowed more politely than ever and left the office.
Step, step—
His footsteps echoed evenly.
At the same time, the corners of Edgar’s mouth kept twitching.
And after turning a corner and moving far away from the office—
“…Heh heh.”
The laughter he had been holding back spilled from his lips.
Leaning one hand against the wall, Edgar chuckled there for a long while.
“Heh heh heh… Ha…”
Come to think of it, he hadn’t had much to laugh about lately.
‘It’s all because of that worthless bastard.’
Edgar clenched his teeth.
Originally, Glen was nothing more than an eyesore he didn’t care much about.
But one day, he suddenly picked up a sword and even started using Tris, who had been keeping to herself, like his personal tutor.
Unable to endure that sight, Edgar had gone straight to the grand training hall.
‘At first, I just planned to lecture him a bit with words.’
As always, Glen would shrink back like a rat afraid of the light.
Though he was a hooligan and a fanatic, Glen was especially weak only toward him.
But for some reason, that worthless bastard talked back to him.
Fine. I ignored you for a few years, and now you’ve forgotten who you’re dealing with.
And so Edgar proposed a ridiculous duel to teach him a lesson.
But the result was shocking, and Edgar even lost the symbol of succession he had received from his father.
A smooth, flawless elite life.
That perfect flow had been stopped by his inferior younger brother.
A brother who suddenly picked up a sword and grew at an absurd speed.
And even took away the symbol of succession.
‘Something felt wrong.’
A chill ran down his spine.
He began to suspect that the once-worthless bastard was aiming for the family head’s position that should belong to him.
It might have been groundless paranoia or excessive thinking—but one never knew.
In the Papal State, cases where brothers drew swords over succession were very common.
Having thought that far, Edgar decided to eliminate the seed of anxiety.
He even went so far as to plan his younger brother’s assassination.
‘Guilt? Religious doctrine? Family bonds?’
None of that mattered.
All that mattered was removing the anxiety gnawing at the back of his head.
With that thought, Edgar’s eyes filled with venom.
But—
—So, was everything fine?
—Yes. We completed the schedule smoothly without any trouble. It was very beneficial training.
The brother he expected to return as a corpse came back alive, and the knight he had secretly given orders to went silent.
