Volume 5 Chapter 59 Side Braver Xiii (Part I)
"Thank you very much for everything, Brave-sama and company."
"No, actually, what we did was nothing much..."
"It's because of that 'nothing much' that I'm still alive and here now. Please don't be so modest."
The one expressing gratitude to us is a young girl sitting in a well-made chair. She clearly looks younger than her stature, and her innocence has not completely faded, but she has inherited the position of a noble lord in her mid-teens. To be precise, she officially inherited the position of head of the household just a few days ago. And just a little before that, her life was in danger.
After leaving the royal capital for a while, our group of Brave adventurers encountered a scene where a carriage was being attacked by bandits. Surrounding the well-made carriage were guards who seemed to have fallen, bleeding, while only a few survivors were left fighting the bandits. Just as the bandits were about to lay their hands on the carriage's door, our intervention somehow managed to arrive in time.
Though I had some hesitation about wielding a sword against humans.
'They are those who have chosen to step outside of society. If we let them go here, someone else will shed blood somewhere else. That is not what you truly desire, is it?'
Prompted by Leiva, I steeled my resolve and swung my sword with a clear mind.
After a while, aside from the guards of the carriage and us, there was no one left moving. Feeling a chilling sensation that froze the depths of my chest, Shion and Gabert silently patted my shoulder. If it weren't for that, I would surely still be haunted by the sensation of taking someone's life.
In any case, the girl sitting in the lord's chair, whom we helped on the carriage, is Finn.
Upon hearing the circumstances, Finn was acting as a proxy for her father and was inspecting nearby villages and towns. It was on her way back from that when she received a sudden letter saying her father was critically ill and had to rush back, only to be attacked by bandits.
We had been asked to deliver goods in the village we had just visited and were walking along a side road off the main street. Gabert had taken on a mercenary request for extra money for the road, even receiving an advance payment. Mayuri scolded him for it, but it turned out to be a stroke of luck. If we had been walking on the main street, Finn would probably have been killed by the bandits.
However, Mayuri was suspicious about Finn's carriage being attacked by bandits. Stories of good security and bandit attacks were not common around here, including the village we had just visited.
──It was later revealed that the one who sent assassins disguised as bandits was Finn's older brother.
Finn's father was already elderly and had been told by the doctor that his remaining time was short. Naturally, this led to the issue of succession. The potential successors were Finn and his older brother.
It was thought that the older brother would succeed the family headship, but it was Finn who was appointed by their father. Despite still being in her mid-teens, she was intelligent and entrusted with some of her father's work. Her inspection of the territory was part of that.
On the other hand, the brother, while not ignorant, was said to have a tendency to be dissolute and look down on the people of the fiefdom despite having the education of a noble. I was told by her that he had been indulged by the head of the household because he was the long-awaited son in their old age.
Based on that reflection, Finn was given a slightly stricter education, but she seemed to be responding splendidly to her father's expectations.
The head of the household's decision was mostly accepted by the servants and residents of the lord's mansion—except for a few. The main dissenter was, needless to say, her older brother.
After safely delivering Finn to her territory, we found ourselves entangled in a succession dispute between siblings. However, it was the brother's side that caused the most trouble, and we were on the side protecting Finn.
I briefly thought that if I could assert Finn's suitability as the lord's successor as the Brave, it would be resolved quickly, but Shion immediately rejected the idea. While it was indeed possible, if the other party were just an ordinary person without any status, Finn is a noble. It would undoubtedly cause unnecessary problems in the future if it was perceived that the Brave was favoring a specific noble.
However, the situation took an unexpected turn.
Just a few days after we visited the mansion, Finn's father passed away. Shion confirmed that it was due to natural causes.
Finn, who was suddenly tasked with taking over as the head of the househould, needed to officially declare to the people that she would be succeeding the position. In other words, if her brother could get rid of Finn before that, he would take her place as the head of the househould.
──And so, her brother finally resorted to drastic measures to eliminate Finn. He secretly hired a skilled outsider with a loose tongue to attack Finn. It was at this moment that we became convinced that the bandit attack, which was our first encounter with Finn, was arranged by her brother.
However, doubts began to arise at that point.
The assassins sent by her brother were not just a random group, as Gabert had assessed. They were all skilled individuals. Furthermore, their equipment was of very high quality. Considering the cost of hiring and equipping such individuals, even though he was noble son, it was unlikely that the brother, who had been idling away his time, could afford it all.
Mayuri concluded that there were likely backers behind her brother. Finn seemed to share the same suspicion.
"...I can't believe my brother resorted to such means, even now. He wasn't exactly well-behaved, but──"
"Even for us, this kind of outcome was somewhat unexpected."
Seeing Finn's slightly darkened expression, Shion shrugged. It may have seemed a bit insensitive, but in terms of feelings, myself, Mayuri, and Gabert felt similarly.
──Surprisingly, among the attackers who targeted Finn's life, there was a demon.
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