Chapter 106: Which One Do You Choose?

Nora’s declaration brought a queer silence to the room. Alicia blinked her eyes blankly, and Roel looked equally confused too. Roel nudged Nora and asked her softly.

“Nora, what do you mean by protector?”

This term was, honestly, not too difficult to comprehend, but the Xeclydes had simply far too many titles, like Humanity’s Guardian of Light, Mediator of the Nobles, and so on. The word, ‘protector’, could have connotations different from what he was expecting.

Somehow, he couldn’t help but think of the mafia gangs and yakuza in his previous life, who collected protection fees from the businesses on their turf.

“It has been decades since the Xeclydes last invoked the protector policy, so it’s only natural that you are unaware of it.”

It was only then that Nora realized her audience didn’t understand what she was saying, so she quickly elaborated. She turned to face Roel, who was standing right in front of her, and a touch of tenderness colored her face.

“Do you remember what I told you back then? I said that I’ll protect and care for you. I said that I will become your guardian. Right now, I’m fulfilling the promise that I made to you.

“Most of those who receive the protection of the Xeclydes are victims of political assassination, children of soldiers who have died on the battlefield, or politicians of foreign countries who have chosen to seek refuge with the Theocracy. However, these people only qualify for 3rd tier protection…”

Nora began explaining to Roel the ‘protector policy’ of the royal family.

All in all, there were three tiers to the protection that the Xeclydes offered, ranging from 3rd through 1st tier. The 3rd tier protection was for those who have met with injustice or are facing certain extenuating circumstances, warranting the intervention of the royal family. The 2nd tier was for major noble houses facing crises that could potentially destabilize the Theocracy, or minor countries facing threats from evil organizations. As for the 1st tier…

… that level of protection was reserved solely for the children of the Xeclydes.

Of course, the tiers existed for a reason—the comprehensiveness of protection one would receive varied accordingly with it.

At the 3rd tier, the protection provided was limited to proclamation, which could basically be summarized as a ‘ I’m covering this kid! ’ kind of declaration. For the 2nd tier, the Xeclydes would dispatch some of its forces to ensure the target’s safety or eliminate potential dangers. And, last but not least, once it reached the 1st tier, the Xeclydes would mobilize their personal army to guard the target, similar to the army of royal guards protecting Nora.

However, as a wise sage once said, ‘there is no way to guard against a thief in the long-run’. Similarly, there was no such thing as absolute protection in this world. What was more key to the ‘protector policy’ was actually deterrence.

Most of those eligible for 3rd tier protection were civilians of the Theocracy, so it was much easier to handle it. If a person under the Xeclydes’ protection were to die of unnatural causes, the Theocracy would do everything it could to apprehend the masterminds and all of the accomplices involved in the matter, and punishments could go as high as the death penalty, depending on the degree of involvement.

On the other hand, a lot of those placed under 2nd tier protection were from other countries, so it was a little more inconvenient for the Theocracy to intervene when the protectee was harmed. Nevertheless, the Theocracy would still place the country and all of the organizations involved on its blacklist and exert the greatest degree of sanctions possible for the following century. In extreme cases, the Theocracy would even consider waging war.

As for the highest level of protection, 1st tier, it was rather straightforward—a non-time-limited death edict from the Theocracy. Every single generation of the highest commander of the Inquisitor Hall had dedicated their heart and soul to destroying the organizations that dared flout the Theocracy’s 1st tier protection, for this was what their KPI depended on.

It was a policy that could basically be summarized as ‘ You piece of shit! You can be sure as hell that I’ll chase you to the end of the world if that’s what it takes to end your life! ’.

Surprisingly, the Xeclydes had really managed to do it. There had been a handful of first-rate transcendent organizations that had once appeared on the Theocracy’s hit list, but despite their massive sizes, none of them was able to withstand years of all-out pursuit from the Theocracy with no brakes pulled.

What was the most frightening about it was that it was an endless chase with no deadline to it. Even if one had the means to run away physically, the stress resulting from being constantly hunted down would eventually wear one down.

“Our protector-protectee relationship has already been affirmed by an ancient contract made by our predecessors. It was initially classified as 2nd tier, but due to my personal promise to you, an exception has been made; the level of protection is raised a tier.”

“Wouldn’t that make it 1st tier protection? Doesn’t that mean that…”

“It is precisely what you are thinking. The protection you’ll be placed under will be on a level equivalent to that of the royal family, which means to say that you’re like family to us. Any attempts to harm you will be viewed to be an attempt to sully my honor as your protector.”

Roel was surprised by all of this. He never thought that Nora was willing to invoke the power of the royal family in order to protect him, and to such an extent at that.

This gave Roel a strong sense of security. As someone who was doomed to become a villain in the original storyline of the game, his goal had always been to pluck out his death flags and raise his chances of survival as high as possible. This single move from Nora had pretty much pushed him all the way to the halfway mark of his goal.

With the Theocracy, Nora, and Alicia on his side, even if the two remaining capture targets were to attempt to harm him, he was confident that he could hold his ground against them.

“Nora… thank you.”

Roel was taken aback for a long while, and he found himself at a loss as to what to say. In the end, he decided to just go with a sincere ‘thank you’. On the other hand, Nora smiled in response to his words before turning over to look at the pale-faced Alicia.

“Alicia, do you understand it now? As Roel’s protector, it’s my duty to be concerned about everything relating to him. Thus, I ask of you not to use ‘the internal affairs of the Ascart House’ as an excuse to exclude me here.”

“I see. I must say that I’m in awe of your means.”

Alicia clenched her fists tightly as she tried her best to control her emotions. She had never thought that someone else aside from her would have actually noticed the insecurities that Roel had buried in the depths of his heart. Her fighting spirit faltered slightly, but not her determination.

“Your Highness, I have neither the power nor the standing you possess. I can’t do what you can do. However, you won’t monopolize Lord Brother with just this. You could use your position as Lord Brother’s protector as an excuse to get close to him, but I wonder how much time you can afford to spare in your packed schedule to accompany him.”

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Alicia’s words brought a frown to Nora’s forehead. This was indeed a sore spot for her. As the successor to the Xeclyde House, she had far too many things that she needed to handle, and she was well aware of this too.

While meeting Nora’s eyes, Alicia stepped forth and hugged Roel from the back as she spoke with a tender voice.

“On the other hand, I can constantly stay by Lord Brother’s side and ensure his safety. Compared to all of those deterrence measures that attempt to salvage the situation only after something has happened, wouldn’t it be much better to prevent any harm from coming onto your loved one from the start? At least, this is what I believe the true definition of protection is.”

“Alicia…”

Roel was deeply moved by Alicia’s words. Even though he knew that the latter was still weak and had yet to mature, her sentiments were more than enough for him.

Alicia noticed Roel’s misunderstanding, but she didn’t bother explaining anything. She did think that she was still too weak at the moment, especially since her rival was the high and lofty Nora. There was still way too much she had to work on in order to close the gap.

While Roel felt moved by the gestures of the two girls, he dared not move at all. He was in a peculiar position at the moment. The front half of his body was pulled to the point that he was nearly pressing against Nora’s body whereas the back half was being embraced by Alicia. The two girls were glaring at one another over Roel, neither one willing to take a step back at all.

Being placed in a situation like this, Roel could almost hear the voice of the River God calling out to him: Did you drop a golden girl, a silver girl, or a copper girl? Oh wait, there isn’t any copper girl.

Roel tried his best to feign death, hoping that the two girls would think of him as a mere bolster in their hands. He didn’t want to get involved in this at all. Unfortunately, reality is truly cruel.

“Roel, who do you think is right here?”

“Lord Brother, have I said anything wrong?”

Facing both physical and mental pressure from the front and the back, Roel felt that he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He looked to and fro between the two girls, and he felt despair clawing down at him, dragging him into the depths of hell.

It was then that a ray of salvation fell from the sky.

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“Young master, lunch is ready. The old master is already waiting.”

“Ah, understood. We’ll be right there!”

Anna’s voice had never sounded sweeter. Roel answered her loudly, relieved that he was able to free himself from the hellhole he was in.

…

“Uncle Carter, I’m grateful for your warm hospitality.”

In the dining room, Nora thanked Marquess Carter with a smile after finishing her meal. Her sincere attitude and polite tone were befitting of her image as a graceful princess. Carter was pleased by her pleasant attitude.

“You’re being too kind. It’s our honor to have Your Highness joining us for a meal today.”

Exchanges of pleasantries and flattery were a standard whenever members of the royal family visited noble houses. This wasn’t the first time Carter was handling such a situation, and he was pretty used to it by now. What was different this time, however, was that his smile had come from his heart.

The reason behind that was because Nora had adopted the attitude of a junior before Carter. Her humility had helped her score some brownie points with Carter, even though Carter already knew the lass’s intentions.

He shot a glance at Roel, who didn’t seem to have much of an appetite today, and he wondered just what kind of magical charm his son possessed to actually be able to capture the heart of the future successor of the Theocracy.

Following that, he turned to look at Alicia, who had been silent throughout the entire meal, and he couldn’t help but sigh on her behalf.

Child, you have a formidable foe to overcome here, Carter thought in pity.

As Alicia’s adopted father and half-teacher, he was still more favorable toward Alicia. However, it was one thing for him to have his own preferences, it was another thing for him to step in and intervene. After all, he would feel bad if he set stumbling stones in Nora’s path after how respectfully she had treated him.

The children will eventually sort things out amongst themselves anyway, so I shan’t get involved here.

After making a quick appearance, Carter quickly came up with an excuse and fled from the scene, leaving Roel in the lurch once more.

And, shortly after Carter left, Nora also finally revealed the reason behind her visit.

“Roel, I would like to discuss the matter concerning our ancestors with you.”

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