” plan to have both the present and the future.”

That was the resolve of Viscount Ain Del Royce.Public opinion on the Royce family varied in many ways. Originally, the family was part of the eastern border duchy, positioned on a crucial route for distributing various war supplies and raw materials.

As a result, the territory itself was wealthy, but the family held little influence or prestige.

They had failed to make a presence in central politics, just another unremarkable noble house. Then, at some point, factories were built along the river flowing through their domain.

The concept of a “factory” was unfamiliar at the time, but new businesses began to spring up rapidly. At first, many nobles mocked the endeavor.

“A noble engaging in manufacturing? That’s work for commoners,” they sneered.

Soon, the mass-produced goods from the Royce factories spread throughout the empire, they made a fortune.Of course, they also became the target of much ridicule.Everyone called them “peasant nobles” and pointed fingers, but even that changed.

By producing luxury goods and elevating the quality of their manufacturing, they won the approval of even the most arrogant nobles, and most importantly, when they began supplying mana-engine cars to the Imperial Family, no one dared to openly criticize the Royce family any longer.

Still, the head of the Royce family, Ain Del Royce, dreamed of aggressively expanding the business.

He had never once been shaken by anyone’s criticism.

“SCREEECH—!”

“Sophia! Where is my Sophia!”

He drove through the front gate as if to break it down, frantically looking for his daughter. Just moments ago, he had been visiting the Mage Tower to negotiate the next phase of business expansion when he received the news,

“The young lady’s carriage…no, the car she was riding in, was in an accident!”

“What? Is the car okay? Call a reporter to the scene. The car must’ve been wrecked. If we publish the right article, everyone will want to buy one.”

What he had initially hoped for was a photo comparing a pristine car with a completely wrecked carriage.If a car with reinforcement magic collided with a carriage, naturally, the carriage would be destroyed, even the finest carriages, unless made for combat, couldn’t compare to a vehicle made with steel plating.

Even if the carriage somehow remained intact, surely the horses were dead, all he needed was one vivid, sensational photograph, and the business would take off like a sail catching the wind. After all, nobles were extremely sensitive about their personal safety.

“Yes, that’s it. ‘Safety, like a moving fortress.’ No, ‘Ride in your own steel castle’? Wait…would that be an insult to the Imperial Family?”

He had already begun drafting promotional slogans for the papers. This accident could be used to gain leverage in future deals.

What if he gave cars as gifts to the high-ranking mages in the tower who were still being stubborn?

And if that car happened to be the very one all the capital’s nobles longed to ride, boosting his prestige and honor?

A small smile began to form at the corners of Ain Del’s mouth, 

“It collided with the same car model! The young lady’s car crashed into another of the same kind!”

The voice on the receiver snapped him out of his imagination.In that case, hopefully it had been a car from a different brand, 

“It was a royal vehicle!”

“What? The royal family?!”

Those words instantly shattered the vision of business expansion that had just begun to bloom. A royal vehicle, that meant it was one of the cars they had supplied themselves.

“Were there any reporters at the scene? What about eyewitnesses? Bribe them all,cover it up!”

An accident with zero benefit.Grinding his teeth, Ain Del finally understood the situation and urgently ordered,

“Inside the vehicle… it was the 11th Prince! His Highness the 11th Prince was in the car!”

“What? The 11th Prince? Aziel? Of all people!”

Then came the truly ominous news. A grave offense, but there was no time to worry about such things. Moreover,

“There was blood… coming from His Highness’s forehead…”

“I’m going there right now! Where is he? No, where’s Sophia? Don’t tell me she’s with the Prince?!”

“They returned to the Royce estate together.”

“Stop them! No matter what, prevent any contact between Sophia and the Prince!”

Blood had been shed by none other than the infamous 11th Prince,Aziel, known as a madman, and the one who had come into contact with him… was his own daughter, Sophia.

That was enough to drive him into a frenzy.

“Sir Royce, the Mage Tower representatives are still waiting…”

“I’ll go right away. Guard them with your life!”

He forgot all about the business negotiations and rushed toward the mansion.The mages, upon hearing about the daughter’s accident, were annoyed, but they knew too well about the viscount’s famed obsession with his daughter and let it go, but the expression that had bloomed on Viscount Royce’s face was not that of a worried father.

It was a pure rage.

In the Baker district, where massive estates clustered, the Royce estate was exceptionally grand. Inside, a late lunch was underway. A young man sat eating, blood roughly wiped from his face, savoring the finest cuisine the servants had laid out. Across from him sat a girl.

“You were on your way to where?”

“T-to a tea party.”

“You were going to eat sweets?”

“Yes… I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. If you’d just allow treatment…”

“No.”

“But, your forehead…”

“I don’t want treatment.”

“S-sorry…”

“And why is your voice so quiet? It’s ruining my appetite. Got something to complain about?”

“N-no, I’m just naturally soft-spoken. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Just speak louder.”

Sitting across from him, trembling and pale as a sheet, was none other than Sophia, the Royce family’s cherished jewel. Of course, she didn’t dare touch her food. She simply sat, trembling. In contrast, the meal being served was quite satisfactory.

From the smallest ingredients to beef and wine, everything on the table was exquisite.

“Not bad. Might even be better than the palace kitchen.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness.”

“Not a compliment. It’s outrageous that a subject lives better than the one destined to be sovereign.”

“A-ah… I see…”

“So, the daughter of the Royce family dreams of a life more luxurious than the Imperial Palace, does she?”

“N-not at all. Never… I just…”

She trembled so much it looked like she might faint at any moment.

“Are you playing games with me just because I’m a prince?”

“I’m sorry… I truly didn’t mean any offense. Please forgive me…”

She lowered her gaze, yellow eyes welling with tears, shrinking under the table as if trying to disappear. Despite intentionally leaving the blood uncleaned to maintain an upper hand, the entire scene felt… off. Servants nearby cast hostile glances toward the prince. A man named Alfred observed both the prince and Sophia with unreadable eyes.

But the prince didn’t care. A tyrant shouldn’t be swayed by the opinions of others.

Still,

“The head of the family is late.”

The mood had soured, there was no joy in tormenting someone who couldn’t even resist, and more importantly, there was no sign of the calculated cunning once seen in her past life.

A true tyrant might have taken perverse pleasure in her misery, but that wasn’t of interest, this wasn’t that tyrant, this tyrant was different.

One who would use madness, but not be ruled by it.

[Devours Fate: “Lowly Sadism.” Fate Alteration Points acquired.]

[Devours Fate: “Contempt for the Weak.” Fate Alteration Points acquired.]

Even such minor decisions yielded fate points, making the process amusing enough to continue, as the prince fell silent and resumed eating, the tension eased slightly around the room.

Then, 

“Sophia! Sophia!” Ain Del Royce burst in, rushing straight toward his daughter without even acknowledging the prince.

“Y-Your Highness! What brings you here? If my foolish daughter has made a mistake, I beg your forgiveness, please, I beg you!”

He wrapped himself around Sophia, shielding her as though the prince had a knife to her throat. At that, the prince’s brow twitched and his wounded forehead throbbed sharply.

The tale of the doting father, who treasured his daughter more than anything, was well known, even in a past life.

Though he had never seen the man in person, it was said he died supporting a different prince before the tyrant ascended the throne.

Surely, this was that same doting father, but something was off.It didn’t sit right.

Analyzing the situation led to one conclusion:

“It was an act.”

He was faking concern, putting on a show.How could that be known?

“Because these eyes couldn’t be fooled.”

These were eyes trained through a lifetime of pretending, of surviving by acting as someone else, and those eyes saw through him instantly.

“Please, punish me instead and forgive my daughter’s rudeness!”

Even as he begged for forgiveness, his hands shoved Sophia aside, not to protect, but to put himself on display, and Sophia didn’t seem comforted or protected by him, only more anxious.

It could have been dismissed as simple fear, but she seemed even more unsettled now than she had been moments ago.

“Your Highness, I offer my life in apology. Please, allow yourself to be treated!”

His eyes were opened wide with false desperation, voice overly dramatic, a ploy to confuse the situation and mask the truth.