There is an incident known as the “Baron House Scandal.”
It involved the heads of noble families and their children, led by Ashton von Baros, the head of the Baron House and Grand General, engaging in a drunken revelry naked amongst themselves.
A mass orgy between men was an unprecedented scandal.
The individuals involved, who claimed innocence, desperately made excuses, but there was nothing they could do, as multiple people had witnessed them embracing naked.
“You shall be judged.”
Bernhard III announced sternly.
Ashton and the others failed to cover up the rumors and were summoned to the royal palace the next day, which they did with grim faces.
They felt strongly that they had been set up, but there was nothing they could do now.
Precisely because they had a profound attachment to their lineage, they gave up struggling.
“Ashton von Baros, you have disgraced the ducal title. Therefore, I strip you of your position as Grand General, lower your peerage by three ranks to Viscount, and confiscate all your lands except Nankal.”
“H-ha.”
Ashton prostrated himself and accepted.
“To soil one’s title” was the gravest crime in noble society, second only to treason.
He could not have complained even if he had been reduced to commoner status.
For the first time, he was grateful to the king, whom he had always opposed.
The others were also punished one after another, with most being expelled from the nobility.
They, who were full of a sense of chosenness and looked down on commoners.
While they wouldn’t remember each infraction, the commoners never forgot.
Surely a bleak life awaited them.
They accepted their punishments without resistance because they had already been abandoned by those around them.
“Farewell.”
The ladies gave cold farewells and returned to their parents’ homes with their children.
“This is unforgivable.”
Their fiances, with eyes as if looking at filth, proposed the dissolution of their engagements.
“No! This is a conspiracy! It’s Marius’s doing! We are all victims!”
Ashton’s shouts were largely true, but no one believed him.
It was common knowledge that he harbored enmity towards Marius.
“If it were the work of Marius, the Royal Court Magician, it would mean you were all abducted, gathered in one place, and yet no one noticed until morning?”
“So what? He’s a monster who can do that,” Ashton insisted.
However, those being addressed turned sharp, suspicious eyes on him.
“Why did you all view such a monster as an enemy? Even though there was no chance of winning?”
“W-well, that is…”
Ashton and the others could not retort.
They themselves might not have known, but their servants and private soldiers did not fully understand Marius’s power.
It was precisely because they thought there was a chance of winning that they had followed him.
In other words, they were either hopeless fools who challenged a monster with no chance of victory, or incomprehensible beings with grotesque tastes.
They were left with only two possible evaluations.
“I wish you would stop your unsightly excuses.”
He was summarily dismissed.
In truth, the royal family’s assessment of them – “troublesome, but capable” – had permeated society.
In essence, they were trusted for not being so foolish as to fight unwinnable battles.
Who could have known that this very trust would be their undoing?
“The glorious Baron House has also reached its twilight.”
Ashton panicked at those words. The person before him was from a prestigious lineage of stewards who had served the Baron House for generations, and to Ashton, he was like his right-hand man.
To have someone of that caliber announce the end of their house made him want to retort.
“N-no, not yet. We can still recover from this…”
“It’s impossible, Master. No one will pay attention to us anymore.”
This was the time when they needed to unite to fight against the royal family, who were pushing for “Marius, that scoundrel.”
While the women reacted swiftly, the servants had already fled one after another.
“I still have my private soldiers. If I gather them, I can muster thirty thousand…”
“That’s impossible. Everyone has left, saying they don’t want to fight for nobles who are playing with men instead of national affairs.”
Ashton was told this flatly and his knees buckled.
The expectations placed upon the Baron House as a venerable noble family had been completely shattered by this incident.
“That’s why it must be their doing…”
Ashton could only repeat the same words like a mantra.
If it was someone’s conspiracy, he would have to gather evidence and prove it.
The old butler sighed, wondering if Ashton had even lost the ability to understand that.
Humans are quick to abandon someone and flee.
The faction known as Ashton’s coterie collapsed the very day the rumors spread.
“How did it come to this…”
Ashton’s lament echoed in vain.
(At least let me not tarnish my twilight years.)
Abandoned by his wife, deserted by his subordinates, Ashton’s spirit was broken.
Wilson, too, was questionable in his sanity.
They accepted their judgments and left the royal palace dejectedly.
“Now then. Next, Marquis Marius.”
After Ashton and the others departed, Marius’s name was called.
Marius, who had been told nothing, responded with a look of bewilderment.
“In recognition of your subjugation of Demon Lord Zagan, I hereby confer upon you the title of Marquis. Furthermore, I grant you the new territories of Asbas and Reve.”
“I humbly accept.”
The merit that had brought down Ashton and his ilk had to be buried in darkness.
Barra thought, “It’s always so slow to grant rewards,” but did not show it.
Catherine wondered, “Only a Marquis for defeating a Demon Lord?” and questioned Filat’s evaluation system, which differed from Boltner’s.
Zofi and the others thought, “It’s natural that mere humans cannot comprehend the true worth of our great Master.”
In fact, the rewards for Marius had been a point of contention even in the council of high officials.
“To only be a Marquis after defeating a Demon Lord…”
The majority opinion was this.
However, that changed with Bernhard III’s statement:
“Consider the future. There are still Demon Lords and Demons to contend with. If we give too much now, there will be nothing left to give later.”
This statement carried immense persuasive power.
It was understandable, as they had not invaded other countries to gain territory or wealth.
Otherwise, it would lead to the comical situation of attacking somewhere solely to grant rewards to Marius.
It was vaguely understood that this would be a development that Marius would likely get angry about.
“We want him to defeat Demon Lords and Demons, but we don’t want him to earn merit.”
A joke of this nature was becoming a reality.
Such things are funny as jokes, but not remotely amusing when they become reality.
“We want to be able to defeat Demons, under the guidance of Princess Barra, but we are short on forces.”
That too, was comical if you thought about it.
Perhaps the most comical thing was that after eliminating the forces that caused internal strife by defeating the Demon Lord and Demons, they were actually finding themselves in a more difficult situation.
As things stood, they had no choice but to attack Hordia.
And they would have to do it without Marius.
It would be manageable with Marius, but without him, Hordia would be a very troublesome opponent.
Some measure would have to be taken. Bernhard III’s head and stomach ached.
“Isn’t this a bit too soon…”
Marius, oblivious to the King’s troubles, was simply astonished by the rapid pace of events.
It seemed like only the other day that Zofi, Al, and El had come asking for praise, and he had spat out his tea upon hearing their story.
“That’s how serious ‘soiling one’s title’ is,”
Lovisa explained. For nobles, honor, reputation, and public opinion were paramount, and any behavior that tarnished them was the worst of taboos.
In some respects, it was considered worse than treason.
Treason, after all, could cease to be treason if successful and power was seized.
Lovisa stated that while Ashton and a few others managed to retain their noble status, they would likely never rise again.
They would be ignored by noble society, and equally so by merchants.
In this case, they would likely be looked down upon by commoners as well.
The world was harsh towards fools who degraded their own status.
The fact that the head of the intelligence department changed so frequently was a prime example.
It was likely due to sheer luck that Lucas and Nilson were not dismissed.
“Well, if they were to defeat a Demon or a Dragon and reclaim their honor, the situation would be different,”
Emma added.
Defeating a Demon or a Dragon would earn them a place in history as “heroes.”
In the past, several individuals had been granted noble status or married princesses to become royalty after defeating Demons or Dragons.
It was difficult for Marius, who effortlessly defeated them as if breathing, to truly comprehend this.
“If Master defeats them all, it will naturally prevent those opportunities, won’t it?”
Everyone agreed with a strained smile at El’s casual remark.
Indeed, if Marius did everything, opportunities to earn merit would not arise.
“In any case, El, well done.”
When Marius praised him, El wagged his tail, saying, “I did it, I did it.”
Zofi and Al gnawed their lips in frustration.
Seeing this, Marius added,
“Zofi and Al, you also did well. However, try to restrain yourselves from rushing off on your own initiative.”
Zofi and Al nodded repeatedly, their eyes shining.
It would have been a happy ending if it ended there, but unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple.
“I have a simple question.”
Lovisa posed a question to Zofi and the others.
“Was it not you who had a Wyvern attack His Majesty?”
“No,”
Zofi replied immediately.
“Rubens did not give such orders. Of course, I cannot definitively say that no one acted on their own accord, but…”
Everyone fell into thought.
Marius suddenly remembered, with a cold sweat, that he had forgotten to ask about the Wyvern attack incident.
Although Lovisa finally had an opportunity to ask what she wanted to know, she had a faint suspicion of the answer, inferring that if the voluntarily active Succubi remained silent, it meant they hadn’t been involved.
“Master. Allow me to inform you, the nobles did not possess familiars.”
El reported with a resolute expression.
It seemed that whether one possessed a familiar could be detected by touch. Familiars had a unique sensation.
Truly, a convenient creature.
Therefore, the mastermind behind the Wyvern attack on Bernhard III and his entourage was from within the human kingdom, or someone in particular.
The reason they were not attacked during the Demonplay was likely because Marius was with them.
“Why weren’t people from other countries attacked… was it purely aimed at King Filat?”
Barra frowned. She reported with a wry smile that it had taken several sacrifices from Ranleo’s elite troops to defeat a single Wyvern.
“Regardless, it is certain that high-ranking summoners exist as enemies.”
No one disagreed with Lovisa’s statement, but Marius was the only one who did not grasp the gravity of the situation.
The number of familiars that a summoner, or someone like Marius who could command others in different professions, could have was vast, and they were powerful.
However, to obtain a familiar, one had to defeat and subjugate the opponent. Being able to command multiple powerful monsters meant possessing that level of combat capability.
It was confirmed in history that there were extremely rare individuals who could win over familiars without a fight.
“But would they fight Master?”
Al asked a pertinent question.
“Of course not. He’s the kind of person who could dismiss Zagan with a single blow. Humans would turn to ash without a trace.”
Zofi asserted this as a matter of course, but the humans’ reaction was not favorable.
“It’s difficult to say, but…”
Lovisa spoke hesitantly.
“Your kindness, Master Marius, is already famous. It wouldn’t be strange for them to try their luck, believing that even if they fail, they would still survive.”
Her actions in saving the slave soldiers of Hordia were still causing repercussions.
While the commoners perceived it as a pure and heroic tale.
