Little Tyrant Doesn't Want to Meet with a Bad End

Chapter 529.1: Backstabbed (1)

The relationships amongst countries on the Sia Continent were convoluted.

The relationship between the Austine Empire and the Saint Mesit Theocracy was one good example. The former had an illustrious history that commanded many territories and a huge population whereas the latter was an upstart with many devout believers all over the continent.

They had been fighting in the open and under the waters for the past thousand years, and their tense relationship affected each other’s national policies.

It was not a coincidence that the Austine Empire and the Saint Mesit Theocracy often took opposite stances in their policies. There were plenty of such cases in history, and these caused rippling effects throughout the Sia Continent.

Despite their significant differences, there were times when their policies converged in similarity in order to serve as role models to the others, namely their population policies during crises.

Unlike in Roel’s previous world, where a huge population only contributed to a bigger workforce and market, humans were an extremely precious resource in the Sia Continent due to the existence of transcendents, which contributed greatly to a country’s national might.

A highly talented transcendent could bring about significant rippling changes within decades, but of course, this was ultimately up to luck.

Just like the lottery, the more tickets you have, the higher the chances of striking the jackpot.

In particular, transcendents were always in short supply during wartime, which was why countries would always promote childbirth during such critical times.

In the Saint Mesit Theocracy, there were emergency laws invoked whenever war broke out with the deviants known as ‘Holy War Commandments’. Of them, there was a strict clause directed specifically toward nobles: All nobles are to bear offspring before reaching twenty years of age, or else they will be subjected to a heavy penalty.

It wasn’t too bad by the standards of the Sia Continent, given how adulthood was deemed to be fourteen years of age. It was considered late for a person to marry and have a child at twenty years old. As a matter of fact, many of the upper-grade students of Saint Freya Academy were married.

That being said, Roel did think that it was a little extreme to institute it in the law.

Had it been his previous world, such a policy would have suffered a severe backlash, with human rights groups accusing the government of treating its people like sows. However, in the danger-filled Sia Continent, such a thing was regarded as natural.

If you don’t give birth, I don’t give birth, when the deviants finally strike, we’ll have an army of old men marching to the battlefield on walking canes.

Unless humans wanted to go extinct as their predecessors did, they would have to work hard to reproduce, especially when it came to nobles who had better odds of bearing transcendents. An individual couldn’t hope to oppose a matter that concerned the survival of an entire race.

Other than the Xeclydes, every noble house of the Saint Mesit Theocracy had to obey this law or risk being stripped of their nobility.

That being said, it was not as if the Genesis Goddess Church was completely inflexible when it came to this matter. Knowing that some individuals might face trouble giving birth due to their constitutions, it provided exemptions on a case-to-case basis, and sometimes, it would even send its clergymen down to treat their infertility.

Of course, Roel was a healthy man and didn’t require any treatment.

Even so, the Genesis Goddess Church still deemed the Ascart House to be in need of ‘special attention’ for obvious reasons. If not for Roel’s ties with Nora, the church would have long dispatched some clergymen down to aid him.

Nora would have usually capitalized on this opportunity, but she had her hands full handling the ongoing crisis to act on it. It also went without saying that the church was not going to cuckold their future pope, thus sparing Roel from his legal obligations.

Unfortunately, there were still family obligations to consider here.

Carter had been wanting to expand the family tree for a long time now, and there happened to be an eligible partner in his household that had just come of age. He had been dropping hints to Roel in his letters, only for the latter to ignore them. No doubt, he would definitely be raising the matter over their short reunion.

Roel turned to the silver-haired woman seated next to him on the sofa, but he struggled to find a way to cut into the topic. He spent a while construing his words before finally relaying Carter’s intention to her in a subtle manner.

The latter immediately stiffened up upon hearing the news.

“Lord Father wants us to have a child together?” Alicia exclaimed in astonishment.

Roel sighed at her response.

Look at how shocked Alicia is. My father is really getting ahead of himself here. No matter how anxious he is to have a grandson, how could Alicia possibly want to have a child when she has only barely become an adult?

He would have been shocked to learn that Alicia’s thoughts were completely opposite to his.

To think that an opportunity would be presented right into my hands! Did I save a world in my previous life?

Alicia could hardly believe what she had just heard.

Just as she was feeling threatened by the advancement in Roel and Charlotte’s relationship, Carter suddenly stepped in as a wingman to help her even the scores. If this matter worked out, she could very well become the mother to Roel’s child.

The thought of that made her clench her fists in excitement.

Once things were pushed to that extent, there was no way Roel could continue seeing her as a younger sister, thus resolving the greatest impediment to her romance once and for all. With the affection that he already harbored for her, she might just be the first one to reach the goal.

I have to make full use of this opportunity!

Roel saw how Alicia was brooding over the matter and felt deeply apologetic.

While he and Carter had always viewed Alicia as a family member, there was no denying that she was indeed a foster child. That put her in a difficult position to express her stance on certain matters. If she defied Carter’s will here, it would make her appear like an ungrateful child who turned a blind eye to the crisis of the family that took her in.

He didn’t want Alicia to feel emotionally cornered into abiding by Carter’s intention.

“Alicia, I don’t want you to feel pressured by this matter. Feel free to speak your thoughts aloud. I believe that our father will take our words into consideration.”

“I understand, Lord Brother.”

Alicia’s eyes glowed with conviction upon hearing those words of encouragement. Seeing that, Roel breathed a sigh of relief.

Even from a young age, Roel had already sensed Carter’s intention to keep Alicia in the Ascart House. Why else would the marquess entrust her with their most sensitive intelligence network, of all things?

Truth be told, he wasn’t sure about how he felt about this matter.

On one hand, he didn’t want to embroil her in the Ascarts’ conflicts. He knew that things would only get more dangerous with time, and the thought of any harm befalling her haunted him.

Yet, he found himself strongly averse to allowing Alicia marry another man. His objection was so vehement that he didn’t bother considering Alicia’s opinion or whether this was truly better for her, which was not something he should be doing as an older brother.

Obsession had somehow found its way into Roel’s heart, and in recent years, he slowly became cognizant that this emotion stemmed not from kinship but romance. Even so, he was still a long way off from shaking off the shackles he had personally placed on their relationship.

In any case, he had to overcome Carter’s hurdle first before deciding on the next step.