Chapter 168 - 168 Isabella
It wasn't because the book was decided to be published, but because I spoke with the president who became Steve's model about how tough raising children is, so I thought I'd write a story about the children. Since the setting materials were lost, there may be parts that contradict the main story, so please look kindly upon this as a side story.
On that day, Isabella came to visit her deceased husband's grave.
She bore the Archibalt surname, but she belonged to a branch family that had separated from the main house, and it was located separately from the cemetery where the successive heads of the family slept.
Although they say successive heads, it only included Brian, Steve, Arthur, and his wives. It was shallow in history despite the word successive.
"Oh my, oh my. It's becoming painful to come here every year. Maybe I'll go to your place soon too."
Isabella was turning 99 this year.
Yet, her back remained straight and she did not use a cane. Nor were her movements those of an old person.
Isabella Cromwell Archibalt. She was born as the daughter of Steve Ts Archibalt, holder of the Dragon Head Medal, and his wife Nancy. After reaching adulthood, she started and succeeded in various businesses alongside her husband Michael Archibalt, becoming the first head of the Archibalt Conglomerate.
Since childhood, she was trained by her father, mother, and her guard Bella, and she was a talented woman said to surpass even the commander of the Royal Guard Knights Order.
Furthermore, her aunt, the Second Consort of the Yellow Empire Emperor, Cecil, worked on the Emperor to grant her a viscountcy. While it was decided that her half-brother Arthur would receive a title, Cecil felt sorry for Isabella having none, so this was a gift from Cecil.
However, she had many enemies, and the number of times her life was targeted was more than could be counted on two hands.
And now again.
She had no guards, only a few secretaries accompanying her. From there, five assassins dressed entirely in black attacked.
"Die!"
The assassins drew their guns and took aim.
However, no bullets were fired from those guns.
Bullets made of water pierced their foreheads.
"You fools. If you are going to attack, just do it quickly without saying anything."
Isabella muttered while looking down at the fallen assassins.
She, who used water attribute magic, created water inside the iron pipe she held, applied high pressure to it, and fired it.
Its power was equivalent to a sniper rifle. Naturally, those hit could not survive.
"They can't even wait for an old woman like me to die. Such impatient fellows. Are they rivals from other companies? Or nobles who were rejected from gathering around the privileges and are now angry? Well, maybe it's also children who can't wait for a generation change. Really, since I'm about to die anyway, just wait quietly."
The secretaries listening to this thought that she would not die anytime soon.
Isabella, unaware of such thoughts, sent her gaze far up into the sky.
"Misha (Michael's nickname), Papa, Mama, Arthur, Bella. Everyone died before me. Are you all watching me from up there in the sky right now?"
Isabella muttered sadly, remembering her younger days.
――――
Isabella turned 14 and enrolled in a noble school in the Royal Capital. There, she decided to bear her mother's surname, Cromwell, instead of Archibalt, as it seemed troublesome to use the Archibalt name, and she wanted to test her own abilities.
Her appearance was strikingly similar to her mother Nancy, tall, and thus also resembled her aunt Cecil. Therefore, she pushed forward only the setting of being a relative of the Emperor's Second Consort, convincing others of that.
Incidentally, her mother Nancy is currently recorded as deceased in official records, and her existence is known only to a few.
Among her classmates were Arthur and her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth was the daughter of Sherry, Steve's sister, and a princess of the Kingdom of Merda. She had come as an exchange student.
There was a distance between the capital of the Kingdom of Merda, the Archibalt Territory, and the capital of the Kingdom of Cascade, but thanks to the teleportation magic used by her father Steve, they could move instantly. Thus, Elizabeth, whose parents were busy with state affairs, came to the Kingdom of Cascade and spent a long time with Isabella. She grew up in an environment that could almost be called sisters.
The day after the entrance ceremony, after the classroom introductions ended, Isabella was walking down the hallway with Elizabeth.
"Liz (Elizabeth's nickname), it's nice here where there are no nagging people."
"Yes. In my country, Mama is worshipped like a god. Expectant eyes are directed at daughters too, so I'm always tense and tired. If I do something strange, everyone gets angry at me."
Isabella and Elizabeth had tutors assigned to them. Although they were not heirs, due to their family background, they had to appear at social events, so they were taught not only knowledge but also manners and gestures thoroughly. Especially Elizabeth, being a princess, and given her mother Sherry's high popularity among the people, the expectations directed at Elizabeth were quite high.
She herself lamented that it was suffocating.
"A princess receiving cooking education is probably unique in the world."
"It's a rare species even among noble ladies. But since it was decided by Grandma, no one can oppose it."
Their grandmother, Abigail, had decided that the children of the family should learn how to cook. This was out of regret that Sherry was not useful in the development of soba products.
There was also the thought that even if they returned to a situation without money, having a skill would make things work out.
However, the two, who had grown up without any lack since birth, could not understand Abigail's sense of crisis.
"Besides, Arthur is good at cooking too, so it's painful to be compared."
"Ah, I get that. He's good at studies, strong with a sword, and good at cooking. It's tough to be compared when you have an excellent younger brother."
"Exactly. And then, when we go to the classroom, girls go 'kyaa kyaa' over him."
"What's that, jealousy?"
Elizabeth smiled with a face unbecoming of a princess.
Isabella waved her hand to deny it.
"Of course not. If I wanted that, I wouldn't hide my family name. Besides, I reject those who come just because of the family name."
"That's true."
Elizabeth agreed with Isabella's opinion. She herself was tired of men who approached only seeing her as a princess.
As the two walked further, they saw several male students surrounding one male student.
"Liz, what do you think that is?"
"It looks like bullying."
Isabella recognized the faces of those boys.
The one being bullied was a boy named Michael Taylor.
His father was Alex, the former Second Prince. He was now merely a viscount in name only, and his family name had been given as Taylor. Because his right to the throne was stripped, he could no longer bear the royal family's surname.
The bullies were those with parents from various factions, but the central role was played by Jackson Cutter.
His father was Count Cutter, formerly Alex's right-hand man.
Isabella did not know about the conflicts between their parents, but Jackson, frustrated that his family's power had diminished because his parents lost the power struggle, was venting that frustration on Michael.
"What will you do?"
Elizabeth asked Isabella.
"We cannot just pass by. 'To sacrifice to a ghost is flattery. Not doing what is right is cowardice.' It's a phrase Papa often says."
"Uncle would have the power to do something about it."
"Oh my, I have power too."
Isabella had been trained by her father and mother since childhood, and her current ability was enough to join a knight order. No, not just enough to join, but enough to aim for the commander position.
Naturally, she could not match Daphne, the commander of the Royal Guard Knights Order, but among other orders, few could match Isabella who could use the Godspeed Sword.
Furthermore, since she could also use water attribute magic, even a bandit gang was no match for her. Being Isabella, the students of the noble school were not worth fearing.
So, without hesitation, she would hit them hard from the start.
"Bullying one person with a large group. Aren't you ashamed? Or did you leave your shame in your mother's womb?"
"What did you say?"
Everyone looked at Isabella at once.
"Who are you guys?"
Jackson did not remember Isabella and Elizabeth, so he said that, and the boy next to him told him.
"The smaller one is the princess of the Kingdom of Merda, and the bigger one is an exchange student from the Empire."
"Hah. A princess of a vassal state and the daughter of a half-vassal noble. Don't you dare give me advice. My parents are counts. Do you understand what that means?"
Jackson sneered at the two.
Seeing this, Isabella and Elizabeth exchanged glances.
Jackson's thinking was a general view of the conservatives in this country, but that was only possible thanks to Steve's achievements. To say that to his daughter and niece was ridiculous.
So, after exchanging glances, the two burst out laughing.
Angered at being laughed at, Jackson shouted.
"What's so funny!"
Elizabeth answered him.
"Because that was all thanks to Lord Dragon Head's achievements, not your merit. Why are you acting so arrogant? Anyway, can you even inherit your own family? If not, you'll be a commoner sooner or later. You can't rely on your parents' authority forever. You should start living a life that doesn't rely on your parents' authority now."
"Liz, it's useless to say anything. It seems he forgot not only shame but also intelligence in his mother's womb."
Isabella placed her left hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and put her right hand to her forehead, making a gesture of "oh my."
This irritated Jackson.
"Women!"
Jackson shouted that and thrust his right fist to punch Isabella.
However, that was no threat to Isabella.
She caught the fist with her left hand and delivered a punch to Jackson's cheek with her right hand.
"Gyah."
Jackson let out a short cry and fell.
"You make sounds like a dog. Or are you a dog? It seems you don't have human intelligence."
Isabella glared at Jackson with a relaxed expression.
At that moment, one of the boys shouted.
"Attack all at once!"
Then, they mistakenly thought they could win if they attacked all at once and began attacking Isabella. However, within a minute, they felt the coldness of the hallway with their faces.
"I made a big mistake thinking I could manage with brute strength."
Isabella stood proudly.
However, the next moment, she sensed a presence coming from the other end of the hallway and panicked.
"Damn, this is bad. Arthur. Let's go quickly."
Isabella grabbed Michael's hand, who was standing dazed, and ran quickly in the opposite direction of Arthur's presence.
Elizabeth followed after her.
"Wait."
Michael, though confused, could not shake off the hand holding him and was dragged along.
And then, Arthur witnessed the scene.
"I sensed Isabella's presence, but..."
Arthur, sensing the situation from the scene before his eyes and Isabella's presence, wondered how to report this to his father.
Meanwhile, Isabella and the others, having moved away from the scene, had escaped into an empty classroom.
There, Isabella asked Michael.
"Hey, why were you being bullied by those guys?"
Asked Michael, panting heavily, could not answer immediately.
Elizabeth stepped between the two.
"Now, now. You're out of breath and can't talk properly. Why not wait a bit?"
"Just this much?"
"Don't take us as the standard."
Although not as much as Isabella, Elizabeth had also been trained since childhood, so she would not be out of breath from this level of exercise.
However, she knew that this was not normal for him.
When Michael's breathing stabilized, he explained his fall from grace due to his parents' mistakes, and how he became a target for bullying.
"My name is Michael Taylor."
After hearing everything, Isabella became indignant.
"What is this? Relying on their parents' power and doing whatever they want because they can't fight back!"
"Probably just children of nobles in the capital who don't have territories."
Elizabeth sighed and tried to calm Isabella.
Behind Elizabeth's words was the fact that nobles with territories were currently facing a shortage of manpower. They had the role of building good relationships with excellent students who were not heirs at the noble school and figuring out how to employ them in their own territories.
To adapt to new inventions and social systems, excellent personnel were indispensable, and falling behind meant development would lag behind other territories.
So, if they participated in bullying, their reputation would suffer, and they might be shunned by other students, so they were careful not to do such things.
However, nobles living in the capital without territories were different.
While their children would benefit from appearing virtuous and academically excellent when considering employment, their parents had fallen behind the times, and the children inherited those values, bringing the stagnant hierarchy of the noble society into the school.
"If anything happens, tell me. I'll protect you again."
"Thank you. But..."
Michael hesitated before Isabella.
"But what? Speak clearly."
Isabella could not stand Michael's hesitant attitude and her tone became strong.
Michael, feeling threatened by that tone, spoke what he had been thinking.
"It's fine during class, but you can't help me during club time, right? It would be bad if we joined the same club."
"Oh, there was that."
Elizabeth clapped her hands lightly.
At school, club activities were encouraged, and students had to belong to at least one. They needed to decide which club to join within one week of enrollment.
During class, Isabella's eyes could reach them, but with clubs, that was different.
"We still have a week, so let's think about it slowly."
Elizabeth said that, and they parted ways for the day.
At dismissal time, Elizabeth, being a princess, had guards waiting for her, and Isabella parted ways there.
Isabella also had someone waiting for her.
"Welcome back."
"I'm home, Bella."
The one waiting was Bella.
Her purpose was more surveillance than guard duty.
Ordinary guards could not keep up with Isabella, so Steve had assigned Bella as Isabella's surveillance officer.
It was painful that Bella could not do other work until Isabella graduated, but Steve prioritized his thoughts as a parent. Unlike the honor student Arthur, Isabella was unpredictable if left unwatched, so he decided to assign Bella.
The two walked towards the Imperial Embassy. Since they were taking the guise of exchange students from the Empire, their return destination was there. After returning home, Steve would come to pick them up using teleportation magic, and they would return to the Archibalt family mansion in the Royal Capital.
Since it was nearby, when Steve was not present, they were supposed to return to the mansion without being seen by others. This was also a measure to ensure they were not known as Steve's children.
"Sorry, Bella."
"What for?"
Against Isabella's apology, Bella did not understand the intent.
"Bella wants to work with Papa, right? So you're doing this as my guard. I don't need a guard."
"Then I am satisfied, so don't worry."
"Are you enduring it?"
"I am not."
For Bella, Steve's thoughts were the highest priority. If Steve, who worried about his daughter, asked her to watch over her, then being able to do that work was a joy.
So, Isabella's thoughts were off the mark. Although Isabella did not understand that thought.
Isabella knew that Bella loved Steve. She also knew that if Bella wished, Steve would take her as a wife. However, Bella did not wish for that. She could not understand why she did not wish to marry the person she loved and have children.
As for Bella, she did not wish for it because she could not work during pregnancy and childbirth, and she did not want to see herself unable to help Steve in that way.
Marriage was not the only form of love, which was her thought from long ago.
And as a result of working with such feelings, she became the most trusted person by Steve, except for her family. No, she was trusted equally to family, and was even given authority to access all secrets of the Archibalt family.
Incidentally, Isabella had Bella as her guard since birth and trusted her as much as her mother.
After that, the two returned home without further conversation.
That night, Steve, having heard from Arthur about what happened at school, was troubled by a headache.