My name is Ryan.
Ryan Abbott.

I'm the eldest son of the Earl of Abbott.
Let me introduce myself, I'm 25 years old, 5'8", with long silver hair and green eyes. I consider myself to have a well-trained body.
Until a few years ago, I was a member of the Kingsguard of the national army, but now I am studying management at my estate.

Then I received a letter from my father.
It said that there was a nobleman he wanted me to meet, and that I should come to the capital.
Knowing that my father keeps his distance from other families, I was surprised to see the letter.

Our family has adopted a unique style of gathering information, observing nobles objectively from a moderate distance regardless of their factions, examining them closely, and reporting to His Majesty the King.
Is that why you want me to meet with other families?
It's true that you need a certain amount of face-to-face contact in order to investigate, and I understand that to a certain extent, but do you really want to bring them all the way to the capital to meet with you?
What is my father thinking?


〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜

'Father, you have arrived.
I greeted my father in his office as he arrived,
'Ryan, are you aware of the recent situation in King's Landing and the Kingdom?
He asked me,
'If that's what you've been told, I'm aware of it. If it's something that's been reported, I'm aware of it, though the latest may not have been reported yet.
I reply.
'So, let's go over the information.
So says my father, and we talk for several hours.

The Earls of Snakes.
It's a name I've been hearing a lot lately.

The third son of the former Baron Rigsby, he began to make a name for himself when he was a member of the First Army.
When the Westin family betrayed him during the invasion of the Empire, he reported to the military that his family had betrayed him.

He was placed under the supervision of the Inspector General, but fulfilled his duty and contributed to the victory of the battle between the rebels and the Empire by cutting down even his parents.
As a result of his military prowess, he was created Viscount Snakes by His Majesty, who took advantage of the Rigsby Barony's demise.

He has been active since then, and is currently an Earl and Lieutenant Colonel.
He is engaged to Her Royal Highness Princess Thornaris.
He is engaged to Her Royal Highness, Princess Thornalis, and expects to hear of more successes in the near future.

He says he'll be meeting the head of the family, Patrick von Snakes.
And I've been told that he's formed an alliance with the Snakes.
The Snakes are engaged to Her Royal Highness, so they're definitely of the royalist persuasion, so that's not a problem, but I wonder what happened to the appropriate distance?

Tomorrow morning, they're heading to the residence of the Snakes' family in the royal capital.
Why is he in such a hurry?


The next day, I arrived at the Snakes' house after a 20-minute carriage ride.
The man who was guarding the gate seemed to be quite skilled.
The movement of his eyes, the sharpness of his gaze, the way he carries himself even with the slightest movement. Is the Snakes' army as elite as they say it is?

We arrive at the front door.
There's a rumor that the Snakes' door is the door to hell.
I mentioned this to my father,
'No prior knowledge, just see, hear, and feel!
He told me.

The gatekeeper opened the door for me.

I quickly jumped back a few meters and drew my sword at my waist,
'Father!　Give me your hand!　That demon father can't do it. I'll buy you some time. Send in the national army!　At this rate, Count Snakes is already at .......'

'Yes, you've passed!

'Father?

'This demon is Count Snakes' beast of burden, the Count is a demon hunter.'

I couldn't believe it. I've heard that there are very few demon users and that only mammals can be used. But to use a reptilian demon?　
And a demon of that size?

'I didn't scream and I acted quickly. This information was suppressed by me, so it must not have reached the territory, but you didn't hear about it, did you?

'Yes, Father. Why did you bother to narrow down the information?''

'Because I wanted you to see with your own eyes the abnormality of this house!

No, Father, I don't want any surprises!
I feel like I'm losing some life.