The Villainous Son Loves His Mother - Chapter 35

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This academy hosts two major events: the Sword Tournament and the Magic Competition.
In the Gaines Empire, individual strength is highly valued, so achieving good results in these competitions can significantly enhance one’s career prospects after graduation.
To be honest, I wasn’t particularly interested in either.
I had no desire to climb the ranks in this empire.
I believe that honor and glory aren’t things you should actively pursue… they’re things that come naturally as a consequence of your actions.

However, this year, I’m aiming to win both tournaments.
There are two reasons for this.
First, to earn my Mother’s praise.
Second, to support my Mother’s ambitions.
I’ve realized that my Mother intends to seize control of the Gaines Empire.
But I know that won’t be the end of it.
My mother is gentle—truly, deeply gentle.
If such a person were to contemplate seizing control of the empire, what reason could she possibly have?
In a word, it would likely be world peace.

The world was once in utter chaos.
This was primarily due to the Demon King’s Army, a band of inferior beings who ran rampant. Even after the Demon King’s demise, devastation continued to plague the land.
In other words, the world remains in turmoil.
Remnants of what is now called the Former Demon Lord’s Army still roam freely.
Moreover, the problem isn’t limited to these remnants.
When the Demon King served as a common enemy, humanity might have united. But now, humans are warring against each other.

There’s a saying: “Inferior minds, left idle, turn to evil.” How true this rings!
Inferior beings—ambitious beyond their intellect—are the ones disrupting the world!
This must weigh heavily on my mother’s heart.
Therefore, the Gaines Empire—and ultimately the entire world—must first be brought under her control, so that she can impose her order upon it.
That must be it!
And if that’s the case, then even I must, though it is not my preference, aim for success and recognition.
To achieve this, I must first demonstrate my strength.

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In the “original history,” the Gaines Empire fell shortly after the Demon Lord Hein was defeated.
There were several reasons for this.
A major factor was that Hein, who had become the vessel for the Demon Lord, had been a high-ranking noble within the Gaines Empire.
However, considering that Hero Azel, who had slain the Demon Lord Hein, was also a noble of the Gaines Empire, one could argue that the merits and demerits canceled each other out.
The worst mistake was the assassination of Hero Azel, who had saved the world.
Furthermore, the empire was implicated in the murders of other heroes who had risen to fame during the war against the Demon Lord Hein—Serena, Esmeralda, Gardem, and others.

This betrayal ignited the world’s fury.

Former enemy nations rallied under the common banner of vengeance, forming a coalition army that surged toward the Gaines Empire like a tsunami, relentlessly carving away its territories.
Though the valiant efforts of the Twelve Noble Houses allowed the empire to endure for seven long years, there was ultimately no hope for the Gaines Empire, now branded as the world’s enemy.
Yet, for the world, this did not usher in an era of peace.
One after another, nations descended into the same tyrannical madness that had once consumed the Gaines Empire.
Wise kings suddenly turned mad, annexing neighboring countries in pursuit of hegemony or attempting to exterminate entire ethnic groups.
Each time, the world plunged into chaos, until finally…
In any case, that was the story of the “original history.”
In this timeline, the Gaines Empire might meet a slightly different fate.