As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter Pr

Fourteen years had come and gone since I was reborn into another world as Ars Louvent.

My early childhood was idyllic. I was never exposed to the horrors of war in any real capacity, and with the help of the Appraisal skill I’d possessed since birth, I assembled a host of highly capable retainers to stand by my side, recruiting Rietz, Charlotte, Rosell, and Mireille.

Peace, however, would not last. A conflict of succession centered around the Duke of Missian’s title escalated dramatically, plunging the duchy into a state of all-out war. The side I allied myself with emerged victorious in the end, but not before countless individuals lost their lives. I came to realize over the course of that conflict that I had been reborn into a very dangerous world.

That being said, the war brought me success on a personal level, earning me the position of Count of Canarre. I had become a lord of high enough standing to live in an honest to god castle. I had a fair deal of apprehensions about governing such a vast swath of territory, but thanks to my ever-capable retainers, I’d managed to more or less make the best of the situation…until, that is, a sudden invasion by our neighboring duchy, Seitz, threw Canarre into a state of crisis all over again.

I didn’t think I was going to make it out of that one alive, if I’m being honest, but somehow, we managed to repel Seitz’s assault. That victory helped contribute to the ultimate triumph of the candidate for duke who I’d supported, Couran, over his rival and younger brother, Vasmarque. Couran’s victory would ultimately quell the flames of war that had consumed Missian. And then, soon after the war ended, I found myself getting married, in spite of my young age.

And that, more or less, is how my life had gone since I was reincarnated. It couldn’t have been more different from the life I’d lived back in Japan. I was a real workaholic back then, and spent the overwhelming majority of my time at home, at work, or traveling from one to the other. I was a boring man with no hobbies and no wife─in fact, I’d never even dated anyone. It was still hard to believe that someone like me had lived through life or death battles and become the ruler of a castle, and frankly, all that excitement had taken its toll. I was tired, and wanted to stay as far away from warfare as I could, for the time being.

Thankfully, Missian had been united. The situation in Summerforth was still tense, to be sure, but it seemed safe to say that it’d be a little while before war broke out again. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened, though, and I knew I had to take advantage of this moment of peace to raise Canarre into a stronger and more prosperous territory than ever, ensuring we’d have the might and resources to repel any further attacks with ease. I was dedicated to defending this land, whatever it took.