It is easier to cause an accident and be forgiven than to ask permission.
… that would be an appropriate description of what they did.
“Haa… Couldn’t you have at least given me some advice, Your Majesty?”
“I’m sorry to say this, Raphael. If I had consulted with you, this wouldn’t have happened. You wouldn’t have allowed this to happen.”
“…I will not deny that statement, Your Majesty.”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s even more unspeakable since you’re such a stickler for principles.”
“……That’s true too.”
“…I’d rather be angry. It’ll be easier that way.”
… Raphael did not give a straight argument.
He never uttered any remarks that could appeal to his conscience, such as, “This is not right,” or, “How can it be right to do the same things as the wrongdoers?”
It was not that he was oppressed by Galahad's authority, nor was it that he had given up because he was disappointed with Pierre's behavior.
He just knew.
“Why should I be angry? Your Majesty, although I am only a weak old man, I have lived a long life. I am not so naive as to believe that good fortune will come to me if I live a good life in this world. How can the world be governed only by righteousness and good intentions? How can we discuss morality and ethics with those who are defined as enemies?”
“…….”
“Of course, I cannot say that there is no sadness, but this sadness is a sadness that comes from my incompetence. If I had been more capable, if I had been a great person, I could have prevented Your Majesty, my brother, and those children from walking down the wrong path. So I am angry and despairing about my incompetence, and I do not intend to blame Your Majesty and my brother.”
“…….”
“Rather, I am sorry. If I had to get my hands dirty, it was I who should have gotten them dirty. I am ashamed to have gotten your hands dirty, Your Majesty and your brother’s hands….”
“……Ahem.”
Blake rarely showed any sign of embarrassment while listening to such nonsense.
No, that… … .
“…Please don’t be angry, I feel so sick to my stomach that I feel like I have a lump in my throat.”
Blake was feeling a pang of conscience that he hadn't felt since he was five.
'I'd rather bang my head like a knight.'
Blake envied the knight who had banged his head on the ground as if punishing himself, even though no one had asked him to.
Because the eyes of the saint, which were like a mirror that reflected not only my expression but also my heart, were more frightening than any scolding.
Even more than the scolding from the father king who was called the subject… .
* * *
… Raphael returned.
Since you came here so late in the morning with an already old body, you must be quite tired.
The shadows escorted him back to the temple, and the knight, finally confirming that he had gone, quietly lifted the bombardment.
“… be scared.”
“…….”
“What scares me the most is when kind elders get angry….”
“…….”
“What’s with those eyes? If you have something to say, say it.”
"……no."
Pierre looked at the knight with a hint of envy, or rather jealousy.
That makes sense… .
‘You scolded me… .’
Raphael scolded the knight.
It was a strange thing to say. Raphael simply sighed at the knight or patted his shoulder.
If there was one thing that was a bonus, it was when I returned to the temple.
Bam… .
– May your future be blessed with light.
Although he did do something like pat the knight on the back.
No one would have found this strange.
But Pierre knows.
That's how Raphael gets angry.
Pierre knew that a tap on the shoulder or a pat on the back was the most scolding Raphael could give him.
… Pierre, who had been cared for by him for many years, knew.
That's why I felt sad and jealous.
Being angry means that at least you still have 'faith'.
On the other hand, I… .
“……What is the difference between you and me?”
“What are you saying?”
“Did I do something wrong? I….”
Bam!
“!?”
“You’re really sick and tired. Looking at you now, you seem a bit crazy. Did you lose your mind while being possessed?”
“Now, wait a minute, that’s not it….”
Bam!
It was another article that hit him in the back of the head, and every time it happened, Pierre felt an excruciating pain.
I was hit in the back of my head, but it wasn't just the back of my head that hurt; it was a blow that made every bone in my body vibrate, and the pain was beyond imagination.
It was just horribly bad.
When Pierre found himself shedding tears without realizing it, the knight spoke regardless of whether he cried or not.
“If you feel like you’re going crazy, tell me. I think we need to go through some verification processes.”
“Huh, confirmation process…?”
“While there are real mental illnesses, there are also those who cosplay as mental illnesses. For example, there are those who are good at controlling their anger but say they have anger management problems in front of their parents or weaker children.”
“…….”
“If you think you’re crazy, tell me quickly. It won’t take long to fix it, no.”
Crazy, crazy.
“…….”
A sinister sound came from the knight's hand, and that alone made Pierre feel as if his own body was distorting.
Somehow I have a feeling that this treatment will be even more harsh and painful than the hit in the back of my head I just had.
like that….
“No, I’m fine. Really….”
“Really? Don’t pretend like it doesn’t hurt.”
“Well, sure.”
“…Ssup, I feel uneasy.”
“…….”
The demon in Pierre's heart was forcibly resolved.
As a therapeutic act, the name fist.
* * *
Without even realizing that he had guided a person who was on the verge of turning evil, Lee Han slowly asked an important question.
“So, if you’re of sound mind, tell me now, where the hell are ‘those guys’?”
The reason why it was carried out despite being a dangerous plan that would touch a great noble.
The sole purpose was to capture those Brass Knights who were said to be hiding in the capital, and Pierre's role was important because he knew that Rose, who had information about this, would not open his mouth easily.
Because it was important how much of the memory was recovered.
“…First of all, it seems certain that the Brass Knights were staying in the Lohengrin family.”
“Are you feeling uneasy or something?”
“That’s correct. Even Rose doesn’t know the current whereabouts of the Brass Knights. No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say that he doesn’t care.”
“…….”
“Don’t look at me like that. I, I’m just telling you what I remember from Rose’s memory….”
Pierre told Rose as much information as he could.
“And Count Roses spared no support for illegal magicians and illegal alchemists to achieve his ‘purpose’. He engaged in drug trade to finance this research.”
“I’m going crazy….”
“Also, during this process, it seems that Rose killed her biological father, whom she thought was getting in her way. She must have thought that if she got caught, everything would go down the drain.”
“…….”
“…Don’t look at me like that. I’m not Rose!”
“How can you have a fit when I see you like that?”
“……I felt alive.”
Pierre sighed deeply, thinking that he might die if he continued like this, and barely managed to continue his story.
“…During that process, the Blood Crusaders who had been hiding in the temple in the past proposed contact and cooperation to Roses. Roses judged that the Blood Crusaders would be helpful in achieving his goals, and willingly joined hands with the Blood Crusaders. And…. it seems that this is how it has come to be.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…?”
“Why is that?”
“Is that the end…?”
“What is your main point?”
“No…. You’re a collaborator? Then you must know something important, right?”
Tell me the purpose of the Blood Crusade, or where they are hiding, or at least give me a montage of the Brass Knights right now.
It was literally a case of needing a guitar, etc., but unfortunately… .
“…Roses didn’t seem to be interested in that kind of thing.”
“…….”
“It’s not a lie. I am certain of this, having absorbed this man’s memories. Count Roses is extremely indifferent to others, and is willing to cooperate with any criminal to achieve his own goals, and has no interest in the criminal’s personal details. As they say….”
Sociopath. Although they do not lack emotions like psychopaths, they have antisocial tendencies and are arrogant because they have power, so they can be said to be very close to psychopaths.
additionally….
“This guy has a congenital face blindness. Normally, if a normal person had this condition, they would find a way to remember others in some way, but Rose, this arrogant man, didn’t even try to do that. In other words, Rose was not only a sociopath, but also an extreme egoist.”
“Now you’re packaging it as your own body… Isn’t it just a person with a lot of personality flaws?”
“…….”
“…You’re no help, you punk.”
Lee Han was puzzled by the fact that Rose was not of much help despite all the hard work she did.
Well, I wonder if there are authors like this.
A sociopath with face blindness, and a moron who doesn't even investigate the information of suspicious collaborators.
“Mongma, can’t you wake that kid up again?”
"why?"
“More like that. That’s not even close to being a fan, it’s worse than playing around, no, worse than a spellcaster, really.”
How do you have all these elements that make other people sick?
Lee Han made a grumbling expression, saying that for the first time in his life, he had met someone worse than a swindler.
“Now, just wait a moment! Oh, I’ll look into the memory a bit more. I’m sure there’ll be some information that’ll be helpful!”
Pierre was desperately searching through his memories, sweat dripping down his face.
As more and more people are looking at him as useless, Pierre can only feel a sense of crisis.
Pierre was the one who extracted any information that could be helpful in order to prove his usefulness, and he extracted as many memories as possible.
“Well, I remember the process of manufacturing the Banmain. There’s also a list of nobles who cooperate with Roses, as well as alchemists and magicians.”
It's certainly good, if not quite advanced, information, but it's information he doesn't need right now.
As Lee Han's expression gradually turned into disappointment.
“…But what is the purpose?”
“…….”
The duke asked a question mixed with doubt.
It seems like they've been vaguely talking about it for a while now, but strangely enough, I haven't heard Rose's 'purpose' clearly.
“…….”
… It was just a casual question from the Duke's perspective, but Pierre froze again and broke out in a cold sweat.
He was sweating profusely as if he was dehydrated, as he was under pressure from Lee Han and the Duke.
“…I just told you. Count Rose has a congenital face recognition disorder. It’s so severe that he can’t even remember his own parents’ faces. However, there was one woman whose face Count Rose could recognize.”
“…….”
“It was the first time in his life that he recognized another person’s face, and he fell in love with the first woman he recognized, who was so beautiful. However, that woman had a lover. A lover who was even more excellent and great than Roses himself…”
“Now…, what are you talking about?”
Pierre had to force his courage to speak.
Pierre had to continue talking even though he sensed the Duke's mood gradually cooling down.
The truth will come out someday anyway.
It would be better to keep hiding it, so it would be better to face it now when it comes.
So.
“…even after decades, Rose still loved that woman. And at some point, that feeling seemed to have changed from love to something more like obsession. Rose’s goal was none other than to revive the body of the woman he loved, who was already dead, in order to make her his own. To that end, he committed countless evil deeds, and achieved some meaningful results, and…”
Boom, boom… .
“I, I finally figured out a way to bring that woman back to life. It’s none other than the avatar she left behind… I’ll use the ‘daughter’ she gave birth to as a sacrifice to restore the woman’s body.”
“…!”
“Lo, Count Roses, through countless studies, has completed a study that can determine paternity using just hair. In that way, he succeeded in finding the woman’s daughter, who just so happens to have been taken in by Galahad, ha, they say.”
“…….”
He collapsed with a pale expression on his face, as if he were about to faint, and put an end to it as if he had mustered up his last bit of strength.
“…Your Highness, the adopted daughter you have taken in is the child of the woman you loved. ─Irene Windler, that girl is your own daughter. And, it is not only Count Roses who is after your daughter. The Brass Knights, too, are after the blood of the fairies-.”
dump-.
With those words, Pierre rolled his eyes and fainted.
He lost consciousness because he couldn't bear the 'anger' that the peacock was spewing out.
… But the duke didn’t care whether he fainted or not, and still remained silent.
since,
“My child, … You’re bringing my wife back to life? You’re after my child? Heh heh.”
[… … .]
“It’s not even funny, what the heck is going on….”
Kwajijijik!
The wind around me, no, the space around me is breaking apart.
The demon sword responded to his anger, and breathed fire.
like that.
“─Kill all the guys who are after my daughter. Civil war? I don’t care if it breaks out!”
[[[Glory to Galahad! Death to Galahad's enemies!!]]]
… Duke Blake awakened.
“…That backstabber is really awesome.”
Even when I hinted at her as my daughter, you didn't believe me, but now you believe me when the person who hates you the most says so?
There is no drum like this drum.
really….
Lee Han shrugged his shoulders, his whole body tingling in the face of the strong momentum that he could not stop no matter how hard he tried.
It's as if he doesn't want to bother the whale for no reason.
“…That little pufferfish chick, I bet he won’t get married in the future.”
Who would ever go and greet such a scary craftsman?
at least.
'I'm going to die.'
Even if it's because I'm scared of rice.
*
*
*
Ouch!
“What, what is it!”
[… Arin, why did you suddenly wake up? Did you have a nightmare?]
“Ugh, yeah, it was so horrible. It was a nightmare of me being a spinster my whole life. What, this kind of dream….”
[This is a bad dream. Just drink some cold water and go back to sleep.]
“Uh, yeah.”
Irene closed her eyes again and fell asleep, feeling a strange sense of unease.
I hope that in this dream, I can sleep inside the instructor's muscles… .
Irene snored again, her tiredness creeping in.
