Chapter 36

Chapter 36

A month had passed.

Life in the annex with him had been a series of blissful days. He ate the food I prepared, wore the clothes I washed, and slept in the room I cleaned.

Even though he hadn't become aware of his past life, our bond had been growing stronger with each passing day.

I prayed earnestly to the blind goddess of love, Cecil. That this happiness might last forever.

She was the only god I knew.

But I knew better than anyone that such a thing was impossible.

I was an assassin who had infiltrated to kill him.

So far, I had somehow managed to avoid suspicion, but soon, even the Count of Zerne’s household would begin to question my movements.

It was time to make a decision.

To kill, or be killed.

From their perspective, someone like me was nothing more than a well-honed blade.

A tool that’s no longer useful will surely be discarded.

The answer was simple.

If I wanted to protect this happy life, the only real solution was to erase the Zerne Count family from this world. No matter how many times I thought it over, no other option seemed as certain.

But there was still the collar they had placed around my neck to control their tools.

A top-grade artifact that couldn’t even be attempted to remove unless you were at least an 8th-tier mage. It was something the Count of Zerne had purchased at a high price.

Even if I somehow managed to find a mage of that level, there was a high chance I’d be exposed and blown up during the removal process.

That was because the identification tag had a magic spell embedded in it that triggered an alert to the head of the Zerne family upon even the slightest infusion of mana.

Before I could even think about wiping out the count’s household, I had to get rid of this damned collar.

“You look like you’re troubled. If you don’t mind, would you tell me what’s bothering you?”

“…It’s nothing.”

The person who suddenly spoke to me was an old woman working here as a gardener. She seemed to be trying to show kindness in her own way, but nothing would change even if I talked to her.

“It’s not ‘nothing,’ is it? It’s because of that magical device on your body, isn’t it?”

The moment I heard those words—

I drew the dagger from my sleeve and aimed it at the old woman’s throat.

“You. What are you?”

I had moved with all my strength and speed, but the old woman didn’t even flinch. Instead, she simply gave a faint smile and pushed the dagger away from her neck with a single finger.

“I’m the gardener of the annex.”

I could tell instinctively from experience. This old woman was on a completely different level from me.

If she decided to kill me right here and now, no matter what I did, I wouldn’t be able to survive.

Why on earth was such a monster here?

Was she a hidden bodyguard of Ran Winterbell?

He may have been cast aside by the family, but he was still the blood of the Patriarch, so the possibility wasn’t out of the question.

“I’m only here to make you a single offer, so there’s no need to be so wary. Who knows? The proposal I bring might just be the master key that solves all your troubles.”

I had decided not to trust humans.

Naturally, that meant I couldn’t trust that old woman either.

From her behavior to the way she spoke—everything about her made my skin crawl. As if reading my thoughts, the old woman soon revealed her true identity.

“I know. That you don’t trust humans. But that’s fine. I’m not human to begin with! So you can trust me, right?”

“…What are you, really?”

“Hmm… How should I put this. Let’s just say I’m a guest from outside. Well, that’s not what really matters.”

“What is it that you actually want? Why did you come to me with this offer?”

The corners of the old woman’s lips twisted unnaturally.

“Entertainment. I just want to see something more entertaining. And I think doing this will make things a whole lot more fun.”

A proposal from a transcendent being of unknown origin.

Whether it was a poisoned chalice or a sweet apple—no one could tell. But I knew one thing for sure: I wouldn’t get an opportunity like this again.

“A wise choice, Cecil! I’m sure this won’t be a bad deal for you either. I’ll remove the magical device from your body. In return, you will…”

After thinking for a moment, the old woman beamed with childlike glee and reached out her hand.

“Hmm… What would be fun… Ah! Give me your left eye.”

“…If I give you my eye, will you really remove this damned magical device?”

The old woman smiled sweetly.

“Of course. Shall we make the deal now?”

“I’ll do it.”

The moment I answered, the old woman reached out toward my right eye. As soon as her fingers touched it, a burning pain—like the eyeball was roasting—erupted, and my vision began to fade.

“You’re enduring it well. I like that.”

At the same time, I felt something vanish from around my neck. Just as she’d said, the identification tag around my neck had completely disappeared without a trace.

“This is a gift. Because I like you. And of course, it’s free.”

What the old woman handed me was a broken pocket watch.

“…Why the watch?”

“I’m giving it to you in hopes that you’ll show me many more entertaining sights from now on. So go on, struggle with all your might, Cecil. I’ll be cheering you on from afar.”

With those words, the old woman vanished. It felt like I’d been possessed by a ghost.

A few days later, I asked Ran Winterbell about the old gardener woman, but the answer I got was, “Gardener? What are you talking about, Cecil? There’s never been a gardener in the annex. Not even once.”

Though I’d lost the vision in one eye, I had freed myself from my shackles in exchange—I was finally free.

“Cecil. Your eye… What happened? Are you okay?”

“It’s nothing, my lord.”

“Should I call for a physician?”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Now, all that remained for me was to wipe out the Zerne Count family from this continent.

Though he had begun to recall some memories of his past life, there was no way he could take them on alone.

So I decided to use the information I had. Either way, if I failed, I’d die all the same.

Given the nature of their family business, the Count of Zerne’s household had countless hostile forces. I leaked the top-secret information I knew to them.

Those who learned who was truly behind the deaths of their parents, children, friends, and husbands could not contain their rage and turned their blades toward the Zerne Count family.

Thanks to the protection of the First Prince, they managed to cling on desperately, but the situation was no different from a lamp flickering before the wind. It wouldn’t have been strange for it to go out at any moment.

And then, when the crisis facing the Zerne Count family reached its peak.

I infiltrated the mansion alone, and on that very day, the Zerne Count family completely vanished from the Empire. It was a night so deeply shrouded in darkness that not even the moonlight could be seen.

---

I returned to my daily life.

The more memories of the past I recalled, the more uncontrollably my feelings for Van Descartes grew.

Each day was a continuation of happiness. If only his brothers, who occasionally came to the annex to cause trouble, didn’t exist, I would have been even happier.

Whenever those trash-like knights spouted dog-like nonsense or those insect-like brothers picked fights, I wanted nothing more than to stab into their chests, tear them open, and rip out their hearts.

I could endure anything they did to me, but touching him was something I absolutely could not tolerate.

At times, I seriously imagined killing his brothers. Trash that would never be of any help to him even if they lived would be better off not existing at all.

However, killing them was close to impossible. Even if I succeeded by sheer luck, the risks involved would be enormous. To be honest, I didn’t care if I died.

What mattered was what came after.

If I died, would those pieces of trash really leave him alone once he was all by himself?

There was no way they would.

That was why I had to lie low and wait quietly until he recovered his memories.

So for now, it was a time for patience.

Until the soul of Van Descartes awakened, the best thing I could do was devote myself to supporting Ran Winterbell.

It was fine.

Even now, being with him made me happy enough.

But misfortune always arrived suddenly.

One day that seemed no different from any other.

Ran Winterbell suddenly collapsed after losing consciousness. He had been poisoned.

The poison was so horrific that even the most skilled healers in the North, working on him intensively, showed no signs of improvement.

Fortunately, thanks to his tenacious vitality, he miraculously returned from the brink between life and death, but as an aftereffect, he became crippled, unable to use his lower body.

It was all my fault. It was because I had been careless. I should have watched over him more thoroughly.

I should have remembered that he had no resistance to poison. I should have considered the possibility that someone might poison him.

I failed to protect him.

It was all…

My fault.

It was surely the work of those brothers who deserved to have their tongues torn out. There was no concrete evidence, but there was circumstantial suspicion.

If only I had been more suspicious and more vigilant, this would never have happened.

I was the one who made him a half-cripple.

I would kill every last person involved in this—make them suffer the most excruciating, the most agonizing deaths imaginable, until they begged for mercy, pleaded for their lives.

Hundreds, thousands of times, I picked up the sword and set it down again, torn in my thoughts. I wanted to rush out this very instant.

“Cecil… I’m not going to walk again? N-No way, right? You’re lying, aren’t you? Huh? Say something. A-Are you saying… I’m really going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life…?”

But if I died, there would be no one left by his side.

No. It wasn’t over yet.

By whatever means necessary, I would cure the paralysis in his lower body. I would make it happen.

No matter what price I had to pay.

After that incident.

I did my best to care for him every single day. Fearing he might fall into despair, I constantly talked to him, walked with him, did everything I possibly could.

And yet, as time passed, Ran Winterbell only continued to wither.

He stopped speaking, as if afflicted by aphasia, and refused to leave the annex no matter what happened. He didn’t respond to any questions.

He had cut himself off from the world.

I tried desperately to reach him, to open his heart again, but he never spoke.

The youngest son of the Winterbell family had become a shell of a person.

It felt like my heart was being torn apart. I wished it had been me who’d become crippled instead.

But the more things became like this, the more I had to endure. Because for someone as broken and suffering as he was, there was no one else but me.

I had to act calm—like nothing was wrong.

Seasons passed—flowers bloomed, fell, and withered again and again. And slowly, just a little, he seemed to show signs of recovery.

As proof of that, he asked for something before I could even ask if he needed anything. It was the first time he’d made a request in five years and twelve days.

“…Cecil. I want some cake. From that tea shop outside the mansion. Could you go get it for me?”

“O-Of course, my lord!”

That was when I should have been suspicious.

Why would he, who had never once asked for anything, suddenly make such a request?

Why would he, who hadn’t uttered a word for so long, speak—now, of all times?

I should have doubted it. Over and over again.