Chapter 42

Chapter 42

...What did he just say?

...My mother was killed by my father—no, by Arkan Winterbell? Then, the Arkan I remember had that expression on his face even after killing my mother with his own hands?

How could that be possible? She was someone he loved. He killed his own wife with his own hands, and then looked at his only child with those eyes?

"...Judging by the look on your face, you must not have remembered this either."

"You're right. Please explain it in detail. What do you mean the Patriarch killed my mother?"

"Just what I said. It was the Patriarch who cut her down when your mother went berserk, driven mad by her lunacy."

"Why did he make that choice?"

"How would I know? It’s not like the Patriarch was the only one who could have taken her down at the time, but maybe the others found it difficult to take action themselves. Well, as you said, he was the head of the family. Maybe he even gave the order himself. Told them not to interfere. Said he’d do it himself in the end. I wasn't there to see it firsthand either, so I can’t say for sure. It’s just what I heard."

The more I listened, the more the questions only grew.

"...Do you happen to know how many people my mother killed?"

"Not exactly. From what I roughly remember, maybe around thirty? Could be more. They said she lost it completely and killed anyone nearby without hesitation. Unless you were there that day, no one would know for sure. What is certain is that a good number of people died that day."

"......"

My mother, who had been suffering from madness, went berserk for some unknown reason and killed many people. And the Patriarch, unable to bear it, killed her himself...

—If you dig into her death, you’ll be able to find out who the traitor within the Winterbell family is.

That line lingered in my mind.

The fact that she suffered from madness must have already been known by Arkan and a few others in the family. And yet they still accepted her. That meant they believed there was a way to manage that madness.

And yet, they failed to stop her from going berserk.

I began to wonder if this had something to do with the 'traitor' Bestia mentioned.

Could someone within the Winterbell family have deliberately provoked her madness, triggering the rampage?

Maybe it was a stretch. Maybe Bestia’s words were lies, and my mother was just a murderer who couldn't control her own madness and slaughtered innocent people. Maybe, as her son, I was just trying to rationalize it in any way I could.

Even so, I’ve decided to uncover the truth of that day.

To find out whether I’m just lost in ridiculous delusions...

Or if someone's malice had truly been aimed at my mother and me.

To be honest, I don’t think these suspicions of mine are mere delusions.

Haven’t I already lived through it?

I was the one who spent most of my life as a half-cripple because of someone’s malice.

“Now that I think about it, there’s a high chance you also have the madness that woman had, isn’t there? That kind of mental illness is usually hereditary, right? Wasn’t she suffering from madness in the first place because she came from a minority tribe?”

Lin Winterbell suddenly struck right at the core.

If what she said was true, then there was a high probability that I, too, suffered from madness. Even though the soul of Van Descartes had awakened within me, this body was still Ran Winterbell’s.

Just as half of me was made up of the noble blood of Winterbell, the other half would be made up of my mother’s blood, who came from a minority tribe.

“So that’s why Arkan tried to kill me?”

There was still too little information.

First, I needed to find out exactly what kind of madness my mother’s clan had possessed.

“Fortunately, I haven’t been affected by madness so far. Perhaps it wasn’t inherited by me.”

Lin Winterbell stared straight at me and spoke.

“Really? Hmm…… From where I’m standing, it looks like the madness has already manifested. You’re completely insane, you bastard.”

“…….”

“What are you looking at? I’m right.”

“I’m just dumbfounded. From my perspective, there isn’t a single sibling who could be called normal. And among them, you, Sister, are exceptionally unhinged…. Could it be that you’re also suffering from some unknown form of madness?”

She, who had been staring straight at me, sneered with an incredulous expression.

“See? Crazy bastard. They say when someone suddenly starts acting differently from before, it means they’re about to die. There’s no doubt your madness has already manifested.”

“Sister. Do you happen to know what kind of clan our mother came from?”

“How would I know if you don’t? Seriously, you little shit, even if you’ve got some memories back, you don’t know what kind of blood your own mother had?”

“……I told you. My memories are unclear. Then is there anyone who might know this?”

“The Patriarch or Mother would know.”

“Someone else.”

“Izumi Winterbell…… that eccentric old woman, or maybe Turk?”

Chief Butler Turk Winterbell.

As the Patriarch’s closest aide, there was a high chance he knew. But whether he would readily share that information with me was another matter entirely.

Even though I was a direct descendant of the Patriarch, within the family’s hierarchy I still held no power or authority whatsoever.

There was no reason for him to show me any goodwill.

“Still, I should ask at least once.”

“Thank you for answering. Please finish your meal.”

As I stood up from my seat, she, who had been stuffing food into her mouth, asked me,

“Hey! You’re not eating this? Where are you going?”

“I’ve already heard everything I needed from you, Sister. It’s time to get some new information. I’m going to meet the chief butler.”

“Forget it, forget it. You think that old fossil is going to tell you anything if you go ask? Guess it’s because you’re still young. You really don’t know the people of Winterbell yet. That old chief butler is, in some sense, the most meticulous bastard in this household. Without the Patriarch’s permission, he wouldn’t even tell you what he ate for breakfast.”

Was it really necessary to go that far……?

“I’m telling you, it’ll be a waste of time. You’d at least have to be the first or second child before he’d even exchange a few words with you. Anyway, maybe it’s because the family’s like that, but all the servants are equally prickly.”

“What, well, I should still give it a try. Thanks for the advice.”

“Tsk. Idiot. Doesn’t listen to a damn thing.”

Just before I opened the door to leave the room, I looked back at her and said,

“Oh, and... be careful of poison.”

“Poison? What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden? Hey! Hey! Where are you going! Come back here!”

“You’ve built up immunity to most poisons by now, haven’t you? So it should be fine. But if anything happens, it’s best to act quickly. You might end up with a crippled leg like I did.”

I could hear Lin Winterbell swearing behind me, but I ignored her and stepped out of the room.

Of course, there was no poison. I was just pissed off watching her stuff her face without a care in the world.

---

In front of Chief Butler Turk’s office.

Back in the day, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of coming here. But now, things were different. The servants I passed in the hallway greeted me politely.

“Greetings, Lord Ran.”

“If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to call on us.”

It was proof that the rumors surrounding me were beginning to change.

I had eyes and ears too, so I had a rough idea of what kinds of things were being said.

Ever since the mission to rescue Ron Winterbell, the public perception of me had taken quite a positive turn. At first, rumors ran wild—that I’d made a deal with a demon, that I used black magic, that I dabbled in forbidden rituals—but now, I had become a miracle man who had overcome even disability through sheer effort.

Some still looked at me with suspicion, and I was sure others would continue spreading nasty rumors. But I didn’t care. This was just the beginning, and I would continue to expand my influence.

Knock knock.

I knocked on the door.

“Turk, this is Ran Winterbell. I have something to discuss. May I come in?”

“……”

No response.

‘Is this a rejection after all?’

After waiting about five seconds, I was just about to turn away when a voice came from inside.

“Youngest Young Master, you’ve come. Please, come in.”

A positive response—unexpected.

I opened the door and stepped inside. Turk, who had been seated at his desk, stood up to greet me.

Of course, that typically emotionless expression of his remained unchanged.

An elderly man in a butler’s uniform.

The shape of well-balanced muscles was clearly visible.

‘Just how strong is this man?’

There were a few individuals in the household whose ranking in the family hierarchy hadn’t been officially recorded—Turk was one of them.

In the history of the Winterbell family, Turk Winterbell was the only outsider to have ever been granted the family name. In the past, he had fought on the battlefield alongside Arkan, and now, he was the man Arkan trusted most.

‘If I used Makina to launch a surprise attack... could I win?’

I tried to gauge the outcome of a fight with him.

My odds of victory were about twenty percent.

In other words, I’d die eight times out of ten.

Of course, this was assuming I launched a surprise attack using Makina. And even that was just my one-sided estimate—it wasn’t certain.

“You’ve grown stronger. Your rate of growth is remarkable.”

“…Thanks for the compliment.”

“The First Young Master also began to grow rapidly at a certain point in time. He was always gifted, but not at the level he is now.”

Turk suddenly began praising Ryan Winterbell. He spoke at length about how exceptional his martial prowess was, the qualities he possessed as a ruler, how he wasn’t just strong in combat but also had a noble character, and the kind of praise he received from the public.

Ryan Winterbell.

The most likely candidate to become the next heir of the Winterbell family.

The eldest son of Arkan Winterbell, and the fourth strongest in the family hierarchy.

At present, he was traveling across the continent, carrying out missions entrusted to him by the Patriarch, and his reputation was so great that even in this place, his outstanding achievements were well-known.

‘I do remember him treating me quite well.’

While most of my siblings had shown open hostility toward me, even within my limited memories, Ryan Winterbell had left a genuinely good impression. He always smiled at me, and when I was young, he had even given me sword lessons.

If Lux Winterbell was the moon, then Ryan Winterbell was the sun.

Aside from some absurd rumors related to his hair color, there was hardly any flaw in Lux Winterbell’s character or abilities, yet his influence remained overshadowed—and that was entirely due to Ryan Winterbell.

Lux possessed talent enough to be called a genius in his own right, but he was hidden in the shadow of someone even more gifted.

‘But what’s the point of bringing this up all of a sudden? Is this some kind of warning? That there’s already an outstanding successor named Ryan Winterbell, so I should give up any ambitions?’

Turk Kaligo, who had been speaking for a while, finally got to the main point.

“I seem to have gone on for a bit. Comes with age, I suppose—every now and then, I get a little carried away. So then, Young Master, what is it you wanted to discuss?”

“I want to know about my mother.”