Chapter 43 : Chapter 43

Chapter 43 - The End of the Snake

“My Lord.”

“……”

“My Lord. Please wake up.”

“Eh…? Uegh…?”

Fourth Son Jamie, his eyes not fully open, let out a half-formed sound.

The suddenly brightened room. His body not yet awake. The large teddy bear he had hugged to sleep.

As the three things fell into place, the Fourth Son finally managed to sit up.

“Ehhh… what is it, Butler Uncle. It’s still nighttime…”

“The Fifth Son has come to visit.”

“Dante…?”

Fwoosh—!

He threw the teddy bear aside and changed into a top and bottom with the speed of light.

His messy hair was a bit of a flaw, but he managed to tidy it up somehow by wetting it with water.

“Ahem. Why did he come?”

“I heard it’s about Councilor Hinek.”

“He resolved it quite quickly, didn’t he? Or did he come to ask this older brother for help?”

“Whatever it is, it does not seem trivial. He knocked out two of our Cursed Knights who were trying to turn him away because it was late at night.”

“Heh heh. They blocked the path of a blood relative, so that could happen. But I'd like to hear why he did it, though. In front of my castle, no less.”

The Butler cleared his throat and gestured toward the door with his eyes.

“He is in the reception room. Shall I send someone to ask him to come here?”

“I don't think that will be necessary.”

Kwoong—

The door to the private room opened.

He neither invited him in nor asked him to come this way.

He had even knocked out the guards who blocked entry because it was night, and the number had now increased.

Two objects lying collapsed beyond the bedroom door were visible.

The Butler frowned.

“Fifth Son. If this is a report on the deal, you could have come after the sun rose. To come in the middle of the night and even knock out our people. It is rude.”

The Fourth Son did not rebuke him.

He just smiled faintly and offered a seat.

“Want to sit down first? Seeing your clothes so torn, it seems you must have had a tough battle.”

The Fourth Son snapped his fingers.

“Butler Uncle. Bring something for my brother to wear.”

“Understood.”

The Butler quickly brought a soft robe.

Once he put it on, the rags that his clothes had become were hidden, and his appearance as a blood relative became stronger.

The same was true for his blood-red eyes, which shone even more brightly, perhaps because it was night.

“Now, Dante. You said you came here about Councilor Hinek. Did you kill him?”

“I just succeeded.”

“You took the ledger. Did you fail to decipher the curse? So it came down to force in the end?”

Questions flew at me.

First of all.

“I apologize for visiting in the dead of night and having to deliver such news first. Older Brother.”

“Hm? What news?”

The Fourth Son’s eyes blinked.

On the other hand, the Fifth Son's red eyes turned to someone else.

Toward a vile snake.

“Your subordinate tried to kill me. That is the reason I came tonight.”

Although I didn't specify who the subordinate was.

Those red pupils pointed precisely at one person.

“…Fifth Son. What in the world are you trying to say? I did suggest entrusting you with the task of deciphering the ledger, but that would not be an assassination attempt.”

“Right. It isn't.”

That was a reasonable request and a reasonable thing to grant.

After all, hadn't I raised my curse resistance to the maximum based on that?

I even obtained an epic characteristic.

In this regard, I was inwardly grateful.

But the problem came after that.

“Butler. Did you not join hands with Councilor Hinek in the shadows?”

“Your imagination is excessive.”

The denial came out as if he had been waiting for it.

“Do you have any proof that I did? No, in the first place, why would I do such a thing?”

The Butler thumped his chest with his white-gloved hand.

“I am the proud Butler of the Fourth Son of Millesdusk. My Lord wanted the Citadel, and I have a duty to offer him that Citadel.”

I listened closely.

I could hear his heartbeat.

It was a remarkably even rhythm.

I had never seen a human lie so well among all I had met so far.

A tongue that mixed truth and lies to create a subtle truth.

That tongue deceived itself first and thus spoke with only sincerity.

“My Lord. I am Raygon Mystics, the older brother of your mother. Why would I interfere with the Fifth Son and ruin your work, my Lord?”

His eyes even welled up with moisture as if he was truly wronged.

The Fourth Son stared at him blankly before turning his eyes away.

“That’s what he says. Even if it’s my brother’s word, it’s a bit much to do this without any proof. Dante must have something, right?”

The Butler laughed inwardly.

‘Impossible. I left not a single trace. An anonymous report is literally anonymous. There’s no way to track it, and no one saw me meeting Hinek.’

It was truly flawless.

Along with his faintly smiling lips, his eyes curved like a crescent moon.

“Anything is fine. If there is something to prove my sin, if I have sinned, I will accept it meekly.”

“I will ask.”

“As you wish.”

I questioned him, who still wore a smile.

“Is what you are wearing now your work uniform?”

“That is correct. I am the Fourth Son’s right-hand man. There is no reason for me to take it off, anytime, anywhere.”

“Then, that’s settled.”

Ziiiing—

The red eyes changed to a bright yellow.

The Fourth Son watched as if it were fascinating, but only the Butler, who knew its identity, flinched.

“This is Councilor Hinek's curse. Gu'an.”

The pupils shining with a yellow light stared intently at the suspect.

“The moment it focuses and the will is applied, an impact occurs there.”

“…So what are you trying to say?”

“The point is. That something remains even without an impact.”

“I don't understand. A personal opinion is not called evidence.”

“There’s no need to understand, and it's not an opinion. We just need to see for ourselves.”

I focused my magical power into the Gu'an.

I amplified it to its limit, pouring in more power than necessary.

If the trigger were pulled here, a person could be blown away, but that wasn't the goal right now.

Swaaaaaaaaaa—

My eyes grew brighter and brighter.

The magical power that brightened my eyes also gradually visualized, forming grains.

Normally, using magical power until sand-like grains appeared would be the height of inefficiency.

But now, that inefficiency showed it.

Who the culprit was.

“Butler Uncle. Didn't you like your work uniform? To go around with all these pretty powders on you.”

“…!!”

He instinctively looked down at his clothes.

On his uniform jacket, of course, but also on his legs and shoes.

Golden sand-like particles of magical power were stuck all over, glittering.

They were the footprints left by Gu'an.

“M-my Lord. No. This is…! Ab-absolutely not!”

“Hm? What isn’t? What in the world isn't?”

The Fourth Son was still smiling, his eyes still gentle.

He didn't even get up from his seat.

Just quietly.

He looked at the Butler who had been acting as his loyal subordinate.

The green eyes that resembled his mother's were ruthless, even though they were clearly smiling.

They were cold and sharp like icicles.

The illusion of blades being pointed at his entire body sent shivers down his spine.

He stepped back without realizing it.

With a trembling hand, he pointed at one person.

“It-it's him! He is trying to divide you and me, to create discord…! He is framing me to undermine you, my Lord!”

“Yes. Butler Uncle, you're just Uncle now. My uncle has always been a good talker since way back.”

He stood up, brushing off his hands.

“Uncle, you were never my person, but my mother's person. Right? You were just loyal to me because I was my mother’s son.”

“Y-you misunderstand! I, Raygon! I have served you, my Lord, with a clear conscience before the heavens!”

“Why don't you talk after getting those sparkles off? This is getting annoying. I listen to my mother, not just any adult, you know?”

The Fourth Son took his hands out of his pockets.

The way he rubbed them together was like a chef in front of an anticipated ingredient.

In reality, it would probably be no different.

For during this dawn, Butler Raygon Mystics would be cut, deboned, and trimmed.

“M-my Lord…! I am your mother's brother! P-please, for the sake of your mother, my sister, just this once…!!”

“Hmph. How can you have less grit than Mr. Kerard? At least he went to his death speaking only the truth. Geez… I have no luck with people either.”

“My Lord…!! I-I will prove it! I will definitely return and to you, my Lord…!”

As if flung, the Butler ran toward the outer wall.

A sordid and foolish escape.

Having already entered the whale's belly, could he pierce through it?

He would only be slowly digested.

Clatter—

A chain made of dozens of femurs joined together.

The chain of white bones easily bound the prey, tying up its limbs again and again.

It coiled around him tightly, like a snake capturing its prey.

“Dante. Sorry, but can you come next time? I think I'll be a bit busy today.”

“Of course.”

“Ah! Next time, I'll come to your place, Dante! I feel bad about what happened, and I want to see my brother's house too!”

“Umpf umpf!!”

A level of harmony that was hard to believe just minutes before a person was about to be brutally dealt with.

The Youngest Son nodded.

“Of course. However, I will be leaving the Pantheon soon, so I will extend an invitation from my side once it’s completed.”

“Really, really? That would be great! Dante's first nest! I'm excited to see what it's like!”

The Fourth Son smiled unchangingly even at the words that I had accumulated enough power to leave the Pantheon.

This meant that for now, he could still be killed at any time.

At least in the Fourth Son's eyes, I wasn't even considered a threat.

Would it be the same at the next meeting, and the meeting after that?

That was unknown.

“I'll be on my way. Have a good night.”

“Okay! You too, Dante, get home safe!”

Creeak— Thud—

The door that the Youngest Son had opened at will was closed by his hand.

The room was left with just the two of them, like at the beginning.

“Alright, alright. Now then, how should we cook our uncle~?”

Millesdusk, the greatest sorcerer family in the East.

Mystics, the greatest illusionist family in the East.

The legitimate son of the two families had glistening green eyes.

First, by peeling off the skin.

Rip— Riiip—

His hand gestures were unhesitant, but a corner of his heart felt bitter.

Even the person closest to him, who received his orders from the closest, was not his person.

Now, who could he trust, and with whom could he work?

Perhaps he was no different from his youngest brother, who had started with nothing.

The Fourth Son felt the bitter taste and the taste of blood entering his mouth as he stayed up through the long night.

***

Millesdusk Land Development Department.

There was no land in the East they didn't know, no land they hadn't dug with a shovel.

What kind of negative energy was rooted in this land, and which sorcery system did it match best?

The Land Development Department was where this was calculated in block units, and the Land General Manager was a madman who had memorized it all.

A letter recently flew to this man, who was at a level where he could tell if a piece of land was a propitious site just by tasting the soil.

It was from the Construction General Manager.

The content, with a little exaggeration, could be summarized in one line.

—The Youngest Son said he doesn't need a dirt-digger like you.

The General Construction Department and the Land Development Department had a strange relationship.

They were inseparable, and thus like brothers.

But like all brothers in the world, they couldn't always be on good terms.

No, there were far more times they fought and bickered.

When things didn't go well for the Construction Department, they blamed the land.

“Ah, did a local ghost lick this? The land is a bitch to dig. Those guys from the Land Development Department must have buttonholes for eyes.”

The Development Department would stubbornly tell them to stop whining and just work.

“What do those guys who only know how to step on land know? This is the only place, so build the building somehow.”

When they were together, they would pick fights, get into fights, and fistfights were a daily occurrence.

But it was a fact that all of Millesdusk's structures in the East were handled by these two departments.

But today.

A being who denied that fact head-on appeared.

“Fifth Son…”

The Land General Manager crumpled the letter.

He crumpled it tightly and then tore it to shreds.

“If anyone is outside, prepare a carriage. Our Fifth Son is going on a long journey to some unknown land, so I should at least see him off.”

Kuuuuung—

A size that couldn't be hidden by a uniform.

A giant reminiscent of a great mountain stood up, holding a shovel.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.