Chapter 35

Part 10: Still, I Did Take Revenge (1)

In a dark room, only the moonlight illuminated the space.

Creak.

The floor where the bed had been sank downward.

Below the hole in the floor, a staircase led down, and in the distance, a flickering light approached.

A person emerged from below, blocking the approaching light.

His body was covered in dirt and soot.

After entering the room, he hastily examined the floor.

Finding what he was looking for, he tapped a few stones on the floor.

Creak.

The floor that had gone down rose back up.

The approaching light was blocked by the rising floor, and the heat gradually dissipated.

Click.

As the floor was sealed again, he sighed.

The moonlight shone on him as he sat on the floor.

His clothes and face were dirty, but it was clear who he was.

It was Martin, the illegitimate son of the marquis.

With a weary face, he got up and turned his head.

"Why are you here?"

"I've been here since yesterday."

I walked out from the corner and answered his question.

"Isn't this Adria's room?"

"The marquis wouldn't leave someone who leaked important secrets in place, right?"

"You knew everything. Is Adria safe?"

"Of course, I intended to kill everyone anyway. But she's in a safe place. Adria is an important link in the alliance between the Duke of Gresia and the Marquis. Unlike you, she will live a healthy life from now on."

"Hah... So in the end, only the illegitimate son is abandoned."

Though I subtly mocked him, Martin didn't care.

"Your presence here means that the group that seemed to leave this morning is still here, right? The mercenaries didn't manage to escape, did they?"

He was right. The duke's party, who had officially left the lord's castle, had secretly returned to the city.

Simon and the knights headed to the temple, the secret passage's exit, while I came to Adria's room to see the outcome.

The marquis's room was guarded by his knights, and the temple was guarded by the duke's knights, so I came to Adria's empty room.

Not only was it empty, but I also thought Martin would come to this room if he survived.

His goal was close to this room.

"Your plan failed, didn't it? Why did you come alone instead of waiting for another chance?"

He chuckled at my question.

"Are you mocking me? You knew I couldn't escape... But, I only realized that now."

Indeed, Martin had never intended to escape from the beginning.

"Well, the people I came with had different goals. They probably wanted to use me to take over the marquis's family, but my goal was revenge itself."

He looked around the room with a weary face. It was a refined room for a noblewoman.

His expression turned very dark, perhaps thinking of his sister.

"When my family was expelled because my sister was impregnated by the marquis's two beastly sons, I tried to endure it."

As expected. If it had been a normal pregnancy, they wouldn't have expelled Martin, who could have been an asset to the family.

"Even though our lives became difficult again economically, it wasn't bad to be with my family. Thanks to my abilities, I could survive as a mercenary."

He bit his lip as he spoke.

"But later, they killed my sister because she didn't abort the child, and my mother, who witnessed it, committed suicide. What else could I do when I saw my family's bodies when I returned home?"

He spoke to me as if spitting out blood.

It was a tragic story, but I neither sympathized with his feelings nor showed pity.

"From your words, it seems you want me to back off?"

He looked at the sword I was holding.

It was a new sword I had acquired after the last one broke. It was a mass-produced sword like the last one, but being new, it should hold up to some extent.

"If it were another knight, I would have finished you off quickly, but you and I are in the same position."

I shook my head.

"Hardly. You were determined to kill Adria too, so you wouldn't care about a stranger like me just because we're in the same situation."

He laughed bitterly at my words.

"Is that so... Well, to be honest, it seems difficult to break through. I couldn't gauge your strength even during our sparring. How is it possible for someone your age?"

I raised my sword. The sword, filled with mana, emitted a faint light even in the dark room.

Unlike during our sparring, I was now revealing all the mana I possessed.

The mana swirling outside my body was clashing intensely with Martin's mana.

"You didn't mess up this plan, did you? And the dwarf spy wasn't your doing, right?"

"Who knows."

My indifferent answer made him look disappointed. He stared at me in disbelief and then spoke again.

"Since you're this strong, the duke must have entrusted you with this task. But even if he treats you well, don't trust him. He's a noble, and you're just half. We are just tools, not children. When we lose our value, we'll be discarded and erased."

He tried to persuade me by comparing his situation to mine.

But there was no need to persuade me. The duke had never treated me well, and I had faced death several times.

I didn't trust the duke and had no intention of earning his approval. I just wanted to defeat those who tried to kill me and continue living.

Seeing that my expression didn't change, he raised his sword.

"So, you're determined to fight? Is that it? If we fight here, even if you win, you won't achieve your goal."

He was right. Even if I couldn't win, there would be enough time for people to notice and come to the rescue.

But I wasn't waiting here to stop him.

"No. If you answer a few questions, I'll let you pass."

"Answer and you'll let me pass?"

Martin, who was about to move, looked puzzled at my words.

"I've already achieved my goal. Whether the marquis's sons or you die, it doesn't matter to me. Either way, it will be sad for Adria."

I had no intention of doing more for the marquis's family. By saving Adria and Bianca, I had repaid my debt from my previous life.

He nodded at my words.

"You look young... Was everything you did for Adria?"

It seemed he had misunderstood. But instead of clarifying, I asked a question.

"Who is behind the mercenaries, or rather, who helped you?"

"At your age, with your skills, it's hard to understand. Are you already investigating the aftermath of a battle you've already won? Really, what kind of kid are you?"

He looked at me as if I was the strangest thing he had ever seen.

But I had seen that expression many times from others.

"Well, since it's come to this, there's no need to keep it a secret. The Count of Rafalma is backing me."

The Count of Rafalma? I shook my head.

"No, the Count of Rafalma is in the same position as you, being used."

At my words, Martin nodded.

"Is that so? Benjamin and Noah did talk about the count too casually."

He seemed to have noticed something to some extent.

"I didn't intend to investigate further. I would have even allied with the Demon King if it meant I could take revenge. Probably, no one except Noah and Benjamin knows who hired them."

Should I have gone to the temple? Now, I could only hope Simon would handle it well.

"However, Noah and Benjamin seem to have lived in the north, perhaps in the empire, before coming here. Their occasional remarks and accents had a distinct northern flavor."

"The Char Empire?"

One of the northern powers that claimed to continue the legacy of the old empire that fell after the Great War.

It was a bit far, separated by a kingdom, but it was known as a terrifying place.

I sighed at the unexpected information.

With family matters already overwhelming, a distant empire was beyond my reach. This was not something I needed to investigate.

Seeing my indifferent face, he scratched his head.

"I don't know anything else. So, are we going to fight after all?"

We were having a casual conversation, but our mana was clashing fiercely in the air.

His mana flared more sharply as he spoke.

I reined in the mana I had released.

"No. I'll let you pass."

I put away my sword and stepped back.

Martin stared at me intently.

"Letting me go will cause problems for you..."

"It won't. No one knows I'm here, and no one knows you came here."

He chuckled, understanding my meaning.

"That's right. If I don't say anything, no one will know."

Without a witness, the secret would be safe.

He reined in his mana and passed by me. Before leaving the room, he turned to me.

"Before you leave tomorrow, if the marquis offers you a gift, ask for the sword I used to be. It's incredibly sturdy, strong enough to withstand my power."

He waved at me and left the room.

He must have heard from a female mercenary that my sword had been damaged.

Perhaps it was a way to thank me for letting him go safely.

But I doubted the marquis would have the presence of mind to give such a gift.

If Martin succeeded, the marquis would be too busy with the funeral to think about gifts.

Should I go out and stop him now?

While I was thinking, the sound of swords clashing and shouts came from a distance.

"Intruders!"

"Assassins! Protect the young masters!"

Amid the shouts, Martin yelled.

"Hahaha! What made you think you could run, you filthy siblings of mine!"

"Stop him!"

"Let's fall into hell together and be together forever!"

"Don't come near me!"

The shouts and screams continued, but I left Adria's room and headed to the guest room.

* * *

After a while, I learned the situation from a soldier running down the corridor.

It seemed Martin's revenge was half successful.

The marquis's eldest son was killed by his sword, and the second son, though in danger, survived with the help of a priest, losing an arm.

Would the marquis's successor now be the surviving second son?

It didn't matter to me who it was.

As expected, Martin died there.

After killing the marquis's eldest son, he cut down four of the knights guarding the brothers and was killed by other knights before he could behead the marquis's second son.

For an illegitimate noble who had been expelled from the marquis's family, it was a remarkable feat, but no one spoke of it afterward.

The marquis had sealed people's mouths.

The eldest son was declared to have died of illness, and the second son's injury was said to have happened during training.

Simon and the people from the duke's family had to leave without attending the funeral to avoid spreading rumors about their return.

And I received a sword as a gift from the marquis.

The marquis offered a gift to seal my lips, and I asked for Martin's sword.

It was a very large sword, not suitable for my size.

Simon grumbled about me asking for a sword I couldn't use, but it was a memento for me.

Before the group set off again, I visited the mercenary district one last time.

There was someone I needed to meet before leaving.