Chapter 333
Chapter 333
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.70 – Reasons Why the Knight's Disgust is Justified (2)
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Dozens of years ago.
In other words, back when the current Duke Galahad's castle was still called 'Pendragon'.
The then-Crown Prince Blake, who was barely in his teens, already had a woman in his life.
None other than...
- A fairy woman who had descended in the form of a human.
The most noble woman in the world.
He had fallen in love with a fairy, the holiest being in this world, and from the royal family's perspective at the time, it was nothing short of a blessing.
Just as the founding Knight King of Pendragon had received the blessing of the noble white silver dragon, Prince Blake had won the love of a fairy.
Receiving the love of a fairy, nobler and greater than any other race, was far more impressive and honorable than loving a woman from even the finest noble house.
People simply blessed the love between Prince Blake and the fairy woman.
...However.
"There were plenty who were jealous of it. For the great nobles already crushed under the authority of the War God, the fact that even a fairy had sided with Pendragon was utterly burdensome. So some of them..."
"Tried to seduce the fairy?"
"Exactly."
"...Are they insane? Or do they just lack a brain?"
Fairies are different from humans.
For them, affection is not a volatile substance like it is for humans; it's like a gem that remains eternally, preserving its form forever.
Thus, trying to steal a fairy's affection was not just foolish—it was downright psychotic.
And sure enough.
"Many who schemed like that vanished without a trace. It was partly revenge from His Highness for touching his beloved, but the royal family was at the height of its power back then, more than enough to overwhelm all the great nobles combined. The outcome was inevitably ruin."
Would you believe that those fools' story even made it into the textbooks as a historical lesson on human folly and desire?
It was ironic, a stupidity that should never be repeated—but as they say, history repeats itself among fools.
"No one saw it coming. Who would have thought some idiot would genuinely fall for another's woman—the lady, no less—and even court her?"
Rosess. Back then, he was just one of the heirs to House Roengrin, a mere boy. Like the other fools, an incident occurred where he courted the fairy.
What set him apart from the other fools was...
"That madman was sincere about it."
Unlike the others, Rosess Roengrin had truly fallen for the fairy woman.
Her transcendent beauty and allure, her gaze and scent.
He confessed to all of it, and as a result...
"It caused an uproar. His Highness tried to kill Rosess, but the previous head of House Roengrin at the time was a man of fine character and on good terms with the War God. He intervened and begged for mercy, so fortunately, they got off with losing a few territories. The problem, though..."
"?"
"...Even after His Highness and the lady formally married, the courtship continued. That was the real issue."
"Th-that's not just a problem; that's a full-blown scandal, isn't it? And that duke let a guy like that live? Really...?"
"......No way."
That day, Blake lost his reason and tore out Rosess's arms and eyes, then severed both his legs.
He even crushed his lungs, and just as he was about to take his heart and throat next.
"...The temple and House Roengrin stepped in to stop His Highness, and he survived by swearing never to approach the lady again. Afterward, that mad bastard Rosess managed to regenerate his arms and legs with holy magic, but he couldn't fully heal his crushed lungs, so he suffers from asthma. His regenerated eyes aren't perfect either—one is completely blind. Not that I pity him; he brought it on himself."
Of course, Rosess was spared partly because of the temple and House Roengrin, but also because it coincided with the turbulent time when Blake was chosen by the demon sword and stepped down as crown prince.
The War God was also bedridden in disappointment over losing a promising heir, so in a way, Rosess surviving was a miracle born of countless coincidences and strokes of luck.
Thus, Rosess should have lived in gratitude.
Even with his permanent asthma and loss of sight in one eye, he had survived thanks to others' mercy.
He should have lived quietly, like a dead rat.
But...!
"What a lunatic. Keeps pulling crazy stunts without knowing his place."
Now, years later, House Roengrin was rampaging like mad.
From modifying holy knights into half-demons to collaborating with the Blood Crusaders—it was all infuriating enough already.
And the day before, they had even targeted Irene Windler, Duke Galahad's daughter!
In truth, they had cut off their tail to avoid war, but if there was a solid pretext, Galahad was ready to strike House Roengrin at any moment.
No, even now.
"Ever since the holy knights' intrusion into the academy, Galahad has been slowly tightening the noose around House Roengrin. Starting with their funding sources, quietly eliminating their allied groups...-."
"No need to tell me. Handle your own brutal business."
"Brutal? It's just self-defense."
"......"
"Anyway, if things continue like this, House Roengrin will collapse on its own within two years. We have more than enough power for that."
"......"
Even a ruined rich man lasts three generations, yet here she was, boldly claiming they could topple a great noble house incomparable to mere merchants in just two years. Lee Han could only stick out his tongue in amazement.
Her words didn't sound like empty boasts at all.
'If possible, never make enemies with Galahad...'
He wanted to sleep peacefully.
Learning of the deep-seated grudge between Galahad and House Roengrin made Lee Han feel validated in his suspicions toward Roengrin once again. On the contrary,
"I see. So that's why House Roengrin has been growing destitute lately? What an absurd situation."
The woman who had been listening silently from behind the screen like a folding partition nodded along.
Judia Pierre.
Having finally glimpsed hope of escaping this ridiculous dress, her eyes gleamed.
Since Galahad had declared House Roengrin the culprits hiding the Brass Knights, there was no need to attend the party anymore.
She wore a rare satisfied smile, but...
"What are you talking about? You still have to go to the party."
"...Why?"
Her smile vanished abruptly, her face stiffening with displeasure.
However, as Lee Han continued with a firm expression, her complaints fizzled out trivially.
"To prepare for the unexpected. Honestly, there's over a ninety percent chance House Roengrin is hiding those brass or scrap metal knights, but you never know. What if the remaining ten percent means they're holed up somewhere else?"
"......"
"Just because they're lunatics doesn't mean they're idiots. They incite crowds well and have cunning strategists who use their heads. They're definitely plotting something, so someone has to keep moving in the open."
"...Does it have to be me?"
"Who else if not you? Before that, you're useless for anything else anyway."
"......"
"Plus, how could I take an unstable element who might betray us anytime into enemy territory? If she causes troll-like trouble, it'd just be a headache."
"......"
She made an exaggerated expression of injustice, but Lee Han didn't blink.
Though she'd never admit it, this red-haired former heretic inquisitor was unmistakably a time bomb waiting to explode.
'Her fanatic personality is one thing, but the other side is an even bigger bomb.'
The dream demon personality—what could be called her 'true self,' Judia's personality—was, to put it bluntly, an irredeemably cruel [Villain].
While the Pierre personality was selfish to the extreme but had some guilt and morals, Judia's personality was a villain who would do anything to fulfill her goals and greed.
'Better to keep her among people.'
That way, he could watch her closely, and it would be easier to handle any incidents.
However...
"...?"
A stranger woman's voice emerged from Pierre's mouth, opposing Lee Han's plan.
"You bitch?!"
"Don't talk shit, you monster!"
"Shut your evil trap, you fiend! You were quiet for a while, and now you show up so shamelessly...!"
"!!!"
"Y-you...!"
She fumed, then suddenly laughed, only to fume again in a cycle—truly, what a sight.
"Squeak?"
"Ignore it. Her head just hurts."
"Squeak..."
She looked like a lunatic with flowers in her hair, and even the flying squirrel Arpi ended up pitying her.
A scene that even beasts couldn't help but sympathize with.
Suddenly putting on a one-woman show with two voices, but those who knew the complex backstory of Judia Pierre understood it wasn't acting.
"A mysterious race, succubus. I'd only seen them in documents, but seeing one in person is truly fascinating."
"Chit, chit."
"No, a flying squirrel that understands speech and can draw pictures and write seems even more amazing..."
Like any mysterious race, they each had unique abilities.
Barbarians gained muscle instead of fat no matter how much they ate and slept.
Dwarves were all born with artistic talent.
Centaur-like or merfolk animal-humans excelled in abilities suited to their forms.
And dream demons, who wielded powers over dreams and desires, were renowned among mysterious races for their exceptionally outstanding—and dangerous—abilities.
One could only imagine the peril if a dream demon misused their powers with ill intent.
In a sense, they were like vampires, forever eyed suspiciously for when they might cross into monster territory.
"...I apologize."
Pierre's personality flared up again, sparking another quarrel, but her mind wasn't strong enough to handle the dream demon personality now fully awakened.
Judia's mere presence acted like her Achilles' heel, endlessly unsettling her spirit.
In that situation.
Judia addressed Lee Han with bewitching eyes, and at her words...
Smooth.
...Far from talking, he reached for his axe first, making Judia freak out.
"You think you have the rank to deal with me? How impertinent."
"Sorry doesn't end your social life, does it?"
"Joking."
"Laugh. I said it was a joke."
She laughed.
It was almost a reflexive laugh, utterly devoid of soul—an empty one.
Her eyes seemed to well up with tears, and the others watched Lee Han and the dream demon with odd looks.
The world's most arrogant being using polite speech and groveling on the floor like that—it was baffling.
...What on earth had he done with that axe?
"-So, what's this mutually beneficial proposal?"
At Lee Han's question signaling the end of jokes, the thoroughly cowed Judia hesitantly opened her mouth.
It wasn't particularly strange.
Dual personality or not, Pierre and Judia were one body and mind.
Sharing memories meant they knew everything there was to know.
And moreover...
She had been kidnapped by rogue mages from the Blood Crusaders and subjected to human experiments. Though she had created the Pierre personality to offload that trauma, she had undeniably been a victim of torture-like experiments before that. So her interest wasn't odd.
Thus...
"Hmm."
Every time Lee Han twitched his axe, her confidence seemed to drain, but he got the point.
A plausible argument.
She wanted to join the revenge against her past grudges.
'Settling grudges is the way of the jianghu.'
It was a storyline Lee Han quite liked.
The classic revenge arc against one's enemies.
...However.
"What's the real reason?"
"I can see your eyes darting, you sly wench. You want something else, don't you? That's why your tongue's so long. Spill it. What's the real desire? No bullshit about grudges or revenge—give me the honest truth."
"How'd I know? A vicious creature like you wouldn't scheme without an ulterior motive."
"I hear it even if you don't say it. You remind me of a spellcaster."
Judia didn't know that comparing her to a mage was the worst insult in Lee Han's repertoire, worse than any curse, but she sensed the poor treatment and wanted to pout. Fearing the gleaming axe, she raised both hands in surrender instead.
And so...
With words that courted a beating, she revealed her true feelings and intentions. After about two minutes of hearing her plan, his reaction was...
"-What a truly vicious bitch."
A sigh of disgust-tinged admiration escaped him.
Gaining the realization that not just anyone could be a villainess.