Chapter 256
Chapter: 256
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 256
>Chapter Title: Attic (5)
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>Orden couldn’t tell Seongjin the full details of the past events. They were long gone by now, and besides, they were a massive stain on the family’s honor.
He merely glossed over it: his grandmother, the former countess, had taken a dislike to young Amelia. Because of that, Amelia had been treated as an illegitimate child and shunned by everyone in the count’s household for years. And the Holy Emperor had visited the count’s estate and punished the servants.
But even from that brief explanation, Seongjin could infer a great deal on his own.
The way she’d treasured a clump of straw like it was a doll, or called a pile of trash a treasure chest.
Above all, Orden’s darkened expression said it all. The guy was simple-minded and had zero talent for lying.
‘It wasn’t just shunning—there was more to it!’
But at that point, Seongjin didn’t think it was that big a deal.
Her father had come to pick up his sister, after all. He must have handled it somehow. And now, Amelia was living happily in the imperial palace.
“So what happened to your grandmother?”
He was just a little curious about what punishment she’d received. He remembered what the countess had said when he first visited the Zigsmunt territory.
-Mother’s not feeling well this year, so she couldn’t attend the birthday celebration.
That implied the old hag was still living comfortably in the count’s estate.
Well, Zigsmunt was such a powerful noble house that even her father couldn’t just punish her like any ordinary servant.
And he wouldn’t have held a formal trial to publicly expose how his daughter had been mistreated—something that could cast a shadow on the imperial family.
‘But he wouldn’t have done nothing….’
Orden’s response was unexpected.
“…A blessing?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Huh?
Seongjin tilted his head in confusion.
“Why on earth?”
Why bless someone you’d be justified in beating to death?
“I don’t really know either…”
Well, he hadn’t expected an answer from the dim-witted Orden anyway. Seongjin looked down at the box’s contents with a sour expression.
‘What meaning could this junk possibly have for Sis now?’
If he wanted, he could fill her room with dolls or shower her with expensive jewelry sets.
It was just that his sister had chuunibyou tastes, so she probably wouldn’t appreciate it much.
‘But if she even named them, they must have been precious to her back then.’
Who was he to judge someone else’s memories and assign them value? He’d have to casually ask her about it sometime.
With that decided, Seongjin carefully tucked the broken box into his bosom.
“Anyway, thanks. You kept Sis’s stuff safe all this time.”
Orden bowed his head stiffly. Seongjin didn’t miss the faint flicker of relief and regret on his face.
Yeah, he’s reluctant to part with these rags because they’re Sis’s, huh?
Seongjin hardened his expression and said to Orden,
“I trust you’re not getting any funny ideas. You know your place, even if you are simple.”
“Huh?”
“You do know, right? You and Amelia Sis are blood-related. Cousins.”
“……!”
Orden froze in shock, then suddenly flailed his hands in denial.
“N-no! Absolutely not! I’d never think something so outrageous…!”
“Hmm, is that so?”
If that was the case, fine.
Seongjin nodded and headed out of the attic. But then Orden muttered under his breath from behind, loud enough to be heard.
“Strictly speaking, we’re not full cousins…”
What’d you say, you punk?
Seongjin whipped around and glared, and Orden hastily bowed his head.
“Of course, I’m not saying I have any such intentions, Your Highness!”
“Good. You’d better not.”
Or you’ll never set foot near the capital again.
Seongjin snorted and turned toward the stairs—
“But the current king and queen of Brittany are first cousins once removed…”
…This guy’s really asking to die by my hand!
By the time Seongjin finally left the attic after grabbing Orden, berating him, and threatening him, some time had passed.
“No way!”
“Your Highness, I didn’t say anything just now…”
“Even if dirt gets in my eyes, no way!”
“…….”
On the way back to his room.
Seongjin kept nagging him with every step, and Orden’s face grew noticeably gloomy. Then, with a deep sigh, he muttered something else!
“…But Your Highness, the most important thing is Princess Amelia’s own feelings…”
Argh! You punk! Let’s you and me die today!
Seongjin grabbed Orden by the collar and shook him back and forth when—
“Orden!”
A stern shout suddenly came from behind.
Startled, he turned to see an elderly woman leaning on a cane, glaring at them with piercing eyes.
“…Grandmother!”
Orden straightened up seriously. Seongjin, catching on, released his collar and turned.
‘Grandmother?’
Right. This old bat was Orden’s grandmother, the former countess who’d mistreated Sis.
Seongjin eyed her up and down with displeasure.
She wore a casual silk nightgown with just a shawl over it, but her stern face looked harsh and rigid. Her hair hung loosely and messily over her shoulders, yet her posture, propped up by the cane, was elegantly straight.
She looked much older compared to her husband. They probably weren’t that far apart in age, though. Old man Vincent was a Decaron Knight, so his aging was delayed.
‘She’s supposed to be ill, but she looks fine enough.’
Seongjin stared at her bluntly, feeling no need to show respect first, when the old woman scolded him sternly.
No, not Orden—him.
“Orden! How dare you harass the family knight in broad daylight like this? What kind of shameless behavior is that? Do you have any awareness as Zigsmunt’s firstborn son?”
“…….”
“How long will you act like a child? Your brother Emit is twice as mature as you!”
Seongjin glanced at Orden in bewilderment.
‘She’s supposed to be unwell—has she got a headache or something?’
‘My apologies. Grandmother has been showing slight signs of dementia lately. Servants usually stay with her, but she must have snuck out during her nap.’
Orden approached her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and soothed her gently.
“Grandmother, why are you out here alone again? Let’s go back to your room. I’ll escort you.”
“No, you fool! I, the Countess of Zigsmunt, am personally disciplining my grandson—why is the family knight interfering? Get out of my sight!”
The old woman glared at Orden and swung her cane viciously. It was a sharp swing.
Thwack!
Orden quickly grabbed the cane after it hit his arm. As an aura user, it probably didn’t hurt much, but a flash of hurt crossed his face anyway.
“Grandmother, please calm down.”
“Insolent! How dare a mere flat knight block a noble’s path!”
Unable to wrench the cane free, she clenched her fist and began pummeling Orden’s back and head mercilessly.
Thud thud thud!
“Let go! Let go, you wretch!”
“Grandmother! It’s me, Orden!”
“You filthy thing, even so!”
Wow, this old lady’s got some temper.
Even if she couldn’t recognize her grandson, swinging violence at anyone like that.
“Tsk tsk.”
Seongjin clicked his tongue softly, but somehow she heard it and whipped her head around to bore into him.
Her once dignified bearing was gone. Her disheveled hair and twisted face made her look like a demon peeking out from hell.
“…Those eyes!”
Frowning at the ominous vibe, Seongjin watched as she tilted her head sharply and thrust her face right up to his.
Her huge, unfocused eyes held a madness beyond mere anger.
Staring straight at him, she finally bit her lip and spoke.
“Yes, I know those eyes. They’re that vulgar witch’s eyes!”
…What?
Seongjin stared at her, a chill running down his spine.
“Grandmother! You mustn’t! This is His Imperial Highness, Prince of the Holy Empire!”
Orden grabbed her shoulders in panic and yanked her back hard, but once her fit started, her madness was unstoppable.
“Argh! Let go! There’s that wench! The filthy thing that lured Vincent outside—she’s right there!”
“Grandmother! Hey! Isn’t anyone here!? Take Grandmother away, quick!”
“You think I’ll let that thing be? I’ll kill her! Torment her until she withers away and dies!”
Raaargh!
Seongjin stood silently glaring at the deranged old woman barking like a dog, spittle flying.
‘Yes, I should have realized sooner.’
Regret and self-loathing surged through him, overshadowed by raw fury.
Someone with that temper mistreated Amelia Sis. I should have questioned what that entailed from the start.
And soon, he got his answer. Held back by Orden and the arriving maids, the old woman twisted her neck to glare upside-down at Seongjin, grinding her teeth.
“You vulgar bastard! Why won’t you die no matter how much I beat you!”
“…….”
“Why don’t you die of starvation? Why don’t you die with your limbs broken? Why do you keep clinging to life! Are you truly the devil’s seed?!”
So that’s how it was.
She’d glared at his little sister with those eyes, cursed her like that, beaten her like that!
“Haha.”
Seongjin hadn’t realized it, but his mouth let out a small laugh unconsciously.
Flinch. Sensing a sudden eerie aura, Orden looked at him in alarm.
But Seongjin was no longer aware of his surroundings. He just gripped the overwhelming emotions and focused entirely on the monster in human skin before him.
That boundless rage bordered on ecstasy. His excited hands trembled, and his lips stretched into a grin.
“Tell me.”
A faint silver gleam began flickering in Seongjin’s eyes.
“Everything you did to Sis. Every last detail.”
She froze.
The ranting old woman halted, stiffening as she stared at Seongjin.
No more sounds escaped her frozen lips, but Seongjin could hear her soul’s words through her eyes.
The woman kicking a little girl with pointed heels, slapping a little girl’s cheeks endlessly, yanking a little girl’s hair and beating her insanely….
Countless scenes flashed rapidly before him.
The surging emotions, on the verge of exploding, brought a sharp expansion of consciousness.
Sounds faded far away as his vision uncontrollably expanded in all directions.
“…Your Highness?”
Orden, sensing something off from the strange light in Seongjin’s eyes, released his grandmother and approached.
“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”
Seongjin’s mind wandered blankly at Orden’s distant-sounding voice.
‘Right, Orden. What did Father say when he saw this senile old bat back then?’
Orden had never told him, but somehow Seongjin knew. Or rather, it felt like he’d known for a long time.
-Make sure you’re remembered in Amelia’s happiest moments before her. So my children feel no guilt over what befalls you later.
Yes, I understand Father’s will. In that instant, Seongjin grasped everything clearly.
The limit of punishment one soul could endure. The karma had fallen just short of the worst penalty, balanced precariously by someone’s blessing back then.
‘This is my chance!’
A chance to exact the worst revenge only he could. Father, knowing he wouldn’t hold back, had left it for him.
How could he not be thrilled!
Gasp.
Orden recoiled instinctively from an inexplicable terror.
Was it his imagination? The prince’s demeanor now resembled the Holy Emperor holding little Amel long ago. Those strangely glowing eyes were just as chilling!
Seongjin, relieved, unleashed his pent-up rage on the old woman with abandon—utterly unrestrained.
[You will never be forgiven for your sins, not in life or eternity. You’ll never sleep peacefully until you die. Even after death, your soul will find no rest.]
Ugh.
The old woman groaned as if deflating, struck in her soul. But this was just the beginning.
[No one will know of your death. No one will remember you after. Even in death, your soul will shatter into a thousand, ten thousand pieces, suffering a thousand, ten thousand times more. And that torment will last forever.]
Kreeee.
Foam bubbled from her mouth as her eyes rolled back, and panicked maids laid her in the corridor amid chaos.
Madam! Pull yourself together, Madam!
Haha. Feeling oddly cheerful, Seongjin unleashed the final curse.
[You’ll beg and plead for oblivion, but you’ll never have that luxury. Your soul will revive intact, only to repeat the agony.]
No [rest] will ever be granted to you.
“Your Highness…….”
The curse poured out not as words, but as thoughts. Etched deep into her soul.
No one heard it, but Orden right beside him felt it. He knew the prince had just done something terrifying.
“What… what did you just do…….”
Seongjin turned at Orden’s trembling voice and smiled pleasantly, his eyes still flashing eerie silver-gray.
Good. I can wait as long as it takes for that thing to die. For the ripest, perfect revenge. To repay Sis’s pain a hundred, a thousandfold.
‘Time to head back soon, or it’ll be dangerous.’
The endlessly rising euphoria and expanding consciousness.
It felt amazing, but Seongjin knew he had to stop. He didn’t know how, but he had to find a way.
Still, he didn’t forget the final touch, completing the last precarious drop of karma.
“So, old hag. I’ll bless you too. May you stay healthy until your remaining days run out and you die.”
Click.
It was as if he heard the perfectly tuned karma lock into place in his mind. The chains trapping that pitiable soul in eternal torment were complete.
“Hahaha.”
“Your Highness.”
“Haha, why the look, Orden? I blessed your grandmother, just like Father did.”
Hahaha.
He laughed outwardly, but inwardly, Seongjin grew worried.
‘Oh no. I can’t stop this. How do I pull back?’
Or did he even need to?
Because he…
Tap!
Someone gently gripped his shoulder. Before Seongjin could sense their presence, they’d approached swiftly.
Seongjin turned.
“Sir Sharon?”
He met the exorcist’s brightly glowing silver-gray eyes. His raised lips lowered, and his vision slowly returned to normal.
The excitement ebbed calmly, his mind settling back into place.
“…Father.”