Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: A Treacherous Subject Can Be Useful Too
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[Five hundred years after your death, the world now faces great peril. The forces of the Dark God, which bring destruction and ruin, are secretly active, summoning demon races and Demon Kings. Yet the human nations that should be stopping them do not move at all, despite the oracles sent. It is precisely because of treacherous subjects like you from when you were alive.]
“Ah, yes. I... I had no idea five hundred years had passed. And as for someone like me... To anyone looking, I, who possess both intellect and noble dignity, am clearly superior!”
[…….]
“My apologies. I’ll be quiet.”
Beonald, who flinched instantly under the Goddess’s gaze, immediately bowed his head.
Seeing his reaction, the Goddess opened her mouth again and began to speak.
[Ahem! …They possess power and authority, yet they act tyrannically only for their own profit and desires, and they already have a stranglehold on the entire operation of the nation, so no matter how many oracles I send to the archbishops, they do nothing. Meanwhile, the darkness secretly active beneath the world is growing ever larger.]
“I’ve also seen bits and pieces of the continent’s history, myths, and legends, but in such emergency situations, didn’t you usually send something like a ‘Hero’? Of course, our era was too peaceful, so there was no such thing and I know nothing about it.”
Though a treacherous subject, Beonald was among the top nobility. To curry favor with the emperor and the imperial family, as well as other noble houses, he diligently attended not only alchemy but also plays and operas based on the continent’s history, myths, and legends, making him quite knowledgeable about various subjects.
‘Though we did preemptively suppress whenever monsters or heretics tried to cause trouble… Strange.’
According to legends, whenever the forces of the Dark God grew, there definitely existed beings called Heroes who appeared to slay them and protect the world’s peace.
[Of course, I intend to send a Hero as well. But to save the world, the martial power of a single Hero alone is insufficient. No matter how strong and capable a Hero may be, he is but one human, and he must handle the most dangerous and critical tasks; the matters stirred up by the Dark God’s followers and other humans must be resolved by each nation and its people.]
“Ah-ha, I see. Hahaha. But surely there are many in Heaven far more outstanding than I?”
[I have already sent several from among the souls of Sage Kings, Prime Ministers, and Heroes. However, considering the current state of the world, assigning only people of the bright side will not allow all tasks to be completed within this urgent timeframe. I need someone on the dark side to help from within. That is why I need you—a treacherous subject who only looked after his own interests but was talented in various fields.]
Most treacherous subjects were incompetent yet greedy, committing all sorts of illegal acts to gain great power, flattering and bribing those in authority to cling to them. Beonald, however, was different in that his own abilities were also excellent, allowing him to manipulate the emperor, wield power as the second-in-command of a nation, and act tyrannically.
[You were exceptional as a noble, but personally, your deep expertise not only in alchemy and pharmacology but also in empirical studies and even science is particularly needed in the current situation. Though you were a treacherous subject who shook the Empire, the fact that you were not merely a parasite relying on power makes you special.]
“Well, that’s just something I picked up while doing the work required to become the family head… Hehehe. Anyway, thank you very much for recognizing my abilities. I will gladly do whatever task you command.”
After all, the only other option for Beonald was to return to Hell and be fried to a crisp, so he had no choice but to bow his head and agree to do whatever the Goddess asked.
Whatever he did, whatever situation arose, it would be better than suffering in Hell right now.
[Sigh~ It is exceedingly difficult to trust an evil person sentenced to 10,000 years in Hell, but since the world is in great crisis, I shall choose to trust you. If you succeed in protecting the world, I will waive all 10,000 years of your Hell sentence and grant you one wish. And should you betray me, I swear by my ‘name’ that you will suffer the agony of Avici Hell until your soul perishes.]
Given that Beonald had been a ‘treacherous subject,’ his trust score was so low that it was unclear whether he would faithfully carry out her commands, forcing the Goddess to resort to a threat sworn on her own ‘name.’
‘…So if I try anything funny, I’m finished.’
[Then I shall now send you back to the world.]
“Ah! W-wait a moment! Goddess? If you’re entrusting such an important task, you can’t just send me back. What I’m reborn as is important, and what status, what person I’m born as is critically important, so first, considering conditions like that, the position…”
Beonald urgently stopped the Goddess, appealing that even someone like him would find it difficult to exert his power if born as a slave or commoner.
Harboring the hidden wish that, since the situation was urgent, he’d prefer to be born into a duke or marquis family—or if that was impossible, at least back into a count family—he looked at the Goddess.
[Do not worry. I trust in your abilities.]
“No, no, no! Don’t trust me!”
[So it’s impossible after all? Then I shall have to send you back to Hell. I believe you still have 9,500 years left on your sentence?]
“I-I’ll do anything diligently!”
The thought of suffering in Hell for another 9,500 years horrified Beonald, and he shook his head, realizing once again that he was in no position to be picky about his circumstances.
Right, even if he was born a slave and rolled through this life, it would still be better than rolling through Hell, wouldn’t it?
[That’s a good attitude. But do not worry. I intend to assign you to a place where you won’t die immediately upon birth. And so you’ll know whom to help and whom to deal with when you meet the others I’ve sent, I shall arrange for you to recognize them naturally.]
“Yes, yep!”
[Then go now. Please try to live a bit more virtuously in this life.]
With those final words of advice and admonition, the Goddess waved her hand, and at that moment, Beonald’s consciousness stopped like a machine whose switch had been turned off.
…….
…….
…….
An unknown amount of time passed, and like waking from sleep, sensation and consciousness gradually returned. Beonald slowly opened his eyes and tried to speak.
“Waaah! Waaah! Ugh, waaah (Wait! This! Wh-what’s this)?”
But what came from his mouth was the cry of an infant, and when he tried to wriggle his body, it wouldn’t move properly; only his cute, tiny hands waved back and forth before his eyes.
‘Is this me… a baby?’
Thus, the treacherous subject of treacherous subjects who would be remembered throughout history, ‘Beonald von Neumel,’ who had received a 10,000-year sentence in Hell, was reborn into the world, entrusted with a mission from the Goddess.
And immediately upon birth, whether by instinct or not, he quickly surveyed his surroundings while being attended by a middle-aged woman who appeared to be a governess.
Though everything was confusing in his reborn state, the most important thing for Beonald, a traditional noble, was: What status, what class had he been born into now?
‘First, seeing that the ceiling isn’t made of thatch or wood, it’s probably not a commoner or serf household. And judging by the well-dressed governess, it’s definitely a noble family or, at the very least, a merchant family.’
He felt relieved after looking at the house ceiling and the people’s appearances.
‘Well, if the Goddess intends to revive and use this ‘Beonald,’ it’s only normal that she’d have me born into a family with some degree of influence.’
Beonald’s former… no, it would be more accurate to call it his past life.
The Neumel Count family he was born into in his past life was already an outstanding prestigious family and one of the pillars of the royal faction, to the extent of sending their children to the Imperial Knight Order even before he became the family head.
However, its rank was merely lower, overshadowed by the marquises and grand dukes above; it was Beonald who, upon becoming family head, rode the momentum by exploiting a sickly emperor.
‘Of course, no matter how good the background, if there are many competitors within the family or it’s a family with a weak, crumbling foundation, it’ll just be troublesome… Anyway, given the situation with the world’s crisis and all, the Goddess probably wouldn’t play a trick, right?’
“Aga… miinn……”
‘Huh? Eh? Wait? Could it be… is this my mother?’
At that moment, the figure of a young woman looking at him with a warm gaze, holding him close and offering her breast, came into view.
Beonald quickly realized this was his mother. Feeling his body instinctively suckling, he looked at his mother’s face, and the moment he saw it, he understood the predicament.
‘Damn… a burn scar on her face!’
Her left side was the appearance of a benevolent beauty with silky black hair and blue eyes, but the other half of her face bore a burn scar, leaving it disfigured.
Aside from being able to guess she was from a noble family from her elegant face, Beonald could immediately discern from the burn scar that the family’s standing was not very high.
‘Mother… that is, this life’s mother has that injury. Whether it happened before or after marriage, the fact that it’s been left untreated like that itself means the donation amount to the temple is small and the family lacks prestige or money… Otherwise, they would have healed it long ago. Looking at the other side, she’s clearly quite beautiful…’
In noble families, ‘female blood relatives’ were a great asset to the family, capable of expanding blood alliances and alliances or controlling social circles.
If the battlefield for noble men was politics and the warfront, the battlefield for women was the social circle. Since they were a crucial element for connecting blood alliances that families could somewhat trust, their management could never be neglected.
And of course, the younger and more beautiful a woman was, the more her value skyrocketed. On top of that, intellect, culture, and etiquette were things she had to learn for the battles in social circles. If half her face was burned like that from the start, her value would plummet to the ground. If her base was good, they should have spent a fortune to heal it, but the fact that they didn’t allowed him to guess the tier of her family.
‘Of course, there’s also the possibility it happened due to disputes or covert strife among blood relatives within the family… But still, sending her off in that state is the end.’
A blood relative who could not fulfill her role for the family was literally worse than a serf—a freeloader. With nowhere to be sold off, she would eventually be confined to the house her whole life until she died.
At the very least, his mother seemed to have escaped that fate and married into some family, but clearly, that family wasn’t good either.
‘…A good family is out of the question, and I probably can’t expect good treatment either. Damn Goddess anyway…’
Suck suck…….
While his mind pondered this complicated situation, his body was busily suckling his mother’s milk, creating an ironic sight of Beonald.
And as he tried to think more about this worst-case scenario, he felt his eyes closing against his will.
Having done too much computation with a newborn baby’s body, his brain grew fatigued, and with his stomach full, sleep came naturally.
‘Ugh… It really is too young a body. Sleep… is overwhelming me.’
The newborn body naturally severed its owner’s consciousness from the overwork, and Beonald fell asleep just like that.
Three months later.
Even in his infant state, Beonald diligently observed his surroundings, gathered information from various places, and learned to speak, managing to grasp the situation of this mansion and his parents barely three months after birth.
The hardest part was undoubtedly the language; having lived 500 years ago, the system had changed so much that it took time to learn.
‘Well, as a baby, aside from sleeping, I have plenty of time… But the situation is too unfavorable. Suck suck…….’
Suckling his mother’s milk, Beonald thought about the family he was born into and frowned.
This family is the Dustycloak Barony, a very minor noble family on the frontier.
First of all, the family name itself exudes a sense of true poverty… Dustycloak, meaning ‘dusty cloak,’ indicated that the founding family head, the origin of the house, was a parvenu noble with absolutely no pedigree.
‘…Summarizing the chatter I’ve heard, the grandfather who was the family’s founder was originally a mercenary with no pedigree, but during the Great War, he saved a high noble who was in a life-threatening situation, suffering until his cloak was filthy and worn out, and for that merit, he was knighted and simultaneously granted a noble title.’
On top of that, that high noble connected his daughter with the man’s son, and he himself was the child born from that union.
In other words, his maternal family was a somewhat prestigious high noble, but judging by his mother’s condition, it was unmistakably a marriage that felt closer to a bargain deal.
‘…Moreover, being a parvenu who rose thanks to that high noble’s favor, he probably couldn’t refuse. It just feels like taking in a person to look after. Anyway, from now on…’
“Hmmm~ Our little angel, what on earth is bothering you to frown like that again? You were fed milk earlier, put to sleep properly, burped, and I don’t think you’ve been rude… Hmm~”
‘Despite all that, Mother’s disposition seems gentle. Well, though she has some flaws, she’s a favor bestowed by a high noble, so she can’t be ignored.’
Beonald harbored cold, calculating thoughts utterly unfitting for a baby’s face.
But as if unaware of his worries, his mother poked his angelic baby cheeks and smiled.
“What~ is~ it~ that~ bothers you? Hehehe, other babies cry and make a fuss~ It’s unsettling that you’re too quiet~”
“Darling, I’m, I’m back. Was Beonald well?”
Suddenly entering was the family head of this Dustycloak Barony and his father in this life, Baron Leon Dustycloak. A sturdy, robust man with deep brown hair and tanned skin, he approached Beonald and his mother, seemingly having returned from outside work, clad in armor and smelling strongly of sweat.
“Of course! Our Beonald is so good~ He hardly cries today and is doing well. As I said, it must be a divine blessing.”
Incidentally, his name in this life being the same, Beonald, was, from what he heard as a baby, the result of a priest and paladin who were performing rituals on the day of his birth receiving a revelation, stopping by this house, divining the name, and bestowing a blessing.
Of course, Beonald himself had guessed it was the Goddess’s doing.
“Ooh~ How adorable. Hehehe, my son~ I thought I’d die missing you. Hahahaha~”
“Die, you say. Hehehe~ Well, he is that cute, so it’s not unreasonable.”
Watching his parents laugh happily, Beonald thought that at least having a harmonious family was better than his past.
Compared to the Neumel Count family of his past life—a typical noble family close to the royal family, though ranked low within the royal faction—and his father from that era, the previous family head who harbored a deep inferiority complex and was a truly dreadful man.
‘I built up quite a reputation myself, but what that man did within the family and territory was even more dreadful.’
That infamous man’s name was Count Felix von Neumel.
A vicious man who not only exercised the right of the first night within his territory but also enforced that the first child of every territory resident must be his own, forcing them to pay it as a tax.
Of course, superficially, he said it was imposed freely, but he treated residents who paid the ‘child tax’ and those who didn’t so differently that one couldn’t survive without paying.
‘I was also one of those children handed over through that tax. Phew~ That’s why I never knew my mother’s face.’
Anyway, Felix von Neumel gathered hundreds, thousands of children through this method, thinking only of creating the best next family head, like an Eastern cuckoo, endlessly producing offspring and making them kill each other in a cruel, insane competition for the top.
‘When I became family head, I immediately stopped that madness, but compared to that, this family now is practically heaven.’
Naturally, compared to those insane parents, these parents now were close to angels.
‘…It’s harmonious and free from life-threatening danger; that alone is good, I suppose.’
Still, despite that, the situation was very unfavorable, but since he couldn’t change the current circumstances, Beonald began seriously contemplating how to rise to a position of power within this baronial family.
Of course, as he pondered, he quickly grew hungry, and the infant body instinctively began crying for food, so he latched onto his mother’s breast again.
‘Dammiiiiiit!’
Suck suck!
That aside, though his body was a baby, his mind was already adult, so the sense of self-loathing was great, and Beonald wanted to grow up quickly, even by a day.