Chapter 72
Chapter 72
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Ah, This is What 'Sacrifice' Means
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Ah, this is 'sacrifice'."
"...Young Lord Sion."
After several minutes of deliberation, Schumacher finally opened his mouth slowly.
"You're right, Young Lord. Viscount Konean is undoubtedly a criminal, and you and this man named Kim Yu-hyun merely punished that criminal. So binding him as a criminal and escorting him to the royal castle would go against reason.
However, if Viscount Konean mentions that part during his interrogation..."
"Ah, don't worry about that."
Sion said as much and approached Viscount Konean.
He had been lying on the bed, groaning while listening to their conversation. As Sion drew near, he began to squirm.
Like an innocent person desperately trying to flee from an approaching demon.
"Viscount Konean.
I have one question for you."
Goooosh—.
"Gaaack!"
Sion deliberately pressed down on the wound that Kim Yu-hyun had inflicted with his elbow.
Of course, he shielded the act from the others' view with his body.
"Do you happen to remember who left you in such a wretched state?"
"Kugh!
Th-that's..."
"Ah, you don't remember well.
I suppose not.
You slammed your face into a door while fleeing and passed out, after all.
Word is, you hit it so hard you put a hole in the door?"
Goooosh!
Pressing into the wound as if digging at it with his index finger, Viscount Konean—who was already writhing in agony—could only flail about without even managing a proper scream, as if he were on the verge of death.
Sion leaned in close to the viscount's ear and whispered softly.
"Think carefully.
Unless you want to watch your family—spared from being dragged off one by one on charges of rebellion like the Kashgar count's house, allowing them at least some shred of humanity—get torn to pieces by sub-species."
"Kugh...!"
"If the sub-species you kept as slaves, or their families, found out where your kin are hiding, wouldn't that be entertaining?"
A warning that they were fully prepared to become monsters if he didn't cooperate.
Viscount Konean's body trembled violently before he finally spat out the answer Sion wanted.
"...I, I don't remember.
Young Lord Sion, Vice Captain Schumacher... I can't recall how I ended up like this."
"I see.
How unfortunate. It seems Viscount Konean bashed his head so hard while fleeing that he's suffering from some mental derangement."
Schumacher glanced at Sion for a moment before letting out a sigh.
As a knight, such an obvious lie felt a bit uncomfortable, but the thought of a criminal who deserved punishment spouting something suspicious and dragging others down was even more repulsive.
"If any issues arise from this, I'll go to the royal castle myself and explain.
It shouldn't cause you much trouble, Vice Captain Schumacher.
What do you say?"
On top of that, seeing Sion go to such lengths to protect his own man made Schumacher think that, war hero or not, he truly cared for each individual. At this point, Schumacher decided to back down.
"Understood.
In that case..."
"Knight, sir!
Royal knight, sir!
Please wait!
Just a moment!"
Suddenly, an old man appeared, straining to enter the room.
The knights naturally tried to block and eject him, but Schumacher watched him briefly before permitting entry.
"I have something to say.
Something very important."
"...Who are you?"
"I was the steward of this estate.
I've boldly interrupted because there's something I must tell the ones who came from the royal castle!"
As he spoke, the Konean family steward glanced at his master lying on the bed.
Viscount Konean looked back at his steward and curled his lips into a sinister smile.
His hidden ace for emergencies was finally in play.
'Steward, come here.'
'Yes, my lord.'
'Listen carefully to what I say from now on.
This is very important.'
Before Kim Yu-hyun had arrived—that is, the very day he had delivered the massive bribe to where Sion was staying—Viscount Konean had secretly taken out insurance without Sion's knowledge.
It was a plan to expose the secret deal between himself and Sion Klauzen to others if Sion betrayed him.
'If something happens to me and Young Lord Sion Klauzen betrays me.
Then people from the royal castle will come.
At that time, you must tell them that I gave Sion Klauzen an enormous sum of money.'
'I-is that all I need to do?'
'A war hero who discovered a slave market suddenly receiving a fortune from its owner? That's more than suspicious.
Don't you think?'
The steward nodded at Viscount Konean's words.
If it became known that the very person who exposed his master's crimes had received a massive sum from him, it was obvious what rumors would spread and what eyes would turn their way.
"Speak.
What is this important matter?"
At Schumacher's urging, the steward took a deep breath, glanced at Sion, and opened his mouth.
At that instant, Sion felt a chilling sensation crawl up his spine and jolt his brain.
The scent of betrayal, unmistakable.
'No way, these bastards?'
He had planned to let it slide if they just dug a small hole to escape, but the vibe felt like they were ready to drag everyone down with them.
He wanted to clamp the steward's mouth shut right then, but the words were already pouring out fluently.
"A while ago, on Viscount Konean’s orders, I transported several boxes filled with gold coins to an inn.
I don't know the exact amount, but it was at least thousands of gold coins."
"...You transported thousands of gold coins?
Are you accusing Viscount Konean of siphoning off his assets in advance?"
"No.
I don't know the exact reason, but a noble youth was staying at that inn, and I know for certain that he was the recipient."
At the mention of a noble youth staying at the inn, Lucia looked at Sion.
In Viscount Konean’s territory, the only noble youth was Sion Klauzen.
Which meant the massive sum of gold coins sent by Viscount Konean had gone to him.
"...Can you take responsibility for those words?"
"O-of course!
It was too much to handle at once, so a thorough search of that inn should turn it up immediately."
"...Then who was it that received that vast sum from Viscount Konean?"
Schumacher asked with the hope that it wouldn't be who he thought.
But the steward's next words shattered that faint hope.
"It was that man.
Young Lord Sion Klauzen."
With those words finally out, a groan escaped Schumacher's lips.
Now everything was turning into a complete mess.
Viscount Konean, who had defied royal orders by running a slave market.
Sion Klauzen, who discovered the viscount's crime and reported it to the crown.
And now a secret exchange of thousands of gold coins between them?
'This means there was some deal between Viscount Konean and Young Lord Sion.'
Schumacher slowly turned to look at Sion.
The silent question of "Don't you have anything to say?" hung in the air, but Sion merely stared out the window without a word.
"Young Lord Sion."
"..."
"Young Lord Sion Klauzen."
Only at the second call did Sion turn his head to meet Schumacher's gaze.
Schumacher suppressed his inner plea for a denial and asked the question.
"Is this old man's statement true?
Did you secretly receive a massive sum—thousands of gold coins—from Viscount Konean?"
"..."
"Please answer.
If you keep silent, I'll have no choice but to conclude there was a deal between you two. And if so, you could face a strict royal investigation regarding your involvement in the slave market."
Still, Sion gave no reply.
He simply stared at Schumacher.
Viscount Konean inwardly snickered at Sion's demeanor.
'If you're tied up in a royal investigation, you won't have attention left for my family.
They can just flee in the meantime.
You damned bastard.
How dare you screw me over.'
He desperately wanted to shout, 'That man blackmailed me and stole the money!' But that might backfire, letting Sion paint this as yet another of his schemes. So Viscount Konean acted as uninvolved with his steward as possible.
That way, everyone would believe the steward had acted on his own judgment.
"Young Lord Sion Klauzen."
Schumacher spoke with a far more hardened expression than before.
If Sion continued refusing to answer, the atmosphere suggested he'd treat him as a criminal and drag him to the castle. Just as Lucia—who didn't fully grasp the situation—stepped forward to intervene...
"It's true."
"Pardon?"
"I received money from Viscount Konean.
Twice, in fact.
The first time in exchange for keeping the slave market secret, and the second for sparing his life."
The sudden eruption of truths.
It left not only Schumacher but even Viscount Konean blurting out an "Eh?" in disbelief.
How could he admit it so easily? What was his plan for the fallout?
"...Is that true?
That you made some deal with Viscount Konean and received thousands of gold coins?"
"Yes.
All of it is true."
"May I ask why?
Why would someone who lacks for nothing succumb to the temptation of money and do something they shouldn't?"
Schumacher's expression shifted to one tinged with anger as he pressed Sion.
Lucia fidgeted anxiously, and Risikida debated drawing her sword amid the tension.
"It was made from their blood and tears, so I intended to return it to them in full."
Unexpected words tumbled from Sion's mouth.
Schumacher, Viscount Konean, Lucia, Risikida, and even Kim Yu-hyun all reacted with utter confusion.
Only Sion continued calmly, with a serene expression and voice.
"I took money from Viscount Konean.
Yes, 'extorted' would be more accurate.
Because I wanted it?
Not at all.
What would I do with money soaked in the blood, tears, and resentment of sub-species?
Those pathetic fools might clutch it and chuckle like idiots, but I'm different."
Viscount Konean, suddenly labeled a fool, let out an incredulous sigh.
Hadn't Sion himself been eyeing that money greedily just days ago!
"There were many other ways.
But I judged it right to return what rightfully belonged to them.
So I pretended to deal with that filthy scum, took the money, and promised to give it all back."
"Young Lord Sion Klauzen.
What on earth do you mean?
'They' who...?"
"Exactly!"
The response didn't come from Sion but from beyond the door.
"This human man returned all that money to my kin.
That's what I'm saying!"
There stood a girl who looked just like a feisty kitten—one who would soon grow into a stunning beauty.
Her lightly wavy pale blue hair fluttered messily, her sparkling golden eyes fixed straight on Sion, and her fluffy tail swayed as the catfolk girl strode in with majestic poise.
"...Who are you?"
Schumacher was growing irritated by the parade of rude intruders.
To make matters worse, the girl before him was a sub-species—a catfolk, no less, infamous for their ferocity.
The catfolk princess, Winnie Portable—the one chosen by lightning—pointed her sharply extended claws at Viscount Konean and hissed fiercely like an alley cat.
"Winnie Portable of the catfolk!
I was caught by that loathsome man and nearly sold into slavery!"
At the word "slavery," Schumacher's cold, hardened gaze turned back to Viscount Konean.
He had momentarily forgotten, but the catfolk girl reminded him that this man was the root of all this evil.
"And this man saved me!
He scraped together every coin stained with the blood, tears, and grudges of my kin and other races and returned it all!
He's my benefactor!
Touch him and see!
Kyaaah!"
Suddenly, Winnie extended her claws with a snikt!
and bared her fangs.
She probably thought it was a fierce threat, but the single thought in everyone's mind was this:
It's a cat.
A kitty.
So cute. Adorable.
"Ah."
Then Schumacher finally seemed to grasp Sion's true intent and spoke up.
"Young Lord Sion Klauzen?
So the reason you endured the suspicious glares for accepting money from Viscount Konean was..."
Seizing the moment, Sion gazed wistfully out the window, letting out a soft sigh.
Then, with eyes brimming as if on the verge of tears from heartache, he slowly opened his mouth.
"What we owed them wasn't kindness or compensation—it was their rightful 'rights.'
I merely took it from that man and gave it back.
No matter what methods I used, no matter what insults or accusations I faced.
I wanted to apologize to them... and make amends."
At those words, Schumacher, the other knights, Lucia, and Risikida all let out an "Aah..." of realization.
Even Kim Yu-hyun unwittingly groaned in sympathy.
"Hmph!"
Winnie flicked her tail proudly, as if boasting "This man's my benefactor!" while letting out a rumbling purr.
"...She's more demon-like than I am..."
And the one woman who had known the full story from the start, Lily, shook her head in disbelief from the opposite room as she watched Sion's performance.
While everyone in the room floundered in this epic tale of感動.
The one person who couldn't accept the situation was Viscount Konean.
'Wh-what the hell is this?'
As the mood twisted bizarrely and he hurriedly opened his mouth...
His eyes met Sion's, who had been staring out the window.
In that moment, the viscount clearly saw it.
The demon raising the corner of his mouth while looking at him.
Heh.
As if to say, "Feeling good after your pathetic little stunt?"
Sion stared back, his face full of mockery.
―――――――Author's Note―――――――
You fell for that?
Kekeke!