Chapter 32
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Beyond Redemption: The Utter Scoundrel
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That night.
"Willard, you know the plan, right? Don't stress too much—just act natural. Father will handle the rest."
"Don't worry about me and get going, young master. What if the messenger arrives first? Come on, hurry up."
Johann handed his mask over to Willard.
Fortunately, Willard's build was similar enough to his own that, with the mask on, it would be nearly impossible to tell them apart from the outside.
"Thanks. I'm counting on you."
Having entrusted Willard to play his double, Johann concealed his own identity with a black cloth before slipping out of the mansion through a secret passage known only to the family head.
If I push full speed without stopping from here...
Crackle! Zap!
As Johann drew up his mana, currents of electricity coiled around his body and began discharging wildly.
I can definitely beat the messenger there by morning!
Whoosh!
The instant Johann kicked off the ground, his figure vanished in a flash. In his place, a burst of lightning flared up like a spark before disappearing just as quickly.
Swoosh!
Johann streaked forward at full throttle, trailing lightning in his wake.
He looked just like a bolt of lightning gliding across the earth.
Though he stuck mostly to remote mountain paths to avoid travelers, his speed put even a galloping horse on a well-maintained road to shame.
Occasionally, wild animals startled awake by the glow spilling from his body would peer around in confusion, but they found nothing.
By the time they jolted from sleep, Johann was already hundreds of meters ahead.
After racing without pause, Johann finally reached the villa just before dawn broke.
"Young master!"
"It's been a while. You doing okay?"
Joanna lit up with joy upon spotting Johann, who had slipped past the sentries and returned quietly through his second-floor window.
But her delight was short-lived. Her face quickly darkened, and Johann's expression hardened as he asked,
"Something happened."
"Well..."
Joanna hesitated under Johann's unwavering gaze but eventually confessed.
"Last night, on my way home from work, some shady guys cornered me. They said they'd pay big if I told them about your condition and recent activities, but if I refused or breathed a word to anyone, they'd kill my family. When I came in today, the other girls looked like they'd been through the same thing."
The Shadows... They've already caught the scent and started moving?
"I see. You've had it rough. Don't worry—nothing will happen to you or the others' families."
They've approached the maids, so they must know I changed for a bit. But that's lasted longer than expected anyway. I never thought I could fool them forever.
If Joanna was telling the truth, the Shadows suspected something but weren't certain about the connection between Alpha and him yet.
If they were sure, they'd have made a direct move. Good thing I planned it out with Father yesterday.
Even a slight delay in preparation could have exposed Alpha's identity and left Johann under constant Shadow surveillance, tying his hands.
"Joanna, remember that thing I asked you to prepare?"
"Oh, right!"
Joanna confidently led Johann to the bathroom.
There, liquor she'd secretly stockpiled filled the tub like bathwater, sloshing invitingly.
"But... what are you planning to do with all this?"
"Hmph!"
Splash!
"Y-Young master?"
Joanna yelped in shock.
Johann had suddenly dunked his head into the tub and started guzzling the booze like a madman.
Gulp... Gulp...
With every bob of his throat, the liquor level visibly dropped.
Once he'd downed over two-thirds, he scooped up the rest with a ladle and dumped it straight over his head.
Splash!
Naturally, it soaked him from hair to clothes.
But Johann didn't stop there.
"Joanna, grab some booze right now and splash it all over the room. Make the place reek of it."
"Yes, sir!"
One might expect questions, but Joanna obeyed without hesitation, scooping from the tub and dousing every corner.
Soon, the room stank so heavily of alcohol that merely breathing in could get you drunk.
"Joanna, wait outside. When the messenger from the main house arrives, bring them to my room. If you can act terrified, that'd be perfect. Think you can pull it off?"
"Like how I used to act around you back then?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Leave it to me! No one beats me at playing scared!"
Joanna brimmed with pure enthusiasm, but her words left Johann solemn and heavy-hearted.
Once she stepped out, Johann sprawled on the bed and scattered drug packets she'd prepared around the room.
He'd disposed of the contents properly, but the issue was his complexion—far too healthy for a drug addict.
However...
Johann lay back comfortably and circulated mana through his body.
This time, though, he used it differently.
Lightning Mana held the most volatile and destructive power among all elemental manas.
It was a double-edged sword.
Wielded perfectly, it became the ultimate weapon; one slip, and it could claim your life.
Right now, Johann simply let the Lightning Mana rampage through his Mana Circuit like a wild horse, making no effort to control it.
Naturally, his body began deteriorating rapidly.
As blood and fluids evaporated, it shrank; cells ruptured, turning his skin dull and lifeless.
His eye sockets hollowed out, and his once-lustrous hair turned brittle and straw-like.
Sizzle...!
"Guh!"
Grind!
Smoke rose from between Johann's clenched teeth.
The agony rivaled electric torture.
Yet he endured, grinding his teeth.
He knew failing to fool them completely here would make everything ahead far harder.
"Anyone there? I'm the messenger from House Crimford, here on the family head's orders to escort Young Master Johann!"
At news of the messenger's arrival, Joanna cautiously cracked open the door.
Her left cheek and eye were swollen—self-inflicted in secret, with gritted teeth.
The messenger, oblivious, naturally assumed Johann had beaten her.
"Y-You're... from the Earl?"
"That's right. Where's Young Master Johann?"
"F-Follow me..."
Joanna's performance—recreating her old bug-like mistreatment—was beyond superb, downright impressive.
The other maids watching from afar matched perfectly, trembling in genuine ignorance and fear.
This let the messenger follow without suspicion.
Knock knock.
"Y-Young master... The messenger from the family head..."
"Scram! Come in and I'll kill you all! Go get booze and drugs, now!"
"Step aside."
As Joanna hesitated to open the door, the messenger pushed her aside and entered himself.
"Young Master Johann, pardon the intrusion."
Whoosh!
Opening without permission earned not a welcome, but an empty bottle hurled his way.
Crash!
"Eek!"
The messenger dodged casually; the bottle shattered against the wall and fell.
Joanna clutched her head, screaming and collapsing in shudders.
"Hey, you bastard! Who said you could barge in without permission? Huh?!"
The messenger's brow furrowed at Johann's raging outburst.
Besides the overpowering booze stench, a foul odor wafted from filth smeared on the sheets.
But the real issue wasn't that.
No healer could fix that. Easier to raise the dead.
The messenger knew drug addicts well—that was why he was here.
"Daddy... I did wrong! I'll be good... I'll work hard, so please bring the drugs, damn it!"
He watched coldly as Johann crawled on his knees, weeping and clutching his pant leg, only to explode in fury moments later.
Johann embodied a hopeless drug addict.
"My apologies, young master. I'll take my leave."
Thud!
"Gahk!"
Thump...
The messenger struck Johann's neck, knocking him out cold.
Hoisting the limp body, he explained to Joanna,
"The family head ordered me to bring you to the main house. I'll take Young Master Johann."
"W-Wait, but..."
The messenger flashed a sealed letter bearing the House Crimford crest.
Illiterate Joanna didn't grasp the words but recognized the seal and bowed.
Thus bound, Johann was carted off with the messenger, while Joanna watched, hands clasped in prayer.
Please stay safe, young master...
"Untie me! Do you know who I am? Untie this now! Once it's off... I'll kill every last one of you! Raaagh!"
No sooner had they reached the mansion than Johann bolted from the carriage.
Bound and thrashing, he spewed curses.
Mansion staff rushed over to gawk.
Few pitied him; most eyes held contempt, mockery, and disgust.
"That lunatic...!"
The commotion drew even Hayden and Annette.
Annette burst into tears at her son's wrecked state—unrecognizing his parents, ranting obscenities.
"Let go! Don't touch me! Touch me and you're dead! Dad, it's me, Johann! You promised candy. What're we playing today? Where's Mom? Brother? Howard, come out! I'll kill you, you bastard! Play with me, brother! Waaah!"
"Johann, please...!"
"Calm down, madam. What are you lot doing? Lock that mad dog in his room now!"
Hayden comforted his wife in his arms while ordering the guards to confine the raging Johann.
His glare at Johann was fierce.
Blood tears welled in his heart.
Is this the pain you felt?
Hayden shook his head inwardly.
This was nothing compared to his son's torment—a hundred, a thousand times worse.
He yearned to embrace him, say it was okay, no more worries.
To tell Annette the truth and ease her fears.
But he couldn't.
Unlike him, seasoned in politics, lies, and acting, Annette's fakeness would show.
Even half the Shadows' prowess true, her awkward performance would fool no one watching impassively.
Their plan would crumble.
And Johann's goals, sacrificed for...
All this worthless father can do is this much. Forgive me, Johann...
So he steeled himself.
Discarding mercy, Hayden treated Johann like vermin, a discarded child, and turned away coldly.
That's enough, Father... Please take care of Mother for this worthless son.
No one saw the fleeting, wistful smile on Johann's face as he was dragged away.