Chapter 102
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Devil's Gamble
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“But, Young Master?”
“What is it?”
“The matter you spoke of. Are you really going to proceed with it?”
“What, is there a problem? It’s not like it costs money this time, is it?”
Christian asked nonchalantly, but Ruina looked like she was about to burst from frustration.
“It might not cost money… but what you’re about to do is a crime, isn’t it?!”
And it wasn't just any ordinary crime.
“You’re planning to kidnap a Young Count?!”
Chris grinned.
“I just want to be friends.”
*I need an accomplice… or more accurately, someone to exploit.* Baron Vord was the younger brother of Count Brusen, the ruler of the County.
With Count Brusen bedridden and on the verge of death, the Baron was, for all intents and purposes, the number one man in power.
Dealing with such a person would not be simple.
He needed someone to cooperate.
*The Young Count would be perfect for my purpose.*
Young Count Roy.
The tragic protagonist whose power had been stolen by his uncle, Baron Vord.
He was currently lost in despair, living each day like a scoundrel.
He was the perfect candidate to be an accomplice in this matter.
“Ruina.”
“…Yes.”
“You know it’s too late, right? If you were scared, you should have backed out from the beginning.”
“…But you didn’t tell me you were going to do something like this! You just told me to lure the Young Count to the gambling den!”
Ruina tore at her hair.
*Ugh, why did I ever get involved with a demon like him?*
But as Chris said, it was too late.
The two of them were already accomplices.
“I know nothing! My only crime was luring the Young Count here, so if any problems arise, you take full responsibility for the rest!”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry about it.”
Chris replied dismissively and started walking.
Passing a sign that read ‘Deer Merchant Guild,’ he entered and was met with the familiar sight of a gambling den.
It turned out Ruina also operated auction houses and gambling dens for the Alliance.
As he entered the VVIP section in the back, he saw a figure.
A young man, already flushed and dead drunk.
It was Young Count Roy.
“Hey, you there! B-Bring more wine!!”
“Y-Young Count, you’re already very drunk.”
“Sh- *hiccup*! Shut up! Why are you just standing there gawking?! Are you looking down on me?! Do you need a beating to come to your senses?!”
Chris smirked, walked over, and sat down in front of Roy.
“Who are you, *hiccup*?”
“Just a passing gambler. How about a round with me?”
“*Hiccup*, you want to play with me?”
“Yes. I may not look it, but I’m quite skilled. I won’t be an unworthy opponent for you, Young Count.”
Young Count Roy seemed intrigued.
“Fine. Let’s have a go. *Hiccup*. Let’s see just how great your skills are.”
And so the game began.
Chris, using the skills of a professional gambler, slowly fleeced Roy.
“Heh heh, you’re nothing special.”
“Your skill is remarkable. As expected of the Young Count. Let’s go again.”
And so.
Losing little by little.
Making his opponent think he was on the verge of winning.
“Wh-What?!”
“Jack, Spade, Cross. To get such a rare hand. The heavens must be on my side.”
“A-Again!”
Before he knew it, Roy had been stripped of everything.
“More… more…!”
“Haven’t you already run up a debt of 500,000 Rupee to me? Even for a Young Count, I can’t allow any more than this. If you wish to gamble further, you’ll have to offer me collateral.”
“Collateral? What kind?”
“Let’s see. What would be good? I couldn’t possibly ask the esteemed Young Count to put up something important as collateral. What would be best…”
Chris feigned a thoughtful expression, then smiled brightly.
Playfully.
Like a demon’s temptation.
“This should be good. Just like in the opera ‘Seldi’s Tragedy,’ which is popular in the Karn Empire recently, how about you bet your soul, Young Count?”
It was an opera about the tragedy that befalls a noblewoman addicted to gambling after she sells her soul to a demon.
“So, I will be the demon, and you, Young Count, will play the role of the gambler challenging the demon. Doesn’t that sound rather elegant? And it won’t be a financial burden at all.”
The thoroughly intoxicated Young Count took Chris’s words as a joke.
Unless Chris was an actual demon, he couldn't possibly take his soul.
In effect, it was similar to offering to lend him money without any collateral.
The Young Count assumed Chris was making this suggestion to save his face and let out a laugh.
“Heh heh, that does sound fun. I like it. Fine! I’ll bet it, my soul!”
“Please make a vow.”
“You really talk like a demon. Fine, I vow. If I lose this match, I will offer my soul to you. Now, let’s go again, Mr. Demon.”
“Excellent. Here we go again.”
The match resumed.
The result was an all-in.
The Young Count was completely wiped out.
“Th-This…”
“This is really the end.”
“I can offer as much collateral as I want! This whole castle is mine!”
“Is this castle really yours, Young Count?”
Chris looked directly into the Young Count’s eyes.
“I heard it wasn’t.”
“!!”
Understanding the meaning behind his words, the Young Count’s face flushed crimson.
But he couldn’t say a word.
He felt an inexplicable pressure from Chris.
“Since the game is over, I suppose I’ll have to take the collateral.”
“What? That’s ridiculous. Haha. How are you going to take a soul? Cut it out with the unfunny demon act.”
However.
“How will I take your soul? It’s simple. Like this.”
Chris’s eyes grew cold.
In that instant, the Young Count’s vision turned black.
“!!”
Like a predator swallowing its prey, darkness completely consumed his consciousness.
*Fwaaat!*
A blood-red magic circle materialized in the air and branded itself onto the Young Count’s heart.
Chris briefly checked if the magic had manifested properly, then nodded.
The ‘Seal of Obedience’ was now engraved.
He had succeeded in making the Young Count his slave, with his soul as collateral.
This was the beginning of his plan.
* * *
*Thankfully, it went well. I thought something like this would be possible after the incident with the Hero.*
Normally, making someone a slave with their soul as collateral was impossible for anyone but the highest-ranking black magicians.
It wasn't just a matter of the spell’s difficulty.
It was due to the stature of the soul.
To make another’s soul one’s possession, one’s own soul stature had to be higher than the target’s.
*That's why, if you analyze the principles of spells that enslave others, they involve a complex mix of hypnosis, consciousness suppression, and behavioral enforcement. It's less about truly making them a slave and more about suppressing their will to force them to act like one.*
But Chris was different.
His soul had the stature of a half-demon.
Like a real demon, he could claim another's soul as his own.
*Thanks to that, I was able to carve a perfect Seal of Obedience.*
The ‘Seal of Obedience’ was an advanced technique within the Blood Arts.
The level of obedience that could be compelled depended on one’s mastery.
Chris’s mastery of Blood Arts was still at a level where he could only issue simple commands, but by making the Young Count’s soul his possession, he was able to engrave a much more powerful seal.
Powerful enough to command anything except for the target taking their own life.
*But this alone isn't enough. I need to make the Young Count completely submit to me.*
Even if the same Seal of Obedience was engraved.
There was a world of difference between forced compliance and genuine submission.
For Chris’s ‘plan’ to succeed, he needed the Young Count to submit to him with all his heart.
“Hey. Time to get up.”
Chris lightly tapped the Young Count’s cheek.
The Young Count frowned, then his eyes shot open with a start.
He found himself sitting in a warehouse-like place.
In the darkness, a single dim lantern cast a faint, eerie glow on the surroundings.
“Wh-What?”
“First, calm down and stay seated.”
“Sh-Shut up! Let me out of here this instant…!”
“I said, sit.”
The Young Count tried to stand, but his face twisted in horror.
His body wouldn't move!
To be precise, the moment he tried to get up from the chair, his limbs stiffened as if they were bound.
“Wh-What is happening?”
The Young Count’s face filled with terror.
“I’ll explain. Look at my face.”
*Thump.*
Footsteps echoed, and the lantern light illuminated Chris’s face.
Deep black hair.
Black-red eyes that shone brightly in the darkness.
The face of a beautiful, yet somehow chillingly imposing boy looked down at Roy.
“Y-You’re the one from the gambling den?”
“Yes, that’s right. I took your soul as collateral. That’s why you’re in this state.”
“Th-That’s impossible…?! Unless you’re a demon, taking a soul is—?”
The Young Count, who had been shouting, abruptly closed his mouth.
His body trembled.
“D-Don’t tell me… you’re?”
“I’m not a demon.”
Chris let out a small laugh.
“My name is Christian van Baron Cazar. You’ve heard of it, haven’t you?”
“!!”
Roy’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
Baron!
The family name of the Dark Magic House bloodline.
“N-No way… i-impossible. Th-Then at the gambling den?”
“Yes, that’s right. I approached you with the intention of targeting you.”
The Young Count’s face was a mask of fear.
“Why? Why? Are you planning to kill me?”
“No, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have needed to go through such a troublesome process. More importantly.”
Chris scoffed.
“What good would killing a pathetic insect like you do for our Dark Magic House?”
“!!”
“Am I wrong? You, the cowardly Young Count in name only, living day by day under your uncle’s thumb without any authority.”
The Young Count’s face burned with shame.
But he couldn't refute it.
Chris was right.
He had been stripped of all his authority by his uncle, Baron Vord.
The reason he drowned himself in alcohol every day was out of despair.
“You’re still breathing for now, but even that won’t last much longer. The moment your uncle, Baron Vord, takes complete control of the County, you’ll be a dead man. Or, you’ll be stripped of your family name and cast out.”
“…So, what are you trying to say?”
The Young Count growled.
“Cut the crap and tell me what you want. You must have approached me because you want something.”
At his rough words, a glint of interest appeared in Chris’s eyes.
*So he’s not a complete coward. Then again, he was like this in my previous life too.*
In truth.
He had met Roy in his past life.
It was just a fleeting encounter.
However, because their circumstances were similar, they had connected quite well.
—If only I had power back then.
Those were Roy’s last words.
—I could have prevented the County of Brusen from being so horrifically destroyed.
That was why.
That was how Chris had been able to come up with this plan.
“If you wish, I will help you.”
That was why he said these words.
“So you can prevent the destruction of the County of Brusen.”
* * *
“What… do you mean? The destruction of the County of Brusen?”
His eyes were filled with confusion.
“It’s because of your uncle, Baron Vord. Did you not know? That your uncle has been colluding with some of the Majin from our Dark Magic House.”
“!!”
“Look at this.”
Christian took out an amulet and showed it to him. Fortunately, being a Young Count, Roy recognized the crest.
“Is that… from the Black Shadow Knights of the Dark Magic House?”
“Yes. It’s a treasure that symbolizes the authority of inspection.”