Chapter 103
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Link
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“I, Christian, under the orders of Sir Merian, Knight Commander of the Main House's Black Shadow Knights, have been investigating the recent human sacrifice incidents. In doing so, I discovered that your uncle, Baron Bord, has been colluding with certain Majin from our Main House.”
A lie.
He had never investigated any such thing.
But it was likely true.
‘The fact that Baron Bord colluded with Eshid is revealed later. Thanks to that, Bursen County is branded a nation in league with the Majin and meets a terrible end.’
“Th-that… that’s impossible… My uncle would never do such a thing.”
Young Count Roy stammered as if he couldn't believe it.
“There’s a reason. Your father, the Count of Bursen, has seen his health rapidly decline recently, hasn't it? He was already bedridden with a chronic illness, but the progression has suddenly accelerated.”
“!!”
Roy's face turned white as a sheet.
“D-don’t tell me you mean?”
“Yes, it's the effect of curse-based black magic.”
Struck by the shocking, unimaginable story, Roy swayed in his chair.
“That’s not all. Baron Bord didn't just collude with a few Majin; he has been toying with our Dark Magic House.”
“What?”
“The recent human sacrifice incidents.”
“!!”
“They were all the handiwork of Baron Bord's faction. He dared to frame the Main House. For this, our Dark Magic House intends to wipe Bursen County off the map. Since the fault lies with your side, even the Gold Cross won't be able to protest.”
In truth, no such discussion had ever taken place, but well, it wasn't entirely false.
If left alone, Bursen County would meet a similar end anyway.
“N-no… that can’t be.”
Watching the pale-faced Young Count Roy groan, Chris asked calmly.
“Do you want to stop it?”
“!!”
“If you wish, I will help you.”
“…You’ll help me? Why?”
“Well, let's just say it's also in my best interest for this matter to be resolved smoothly. Besides, not all Majin enjoy bloodshed.”
Roy wore a confused expression.
“What good would it do for you to help me? Or do you have other forces from the Dark Magic House with you?”
“No, I'm alone.”
“Then there’s no way you can deal with my uncle…”
Roy looked at Chris with skeptical eyes.
He seemed quite strong, but he was just a boy, likely in his mid-to-late teens.
How much power could he possibly have?
“You’re misunderstanding something. I’m stronger than you think.”
“…Really?”
His eyes were still filled with doubt.
Chris let out a smirk.
“Of course, that doesn't mean I plan to foolishly charge in and take down Baron Bord with brute force.”
“A trick?”
“We’ll have to use your position as the Young Count.”
The plan was to use the Young Count’s title to lure Baron Bord into a trap.
But Roy looked skeptical.
“It’s impossible. My uncle is no fool. He won’t fall for any trap we set. Even if we miraculously get a chance, we can’t defeat him. My uncle is a 4-Star Knight.”
Chris nodded.
From what he'd heard, Baron Bord was no ordinary fox.
A clumsy scheme wouldn't fool him.
And on top of that, a 4-Star Knight.
An opponent possessing both strength and cunning.
However.
“Just leave it to me.”
“…What?”
“Exactly as I said. Swear to entrust everything to me and obey. Then, I will take care of the rest.”
Roy looked at Chris’s words with a dumbfounded expression.
*On what grounds should I trust you?*
That was the look in his eyes.
A natural reaction.
But.
“You have no other choice, do you? It’s your decision whether to wait powerlessly for your downfall or to grasp even the devil’s hand.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Roy was in a position where he had to grasp at straws.
‘Just what is he?’
Roy looked at Chris with a bewildered face.
Annoyingly arrogant.
But at the same time, his unyieldingly firm gaze was fixed squarely on him.
Finally, Roy clenched his fists and spoke.
“…If I really entrust everything to you, will you take care of my uncle?”
“Yes, I promise.”
Roy swallowed hard, then spoke as if he had made up his mind.
“…I swear to entrust everything to you and follow your lead.”
A wide grin spread across Chris’s face.
“A wise choice. I accept your oath.”
At that moment.
Chris’s eyes grew dim.
*Fwaaat!*
A crimson magic circle appeared.
“?!”
Roy’s vision instantly went black, and he lost consciousness.
What followed was astonishing.
Despite losing consciousness, Roy’s body did not collapse.
Instead, a smirk appeared on his face, one that was surprisingly identical to the annoyingly arrogant smile Chris often wore.
“It worked perfectly.”
The words that flowed out were the same.
The tone was Roy’s, but the arrogant and obnoxious nuance was a perfect match for Chris’s way of speaking.
The reason for this was simple.
Possession.
To be precise, Chris’s consciousness had inhabited Roy’s body.
One of the highest applications of the Seal of Obedience.
‘Link.’
He had successfully executed the secret art of possessing another's body and moving it as if it were his own.
Now, Chris would become Young Count Roy and eliminate Baron Bord.
* * *
‘Link is a difficult art even for me, but thankfully, the persuasion went well and it succeeded. If Roy hadn't agreed at the end, I wouldn't have been able to possess him.’
Originally, Link was a technique that could only be attempted by those who were at least 6-Star.
But with the prestige of a half-demon,
the soul whose ownership he held as collateral,
the other party’s consenting oath,
and his insane genius that allowed him to completely reassemble the formula, he had succeeded in the possession.
It was a miracle-like feat that other black magicians wouldn't believe if they saw it.
‘Still, I won’t be able to maintain this for long. I must hurry.’
Chris moved Roy’s possessed body and returned to the county's castle.
He had laid his original body in a pre-prepared coffin. If any danger befell his original body, the Link would immediately break, and his consciousness would return to it.
But when he arrived at the castle, the reaction was strange.
The Young Count had returned, but no one paid him any mind.
He was being ignored.
Everyone just glanced at him vacantly.
‘He’s the Young Count, yet he’s treated so poorly.’
It was a scene that revealed Roy’s standing at a glance.
Just then, a tongue-clicking sound was heard.
“Have you been drinking again, Young Master? When will you ever grow up?”
It was the castle’s butler.
According to his prior investigation, he was part of Baron Bord’s faction.
The butler let out a sigh filled with open contempt.
“The Count is bedridden, yet his own son is always drowning in alcohol. Because you’re always like this, do you have any idea how worried Baron Bord is?”
“……”
“You have no idea how much trouble Baron Bord goes through because of you, Young Master. Anyway, how did such a pathetic fool become the Young Count.”
The last part was a mutter to himself.
A mutter spoken loud enough for the other person to hear.
The corners of Chris’s mouth lifted.
‘Interesting.’
In any case, that insult wasn't directed at him. It was an insult for Roy, the owner of the body he was possessing.
So there was no reason to feel offended.
However.
‘I needed to draw attention anyway. This is perfect.’
“Hey.”
“What is it?”
The butler replied crookedly, a tone unimaginable for someone addressing their master.
“Are you done talking?”
“…Pardon?”
“I asked if you were done talking.”
“!!”
Perhaps sensing something different from usual?
The butler flinched.
But he feigned anger and raised his voice.
“I-I haven’t said anything wrong, have I? Since the Young Master shows such inadequacy, there’s talk that you lack the qualifications to be the Young Count…!”
He had spoken up to that point.
*Slap!*
In an instant, the surroundings froze.
Chris had raised his hand and slapped the butler across the face!
And it didn't stop at one.
He slapped him again, this time so hard that the butler crashed sideways to the floor.
“Wh-what is this?!”
The butler, belatedly coming to his senses, was about to shout in anger but froze solid.
*Shing.*
A cold blade was pointed at the butler’s neck.
Chris spoke with a faint smile.
“Why don't you say that again?”
“Y-you…”
“What? Can’t you? I suppose you wouldn’t dare if you had any sense left in you. To dare challenge the authority of the lord of this county, His Excellency the Count.”
The butler wore a bewildered expression.
“Challenging His Excellency the Count’s authority? What are you talking about?”
“Whose will do you think it was that made this body the Young Count? It was all His Excellency the Count’s will. Though I may be lacking, the only one who can judge my qualifications is His Excellency the Count alone.”
“!!”
*Screee.*
The sword dug into the skin of his neck.
Blood began to trickle down.
“Or are you perhaps harboring some other dark thoughts in that gut of yours?”
“!!”
He was talking about treason.
The butler, pale as a ghost, shouted.
“N-not at all! That’s absurd!!”
“Hmm? Is that so? Considering the nonsense you were spouting earlier, I find that hard to believe. I think it would be better to just execute you and appoint a new butler. A trustworthy and loyal butler.”
“!!”
The blade moved a little more.
The flow of blood thickened.
The butler’s body, meeting the eyes of Roy—no, Chris—began to tremble like a leaf in the wind.
He was different from before.
Cold and indifferent.
It was a chilling gaze that looked as if it would slit his throat without a moment's hesitation.
“P-please. It’s a misunderstanding!! F-forgive me…!”
Just then.
Chris let out a smirk.
“I’m kidding.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said, I’m kidding.”
*Clang.*
Chris carelessly tossed the sword behind him.
“As if I’d really kill my butler.”
“Ah… ah… yes? Yes, yes.”
“So, do better from now on.”
“!!”
“I’ll be watching.”
Once again, a chilling coldness crept down the butler’s spine.
It was certain.
This was not the pathetic Young Count of before.
The Young Count’s transformation didn't end there.
“There’s somewhere I need to go, so lead the way.”
“Wh-where are you going?”
“To my father.”
“!!”
Chris said with a grin.
“I thought I’d try being a dutiful son for a change.”
* * *
The Count of Bursen.
As his name suggested, he was the ruler of Bursen County.
Though now old and sick, he was once a lion who had achieved great merits on the front lines against the Dark Magic House.
‘A curse.’
Chris recognized the Count of Bursen’s condition at a glance.
It was disguised as an illness using a high-level formula, but it couldn't escape Chris’s eyes.
‘By the way, this is a remarkably subtle formula. No wonder no one noticed. This is no ordinary black magician’s curse.’
Chris quickly thought of a suspect.
‘This is the work of Count Riberi.’
Count Riberi was a black magician who, rare among the Majin of the Dark Magic House, had reached 6-Star in Curses.
‘But was Count Riberi’s curse magic this exceptional? This is unexpected.’
The curse was as delicate as a work of art.
This wasn't something possible just by having a high star achievement.
It was a skill that required an incredibly deep understanding of black magic. Did Count Riberi possess such expertise?
‘…Or, he might have used some other means.’