Chapter 13
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Catching the Rat
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He focused, his eyes scanning the numbers on the document.
After reading it twice, he had memorized every single number across the numerous entries, down to the last decimal point.
‘One piece of evidence secured.’
But this alone wasn't enough.
He needed a decisive blow.
‘It should be about time for the trap to spring.’
Just then, the butler returned in a hurry.
“Here is the wine you asked for.”
“Thanks. You’re not upset with me, are you?”
“Not at all! How could I ever feel such a thing!”
“Good. Even though I act this way, I actually like you quite a lot.”
“Th-thank you! I, too, am devoted to you, Young Master!”
After that ridiculous exchange.
The butler’s eyes darted about before he opened his mouth.
“Um… Young Master. Actually, there was something I needed to tell you anyway.”
“Hm?”
“Some friends are looking for you. The… ones you were always close with. They wish to see you in private. At… the usual spot.”
Chris stared intently at the butler.
He was smiling amicably, but Chris could sense the emotion hidden in the butler’s eyes.
It was hostility.
“Ah, I do hope you refrain from getting too close with those friends, Young Master. Their… reputations aren’t exactly stellar, after all.”
Chris smiled.
If he were truly concerned, he wouldn't have relayed the message in the first place.
“I’ll meet them.”
“Young Master?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I said I’ll meet them. Tell them that.”
The butler’s eyes widened before he bowed his head.
“As you command.”
Chris smirked.
‘He took the bait.’
Chris knew instinctively.
The rat had walked right into his trap.
It was time to catch it.
* * *
What kind of people were a scoundrel's friends?
Naturally, they were of a similar breed.
The abandoned children of moderately powerful families.
Those were the friends of this body’s original owner, Christian.
“Long time no see, friend!”
“I heard a rumor you’d changed. It was so ridiculous.”
Chris merely nodded at the guys who approached him, acting friendly.
‘The sons of the county’s influential figures, was it?’
The Magitech Empire, a world of Majin, had a social system similar to the outside world.
There were fiefs and subjects.
The only difference was that instead of knights and nobles, Majin who practiced demonic arts reigned over the people.
The County of Cazar, as a branch of a Dark Magic House, possessed a vast territory, and these boys were the sons of the lower-ranking officials who managed the fief on the Count’s behalf.
“Anyway, insulting the young lady of the Extreme Poison House? As expected of Christian, the biggest scoundrel among us!”
“That’s right. Christian is the one most like a dog.”
Watching these guys spout such nonsense, thinking it was some kind of joke, Chris let out a smirk.
His friends tilted their heads at his unusual reaction.
Something was different about him.
“You’re quiet for our first meeting in a while. Aren’t you happy to see us?”
“Ah, it’s just.”
Chris maintained a faint smile.
“Shall we just head inside?”
They were currently in the downtown area of the largest city in the Cazar county.
Entering a building in an alley, they were greeted by a scene unimaginable from the outside.
A dimly lit tavern.
It was a place that didn't just deal in alcohol, but a variety of other illicit things as well.
“It’s been a while, Young Master!”
A manager with a slick appearance came out and bowed deeply.
“How may I serve you?”
“As we discussed beforehand.”
“Yes, right away! Please, come inside!”
One of the friends spoke, and the manager replied briskly.
Once they entered a spacious room, lavish snacks and strong liquor were brought in.
‘Isn’t this whiskey from the Karn Empire? To think I’d see a whiskey here that even Karn nobles have trouble acquiring.’
Chris clicked his tongue.
That wasn't the only surprising thing.
“Here is a girl we’ve specially prepared to serve you, Young Master.”
Late teens, perhaps?
A girl with a delicate appearance entered, trembling.
She was here to serve them drinks.
‘What a spectacle.’
Chris frowned.
For the record, this body was only fifteen years old.
Yet, not only was he binge-drinking, but he was also being served by a hostess.
From the looks of it, this seemed to be a common occurrence.
Truly, a magnificent scoundrel.
‘And these guys are no different.’
Chris narrowed his eyes and looked at his ‘friends.’
“What’s wrong? You’ve had a long face this whole time. Did the Count scold you that badly?”
“Or maybe, you don’t like that girl?”
Chris shook his head.
“No, let’s just drink.”
“Alright, I’ll pour you a glass. Take it!”
One of the friends poured a drink.
Chris brought the glass to his lips.
He didn't intend to drink it. He was just smelling it.
Sure enough, the drink had a ‘scent.’
A scent others wouldn't have noticed.
But having spent a long time doing illegal work in the back alleys of his past, Chris immediately knew what the smell was.
It was a drug.
‘So this is what it was.’
He had known from the start that today’s meeting was a scheme by that rat, the butler Cox.
He had been curious about the nature of the plot, and it turned out they were trying to get him addicted to drugs.
‘They wouldn't just stop at getting me high. They must have planned for me to commit some grave mistake while under the influence.’
He had an idea what that might be, too.
Chris glanced at the trembling girl.
“What are you doing? Drink up.”
The friend who poured the drink urged him again, his voice tinged with anxiety.
Chris pushed the glass back toward him.
“I’m not in the mood. You drink this.”
“What? Th-that’s…”
He was flustered.
“Ch-Christian, this is the glass I poured for you, so of course you should be the one to drink it…”
“It’s not because you’re scared of the drug inside, is it?”
“!!”
His friends’ faces hardened.
Chris flicked his finger.
A 1-star black magic spell, ‘Advent of Sleep,’ was cast, and the trembling girl slowly drifted off.
His friends’ eyes widened at the natural manifestation of magic.
“Christian? Since when could you use black magic like that?”
“Shut up.”
“Wh-what?”
“I said both of you shut up. You’re disgusting.”
Chris grabbed both of his friends by the head with each hand.
Smash! He slammed them onto the table.
“Keuk!!”
“Aaaargh!!”
Chris didn’t stop at one.
He repeatedly smashed their faces into the table.
In an instant, their faces were turning into bloody pulps.
What was surprising was that despite the huge commotion inside, no one from outside came to check.
It was because of the ‘Silence’ spell Chris had cast.
“St-stop…”
“Why, why are you doing this…?”
Chris shrugged.
“You don’t know why I’m doing this? Then I guess you need to be hit some more.”
Smash!!
Their heads were slammed into the table again.
They tried to resist, but it was useless.
After easily subduing them, he used another 1-star black magic spell, ‘Rope of Darkness,’ to bind their hands and feet.
“St-stop!! I-I was wrong…!! The drug was… just… to help you have more fun, Christian.”
“Bullshit.”
Smash!!
He continued, again and again.
Until they cried out in agony and confessed their sins.
“P-please… st-stop. A-at this rate… I’ll die…”
“You’re speaking informally?”
Smash!
“Kraaah! I-I’m sorry! W-we… were just following orders. To give you, Christian… n-no, you, sir, the drug.”
“And what were you supposed to do after I took it?”
They hesitated.
Chris slammed their faces into the table again.
Smash! Crash!
“Aaaargh!! W-we… we were supposed to kill that girl and frame you for it.”
Chris let out a dry laugh.
Even in the Magitech Empire, murder was a grave crime.
While ‘accidental killings’ resulting from fights between Majin were often overlooked, killing a civilian for no reason was strictly forbidden.
In other words, they had set a trap to completely ruin him.
“Who put you up to this?”
“Th-that’s…”
“Was it the butler, Cox?”
Their eyes widened.
Realizing Chris already knew everything, they hung their heads.
“Y-yes. That half-vampire bastard was blackmailing us with our weaknesses. We had no choice.”
Just as he thought.
Having confirmed the rat's identity, Chris fell into thought.
‘Why?’
Why would the butler Cox try to bring about Christian’s downfall?
It wasn't like they had any personal grudges.
‘Well, I’ll find out soon enough when I catch him.’
Chris kept his thoughts simple.
He took out a dagger and held it to their throats.
“You did something worthy of death, so you can’t complain if you die.”
“P-please… spare…!!”
“Why should I spare you?”
Chris asked nonchalantly.
Realizing he was serious, the two trembled in fear.
“Please, just let us live! We’ll do anything if you spare us!”
“We’ll even become your slaves, Christian-nim!”
It was something they blurted out in their desperation to live.
But unexpectedly, Chris reacted to their words.
“Can you truly swear to do anything?”
“Y-yes! Anything!! We’ll become dogs if you command it!”
“You can really swear on that?”
“Yes, yes!! We swear!!”
The corners of Chris’s mouth lifted.
“Your ‘oath,’ I accept it.”
Sizzle.
A terrible sound, like a branding iron searing flesh, echoed as a seal appeared on their foreheads before fading away.
It was the manifestation of a dreadful black magic spell, the ‘Seal of Binding,’ which allowed one to control another like a slave under specific conditions.
“From now on, listen carefully to my words and follow them exactly.”
Upon hearing the ‘command,’ the two boys' eyes grew as wide as saucers.
Now, it was time to bring down the ax on the rat caught in the trap, the butler Cox.
* * *
In the Count’s office at the Cazar estate.
Count Cazar stared out the window with a somber expression.
“Christian left the castle?”
“…Yes, that is correct.”
The butler Cox bowed his head.
“My apologies. I should have stopped him somehow.”
“No, how could that be your fault?”
Count Cazar let out a long sigh.
Cox had reported that Chris had gone to an illicit tavern with his scoundrel friends.
He didn't even want to imagine what they were doing.
‘If I hadn’t gotten my hopes up, I wouldn’t be this disappointed.’
He thought this time would be different, but it was the same as always.
Just as Count Cazar wore a bitter expression.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the office.
“What is going on?!”
The moment Count Cazar frowned, the office door burst open with a bang.
A Majin with an ashen face raised his voice.
“There’s been a huge incident!”
“…What is it?”
Count Cazar’s heart pounded with anxiety.
“The Young Master has apparently committed murder in the city!”
* * *
The County was in an uproar!
“What… what do you mean? Murder?”
Count Cazar’s hands trembled.
“The Young Master’s friends rushed to the castle to inform us!”
“Have them come in here!”
At his command, the friends who had been with Chris earlier appeared.
Count Cazar’s eyebrows twitched at the sight of their cowed demeanor and their battered, bruised faces.