Chapter 55
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Ex-Fiancée
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Long, flowing dark blue hair and emerald eyes.
A truly beautiful appearance.
She had an intellectual air about her, but her sharp, upturned eyes made her seem proud. She exuded a haughty charm.
‘Who is she? She’s not from a Dark Magic House, is she?’
Chris wore a puzzled expression.
She didn't seem like an ordinary girl.
‘She’s at the 3-Star level.’
She looked to be in her mid-to-late teens, yet her level of mastery was profound.
Not just 3-Star, but the upper tier of 3-Star.
Considering her age, it was an astonishingly high level.
Her status didn't seem trivial, either.
Majin stood behind the girl, all of them radiating considerable power.
Their auras were in no way inferior to those of the elite Majin from the Dark Magic Houses.
Yet, strangely, the girl seemed to know Christian.
“Do I know you?”
“…Do you know me? Ha.”
The girl’s eyes narrowed sharply.
An enraged reaction.
And she wasn't the only one.
The Majin standing behind her also directed hostile glares at Christian.
“After giving me such an insult…”
“……??”
So, it seemed she was an acquaintance from his time as the old ‘Christian.’
But as Chris, he could only be bewildered.
“Wait, hold on.”
Chris tried to say something, but one of the Majin on the other side cut him off.
The contemptuous glance thrown his way was an added bonus.
“My lady, let’s just go. There’s no need to pay any mind to trash like him.”
“…Right.”
The girl took a deep breath, composing herself.
Then, she looked at the liquor bottles in Chris’s hand and scoffed.
As if looking at a disgusting insect.
“Drinking in broad daylight. You haven’t changed a bit.”
“…No, wait, this is. Just a moment.”
Chris tried to say something, but she wasn't listening.
She turned and vanished with a cold expression, as if she didn't want to exchange another word with him.
“……”
Chris was left with a dumbfounded look on his face.
What was this all of a sudden?
To make matters worse, he’d planned to burn off the alcohol before drinking, making the accusation utterly unfair.
‘…Who the hell is she?’
However, once Chris learned the girl's identity, he understood why she had reacted that way.
There was more than enough reason for such a response.
“That is Lady Marisa, the princess of the Extreme Poison House.”
The Halfling butler, having witnessed the commotion, explained the girl's identity.
Marisa.
A name both unfamiliar and familiar.
Chris repeated the name a few times before a memory surfaced, and his eyes widened.
“…My fiancée?”
“To be precise, your *former* fiancée.”
The Halfling butler corrected him curtly.
“Lady Marisa waited, continuously postponing the annulment despite your disappointing behavior. But in the end, wasn't the engagement broken off after you subjected her to a severe insult a short while ago?”
* * *
Marisa, the princess of the Extreme Poison House, grit her teeth.
‘That damn bastard.’
The image of Christian she had just seen wouldn't leave her mind.
“Are you alright, my lady?”
“…I’m fine.”
No, honestly, she wasn't fine.
Long ago, when Christian was a child—before he became a scoundrel, when he was still decent.
When Marisa, too, was just a little girl.
Christian had been her unripe first love.
She had lost her heart to him at first sight during a gathering between their families.
When their political engagement was arranged for the sake of harmony between the two houses, she had no idea how happy she was, pounding on her mandragora doll in her room.
But then, Christian changed.
As the endless stream of bad rumors about him reached her, the elders of her family spoke of annulling the engagement, but Marisa refused.
She decided to wait, thinking it was just a phase of youthful rebellion.
But when she met him again, he dealt her an unbearable insult.
Her long wait ended in a miserable wound.
And despite all that.
[Do I know you?]
His tone implied he didn't even remember her.
How could a person be so cruel?
“…My lady.”
“…I’m really fine.”
Marisa took a long, deep breath.
She wasn't here at the Dark Magic House on a personal visit.
She was an envoy, here to represent the opinion of the Extreme Poison House.
“This way, my lady.”
A high-ranking Majin of the Dark Magic House led her, and soon she came face-to-face with a certain individual.
It was the Acting Head, Marquis Langham.
* * *
“I have come to discuss the matter of ownership of the artifact recently discovered in the neutral zone.”
“I see. And what does the Extreme Poison House intend to do? Since you took the last artifact that was found, are you planning to concede this one?”
“That would be impossible.”
The Magitech Empire was composed of five regions.
The central domain ruled by the Demon Emperor.
And the four Magic Kingdoms to the east, west, south, and north.
The Dark Magic House and the Extreme Poison House both belonged to the Southern Magic Kingdom, under the command of the Demon King of the Blue Stream.
One might think that being in the same kingdom would make them close.
That was half right and half wrong.
The Southern Magic Kingdom cooperated when fighting external enemies.
But when they weren't?
They fought each other.
The two houses were the ones who engaged in the most frequent localized conflicts.
The reasons were many.
For their respective interests.
For pride.
Or simply because they wanted to fight.
The two families bickered at the slightest provocation.
But recently, a troublesome incident had occurred.
An 'artifact' had appeared in the neutral zone between their territories.
The Extreme Poison House, having discovered it first, took it.
The Dark Magic House protested, but it was unthinkable that the Extreme Poison House would listen.
It was an incident that left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Dark Magic House.
The matter should have ended there, but another troublesome development occurred not long ago.
Another artifact was discovered in the neutral zone.
“As a matter of principle, I believe this artifact should belong to our Dark Magic House.”
“Principle between our two houses? You speak of things that don't suit us. If the Dark Magic House were in the opposite position, would you have conceded?”
Marquis Langham let out a smirk.
Absolutely not.
They would never have conceded.
They would have tried to monopolize both artifacts.
“So, you’re proposing that whoever finds the artifact first gets to claim ownership, to be fair?”
The exact location of the artifact had not yet been confirmed.
“Yes, but. The expedition teams should be limited to twenty members or fewer, comprised of Majin at 3-Star or below.”
“Is this to avoid a clash between our houses?”
If the main forces of both houses were to shed blood, it would inevitably lead to a large-scale conflict.
That was the reason for such a proposal.
“Yes. If we were to suffer great losses fighting each other, it would only benefit our other enemies. The situation at the ‘Four Kings Castle’ has also been unsettling recently.”
The two houses had many enemies.
Closer to home, there was the ‘Destruction House’ within the same Southern Magic Kingdom.
Abroad, there was the ‘Gold Cross’ of the Crusade Alliance.
And next door, the Eastern Magic Kingdom, with the ‘Four Kings Castle,’ a coalition of the Necromancy, Blood Sword, and Curse Houses.
This was why the two houses, despite their constant bickering, never crossed the line.
For reference, the ruler of the Magitech Empire, the ‘Demon Emperor,’ never intervened in the wars between his subordinate Magic Kingdoms. In fact, he rarely took action in any matter.
It was as if he were a mere spectator. No, perhaps he was even encouraging the conflicts among them.
“Very well, I accept the terms.”
“Truly?”
Marisa’s eyes widened in surprise.
Since the Extreme Poison House had taken the last artifact, she had expected the Dark Magic House to make unreasonable demands to their advantage this time.
“However, there is one additional condition. If the Extreme Poison House breaks this promise, our Dark Magic House will claim ownership not only of this artifact but also of the one discovered recently.”
“What do you mean by breaking the promise?”
“Like if you were to interfere with our expedition team through treacherous means. Traps and hidden weapons are the specialty of the Extreme Poison House, after all.”
Marisa’s face hardened.
“That will not happen.”
“Then there should be no problem. If you do not accept the additional condition, there will be no negotiation.”
Marisa frowned.
Something felt off.
But she was in a position where she had to make some concessions.
Most importantly, the scenario Marquis Langham described would never happen.
“Very well. We accept the additional condition.”
“Will you be leading the expedition team for the Extreme Poison House yourself, my lady?”
“Yes, that is the plan.”
Marisa answered with a determined expression.
Since she herself would be leading the team, what Marquis Langham spoke of would never occur.
“I see. Then we shall have the chance to witness the prowess of the renowned Young Mistress of Myriad Poisons. I look forward to it.”
“Then, I shall take my leave.”
After bidding farewell, Marisa departed.
Marquis Langham stroked his cold, metal-framed glasses.
He gazed at the chessboard before him.
He spoke as he knocked over a white piece.
“Marisa.”
This time, a black piece.
“Jupien.”
The Second Princess of the Dark Magic House.
Finally, he knocked over another black piece.
“Christian.”
These three were to be the sacrifices in his plan.
* * *
“Here is the Black Sword.”
Upon seeing Chris’s Black Sword, Marquis Langham said nothing more.
Chris grinned.
“I’ve passed the first test, haven’t I?”
“…Indeed. I will tell you the second test.”
Marquis Langham spoke of the artifact in the neutral zone.
“You want me to find the artifact in the neutral zone?”
“Yes. If you contribute enough to finding the artifact, I will grant you the status of a Young Lord.”
Chris looked puzzled.
It was a surprisingly easy mission.
He had expected a task that would put his life on the line.
Of course, the neutral zone was a dangerous place.
A place where all sorts of demonic beasts appeared.
With Chris’s current achievements, a single misstep could cost him his life.
Still, it was a much more lenient mission than he had anticipated.
‘No. This is definitely a dangerous mission.’
An instinctive sense of danger sounded an alarm.
There was something more to this mission than met the eye.
But Christian didn't show it and simply bowed his head.
“Yes, I understand. Am I to do this alone?”
“No, that would be impossible. You will be assigned to the unit led by the Second Princess, Jupien.”
In other words, he was to follow the Second Princess's orders.
It was an unwelcome fact, but he had no choice.
Only after becoming a Young Lord could he command his own Majin.
“This mission was originally meant for Roin. But I am entrusting it to you instead, so be sure to do your utmost and produce results.”
“I will follow your command.”
“You will be departing soon, so be prepared.”
After leaving, Chris frowned.
‘An artifact in the neutral zone. What incident is this?’
Thanks to the Chatterbox of Darkness, Chris was aware of most of the major incidents that had occurred in the Magitech Empire.
But this particular event didn't ring a bell.
‘Was it not significant enough for the Chatterbox of Darkness to mention?’
Just then, a question flashed through his mind.
—This mission was originally meant for Roin.
‘Come to think of it, what happens to Roin in the original history?’
Originally, the one who should have become a Young Lord this time was Roin, not Chris.
If it weren't for Chris, he would have become one without issue.
‘But I’ve never heard anything about Roin. Why?’
Despite being a Young Lord of a noble house, Chris had never heard of Roin.
There was only one reason for that.
He died.
And quickly, at that. Without ever making a name for himself.
Why did he die?
Chris’s mind raced, piecing together the truth.
‘…Could it be that he dies on this mission?’