Chapter 94
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: A Calculated Surrender
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A voice filled with animosity toward the Sword Emperor.
This time, the Old Lord's gaze softened slightly as he looked at Christian.
“Christian, you have done well. You have achieved a great feat. I shall reward you for this separately.”
“…Could you perhaps grant my wish as a reward?”
“Your wish? Speak.”
Chris took a shallow breath.
‘I have to get this right.’
That bastard Evan's life hung in the balance right now.
“Please postpone the execution of the Sword Emperor's son.”
“What?”
The Old Lord's eyes turned cold.
“Why? Are you trying to show him pointless mercy?”
His voice was laced with disappointment.
After all, it was taboo for a Majin to show unnecessary compassion to an enemy.
But Chris shook his head.
“Not at all. Why would I show mercy to those detestable fools from the Alliance? I am merely asking because I believe simply beheading him is too merciful a punishment.”
“Hmm? Then? What do you have in mind?”
“Give him to me as a spoil of war.”
“!!”
Chris lifted the corners of his mouth, making sure he looked as wicked as possible.
“Wouldn't forcing the Sword Emperor's son to submit as my slave, to be my hands and feet, be the ultimate revenge against those abominable Alliance bastards?”
* * *
The Old Lord accepted Christian's request.
He even laughed heartily.
- "Khahaha!! Yes, you are right. A mere beheading is too bland. However."
The Old Lord had said suggestively.
- "Will you truly be able to do it? If he is the Sword Emperor's son, he won't be easy to handle."
Chris had answered decisively.
- "It would be no fun if he were compliant. Please watch with pleasure. You will witness the son of the Sword Emperor kneeling before me."
- "Very well, I shall look forward to it. But."
The Old Lord had spoken with a chilling gaze that felt like it could pierce one's heart.
- "If you fail, you will behead the Sword Emperor's son yourself. Do you understand?"
- "…I will keep that in mind."
Chris recalled his conversation with the Old Lord, his eyes gloomy.
‘Aaargh! What do you mean, taming him?! Why do I have to go through all this trouble! This damned Hero is completely useless to my life!’
His indignation toward Evan surged.
Chris sighed heavily.
‘I have no choice. Now that it's come to this, I have to make the Hero my pawn.’
It wasn't that he intended to make him a slave, as he'd told Nordian.
What Chris hoped for this time was for the Hero to become an ally who would help with his plans.
‘The problem is how to win that bastard Evan's heart.’
Conversation?
It wouldn't work.
He wouldn't accept anything Chris said.
‘I'd be lucky if he doesn't just try to stab me.’
The difficulty was immense.
As he was pondering a method, a servant came running, his face urgent.
“Y-Young Lord! It's an emergency! The Shadow of the Sword House…!!”
“…What is it? Did his condition worsen?”
“No, sir. Thanks to the intensive treatment you ordered, his condition has improved significantly.”
“Then?”
Chris looked puzzled.
If he’s better, what’s the problem?
“Is he causing a ruckus in the prison? If so, just leave him be for the most part.”
However.
“N-no, he isn't being disruptive.”
“What's the problem, then?”
“W-well… his attitude is strange. I mean… he's kneeling.”
“……??”
The servant, flustered, couldn't explain the situation properly.
“Y-you should probably come and see for yourself.”
With a bewildered expression, Chris went to the prison.
And then.
He saw it.
‘Crazy bastard.’
A sight that made him curse.
“…You have come.”
The Hero, Evan, was on his knees.
No one had forced him.
He did it himself.
As if showing the utmost respect.
More precisely, like a vassal serving his master.
Like a slave who had surrendered.
He bowed his head low.
“My Lord.”
* * *
The son of the Sword Emperor had knelt to Christian!
The news sent a buzz through the Dark Magic House.
“Ha, Young Lord Christian truly is amazing. How did he make him submit?”
“I heard he carved a Blood Seal on him when he was down. Incredible, truly. And they said he only recently learned Blood Art.”
“But wasn't it an Inferior Blood Seal? That shouldn't include runes to make a sentient being obey, right?”
“Who knows. He probably modified the formula in some strange way again. It's not the first or second time Young Lord Christian has done something like that, is it? It's certain a soul seal is carved on him, so it must be true.”
The Majin were once again in awe of Christian.
But Christian couldn't listen to their praise with a clear conscience.
Because he knew the ‘truth’.
‘This crazy son of a bitch Hero.’
Chris swallowed a curse and looked at Evan, who was prostrated beside him.
Evan asked back with an innocent look in his eyes.
“Is something wrong, Master?”
“…It's nothing.”
“Please, give me any command.”
“……”
Chris wore an uncomfortable expression.
Was he uncomfortable because he'd enslaved a former comrade, someone who would become the Hero?
No.
‘…You're acting, aren't you.’
That was right.
The ‘Inferior Blood Seal’ Chris had carved did not include runes for ‘loyalty’ or ‘obedience’.
It was designed to forcibly control those who had lost their minds in death, so such advanced and complex formulas were unnecessary.
But despite having his sanity intact, the man was obeying Chris's commands.
It was an act.
‘An act to survive. He must have calculated that if he became my slave, he wouldn't be executed immediately.’
No, it wasn't that simple.
Chris didn't miss the cold killing intent that flickered in the corners of Evan's eyes.
‘He might be looking for a chance to kill me.’
Chris decided to test him.
Just then, he pretended to accidentally drop the knife he was using to cut his steak at Evan's feet.
Clang!
“Pick it up.”
“!!”
For a fleeting moment.
Evan stared at the knife.
Its blade glinted ominously in the sunlight.
A sharp tool, lying there, perfectly capable of slitting someone's throat.
With Evan's skills, it would be effortless.
In the blink of an eye, that knife could be at Chris's neck.
‘Let's see.’
Evan slowly knelt.
After a momentary hesitation that no one would notice, he moved his hand.
“…Here you are.”
Chris held back a sigh.
That twitch of his fingers just now.
It perfectly matched Evan's old habit when he was debating whether to launch a surprise attack.
Evan was clearly looking for an opportunity to take Chris's head.
‘This is driving me crazy. And I can't even expose him.’
The back of Chris's neck throbbed.
If he exposed him, Evan would die.
He had to pretend not to know, but the problem was that Evan was no easy opponent.
As seen in their previous fight, Evan also possessed innate instincts.
Even for Chris, a moment of carelessness could mean losing his head.
‘But it's not like I can just confess that I'm actually on his side.’
Saying something like that out of the blue would only make him suspicious; he wouldn't believe or accept it.
‘It might be different if that bastard Evan had awakened his Mind's Eye, but not yet.’
It was one of the blessings Evan would later receive from the Constellations.
If he had his Mind's Eye, he could see through to a person's true intentions and would easily recognize Chris's sincerity, but that was too much to hope for right now.
‘Forget the Mind's Eye.’
Chris looked into Evan's eyes.
Unlike when he was a Hero, his eyes were dark and sunken. Like those of a corpse.
Evan's heart must be the same right now.
A thought suddenly occurred to Chris.
‘Perhaps that bastard Evan intends to kill me and then die himself. Since there's no hope for him even if he lives.’
He remembered something Evan had once said in passing while drunk.
- "That time was really hard for me. I even tried to take my own life many times."
Chris frowned.
He was sure of it!
‘This damn bastard.’
Chris made a decision.
What to do with Evan.
‘First, I need to snap him out of it.’
Unfortunately, there was only one way to make him come to his senses.
Drastic measures were needed.
“What's with that look in your eyes?”
“Pardon?”
Smack!!
Evan's head whipped to the side.
“Even as a slave, you still can't let go of the pride left in your soul?”
“N-no, sir. I apologize.”
Evan hastily fell to his knees.
Chris spoke with the most arrogant expression he could muster.
“Since you've done wrong, you must be punished. Melin.”
“Yes, Young Lord.”
“Drag this man to the prison and starve him. Make sure he never even thinks of being impudent again.”
Melin tilted her head. She seemed to think it was unlike Chris, but she led Evan away without any further questions.
* * *
A few days later.
Chris visited the prison.
Evan was hanging in chains.
Having only just recovered from a fatal injury, he was now starved and chained, looking to be in poor condition.
‘…Who whipped him? I never ordered that. Anyway, his eyes… they're still the same.’
Dark.
Empty pupils stared at Chris.
“Are you all right?”
“…I am fine.”
The reply came a beat too late.
“For teaching me the error of my ways… I am truly grateful.”
A faint killing intent was mixed in his voice.
No.
That wasn't anger directed at Chris.
It was rage toward those who had put him in this situation.
And despair for himself.
Evan was still clearly thinking of killing Chris and then himself.
Chris sighed and then spoke.
“Are you angry?”
“Pardon? No, I am not.”
“You're not?”
Chris gazed steadily into Evan's eyes, as if peering into his very soul.
“I won't tolerate lies. Speak honestly.”
“……”
“Are you not angry? No, let me rephrase.”
Chris changed the question.
“I'm asking if you're not angry at those who put you in this situation.”
For a moment, a faint light flashed in Evan's eyes.
A chilling killing intent.
It was just a small flicker, but it was unmistakable.
“…What do you mean?”
“Are you asking because you don't know?”
“……”
“You claim to have submitted to me, yet the anger in your heart remains. Or perhaps.”
Chris put on a sneering expression.
“You never submitted in the first place.”
“!!”
Evan sucked in a sharp breath.
Meeting Chris's steady gaze, his face hardened.
“…How long have you known?”
“Hmm, since the beginning?”
“…If you knew, why did you let me live?”
Evan gritted his teeth.
“Were you mocking my pathetic display inwardly all this time?”
Chris shrugged.
“No, it's not for such a base reason.”
“Then why?”
“Because I didn't want you to die.”
“!!”
Evan looked like he couldn't understand.
“What nonsense are you spouting.”
“It's true. So, um.”
Chris thought about his words.
‘The best thing to do here would be to win Evan's heart, but that's probably impossible.’
Showing his true feelings clumsily would only backfire.
‘Ugh. If only that bastard Evan had his Mind's Eye, making him believe my sincerity would be easy. I have no choice.’
He had to make Evan understand.
And in doing so, make him follow his words.
There was only one way.
To stimulate Evan's anger.
“Because a useful slave like you isn't easy to come by.”