The Price of Survival
"I don't know why the Second Young Lady is so obsessed with picking on you!"
The next day. After returning from a morning of being harassed by Aine, Gina threw a fit.
"It's Ivan, not 'Young Master,' Gina."
"Whatever you say, Ivan!"
Gina was furious, as if it were happening to her. She had been taking great care of me ever since our days in the Dragan family. There were a few other servants who had been dragged here from Dragan as well, and they all looked after me just as well.
"Are there any other servants who bully you?"
"Aside from Lady Aine, everyone is kind."
"And make sure you eat properly. You skipped breakfast again, didn't you? At least eat this. No matter how important sleep is, breakfast is..."
Gina kept on nagging. In the middle of it, she was busy checking my clothes to see if there were any holes.
"Thanks, Gina. I'm going to go rest until the afternoon."
"Make sure you come back for lunch!"
My mind was too troubled to deal with Gina right now. I gave her a smile and waved my hand. The disposal of the monster corpse from yesterday—that was what was bothering me, making it hard to focus on anything else. I wanted to go to the forest and clean it up, but I had no excuse to leave the Patriarch's castle alone.
"Ivan. The swordsman is looking for you."
Just then, the head attendant called for me. The swordsman was looking for me? A sinister premonition washed over me.
"Ivan Dragan. Follow me."
Without giving me a moment to think, the swordsman approached first. I was grabbed by his hand and dragged somewhere.
"W-where are you taking me?"
"It is the Patriarch's order."
The swordsman replied expressionlessly. The Patriarch. My heart sank at that word. The head of the Seipier family. The very person who had annihilated the Dragan family. I opened the mental barriers I had kept closed. The voices of the sword spirits I had been blocking out began to flood in.
The sword spirits were exactly the same as yesterday. I spoke hurriedly in my mind. 'Everyone, we're in big trouble.'
'I don't know the details, but the Patriarch suddenly called for me. I'm being dragged away by a swordsman.'
My trembling voice reached the spirits. They, however, responded calmly.
As they traded theories, I continued to be dragged along. Soon, I arrived in front of the Patriarch's Hall.
"Susan, Lisa, Megan, Gina..."
In front of the hall, several maids were bound, their faces pale with terror. They were the people who had been captured with me from the Dragan family. The people who had taken such good care of me from the past until now. But it wasn't just the maids there.
"Why are those here..."
Beside the bound maids lay two goblin corpses. They were the monster corpses I had killed yesterday. My vision blurred, and I could feel my palms growing damp.
"Kneel."
"Ugh...!"
The swordsman kicked my legs hard. I couldn't resist and fell to my knees on the floor. At the same time, someone walked out of the Patriarch's Hall. There was only one person in this castle who could walk out of that hall with such authority. The man who had destroyed my family. A swordsman who covered his face with a pure white mask and wielded the sharpest rapier in the world.
"Ivan Dragan."
The Seipier Patriarch called my name. The voice flowing from behind the white mask was as chillingly dry as the expression on the mask itself.
"You must know about this."
The Patriarch pointed at the goblin corpses with his chin. "Is this your doing? Confess. If you don't, I will kill these people one by one."
As the Patriarch spoke, a swordsman pressed his blade against Susan's neck. Susan was the maid who had been my nanny since I was a baby. She was weeping, her cheeks trembling violently. My throat was frozen; I couldn't speak. Had I not been caught hiding the Spirit Sword? If I spoke, would I die? What about the other maids?
My mind was a cacophony of the spirits' voices. I conveyed the situation in a trembling voice.
"Kill her."
"W-wait, just a moment!"
Just then, the Patriarch raised his arm. The swordsman swung his blade without hesitation. *Slash—* Susan's head flew off. It was a surreal sight. I gasped for air. The swordsman's blade was already turning toward the next maid. I had to speak. If I didn't, they would all surely die.
"No, Young Master!"
But as I opened my mouth, Gina screamed. Bound and struggling against the ropes, she shouted, "No, Young Master! Don't tell them—"
"I don't want to waste time. Kill them all."
The moment Gina shouted, the Patriarch's dry voice cut her off. And the swordsman began to raise his blade without mercy.
"W-wait! Yes! It was me! I cut down the monsters with my sword!"
I shouted desperately. The remaining maids were all in danger of dying. I couldn't think about what would happen next. Seeing Susan's severed head, my vocal cords moved on their own.
"I thought so. Kill them all."
But the swordsman's blade didn't stop. Following the Patriarch's command, he swung his sword without mercy. *Slash— Slash— Slash—*
"W-why..."
The maids' heads flew off in vain. They all met their deaths with their eyes wide open.
"Young Master—"
"Gina!"
*Slash—* Finally, it was the same for Gina. Her neck spun through the air, her mouth still open as if she were trying to say something. The heads of a dozen maids rolled across the floor, spraying blood everywhere.
"Detain him."
Having finished the slaughter, the Patriarch turned away, as if it didn't matter at all. The swordsmen grabbed me by both shoulders. I was dragged away, staring blankly at the bloodbath in front of the hall.
***
The floor of the dungeon was as cold as ice. The rising chill curled my waist like a shrimp. I couldn't understand what had happened. The sword spirits kept chattering in my head, and I stared into the void with hollow eyes for a long time. An unknown amount of time passed in that state. Guards passed by the hallway occasionally. A meal, if you could call it that, was brought in once. The temperature dropped further, and the surroundings grew silent. When I could no longer feel the guards pacing the hallway, I realized that a full day had passed and it was now night.
*Crack—* As I tried to stand, my stiff joints and muscles screamed. I didn't know how many hours I had spent curled up on the floor.
'Everyone. I'm going to die soon.'
I spoke to the spirits after a long silence. I hadn't accepted death yet. I had simply realized the truth about this situation and my own stupidity.
I explained what had happened to the spirits. They were furious at the Seipier Patriarch's actions, and some expressed doubts.
'I was just clinging to my life, relying on the enemy's mercy.' I was stupid and weak. I had been justifying my life as a servant to the enemy who destroyed my family, using the excuse that I had been persecuted in the Dragan family. There was no humiliation. In truth, I was just happy to have survived. It wasn't that I missed Dragan. I had just realized how pathetic I had been until now.
'Yes. That is truly the case.'
I laughed weakly at Emperor Augustus's words. It seemed it was already too late for me, though.
'But there is no way out. I don't have the ability to escape this prison.' Even if I summoned the sword, I wouldn't be able to break through the security of the Seipier Patriarch's castle with my current skill level.
'Is there a way?'
'I see...' I had hoped, but the spirits had no way either. They were just trapped in the sword, unable to influence reality beyond communicating with me. But the Lust Demon wasn't finished.
Come to think of it, they said there were 11 spirits in total. The ones who had been in the sword for a long time were said to be asleep. It seemed the Lust Demon was talking about one of those ancient spirits. Since the Foot-technique Master and the Invisible Sword didn't know about her, it meant she had fallen asleep before they became spirits—a truly ancient one.
The spirits were bickering, pushing the task onto each other. It was the first time I had seen the boisterous Emperor Augustus act so cautious. Just as they were about to decide by drawing lots, a voice I had never heard before appeared.
A spirit named Seipier. The one the Lust Demon had mentioned had come out on her own. But the name was strange. Seipier?
I heard the Invisible Sword's scream. I could only hear it, but it looked incredibly painful. The other spirits didn't even dare to breathe. I didn't know what was happening inside, but I instinctively held my breath.
Seipier spoke in a prim voice. Behind her, I heard the Invisible Sword groaning. The Lust Demon, who had been watching the situation, opened his mouth.
Seipier cut off the Lust Demon. She introduced herself. Upon hearing her identity, I couldn't help but be shocked.