Chapter 85
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Uninvited Guest (2)
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"Good boy, Kairen."
My mind went blank. No matter how hard I tried to think, my head just wouldn't turn.
"I know full well that you had no choice but to leave the marquisate. In fact, it must have been hard to adjust even in Belverk, right?"
And that made sense, because the moment I faced the Marchioness Opstein, the habits carved into my body over the past ten years had unconsciously resurfaced.
"Dorsia has been waiting for you so much."
Submission and resignation, self-justification and compliance. Things I'd briefly forgotten since coming to Belverk, but my ten-year-old body remembered them all too well.
'This won't do.'
But I couldn't just meekly obey the Marchioness Opstein like this.
Unlike my past days in Opstein, where I didn't even realize there was a problem, I now had knowledge from my previous life that had turned my fate around.
'There's still a chance to escape.'
And unlike my powerless old self, I now had a few ways to break free from her.
- Grrr….
First, Fluffy, who had sensed the commotion from earlier, woken from sleep, and was now circling restlessly in my shadow, letting out low growls.
But I couldn't summon Fluffy right now because the Marchioness Opstein had pinned me down, straddling me.
To summon Fluffy, I needed an area of shadow at least as big as my body. Lying on the floor like this, even summoning the pups would be difficult.
'Then, first things first—shake off the Marchioness Opstein.'
I'd prefer to pick a skill from the 'Skill Window' if possible, but it had a short duration, and using it left me drained, so I had to save it for the last resort.
That left enhancing my physical abilities with Crimson Eyes.
Even though she had a knife to my throat, activating Crimson Eyes would buy me a brief opening.
"Um, Madam."
"Yes?"
"You see, Kairen…."
With my resolve hardened, I put on an innocent smile and spoke to her.
"…I'm sorry!"
The moment she tilted her head to listen, I didn't miss it—I dyed my eyes red and thrust both arms forward.
- Crack….
But the next instant, the familiar yet horrific pain in my shoulder.
"Look at you. Did you forget already?"
Forcing my reddened eyes to dim, I let my arms drop limply. In my blurred vision, I saw the Marchioness Opstein smirking down at me, lips curled.
"I'm a daughter of House Sharhen, the marquisate renowned for swordsmanship, you know?"
Ah, right. I'd mostly forgotten since the past ten years had been mostly whips and nails, but the Marchioness Opstein was one of the daughters of House Sharhen.
No matter how much I activated Crimson Eyes, it was only natural that she, having seized the advantageous position, could subdue a frail ten-year-old like me in the blink of an eye.
"Ack…."
Lost in such dazed thoughts, a wave of excruciating burning from my shoulder made me groan involuntarily.
"I told you not to make a sound, Kairen."
She curled her lips even higher, leaning in with a chilling expression.
"It hurts…."
"Of course it does. That's the point."
As if to show off, she pulled something from her bosom and dangled it—a vial of holy water, gleaming brightly.
"You know what this is, right?"
"Ugh…."
"Next time, it's your face."
She must have coated the knife with it to amplify the pain. Uncorking the vial, she tilted it threateningly and whispered in my ear.
"…Or maybe your eyeballs would be better?"
Even as I desperately tried to focus and call up the skill window, her casual mutter made me lose composure.
- Zzzzt….
The system window, which required intense concentration to maintain, flickered hazily before me and vanished.
"I was wrong…."
But even the will to summon it again was gone. From my lips came a mechanical voice, eerily similar to the one I'd uttered about a year ago.
"Please, spare my eyes…."
Crimson Eyes. The one ability given to me when I had nothing, alongside the system.
And the sole proof that I, who had been a total stranger until recently, was connected by blood to my mother.
"I'll do anything you say…."
I didn't want to lose those eyes, symbolic of my second life, so pointlessly.
"I won't run away again…."
"Disgusting."
So I clasped my hands and begged the Marchioness Opstein, who looked ready to pour the holy water into my eyes any second.
"It's only been a year, and you already think you're something just because you're in Belverk?"
She looked down at me with contempt, her expression growing even more chilling as she muttered.
"Do you think you're something now?"
"Hic."
"After all we've fed and raised you, this is how the monster repays us…."
Her malice suffocated me to the point I could barely breathe.
"Ah, I've got a good idea."
After muttering to herself for a while, she suddenly opened her mouth with a creepy smile.
"They said bring you back alive, but they didn't say not to hurt you."
"Eek!"
"…I need to repay some of the humiliation my daughter suffered because of a little monster brat like you."
With that, the Marchioness Opstein yanked the knife from my shoulder and spun it gracefully.
- Shing….
The knife tip plunged suddenly toward my right eye but stopped just short.
"And while I'm at it, some revenge on your mother for daring to make my daughter tumble down the stairs."
"Ah…."
"…Those loathsome eyes. I'll make sure they never open again."
Staring down at me with a smile full of sadistic glee, she seemed utterly unhinged.
"Spare… Mmph."
"No."
My fifth failed attempt to summon the system window. In a last desperate act, I tried to scream, but she clamped my mouth shut.
"Poor Kairen."
"……."
"Your mother won't even recognize you when you go back like this, will she?"
Struggling futilely under her, I trembled quietly at her words, knife still poised at my right eye.
"She'll think you're an Opstein spawn she hates so much and kick you out, right?"
Honestly, the saddest part was that I couldn't deny the possibility.
- Drip….
As tears began to flow unbidden, the Marchioness Opstein's eyes widened for a moment.
"Ahaha…."
She burst into laughter but quickly sobered, muttering lowly.
"…Even your crying is obnoxious."
And the next instant.
- Crunch….
Something being crushed echoed cruelly and clearly in all directions.
*****
- Tremble….
Kairen, pale-faced and shuddering with eyes squeezed shut, bracing for the despairing pain.
"……?"
But no matter how long he waited, the expected pain didn't come. Trembling, Kairen cautiously opened his eyes.
"Ah!"
His expression brightened in an instant.
"Wh-what."
"……."
"What is this?!"
Contrary to Kairen's joy, the Marchioness Opstein's face was filled with bewilderment.
- Cruuunch….
Just before her knife could pierce Kairen's right eye, someone had suddenly appeared and grabbed the blade with their bare hand, crumpling it.
"M-monster…."
Blood streamed from her hand, but ignoring it, the eldest daughter Edelasia completely crushed the blade.
Her eyes dyed red, she stared at the Marchioness Opstein, who stumbled back, propping herself up and scrambling away from Kairen.
"……."
But the eldest daughter rose silently and wordlessly stepped toward her.
"S-say something…!"
The Marchioness Opstein, glaring with a hint of fear, raised her voice desperately.
- Splash…!
The next moment, she hurled the holy water from the vial hidden behind her back at the eldest daughter with all her might.
- Sizzle….
"I told you to…."
Black smoke rose from the eldest daughter, who halted. The Marchioness Opstein smirked faintly and hurriedly stood.
- Boom…!
But before she could fully rise, a massive shockwave hit the abdomen of her armor.
"Mmph."
The next instant, she doubled over, face drained of color, cheeks puffed.
"Urk… Bleeech…."
The Marchioness Opstein collapsed to her knees again, vomiting blood mixed with bile.
"Kuh… Ha… Haa…."
How much time passed? Amid the wrenching of her guts and retching, she finally regained her senses and slowly lifted her head.
"……."
In her view stood Belverk's eldest monster, expression vacant as ever, black smoke dissipated, standing unscathed before her.
"W-wait."
"……."
"Just a moment!"
Cold sweat beaded on the Marchioness Opstein as the eldest daughter stepped forward again. She thrust her hands out desperately.
"I-I'm sane now!"
"……?"
"Br-brainwashing! I was brainwashed by the Divine Church!"
With an utterly wronged and desperate expression, she crawled pitifully toward Kairen.
"Ahh… Kairen, I'm so sorry for everything…."
"……."
"But please understand."
Tears streaming, she reached for Kairen's cheek. Still trembling from trauma, he froze for a moment.
"It wasn't something I wanted to do…."
And then, a trembling voice escaped Kairen's lips.
"…Really?"
At that pure, pitiful tone, the Marchioness Opstein barely suppressed a laugh, twitching her lips.
"Yes, so…."
But the instant her hand neared his cheek, as she switched back to a pleading face.
"Kyaa?!"
The eldest daughter, watching chillingly from behind, suddenly grabbed her hair and yanked back viciously.
- Cruuunch….
Without giving the Marchioness Opstein a chance to resist, the eldest daughter tore into the clothes beneath her armor with terrifying grip strength.
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
"……."
"You crazy bitch!"
Her top ripped completely, exposing her undergarments, she frantically covered her chest and screamed.
"None."
But her actions were already futile.
"Black heart."
From the start, the eldest daughter, well-informed by her capable subordinates' reports, knew exactly where the Divine Church's puppets bore their marks. The act fooled no one.
"…And no conscience either."
Having assessed the situation, she grabbed the Marchioness Opstein's hair again as she sat on the ground, shoving her face close and whispering lowly.
"Are you prepared?"
At the same time, the Marchioness Opstein's face turned ashen, body shuddering.
- Shiver….
She glanced hopefully at Kairen, but.
- Thud….
Before her gaze reached him, her face was smashed into the dry dirt.
"Little brother."
Grabbing the now-struggling Marchioness Opstein by the scruff, the eldest daughter turned to Kairen.
"Dorsia, was it?"
She asked in an eerily calm voice.
"…Did she bully you too?"
The Marchioness Opstein convulsed wildly, screaming silently, but it was far too late.
"Little brother. I've got a great idea."
Stopping the eldest daughter once her eyes rolled back was impossible—even for Astridje herself.
Even for Kairen, the very one still wagging his tail like a dog seeing its master.
"Let's finish the rest of the picnic in Opstein."
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