Chapter 3
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Inheriting the Novel
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The two figures mentioned in the settings of the Poisoned Ink Bottle.
Byan Deolic and Tedric Eaton.
Of them, Byan Deolic was someone with whom I shared a particularly deep connection.
The Banheart Count Family and the Deolic Count Family had been on friendly terms, so there had been frequent exchanges between our houses during our childhood.
When I was young, Leon Deolic, the eldest son of the Deolic family, even came over to demonstrate swordsmanship.
The Deolic family was a renowned martial house in the kingdom, and I remember many knights coming to observe each time.
Naturally, I had known Byan Deolic since those days.
A straight-faced genius from the Deolic family who never slacked in his efforts.
In the current royal army, everyone praised him as the model knight.
‘Ridiculous.’
But to me, who had known Byan since childhood, it was just laughable.
I knew full well he wasn’t the good guy everyone made him out to be.
‘Still, I never thought he’d go that far.’
I stared at Byan, who wore the mask of a sage.
He seemed puzzled by my sudden visit to his tent.
Well, that was only natural. We hadn’t had any proper interactions since we were kids.
The reason I had sought him out was simple.
Rather than wasting time unnecessarily, I judged that checking the settings of the guy mentioned in the ink bottle was the fastest way to uncover the truth.
“Do you have some business with me? You coming to see me doesn’t seem like a casual matter.”
“Just wanted to catch up and see your face after all this time.”
“What?”
He squinted, thinking I was joking.
But I couldn’t care less about his reaction.
My gaze was fixed solely on the text floating beside Byan Deolic.
==
[Byan Deolic]
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Role in Story: Second son of the Deolic Count Family (villain)
Abilities: Silver Star Sword (5 stars)
Special Notes: Spy for the Kainzel Kingdom. Assassinated Duke Gail and framed Tedric Eaton for it, shaking the entire Talua Kingdom army. Fabian’s first rival and a genius swordsman of exceptional talent.
==
‘Wow.’
I couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.
I had suspected he was up to something, but I never imagined he had such a flashy scheme in the works.
‘Framing Sir Eaton... with the assassination of Duke Gail?’
Ivan Gail.
He was the supreme commander of the current Talua Kingdom army.
A man so capable he was called the kingdom’s hope, to the point where people said the Kainzel Kingdom hesitated to attack because of him.
On top of that, the Eaton Marquis Family was a prestigious martial house that had produced outstanding knights for generations, wielding significant influence in the military.
Tedric Eaton was the heir to that family and a high-level Sword Expert.
If something happened to these two figures who held such immense sway over the kingdom’s army, it would throw the entire force into chaos.
If Byan was a Kainzel spy, they would certainly be prime targets.
But there was one part that didn’t make sense.
‘Why would Byan be a spy...?’
Unlike our fallen family, the Deolic family was a time-honored noble house of great renown.
I couldn’t for the life of me understand why he would side with the Kainzel Kingdom.
I pierced Byan with a questioning stare at this unexpected revelation.
And it seemed to further provoke him.
“...Clay Banheart.”
He, who never showed his true feelings behind his mask, twisted his expression as he spoke.
“Even if we were close as children, I’d appreciate it if you minded your manners.”
“Close...”
He wasn’t wrong.
We had frequent exchanges back then, and I had liked the people from the Deolic family.
I had even begged to learn their Silver Star Sword.
‘Of course, I never got to learn it.’
There was no way they’d teach another family’s secret swordsmanship.
Still, I had gotten to witness the Silver Star Sword up close a few times, and Leon Deolic had even instructed me in basic swordsmanship.
Until our family fell and the exchanges ceased.
“Sorry for dropping by out of the blue. I just missed seeing you after so long.”
“Me? Are you saying you came seeking my help?”
“Something like that.”
In truth, I’d already gotten all the help I needed just by checking your settings.
Of course, Byan had no idea what I was thinking and began blabbering his own interpretation.
“I know you’re trying to save your family. But everyone has their limits.”
His tone sounded consoling, but it was really mocking me, saying I could never save my family on my own.
It was enough to make anyone furious, but I just smirked.
I’d heard mockery like that countless times already.
“Thanks. Appreciate the advice.”
“I told you to show some respect.”
As cracks formed in his saintly facade and anger seeped into his voice, I continued with a smile.
“In return, let me give you some advice.”
I knew it well.
His patience was far weaker than it seemed.
“There’s an Eastern proverb: karma comes around. Great saying, isn’t it?”
“...What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing much. Just a thought.”
That was the limit of what I could say.
Just enough to put a small crack in his mask.
For now, that was plenty.
* * *
After checking Byan’s settings, I verified whether the Poisoned Ink Bottle’s settings were real.
Once this was confirmed, my validation of the ability would be complete.
‘Sure enough, the poison is real.’
After several experiments, the liquid in the ink bottle was definitely poison.
A delayed-action toxin that manifested symptoms 30 minutes after contact or ingestion.
This meant the ability I had obtained was genuine.
‘To seize the opportunity properly, I need to know exactly what abilities I have.’
At first, I was stumped on how to check, but the answer turned out to be surprisingly simple.
The moment I checked my own settings, they were right there in the abilities section.
==
[Clay Banheart]
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Role in Story: Second son of the Banheart Count Family (extra)
Abilities: Dosu Famous Sword (3 stars), Setting Check, Setting Addition, Synopsis
Special Notes: Ghostwriter for the novel ‘Echoes of the Sword.’
==
This was my current setting.
My role in the story was, naturally, an extra.
Most of it was similar to others, but there were a few unusual points.
Namely, the abilities and special notes.
“Setting Check, Setting Addition, and Synopsis...”
The phrases I had seen in the letter before losing consciousness.
I had already used Setting Check several times and gotten the hang of it.
Whenever I wanted, I could view someone’s settings, and if I refused, I could make them disappear from my sight.
“First one’s clear enough. But what about the other two?”
There was no solid info beyond guessing from the names.
‘Gotta figure out how they work first.’
Fortunately, using them wasn’t all that hard.
Chanting the ability name or rubbing the floating text with my finger triggered an immediate response.
==
[Setting Addition]
Abilities can be added if plausibility requirements are met.
Plausibility types and quantities vary by ability. Once all plausibility conditions are satisfied, the ability can be added to your settings.
-(Ghostwriter) Can only add abilities read from others’ setting windows. Read abilities’ plausibility conditions can be checked in the ‘Setting List.’
==
“Pretty tricky.”
In short, I could only add abilities I had read via setting windows, and even then, only after meeting specific conditions.
But...
‘Even so, there’s plenty I can do with this.’
Viewing others’ settings wasn’t hard, and while plausibility conditions had to be met, the chance to acquire various abilities was a huge stroke of luck.
‘For example...’
I recalled an ability worth checking right away and opened the ‘Setting List.’
「Silver Star Sword」
The Deolic Count Family’s secret swordsmanship: Silver Star Sword.
I knew its power well from my childhood fascination.
With a pounding heart, I checked the conditions to acquire Silver Star Sword.
==
[Silver Star Sword]
Required Plausibility
1. Witness Silver Star Sword 100+ times [Current: 99]
2. Receive swordsmanship instruction 10 times from a 5-star+ Silver Star Sword practitioner [Achieved]
==
‘Wow.’
I let out an exclamation the moment I saw the plausibility requirements. I hadn’t expected things to fall into place like this.
‘Who knew my childhood experiences would pay off here.’
The now-severed family exchanges.
Those moments had provided a massive boost toward meeting the requirements for learning Silver Star Sword.
‘Too bad I can’t get it right away.’
I was just one witnessing short.
But it wasn’t unattainable—I’d get the chance soon enough.
“Now that I’ve checked Setting Addition...”
The last was the most enigmatic ability: ‘Synopsis.’
Fortunately, unlike Setting Addition, it was extremely simple to use. Just like Setting Check, I could activate it whenever I wanted.
Without much thought, I used ‘Synopsis.’
And I was left speechless.
“...What is this?”
[There are currently four viewable episodes.]
==
Episodes 19-32: ‘Unexpected Traitor’
Episodes 33-46: ‘Operation Gone Wrong from the Start’
Episodes 47-51: ‘Escape’
Episodes 204-225: ‘Dragon Calamity’
==
Synopsis.
It was the ability to ‘view’ the future.
* * *
Viscount Delmore was utterly bewildered at the moment.
It had been an ordinary morning like any other, but Clay Banheart’s visit had ruined everything.
‘What in the world is going on?’
The now-fallen Banheart Count Family.
He never imagined he’d feel this way toward Clay Banheart, whom he had always looked down on and ignored.
‘No, come to think of it, he’s been off for a while.’
It started when he sorted the supply depot in an instant—and perfectly, no less.
As the supply officer, Viscount Delmore knew full well that wasn’t a simple task.
It was tedious, annoying, and demanded endless labor. Even for the son of a fallen count’s family, it would have been deeply humiliating.
Yet Clay had handled it effortlessly and stayed quiet ever since.
Then today, he showed up out of nowhere and said this:
“Have you been embezzling supplies lately?”
The accusation was so sudden that Viscount Delmore was at a loss for words, managing only a groan.
‘How did he find out I was skimming supplies?’
This was a war with many nobles participating. Between the supplies sent directly from the kingdom and those from the noble houses, the volume was enormous.
Just looking at the supplies, you couldn’t tell if this was a battlefield or a ballroom.
As supply officer, Viscount Delmore had been siphoning off luxury goods bit by bit. Claiming losses in transit made it easy to cover up.
As long as it wasn’t too obvious, he figured he’d never get caught. Just like always.
‘Did he notice while sorting the supplies?’
No way.
How could he know about items that were already gone?
The ledgers were falsified—and in his possession, no less.
No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t figure out how Clay had found out.
“Pretending you don’t know won’t help. Taylor and Roden already confessed everything.”
Taylor and Roden.
They were Viscount Delmore’s retainers, the ones who had carried out the embezzlement under his orders.
The moment their names left Clay’s mouth, he could no longer hide his expression.
“W-wait a moment. There must be some misunderstanding.”
Clay flashed a sly smile at Viscount Delmore, whose face had gone pale.