Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Dragon Subduer: Peria Alperatz (7)
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In the annex where a pristine white dragon had revealed its massive form.
Beneath the enormous shadow of the dragon, Peria gazed at the researcher standing before her—a familiar face.
Dr. Begerton Antares.
In the hands of the doctor, who had once promised to come to Peria's aid, dangled a hulking man covered in blood, his body ragged and torn.
Moreover, the giant's mask had been ripped off, and he trembled while groaning.
“Upon second thought, you're nothing but an arrogant fool.”
The doctor flashed a cold smile as he looked down at the brute clutched in his grip.
“Kehek, khek—.”
The giant in the doctor's grasp vomited blood.
“Guh... ugh......”
“To dare interfere in this matter without knowing whose protection the young lady is under?”
Thwack, thwack.
The doctor's hand lightly tapped the man's cheek several times.
The brute's bloodied cheek flushed bright red.
Thud! Roll—
Soon after, the doctor flung the man he held onto the floor. He met the eyes of the nobles staring at him and curled up the corner of his mouth.
“Now that I've arrived, you needn't worry any longer.”
“D-Dr. Begerton...?”
“The friends I brought this time shine brightest in situations like this. Taking control of the lord's castle won't take long.”
Peria stared at the doctor with a face drenched in bewilderment.
The doctor showing up to rescue her was undoubtedly a positive turn.
Just moments ago, her situation had been a clear crisis.
However, for some reason, the unfolding events seemed drastically different from what she had anticipated.
Swoosh.
Peria's gaze shifted to the unidentified something standing behind the doctor.
“Commander. From now on, subdue all the knights inside the castle without fail.”
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
Grotesque creatures approached with resounding thuds.
The lower bodies of the staggering, advancing beasts were a chaotic tangle of limbs from various creatures.
Screeech.
And trailing behind that monster came more abominations clad in armor.
Grotesque flesh protruded from beneath their full plate mail, catching Peria's eye.
They were a legion straight out of hell, marching relentlessly toward this place.
“You! Who the hell are you? Do you even know where you are, barging in here like this!”
Of course, Peria wasn't the only one thrown off by the doctor's sudden appearance.
Vicks Alperatz, who had been standing before her, began hurling threats at the intruder.
It was a blatant warning aimed at the doctor, who had entered the lord's castle in a manner bordering on invasion.
Yet, Vicks's voice trembled faintly as he menaced the doctor.
Pfft.
The doctor burst into laughter at the sight, bowing exaggeratedly in a comical pose.
“My apologies for the late introduction. I am Begerton Antares, the young lady's closest friend.”
“W-What...? Peria's friend?”
“Indeed, and quite an intimate one at that. After all, we're practically like classmates.”
Vicks shot Peria an incredulous look upon hearing the doctor's words.
Closest friend.
That was how the doctor referred to her.
It implied he had come here solely at Peria's request.
And the doctor's following words were enough to make Vicks tremble with rage.
“From this moment, House Alperatz falls under the young lady's control. I kindly ask for your smooth cooperation until the title's succession is complete.”
“You... you damned cur, what nonsense are you spouting?!”
“Of course, if anyone has complaints, feel free to challenge me!”
The doctor's declaration meant he and his subordinates would now seize control of the mansion.
Sching.
In response, the knights waiting in the annex drew their swords.
To counter the doctor and his “masterpieces.”
But the doctor merely spread his arms wide in a relaxed gesture, unfazed by the knights.
“Well, I suppose no one here has the guts for an easy challenge. If they did, they wouldn't have schemed behind the successor's back.”
“...Schemed?”
The words that slipped from the doctor's mouth.
Peria's gaze turned back to her uncle upon hearing them.
Thud.
Sensing something ominous, Vicks took a step backward.
From behind Peria came the doctor's voice, brimming with glee, echoing loudly.
“Yes, exactly! The coward who took a bribe from the Leoblant Brotherhood's dogs and used poison to eliminate his own kin is right here!”
“Uncle, you used poison?”
“What courage could such a man possibly have? Certainly not the boldness to face the young lady head-on.”
Swoosh.
Peria's eyes, now chillingly cold, fixed on Vicks.
Behind her, the massive white dragon shifted its head.
Rumble...
The annex stairs shook, dust raining down.
Vicks, coated in grime, shouted desperately at Peria.
“D-Don't listen to that bastard! It's all lies to frame me!”
“......”
“You're the one in the wrong! Who the hell did you team up with to pull this off?!”
“...Uncle.”
“Do you think inheriting the family headship like this will be tolerated? The elders won't stand for it!”
Vicks pointed accusingly at Peria, rambling incoherently.
But nothing reached Peria's ears.
Poison.
A weakened successor.
The Leoblant Brotherhood.
A tragic genius whose talents withered away.
All these pieces began clicking together like a puzzle in Peria's mind.
“So it was you all along, Uncle.”
“N-No...! I didn't do it!”
“Why... what attachment did you have to that seat... that you went after Philip...?”
“It wasn't me! You wretch! How dare you slander me? Think you can get away with defaming an imperial noble?!”
Vicks's face flushed crimson as he bellowed, glaring at the doctor.
But the doctor merely snorted at his tirade.
“Not long ago, I made a noble with four arms, and surprisingly, nothing came of it for me.”
“Y-You...!”
“Of course, what does the truth matter now? A little torture from me, and even fabrications will spill from your lips.”
“Sir Pio! Kill that bastard now! Shut his insolent mouth!”
In desperation, Vicks barked orders at his guard knight.
But no meaningful response came from behind him.
Thump.
Instead, the knight who had moved to speak to Vicks collapsed to the floor.
Behind that knight stood a man holding a poison-dipped dagger.
“I've taken care of everything you ordered, Doctor.”
“Raintas. I just said using poison makes one a coward, and here you are doing exactly that.”
Raintas the swordsman.
A mercenary from the Extremist Arcane Research Society had infiltrated the lord's castle.
Ptoo.
Raintas spat blood-mixed saliva onto the floor and grumbled at the doctor standing with his monsters.
“My sword broke mid-fight. There were just too many small fry where you sent me.”
“That's why I attached one of my prized creations to you.”
“That thing... well, short of Isaac Leoblant himself showing up, I could've handled it solo.”
“Either way, perfect timing on your return. Now then, Raintas—time to wrap things up.”
Clap.
The doctor clapped his hands and scanned the surroundings.
“Let's clean up the area.”
Boom. Boom.
Monsters clad head to toe in armor began moving from behind the doctor.
Begerton, the empire's top wanted criminal.
A sinister smile played on his lips.
* * * * * *
One week after the uproar in the Alperatz marquisate.
Peria, the central figure of that chaos, now sat quietly lost in thought at Celestia's desk.
“......”
Over the past week, Peria Alperatz had endured a whirlwind of busyness.
Meeting with the house elders to converse.
Confirming the loyalty of knights stationed in the territory.
Checking on the detained family members, and more—various duties had piled up.
In the process, she had garnered considerable misunderstandings from the family members.
“Misunderstandings... but in the end, they were all pointless......”
She seemed like an innocent young lady but was actually hiding a terrifying personality.
She had known everything from the start and rallied outside forces.
Lady Peria commands a horrifying demon under her wing.
Such rumors had spread from the lord's castle outward.
As a result, Peria's image flipped completely from her prior reputation.
Unable to stem the rampant gossip, Peria eventually gave up on clarifications and resigned herself to it.
However, not all the events surrounding Peria had flowed in a negative direction.
—“Removing the toxin should halt the progression. But treating it won't be easy by any means.”
Peria's sole sibling, Philip Alperatz.
She had received somewhat positive news regarding her brother, who had been wasting away due to Vicks's plot.
The doctor, who examined Philip's condition, had shared this faint hope with Peria.
—“If it were up to me, I'd recommend replacing everything but the head. Staying alive is the top priority, isn't it?”
Naturally, given the doctor's eccentric nature, his advice didn't end there.
Replace everything but the head?
No one but him would suggest such a thing.
In the end, Peria could only promise to consider it positively before sending him away.
After all, she wanted to see a healthy Philip, not a hulking muscle-bound monster.
“The doctor turned out to be... scarier than I thought......”
Including his visit, countless events had befallen Peria.
But all of them were undoubtedly steps toward a positive future.
Swoosh.
Propping her chin, Peria's gaze drifted to one corner of the library.
“Still, I'm truly glad to have come here.”
Far from the table where Peria sat.
There, in that spot, sat the archmage who had sparked all these miracles.
Archmage Johan.
He was busily moving his hands while reading a grimoire.
“......”
To Peria, Johan was an profoundly enigmatic figure.
The man who gifted her the pure white dragon.
The one who gave her hope.
And the one who lent her the doctor's power.
As she stared at the archmage who had set everything in motion, her eyes suddenly began scrutinizing his features in detail.
“Hmm......”
Jet-black hair like polished ebony.
Thick eyebrows veiling his sharp impression.
Eyes focused indifferently on the grimoire.
Even his somewhat exotic facial features.
For some reason, Johan's face, which she hadn't noticed in detail before, now drew Peria's attention.
“...Ah.”
Blink, blink.
Peria's eyes fixed on the mage before her.
Then, she clutched her golden hair, lightly covering her flushed cheeks.
What should she call this feeling?
It was an emotion difficult for Peria to put into words.
Still, she watched him with a faint smile.
“......”
The eyes of the girl who had achieved her dream took in the library's master.
It was the moment a new dream blossomed in Peria Alperatz's heart.