Chapter 78
Chapter 78
Translator: XZY
Chapter 78: Person (6)
***
“Lady Aiseline, I told you, did I not? That I do not hesitate to use violent means for my objectives.”
“...”
“What is all this? What is the reason we came all the way to this north? Didn’t we come here to cooperate well with each other and be in sync? But to deceive me, to interfere with the plan and drag out time. If you continue to commit such unreasonable acts, I have no choice but to take a hard line as well.”
He was a grim reaper.
With his chillingly white hair, the red eyes revealed between the strands looked like those of a monster that had come to reap a person’s life.
Not only the demonic beasts who smelled the scent of blood on his body, but even ordinary humans were sometimes engulfed in fear.
Those who had no hesitation in taking a life induced a fear of unknown origin.
Derek was that kind of person.
Bang— !
Aiseline, who had shot up from her seat, quickly sent Siern behind her and took a guarded stance.
Derek was a person who harbored murderous intent toward Siern right now.
Even if she were to persuade him somehow later, for now, it was necessary to separate Siern from Derek.
The fact that Siern and Aiseline had been secretly communicating had already been discovered.
Derek was not a person who angered easily, but he was also not a person who would not deliver retribution.
“D-don’t come any closer, Derek-ssi.”
Derek raised both arms and spoke.
“Please do not be so wary of me. How could a mere commoner like myself lay a hand on the young lady of the Duplein family?”
“...I know. You are not the kind of person who would do such harm to me, Derek-ssi. But... please consider Lady Siern’s situation just this once.”
“Haven’t I told you several times already? My policy will not change.”
Siern’s entire body began to tremble. It was a tremor so intense that her teeth were chattering.
Derek was a man who had killed demonic beasts his entire life. His very existence was fear itself to low-level demonic beasts.
Just by feeling that killing intent, their survival instinct would begin to stir throughout their bodies.
In reality, Siern was feeling a surge of desire to break the window right now and escape into the vast snowfield.
“Since it has come to this, I will have to enforce my will even if it means using force. If you do not step aside, Lady Aiseline, you could get caught up in it and get hurt or even lose your life.”
“I-I... am the young lady of the Duplein ducal family. Even if our family’s fortunes are wavering, if you harm me carelessly... you will not be safe either, Derek-ssi... so... please stop...”
The sight of Aiseline, appealing almost to the point of begging, was engraved in Siern’s eyes.
She truly wanted to save Siern. Even if it meant rebelling against that fearsome being, she did not want to let Siern follow the same path as Diella.
Aiseline’s will, hot as lava, burned in her eyes.
However, the opponent was a demon that seemed to have crawled up from hell.
“Then Lady Aiseline has no choice but to be caught up in it as well.”
“Y-yes? If-if you do such a thing....”
“Lady Aiseline. You have heard Lord Melverot’s words, have you not? That the north has frequent appearances of demonic beasts, and they often attack people, so there are many casualties. It is a place with little human traffic, so only the heavens would know what happens.”
“Derek-ssi...! Wh-what are you saying...!”
“It seems the snow that falls on this snowfield covers any sin of murder fairly. And the one who has benefited the most from that is none other than the Lady Siern you have hidden behind your back, is it not?”
Siern’s eyes trembled greatly. Aiseline was the same.
“Now is the time for you to pay for your sins. Lady Aiseline, please do not defend that atrocious murderer. Otherwise, the target of the snowfield’s silence will not be one, but two.”
And with that, Derek took out the staff from behind his back.
Derek, who wielded a 4-Star magic weapon, could not be matched even if Aiseline and Siern attacked together.
Since it was safe to say there was no way to win against that lunatic of a man, the most efficient method was to run away.
Siern’s animalistic senses, at least, were extremely developed.
Kwaang! Crash— !
The magic chant was already finished before Derek’s words had even ended.
The mana that left Siern’s hand shattered the window, and the curtains fluttered as the cold winter wind rushed in.
Hwiiiiing— !
Siern, with a body full of fear, quickly ran and stepped onto the windowsill.
Her pajama dress, full of frills, fluttered in the wind along with her blue hair. It was the moment she was about to escape toward the snowfield.
Looking back, she saw Aiseline and Derek.
Siern had no way of knowing what Derek would try to do to Aiseline, who had betrayed him.
However, that was none of Siern’s business. What was important was that she survived.
Aiseline herself had said it. She had said there was no need to care for or believe her. Whatever harm Aiseline suffered from Derek, that was none of Siern’s concern.
Just as Siern gritted her teeth and was about to throw herself out the window, her eyes met Aiseline’s.
Aiseline’s lips moved.
Go, quickly.
As soon as she read that meaning, Siern manifested acceleration magic as if possessed. The moment she was about to dash out into the vast snowfield alone, she ended up returning to the room and snatching Aiseline’s arm.
Snatch— !
Siern was a master of transmutation magic. She was skilled at temporarily reducing the weight of all things, controlling inertia, or increasing speed.
As soon as she snatched Aiseline, she dashed out into the snowfield in an instant.
Pak! Pababak— !
Thud— !
She would have to think about what came next later. For now, it was important to escape from Derek’s grasp.
And so, drawing a long arc in the night sky, the two girls barely landed on the snowfield outside the mansion.
Tadadak, Thud—
“Kyaak!”
With a small scream, Aiseline, who had barely managed to break her fall, rolled on the snow.
Siern also rolled on the snow several times, then finally came to her senses and balanced her body.
The spire they had jumped from could be seen in the distance.
It was a long distance for having escaped for only a moment. She had almost used up all her mana from manifesting transmutation magic while carrying Aiseline, but there was no time to regret such things.
“We have to run! Hurry! That man uses some strange magic, and he detects where I’m going every time I use acceleration magic!”
Indeed, Derek, who had appeared through the broken window, was looking straight at Siern.
Looking at that red glow, it was hard to tell who the murderer was. If a murderer was someone who held the intent to kill a person, then no matter what anyone said, that man was also a murderer.
Putting herself aside, for the innocent Aiseline to be caught up and die left a bitter aftertaste.
Siern grabbed Aiseline’s wrist and ran across the snowfield. She had to shake the man off before he closed the distance any further.
However, Aiseline could not keep up with Siern’s speed. Looking closely, she was wearing indoor slippers.
“...You..”
“Go on ahead, Lady Siern. If Derek-ssi catches up, I will try to persuade him again with sincerity.”
“What kind of strange talk is that! Didn’t you see that man? Do you think he can be persuaded?! Are you just going to think of the other person even while getting beaten like that every time? Why are you being so frustrating...!”
“I can’t keep up anyway, Lady Siern.”
Siern was used to traversing the snowfield barefoot while using various transmutation magics, but Aiseline was not.
In reality, Aiseline’s feet were red and swollen from the cold and trauma. Siern’s expression crumpled for a moment.
There were two choices. Leave her behind. Or stay here.
Aiseline was telling her to run. She was only spouting frustrating things, saying she would somehow make that uncontrollable monster understand.
She could not understand what on earth made this girl trust that person named Derek so much.
Staying here would be a dog’s death.
Nevertheless, Siern’s feet would not easily move.
The fact of leaving Aiseline here... was not easily accepted. It was a strange thing indeed.
Even though she had said several times that she did not trust Aiseline, the expression of her, who always sent her trust with an upright appearance and a single-minded heart, kept coming to mind.
She found herself admiring the sublime appearance of this girl who had maintained her own tenacity to the very end even amidst her crumbling family fortunes.
And, a possibility she had not considered came to mind.
The countless people who had looked at Siern and called her a monster, trembling in fear that she might try to kill them at any moment... a thought bloomed that this girl might be fundamentally different from those who had pointed fingers at Siern and left.
This time, it might really be different. This elegant and graceful girl might embrace her like the warm sun.
Even amidst such thoughts, what filled her head were wolf corpses stained with blood.
She recalled herself, killing beasts and demonic beasts in the middle of the snowfield, and looking up at the sky without a single emotional stir after coming to her senses.
Sometimes, humans also came into the target of that slaughter instinct.
She just killed. That was all. The sense of slaughter that bloomed without even a reason did not choose its target.
Therefore, Derek’s words were right.
It was beneficial for the person named Siern to disappear from this world. That person named Derek was a man who was always, truly right.
“...”
Siern quietly lowered her posture, then spoke to Aiseline, who was sitting down and gasping for breath.
“As long as I can escape to the snowfield, I usually don’t get caught. I used to go outside the mansion whenever I was bored anyway, so the servants probably won’t care much.”
“...Heok... heok...”
“So, I’m going to run. You... sell me out to that man. Say that I tried to kill you, and say that it’s right for the person named Siern to disappear from the world. If you beg for forgiveness like that... he’ll forgive you, at least. If you trust that man so much, then do that.”
“...”
Siern let go of Aiseline’s wrist, which she had been holding tightly.
“That man is right. I might end up killing you. Don’t defend someone like me. Don’t do such a foolish thing, just act in your own interest.”
“...I don’t want to... heok... heok...”
Siern had said it, having let go of everything, but Aiseline gritted her teeth and shook her head.
She was a shabby sight, covered in snow and mud, but her firm expression was endlessly sublime.
Aiseline, who had difficulty getting up, once again grasped both of Siern’s hands.
They were hands that were growing cold due to the severe cold, but Siern felt those hands to be incredibly warm.
“There is no one in the world who deserves to die, Lady Siern. Even if the whole world defines you as a monster, Lady Siern, please never forget the fact that you are a person.”
“...”
“Instinct and all that is also pointless. How many people are there who go against their instincts and live according to reason. You can definitely change. I will help you. So please don’t give up, and don’t let go of your humanity. We are people, aren’t we?”
Lady Siern looked at Aiseline with trembling eyes.
Even while being chased by an uncontrollable monster, she, who did not deny Siern’s humanity to the very end, cried out desperately.
“You can do it, Lady Siern. Trust me, I... can definitely help you.”
The whole world defined her as a monster, but Aiseline saw her human side to the very end.
Siern Aleyna Rochest was a person.
At the sight of her, who made her realize that fact over and over again, believing in her, and sending her trust...
Siern... just nodded her head.
Stab— !
Shluk! Shhhk— !
And, blood splattered.
“So you run out to the entrance of the snowfield on your own.”
It happened in an instant.
For a moment, a surge of mana was felt, and Lady Aiseline’s eyes trembled greatly.
And then blood splattered, and a protruding blade was seen.
It smelled of blood. It was a cruel fragrance that Lady Siern must have smelled countless times.
From a noble saint like Aiseline, even the smell of blood seemed to have a floral scent. Was it safflower, or balsam? It was a smell she seemed to have smelled from a flower that had come as a gift once.
And so, it was the moment when a girl, who had been sublime in every way, was about to open her mouth to leave some last words.
The mana surged once more, and with that, the girl lost consciousness and was thrown out into the middle of the snowfield.
Shassak! Pak— !
Drip, drip—
Red liquid was flowing down Derek’s blade.
“W-w-w... what...”
The scene unfolding in the eyes of Lady Siern, who had fallen backward, was utterly unbelievable.
The boy standing in the snowstorm was the slaughterer himself, who had torn apart countless demonic beasts.
In front of him, the figure of Aiseline, buried in the snow and not even twitching, came into view.
──Red blood was staining the snow around her.
Just by looking at the amount of blood that was slowly spreading, a gut feeling came that she needed to be taken to a doctor right now.
However, Derek just flicked his blade without any expression of emotion.
With those fearsome eyes, he looked down at Siern and spoke with silence. The meaning in that gaze was obvious.
“Y-y-you...”
“The snowfield is nice indeed. It will bury all deaths fairly.”
“Sh-she... defended you until the very end. Your human heart... she believed in it until the end...”
“Did she?”
Derek’s voice was still cold.
He was quietly looking down at the flow of blood that was spreading even wider, then looked at Lady Siern again and spoke.
“It has no meaning now. She’s dead, isn’t she.”
The mercenary in the snowstorm.
Derek’s dry voice settled upon the snowfield.
“...........................”
“Is there a problem?”
“You.... you.... you don’t feel anything looking at her corpse...?”
“...She was a rather useful person.”
A moment of silence passed.
And so, for a long time... Aiseline’s firm eyes lingered in Siern’s mind.
As that recollection ended, an amount of mana so immense it was hard to even imagine erupted from Siern’s body.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaang—!
The snowstorm raged and began to cover the area.
A blazing flame flickered in Siern’s eyes.
The source of that raging emotion was unknown, but at least one goal was clearly imprinted on her mind.
Kill.
Kill Derek on this spot.
That cry, full of rage, was filling the snowfield.
With a relaxed expression, Derek raised his staff in response.