Hyde Poisons the Count's Heir! #1
"Rust, that horrible man!"
Psyche clenched both fists in righteous fury, her whole body trembling.
It had to be because of what happened yesterday.
"Even with security that thorough, he still violated Lady Milione! It's absolutely dreadful!"
The story that Milione Archibold had been violated by Rust swept through the Agarpe territory in a single night.
From my position, having heard the tale, it was utterly absurd.
"What on earth actually happened…?"
"Hyde, while you briefly lost your memory, Rust broke into the room, defiled Lady Milione, and fled…! How could such a thing be possible…!"
How indeed.
Truly miraculous.
But there was a reason this rumor had spread.
Milione Archibold.
She herself had claimed, "Rust violated me…!" According to her, the shock had made her lose most of her memories of that time.
It was enough to drive a man insane.
"Hyde, you're not hurt anywhere, are you? Are you all right?"
Psyche kept fretting over me.
She must have thought Rust had neutralized me with some terrifying artifice while I was guarding Lady Milione.
Fortunately, I was fine.
Not a scratch on me.
Of course, my heart and convictions were one step away from being shredded to pieces—but that was another matter.
And who had reduced me to this state?
No need to ask. Milione Archibold!
That wicked wretch!
"What is Lady Archibold doing now? Is she all right?"
"I don't know if it's the shock, but she can barely speak and seems to have lost a great deal of her memory. She's resting in the guest chambers now. The trauma must have been enormous."
As she spoke, Psyche shuddered, then stamped her foot hard.
Crack—.
Simply stamping her foot shattered the mansion floor.
Terrifying power.
While I was still trembling at that force, Psyche cried out in a voice thick with outrage.
"To dare defile a woman's purity…! And of all people, Lady Archibold, whom Agarpe was protecting…! I will never forgive this…!"
"What a truly wicked man."
"Lady Archibold's prospects for a proper marriage are as good as ruined now…! She'll be pointed at as a soiled woman…! How pitiful…!"
A woman forcibly defiled, stripped of her virginity.
Milione Archibold was, on the face of it, a one-sided victim—but in this ignorant, barbaric world, she had effectively lost a great deal of her "value."
Of course, objectively speaking, she was no victim at all.
Because, for fuck's sake, Rust had never raped Milione!
The only real victim here was me!
Aside from the hair roots that had started falling out in clumps, no one else had suffered any damage at all!
But I could hardly say any of that.
I spoke with a generous heart.
"Truly, it is a pitiful situation."
Me.
I'm the pitiful one.
Yet Psyche seemed deeply moved by my words. She took my hand.
"Hyde, to feel pity even for Lady Milione, who treated you so rudely… Your heart is truly vast. If only every man in the world were as good and faithful as you…!"
Psyche's eyes shone bright.
They looked ready to spill tears at the slightest touch—but I was so wracked with guilt I couldn't bring myself to meet that gaze.
Lately…
Haven't I been doing nothing but lying to Psyche?
I swore I would never lie to her, of all people.
Whether she sensed my torment or not, Psyche grew indignant again.
"I also think it's terribly cruel of the Archibold family to try to hold you responsible for this incident, Hyde. You did everything you could to protect Lady Milione and Agarpe."
She was right.
No one had done their best more than I had.
It hurt that no one recognized it—but the Lord knew!
All my toil and suffering…!
Milione Archibold was sprawled luxuriously across the sofa.
She didn't seem to care in the least that her silk blouse had ridden up enough to show her thighs.
Swish—.
Presently she lifted a foot and tapped the sole against my knee where I sat opposite her.
"Hey, Hyde. Say 'sex.'"
"Lady Milione, as a true person of faith, you must not use such irreverent language."
"Ha, so boring. It was fun when I was with Rust. It's such a shame I didn't get to see his bare face this time. That man isn't human—he's a 'demon.'"
So saying, Milione opened the tattered copy of the Gwichukdo.
Why is she so infuriating?
I wanted to bite those thighs until they bruised.
But just as there was a verse that said even hating someone in your heart was murder, I decided to master my feelings. I could not let myself be jerked around by that wench.
I resolved to scold Milione in a deliberately solemn voice.
"Even so, how can you go around saying you were violated? Is that certain?"
"What, are you saying I'm lying? I really was raped by Rust! With a body this soiled, I won't be able to marry into any decent family."
"……."
"I'll never be a countess or a marchioness… At best I'll end up the mistress of some lecherous, scheming noble or a priest. That's the law for non-virgins, isn't it?"
She wasn't wrong.
What sane man would want to take a lunatic like this as his bride?
She might snap in the middle of the night, grab a knife, and try to kill me.
No matter how pretty her face was—no.
That was when she said it.
"Hyde, won't you take me as your second wife?"
"Pffft—."
I spat out every drop of the tea I had been drinking.
As a result, a thoroughly soaked Milione Archibold flew into a rage.
"Hey!"
"Forgive me—I simply heard something too preposterous. A second wife? What on earth do you mean? Are you saying you wish to marry me?"
"My body's already soiled. If I stay like this, I'll either be locked up in a convent or become some wicked noble's plaything. Hyde, you're a monk, aren't you? Aren't you supposed to save people in difficult circumstances?"
Yes, one should save people in difficult circumstances.
But in my opinion, the person currently in the most difficult circumstances was me!
This madwoman wanted to become my second bride?
Was I crazy? Was I going to bring a Tyrannosaurus into a family home?
"I love my wife Psyche far too much. Taking a second wife would be a betrayal of my heart."
"Don't lie. Do you know how many times I've seen priests who act all pure keep several lovers on the side? You're exactly that type."
"I am not."
"So you're saying you don't want me? Well, I don't want a coward like you either. I don't want to marry you. But I'm specially bestowing a favor."
"A favor?"
"Because you failed to protect me this time, the Agarpe family is going to have to pay Archibold an enormous penalty. Do you know how much?"
"How much?"
"A thousand gold coins. That's the amount the Ormandy count family promised as a bridal gift when they sent a letter saying they wanted to marry me. In other words, because of you, I've lost at least a thousand gold coins."
A thousand gold coins.
With that kind of money you could build several mansions and pack them full of servants.
Hand over that much and even a commoner could receive a baron's title.
And they were going to demand that sum from the Agarpe family as damages?
It might sound ridiculous—but the damage the Archibold family had actually suffered was enormous.
The second son had died horribly—.
And the youngest daughter had been raped.
The culprit was known to be Rust, but the Agarpe family, which had been negligent in its security, bore a certain share of the responsibility as well.
They might not demand a full thousand gold coins, but two hundred or so seemed likely.
Two hundred gold coins.
There was no way the Agarpe family, already in poor financial shape, could scrape together a sum that would fill a chest.
Still, it couldn't hurt to ask, could it?
If I could pay two hundred gold coins and send Milione far away, it would be pure profit!
"Son-in-law, this is the current state of the Agarpe family's finances. The Archibold family is demanding three hundred gold coins as compensation for this incident. Those thieving bastards…!"
Count Doban.
He scowled at the ledgers spread across his study and spat curses.
"Every year we take on five hundred gold coins of debt from the Ironblood Trading Company in the capital! And now they want us to produce three hundred gold coins on top of that—damn it all…!"
Indeed, when I examined the ledgers, the Agarpe family's finances were wretched.
An ancient count family drowning in debt?
Looking at the problems, there was first of all nothing that could be called a "fixed source of income."
No special products whatsoever.
And most of the money earned from the manor's produce was draining away into Young Master Dihon's medical expenses.
That was because that ignorant bastard Selim was drawing a massive budget of twenty gold coins a month under the pretext of treating Dihon.
Two hundred gold coins a year.
Selim, that little shit.
He was definitely skimming money off the top.
The week I had promised was almost up.
Maybe I should clean that bastard Selim up— I was thinking, when Doban let out a groan of pain.
"Hyde, the Archbishop has written that if you take Lady Archibold as your wife, he will waive the entire compensation. It is an extremely humiliating proposal for us, of course."
Humiliating it certainly would be.
The son-in-law of a count family.
The moment he took a second wife, the Agarpe count family would become a laughingstock in every possible way.
Psyche, who had been examining the ledgers, cried out.
"What Lady Milione suffered is terribly sad and pitiable, but becoming Hyde's second wife is an entirely separate matter! Milione's… personality… is bad…!"
It was the first time I had ever seen Psyche speak ill of someone.
But even that was putting it kindly.
Milione was a psycho!
She might try to kill me, her husband, on the wedding night!
Yet my answer was already decided.
"Very well—I shall take Lady Milione as my second wife. But please keep this one thing firmly in mind. Father-in-law, and Psyche. I am a man of Agarpe."
"Hyde, you…!"
Psyche looked at me, tears welling in her eyes, and seized my hand.
What meaning did those shining eyes hold?
"Hyde, I never knew your heart was so vast. To take as a second wife a woman you don't even like—and such a rude woman at that—for the sake of our family…."
Squeeze—.
The grip of Psyche's hand on mine grew stronger still.
"It must all be because I am lacking. If I had protected you both and noticed Rust's intrusion and stopped it…! If only I had been stronger…!"
Psyche's self-reproach had a certain logic to it.
If Psyche had grown strong enough to drive Las far away, I would never have needed to put on that ridiculous performance.
But what could be done about something already finished?
"Psyche, I gratefully accept your feelings."
I had already hardened my resolve.
Milione.
She was a lunatic, but taking her as a second wife would bring many advantages.
As long as I couldn't escape her, it was better to keep her close.
That way I could watch what disasters she caused and react immediately.
And right now was also a time when I needed the power of "Las."
"Father-in-law, Psyche—in my judgment, Walpurgis will soon begin to move in earnest."
Walpurgis.
At that name, Doban's expression grew grave.
"Those witches will move? At a time like this? Every last one of them is a terrifying heretic with a gold bounty on her head! And their period of activity is said to have lasted over two hundred years!"
Indeed.
Walpurgis was a coven of witches so extreme that the Crescent Moon Sisterhood looked like a cute little sister by comparison.
There were "real witches" among them, after all.
"It appears the giant woman who killed Sir Baldwin the One-Eyed Knight was from Walpurgis. Since she was killed by a new Great Sin Seat, Walpurgis will try to investigate the truth."
The members of Walpurgis were fiercely proud. One might say they took pride in being an organization that had long been active in Durgien and every other region.
But this incident would have wounded that pride.
"Moreover, the newly risen existence called 'Rust' will certainly offend them greatly. The Agarpe territory may be swept up in that conflagration and suffer heavy losses."
"So even heretics have power struggles among themselves. If they fight each other and destroy themselves, it would be nothing but profit for us—but—."
Count Doban let out a long sigh.
Covering his face with his palm, he carefully confessed a shameful truth.
"Son-in-law, it is embarrassing to say this, but with Loras and Tristan dead, the defenses of our Agarpe count family are in a wretched state. If witches start running wild on top of that…."
"Yes. That is why I said I would take Lady Archibold as my second wife. The moment Young Master Dihon's illness is cured, I will go to Fierenzo."
"You're going to Fierenzo?"
Psyche was startled.
At the expression that asked what on earth I meant, I answered seriously.
"I intend to meet Archbishop Archibold and properly request the dispatch of the Holy Crusade. If things go well, one of the Six Knights may even come to Agarpe."
If the witches of Walpurgis were monsters of sin who had transcended the human realm, then the Six Knights of the Holy Crusade were humanity's bulwark and shield.
The six knights whom Pope Gregory had designated as adversaries from the moment he selected the six Great Sin Seats.
Or their disciples and descendants.
Superhumans who had inherited names, weapons, and techniques from the great knights.
If I could summon them to Agarpe, the territory's defenses would be secured…!
And we would be able to drive out heretics efficiently—and if things went well, I might even thrash that Las thoroughly and chase her off—.
As expected, I was perfect.
"Well then—the medicine should be finished by now. Let us cure Young Master Dihon's illness at once."
The medicine made from digitalis.
Thinking it must be complete, anticipation welled up in me.
When we stood before Dihon's room, Selim blocked our path.
"My lord Count, stop him! Digitalis is an herb called 'Witch's Herb'! Even a small amount of the leaves produces a fatal state of poisoning! Everything is Hyde's plot!"
"Hyde, is that true?"
Doban asked me in great alarm.
Was digitalis a poisonous herb?
That much was correct.
When I did not open my mouth, Selim seemed to think he had seized the advantage and kept prattling on.
"The witches of Walpurgis use it to kill people—that's why it's called Witch's Herb! Making medicine from such a plant is nothing less than an act of poisoning! I stake my honor and the honor of my teacher, Sir Parmas of the Six Knights! So please stop Hyde!"