Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: There Are Things Better Left Unknown
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The contract infused with demonic power was written in red letters made from their blood on black parchment.
The moment Hell Broom pulled the contract from thin air and Rike unfurled it...
Woooong—
Sharp, black-nailed hands appeared in midair, pointing accusingly at Hell Broom.
Contract violation.
As if he had never existed in the first place, they cleanly extracted his eyes, tongue, and limbs.
"...!!"
After the bloodless, precise removal was complete, the hands vanished.
His miraculous clinging to life lasted only a moment.
"Just... just... this kind of..."
The instant Rike read the first line of the contract, her sword severed Hell Broom's neck.
-
Shwaaaaa—
Rain began pouring down from the moment they started back toward the capital.
I no longer knew if the drops hitting my skin were cold or just wet.
'I want to sleep...'
I wanted to turn away from this harsh reality.
But closing my eyes filled me with dread—I'd see that nightmare again.
The world, which had regained its vibrant colors over the past few days, was fading back to monochrome.
I'd thought my stubbornness had finally borne fruit today...
Splash—
The body I'd been leaning against lowered me down, my feet touching the sodden ground.
Lifting my head, I saw the academy's grand front gate looming majestically under the evening sky.
"...If anything happens, just tell me casually. Seeing this through to the end is my job, after all."
"...."
He crouched down, carefully combing back my rain-soaked bangs with gentle fingers.
My feet were frozen in place, unmoving, so he stayed there with me, braving the downpour.
-
I wanted to know how to drag my body up an impossibly steep mountain.
For now, I'd wandered, seeking a way to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
I'd thought I'd finally crested the peak, but looking down from the summit, there was only abyss all around.
'What... what do I do now...?'
From her childhood trapped in that room, Rike had believed anger was an inexhaustible fuel that never burned out.
No matter where she reached, no matter what happened, she couldn't stop until she'd seen this through to the end.
She would never stop.
Back then, she'd been certain this resolve would never break.
But the reality confronting her now was worse than the worst she'd imagined.
For a moment, she felt like she might forget everything and become a mindless fool.
Shwaaaaa—
'...?'
The rain still pounded her ears.
Feeling no more water trickling down her hair, she lifted her gaze from the ground.
Roman had taken off his outer coat and draped it over her head.
With it removed, she could see his shirt—torn to rags and stained completely with blood.
As the rain soaked it, the traces of his life up to now became visible.
Scars covering his entire body.
That blood and those wounds... I made them.
I'd seen it with my own eyes.
Hadn't I kept holding my breath in worry, even after asking him to help?
'If I stop here...'
Selfish bitch.
Dragging others into danger, and now I was about to hesitate?
In the pouring rain that pierced like needles...
What Roman and Rike felt from each other now was a single thread of sympathy.
'I hope she wraps it up properly...'
There were parts that worried him.
Still, Rike would handle it well.
After watching her walk into the academy dormitory, he headed home for now.
He disposed of his blood-soaked, rag-like clothes and washed his body with warm water.
This commission had ended in fragments, but the usual relief of completion was nowhere to be found.
He kept seeing Rike's dazed expression as she stared blankly at the contract, over and over.
Her desperate plea: Is there no chance this is all a lie?
"If I go and cut his head off now... would that really smash the whole affair to pieces?"
I am the current head of the Skadi family.
I'd seen plenty like Enoch Skadi.
Guys like that existed in past lives, here, everywhere.
They craved strength above all, without purpose.
Compared to their formless ambitions, their desires burned fiercely.
People who could turn even family into 'mere' pawns if the opportunity arose.
-
The two had met through Hell Broom's mediation.
The deal between the Empire's Third Knight, Yurgena di Venta, and family head Enoch Skadi was straightforward.
Yurgena would teach his secret swordsmanship to Enoch Skadi.
In exchange, Enoch would hand over the person named Juanna Bright and cooperate with—or overlook—the ensuing situation.
Enoch accepted the offer without a moment's hesitation.
He didn't even ask what they planned to do to House Bright.
The goal of those Enoch ignored was simple.
The artifact belonging to House Bright.
The artifact passed down through one bloodline of House Bright had the property of binding to its owner.
Thus, it couldn't be used unless the owner died and ownership transferred.
Nematos had considered raiding the family without dealing with Enoch Skadi, but that wasn't ideal.
They knew the item existed, but not where it was.
The head of House Bright? Not someone who'd crack under torture. Even for a powerless house, he was known for his unyielding spirit.
A man worthy of the Bright name, standing completely opposed to black mages in nature.
They needed time to leisurely ransack and investigate the family.
And that's what led to the current situation, after the incident blew up.
This was Nematos's way—roots embedded deep in the power structure.
'Whether the Empire's rotting from within right now is none of my business.'
The one reality Rike had to accept after seeing the contract was singular.
Her father had sold out her mother and House Bright for a single sword technique.
-
Drip—drip—drip—
Rainwater dripped from Rike with every step down the darkened dormitory hallway.
Her shadowed, chilling gaze and tightly pressed lips spoke volumes of her mood.
Talking to her father now would make it even more certain.
The promise I'd made to myself.
Regardless of good or evil, I'd kill everyone involved.
I swore it.
'No exceptions whatsoever.'
What I'd vowed that day wasn't childish impulse or fleeting emotion.
-
Creeeak—
Passing the hallway back to her dormitory room, Rike pulled out an ornate chest she'd stashed in the corner.
Even after entering the academy, she hadn't unpacked, so there were still plenty of untouched boxes.
Rike carried the chest to her desk and sat down.
Click.
Opening the dusty chest revealed an orb where iridescent light swirled in a helix.
An artifact allowing voices to communicate across distances.
Even across the entire Empire, long-range communication tools were exceedingly rare.
Even prestigious noble houses could count them on one hand.
It was certainly an item everyone coveted.
But Rike had last used it when her mother was still alive.
The servants had forced it into her luggage; she'd thought she'd never need it.
She touched the gleaming orb to the Skadi marquess family's crest.
The spiraling light reversed direction.
Ping!
The light gathered at the center.
"Father..."
<<Has the cherished daughter of House Skadi forgotten even basic etiquette?>>
A cold voice laced with obvious annoyance.
Even without seeing him, his emotions came through clearly.
"I have something to ask."
<<...Keep it brief.>>
Every nerve in her body screamed.
Don't ask.
But she wanted to know.
There might still be some slim possibility.
"Do you love me?"
<<Ha! I can't fathom the point of such a question. Has that tiresome mental illness of yours flared up again?>>
Rike gripped the glowing orb tightly with both hands.
"Father... just once, please say it. Even if not for me... did you love Mother?"
<<...Still clinging to the past, tarnishing the marquess family's prestige. I can't understand how someone with Skadi blood can be so weak.>>
Blood vessels bulged in Rike's eyes.
Red liquid seemed ready to spill from them any second.
"...Father. There's something you always taught me as your creed."
<<...Yes, you remember well. So what are these actions of yours right now? It's beyond disappointment—it's irritating.>>
Her hands trembled on the artifact.
Her voice rose with surging emotions.
"The 'creed' you speak of isn't noble at all... it's just an excuse to justify your own actions!!"
<<...Daring to yell at the family head—you've gone mad, you wretch!!! The family's reject... Drop out of the academy right n—>>
"I've made up my mind. I have no enemy as cursed as my own blood... Next time... next time..."
Crack—!
The orb, glowing with Rike's mana, split apart.
"I'll kill you... H-heave— h-heave—...!"
Rike slammed her head onto the desk, clutching her chest as her heart split in two without mercy.
She barely reached out with one hand to grab the only book she'd taken out, hugging it to her chest.
"Hauk— Mom..."
She loathed the body carrying Skadi blood, yet cherished the self that bore her mother's.
Life—her very existence—this space—every single breath felt utterly hollow.
Why was the world so cruel, without a shred of mercy?