140
My Villains Chapter 140
37. The Baroness's Request (1)
The late summer campus spread out in front of the subway exit. The brick flower bed on the left and the terrace on the right felt both unfamiliar and nostalgic.
"Brother Seung-soo?"
A white tee with a pink tennis skirt, long straight hair, and red lips caught my attention.
"Who are you?"
"It's me, Soha. Jung Soha from the English department."
...Who is this? It's strange that I don't remember such a face.
"I'm sorry, but have we met before?"
"At the freshman workshop two years ago. You were in charge of planning, remember?"
Freshman workshop? Theater? Wild flowers?
"...All My Sons?"
"Yes. I played Lydia."
No way. Is this the same awkward, plain girl from back then? This beauty?
"You've... Changed a lot."
Life flowed into her expressionless face.
"Are you heading to the club room?"
"Oh, yes."
"Let's go together. And feel free to speak casually."
"Sh-should we?"
Shaking off the awkwardness, I opened my mouth.
"Are you also going to the club room?"
"Yes. I'm the director this time."
"...Director? Ah, you must be a junior now."
"Yes."
This time, she spoke up.
"You were discharged in June, right?"
"Yeah."
"It must have been tough."
"...You must be close with Hee-won?"
"Just so-so."
By the time we passed the small theater, it felt like full autumn had arrived.
"Just so-so isn't good enough. The director and planner need to be close for the play to run smoothly."
"I know, but it's not working out. Both sister Hee-won and I..."
A strong scent brushed my nose. It was the same metallic smell I often encountered in the Middle World.
"Are you seeing her again? Sister Hee-won?"
"No, that's not it."
Her dark eyes looked up at me.
"That's a relief."
"Why?"
She smiled for the first time.
It was a smile like wearing a mask.
"You know why."
Sticky, sloshing.
She turned to look at me while holding the doorknob of the club room.
"You know what I might do."
The metal door rattled violently.
Crash, the world shattered.
It was a dark night.
A young woman was sitting alone in a secluded clearing behind the mountain lodge. She was sharpening a sword.
A whetstone the size of a fist slid along the tilted longsword. Like a drummer beating a drum, the crisp metallic sound had its own rhythm.
The woman raised the longsword. Her one eye quietly flickered as she examined the blade. Her pupil, bathed in moonlight, was tinged with a dark blue.
"Hmm."
The woman's brow furrowed as if something was bothering her. She scooped water from a bucket beside her and sprinkled it on the longsword.
The metallic sound continued again. Only after wrestling with the blade for quite some time did she put down the whetstone.
"...Good."
Holding a rough cloth, she wiped the sword while humming. Just as she was about to completely dry the blade with a dry towel...
"You're polishing it very diligently."
The woman who turned around almost screamed. This was because a huge figure was standing just about seven steps behind her.
A cold-looking handsome man with thick eyebrows, a prominent nose bridge, and sharp eyes. It was Phoenix.
The sword-sharpening woman, Swordsman Simos, swallowed dryly and bowed her head.
"My lord, what brings you here?"
"Let me see it."
"...Pardon?"
Unusually tall with broad shoulders, taut forearms, and thick thighs. A warrior's body that naturally exuded pressure.
Phoenix, with such a body, was wiggling his fingers.
"I said, let me see the sword. I want to take a look."
Simos wordlessly handed over the longsword. Phoenix swung the sword with just a wrist movement and nodded.
"Nice. Light and sharp."
Phoenix quietly admired the silver blade bathed in moonlight.
"Where did you get it?"
"I received it from my master."
"Master? What kind of master?"
Phoenix was wearing a neat tunic with leather pants and boots that came up to just below his knees. He wore a belt that looked like it was made of snake scales, with a long sword hanging from it.
"Someone who taught me various things, including swordsmanship, and left me this sword before passing away."
"Various things, huh."
His hair, clothes, and scabbard were all black. The two eyes looking down at Simos were the same.
"Magic too?"
"...Yes."
"So your master was also a magic swordsman?"
"Yes."
Since escaping the rift, Phoenix exuded a strange atmosphere. A peculiar presence that was both noble and barbaric.
"It doesn't seem like you use a medium when casting spells. So, are you a kind of sorcerer?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes."
"And the only spells you can use are lightning-based?"
"Yes. And even those are just a few."
After swinging the longsword a few times, Phoenix seemed to lose interest and returned the sword to Simos.
"Why are you sharpening your sword in the dead of night?"
"I couldn't sleep."
"Couldn't sleep?"
Simos scratched her eye with the eyepatch and answered.
"This area throbs quite a bit. I paid a lot of money to a healer for treatment, but it wasn't very effective."
"That's unfortunate. If you need more money for treatment, I can help."
"No, it's fine, my lord."
Although Simos usually didn't refuse money, this time she adamantly waved her hand. It was because she was wary of Phoenix.
His strength to kill a troll alone was already shocking. But what was truly terrifying was his vitality.
Hadn't he fully recovered in just half a day after being completely crippled? It would be strange not to feel uneasy about it.
Moreover, Phoenix wasn't in his usual cheerful mood. Phoenix, melded into the eerie night, somehow exuded a chilling atmosphere. Simos felt like her nerves were being gnawed at and wanted to leave quickly.
Whether aware of Simos's feelings or not, Phoenix smiled faintly.
"That's fortunate."
"Pardon?"
"You saved your life by losing an eye."
"...I don't know what you mean."
Phoenix just kept smiling quietly. Simos swallowed dryly and started to pack up.
"I'll be heading in now, my lord. I'm starting to feel sleepy."
The smirking lips coldly spat out words.
"Sit."
"Excuse me?"
"I said sit. Keep me company for a moment."
Faced with this strange charisma, Simos hesitated for a moment before sitting back down. An uncomfortable silence flowed, and Simos barely managed to open her mouth.
"...Why are you out here, my lord? At this late hour?"
"Me?"
Phoenix scratched his eyebrow.
"Just, I have some unsettling things on my mind."
"Unsettling things?"
Simos glanced up at the mountain lodge.
"Is it because of Lady Ellen?"
"...Why do you think that?"
"She lost her magic, didn't she?"
"Yes. Temporarily, but she lost her magic."
Phoenix's smile gradually faded. Simos instinctively held her breath.
"To the point where you could take advantage of her and she couldn't resist."
"...My lord, that's—"
"Why? It's true, isn't it?"
Simos clenched her jaw for a moment.
"If you're talking about what happened in the rift, I was also—"
"I'm not blaming you."
Phoenix, placing his hand on his thigh, continued.
"You've paid the price."
"The price..."
"I told you earlier. You saved your life by losing an eye."
Realizing the meaning of those words, Simos took a short breath. She moistened her lips and asked.
"Then, what about Ethan..."
"He's a kid, so a simple discipline should suffice. Utequais will take care of it."
Simos unknowingly let out a sigh of relief. It's amusing to feel that a barbaric warrior is better than a knight.
"It's too early to feel relieved."
"What? What do you mean..."
"I have one more reason to kill you. Blue-footed Moses."
Simos, or rather Moses, stiffened. She pretended to be calm and let out a forced laugh.
"Ha. What are you saying, Blue-footed Moses—"
"Don't play dumb. You can't fool my eyes."
Moses's face turned pale at Phoenix's growl.
"...What do you want?"
"First, I'd like to hear your story."
Phoenix crouched in front of Moses. The snake opened its mouth, looking at the frozen frog.
"Why did you come here?"
'Blue-footed Moses' was one of the many random named characters under Bandit Baron Albienne.
Similar characters include 'Scale Ogre Haclio', 'Beast Greer', 'Half-Orc Ulek’, and so on.
I noticed Moses's identity because of her characteristics.
Low-level lightning spells, hair that turns blue every time she uses them, the fixed magic equipment 'Silver-Dyed Longsword' that she always drops...
With these clues, I'm surprised it took me this long to realize.
"...So."
I continued with a sigh.
"You were almost killed by your subordinates, but you survived after meeting Siren's group? By chance?"
"Yes. If Siren hadn't shared the potion, I would have surely died."
"So, you're sticking with their group to repay that debt?"
"Yes."
I quietly looked down at Moses and then drew a dagger from my waist.
"This bitch is really just spouting bullshit."
"It's true, really!"
As Moses tried to get up, I kicked her in the stomach.
"Kkhuk,"
"Let's see if you still say that after I pull out all your fingernails and toenails."
I stuffed the rag that was rolling on the floor into Moses's mouth. Then I pulled out two of her left fingernails in succession.
"Kkeuueuk!"
Moses thrashed like a fish pierced by a harpoon. But with both my knees pressing down on her chest and forearm, she couldn't resist at all.
I firmly gripped her bloodied left hand and whispered.
"If you keep acting up, I'll pull out two more."
"Mmph mmph mmph—"
Moses groaned and swallowed her pain. I removed the rag from her mouth and asked again.
"Why did you come here?"
"Huu, huu. Albienne, Albienne told me to come here."
"He said, *huu* a messenger from the dark world, would be nearby. Since Siren and, *kkuk* Zhanabas were also heading to Graduel Mountain,"
"Wait. A messenger from the dark world? Dark World?"
"Yes, yes. The one who, gives orders to Albienne, *haa* is that messenger."
I suddenly remembered the scenario.
In the game, Bandit Baron Albienne was the third pick-name of Chapter 3.
So, the original scenario was to drive out the bandits who had settled in Longville, and then kill Albienne who had taken over the lord's mansion.
...Right, in that scene, the 'Dark World Messenger' first appeared and turned Albienne into a powerful monster. I clearly remember that event.
"Then, you followed his orders even after Albienne died? Are you some kind of knight?"
"It wasn't just because of Albienne. They said I could receive a huge reward if I just delivered messages to those messengers..."
"What kind of reward?"
Moses shook her head, sweating profusely.
"I don't know exactly. Just, from what Albienne used to say habitually, I guessed it was something great, umph, uumph!"
Moses, who had the rag stuffed back in her mouth, struggled desperately. Even after pulling out two more fingernails and all ten toenails, her answer remained the same.
...Suddenly, I feel a sense of dissonance.
Intimidating, threatening, and torturing others felt as easy and natural as doing minor paperwork.
Is this an aspect of Phoenix?
Can a 21-year-old knight be this cruel?
"Huu... Huu..."
I crouched in front of Moses, who was sobbing in pain.
"Mosis."
"Huu, huu."
Moses just breathed heavily with her face pressed to the floor.
Crack.
Irritated, I wrapped my hand around her long hair a couple of times and pulled it up.
"Mo, ses."
"Kkeuuk."
"Answer me."
Her one eye that met mine was filled with terror. A completely broken face.
"Ye, yee, yes..."
"You have three choices."
I moistened my lips and spoke quickly.
"First choice. Your head gets cut off right here. Second choice. You get tortured and then hanged."
"...Euuuh,"
Moses just trembled her chin without giving any answer. It's a natural reaction. She probably doesn't want to die.
"Last, third choice. You make a contract with me."
"...Ah, con, contract?"
"Yes."
I smiled and raised my hand. The blood that flowed from Moses's body intertwined in the air.
"A contract sealed with blood."
Following my gesture, the blood stream drew a small pattern. An ominous inverted pentagram was completed with blood drops falling.
"Ah, aah."
Despair filled Moses's face. It's the pitiful expression one might make just before handing over their soul to a demon.
To live up to her expectations, I showed her a smile resembling a demon's.