Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Chapter 21: Frustration Twists a Man Within
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“It's written like that in the recipe. And they said this one's pretty bitter.”
“Pretty bitter?”
“Yeah. Really bitter. So don't freak out thinking something's wrong. It's supposed to be bitter.”
“Medicine's supposed to be bitter, obviously. But you keep saying that, and it makes me more nervous. Argh!”
Tolari threw his head back and poured the elixir into his mouth.
“Phew, how is it? I gulped it straight down my throat so it wouldn't touch my tongue.”
“Good job. Though it won't make a difference anyway.”
“No difference? Why?”
And right at that moment.
Drool.
Saliva poured from Tolari's open mouth like a faucet left running.
“Ugh, uuuugh……”
He collapsed to the spot with a thud, then immediately clutched his head with both hands and started twisting it.
“Bitter… so bitter… The bitterness keeps rising up from inside…”
Oh, that trembling expression.
Just looking at it was bringing back the PTSD I'd forgotten about. That wasn't just bitter—it was the bitterness of this world.
Even swallowing without letting it touch the tongue did nothing.
The bitterness rose from within and gripped the sense of taste for about an hour straight. Tolari writhed around and pointed accusingly at me.
“Your Highness… Your Highness, you lied to me, didn't you? You said it doesn't matter how you swallow it!”
“Right. Whether you savor it on your tongue or pour it straight down your throat, it doesn't matter.”
“W-What?”
“I meant there's no difference in the bitterness no matter how you eat it. Just endure it for an hour.”
“An hour…”
Tolari couldn't even close his gaping mouth as drool streamed out. Lania hurriedly pressed a handkerchief to his mouth with a pitying look.
“I expected it somewhat from the ingredients, but it seems the effect is even stronger than I worried.”
“U, uuuugh…”
“Can't close your mouth properly, right? That's another side effect—or rather, effect—of the ingredients. Here, hold this handkerchief against it. You'll recover naturally within an hour.”
Right. Come to think of it, I should've prepared a handkerchief or bucket in advance. I forgot about that.
Honestly, I wondered if it wasn't some brain acceleration from actual effects, but the bitterness itself stimulating or torturing the brain to produce this result.
“Your Highneeeess… Making me eat something like this… If there's no effect later…”
“There will be. Absolutely.”
I crouched down in front of Tolari and pulled a sugar bar from my pocket to hand it over.
“Here, suck on this to get through it.”
“Ugh… What's this?”
“Sugar bar.”
“Sweet!”
Tolari shoved the sugar bar into his mouth like lightning. Then, half-closing his eyes, he started breathing heavily with an almost ecstatic expression.
“Phew, haa…”
That dazed look was perfect.
Watching the masked killing machine that once turned the world upside down make that face…
It felt strangely off.
Was this what they called the vicissitudes of life?
More than anything, I was strengthening Tolari now instead of killing him. If the old me heard that, he'd have gone mad for sure, right?
* * *
“Uncle. The troops are all assembled for now.”
Rantel Baron reported to Talisman with a sigh.
“Everyone except Tolari has responded to the summons. We could start the coup tonight if we wanted.”
“…Tolari? Why that Arch Wizard?”
Talisman, who had been sitting blankly on the floor, lifted his head. Rantel shook his head gravely.
“Currently missing.”
“Missing?”
“I sent someone to the mage tower in Guiness, but it was empty.”
“That damned bitch—did she take the advance payment and run?”
“We don't know yet. But since it involves money, I should mention…”
Rantel cleared his throat and put on a grave expression.
“After the coup succeeds, how will you handle the remaining payment? Even without Tolari, we'll need 18,000 gold coins…”
“You think I can't afford that?!”
Talisman hurled the liquor bottle in his hand at the fireplace.
“I'm not dead yet! The vault was robbed, but the count's house is still strong! 18,000 gold coins is nothing—plenty from this year's territory revenue!”
“But we seem short on cash right now… No, never mind.”
Rantel shook his head and stepped back.
“Then we'll proceed with the coup without worrying about the money.”
“Tonight?”
“The date I set is tomorrow at dawn.”
“Tomorrow? Why so late?”
“The White Knight Order's summons for Davi should arrive around yesterday, so we'll attack after he leaves the prince's mansion. It'll take at least a week to go to the north and back.”
“…He'll go berserk when he returns.”
For the first time, a glint of light flashed in the count's eyes, which had been as dull as a wreck. Rantel nodded, bowed, and left the count's room.
“Then I'll take my leave. It must be painful, but please take care of your precious health.”
“…Hmph.”
Once Rantel left the room, the count laboriously raised his obese body and returned to the table.
“I'll take care of my own body. Spouting useless nonsense…”
On the table sat premium distilled liquor recently imported from the eastern continent. The count poured the transparent liquid generously into a crystal glass and downed it.
“Gah! Every last one of them! I can't stand the sight of them! Can't even protect a single vault passed down through generations!”
The underground vault robbery from a few days ago.
Thanks to that, the count's already unstable mind was pushed even further into a corner.
What was in the vault wasn't just simple wealth.
It was the power of the count's house itself. The mere fact that they could explode 100,000 gold coins like a bomb made most nobles and merchants avoid becoming enemies.
But now?
They were still keeping a tight lid on it, but word of the vault being robbed would spread across the empire soon enough.
When that happened, the prestige of the Talisman Count's house—one of the empire's top noble families—would become a thing of the past.
It was an unavoidable, certain future, and that fact was endlessly devastating the count's heart.
“Who… Who the hell robbed the vault…”
The count ground his teeth with a crunch.
The hole in the underground vault connected to the sewers.
And the sewers were as vast as those in the imperial capital, Emperoroad. Even if someone had robbed it through there, tracking traces to find the culprit was practically impossible.
“Damn thief… Damn Claude…”
In the count's drunken mind, their images had somehow merged into one.
Of course, not because he knew Claude was the real culprit.
If he hadn't gathered mercenaries just to kill Claude right away, he could've at least hidden the vault robbery for a while and bought time to rebuild funds.
But now there was no way back.
Even if Claude's assassination succeeded, the payment afterward would bankrupt the count's house.
“It's all that bastard's fault… That damned brat. Damn Claude! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be like this… Ugh!”
The count dropped the liquor glass and clutched his chest.
His heart tightened like a vise, causing excruciating pain. A life of indulgence without restraint, plus recent extreme stress, had caused a problem in a major blood vessel, triggering a myocardial infarction.
“S-Someone… elixir…”
The count on the floor reached weakly into the air and mumbled.
Heart-related illnesses were serious and often fatal, but most recovered normally if given the 'Heart Elixir' in time.
But no one was there to hand the elixir to the count, who couldn't move an inch.
Even though dozens of servants bustled in the corridor right outside.
“Ugh…”
The pain was so intense he couldn't even speak properly.
“Someone… please, anyone…”
Right then, something pure white popped up from the shadows in one corner of the room.
It was a man wrapped head to toe in white bandages.
The man glanced over the fallen count, then went straight to the wall cabinet, took out a bottle of transparent elixir, and returned.
“Need this by any chance?”
“Ugh… Yes… Heart Elixir…”
“Indeed. Payud nobles seem to always keep this on hand. But first.”
The man hid the elixir bottle behind his back and smiled.
“Allow me to introduce myself first.”
“Ugh… Hurry…”
“I am a Patron. I've come from very far away just to meet you, Count.”
“Ugh…”
“From a place people here couldn't even imagine—a completely different dimension. And you were luckily spotted by us.”
“Ugh… Huh?”
“Best to be frank here.”
The Patron began circling the fallen count as he spoke.
“Talisman Count. Truth be told, you were at the very bottom of our candidate list.”
“Guh… Cut the nonsense and give me the elixir…”
“You lacked that much talent. Not strong physically, not a magic user, not even nursing jealousy or resentment toward anyone. Just obsessed with enjoying power from a good family—utterly unremarkable.”
“You, you bastard! I'll call the guards and tear you apart…”
“What was that? Your voice is so weak, I couldn't hear.”
The Patron tilted his head toward the count as if teasing.
“But lately, dramatic changes have started happening in this world.”
“Ugh…”
“Prince Claude, you know him?”
“Guh… Claude!”
“People who've contacted him are starting to undergo the dramatic changes we want, one by one. So even you, at the very end of our interest list, now have a chance to make your wish come true.”
“Claude… I'll cut that bastard's head off…”
“Knew it.”
The Patron crouched in front of the dying count and smiled.
“That prince seems to twist quite a few people. Let me see—excuse me for a moment.”
He stuck out his tongue from between the bandages and began licking the count's face all over.
“Y-You, what the hell are you…”
“Goodness.”
The Patron withdrew his tongue and shook his head.
“This is surprising. Talisman Count, is this really you?”
“Ugh…”
“Never imagined you had this much talent to twist like this. My god. Such a horrific taste of twisted frustration and shame… Amazing. To think I overlooked a talent like this.”
“Bullshit… Cut it out… Give me the elixir…”
“This is nearly miraculous. We should thank that prince for drawing out this potential. What on earth did he do to you?”
“Ugh…”
“Oh, sorry. Got excited and forgot to check your condition. Can't have your heart stopping now.”
“Ugh…”
“We can't lose a talent like you in vain. The higher-ups would chew me out. Here…”
The Patron hurriedly uncorked the elixir bottle and brought it to the count's mouth.
But at the very last moment.
“…No.”
He suddenly flinched and pulled the bottle back.
“No need for this, I suppose. I can just grant your wish directly.”
“…”
“No worries. I already know your wish without you saying it. You want the power to eliminate Prince Claude, right?”
At that moment, the nearly dead count surprisingly nodded slightly.
“And ideally, with your own hands—directly. How happy would you be to gain the power to kill that prince yourself?”
“Ugh…”
“Perfect. Excellent. Even on the brink of death, just hearing Claude's name revives your breath. This immense hatred…”
The Patron took a deep breath and slowly shook his head.
“No need to even lick—this level doesn't require it. The emotional distortion is wafting like a smell. Wasn't Jess the Prince almost at this level at the end? You might even be stronger.”
“Ugh…”
“With this much twist, I can play my trump card.”
He pulled out a syringe from his pocket and jabbed it straight into the count's shoulder.
“Guh…”
“This is something I rarely hand out. It lets you corrupt not just your own essence, but others' too—become a special existence.”
At that instant, the count's fading eyes rolled back completely white.
“Gah!”
“Pain's temporary. Soon you'll know exactly what you're becoming. It's programmed that way.”
“U, uuuugh…”
“Good. Seems to be soaking in well.”
The Patron stretched with a weary expression, slowly standing.
“Phew. Failed one recently and was down, but this is great. Worth coming here.”
“Cough…”
“In a day, you'll be able to unleash your inner twist outward.”
Looking down at the writhing count, the Patron spread his arms with a satisfied smile.
“Please indulge your desires to the fullest then. The chaos you create will make our future invasion that much easier.”
But the Patron's final words didn't reach the count's ears.
No visible change on the outside, but inside the count's body, a transformation began—as if being reborn completely.
Like a worm melting its own body in a cocoon and reconstructing it.