So What?
The atmosphere in Jinmu Hall, where Glenn Zieghart's fourth son Balder Zieghart resided, was steeped in a bitter chill—as though the North Sea itself had been transplanted there.
The reason was simple. Balder Zieghart's son Raden, recently returned to the family after a long absence, had been in a foul mood ever since.
Raden Zieghart ground his teeth and slammed his fist into the wall with a heavy thud.
"Damn it!"
The curse slipped out on its own. He had come home after destroying a branch of the White Blood Cult—one of the Five Demons—and yet his name wasn't being spoken anywhere. Honestly, it felt as though he'd been forgotten.
The reason no one was calling the name Raden was because of that bastard. The trash living in the Annex. Because Raon Zieghart's name had spread through the entire House.
In the banquet hall, at the training grounds, even in the dining hall—Raon. Raon! All anyone talked about was Raon Zieghart, the one who'd cut down the Green Lightning Fiend.
"That fly of a bastard."
The thought that his achievements had been buried because of some insignificant insect he'd never even cared about made his rage impossible to contain. Raden Zieghart left his room with a twisted expression, irritation dripping from every line of his face.
"Will you be going out, young master?"
The butler standing by the door bowed his head and asked.
"Can't you tell by looking?"
Raden slammed the door shut with a bang and scowled.
"I shall make preparations. Where might you be going…"
"The Annex."
"Pardon? Why would you suddenly go there…"
At the word Annex, the butler's eyes went wide as lanterns.
"I want to see just how pretty the face of the bastard who buried my name really is."
Raden's scarlet eyes smoldered with a thick, viscous heat.
Judiel glanced repeatedly to her right as she tended the garden. Sylvia was there, pruning the garden trees with her own hands.
This place really is strange…
It wasn't as though they had no maids, and yet Sylvia—the mistress of the Annex—did the gardening herself. And it wasn't only the garden. She often prepared Raon's meals with her own hands, and cleaned his rooms as well.
And Sylvia isn't the only odd one.
The maids Judiel had met elsewhere could hide their expressions, but never their eyes. Most of them carried a look that said they were working because they had no other choice if they wanted to eat. Not here. Everyone here worked with genuine pleasure, filling their duties with trust and sincerity, and every last one of them thought of Raon as a son or a little brother.
Even to Judiel, who had moved from place to place as a spy, the Annex was a peculiar and wondrous thing.
"Haa."
Judiel looked at the Annex building and let out a sigh.
Still, the most special one of all is him.
The monster who lived inside the Annex. The day she had seen Raon Zieghart's true face was one she still could not forget. She had nightmares of that night at least once a week.
"Hoo…"
A cold breath slipped from Judiel's lips.
How can a human like that even exist?
Early teens. An age for clinging to one's parents and fussing over side dishes—and Raon had worn the eyes of something that could kill everything in the world. Even now, the memory of those red eyes rising over the lake sent a shiver up her spine.
And yet…
The Raon she had seen afterward was nothing like that. With the people of this Annex he showed a bashfulness that was truly childlike, and he looked after every single maid as if they were family.
She herself had been no exception. Except for when he asked about news from the Heavy Martial Palace or about Karun, Raon treated her exactly as he treated the other Annex maids. Not long ago, he had even gotten her out of a situation where a recall order had come down because she was no longer of any use.
There were times she even wondered whether she was truly a double agent at all—whether the Rage Worm was really inside her body.
His vessel is far too large…
It felt as though the size of his vessel itself was on a different scale from an ordinary person like her. Of course, the terror he inspired was also part of why she could neither rebel nor betray him.
"Eugh… hm?"
Judiel let out a small sigh and was about to start on the next hedge when a black dress shoe appeared on the ground before her. She lifted her head. A middle-aged man with his hair combed neatly back was standing there.
This man is…
She had seen him in the Zieghart registry. Merkin, a butler of Jinmu Hall, assigned to Raden Zieghart.
"I am Merkin, butler of Jinmu Hall."
He bowed not to Judiel, but to Sylvia behind her.
"What is this about?"
Sylvia set down the gardening shears she had been holding and stepped forward.
"I have come to confirm whether preparations have been made, as per the letter sent yesterday."
"Letter? What letter are you talking about?"
"Young Master Raden Zieghart sent a letter stating that he wished to tour the Annex today."
"I never received any such letter."
Sylvia frowned and waved a hand.
"I was told it was delivered to the Annex maids."
Raden's butler Merkin tilted his head. His expression was one of confusion, but his eyes were perfectly still. He was clearly lying.
"Mm…"
Sylvia turned and looked at the maids. Naturally, not a single one of them knew anything about a letter.
"When is he coming?"
"In thirty minutes."
"Thirty minutes?!"
Helen, who had been standing behind Sylvia, strode forward with her eyes wide.
"How are we supposed to prepare in that little time?"
"We sent the letter yesterday."
Merkin smiled faintly, as if mocking Sylvia. Composure overflowed from his face—the look of a man who believed a collateral family like theirs could do nothing about it.
A direct-line member who had earned the qualifications of a swordsman held a status equivalent to a vice-captain. And they were even using the excuse that a letter had been sent in advance. There seemed to be no way to refuse.
Judiel clicked her tongue silently as she looked at Merkin. The reason Raden was coming at them so filthy was obvious.
It's because of Raon, no doubt.
Raden Zieghart had recently earned merit by destroying a White Blood Cult branch, but his achievement had been half-forgotten, buried beneath Raon's exploits. He had clearly come all this way to take out his frustration.
Pathetic wretches.
Glenn's fourth son, Balder Zieghart, and all of his children had violent temperaments. Karun and the swordsmen of the Heavy Martial Palace were brutal, but they at least weren't stupid enough to pick fights out in the open. Jinmu Hall was different. They picked quarrels to your face and crossed lines that should never be crossed, whenever the mood struck them. They were no different from bulls who'd caught sight of a red cloth.
This is going to be a nuisance.
Even among Balder's children, Raden was infamous for having no sense of what came after. He was not the type to stop just because Sylvia was his aunt. The situation was going to get quite complicated.
And besides…
Raon was in the Annex right now. If Raden so much as laid a hand on Sylvia or the maids, something terrible would happen.
"Helen. It's already done. Get ready. And tell Raon he is absolutely not to come out."
Sylvia did not panic even after hearing "thirty minutes." She stopped her gardening, brushed off her clothes, and gave instructions to Helen and the maids. Watching her mention Raon, Judiel could tell that Sylvia already knew why Raden Zieghart was coming.
"…Understood."
Helen bit her lip and walked toward the Annex. Judiel was about to follow with the other maids when footsteps sounded behind her.
She turned her head slowly.
A blonde man in an aristocratic uniform was walking toward them. His shoulders were narrow, his frame slender, his face and nose long. With his hands shoved in his pockets and his feet dragging, he looked no different from a back-alley thug.
Already…
Judiel swallowed dryly. That punk of a man was Raden Zieghart himself. He had arrived at the Annex in less than five minutes—nowhere close to the thirty Merkin had named.
Saying thirty minutes had been another one of their tricks.
"Oh my! The young master has arrived sooner than I expected."
Merkin squinted and smiled in a way that was thoroughly unpleasant. It was the kind of behavior that made the phrase "like master, like butler" rise unbidden to the tongue.
Raden Zieghart spat on the garden flowers and came to a stop in front of Sylvia.
"Should I be calling you Aunt?"
"Young master. Lady Sylvia is of the lowest rank among the collateral line. There is no need to address her with such a title."
"Ah, right. No need for that, then."
Raden snickered and patted the sword at his waist.
"I said I was coming yesterday, and this place is still filthy. Guess that's what you get when a bunch of losers live here."
He crushed the garden flowers that Sylvia and the maids had been tending under his mud-caked shoes. As if it were a habit, he spat a thick wad of saliva onto the central path again.
"I'm sorry. We're in the middle of tidying up."
Sylvia smiled even as she looked at a nephew whose lack of manners had gone far beyond any ordinary rudeness. Her eyes, as they rested on Raden, were calm.
"Hmph."
Raden scowled as if the whole thing displeased him and spat once more. He kicked the flowers to his right as he came closer.
"You expect me to walk on a filthy path like this?"
He spat on the soil that had been spread across the road during the cleanup and twisted his face.
"Hey. Clean it up. Fast."
"Of course. Please wait just a moment."
Sylvia kept her smile and bent at the waist, beginning to clear the dirt with her own hands.
"Uh…"
"Mm…"
At the sight of it, both Raden and his butler Merkin went wide-eyed. It was the look of men who had never expected her to endure even a provocation like this.
Was she an even greater person than I thought…
Judiel narrowed her eyes. She was a spy, and she hadn't been here all that long, and even she was angry—yet watching Sylvia smile and bear it, Judiel found herself looking at a woman who was gentleness on the outside and steel within. Admiration rose in her chest.
The maids helping Sylvia clear the dirt kept their faces composed, but they could not hide the rage trembling in their hands. Every one of them was enduring to the end for Raon's sake. They did not want him to cause trouble with Raden here, and so they swallowed the provocations whole.
"Ah, how long are you going to make me wait!"
Raden Zieghart wrinkled his nose and spat a wad of phlegm onto the dirt Sylvia had been clearing. The spit ran down over her hands.
"Young master!"
Helen, who had been heading for the Annex, spun around and came back. Her eyes had gone dark and twisted.
"That is going too far! Even if you are of the direct lineage, if you pick a fight this openly, the Main House will not sit still either!"
Helen had been with Sylvia since the day she was born, and what filled her thoughts now was not reason but the weight of years of feeling.
"H-Helen!"
"Aha."
Raden shoved aside Sylvia, who had tried to block his path, and came to a stop in front of Helen.
"You're right. That's a fair point. There'll definitely be trouble."
Raden shoved his face in close to Helen's. He grinned, and then he struck her across the cheek.
The crack of the slap rang out. He did not seem to have put much force into it, and yet Helen was thrown back hard enough to hit a tree.
"Hhgh…"
Helen clutched her cheek and trembled.
"But I'm of this family's direct lineage. Meaning I'm the master here. I could do this—I could even kill you—and all I'd have to do is stay in my room for a couple of days."
Raden's presence swelled at an exponential rate. A chill ran up the spine, as if they were staring into the open maw of a beast.
"Stop!"
As he moved to step on Helen, Sylvia and the maids threw themselves in his path.
Judiel bit her lip and pressed in beside Sylvia. If it came to Sylvia being struck, she intended to put her own body in the way.
"It's not 'stop'—you should be saying 'please stop.'"
"Ngh…"
Sylvia clenched her teeth. Even before Raden, who was pouring out that savage presence, she did not give a single step.
Judiel curled her hands into fists. Even she, a spy, was furious. She was still trying to think of how to stop this mad dog when—
"Ah…"
From the direction of the Annex, a killing intent surged up that made every hair on the body stand on end. She knew who it was, but she could barely bring herself to turn around for the fear of it.
"Ah. Finally, the face I wanted to see."
Raden spat, then grinned.
"Ngh…"
Judiel forced her head to turn. Eyes burning a vivid red. As expected, the one walking toward them was Raon. His face was expressionless as he approached.
A low, grinding pressure filled the air. A dry swallow went down on its own.
It's not that his killing intent is weak…
Raon's presence was faint. Not because his energy was lacking. He had gathered his killing intent and compressed it, which was why the pressure did not feel vast.
"Raon Zieghart. I've been wanting to see that pretty face of yours."
Whether Raden understood that or not, he grinned and shoved aside Sylvia and the maids who had been standing in front of him.
Raon's expression was still. He walked forward slowly, his mouth set in a line as firm as a doll's.
When fewer than ten paces remained between him and Raden, he drew his sword. A clear, crystalline ring sounded—utterly at odds with the situation.
"Don't tell me you're going to swing that scary thing? I'm of the direct lineage, you know?"
Raden let out a sly laugh, as if he were certain Raon would never actually use the blade.
"Direct lineage."
Raon stopped walking and frowned.
"Kahaha!"
Raden burst out laughing, apparently convinced his words had landed, and stepped in toward Raon.
"I am Raden Zieghart. Son of Balder Zieghart, Master of Jinmu Hall, and—"
"So what?"
Raon's sword came crashing down toward Raden like a bolt of crimson lightning.