Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: I Want to Drive You All Insane - 4
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The eldest son was in a comatose state from poisoning, the eldest daughter had vanished, and the second son had returned as a eunuch invalid, stripped of his reproductive functions.
With all the heirs utterly broken, the Belda Viscount House faced its greatest crisis in history.
Even if they wanted to produce another heir, the family head had been dead for ages.
"This is someone's conspiracy!"
There was at least one person left who could make decisions on major family matters.
Lady Shella, the principal wife of Surthut.
As the mother of the eldest son and daughter, she gripped Als Belda's hand tightly and let out a scream of anguish.
"My son lies unconscious from poison, my daughter has disappeared! That damned playboy came back castrated! You call this a coincidence?!"
"My lady, you must compose yourself first."
"Do I look like I can stay calm right now? There's a force out to destroy our house—how can I just sit still?!"
"If you faint and collapse here too, we're truly finished. We're already pouring a fortune into hunting down the culprit, so the truth will come out soon enough."
"Find them, no matter what! Whoever did this to my children—I'll make every last one weep blood from their eyes!"
Lady Shella gnawed at her lips until blood seeped out.
It was clear her rage had reached its peak.
Head butler Pridrick immediately turned and rushed outside.
Once out to show his frantic activity, he began walking slowly.
"Master, you look happy!"
"Didn't I warn you not to speak to me carelessly in the mansion?"
A lighthearted voice emerged from the shadows.
Yet Pridrick replied calmly, without a hint of agitation.
"It's fine! I sniffed around—no one's nearby!"
"You shouldn't rely on your abilities. Someday, someone might deceive your nose, and you'll be in trouble."
"Kkiuung! Got it..."
It was Kizen, who had assassinated Pridrick and taken his guise.
Though he scolded Coco in the shadows, he actually felt a profound sense of relief.
Ever since losing his wife that day, Kizen had dreamed of revenge against the viscount house.
But when he barely managed to revive Maribel, he set aside those dreams of vengeance.
He had nearly lost another precious person to pointless revenge.
'I thought the day I'd get to exact revenge would never come twice...'
The benefactor who had saved him and his daughter, freeing them from their fugitive life.
Hoping Heinz would pity Maribel and show her favor, Kizen had shared his past tale.
Out popped a revenge plan straight from Heinz's mouth.
He tried to clarify that he hadn't shared the story to request vengeance.
But Heinz's nonchalant attitude left Kizen speechless.
'I expected as much, but the Belda Viscount House poses no threat to the young master at all...'
The Belda Viscount House—object of his hatred for decades of tormenting him and his family.
He'd cut down the most loathsome family head, but the hardships that followed still made his teeth grind.
Unlike his own sloppy efforts, Heinz allowed no variables, perfectly toying with his foes.
Decisiveness in executing what others couldn't dream of, backed by overwhelming capital.
Kizen began to fear Heinz even as he felt an immense sense of security.
'The day the young master toys with the entire empire doesn't feel far off.'
Kizen let out a sigh of awe and loyalty toward Heinz.
He would never know that he himself had once been the blade meant to end Heinz's life.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The wine cellar beneath the Belda mansion.
Maribel and I had infiltrated it.
There was a high chance Viscount Belda's secret vault lay hidden somewhere in the wine cellar.
My certainty stemmed from the byproducts of eliminating the Belda heirs.
The family head's sword that Als had sold to a junk dealer.
The expensive pendant found on Megarea's corpse.
The info Jor casually let slip to Maribel.
The second son mentioned the eldest frequented the wine cellar, and the eldest daughter's pendant was a gift from her dear brother.
Naturally, the wine cellar seemed suspicious.
"I'm still hungry."
"Hungry, sir? Then let me head to the kitchen and fetch something simple to..."
"No, that's not what I meant."
Memories of Maribel's homemade cooking made me wave my hands frantically.
I had no desire to relive the paralysis and fading consciousness.
Even during Jor's kidnapping, her cooking had played a starring role.
I had to avoid requesting her culinary talents at all costs.
"I meant we need to squeeze more out of the Belda Viscount House."
"I see. But if you ever get hungry, just say the word! After that failure, I've come up with a new recipe!"
"Ugh..."
She'd promised no repeat of past failures, but I wasn't reassured.
The new dish might bring equally horrific results.
Pushing food thoughts aside, I surveyed the wine cellar.
"Als Belda brought the family head's belongings, so there should be signs of recent human activity."
"We can skip the dusty parts, right?"
"Yeah, you can't remove settled dust and put it back perfectly."
I checked the oak barrels while Maribel focused on shelves and floors.
As impatience grew with no discoveries, I spotted an oak barrel whose exterior was unusually clean.
Tapping it lightly confirmed it held contents.
"That drunkard wouldn't hide anything in the wine, so..."
I tried to pull out the barrel to check the wall behind it.
Sweating buckets, I barely extracted it, but its weight nearly toppled me backward.
"Careful!"
"Ah, thanks."
Maribel steadied me from behind—left hand on my shoulder, right under the barrel's base.
She lifted its immense weight effortlessly with one hand, making me feel my own frailty.
Noticing the strength gap, Maribel's gaze toward me shifted unsettlingly.
The kind that screamed the strong make the choices, like she might pounce any moment.
"I'll move this barrel."
"Please do."
Leaving the barrel to Maribel, I inspected the revealed wall.
A lever stuck out, practically begging to be pulled.
Yanking it sent one side of the cellar wall sliding apart, revealing a new space.
"Whoa!"
"It's really there!"
The treasure vault known only to a select few in the Belda Viscount House.
We stepped inside.
A dazzling array of gold coins and jewels greeted us, setting my heart racing.
Truth be told, gold and gems held no thrill—our house had them in spades.
But the chance of unearthing something unexpected, like an adamantium sword, thrilled me.
"You know what to do, right?"
"Take practical treasures, skip the gold and jewels! Got it?"
"Good. Let's sweep up a ton and go."
The Belda Viscount House would soon face the princess's hammer of judgment.
Ruin was certain, but they might smuggle key treasures before physical restraints hit.
Selling them later to fund escape would be a headache, so we wrecked that plan in advance.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong, sir?"
Ignoring Maribel's question, I dashed to a pile of gold coins.
Amid the gleaming mound, one grimy, dull stone.
Examining its surface closely revealed a tiny rune etched in.
"A rune fragment!"
I never imagined finding one here.
The fragment Kizen stole from the cult, the one from the Sword Emperor's palace, and now this—three in total.
I hadn't fused them yet.
If they were the same type, just two more and I'd complete it.
"If I finish it...!"
This wretched ketchup body might finally grow strong.
The mere thought electrified me, twitching my lips into a grin.
With the rune fragment secured, other treasures faded from mind. Maribel would grab what mattered anyway.
As I turned to leave, Maribel suddenly tugged my sleeve.
"What's up?"
"There's something you absolutely must see, sir!"
Her urgent reaction piqued my curiosity.
What had she found?
Following her lead, I spotted an iron cage draped in cloth.
Pulling it off made me gape unwittingly.
"Wh-what the hell is this thing doing here?!"
Garum—the black wolf that would one day raze the capital—lay caged, covered in wounds.
Things had taken a nasty turn.