Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: The New Lord Lennox
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‘What is this smell?’
A rotting stench filled the house the moment he stepped inside.
As he entered the living room, a mix of various foul odors assailing him, something lunged forward.
Wang-sik deftly twisted his body to dodge, and the lunging figure lost its balance and collapsed.
It was a man, rail-thin, dressed in unwashed clothes, his pupils unfocused and wavering.
“Lennox Vega?”
He was much thinner than expected and gripped by madness, but it was undoubtedly Lennox Vega.
“I knew he was a madman, but he's completely lost it.”
“Die!”
Vega staggered to his feet and swung a sword again.
The sword was luxurious, a stark contrast to the hand wielding it.
It wasn't something for the battlefield, but it had a fine hilt studded with jewels, and the blade was sharp enough to reflect the light.
*Tap.*
Wang-sik grabbed Vega's wrist and squeezed.
*Crack!*
The gaunt wrist snapped, and he dropped the sword. But instead of screaming, he tried to bite Wang-sik's arm.
“A man's become a dog. Though, the folks from Azelan were always worse than dogs anyway.”
There was no reason to just stand there and take it.
Even if he did nothing, only Vega's teeth would break.
*Thwack.*
Wang-sik struck the back of his head to stop him from thrashing.
After binding the unconscious Vega with chains, Wang-sik looked around the house.
Just in case someone else was there.
Liquor bottles were strewn across the floor, and a thick layer of dust covered every piece of furniture.
“Hm?”
Wang-sik's feet naturally led him to the stairs leading down to the basement. The stench was coming from there.
Opening the basement door, the unpleasant odor grew even stronger.
Behind the door to what was once a storeroom, a man lay collapsed, left to rot for a long time.
“The butler.”
He could tell the man's station from his clothes.
“Looks like that bastard killed him.”
Wang-sik could deduce this from the marks left on the corpse.
“Now, shall we have a little chat?”
If the butler had been alive, Wang-sik would have dealt with him himself. Spared a small effort, Wang-sik returned to Vega.
The fallen man's expression was peaceful, unlike before.
Despite his haggard state, he had pale skin and sharp features, making for quite an attractive appearance.
“Not my type.”
Vega was a pretty boy with a slender frame and a face as beautiful as a woman's—not Wang-sik's preference.
“Hey, wake up.”
Wang-sik poured liquor on his face.
“Ugh…”
“The consultation begins now.”
“Aargh!”
Vega bared his teeth at the sight of Wang-sik.
His handsome face was once again consumed by madness, taking on a beast-like quality.
There were a few things he wanted to confirm, but Vega was in no condition to answer.
“Can't be helped.”
Wang-sik took a ring from his inventory and put it on. Then, with that hand, he grabbed Vega's neck.
*Crack!*
Vega's neck snapped, and his crazed screams ceased.
Instead, a faint gray light flowed from Vega's body and was absorbed into the ring.
Ring of the Doppelganger
Soul Collection (1/1)
Only one soul can be collected.
This meant the ring could only store one appearance.
Having already stored Vega, if he stored another, he could never return to being Vega again.
‘One is enough.’
Wang-sik activated the ring's skill.
*Vwooom!*
Wang-sik's body was enveloped in a gray light.
The light gradually changed shape, completely vanishing after about ten seconds.
“Hmm.”
Wang-sik checked his reflection in a nearby mirror.
“How strange.”
The person in the mirror wasn't Wang-sik, but Vega.
A slender build, pale skin, deep eyes, and features so pretty he could pass for a woman all combined to exude a strange charm.
His original appearance, free from madness and haggardness, was enough to make even Wang-sik pause and appreciate it.
“Well, it's not bad. Not my type, though.”
Wang-sik looked down at his clothes. Strangely, they had shrunk to fit his new frame. Still, they didn't suit his new appearance, so he checked a nearby wardrobe.
“What are you doing? If you're just going to watch, then get lost.”
Wang-sik said this as he flipped through the neatly arranged clothes. Just then, something appeared behind him.
—What are you doing?
The voice that echoed through the space was filled with rage.
Wang-sik pulled a simple white casual outfit from the wardrobe and turned around.
A translucent, middle-aged man in his fifties stood there.
A ghost.
Studying the shimmering face, Wang-sik recognized him.
“The butler.”
The butler who had died in the basement storeroom had appeared before him as a ghost.
—What in the world have you done! To the last hope of House Lennox!
“Don't be ridiculous. How is a guy like that any kind of hope?”
—House Lennox must be protected! House Lennox is my everything!
Such immense obsession.
A butler who had served the noble estate for generations.
The butler before him had shared his history with House Lennox.
The only difference was that one was the master and the other, the servant. But butlers often deluded themselves.
They treated the name of House Lennox as if it were their own power.
The problem was, it wasn't entirely a delusion.
As trusted by the head of the house, the butler stood at the pinnacle of the servants and held considerable decision-making power.
—How dare you do this to our House Lennox!
When delusion persists, it becomes obsession.
If the house were to fall, the butler would lose everything as well.
That must be why he protected the fallen noble house to the very end.
But the result was a meaningless death.
Unable to bear the injustice, he had likely lingered in this house as a ghost.
“That guy going mad was your fault, wasn't it?”
—The master…
“A butler should greet his new master when he sees him.”
*BAM!*
A fist imbued with the sacred power of the Peradora slammed into the ghost's face.
“Whether you're human or a ghost, the scariest thing is annihilation. Let's see how deep your loyalty runs.”
The beating began.
The ghost butler considered himself the master of this house. But it didn't take ten minutes for that notion to change.
Flickering as if he might vanish at any moment, the ghost butler, sprawled on the floor, felt fear toward Wang-sik's cold gaze.
For him, who had only malice and obsession left after experiencing death, the emotions of his human life were reawakened.
—I don't want to be annihilated.
Not wanting to die is an instinct for all beings that move of their own will.
“I'll give you a choice.”
Only after he was reminded of the pain and fear he had forgotten did the conversation begin.
“Do you want to see House Lennox restored?”
—What are you saying…
“I'll let you be the butler of the restored house.”
What is this man saying?
“My goal is the revival of House Lennox. And you will continue to be this house's butler. If you're too slow to understand, there's no reason to talk further.”
Seeing Wang-sik clench his fist again, the ghost butler cried out urgently.
—C-can you promise?
*BAM!*
Wang-sik slammed his fist into the ghost butler's face again.
“Promises are made between equals. I command, and you obey.”
He pressed for an answer with his eyes.
The ghost butler trembled in fear, yet he knew this was an opportunity.
A man with Vega's face, radiating an aura stronger than anyone's.
—The image of the master I dreamed of.
The ghost butler didn't want a master of noble character.
He wanted a capable master who would grant the butler power. This was the very image he had hoped for in Vega.
In the end, it was that obsession that had driven the last master mad.
—I will do it!
As he accepted, Wang-sik unclenched his fist.
Seeing this, the ghost butler straightened his sprawled form, took a step back, clasped his hands before his stomach, and slowly bowed his head.
Though his body flickered as if on the verge of annihilation, his respectful bow carried a sense of dignity.
—Greetings to the new master of the house.
“Then start by telling me what I absolutely need to know to live as Vega.”
As Wang-sik moved to sit on the old sofa, a strong gust of wind blew.
The butler had conjured the wind to blow the dust off the sofa.
‘He might be more useful than I thought.’
The butler began his story before the seated Wang-sik, his gaze lowered.
Lennox Vega.
After becoming the head of the house, he started a business using the family's territory as collateral.
It was the only effort he ever made in his life: investing in the mining industry on the recommendation of a vassal who had served his father.
But the result was disastrous.
Betrayed by the vassal, his business failed, and he began living like a scoundrel. During that time, his two younger sisters conspired with another family to take what little fortune remained under the pretext of marriage.
The butler informed the master of their intentions, but the timing was poor.
Vega, not in his right mind due to gambling and drinking, returned home and murdered his two younger sisters.
After that incident, Vega's debauchery worsened, and his debts forced him to sell the grand mansion in the coastal city and flee to his current house.
Though not widely known, he had killed seven servants, and even after selling the mansion, unresolved debts remained.
“A real son of a bitch.”
—They will come tomorrow.
“They?”
—The loan sharks. They will come for the interest.
Something about that was strange.
“Is there anything to take from a house like this? Come to think of it, how did he borrow up to 2,000 gold? Did the interest balloon?”
—The interest did grow, but the principal was 1,000 gold to begin with. What they're after isn't money.
“Is there something to protect?”
—They wanted the title.
“Trading titles is illegal, isn't it?”
—There are many ways. The method they want is for you, Master, to marry and adopt a son.
Indeed, this method would legally transfer the title.
When the head of the house dies, the adopted son will inherit it.
The title doesn't disappear just because other nobles don't acknowledge it.
The only one with the authority to revoke a noble title was the emperor of the empire, and unless a great crime was committed, a noble's title was never stripped.
—First, we must persuade them.
“Persuade them of what?”
—To buy time and find a way to get the money…
“I have plenty of money.”
Wang-sik started taking out gold bars and placing them on the table.
A full twenty of them.
Stamped with the imperial seal, they were worth exactly 2,000 gold.
The ghost butler stared at the gold bars on the table, his expression one of astonishment.
“What's so surprising? Doesn't everyone carry this much for pocket money?”
—I-is that so?
“So? Starting to like your new master?”
The worry of losing the title was now gone. But upon seeing the gold bars, the ghost butler brought up something else.
—There are two business rights whose repayment periods have not yet expired.
He mentioned this in anticipation of Wang-sik's financial power.
“Hmm.”
Since they were used as collateral for a loan, they would have been appraised at a low price.
Considering Vega's past behavior, he probably didn't even bother to negotiate.
“Tell me everything.”
The first thing the butler mentioned was the maritime trade rights.
The maritime trade rights with the Seven Islands, a privilege granted to only five noble families.
This alone was surprising, but the second business right was even more incredible.
—The development rights for the Eastern Toipa Coast. There is about a month left on the repayment period.
Development rights were, as the name suggested, the authority to develop a designated area.
—They are tourism development rights.
Among the various rights, tourism development rights were the best.
Because they allowed for commerce, tourism, and residence.
“What's the repayment amount?”
—10,000 gold.
“He borrowed a lot.”
—It's not even half their value.
He'd have to see the development area for himself, but if it was a coastal city, it would be worth more than 30,000 gold.
—The documents are on the top right of the bookshelf.
After checking the loan certificate, Wang-sik nodded.
“I'll have to meet Min-jae.”
As Wang-sik started to get up, the ghost butler seemed to want to say something else.
“What is it?”
—Actually, there is one more thing. It has no deadline, but it's a right that's become a mere formality…
“Just tell me.”
The ghost butler mentioned one more right.
“This might just be the greatest asset of all. I'll handle it.”
As Wang-sik headed for the door, the butler showed a brief, anxious expression.
—I will be waiting.
He was worried Wang-sik wouldn't return.
At the dramatic change, Wang-sik let out a sneer.
‘Can't trust them, whether they're living or dead. It's all the same.’