Chapter 142: Plaudite!

This was a first.

The Duke and Cruel shared a peculiar relationship. Cruel acted as the Duke’s subordinate, willingly following his orders, yet the Duke also treated Cruel with respect—a relationship that was neither strictly vertical nor horizontal, but rather leaned at an ambiguous angle.

Therefore, the Duke addressed Cruel with the honorific ‘Sir,’ distinguishing him from other subordinates. Kneeling Cruel had only happened once before, when he was suspected of betrayal.

The Duke, who had been looking down at the kneeling Cruel, rose from his chair.

Thud. Thud. The distance was short to begin with, so it only took two steps for him to reach Cruel. He lifted his boot and placed it on the hand resting on the floor.

“What should I do with you, Sir?”

Weight pressed down on the hand beneath the boot.

“Normally, I’m not one to give second chances to spies or traitors.”

“……”

“Yet you kicked away the chance I gave you.”

The Duke was certain.

“Accepting the Hart territory as a reward for the Salvation Church incident… that too was for Deon Hart, who refuses to accept it, wasn’t it?”

Crack. Crunch.

An eerie sound, as if the hand was straining, was followed by a crushing pain.

Nevertheless, Cruel remained motionless, his gaze fixed on the floor. The Duke, observing him with a look of displeasure at his stubbornness, seemed to remember something and removed his foot.

“You are right-handed, aren’t you?”

“……”

“I almost made a big mistake. Almost ruined a right-handed swordsman’s right hand.”

He shifted his foot with his left hand.

Snap. He pressed down with force, grinding his heel, and finally, a bone-breaking sound echoed through the room.

There was no scream or groan.

“Instead of killing Deon Hart, you try to protect him….”

“……”

“I have the evidence, so normally I should kill you or banish you after crippling you, but still, I cherish you, so what can I do?”

I have to give you one more chance.

He pressed down on Cruel’s hand one last time, then lifted his foot and knelt before him. He placed a hand on his shoulder, lowered his head, and whispered in his ear.

“Kill Deon Hart.”

!

His body, which hadn’t even flinched when his hand was crushed, now twitched.

The Duke continued, feigning ignorance.

“Bring me his head with your own hands. This is the last chance I’m giving you.”

I’ll keep an eye on you, so don’t even think about trying anything funny.

***

After the Duke left, leaving him alone, Cruel finally rose. His crushed hand was already swollen, covered in purple, blue, and red.

Ignoring it, he cleared the chessboard from the table and placed another one.

A chessboard given as a gift when he was a child confined to the mansion, out of pity. It was worn from countless games, but Cruel had taken it with him when he left the mansion where the tragedy occurred.

‘Deon, kill that child yourself.’

Click.

Pieces moved across the old chessboard.

The Duke himself had called it his last chance. If he failed or showed any suspicious behavior, he would surely be killed. Generally, the Empire’s official heroes were under the Emperor’s protection, but he wasn’t sure if the Emperor would protect a hero under the Duke, who was part of the opposing faction.

‘…Is it finally time?’

The old sorcerer had said.

If you’re about to die, kill Deon, that child, and then die.

He reviewed the chess game he had played before the hunting competition, then put it away and started a new one.

A messy, chaotic game of chess where he would go to any lengths to get a pawn to the enemy’s side and promote it to a queen.

Cruel held one of the chess pieces in his hand, a piece that had fulfilled its role and was now lying outside the board.

‘Acta est fabula, was it?’

Long ago, when he was learning etiquette as the eldest son and heir of a noble family, he had stumbled upon a passage in a book. He repeated it to himself and chuckled.

‘No applause is necessary.’

It was a play with no audience to begin with.

The curtain should fall quietly, without anyone knowing.

***

“We will proceed with the grand undertaking.”

“…At a time like this?”

“Yes.”

Returning to the mansion, the unexpected news of a visitor was puzzling.

Seeing the determined expression of the Revolutionary Army’s leader, the Duke quietly rubbed his forehead.

“I believe I mentioned that the timing is not ideal.”

“We have waited too long. There’s a limit to how much we can quell the discontent within the Revolutionary Army.”

“Haven’t you been doing well so far? If we just hold on a little longer….”

“A little… longer?”

The Duke paused for a moment at the mocking tone. It wasn’t his imagination; Daniel was indeed letting out a hollow laugh.

Soon, however, he abruptly stopped laughing and slammed his hand on the table.

“The end of a war is impossible to predict! How can you guarantee when it will end and expect us to wait? Even the lifespan of the demon race is longer than that of humans!”

“……”

“At this rate, the grand undertaking might be impossible in our generation.”

“If we leave it to the next generation….”

“Emotions are not inherited!”

He seemed quite agitated.

Mocking him, interrupting him… behaving in ways he shouldn’t towards the Duke.

However, the other party was the leader of the Revolutionary Army. He was an unpredictable individual who needed to be kept under control through appeasement. The Duke quietly focused on the words, ‘Emotions are not inherited.’

“The majority of the Revolutionary Army consists of those driven by anger! Even knowledge is often lost, so how can emotions that cannot be written down be passed on? The next generation? It might be possible in the immediate future. But it won’t be as strong as now. And what about the generation after that? Even after three generations, the past is forgotten! The Revolutionary Army will fall apart. I’d rather attempt it and fail than see the people I’ve worked hard to gather and our plans fade away to nothing!”

Looking at his state, appeasement wouldn’t work.

“…Are you truly going to proceed?”

“Yes, since we don’t know when the war will end, it seems better to carry out the grand undertaking in its early stages before it becomes more severe. I’m only telling you this out of gratitude for your help and the relationship we’ve built. You don’t have to help, Duke.”

“No, I will help you.”

“……Pardon?”

Then I must kill him.

He couldn’t predict how the Revolutionary Army would react to the loss of their leader, but the one who should be holding the reins was trying to rush ahead, so what else could he do?

“It’s not that I don’t understand your impatience, and I feel responsible for constantly telling you to wait. I will help.”

Impatience narrows one’s vision.

And a narrow vision makes even a genius a fool.

The Revolutionary Army is finished then.

***

The leader of the Revolutionary Army wasn’t stupid.

Although his words and actions just now were certainly foolish.

Daniel, his expression calm as if he hadn’t been agitated moments ago, slowly walked down the hallway and arrived at a familiar door. As always, he knocked and requested permission to enter.

“Mother, it’s Daniel.”

“Come in.”

He tried to keep his expression neutral, but he couldn’t hide it from his mother’s sharp senses.

His mother greeted him with a soft smile, but her expression hardened when their eyes met. He offered the gentlest smile he could muster and said,

“I know it’s rude, but I would like to have the gift I gave you back last time.”

***

When I’m in the Empire, I’m loyal to the Empire, and when I’m in the Demon Realm, I’m loyal to the Demon Realm.

Perhaps that’s why, except for a very few people including the Emperor and the Demon King, no one knows my true identity.

Why am I suddenly saying this?

“Don’t fucking follow me!”

It means I’m the number one target for both sides.

When I’m in the Empire, I’m the number one target for the Demon Realm’s generals, and when I’m in the Demon Realm, I’m the number one target for the Empire’s generals!

Wow, I’m not happy at all! Damn it!

“Get lost!”

I was currently leading a pack of mad dogs and running away from demons.

I shouldn’t have given them an opening in the last battle. I didn’t expect letting the demons go due to my injury would come back to bite me so hard. I should have just dodged it back then.

‘…But why did I just take the hit? I’m pretty sure I could have dodged it.’

Tilting my head in confusion, I focused on putting strength back into my legs, urged on by the mad dogs.

At least this time, I can swear as much as I want without Stigma calling it a ‘bad habit.’ He stayed behind in that hellhole to buy us time.

So, to briefly summarize the events so far, we fell into a trap.

We chased after the retreating demons to carry out the ‘annihilation’ order, but it turned out to be a trap. They even blocked our retreat, showing a strong desire to annihilate us in return, fueled by past grudges.

[Sh…it!]

[Junior, language.]

[I wasn’t finished yet!]

[If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have finished it. Now, Junior. My knights and I will block the ones pushing in from this side, so you escape. You can find your own way out, right?]

While I was rubbing my stinging mouth, Stigma smiled and drew his sword.

Escape route? I have to find one even if it means dying… or rather, staying behind?! Startled, I grabbed his sleeve.

[Then what about you, Senior?!]

[Oh dear, do I look weak enough for you to worry about me?]

[…Still, please be careful.]

I had somehow grown attached to him.

He would nag me about my language and noble etiquette, but I knew his advice and warnings were well-intentioned. They were too beneficial to dismiss as the ramblings of a senior wanting to act the part.

Stigma’s eyes widened in surprise, then crinkled as he smiled.

[Alright. See you later.]

He turned his back and moved with the Killer Knights to break through the retreat route….

“Why are only you guys chasing me?!”

“Stop right there!”

“Damn it!”

This is why I can’t help but swear!

Of course, I’m focusing on escaping, and Sir Lien and the mad dogs are mainly responsible for breaking through, but the fact that my already low stamina is draining quickly is unavoidable.

Where did the hero candidates go? They scattered, so how would I know?

How long had it been since we started fighting and running? At some point, the guys chasing us disappeared.

There’s no one blocking the path ahead, so it seems we’ve successfully escaped….

“Where… is this?”

“Hec… hhhaaa… I don’t… knooowaaack….”

“Haa… where could we beeeooock…….”

“If you don’t know, then shut your mouths! I apologize, my lord. I’m not sure either.”

Yeah, I was stupid to ask them.

Looking around, I realized this was some kind of pass and shuddered. It was an involuntary reaction from being trapped in a pass earlier.

“Marquis, are you cold?”

“Hey, someone take off their clothes.”

“Shut up… don’t offer me your blood-soaked clothes…….”

I’m going to kill them…….

I glared at them sharply, filled with annoyance, then paused at a sound that caught my ear.

“…Do you guys hear something?”

“Huh? What sou….”

“Shhh, keep your voices….”

“Who’s there!”

…No need to lure them out. Attack!

“My lord?! It’s too sudden….”

“Waaaaaaah!”

To think a siege was formed all the way here!

I examined the guy at the very front, then looked behind him. The pass curved a little, making it difficult to see the end, but from what I could tell, the leader seemed to be that guy at the front.

‘…If that’s the case, then taking him out should solve things somehow.’

He seemed a bit flustered by the situation, but that must be my imagination. Even if not, the fact that they are demons and we are humans doesn’t change anything.

I twirled my dagger. I habitually folded and unfolded my thumb, running it over the hilt, and got into stance.

I faintly heard Kleter’s shout from somewhere.

“Milan! Protect the Marquis!”

“Protect the Marquis!”

***

Deon Hart had cut off the demons’ supply line.

Even while escaping from the enemies’ trap, he had managed to find and sever their supply line.

He had overexerted himself in the process and was carried back by the Killer Knights, but the Empire welcomed the hero who brought good news and assigned skilled physicians for his quick recovery.

“I told you to please take care of your health… it’s not a difficult request, so why…….”

Rumors briefly circulated about desperate cries and someone muttering about double-effect restorative medicine, but they quickly subsided with the news of the hero.

Stigma Primiero, who safely returned after slaughtering the enemies, burst into laughter upon hearing this news.

“That’s my junior. But….”

“……”

“Where is the person the rumors are about?”

“W-well, that is….”

“I was told he was here.”

The room where Deon Hart was supposed to be was empty.