Chapter 132

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 132

Chapter Title: Retribution

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Dad's shirt was soaked red, and scratches and bloodstains dotted his exposed skin here and there. When the doctor rolled up the sleeve, the gash on his forearm ran deep. Traces of battle.

Just as I turned pale, the rest of the family came rushing into the inner courtyard. Yohan checked Dad's wound and asked in a hoarse voice.

"What happened."

Nos, who had been at his side in Dad's stead, answered.

"We were ambushed."

"Who dares!"

Ishak shouted sharply, but Henri blocked him with one arm and asked calmly.

"Didn't you catch any of the attackers."

"The moment Your Grace subdued them, they all took their own lives."

"Father wouldn't have given them time for that."

"It was magic. They exploded the instant they were captured. More than that, their faces, hands, and feet had been pre-burned to prevent identification, and they were all skinheads without a single strand of hair—looks like they were a suicide squad raised for this very purpose from the start."

"Not something planned in a day or two, then."

Yohan stared fixedly at Dad's wound, then looked at Henri.

"Henri."

"I'll take command of the Shadow Crows. We'll share intel as it comes in."

"Good. Ishak, you lead the troops with the Seiren Division captain. Call in commanders from the territory who can fill in for Father and me."

"Got it."

"Everyone, go to high alert. Prepare even for the possibility of combat breaking out inside the capital."

The administrators and knights bowed in unison.

The family's expressions were nothing like usual. An unprecedented situation where the head of House Duvered had been attacked. A razor-sharp tension prickled the air in the mansion, setting every hair on end.

"The eldest young master is such a pillar of strength, isn't he."

"Command presence you wouldn't believe from a boy his age. The future looks bright."

"Even if the master steps away for a bit, we can rest easy!"

The maids surrounding me forced cheerful smiles, trying to reassure me.

"...Yeah."

I knew they meant well, but my response came out mechanical. They drooped their brows as I tapped the sofa armrest with a sunken gaze—tap, tap.

"Don't worry too much. The master's wounds aren't deep, and since the ambush failed, the enemy won't move easily for a while."

Linda, the most mature of the three maids, stroked the back of my hand consolingly.

"Okay..."

When my expression didn't soften, the maids exchanged troubled glances.

"I'll fetch some warm milk."

"And a picture book."

"Look at me, forgetting where the puzzles are."

The maids bustled off in search of something to lift my spirits.

The moment they left, I gripped the communication stone. The recipient: the Chairman.

"Trigon, come to the greenhouse with Zachary."

"If I go out, the family will worry. Trigon, as chief court mage, can't just casually come and go from a duke's mansion—move discreetly."

I told the three returning maids I wanted to rest and slipped out of the room. They looked crestfallen but bowed their heads.

Then I snuck Dad's shirt from the laundry—the one he'd been wearing during the ambush.

After waiting a bit in the greenhouse, a hooded man in robes arrived with Zachary and the Chairman.

As expected, the robed man was Trigon. The instant the greenhouse door shut, he yanked back his hood irritably and glared.

"Summon me here, send me there—do you know what'll happen if we're caught? I'm dead meat."

I ignored him and set Dad's shirt on the table.

"Can you trace it."

"Not with just this. You'd need flesh or hair at least."

"I know there's an alchemy that works with bloodstains alone."

I'd seen it in my first life for sure.

Trigon being summoned by the Empress Dowager to "track" someone.

"...!"

"L-Little One."

"What...!"

Not just Trigon—even Zachary and the Chairman froze.

The Chairman swallowed dryly, trying to dissuade me.

"It'll put a heavy burden on the caster."

"Not if I use my holy power and Etwal as the medium. Etwal has my familiar in it. In other words, it holds the demon's power. I'll do the casting. Trigon, just tell me how."

Trigon raised both hands lightly and backed away.

"I may owe my position to your father, but I'm still chief court mage. You want to learn forbidden alchemy from me? Little One, this is no different from apostleship. If we do this, how are we any better than them? Think rationally...!"

I shot to my feet and advanced on him.

"They attacked my family with suicide bombers. I'm not some upright saint who walks the righteous path even when the enemy fights dirty."

"..."

"I give back as much as I get. That's the Duvered family motto."

What did my first life leave me, full of naive goodness? Responding to every evil deed with the "right" way, only to end up broken as a sacrifice.

And my second life, obedient to parents and loyal to country and people? Beaten to death by those same parents.

"You want me to face hordes of enemies charging with spears and swords bare-handed? For whose sake."

"..."

He rubbed his weary face with both hands, sighed, and sat down.

"I tried to talk you out of it. Don't regret this."

The moment he took my hand, an activation rune appeared on the back of it.

"Focus. It's Welton's formula."

"Welton?!"

Welton's formula was used for only one thing.

'To attack.'

Why attack...?

As I sorted through my thoughts, I let out a hollow chuckle.

'Magic defined by alchemy always has a reason.'

Precisely, this wasn't tracking magic. It was magic to attack those linked by blood.

I curled my lips into a smirk.

The man chuckled gutturally, slapping his knee with gusto.

"Yes! So House Duvered's gone on high alert. Theodor Duvered—that arrogant bastard—finally tucked tail in fear!"

He'd never liked him since youth. That upstart commoner spawn acting like he ruled the world, propped up by empty-headed sycophants who treated him like some noble savior.

'And now he eyes my prize?'

"Splendid. Splendid indeed. I've never lost by following your advice."

"Keep favoring me. I'll stake my life on aiding Your Lordship's great cause."

"Good."

The black-hatted man in gloves smiled faintly, and the man beamed contentedly.

"Now then, tell me. The hiding spot of the funding source."

"Yes... Lord Nodelli."

Marquis Nodelli had met the black-hatted man two months prior.

At a drinking party where Duke Ballua had gathered a few great nobles and hinted that development of the mid-range teleportation array was complete.

[These men here provided great help. Good people to know. But be cautious—they're sharp calculators.]

"You'll keep your promise."

As the black-hatted man asked, Marquis Nodelli heaved his bulk upright.

"The man caught with the late Duke Ballua."

"Yes."

"I've got my people in the imperial army, guards, and constabulary. What's one more body? He's been in my pocket from the start—don't worry."

Marquis Nodelli fetched a bottle from the cabinet and continued nonchalantly.

"Killing him and erasing traces? Easier than snapping a child's neck. Here, have a drink..."

It was then, as Marquis Nodelli turned his head.

"Gurk!"

The black-hatted man clutched his throat and collapsed. The carpet soaked with dark red blood.

"Gaaahhh—!!"

Veins bulged from his neck like a spiderweb. Marquis Nodelli, seeing the man's face drain blue, shouted in panic.

"Wh-what... Doctor!! Anyone out there! Call the doctor!"

Even as servants and doctors burst in, the black-hatted man's limbs twisted unnaturally.

"What in the world is this!"

Marquis Nodelli's face hardened.

Hearing the commotion from the study, Elizabeth poked her head in the door.

"What? What's going on? Daddy!"

At the child's voice, Marquis Nodelli bellowed hoarsely.

"Take Elizabeth away!"

"Miss."

"What's all this about? No, I don't wanna go~! Wise is here, right? I have questions...!"

"My apologies."

"Let go!"

Elizabeth squirmed in the butler's arms, scowling. She had questions for the black-hatted man, her father's new close friend.

'The medicine... it didn't work.'

He'd said she had to use it that very day.

And how to make the world's handsomest prince hers. How to pry that wretched girl away from him.

At that moment, in Duke Duvered's mansion.

Leblain smiled, clutching the glowing Etwal with her pallid face.

'Got you, bastard.'

There was definitely a sensation. Like a throat clutched in my grip. The alchemy had succeeded, no doubt.

'But alchemy's a real bitch. No wonder they warn against it.'

My whole body throbbed like a bad flu. Worse, it felt filthy. Like I'd really strangled a man.

Half a day after using the alchemy, the sensation lingered in my palm.

Trigon had left, and I'd assigned Zachary to guard him.

'He's the only one who knows this alchemy. If word gets out, he's in danger.'

As I sat discussing matters with the Chairman.

Laura entered the greenhouse with quick steps.

"Miss, I checked on that matter you asked about."

"Yes? What happened."

"There was a disturbance at the Tulruzro and Nodelli estates at the time you mentioned. Wild dogs got into the Tulruzro garden, and the Nodellis summoned doctors."

The Chairman's eyes narrowed.

"Nodelli, then."

"...Yes."

I nodded and told Laura.

"Go fetch Dahlia, Linda, and Uni."

"Yes."

As Laura left, the Chairman asked curiously.

"Why summon the maids."

"Why the Nodellis attacked Dad doesn't matter. Probably after the funding source. Marquis Nodelli's got a massive inferiority complex toward Dad, they say."

"And."

"What matters to me is they attacked Dad. Time to give back as good as we got. I don't have suicide squads bred for terror, but—"

Right on cue, the three maids entered the greenhouse, and I flashed a bright smile.

"I've got allies scarier than any suicide bomber."

A serial killer who'd offed a hundred rapists, a con artist who'd made off with a territory's yearly budget, a usurer who ruled the capital's underworld, and the daughter of a cult leader.

"Hey."

Seeing the maids' wide eyes, I put on an innocent face.

"Target's Marquis Nodelli's kid, Elizabeth. I wanna stir up a scandal big enough to make that marquis hop mad. Will you help."

'Double what we receive, and give it back.'

That's our family motto.