Episode 336
Maybe it was surprising, but I had no feelings of resentment toward Assad despite him urging the Iron-Blooded Lord to kill me before my regression. After all, that was an expected reaction.
Assad was at least hundreds of years old. There were probably few pure humans who had lived longer than him. I figured that a person who had lived that long would have their emotions fade away.
Humans were creatures of adaptation, no matter whether it was in a good or bad sense. Someone would have experienced all sorts of stimuli over hundreds of years. If they wanted to stay sane at that age, they would naturally have to prioritize their goals over personal emotions.
That was the case with Assad. Most mages were obsessed with their own realm, mana, or researching new spells. Meanwhile, this man was called an archmage, but he'd devoted his life to the Badniker family rather than studying magic and progressing his realm. It was truly unusual.
Mages were fundamentally extreme individuals. There was a reason they shut themselves away in magic towers, buildings completely cut off from the outside world, for years or even decades.
Despite Assad attaining the rank of archmage, the very pinnacle that every mage aimed for, he'd lived a life that was the complete opposite of other mages. It could be described as almost self-sacrificing.
At the very least, it was a life that I couldn't copy. I couldn't help thinking it was amazing to some extent.
Well, that's one thing and this is another.
Apart from that, I didn't have any good feelings toward him. The fact remained that before my regression, he had tricked me in more ways than one. Most of all, it was this man's nonsense that had ruined my relationship with Lise Ladygoth beyond repair.
So, the words I had just said represented both my personal wish and a small revenge against this man.
"Free Lise Ladygoth?" Assad asked.
"Yes."
"Why? Did she say she would make you the head of the family if you let her go?" Assad wondered, his voice filled with sarcasm.
Perhaps sensing the cold atmosphere, Verita slowly erased her smile and looked at Assad.
Assad continued, "No, I don't think so. If Delac dies, you are already the strongest candidate to succeed as family head. Besides, it isn't as if you want the position. So what? What did that witch promise you? Were you threatened?"
"The direction of your thinking is a bit extreme. It isn't blackmail or a deal," I said.
"Then what is it? I hope your request isn't out of pity. You really shouldn't think of her as a young girl just because she looks like that."
"Mm."
"Why are you acting like that?"
"Your words are a bit embarrassing."
Assad sighed loudly as I continued, "By the way, why bring up her appearance?"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Lise is currently locked away in the basement to act as a guard dog. No, even guard dogs are let off the leash to run around the garden when not on duty. Her treatment is even worse than that. So regardless of appearance, wouldn't anyone who sees her situation feel sympathetic?" I answered.
"Yes. That makes sense." Assad unexpectedly nodded in agreement. Immediately after that, he added sarcastically, "You can only say that because you don't know what this woman did in the past."
"That is also true. So let me hear it. What happened in the past?"
Assad sighed and glanced at Verita. She said, "I'll step outside for a moment."
"Ah, yes. Isn't there a dining room on the first floor? You can go and eat first," I told her.
"Yes," Verita said as she left the room.
Then Assad told me, "Lise Ladygoth is the blood of Black Fairy Kuset. In addition, Kuset is still alive."
I gasped audibly.
"Didn't you hear this from Delac?" Assad asked.
"Yes," I replied.
Assad stared at me for a moment before he continued calmly, "Lise Ladygoth killed Loanne Badniker in the past."
"Luanne?" I interjected.
"Loanne Badniker. The fourth family head of the Badnikers."
Actually, I had heard it properly the first time. I just made a joke since his expression was so stiff. I wondered, was my joke really that bad?
I asked sullenly, "And?"
"And?"
"Yes. How many more people did she kill?"
"She didn't kill anyone else."
"So she only killed one person?"
"Yes. Why? Is it that the number is small, so the sin seems small?"
To be honest, it was difficult for me to respond. I had an instinctive feeling that if I agreed here, it could greatly damage my relationship with Assad.
Well, it was difficult but not impossible. So I muttered timidly, "It does seem a bit small."
Assad was silent for a moment before finally saying, "It wasn't any ordinary person. She killed the family head."
"That is a pity."
"You... Sigh." Assad started to speak, but eventually trailed off and shook his head.
I was momentarily confused seeing that. It was only after some time that I realized the gap between us. To me, Loanne Badniker was a figure of the past, a figure who would only appear in history books. If she was from the fourth generation, it meant she was a person from hundreds of years ago. Even if she was a family head, I didn't have much of an impression of her, since my sense of belonging to the family was low from the beginning.
It was different for Assad, who had actually lived for hundreds of years. I realized it based on his tone and eyes: He and Loanne must have had a special relationship. What if Loanne had been close to Assad in some way? That would explain the archmage's hatred for Lise.
"Why did Lise kill her?" I asked.
"I don't know," Assad answered.
"Huh?"
"However, Kuset knew the whole story. Back then, he didn't completely hide his presence like he does now. He didn't show his face publicly, but anyone in the family could easily see him."
"Aha."
"Kuset once cherished his kin, Lise Ladygoth. Nevertheless, she was punished to be confined to the underground library forever. Do you understand what this means? Despite killing someone who was the head of the Badnikers, he didn't punish her immediately and instead sealed her underground. That was the only mercy he could show."
I was stunned. Except for Kuset, no one knew the real reason why Lise had killed Loanne. That was even the case for Assad, an elder of the family and an archmage. I thought, This smells a bit fishy.
Honestly, I hadn't expected to immediately free Lise. The reason I had brought this up was to irritate Assad, since he became emotional every time Lise was mentioned. He'd tried to interfere with me and manipulate me, so I wanted to take revenge at least once. However, the more I listened, the more suspicious it all seemed. In addition, I felt something strange from Assad's attitude.
I said, "Black Fairy Kuset is currently pulling the strings of the Badniker family from the shadows. At the very least, he isn't showing himself. However, the Badnikers are a big family. He can't control everything without showing himself."
"What are you trying to say?"
"The key to the underground library that can free Lise. Sir Assad, don't you have it?"
Assad sighed and answered, "That's right. Kuset entrusted it to me a long time ago. However, the key I have can't completely free her. At most, she can enjoy a short break once a month."
"Has it ever been used?"
"Never."
"Not once in hundreds of years?"
"Yes."
I couldn't help laughing. I said, "How interesting. Well, that's good. Then let's make a deal."'
"A deal?"
"If my father's treatment is successful this time, give me the key."
This time, it was Assad who laughed. His snickering mixed with the sound of the wind. Eventually, he said, "You are saying interesting things too. Are you saying that you won't treat Delac if I don't accept it?"
I answered, "No. However, if the treatment fails, I will accept Sir Assad's proposal without hesitation."
"What proposal do you mean?"
Why is he pretending not to know? We both know everything, I thought. But then, thinking about it again, Assad hadn't revealed his true intentions toward me yet.
I said, "I will become the next head of the family. You can make it public. If my father doesn't awaken, I will take over the Badniker family."
My words were blunt, but I had nothing to lose. I was confident that I could fully cure the Iron-Blooded Lord, just like before my regression.
Naturally, Assad would want to accept my proposal. Mages were like that. Even if the chance of failure was only a few percent, they always wanted to have a plan B ready for the worst-case scenario.
Just then, I quietly applied some pressure. "I will tell you in advance. If you refuse this deal, I absolutely won't take over the family. I will throw away the position of future family head and stay in the Hero Society. I just happened to join a clan with a good, family-like atmosphere."
It was somewhat poor and socially disadvantaged, but among all the groups I was affiliated with, Corrupted was the most trustworthy one.
Well, my other affiliations are the Badniker family and the Colorless faction, I thought. Among them, Corrupted truly felt like a blessing. So why do I suddenly feel like crying?
"Hah," Assad finally said. The next moment, he smiled.
I realized that this smirk meant he was accepting my suggestion and returned the smile.
***
I finished the deal with Assad and headed to the dining room.
"Ah," came a voice.
"Huh?" I said as I saw a familiar face. It was my reliable second brother, Hector Badniker.
"Luan, you are here," he said.
"Hello, Brother. How did you know I came to the main house?" I responded.At this point before my regression, I hadn't met Hector.
"Olivia saw you in the dining room."
"Aha," I muttered. So he'd heard it from her.
Hector wondered, "Did you hear about Father?"
"Yes, I did," I answered. I continued in response to his expression, "Don't look like that. It seems he might be able to be treated."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
I walked beside Hector and talked about Verita. I even told him about her positive outlook for a cure.
Hector's expression finally brightened after hearing my words. He said, "I see. A nun of the Seventy-Two Churches and an inquisitor? It must not have been easy to call on her. You did a great job."
"It's nothing."
I couldn't help smiling as we talked. Who would've thought the day would come when Verita would step into the Badnikers' main house? Not long ago, I never would've imagined it. Honestly, it was proof that she had grown in her own way. Still, I didn't think Verita was going to cause chaos in the house right now.
I was thinking that when we arrived at the dining room.
Crash!
A desk flew from somewhere and smashed the door. Hector and I batted away the broken pieces of wood while wondering what was going on.
"Uwahh..."
A groan of pain emerged from the dining room. The voice was somehow familiar.
"Aerts?" Hector called out.
"B-Brother Hector?" Aerts replied.
Someone was standing in front of the trembling Aerts, remarking, "Who are you looking at? What brother? Weren't you talking to me?"
"Ah, no, that..." Aerts trailed off.
"Say it once more." Verita smiled. "Who is the inferior one again?"
Oh my, I thought. Somehow, I had thought she was too well-behaved.