Chapter 26

“Hey, open the door, you ungrateful brat!”

Rizel, her eyes swollen from crying, was startled by the sudden voice and began looking around.

“Outside the window, outside the window. Open it before I peck my way in.”

Hesitating, Rizel reluctantly opened the window, and a crow, shaking off its feathers, flew in and immediately started pecking at her forehead.

“Ouch!”

“Does that hurt? Your brother is out there on the battlefield, and you’re crying over a little peck?”

“…What about my brother! What does it matter if that selfish man went to the battlefield! He joined the war for his own honor, what does that have to do with me!”

As Rizel spoke with a voice full of anger, the crow laughed as if it couldn’t believe what it was hearing.

“Ha! Ha! Wow! Did I just hear a human speak? I thought I was hearing a dog barking while taking a dump.”

“What…?”

“Sigh… Fine. That fool isn’t the type to seek gratitude from others, so I’ll let that slide. But erasing your brother from the family? Are you out of your mind?”

“That was just something I said… What does it have to do with you, you damn birdbrain…!”

“The idiots around that fool are either lunatics, foul-mouthed, or just plain bitches…”

The lunatic referred to Camilla, the foul-mouthed one was the Empress, and the bitches were the numerous women around Raul.

“What do you know…!”

“Enough. I’m tired of talking… It’s faster to just show you.”

As the crow flapped its wings, a pitch-black wind began to envelop Rizel.

—

“Where is this…?”

Rizel woke up in what seemed like a strange training ground, not her room.

Around her were children who looked about ten years old, and judging by their reactions, they didn’t seem to recognize Rizel.

“Is this an illusion…? I’ve heard about it often.”

Among the young nobles, some used illusions like drugs, but Rizel, who despised such immoral things, was experiencing an illusion for the first time.

“Alright, attention, young lords and ladies who were just cuddling with teddy bears in the mansion.”

Hearing a voice that sounded slightly drunk, Rizel turned her head toward the source.

Messy blue hair, eyes burning like blue flames, a bottle of alcohol always in hand, and an appearance that didn’t match his age.

It was unmistakably Duke Argos, who had single-handedly defended the supply lines and defense lines while the five heroes attacked the demons.

At the same time, he was also Camilla’s father and the Empire’s Minister of War, who had achieved countless feats in his youth.

“I’m the one your lazy parents sent to bring you here.”

Of course, his personality was even worse than Camilla’s.

“Let me cut to the chase. We’re all screwed. Our Emperor has messed up so badly that we’re all royally screwed. The Demon King, having lost his mind, is preparing his army and will invade with all sorts of monsters, so we’re all completely screwed.”

His vulgar speech made the children slightly scared.

Then, one child raised their hand and asked.

“Um… since you’re strong, Duke, could you fight the Demon King yourself…?”

“This little brat is asking me to go die. Even if I fight those monsters, I’d only buy half a day before dying. You want me to die so you can live half a day longer? What’s wrong with you?”

He was a man who was childish and had no sense of dignity.

The sudden declaration made the children murmur in anxiety, but the Duke paid no attention and continued to blow his horn.

“I have a question.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

The one who raised their hand was Penelope, the future Empress.

“Busy as you are, Duke, you wouldn’t have called us here just to scare us. What is your real purpose?”

“You nailed it. My purpose is simple. To create monsters who won’t lose to the Demon King’s army. I’m better at creating monsters than fighting them.”

The point was to train the young nobles into human weapons.

“But why do we have to be the ones to do this?”

The one who asked that was Asel, the future Emperor.

“Because if the nobles don’t fight and just push the commoners to the front… we’ll all be heading to the guillotine before the Demon King gets us. Before we find enlightenment, we’ll be overthrown by revolution.”

The Duke made a throat-slitting gesture, instilling fear in the young nobles.

For children who had lived lives far removed from death, the Duke’s words were more despairing than finding out Santa wasn’t real.

“Anyway, it’s simple.”

The Duke picked up a branch and drew a line in front of the children.

“Cross that line and land a hit on me. Of course, the moment you cross that line… I’ll attack you with full force.”

It wasn’t something to do with mere children, but the Duke was serious.

It was clear that young lords and ladies who got scared by this much would only be a burden on the battlefield, so it was necessary to weed them out.

“I have a question.”

“…What?”

The sudden informal speech made the Duke almost spit out the alcohol he was holding in his mouth.

“If we lose that war, will Rizel die?”

The boy who asked that question was a young Raul.

Messy black hair, eyes that seemed a bit lifeless, a tired and gloomy appearance. It was unmistakably Raul.

Rizel, hearing her name from her brother’s mouth, took a step back in surprise.

“I don’t know who Rizel is, but if she’s human, she’ll definitely die. And speak formally, kid.”

“…An enemy even you can’t defeat is coming, and the moment they arrive, Rizel will die. I understand now.”

“Kid, if you just talk one-sidedly, that’s not a conversation, that’s nonsense. And speak formally, I said…”

“There’s no room for compromise. I will fight.”

His habit of ignoring others’ words was the same as now, but his eyes as a child were filled with countless emotions.

The Duke also read the emotions in those eyes and responded with interest.

“Fine, do as you please, kid. And speak formally. If you need a weapon, there’s one over there…”

“I’m not foolish enough to think I can land a hit on you with something like that.”

Raul charged at the Duke without any weapon.

It was an act close to suicide, so Rizel instinctively reached out to grab Raul.

“Brother, are you crazy?!”

But her hand couldn’t grab anything. Feeling like she had grabbed a phantom, Rizel fell clumsily.

Raul, charging in with full force… was hit in the face and sent flying far away.

“I told you. If you cross the line, I’ll attack. And speak formally. If you want to land a hit on me, get a weapon first…”

The Duke felt an odd sense of discomfort and looked at his right hand.

Seeing the shattered bottle of alcohol he had been drinking, the Duke laughed bitterly.

“…Interesting. Did you shatter my bottle in that brief moment? I didn’t feel a kick or a punch. By the way, this was expensive.”

“Still, it’s not easy.”

“Try harder, gloomy kid.”

“I was planning to, even without you saying so.”

Raul, bleeding profusely, charged at the Duke again.

Even though a child experiencing such pain would usually cry and look for their parents, Raul didn’t.

Instead, he charged at the Duke even more recklessly than before.

“Crazy kid. I said I wanted to create monsters, but suicidal maniacs are a different story.”

He needed brave individuals, but those who knew no fear were out of the question.

There’s nothing more foolish than a soldier who knows no fear.

“You’re disqualified.”

The Duke swung his hand blade to knock Raul out.

But at that moment, he felt a sharp pain and stopped his attack.

Seeing the blood dripping from his right hand, the Duke laughed and patted Raul’s head.

“Wow… I’ve never seen such a raccoon.”

Embedded in the Duke’s right hand were shards from the shattered bottle.

“You shattered the bottle, hid the glass shards, and then used my attack to embed them into me.”

“I couldn’t embed the glass shards into your body with my strength. So, I used your strength instead. Your strength would be enough.”

“Did you take that hit earlier to gauge that? You’re a complete rabid raccoon.”

The Duke laughed as he pulled out the glass shards from his hand.

“Alright, you pass. We need rabid raccoons like you. A genius like you can definitely be turned into a monster.”

“…Am I a genius?”

“Yes. A kid who landed a hit on me must be a genius.”

That was the first meeting between Raul and his mentor.

It was also the day Raul first met an adult who acknowledged his talent.

“By the way, who is this Rizel that you’re so obsessed with? Is she a girl you like? Is she among those…”

“Rizel is.”

Raul remembered his younger sister, who had almost died due to his carelessness.

The cute sister who held onto his finger and wouldn’t let go. The beautiful sister who smiled brightly at him. The adorable sister whose babbling somehow sounded like “brother.”

Raul smiled softly and said,

“That child is the motivation for all my actions.”

“Motivation?”

“My reason to live, my reason to fight, my reason to endure pain, my reason to kill… and.”

Rizel was shocked to see her brother’s bright smile for the first time.

“My reason to die.”

“You’re crazier than I imagined. Alright. First successful candidate.”

And the Duke seemed to quite like Raul.

“I’ll take responsibility and teach you how to become a monster.”

“Thank you.”

“And speak formally.”

Later, the children who passed that test suffered through merciless and grueling training, but they all found comfort in looking at Raul.

Because Raul was subjected to an even more merciless and grueling training under the name of “formal speech training.”

Raul managed to correct his somewhat rude speech through that training, but he ended up disliking the Duke more than anyone else.

—

But such trivial stories were of no importance to Rizel.

“He said I was the motivation for all his actions…? Don’t make me laugh… Then why did he kill my fiancé…!”

The Second Prince she remembered was more thoughtful and caring than anyone.

She could never forgive Raul for killing such a caring fiancé.

“I can’t understand…!”

“Did you even try to understand?”

The one who said that was none other than the young Raul.

It was impossible for a figure in an illusion to recognize her and speak to her.

“This can’t be… This is all a lie…! That scene earlier was all…! This isn’t reality!”

“How is your reality any different, Rizel?”

“What…?”

“You only saw what you wanted to see and heard what you wanted to hear. How is your life any different from an illusion? I’m really curious. Didn’t you cast an illusion on yourself?”

At the young Raul’s harsh words, Rizel wanted to cover her ears but couldn’t.

Covering her ears would be admitting that she only heard what she wanted to hear.

“But the fact that my brother killed my fiancé doesn’t change…!”

“True. That doesn’t change. But don’t whine too much. I was about to show you that too.”

The young Raul snapped his fingers, and the surrounding space-time began to change.

“You need to see it too. Why your brother did what he did. You have the right to see it.”

Suddenly, the young Raul’s voice changed from a boy’s to that of a young woman.

“You have the duty to see it.”

—

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