“Mmph, mmph……!”
Schubert thrashed and shouted with his eyes wide open.
Of course, since his mouth was gagged, I could not understand a word he was saying.
“I can’t hear a thing.”
“Mmph, mmph……!”
I calmly made my way out of the Shadow Training Facility.
Of course, Schubert had been carelessly stuffed into a sack.
Only after we left the city and reached a deserted forest did I take Schubert out of the sack.
“Mmmph……!”
His bloodshot eyes shifted back and forth between Number Two and me as he glared at us. I looked at him, then took a note from my clothes and handed it to Number Two.
“Take this back immediately and deliver it to Mother.”
“Pardon? Will you be all right?”
“What do you take me for?”
“……My apologies.”
Number Two glanced back at Schubert for a moment before disappearing on the spot.
Once Number Two was completely gone, I looked at Schubert.
“You weren’t much of a superior, were you, First Young Master?”
“Mmph, mmph!”
Schubert struggled as he glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
“Ah, now that I think about it, I still had your mouth gagged. How rude of me.”
“Mmph, mm…… I’ll kill you! You bastard! How dare you humiliate me, a direct descendant of Messiah, like this……!”
“Messiah?”
I snorted.
“No. Ralke, wouldn’t you say?”
“……What?”
“I mean that by nature, you’re closer to Ralke than Messiah. Aren’t you? Your constitution isn’t particularly suited to the Sacred Flame.”
“……!”
Schubert’s body flinched.
He glared at me with trembling eyes.
“H-how do you know that……?”
“Well, I wonder how I know?”
Of course, it was because I had memories of my previous life.
Until Schubert obtained several ‘fortuitous encounters,’ his Sacred Flame had never been particularly powerful.
At least, not compared to the Commander.
And Schubert had harbored no small inferiority complex toward the Commander because of that.
I knew because I had seen it all.
“I know what you and your maternal family are plotting behind the scenes. No, perhaps I should say ‘we’ know?”
“…….”
“We reject Ralke. More precisely, we reject everything you bastards are plotting behind the scenes.”
I faithfully played the role of a member of the Seekers as I condemned Schubert.
After all, a convincing impersonation began with a detailed setting.
The Seekers are enemies of the Outer Gods.
Because they are enemies of the Outer Gods, they oppose Ralke, who will bring harm to the world in the future, and interfere with their plans.
That was roughly the setting.
“Y-you people…… just what are you……?”
“At first, First Young Master, I thought about simply killing you. You’re precious blood that your maternal family values greatly, aren’t you?”
“……!”
“But I realized that wasn’t the best choice. You…… Hmm, no, your maternal family is hiding an awful lot.”
“What…… do you mean?”
“Hmm? You don’t know?”
I looked at Schubert as though genuinely surprised.
“Really? With all the things you’re involved in, you don’t even know one of your maternal family’s ‘little secrets’?”
“…….”
“Then you’re even more incompetent than I thought.”
A thick murderous intent filled Schubert’s eyes.
But what was he going to do?
There was nothing he could do with both arms bound.
“Tell me. What is it I don’t know? Just what is my maternal family……?”
“Do I have any reason to explain everything to you?”
“You son of a bitch!”
“Hmm.”
I smiled leisurely as I looked down at the raging Schubert.
“Well, enough. That is enough pointless chatter.”
I had thought about it for a long time.
If an opportunity to kill Schubert came in the near future, what should I do?
Until I was seven, I thought I had to kill him no matter what.
But after a day passed, then a month, then about a year, my thoughts changed somewhat.
‘Wouldn’t that be too easy on him?’
Besides, Schubert could become a more effective piece of bait than almost anything else in my future plans.
It would be a waste to throw away that bait merely for immediate revenge.
Therefore.
“I intend to ruin you over a very long time. Little by little, but relentlessly.”
“……What?”
Schubert’s eyes widened.
I grabbed him by the face and lifted him up.
First, I should return the favor in kind.
“You’re familiar with curses, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking ab— AAAAAARGH!”
I had studied curses for a long time.
It was research that had continued since my previous life.
In my previous life, it had been for survival and freedom.
And now…….
‘For revenge.’
I had spent some time considering what sort of curse would make you suffer the most.
And at last, I created one.
“It’s a curse called Thornbush. It’s one of the better curses I’ve created.”
“A-AAAAARGH!”
“There’s nothing special about its effect. It just hurts. Every time you wield a sword, little by little, ever so little…….”
The core of the curse I had created, ‘Thornbush,’ was pain.
It would not turn Schubert into a cripple overnight, but it would gradually eat away at him from within.
Just as the Puppet curse he had planted in me once had.
“AAAAAAARGH!”
Schubert’s eyes rolled back as he thrashed from the excruciating pain inflicted while the curse was being implanted.
I listened to his screams as though appreciating a sweet song.
“This is only the beginning.”
You can look forward to what comes next.
A lot is going to change.
***
“Wh-what…… is this……?”
First Wife Leira Ralke examined the contents of the note Number Two had delivered with trembling eyes.
No matter how many times she checked it, the contents remained the same.
“M-my son…… My son has been…… taken hostage?”
“What do you…… mean?”
Number Two looked at the First Wife with a baffled expression.
Taken hostage?
Had the First Young Master not taken the imposter hostage instead?
“Lady Leira, the Young Master is perfectly fine. In fact, after securing the imposter and his group…….”
“What?”
The First Wife’s eyes widened as she glared at Number Two.
She strode toward him and slapped him across the face.
SLAP!
“If you have eyes, use them! Does this note truly look like something that child sent?!”
Number Two picked up the note the First Wife had thrown at him, still looking bewildered.
A moment later, his eyes widened in shock.
To First Wife Leira.
We, the peace-loving <Seekers>, currently have your precious son, whom you love so dearly, in our custody.
If you wish to ensure your son’s safety, we ask that you please come alone without informing anyone else.
- The Seventh Apostle of the <Seekers>.
“……!”
After reading the note, Number Two could not hide his shock.
‘The one I thought was real…… was actually the imposter?’
But he could not believe it.
The reason he had judged the imposter to be the First Young Master was that the man had known ‘information’ only the First Young Master could possibly know.
And yet…… he had been the fake?
“H-how in the world……?!”
But once he considered that possibility, the things he had overlooked began falling into place one after another.
‘The note mentioned a group called the <Seekers>. If all those people I thought we had captured were members of the <Seekers>…….’
Then…… had he not moved exactly as they intended?
He had even taken it upon himself to serve as their messenger by delivering the note directly to the First Wife.
‘This is insane.’
The realization sent chills through him.
Cold sweat dripped down his cheeks.
“What do you know about this group called the <Seekers>?”
“……Nothing has been discovered. Other than the fact that the man perfectly imitated the Young Master, we know nothing…….”
“Incompetent fool.”
Faced with her gaze filled with deep contempt, Number Two squeezed his eyes shut.
The First Wife glared at Number Two for a moment before turning her gaze toward empty space.
“Dane. Do you know anything about this group called the <Seekers>?”
At that moment, someone slowly stepped out, pushing through empty air.
It was a man surrounded by ominous black mana.
He bowed his head.
“My apologies, my lady. I have never heard of a group called the <Seekers>. Perhaps they were formed recently…….”
“Can you handle them?”
“Hmm. I wonder.”
The man called Dane wore a mask covering half his face.
He leisurely scratched the corner of his mouth as he spoke.
“……From what I hear, one of those they took out of the facility was a dragon. They say he is not in a normal state, but facing him with magic would still be no easy task. More importantly…….”
Dane walked toward Number Two with measured steps.
Then he asked.
“There is one thing that bothers me. How exactly did they release the shackles sealing the dragon? In theory, those restraints should have been impossible to undo…….”
“W-we have not confirmed that yet…….”
“Were the shackles left behind? Or were there perhaps no traces of them at all?”
“……There were no traces.”
“Oh? Then that means the shackles themselves were completely destroyed. Interesting. Hmm, <Seekers>…… Ah, <Seekers>…….”
Dane circled Number Two as he sank into thought.
“Come to think of it, I remember there being some eccentric dragons who called themselves Seekers…… Ah, if so, that would make a certain amount of sense. The main family’s black magic is excellent, but against the ‘real ones,’ it inevitably falls somewhat short.”
“What do you mean, Dane?”
Dane grinned and looked toward the First Wife.
“I mean that perhaps a dragon is the one who intervened in this affair, my lady.”
“What……?!”
“Their magic is sophisticated. If it were a dragon, perfectly imitating the Young Master would not be impossible.”
Dane continued.
“Besides, it would make sense for a dragon to intervene to rescue one of their own who had suffered such humiliation. There are exceptionally few of them, after all.”
“W-wait! If a dragon truly intervened, then my son…… What are we supposed to do about my son?”
“Ah, do not worry.”
Dane continued.
“If they intended to kill him, they would have done so in front of Number Two here and simply informed us afterward. But the fact that they sent a note like this means they intend to negotiate, does it not?”
“…….”
“The Young Master’s life is extremely important to us as well, my lady. As you know…… he is ‘important,’ is he not?”
The First Wife did not answer.
She remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“Will you come with me?”
“Ah, of course.”
Dane’s crimson eyes gleamed through his mask.
“That was our contract, after all.”
***
I moved the unconscious Schubert off to one side and decided to wait there for the First Wife.
There was no chance the First Wife would ignore the note I had sent.
At least, not while I had Schubert in my possession.
“Will this truly be all right?”
As I waited quietly, Deckard approached and asked.
“What do you mean?”
“The note you sent to the First Wife. Is there not a chance that woman will react more drastically than you expect?”
“Well, if the First Young Master dies, the First Wife will be finished as well. Do you really think she would make that choice?”
“……Pardon?”
“Every privilege the First Wife currently enjoys exists because she is ‘the mother of Messiah’s legitimate son.’ The same goes for her standing within the Ducal House of Ralke.”
If Schubert were gone, the First Wife’s value would plummet to rock bottom.
If only to avoid that worst-case scenario, the First Wife had no choice but to follow the instructions in the note.
Of course.
‘She will probably keep one ‘hidden move’ in reserve.’
It did not matter.
Because I could predict the ‘hidden move’ the First Wife would bring out as well.
And while I waited for the First Wife.
THUMP.
My heart was the first to react.
“She’s here.”
The fish had taken the bait.