Episode 36
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Ron bowed his head very politely and courteously towards the approaching doll.
“I didn’t realize that you were my master. I will formally greet you… .”
[Did you follow the pulse of the Taoist temple?]
For a moment, Ron’s expression hardens.
[I think I reached the 9th Circle about 19, no, 20 years ago. I’m currently 45 or 46 years old. If I reached the 9th Circle in my mid-twenties, I would have been in a pretty high position in the Taoist temple, but I’m just a servant now… … ]
Ron said nothing.
It’s not a past I want to hide, but it’s also a past I don’t necessarily need to bring up.
Valentine stares at Ron with an expressionless face.
The gaze was like that of looking at an old relic.
Naturally, Ron was at a loss.
I’m not exaggerating, I didn’t expect this situation to happen, and I never dreamed that the word ‘conduit’ would come out of someone else’s mouth.
[It could be 10 circles, and it could be a master who handles souls, but it takes about 20 years?]
“yes?”
[I asked if it hadn’t been about 20 years since I trained without using mana.]
Ron nodded, smiling bitterly.
To be exact, it’s been 19 years.
Ron hasn’t used mana since the day he entered the Marquis’ house with Jack and Elizabeth’s biological mother.
There was a time when I had no choice but to follow Jack using mana because he showed some strange changes in the middle, but that was only one time.
Well, what’s the big deal about that now?
[Don’t you feel sorry?]
Once again, Ron nods.
[You really are. Even though I am a servant and am looked down upon by those weaker than me, I do not feel sorry… … I have no intention of building up my own reputation… … I am only satisfied with serving that child… … ?]
Ron swallowed hard.
What on earth is this feeling?
It feels like my insides are being thoroughly searched.
How far can this doll’s clear eyes see?
[I wondered where that incredible talent came from, but I didn’t think it would be solved so easily. The future warrior of the Dojo is the one who risks his life to protect it… … Does that child know?]
“… … The master once said this to me.”
Valentine looks at Ron.
“I guess they have some idea about the past, but they won’t delve into it. In my opinion, they definitely know, but they just don’t care.”
If Jack had heard this conversation, he would have asked:
‘A pipe? What’s that?’
It could be said that this was a problem that arose because Jack continued to show off his excessive excellence.
These two don’t know.
Jack surprisingly doesn’t know many things.
Valentine, unaware of the situation, nodded to Ron’s words, and Ron bowed his head politely to Valentine once again.
After a while, he slowly raises his head and sees Valentine staring blankly at Jack.
Rondo turned his head and looked at Jack.
Now Jack was whispering something to Gonzales.
I don’t know what it is, but looking at the corners of his lips that are slightly raised, I think our master is up to something.
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At that sight, Ron’s mood naturally improved.
How can you look so dignified?
Ron was so overcome with joy at this moment that tears almost welled up in his eyes.
Then, a natural smile forms on Ron’s lips.
So bright.
That smile.
Chapter 4
I crouched down in front of Gonzalez and reached out and grabbed his hair.
As I lifted it slightly, blood flowed out from the corner of the mouth and mixed with saliva, rising thickly.
It’s really made with rice cakes.
“Gonzalez, what a cool name. Judging from how successful he has become, he seems to have some ability. I guess our Marquis favors him very much?”
“Ugh… … Prince Sam, with that servant kid right now… … .”
Oh my, this kid.
Kwajik-!
He slammed Gonzalez’s head back into the ground.
“Ugh.”
A groan of pain is heard.
“Do you understand the situation now?”
“… … .”
“I didn’t ask you to answer, but I didn’t ask you to ignore it either… … Okay. Okay, you came to investigate the case, and the case has been solved, right? The culprit has been identified, and the motive has been revealed.”
I’m not particularly gifted at strategizing, but I do know how to draw the big picture.
Okay, let’s see.
This guy named Gonzales in front of you is actually a more useful guy than you might think.
The Marquis’s favorite. However, he is a knight of the third rank, in his mid-to-late 30s, and, crucially, the vice-captain of the knight division.
It’s a shame to just kill him.
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I whispered softly in Gonzalez’s ear.
“You’re in the 7th Circle. Are you satisfied with that? Don’t you want to be in the 8th Circle? Aren’t you greedy, Commander?”
“……yes?”
Use it.
“Now, you should know that I really hate saying the same thing twice. Normally, I would rip your mouth off, but since your body looks like it could kill you if you hit it with one punch, I’ll let it slide this time. I’ll ask again. Are you greedy, Commander?”
Unfortunately, Gonzalez failed to answer my questions this time either.
My pupils kept shaking, and my body was shaking, perhaps because of the pain. This was because my brain was in a state of panic due to a mixture of excessive tension, fear, and confusion.
Well, if you think about it from his perspective, it’s completely understandable.
Ron, whom he had ignored and looked down on, was a monster bigger than himself, and the third prince was like an idiot who gave orders to Ron.
It feels a little sad to see him trying to escape reality, hoping that this is just a dream.
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If you don’t know the answer, you have no choice but to just ignore it.
I let go of Gonzalez’s hair and patted his cheek as if to make him relax.
Still, Gonzalez said nothing.
I guess I still don’t understand this situation.
That’s why he could only stare blankly as I reached out and felt his heartbeat.
“I know you can’t move even if you want to, but let’s just go over this. Never move and never circulate your mana.”
With those words I closed my eyes.
Then, as I focused all my senses on my right hand, I visualized the inside of Gonzalez’s body.
The numerous organs and bones of the body.
And dozens of blood vessels that are passages for mana and blood.
Skipping all that, what caught my attention were the seven circles surrounding the bastard’s heart.
Each and every one of them is solid and already a completed circle.
I found myself smiling without realizing it.
‘Please don’t think badly of me.’
First, I focused my mana towards Gonzales’ heart.
Sensing something strange, Gonzalez tried to stretch out his arm, but the man quickly extended his knee and pinned the man’s arm down.
“Hold on tight, Inma. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it a long time ago. Isn’t that right?”
“What… are you… doing… right now?”
I finished what I had to do without answering.
First, I slowly tapped the bastard’s circle with my mana.
Knock- knock-
I seem to hear that sound in my ears.
So, little by little, cracks began to appear in the bastard’s circle.
Then my mana forms a trunk and branches out into dozens of branches like the roots of a tree, digging into Gonzales’ circle.
First things first.
With my mana, I scraped away at Gonzales’ circle from the inside, little by little.
There are a total of 7 circles in this guy.
As we repeat this action a total of 7 times, the light from the circle of the guy that was emitting a brilliant light gradually subsides.
From now on, it was important.
I seriously moved the ‘circle remnants’ of the guy that had merged with my mana according to my will.
Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since I’ve done this work.
I feel a slight cold sweat on my forehead.
Let’s wrap them around Gonzalez’s heart again.
Hoooow-
A small breeze blows.
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The wind blowing around me and Gonzalez.
In the meantime, I wrote down the formula made of mana on Gonzalez’s heart and combined them to create a formula.
Finally, it’s scary to overlay the remnants of the circle.
Kuuung-!
The wind becomes a gale and sweeps the surroundings.
I quietly opened my closed eyes.
As I wipe the cold sweat from my forehead, I see Gonzalez with a blank expression.
He must have felt it too.
That exactly one circle has now been added to your heart.
I stood up quietly from my seat.
He probably doesn’t know.
The newly created circle in the guy’s heart was a dark shade of black, unlike the other seven circles, and because it wasn’t a normally created circle, it contained about 50% less mana than the original.
I feel like I should explain this situation at length, but I think this one word will probably sum it all up.
This is ‘black magic’.
And by my standards, it is the worst and most vicious magic among all the magic I know.
And yet, paradoxically, it’s a very useful magic.
“It will last at least three months and up to five months.”
A bloodied Gonzalez looks up at me with a very confused expression.
“… … Right now, you who forced me to grow up… … Who are you… … What the hell is this?”
Gonzalez, who was forced into the 8th Circle, was showing emotions beyond confusion.
however.
“I don’t think that’s what you should be asking right now.”
A smile slowly forms on the lips.
“From now on, you have no choice. You must do whatever I tell you to do. If you don’t, you will die. And in the most horrible way you can imagine.”
“… … .”
“Now, engrave it into your bones. First, you must return to the Marquis immediately. Second, return to the Marquis and report that the ‘Three Princes’ do not know anything.”
There was a pause.
I should say that I felt it through my conversation with Ron.
I guess our Marquis Valanti isn’t as smart as I thought.
I tried to spread evidence one by one that the situation had changed so that the Marquis would realize his own situation… … No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think the Marquis would be able to read the situation.
So comfortable.
I’m just trying to keep the sequel busy directly.
“Third, upon returning to the Marquisate, you must assassinate at least 40 vassals of Count Mantis and knights on the Marchioness’ side within three months.”
“… … Yes … … Yes?”
“Remember, you don’t have a choice. You have three months. If you don’t get it done in those three months, you die. It’s engraved in your heart. It’s not engraved for nothing.”
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Then Gonzalez gulps with a look of fear on his face.
Am I hearing this right now?
Are these three Confuciuses sincere in what they just said to me?
It’s actually kind of funny that this guy Gonzalez seems to have such poor facial expression control.
“You’ve heard the rumor. The rumor that I learned black magic.”
