Act 77

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“What are you doing!”  

With Oben Crypart’s harsh scream, his body recoiled.  

The immense pain from our clasped hands made veins pop out on Oben’s face, prompting a knight to rush toward us in fury.  

“Stop, stop!”  

Seeing his own knight ready to draw his sword, Oben stopped him.  

Despite my intention to crush Oben’s hand with all my willpower, I managed to forcefully separate our hands, suppressing the instinctual urge of ‘Julian’ that was strongly present.  

‘Damn it! This cursed body!’  

Though the action was unrelated to my intentions, I roughly guessed why—it was ‘Julian’, bearing the ‘Frason’ name, and his physiological revulsion towards the Crypart family.  

This revulsion reached its peak thanks to the very presence of Oben Crypart.  

It was my body, specifically the psychological aspect, that reacted strongly due to ‘Julian’s feelings.  

“It’s been a while, but that’s quite a greeting, Julian.”  

Oben, still feeling the pain, rubbed his right hand and grimaced, but he seemed unconcerned.  

From his point of view, it was an overreaction, but it left me feeling somewhat out of place.  

‘Oben seems to have an authoritative personality like his father Orren…?’  

I recalled information about him from previous game data, but there wasn’t much on Oben.  

Though he bore the title of the head of the Crypart family, the player’s interaction with him in the story wasn’t significant.  

It was actually ‘Orren Crypart’, the noble council chairman, who had many troubles, leading to various episodes related to the ‘Crypart’ family.  

Rather, ‘Orren’ appeared more like the family representative and acted accordingly, which meant less interaction with ‘Oben’ and less information about him.  

“Do you still hate me?”  

While gathering my thoughts about ‘Oben’, he suddenly spoke up.  

“How could I possibly hate you, my lord?”  

Even as I spoke, deep within my chest, something was boiling.  

It wasn’t just a simple dislike.  

Probably more fitting to call it a ‘hatred’, a complex and intricate feeling.  

“I’ve always felt sorry.”  

“What are you talking about?”  

“About Milena.”  

Milena? Who is Milena… Ah! Julian’s mother?!  

As I recollected, hearing her name made Julian’s heart throb and ache in a corner.  

The overwhelming emotions whirled uncontrollably, yet Julian’s hand moved towards the sword at his waist.  

The heart felt longing and nostalgia, but the driving force moving Julian’s body was hatred and anger.  

The conflicting emotions were confusing, but I tried to stop my hand from moving towards the sword.  

‘Just listen.’  

A knight, noticing the slight movement of my hand, glared at me venomously.  

“Everything my lord has done must have had its reasons. I am not troubled by it.”  

I barely managed to control my hand and spoke to Oben as if nothing had happened.  

“Milena, and you too… I know it has been tough living in the main house of the Crypart family.”  

“Is that so?”  

“Why don’t we forget the past and start over?”  

Oben’s words, sounding repentant, momentarily paused Julian’s heart, but soon it flared up again.  

“And you say this now?”  

“Yes, now I recognize you as family…”  

“My lord, we have come too far.”  

Seeing my body trembling with rage, it seems ‘Julian’ has no intention of forgiving Oben.  

Given such an expression of emotion, I could vaguely sense how much ‘Julian’ and his mother had been oppressed and ignored.  

Of course, I don’t know the specifics of what happened between ‘Julian’, his mother Milena, and Oben— I can only guess.  

“Wouldn’t it take quite some time to resolve the built-up resentment?”  

“Does that mean… you’re asking for time?”  

“Yes.”  

I forced a slight smile, adjusting my facial muscles, and Oben’s face wavered slightly.  

Though the veins that were throbbing in pain relaxed, now a pallor of world-weary wrinkles took their place.  

“If that’s what you say, I shall wait.”  

After a moment of thought, Oben nodded.  

“Don’t take too long. That much… no, I hope I can see your face at the next family meeting.”  

It seemed he had more to say, but he swallowed his words and smiled with effort.  

“If I feel inclined, I will.”  

“I’m leaving. Lead the way, Ennil.”  

At Oben’s words, the knight bowed respectfully and turned around.  

Even during this, the murderous intent aimed at me did not subside.  

***  

As Oben’s figure disappeared from the mansion, doubts began to stir within me.  

‘To think the head of a major family would actually come.’  

I expected someone of his stature to be sedentary and cautious in actions.  

This was closely linked with Julian’s dormant instincts, but my personal opinion was similar.  

‘At this timing?’  

In the original story, time passes but ‘Julian’ is neither rid of the ‘Frason’ label nor recognized by his family.  

Still, there must be a reason Oben, the family head, has come here and behaved this way.  

Something must have changed due to ‘Lee Si-hoo’ that necessitates Julian’s presence.  

Especially considering Joshua’s unpredictable demeanor at the family meeting.  

They’re considering promoting Julian as the family head…  

From various circumstances, it doesn’t seem to be for a good intention.  

Particularly, there are only a few things that would make him take action personally.  

Demon suppression, the purge of traitors.  

And checks against the ‘Sword Saint’  

Though loyal to the royal house, the Sword Saint is tired of its checks and oppressive tyranny.  

That’s why our protagonist, Hayden Reich, has been maintaining a good relationship with the ‘Noble Elders’ Council’.  

‘And the chairman of that council is…’  

Orren Crypart, the former head of the Crypart family.  

“That’s right.”  

As my thoughts reached this point, things started to become clearer.  

The reason he came all this way.  

The reason he’s trying to accept me.  

And why ‘Julian’ so deeply despises this man.  

‘Taking advantage of the Sword Saint’s departure to the holy land, does he intend to seize the Elders’ Council and take the reins of power himself?’  

I looked at the narrow-eyed man reflected in the mirror.  

An insidious appearance was reflected there.  

“To think he came to reluctantly seek the son he abandoned, ultimately for his own selfish benefits… Father, indeed, blood cannot lie.”  

These weren’t my words.  

They just slipped out unknowingly.  

‘Probably… Julian must have said it.’  

Spending my days busy with the Dawn Society and the Black Knights, I neither had the capacity to deeply involve myself nor the desire to.  

It seemed like a moment of quick thinking, but asking for more time was apparently the right move.

Though I would likely refuse anyway.

***

Just past dawn, as the time for sunrise approaches, Julian’s body awakens, and his eyes open automatically.

After tidying up and having a simple meal, I headed to work for the ‘Closed Eyes’ duties.

The moment I entered my personal office, my eyes caught sight of a magazine that ‘Julian’ had been reading for a while.

The professional journal ‘The Knights’

Suddenly, I became interested. That arrogant guy subscribes to such a magazine.

‘If it’s about swords, he’s the type to say, “The direction I take is the path itself.”‘

Because of that, I opened the magazine to look through it.

The first thing that caught my eye, thanks to a headline plastered across the front page, was this phrase:

– ‘The sun makes knights stronger.’

The content went like this:

Handling aura is related to mental strength, and because of this, knights trained under the blazing sun are inevitably stronger than others.

‘What rubbish.’

This was my brief assessment after tossing the magazine into a corner of the office, having read it merely to pass the time.

While it’s good to value effort, that doesn’t mean I support wrong methods.

However, as written here, ‘mental strength’ does indeed have a very close relationship with handling mana.

‘Sombra might be one example of that.’

As an extension of my leisure, I began reconsidering how to use ‘Sombra.’

‘Moonlight Sword and Sombra. Both exhibit strong recoil.’

The key point to consider is the harmony between these two techniques.

However, that recoil is so strong that it once shattered the ‘Moonlight Sword’ into pieces.

‘If I could freely control it, I might become much stronger than I am now.’

But it’s not something I can easily tamper with.

Sombra’ was a power I knew only in theory, and its combination with ‘Moonlight Sword’ wasn’t even mentioned in ‘Let’s Kill the Demon Lord.

‘Hmm?’

While I was organizing my thoughts, a possibility crossed my mind.

‘Since it’s unnamed, was it uncontrollable?’

That can’t be.

I dismissed the thought that suddenly came to mind as a joke and decided to overlay ‘Sombra’ on the ‘Moonlight Sword’ again.

If the reason the sword broke was because I couldn’t control the output, then this time…

“Sir Julian, a visitor has arrived.”

Just as I was about to draw up the mana inside me, a voice came from outside the door.

The energy didn’t seem like Razlot, and it was probably another ‘Closed Eyes’ member.

“Who is it?”

The possibility of seeing the results of what I had instructed caused my irritation when I was interrupted.

Did that emotion show in my voice? The member outside hesitated.

“I’m sorry! It’s a boy named ‘Eren’! He said he came because of something Sir Julian instructed, so I let him in, but I’ll send him away quickly!”

Eren?

I tilted my head slightly.

It sounds like a name I’ve heard somewhere.

‘Ah, the boy who worked under Trale.’

Then, the visitor who came to see me must be sent from ‘Mingyue Pavilion.’

I guess the ‘Sword Saint’ surveillance I had arranged has borne some fruit.

“No, let him in.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said to let him in. Do I need to repeat myself?”

“Oh, understood!”

It’s a bit disappointing that my experiment with ‘Sombra’ will be delayed, but what can I do?

It was my instruction, after all.

***

“To come so quickly. You must have been quite eager, weren’t you?”

Trale’s private room on the fifth floor of Mingyue Pavilion. As I arrived, she came to meet me with a ticklish voice. Her demeanor was significantly more arrogant than I had seen before.

“Ms. Trale, I will take my leave now.”

“Yes, go on, Eren.”

“Yes, yes!”

Ah, it was because of this boy.

As the boy named Eren disappeared, Trale’s arrogant atmosphere did a complete 180.

“Ha, haha… You weren’t angry, were you?”

The arrogant expression was gone, and Trale showed a servile smile.

“Yes, I was not angry.”

“That’s a relief! As you know, Sir Julian, the reason I can maintain my position here is my charisma…”

This is charisma?

Such words rose to the tip of my tongue, but I barely held them back.

Even if not to me, to others it might appear so, and that’s probably why Mingyue Pavilion can be maintained.

“Then, since Sir Julian is here, would you like a glass of wine?”

“No, thank you. Could you just give me the information about the master?”

“If that’s what you want.”

Trale coughed nervously, attempting to change the atmosphere before shifting her stance.

The seductive aura that was typical of her had long vanished along with her servile tone.

“You might be shocked, Sir Julian, but I will tell you anyway.”

Trale continued in a cautious tone.

“The Sword Saint, Hayden Reich, has chosen to defect from his status as a citizen of the empire to seek asylum in the Holy Nation of Fernand.”

Asylum…

So, this was why he wasn’t playing the role of the ‘Black Knight.’

“You don’t seem as surprised as I thought you would be?”

I was surprised. Very much so.

“I had a feeling that might be the case.”

“What?”

Trale asked again, not understanding my words, with a puzzled tone leaking from her speech.

“I know I shouldn’t say this, but you were a disciple of the Sword Saint, weren’t you?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then you must know how much the Sword Saint loved the empire and the noble sacrifices he made…”

“Sacrifices, huh, haha.”

Listening to Trale’s words, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Thinking about it… it was the ‘nobleness’ she mentioned that was funny.

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