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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 72
‘Let’s do this.’
Three months from now.
Chris resolved to obtain the power to break free from the chains of the family.
* * *
“I have followed your orders, Madam.”
Macfield, a high-ranking warlock of the Dark Demonic House and trusted aide to the Marquis and Marchioness Langham, bowed his head to Presia.
“Did that boy, Christian, accept the punishment without resistance?”
“Yes, there was no particular disturbance.”
Presia frowned.
‘Arrogant brat. I’ll never let him off the hook.’
The impudent attitude Christian had shown yesterday flashed in her mind, and her fists trembled in rage.
‘The easiest way would be assassination, but that won’t work. It could cause problems for Mysak.’
If Mysak were to challenge Chris to a duel and beat him to death himself, that would be fine.
But hiring an assassin using a mother’s influence?
That would be no different from giving up his right of succession.
Presia still wanted her son Mysak to inherit the family leadership. She had to avoid anything that could even slightly harm him.
‘The best way would be to have Mysak trample him.’
Turning that brat Christian into a stepping stone to elevate Mysak’s honor would be the ideal outcome.
Presia thought of a way.
“Call in the instructors.”
The Dark Demonic House is the House of Black Magic Swordsmen.
Its power lies in wielding various kinds of black magic.
So, when one becomes a prince of the house, they are trained to master all types of black magic.
And it’s not just black magic.
The Dark Demonic Energy can also encompass all kinds of magic techniques.
They even learn magical arts from outside the family.
“Do you plan to interfere with Prince Christian’s education? Are you aiming for the evaluation in three months?”
Presia nodded.
“Yes, I will command the instructors. So that he gains no achievements whatsoever. During the evaluation in three months, he’ll suffer the worst humiliation before the entire family.”
Every three months, the princes are required to present their progress before the family elders.
If their achievements are deemed insufficient, they can be stripped of their title as prince.
Of course, such rulings were rare in practice, but if Presia set her mind to it, it was entirely possible.
She would manipulate the instructors to make sure he didn’t achieve anything over the next three months.
‘I’ll rig the evaluation so he suffers the utmost disgrace. Especially making sure that Mysak can crush him during it.’
Three months from now.
He would be driven out of the family in utter humiliation.
‘Once he’s stripped of his title and thrown out, killing him won’t be a problem. When the time comes, I’ll personally tear his limbs apart.’
Presia’s eyes gleamed coldly.
* * *
Time passed.
Chris quickly realized what Presia had done to him.
“I will give you a new assignment. Analyze the mechanism by which compulsion curses break down a target’s mind, and research how to use that to physically destabilize their bodily balance.”
“…Understood.”
The instructors’ teaching was a mess.
No.....calling it a mess would be too generous.
It was at the level of no instruction at all.
They would say only a few words.....just the bare minimum.....and assign the rest as tasks.
‘They’re aiming for the evaluation three months from now. Planning to expel me for lack of progress.’
Chris let out a quiet chuckle.
‘It’s almost like they’re perfectly helping me in line with my situation.’
Chris was already preparing for that evaluation anyway.
And coincidentally, the upcoming evaluation was the “Grand Evaluation” held once a year.
Not only the family elders, but also the executive members would gather in one place.
It was a perfect opportunity to prove his excellence.
‘If they play these petty tricks, it actually works out more in my favor.’
Presia’s scheme would only end up highlighting him even more.
‘More than anything, this teaching style is perfectly tailored to me.....optimal and custom-fit.’
Even if they were intentionally doing a poor job, they couldn’t entirely withhold all instruction.
So the instructors would mention only the most essential and fundamental lines before moving on.
For example:
.....A curse is the manifestation of malice.
The principle of curses.
But that phrase alone held no real meaning.
How one manifests malice.
How manifested malice is then applied as a curse.
One had to understand and internalize countless processes.
The instructors’ role was to teach those intermediate steps.
‘But I don’t need any of that.’
Even just hearing the core ideas, he could intuitively grasp the rest.
That was his talent.
So why bother listening to tedious explanations? It would only waste time.
Moreover, even the instructors’ half-hearted, offhanded comments were a great help to Chris.
‘In the past, I didn’t even get this kind of minimal instruction.’
Compared to his past life, this was a luxurious learning environment.
On top of that, he was a prince.
He had access to the massive library of the Dark Demonic House.
Countless grimoires of black magic and magical arts were wide open to him.
If he couldn’t produce results in this near-perfect environment, he might as well give up the title of genius.
‘There are also instructors who are actually helpful.’
Of course, not all the instructors were garbage.
Some, forced to comply with the Marchioness’ unfair pressure, still felt guilt and shame about it.
Chris treated those people with the utmost respect.
“Thank you for your teaching today as well.”
Sebastian, the halfling assistant butler, remained silent.
He was the instructor for illusion magic.
“…I’m not sure I deserve such words from you, Young Lord.”
His voice carried an awkward tone.
But Chris shook his head.
“I understand the assistant butler’s difficult circumstances. If anything, I should be the one to apologize for dragging others into a conflict between blood relatives.”
“……”
Words that only made Sebastian feel more ashamed.
“Even so, it’s not a lie that your teaching was helpful. Though your explanations were abbreviated, didn’t you still deliver the correct essence without any deceit? Look.”
Chris raised his hand.
An illusion of a dancing dark fairy appeared.
It moved with lifelike vitality, as if it were truly alive.
The highlight was the fluttering darkness that scattered whenever the fairy flapped its wings.
This was no mere illusion. It was actual darkness.
He had faintly demonstrated an illusion interfering with the boundary of reality.
“Thanks to your teaching.....‘A true illusion tears through reality’.....I was able to gain this insight.”
Sebastian remained silent.
‘…Insane.’
The principle Chris just displayed was material that would normally be compiled across more than five specialized volumes.
But he had grasped all of it on his own.....just by seeing the book titles.
Not only had he understood it, but he had completely internalized it and put it into practice.
The more outrageous part was the time.
‘…Didn’t I mention that just the day before yesterday?’
Just two days.
That’s how long it took Chris to pull off that insane feat.
Sebastian thought back to how long it had taken him to master that same principle and felt completely at a loss for how to react.
Even he, once called a prodigy in his own right, had taken six months to learn it.
‘The Marchioness was wrong. Young Lord Mysak could never be a match for Young Lord Christian.’
Right now, Mysak may be ahead.
But how long could that lead last?
Not long.
‘At most, half a year.’
Advancing from 3-star to 4-star typically took five years, even for those called geniuses it took at least three. But half a year?
An absurd thought.
Yet the more Sebastian learned, the more this boy standing before him struck fear into his heart.
A talent that inspired not just awe.....but fear.
Even those said to be “blessed” by demons wouldn’t match this child.
‘I’d better watch how I conduct myself.’
It still seemed unlikely for now, but if this boy were to work a miracle in the family’s succession…
Sebastian could end up paying the price for backing the wrong side.
At the very least, he must not earn the boy’s dislike. A primal warning passed through his mind.
“A-hem. Look here.”
Fwoosh!
From the halfling butler’s hand, countless tiny fairies burst forth like a swarm of butterflies and flew through the air.
A festival of countless fairies scattering darkness in the air.
Tee-hee, the laughter of fairies whispered at Chris’s ear.
An illusion indistinguishable from reality.
No, it wasn’t just that.
This was an illusion, yet at the same time, it wasn’t.
An illusion with substance.
This was the realm of 5-star Illusion Arts.
Chris bowed his head politely.
“Thank you for the precious teaching.”
It wasn’t just empty words.
A demonstration more valuable than a hundred lessons.
“A-hem. Not at all. I just… I only hope the young master doesn’t hate me too much. I’ve always been cheering for you in my heart. Truly. I mean it.”
Seeing the halfling butler cautiously watching for his reaction, Chris quietly chuckled to himself.
“Then I have one request. Will you hear it?”
“What is it?”
“Please keep my achievement a secret from the Marchioness.”
“!!”
“Until… the Grand Tournament, that is.”
The halfling butler flinched.
He had caught on that Christian was planning something for the tournament.
When he faced Christian’s gently smiling expression, an unexplainable chill ran down his spine.
‘Come to think of it, there was never a time when trouble didn’t follow whenever Young Master Christian acted.’
At Count Khazar’s house.
At Count Tyramin’s house.
At the Sacred Darkness Ceremony.
During the relic exploration.
Christian had always stirred up great turmoil.
This time would be no different.
The only way to avoid getting swept up in that chaos was not to go against him.
“I will keep that in mind. I will always be rooting for you!”
Sebastian bowed his dwarf-sized body at a ninety-degree angle and left, while Chris entered his private room.
He recalled the illusion art Sebastian had shown.
‘A material illusion. It helped a lot. That’ll be the clue.’
Though he was studying various magic and dark arts, that wasn’t what Chris was currently focusing on.
Black Steel Energy.
The power wielded by 5-star Devils.
That was the destructive force Chris desired.
There was a reason Chris was obsessed with Black Steel Energy.
‘No matter how much of a genius I am, overcoming a fundamental gap in power is impossible.’
It was something he had felt through several recent fierce battles.
Of course, his talent was unmatched.
If given even a little time, he could catch up quickly.
But that “little” time was the problem.
‘The enemies are too strong. Until I grow stronger, I need a weapon that can stand against them.’
That weapon was precisely ‘Black Steel Energy’.
If he could fuse the nature of Black Steel Energy into the Dark Sword, it could become a lethal weapon capable of dealing with enemies stronger than himself.
‘Black Steel Energy and the Dark Sword are forces of completely different natures. How can I imprint intent onto the Dark Sword, which is just a lump of demonic energy?’
Chris closed his eyes.
The illusion Sebastian had shown earlier came to mind.
A banquet of dark fairies filling the entire sky.
The song of fairies whispering by his ear. A symphony of darkness.
An illusion like reality.
This too was an expression of will.....the will to manifest illusions into the world.
The outline of a clue seemed to faintly shimmer into view.
Chris’s mind settled, and time passed.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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