------------------
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
------------------
Chapter 99
“What, what is this.”
“Presia, I won’t even mention the embezzlement and corruption you committed for personal gain. But using the Dark Ghost Unit—our family's military force—for your own purposes and assigning them to Mysak? That’s an intolerable abuse of power.”
“……”
“But even that mistake, I overlooked for the sake of your father, Grand Duke Bethen. But I won’t forgive anything further.”
Merian gave a chilling warning.
“It’s one thing for heirs to fight and one of them to die—that can happen. But for an elder of the family to personally lay a hand on a successor? That has never been permitted in the history of the Dark Demonic House. Presia, if you so much as lift a finger against Christian, your head will fall.”
Presia’s body trembled violently.
Merian sheathed her sword.
“And just to be clear, this warning also reflects the will of the Head of the House.”
“!!”
Presia’s eyes widened as if they would rip apart.
Her body collapsed to the floor.
If this was the will of the House Lord, there was no chance she could kill Christian.
Rely on someone else?
Impossible.
Not to mention the other members of the Dark Demonic House.
‘Father won’t help me either.’
Her father, Grand Duke Bethen of the Destruction Demonic House, was a thoroughly calculating man.
With Mysak dead, there was no longer any chance of her gaining power within the Dark Demonic House.
Grand Duke Bethen would not even spare her a glance.
‘No! I absolutely can’t let it end like this!!’
Presia’s eyes blazed with despair.
‘If I can’t act directly…’
There was an answer.
Merian had just told her herself.
“Prepare to head to the House of Ribery.”
“What?”
“Immediately!”
The carriage carrying Presia departed from the estate, and Marie reported the news to Chris.
[Young master, just as you said, Marchioness Presia has headed toward the Count of Ribery’s estate.]
“Mm, thank you.”
Chris nodded.
Melin spoke anxiously beside him.
“The Count of Ribery is allied with Prince Ashid. There’s a high chance she’s planning something behind the scenes.”
“She probably is. I know. It’s fine.”
Melin and Marie looked puzzled.
But Chris simply closed his eyes gently, offering no explanation.
‘Now the real beginning starts.’
The succession contest for the position of Grand Duke.
The continental storm that would begin with the Gold Cross tragedy.
Everything was now truly underway.
‘Ashid returning this early is unexpected.’
Ashid was nothing like Mysak.
The power he held, the forces under his command—none of it could even be compared.
He would certainly be a formidable opponent.
‘That’s fine. No—actually, I prefer it.’
Chris thought.
‘Because it’ll be worth crushing him.’
The stronger Ashid was—
The more he interfered—
The more gloriously Chris would shine when he trampled him.
No one would be able to deny that Chris was the rightful successor to the Dark Demonic House.
* * *
The House of Ribery was the most loyal vassal family to the Dark Demonic House.
Their domain lay near the border of the Gold Cross region.
Presia, having arrived at Count Ribery’s estate, went straight inside.
“Welcome, Mother. I heard the news about Mysak.”
A strikingly handsome young man who naturally drew favor from others—Ashid greeted her.
Ashid wore a sorrowful expression, but Presia knew.
She knew that Ashid wasn’t mourning in the slightest.
That he was actually rejoicing, almost mocking.
Ashid was insane, in a very different way from First Prince Sherad.
Where Sherad delighted in slaughter, Ashid’s madness lay elsewhere.
Ashid enjoyed inflicting pain on others.
Relentlessly, like a game—tormenting his victims and savoring their collapse into despair. He was a sociopath.
But that didn’t matter.
That side of Ashid was exactly why she had come to him.
“I have a deal for you.”
“What kind of deal?”
“Revenge against Christian.”
Ashid’s lips curled upward.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Drop the act. I know you’ve set your sights on Christian. You’ve already made your move against the Khazar family, haven’t you?”
Ashid’s smile deepened.
It was true.
He hadn’t just been quietly recuperating.
With the strength of the House of Ribery behind him, he had been secretly setting plans into motion.
His target: the annihilation of the Khazar family, Christian’s house.
‘This is just the beginning.’
Ashid imagined Christian being utterly broken, drowning in despair, and his face lit up with pleasure.
“So then, Mother—what exactly do you have to offer me? Don’t tell me you’re under the delusion that you’re some great figure.”
Presia’s brow twitched.
Fury surged up inside her, but she barely managed to suppress it.
“I’ll make up for what you lack. You command the strongest forces among the heirs, but you have a fatal flaw.”
“Hm?”
“Namely—insufficient talent.”
“!!”
Ashid’s expression stiffened.
Presia sneered.
“You’re only a 4-star at your age. Sure, within the Dark Demonic House, people call you a genius—but you know the truth, don’t you? Compared to the real prodigies from the other prestigious families, just how far behind you really are?”
“……”
“Christian, on the other hand, is a true genius. Unlike your half-baked talent.”
Ashid ground his teeth—she’d hit a sore spot.
He knew it himself.
Even back when he’d tried to sabotage Christian as a child—it had all stemmed from jealousy over Christian’s talent.
“You even resorted to human sacrifices to compensate for your lack of ability, but it doesn’t seem to have helped much. Even after using such horrific methods, you still haven’t broken through the 5-star wall. It’s pathetic.”
“…So what are you trying to say? Are you going to offer me a devil’s contract or something?”
A devil’s contract was the one way to rapidly gain power in a short time.
One offered their soul in exchange for overwhelming strength.
But such power had clear limits—and more importantly, the Dark Demonic House forbade any contracts with devils.
“Something similar.”
“!!”
“I’ll sacrifice my own demonic energy to maximize the efficiency of your human offerings.”
Ashid showed a slightly surprised expression.
“Hm, Mother? If you do that—”
“I’ll permanently lose my strength. I know. I don’t care.”
“…What is it that you want?”
Presia’s eyes burned with fury.
“Christian’s suffering. His death.”
A wide grin spread across Ashid’s face.
“That’s a simple matter. I accept the deal.”
And so—
Some time later—
A shocking piece of news spread throughout the Dark Demonic House.
Ashid had reached the realm of 5-star (*).
He was the first among the heirs to attain the ‘Elder Dark’ class.
Even before this, Ashid had been the most likely candidate for the next Grand Duke, and this news only cemented it.
But the shocking news didn’t stop there.
A grave report came from the Khazar family.
A large-scale conflict had erupted with the Burssen Marquisate in the Gold Cross region.
And it was due to the fault of the Khazar family.
The problem was that this wasn’t just any scandal—it was horrifying.
The Khazar family had allegedly kidnapped citizens of the Burssen Marquisate and used them for human sacrifices.
* * *
Human Sacrifice!
The Dark Demonic House was thrown into chaos.
“That’s impossible!”
“There’s no way Count Khazar could’ve done such a thing!”
As previously stated, human sacrifice is strictly forbidden even in the Magus Empire.
Of course, it still happens in secret from time to time—even Ashid had performed one—but it is kept absolutely confidential.
The moment it’s exposed, the perpetrator is cast out by both the Empire and the Allied Houses.
“Burssen Marquisate has sent an official letter. They claim to have secured evidence that mages from the Khazar family kidnapped their citizens and used them in human sacrifices.”
“Ridiculous…! And we’re supposed to believe that?!”
“It’s clearly one of the Union scum’s underhanded tricks!”
Everyone was furious, but then—public opinion took a sharp turn.
A witness appeared from within the Dark Demonic House itself.
“…Unfortunately, it’s true. I personally verified the evidence.”
It was Beidum, the newly appointed vice-captain of the Khazar family’s Black Swamp Knights.
For context, the Black Swamp Knights are overseen by a mage from the main family to maintain control over the branch line.
Since Melin, the original vice-captain, had recently returned, Beidum had been newly dispatched.
“On the outskirts of the Khazar territory, I discovered a large number of corpses used in human sacrifices. Just the ones I counted were over a hundred. Not only that—within the castle’s underground vaults, I confirmed several magic tools that had been used for sacrifice.”
“Unbelievable…”
The mages of the Dark Demonic House were too stunned to speak.
But a few—
Realized the truth.
“There’s no way Count Khazar would commit human sacrifice. This is clearly a setup.”
“The one behind this… is probably Young Lord Ashid.”
In other words—
Ashid had struck the Khazar family to target Christian.
Still, no one dared to speak.
Ashid’s influence was on a completely different level from the other heirs.
Most of the retainers, including those from the Ribery family, were supporting Ashid.
And with his recent breakthrough to the 5-star level, everyone saw his rise to Grand Duke as a matter of time.
“Young Lord Ashid never spares anyone who crosses him.”
“If I so much as open my mouth here, I’ll be retaliated against for sure.”
So all held their tongues, and Marquis Langham asked the retainers,
“The Burssen Marquisate has officially declared war against the Khazar family. They’re not someone the Khazar family can face alone. We must consider sending reinforcements—what are your thoughts?”
Count Ribery replied on their behalf.
“That would be difficult. If we support the Khazar family and it’s later confirmed they did indeed carry out human sacrifices, the consequences will fall on us as well. The Demon King will never tolerate it.”
The Demon King of Clear Stream.
He is seventh in the hierarchy of the Magus Empire and governs the southern magocracy on behalf of the Demon Emperor.
Like the Demon Emperor, he normally allows most things to slide—but he would not overlook a case like this.
Then, a sharp voice cut through the conference hall.
“But nothing has been definitively proven yet, has it?”
It was Second Princess Jupien!
Some of her loyal followers held their breath.
They were worried for her—but she didn’t back down and firmly voiced her opposition.
“This is all circumstantial. Acting as if the Khazar family is already guilty…”
“My dear sister.”
Ashid, who stood beside Marquis Langham, smiled gently.
“If it had been definitively proven, the Black Lion Knights from the main house would have already marched to destroy the Khazar family.”
Jupien bit her lip hard.
“And even if it’s just circumstantial, isn’t there already a highly suspicious and undeniable piece of evidence within the Khazar family?”
Ashid said coldly—
“Christian.”
“!!”
“There’s no way that brat’s achievements can be explained—unless he made a devil’s contract or performed human sacrifice.”
------------------
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
------------------
