Chapter 29 - Light (Side: Ace Boesheit)
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A light flickered at the edge of my vision.
I couldn’t breathe. The force of the hand tightening on my throat wasn’t human. How could someone like Henry have this much power? He shouldn’t have had any special skills.
“Gaaaah, you fucking…… bastard….”
Let me go.
I am the true and legitimate heir to the throne. It’s not right for me to die in a dimly lit dungeon like this.
“Ace, if you cannot atone for your sins, you shall pay for them with your life.”
What are those eyes?
If you’re going to kill me, whom you hate, then give me a more appropriate look. Return the hatred with hatred. Don’t look at me like you pity me.
“Don’t be…… stupid, I’m…… a royalty …….”
“ We have to do things because we are royalty. Every life is born with a role. I’m sure you and I could have found a role for ourselves.”
There was no such thing. All we could do was show our dominance by force and make the people bow down to us. I wasn’t a performer to be given a role. I was the stage itself. That’s what royal blood was for. That’s what skills were for. That’s what a country was for.
“Good….. because…. as we….. speak….. Sareha is dying.”
“….!”
The force on my neck weakened.
“Kaha! Haa, you can’t kill anyone.”
I let out a ragged breath and took in some air. I wasn’t dead yet. If I wasn’t dead, I could recover as much as I want.
“I can do it! But not now!”
“Sareha’s mana is almost at its limit, and I haven’t fed him enough. If I leave him alone, he’ll die.”
That was a lie. You couldn’t die because you were low on mana. It was true that Sareha would be hungry, but not to the point of death yet. Be deceived, you fool.
“That’s why I’ve always been obsessed with dead people, you simple-minded Henry-sama.”
“…… Shut up.”
“Guuhhhh!”
A fist slammed into my abdomen.
I cursed myself. When I looked at Henry’s face, I couldn’t help but get angry. I couldn’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth.
“Ha, haha…… Gryphon and Skeleton Knight are already dead……”
A cold rock hits my cheek from falling down.
How much effort and money did you think I spent to get that thing? One Gryphon was worth twenty knights.
I didn’t even have the mana left to create a single skeleton. If this was the case, I should have mastered necromancy more. It was a skill that no one else had. Have I been spoiled by my skills?
“The wolf guy……”
A tired-looking Beastman approaches me. I was going to turn that guy into undead and have him under my command. Now he was killing my undead. He was like Henry’s running dog.
“Hey, wolf guy, I’m sorry I ruined your village. Have you thought about what you’re going to do with your life?”
“Henry, the undead have been exterminated.”
“Thank you, Sirius. It’s over. I’m sorry to have troubled you.”
“Don’t make fun of me! Don’t you dare ignore me!”
Don’t screw with me. Don’t look at me like that. Who the hell do you think you are? I’m the eighth prince of the first queen faction, the necromancer Ace. Do not look down on me, half-breed, lowly blood.
“It seems that Sareha is in the back. Henry should get him out. I’m tired. It’s hard enough to carry one child on my back.”
“But Ace is …… No, thank you. Sirius. I’m going to get Sareha.”
“That’s good. I don’t have much left, but I’ll give you some of my healing potions. It’s a potion for minor illnesses, so don’t expect it to do much good.”
Henry took the potion and rushed to the back.
“Wait …… wait, Henry …… look at me …….”
He was completely out of sight. No more voices could be heard.
“Henry has work to do. I’ll take care of you. Oh…… my name is Sirius, and I was the head of the Silver Crow clan.”
“Sirius…… I have something to tell you, would you like to hear it?”
So this was the head of the village.
I’m not dead yet. I’m not dead yet. I’m sure I can use him as a chance to survive.
“What is it? Tell me.”
“I’m sorry about the village. Let’s talk about it before Henry comes back. I have a plan that will make us both kings if you and I are strong enough.”
“That’s interesting. You may speak.”
I was annoyed by Sirius’ arrogant tone. But for now, I had to be patient.
“You’ll let me go, and I’ll build an army of undead out of Henry’s sight. I’ll lend you the undead and you can take the West. And with the strongest army, we can muster, we will take the kingdom itself.”
“Ho, ho.”
“I will be the King of the Human. And you will be the king of Beastmen. Of course, I’ll have a little more power than you. I’ll have everything. And you’ll have everything.”
“Interesting. So you will be my master?”
He was biting. Maybe this would work. No man could resist honor, money, women, and power. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“You don’t like it? If you don’t like it so much, I’ll put you in the same boat.”
“Yes, I do. I don’t like it. And I’ve already found a Lord to serve.”
“What are you …… saying ……?”
Sirius gurgled and snapped his fingers. His sharp claws reflected the torchlight, making it look like a sword.
“I also have a suggestion. If you can answer the questions I’m about to ask you, I’ll become your vassal.”
“A-ah… tell me.”
I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I’ve got a mass of killing intent coming at me.
“Tell me the names of all the people you’ve killed. Tell me all their names.”
My blood was boiling. He was going to kill me. He was going to ask me questions I couldn’t answer, and if he didn’t like it, he would kill me.
“That’s bullshit! There’s no way I can answer that question!”
“Normal people can answer. The more people you kill, the more nightmares you have and the heavier your steps become. Now, who’s the first?”
“It was a maid! She worked at the palace!”
Yes, I killed her because she screwed up in her work. She wasn’t a noblewoman, so there was no one to blame.
“What’s her name?”
“I don’t know……. Can we change the subject? If you want, I can take you under my wing. Come on, please……”
Sirius sighed. He held up one finger as a last act of mercy.
“I have one last question for you. Two people have died in my village because of you. Can you tell me their names?”
“If you’d just shut up and listen to me, you’d be a fool! You were going to play with me from the start, you Beastman!”
The flames of rage flared in Sirius’ eyes.
“Alcala, Drusus, they were both good warriors. They were still young and had a future ahead of them.”
At that moment, Sirius’s sharp claws dug into my chest. He ran around inside my body as if searching for something and then grabbed my heart.
“Fuck you……… I’m a …….”
The blood was stuck in my throat and I couldn’t speak properly.
Sirius in front of me squeezed his hand. Strangely, the pain wasn’t that bad.
In my thin consciousness, my life up to now came back to my mind in reverse order.
The day I left the palace to look for Henry.
Those fools at the palace with their boring compliments.
Mother, who showed no interest in me.
My brothers dying in factional fights.
And the day Henry was born.
“Ah, ah…… that’s right …… I’m …….”
The memory came back vividly. A few days after Henri was born, I went to the palace garden to see my new brother. There, I saw Henry’s mother. Beautiful gray hair. The smile of a loving mother. She was holding Henry close to her chest, looking truly happy.
“I am …….”
—The sight was simply terrifying. I had no idea. I didn’t know that there was someone in the world who could smile like that. After that, I just ran away. I didn’t want to be in that place even for one more second.
“I’m envious of you…….”
I heard a nasty gurgling sound inside my body. I couldn’t see anything anymore. The blood overflowing from my mouth was hot and annoying, and now I just couldn’t wait for it all to be over.
I thought I saw a light.
But it was too late.