Chapter 186 – The Cost of Sin
People are often called social animals.
A relationship between multiple personalities and personalities. Whether or not one knows how to recognize and utilize the complex and subtle characteristics, that is, the presence or absence of sociability is the criterion for distinguishing between an intelligent body and a non-intelligent body, and is also the first step to be recognized as a ‘person’ rather than a monster.
Among all existing intelligent beings, it is human beings who are bound by ‘relationships’ more than any other species.
Among such people, what if there is someone who can penetrate the hearts of others?
It is truly an ecosystem disruptor and a natural predator.
It would be as if a lion had invaded a sandy field where a bloody battle between rats was taking place.
Hassene von Schwarz was just such a being.
Around the age of four
Hassene, who has awakened the paranormal ability to read and manipulate people’s minds, has always had an overwhelming advantage in her relationships with others.
Even during the competition for her successor and at the negotiating table among the families, she was able to reap only the sweetest fruits by generously utilizing her bar abilities.
The fact that the Countess Schwarz family of this generation was able to achieve a great revival was also the result of her ability being intervened in large part.
Hasene was proud of that fact.
She only knew that if she was against someone she could at least speak with, she would never be defeated.
—Keying… !
But what does this situation mean?
The feeling of the cool blade crossing the nape of my neck was too unfamiliar and frightening.
‘Chi, calm down… For now, it’s about being calm. Hasene…’
When did she, who regarded others as monkeys or foot wipers, be treated so savagely?
She was always on the side of tying and intimidating her, never begging for her mercy.
For the first time in my life.
Hasene is facing a situation completely out of her control.
“Warning, don’t move.”
“As soon as I see signs of trying to raise mana, I will be true.”
It feels like her hair is going white.
She was a Hasine who had never experienced any failures for decades, except when she was very young.
She cannot easily accept the current situation where her mission has failed and her life is in danger.
A calm and stern gaze that seemed to overlook everything.
“Huh…!”
Facing Alicia’s eyes directly, Hasene trembled involuntarily.
It was because when she met those cold eyes that resembled the light of the sea, it felt as if everything inside of her was being dug up.
And, it was never an illusion.
In the end, she couldn’t bear the fear and pressure, so she quietly lowered her eyes, but her ordeal was not over.
“He played a very funny prank, sister-in-law. Where… Are you doing this?”
“Kyaa…?!”
Alicia’s back, the golden mana flowing behind her.
Some of them stretched out like tiny skeins of thread and invaded Hassene’s head.
It looks as if a bunch of tiny tentacles are trying to invade her brain directly.
“It’s quite a useful skill. It will be useful in the future?”
“That, stop… Stop…!”
Hassene felt fear and rejection close to her instincts.
Hassene didn’t notice, but this is the result of perfectly imitating the flow of mana that unconsciously occurs when Alicia activates her ability.
Even if it’s a supernatural ability, the root of it is to twist the logic of reality through mana.
In front of a person who can confirm the flow of mana ‘with his eyes’ and has the ability to understand and analyze it, the whole principle is bound to be exposed.
“It is my order.”
And, the enemy of the imperial family standing in front of her.
She awakened mana by herself, invented her own magic in just one year, and was on the verge of becoming a great magician.
Having only encountered Hasene’s portrait ability once, she was trying to capture a description that transcended that of the original beyond simple imitation.
“Let the sinner show himself.”
— Flash!
“Ahhh…!”
The moment the blue eyes flashed.
Hasene’s secret place, which should never be seen by others, is opened to the public by Alicia.
“Before the great lineage, confess your sins in detail.”
A ghastly confession begins before long.
“I am…”
Of course, the details of the ledgers in the brain, which record who’s mind was manipulated and what actions they made, and what crimes they committed for the family.
All the records that make up her human being, including her food preferences and preferences, as well as her secret hobbies and sexual orientation, are told through her own mouth.
“For the sake of the family, he manipulated people’s minds to take unfair advantage…”
Every time I say a word, my eyes automatically close tight, and I feel like everything is over.
Thick tears flow down from her eyes, which have been closed as if in desperation.
“I brainwashed the heir of the Duke of Bellarion, who approached me for the purpose of making me his concubine, caught her weakness and turned her into a puppet of Count Schwarz…”
“Oh my God.”
The expressions of the imperial guards hidden in golden helmets are colored with astonishment, and the contents that even Alicia, a member of the royal family, who knows all about the secret strife, can never overlook.
A clichéd villain who often appears in Madame Noir’s works that Alicia enjoys reading.
The reality version was right here.
“She also… Can’t forget her memory of a moment in her childhood… Yea, her twelfth brother…”
Meanwhile, a forced confession that has been going on for a long time finally reaches the part Hasine most wanted to hide.
“Hmm…? Oh my…!”
Alicia’s face flushed slightly, and her subtle exclamation flowed out.
It is because her boldness leaked out to the extent that even she, who is not fooled by her perverted tendencies, admired her.
No matter how promiscuous aristocratic society is, there is a minimum line.
“Incestuous love for her siblings… How could it be so shameful…”
“Oh, no…! Don’t look… Please don’t look there… Princess! Please have mercy…”
A poisonous pian flower blooms beside the water’s edge to entice passers-by.
The flower bud was on the verge of withering away due to the moonlight that rose brightly one day, unable to overcome her shame about herself.
“Hmm. Maybe she wasn’t a sister-in-law, but actually a rival…?”
And, the popularity that started to trudge from afar.
“What kind of fuss is this?”
“Oh…You’re lucky, sister-in-law. You can stop now.”
“Huh, huh… Yes…”
Hasene wanted her to bite her tongue and die.
* * *
The disposition of Count Schwarz’s family was carried out in secret.
Originally, attempting to harm the imperial family was a serious crime enough to be exterminated.
The influence of the Schwartz family, which was exerting behind the scenes of the aristocratic society, including the crime history that had been hidden so far, far exceeded the level of a single count family.
It was because if the proper investigation and punishment were carried out, the entire empire would fall into extreme chaos.
The weight of the case is too heavy.
Alicia, the princess of the empire and a direct descendant of the only three imperial families, had so much influence that it would be difficult to deal with her aftermath.
It was unpredictable that a great bloody purge would take place.
If the whole empire suffers damage while trying to condemn one family, that would be a complete turnaround. For the enemies of the empire, it’s like making a big smile bloom.
Also, at this point, no matter how much he cut himself off from the family, even Wolfgang, who was from the Schwarz family, could not be completely free from the mistakes committed by the entire family.
‘Uh… It would be difficult if harm was done to the master.’
So, Alicia decided to use the truth she unexpectedly learned in a slightly different way.
What she values above all else is the happiness of her beloved master and herself.
It was unacceptable to have any crisis in it.
So, the adopted plan is to put a leash on Count Schwartz and make it a hunting dog for Alicia and Wolfgang.
It was as if the intention of the Count Schwarz family to bring a line to the imperial family through the abandoned child was realized in a slightly distorted way.
Because the leash is also a leash anyway.
Wolfgang, who heard Alicia tell her the truth later, had to go through extreme confusion.
“…Can’t we just erase the family line itself from the map? If necessary, I’ll come forward myself. To wash away at least a little of the sins running through these veins.”
“No. I don’t want to see my master become an idiot.”
Rather, his claim to destroy his family and eradicate the seeds of his sins was rejected.
“…That’s how it happened. Father-in-law.”
“Ah, ancestor…”
“Don’t worry. From now on, you can use that excellent ability for the sake of the Empire and Obama.”
“If you rebel, I’ll cut your throat myself. Rebel sir. Please accept your fate calmly.”
“Master! Talking like a villain like that…”
Adolf von Schwarz, head of the Schwarz family.
On his knees before his son, he was forced to swear an oath of allegiance to the Empire again by his daughter-in-law.
A punishment too light to pay for the sinful karma.
Thanks to the son he abandoned, he was able to meet such a peaceful ending.
Should I say that it is a terribly contradictory result?
Or should I say a blessing?
—Saaa…
“Oh, oh…!”
As a golden wave swept through Adolf’s head, he realized one thing very clearly.
“Long live the Emperor! Glory to the Sun of the Empire!”
Adolf stood up from his seat and bowed three times toward the imperial palace, shouting hurrah.
Wolfgang and Alicia looked at him with puzzled expressions.
“Alicia. This is the right thing, right?”
“Yes. Maybe…”
It was the moment when the most dangerous loyalist in the history of the empire was born.
He loved the Empire.
