Chapter 22: Kill Your Mother

‘So I told you, Mary.’

‘Anyway, you’ll be rolling on the floor for a while, why lie down already?’

Crack—

‘Rather, it’s funny that you’re reacting like this.’

‘You tried to kill me four times, surely you didn’t think you’d be unscathed?’

‘It was you who knocked on my door every morning with that sickeningly brazen face, trying to confirm I was dead, wasn’t it?’

‘It was also you who cleverly changed the mansion’s patrol times, creating the optimal timing to kill me, wasn’t it?’

‘Holding a knife to someone’s throat and now panting like a dog is quite amusing, but unfortunately for you.’

Crunch, crunch—

‘Oh dear, you seem to be in a lot of pain?’

‘I thought you could endure it well, given the great tragedy you supposedly went through, but it seems you haven’t shaken off your lady-like habits.’

‘That’s why you’re squealing and screaming like this.’

‘Although I’ve recently taken great care to soundproof the room, my ears hurt, my ears.’

‘I’ve only broken a few bones so far, what will you do if you scream like that?’

‘The punishment for trying to kill me won’t just end with this, will it?’

Crunch—

‘Goodness, what exaggeration.’

‘If you save up your monthly salary a little, you could fix it with divine power.’

‘Why are you crying so pitifully?’

‘Ah, this isn’t fun.’

‘If you scream like a girl, ‘Kyaak, kyaak—’, then I’ll lose interest… Ah ha.’

‘Is that a characteristic of the Hartmann family who died like vermin?’

…………

‘Ah ha, now you’ve become a sight worth seeing.’

‘Your family seems quite precious, doesn’t it?’

‘But what can you do?’

‘Your sibling died hanging, dangling like a monkey, as if that little pain was something unbearable?’

‘Just because they couldn’t endure that meager pain, they made your father suffer the same fate, didn’t they?’

‘Truly, lacking in patience, utterly lacking.’

……!

‘Ah ha.’

‘Did I say something wrong?’

‘Isn’t that right?’

‘Isn’t it true that your sibling died meaninglessly like that, unable to bear what they could have endured just a little longer?’

‘If it was Grace bestowed by God, they should have lived to the end, saying ‘Thank you—’, and achieved something.’

‘If it was talent acknowledged by God, it would have been insufficient to simply raise the family’s name proudly.’

‘How could they die like a bug?’

‘The sight must have been quite funny.’

‘The sight of an impatient child, just like you, dying hanging from the ceiling like a spider—’

—!!!

‘…Ah ha?’

……, ……!!

‘Pfft, I don’t understand what you’re saying.’

‘That I don’t understand that child’s pain?’

‘Pfft, Ahaha.’

‘Do you really, truly think so?’

‘You, bringing me medicine all this time… Have you not, not once, smelled the medicine?’

‘Surely it smelled similar to that medicine your sibling cried out for.’

…………?

‘Well, there’s a bowl right here.’

‘Try smelling it.’

‘It’ll be a bit stronger than the medicine your sibling drank.’

…………

‘Ah ha, surely you just realized it now?’

‘You must have inwardly acknowledged it too, the fact that your sibling died like a bug, and you too are living a similar life along with them?’

‘Well, look at me, Mary.’

‘Even without seizures, I feel terrible pain throughout my body, yet I can certainly live.’

‘Only your sibling, and your pathetic father who couldn’t stop your sibling from dying and died with them, are fools.’

‘Unable to overcome just this mere pain and giving up like that, isn’t it truly pathetic?’

‘No? What are you saying no to?’

‘It must be why your mother fell ill.’

‘Unable to hide her rage at that pathetic sight, she must have collapsed.’

—!

Crunch—

‘Look, look at your state now.’

‘You’re full of anger, trying to lash out at me, but you flinch away as soon as you feel a little pain, don’t you?’

‘How funny.’

‘It’s truly amusing, Mary.’

‘You tried to kill me, and yet this situation where you’re getting angry just because I mentioned your family who are already dead is already a comedy.’

‘Even you must think so, right?’

……… Hmph.

‘It is funny that I’m lecturing you when I myself have no right to.’

‘In truth, I’m probably the biggest vermin, right?’

‘…Of course, even so, this time you were wrong.’

‘Mary, I am quite patient.’

‘So much so that I would bear with it and let it pass about three times, no matter what mistake you made.’

‘Once, because you might not have known better.’

‘Twice, because it might have been a mistake.’

‘Even up to three times, because you might not have gotten used to it yet—that’s my mindset, to forgive you.’

‘But.’

‘From the fourth time on, you simply weren’t trying, were you?’

‘I magnanimously overlooked you trying to kill me three times, yet it was you who didn’t see it as an opportunity and bit at me again, Mary.’

‘It was you who tried to kill me, someone who would have quietly died on my own, Mary.’

‘But now, getting angry because I said someone died like a bug, isn’t that a truly ridiculous situation?’

…………

‘It was I who tried and struggled to understand your feelings all this time.’

‘Unable to empathize, I racked my brain and put tremendous effort into you until now.’

‘Yet you, who can empathize, don’t try to understand me and just try to kill me.’

‘With what audacity do you show your fangs to me, huh?’

Crunch, crack, snap—

……!

‘It’s always like this.’

‘Without even knowing how much effort I’m pouring in to understand that damned human nature.’

‘Without even knowing how much I’m enduring to live as a normal person.’

CRUNCH—!

—!!!

‘Yet, no one, no one tries to understand me.’

‘If you give something, you should receive something.’

‘You’re making only me work unfairly, aren’t you?’

Crack, crunch—!

—!!

‘Yet, without even recognizing that, when I reveal my true nature, everyone is busy just cursing me.’

‘I was just born this way, I was just born this way, yet they judge as they please and—’

‘They make me feel so profoundly, so lonely.’

SNAP—!

‘No one, no one understands me, do they—’

—!!!!

‘……Hmm.’

‘Oh dear, I seem to have gotten too excited.’

‘Ah ha, I did the job I should have left to the Holy Sword.’

‘At this point, it’s about time for her to lose consciousness, yes.’

Splatter—

‘Now, get up.’

‘It’s the tea you brewed.’

‘It must still be hot, so if you, who are impatient, would get up quickly, wouldn’t you?’

“…………Plea—”

“Mmhm?”

‘Ah ha, I told you, didn’t I?’

‘This toy I finally acquired, no, friend.’

‘How could I easily kill her?’

‘Mary, I like your tea.’

‘Your decorating skills are also quite decent, as expected from someone who did some styling in the past.’

‘But there are several things you lack.’

‘Neither your patience nor your intelligence is particularly outstanding.’

“…Lady, plea—”

‘Originally, I intended to use you as a battery like those friends over there, but you’re even more disappointing than I expected.’

‘So, so I think I need to make you suffer a little more.’

‘First, I need to make you useful, right?’

‘I don’t know much about it, but it seems that ordinary people achieve mental growth after going through something significant.’

‘Perhaps because my body hasn’t changed much even after my birth mother died, those words don’t particularly resonate with me.’

‘But you, who can empathize, will be different, won’t you, Mary?’

‘Certainly, you can change more than I, who was born a psychopath and still maintains this monstrous appearance, can’t you, Mary?’

“…Please… please—”

‘Well, this is also an artifact.’

‘If you wear it, you’ll probably have a strange experience for a while.’

‘Your body won’t move according to your will, so that’s certainly true.’

‘In the future, you will experience an accident in order to fill something you lack mentally.’

‘A body that suddenly moved on its own will, towards your precious, frail—’

‘killed your mother?’

‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘You need to realize it that way, right?’

‘Because a child like you will only learn something if they lose something.’

‘Based on the ordinary people I’ve seen so far, they usually mature after the funeral of a precious person.’

“…Ah…ah… Lad… save me—!”

‘Don’t worry.’

‘You’re not killing her by your own will, are you?’

‘I’m just controlling your body and simply cutting off your bedridden mother’s neck, snip.’

‘Having lost such a precious person, you will realize that you still have another precious person, your sister.’

‘And based on that, you’ll be able to forget your sorrow, won’t you?’

‘Even if you cry and fuss now, you’ll eventually forget it all anyway.’

‘If you’re an ordinary person, Mary, you certainly will, right?’

“Please, please— Kill… kill me. Rather, just kill me—”

“What are you saying? Instead of you killing me, you’ll just be killing another person. Since it’s true you killed someone with your own hands anyway, it doesn’t matter who dies, does it?”

“No, you can’t. Please, please—”

“It’s alright, it’s alright. Anyway, you’ll be bawling like you’re about to die right now, but won’t it be an emotion that fades with time? It won’t be much comfort, but look at me. I lost my parents three times, yet I’m living perfectly fine, aren’t I?”

“No, you can’t. Not my mother, not my mother—”

“And surely your mother will be happy in heaven. An ordinary parent would allow at least that much for their child. She might even have a touching reunion with your dead father or sibling.”

“What kind of insane idea is that. What kind of, insane—”

“Ah ha, it’s a shame you’re just realizing it now.”

“…Ah.”

‘I know it too, that I’m conventionally insane.’

‘But why does that matter?’

‘It was you who brought it out like this, Mary.’

“Ah ah.”

‘So why did you provoke me?’

‘Why did you force me to drag out my true nature?’

‘Why did you deliberately try to bring out and explode the inferiority complex that was already piled up?’

‘Why, just why?’

“No, I was wrong. I was wrong. It was all, my fault—”

“Well, it’s alright, it’s alright. That’s why I showed you, didn’t I? That even if your mother dies, you have your sister. From now on, instead of your sick mother, you can aim for a reunion with your sister, who is a bit easier.”

“Spies, I’ll tell you about the spies. The, the Head Butler, and. Czeslaw, Sir Czeslaw—”

“Mmhm, I told you, Mary.”

Rustle—

“If you plead like that, it’s actually not fun.”

“Katzmarek, Mr. Katzmarek and—”

“Ah.”

“Ah.”

“Ah.”

‘Mmhm, it seems to have worked well.’

“Good, now do as I told you earlier.”

“Given your state now, it’ll probably be difficult, so get some treatment with divine power.”

“…………Yes.”

“Good, then go on.”

“I’ll clean up the room, so don’t worry.”

“Good girl?”

Creak, clank—

“…Mmhm, hah.”

‘……Truly, how lonely.’

***

Knock, knock—

“Come in.”

Clank—

‘…Scent of blood?’

As Oksana entered the room, the faint scent that spread through it made her furrow her brows involuntarily.

However, it was very faint, and no bloodstains were found in the room.

She wondered if the Grand Duchess had perhaps coughed up blood, but she was simply lying on the bed, looking fine and smiling.

“Mmhm, did the Head Physician come as well?”

“I apologize for greeting you while lying down.”

“It’s because my body hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

Oksana bowed her head, thinking she might have mistaken the scent she had just caught a whiff of.

Although she was now a cruel mistress whom she could no longer entirely associate with him, the favor was still a favor.

“…How could I expect such a reception from someone who is ill?”

“Please withdraw your words.”

‘Although many things had gone awry, her disciple would be able to live.’

The Grand Duchess, unlike usual, extended her right hand and lightly expressed her welcome, still looking at her with that smile.

A smile similar to the person Oksana had lost, yet seeming to hide much more.

“How was your training, little brother?”

“You seem a little thinner than usual.”

“Was it very difficult?”

“…There was nothing particularly different.”

The Grand Duke, who was standing behind Oksana, took one step closer to his sister.

Without giving his sister, Eleonora, time to be flustered, he stood in front of her and—

Grab—

“Ugh—”

“…………This arm, how did you injure it?”

With a cold gaze, he grabbed Eleonora’s arm.

‘Oksana’s training.’

That is to say, those who had infiltrated the territory and were committing evil deeds just a little while ago.

“…Huh?”

Scattering an atmosphere similar to, yet different from, when he had ruthlessly cut down the bandit group.

“Again, what were you trying to do by yourself.”

“I asked, how did you get injured, like this?”

Oksana watched the scene, searching through the many memories she had accumulated.

Because it was definitely a look that reminded her of someone… someone like that.

‘…Although, who exactly it was, she couldn’t quite remember.’