Chapter 36 : Half Articles (2)

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on my bed in my room.

Alice was looking at me, tears in her eyes.

“…Alice, you know… last night…”

“Run away, Miss.”

“…What?”

She grabbed my hand with her trembling fingers.

“Run away. If you stay here, you’ll be broken like the other ladies…”

“What are you talking about? Other ladies?”

“You’re not the first to be adopted as the eldest daughter of the Grace family, Miss Luna.”

Come to think of it, there were strangely various sizes of clothes and an unnecessarily large number of items considering the variety of tastes.

“…Am I perhaps the, how many-th child?”

“The fourth Miss ran away five months ago, so Miss Luna is the fifth.”

“…”

I felt a tingling sensation at the back of my neck.

The appearance of Baron Zeppelin last night was probably his ugly true nature.

“Run away, please. I don’t want to see you suffer anymore…”

Alice was crying and begging.

Seeing that my body felt light even after everything I had endured, it seemed she had taken care of me all night.

“…I’m not running away!”

“Yes?”

At my answer, her eyes widened.

“Miss, it will only get worse as you endure…”

“It’s the only chance I have to get ahead! And…”

I imagined the sight of countless children screaming in his room.

“I’m not going anywhere without Alice. We’re friends.”

“Ah, Miss…”

Alice, crying, hugged me tightly.

If I ran away, many more children would repeat the same pain.

If I had run away at this time, there would have been no chance to be adopted again.

Saya said that she would go to the capital to become a Spirit Master.

If I wanted to catch up with her, I had to endure somehow.

Fortunately, Zeppelin’s hobby only occurred once a week, and it ended in about an hour at most.

Except for that time, I never encountered or talked to Zeppelin.

Therefore, during the weekdays, I could erase him from my mind and focus on training.

The training I excelled at most was swordsmanship.

By the time I was 10 years old, three years later, my skills had improved to the point where I was confident I wouldn’t lose to children my age.

“Haap…!”

My wooden sword, filled with strength, collided strongly with the teacher’s wooden sword.

“Excellent, Miss! There’s nothing more to teach you about the basics.”

“Thank you, Master.”

I brushed aside my sweat-soaked hair.

“However, I’m a little worried…”

“…Yes?”

“There is killing intent in your sword, Miss. It’s a terrifying killing intent that’s not suitable for someone your age…”

“…There’s no way.”

“No, I can tell from the experience of fighting countless opponents. There is a definite killing intent in the sword you wield. What is the reason…?”

“I’ll be going in for today. Thank you for your hard work.”

I didn’t listen to his words any further and began cleaning up.

‘There’s killing intent in my sword…?’

If such a thing is really felt, there is only one direction it could be directed at.

Zeppelin Grace.

The fear toward that person was gradually turning into anger from within.

That time came again.

The only time of the week when the Baron smiled.

As usual, electricity flowed through my body, but today, he wasn’t smiling.

“…This isn’t it.”

“…?”

“Show me a more painful expression..! Why can you be so calm…!?”

If I had to say why, it’s all your fault.

After three years of repeated pain, I was tired of expressing emotions every time.

The quieter I was, the sooner that act ended. So at some point, I stopped reacting.

“…Yes, it seems that you can no longer be satisfied with normal stimulation, Luna?”

Zeppelin’s fingers unbuttoned my shirt one by one.

“People, no matter how calm they pretend to be, will eventually reveal their true feelings when death approaches.”

Death? What is he talking about?

“For example, like this.”

His hand was directed at the upper part of my left chest.

At the place where my heart was beating, he sent something flowing with a sizzling sound.

“…..Kuhuk..Keub..”

“How is it, Luna? Does it feel like your heart has stopped?”

“…Kkeuk…..!”

The blood that had been circulating nonstop for 10 years lost its way and wandered with just one current of his.

Feeling that my brain was gradually running out of oxygen, I squeezed out tears and struggled in pain.

“Yes, that’s the expression..! That expression suits you, Luna! Show me more…!”

Just before I lost consciousness, he sent another current to my chest.

“Gahuk…! Kek…. Kahak..!”

I took a quick breath as soon as my heart, which had stopped for about a minute, started beating again.

“Let’s stop here for today, Luna. If I get too excited, it might be a little dangerous.”

“….”

I grabbed my chest and glared at him.

However, Zeppelin’s only interest was his own perverted hobby.

As if fleeing, I slammed the office door shut and came out.

“..Miss…”

Alice, who was waiting in front of the door, supported me.

“….I’m okay. I was just a little surprised…”

As time passed, his torture techniques grew more refined.

I was losing confidence in how long I could hold out like this.

“..I need to wash. Alice.”

“Yes, Miss.”

While I was washing my body alone, I traced the traces of electricity passing through every nook and cranny.

It was strong enough to leave a scar, but experts were careful to avoid leaving any trace on my body.

Then, suddenly, I saw something shining on the back of my hand.

‘A Mark…?’

The Mark that Saya had told me about when I was young.

She said that in order to become a Spirit Master, this must appear.

With an excited heart, I checked my Mark.

“….Ugh…!”

A lightning bolt Mark, just like that man’s.

As soon as I saw it, I vomited bile in disgust.

“Why… of all things…!”

Every time I looked at the back of my hand, I was reminded of Zeppelin’s face.

I felt like I was connected to that man, and I wanted to cut off my wrist right then.

“Are… are you okay, Miss?”

I could hear Alice’s worried voice from outside the bathroom.

“Yes..! It’s nothing.”

Before leaving the room, I tightly wrapped my hand with gloves.

I hated having anything in common with that man on my body, to the point of wanting to kill him.

After that, I didn’t take off my gloves—whether I was sleeping or eating.

If I didn’t, I felt like I would go crazy because of the nausea.

Alice occasionally asked me if it wasn’t time to learn magic, but each time, I made an excuse that the Mark didn’t seem to have manifested yet.

I also knew that I had to be able to use magic to become a Spirit Master.

However, I hated everything related to him.

Electricity.

Lightning striking on a rainy day, sparks flying when swords touch, even the static electricity that occurs when taking off clothes.

The incident happened when I was 13 years old.

As usual, after finishing my training, I visited Zeppelin’s office.

“…Ah. It’s you.”

His eyes, once full of pleasure, now only held a dark gray color.

“Go back today. I’m not in the mood.”

What’s wrong?

He, who couldn’t get enough of torture, sent me back for some reason.

“…”

I turned my head away from him and left the room.

Now, is he tired of it?

After that, he didn’t look for me for weeks.

It is said that he stayed in his room and didn’t come out, like someone with depression.

Thanks to that, I was able to focus on training with a lighter heart.

Now, I was practicing with an unsharpened real sword, leaving the wooden sword behind, with my master.

“Master, I have a question.”

“What is it, Miss?”

“Is there a way to become a Spirit Master without using magic?”

He paused the sword he was swinging.

“Spirit Master, you say..?”

He put down his sword and explained to me calmly.

“They are basically a profession that exists to deal with monsters, not humans. Sarkas are more dangerous because they don’t have reason, unlike humans. That’s why most Spirit Masters value magic and avoid close combat as much as possible.”

“That means..”

“Yes. A Spirit Master who cannot use magic will not be accepted for the test.”

As expected, it was a foolish idea to become a Spirit Master with only force.

“Why do you want to become a Spirit Master, Miss? If your goal is to gain honor, there are many other ways.”

“…I have a friend. A friend I promised to meet when I became a Spirit Master.”

“..If that’s the case, there’s also this way.”

What he explained to me was how to enter the Spirit Master Academy as a knight.

“A fixed number of knights are always assigned among the Spirit Masters. This is because personnel are needed who can also respond to attacks from humans with hostility, not just monsters.”

“How do I get there?”

“The fastest way is to enter the Imperial Knights and stand out. There is no path that guarantees success as much as being directly seen by the imperial family, but…”

Even as he explained it to me, he looked unconvinced.

“..Why are you like that?”

“It’s frequent for knights to use magic together, especially at higher positions. It’s no exaggeration to say that all of the Imperial Knights are like that.”

“…”

It seemed to mean that it wouldn’t be an easy path.

“And, be careful. If you swing a blade with killing intent, it will come back to you in some form.”

It was about the killing intent he always mentioned to me as a habit.

“..Is that wrong?”

“Yes?”

“If it was a blade to protect someone, is it still wrong?”

“It’s not a matter of right or wrong. The more people you kill, the greater the danger to your safety. I said it out of concern for that.”

“Master, what would you do if such a situation came?”

“..I’ll take it to heart. Master.”

I finished cleaning up and returned to my room.

Normally, it was the day I should visit Zeppelin’s office, but it had already been a month since he hadn’t looked for me.

Even if I went, it was obvious that he would send me back.

“Alice, is the bath water ready?”

I sat on the bed and called for Alice.

But there was no answer.

“..Alice?”

I looked around the room and the hallway, but I couldn’t hear Alice’s voice.

Alice, who always stays nearby to greet me whenever I call, where did she go?

At that moment, a thud echoed from the hallway.

The sound of something falling, like a chair.

The source of the sound was Zeppelin’s office.

I carefully stepped toward his office door.

I put my ear to it and listened to the sound.

“Kyaaak-!”

As soon as I heard the scream, I kicked the office door open.

“Yes, that’s the reaction..! It’s right to show this kind of expression..!”

Alice, lying down with the chair, and Zeppelin, with electricity flowing from his hand.

“Ah… Miss…”

Alice, whose face was dominated by fear, and I met eyes.

And I completely lost my reason.

In an instant, I drew my real sword and struck the back of Zeppelin’s head with all my might.

“Kahak..!”

Before he had time to defend, I struck again with the blade sharpened.

“You damn trash..!”

Thud.

With a terrifying momentum that could be heard from the impact on the head, I continued to strike.

With all my might, the blade was gradually bending.

When the blade was bent completely, I continued to strike the back of his head with the handle.

“Die…Die…!”

“Miss!”

I came to my senses at Alice’s voice.

Only then did I see the blood on my hands and Zeppelin’s crushed skull.

“He’s already dead… Long ago…”

“….”

I threw the sword on the floor and hugged Alice.

That evening, Alice and I secretly dumped his body, wrapped in a rug, into the river.

Even after a few days, his appearance was not seen, so the servants searched for him extensively, but his body was never found.

Eventually, after six months, it was concluded that he had gone on an unplanned trip and went missing.

Some servants seemed to know he wasn’t missing, but no one mentioned the incident again because they knew what he had been doing to the children.

Except for me, he had no relatives or children to inherit his property, so the house and all his possessions became mine.

The incident of that day was only vividly remembered by Alice and me, and we never told anyone.

“Alice, what are you going to do from now on?”

Alice, who had not yet recovered from the shock of the incident, answered me.

“…Actually, I don’t know. I was born and raised here, so I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

“Then can you do me a favor?”

“Yes? What kind of favor?”

“Dispose of all the luxury goods and items that can be turned into money in the mansion, and adopt as many children as possible.”

“….Yes!? Are you serious, Miss?”

“There will be many children in the world who suffer the same things as I did. Rather than keeping the Baron’s dirty money, I want to use it for the children.”

“…I understand. If that’s what you want, Miss.”

After that, I embarked on a full-fledged journey to become a knight.

Occasionally, I exchanged letters with Alice, and I heard about the children’s whereabouts and news.

At the age of 15, I was awarded the title of knight at a fairly young age.

I didn’t know what would happen in the future, but I was determined to do my best.

To get one step closer to Saya, no matter what.