Crown of Thorns

That idea might have come to all the nobles’ heads, but it was only a murmur in the hall, and no one could easily bring it up.

However, there was one person among them who was twisting to hold back laughter. It was Count Phyletto. Giggling with mad eyes, he remembered Count Genadio, who was trapped in the basement and wailed in pain. Everyone looked at him with a curious look, but as he was already half-crazed, he didn’t even notice. No, he wasn’t interested.

“Why are you smiling so much? Is this situation funny to you?”

Although the unbearable Marquess of Tyran said something, Count Phyletto had only answered with a tone that was mixed with ridicule.

“What else isn’t funny? Have you ever expected this to happen? It’s amazing. It’s fun. Stop frowning like that and smile. You’ll get wrinkles.”

“…What? come again?”

The Marquess of Tyran froze, for he had lost his words. He was then helped by other aristocrats.

“Funny? Are you out of your mind?”

“And what form of insolence is this? Won’t you apologize to Marquess Tyran right away?”

Count Phyletto was still leaning back in his chair, giggling. Glancing through the nobility gathered together with a very saucy look, he said.

“No, I don’t want to.”

“Count Phyletto!”

“I’m not interested in these boorish meetings, so don’t bother me anymore. You won’t even get the answer if you get together and squirm, will you? If you have time for that, go home and take good care of your health. You never know when it’s going to be your turn.”

“This, this…!”

“You arrogant bastard…”

Count Phyletto stormed out of his seat. In the background were the voices of other nobles who were unable to contain their anger. Some clicked their tongues as if they thought that he had gone mad because he couldn’t handle the situation. He laughed at their exclamations as he would upon hearing an entertaining joke.

“How can it be so easy? I don’t understand why I’ve been trying to avoid putting those little shits back in their places.”

All the way down to get in his carriage, he was lost in thought, giggled, and then was lost in thought again. He then repeated the same cycle of facial expressions. However, he did not forget to look around him. Greed grew in his eyes and had smeared his face with conceit. He raised his head as if everything he saw was now his own.

“Are you with me now?”

“Yes.”

When I answered, his face was all the more grotesquely distorted. Then, he laughed out loud, and soon, he continued on with a fierce smile.

“You said yesterday that it’s fun for you to help me. Would you be willing to try something more interesting?”

His tone of speech had changed. He seemed to have felt that he should not treat me recklessly. I gave him an answer without much deliberation.

“I’ll judge whether it’s interesting or not.”

“It’ll be a lot of fun.”

As he glanced over the palace, his gaze glistened as if he were a snake. It was disgusting to see how humans change if given strength. Does dealing with a devil give one the power of the devil? No. Humans already resembled devils in the first place.

But it was good for me that Count Phyletto had changed like this, so I looked at his greed without a word coming out of my mouth. The crazier he was, the better it was for me.

No matter how much more blood it brings, and no matter how cruel it makes him.

*

“Are you all right?”

I came to my senses by the voice of Ruadhan. His gray-brown eyes were warmer with anxiety. I remembered; he was looking over the current situation and was reporting it to me. I nodded at him and opened my mouth.

“I’m sorry. Could you tell me from the beginning?”

“You look tired. If you’re having a hard time, you can rest. I can handle it by myself.”

“Absolutely not.”

“…I should have come forward. I expected it to some extent, but I didn’t expect you to suffer this much…”

“It’s my job. It’s my sin. Ruadhan, you have already shared enough of my burden. It’s just sinful, so please don’t stretch your hands any further.”

“But…”

“Please.”

He looked at me and breathed a small sigh. Unlike his cold face, his sigh was so warm that I almost wanted to lean on him. I almost confessed how exhausted my tired body and mind were.

The eyes of the terrified, the blood that dyed the floor, and the sacrifice of those who did nothing wrong; they all weighed down on me. Even if I could barely fall asleep, I was still bound in my dreams. And even when I woke up, I couldn’t get out of it.

I had already anticipated it, but all this was a great burden to me and had weighed me down. I thought that maybe I wouldn’t be able to meet my beloved family.

If heaven were fair, I would die a terrible death and go deep underground, like my beloved family, who struggled to save the world. Maybe that’s the reason for the warrior’s stay with me. It’s both a great pleasure and great sorrow to face his sword.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

Ruadhan asked again, perhaps having noticed that I wasn’t feeling very well. I nodded. Then, I nodded and nodded again, as if it would really be all right doing that. I was fine. No, I should be fine. It shouldn’t be this tiring and exhausting. It’s just the beginning.

Yeah, it’s just the beginning.

“How’s the situation?”

When I asked Ruadhan, he hesitated for a moment. Then he continued his words in a resigned voice.

“We have spread the rumor as you ordered. The rumors had been spreading faster since there had been not one or two people who witnessed Count Genadio at the Count’s mansion. As rumors circulated that Count Phyletto had a deal with either the Death God or the devil, the other aristocrats began to keep him in check. And since the mercenaries were frightened, no one had signed a contract with Count Phyletto. He doesn’t seem to care, though.”

He had no choice not to care. Because he trusted me. Because he thought I was good enough. And that was a clear fact. Even if there had been an abundance of mercenaries, they wouldn’t be able to handle people who use powers that had disappeared a long time ago. It made them even more terrified.

“We made it so that Margarita, who was active as a knight under Marquess Tyran, attacked another noble with a sword. After only making a ruckus, he quickly escaped. But thanks to that, Marquess Tyran will continue to be framed as the one who made a contract with the devil. There is already a living witness to this who was enticed by Count Phyletto, so no one will believe in him even if he claims innocence. Rumor has it that it was the Marquess of Tyran who had made Marquess Garrence like that.”

“What about the Son of Heaven?”

“There is no response yet. However, we have spread rumors by supplying food ingredients to the palace. It will only be a matter of time before the rumors stir the entire palace. Luella, who was a lady-in-waiting at the Marquisate of Garrence, also seeped into the palace in the midst of chaos. The Heavenly Palace will be difficult, but no other place will be able to escape her influence.”

“There’s going to be a war soon.”

“Yes, regardless of his opponent, Count Phyletto is blinded by ambition and appears to be planning to wage war mercilessly. And I think other families who were after Tyran are planning to take advantage of the opportunity. The number of mercenaries going in and out of Kato’s tavern had also dropped dramatically.”

I nodded. The balance had been tipped off, and their close-knitted relationship had now collapsed. They were going to fight, to swallow each other, and to protect themselves. I had to help Count Phyletto balance the power of the aristocracy by pretending to fight and make him and other aristocrats lose more strength.

Now, I had to slowly confuse the world and make it even more miserable. To make more people howl in pain. And since there are not enough mercenaries to go into the war, ordinary people will get dragged in. And then, there won’t even be enough of those.

“Let the monster move.”

For a moment, Ruadhan looked at me in silence. His eyes were blended with worry, pity, and anxiety, creating a warm yet poignant color. It was as if he was asking me, “Do you really have to do this?” There is no way to know if he is worried about the world, or if he is worried that I might have to suffer in the end by manipulating things like this. But he finally turned his eyes away from me and said what I wanted to hear.

“…Yes, I understand.”

I had to make things grow bigger and bigger.

To make the world aware of the witch.

And to make the warrior, Evan, suspect the witch.

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