Count’s Youngest Son is a Warlock

Russell became quite serious and Lucion intentionally showed his displeasure through his eyes and voice.

“What?”

“I was also present at the arrest scene back then. While others may not have noticed, I saw something that I simply couldn’t overlook.”

“Are you talking about black magic?”

“Yes. I think it was a curse.”

[Wow… Heint is really perceptive. He managed to notice that fleeting moment just after the curse was activated?]

Russell couldn’t believe it.

“So why me?”

Lucion asked, fiddling with his cup.

“You were the one who informed His Majesty about the matter involving the Fourth Prince.”

“Given that His Majesty mentioned this to you, it seems he trusts you a lot.”

“Stop beating around the bush and just say it.”

Heint’s brow furrowed.

Lucion found the situation increasingly unpleasant.

He was already tired, but Heint’s question didn’t sit well with him.

“Was it His Majesty’s order?”

“No. His Majesty hasn’t said anything, but as an imperial knight, I have a duty to verify you.”

“So, you’re concerned that I might pose a threat to His Majesty?”

Here? 

Lucion tightened his grip on the cup.

The seeds of doubt that hadn’t yet faded began to bloom in a different direction.

If he could cast a curse on the Fourth Prince, isn’t it possible he could do the same to the Emperor?

[Lucion, calm down. Not yet…]

“No. Of course, you wouldn’t harm His Majesty. But I can’t deny that there might be a possibility of you using black magic against him. So please just tell me. Are you the one, Hamel?”

Heint asked, trailing off slightly.

[This crazy bastard! He’s spouting nonsense just because he can’t control his mouth! It’s the same thing!]

Russell was infuriated by his attitude, while Lucion was engulfed in swirling disappointment.

He had thought that the relationship between him and Heint had changed, but it seems he was the only one under this illusion.

Lucion, overwhelmed by rising anger, threw the cup he was gripping.

Clang.

—Whoa!

Ratta was startled, and Heint’s eyes widened.

“If I admit it, will you kill me now for the potential danger?”

“Hamel, that’s not what I meant…”

“If I deny it, will you trust me?”

“…”

Heint hesitated.

“Potential danger? The knights safeguarding His Majesty pose a greater danger than I ever could. Yet, now you harbor suspicions against me.”

“That’s not what I’m saying, Hamel. I—”

Lucion stood up from his seat.

Even knowing it was because of that red thread, he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Heint. I was the one who sent you the letter.”

“What…?”

“The same goes for Cronia.”

Lucion thumped his chest.

He had always helped Heint.

He wondered if this would gain his trust.

He thought maybe things would change like this.

“You sent that letter?”

Heint’s expression stiffened visibly.

Wasn’t Hamel the one who helped Saint Lucion?

“…Why? Why did you send it to me? Why me of all people?”

There were many imperial knights. 

He was just one among them.

“Don’t get it twisted. I helped the Saint.”

Lucion shot back sharply.

“You helped the Saint…?”

“Yes. You know who that letter helped, don’t you?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

At those words, Heint’s complexion darkened.

He swayed slowly and stood up, urgently calling out to Lucion.

“Hamel… I—”

“Yes, I may pose a threat. Because I’m a warlock. No, because my true self remains hidden. You don’t know what lies beneath this facade!”

He didn’t want to, but his voice kept rising.

Even if Heint was fulfilling his duty as an imperial knight, Lucion was furious.

Tears welled up in his eyes from frustration.

After offering so much, was it still insufficient?

Then how much more, how much more did he have to give?

“But it’s not like I’m wearing this mask to play some stupid puppet show! I, too, want to live. Don’t kill me. Don’t hurt my people because of me…”

Russell’s eyes widened.

The one Lucion had intended to kill wasn’t ‘that guy’—it was Heint.

Why?

Russell couldn’t comprehend it.

Lucion bit his lip.

What does it matter if he’s a warlock?

“How much more must I demonstrate? How much more do I have to give for you to believe me?”

At Lucion’s desperate voice, Heint felt his mouth go dry.

What on earth had he done?

Lucion let out a brief, sarcastic laugh.

“Damn it. This is so fucking stupid. No matter how much I offer, it’s never sufficient, only criticisms in return.”

“Hamel, I made a mistake. I—”

“Why? Why don’t you just admit that you’ve been waiting for the chance to kill me, and then have the nerve to send me a letter saying I give you the creeps?”

Despite Lucion’s sarcasm, Heint couldn’t shake the overwhelming guilt.

This was his fault.

He had crossed a line he should never have crossed.

“I’m sorry.”

“Piss off.”

Lucion walked towards the door.

“Hamel, I was too harsh.”

Heint grabbed Lucion’s arm.

“I will never kill you. Absolutely…!”

Lucion was momentarily taken aback, but the red thread remained unbroken.

“You liar.”

Lucion swung his fist at Heint.

Whack!

Even when Heint purposely took the hit, it didn’t feel as satisfying. It was almost too bad Bethel wasn’t there.

He stepped outside.

—…Lucion?

Ratta cautiously called out to Lucion.

He had been swept up in emotion for a moment, but it was true that he had cursed the Fourth Prince.

“I’m not angry. Just… just feeling a bit off.”

Damn that red thread.

Damn Heint.

Before Heint could catch up, Lucion used Shadow Movement to disappear.

* * *

“…So for now, we’ll start with the investigation of Chayton. If we organize and send the documents brought here, it should speed things up.”

Lucion pointed to the documents that Hume had brought out and spoke to Kran.

Kran, finding it difficult to start a conversation, hesitated under Lucion’s gaze.

“What’s the matter? Is there something unclear?”

Lucion asked, feeling Kran’s gaze on him.

He had made it seem as if the Neubra Kingdom was in cahoots with the warlock from Beyond the Frontier.

As a result, Carson had taken a slight hit.

Anyway, just when that was on the verge of being forgotten, Neubra Kingdom fell silent in response to Nevast’s surprise attack asking if they had allied with the warlock.

At that time, the Empire leaked information to the rising anti-monarchist factions within Neubra about the current king supposedly colluding with the warlock and what he had done. 

Under pressure from the anti-monarchists in Neubra, they eventually abandoned the Hand of Void.

Kran should be someone who understands this situation.

“…Did something happen when you met Sir Heint?”

At Kran’s question, Hume also looked at Lucion.

—He fought with Heint. Ratta saw it!

At Ratta’s words, Hume flinched.

Ratta quietly shrank away from Lucion’s gaze.

Lucion hesitated for a moment before responding.

“Nothing happened.”

“Then how about taking off that mask?”

Only at that moment did Hume finally speak up.

“…Ah.”

Lucion paused briefly.

Even when Bethel subtly glanced at Russell, he just shook his head.

“I just need to meet Heroan.”

“I’ll go get him.”

As Lucion tried to get up, Hume stopped him.

He had used a lot of darkness today.

He had even come back with a nosebleed, and if he continued like this, he might collapse again.

“That’s right. Heroan should come. Hamel-nim, you shouldn’t go.”

Kran also stopped Lucion.

Click.

Before he could respond, Hume had already left the room.

Lucion briefly removed his mask and took a sip of his grapefruit aide.

The chilled drink seemed to refresh his mind.

“Did you, by any chance, cry?”

Kran noticed that Lucion’s eyes were red.

―Yes!

“No.”

Lucion redirected the same question to Kran.

“Did you cry?”

“Yes. I don’t show it easily, but how did you know?”

“I just asked.”

“Hamel-nim, you really aren’t very honest, are you?”

Kran chuckled and took a deep breath.

“I’m still… not relieved.”

“Understandably. Chayton is still alive.”

“Does God… really exist?”

“No.”

“Thank you.”

“Why do you keep saying that? It might become a habit.”

“I’m truly grateful to you, Hamel-nim, for praying for the souls of my people.”

“I just looked on; there’s no need to say that.”

“Yes. That’s what I’m grateful for. You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to say that.”

“You haven’t told Stra or Helon?”

Lucion asked while munching on a macaron.

“Not yet. Stra is too busy, and so is Helon to explain.”

“Ah, because of the new branch?”

It was only natural to set up barriers to prepare for anything, considering a new branch would be established.

“That’s right. And I don’t even know where to start explaining. It seems I’m not prepared.”

Kran fiddled with his teacup.

Knock, knock.

As soon as the sound of knocking came from the door, Russell immediately darted over to peek over the wall.

―…Um, there are a lot of people here!

[Yes. Lucion, the members have come to see you.]

At Russell’s comment, which was accompanied by Ratta’s giggles, Lucion popped another macaron into his mouth and put his mask back on.

“Ah, please, back off a bit.”

As the door opened, Heroan’s grumbling voice was heard first. 

Following that, the murmurs made Kran sweep his face.

“I thought I only asked for Heroan to come?”

“That’s right. Rental clearly told me to come alone…”

Heroan, looking quite frustrated, immediately sat down next to Lucion.

“I was supposed to bring only Heroan as you instructed…”

Hume looked at Lucion with a troubled expression.

After Heroan, Quate, Reint, and Miella all showed up.

Kran’s expression became even more crumpled.

Lucion was already feeling extremely tired.

“Hello, everyone.”

Lucion greeted them only after swallowing the last of his macaron.

“It appears you all have some free time on your hands.”

His latter words were less gentle than the first.

In an instant, they became busy avoiding Lucion’s gaze.

If asked to name the busiest person in the organization, it would undoubtedly be Hamel.

“That’s a bit unfair, Mr. Kran.”

Miella, who had also been averting her eyes, shot a slight glare at Kran while looking at the desserts laid out on the table.

She had so much she wanted to share with Lucion too.

“Personal…”

Kran began to speak but halted midway.

Wasn’t it a mix of personal and public matters?

“Heroan.”

Lucion didn’t tell them to leave. There might be additional tasks to assign, and it would be much easier to give instructions now that they were here.

“Yes, Hamel!”

As only his name was called, all eyes turned towards him.

He seemed quite pleased.

“It’s time to present the results.”

He had previously ordered Heroan to investigate the Nevast priests.

Although the Empire had revealed some information, he had not withdrawn the order, just in case they could discover something.

“Yes. Of course. Who am I, after all? I was just about to tell you.”

Heroan replied confidently, as Bethel moved a little closer to him.

“I’ve found some truly shocking information.”

As everyone’s gaze focused back on him, the corners of Heroan’s mouth trembled in excitement. 

It seemed he was incredibly happy to be in the spotlight.

Lucion smirked and said, “Let’s hear what this shocking news is.”

“I found a warlock in Nevast.”

“…?”

A moment of silence fell over the room.

‘Wow…’

Lucion barely restrained a laugh. That really was some shocking information.

It must have been a few hours earlier.

“What? Peter needed backup because he couldn’t handle it alone, and now both me and Reint’s subordinates, along with the merchant, went together, only to find out that these people were warlocks?” 

Quate questioned Heroan incredulously. 

“Yeah, that’s right. Surprised, huh?” 

Heroan beamed with pride as he looked at Quate and Reint. 

If they had made this discovery first, the reveal wouldn’t have been so unexpected.

“Heroan, you can’t just stumble upon a warlock. How did you figure it out?” 

[Right. How did Heroan find a warlock? It’s not something that can be easily discovered.] 

Russell shared the same doubt that Lucion felt.

Heroan awkwardly smiled for a moment. 

“I know this might sound unbelievable, but a warlock approached my subordinate.”

“How did that happen?”

“Well, they said, ‘The darkness guided us.’ …I know it sounds strange even to me, which is why I hesitated to report this.” 

[It seems that the darkness has started to aid Lucion.] 

Knowing that the darkness had a peculiar fondness for Lucion, Russell thought naturally. 

Bethel asked, [Is it because of the Sea of Death that it’s helping Lord Lucion?]

[Probably. Since darkness is everywhere, when they heard that Lucion had received the Emperor’s recognition, they would know who was most needed. It’s much better than just talking about how much they like Lucion.]

—Yes! The darkness really likes Lucion and so does Ratta! 

Ratta chimed in, proudly puffing out her chest.

‘Is it because of what I shattered in Keortia?’

Lucion briefly looked at his hands.

He had unintentionally shattered what the black figure in the Keortia Kingdom had called a ‘part of a twisted world.’

The darkness had told him that Veronia had become slightly, very slightly weaker because of it.

“Hamel, what does it mean that the darkness guided them?” 

Reint asked cautiously, hesitating before speaking, as if the darkness itself were alive.

“It means precisely that. It appears the darkness has reached out to them,” Lucion clarified.

Despite Lucion’s response, Reint appeared unable to resolve his confusion. 

That was understandable. If he could comprehend that statement, then Reint should be referred to as a warlock rather than just a magician.

“Where are they now?” 

Lucion asked, looking at Heroan.

“They’re carefully bringing them with the merchant. Don’t worry, Peter is with them. He’s quite reliable. They should be en route to Beyond the Frontier by now…” 

Before Heroan could finish his sentence, Lucion stood up.

There was a death knight known for killing warlocks near the border.

Broson.

That reliable death knight would become the greatest obstacle today.