episode_0026

“Hey, open the door, you ungrateful bitch.”

Liesel, whose eyes were swollen from crying, was startled by the sudden sound and began to look around.

“Outside the window. Outside the window. Break it open with your beak and open it before entering.”

Liesel, who had been hesitating, reluctantly opened the window, and the crow that came in rustling itself began to peck Liesel’s forehead.

“Ouch!”

“Does that hurt? Your brother ended up like this on the battlefield. Does that hurt you?”

“… Oppa what! What’s wrong with that selfish person going to battle? What does it have to do with me that I went to war for my own honor?”

When Liesel spoke in an angry voice, the crow laughed as if it was absurd.

“Huh! her! Wow! Am I correct in what I just heard people say? I thought it was the sound of a dog.

“What…?”

“‘Ha…yeah. Let’s just say that’s because that idiot isn’t the type of person who wants to show off and get someone’s appreciation. But are you going to erase your brother from the family? Are you out of your mind?”

“That’s just something I said… No, what does that have to do with you, you fucking birdhead…!”

“How can the remaining bitches around that idiot be either idiots or cursors or bitches…”

The bitch meant Camilla, the cursing meant the empress, who was his friend, and the bitch meant the numerous women around Raoul.

“What do you know…!”

“That’s it. I’m tired of talking… It’s quicker to just take a look.”

As the crow flapped its wings, a pitch-black wind began to surround Liesel.

###

“What the hell is this place…”

Liesel woke up not in her room, but in a place that seemed like the middle of a strange training ground.

There were children around who looked to be around 10 years old, but judging by their reactions, they didn’t seem to recognize Liesel.

“Is it an illusion… I’ve heard it often.”

Among the young nobles, there were some who used genjutsu as a kind of drug, but since Liesel hated such unclean things, it was her first time being under genjutsu.

“Now, pay attention to the young ladies who were playing with teddy bears in the mansion just a moment ago.”

Liesel turned her head to where the voice came from, hearing a voice that sounded somewhat intoxicating.

Blue hair grown carelessly, eyes that glow like blue flames, a bottle of alcohol in his hand at any time, and an appearance that does not match his age.

It was clearly the Duke of Argos who alone guarded the supply route and defense line while the five heroes attacked the demons.

At the same time, he was Camilla’s father and the commander-in-chief of the empire’s military, having achieved countless military honors in his youth.

“I am the person who brought you here at the request of your parents, who have heavy hips.”

Of course, her personality was better than that of Camilla, but she was by no means inferior.

“I’ll tell you straight. We are all fucked. We all got fucked up because our emperor made a fucking joke of it. The Demon King, who has lost his mind, will reorganize his army and attack with all kinds of monsters, so we are all screwed.”

The children were a little frightened by the city government’s trash-like behavior and behavior.

Then, one child raised his hand and asked a question.

“Well… since the Duke is strong, if you fight the Demon King yourself…”

” This little boy is so cute when he tells me to go out and search. Even if I fight those monsters, all I can do is buy half a day’s worth of time and run away? Are you asking me to search for you so I can live for half a day more? Why is this like this?”

He was a childish man who did not know dignity.

The children cried out loud and were filled with anxiety at the sudden declaration, but the duke didn’t care at all and blew on the bottle.

“I have a question.”

“Oh, as much as you want.”

The person who raised her hand was Penelope, the future empress.

“There is no way the busy duke called us just to scare us. What is your business?”

“You pointed it out exactly. I have only one business. The goal is to create monsters that will not be defeated by the Demon King’s army. I’m better at creating monsters than fighting monsters.”

The point was to train noble ladies and masters to create human weapons.

“But why do we have to step forward?”

The person who asked that question was Asher, the first prince who would become the future emperor.

“That’s right, if the nobles don’t go to war and just push the people away… We’ll all go straight to the guillotine before we fall behind to the devil. There will be a revolution before we find the light, Hyuk.”

The duke pretended to slit his throat with his thumb, scaring the young nobles who didn’t know anything.

To the children, who had lived their entire lives far away from things like death, the Duke’s words brought more despair than the absence of Santa.

“Well, the content is simple.”

The ball picked up a tree branch, drew a long line in front of the children, and said:

“You can cross that line and give me a punch. Of course, the moment I cross that line… I will also attack you quite sincerely.”

It wasn’t something he would do to children, but the duke was serious.

It was clear that masters and young ladies who were only this scared would become burdens on the battlefield, so it was necessary to weed them out to some extent.

“I have one question.”

“… What?”

The Duke almost spat out all the alcohol in his mouth at the sudden informal speech.

“If we lose that war, will Liesel die?”

The boy who asked that question was Raoul as a child.

Bushy black hair, slightly lifeless eyes, and a tired and gloomy look. It was clear to anyone that it was Raoul.

Liesel took a step back as if she was quite surprised when her name came out of her brother’s mouth.

“I don’t know who Liesel is, but if she is human, she will definitely die. And be respectful, kid.”

“… Enemies that not even you can defeat are attacking, and the moment they touch, Liesel dies. I really understood.”

“If you speak one-sidedly, it’s not conversation, it’s nonsense, kid. Instead, I told you to speak respectfully…”

“There is no room for compromise. I will fight.”

His habit of ignoring what others said was the same as it is now, but when he was young, his eyes contained many emotions.

The duke also read the emotions in those eyes and responded as if he was interested.

“Okay, do whatever you want, kid. Rather, start with polite words. If you need a weapon, it’s back there…”

“I’m not foolish enough to think I can beat you with something like that.”

Raoul rushed at the duke without any weapon.

Because it was an act close to suicide, Liesel unconsciously reached out and tried to grab Raoul.

“Oppa, are you crazy?!”

But the hand couldn’t hold anything. Surprised by the feeling as if she had caught a ghost, Liesel fell awkwardly.

Raoul rushed forward with great vigor… but was hit in the face and thrown away.

“I told you. If you cross the line, I will attack you. As a bonus, I was told to speak respectfully. If you want to hit me, start with a weapon…”

The duke felt a strange sense of discomfort and looked at his right hand.

And when the Duke saw that the bottle of wine he had been drinking from had shattered into pieces, he laughed bitterly.

“… Interesting. Did you break my bottle in that short gap? I didn’t feel like I was being kicked or punched. By the way, this is expensive.”

“As expected, it’s just difficult.”

“Try more, you sullen kid.”

“Because I think so even if I don’t say it.”

Raoul rushed towards the duke even though he was bleeding profusely.

When a child experiences that much pain, it is normal for him to cry and seek his parents, but Raoul did not do that.

On the contrary, he lunged at the Duke even more aggressively than before.

“Crazy guy. I said I wanted to create a monster, but someone who wants to commit suicide is different.”

Although a brave man was needed, a fearless man was out of the question.

There is nothing more foolish than a fearless general.

“You are disqualified.”

The duke tried to stun Raoul by swinging his hand blade.

However, at that moment, the Duke stopped his attack because he felt a stinging pain.

The Duke, who saw the blood dripping from his right hand, smiled broadly and stroked Raoul’s head.

“Wow… Have you seen a raccoon like this?”

What was stuck in the duke’s right hand was a fragment of a liquor bottle that had just been shattered.

“You broke the bottle, hid the glass pieces, and then smashed the pieces in at the timing of my attack.”

“I can’t put a piece of glass in your body with my strength. That’s why I used your power against you. It will be possible with your strength.”

“Is it because you were trying to gauge that when you hit me earlier? There is no such thing as a raccoon with rabies.”

The duke laughed and pulled out a piece of glass stuck in his hand.

“Okay, I passed. There should be a raccoon with rabies like you. A genius like you can easily turn him into a monster.”

“… Am I a genius?”

“Okay. There’s no way the kid who punched me wasn’t a genius.”

That was the first meeting between Raoul and his teacher.

It was also the day that Raoul met an adult who recognized his talent for the first time.

“Anyway, who is that Liesel that did something like that? What about the girl you like? Is there anything mixed in there…”

“Liesel is.”

Raoul thought of his sister, who almost died due to his own carelessness.

The cute little sister who grabbed her finger and didn’t want to let go. A pretty little sister who smiled brightly at herself. A younger sister who is so lovely that her meaningless babble somehow sounds like ‘older brother’.

Raoul smiled softly and said:

“That child is the child who can become the motivation for all my actions.”

“Motivation?”

“The motivation for me to live, the motivation for me to fight, the motivation for me to endure pain, the motivation for me to kill someone… and.”

Liesel was astonished by the bright smile of her older brother, whom she saw for the first time.

“It could even be a motivation for me to die.”

“This is more of an idiot than you can imagine. good. 1st successful student.”

And the duke didn’t seem to dislike Raoul very much.

“I will take responsibility for you and teach you how to become a monster.”

“Thank you.”

“As a bonus, please use polite words.”

Later, the children who passed the test suffered from the merciless and arduous training, but they all found comfort in looking at Raoul.

Raoul was subjected to even more ruthless and arduous training in the name of ‘learning respectful language.’

Through the training, Raoul was able to change his somewhat rude words and actions, but he came to hate the duke more than anyone else.

But those little stories were probably good things for Liesel.

“I am the motive for all my actions…? Don’t be funny… Then why on earth did you kill my fiance…!”

The second prince she remembers was a more thoughtful and caring man than anyone else.

I could never forgive Raoul for killing such a caring fiancé.

“I don’t understand…!”

“You didn’t try to understand?”

The person who uttered that line was none other than young Raoul.

There was no way the person in the illusion could recognize her and talk to her.

“It doesn’t make sense… How can the fake in the illusion…! This is all a lie… That scene just now…! This is not reality!”

“How is it different from your reality, Liesel?”

“What…?”

“You saw only what you wanted to see and heard only what you wanted to hear. How is your life different from magic? I’m really curious. Haven’t you been living under a spell on yourself?”

Liesel wanted to cover her ears to young Raoul’s verbal abuse, but she couldn’t.

The moment I covered my ears, it was no different from admitting that I heard only what I wanted to hear.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that my brother killed my fiancé…!”

“Okay. That doesn’t change. But don’t be too fussy. Because I tried to show you that too.”

When young Raoul snapped his fingers, the space and time around him began to transform.

“You should also look at it properly. Why did your brother do that? You deserve to see it.”

In an instant, young Raoul’s voice changed from that of a boy to that of a young woman.

“Because you have an obligation to see it.”