Chapter 137: Epitaph

“Even if your family’s history is short and you’re unfamiliar with noble etiquette, how could you…! How could you do such a shameless thing?!”

“M-Mother, please calm down…”

After moving the unconscious Count von Grund to his room, the Countess, who had just heard the news, had been berating Jessica and me non-stop.

Jessica wore a guilty expression as she watched her mother cry in anger, asking what they were going to do now. But for me, who had made several mothers cry before, the tears of someone else’s mother meant nothing.

I calmly observed the situation, watching the Countess and Jessica’s brother with an air of detached amusement.

Unlike the doting Count and the wailing Countess, Jessica’s brother, the heir apparent, seemed somewhat favorable towards me.

And for good reason. Though I shouldn’t say it myself, objectively speaking, I wasn’t a bad catch for a son-in-law.

I was a Count like von Grund, albeit newly elevated, and this recent battle would once again spread my name throughout the kingdom.

If there was a flaw, it was that my wealth fell short compared to other Count families, but other than that, where could they find a better match?

Moreover, Jessica seemed to like me, so from the heir’s perspective, I wasn’t a bad choice for his sister’s marriage.

“Ahem…”

After calming down the nearly hysterical Countess, Jessica’s brother rose from his seat and slowly approached Jessica and me.

Jessica fidgeted nervously, afraid of being scolded again, but her brother showed no signs of anger.

“Sir Ian… Given how things have turned out, would it be alright if I proceed with the understanding that you and my sister are to be married?”

“I haven’t spoken to your mother yet, but that would be fine with me.”

“Lionel!!”

Lionel, Jessica’s brother whose name I’d learned for the first time, turned to face his enraged mother and calmly shook his head.

“Mother, I understand how you feel, but what’s done is done. And Jessica doesn’t seem to dislike it, so please give your blessing.”

“But still…”

“In fact, one could argue this is a bit overdue. Typically, a young lady from a Count’s family would have a fiancé at a much younger age than Jessica, wouldn’t she?”

That’s right. Usually, high-ranking nobles like Counts would arrange engagements for their children at a young age.

It was fortunate for me, but it was rather unusual that Jessica hadn’t had a fiancé until now.

And everyone here knew the reason for that without needing to be told.

“Did you block her marriage prospects because your daughter was too cute? Jessica, I’m surprised you were even allowed to attend the academy.”

“There were social obligations… And I promised not to take a lover… Though I’ve broken that promise now…”

As she said this, Jessica reached out to gently take my hand, but when the Countess glared at her, she quickly withdrew it.

“But what if the Count wakes up and hears that an engagement was decided while he was unconscious? Given everything that’s happened, I don’t think he’ll just let it slide.”

The others, having lived with the Count their whole lives, could easily imagine the scene. They frowned and shook their heads.

Leaving the castle while the Count was unconscious was an option, but who knew what trouble that might cause later.

“We have no choice but to settle this matter here and now. I’ll try to persuade him, so could everyone please leave us alone for a moment?”

“…You’re going to persuade him with words?”

Jessica glanced at Wolffang strapped to my waist as she said this, but I really did intend to use words to persuade him.

For now, at least…

They all looked suspicious, but having no better alternatives, they reluctantly agreed to my request.

As everyone left and only the Count and I remained in this spacious room, silence fell.

“Well then…”

After hearing their footsteps fade and confirming that everyone had left the room, I stood up abruptly and drew my mental sword towards the Count’s neck.

As expected of a trained warrior, the Count reacted sensitively to the killing intent. His eyes flew open as he quickly sat up.

“Y-You bastard!!”

“Ah, you’re awake, father-in-law.”

“Shut up!! Who’s your father-in-law?! When did I ever acknowledge you…?!”

“Well, if you don’t acknowledge me, what are you going to do? Are you planning to ruin your daughter’s life because of your selfishness?”

“What?! Are you threatening me now?!”

The Count seemed to take it as a threat, but I was merely stating the facts of what would likely happen.

Let’s say the Count stubbornly forced Jessica and me apart. Then what?

Would he marry Jessica off to another man instead of me?

No, it wasn’t that he disliked me specifically. He just didn’t want Jessica to be taken by any man. He probably wouldn’t let her marry anyone else either.

He’d likely keep her close forever, cherishing her like some precious treasure.

It might be fine now while Jessica was still young, but what would happen when time passed, the Count died, and Jessica became an old woman?

“Is that when Jessica will finally be able to do what she wants? Why should Jessica suffer like that because of your desires?”

“…”

Faced with this irrefutable logic, the Count’s mouth snapped shut.

His fist, which moments ago had been ready to strike my face, slowly fell onto the bed. His face was filled with guilt.

Since the root of the Count’s desire to confine Jessica was love, mentioning Jessica’s happiness had been effective.

“I understand a parent’s love for their child, but there comes a time when you have to let go.”

“…And you’re saying I should let her go to you?”

“What’s wrong with me? I use Baldo techniques and I’m a Count just like you.”

“And your character?”

“At least I don’t force a grown daughter to call me ‘Papa’.”

“…”

I couldn’t make such demands since I didn’t have a daughter, but the point was that I wouldn’t do it.

After hearing my words, the Count got up from the bed and stood by the window, staring blankly outside as if deep in thought.

And after a while…

“Fine, maybe you’re right. Perhaps being with you would make Jessica happy. However…”

The Count, seeming to have made a decision, nodded and picked up a long-handled hammer that had been hanging on the wall. He beckoned to me.

“I’m not sure if you can protect Jessica yet. So prove your strength to me.”

“Are you mad? Or have you forgotten what I took down a week ago?”

“I heard. And after hearing about the battle, I feel even more compelled to confirm it myself.”

“Sigh… They say haste makes waste… Why is everyone so obsessed with how I won…”

Though I hadn’t intended to draw my sword, now faced with this situation, a smile crept onto my face at the joy of being able to use my Baldo.

After all, my initial purpose in approaching Jessica had been to have a showdown with the Count.

Well, half of that purpose had been to meet many formidable opponents and make a name for myself, but at least I could achieve that goal in this way.

“…Alright then, here I come.”

As I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword and said this, the Count lowered his stance and nodded.

Since this wasn’t going to be a drawn-out battle anyway, I charged towards the Count with all my might, intending to end it with the first strike.

As soon as the Count entered Wolffang’s range, I drew my sword without hesitation, and the Count swung his hammer at me in response.

Swish! With the sound of metal being cut, the head of the Count’s hammer fell to the floor.

The outcome of the match was as even a child could have predicted – I had cleanly sliced through the long handle of the hammer.

“…”

Looking at the cleanly cut hammer handle, the Count gazed up at the sky outside the window, his expression one of relief, as if some lingering attachment had finally been severed.

“Now can I have se… intercourse with Jessica?”

“You crazy bastard… I have something I want to say to Jessica. Call her in for a moment, and you get out of here.”

“Yes, but I have one question. Is there perhaps some kind of code left behind by the founder of the Count family?”

“A code? Are you talking about the inscription our founder left behind? If you’re curious about that, go to the memorial shrine. Lionel will guide you.”

“An inscription?”

It had been a casual question thrown out without much expectation, but I ended up with an unexpected harvest.

Given that he left an inscription, I wondered if Thor Kim, like Ponpon hyung, had wanted to leave something for the next possessed person who might come.

Or perhaps, as the one presumed to be the first possessed, he might have left the inscription for his descendants, not knowing more possessed individuals would come.

After relaying the Count’s message to Jessica, I headed towards the memorial shrine under Lionel’s guidance. There, a grand tombstone adorned with flowers, standing about 3 meters tall, came into view.

“The rest of the place bears deep scars from the battle, but this place is remarkably unscathed.”

“It’s fortunate. It seems even barbarians know to show some respect for the dead.”

According to Lionel, the inscription on this tombstone was a phrase that Thor Kim had ordered his descendants to engrave a few days before his death, as he lay on his deathbed.

The inscription wasn’t in Korean but in the language of this world. Yet somehow, I couldn’t shake the feeling that these words were meant for us, the possessed.

[Don’t waste your strength on futile endeavors. Find your own happiness.]

—