Chapter 172: Aftermath (4)

“Lord Ian, are you joking right now?”

Though we’d sorted out the mansion situation and retrieved the demon’s heart, not everything was settled yet.

Rain, who we visited with Julia, glared at us with a furrowed brow, looking furious.

It wasn’t just anger; her hand inched towards her sword hilt. One wrong word and she might draw her blade.

“It’s not a lie. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s all true.”

“Let me summarize what Lord Ian is saying. Apparently, His Highness wasn’t actually male, but female, using a greater demon’s power to pose as a man.”

Rain nodded, gesturing for me to continue. She sighed and went on.

“And this greater demon was implanted by His Highness’s birth mother. During the recent test, the demon was extracted and Lord Ian single-handedly defeated it without anyone knowing, leaving His Highness unable to transform into a man anymore. Is that correct?”

“Exactly. That’s right.”

“Lord Ian, I’ll ask one last time. Are you trying to joke with me?”

“It’s not a joke. It’s the truth.”

The original plan was to use Euclid’s poor health as an excuse to send him away from the academy for recovery, then announce his death due to worsening illness.

But that would’ve left Rain, Euclid’s fiancée, waiting for years for someone who’d never return. So, at Julia’s insistence, we decided to tell the truth. But Rain just wouldn’t believe us.

“How am I supposed to believe such a story?!”

“It’s true. Want to ask Nana? Or maybe you and Julia have some shared memories only you two would know?”

“Memories? Well… if I had to mention one, the first letter Rain sent me had a strong orange scent.”

“…!”

For the first time, Rain’s face, full of disbelief, began to crack.

“H-how do you know that…?”

“And also…”

As Julia continued to reveal things only Rain and Euclid should know, the cracks in Rain’s expression deepened until it completely shattered.

“Do you believe us now?”

“……”

As Rain stood there, stunned by the sudden turn of events, Julia stepped forward.

“Rain, I know saying sorry won’t fix anything, but… I’m truly-“

“…No, it’s alright.”

Cutting off Julia’s apology, Rain rubbed her face. When she looked up again, she seemed oddly refreshed.

“…I lacked talent. But as a member of the Sword Saint family, I wanted to be useful to my clan somehow.”

While wondering how she could help besides swordsmanship, she’d heard about the engagement to Euclid.

Though her sword skills were lacking, she thought an alliance with the royal family might be of some use.

She’d decided that even if she couldn’t give Euclid genuine love, she’d be a good wife to the person who gave her a chance to serve her family.

“Now I understand why Lady Nana sometimes looked at me with disapproval. I was suspecting His Highness of seeing other women, completely unaware of his… her suffering.”

“T-that’s my fault, not yours, Rain…”

“…Thank you for saying that. I feel like I’ve finally let go of something I’ve been holding onto all this time.”

With those final words, Rain turned her back on us and walked towards the setting sun.

“Hey!! Where are you going?!”

“R-Rain!!”

Alarmed by her sudden action, fearing she might be considering suicide, we called out urgently. Rain paused for a moment, turned back to us, and spoke softly.

“…I’m going to live for myself now, not for the Sword Saint family.”

That was the last day we saw Rain at the academy.

——

“It’s winter already.”

A few months after the incident with Rain, I found myself speaking aloud a thought I’d only meant to think, prompted by a snowflake landing on the bridge of my nose.

Julia, who had become accustomed to her maid duties after months at the mansion, approached me and handed over a fully opened umbrella.

Taking the umbrella from Julia, I pulled her close to shield her from the snow as well.

Julia blushed but leaned into me willingly, asking:

“Um… it’s cold. Shouldn’t we go inside the mansion?”

“Yeah, I just need to think about something for a bit.”

I took out a letter that had arrived this morning and unfolded it so Julia could see too.

It was a small note from Elaine, about the size of a business card, with her usual concise message written in delicate handwriting that made me smile involuntarily.

[Arrived at home. Duel with Father soon.]

[P.S. Rain won’t come out of her room. What happened?]

It seemed Rain, whose whereabouts had been unknown since that day, had returned home.

At first, we’d worried she might have gone on a journey or entered a monastery when she said she’d live for herself from now on. Knowing her location was a relief for both Julia and me.

‘So, it’s almost time…’

A few weeks ago, we’d received a letter saying Elaine had obtained a demon sword, and now this one had arrived.

Considering the time it takes for letters to arrive, had Elaine already finished her duel with the Sword Saint by now?

I didn’t mean to underestimate Elaine, but if that was the case, it felt like the day I’d cross swords with the Sword Saint wasn’t far off.

‘A lot has happened in this past year.’

It had been the most eventful year of my life, too dense to sum up with just “a lot happened.”

Entering the academy, meeting Wolffang and Jinta, becoming a count… listing it all out made me feel like the protagonist of some mass-produced fantasy novel.

“Shall we head inside now? I just heard that it’s ready.”

“Are you really going through with that?”

“I have to. It’d be a waste not to, and I can’t rely on doping forever.”

Taking that elixir was essential for me to become stronger on my own, not just temporarily through drugs.

‘Training can make me stronger too, but it takes too long.’

Without any guarantee that the Sword Saint would wait until I was strong enough, I had to become powerful quickly, even if it meant risking my life.

As Julia and I returned under the umbrella, Jessica, who had been waiting at the mansion door, frowned when she saw us.

“Ugh…!!”

Seeing Jessica’s expression, Julia quickly stepped away from me. I shook the accumulated snow off the umbrella and handed it to Jessica.

“Is Hori ready?”

“Yes, but do you really have to do this? There’s no need to take such a risk just to get stronger…”

“I told you, we don’t know when they’ll come again. Last time they sent a greater demon, who knows what they’ll send next? I need to get stronger while I have the time.”

“Geez… how did you get mixed up with such people?!”

If asked how I got involved, I could only say it was a connection from my past life.

‘But when did that guy get possessed anyway?’

Considering the period when Ganryu was active, it must have been around 500 years ago. Had they been waiting for 500 years?

If I had been possessed first, I might have done something similar, but this level of obsession seemed excessive even then.

As we entered the mansion and headed to the second floor where Hori was waiting, an eerie demonic energy greeted us as soon as we stepped onto the second floor.

It wasn’t strong enough to harm others, but it was still an unsettling presence that made Jessica swallow hard.

“You don’t have to come along.”

“When you drink that potion, you’ll be unconscious for weeks! Of course I’m coming!”

Looking at Julia, I saw she felt the same way, nodding with determination.

Unable to shake them off, I headed towards Hori’s room with both of them.

“Hehe, Ian, you’re here!!”

As we entered the room, Hori greeted us with a triumphant expression. The demonic energy emanating from the vial behind her made it look as if she herself was emitting it.

“Is that the potion behind you?”

“Yes!! The Demon’s Essence, which permanently enhances the user’s physical abilities!! It’s my magnum opus!! But since the ingredients are so rare, I haven’t been able to test it on humans yet…”

So no one knew yet if this potion would be a success or failure.

Moreover, since even its effectiveness was unknown, it seemed more like gambling than doping.

“Didn’t you say you only make potions you could drink yourself?”

“That’s right… But this time I couldn’t do that, so if something goes wrong, I’ll die too. By Lady Jessica’s hand…”

Turning around to look at Jessica’s expression, I saw her wearing a murderous look, as if that was only natural.

“There’s no need to kill her. I asked her to make this. It’s not like she intentionally added side effects this time.”

Until now, she had been adding side effects to potions that didn’t need them, but this time was different.

Given the nature of the potion, side effects were unavoidable. It was more like a high-risk surgery, if I had to make a comparison.

“So even if I die, don’t kill her. It’ll just mean I was too weak.”

“Ian…!!”

As Hori looked at me with grateful eyes, I uncorked the vial and smelled it before drinking.

It was horrible. The moment I opened it, an overwhelmingly foul odor filled the room, far worse than any strong alcohol or sewage.

Despite my determination to get stronger, I felt a strong aversion to putting this in my mouth.

“It’s best to down it in one go. I didn’t have time to worry about the taste, so I can’t guarantee that!”

“Such helpful advice…”

“Hehe, it’s nothing!!”

After giving Hori a final smack on the head before losing consciousness, I downed the potion.