Chapter 415

Chapter 415

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 415: The Unspoken Rule: A Deceased Villain Leaves A Diary! (2)

Following the flustered Ryubeubina, who had lost all the dignified composure I first saw, I headed to Rohan’s room.

“Th-then, I shall withdraw. The discussion beyond this point is not permitted for me.”

“Ah, yes. You’ve worked hard. I’m late in asking, but is Baru safe?”

“…Yes! He was slightly injured, but his life isn’t in danger, and he’ll fully recover without any after-effects in a few months.”

Ryubeubina regained her composure and nodded at the mention of Baru. By the way, for a Baron who has all sorts of special abilities and is in a position to enjoy them, an injury that requires several months of recuperation? Isn’t that a serious injury?

…No, that’s not right. Dwarf society is far removed from potions, magic, or divine power.

Unless you’re a Jarl of a great territory like Rohan, at best, you’d only be able to get mid-grade potions.

I pulled out two top-grade potions from my inventory and handed them to Ryubeubina, who was about to withdraw.

“Here. Senior Faye made these. They’re quite effective among top-grade potions, so give one to Baron Baru to pour on his wound and have him drink the other. He’ll recover quickly.”

“Th-thank you!”

Ryubeubina bowed her head deeply. As I looked down at the back of her head with a satisfied heart, Faye subtly approached and whispered,

“Junior… are you trying to flirt with my lady-in-waiting right in front of me with potions I made?”

“That’s a ridiculous misunderstanding.”

While everyone acknowledges Faye now, the long-standing neglect and discrimination won’t disappear overnight.

In that sense, Baru and Ryubeubina are a few reliable allies. If they’re hurt, it’s not right to just leave them be, is it? Here, it’s appropriate to subtly bestow some favor for later.

“That’s why I deliberately emphasized Senior Faye’s name. It might not be helpful now, but it definitely will be someday, won’t it? People can’t forget those who helped them when they were in pain.”

“Junior… fine! If that’s the case, I’ll allow it!”

Faye puffed out her chest, tilted her head slightly, snorted, and patted my shoulder vigorously.

Her attitude, as if she had bestowed a great favor, was somewhat annoying, so I lightly flicked the tip of her nose with my finger.

“Hyaaack?! O-ow… Junior, where has your respect for your senior gone?!”

“It’s an expression of affection, an expression of affection.”

“Hmm… come to think of it, it feels similar even with Iris, who’s over 500 years old, so maybe it’s not wrong… Your love hurts a little, Junior!”

Faye clutched the tip of her nose, grinning sheepishly. Saying that makes me sound like some kind of dangerous person. I just flicked it gently.

Iris, whose age was suddenly mentioned, stumbled with a shocked expression, like someone facing a cruel reality, but thinking it was a bit odd to just stand in front of the door, I ruffled her hair to comfort her and opened the door.

What was revealed was a room with a structure not much different from before. But the room’s owner looked completely different.

His hair, black from the roots as I had seen before, and his limbs, thick with muscles again.

His mouth, which had emitted weak breaths, was now tightly shut, creating a stubborn impression. Rohan looked exactly like what one would imagine a skilled artisan to be.

“…This isn’t just recovering from an illness; you look younger, don’t you?”

“Thank you. However, while dwarves age quickly initially, we are a race that doesn’t undergo aging beyond a certain point.”

Rohan nodded and answered my unwitting muttered remark. It seems his composed attitude, characteristic of someone facing death, remained despite his recovery.

While everyone else and I were surprised, Faye, who had watched Rohan receive the blessing right beside me, didn’t seem to make much of it and immediately got to the point.

“So? Father, you said you found Madam Astrid’s secret. When are you going to show it to us?”

“You’re impatient. But it’s true that our relationship isn’t good enough for leisurely conversation. Very well. I’ll tell you right away without wasting time. You have the right to know, having resolved this incident.”

His expression remained gruff. But Rohan, with the corners of his eyes drooping slightly as if disappointed, pointed to a small notebook placed on his desk.

“It was hidden inside the pillow. Poison was applied, perhaps for security, but it’s long since been detoxified, so you can just read it. I’d prefer the contents not be disclosed externally, if possible… but I can’t force it.”

“I never intended to tell anyone from the start. Why would I go around gossiping about family matters for no good reason?”

“Family matters… Is that so? Then that’s fine.”

Rohan’s lips subtly curled up again as he nodded. Faye, the person directly involved, didn’t seem to notice, though.

Despite being horrified by Faye’s instinctive push-and-pull, which had lost its shyness due to rebelliousness, everyone gathered closely.

There’s only one notebook and many people, so this is the only way for everyone to see it together.

Faye took a deep breath and opened the first page of the notebook.

I hadn’t realized it by looking at it, but when I actually opened it, there was more paper than I expected. It was probably enchanted with spatial distortion magic.

As expected, the content was a diary. It wasn’t written every day, so it was sporadic, but thanks to that, I could see everything from the day she first married into the Yareunshade family to the day Faye returned.

After reading it all, Faye slammed the notebook shut with a loud whack and yelled,

“So this is still Father’s fault, isn’t it?!”

“…That’s why I told you not to tell anyone.”

Rohan subtly averted his gaze, as if he had nothing to say. But I thought a little differently.

“Calm down, Senior Faye. While Jarl Rohan might have some fault, I think the bigger problem lies with Astrid, who immediately sought the help of an Evil God just because things went a little wrong.”

“Ugh… If Junior says so…”

Faye immediately became submissive. Well, she probably knows that what I said isn’t wrong, even if she yelled out of a momentary surge of emotion.

The diary’s content is simple.

The early part is full of girlish feelings, like falling in love at first sight, being incredibly happy to actually get married, and hoping that Rohan will eventually come to love her despite it being an arranged marriage.

Surprisingly, Astrid’s excellent resourcefulness in taking control of the Yareunshade family was also to assist Rohan, who was clumsy outside of crafting.

However, as time passed and she even bore a son with Rohan, she grew frustrated with their unchanging relationship. It was then that Astrid learned about the existence of Laura and Faye.

Naturally, Rohan must have still held Laura in his heart, leading Astrid to conclude that he wouldn’t love her.

Up to this point, she was a somewhat pitiable yet still good woman. Surprisingly, Astrid had even considered telling Rohan that if he was suffering so much, it would be better to bring Laura back.

She probably couldn’t bring herself to get along with Laura and Faye, but she still wanted to alleviate Rohan’s guilt.

…But before Astrid could even voice her thoughts, Laura died.

Laura remained a perpetual source of sorrow for Rohan, and Faye began to monopolize Rohan’s attention.

Adding to that, suspicions arose that Astrid might have killed Laura out of jealousy, which must have been truly maddening.

However, at this point, Astrid was truly innocent. While she found Faye difficult and disliked her a little, she still tried to fulfill her duties as the mistress of the Yareunshade family.

The problem, though, came after that.

Rohan, who had cherished Faye so much, suddenly began to treat her coldly, as if he had become a different person.

The subordinates who simply regarded Rohan as a leader and a talented artisan didn’t notice… but Astrid, who had always looked only to her husband, did.

She realized that Rohan was trying to protect Faye even if it meant sacrificing the rest of his life, and that Rohan would never love her.

It was from this point that Astrid began to change.

The diary conveyed that the previous positive atmosphere of “it’s tough now, but it will definitely get better someday,” disappeared, and only her obsession with Rohan and resentment towards Faye grew.

Just as Astrid’s darkness reached its peak, suspicious figures approached her with an irresistible offer.

Making Rohan love Astrid was impossible. But making him obsessed with and dependent on Astrid was possible.

A sweet proposal to help her with this in exchange for her help.

For Astrid, whose heart was half-broken, it must have been like a welcome rain in a drought. If she wasn’t going to be loved anyway, she wanted to possess everything else.

…Well, from my perspective as an authority on cultist psychological behavior, this was clearly a “scheme” by the followers of the Boiling Silence Church from beginning to end.

The Yareunshade Territory was quite large, and Rohan himself was an excellent artisan, so they must have deemed it valuable enough to corrupt.

After that, things unfolded as expected.

Astrid, who accepted their offer despite knowing it was suspicious, steadily solidified her position.

Beyond merely controlling the family, she became Rohan’s plenipotentiary representative, filled most of the mansion’s staff with her own people, and even covered up the flaw of Svid’s “un-dwarf-like” nature with political maneuvering.

Astrid’s next goal, after seizing most of the Jarl’s power, was Rohan’s addiction.

That’s right. Rohan wasn’t ill; he was suffering from chronic poisoning due to a very subtle poison.

It must have been a poison that couldn’t be detected by any magic, and difficult to cure with ordinary divine power.

Why else would the Unyielding Steel demand his life as an artisan as the price? It must have been because they believed it wouldn’t be effective unless divine power was amplified through such a sacrifice.

A poison that wouldn’t kill him but would ruin his body to the extent that he couldn’t do other things. Using this, Astrid gained control over everything of Rohan.

In fact, Rohan struggled to manage family affairs and even everyday life without Astrid.

However, when Rohan secretly brought Faye back, Astrid’s sweet dream was shattered.

Astrid’s thoughts, believing she might lose Rohan to Faye again, to Laura, began to spiral out of control. Ultimately, she reached a terrible conclusion.

To consume Rohan and become one with him…

Astrid, who already knew that the group helping her were cultists, was the first to propose to them.

She would dedicate everything of the Yareunshade family to the God of Tainted Unity if they would allow her to become one with Rohan.

For the followers of the Boiling Silence Church, who had lost their way and weakened after their death, this must have been incredibly good news.

Converting Astrid, dedicating the Yareunshade Territory, and at the same time, selling off my location, which the God of Tainted Unity so desperately wanted to kill.

This would have been enough for her to start as a high priest, even if she converted to the Church of the God of Tainted Unity.

Though, it seems they all ended up as ingredients for the twin-headed giant.

Anyway, the first thing Astrid did after receiving the God of Tainted Unity’s baptism was to sacrifice the most valuable thing she possessed apart from Rohan.

That is, Svid, Rohan’s and her son, as a sacrifice to the God of Tainted Unity.

Not only did she bring in monsters and cultists, but she also used Svid as a core to create the twin-headed giant, and when the battle turned unfavorable, she promised to consume Rohan and sacrificed herself to complete the vessel for the incarnation…

That was the whole story of this invasion.

Faye, looking down at the notebook with a complex expression, sighed deeply.

“Ugh. Still, I think it’s mostly Father’s fault, Junior.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. If Father had been as much of a womanizer as you, Junior, and tried to keep all his women in his arms no matter how many there were, this wouldn’t have become such a big problem, would it?”

“……”

What are you talking about, Faye…?