episode_0015

Episode 15

“Do it with my life.”

-Shoot…

For a while after my father’s calm words, the only sound was the sound of rain pouring down from the gloomy sky.

“Hahahahahaha!!! Really? Why? Is this adopted child that precious?”

“…”

The Duke of Baston, unaware that his father’s life was running out, could not help but express his admiration over his father’s concern for him more than his own life.

“You have a clear successor candidate, your own son, but you choose an adopted child named Leon over your own life!”

“If you understand, do what you have to do, Clement.”

“No, wait! I get it! No, no, I don’t get it! Why? I don’t understand. No, I don’t necessarily need to understand… Drink.”

-Whew!

The Duke of Baston threw a small vial at his father.

-widely!

My father, who had received the bottle, opened the bottle cap without saying a word.

“When you drink it all, I’ll release this child and we can talk more about my revenge.”

It seemed to be some kind of poison that would weaken the powers of his father, who was probably a sword master.

“…Gulp!”

“…Okay, originally I was going to kill Leon and your biological son, Leman? I was going to kill everyone including that child, but after seeing your tearful fatherly love, I decided to give you a chance!”

The Duke of Baston, who confirmed that his father had drunk all of the medicine, nodded slightly and began to speak.

“Tell me.”

“I mean, I originally wanted to kill my father with my own hands. But thankfully, no? Anyway, you killed him for me. Of course, I am grateful.”

“…”

“But he’s my father, right? Since you killed him, I have to take revenge on my parents. Only then will my father’s story be complete. Do you understand up to this point?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I understand.”

“That’s why I want to see you die at the hands of Leon, the son you cherish! And I want to see your family, the ones you cherish, break down in grief and hate Leon, the culprit who killed your father!”

“…You crazy guy.”

“Ah, the Duke’s adopted son Leon, blinded by greed, betrays and kills his father who took him in, and the Duke’s family falls apart after realizing the truth… Ah! Of course, Leon will make a contract with me so that he cannot tell the truth!”

Unable to contain his excitement, the Duke of Baston trembled and rolled his eyes, and began to chatter happily.

“I promise that if I can just get to that point, I won’t touch the Duke of Normandy any more! I swear!”

“Okay, I accept it.”

“Father!”

“Leon…”

My father shook his head, looking at me with warm eyes in the cold rain.

“Hahahaha!! Ah, I really love this kind of tragedy! [I, Clement de Baston, swear on everything I have, that I will fulfill my contract with Lyon de Normand.]”

“…[I, Lyon de Normand, swear on everything that I have that I will fulfill my contract with Clement de Baston.]”

“…The contract is signed. If you have any last words you want to share with your son, feel free to do so! I can show you that much mercy! Of course, I won’t eavesdrop, so talk comfortably!”

The Duke of Baston, with an expression of utter satisfaction, stepped aside for a moment.

#

After a while, when his father saw that the Duke of Baston had completely fallen, he cut off his little finger, bled, and dropped a drop of blood on the jewel of the ring adorned with the family crest.

The small jewel in the ring emitted light and then soon broke.

“…I just took action on the second will and briefly recorded the truth. The contract between the Duke of Baston and me was that you would die, so there is no problem recording the truth. ”

“I’m not revealing the facts myself, so I guess there won’t be any problems in the future.”

“Yes, the truth will come out when Riemann turns 15.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“All necessary measures have been taken, now let’s wrap things up.”

.

.

.

“Are you done talking!”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s finish Leon’s contract! Leon, as you saw earlier, just follow what I say and change it to suit you! ”

-Nod…

“Then let’s begin! [I, Clement de Baston, swear on everything that I have, that I will fulfill my contract with Leon de Normand.]”

“…[I, Leon de Normand, swear on everything that I am, that I will fulfill my contract with Clement de Baston.]”

As I recited the contract, I felt a strange sensation, like a heavy chain was being placed on my heart.

“The contract is signed! Now, how do you plan on dying for Leon?”

-Sreung…

“Hmm?”

My father took his longsword from the scabbard at his waist and pointed it at Clement de Baston, speaking to me.

“Leon, this is your last class. Watch carefully.”

-Bang!

In an instant, my father kicked the ground and jumped up, rushing at the Duke of Baston.

“Ah! I made a mistake! I should have made the contract more specific! Of course, this isn’t a bad development, so let’s hang out for a while!”

-Kaaaang!

The Duke of Baston was momentarily flustered, perhaps not expecting his father to attack him, but soon his blue eyes sparkled and he raised his strength as if he was having fun, blocking his father’s attack.

“As expected, you’ve reached the 8th rank! You’re really amazing! Should I call you Grand Master from now on?”

The fight between the superhumans who had reached the 8th level was difficult to follow with my eyes, but my father used his techniques repeatedly so that I could see it even if I missed it.

The Duke of Baston also seemed to understand his father’s intentions and laughed loudly and followed the rhythm, and I also tried desperately to capture all the techniques my father used.

After the two of them exchanged blows for a while, my father, with a pale face, came up to me and asked me.

“Did you see everything?”

“Yes, I watched them all without missing a single one.”

“Well done. Then this is the last technique.”

My father took off his tattered armor and jacket, put his sword back in its scabbard, and took a sword stance.

“Put your hand on my back and remember the movement of my muscles and the flow of mana. I can only use this technique once.”

“Yes, Father.”

-Kugugugu…

As Father summoned Mana, a huge vortex of power began to vibrate the surrounding area.

I didn’t take my eyes off my father and focused on Mana’s movements until the very end.

The immense power compressed to its limit reached its critical point, and my father drew his sword and swung it, speaking calmly.

“Sky begging.”

-Phew!

The extremely compressed power was released along the sword in the form of a huge slash.

And then… the sky split apart.

The rain-sprinkling dark clouds parted along the path of my father’s sword, and light began to leak out through the gaps.

This surreal sight of rain pouring down and light streaming through the cracks was so beautiful.

“Leon, I hope that one day you will surpass the level I have just shown you.”

“I will definitely do that, Father.”

The Duke of Baston, who had been hit by the overwhelming skill his father had shown, expected that he would die…

-Clap clap clap clap!

“Cluck, cluck! That’s really great! If I hadn’t given you the medicine, Lyon, I would have died!”

The Duke of Baston, his whole body dyed red, was coughing up blood and using magic to raise his severed left arm, clapping it against his good right hand.

“Hahaha! What a shame, Lyon! If I had died, the contract would have been void!”

“…”

“Now it seems like you’ve exhausted your strength and it’s time to fulfill the contract!”

The sky, which had split apart, slowly lost its light as if a wound was healing, and the raindrops that had stopped for a moment began to pour down again.

##

“Time is up.”

“…”

-Keep going…

Strength enters the hand holding the sword.

I don’t want to do it.

But my body, bound by the contract, was gradually closing the distance between me and my father, regardless of my will.

My arm, which raised the sword against my will, was aiming the sword precisely at my father’s heart.

“Leon, it’s not your fault.”

“…”

“And you know, I didn’t have much time left.”

The sword gets closer and closer to the father’s heart.

“But…”

“Even though it wasn’t the kind of breakup we wanted, breakups aren’t supposed to turn out the way we want them to, so it’s not your fault.”

Finally, the horrible sensation of the sword piercing through my father’s chest and piercing my heart ran up through my fingertips.

“Father…”

I have a lot to say, but my mouth won’t open.

It’s as if a complex mix of emotions is choking my throat, preventing me from speaking out.

“I’m sorry Leon, I made you carry the heaviest burden.”

“Why are you doing this to save me?”

“Leon, you are my son.”

“…”

Actually, I knew it.

At some point, I realized that my father really treated me like a son.

It’s just that both my father and I have past wounds that we can’t tell each other about, so we just pretended not to know each other.

-Thump… Thump…

Hot raindrops run down my eyes.

I won’t cry.

It’s just rain running down…

-Sigh…

My father hugged me gently but firmly.

At the same time, the sword stuck in my father’s heart dug deeper.

-Keep going…

“…Let’s stay like this for a moment.”

“Yes… Father.”

“Don’t hate the Duke of Norman too much. Of course, Maria, Tania, Serena, and finally even Leman will misunderstand and hate you, but aren’t we ‘family’ in the end? ”

“…Don’t worry, Father.”

“Thank you, and I’m sorry.”

“…”

“I love you, my son…”

My father, who had been embracing me affectionately, swept my back once with his trembling hands, and his arms fell limply to the floor.