Part 2 Chapter 77
Nike let out a breath and spoke calmly.
“…Right after the first attack, the Duke asked the Imperial Family for support. I guessed something might happen, so I secretly followed.”
“Huh? But you didn’t stop me?”
“You already know I have a grudge against Bassenberg.”
“…”
Ryan didn’t answer. He just gave a strange look, then smiled, nodded, and stepped aside.
Nike slowly walked past him.
Ryan didn’t kill her, nor did he catch her.
Did he actually believe that weak excuse?
No.
She knew he didn’t.
Ryan was a careful man.
He was simply letting Nike go in order to track Bania’s location.
Nike quickened her steps and then broke into a run.
A cruel game of hide-and-seek had begun.
“Ah, that’s enough.”
Carly cut off Nike’s words there and left to reorganize the army.
She had already heard the rest from Bania, and the shocking truth had left her dizzy.
There was a reason Nike had made Carly promise to keep everything secret before telling her.
“If the Duke hadn’t stopped him, would Lord Ryan really have killed those ability-users one by one?”
“Most likely.”
That was nothing like the Ryan she knew.
Yes, he had been angry, consumed by revenge, and yes, the Duke deserved death.
But to torture a father by killing his children one by one in front of him? That wasn’t like Ryan.
That kind of cruelty only comes after losing most of one’s humanity.
“Twenty long years. And even after release, another eight years. With no support, just the two of them preparing everything while hiding their identities. Do you think it could have been easy?”
In the past, Ryan and Rivan had only one goal: revenge.
But how could two penniless criminals destroy the Empire’s greatest noble family?
They had to start by finding war funds, and Ryan had to train himself into a deadly fighter with no help. It wasn’t hard to imagine how much they suffered.
“The young lady must have changed Lord Ryan a lot.”
“I agree.”
The goal was the same as before, but the process was different. Thanks to Bania, Ryan had walked an easier path.
What once took eight years was finished in four.
But more importantly…
“She gave him more than revenge. She gave his life meaning.”
Ryan had found family. He had laughed, cried, and lived ordinary days with people around him.
Instead of being obsessed only with revenge, he had lived happily for four years after his release.
Those twelve years in prison had hardened him, dulled his emotions, and made him into something monstrous. But thanks to Bania, some of that cruelty had softened.
Still—had it disappeared completely?
Carly didn’t think so.
It was still inside him, waiting for the wrong trigger.
She thought to herself: Ryan was a man who must never be provoked.
And yet, someone had provoked him.
Rivan looked at Ryan, who was humming to himself, and felt his throat go dry.
In Belzer Castle’s basement, in Rivan’s armory—
Ryan was strapping different kinds of swords onto his harness.
Why would a man who could kill with a single glance bother to carry so many weapons?
“…What, are you planning to skin him alive?”
“Eek!”
Ryan looked surprised.
“How did you know?!”
“You crazy bastard! Just let him go!”
“Are you insane? Don’t tell me you’re worried about that trash?”
“No! Whether his skin gets peeled or his head smashed, I don’t care! I’m worried about you! Your humanity will rot away if you do something like that!”
“Thanks for worrying. But I’m fine!”
That wasn’t true. His wide smile, and his half-mad eyes, said otherwise.
Where have things gone wrong?
After his eldest brother died.
Ryan had personally gone out to the lands, collected the bodies of the dead, and buried them.
It was tragic, but unavoidable.
He couldn’t have teleported all the people away. He couldn’t have risked revealing himself by stepping out to stop Davit openly.
And Davit had already decided to torture him by killing people. Even if it hadn’t been at Belzer, there still would have been victims.
As cruel as it was, thanks to Bania the damage had been minimized.
But then Davit went further—he didn’t just torture. He killed Bania right in front of Ryan.
During the day, Ryan buried the dead villagers. At night, he sat blankly before Bania’s corpse.
Over and over.
For three days.
Until Bania finally opened her eyes again.
By then, Ryan’s guilt—because of me—had nearly driven him insane.
“Are you insane? Why poke a sleeping lion and make things this bad?”
Rivan clearly remembered what Ryan had been like in prison.
His teacher had been Nox Sirach, the continent’s greatest assassin, the one who killed the most people.
To Ryan, who dreamed of revenge, Nox taught countless ways to kill and torture. He also brainwashed Ryan to cut off his emotions, so he wouldn’t hesitate even though his revenge targets were his own blood relatives.
That’s how Ryan had worn down his humanity, even without killing anyone yet.
If he had walked that same path after prison, his current self wouldn’t be surprising.
But then came Bania.
She had changed everything.
Revenge was only one stop. He had discovered happiness, meaning, and family.
If not for Davit’s provocation, Ryan might have destroyed Bassenberg more cleanly, without madness.
But they had dug up the cruelty buried deep inside him.
“Bania~!!!”
Rivan, desperate, had no choice but to call for their “mental healer.”
“Don’t worry, Rivan.”
Ryan grabbed his shoulder, smiled brightly, and said—
“This time, it’s a massacre allowed by the Emperor.”
“…Crazy.”
He was out of his mind.
Nike stood nervously before the Audience Hall doors.
Inside were the Duke of Bassenberg, his two children, the Emperor, and the Crown Prince.
They had captured Diana and Gabriel to set up this negotiation table.
The one thing the Imperial Family had to achieve here was simple:
They needed the Duke himself to summon his entire family.
The Duke had to believe it was a matter serious enough to gather everyone.
And, most importantly, he had to feel safe—so safe he wouldn’t suspect an attack that day.
“I will do it.”
The Emperor had spoken up when they were still wondering how.
“No one knows him better than I do.”
The Crown Prince had been worried, but after seeing the determination in the Emperor’s eyes, he agreed to follow.
Now Nike waited outside, tense, ready in case something went wrong.
“Edgar, you will become Emperor.”
The Crown Prince, Bain, was shocked by his father’s sudden words.
As expected, the Duke had requested an audience, demanding to know why the Imperial Family dared to imprison ability-users.
And now this.
The Emperor had given no warning. He had only said, trust me, and come here today.
If he had told them this plan beforehand, everyone would have stopped him.
“What… what do you mean?”
The Duke asked in disbelief.
“Just what I said. You will be Emperor, Edgar.”
The Emperor’s gaze was calm.
“I will officially declare it to all citizens, make it completely legal, and hand it over peacefully. I will abdicate to you.”
“Your Majesty.”
“I have lost. I don’t wish to fight anymore. Do as you like.”
“…”
“You will be the master of this Empire. Change the laws, the rules, anything you wish. Create whatever new order you want.”
When the Emperor first spoke, Bain thought things were going wrong.
But after seeing the Duke’s face, he calmed down.
Even though the Duke had always wanted to control everything, he did not look pleased.
Instead, he looked confused—completely thrown off by the unexpected words.
