Chapter 72 ….
It seemed the servant wasn’t the one who had gone mad—Laila had.
She was completely different from the woman Cal remembered.
This wasn’t even a place where she needed to care about others’ eyes. And judging from the conversation, there was no particular reason to protect the servant either.
Yet Laila shielded the servant.
Why?
Her unexpected behavior made Cal grit his teeth.
‘This is completely different. That can’t be Merdin.’
The Merdin who had thrown him into hell had never acted like that. Cal remembered it clearly.
Children ran desperately, trying to escape the guards. Those who were caught screamed and struggled, thrashing their bodies in a desperate attempt to break free.
That hellish reality was etched into Cal’s mind.
[Can’t we just leave them like this? I don’t see why we have to throw them outside.]
[We want to show people clean streets. Well, now that there’s a war, it’s easier to throw them away.]
[Come to think of it, didn’t the young lady say to clean things up recently? Maybe that’s part of the reason.]
At that moment, Cal realized his own position.
The strength drained from his body as he struggled in the grip of the guards.
‘I was just trash lying on the ground.’
Something less than human—something destined to be trampled or disposed of.
He had been no different from them, yet he had become garbage.
All he had done was struggle desperately to survive, but before he knew it, Cal had been thrown onto the battlefield—a dumping ground for trash.
Even so, he still wanted to live.
He wanted to prove his worth.
That was why he had climbed this far.
But Cal still couldn’t escape the shock of that day.
He hated Merdin—the one who had treated him like trash.
He wanted to kill Merdin, who had lived in luxury for the past ten years.
Cal’s hatred never faded.
He wanted that family to writhe in the same pain he had suffered.
Merdin is evil.
Cal had never once doubted that statement.
Not even when Helion defended Laila.
‘I’m right.’
That Merdin was the one who was wrong.
A Merdin who protected servants couldn’t possibly be normal.
Cal repeated it over and over.
He didn’t want his expectations to be proven wrong again.
Just like always, he wanted Merdin to be evil.
But things in the world don’t always go the way you want.
Cal knew that—but he desperately denied it.
He simply didn’t want to learn the truth waiting for him.
The duke and duchess had arrived earlier than expected, but it wasn’t a problem.
As long as I was Merdin, they were people I’d have to face eventually.
There was no reason to delay, so I left the room immediately.
Katie and Jamie followed behind me, trembling, but there was no need for them to worry.
They wouldn’t be allowed inside anyway.
“Wait here quietly.”
“But, my lady—”
“That’s an order.”
Commands were convenient in situations like this.
Seeing the two of them shut their mouths with dissatisfied expressions, I stepped inside.
Borrowing an empty room just because their legs hurt.
The mansion had burned down, but their extravagance was still ongoing.
I could tell the moment I saw them.
They were decorated so lavishly that the light reflecting off their jewels stabbed at my eyes.
There wasn’t a single part of them—from head to toe—that wasn’t sparkling.
In another sense, they looked like living jewels.
The two who had been anxiously staring at the door while shaking their legs suddenly jumped to their feet.
One of them—the man who looked like this lady’s father—strode over, snorting angrily.
“You dare—how dare you burn down my mansion?!”
His body was shriveled like a dried anchovy, but his voice was loud enough.
I thought my eardrums might burst.
The man pointed a gaudy, jewel-encrusted cane at my face.
‘That must be Gederick Merdin.’
His hand trembled, as if barely restraining himself from smashing the cane over my head.
I quietly observed his face, filled with greed.
“It was an accident.”
“What’s with that shameless attitude? If it was an accident, you should at least show some sincerity and kneel!”
His sharp voice rang in my ears.
Kena Merdin fluttered her fan and covered her twisted expression.
The slightly plump woman looked just as greedy.
Both of them had unpleasant faces.
Birds of a feather really do flock together.
‘They’re treating her worse than I expected.’
They seemed to care about their child to some degree, but perhaps this incident had completely ruined that.
Or maybe it was the system’s intention.
Either way, it didn’t matter.
They were people I was going to kill someday anyway.
“What’s with that look? Do you still not understand what you did wrong?”
“We shouldn’t have spoiled you like this. To think something like you is our child… ha.”
Perhaps the shock was great—Gederick grabbed his own head.
The real shock hadn’t even started yet.
If I said anything now, my head might actually get smashed this time.
So I quietly measured the cane’s range and stepped into a safe distance.
“You heard about the scale of the damage, right?”
“…How can you not even reflect on what you did? Yes, we heard everything.”
Snap.
Kena closed her fan and sighed.
But it didn’t look like the reaction of someone who had heard everything.
‘Do they think there’s still hope?’
There was still some pointless composure left.
But that would disappear soon enough.
“You also heard that Mother’s dressing room and Father’s collection room were completely burned down, right?”
“I’m already looking for restorers. Most of those items are rare. If they’re skilled enough, they’ll step forward and fix them. They can remove some scorch marks in no time.”
“The fire was so intense that nothing remained. I don’t think even the best restorer can create something out of nothing…”
“…What?”
Their irritation turned into shock.
“You’re not planning to keep treasures and jewels that have completely burned away, right?”
“T-That can’t be… that can’t be…”
“Say something that actually makes sense…”
They shook their heads desperately, denying reality.
So they hadn’t known after all.
Had they rushed here the moment they heard the mansion burned down?
Muttering that it couldn’t be true, they suddenly rushed toward me.
Gederick grabbed my shoulders roughly and shoved his face close.
“M-My treasures… all of them?!”
“The jewels aren’t burned, right?! My jewels couldn’t have burned!”
“I checked. Jewels burn too.”
“Ah… ah…”
Kena finally collapsed, clutching her head.
Gederick soon followed, sinking to the ground with a vacant expression.
“Y-you…!”
Perhaps he couldn’t even form words, because he only pointed at me.
I quietly stepped back.
The cane that rolled toward me was kicked aside so it couldn’t be used as a weapon.
Grabbing his already thinning hair, Gederick suddenly shouted.
“What were those servants doing?! Even if it meant risking their lives, they should have protected them! That’s what we pay them for!”
“No matter how stupid you are, how could this happen…!”
Who were they blaming now?
Now that their hope was gone, they were blaming the servants.
I didn’t bother hiding my sigh.
In the room filled with screams, I raised my voice.
“Why are you blaming them? I started the fire. Of course, it was a mistake.”
“If a fire breaks out, you put it out!”
“That day everyone was managing the garden, so we found out late. And I was the one who gave that order.”
“You’ve really gone mad, haven’t you? Do you think you’ll be forgiven after doing something like this?”
Finally, their anger turned in the right direction.
Kena, who had been wailing, staggered to her feet.
“How dare you!”
Her shrill voice came closer.
Her eyes widened as she raised her hand high.
Smack—!
I tasted blood in my mouth.
I might not be able to see Helion tomorrow.
‘I guess I should let this slide.’
If I hit back, it would only raise their suspicion.
So I simply held my cheek and pretended it hurt.
“How… how can you be this stupid?! What’s the point of raising you so well if you can’t even get married?!”
At this rate she might collapse from rage.
Still breathing heavily, she glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.
“We should’ve thrown you away long ago.”
Gederick muttered after finally regaining his senses.
Now he didn’t even bother hiding his true feelings.
At this point, I wondered if this lady had been adopted.
Though seeing Gederick’s silver hair made that unlikely.
My gray hair was pretty close to silver as well.
With behavior like this, it was impossible not to suspect the ugly rumors.
The baron couple matched those rumors perfectly.
‘When should I kill them?’
If I wanted to live as Merdin, I had to remove obstacles quickly.
Right now, the biggest obstacles were those two.
“From today onward, you’d better not even dream of living as a Merdin.”
It seemed they thought threatening me would make me scared and beg.
But all of Merdin’s wealth was mine now.
There was still some wealth I hadn’t secretly moved yet, but that would happen soon.
If they kept indulging in gambling and luxury, taking everything from them would be easy.
“We should dispose of that child quickly. Just the dresses and jewels I lost today alone…”
“Do you know how much we’ve spent collecting those? Many of them can’t even be found anymore.”
“But that child can be sold for a high price.”
The conversation began to flow in a strange direction.
“That child?”
Gederick looked at me as if I were ridiculous for speaking now.
His hand twitched, as if he wanted to strike me.
But perhaps he decided it was pointless and instead let out a deep sigh.
“You should be grateful. If it weren’t for that child, you wouldn’t even be standing here unharmed.”
They sounded more like loan sharks than parents.
Frowning, I focused on that child.
Considering the situation, Merdin was the villain.
And I probably was too.
‘But if “that child” appears…’
If things were flowing the way the system wanted, I could roughly guess what would happen next.
And what role that child would play.
I watched Gederick closely as he walked toward the door deeper inside the room.
The cane must have been just for show—he walked perfectly fine.
With a vile smile, he opened the door.
