Chapter 39

Bleria, as she always had, sank into the mire.

“Don’t think. About anything.”

She nodded slowly. Gopher, with a blank expression, stared at her intently before asking:

“Would you like to stay longer?”

“I think I’ll head out now.“

Bleria unwrapped the blanket draped around her and left the study. For some reason, her steps today felt like they were fleeing.

***

After Bleria returned to Heaven, Gopher remained alone in the study. He sank deeply into the chair where she had been seated. His vision went dark when he raised the back of his hand to his eyes.

“……”

Even if he killed Eos Liche, he could make it seem like it wasn’t his doing and that Bleria had nothing to do with it.

It wouldn’t be difficult to feign ignorance and innocence, giving Bleria an escape route. He knew well enough how fragile she was.

Despite knowing that fact, he had told her anyway because it kept haunting him. What was the big deal about a broken arm? And yet, the image of Bleria supporting Mixel Luke, trembling and unable to meet his gaze, wouldn’t leave his mind.

“Should I have dealt with Eos Liche earlier?”

If he had, Bleria wouldn’t have attended that damned tea party, nor would Mixel Luke’s arm have been broken on her behalf.

Thinking about it that way, he realized he couldn’t criticize others. His decision to kill Eos was prompted by the fact that the pendant around her neck belonged to Bleria Heaven.

When did he start categorizing people as deserving of death based on their crimes?

“You must be a decent person. At the very least, you must not harm innocent people for selfish reasons.”

“Ah, it was them.”

Gopher let out a bitter laugh. His parents had been oddly enthusiastic about moral education. Perhaps it was their way of ensuring the grown child’s blade wouldn’t turn against them.

Thanks to them, Gopher’s utilitarianism had warped into something rather peculiar. And for that, he was anything but grateful.

He lowered his hand and tilted his head back. The chandelier came into view. The candlelight flickered silently, bringing Bleria back to his thoughts.

Her eyes, empty as though she had died of fright, reddened but shedding no tears. That image seemed to cling to the inside of his eyelids, surfacing repeatedly. Just as she hadn’t met his gaze before leaving.

Gopher regretted his unnecessary actions. He admitted that it had been a pointless outburst.

“That was irrational.”

But it would be fine. With some time, she would recover and return to how things were. She had to.

He wiped his face and straightened his back. Regardless of how he felt, there was work to be done. If Eos Liche had died outright, things would have been more straightforward, but since they hadn’t, there was cleanup to handle.

As he organized his thoughts on how to proceed, his head suddenly turned toward the door.

“Ha…”

An all-too-familiar presence quickly approached, and the door burst open. Red hair, red eyes, even bloodshot sclera—red all over.

A sight grotesque enough to show Bleria wasn’t even worth a fake smile.

“Need another lesson in manners, Mixel?“

“This is your doing.”

Why even ask?

Gopher chuckled and rose from his seat. Meanwhile, the unwelcome guest strode toward him.

“You stole the maid and poisoned Eos just to frame me? You must be in agony over your failure.“

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.“

“You’ve always treated people like garbage.“

“Aren’t you worse? Do you enjoy spewing eloquent nonsense?“

“How dare you, after failing to poison an innocent person, you shameless bastard!”

Mixel grabbed Gopher roughly by the collar. This time, Gopher saw no reason to take it and promptly kicked him in the stomach. Mixel staggered back a couple of steps, clutching his abdomen.

“Ugh!“

“Are you serious?”

Gopher laughed coldly and approached him.

“You want me to believe your ridiculous accusation that I carelessly brought Eos Liche here?“

“What… ugh…”

When only a step remained between them, Mixel raised his head. He grinned, baring his teeth.

“Of course, you brought her here to drag you down.”

Mixel’s fist struck Gopher’s face with a thud, jerking his head to the side. Gopher spat out blood-stained saliva and ripped off a dangling button from his collar. Mixel sneered.

“For the first time, luck was on my side. Who would have thought such a woman would drop right before me?“

“Still trying to play it off as a coincidence? Not funny.“

“Believe it or not, I don’t care. Same as you, right? No matter what I say, you’ll only believe what’s in your head.“

“Haha, I’ve already got enough to think about without adding your nonsense…”

Gopher trailed off mid-sentence, familiar with the act of goading Mixel.

The sound of a clenched fist tightening echoed from his glove. His jaw throbbed, and his mood worsened. With a sigh, he lowered his head briefly, then raised it.

Mixel Luke stood before him with his broken left arm, supported earlier by Bleria.

Things he had never found pleasant before now disgusted him even more. At that moment, Gopher realized he had been mistaken. The immediate issue wasn’t Eos Liche, who had already fallen out of favor and could no longer do much. Nor was she the one he truly wanted to harm.

“Care for a duel, Mixel?“

“Finally speaking my language.“

“If your arm is broken, I’ll fight one-handed too. But.“

Gopher’s eyes curved into a deadly smile.

“Let’s use live blades this time.”

The two of them stepped out to the mansion’s training grounds. The butler, who had rushed out belatedly, tried to stop them, but the fire had already been lit and couldn’t be extinguished.

“Please, sirs! Not now, while the Duchess is away—!“

“Mind your own business and get lost.“

“It’s fine, Doyle. Stand back.”

How long has it been?

Although he regularly trained, it had been ages since he had crossed swords with anyone. A proper duel? Even longer.

“Come to think of it, the duel was originally only with Mixel.”

Gopher turned his head to look at his opponent.

Mixel’s momentum was fierce. The unfortunate part was that, with his broken arm set in a splint, no matter how fiercely he glared, he only looked like a beaten dog. Though Gopher had chosen not to use his left arm, there was a clear difference between not using something and being unable to use it.

“Not my problem.”

Knowing it was a disadvantage yet agreeing to fight—Mixel could die happy with at least an excuse.

Two sharp blue blades appeared simultaneously. Mixel tossed aside his scabbard, and Gopher handed him to his attendant. The moment their faces were reflected in the metal…

“We don’t need formalities, do we?”

Mixel launched himself forward, kicking off the ground. Clang! The swords collided with a resounding noise, sliding against each other before stopping near the top.

“You didn’t even pretend to listen when I begged to spar like this. Guess scratching up Bleria Heaven was worth it.“

“Your antics didn’t even work.“

“Didn’t they, though?”

Mixel forcefully flicked his sword away and swung toward Gopher’s exposed torso. Gopher twisted his wrist smoothly, redirecting the trajectory and blocking the attack. Then he let his blade glide toward Mixel’s side.

Mixel pulled his arm back to defend his body.

The two blades clashed repeatedly, drawing curves in the air like fish swimming. Their momentum grew harsher, and their voices were laced with raw murderous intent.

“That was only at first. I shoved your slander back at you so often that now you seem to hear me just fine.“

“With your pathetic intuition, reading Bleria’s thoughts? She’d be furious. Oh, right, she’s your masterpiece, right? After meeting you, someone who used to laugh and cry freely turned into a wax doll.“

Gopher’s eyes darkened.

Mixel smirked, sidestepping and spinning his blade to attack with the reverse edge. Rather than meeting the strike, Gopher stepped back and thrust at Mixel’s tilted shoulder.

It was too late for Mixel to recover and block. He lowered his body abruptly to dodge the attack but rolled on the ground to evade the follow-up strike.

“Ugh!”

The splint on his left arm rattled with each roll, contorting Mixel’s face in pain. He repeatedly tried to push off the ground and stand, but the relentless barrage of Gopher’s attacks kept thwarting him.

“You’ve turned into a dog since I last saw you.”

The monotonous tone made Mixel’s neck flush red. Gritting his teeth, he rolled on the ground and kicked at Gopher’s leg.

Gopher dodged by stepping back, allowing Mixel to rise to his feet. The tip of Mixel’s sword raised sharply, was directed at his opponent.

Boom! Now infused with aura, two blades clashed, emitting a deafening roar. Dust from the training ground burst out like a sandstorm.

“Wasn’t there a rule against using aura in sparring?“

“And you?“

“Me? Breaking a few rules doesn’t cost me anything, so why not?“

“Exactly, why not.”

At Gopher’s agreement, Mixel narrowed his eyes. The seemingly even duel began to shift.

The swords locked in the middle tilted toward Mixel. Despite clenching his jaw so tightly his chin jutted out, the momentum continued to turn against him at an increasing pace.

“You bastard…!”

He kept trying to slip away by deflecting attacks, but it was futile. Gopher relentlessly crushed him with sheer force.

The reverse edge of Mixel’s sword gradually inched closer to its owner. If the strength drained from his grip on the hilt, the blade would slice his face.

Gopher, watching Mixel’s veins bulge on his neck, smirked.

“No matter what you do, you’re hopeless.”