Chapter 8 (Part 3)

Returning to the marquisate via teleport, Maxwell showed the agreement to Marquis Fedeurus.

Naturally, Marquis Fedeurus clutched his neck and collapsed again. Then he began to rage.

“This… This is a ridiculous, trashy robbery!”

“There was no other choice. Father, you also…”

Maxwell couldn’t finish his sentence. He was hit in the face by something Hoden threw.

“You should have fought in the territorial war! You should have died instead of bringing this!”

“Please think calmly, Father. Right now, Rockbellion has two Sword Masters and most of the Mage Tower’s wizards employed by the Duke. Even if I lead the knights to fight, how could we win? You know well that it would be useless even if I died! In this situation, my brother ran away, sensing the danger!”

Marquis Fedeurus, who had been raging, listened to what Maxwell was saying with bated breath.

“My brother always runs away at times like this. If we don’t follow the agreement, the territorial war will start again, and we can’t withstand it. I would die too.”

“But the condition of expelling Beonar from the family!”

Being expelled from a noble family means becoming a commoner. Life as a noble ends. Regardless of the punishment, nobles and commoners are punished completely differently. One can only imagine what kind of punishment Beonar, expelled from the family, would face at the Rockbellion family.

“We can hide my brother and buy a noble family from another empire for him.”

Marquis Fedeurus also knew what Maxwell was talking about. He understood it in his head, but his heart couldn’t accept it.

“Where on earth did my brother run off to at a time like this…”

Seeing Maxwell’s worried face, Hoden tilted his head back and let out a deep sigh.

“Find Beonar. Let’s do as you said…”

“Understood, Father. Now, please stamp the family seal on the agreement.”

“Leave it here, I’ll do it.”

At Maxwell’s words, Hoden replied in a weak voice.

Maxwell quietly left the room. Hoden took out the seal and stared intently at the agreement.

Marquis Fedeurus thought calmly. There was no clear answer. The seal had to be stamped on the agreement. Otherwise, the Marquis of Fedeurus would be finished. There was the humiliation of handing over the family’s successor position to an illegitimate child, but if he married Princess Seria, there would be no problem with the bloodline.

Hoden stamped the seal on the agreement. It was humiliating, but it was crucial not to lose much of the territory now. They had to protect what was left in the Fedeurus family.

A quiet knock sounded, and the door opened cautiously.

“I brought the tea you like, Father.”

“Yes… Maxwell. Find your brother and look for a marriage partner for Charlotte. From a place that offers a large dowry.”

“Understood.”

“I stamped the seal on the agreement.”

Maxwell poured warm tea for Hoden with a smile. Hoden sighed again and took a sip of the tea Maxwell had poured.

“If only Beonar hadn’t broken off the engagement with Lady Loengrin… none of this would have happened.”

“Well, Father…”

Maxwell smiled slightly as he spoke.

“The breakup between Lady Loengrin and my brother was inevitable.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard Duke Rockbellion has been in love with Lady Loengrin for quite some time. Very passionately and desperately.”

“I’ve heard that story too…”

“Lady Loengrin’s continuous participation in battles… the unusually large number of women around my brother… even this territorial war… from start to finish… do you believe all of this was a scheme brought about by Duke Rockbellion’s obsession and love? Father.”

“What are you trying to say, Maxwell?”

“The Emperor and Duke Rockbellion knew about the deal between you and Rezeph… Especially His Majesty was furious about the young girls you offered to Rezeph in exchange for power.”

“How do they know that…”

“His Majesty knew about the illegal loans you gave to Rezeph and the disturbances you caused in the empire… Despite knowing all this, he didn’t particularly hold you accountable.”

“Cough, cough… that’s… cough.”

Blood trickled from Hoden’s mouth as he coughed. Maxwell took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from Hoden’s mouth as he continued to speak.

“I didn’t want to let you go peacefully… but thinking about you passing away in your sleep makes me envious.”

“What… what did you make me drink?”

“Now that the agreement has been sealed… and there are no objections from the retainers… once you leave for good, the picture I desire will be complete. Should I call this perfect revenge?”

“You, you, this brat…! Cough.”

Maxwell listened to the last words and watched Marquis Fedeurus close his eyes and collapse.

“Please don’t have good dreams, Father… I pray you will suffer eternal pain from the resentment of those you killed.”

Maxwell laid Hoden on the bed and checked his pulse.

As the pulse weakened and stopped, Maxwell bowed his head and began to shed the tears he had held back.

* * *

Beonar regained consciousness and looked around. He was tied to a chair, and his mouth was gagged.

“Mmm.”

He couldn’t understand how he was kidnapped while drinking and sleeping on the bed.

Creak.

“Brother.”

The person who opened the door and entered was Maxwell.

“Are you awake?”

“Mmm.”

Beonar struggled to free himself by moving the chair side to side, but he couldn’t escape.

“Oh, right. You told me not to call you brother, didn’t you?”

Maxwell approached Beonar with a gentle smile and removed the gag. Once his mouth was free, Beonar shouted loudly.

“You bastard! What are you doing! Release me immediately! Do you know what you’re doing right now! You wretched illegitimate child!”

Beonar hurled every insult he knew at Maxwell. But Maxwell’s expression remained unchanged, and his eyes were smiling.

“Huff, huff… Maxwell, you filthy… illegitimate. Huff, huff.”

“Do you remember, brother? My mother.”

“Why bring up your filthy mother?”

“She was the one who tried to protect me more than anyone else… no matter what false accusations were thrown at her…”

Beonar grew anxious at Maxwell’s words. Cold sweat trickled down his back.

“Princess Seria liked my mother more than anyone.”

Maxwell recalled his first meeting with Seria.

Though illegitimate, he began receiving education from the marquisate at age seven to serve as Beonar’s substitute. Because of Beonar’s engagement, Hoden said he would go to the imperial palace, and Maxwell followed.

While Hoden and Beonar met Rezeph, Maxwell wandered around and met Seria. Despite being eight years old, Seria was so thin that it was hard to believe, and bruises were visible on her face and arms.

At Seria’s words, Maxwell burst into tears.

He approached Seria and offered her a candy from his pocket. Seria, drooling at the sight of the candy, hastily put it in her mouth.

<I’m Seria Sirius A Polvant.>

Who was abusing this noble princess? His heart began to stir.

A little later, Seria came to the Marquis of Fedeurus with a maid and Ophelia.

“At that time, I thought it was fortunate that you hit me, brother. Thanks to that, Princess Seria completely opened her heart to me.”

He showed Seria the scene of being kicked by Beonar.

<Maxwell?>

He felt ashamed.

<Princess, it’s okay to hit an illegitimate child.>

Seria backed away and ran. He thought she would never return. But Seria came again, bringing a knight and a maid. And the first thing she handed him was ‘candy.’

Thanks to Seria’s frequent visits, Beonar’s kicking stopped. His mother, Sarah, found out about the bruises all over Seria’s body, treated her warmly, and embraced her. Seria visited so often that it was questionable if a princess should be coming to such a place.

Maxwell shed tears as he recalled the happiest times.

“Princess Ophelia spoke recklessly without knowing the truth, and thanks to you pretending not to know, brother… my mother died. Do you remember that?”

“I… I don’t know anything! It’s true! Believe me!”

“You don’t know… You forgot how you grabbed her by the hair, accused her of filthy deeds, and threw her in front of the knights, telling them to arrest the culprit quickly? And you forgot how you laughed while stepping on me in front of my mother being dragged away… Did you forget that too?”

Maxwell took out a vial from his bosom and approached Beonar.

“You, your mother, Charlotte, and Father were all disgusting.”

Maxwell forced the contents of the vial into Beonar’s mouth. Beonar had no choice but to swallow.

He resisted as much as he could, but he couldn’t stop the potion flowing down his throat.

“You said I was a tough guy who didn’t groan even when beaten, brother… But no matter how much physical pain I endured, it didn’t hurt. I lived each day happily imagining this moment, so the pain was nothing.”

Maxwell spoke with a very regretful expression.

“What are you feeding me?!”

Beonar resisted by turning his head side to side to avoid drinking the potion, but Maxwell firmly grasped his jaw, lifted it, and pressed his cheeks to open his mouth.

“Don’t spill it. Brother, the potion you’re drinking now stiffens the tongue. If you take too much, your body loses sensation, but… after a day or two, the sensation returns, and you experience all the pain at once. Alchemist Anton made it for torture.”

Beonar’s complexion turned pale. Maxwell watched Beonar with delight as he forced the potion into his open mouth.

He thought he would feel relieved seeing his father and brother suffer. He thought it would resolve his resentment. But his mother’s words kept clouding his mind.

<Maxwell… there is no such thing as perfect revenge in the world. Just live thinking about your happiness… I love you…>

“Brother, you have been expelled from the family. The debts are your responsibility, so handle them as you see fit.”

“Father also permitted it.”

“Ah.”

“Oh… does it hurt? You need to take more of the potion. Then it won’t hurt now. Not now.”

Maxwell took out several more vials from his bosom and began to force them into Beonar’s mouth.

“Ah… Do you remember the time when I couldn’t eat the food you chewed and spat out, and you called my mother, had the servants stomp on the food, and forcibly shoved it into her mouth?”

Beonar struggled not to take the potion, but it was useless. All the medicine from the bottles had already entered his body. As Maxwell said, he could feel his tongue stiffening.

“Ugh…!”

“You won’t die easily, brother. Not until you’ve suffered for Father too.”

Maxwell said with a bright smile.

“Father is about to pass away soon, and I have to find a good match for Charlotte and send her off. I have a lot to do in the future. Fortunately, the one taking Charlotte is Baron Loriontas… That’s fine.”

At the mention of Baron Loriontas, Beonar’s face turned pale.

“Yes. Baron Loriontas is a womanizer who likes young girls like Charlotte. She will be loved a lot. Of course, once she’s over twenty… she’ll follow the procedures of Baron Loriontas’s previous wives.”

Maxwell coldly looked down at Beonar while drawing a dagger from his bosom.

The sin of the avenged does not disappear. The avenger completes revenge even by committing sin.

It is desired, endured, and repeats eternally like a Möbius strip.

“Yes… As long as the sin of staining my hands with blood does not disappear…”

The thread of revenge does not break. And he will live with the guilt of not keeping his mother’s last wish of not seeking revenge. But that’s okay. Tomorrow, he will buy chrysanthemums and visit his mother’s grave with Seria.

Maxwell raised the dagger high and stabbed Beonar in the thigh. Beonar struggled and shed tears.