The informant snickered.

“Since it’s black magic, the barrier naturally consists of corrupted magical energy.”

“Shut up, you b*stard!”

Dietrich, who had been knocked down, jumped up with his face turning bright red in anger.

“Don’t you know why the old man prohibited black magic? It’s because it requires sacrifices! It’s easier to throw away someone else’s life than to cut your own. He banned it to keep the organization stable!”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. There’s no problem if we use traitors, right?”

“What?”

Dietrich’s gaze unconsciously turned toward an empty cage. A cage with only bloodstains remaining where someone had been imprisoned.

“You, don’t tell me…!”

The enraged Dietrich charged at the informant again, shouting.

I couldn’t help but frown as well. I naturally pushed Noah’s hat down to block the child’s view.

‘So, there’s been a split within the Black Hand.’

It seemed this person called Yulid had staged a rebellion and pushed out the existing leader.

‘So it was this Yulid person who brainwashed Marcel and joined hands with the Young Marquis.’

An event like this rebellion within the Black Hand also happened in <Marino>.

However, that was an event where Noah ultimately secured his position as the Black Hand’s successor, so it appeared quite late in the story.

‘The events have been drastically moved forward compared to the original.’

Beside me, Lynen muttered.

“I wondered why the Young Marquis was so quiet during the Harvest Festival. It seems he was helping with the Black Hand’s rebellion.”

“What a cunning old fox.”

I thought it was strange that only Viscount Gallard had stepped forward.

But knowing this was an event from <Marino>, there shouldn’t be any problems.

‘In the end, this rebel Yulid dies miserably.’

Noah, who reclaims the position of the Black Hand’s leader by suppressing the rebellion. And the original members who set their vengeful sights on Yulid.

Yulid gets thrown to them.

It wasn’t an adult-rated game so there were no further descriptions, but well… it certainly wasn’t a peaceful end.

‘Anyway, what’s important is that I know how to handle this event.’

However, since the events had been moved forward, many conditions and situations were different, so there were problems I needed to solve myself.

For example, how to approach Yulid.

“Hey.”

After whispering something to Lynen, I spoke to the informant.

The informant, who had been stomping on Dietrich’s head after knocking him down again, looked at me.

“What is it?”

“My boss says he wants to make a deal with your new leader.”

“Ah, good thinking.”

He smiled with satisfaction.

“But like I said, the situation at the Black Hand is complicated. You’ll need to prove that you’re a genuine guest.”

The informant lightly kicked the fallen Dietrich’s head.

“This man is the son of the former leader, Sharen. If we let him live, he’ll threaten Master Yulid’s position.”

“……”

“So use him as a shield and go outside the barrier. From that moment, you’ll become a guest of the Black Hand.”

“Fine.”

I readily agreed, grabbed one of Dietrich’s legs, and dragged him toward the barrier.

The people trapped in the cages hurled harsh words at me.

“You #$%$#!!”

“We’ll @#$ you and @#@ you, you damned @$^!!”

Lynen’s jaw tightened. But he was restraining himself while covering Noah’s ears.

‘Such unnecessary worry.’

Actually, the more they cursed, the more excited I became.

I must have unconsciously smiled wickedly, because Dietrich, who had been struggling, flinched when he saw me.

“Y-you, don’t tell me?”

“Stay still.”

You’re so d*mn heavy for a skinny little shrimp.

Dietrich seemed to feel betrayed, not understanding anything. He resisted with his limp body, possibly affected by the informant’s magic, and growled.

“Hey, that’s not right?”

“……”

“Why aren’t you answering? Are you really taking that b*stard’s side?”

“……”

“D*mn it, I know our situation is disadvantageous. But! This isn’t right! Weren’t we on the same side?”

Without answering, I arrived in front of the barrier. I grabbed his collar and forcefully lifted him up. Oh my, so heavy!

“Stand up straight.”

“Y-you… how could you!”

The enraged Dietrich grabbed my collar. His whole body was trembling.

‘Oh no, is he going to hit me?’

I clenched my teeth in anticipation.

“You… is this all I meant to you?”

Sniff. Dietrich started shedding tears.

I thought my eyes would pop out. What the h*ll is wrong with this guy?

“Sh*t… sh*t….. My blue chip stock… how could this happen….”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“I, I even thought about marriage with you.”

“……!!”

Wow, I almost pushed him into the barrier for real. Glancing over, I saw Lynen had half-drawn his sword.

Seemingly unaware of our reactions, Dietrich sobbed pitifully.

“I dreamed that if I had a child, I’d marry them to your child, d*mn it….. Because then my family’s foundation would become so d*mn solid…..”

Oh, so that’s what he meant.

“I still don’t want that, you crazy b*stard!”

I threw Dietrich aside and punched the dark purple barrier with my fist. It was a punch of fury.

[Using an application of the ability ‘Villainess’s Parenting Method’.]

[You can inflict a body-splitting shock on corrupted targets of lower rank than the user.]

[Target can be hit.]

CRASH! CRACK-CRACK-

Clear cracks appeared in the barrier before it was completely shattered with one blow.

The informant’s eyes bulged out.

“What impossible… ARGH!”

Simultaneously.

CRACK! With the sound of a skull splitting, he collapsed to the floor. Lynen had stepped in according to our plan.

Lynen took the cage keys from the man’s possession and handed them to Noah. Soon, the imprisoned people were freed.

“Huh?”

Dietrich made a stupid sound seeing this scene. He was a mess with tears and snot.

“W-what is this? Weren’t you abandoning me?”

“Do I look like someone who would carelessly abandon my subordinates, you idiot?”

I stepped on his waist repeatedly. My acting might have been perfect, but feeling hurt was still feeling hurt.

“But you were trying to kill me!”

“I needed to make him lower his guard so we’d have an opening to attack. Who knows if he had prepared other magic tricks like when he snapped his fingers to light the candles?”

“I… see?”

Dietrich mumbled blankly.

Noah approached and handed him a handkerchief. He seemed to find Dietrich’s sobbing quite amusing.

“Did you doubt Lady Calliphe? I trusted her from the beginning.”

“Uh, um… of course! Me too!”

After wiping his tears and snot, Dietrich smiled awkwardly, apparently relieved from tension.

He staggered to his feet and shouted to the organization members who had been freed.

“Everyone, don’t worry! They’re on our side. Well, technically not yours but mine. Hehe… sniff.”

Understanding the situation, the organization members gathered hesitantly. They awkwardly bowed to Lynen and me.

“Th-thank you for saving us……”

“Who called me $#%% earlier?”

“……”

“Come here and present the back of your head.”

I decided to let them off with just this much since they were all in a weakened state. I’m too kind.

Just then, Lynen grabbed my wrist from beside me.

“Wait.”

“What, don’t stop me.”

“That’s not it.”

Lynen opened my palm and moved it at a specific angle while speaking.

“You should hit like this for the impact to be most effective.”

“Oh.”

The organization members’ faces turned pale at Lynen’s tip. They looked at Dietrich pleadingly for help.

Dietrich calmly said.

“You get used to it after being hit a few times.”

“Oh, no……”

“Yes!”

Following my shout, BAM BAM BAM! The cheerful sound of heads being smacked rang out in succession.

A moment later.

As I dusted off my hands, Lynen spoke to them while they were groaning in pain.

“Guide us to your headquarters.”

“Huh? We’re going right now?”

I was considering withdrawing temporarily since Noah was with us.

Lynen answered my question firmly.

“The sooner we eliminate this Yulid person, the safer you’ll be.”