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Chapter 36
“Hey, Camon Bade.”
Diana let out a short, bitter laugh, her presence as sharp and biting as the arctic wind blowing around us, and called my name again.
At the same time, a murderous glint flickered in her bloodshot eyes.
“Do you think I’m a joke?”
“Just ask for some pocket money like usual because you need cash. You trash.”
What? She’s telling me to just ask for money like always?
Of course, Camon Bade, that bastard.
He had already established some sort of connection with Diana Fren.
“You think you can just sneak into my family’s vault and grab some crumbs? You’re no longer a member of the Bade family—you’re just a lowly commoner. Huh?”
She frowned as she roughly put down the pipe she had been holding.
“I’m not stopping you because I’m afraid of you. It’s because people keep calling you a magical genius, and you think that makes you something special?”
Damn it! What the hell kind of relationship did this insane guy have with Diana?!
I frantically waved my hands, trying to calm her down.
“Wait, I think there’s some kind of misunderstanding…”
“Misunderstanding my ass. There are basic rules, you know. Everyone should follow certain boundaries. And you keep crossing them.”
“No, that’s not what I meant—”
“Ah, just shut up and get out before I actually kill you!”
With a fierce expression and voice, Diana shouted at the servant beside her.
“Clark, get him out of my sight right now.”
“……Yes, Miss.”
With Diana’s firm command, the young servant named Clark approached me with several guards and forcibly grabbed my arms.
“Wait a minute!”
“Don’t resist. You’ll get hurt.”
The calm warning from the servant left me stunned, and I shouted at her.
“Diana, just hear me out… Ah, damn it!”
“Enough already.”
“Let go! I said let go!”
I broke free from the servant’s grip and looked at Diana, trying to speak again.
“You’re making a huge mistake here.”
“What?”
“I—”
Diana lightly shook her head, not letting me finish my sentence, and gestured to the servant.
Clark grabbed my arms again with force, and I struggled violently.
“Ah, damn it! Let go! I said let go! Ow!”
My resistance meant nothing.
Guards had already flanked me and were dragging me out of the mansion, ‘Petrin Forest.’
Thud!
Pulled out by the guards’ overwhelming strength, I was forced to stand there in a daze.
“…….”
I turned to look at ‘Petrin Forest’ one last time.
And then…
“Seriously? Things are screwed up this badly?!”
Before I had been possessed, Camon Bade seemed to have had a financial relationship with Diana Fren.
I didn’t know exactly how it worked, but judging from the conversation,
‘This bastard probably abused that relationship like a complete jerk…’
This insane guy, Camon Bade, had already racked up serious trouble with a character I absolutely could not afford to make an enemy of.
“You stupid idiot, you deserve to die!”
Of course, the Camon Bade in question was me now.
“Okay… stay calm. Getting angry now won’t change anything… but, damn it!”
No matter how I looked at it, this situation was impossible.
If Diana Fren had always been my enemy, how was I supposed to survive this?
‘What kind of difficulty level is this? This isn’t even hardcore mode.’
“Hahaha.”
The more I thought about it, the less my anger subsided; all I could do was laugh bitterly in frustration.
“No, no. It’s fine. The water’s already spilled anyway.”
Let’s think positively.
My relationship with Diana Fren is already irreparably terrible.
And that bastard is already starting the vault excavation.
But I know the original story.
“If she’s going to be an enemy anyway…”
Maybe it’s better to strike first myself.
Of course, that carried the risk of changing the original events.
But…
“So what am I supposed to do?”
I couldn’t just sit here and take it.
If I don’t get the Orb, I’m dead.
“There’s only one way left.”
Diana Fren is a character I must not make an enemy of.
But since she already is, the only choice is to crush her completely.
“So… the vault, I’m taking it all.”
I must obtain the Orb with the Mana Drain effect to survive and regain the ability to use magic.
“Miss Diana’s construction work is already over 30% complete.”
“……A significant number of mercenaries have been hired, and they’ll be deployed as soon as an entrance is discovered.”
“The number of people entering Petrin Forest has increased. It’s at least three times more than before, I estimate.”
“We’ve received word from the main family. They’re paying close attention to this excavation…”
Amid the endless flood of reports, a handsome man with the same silver hair as Diana shook his head and shouted.
“Enough! Enough!”
At his outburst, the reporters went silent, bowing politely.
“So basically, you’re saying we’re far behind Diana?”
“…….”
“And our father is aware of this, too.”
Elliot’s exhausted voice reflected the hopelessness of the situation.
“Yes, that’s correct, young master.”
Sigh.
Elliot slumped into a luxurious chair adorned with fine silk and soft fur, clutching his head.
“It’s already over. Everything’s ruined.”
He leaned back, letting his head rest on the chair.
“Diana is already the heir of the Fren guild and the family. There’s no way to beat her. What am I supposed to do? That monster…”
Compared to his younger half-sister Diana, Elliot felt inferior in ability and accomplishments, and thus believed he had no chance in the succession race.
“Still, the first generation master’s vault hasn’t been fully excavated. If we succeed in getting it first…”
“But the construction progress is slower for us! How could we possibly get it first?!”
Attempting to encourage him, one of the staff spoke, but Elliot snapped irritably.
“Get out! Everyone get out! I want to be alone!”
He dismissed the staff from his office.
After the room emptied, Elliot snapped his fingers.
Snap!
All the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness.
“Damn… shit!”
He slumped in the chair, exhausted.
“The guild leadership and heirship are all hers. I’m finished. What kind of chance am I supposed to have?”
Ever since childhood, Elliot had fiercely competed with Diana and had always ended up under her control, making him psychologically dominated by her.
He muttered in the darkness,
“It’s all my father’s fault. I was supposed to be the only rightful heir… and then he brings in some random girl from nowhere and suddenly makes me compete. Does that make sense?!”
Elliot and Diana share the same father but have different mothers.
Moreover, Elliot was the legitimate child of the primary wife, while Diana was the child of a concubine, born into slavery.
Thus, the succession was originally meant only for Elliot.
“Are you telling me the blood of a filthy slave is going to continue the family line? Does that make any sense?!”
But…
“…Even if I were my father, I would have done the same. That girl is a monster. A crazy monster.”
Elliot knew better than anyone how terrifying Diana was.
Her ability and cold personality were beyond his reach.
If it was only for the sake of the family and the guild, she was the most suitable heir.
Heaving a deep, heavy sigh, Elliot nodded in resignation.
“Yes. Rather than stubbornly fighting and dying, it’s better to step back like this.”
He knew Diana would kill without hesitation, even if it meant taking his life.
Surviving alone was already a relief.
“If I survive, maybe another opportunity will come. Then who knows what will happen…”
Bang!
The firmly closed door opened, letting in a faint light that cut through the darkness.
“What? You said you wanted to be alone… huh?”
Step.
A dark leg appeared in the light.
“What, what is this?”
“….”
The shadow approached Elliot, who was hiding in the dark throne.
Step, step.
Elliot, naturally terrified, asked in a trembling voice,
“Who… who are you?”
The faint light grazed the figure’s face.
“……?!”
Seeing the face, Elliot instinctively covered his mouth and muttered,
“Ca… Camon Bade?”
Camon Bade, expressionless, stared only at Elliot as he approached rapidly.
Step, step!
“Wh-why are you here? What are you doing here all of a sudden?!”
“….”
Step, step!
Elliot’s panicked questions went unanswered.
“Don’t… don’t come any closer! Damn it!”
Suddenly, Camon Bade’s dark hand appeared in front of his eyes.
And then…
“Elliot Fren.”
In a low voice, he spoke Elliot’s name.
“You’re still struggling for succession, right?”
A twisted smile spread across Camon Bade’s face, reaching his ears.
“I’ll make you the heir, Elliot.”
“Wh-what?”
“Come work with me on something.”
