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Chapter : 15
〈The Sword of the Firmament〉.
A novel so grotesque in its descriptions that it was hard to believe it was rated for all ages, with a relentlessly bleak, blood-soaked progression that crawled through the mud at the farthest edge of the niche market.
The male lead lurking in the shadows there—Dante Eberhardt—was also infamous for his merciless cruelty.
When a certain YouTube channel covered the “Three Kings of Web Novel Misery,” they claimed it couldn’t even be ranked properly and pulled it out separately, crowning it a rankless first place. That alone said everything.
The male leads’ obsession was intense enough to rival most horror films, to the point where commenters frequently questioned the author’s mental state.
So—this was the scene where the novel’s heroine fled north with the second male lead to escape the shadow mastermind.
“Have you come to?”
[The moment she opened her eyes, a burning pain surged from her throat, as if someone were tearing apart her delicate flesh.]
“……!”
[No sound came out. When she hurriedly stretched out her arm, a heavy iron chain clanked violently, screaming on its own.]
“You’d better not move. The wound hasn’t healed yet.”
[Wound?]
[When Alexis instinctively touched her neck, the man let out a low chuckle.]
“That bastard’s lips touched you. Did you think I’d let that slide?”
[Hearing the man’s voice echo from the darkness, Alexis clenched her teeth. So not only had he injured her neck—he was also the one who had fastened this collar around her throat.]
“You really did run away with him. I had quite a time finding you. Well, he’s always been good at hiding.”
[What happened to Pell?]
[As if he’d read her thoughts, the man continued.]
“Curious about where he is? Hmm… I wonder. Would it be better to say he’s dead? Or perhaps that all his limbs were severed and he was thrown into a pigsty?”
[In the pitch-black darkness where she couldn’t see an inch ahead, Alexis lunged toward the man. But before she could even stand, a piercing pain shot through her skull, forcing her back down.]
“I warned you before. If you tried to leave again, I’d break your legs if I had to, just to keep you by my side.”
[Overwhelmed by a rage so intense it made her dizzy, Alexis bit her lip until it bled.]
[Perhaps her expression irritated him. His voice dropped even lower, a relaxed snarl beneath the calm.]
“…Ha. Come to think of it, I haven’t dealt with the filthiest part yet. Today, I’ll carve off those lips of his.”
Shaking off the goosebumps crawling over my entire body, I quietly shuddered.
The most terrifying part was that despite receiving the most hate, this male lead was also the most popular.
So this is the shadow mastermind’s childhood…
The novel only briefly mentioned this period when the heroine opened her heart to him. All it revealed was that during this time, he lived miserably, defenseless against the violence of a money-obsessed adoptive father.
During the carriage ride here, I went over every possible scenario again and again—from the shadow mastermind’s current condition to how I should deal with him going forward.
Very little in this world goes according to plan, but preparation makes it easier to respond appropriately when things go wrong.
But this is… far too much.
The reality was worse than I’d imagined. Even I—who prided myself on having crossed countless lines between life and death in a previous life—was taken aback.
I’d seen scenes far more horrific than this. But those were the stories of people who lived alongside death.
This was the first time I’d seen a child subjected to prolonged, continuous abuse.
I stared blankly at the shadow mastermind, my fist clenched so tightly it turned white.
“……”
A boy hung limply, shaken by the scruff of his neck in a grown man’s grip. Without taking my eyes off him, I spoke quietly.
“Ten thousand gold.”
“Ghk—just whose precious young lady are you, showing up out of nowhere and saying you’ll take this brat?”
“So you’re saying no?”
“Who said no? Ghk. It’s just a bit too little.”
Reeking of alcohol, the man lazily traced a circle in the air with his finger.
“I ain’t running a business here. Ghk. He’s my kid. Not by blood, sure, but I raised him with my own heart. I changed his filthy diapers and suffered plenty, I tell you. Ghk.”
A sigh escaped from beside me—Betty’s.
From her perspective, it was absurd: a drunken lout haggling over a grimy brat for an amount that would take years of diligent work as a palace maid to earn.
“Do you know his name?”
“Heh heh. Like a thing like this would have a name.”
“Then what do you usually call him?”
“Just shout ‘Hey, you!’ and he comes running. Ain’t that right, you?”
The man snickered and roughly smacked the back of the boy’s head.
It would’ve been understandable if he reacted—but the boy, head bowed deeply, showed nothing.
No—rather than showing nothing, it seemed like he felt nothing at all.
Suppressing the urge to punch the man outright, I spoke again.
“Has anyone else tried to take this child?”
“How’d you know? He’s dirty now, sure, but wash him up and he’s a real looker. There was a customer who noticed how handsome he is—same as you, miss.”
“Customer?”
“Oh, nothing like that. Just had his eye on the kid’s face, that’s all. Hic. Still clean, so you don’t have to worry. Or should I start educating him early?”
“Insolent.”
A sharp blade pressed against the man’s throat.
Whether the alcohol dulled his fear or he was simply brazen, the man raised both hands and stepped back with a grin.
“Ohoho! This foolish country bumpkin spoke nonsense! Of course you meant to use him for something else, right? Naturally!”
“Renherten.”
Shing.
At a light press of my fingertip, the blue blade slid back into its sheath.
“How magnanimous you are, noble lady! Hic. Still, ten thousand gold is far too little. Just look at him—he’s bound to grow into a man who’ll charm the world—”
“Enough. So how much did they offer?”
The man licked his lips and rubbed his hands together.
“Heehee. You’d need to pay at least double what they did…”
“So how much?”
“Two hundred thousand gold. That’s about right for me to make excuses, don’t you think? They’re scheduled to come get him in three days.”
Two—two hundred thousand?!
I saw Betty’s hands tremble as she hurriedly covered her gaping mouth.
“……”
My gaze fell to the boy’s pitifully torn clothes.
His legs were little more than skin and bone, mottled with bruises, wounds oozing blood and pus.
His arms were covered in bruises and cuts of all sizes. Even his neck bore clear fingerprints.
“Ha.”
Heat rushed to my head.
“You think two hundred thousand gold is enough?”
Leaning on one leg, tilting my head slightly, I spoke again.
“One million gold.”
* * *
The man—who had been grinning obsequiously at numbers he’d never heard of in his life—craned his neck forward and asked,
“…Pardon?”
“One million gold. That’ll be enough for me to take him, right?”
“O-One million…?”
Gasp! Betty sucked in a sharp breath at the unimaginable amount.
Unfazed, she flicked her fingers.
“Renherten. Bring it.”
Without a trace of surprise, the loyal knight wheeled over a cart—the same one Betty had been eyeing the entire way here.
“Show him.”
When Renherten opened one of the sacks piled on the cart, gleaming gold coins spilled out in a brilliant cascade.
“My—my goodness… How much is all that…?”
Betty stared, mouth agape, but the man stood frozen, barely able to breathe under the sudden deluge of wealth.
“Then I’ll be taking the child immediately.”
“N-No!”
At the thought of his golden goose disappearing, the man—who’d only been wheezing moments ago—waved his hands frantically.
Truthfully, he was too stunned by this fortune—something he’d never imagined in his entire life—to think straight.
After all, when those people came before, they’d only thrown him ten thousand gold as a down payment.
But one million gold?!
“W-Wait! D-Don’t we need to check it first?!”
Back then, he couldn’t understand why anyone would pay such money for a worthless brat—yet he’d been so delighted he drank expensive liquor until he collapsed.
Counting the coins alone at night, his entire body had trembled at the sight of gold he’d never seen before.
That’s right! Ten thousand gold is nothing now! Pocket change!
How much food had the brat eaten all these years? How much money had gone into clothing and shelter?
He’d thought it would take at least five more years to break even.
Yet without even negotiating with the madam, the reward for raising the bastard child had come far sooner than expected.
Drunk on this lightning-strike of fortune, the man rushed toward the cart—his steps far too steady for a drunk.
“Hii—It’s real! It’s real!”
Clatter!
Clink—clink!
Each sack spilled more gold coins, and the man’s mouth stretched impossibly wide.
Eventually, he threw himself into the endless flood of gold, rolling around in it like a madman.
Eirensia watched him coldly, then declared with finality:
“Then I’ll be taking him.”
