“……All those people were sinners? What sins did they commit?”
“The sin of inheriting the Marquis’s blood. The sin of being listed in the Marquis’ registry.”
“Even if we exclude the Marquis’s family in that estate…”
“The sin of working for the Marquis’ safety. The sin of working for the Marquis’ convenience.”
Cecile was speechless.
Seeing Cecile unable to speak, Sion spoke again.
“There was not a single innocent person.”
Cecile’s lips trembled.
But for some time, no sound came from those lips.
After a while, Cecile managed to break the silence.
“Oh God…”
Amidst her murmurs, Sion finally grasped the reason behind her behavior.
“Don’t worry, Cecile. You won’t be punished.”
“What?”
“I’ve never heard of punishment extending to family members. So, I’ll be the only one to receive punishment.”
Whether the dead were right or wrong, Sion was aware that he had killed quite a few people.
More precisely, he realized that he had harmed a lot of “God’s creatures.”
So he was vaguely anticipating something.
He wondered if he would be punished by the gods at some point. Perhaps he would be subject to severe punishment.
After all, he had used the power he received from God to destroy God’s creature.
In fact, in that regard, Sion intended to ask the priest at the temple dedicated to the Heavenly Gods a question.
‘If I use this power… the power of the Heavenly Gods for personal revenge, will I be punished?’
But in the end, he didn’t ask.
It was because the thought that it didn’t matter whether he received punishment or not soon followed.
And he meant it. Sion was not afraid of divine punishment.
According to the scriptures, a person who receives divine punishment suffers the agony of having their body torn into ten thousand pieces and falls into hell.
The agony of having their body torn into ten thousand pieces? It wasn’t ten thousand pieces, but he had been torn apart similarly while fighting an evil god.
It was truly a dreadful agony, but he had already experienced it several times, so there was nothing more he couldn’t endure now.
Falling into hell?
That’s…….
Certainly, it was painful to think that he would never see his family, who had undoubtedly gone to heaven again, but he thought he would willingly bear that as an inevitable price of revenge.
From the moment he realized he had power and made up his mind to use that power for revenge, Sion was determined to pay the full price.
Of course, he would pay the price alone.
Sion recalled that during his time in the temple, he had searched through all the holy scriptures in the temple again and again.
Nowhere in the scriptures does it mention that punishment came in the form of a chain.
“What are you talking about…….”
Cecile stared at Sion blankly, then raised her voice abruptly as if she understood what Sion was trying to say.
“Do you, do you really think I brought up the story of the Marquis of Hildegarde because I’m afraid I might receive divine punishment with you?”
“You don’t?”
“No! That’s ridiculous! How can something like divine punishment be important right now? How many people have died…”
Cecile stopped speaking as she noticed Sion tilting his head slightly.
Cecile was quick to catch on.
And even if she wasn’t, Sion was her family.
Even though they hadn’t seen each other in ten years, they had lived as siblings for a long time.
Realizing that Sion felt no remorse, not even a hint of guilt, for the mass killing in Marquisate, Cecile opened her mouth.
“You’re insane.”
Sion’s eyes widened in surprise.
Seeing his reaction, Cecile, who belatedly recognized what she had said, covered her mouth.
“No, I mean…”
As Cecile moved her hand away from her mouth to offer an explanation, Sion, whose expression had returned to normal, shook his head.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“I’m glad I came to see you after all. I mean it.”
“……what do you mean?”
Instead of answering, Sion pushed himself up. Cecile’s gaze naturally followed him.
“I’ve got to get going.”
Looking down at Cecile, Sion smiled slightly. It was a relaxed smile, but strangely, Cecile felt her heart sink.
“You don’t need to see me off.”
“Wait!”
Cecile suddenly got up and grabbed Sion’s sleeve.
“What’s the matter?”
“…….”
“What is it?”
“Cecile.”
Sion wrapped his hand around Cecile’s and gently pulled it off his sleeve.
“If we ever meet again, please call me Cassion. That’s the name of the hero who sealed the evil god.”
With that, Sion turned away, leaving behind words that would be erased from Cecile’s memory once time turned back.
“Sion!”
Cecile called out to him repeatedly until he completely disappeared from the reception room, but Sion never looked back.
You’re insane.
Sion read the sincerity in Cecile’s words.
And soon he realized.
Ah. I see.
I’m insane.
Following that, his mind became the most at ease it had been in a long time.
‘I’ve been worrying for nothing.’
Sion, who had left the Count’s residence where Cecile was, let out a bitter laugh.
Until he met Cecile, Sion had been worrying incessantly that he might go insane. But he was wrong.
He couldn’t go insane.
Because he was already insane.
How could a madman become mad again?
Freed from his previous anxiety and worry, Sion, feeling quite content, moved to address the “matter” he hadn’t revealed to Cecile.
He found Laila.
The anxiety and worry he thought he’d gotten rid of returned.
Could a madman actually go mad again?
So, even crazy people have different levels…
Should low- or intermediate-insane people be wary of becoming superior-insane people?
“Who the hell are you?”
The reason Sion suddenly had such thoughts was none other than the sight before him.
Sion’s gaze briefly touched Laila, whose slender figure was mostly obscured by the bulky man.
“…….”
After a relatively simple search, he found Laila curled up in the corner of the opulent bedroom, being beaten to a pulp.
By her husband.
Laila’s husband, the Count, was so focused on kicking his wife, who seemed to be less than half his size, that he didn’t even notice Sion’s intrusion into the bedroom for a while.
Seeing the Count suddenly jump up from his seat after belatedly noticing the intruder, Sion furrowed his brow.
He was genuinely worried.
‘I don’t want to be that insane…….’
Well, never mind. Surely not just anyone can go that far insane.
Even if they were both insane, there was a high, rugged wall between the Count and Sion. At least, that’s what he wanted to believe.
“Guards! Seize this man at once!”
The Count, facing Sion’s blade, collapsed to the ground.
As the Count, who seemed like a small stone wall, fell, Laila, who had been hidden behind him, became clearly visible.
Sion inadvertently observed Laila’s appearance.
First of all, her face was unblemished.
No busted lips, no bruises around her cheeks.
Her neck was clean. So were her hands.
To sum it up, all the parts exposed outside of her clothing were unharmed.
Sion twisted his lips.
The Count had been skillfully assaulting Laila.
Judging by the circumstances, Laila must have been exposed to the Count’s violence for quite some time.
But the fact that Layia’s outward appearance was so unharmed.
‘He must have chosen to hit only the parts that wouldn’t be visible.’
Ah, so that’s why he was using his feet instead of his hands?
Sion tightly gripped the sword handle, then immediately relaxed his grip.
The realization that he felt bad made him flustered.
Feeling bad?
……Why?
Of course, the scene Sion had witnessed a little while ago was certainly not a pleasant one.
Anyone would naturally feel discomfort upon witnessing a middle-aged man inflicting violence upon his own helpless wife.
However, Sion instinctively knew.
The emotion he was feeling at that moment was not just a natural discomfort.
To be honest, Sion was feeling regret about facing the now-deceased Count.
Regret for killing him too easily.
Regret for taking his life without any suffering.
