Episode 22
Could it be a demon?
Even though they had a tendency to avoid water, it was still a possibility.
I tried to suppress any noise as much as possible and cautiously observed the outside of the cave.
To my eyes, there was neither a monster nor anyone else.
“Ludwig!”
As soon as I spotted the familiar face, I immediately rushed out of the cave.
“Shh, ergh… Why are you here…”
Ludwig, with an agonized expression, looked like he could collapse at any moment, staggering.
“Ugh…”
“Ludwig…!”
I rushed towards him and supported him as he seemed about to collapse.
“….!”
At the same time, I felt Ludwig’s warm body temperature throughout my body.
Ludwig’s body, like a burning coal, was definitely not in a normal state.
“What on earth happened!”
Was he attacked by a demon?
No, there were no signs of trauma or bloodstains anywhere.
If that’s the case, there was only one cause for what happened.
‘Rampage.’
Ludwig’s body was becoming hotter by the moment.
I could clearly sense that it was a sign of impending rampage.
‘Like during the Birth Festival…’
The purification bracelet I had given him was insufficient to improve Ludwig’s current condition.
My mind went blank.
To be powerless in front of someone struggling so hard.
Just a moment ago, he was smiling in front of me….
“Snap out of it, Ludwig!”
He seemed to be suffering from terrible pain, gasping for breath.
“….!”
Ludwig appeared to be in agony, and his eyes lost focus, as if he were losing his sanity.
The rampage was imminent.
* * *
The prayer room of the Karsian Grand House.
The roots of the World Tree, symbolizing the long lineage of Karsian, were engraved on the vast wall.
The elders of Karsian claimed the prayer room of the invited head of the house as if it were their own living room, with even the Grand Duke not entering recklessly.
“It’s been a long time since everyone gathered like this.”
“That’s right. If it weren’t for the Karsian banquet, it would be difficult to meet.”
“Everyone is busy with their affairs. Aren’t we all working hard to take care of the incapable Grand Duke, haha.”
Led by Elder Alphonso and his son Vincent, thirty individuals held real power in the current Karsian family, to the point where it was not an exaggeration.
Those who wielded power as they pleased at the top of the Grand Duke’s head.
They established puppet heads of families and managed everything from the family operation to financial affairs as they pleased.
The feeble-minded Grand Duke had no choice but to comply with their wishes.
“The Grand Duke is noble and graceful… but it’s hard to watch that arrogant fellow prancing around.”
Alphonso stroked his long beard and narrowed his wrinkled forehead.
Ludwig indeed did not resemble his father, the feeble-minded Grand Duke, to the point where one might wonder if he was truly the Duke’s son.
Just looking at that sparkling face, one could tell where that humble lineage had gone.
From his attitude to his actions, he was unparalleled in his arrogance and insolence.
Vincent, who had swollen his right cheek from the beating he received from Ludwig just yesterday, fumed with anger as he touched the swollen area.
“How dare he make my face look like this! Do you know how humiliating it was in front of everyone?”
Above all, Ludwig was a significant obstacle to the elders’ plan to designate Vincent as the successor through the succession process.
Therefore, the Elder Council had sent dozens of assassination attempts on Ludwig, but what they found were the lifeless corpses of the assassins.
After a decade of this, they could no longer delay it.
“I’m sure we can handle him definitively today.”
Vincent, hiding his angry expression, said while smiling slyly.
“By now, the poison might be taking effect.”
Vincent chuckled, shaking a bottle containing a red liquid.
The contents of the bottle were a lethal poison that had been difficult to find, more challenging than finding a needle in a haystack since a few months ago.
Although Ludwig, with dragon blood, had a strong immunity to most poisons, the only poison that could torment him was this dragon demon poison.
It was not readily available, and even if it were, it was traded on a astronomical scale. This was the first time Vincent had actually seen it.
“It’s so potent that one drop could cost a whole mine. The effect is undoubtedly guaranteed.”
“Dragon demon poison, you say? It suits that monster quite well, cluck cluck.”
Since before the banquet, the Elder Council had come up with a surefire way to deal with Ludwig.
And what they thought of was to make him rampage on the day of the hunt, publicizing his danger to the world.
Before the hunt started, participants drank wine as a formal ritual. At that time, they had applied poison to Ludwig’s cup.
Dragon demon poison, deadly even if a drop were ingested by an ordinary person.
However, in Ludwig’s case, since he’s not in the category of an ordinary person, the effects will start to show slowly now.
“Now, the true face of that pathetic creature will be exposed to the world! How dare he wear the skin of a human and act like a monster. Disgusting bastard.”
“But is it really okay? What if he goes on a rampage and kills someone, even if it’s a person?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s actually good for us. It’ll serve as a warning about how dangerous he is. What else can be better than him facing capital punishment instead of being abandoned?”
Vincent shrugged his shoulders.
“All the responsibility will fall on Ludwig, that guy. And the Grand Duke, who has been protecting that dangerous monster as his successor, won’t be free from responsibility either.”
If the plan went accordingly, they could deal with both the Grand Duke and his wealth at once.
“Come to think of it, was Elder Alphonso’s suggestion to Vincent all based on this?”
“That’s right. We didn’t want him to attend casually and risk facing trouble if the monster went on a rampage.”
The original plan was to feign illness and abstain, but thanks to yesterday’s incident, they could naturally use the guise of being bedridden under the spiritual guidance.
“If we handle that guy well, and I become the successor, surely Princess Geria will see me in a different light.”
Vincent’s persistent words made another elder raise his head with a tired expression.
“But can you really make that guy go berserk just with poison? We’ve tried to poison him several times, but it failed every time.”
The Hiltengen, the descendants of the dragon Bergeus, naturally had strong bodies.
No poison affected them, and any wounds on their bodies healed in a day.
That’s why Ludwig had been unharmed until now.
“No, this poison will definitely work.”
Alphonso said firmly to the young elder.
“How can you be so sure?”
“I used that poison eight years ago. Doesn’t everyone remember? Chalmay, that woman. The poison used on her was the same dragon demon poison.”
“…!”
The words of Alphonso left the elders in shock.
“Why are you pretending to be surprised? Everyone knew. We knew it and kept silent.”
Everyone knew, but they had hurriedly hidden that incident.
Ludwig’s mother, Chalmay, had officially been reported to have died from a chronic illness.
However, within the family, they knew the real story.
“That woman was also immune to most poisons. But the last time, I used that dragon demon poison… and it turned out to be the right answer.”
“…So, does that mean Ludwig will die? If he dies before going berserk, it will only lead to suspicion of poisoning, and an investigation will start, making things worse.”
“I didn’t use a lethal dose like I did on Chalmay. I just used enough to make him suffer to death.”
“Ah…”
“As long as that dirty bloodline that crawled into Karsian is eradicated, I can’t help but feel good.”
Now, the gears that had once misaligned seemed to have found their place again.
We should have done this sooner.
He was someone who was so quiet and inconspicuous that we didn’t pay much attention, but lately, his actions have become too much.
“I can’t stand watching that annoying sight.”
Alphonso chuckled softly, stroking his long beard.
Support for more ❤️
