The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 75

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 75.

“What—what are you trying to do!”
The Count sputtered in alarm.
The Knight Commander drew his blade with practiced speed. Its sharp point leveled at me.
“Surely you don’t mean to cut me down with that?”
“If necessary, yes.”
Look at this—what kind of Knight draws steel on his own lady?
If that was the plan, he shouldn’t have bothered with this half-hearted act in the first place. All it does is soil my mood.
It’s not even proper mockery.
A crooked smile twisted across my lips unbidden.
“Well then, shall we wager? Whether my Black Magic is faster, or your blade?”
At my taunting tone, the Knight Commander’s jaw clenched.
He knew as well as I did.
There was no need to test it—the outcome was already written.
Unless this man wielded Sword Aura like Kaius, with perfect mastery—a true Sword Master—he stood no chance against me at this distance.
And despite everything, Charlotte bore the reputation of the capital’s most formidable witch.
I clicked my tongue once and unleashed Black Magic in a heartbeat, sending the Knight Commander to sleep.
His blade clattered to the floor with a sharp ring. His body went limp.
“Wh—what have you done!”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t kill him.”
“Wake up! Wake up, I say!”
“Let him be. He can’t wake now.”
I had plans for the Count, and this Knight wouldn’t be able to stop me.
Better to keep him asleep now than have him stand helpless while I worked, only to return and suffer the Count’s recriminations later. Besides, he was simply in the way.
After going this far, it would be cruel to punish myself for his grievance. Not that I possessed enough kindness to worry over the futures of resentful men.
I kicked the Knight aside and moved slowly toward the Count.
As he watched the Violet-Black mist dancing at my fingertips, the Count’s face drained of all color. He pressed himself against the chair’s backing, flailing his hands wildly.
“N-no, stay back! You monster!”
“Why? Just the other day you cursed me for being useless whenever I refused to use Black Magic on your command. But now that very magic frightens you? How strange.”
“Don’t come closer! Get away from me!”
“How inconsistent you are. You were happy enough to use me before.”
For the past decade, the Count had made excellent use of Charlotte’s Black Magic. When she exhausted herself casting spells at his demands, he would kick her awake if she collapsed from fatigue.
And every time, Charlotte obeyed without question.
Because she believed that was how things should be.
Just as I once did.
“Listen well. I’m going to curse you now.”
“You madwoman! Is anyone out there? Won’t someone drag this lunatic away!”
He could scream all he liked. No one was coming.
This was my domain now.
The Count’s blue eyes—so like Leoni’s—flooded with overwhelming terror. The man who had always looked down on Charlotte from above now gazed up at me with naked fear.
It was darkly satisfying, yet something in me felt oddly hollow.
This contemptible wretch had made Charlotte consume herself for a lifetime.
I bent forward deliberately and whispered in a voice dripping with menace.
“You know better than anyone the cruelty of Black Magic, don’t you? This power will begin gnawing at your heart—slowly, inexorably. The curse will corrupt your blood until it runs black, and your limbs will rot from the extremities inward. You’ll suffer agony beyond measure. And no one will be able to save you. Well—unless you employ a Black Mage as skilled as I am. Black Magic’s curse can only be lifted by Black Magic itself.”
“You think you’ll escape this unscathed?! Have you forgotten your position?!”
“Who summoned a woman who was content to rot away in Lusiphenia—who sent an envoy all the way to fetch her? And you know what? Black Magic leaves no trace. Even if your body decays with a sickening stench, who could prove it was my doing?”
Though I can’t see my reflection now, I’m certain my expression is viciously cruel.
Count Schmidt certainly saw something monstrous—his face had gone ashen, and he trembled uncontrollably, his fingernails raking grooves into the Inn’s leather sofa.
“Why are you doing this! What do you want from me! If you want something, anything, I’ll give it—just stop! Power? Money? Shall I restore your name and honor? Is that what you want?!”
Wow.
This man.
He’s still talking nonsense.
Does he truly believe I’d fall for that now?
“Tell me, Count.”
I laughed, low and humid.
“Are you greater than the Grand Duke of Lusiphenia?”
“…What?”
“Or do you have more wealth than the Mage Tower Master?”
“…….”
“And he keeps offering me things when he’s got nothing to give. Does he really think he’s so important?”
His backing is even shakier than mine, yet he struts around like he matters.
“Besides, honor? I’m a witch.”
It was painfully clear that Count Schmidt saw Charlotte not as a person, but as a tool — right until the very end.
If he’d truly wondered why I was doing this, he wouldn’t have asked in that manner. At the very least, if he’d treated Charlotte as someone with feelings, there would be no way he could fail to understand.
I deliberately condensed the Violet-Black Magical Energy, forming a small vortex.
The decorations and furniture around us rattled and swayed violently. A frame hanging on the wall plummeted to the floor, shattering on impact.
The Count trembled like a leaf, his face gone the color of parchment — one more touch and he’d collapse.
“You asked just now, didn’t you? Why I’m doing this.”
Well.
Perhaps this was simply payback.
The people of the Schmidt Countdom resembled those I knew far too closely. Maybe I was finally releasing what I’d never been able to unleash on them in the past, seeking compensation through this proxy.
Or perhaps I’d simply become too absorbed in Charlotte’s circumstances after possessing her.
But in the end, what did it matter?
Right now I was Charlotte, and it was the Count who sought me out of his own accord. If he hadn’t wanted to end up like this, he should have left me alone instead of coming here.
I had much I could have said, but I settled on just one thing.
“Because I felt like it.”
Whoosh!
Black smoke seeped into the Count’s chest. He convulsed silently, foam at his lips, before losing consciousness.
“There. Enjoy a taste of some real suffering.”
In truth, this was no curse at all.
It was merely theater — nothing more than a compressed knot of magical energy.
The talk of hearts rotting away, of limbs decaying from the extremities inward — all lies.
I disliked the Count, but I had no desire to sabotage the female lead’s world like that.
The original story was already a wreck; I couldn’t afford to tangle it up any further.
But with this, the Count would be unhinged for quite some time.
He’d never be able to tell anyone that he’d sought out the condemned Charlotte in person, so he’d spend long days in private anguish. His daily life would suffer considerably, no doubt.
That would be enough.
I glanced indifferently at the two fallen men and made my way downstairs.
“I apologize for the disturbance. The damaged furniture will be compensated by the Schmidt Countdom.”
“Yes, understood. Please be safe, Guest.”
Taking the innkeeper’s polite bow, I walked out with light, easy steps.
Outside, daylight still lingered.
I’d actually been prepared to wait for the Count quite a while longer, but I hadn’t expected him to come so quickly.
The man who’d dragged his feet his whole life suddenly moves with remarkable speed when his life’s on the line.
I still didn’t like it.
I strolled through the bustling streets of Sandvich, savoring the salt-laden breeze, until I reached a quieter alley and stopped.
“You can stop lurking in the shadows now, Basil.”
A silhouette emerged from nowhere behind me.
Basil asked, clearly startled.
“How did you know?”
Obvious, really.
Kaius wouldn’t let me walk around alone out here.
He’d have sent Basil ahead to Sandvich before I even departed.
I turned to face him with a bright smile.
“I’m about to step away for some personal business. Are you willing to cooperate quietly?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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