ushernet Chapter 127 : Chapter 127
Chapter 127 : Chapter 127
The bizarre death of the 1st Prince, Rasia, which had once begun to be talked about by people, did not show any signs of easily dying down.The funny thing was that the ones at the center of this were none other than the Imperial Family members.
Unlike others who did not dare to argue about Rasia's death, the golden-haired children of god were anxious to know the truth of the rumors whenever they had the chance.
It was a rumor that Rasia had caught an illness and died.
Many words came and went, wrapping the terror they felt for the first time in their lives with pity and curiosity towards the 1st Prince.
On the other hand, the 7th Prince's death was in contrast to the death of the 1st Prince Rasia.
His death failed to attract attention to a surprising degree.
Because even those who relieved their inferiority complex about their low rank through the existence of the 7th Prince poured their attention into Rasia's illness rather than the 7th Prince's death.
Thanks to that, the unexpected figure who visited the desolate and messy castle of the 7th Prince could quietly roam around inside the castle.
It was the 8th Prince, Cellos Abalan.
***
Did he really die?
Whenever he stepped onto a new floor of the desolate castle, Cellos scanned his surroundings for no reason.
He already had the impression that it was not a place worth staying in, but the castle where even that 7th Prince bastard disappeared could no longer be called a livable place.
There were still Servants remaining who had not received their disposal yet, but the castle was quiet.
The fact that there was not a single Knight guarding the entrance seemed to make the 7th Prince's death even more certain, so Cellos walked down the hallway feeling even more depressed.
He did not even feel like scolding the irreverence of daring to lack even the minimum sincerity to welcome an Imperial Family member.
Cellos could not clearly pinpoint the cause of this dirty mood.
Whether it was because the number of Imperial Family members with less Manis than him had decreased, or just…….
Clank.
Before the assumptions that naturally welled up occupied his head, Cellos raised his head at the noise that pierced his ears.
At the Sign of presence felt from inside the room where no one should be, Cellos unknowingly walked as if running and flung the room door open.
“Kyaaak!!!”
A thin and high voice that could not have been made by the owner of the room let out a scream.
Cellos, who somehow felt his strength drain, glared at the cause of his disappointment.
“What are you doing here.”
“I g-greet the 8th Prince.”
Anna, who still had not fixed her stuttering, bowed her head in front of Cellos.
Cellos scanned the empty room.
No matter how much it was a room like a Beggar's, it was not to this extent.
“He threateningly grabbed Anna's arm.
“No matter how much of a Vermin-like bastard he was, he was a bastard who inherited the blood of the Imperial Family. Did you think stealing the belongings of the master you served would be forgiven?“
At his terrifyingly blue face, tears welled up in Anna's face.
“N-no, Your Highness! Stealing is something I cannot even imagine!“
Anna's desperate cry provoked Cellos's temper even more.
“Then what is this completely empty room!”
When Cellos shouted, Anna tightly closed both her eyes and desperately cried out.
“It was a direct command from the 7th Prince! He said it is okay to take everything that could become money!
“What?“
At the unexpected answer, the grip strength holding Anna's arm weakened.
“I-it is true! Sir Ran told me to pass on to the other people that if something happened to him, it is okay to take valuable things out of the castle…….“
“Quiet! Something like that is not important!”
Cellos blocked Anna's words as she frantically spat them out.
Flinching, Anna looked up at Cellos's glaring eyes.
“Are you saying that the bastard knew in advance that something would happen to him?”
“I-I do not know well. I just merely passed on his words so…….”
“That is exactly what that means! You stupid thing!”
Unable to hold back his temper, Cellos shouted again.
Anna, who was in danger of fainting again this time, collapsed, but someone like Anna was no longer Cellos's concern.
The bastard clearly knew that something would happen to him.
Would he have just quietly suffered it?
He was a bastard with many incomprehensible aspects.
Whether he was dead or alive was unknown, but one thing was certain.
That the bastard did not die simply by getting caught up in an accident.
Cellos's head, completely unaware in his dreams of the fact that he himself also played a big part in Ran Abalan's survival, spun quickly.
His sharp gaze pierced Anna.
“What else did the bastard say? Were there any other strange signs before he died?“
“N-no, there were no…… ah.“
Anna, who was answering reflexively, stopped speaking as if she had recalled something.
“What is it? If something comes to mind, say it quickly! Do not dawdle!”
At his urging, Anna pulled her neck in like a turtle and gauged his mood.
“R-recently, he looked to be in a good mood. I thought…… his expression seemed to have gotten a little better after becoming closer to the 8th Prince.“
“…….”
Anna's answer gradually slowed down.
It was because she felt that the face of Cellos, who had been pressing her, seemed to contort more and more as she continued speaking.
However, before Anna could fully confirm it, Cellos's face was covered in anger.
“Who exactly was close to a bastard like that.”
Muttering lowly, he glared at Anna again.
“I was not asking about something like that. I am asking if there was anyone he specially met, an item he found, or a place he visited.”
At the specific question, Anna's lips parted.
“On the last day he passed away, there was nothing other than him confirming if it was true that the 1st Prince had passed away. He originally did not step out of the Study much so…….”
Not very helpful
“If so, then why are you remaining here. Everyone must have grabbed a share and run away.“
“N-not everyone ran away. The people with nowhere to go decided to stay here for the time being. That is…… until there is a funeral ritual for the 7th Prince…….“
At Anna's words, the corners of Cellos's mouth twisted.
“How stupid. There is no such thing as a funeral for that bastard. He will just be forgotten as if no one existed from the beginning.”
“W-why is that?”
Flustered, Anna asked back without realizing it.
At the child's arrogant question, Cellos twitched his eyebrows as if he was hearing all sorts of stupid things.
“Because he has no value for that. He was a bastard treated as non-existent from the start. He was a bastard who lived at best as a laughingstock of the Imperial Family members.”
If there was a single value to the black-haired Prince, it was about the level of relieving the Inferiority Complex of the other Imperial Family members.
Like him, being the one among the Imperial Family members who relieved their anxiety the most.
Still better than that thing, better than that Vermin-like Prince with absolutely no power; an existence that gave such a sense of relief.
Cellos knew that better than anyone.
“The bastard lost even that last value the moment he died.”
At Cellos's calm and cruel explanation, Anna bit her lips tightly.
Whether she did or not, the red-haired Prince continued his words.
“At most, his Aide will suffer a little.”
Anna thought of Sein, who had not shown his face for a while.
And the face of the Doctor on the 1st floor who complained that it was difficult because he disappeared without doing his work properly.
Come to think of it, there was a somewhat strange aspect to him not even showing his face since the 7th Prince's death.
She thought he would sweep up anything that could become money in the castle and run away before anyone else.
Because there was no time to care due to the sudden death of the 7th Prince, he was a figure she had not been conscious of until now.
“What is with that expression?”
Cellos asked Anna, who had a sour expression.
“……It is because I remembered that Sir Sein, I mean the Aide, has not shown his face even once. He is not someone who would normally be this quiet.”
Anyway, it meant there was at least one strange bastard.
Cellos turned his body while putting the name of the Aide in his head.
At his gesture to leave the castle, Anna urgently bowed her head.
At that, Cellos paused his steps for a moment as if something came to mind.
“From tomorrow onwards, I will visit the 7th Prince's Study once every afternoon. Pass it on to the remaining bastards not to touch anything left in the castle.”
At Cellos's command, Anna bowed her head even more and barely answered that she understood.
“And starting tomorrow, you will have to explain in detail to me what the 7th Prince usually did.”
She had no choice but to answer the following command in a more crawling voice, however.
By the time Cellos, who had stirred up the castle in a frenzy, disappeared like the wind, and his footsteps could not be heard, Anna let out a sigh of relief and raised her head.
Only now did it feel like a little strength was entering her toes that had no sensation from the blood running cold.
Although her entire body slumped with strength again when thinking that a day of listening to the scary 8th Prince's thundering scolding would begin starting tomorrow.
The resolution from a certain day to never be involved with the Imperial Family again had gone down the drain, but Anna decided to think positively.
He was scary enough to make her faint, but still, maybe he was not as scary a person as she thought.
Just like the 7th Prince, who was on the rather generous side to the Servants as long as they did their work properly.
His method was somewhat rough, but anyway, Cellos Abalan was the only Blood relative who came to seek his palace after the death of the 7th Prince.
Anna wiggled her hands and soon began to pick up and organize the books rolling around here and there inside the room.
It was because she felt anew the loneliness of the fact that the room of the 7th Prince, who would not even have a funeral, was this messy.
***
The movement speed of the strange combination of one human and three Orcs was very slow.
It also seemed to take me longer than when traveling with two humans.
There were two reasons why this kind of thing could happen in a situation where the average stride length of our group had increased by 50cm.
The first was the stamina issue of the one-armed Orc.
The bastard's steps, which looked like it would not be strange even if his breath were extinguished right away, were too slow.
Though he himself seemed like he did not want to admit it even to death.
Thud.
I, who was leading the group at the front, stopped my steps at the small commotion and turned around to check the cause of the noise.
As the slope of the road went up, perhaps the strength in his legs gave out, the one-armed Orc bastard was gasping for breath while bending one trembling knee.
“Kkwek, I tripped and fell.”
Muttering an excuse that no one asked for, the bastard strenuously raised his body.
Looking at his staggering state, I naturally got worried.
At that rate, is he not just going to drop dead before we arrive?
It would be a huge problem if the bastard just died a natural death.
Even if he dies, he should die after giving up the Leader position.
“Kkwek, it would be good to rest for a moment around here.”
We still had to climb steep uphill slopes twice going forward.
Not only could he not climb them in his current state, but if we advanced like this, it was clear that dying on the road would be faster, let alone reclaiming the Leader position.
“Kkweeeek!! Shut your mouth!!
However, what returned was the one-armed bastard's strong backlash.
It was because of the second reason why we had no choice but to be slow.
“Kkwek, I am the boss!! Kkwek, I have decided where to rest!!”
The one-armed Orc overexerted himself to move his body and yelled at me.
“Then decide to rest right now.”
Ratel, who was following behind the Leader, interjected with a voice full of annoyance.
This was not much help.
Because Ratel's voice only grew the Leader's rebelliousness.
“Kkwek, you idiot!! Kkwek, I told you to watch this guy well!!”
Subsequently, the bastard, who deliberately turned his body widely as if threatening, threw a fit at the Half-wit following us from the very back.
“Kkwe, kkwek!”
The Half-wit did do something similar to an answer, but it did not give off much reliability.
Perhaps the memory of almost dying once by Ratel's hand was quite intense, as the bastard seemed busy continuously gauging Ratel's mood.
In front of the Half-wit, Ratel, who only had his hands tied but looked twice as relaxed as the Leader, was walking leisurely.
If you voluntarily ended up in that state, at least put on a show of acting like Bait.
He noticed my gaze right away, but merely sent a look asking what I wanted him to do and did not particularly change his attitude.
Perhaps not liking even that sight, the Leader breathed heavily and sharply turned his body.
I also did not want to see the vain sight of the bastard dying from high blood pressure, so I obediently backed down.
This was precisely the second cause.
That the bastard was excessively wary of me and Ratel.
It was not a very wrong choice in that both of us were ultimately aiming for the bastard's neck.
I, who was following behind the Leader, turned my head at the gaze I felt.
“Kkwe, kkwek……!”
The Half-wit bastard who was glancing around got startled and feigned ignorance.
The Leader's choice was not wrong.
However, the bastard still seemed to have not noticed that the scope of that wariness was too narrow.