kscans

Chapter 16 - The End of the Lord's Family

"S-Sebast?!"

The lord’s voice cracked with panic as his trusted steward fell. With that, he was completely defenseless, utterly stripped of any means to protect himself. He carried a sword, of course, but the fact that he hadn't drawn it even now told me he had no real skill in a fight.

"...Father."

It was Adolnel who spoke to the trembling lord.

"...?"

But the lord simply tilted his head, a puzzled look on his face as he stared at the girl who had addressed him.

"...Who are you?"

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

W-wait a minute, what was that?! "Who are you?" Seriously? Seriously? She’s your daughter!

You didn’t actually forget her, did you?!

"I-It’s me. It’s Adolnel."

"Adolnel? ...Adolnel?!"

What? Hold on, did he really forget? His own daughter?! Even if he locked her in a tower and hadn't seen her for years, he actually forgot?! This guy is the absolute worst!

"Why are you here?! Why are you outside the tower?!"

"That’s because..."

Adolnel tried to answer, but before she could, a look of sudden realization dawned on the lord’s face.

"Was it you? Did you summon this monster?!"

Excuse me? What is this man talking about? And isn’t calling this beautiful girl a "monster" a bit rude?

"Did you call this disaster upon our town with those cursed eyes of yours?!"

"N-No, that’s not—"

"You ungrateful child! Have you forgotten all the kindness I’ve shown you, raising you all this time?!" the lord shrieked hysterically, cutting Adolnel off before she could defend herself.

"Ah, if this was going to happen, I should have just killed you back then instead of showing you mercy!"

Mercy? Don’t make me laugh. In Adolnel’s memories, you didn’t show a shred of mercy. You were just afraid of sullying your own hands and ruining your reputation by killing her yourself. And besides, is that really the first thing you say to the daughter you haven’t seen in years? After all the abuse you’ve heaped on her, you have the gall to act like you did her a favor.

"Ugh..."

"You plague..."

CRACK!

Before the lord could finish his sentence, I smashed his arm.

"Guh, gyaaaaaaaaaahhh!"

The lord shrieked and writhed on the ground, overwhelmed by the pain of his broken arm.

"Hmph."

CRUNCH. SQUELCH. SNAP.

I proceeded to stomp on his remaining arm and both legs, crushing them.

"Agyaaaaahhh!!"

The lord foamed at the mouth from the sheer agony.

"Hah! You seem to be under some kind of misunderstanding, but I decided to target this town of my own free will! No one invited me, and no one egged me on."

I spoke loud enough for everyone present to hear.

"Meeting this girl was a complete coincidence. I only found her after I’d already attacked the town, so she has nothing to do with this."

That’s right. Adolnel’s Cursed Violet Eyes had absolutely nothing to do with my attack. I needed to make them understand that loud and clear!

"Well now, dawn is approaching. It’s about time we brought this little battle to a close. Let’s see, how should I dispose of you? Ah, I do recall hearing that the blood of nobles is exceptionally delicious."

I moved closer to the lord, baring my fangs in an effort to terrify him as much as possible.

"Hiee! Wait!"

Oh? Are you begging for your life? Not that I have any intention of sparing you, but I suppose I can hear you out.

"M-My blood is no good! B-But... y-yes, drink her blood instead! That girl has cursed eyes. For a wicked vampire such as yourself, she would surely be a delectable feast!"

To my surprise, the lord suggested I drink Adolnel’s blood instead of his own. And did he just try to sell me on "cursed blood" and call me a "wicked vampire"? Is he actively trying to pick a fight?

"F-Father...?!"

After being verbally abused, being offered up as a sacrifice was clearly a profound shock to Adolnel. The fiery vengeance I’d seen in her eyes was gone, replaced by the trembling sorrow of a child abandoned by her parent.

"Adolnel..."

Ah, so that’s how it is. You certainly held a grudge against the lord, but more than that, you just wanted to see your family again. Deep down, you hoped that maybe, just maybe, you could reconcile with your parents. But that wish was just betrayed in the most horrific way possible.

"...Ichigo-kun, let me borrow your sword."

"..."

I took the sword from Ichigo-kun and offered it to Adolnel.

"Ah, you know what? I’ve lost my appetite for blood like that. So, Adolnel, you can use this."

"Eh?"

Her mind still reeling from her father’s rejection, I placed the sword’s hilt in Adolnel’s hand.

"You can do whatever you want with that sword. Even use it on the man right in front of you."

"...!"

Adolnel stared down at the sword in her hands, then slowly lifted her gaze to the lord.

"!!"

He must have realized he was about to be killed. A violent tremor ran through his body.

"W-Wait."

The lord’s voice trembled as he spoke to Adolnel.

"N-No! It’s a misunderstanding."

After all the horrible things he’d said, what could possibly be a misunderstanding?

"I don’t hate you! In fact, I love you! I love you! It’s the truth!"

Huh? What is this man talking about at a time like this? Has he already forgotten what he was saying just a moment ago? Apparently so, because the lord continued his pathetic, self-serving plea to Adolnel.

"I had no choice! As the lord of this town, as a noble, I had to be ruthless! It was painful for me, too! I never wanted to do those things! I never wanted to say them! I wanted to love you! It’s true!"

This was awful. Just awful. Can a human really become this pathetic just to save their own skin? Just a minute ago, he was telling me to drink her blood instead of his. What nerve.

"Father..."

"Y-Yes?"

"Do you... love me?"

"O-Of course! Of course I love you! We’re father and daughter!"

"Will you hold me in your arms?"

"It would be my pleasure! I’ll hold you as many times as you want!"

"Will you give me a goodnight kiss before I go to sleep?"

"Yes, yes! As many as your heart desires!"

"............"

"Liar."

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but Adolnel’s face twisted into a crumpled smile as she spoke her final farewell. Her slender arm raised the sword high.

"Wait—!!"

"Haaaaah!!"

SQUELCH!

The blade, laden with a maelstrom of emotions, slammed down on the lord.

"Gaaahhh!!"

"Ugh, ahh!"

As the lord screamed, Adolnel struck him again.

"Gyaaaaaahhh!"

"Hh!"

Adolnel’s face contorted with every scream she heard, but still her hands did not stop.

"S-Stop—"

"Ah, ah, aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!"

Again and again, Adolnel brought the sword down. Untrained in swordsmanship, her movements were less like cutting and more like brutally smashing him with a lump of iron.

"Sto... stop i..."

The wild swings tore flesh and broke bones, savaging her father’s body.

"Agh!"

Driven by passion, by hatred, by the agony of wondering why he couldn’t have shown her even a single shred of affection, Adolnel continued to swing.

"Ah, ahh..."

With all four limbs shattered, the lord couldn’t even resist as he endured her assault. Blood flowed, and his body, battered by the iron cudgel, gradually lost its warmth.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!"

Even after the last spark of life had faded, Adolnel, oblivious, continued to bring the blade down.

"Well, that just leaves the mother and the little brother..."

I carefully approached the two, trying not to disturb Adolnel as she continued to hack away at her father.

"Hic!"

Hmm, what should I do? Should I leave their fate to Adolnel as well? She’s already going through a lot after confronting her father. Forcing her to decide the fate of her mother and young brother might be too much. And even I’m hesitant to make her kill an innocent child.

"Um, excuse me..."

The mother spoke up. Alright, I’ll hear her out before I decide. If she says she doesn’t care what happens to her, but begs me to spare her son, I might just intervene on Adolnel’s behalf—if only to lighten the burden on her heart.

"Please, let us go. You’ve killed him, so you should be satisfied now, shouldn’t you?"

"Eh?"

"He was the one who ordered her to be isolated! I was against it! I told him it was too cruel! But he said it was a disgrace to have a daughter with cursed eyes in the main residence, so he locked her away in that tower! I was against it! I told him again and again that we should be kind to her because she was pitiful! But he refused!"

Excuse me? What is this woman talking about? In Adolnel’s memories, you were the one ignoring her with a look of utter disgust. Not once did you ever show her a moment of kindness. You never snuck out to see her behind her father’s back, nor did you secretly order the servants to be gentle with her.

Where does this human get off saying things like that?

"I promise! I’ll never let her be sad again! As her mother, I swear I will make her smile!"

I was stunned by her performance, one that would put an award-winning actress to shame. This woman, thinking I hadn't seen Adolnel’s memories, was just saying whatever she pleased. That’s it. Any thought I had of forgiving her has completely vanished. The brother might be one thing, but I will not forgive this mother.

"Hey Mommy, are we done yet?"

Unaware of the situation, the little brother piped up.

"I’m sleepy. I wanna go back to bed."

Ah, he really is just a normal kid.

"Th-That’s right, sweetie. We’ll be back in the mansion soon."

The mother soothed her son with a gentle voice, but her face betrayed her true intentions. She was clearly trying to play up the fact that her son was an innocent child who knew nothing, hoping to win my sympathy. Too bad for her—I saw more than enough of people who prey on others’ goodwill in my past life.

"And that failure is annoying. Hurry up and lock her back in the tower and make her shut up."

"...Huh?"

What did this kid just say?

"?! G-Geil, what are you saying?!"

"But Adolnel is a failure, isn’t she?"

"!!"

I pushed aside the mother as she scrambled to cover her son’s mouth, then knelt down and asked him with a bright smile.

"Hey there. What do you mean by ‘failure’?"

"Who are you, lady?"

"I’m an acquaintance of your father’s."

That’s not important. Just answer the question.

"Umm, the maids were talking about it. They said a failure of the clan named Adolnel was locked up in the tower. They said she’s gross and they wouldn’t want to go near her if it wasn’t their job."

"Oh, is that so? And what do you think of Adolnel?"

"Huh? Nothing. When I’m the head of the house, I’ll just throw the failure out. The maids said they wanted me to."

The human child puffed out his chest, as if he were a benevolent future lord who would grant his servants’ wishes.

"But she’s your family, isn’t she? You’d throw away your own family?"

"? No way. My only family is my father and my mother. That's what they both told me. Besides, a failure can’t be part of my family."

Ah, this is a lost cause. Even if the morals of this world are different from my old one, this is just... no. At least, not for me.

"Geil! N-No, you misunderstand! It was the maids! The maids filled his head with strange ideas! This isn’t what he truly thinks! He’s a kind boy!"

I ignored the mother and continued speaking to the child.

"You know, Adolnel was locked in that tower for a very long time. Wouldn’t you hate it if the same thing happened to you? It’s not like she did anything wrong. Don’t you feel sorry for someone who was treated that way just because of how she was born?"

"Not at all. I’m not a failure. It’s her fault for being born a failure, right?"

CRACK.

A soft thud echoed on the ground.

"...G-Gei—!!"

SQUISH.

"..."

I ordered the nearby undead to clean up the trash.

"Hah... good thing she didn’t hear that."

Putting what just happened out of my mind, I turned my attention back to Adolnel, who was still striking the thing that was once her father.

"Hah, ah... ah... ahhh!"

She was already out of breath, her swings becoming unsteady. But even so, she didn’t stop bringing the sword down.

And then, her arms finally gave out. The blade she’d raised slipped from her grasp, and at last, Adolnel’s cries ceased.

"Hah, hah..."

Having swung the heavy piece of iron in a frenzy, she now stood panting, her shoulders heaving with each ragged breath. In the silent forest, only the faint sound of her sobs could be heard.

"Uu, uuu..."

From behind the curtain of hair that hid her eyes, tears dripped to the ground. I walked over to the motionless Adolnel and embraced her, making sure not to look at her face, and gently stroked her back as one would a small child.

"There, there."

"Uu... uuu... waah, waaaaaahhh..."

I didn’t say a word. I just held her and continued to pat her back. I offered no words of comfort. A monster like me has no right to say them. I would just stay here until she cried out all her tears.

"Hic, sniff..."

Just as her sobbing began to subside, I noticed the sky was beginning to lighten.

"Look, Adolnel. Look at the sky."

"?"

Sunlight began to filter through the trees.

"It’s the sunrise. A ray of light to bless your new lif—Sssssizzle!"

A beam of morning sun broke through the canopy and struck me, and a pain like my skin was literally burning shot through me.

"Agyaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!"

"M-My lady?!"

Panicking as my body suddenly burst into flames, I scrambled away. My instincts screaming, I sought out darkness, diving into the hunter’s hut and tumbling into the pitch-black secret passage, where I rolled around on the floor to extinguish the fire.

"I thought I was gonna diiiiiieeeeeee!!"

Yeah, of course! I’m a vampire! The morning sun would obviously turn me to ash! This is no time to be talking about beautiful sunrises! I defeated the lord’s family, helped Adolnel get her revenge, and successfully captured a territory. I thought I was heading for a happy ending, and I almost died! A monster like me has no business trying to wrap things up so neatly!