Count’s Youngest Son is a Warlock

Chapter 50: Am I the Main Character Today (2)

* * *

“How is Cronia these days? I’ve never been away this long.”

Lucion spoke as the carriage moved a little away from the villa.

He wanted to know what would have happened by now since he had Hume sent the problems ‘Cronia’s customer’ had.

“Don’t worry about Father.”

But Carson didn’t give the answer Lucion wanted.

[I guess he promised to keep it a secret from you?]

Russell took a quick look at Lucion’s expression.

There was no distortion.

He probably already expected it.

“My thought was short. I can’t believe I was worried about Father.”

Lucion smiled quietly.

Novio was strong.

He was not called the Ruler of the Fortress for nothing.

“But Brother.”

“Say it.”

“I’m a little worried that the situation in which the Imperial family and the Great Light Temple have joined hands will affect the fortress.”

“Don’t worry, no one can take the place of the fortress. I’m rather offended by this situation.”

“What do you mean offended?”

“They’re using you.”

‘…Ah, that’s what it looks like.’

Lucion waited for Carson’s words without answering.

“The Great Light Temple sold you to cover up the incident, and the Imperial family bring you into the palace to let you know that the Great Light Temple is under the Imperial family.”

Carson clenched his fist.

“You’re the only one who’s having a hard time.”

“Do not worry. After today, my position will never be taken lightly.”

Carson nodded at Lucion’s confident remark that he would not be exploited.

“Yes, I believe you will do well.”

* * *

The carriage passed through the sidewalks.

A pattern with a fox drawn on it.

As soon as they saw the pattern, people shouted and cheered for the one who received the blessing of Cronia and the Divine Beast.

—Wow, there are a lot of people! It’s amazing!

Lucion couldn’t look outside, he didn’t know how Ratta in the shadow could look outside.

From the moment the cheers were already heard, Lucion couldn’t get rid of the feeling of being squeezed in his chest.

‘I wish I have some data in my hand.’

Lucion closed his eyes tightly and recalled the data he had seen in the morning.

It was taken from the room of the warlock who was working under Count Roberio, and it contained not only instructions given by Count Robrio but also materials containing instructions from others.

‘Come to think of it… There is that in the data.’

A raven pattern.

Lucion flinched with a flash of goosebumps.

‘Hand of the Void!’

It was a pattern of organization created by the Final Boss of the novel ‘The Grasp of Darkness’.

‘I got expensive information for the price of a broken arm.’

Lucion licked his mouth.

He wondered why the blue thread was connected to the warlock who was Roberio’s subordinate, but he actually belonged to the ‘Hand of the Void’.

‘But I’m not sure if the warlock is a double agent or if the Hand of the Void has already held hands with Roberio.’

Either way, Lucion was displeased.

‘It’s still two years before the novel…’

What was important was the fact that the Hand of the Void was already moving.

He wished this move was simply a foundation for two years later, but he had already twisted the flow of the novel.

Didn’t I prevent the bombing of the Great Light Temple?

‘Is it the butterfly effect?’

“We’re almost there, so you can open your eyes.”

Carson’s words woke Lucion up.

As the surroundings calmed down, his eyes moved out of the window.

Buildings and people were slowly disappearing outside the carriage window.

Apparently, they were on the bridge leading to the Imperial Palace.

“Are you still nervous?”

“Yes. I’m nervous. My hands are shaking, and my heart is fluttering.”

Lucion opened up to Carson’s question.

At the banquet, the main character was not himself, but Veros, who had a Divine Beast.

But today, he was the main character.

It was something that he had never experienced even when he was Lee Haram, so his lips were dry due to tension and anxiety.

“It’s okay to make a mistake.”

Carson comforted Lucion.

“If you really can’t stand it, then leave the place.”

“I shouldn’t do that.”

Lucion was terrified.

It was hard to believe that Carson, not anyone else, had said that.

“The Imperial family already knows your condition. And yet they called you to the Imperial Palace.”

[As expected, it runs in the family.]

Russell nodded quietly.

“It’s enough for me that you come out with courage like this, and now you are on the carriage heading to the Imperial Palace.”

Carson clasped his hands and slowly made eye contact with Lucion.

“Until now, Cronia to you… It didn’t make a great shield, but now I want you to believe in the name Cronia.”

Seeing Carson’s eyes full of regret, Lucion called him quietly.

“Brother.”

“Yes.”

“I like meat.”

He was still growing up.

In order to grow a lot, nothing worked better than meat.

—Meat?

Ratta reacted quickly.

“I’ll get it ready.”

Carson’s eyes shook, but he finally answered.

“I like macarons, too.”

“I’ll prepare them as well.”

Lucion went on to say all the things he liked one by one.

Each time, Carson quietly listened, saying he would prepare them.

“It’s probably hard today, so please fill the table with the food I mentioned tomorrow. When you’re tired, don’t you have to eat something delicious?”

“Lucion…?”

“If I wanted to run away, I would have run away sooner. As much as my brother worried about me, I also worry about myself. But there’s no reason to avoid it, right?

Lucion smiled, showing his teeth.

“Brother.”

“…Yes.”

“You don’t have to try so hard for me.”

Lucion knew Carson’s worries stemmed from guilt.

The guilt of not being able to prevent his kidnapping by the enemy in the past.

“I don’t blame Father and Brother anymore.”

It was what he wanted to say to Carson one day.

He was trying to shake off his past, so shouldn’t Carson let go by now?

“So you don’t have to be sorry anymore.”

“I see….”

Carson swallowed hard and turned his head to look out the window.

“Yes.”

He said to himself, then smiled quietly.

* * *

“It’s not a big deal.”

Lucion did not speak until he came into the room that the Imperial family had given him.

Russell’s eyes kept asking what was going on until he got out of the carriage and entered the room.

[No. I’m the only one who’s curious, so you don’t have to tell me.]

“It’s no big deal now.”

Lucion sat down in a chair and breathed.

As soon as he got off the carriage, he was surrounded by Imperial knights as if he was kidnapped.

No matter how safe it was, without Carson, he might have collapsed.

“I don’t know how old I was, but I was taken to an enemy country when I was younger.”

[Enemy country…?]

Russell knew right from the start that he had touched the wrong word.

“To be exact, I was betrayed and taken away. Anyway, there are quite a few scars even if I can’t remember whether I was beaten or tortured there. But it’s a relief that my limbs are still intact.”

[…….]

Russell, who had been quiet, had his hair fluttering in all directions, and he became furious in an instant.

Lucion soothed Russell with an awkward face.

“You don’t have to be angry. It’s a long time ago.”

[Why was it you?]

“Unlike Carson, who is talented in swords, and Shaela, who is talented in magic, I am the only one normal. Even if they both wanted to be the targets, they couldn’t.”

Only then did Russell properly understand why the word ‘Cronia’s weakness’ was often brought up by Lucion.

It was a much heavier word than he thought.

—See! Rata will scold them! Ratta won’t forgive them!

Ratta, who came out of the shadows, was angry for the first time.

“It’s done. My father already scolded them.”

Lucion pressed Ratta’s forehead firmly.

Perhaps that was when Novio was called the Ruler of the Frontier.

“Don’t make such a scary face, Teacher. Because of that, I was blessed with darkness, and I met Teacher, Ratta, and Hume. I’m pretty happy now.”

Even though Lucion smiled broadly, Russell’s expression was still stiff.

No. It was more distorted than before.

[Blessed by darkness?]

“Yes. The darkness reached out to me. I didn’t know it was the darkness back then.”

Darkness and light were usually blessed at birth, and mana appeared at the age of five by choice, which was called ‘manisfestation’.

[‘Darkness and light rarely come out.’]

The conditions for the manifestation of darkness and light were not as clear as mana.

What was known was that it was expressed because of ‘desperation’.

Russell looked at the disciple who had nowhere to go.

It was pitiful to see that eating snacks at the market or just walking on the street was considered happiness.

[It’s funny to say this all of a sudden, but I promise.]

Russell gave strength to his voice.

Hearing those words, the teacher himself could not stand still.

[So that you will never be oppressed by power again.]

It happened because Lucion didn’t have power.

It was also something that could happen again someday.

Then.

[I will lead you as a teacher so that you can be stronger than anyone else.]

At those words full of sincerity, Lucion felt as if he had a real priestly relationship with Russell.

“Thank you, Teacher.”

Russell had only told him to learn black magic.

He’d never said to be strong until now.

“I will work harder and become stronger.”

Lucion spoke with gratitude.

—Hehe. Then, Ratta will thank you too. Because Ratta was born thanks to Lucion.

Ratta climbed onto Lucion’s lap and rubbed her face.

[Speaking of which, how much should I increase the intensity of the training?….]

Knock. Knock.

Then, he heard a knock on the door.

Hume’s voice came out between the slightly open door.

“It’s Hume.”

‘Good timing.’

Lucion welcomed Hume more than ever.

“Come on in.”

As soon as Hume came inside, he handed Lucion the paper and briefly explained what Lucion had to do at the declaration ceremony.

“…What is written at the bottom is the order you should remember.”

“I didn’t think they were being considerate of me. It’s fine, anyway.”

Lucion was pleased with the few procedures for the Imperial ceremony.

“I heard that the procedure is shortened as the date was set in a hurry.”

Hume took a watch out of his pocket and checked it.

“There are about 30 minutes left, and people will come in 15 minutes before the start, so please take a break until then.”

After absorbing the white sword that Heint gave him, Hume grew up and seemed to try to be as dignified as he grew up.

Lucion brought up the main point.

“You know the guys you need to find today, Hume?”

“Yes, I know. I’ll find them all, so you don’t have to worry.”

Hume gave a confident voice.

He copied and wrote down all the information in the place below the inn, and even remembered the smell of those who wrote it down.

For today.

‘Hume will find them, tomorrow is the day they collect information…’

Lucion remembered what Hume had told him along with the date.

According to Hume, there was a set day for collecting information while the ghosts were chattering.

However, the people who collected information also kept changing, and unless he knew exactly who the underground place under the inn belonged to, he didn’t instruct Hume to pursue it further because it would be a waste of money.

“Phew.”

Instead, Lucion asked Hume to do something important.

“Did you put in the forged documents?”

Tomorrow was the day they collected the information.

Let them know the wrong information.

For his advantage.

The information was tampered with.