Is it wrong for me to like seeing the villain suffer [21]
Kalin swallowed dryly.
The woman standing in front of him now was not in her right mind.
Beautiful silver hair, sparkling pink eyes, and a gentle smile drawn on a bright white face...
Her appearance was that of a perfect saint, but for some reason it sent shivers down the spine.
What was even more shocking was that this woman was actually enjoying this situation from the bottom of her heart.
When Calin saw the strange sparkle that shone in her pink eyes, his body truly trembled.
"You won't talk? So do you want to live your life blindfolded?"
“…….”
"If you don't open your mouth, I'll choose myself. Let's see... Maybe I'll start with the right."
"Okay! I'll say, I'll say!"
Kalin shouted in alarm, while Lizzy Alheim said with a calm smile and a low voice:
“This is the last time. I will not give you another time.”
“This girl is in a hurry... Okay.”
Kalin muttered resignedly, clenching his teeth in exasperation.
'I can never say that...!'
The magic mixed with the poison that little Naran drank was the result of ten years of continuous work.
He had already used it with many people successfully, and he intended to put it on the market at a high price.
He couldn't afford to lose his trump card in a place like this.
'I have to buy some time...until I find a way to turn the situation around and strike back!'
"You won't say? Are you sure you want me to choose myself?"
'Damn it...hurry up and think of something!'
“I'll count to ten...ten, nine, eight, seven...”
'Damn, this damned woman...!'
“Six, five, four, three…”
As Lizzie continued to count in her calm voice, Callen's face grew paler.
“Two...and-”
“Just a moment!”
"I finish."
At the moment when Kalin screamed in terror, the basement door opened violently.
Huan entered breathlessly, and behind him was Arkell.
'I survived!'
Kalin's face lit up with relief.
"Kick! Get that lunatic away from me immediately!"
He shouted loudly:
“You dared to threaten your uncle! Even this traitorous maid you conspired with should receive the harshest punishment...!”
Arkell silently approached Kalin, who was kneeling on the ground.
While Lizzie was still holding his face with one hand and an iron skewer in the other.
"You see for yourself? This psycho tried to gouge out my eyes! She is not a saint or anything, do not be fooled by her! She is a devil who knows how to disguise herself with an innocent face!"
Arkle turned his gaze from Callen to Lizzie.
Lizzie blinked her eyes wide and said:
"Did you know? That man was playing with fire like it was a toy?"
“…….”
“Since he was a kid he's been doing this.”
“…….”
Finally, after a long silence, Arkell slowly opened his mouth to Lizzie:
“Step aside.”
Lizzie studied his face for a moment, then nodded lightly.
She lowered the iron skewer and retreated quietly.
With a wave of her eyes, Sylvia let go of Calin's arm, who staggered up and shouted angrily, pointing at Lizzie:
“Ha! Now that my nephew knows your truth, you will not escape unscathed! Do you dare to challenge the Cayin family? Nephew, let me punish her with my own hands… I will make her beg me to take her life!”
“The Caiin family, then.”
“Yes! Anyone who underestimates the House of Kaien is doomed—”
Knock!
“Ahhh!!!”
The cellar shook from his agonized scream.
Arkell broke the finger of the hand that Callen was pointing at Lizzie.
“I think the one who underestimates the Cain family the most is you.”
His voice was so powerful that it almost took the breath away.
"Are you crazy, boy? I am your uncle! I am the one who spent my life raising you and your sister!"
Arkell stared coldly at his uncle, who was screaming hysterically.
“That's right. You raised us.”
“However, instead of thanking me...!”
“And thank you for what? That you sold me as a child to become a mercenary on the battlefields?”
“That was… for you to be recognized!”
“The condition was that you take care of my sister as long as I am away.”
Arkel's eyes met Kalin's directly:
“How many times have you assured me yourself that you will take care of Nar... as long as I am on the battlefields.”
"K-All my research was for the sake of the Kaien family! For the glory of Kaien alone!"
“Stop gossiping. It’s better for you to remain silent... before I lose my patience and break your neck now.”
Arkel said it in a snarling, bite-like manner, and the veins were swollen in his forehead.
Kalin shrank silently, and swallowed his dry saliva.
Kalin remained silent as he swallowed dry saliva.
Then, after clearing his throat, Huan came forward and stood next to Arkell.
He raised his glasses slightly and began to read from the notebook in his hand:
“Manipulating mana stones, purchasing food items, repairing furniture and palaces...etc. The amount he embezzled while impersonating Arkell Cain: thirty million six hundred and eighty-one thousand shillings.”
This was based on the documents Lizzy asked Huan to review.
After he finished reading, Huan glanced at Lizzie as if to acknowledge the sincerity of what she had done this time.
Lizzie gave him a confident thumbs-up.
On the contrary, Kalin's face had turned as pale as a shroud.
“How… how did you get this...”
But it didn't end here.
Erkel took out a worn, folded piece of paper from his pocket, and as soon as Kalin’s eyes fell on it, his blood ran from his face.
It was a secret document that belonged to the House of Kaien, it was signed with the seal of Kaien himself and he intended to send it to another family.
“Was this also for Cain’s honor?”
Arkell said in a cold voice devoid of any warmth.
“As of this moment, Kalin is expelled from the Cain family.”
“You can't do this to me...!”
“You are no longer my uncle, not even one of my subjects whom I must protect.”
“Kick-!”
“Do you know what that means?”
Arkel's red eyes sparkled with a frightening glow:
“I can kill you whenever I want.”
Kalin realized that his threat was real, so he closed his mouth.
“You will be thrown into the basement prison, and tomorrow at daylight I will report you to the Imperial Palace.”
“……!”
“It appears that you have been experimenting with forbidden magic. This room alone is filled with enough evidence to convict you.”
“Arkle, please! You know that the Imperial Court is strict about forbidden magic… I may be sentenced to death!”
“That's how it is.”
Arkell said in a neutral tone, then ordered:
“Huan, summon the knights.”
Huan nodded and hurriedly left.
“Kick! Nephew, please...!”
Kalin's face had a distorted look of despair.
“This can't be... This can't be happening... Damn...!”
He muttered intermittent words that sounded like delirium, his face distorted with anger and astonishment.
But Arkell had turned his gaze to his brother Naran, who was lying on the ground far away.
Lizzie and Sylvia were at his side, examining him while he was unconscious.
Arkel clenched his hand until his veins became clear as he looked at his brother, who vomited blood and fell unconscious.
Then memories from his childhood crept into his mind.
“Naran is weak, Erkel. He has no power other than you. That’s why you have to take responsibility and protect him no matter what happens. This is what your parents wished for as well.”
Arkle nodded silently, and Kalin then smiled contentedly.
“When you go to war, you will inevitably become strong. I am the one who makes you a strong man.”
“Then I will be able to protect Naran?”
“Of course. As long as you are away, I will take care of him myself.”
“A promise, then.”
“Trust your uncle.”
Arkle nodded again.
Before he left the room, Kalin stopped him:
“I'll give you a special piece of advice, nephew. On the battlefield… it's best to let go of your feelings.”
"What do you mean?"
“Despite your young age, you are as strong as a monster, so you are not easily threatened by death. But feelings… are what will gradually weaken you.”
“…….”
“Mark my words: Give up your feelings. The moment you reveal what you feel… you will be weak. Then you will not be able to protect anyone. Come back safely and help your uncle, right?”
“Take care of two fires.”
And so at the age of fourteen, Arkell went off to war.
Five years of blood and iron have passed, as he beheads rebels in other kingdoms as a mercenary, and nothing comes to his mind except one commandment:
“Give up your feelings.”
Showing emotion means weakness.
Weakness means the inability to protect anyone.
Even if he returned five years later, with his sister Martha becoming the head of the family, and his uncle having left the palace, in response to Martha's call, Arkle returned to the lands of Caen.
When he met his suddenly grown-up brother again, Naran received him with a look of contempt.
“Step aside. Don’t look at me with those eyes.”
“…….”
"What? Do you, too, see me as rubbish? A heavy, useless burden? That you preferred the battlefields rather than look at me?"
“Two fires.”
“I hate you. I begged you that day not to go...
But you ignored all my words.”
“…….”
“Of course, my words meant nothing to you at all.”
Naran said coldly, then turned his back and walked away.
Arkle stood still, watching his brother's back as he walked away.
“It was not like that... I never considered you a burden... I was happy to see us again.”
But he had long forgotten how to express his feelings.
Maybe he no longer has feelings at all, and maybe he just imagines that he still feels.
‘Whatever… it makes no difference.’
Arkle thought, eyes fixed.
Presently, while he was absent-mindedly contemplating Naran's fainting face, a familiar voice pierced his hearing:
“Kick!”
Lizzie was looking at him with concern on her face.
“Are you okay? Your face is pale.”
“…How is Naran doing?”
“He's still breathing, but...”
Lizzie hesitated a moment, then continued in a decisive voice:
"We must take immediate action. Otherwise his condition will be in danger."
Arkle was silent, then took an angry step towards Kalin and grabbed his collar, lifting him off the ground.
“What did you do to Naran?”
“Kh… khk…!”
“Speak up. Otherwise I will kill you.”
Kalin was choking and panting hard, then muttered in a broken voice:
“S… a poison. A poison that only I can control.”
“The antidote.”
“There is no antidote in the world! This magical ritual was created by me alone... Only I can stop it.”
A sly smile appeared on his lips:
“What do you think of a deal, nephew? Stop the spread of the poison in exchange for your release.”
“…….”
“What are you hesitating about? You have no other choice.”
“There is a choice.”
Arkle and Calline turned together towards the source of the sound.
It was Lizzy Alheim, pointing to herself with a confident smile:
“I am.”
***
Translated by: Snow
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