Chapter 73: The Story of Raines Noel Delpheman
Raines chuckled dryly at Damon’s seemingly merciful tone. It was ironic. Until recently, the only time he had ever hurt anyone was during Knights training, and now he was casually talking about killing someone. He knew it was twisted, but it was too late to turn back now. Raines slowly closed his eyes.
“Alright. I just have to bring Sue Byron to you, right?”
He didn’t want to argue or think of another solution. He was desperate. Haina’s condition was getting worse, and Delthel hadn’t returned to the mansion since the day after Damon had appeared. The Security Bureau or the Imperial guards hadn’t shown up, so Delthel probably hadn’t reported him.
But Delthel had tasted defeat for the first time in his life, and he had chosen himself and his family’s reputation over his family.
‘…So I have to do it.’
Raines clenched his fists. The disgusting dust on the desk clung to his fingers. He said curtly,
“Leave when it’s over. Disappear from my parents’ sight.”
“Hahaha, you’re cold, Raines.”
Damon’s mocking voice grated on his ears.
Damon, now relaxed with a plan in place, licked his lips and stretched out on the bed.
“Kekeke… Yes, kill that annoying bitch, wipe out the Lopetrefers, and achieve our family’s revenge. That’s how it’s done!”
It was a crude, impulsive tantrum, lacking any strategy or planning. But Damon Keron had the power to make it a reality. That was why Raines had to go along with it.
He nodded. He had to remove this tumor from his house as soon as possible. To restore the things he loved.
***
The Noel count family, once ‘a family without a single problem’, had crumbled overnight. Or rather, it had crumbled so quickly that it almost seemed like Damon had come to destroy the Noel family, not the Lopetrefers.
The unfortunate thing was that from the outside, they still looked like a perfect family. Time continued to flow, oblivious to the rot that had set in within the esteemed Skia Noel count family.
“Sigh…”
Winter was coming to an end. Raines had readily agreed to Damon’s proposal, but he was lost.
No matter how he looked at it, he had to kill someone. Sue Byron Chiqmefriar. She might be a bad person, but she didn’t deserve to die. He had slain monsters during Knights dispatch training, but he had never killed a human before. And certainly not a civilian.
“Raines! Focus!”
He had been repeatedly scolded for his lack of focus during Knights training.
It was becoming increasingly difficult for Raines to wield a sword. The act itself, swinging a sword at someone, felt unbearable. So he stopped attending Knights training. He would be dismissed soon for his lack of diligence, but he didn’t care. The Knights Division, which had been as precious to him as his family, no longer mattered.
When the spring semester started for the sixth years, he stopped attending the academy altogether. He had to go to the academy, knock Sue Byron unconscious, and hand her over to Damon Keron, but his feet wouldn’t move.
Ironically, Damon didn’t pressure him. He seemed to be enjoying watching Raines’s predicament. Raines, oblivious, continued to wander the streets of the capital in his Knights uniform.
And then, he spotted Damon on the left side of the square. He was flirting with a woman, his face twisted into a smug grin. Raines’s heart sank as he saw Damon Keron’s masked face, which should have been hidden in the basement. He grabbed Damon’s wrist and dragged him into an alley.
“What are you doing out here?!”
Raines shouted, panting. Damon leaned against the wall and clicked his tongue, annoyed.
“What am I doing? I’m a free man. Can’t I even go for a walk?”
“Free?”
Raines scoffed.
Free? Here? You?
He was speechless. He shouted,
“You’re a criminal who should be dead. Please stay in the basement!”
“…A criminal? Should be dead? Me?”
Raines snapped out of his anger and realized his mistake. Damon’s face was red. He had spoken without thinking, overwhelmed by panic. But Damon wasn’t generous enough to understand his feelings.
“Well, you’re right. I should be dead, and I should be rotting in that damn basement.”
Damon shoved his hands into his pockets and tilted his head arrogantly.
“But would I be like this if you had brought me Sue Byron sooner?”
“…!”
“I wouldn’t be like this if you had brought me Sue Byron. Right?”
Damon’s jaw twitched. He clutched his chest and started to whine.
“Raines, I’m so tired of waiting that I had to come out like this. And look at this.”
He pointed at his face.
“No one recognizes me as Damon Keron! If you overreact, things could get worse. Hmm?”
Raines felt a chill from the large hand on his shoulder. A cold sweat broke out on his back.
He was scared.
Like a cursed lunatic, his mind was rapidly eroding.
Damon whispered in his ear,
“It’s all your fault, isn’t it? Sue Byron. Bring her to me quickly. Why aren’t you even going to the academy? If you had brought her sooner, I would have already left this mansion. Right?”
He wasn’t wrong.
It was his fault, after all.
It was his fault that Damon was roaming free.
It was his fault that his father wasn’t coming home.
It was his fault that his mother had collapsed.
It was Raines Noel’s fault for not bringing Sue Byron.
***
The next day, Raines headed towards the academy. Every step he took felt like his brain was being eaten away.
But he couldn’t bring himself to enter the academy gates and ended up running to a nearby park.
He entered the park, tears streaming down his face. There were hardly any people around. He found a secluded spot by the lakeshore and sat down.
Spring had already arrived, without him realizing it. A gentle breeze carried the scent of flowers and trees, tickling his nose. His mind felt a little calmer as he sat in the empty meadow, watching the waves on the lake.
He was starting to feel sleepy, thinking about running away, when…
“…Huh?”
A red figure entered his vision.
“Byron?”
Raines woke up abruptly and called out her name reflexively.
It was Sue Byron.
Byron, meeting his gaze, froze, unable to move.
“Byron.”
Raines called her name again. After a moment of hesitation, she finally answered,
“…Noel.”
She had been the one to greet him first, but seeing him frozen, she awkwardly walked towards him.
“Hello.”
Her red hair swayed slightly in the sunlight. Hanjee called it ‘clotted blood’, but it was just a deep red.
“Hello, Byron. …What are you doing here?”
Raines replied quickly, snapping out of his daze. He was surprised.
Did she usually greet him like this?
He wasn’t sure, since they had barely spoken.
Byron averted her gaze, her expression unreadable, tilting her head.
“Well, what else would I be doing? Going to the academy.”
“Really? Without any servants?”
Raines looked around. She usually had one or two servants with her, but she was alone.
“It’s close from here to the academy. And it’s not a dangerous road.”
Not a dangerous road.
Raines quickly composed himself.
“Noel, what are you doing here?”
“Just… looking at the lake.”
He answered vaguely. Byron nodded, seemingly oblivious to his lie.
“What about the academy?”
“I don’t want to go.”
What a convenient answer. He criticized himself, but Byron didn’t question him further.
Raines watched her walk away after their brief encounter.
As she disappeared, he relaxed and stretched out on the grass. He finally exhaled, releasing the breath he had been holding. The bright blue sky made his eyes ache.
Why did I just greet her normally? She didn’t have any knight escorts or servants with her. I could have just knocked her unconscious right there.
***
“We meet again.”
The next day, Byron, who had appeared at the park again, didn’t walk past him. Fortunately, he had decided to sit by the lakeshore again, just in case.
“Are you skipping again today?”
“I’m fine, so don’t worry about me and go.”
But Raines once again kicked away the opportunity God had given him. He had been determined before seeing her, but his body wouldn’t move when he was actually facing her.
“…Right. But the spring evaluation is coming up soon. Are you going to skip that too?”
Sue Byron, oblivious to her classmate’s inner turmoil, was casually concerned about his grades.
“Haha… That’s true.”
Raines replied vaguely.
It doesn’t matter if I fail or not. I have to kill you right now.
He stared at her intently, the pressure mounting, and she quickly averted her gaze.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“…Yes, see you next time.”
Raines bid her farewell absentmindedly. But Byron stopped, her face filled with surprise, then smiled faintly.
“Next time… Yes, alright. See you next time. Bye.”
Raines, who had witnessed Sue Byron’s genuine smile for the first time, watched her walk away, then shrugged.