CHGD 48

Chapter 48

*’I want to see it more.’*

His brain, beginning to go mad, transformed pain into ecstasy, and his eyeballs, trembling violently, continued to stare at the color even as they shook.

*’Don’t look! Close your eyes!’*

A shred of sanity, not yet consumed by madness, screamed the only way to survive, but he had already lost control of his limbs.

“Young master? You need to answer me.”

“Well, that is, um, this is—”

*Nod, nod.* He shook his head incessantly. It looked like someone was grabbing a broken doll and shaking it.

Just as he was about to give the correct answer—looking as if he might either flee at any moment or dive into the box—

“As I thought, even you don’t know, young master.”

*Click.*

Deliana closed the box.

“Ha, haah……!”

As the color disappeared from his sight, Columbus finally came to his senses and collapsed onto the ground.

Drenched in cold sweat, he gasped for breath and lifted his head. Deliana, with her still-cloudy eyes, was gazing down at him.

With the sunset at her back, holding the box, she looked breathtakingly beautiful.

“La-Lady Deliana?”

“How disappointing. I thought you, of all people, would know. As expected, I suppose I’ll have to take the artifact back with me after all…”

“Ah, no! I can figure it out! Just show it to me a little longer…!”

The Columbus who had understood the contents of the box no longer existed in this world. Because the moment the box was closed, his knowledge of the being from beyond the cosmos was erased.

However, having recognized the void in his knowledge, he desperately wanted to face the artifact again.

Watching him stammer desperately, Deliana let out a sigh. She crouched down to meet his eyes.

As the distance between them closed, Columbus felt his heart race.

He felt such a strong attraction to her that he couldn’t understand why he had nearly passed her by.

His weakened legs tingled just from touching her shadow.

“But you couldn’t answer me. Aren’t you lying?”

Her attitude seemed different from before, but Columbus didn’t notice the change.

“Trust me, this time, I can figure it out this time.”

“Hmm……”

She sighed and fell silent. The longer the silence stretched, the more impatient Columbus grew.

He couldn’t lose her now. He wanted to get his hands on that box.

Driven by that desire, he unconsciously spoke the words Deliana most wanted to hear.

“I— is there something you desire? If there’s anything you want, Lady Deliana, I’ll do anything…”

“If you say that much.”

Deliana leaned in as if she had been waiting. So close that their breath almost touched, Columbus held his own. It was impossible to tell whether his face turned red from the box or from Deliana.

“Will you grant me two requests? If you do, I might consider yielding this box to you.”

*’I can have the box!’*

Columbus nodded fervently, urging her to name anything.

“First, please introduce me to the Marquess.”

“O-of course! I’ll escort you myself.”

“And don’t call me ‘Lady Deliana.'”

“……Pardon?”

“I’m married, you see. Call me ‘Countess.'”

Watching her smile and say, “That was secretly bothering me,” Columbus’s heart sank.

This was definitely Deliana’s fault.

—

The Marquess’s heir was a progressive youth, with a deep thirst for knowledge, and trapped in a severe bout of adolescence.

That was the information about the Marquess’s family that Miridi had gathered.

I didn’t know where he’d gotten the information, but I didn’t ask. His shadow was writhing.

*’Thirst for knowledge, adolescence…… he’s the type who wants to show off and be acknowledged.’*

If so, the strategy was simple. Dangle some knowledge or object that would pique his interest, and use it to gain recognition from the Marquess’s family.

The problem was that I didn’t have anything that would interest him—until the attendant who had followed us solved that.

“If you need something valuable… please use this.”

It was a box containing a small stone.

It was an unusual stone that scattered light in all directions, but I couldn’t see anything strange about it.

Miridi, who was beside me, explained instead.

“That’s a fragment of a being from the cosmos. It lives in our castle’s well.”

“……Isn’t the well used for drinking water?”

“Yes, that being purifies the water. Gets rid of any unpleasant smells too. Our water is tasty, isn’t it?”

I had assumed a wealthy household would have its own purification systems, but to think it was thanks to a monster.

I shook my head, regretting having heard the truth.

“But how do I use this? It’s just a stone.”

“That’s how it feels to you, my lady. But if a human sees it, they’ll go mad. The light from that stone is a color that humans cannot perceive.”

“I want to make a deal with Columbus, not drive him crazy.”

“I’m not sure how far that goes either…”

Miridi also seemed unsure how to use it.

*’Still, I don’t have any other options.’*

I continued to question Miridi and the attendant about the stone’s effects. Fortunately, there seemed to be a way, and before long, I had learned how to use it.

*’When exposed in small amounts, it stimulates a person’s desires, they said.’*

Prolonged contact would lead to madness or death, but a very brief exposure had a different effect.

I wondered if it was right to use such a thing, but failing would mean the entire city becoming a den of fish, so it was a sacrifice I had to accept.

*’Besides, they said this small fragment would have no aftereffects. I can control it.’*

They said that simply encountering the monsters in the castle would drive one mad, but this fragment wasn’t on that level.

Furthermore, Columbus’s desires were obvious. It was an adolescent desire to show off his thirst for knowledge and be acknowledged by others.

*’I can use this.’*

Once the conclusion was reached, I acted quickly.

First, I caught Columbus alone and showed him the inside of the box. Then, as his desire for the stone grew, I used it as leverage to get him to arrange a meeting with the Marquess.

“Incredible, my lady, it was perfect!”

And the plan succeeded flawlessly.

So perfectly that even I, who was acting, was surprised.

“I was truly amazed! You seemed like a different person! Now I understand why Wendy is so afraid of you!”

“That’s a compliment, right?”

“Of course!”

Miridi bounced around, shouting as if genuinely moved. I shook my head, telling him that was enough.

Unlike his delight, I felt conflicted.

*’This really makes me feel like I’m on the monsters’ side.’*

I had steeled myself for this to some extent, but seeing the deranged Columbus in front of me, I felt a pang of guilt.

……No, the guilt wasn’t really because Columbus had changed.

*’It’s guilt towards myself, for being able to do such a thing without hesitation.’*

Living in the castle for so long, perhaps I had changed too. That anxiety resurfaced.

“Ah, my lady. Dinner time is approaching. Shall we get ready?”

At that moment, Miridi conveniently interrupted my thoughts.

I nodded in agreement.

“The goal is to get close to the Marquess during the meal, right?”

Miridi seemed curious about what would happen next.

“That’ll be difficult. It’s dinner, but there will likely be dozens of nobles attending.”

According to Columbus, this dinner would include Imperial family members from the capital and influential figures from the northern region. Many would come as families or couples, so the number would probably exceed twenty.

In such a setting, it would be difficult to make an impression on the Marquess.

*’I’ve already promised to give the stone to Columbus, so I can’t use it twice.’*

Honestly, the most convenient outcome for me would be for the Count to arrive and build a rapport with the Marquess, but he showed no sign of arriving—perhaps his business wasn’t settled.

For some reason, I had a feeling he wouldn’t come soon.

“Then what will you do?”

I shrugged in response.

“This time, the only way is the straightforward approach.”

“The straightforward approach…”

In high society, there was a clear center of power.

That was the ladies.

No matter how male-dominated society was, the undeniable atmosphere of high society was set by the ladies.

This ball was also part of high society, so the target of approach was obvious.

“I need to get a seat next to the Marquess’s wife.”

After Columbus, it was her turn.

At my words, Miridi clapped his hands and laughed.

“After the son, the mother! Are you going to devour the Marquess’s household, one by one, like this?”

“……I think you need to change the way you look at me a little, Sir Miridi.”

‘Devour’—anyone listening would think I was a villain trying to take over the Marquess’s household.

When I made a displeased face, Miridi tilted his head.

“But the heir has already become your slave, my lady.”

“Change your tone too. The Empire forbids slavery.”

Honestly, this vulgarity has its limits.

Muttering to myself, I headed straight for the dining hall. First, I needed to get information about the family from Columbus.

Behind me, a sulking Miridi muttered in a small voice.

“But it’s true; his soul was already half-gone.”

*It was no different from the Count’s methods.*

Miridi’s mutterings didn’t reach my ears.