Chapter 29

Variables (2)

“What... did you just say?”

Kai could not believe what Bernard was telling him.

“You gave the late count’s private assets to that bastard—no, to Lord Adrian?”

Bernard had said he had handed the late count’s private assets over to Adrian. Kai pressed him for an answer, but Bernard offered no explanation.

“... I am sorry.”

He merely repeated his apology. He kept saying he was sorry until Seraphia intervened.

“No, Head Steward.”

“...”

“Brother’s demand was legitimate. You simply followed the proper legal procedures.”

“...”

“Above all, the greatest share of the blame lies with me.”

Though she had never expected this to happen.

Seraphia forced herself to swallow those last words.

As she had said, Bernard could not be blamed. He had merely acted lawfully as House Whitewolf’s head steward. Kai knew that too, which was why he did not blame or reprimand him.

He simply could not see a way forward.

The funds Adrian had extorted were more than just the late count’s private wealth. The funeral following his death had been expensive, and those costs had been covered with county funds. They could not carelessly touch his private assets when Adrian had a stake in them. Until the will was accepted, those assets had to remain untouched.

They had therefore intended to draw on those assets once Seraphia was formally appointed lord. Instead, Adrian had swooped in and taken every last bit.

“We already lack the food and firewood we need to prepare for the coming winter...!”

“... I am sorry. I should have found some way to refuse him...”

“No. You have done nothing wrong, Head Steward. This is all my responsibility, so please don’t say that.”

After reassuring Bernard, Seraphia spoke again.

“For now... let’s trace where the money goes. We need to recover as much of it as we can. Head Steward?”

“Yes, my lady?”

“Do you know what Brother wanted the money for?”

“Well...”

Bernard trailed off for a moment. Then, looking as though even he were wondering whether he had this right, he slowly spoke.

“He said he intended to establish a trading company.”

Kai and Seraphia tilted their heads at the same time, one to the left and the other to the right.

“... Pardon?”

“A trading... company?”

He wasn’t going to spend it gambling?

A trading company, in short, was a merchant association—a group of two or more merchants pursuing profit. Its purpose was therefore to sell goods and services with economic value.

Seraphia and Kai’s confusion was only natural.

“A trading... company?”

“What do you mean?”

A trading company? Where the hell had that come from?

No, even setting aside his decision to establish one...

“What on earth does he intend to sell...?”

Whitewolf county lay on the boundary between the snowfields and the snowy mountains. The bitterly cold weather prevented even conifers from growing naturally. At best, a little moss could be found, and even that was rare.

There were no mines or other underground resources, either. As a result, the county produced no particular specialties. It could not even feed itself and always had to import its entire food supply from other territories.

“He did say he would sell monster parts, but...”

Monster parts meant things such as hides and bones. The monsters living in the snowy mountains and snowfields had evolved along distinct paths to adapt to the bitter cold, and their parts could certainly serve as resources and merchandise.

That... made a certain amount of sense. In fact, selling monster parts was currently Whitewolf county’s sole means of making a living.

“But there wouldn’t be much stock available, would there?”

There simply wasn’t enough. More precisely, maintaining a steady supply was difficult. Once a batch was sold, that was it. It certainly did not warrant establishing an entire trading company.

“I fear...”

Bernard slowly closed his eyes. Though he did not finish, Seraphia understood what he meant.

Adrian intended to pocket the money, as they said. Establishing a trading company was merely the pretext he had used to squeeze it out of them. He had another purpose in mind for the funds.

And Seraphia knew all too well... what that purpose was.

In the end...

‘I thought he had changed...’

Adrian had reverted to his old self. He had once again become the count’s wastrel son, giving himself over to gambling and pleasure.

Just as Seraphia’s expression darkened sharply, there came a sound.

KNOCK, KNOCK.

Someone was knocking at the door. She hastily composed her expression before speaking.

“Come in.”

With her permission, a maid from the lord’s castle cautiously entered.

“What is it?”

“Lord Adrian would like to see you, Lady Seraphia...”

“Brother wants to see me?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“He could have just come in...”

She could understand knocking, but it hurt a little that he had sent a maid to ask whether she would see him.

There was a reason for that, however.

“He would like to meet you in the dining room.”

“What? The dining room?”

“Yes, my lady. Shall I tell him you are busy?”

Seraphia gave a small, dismissive wave.

“No, not at all. I’ll go to the dining room.”

She rose at once and headed there.

* * *

An appetizing aroma reached her from the far end of the corridor. When she opened the dining room door, she found a beautifully plated steak on the table.

“Brother cooked this himself?”

The steak had been prepared by none other than Adrian.

The marbling across the steak was a work of art. White fat threaded through the crimson meat, while its expertly seared surface had formed a crisp, golden crust.

‘Was Brother always such a good cook?’

It was an absolutely splendid steak. The mere sight of it made her mouth water; she would have believed it was the work of a first-rate chef.

‘But where did he get such a precious ingredient?’

Meat suitable for steaks was exceedingly precious, especially here in the county. It seemed this was why he had summoned her to the dining room...

“Try it.”

“... Huh?!”

Seraphia’s eyes flew wide. She looked around several times, but there was no one else nearby. Still, just to be sure, she pointed an index finger at her own chest.

“M-me?!”

“Don’t want it?”

“No! I’ll eat it!! I will!”

Seraphia hurried into her seat.

‘Brother made this for me...’

Her heart was so full of excitement that she could hardly think straight. The question of where he had found this precious meat was long forgotten. She eagerly picked up her knife and fork.

Just then...

“I will taste it first.”

Someone caught her hand. Turning, she found Kai stopping her, though she had no idea when he had arrived.

“We cannot be too careful.”

In plain terms, he meant Adrian might have poisoned it. Adrian hated Seraphia enough to do such a thing, after all. Had he not strangled her as though he meant to kill her just a month ago?

Kai glanced at Adrian. Fortunately, he did not seem particularly bothered.

“Suit yourself.”

At his reply, Kai took only a knife and carefully sliced the steak. Perhaps he had imbued it with aura; it cut smoothly through the meat without a fork to hold it steady. He set the knife down, speared the piece with a fork, and placed it in his mouth.

That instant...

“...!!”

Kai’s eyes involuntarily flew wide. His gaze went blank, as though he were in shock.

“Wh-what in the world...?”

Anyone could see that he found it utterly delicious. In fact, he was barely suppressing the urge that had suddenly surged within him.

“Me too! I want to try it too!”

Seraphia promptly snatched the fork from him.

Holding a knife and fork in either hand, she gently sliced the steak, revealing a tender, moist interior cooked to a perfect medium rare. She hurriedly put a piece into her mouth.

“Mmmm...!!”

With every chew, rich juices flowed out and filled her mouth. The thick layers of fat melted on her tongue, leaving a deep, lingering flavor. Though the fat content was considerably higher than that of other meats, it did not taste greasy in the slightest. Instead, the exquisite balance between fat and flesh gave the meat a richness and depth.

She kept chewing.

“It’s really, really delicious!!”

Without a doubt, she could call it the finest steak she had ever eaten.

Of course, how could anything Adrian cooked for her taste bad? She was sure even a beetle he fried would taste delicious. But even without those rose-colored glasses, this steak was the best of the best.

A rich flavor lingered throughout her mouth, and her mind kept craving more steak. Unable to resist, she speared it again. Even the time it took to cut felt like a waste, so she bit straight into the whole steak.

An intense savoriness spread through her mouth with every chew. Her hands showed no sign of stopping.

By the time she came to her senses, only an empty plate remained. The steak had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Kai looked a little disappointed. Seraphia, too, felt a deep pang of regret that it was gone, but she also could not contain her curiosity.

“What kind of meat is this?!”

It was on an entirely different level from anything she had eaten before. She had not tried every kind of meat on the continent, but this was a flavor she had never tasted in her life.

“Gelu Drake meat.”

No wonder. She had thought it was on an entirely different level from anything she had eaten—huh?

“... Wh-what?”

“What... did you just say?”

Kai asked alongside Seraphia. And who could blame them? Gelu Drake meat?

“G-Gelu Drake...?”

“Surely you don’t mean the monster we recently slew?”

Seraphia and Kai asked again, their expressions pleading for it not to be true.

But no, surely not. It couldn’t be.

Adrian might hate Seraphia, but even he would never feed her monster meat. He would sooner feed her cockroaches. He would never, ever give her monster meat—

“That’s right.”

—Or apparently, he would.

In that instant, Seraphia’s world came crashing down.

“Uuuurgh—!!”

She hastily shoved her fingers into her mouth. She scraped frantically at her tongue, trying to bring up the meat that had entered her stomach.

Humans must never eat monster meat. It was not that they could not eat it. They must not eat it. The Madness within monster meat drove people insane.

She had to throw it up immediately. In truth, it was already too late.

Even so, Seraphia desperately thrust her fingers all the way down her throat. Meanwhile, Kai shouted through gritted teeth.

“Have you lost your mind?!”

He drew his sword like a bolt of lightning. A bluish energy instantly gathered and shimmered along the blade.

Unmistakable murderous intent.

Kai swung his aura-imbued sword with every intention of killing Adrian. But he would not get his wish.

CLANG!

Brilliant sparks flew before his eyes.

“...!!”

Kai’s eyes widened in horror. The weapon Adrian was using to block his sword was...

‘His fingernails...?’

There was no mistaking it. Adrian had raised his fingernails and was blocking Kai’s sword with them. But he was no beast. How was that even possible?

The very idea of human fingernails stopping a sword was absurd. Not even a beast could do that, let alone a human.

And this was no ordinary sword. It was imbued with aura, sharp enough to cut even steel. Kai’s blade had torn through the Gelu Drake’s hide, yet Adrian was stopping it with nothing but his fingernails.

And he was doing more than merely blocking it.

BOOM!

Kai’s aura burst where it met Adrian. The impact shattered lights and dishes, throwing the dining room into chaos. Kai was hurled far backward. He hastily regained his balance, but he could do nothing to steady his wavering eyes.

... This was just like before.

The Gelu Drake’s claws.

The exact same thing had happened when he faced those dragon claws. His bewildered mind reeled with ever greater shock.

But he soon pulled himself together. There was a more pressing issue right now.

“Don’t you know what happens when someone eats monster meat?!”

“I do.”

“And knowing that, you still—!”

“So.”

Adrian gave a casual jerk of his chin.

“Have you gone mad?”

“Of course I—!”

... Huh?

Kai froze. Slowly, he lowered his gaze and checked his condition.

... For some reason, he was fine.

But how was that possible? By now, Madness should have consumed him and robbed him of reason. He should have become a raving lunatic, no different from a monster.

Yet he was fine. Despite having unmistakably eaten Gelu Drake meat.

Anyone who ate monster meat was invariably consumed by Madness and driven insane. Nor did it happen gradually. Madness surged the instant the meat was eaten.

Could he be all right because he had eaten only one bite?

His gaze darted to Seraphia, who looked utterly dazed.

“Huh? H-huh?!”

Seraphia fumbled about, her silver hair flying every which way. Her unfocused eyes roamed over her body as she stood there at a complete loss. Her cheeks, as white as the snow on the mountains, were faintly flushed with tension and bewilderment. Her lips tried to form words, but they tangled together and refused to come out properly.

“Wha?! Huh...?”

Her small, slender hands kept clutching and releasing the hem of her clothes. As she fiddled with her hair, her fingertips would not stop trembling.

She looked utterly vacant, as though she had dozens of screws loose. Yet she certainly did not look insane. Rather than being consumed by Madness...

“Whaaaat?!?!”

It was more accurate to say she was consumed by confusion, fumbling about in a panic.

At last, Seraphia slowly raised her gaze. Kai studied her eyes closely. They were red as rubies, yet he could find no trace of Madness anywhere in them. They simply shone as brilliantly as ever, like beautiful jewels...

“Why am I... all right...?”

As though on cue, Seraphia and Kai both whipped their heads toward Adrian.

* * *

Seraphia and Kai remained perfectly sane despite having eaten monster meat. At last, I could be certain.

‘So it was absorption after all.’

My Predation[S+] did not copy its target’s abilities. It “absorbed” them, “taking them away.”

‘Looks like I can sell it.’

And so, at last, I could be certain it was safe to sell monster meat as merchandise.