**Chapter- 5**
—
Sebastian was seized by overwhelming fear at Arthur’s words.
*‘How…?’*
Arthur Bayern, who was supposed to be mute, wasn’t stammering.
And he even knew about the poison disguised as medicine.
This was something that should have been absolutely impossible.
*‘From where did it start?’*
Only a very small number of people knew about this.
Cain Dormund. Kana Dormund.
Only those two came to mind immediately.
And those two would never leak such information.
What good would come from revealing that they had turned the duke’s son into a stammering fool?
That’s why it was so baffling.
How could the mute young master Arthur Bayern know all this?
Then Arthur opened his mouth.
“Hm… Come to think of it, it *is* strange. I was fed poison every day, and not only do I not stammer
—I even know the whole story.”
Arthur smiled as he said this.
That smile
—somehow warped
—made Sebastian unconsciously step back.
Watching him, Arthur spoke again.
“Undine.”
At his call, a puddle of water formed on the white marble floor.
Sebastian, stepping backward, failed to notice the puddle and slipped, tumbling to the ground.
“Urgh!”
With a groan, Sebastian lifted his head.
At the same moment, Arthur Bayern, who had silently approached, grabbed him by the hair.
Startled, Sebastian shouted desperately.
“Y-young master…!!! What are you doing?!”
Arthur tilted his head.
“Can’t you tell?”
“…?”
“I’m going to kill a traitor.”
Sebastian screamed in horror.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about! Poison? Why would I ever feed you something like that?!”
At his excuse, Arthur grinned.
Then, without warning, he yanked Sebastian’s hair and slammed his head into the floor.
**Thud!**
With a heavy sound, Sebastian screamed in pain.
Arthur leaned down and held out a bottle of medicine to him.
“Then prove it.”
“…?”
“Prove that the medicine you brought isn’t poison. Take it.”
Sebastian trembled violently and shouted.
“No, young master!!”
“Don’t raise your voice. Unless you want to end up like Bill Dormund.”
“…!”
Sebastian shut his mouth at the warning.
At the same time, one person flashed through his mind.
One-eyed Bill Dormund.
*‘D-don’t tell me… he’s been in his right mind since back then?’*
Arthur gave another warning.
“If you raise your voice even once more, I’ll start by cutting out your tongue. I don’t like torture either, so it’s in both our interests that you stay quiet.”
Sebastian nodded.
Seeing this, Arthur smiled sweetly and extended the medicine again.
“Now, go ahead and prove it.”
“…….”
“You said it’s not poison, didn’t you? Then it’s simple. If you just take that medicine, this whole situation will blow over like a misunderstanding. So go on—take it, Sebastian.”
Faced with Arthur’s demand, Sebastian bit his lip hard.
*‘What on earth… is happening?’*
The fact that the mute young master hadn’t been poisoned was shocking enough—but the greater shock was that he had known the truth and stayed silent all along.
*‘And that magical display earlier…’*
But there wasn’t time to think. Things were spiraling too quickly.
Sebastian gave up thinking and threw himself flat before Arthur.
“Young master… no, my lord. Please, show me mercy.”
When Arthur tilted his head, Sebastian begged again.
“Please, I beg of you… Think of the loyalty I’ve given this house. Please, forgive me… just this once.”
Arthur let out a short laugh.
“What’ll you do for me if I forgive you?”
“I’ll tell you everything I know!”
Arthur stroked his chin, then nodded.
“Speak.”
Given permission, Sebastian immediately began talking.
From the details of his past, to who the spies in the household were.
Even how they communicated.
He spilled everything he knew without hesitation.
Listening intently, Arthur eventually exclaimed in amazement.
“They were spies too?”
“Y-yes! That’s correct!”
Arthur tilted his head at the terrified reply.
*‘Should I be… happy about this?’*
Among the traitors Sebastian named, there were some Arthur hadn’t known about.
He hesitated, but eventually shrugged.
If it weren’t for Sebastian’s confession, he would’ve never discovered them. So in a way, this was a good thing.
Lowering his gaze again, Arthur said to Sebastian:
“Alright, Sebastian. I’ll forgive you.”
“My lord!!”
“I’ll spare your life. But you still have to take the medicine.”
Sebastian looked as though he were about to cheer—then froze.
Smiling broadly, Arthur continued.
“I was originally going to kill you. But I’ll give you a chance. If you take that and survive, I’ll really let you live.”
“N-no…”
“Why not? Don’t tell me that medicine really *was* meant to kill me?”
“T-that’s…”
Arthur stood up.
Then he poked Sebastian square in the chest.
“Still, I’ll be merciful. You only have to take one of the three pills. Isn’t that tempting? You never know…”
Arthur’s lips curled.
“…Maybe it’s a poison that only works if you take all three. So go ahead, take one, Sebastian.”
—
—
**“Arthur—!!!”**
Another uproar had erupted in House Bayern.
“Th-this is…”
A loyal retainer.
Sebastian, the butler, had become a vegetable.
And the incident had occurred in the young master’s own room.
Caused by the young master’s own medicine.
“…You didn’t take it, right? You didn’t take it, my son?”
Yonel trembled as she embraced her child.
Then turned to look at the now-drooling, poisoned Sebastian with terrified eyes.
“Can he be cured?”
“…We’re terribly sorry, Your Grace. This is a poison we’ve never encountered before—we have no known antidote.”
At the physician’s words, Yonel roared in fury.
“What the hell were you all doing until things got *this* far?!”
The retainers shrank back in panic.
“How could something like this happen within the Duke’s estate?! This is madness!”
“Your Grace…”
“Don’t speak! I am *deeply* disappointed in you all!”
Yonel Bayern’s rage left the household speechless.
“Find out who did this. Immediately!”
The retainers bowed in haste and fled the room.
Once they were gone, Yonel bit her lip.
Arthur, quietly watching, got up and approached her.
“…Motherrr. I’m okayyyy.”
Yonel turned to him, tears brimming in her eyes.
“I’m sorry… my son. I’m sorry. Your powerless mother let something like this happen to you…”
Arthur smacked his lips.
*‘It’s not her fault. It’s mine…’*
But he didn’t say it aloud.
Telling her now would only bring more harm than good.
*‘If she moves carelessly after learning the truth, Cain Dormund will move too.’*
That’s why, even though he had returned to normal, Arthur still pretended to stammer.
At least until he had fully healed and set everything in place—it was better to hide his change.
*‘Now that I’ve come to my senses, I can think about these things.’*
Arthur shifted his gaze.
The once-loyal retainer who had turned him into a stammerer—now reduced to a drooling idiot.
He had suffered exactly what he had tried to inflict.
But Arthur only smacked his lips and murmured:
*‘Feels like I got clean revenge this time… but still, killing them feels better.’*
After all, the greatest pain humans can feel is death.
Sebastian may have become a mindless fool, but he was still alive.
That fact disappointed Arthur
—but he endured it.
*‘I’m not a madman anymore. I need to learn to enjoy clean revenge like this.’*
—
—
Time passed.
In the mansion of the Dormund family.
Cain Dormund had just learned of the events at House Bayern and burst into laughter.
“…Hah!”
Then he turned, asking:
“Anything you want to say?”
At his question, Kana Dormund, kneeling before him, trembled violently.
—
“D-dear… I—it’s not…”
Cain raised his hand and slapped her across the face.
“Make a sound, and you die.”
The strength of a 7-circle knight was not something a mere human could endure.
But Kana Dormund bit back her scream with all her might.
If she let out a sound now, it wouldn’t end with just a slap.
After being hit until her cheek was swollen, Kana knelt once again.
“F-forgive me…”
Cain raised his hand once more—
—but just then, a knock came.
“Father. It’s Ian.”
The firstborn of House Dormund.
Cain lowered his hand and replied:
“Come in.”
With permission granted, Ian opened the door and stepped inside.
He briefly glanced at his kneeling mother, then averted his eyes.
“I’ve made contact with the Empire’s third prince.”
“What did he say?”
Kana bit her lip and quickly left the room.
Bloodstains trailed where she walked, but the father and son didn’t spare them a glance.
“Did he attach any conditions?”
“He said he’d state them when you meet in person.”
“Hmph… What kind of grand offer is he planning to make, being so secretive?”
Cain trailed off and sat down.
He looked at his son and asked:
“Did you hear about the incident?”
“Yes. I heard both that Sebastian became a cripple… and that the youngest was beaten.”
“You were in Arcane, the city of mages—how did you hear?”
“This concerns the Great Cause. How could I not?”
“Then I’m curious. What do you make of it?”
Ian hesitated before answering.
“There’s something off about the flow.”
“Off?”
“If an incident like this were going to happen, there should’ve been some signs—but there were none.”
“Go on.”
“Setting aside the youngest being beaten… the fact that Sebastian is one of our people is something only a very few within the Bayern household know. Yet judging by the incident, it’s as if someone already knew he’d betray them.”
“You’re suggesting an internal traitor?”
Ian nodded.
“It’s quite possible.”
“…Not a bad idea. But it’s not what I think.”
“…?”
“If there was a traitor inside… who would they give the information to?”
“…The head of House Bayern?”
“Exactly. But I heard the head of Bayern was *furious* after seeing what happened to Sebastian.”
“She could have been acting.”
“You think a traitor, watching a man who tried to poison her own son become a cripple, would *weep* instead of laugh? And even reward him generously?”
Cain laughed.
“Given what we know of Yonel Bayern’s personality, she’d *never* do that.”
“……”
“She loves her family too dearly for that.”
Cain stood and folded his arms behind his back.
Ian said nothing, standing quietly behind him.
Then, after a moment—
“…What do you think?”
“Sir?”
“About the eldest son of Bayern.”
Ian’s eyes widened.
“What if Arthur Bayern… was behind it all?”
