Terminally-Ill Genius Dark Knight - Chapter 99

ToC“You must have liked that Sean guy quite a bit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone Lady Eleanor brought in so directly.”

Pause.

Eleanor stiffens at the words of the good-looking boy in the newsboy cap.

Rick.

It was him.

Eleanor closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, scanning her surroundings.

After Sean left.

Eleanor set her tea down, ignoring Rick’s casual conversation. She hadn’t taken a sip when she’d talked to him.

Now that she had a chance to catch her breath, she drank the cold tea.

Eleanor casts a calm gaze at Rick as he climbs furiously. Her quill paused in its scribbling.

“I don’t know when you got the right to tell me what to do. Your job is to be a accountant, not to interfere in my affairs. And if you’re not careful, I don’t think it’s going to end well for you either.”

“but… … Well, that’s right. That kind of person dares to challenge the upper lord. It could happen. Don’t worry! You already know that I’m not that stupid, right?”

“If you can’t speak.”

Eleanor replied nonchalantly, but she, too, was sensing that something was amiss with her accountant’s behavior lately.

Something didn’t feel right.

‘Perhaps it starts with the recent resurrection of the Paimon and its handling by Dean Noah. There may be a connection. It’s too early to tell, but I have a bad feeling about this.’

Eleanor was perceptive.

Being a merchant is all about looking people in the eye, watching their behavior, getting to know them, giving and taking what you want.

That’s why she’d given Sean a gift as a down payment after asking him to sign the contract at the last minute.

The Flame Spirit Pendant, a treasure of her own.

It’s definitely something she can use, something her mother left her. It was supposed to be given to her lifelong companion, but in truth, it didn’t mean much.

Men don’t mean much to Eleanor, at least.

How simple are people’s minds?

Now that she had seen the inside of so many people’s heads, Eleanor realized that their thoughts boiled down to one thing.

They want something from the other person.

Whether it’s affection, gold, honor…….

or anything else.

That’s why there’s such a thing as a bargain, and she realized that this feeling of love wasn’t so different from that.

You give a 10, you get a 10 back, and that’s how you feel about each other.

From that perspective, relationships with other people were not very pleasant.

It’s not profitable, it’s not going to make me any gold, so why would I want to exchange emotions?

To control the range of my emotions and get married?

It’s ridiculous.

‘Doing something that might cause me to lose money? That disqualifies me as a merchant.’

It was natural to snort. Love that only gave didn’t mean much, at least to Eleanor.

But she didn’t even realize it.

She was, after all, a scion of House Rivallin, and it was only natural that she would follow in the footsteps of the man she hated so much.

Perhaps it was only natural.

And so she had given away her mother’s treasured possessions.

to a man she barely knew.

‘The artifact identifiers have never been able to determine what it does, anyway. It’s nothing more than an old memory. It’s better to be invisible.’

I’m not sure how much it’s worth, but at least it’s a suitable artifact to give to someone who saved my life.

……Of course, by that measure, Nox had saved her life once, but that was a different matter for Eleanor.

Eleanor dismissed her thoughts of Sean and the artifact and glared at Rick. Then she smiled coldly.

“You’d better be careful, whatever you choose to do afterward.”

“I’ll take that to heart, My Lady.”

Rick smiled at Eleanor with his usual cheerfulness. Why? Unlike before, there was a faint glint of fear in his eyes now.

More precisely, there was a clear fear etched on his face in his pupils. He has no idea why, and his own safety shouldn’t be the least of his concerns…….

Meanwhile, Rick grinds his teeth as he recalls the face of a man.

Nox von Reinhafer.

One of his masters, an archduke who should have ruled the continent. The insanely talented boy who had defeated Paimon.

‘I was right, he’s a dangerous man, and I’ll have to make quick work of him from my position. …… As a bonus, I should be able to deal with the stupid prince.’

Rick stared at Eleanor for a moment, eyeing the quill as he planned to take out two people at once, then turned away.

‘It’s been a few years since I’ve been sneaking around the top,’ he mused, organizing the now-familiar chart, ‘and the top has grown quite fat and appetizing.’

If he started getting ready now, he’d be able to make the deadline.

This time, though, he tried not to downplay one thing.

Nox von Reinhafer.

A name that now sent shivers down his spine. He was a man to be wary of.

Not even the prince, who might be stupid but certainly had intelligence.

-It was a talent he couldn’t afford to lose.

-I hate to admit it, but he was brilliant.

The truth is, the prince had talents of his own, and it was outrageous for the prideful bastard to say such a thing.

The first prince, Louis, was certainly a talent in the imperial family, just below Penelope, who is often compared to the greatest talent in the world.

He was several years older than Nox, and he would have used his power to pressure him.

But he was no match for him.

In the end, he was defeated, and Princess Penelope began to pressure Nox, even arranging a sham engagement to take advantage of him.

In many ways, Nox is a hindrance to Rick’s efforts to help revive the Archduke. He has to keep reminding himself what he can do here.

But he doesn’t worry for long.

It’s because he’s been able to think on his feet before.

Rick, or rather Auschulz, was confident enough in his ability to take him out, which was how he had survived this hellish continent so far.

‘Nox. You won’t get your way this time. I don’t know what you want, or what you’re trying to get your hands on, but you’re going to die.’

The corners of Rick’s mouth lifted.

A very feral smile.

It contained a deep malice that even the word despicable could not begin to describe.

* * *

__________________

[Basic Info]

Name: Flame Elemental Pendant

Category: Accessory

Rank: Superior

Property: Flame

Stat: Gain Passive Skill [Elemental Affinity (Award)].

Wear Restrictions: Eleanor de Rivalin’s love or her total affection.

Special Effects: Grants the passive skill [Elemental Affinity] when equipped. Allows you to pact with fire spirits, with the class of spirits you can pact with depending on your MP.

However, the location will still be shared with Eleanor de Rivalin when equipped.

__________________

The information on the new items is exactly as I remember it.

This is to be expected. So far, the information on my items hasn’t changed since the Inner Lunatic became a reality.

So why did Eleanor give this to me?

As I recall, it was a memento from Eleanor’s mother. When she found the love of her life, she was supposed to give it to him, pledging her love.

However, I’m not sure why she’s suddenly willing to give it to a character named Sean.

Is it to spy on him?

It’s a very mercantile, very Eleanor-esque idea, so I can’t help but consider this possibility. But it also made me wonder.

‘Even so, I’ve never seen this before in-game…….’

It’s weird.

But more than resolving that, it was the fact that I couldn’t wear it right away that saddened me as a gamer the most.

‘I don’t have enough MP yet. I need to get to at least 15 to be able to summon higher-ranked spirits…… and from there, I’ll need to get to 20 HP and 15 MP to be able to make a contract with Salamander, the Spirit King.

I can only describe this as a scam item.

The only problem is, if I equip it, I’m going to keep telling her where I am, and she’s going to find out that Sean and Nox are the same person.

Damn it, just don’t give it to her, it’s a pain in the ass. It’s an attributed item, so you can’t just put it on your alter ego.

Which means that at some point, I’ll have to reveal to her that I’m Nox…… and then I’ll have to use this artifact.

‘I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t ask for it back…….’

This is Eleanor, not favorably disposed to Nox, at least.

It’s her mother’s artifact, so she’s many times more likely to ask for it back. This is where my lack of luck comes into play again.

The Luck stat will probably get me the item, but it doesn’t seem to do much to keep me on an even keel.

‘Hah… The good news is that the tracking effect only kicks in after I equip this artifact. As long as I don’t wear it yet, it’s fine, though it’s a waste.

It’s better than earning Eleanor’s suspicions. She’s [an acting genius].

I’m a genius.

It’s impossible to fake it.

“First of all, I have to go back and make a plan. Most importantly… I need to stop by the main house. The academy won’t be up and running right away anyway, so I have time.”

There are a few buildings that have been destroyed in the recent Paimon raids. Even with our advanced magic, it will take at least two weeks to repair them.

In the meantime, I can visit my home, I suppose.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Reinhafer.’

While I was glad to be reunited with my units, I had to admit that the Reinhafer mansion was not a very safe place for me.

Besides, I have a lot to defend this time.

With that thought in mind, I decided to start preparing the best questionnaire for Theo to ask me with the mind of a job seeker.

Oh, and one more thing. I also had to find a way to solve a big problem.

[Note: You currently have 18 days to live!]

A lifespan that I blew defeating Paimon. If I didn’t do something about this, I was going to die in about three weeks.

I swear for the first time in a long time.

I’m f*cked.

* * *

-You’re a succubus and you haven’t taken the power of the opposite sex yet…! How can you claim to be my daughter and have the blood of the Sader Clan?

-How is it that a subject with your peculiarities can’t bewitch others like this mother? I would rather have another sister inherit the blood of a demon!

-I hate to see you! Get out of here!

A memory of the past.

The little zither echoed softly in the ears of Lana von Sader as she slept. Her shoulders slump as she remembers the voice of her mother, the voice of her matriarch.

Lana von Sader.

She has succubi blood to bewitch the opposite sex, but she is woefully unskilled at attracting men.

Not that she wasn’t attracted to them.

She’s naturally succubus-like in her charms and fair features. She was naturally endowed with a sensual body.

But apart from that, she was unfortunately without numbers.

She also had a slight fear of men.

That’s why she hides whenever she sees someone approaching her. This was also the reason why she hadn’t participated in the entrance ceremony in the past.

How could she hold hands with a strange man, hug him, and… kiss him?

“Hiccup!”

At that moment, a hiccup suddenly leaks out, a small gasp escaping her covered mouth. It’s all too much for Lana, a chaste manwha lover, to comprehend. [sic]

It was then.

“Ugh… I suddenly got a headache…….”

With a mild pain.

Her mind flashed back to the time before, when she had lost her memory, and her behavior towards Nox.

“I, I… what did I… what did I do to Nox… ……?”

As she speaks, her own words echo in her head.

-A kiss will do it.

-One kiss will do it.

-One kiss will do it…….

“Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Lana von Sader cursed herself for being born with a dual personality.

The other self, hidden beneath her timid exterior, was as surely realized as her succubus self was under a glacier.

So when she felt her power draining, the self that had been holding on for dear life was awakened by Nox’s transfer of dark magic.

What if…?

Lana timidly approached the mirror and looked at herself.

Then she heard a voice. It didn’t come from outside, but only from inside her head, and her reflection began to smile, the corners of her mouth twitching upward.

“You finally noticed?”

It was the voice.

Lana’s succubus self had finally awakened!

{TN Notes}

Lana’s name might totally be different when the manwha catches up.ToC