Episode 11
That banshee was a ghost, yet she had an incredibly beautiful face.
A pure, innocent-looking young girl, you might say.
She was even dressed in a maid’s outfit, which would surely appeal to those with certain particular tastes. But what did it matter?
She was a ghost.
And not just any ghost—she was a gloomy, downright sinister one.
“…I came to look at some books.”
[Yes… I will guide you. What category… are you interested in?]
This place was the Black Magic Archive.
Outside, in the territory of the ‘Light Faction,’ these books were considered forbidden—mere possession could lead to being burned at the stake. Yet here, countless such tomes were openly available.
[Bloodline Magic? Destruction Studies? Summoning? Curses? Ah… there are no books on Necromancy.]
Necromancy.
The black magic that deals with the undead.
‘That’s a shame.’
Necromancy was truly the pinnacle of black magic.
The power to raise an army all on your own!
‘Among the twelve great mage families, the Necromancy Mages are counted among the top few.’
The Necromancy Mages strictly forbade the external distribution of their knowledge.
So, even within the Mage Empire, books on Necromancy were extremely rare… or so the ‘Dark Gossip’—a companion of the hero’s party—had told them.
“Are all the other categories available?”
[The basics are all here. Ah… but there are no books on demon contracts.]
The banshee explained.
[Dark Mages… forbid contracts with demons.]
Chris nodded.
He already knew that.
Surprisingly, even within the Mage Empire, making contracts with demons was largely taboo.
‘The Mage Empire pursues the power of darkness, not the worship of evil.’
There was a clear distinction.
The Empire’s ideal was ‘survival of the strongest’ through dark power.
What the outside world called ‘evil’ was mostly considered evil here as well—though the standards differed.
Contracts with demons were taboo because demons pursued evil.
Human sacrifices, murder, inflicting pain on others, greed—
These were the values demons cherished.
‘The problem is, the Mage Empire doesn’t outright ban contracts with demons.’
They were taboo and discouraged, but not forcibly prohibited.
It was a matter of personal freedom.
As a result, many mages had secretly made contracts with demons, and these mages became the core of the Mage Empire’s forces that would one day clash with the ‘Light Faction.’
Chris, as the pinnacle of the Mage Empire, had to stop those mages who, under the banner of demons, sought to destroy the world.
‘But that’s a problem for later. For now, I need to swallow this Dark Mage whole.’
The banshee’s maid outfit fluttered eerily as she whispered.
[Which branch of black magic would you like to focus on? Since it’s your first time… perhaps you’d like to try several branches?]
That was the usual approach.
Mages in the Alliance typically learned various types of magic up to the second rank, then specialized from the third rank onward.
Chris should have followed that method, naturally.
“But before that, there’s a black magic spell I want to learn. Bring me the book I mentioned.”
The banshee looked startled.
[But… that book is…?]
“Why? Aren’t all the books here available for reading?”
[Yes, but…]
The banshee hesitated again.
[That’s a fourth-rank black magic spell, isn’t it?]
Fourth rank!
The so-called ‘Prime’ level.
Chris was asking for a spellbook that only experts could handle, even though he didn’t know the basics yet.
[You won’t even be able to understand it.]
“No, I can.”
Chris gave a simple explanation.
“I’m actually a genius.”
[…….]
The banshee fell silent for a moment.
Her expression was something like, “Our young master… so adorable, so precious.”
[Oh ho ho… Our young master is not only cool… but a genius as well. Truly… impressive.]
“Enough with the flattery. Just go get it. I need it.”
[…Yes, understood. Excuse me, but may I ask why you need that spell?]
Chris paused, then answered.
“To catch a rat.”
A rat.
The one who had thrown the Dreamstone at him while he was in the punishment cell.
There was someone in the Kazaar noble family who secretly wished for his downfall.
It was about time to catch that rat.
“This spell should be perfect for that.”
Chris looked at the title of the book the ghost brought.
—Seal of Binding.
A black magic spell notorious even among the Light Faction, capable of forcing the target to act like a slave under certain conditions.
A few days later.
The banshee was shocked by the amount of work Chris was putting in.
Time passed.
Chris lived a monotonous daily routine.
During the day, he went to the training grounds for physical training; at night, he went to the library to read black magic books.
‘Physical strength is national power! To get stronger, I need a solid foundation of stamina… Damn, running is so exhausting.’
Chris grumbled inwardly.
He was the lazy genius type.
He didn’t like sweating and struggling like this.
But no matter how much of a genius, there was no shortcut to building physical strength.
‘I can roughly imitate sword techniques by eye, but building muscle and stamina requires hard work. Damn it, I’ll endure it, imagining the wealth and glory I’ll enjoy later. Wealth and glory!’
His face hardened from the effort, and his usual arrogant, nasty expression became even more pronounced.
The mages watching him admired the change.
“Our wild young master has really changed.”
“How many days has it been? Half a month, maybe?”
“He even looks a bit healthier.”
Their prediction that he’d soon revert to his old ways was wrong.
Chris came out every day without fail to train, and the results were gradually showing.
When he first started, his body was weak from a life of debauchery, but now muscles were slowly forming, making him look much better.
Especially his arrogant expression, never faltering even after endless running, was impressive.
At that moment, the knights thought:
‘This is promising.’
‘Maybe there’ll be a surprise in the succession battle.’
Everyone knew Chris had incredible talent.
If he didn’t return to his wild ways and kept improving like this, the Kazaar family’s succession could be completely overturned.
Instead of Tern, who was originally chosen as heir, Chris might inherit the Kazaar title.
‘Maybe that’s why Prince Tern has been training harder than before.’
The mages saw Tern in the corner, swinging his sword.
After being soundly beaten by his older brother Chris, Tern said nothing and focused solely on training.
Meanwhile, Chris smirked at the whispers around him.
‘The Kazaar succession? I don’t care about that crap.’
To ordinary mages, the Kazaar family seemed grand and important, but not to him.
What he wanted was the main house of the Dark Mages.
He planned to leave the cadet branch—the Kazaar family—to Tern.
As long as Tern didn’t cause problems.
‘I hope Tern wasn’t the one who tried to mess with me.’
Chris narrowed his eyes.
From appearances, probably not.
He didn’t seem the type to scheme behind someone’s back.
But who knew?
If anyone stood to gain the most from Chris’s downfall, it was his younger brother Tern.
‘Well, I’ll find out soon enough.’
Chris glanced around.
Unlike before, he now received friendly looks.
Everyone had accepted it.
The wild young master had changed—or at least was trying to.
The time was ripe.
Suddenly, Chris stopped his training.
The mages approached him in a friendly tone.
“Young master, are you leaving? You’re going home early today.”
“I’m done with this nonsense.”
“…What?”
Their eyes widened.
“I’m tired of this after a few days. It’s sweaty, dirty, and annoying. I’ve done enough.”
Chris raised his hand and dropped something onto the ground.
It was the wooden training sword he’d been using for the past two weeks.
Thud, thud.
The discarded wooden sword lay scattered carelessly on the training ground floor.
“Y-Young master?!”
Even if it was for training, throwing down a weapon like that was unthinkable. Any honorable mage would never do such a thing.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“What?”
Chris twisted the corner of his mouth.
“I’m doing whatever I want. What business is it of you lowlifes?”
“!!”
“Why? Did you really think I’d changed? I was just pretending to work hard for a few days to atone for my recent mistakes. This is enough.”
The atmosphere stiffened.
The mages looked at him with shock and confusion.
From afar, Chris saw his younger brother Tern staring with wide, almost tearing eyes.
Ignoring them all, Chris sneered and left the training ground.
Once inside the mansion, he called for the butler.
“Y-You called, young master?”
The half-vampire butler Cox appeared hurriedly.
“Bring me some alcohol.”
“…Pardon?”
“Are you deaf?! Bring me alcohol! Now!!”
The sudden shout flushed the butler’s face.
Even though Chris was the son of a count, yelling like that at his butler was a serious breach of etiquette.
But it lasted only a moment.
The butler hurriedly bowed.
“Y-Yes, I’ll do as you say.”
As the butler rushed off, Chris’s gaze darkened quietly.
‘He’s the one I suspect the most.’
Just now, Chris deliberately acted rude.
He wanted to see how the butler would react.
In that brief moment, a whirlwind of emotions flashed through the butler’s eyes.
First, there was anger and restraint at Chris’s insolence.
That was a typical response.
But Chris caught sight of a faint emotion lurking behind the butler’s gaze.
It was… joy.
Why would the butler feel joy at Chris’s rude behavior?
“Well, now you’ll find out,” Chris smirked.
And with that, Chris set his trap.
A trap to catch the rat gnawing away at the Kazaar family.
Christian has reverted back to being a mere mutt!
That news set the entire estate ablaze.
The servants shook their heads in disbelief.
“Told you, it wouldn’t last more than two weeks.”
“Two weeks? That’s longer than I expected.”
“Foolish to believe otherwise.”
As expected, their reactions were filled with cynicism.
The members of the Black Swamp Knights were even more furious.
“To think I actually believed that bastard had changed. I must’ve lost my mind.”
“Damn it. If he so much as steps foot in the training grounds again—”
“I won’t let him get away with it if he comes near.”
They had truly believed in Christian’s transformation, which only fueled their rage all the more.
But the one who was angriest of all was someone else entirely.
His father, Count Kazaar.
“You bastard!!”