Chapter 221
“From this moment forward, I appoint Count Kazar to act on behalf of the family head and oversee all major affairs of the house.”
“!!”
Everyone’s eyes snapped open in shock.
This was a direct call to remove Marquis Langham from his position as acting family head!
The faction loyal to Marquis Langham, who had been quietly holding their breath amid the recent tension, could no longer contain themselves and raised their voices.
“To appoint anyone other than Marquis Langham as acting family head—”
“That’s absolutely unacceptable!”
At their outcry, Christian’s expression turned icy cold.
“Can we really entrust such a grave responsibility to someone who has committed a great crime against the family?”
“L-Langham Marquis was absent by unfortunate coincidence! There’s no way he’s guilty of any wrongdoing!”
“Just a coincidence?”
“Y-Yes! There’s no way the Marquis would have deliberately avoided his duties!”
Christian then turned his gaze to the Marquis himself, who had remained silent until now.
“Is what they say true?”
Langham’s eyes darkened heavily.
This was different from before—when no matter what happened, he never let his true feelings show.
Now, it was clear the failure had hit him hard; he seemed shaken.
“It’s true. My absence was nothing but coincidence.”
That cowardly excuse drew scowls from everyone except Langham’s faction.
But no one could prove otherwise.
Then Christian dropped an unexpected bombshell.
“Family head, may I exercise judicial authority here?”
“Hmm?”
“There is someone who has come forward to accuse Marquis Langham of a crime.”
“A crime?”
“Yes. Marquis Langham has committed an unforgivable offense this time. I have testimony regarding it.”
“An unforgivable offense?”
“Treason.”
“!!”
The hall erupted into chaos.
Of course, Langham’s absence during the incident was a serious offense—he had failed in his duties as a family member.
But treason?
“W-What…!!”
“That’s absurd!!”
Christian raised his hand to silence the uproar.
“Whether it’s true or not, you’ll see for yourselves when the witness enters. Bring them in.”
The hall doors creaked open, and everyone’s eyes widened.
Unexpectedly, a figure appeared seated in a wheeled chair usually reserved for the infirm.
It was Yurian!
“Lady Yurian?”
“What happened to that wound?”
Yurian’s pale face was wrapped in bandages across her chest, as if from a severe injury.
Jupien, who had accompanied her, gently pushed the chair up to the center stage.
“By the authority of the family head, I will ask you: do you have testimony regarding Marquis Langham’s crime?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Please speak.”
Yurian lifted her eyes briefly toward Marquis Langham.
As he furrowed his brows in an unexplainable sense of dread, she dropped a bombshell.
“The one who caused the Gehenna corruption was my father.”
“…What?”
For a moment, everyone was stunned.
Even Marquis Langham himself.
“I have proof.”
Yurian loosened the bandages on her chest.
Everyone gasped at the sight of the wound revealed beneath her clothing.
Not just because it was gruesome—
They could feel a distinct aura of malevolence emanating from the injury.
“Lady Yurian, what is that wound?”
“It’s a wound inflicted by a demon.”
“!!”
Pointing at Marquis Langham with cold eyes, Yurian declared,
“My father sacrificed me to the demon and caused this entire incident.”
After the matter was settled, Christian only said this about the mastermind behind it all:
—Lady Yurian had been offered as a sacrifice atop the fortress tower. When she was rescued, the Gehenna corruption was undone.
Yurian had deliberately concealed her role as the mastermind.
As a result, the true culprit remained a mystery.
Still, no one suspected Marquis Langham as the mastermind.
No matter how corrupt he was, no one believed he would go that far.
So suddenly accusing him of being the mastermind?
“My father ordered me to go to the tower. When I arrived, I suddenly lost consciousness and was sacrificed to the demon.”
“Th-That’s nonsense…”
Langham’s faction stammered.
And indeed, it was a blatant lie.
Langham was not the mastermind.
This was Christian’s ploy to corner Langham.
“There is proof. A letter my father sent me. Please verify the handwriting.”
Yurian presented the letter, which bore Langham’s unmistakable handwriting.
That too was forged by Christian.
A master of fabrication and manipulation, Christian had flawlessly forged the handwriting.
“Commander of the Black Shadow Knights, please compare the handwriting.”
Christian said to his aunt, Marian.
By the way, since he was acting on behalf of the family head, he spoke without honorifics.
Marian carefully compared the letter with documents bearing Langham’s genuine handwriting and nodded.
“It is indeed the Marquis’s handwriting.”
“!!”
The hall was filled with shock.
Christian looked at Marquis Langham.
“Do you admit your crime?”
Langham clenched his fists tightly.
He shot Christian a fierce glare, furious at the trickery, but Christian only smirked.
‘What are you going to do if I get angry?’
As the sole witness, Christian’s silence was the only thing keeping the true mastermind hidden.
Langham spoke in a low, heavy voice.
“It’s a lie. I never wrote such a letter.”
“The handwriting has been confirmed as yours, yet you deny it?”
“You forged it with your dirty tricks! I won’t admit it.”
Langham said firmly.
Indeed, the evidence was flimsy to convict him outright.
Christian never intended to punish Langham based on forged evidence alone.
What he aimed for was something else.
‘Even if I can’t punish him, this will be enough to corner him.’
Christian glanced around.
The looks cast at Langham had turned far colder than before.
—Could it really be true?
That was the suspicion in their eyes.
Everyone knew Langham was the kind of man who would stop at nothing for the family headship.
Even those who had supported him until now looked uneasy.
If Langham truly committed this crime, it couldn’t be overlooked.
He would pay with his life, and those around him wouldn’t escape unscathed.
‘If we’re not careful, we’ll be implicated too.’
‘We need to distance ourselves.’
After all, those who followed Langham did so out of greed, not loyalty.
Christian’s ploy had completely isolated Langham within the Dark Maga.
‘Of course, I won’t stop here.’
Christian curled his lips in a bitter smile.
“Are you really saying you didn’t do it?”
“Yes.”
“Can you provide proof of your innocence?”
“!!”
Langham bit his lip hard.
How could he prove that?
‘And I can’t reveal Yurian’s involvement either.’
If it came out that Yurian was behind it, it would also expose his negligence.
Christian sneered.
“You disappeared right before the Gehenna corruption began, and yet you have no proof of innocence? What reason do we have to trust you?”
Others cast cold glances in agreement.
The situation was suspicious beyond doubt.
Langham might feel wronged, but the circumstances pointed to him as the culprit.
“…I have devoted my life to Dark Maga. Do not doubt my loyalty.”
“Loyalty, huh.”
Christian nodded.
“Very well. Since this seems to lead nowhere, how about this? If you are truly innocent, prove it through your actions.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Just as you said, prove you would never commit such a thing.”
Christian made a declaration Langham could never accept.
“If you didn’t send the letter to Lady Yurian, then the real culprits are likely the Four Kings. So, to prove your innocence, relinquish all your titles and serve as a common soldier in the Dark Maga army to fight against the Four Kings.”
“!!”
A common soldier.
More than a demotion—it was a disgrace, throwing Langham into the gutter.
“What…!!”
“You’re in no position to refuse.”
Christian said coldly.
“Keep in mind, this is a leniency granted in consideration of your past service. If it were anyone else, they would have been tortured until they confessed.”
Langham ground his teeth, eyes bloodshot with rage.
But he had no choice but to comply.
No one in Dark Maga would support him now.
Christian declared coldly.
“By the authority of the family head, I hereby strip you of all titles and order you to serve in the Dark Maga army. You must prove your innocence by earning merit.”
“……”
“Your answer?”
The color drained from Langham’s clenched fists.
“…I understand.”
“Again.”
“…What?”
“Where’s the respect? From this moment, you are neither acting family head, nor Marquis, nor elder of the house. Can you not show proper deference to the Grand Duke?”
At that insult, Langham’s face turned pale.
But Christian did not relent.
He pressed his gaze as if demanding an answer, and in the end, Langham had no choice but to grit his teeth and bow his head.
“…I will obey the order.”
Unable to contain his fury, Marquis Langham abruptly turned his back, but Chris pressed the insult all the way through.
“Are you really going to leave without even a proper bow?”
“!!”
“I can’t believe the great head of the family never taught you proper etiquette. Seeing such disrespect, I’m beginning to doubt your loyalty.”
Langham’s face drained of all color, turning pale as a corpse.
Overwhelmed by shame, his mind went blank.
Yet, he had no choice but to comply.
“…I will take my leave, then.”
Chris nodded, wearing that trademark arrogant, insufferable smirk.
Completely treating him like an inferior.
“Good. Make sure you accomplish something worthy. Now, be gone.”
Everyone held their breath at the scene.
To see Marquis Langham—the absolute authority of the family in Nordian’s stead—reduced to such a humiliating state was nothing short of shocking.
In that moment, everyone instinctively knew:
The family’s leadership had passed to Christian.
“Count Kazar may be acting head of the family, but the real power lies with Grand Duke Christian.”
Still, this didn’t mean Christian had won completely.
“There’s no way Marquis Langham will step down so easily.”
“He’ll definitely try to reclaim the family’s dominance.”
Some even feared the worst.
“He might actually stage a rebellion.”
“With Langham’s strength, it’s entirely possible.”
In the realm of mages, power was everything.
Unlike the alliance, the one who held the family’s reigns wasn’t the one with the best claim or the most popular—it was the strongest.
And Langham was one of the most formidable dark mages alive. He could very well attempt a coup.
In fact, if anyone would, it would be him.
But there was one thing no one suspected.
And that was exactly what Christian had planned.
“He needs to be pushed into rebellion.”
Christian’s thoughts were cold and calculating.
“I’ll use the rebellion as an excuse to eliminate Marquis Langham.”
A brilliant strategy.
There was a reason Christian had assigned Langham to the Dark Mage Corps.
“The Dark Mage Corps is stationed near the Demon King’s Castle. Langham will inevitably make contact there and plot his rebellion.”
But Langham would never suspect it was all a trap laid by Christian.
He was destined for complete ruin.
“Of course, first I have to deal with the matter of the Extreme Poison Mage.”
Just then, a message arrived from Duke Huam.
They had agreed to Christian’s deployment to the Extreme Poison Mage Corps.
No one knew it yet, but the curtain was finally rising on the ‘Jade Green Rebellion.’