Chapter 248
An emotion he had never once felt in his previous life.
“Come to think of it, this really is home.”
The Dark Marquisate was now his home. Where his family was.
“The head of the house hasn’t been well lately, so he hasn’t been able to come out,” Count Kazar reported.
“Is his condition serious?”
The count nodded gravely.
“He suddenly took a turn for the worse. Aside from using an avatar, he can barely move his actual body.”
Chris fell into thought at those words.
‘Can I really perform a miracle for Grandfather?’
Though he had obtained the elixir, success was far from guaranteed.
‘It’s not the right time to try yet. I need him to hold on a little longer.’
Just then, a boy standing nearby stepped forward.
“Brother.”
It was Tern.
By the way, Tern had grown quite a bit over the years.
‘It’s been over two years since I first met Tern. When did he get this tall? He’s even taller than me now.’
Chris was only about 170 cm tall, so that partly explained it.
Feeling a bit put out that the kid he always thought of as little was now looking down on him, Chris grumbled in a twisted tone.
“Watch your tone, you’re being disrespectful.”
“!!”
Tern quickly corrected himself.
“King Emperor Majesty, brother.”
“That’s better. You’ve been training hard, right? Let’s spar a bit later.”
“Ah, no—why all of a sudden?”
Tern’s mouth dropped open, caught off guard by the sudden invitation to duel when he had only stepped forward to show respect and affection.
Others like Jupien were there too.
“Come spar with me.”
“…You’re a pain.”
“Let’s have a match, auntie.”
“…Auntie?”
“I’m Berkel. I’d also like to learn a thing or two from the Duke!”
“Same here, Your Grace!”
All the senior members of the house were clamoring for a match with Christian.
There was a reason for this.
‘They’ve all made great progress.’
Before leaving for the Poisonous Marquisate, Chris had taught all the senior members of the Dark Marquisate how to train.
Two months later, it seemed everyone had achieved significant breakthroughs.
So these duel requests were like students eager to show their teacher their progress.
‘…But are they trying to kill me? Why do they all look so fierce?’
Christian wore an awkward expression.
True to their demonic nature, each challenger radiated a deadly aura as they requested a sparring match.
‘Well, I do need to improve my skills more anyway.’
Chris turned to Count Kazar.
“How did the Destruction Marquisate respond to the Dark Tournament invitation?”
“They accepted immediately.”
“Did they send any additional messages?”
“……”
“I have a feeling they might have said something else. Please tell me.”
After a moment of silence, Count Kazar spoke.
“They said they would let us know the theme. And that they would crush us utterly.”
“!!”
The faces around Chris stiffened.
“Is it true the Destruction Marquisate said that, Count?”
“Even the Destruction Marquisate wouldn’t say something like that, would they?”
Everyone flushed with indignation, but Chris remained calm inside.
‘Well, that’s to be expected. The Destruction Marquisate doesn’t see us as equals.’
It was well known that the Destruction Marquisate looked down on the Dark Marquisate.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“But Your Grace!”
“We’ll just crush them first.”
“!!”
The demons of the Dark Marquisate flinched.
“When exactly is the Dark Tournament scheduled?”
“…Three months from now.”
“That’s a long time—long enough to yawn. Plenty of time.”
Chris smiled and declared to everyone.
“The Destruction Marquisate will taste a terrible humiliation that day. At the hands of our Dark Marquisate.”
After that, Chris spent his time at the Dark Marquisate.
‘Three months. Precious time.’
How he spent these three months would greatly affect what came next.
‘First priority: make the Dark Marquisate’s power as strong as possible.’
Though they had grown explosively recently, it was still not enough.
Especially to stand against the Destruction Marquisate.
‘It’s okay. There’s time.’
Three months was a long time.
Others might find that laughable, but Chris was serious.
‘I’m personally training them. Three months is more than enough for miracles.’
He also focused on strengthening himself.
‘I have to get stronger too. At least reach the seventh star advancement in Seonghwi before the Dark Tournament.’
He had only recently reached the sixth star, so seventh star advancement was a tall order.
It sounded impossible, but he was determined.
‘Dark magic encompasses all darkness, so raising the rank is tough, but raising Seonghwi’s level quickly is definitely possible.’
His recent strengthening with the poison had helped.
His mind, body, core, and magic energy were all trained enough to be worthy of the seventh star.
‘I can reach seventh star advancement within three months. Let’s begin.’
Chris drew his sword.
Flash!
In the empty training room, an aura blade bloomed.
Thus, Chris spent his days both nurturing the power of the Dark Marquisate’s demons and training himself.
Things were going smoothly, but one thing troubled him.
Nordian.
‘His condition is worsening.’
Chris thought darkly.
‘It’d be better to wait until my catalyst is fully matured before trying. That would increase the chance of a miracle.’
But would Nordian hold on that long?
‘I have to buy time.’
But there was no way.
‘I can’t give him the elixir now.’
Suddenly, an idea came to Chris.
‘If only I had the True Blood Serum, it might help.’
But he shook his head.
It was impossible.
‘The True Blood Serum is the greatest treasure of the Blood Sword Marquisate. There’s no way to get it.’
In the end, he had to choose.
Try the miracle now, even if the odds were low.
‘If I wait any longer, I might not get the chance at all.’
Just as he was about to make up his mind, an unexpected visitor came to see Christian.
“May I have a moment to speak with you, Your Grace?”
“The steward?”
It was Simon, the head steward.
“What is it?”
“I have urgent news. Could you follow me?”
Simon said it was a private matter.
Chris tilted his head in curiosity and followed.
Simon led him out of the main mansion, beyond the walls of Baron Castle.
“Where are we going?”
Something felt off.
Simon’s expression was different—his usual calm was gone, replaced by a stiff seriousness.
‘What’s going on?’
Though puzzled, Chris sensed no hostility and followed obediently.
Eventually, they arrived at a secluded forest.
“Steward, who is this?”
Chris was slightly surprised.
A stranger stood there.
‘A True Blood vampire from the Blood Sword Marquisate?’
A blood cross mark was engraved on his temple, marking him as a high-ranking True Blood.
“What is the meaning of this, steward?”
“I hope you will hear his story, Your Grace.”
Chris looked at the vampire from the Blood Sword Marquisate with lingering suspicion.
But the vampire’s reaction was strange.
Unlike the noble demeanor expected of a True Blood, he looked anxious.
He bit his pale lips tightly, then suddenly bowed deeply to Chris.
“I am Baltlak of the Blood Sword Marquisate. I have come to ask a favor, Your Grace!”
“…What do you mean? A favor from the Blood Sword Marquisate?”
Chris was taken aback.
He had no prior dealings with the Blood Sword Marquisate.
‘Well, not entirely. I did help that girl, Liaran.’
Chris recalled Liaran’s bold spirit.
‘She seemed so pure for someone from the Demon King’s Castle. It was fun teasing her.’
Aside from that, he had no real connection with the Blood Sword Marquisate.
Strictly speaking, they were his enemies.
“Explain yourself clearly.”
Chris said coldly to Simon.
“You’re not trying anything foolish, are you?”
But Simon’s reaction was odd.
His usual sharpness was gone; he bowed his head deeply.
“Absolutely not, Your Grace. This is a matter that truly requires your help, which is why I arranged this meeting.”
“What on earth is going on?”
Simon glanced at Baltlak from the Blood Sword Marquisate.
Baltlak gritted his teeth and spoke with desperate urgency.
“Please save our family’s Lady Countess Idrinne.”
“…What?”
Chris froze stiff.
Did he hear that right?
No mistake.
Baltlak knelt before Christian, crying out.
“Our family’s Lady Countess Idrinne is dying under the curse of the Curse Marquisate’s Great Law. We heard of the great miracle you performed at the Poisonous Marquisate. Please, save our Lady Countess with your power!”
A heavy silence fell.
Chris was frozen, unable to fully grasp the situation.
‘The Blood King of Bloodshed? Why? That can’t be.’
But it didn’t seem like a lie.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
His moment of confusion was soon replaced by a cold sneer.
‘…Either way, this isn’t bad for me. Whether the Blood King of Bloodshed dies under the Great Law or not.’
He felt sorry for steward Simon, who cared for his younger sibling, but the Blood King of Bloodshed was a being that had to be destroyed.
‘If this incident kills him, that’s a welcome outcome.’
But then he shook his head.
“There’s no way she could have died.”
Idrine must have gone through the same ordeal in her previous life.
Yet she survived and ended up destroying the world.
“But wait—she was hit by the Great Curse Spell of the Curse Maga? So Idrine still hasn’t allied herself with the Cursed or the Spirits? It’s about time she betrayed the Bloodsword Maga and sided with them. But since I don’t know the situation inside the Demon King’s Castle well, it’s frustrating.”
In her past life, after betraying the Bloodsword Maga, Idrine did indeed join forces with the Cursed and the Spirits.
“What exactly happened to Grand Princess Idrine? What kind of Great Curse Spell did she fall victim to?”
“It’s called the ‘Rending of Delusion.’”
Chris flinched.
“She survived the Rending of Delusion? But that’s the ultimate curse spell of the Curse Maga.”
Its activation conditions were strict, but once triggered, death was inevitable.
“Well, she is the Blood-Draining Demon King, so she must have had some way out.”
Chris shook his head with a small chuckle.
No need for the chief steward to worry—the Blood-Draining Demon King will find a way to survive on her own.
Then suddenly, a thought struck Chris, and he froze.
“Wait a minute. Could this be an opportunity to assassinate the Blood-Draining Demon King?”
He swallowed hard.
“If I use the excuse of healing to get close to her, I could kill her.”