Chapter 73 : Chapter 73
Chapter 73. Can You Do the Same?
Adellian doubted her own eyes.
‘I-is this for real?’
The chirping of birds, the crisp sunlight filtering through the trees, the grass that hadn’t lost its vitality, the red blood soaking it, and the groans of fallen people. Adellian thought, isn’t this awkward combination for the scene unfolding right now?
“Uwaaaaahk!”
Hans’s scream crushed all other sounds. His right arm, specifically the part below the elbow, was completely gone.
Tududuk.
Blood poured out from the severed arm.
Hans’s hand, still gripping the sword, lay alone on the ground.
‘Is he insane?’
Startled, Adellian looked at Maxim. It was a well-known fact that Hans had tormented Maxim to the point of death. It was also a well-known fact that Maxim had fallen into a coma because of Hans. So, even if Maxim wanted to kill Hans, it wouldn’t be seen as strange.
But…….
‘He really cut off the 4th Prince’s arm? Can he handle the consequences?’
Wanting to do something and actually doing it are two different things.
It was an open secret that the 5th Prince was as good as abandoned by the royal family. The king ignored him, and his biological mother was dead. The only people to help Maxim were Rodrigo, who took care of him, and Chris, who was said to have looked after him when he was sick. Although Chris had a presence as a Margrave, he was no match for Hans’s biological mother, Queen Barnetta.
In Adellian’s view, Maxim’s act was no different from choosing death for himself.
But the impeccably calm and cold aura Maxim exuded was not that of someone who had resolved to die. It was that of a judge.
“My, my arm! My arm! Fuck! My arm!”
Hans screamed, clutching his severed arm.
Maxim let out a short breath and approached Hans.
Seeing this, Adellian felt a chill.
‘Is there… more to come?’
Adellian thought she had to stop Maxim. But she couldn’t take a step because of the terrifying atmosphere he was giving off.
“You seemed so confident, is this all you’ve got?”
Maxim picked up Hans’s severed arm.
“You… fuck. You, you! Are you crazy? Do you want to die?”
“Why? If I say yes, will you kill me?”
“Son of a bitch… Ugh!”
Feeling a sharp pain, Hans crouched down, clutching his arm.
“You should have just killed me sooner. Why did you fail every time.”
Maxim placed Hans’s arm on his remaining hand.
“To bring this upon yourself? If you had done it right, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“I’ll kill you!”
Hans gripped his sword and tried to slash Maxim.
In response, Maxim shook his head and…….
“Wrong.”
Thwack!
With a single cold word, he struck Hans’s heart with his fist.
Hans’s feet left the ground, and his upper body shot up into the air. He let out a choking sound like ‘Keok!’ and spat out a stream of blood and saliva.
“You should have apologized.”
Maxim grabbed the neck of Hans, who was floating in mid-air, and looked at him with murderous eyes. Then he slammed him to the ground.
Kooong!
Hans, his face buried in the ground, trembled. Blood was still flowing from his severed arm.
Maxim lifted Hans and made him look up.
Hans, unable to even open his eyes properly, mumbled something as blood trickled down his face.
“I said you’re wrong. You should have said sorry and begged for your life. That’s what you’re supposed to do.”
“……I’ll kill you.”
“Should I call this grit? Well, whatever.”
Maxim put down Dawn and looked at the mana in his hand.
Adellian’s eyes widened like the full moon.
“No.”
She managed to speak. But it didn’t reach Maxim’s ears at all.
“Didn’t you say no tattling earlier? But I’ll make an exception. Tattle. Tattle to your mom, tattle to your dad, tattle to your great older brother. Do what you can. If you can.”
Pang!
Hans’s back convulsed violently, and his shirt burst open.
Maxim’s hand, which had been glowing with a pure white light, pierced Hans’s heart.
“I sorted out my broken circles and came back alive, but can you do the same?”
Hans’s Mana Circles fluctuated violently. The light that had been twinkling above the Mana Circles turned to dust and disappeared. Over ten cracks appeared on the Mana Circle that held the emblem of the wind.
Paat!
The mana above Hans’s Mana Circles emitted a murky energy and scattered in all directions. His two Mana Circles shattered into pieces and floated around inside his body.
Hans, with a pained expression, clutched his heart and rolled around on the ground.
Maxim watched him with indifference.
“Hey, you lackey over there.”
Maxim pointed to the Jordi lackey who was hiding in a corner, holding his breath.
“Take him away.”
“What are you thinking?”
Startled, Adellian grabbed Maxim’s arm.
“A good thought.”
“What? How is this a good thought? Are you doing this because you don’t know what will happen if you let Hans go just like that?”
“No, I’m doing it so that something will happen.”
Adellian just drew a hollow breath as she looked at Maxim, who answered as if it were obvious.
At that moment, Maxim erased his emotionless expression and drew a mischievous smile.
“Congratulations on reaching the 2nd Circle. And you can use Healing Magic, right? Treat him so he stops bleeding. It’ll be a headache if he dies here.”
Adellian made a dumbfounded face.
‘What’s going on in his head?’
From the time they met because of the carriage repair until now, Adellian couldn’t understand Maxim in the slightest.
***
“Kyaaak!”
Barnetta screamed at the sight of the battered Hans.
“Y-Your Highness, please calm….”
“My son has become like this! How can you tell me to calm down!”
Pushing the doctor aside, Barnetta looked at the unconscious Hans. She was engulfed in a mix of pain, sorrow, and fear, trembling violently.
“Why? Why are you like this? Why?”
Barnetta tried to touch Hans’s face with her trembling hand. But she couldn’t. It was because of the worry and fear that he might never wake up because of her.
“Will the child be able to wake up?”
Barnetta’s bloodshot eyes fixed on the doctor.
“It’s not something I can say for sure.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying he can wake up? Or not?”
“……That, I cannot tell.”
At the doctor’s words, Barnetta’s face twisted viciously. She approached the doctor and poked his chest with her finger.
“How much money do you take from me, and you can’t fix my son?”
“The, the Mana Circles are broken, so there’s nothing I can….”
Slap!
A red handprint appeared on the doctor’s face.
Barnetta glared at the doctor. Her gaze held the meaning that for now it was just a slap, but if her son remained in this state, she would not leave him alone.
“If you can’t do it yourself, then find someone who can!”
“Y-yes, I understand.”
The doctor, feeling his life was in danger, hurriedly tried to leave the room. But things did not go as he wished.
“Where are you going? You don’t even have anyone to find.”
It was because the 3rd Prince, Dwight, had grabbed the doctor’s shoulder with a sly smile.
“No, I do. Th-there is someone. There really is.”
“Don’t lie. How can you fix shattered Mana Circles?”
“Th-there must be a way. The 5th….”
The doctor, who was about to mention Maxim, had no choice but to shut his mouth at Dwight’s gaze. It was because Dwight, with the eyes of a beast, had shaken his head.
“Yes. Look hard. Don’t go rummaging in the wrong places.”
“I understand. I will definitely look.”
As Dwight stepped aside, the doctor fled the scene as if escaping.
“Dwight!”
Barnetta threw herself into Dwight’s arms and called him plaintively.
Dwight, with an expressionless face, hugged her and said, ‘Yes, Mother.’
“What do we do about your brother? He’s not going to die like this, is he? He can wake up, right?”
“Mother, don’t worry too much. He is not such a weak child, is he?”
“You’re right, aren’t you? Your brother will definitely open his eyes and hug this mother of his, right?”
“Of course.”
Hearing Dwight’s reply, Barnetta wiped her tears and straightened her posture. She repeatedly swallowed hot breaths to compose her intense emotions. Then, with eyes full of anger, she meticulously scanned the entire body of the fallen Hans.
“Do you know who did this?”
“I am looking into it.”
Barnetta ground her teeth and looked at Dwight.
“If you know even a little something, tell me honestly. I will find them no matter what it takes.”
“My own brother has ended up like this. I, too, am using all means and methods to find the one who did this to Hans.”
Barnetta, who had scrutinized Dwight’s eyes, lips, and facial muscles one by one, bit her lip and nodded.
“Mother, if you wait, I will bring you the news you desire.”
“No, I don’t want news. I want him. If you find that damned bastard, bring him before me.
Right here, I will cut off his limbs, pull out his tongue, and gouge out his eyes. Neither dead nor alive… I will make him just so. So bring me him, not news. You must.”
Barnetta, who had vented her anger, felt dizzy and staggered.
“It would be best for you to return to your room. If you collapse like this, how will Hans hug you when he wakes up?”
“……Yes, yes.”
Barnetta reluctantly nodded. But she could hardly tear her gaze away from Hans.
Dwight held Barnetta’s shoulder and gently turned her around.
“I will watch over him tonight. So please go and get some sleep.”
“……Yes, I understand.”
Only then did Barnetta head to her room.
Left alone, Dwight closed the door to the room where Hans lay. Then, with a cruel smile, he looked down at Hans.
“Stupid fool.”
Dwight shook his head and pulled back the blanket covering Hans. He carefully examined Hans’s severed arm.
“I told you so many times it’s better to associate with proper people, but you never listen. In the end, this is what you get. Isn’t it?”
Dwight, who was examining the cleanly cut surface from various angles, made an interested face.
“Thinking you’d ascend the throne while hanging out with idiots. Tsk tsk. Getting all sorts of foolish ideas from somewhere. It’s actually for the better. Isn’t it better than me having to dispose of you with my own hands? Since you ended up like this at the hands of the one you tormented. I told you to deal with him properly from the start, didn’t I? You couldn’t even do that one thing. How pathetic.”
This time, he placed his hand near Hans’s heart. Then he lightly let his mana flow.
“Finely shattered. Judging by the size and number of the fragments, you were at the 2nd Circle. And to be beaten like this by Maxim with that, wouldn’t it be better to just die?”
Dwight, having withdrawn his mana, clicked his tongue and shook his head. He then placed his hand on Hans’s chest and tapped it with his fingers.
“Still, I will kill Maxim for you. And in front of everyone, at that. I’ll make him confess that he did this to you. How about that? Would that be comforting? Ah! And when I become king, I’ll at least build a memorial stone for you. Shouldn’t stray dogs have a place to piss and shit?”
Dwight pulled the edge of the blanket and covered Hans’s face.
“You don’t have to feel too lonely. Bryn Willford is also on the brink of death. I’ll try to match your dying days. I heard Fioren was also quite seriously injured. If needed, I’ll arrange for you to go together. This should be enough. No, no. Maxim will be there too, so when you meet in the afterlife, whether you take revenge or play with him, do as you please. Then you won’t be bored. This is your older brother’s final consideration, so you don’t have to be too grateful.”
He prodded Hans’s face, covered by the blanket, a couple of times, then turned on his heel with a pleasant smile.
Click.
The door to Hans’s room closed. The candle lost its flame, and darkness descended. The movement of the cloth covering Hans’s mouth and nose gradually, gradually, lessened.