A Beginner’s Guide to Being a Scoundrel

Chapter 107

The elixir brought from the Imperial Palace Treasury was enough to be used a total of three times.

There had even been a time when I had almost used it, like when Alice had been attacked by Aloken during the Academy’s first-semester exam and was on the brink of death, but in the end, not once had its seal been broken, and it had remained sleeping in my subspace pouch in its pristine form.

And now, with just a single drop, the elixir released a clear, refreshing fragrance that filled the surroundings before entering the count’s mouth.

[SYSTEM: The effect of the elixir is activated.]

I immediately looked toward the other knight lying beside him.

The remaining elixir was two drops.

There would be other chances to obtain elixirs later.

But the moment to revive a fading life existed only now.

That was why I lifted the knight’s neck, trying to pour the elixir into his mouth, but his body slackened limply in my hands.

Rigor mortis had not set in, but judging by how cold his body was, it seemed that this knight, who had been carried on horseback along with the count, had already lost his breath before even reaching the manor.

“…Tsk.”

Looking at the knight’s face as he lay quietly with his eyes closed, a bitter taste spread in my mouth.

It wasn’t that I felt nauseous like a greenhorn or couldn’t control my unsettled heart.

Since coming to this world, I had witnessed death many times, and with my own hands, I had ended the lives of countless people.

When fighting, my blood did boil briefly and excitement surged, but the aftertaste was always nothing more than bitterness, just like now.

“Huu…….”

The healer, who had been pouring healing spells onto the knight who had ridden with the two of them, also let out a sigh and withdrew his hands, as if his breath had already ended.

I too had done everything I could, so when I rose from my seat, one of the nearby knights asked in a trembling voice.

“I, is the lord alright?”

“He’ll probably regain consciousness within a few minutes.”

When I said that while indicating the count’s body, all their eyes widened simultaneously.

“Uh?”

The torn and pierced wounds all over his body healed in an instant, as if time itself had been reversed.

The elixir was a legendary potion said to heal any wound or illness, so long as the person was alive.

The count had suffered multiple fatal injuries, but his life had not been completely severed.

As such, the elixir restored his body in an instant, and as a result, his complexion gradually began to improve.

“…….”

Petra quietly took my hand, her face soaked with tears.

Feeling the multitude of emotions conveyed through that touch, I gently held her hand in return.

“Father……!”

Soon, the Count of Leipzig opened his eyes.

His pupils were empty, as if he hadn’t fully regained consciousness yet, but not long after, light returned to them, and vitality began to overflow compared to before.

“What…….”

Having come to his senses, the first thing he did was grope his own body.

The countless wounds had already vanished without a trace.

On the contrary, he could even feel an uncontrollable surge of vitality, so it was only natural that he was flustered.

“I, I definitely died…….”

As if his brain had overloaded, he fumbled for a moment.

Petra tightly embraced her father’s body.

“…My daughter?”

Seeing his daughter clinging to him and silently breaking down in tears, he finally returned to reality.

He must have wondered why his daughter, who should have been at the Academy, was here hugging him, but for now, he merely patted her back as she cried quietly in his arms.

“Let’s put off the tearful reunion between father and daughter for a moment.”

In the solemn atmosphere of the hall, I lightly clapped my hands to draw everyone’s attention.

The Count of Leipzig then noticed me, his eyes widening like lanterns.

“Your Highness?”

“…Your Highness, what do you mean by that?”

At his words, the nearby knights expressed their confusion.

In response, Petra, having stepped away from the count’s body, wiped her eyes and spoke in a tear-soaked voice.

“He saved Father’s life.”

“Just what…….”

The count looked as though he was wondering what kind of trick I had used to restore him.

So I shook the bottle containing the elixir, now with only two drops left, and spoke.

“I’ll collect proper compensation later for saving your life.”

“Hahaha…….”

Only then did he seem to grasp the situation, letting out a bitter laugh.

He then took hold of his daughter’s shoulders and rose together with her.

“…Are the only ones who returned just the two of them.”

The count looked at the two knights’ corpses lying side by side next to him and closed his eyes for a moment.

It was a tribute to the knights who had served the territory and the family.

The others also bowed their heads with solemn expressions.

After the brief moment of silence, he opened his eyes again and spoke to his subordinates.

“Temporarily lay their bodies to rest. We will recover the bodies of the others who were deployed together and hold a joint funeral.”

“Understood.”

The knights responded in low but resolute voices.

Immediately afterward, the count turned his head and looked at me.

“There’s a lot I want to ask, but.”

“…There’s a lot I want to say as well.”

Since we couldn’t continue like this outside, we hurriedly moved locations.

What had happened for him, who had gone out on patrol with the Ragenvalshfort Order of Knights, to return having lost most of his knights?

Several people were seated inside the manor’s reception room.

Petra, the Count of Leipzig, and I sat on the sofa, while those holding key positions in the territory, such as the commander of the Ragenvalshfort Order of Knights, stood around us.

The count kept groping his body repeatedly, as if it still hadn’t sunk in that he was alive.

But he couldn’t keep doing that forever, so after calming himself with a cup of tea, he began speaking, starting with his subordinates who were watching him.

“First, introductions are in order. The one who came with my daughter is His Highness Leios, the Third Imperial Prince of our empire.”

At those words, the atmosphere in the room changed instantly.

The nearby knights turned their gazes toward me with undisguised agitation, but I calmly sipped my tea.

“…I know well what you are all thinking. However, it is thanks to His Highness using the elixir bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor during the Founding Festival that I was able to survive.”

At that, the atmosphere settled once more.

Everyone must have seen the count’s injuries.

He had been barely clinging to life, in a condition no different from the other two knights.

Had even a little more time passed, he too would have become a cold corpse.

Thud.

The Count of Leipzig rose from his seat and knelt before me, striking his forehead against the floor.

“Lord!”

“Father!”

Everyone gasped in shock at his sudden action, but the count paid them no heed and continued.

“This Quedigan has been deeply moved by Your Highness from the bottom of my heart. To think that you would use an elixir, a peerless treasure bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor, for someone as insignificant as me……!”

He spoke to me in a trembling voice.

Being bowed to by someone old enough to be my father wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight, but a slight smile escaped me.

There were still two drops of elixir left.

But I had no intention of telling him that now to ease his heart.

That weight would soon return as loyalty toward me.

“Rise, Count. A man who leads a family should not kneel so easily.”

I slowly took his hand and helped him up.

The count then looked at me with a face full of emotion.

Learning that the count’s name was Quedigan was something I found out for the first time, but it wasn’t particularly important information.

What mattered now was strengthening my relationship with the count.

His expression looked as though he might offer his entire family to me, but he didn’t actually say anything of the sort.

It was a shrewd move to minimize his losses no matter what.

He must have taken the initiative with exaggerated behavior in advance, fearing I might make unreasonable demands.

The Count of Leipzig was that kind of man.

But he owed me his life.

That was an indisputable fact.

He would know better than anyone how much value his own life, as the ruler of Leipzig, held.

“Your Highness, this Quedigan will gladly follow you wherever you go.”

“Count, that kind of empty flattery is enough. Start by explaining what happened.”

At my words, the knights’ expressions stiffened.

The count also flinched slightly, as if he hadn’t expected me to see through his intentions, but he soon nodded with a composed expression and continued.

“To put it simply, we were completely deceived. Thinking back now, it was a trap planned from the beginning with me as the target.”

“A trap?”

At those words, my brow furrowed involuntarily.

The count’s outward appearance might have been unimpressive, but his inner substance was not something even I could take lightly.

Yet someone had managed to deceive him?

“At first, when the number of monsters increased, I thought the season that came every year had simply arrived a bit earlier this time.

Then, mercenaries from Freiburg came to us, saying they had found something strange.”

“…So you went out personally?”

It was hard to understand.

No matter how strange a sign they had found, he could have just sent his subordinates.

In response, the count shrugged and said,

“What choice did I have. They said it was presumed to be a top-grade mana stone.”

“A top-grade mana stone?”

At those words, my eyes widened.

I had many mana stones in my subspace pouch as well.

But only a few reached the upper grades; most were mid-to-low grade.

Of course, even a top-grade one was worth less than an elixir, but depending on the person, it could be considered more precious.

The appearance of a top-grade mana stone was not something the empire could ignore.

The count said that was why he couldn’t dismiss it either and went out personally.

“I wanted to acquire it if possible, but if it was related to the monsters’ movements, I even considered destroying it. However, all of that was a trap.”

Some of the mercenaries who had gone with the knight order suddenly turned on them and attacked.

However, they were the Ragenvalshfort Order of Knights, the elite of Leipzig.

Under normal circumstances, they would never have fallen to mere mercenaries, but the enemy were not ordinary.

“According to the vice-commander who was with us, they were at least Sword Master– and Archmage-class powerhouses. If they hadn’t sacrificed themselves to protect me, I too would have met the same fate…….”

The number of people who went on patrol with the count, including the vice-commander, was fifteen in total.

The rest were deployed to defend the central territory or support other fortresses, so that had been the number currently available, but even that should have been enough to deal with most monsters.

Yet all of them had lost their lives at the hands of merely three or four people.

“The enemy weren’t just those people. I don’t know what kind of trick they used, but monsters started attacking as well……. All the mercenaries who were there died, and only about five of the knights managed to escape, but when I woke up, I was the only one left alive.”

The count grasped the teacup in front of him with a parched expression.

He too must have witnessed countless deaths throughout his life.

Even so, the deaths of those close to him were likely something he still wasn’t accustomed to.

“Still, Your Highness…….”

Perhaps trying to change the mood, he forced a brighter expression and lifted his head, but then he suddenly clutched his throat and widened his eyes.

“…Count?”

“Urgh—!”

At my call, the count spat out a handful of pitch-black blood.

His face turned ashen, and he collapsed forward into the pool.