The double life of a count’s bastard

Episode 11

Xenophy’s eyes widened at the mention of decapitation, and she gulped in the air.

‘So you were going to take everything I had and kill me after all! You damned bastard!

Rousseau smirked at Xenophy’s stiffened form as he looked up at him as a tree.

“However, I did manage to purchase the carcasses of your prey at a reasonable price, and I offered you some fine wine as an apology, so we’ll call it a day.”

At the sound of Rousseau’s voice, Xenophy’s insides were screaming for all sorts of profanities, but outwardly she was overwhelmed with gratitude.

“Thank you, thank you, Master Rousseau, I will never forget your heavenly grace!”

I just need to get out of here.

And never again, would I piss on the Slater estate.

That’s what Xenophon thought to himself, and he wished for every minute that he could sever his ties with the damned Earl of Slater.

But he didn’t know that.

He didn’t realize that he was already a prey, completely caught in Rousseau’s noose.

“Well, it’s not like we’re in a normal relationship. After all, I’ve done you a favor, so it wouldn’t hurt to stay on good terms.”

“……Yes?!”

“Why, no?”

Rousseau frowned and touched the hilt of his sword, causing Xenophy to reflexively throw up her hands in denial.

“Of course not, it’s just that it’s so unexpected to think that an insignificant merchant like me would dare to have a good relationship with Master Russo!”

“I may have a bad reputation, but I’m willing to stick by someone if they’re my own and let’s face it, my family isn’t exactly the most prestigious, so from your point of view, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, hahaha!”

Rousseau’s shamelessness in pointing out how impressive her background is, as if he understands, leaves Xenophy speechless.

“So let’s make good partners.”

“Pa, you mean partner?”

Xenophy’s face contorted bizarrely at the sound of the word partner.

The Earl of Slater himself could be an incredible backstabber, but wasn’t this bastard in front of him a scion of the family?

Does he think he’ll get a grain of rice out of this?

“No way!

This is a bunch of bullshit.

The thought of having to pay this damned bastard over and over again for the rest of his life never left Xenophy’s mind.

‘I’d rather start over in the farthest provinces, they don’t even pay attention to the north!

Run away.

She vowed to start a new life, even if it meant washing her identity, but the wretch in front of her was far more sophisticated than she realized.

“In that spirit, why don’t we go to the temple first?”

“What about the temple…….”

Russo smirked at Genopi, who was shaking with anxiety.

“We’re on a life contract.”

“……Life contracts? Surely you didn’t say you were partners earlier?”

“Well, that’s what it is. It’s not like we’re traders or anything. So what? You don’t like it?!”

The way the bastard’s eyes narrowed and his grip tightened on the hilt of his sword, Xenophy realized with certainty.

She would never escape this demonic wretch’s grasp.

* * *

Sparkle!

“……Take care in the future.”

Xenophy stared at the silver ring on her finger with her soul-destroyed eyes.

The Ring of Conviction.

A sacred object that could be obtained by pledging one’s soul to prove a promise to a god.

Its original purpose was to bind lovers to each other, friends to each other, and lords and knights to their oaths of loyalty.

However, it was most commonly used to secure master-servant (slave) relationships.

Oaths are pledged before the gods, and betrayal is punished immediately.

“It looks good.”

Rousseau smirked as he looked at the ring of conviction on Xenophy’s finger.

Rousseau’s hand, on the other hand, was empty.

In short, Genopi had pledged her eternal loyalty to Rousseau, but Rousseau had made no promises.

“You devil!

Genopi dared to ask Rousseau to swear before the gods that he would watch his back.

All he got in return was a scolding and a vow of life if he dared to look down on Count Slater.

With Rousseau’s fiery eyes looking as if he would slit her throat at a moment’s notice, Xenophy was forced to swear an oath to herself.

“From now on, slave……, do your best as a partner. I’ll take care of your backside, so do whatever you want to do!”

“…….”

Surely he said the word slave and then quickly changed it to partner?

And what?

You’re going to watch my back?

Xenophy remained expressionless as she listened to Rousseau, who had about as much credibility as an ant’s asshole.

“What’s the point of having the backing of an asshole from Count Slater!

Xenophy didn’t give a damn, she was just lucky she didn’t bite her lip.

“And I can’t quit drinking, even if I quit water, just in case.”

Xenophy sighed inwardly at Rousseau’s shameless use of the word alcohol instead of water.

“And that’s the thing about human taste. Once you taste something good, you keep looking for more.”

Rousseau’s threat to bring Hermès tears in the future made Zenophy feel like crying.

“And since a relationship is better when we see each other often, you must visit me at least once every three months.”

Russo’s insistence on regular payments made Zenophy want to cry.

“……I’ll do my best.”

Russo smiled and shook his head from side to side at Zenophy’s words.

“Of course, you should try hard, but if there’s one thing I’ve realized in my life, it’s that the world is more about results than effort. Who doesn’t try hard in life, but who remembers that? It’s a world where your efforts are only recognized if the results are good.”

At Rousseau’s frightening words, which demanded that she bring the Tears of Hermes every three months, no matter how hard she tried, no matter what, Xenophy looked up at the sky and sighed heavily.

“I’ve said all I have to say, so go. Go earn your money.”

Rousseau’s words about being diligent in bringing back Hermes’s tears and payment left Zenophy speechless, and she turned away with her head bowed.

“Oh, one more thing!”

Rousseau caught Xenophy in her tracks.

As if there was nothing else to say, Xenophy looked back at Rousseau.

“I know it’s none of my business what you do for a living, but at least remember that I’m the one in the back. And don’t forget that my backers are the Slaters. You know what I mean?”

At Rousseau’s warning about not making money off of something that would tarnish the Slater family’s reputation, Xenophy sighed again, this time with an earth-shattering sigh.

“This life is ruined…….”

She muttered to herself and staggered away.

Rousseau watched him walk away, a satisfied smile on his face.

Xenophy, once a prospective patron of the Marquis de Belay, was now a slave in his hands.

He might seem like a man who would bemoan his lot and do nothing about it now, but he would soon return to his true self, for he was one of the most vicious and vicious slavers on the continent.

The reason Rousseau didn’t kill Xenophon, but took him into his own hands, was simple.

Rousseau’s reason for not killing Xenophon was simple: his talents and skills as a merchant were wasted.

“I doubt this will change her disposition, but at least she’s shackled to the Slaters, and she’ll do the right thing, and that alone can be of great benefit to me if done in moderation.”

Depending on how Xenophy behaves, Rousseau will either continue to raise him as a duck that lays golden eggs or cut him open prematurely.

“Now I must go home and wait for the return of the expedition.”

Rousseau’s face hardened, already knowing the outcome of the expedition.

Even with the treasures he would never get back from the Kwelan mines, and the Xenophiles, with their vast wealth of merchandise, bound in indentured servitude, Rousseau’s heart grew heavy at the thought of what was to come.

* * *

“Haaaaa…….”

A worried sigh escaped her pale pink lips.

Lily, the flower of Count Slater, whose mere existence was enough to endear her to the hearts of all who knew her, had been shading her face for days now.

“Miss Lily, your pretty face is going to be ruined.”

Lancey, the butler in charge, looked at Lily with concern.

“Where is Big Brother Russo, and what is he doing? I’m so worried about him, I wonder if he’s eating or if something has happened to him.”

At Lily’s words, Lancey looked at her lovingly and smiled.

“Don’t worry, dear. I’m sure Dr. Russo will be back in good health, and you know he’s no ordinary man.”

Lancey’s words made Lily let out an involuntary giggle.

It could mean a lot of different things depending on how you took it, but Lancey was right, Russo was no ordinary man.

“Why would Russo buy all those expensive spellbooks and run away from home? What on earth was he going to do with such a large sum of money without a care in the world…….”

Lily opened her mouth to speak but then shut it.

Well, if she had known Russo was ‘scared’, she wouldn’t have been the family scourge since her tenth birthday.

Rousseau’s runaway, and the 950 gold ransom he had placed on the Zeta Society, was no secret to the people of Count Slater.

Jason, Rousseau’s butler, tried his best to keep it hidden, but when the owner of the Zeta Merchants came to visit the Count himself, it was no longer possible.

This turns the Count’s world upside down.

The Countess, Russo’s mother, is forced to keep her head down as if she were a criminal by the adults in the household because Russo ran away from home after the expedition was too scary to leave.

Lily, who has had to watch from the sidelines, has never been at peace with her brother, who has gotten himself into so much trouble.

For now, it was important for Russo to come back healthy, but she could only hope that he would repay the favor by not using the spellbook.

But the Russo she knew would never have taken a spellbook he would never use.

After all, she had to pay off the debt she owed the Zeta Order somehow. …….

“Uncle Duran isn’t going to oust you from the family, is he?”

Uncle Duran, who hated Russo more than anyone else in the family, had had enough and was insisting that Russo should be ousted from the Slater family.

“Don’t worry about it. No matter how much you argue, Mr. Duran, the decision rests with the Earl.”

“He’s not going to kick my brother out, is he?”

“……I don’t think that will happen.”

Rousseau’s very existence was the sorest finger on Earl Slater’s finger, and Lancey didn’t think he’d be kicked out of the family unless he did something really bad.

Of course, that would depend on what Rousseau did with the spellbook.

“Miss!”

Ben, the novice butler, shouted at the top of his lungs, lifting the sides of his skirt as he ran up to her.

Lancie frowned at Ben’s frivolous behavior, his lack of dignity as Earl Slater’s butler as visible as a fingernail.

Just as Lancey was preparing to give him a stinging rebuke, Ben, panting, called out again.

“Oh, he’s here! Master Russo has just returned!”

“He is? Where is he now?”

“Mr. Duran has just…….”

“What? Uncle Duran?!”

At the mention of Uncle Duran, who was no other than Ben, Lily began to run towards him, her skirts lifted high on either side of her body.

“Whew~.”

Lancey sighed deeply as Lily ran like she was on fire, her forehead pressed against mine.

“Inooooooooooom!!!!”

Lily’s pace quickened at the sound of Uncle Duran’s high-pitched yell.