The double life of a count’s bastard

Chapter 24

Bam!!!

“……kerk!!”

The blow was so strong that I wondered if my bones hadn’t been broken, and I even had the illusion of fire flashing in my head.

“Hooooo~ Can you hold on?”

Pfft!

“Argh!”

The sword was raised as if to strike his head, and his lower body collapsed under the heavy kick to his thighs.

Even though his lower body collapsed, his opponent was merciless.

“You showed your shoulder for me to hit you now, just for the sake of it!”

Puck!

“It’s not enough that you gave me your shoulder, now you’re giving me your back! You’re like a tree that gives so generously! Hahahahah!”

Puck!

“You can afford to lie on your back and look at the sky~ You’re truly a master at defeating rank 5 knights!”

Every single word was packed with emotion.

Rousseau wanted to scream at him to cut the bullshit, but he could barely breathe, let alone open his mouth.

‘You…… you…… I’ll see you later!!!’

Rousseau gritted his teeth, promising that the day his skills would grow so much that he would be overturned, he would repay him for all the trouble he was in many times over.

Only.

When?

Hans in front of him was a genius of geniuses, so it was no easy task for even Rousseau, who had a prescient dream, to overturn the gap between them.

‘Even now, I’d like to send Excalibur to …….’

Despite his heart’s desire, Rousseau could not wear Excalaeon in a duel with Hans.

This is training.

However, it would be hard for others to tell if it was training or a beating disguised as training.

‘Why don’t you put on your gauntlets first? I heard that Count Slater gave you the precious gauntlets in secret and that you used them to chop off Colin’s arm. I’d like to feel their power.

Before the duel, Hans had Russo put on the gauntlets.

He wanted to see for himself how Russo, who was not yet officially ranked fourth, had won against Colin, a fifth-ranked knight, and how powerful the armor was.

He needed the motivation.

As Rousseau would have been sad to hear, Hans’s duel with Rousseau was a waste of time.

Luckily for Hans, Rousseau more than compensated for the wasted time, so he didn’t complain.

But when he hears that Rousseau has a horse that is powerful enough to defeat a knight of his rank, he is naturally inclined to be favorably impressed.

Furthermore, the thought that his time could be better spent and more rewarding made Hans feel warmer than he had in a long time.

But Russo refused.

He said he couldn’t wear armor for a mere duel.

“You want to die for nothing?”

No way!

“Why don’t you put on your armor now?”

He’s smiling, but his eyes are cold.

“…… This bastard’s eyes have turned away! His eyes have turned away!

What knight in the world would reveal his flesh by flickering his eyes in the face of his sworn lord!

What an opening line.

“You’re going to keep your armor on all the way? This is your last warning: if you don’t stop this, I’ll break your arm!”

This is real.

It’s a blow with real emotion, and Rousseau’s skills are not enough to block it, let alone dodge it.

Kwajak!

“Ow!!!”

……Damn, it’s broken.

* * *

“I am always grateful for your great consideration, Count.”

Red hair, even redder lips than that.

Rosita, whose contrasting white skin alone exuded the scent of a seductive woman, flashed one last seductive smile at Count Slater, who was still staring at her with unfeeling eyes and left the office.

Again, again, again.

As she left the mansion, leaving her mark in the long hallway, a middle-aged man clung to her side.

“So, my lord, did you manage to get your pass renewed?”

“Sucks.”

“What? Did things not go well for you? Our boss has never done anything wrong or mistaken…….”

“Tell me, do you find me unattractive as a woman?”

“What? What’s that?”

“Tell me. What do you think when you look at me, do you want to embrace me or not, as a man?”

As she thrust her voluptuous breasts forward, exuding maturity, the middle-aged man glanced at her and coughed in disbelief.

“Humph! Where would there be a woman as attractive as you on this continent, let alone a man…….?”

“Yes, that’s normal!”

Rosita glanced back at Count Slater’s mansion and furrowed her well-groomed eyebrows.

“How is it that Count Slater can look at me like that and not blink, I mean, not even a snitch?”

Rosita bit her lower lip, looking like she was about to die of pride.

Her disgruntled tone made the middle-aged man realize what was going on.

“As you know, Count Slater is not a man who has much interest in women, is he?”

“Ha! Is he so uninterested that he impregnated a maid from a lowly background and brought her into his bedchamber, and then gave birth to two children…….”

“All of it, master!”

The middle-aged man quickly covered Rosita’s mouth, looking horrified in case anyone had heard.

“I’m not more attractive than her?”

“Of course not, how could you possibly compare yourself to her, Master!”

And yet she did.

The middle-aged man knew with his own eyes what a beautiful and mature woman the Countess of Slater was.

“Honestly,” he said, “she’s far more graceful and mature than most noblewomen, except for those who come from a certain background.

However, the middle-aged man was not so blind as to reveal his true feelings to Danzhu.

“Bastard!”

Rosita turned around with a look of annoyance on her face, and the middle-aged man followed suit, shaking his head.

“Where are the kids?”

Rosita’s whispered question made the middle-aged man look around reflexively before he answered.

“You needn’t worry about them.”

“You should be, but we just need to make it through Count Slater’s territory safely.”

“I’ve duly renewed my pass, and I haven’t had even the slightest problem in over a decade, so you’ll never have anything to worry about, rest assured.”

At the middle-aged man’s words, Rosita stopped walking and looked back at him.

“Cory, surprises can happen anytime, anywhere, and that’s something…… no one can predict. Reassuring? Don’t ever say that in front of me. Tense.”

Rosita’s mood had changed so drastically that one wondered if she was the same woman who had complained to Count Slater a moment ago that her charms were not working.

The middle-aged man, too, stiffened and respectfully bowed his head as Rosita’s tone, expression, and eyes changed completely.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Yes, Cory, you’ve been doing a good job.”

Rosita’s tone changed back to that of a spring breeze as she walked away, with Cory following closely behind.

And just like that, Rosita and Cory disappeared into the distance.

Swoosh.

A figure rose from the ground and took shape.

“Isn’t there anyone in the world I can trust? I thought you were a good man…… What, a maid? You’re an old, old, old maid!”

It was Jason who shouted, looking like he was going to rush over and tear her hair out at any moment.

“I see now why the Master told us to keep quiet behind Rosita’s top, they’re children…….”

He stared at Rosita and Cory, his eyes now a black dot, and then he disappeared into the ground again.

As if he had never been there in the first place.

* * *

What are you looking like, is this a true story?”

Merlin crouched down and chuckled at the sight of Rousseau lying motionless on the ground, one arm broken and his leg still bleeding from the wound.

“Why don’t you stop laughing and try to heal him? I hear you’re a good healer, let’s see how you do.”

Rousseau’s frown was hardly lifted by the pain from his broken arm and the wounds on his aching thighs and back, which jolted with every movement.

Other people’s pain is other people’s pain.

Merlin smirked as he glanced up at Hans, who stood behind Russo, not caring if he was in pain or not as if it were his business.

“If the other knights found out about this, they’d be foaming at the mouth and screaming that chivalry had fallen to the ground, wouldn’t they, Haans?”

“Haven’t you ever heard of the saying that calling someone by their first name will tear your mouth off?”

“I suppose if you rip your mouth off, you can drink as much as you want?”

Merlin smirked and jerked his head forward as if to say, “Let’s see,” and Hans casually grabbed the hilt of his sword.

“Let me see, you two, what are you doing in front of a sick man!”

Rousseau bellowed, and Hans let go of the hilt with a rueful look.

“Can’t you be a man and put up with that? I mean, it’s unreasonable to expect patience from a wretch, isn’t it?”

Once again, before Rousseau could make a sound, Merlin took a closer look at his condition.

“That’s quite a quote, I’m sure. How would you like to pay for the treatment, upfront or after?”

Rousseau gritted his teeth at the sight of Merlin charging for treatment in front of a sick man.

“…… postpaid.”

“He’s an asshole, but he’s an asshole at heart, so he’s not going to take no money. Postpaid, okay!”

Merlin pulled a pure white leather pouch from his arm and reached into it, pulling out a handful of silvery powder.

Holy water powder.

It was a powdered form of the holy water sold at the Nevatera Temple, and the ointment that Rousseau had used against Hans was also made of holy water.

Check!

After sprinkling the holy water powder on Rousseau’s body, Merlin immediately clasped his hands together and recited a prayer.

“ᛔᛊᚴᚱᛋᛇᛕᛏᚩᚶᛨᛪᛯᚶ…….”

The words that came out of Merlin’s mouth were the language of the gods, and only the priests of the three major sects could master it.

‘It’s just a bunch of words that don’t mean anything, yet you pretend to be so damn cool.

It’s true.

It was Merlin himself, and no one else, who confessed in the vision.

“A long time ago, the High Hierarchs of the Three Orders created a language that only we could hear and speak, and they revealed that it was to make themselves appear special.

The prayers the priests recite are just a series of words that even the gods don’t know, Merlin confessed.

Of course.

“The problem is that I’ve overdone it and drunk myself beyond repair.

In other words, he’s exposed the drunkenness that would bring the prestige of three orders to the ground.

In any case, unlike Merlin’s mouth spewing out meaningless words, his hands and body emitted pure white light.

At the same time, the holy water powder sprinkled the same light around Rousseau’s body, and to his surprise, his broken arm and wounds began to heal quickly.

“……This is amazing.

Rousseau marveled as he felt his body heal, repair, and regenerate perfectly in real-time.

This level of healing was not easily accomplished by even the most powerful bishop.

It was truly Merlin’s gift, and it showed how much the goddess Nevatera favored him.

Merlin’s prayer ended just as the silver holy water turned to ash and fell to the floor.

And Rousseau.

Bang-bang.

Rousseau sprang to his feet and twirled his arm, confirming that he was completely healed.

The healed Merlin smiled meaningfully as he lit a cigarette.

“By the way, I knew from experience that Ha’anth was a tough character, but I never expected him to be so ruthless…… even to his sworn lord. But what’s even funnier is that the wretch who got hit takes it for granted, especially in such an off-the-beaten-path place. I mean, this isn’t the first time. Isn’t it like a secret that you don’t want anyone else to know about, like a baguette that’s …… different on the outside than on the inside?”

Hans looked away, unconcerned by Merlin’s threatening tone, as if to say, “I’ve discovered your secret, Rousseau, and you can’t handle it.

Rousseau, on the other hand.

“Let’s have a secret reveal contest? That would be fun. Let’s see…… said your name was Samantha?”

As soon as the name Samantha left Rousseau’s mouth, Merlin’s face, which had been smiling benevolently, hardened.

So much so that the cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground.

“You, you, you…….”

“One day before the wedding…….”

“Gmaaaaaaaaan!!!!”

Merlin, who had been relaxed, quickly clamped his hand over Rousseau’s mouth.

Even Hans’s eyes lit up like a predator on its prey as he realized he had never seen Merlin like this before.

“Uh, uh, how…….”

Merlin’s secret, is the secret of secrets that must never be revealed.

Merlin glared at Rousseau as if to ask how he knew that.

“How do you know? I know because you revealed it to me. Ah! I suppose that’s called confession?

Chuckling, Rousseau watched Merlin fidget and took satisfaction in the fact that he had taken the initiative for the first time.