The double life of a count’s bastard

Chapter 30

“You’re dead!”

Sahr’tan’s servant screamed, lunging at him.

Jason ducked slightly, not blinking, even under the threat of the Cipheran blade gripped tightly in his hand.

Shuck.

The tip of the blade grazing his chest wasn’t as threatening or sharp as he’d expected.

Puff-puff-puff-!

Jason reached out with a light punch, and the dagger in his hand left a gash on the body of Sahrtan’s servant.

The wound wasn’t very deep, but it was enough to inflict a fatal wound, and Sahrtan’s servant staggered and fell to the floor.

“Grrrr…… die…….”

Sahrtan’s servant spewed blood from his mouth and glared at Jason as if he were the enemy who had killed his parents.

“Jingling.”

Rosita’s few words were like a spell, turning the seemingly normal members of the upper echelon completely around.

The whites of their eyes turned black, and their entire bodies exuded a strange mixture of life and malice.

This is Sahr’tan’s servant.

A fanatic is completely devoid of basic human emotions and senses.

It was hard to call them human.

A few years ago, a village had been wiped out, and the culprits had been identified as Sahrtan’s servants.

Their methods were brutal.

They murdered every man, woman, and child in the village, brutally, and proudly dismembered them, and put them on display in the streets.

Demons who had given up being human.

They were Sahrtan’s servants, so it was only natural that people would resent them.

Pow!

Jason didn’t hesitate to pierce the man’s throat with his dagger, as he was a servant of Sahrtan who could swing his sword at anyone as long as he was alive.

With this, he had already taken seven lives.

Though he felt no regret, remorse, or resentment for killing the man, the fact that he had been caught in the middle of something he hadn’t thought of did not lighten his heart.

When Russo had first taken an interest in the Rosetta Order, Jason had thought it was just a way for him to make a few extra bucks.

“He’s got a lot of money now, with the Zeta Society and his chauffeur, and I thought he was just trying to line his pockets with a top.

A man with a taste for money is scary.

When I found out later that the Rosetta Society was kidnapping children, I thought Russo was after the money.

After all, he’s got nothing but two flimsy knives, so he couldn’t possibly be after pennies on the dollar.

But no.

‘A priest of Sartan. How in the world did Master Rousseau know this secret?

When it was revealed that Rosita was a priestess of Sahrtan, Jason was so shocked that he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Where, how, and from whom could he have gotten this top-secret information?

To be honest, as the butler in charge, Jason had been neglectful of Russo.

No matter how much he thought about it, Rousseau was a loose kite in the Slater household…… nay, a kite with no string at all, and he seemed to have given up on life as a wretch himself.

Whenever Jason saw Rousseau, he thought he could just stick it out for a certain amount of time, or quit if he got tired of it.

By keeping a low profile, he was distancing himself and fading into the background.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Rousseau didn’t take offense to Jason’s distancing and instead kept Hans by his side.

At first, I congratulated myself on being freed from the hassle, but as time went on, I felt strangely bad.

After all, I’d been doing it.

The resentment built up and built up, and before I knew it, I couldn’t hold back my anger, and this is what happened.

‘You say you’re Sir Coach, nearing retirement, but you’ve got the Count’s permission, and you’re taking matters into your own hands……….

Jason was confused, wondering if this was the same Rousseau he knew, and where and how he had changed.

Jason glanced over at Rousseau, who was still wearing his armor, pushing two of the mercenaries forward.

The look on his face was unfamiliar.

Rousseau’s movements and swordplay were too well coordinated to be attributed to the armor alone.

Compared to the battle with Colin, the Marquis of Keita’s knight, he had improved.

‘He can’t be that good when he hasn’t picked up a sword since he was ten years old. And for what reason is he keeping secrets from me, his butler?

You get the idea.

Hans is the answer.

“At first, I thought I was buying new clothes every time I went out, which gave me a strange luxury, but then I realized that wasn’t the case.

He was too tired and drunk to simply shop and drink for luxury.

It wasn’t just that.

Despite the healing and concealment, Jason, who had seen Rousseau more closely than anyone else, often noticed unfamiliar scars on his body.

Crucially, the calluses on his palms, which he couldn’t hide whenever he took off his gloves, were a clear indication that he was wielding a sword.

“What winds could have suddenly blown and caused him to raise his sword?

Jason grunted to himself, knowing that this wasn’t Rousseau who would give him a straightforward answer.

“What do you think of the butler in charge of ……?

The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became, and then Sahrutan’s servant came crashing down on him.

“Die, die, die, die!”

Drooling and drooling, Jason stabbed his dagger six times in quick succession into the chest and abdomen of the charging servant of Satan.

Still needing to vent his frustration, he grabbed the servant of Sahrtan by the arm and snapped it behind his back.

Puddle!

The horrible sound of bone snapping in opposite directions rang out, but Sahrtan’s servant seemed to feel no pain, turning and swinging his other arm.

Flick-!

Dodging the swinging blade with ease, Jason plunged his dagger into every inch of Sahrtan’s servant’s body at a speed his eyes could barely keep up with.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!

Jason finishes by decapitating it, making sure it can no longer move.

“You’re hiding something…….”

After roughly wiping the blood from his face with his sleeve, Jason looked at Russo with complicated eyes.

* * *

“…… This, this can’t be…… This, this, this can’t be…….”

With trembling lips, Rosita denied reality, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening in front of her.

They had been taken.

Five knights, seventeen mercenaries, and Sahrtan’s servants who had followed her until now.

“Sah, Supreme Lord…….”

The sight of Cory, gasping for breath, calling out to him, was devastating.

His right arm was severed, and blood was trickling from his back and chest.

It was clear to see that his life was coming to an end, but all he cared about was Rosita.

“Uh, get the hell out of here …….”

Cory didn’t even get to finish the last word before his head dropped to the floor.

Rosita just stood there, her face stiff and rigid.

Run away? To where?

Where on earth could she run from here?

Still, the air dome Russo had created was tightly sealing the space, preventing anyone from escaping.

Even if it weren’t, Rosita knows it would be impossible to get out of here on her own.

‘It’s because of that asshole…… that asshole dared to destroy my life…… my life!!!’

After decades of gritting her teeth, Rosita glared at Russo as the one responsible for the complete collapse of her pristine tower.

She no longer wondered how he knew her identity.

Rousseau had somehow destroyed everything she had, and she felt that only by killing the damned bastard would she be free.

‘I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him, I’ll tear him to pieces and feed him to the wild dogs…….’

Rosita was on the verge of a rampage.

“Hehe~ It’s been a long time since I’ve swung my sword with full force, and my shoulders don’t rise anymore. This damned frozen shoulder…… why did you bring me here and put me through all this trouble?”

When Sir Coach realized that the situation had been sorted out, he stared at Rousseau with a look of disgust on his face.

Rosita’s blood rushed through her veins at his seeming disregard for her.

“You crazy old man, frozen shoulder? Frozen shoulder be damned!

The image of Lord Coach’s murderous rampage was still fresh in Rosita’s mind, as he plunged his sword into the collarbones of mercenaries, including the mercenary captain, who complained that his shoulder wouldn’t rise, and sliced their heads open like they were watermelons.

He was a killer to Rosita, a man whose overwhelming skill belied his size, and who virtually dominated the battle.

At first, it seemed as though he was powerless, outmatched by the mercenary captain and his allies.

Once Sir Coach began to come into his own, the tide of battle shifted dramatically.

The accumulated experience of his years of life meant that there was no hesitation or indecision in his swordplay.

When he needed to break his opponent’s momentum, he did so boldly, and when he felt the tempo was too fast, he slowed it down to a leisurely pace, skillfully orchestrating his men as if he were training them.

It was a clear demonstration of what it means to be a true, mature, sixth-grade knight.

“Let me rub your shoulders!”

Jason flattered, gently rubbing his shoulder.

“Heh heh – that’s cool!”

“I’m really surprised, after seeing the battle today, Sir Coach seems to be even younger than when he was an instructor in the 1st Knight’s Company!!”

Rosita narrowed her eyes at Jason’s flattering tone.

“He was an instructor in the First Knights, that old man?!

Count Slater’s 1st Knight’s Order was the most elite knightly order in the world, except for the ‘Slater Knights’ who were directly under the patriarch.

The mere fact that she was an instructor of the First Knight’s Order made Rosita think of the ugly, dirty Lord Coach in a new light.

“Never young, now you’re all broken and bruised. If you were ten years younger, you could have fought this fight single-handedly, you old crab.”

At Lord Coach’s retort, Rosita barely resisted the urge to screech, “You only wielded your sword with one hand anyway!

“From what I’ve seen of you, you’re the type to dodge and counterattack your opponent’s attacks. You have a good eye, quick feet, and a flexible body. However, if your opponent’s strength is more than you can handle, you’re asking for trouble. Remember, even the fastest foot will eventually get caught.”

“Thank you for your advice, I will keep it in mind!”

Sir Coach grinned as he watched with delight as Jason bowed his head in gratitude to him.

“Now, these are the ones……!”

“Ma’am, shut up if you don’t want to get your ass kicked. You brazenly kidnapped my children in broad daylight, and you think you’re above it all, or do you have a trick up your sleeve?”

Rosita’s eyes were about to roll back in her head, her anger rising to the top of her head, when Russo interrupted her.

Covered in sweat, blood, and dirt, Rousseau was a defeated soldier in every sense of the word.

He’s been struggling to survive since the Excalaeon was forcibly lifted, and he’s become what he is now.

Naturally, Hans sneered at Rousseau, saying that he couldn’t use his armor.

Although he didn’t say it out loud, Merlin also chuckled mockingly at Rousseau, who was the only one who looked like a beggar.

There was also the pathetic look on the coach’s face, and Jason’s strangely unnerving glance when he asked if she was okay.

Rousseau was in a pretty bad mood, even though he had emerged unscathed.

“You crazy bastard, you’re going to make sure I rip you to shreds and…… ah!!”

Aaaahhh!!!

Russo coolly slapped Rosita’s cheek.

“You need to get a grip on the situation. You’re not like the other Priestesses of Sahrtan, all you did was shiver until your men were all dead, so what’s the point of paying lip service to evil?”

While Sahrtan’s priests are no ordinary beings, Rosita is different.

No matter how she came to be a priestess of Sahrtan and perform human sacrifices, she was still an ordinary woman with no special powers when she died seven years later.

She was far different from the other Priestesses of Sahr’tan, who wielded high-level black magic or had the strength of a sixth-ranked knight.

Maybe.

‘Perhaps the Sahrtan Church needed a simple pouch of money.

Rosita was so ordinary that no one would have guessed her to be a priestess of Satan.

“Go away, you wretch, how dare you touch my cheeks, you……!”

Rosita, who had been cursing, recoiled in anger as Russo raised his hand.

“Slap me again, you little shit, what makes you think you have the right to call me names?”

Russo’s glare was fiercer than ever, as he was well aware of Rosita’s evil deeds, including kidnapping young children for human sacrifice.

“I think it’s a hundred times better to be a cripple than a woman like her, don’t you?”

Rosita recoiled from the insult, but Russo furrowed his brow in disgust and thrust his raised hand forward.

“What is it?

Why is he offering his palm?

When Rosita’s eyes widened in disbelief at Russo’s unexpected behavior, Russo frowned and said, “I’m sorry.

“You’ve got a lot of money lying around, I know it, so give it all to me while you’re on good terms. If you don’t want to be beaten to a pulp in the rain, give it all away. I’m a bum with nothing in sight, just like you said, and you know what that means.”

Rousseau shamelessly demands that he give up all his hidden wealth.

His behavior stunned Rosita and the others who were watching.

……What kind of an asshole is he?

For this moment, they were all of one mind.