Chapter 184
But things had already progressed far too much—it was too late to take it back.
“I heard the devils of the Venomous Demonic House never forget a grudge. Ugh! That Christian is the worst! What kind of grudge does he even have against me?!”
As she clutched her head in distress, Chris spoke in a smug, irritating tone.
“You’re not turning the entire Venomous Demonic House into your enemy. You’re just turning Marquis Goras’s faction against you.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?! The core power of the Venomous Demonic House is Marquis Goras’s faction!”
“That was the case until now.”
Chris crossed his arms.
“After this incident, that’s going to change.”
Ruina flinched.
She realized Chris was planning something terrifying again.
“Still… no matter how remarkable you are, Young Master, to bring down Marquis Goras... that’s…”
Marquis Goras was a formidable mid-tier 8-star demonic lord and held sway over more than seventy percent of the Venomous Demonic House's total influence.
No matter how talented Chris was, it didn’t seem possible for him to go up against someone like that.
What’s more, Chris wasn’t even a member of the Venomous Demonic House. He was just an outsider.
But then—
“You must’ve heard what I said during the Grand Duke succession ceremony, right? I intend to rally the other Houses under the banner of the Dark Demonic House. And you think someone like Marquis Goras would be a problem for me?”
Ruina swallowed hard.
It was an utterly outrageous claim.
And yet, Chris’s tone wasn’t arrogant. It was calm—like he was stating a simple fact, something he naturally expected to achieve.
‘What on earth is he thinking?’
She couldn’t begin to guess.
What was even more terrifying was how that absurd claim didn’t sound like a bluff at all.
“Of course, I’m not saying I’ll bring down Marquis Goras with just this incident. But it’ll be enough to become a turning point—enough to shake the power balance within the Venomous Demonic House.”
“……”
“Once this is over, the Venomous Demonic House won’t be in any position to concern itself with your merchant guild. So you really don’t need to worry too much.”
Ruina cleared her throat.
“W-Well, in that case… I’ll trust you, Young Master.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something? No words of gratitude?”
“G-Gratitude…?”
“Yes. I’ve brought you a golden opportunity to make a fortune. Shouldn’t you at least show a little appreciation? Even I, generous and kind as I am, find this a bit disappointing.”
Ruina’s lips flapped.
She wore the expression of someone unsure if they were hearing nonsense or not.
“And you didn’t even send a gift for my Grand Duke succession.”
“…I did send one! Under the name of the Rudolf Merchant Guild, to the Dark Demonic House! It was an incredibly expensive gift!”
“But you didn’t send anything directly to me, did you? Naturally, you should’ve sent some personal ‘funds’ on the side as well.”
Chris wore an expression that said, Why are you being so amateurish?
Ruina’s jaw dropped at his brazen attempt at extortion, and Chris added with a magnanimous tone:
“Even though I’m deeply disappointed, I’ll let it slide—just this once—because of our long-standing friendship. Just send some medicine and relief supplies to the western territory.”
“W-What the…!!”
“Well, it’s not like the Dark Demonic House is short on funds, but it’s obvious Marquis Langham is going to pull some tricks in the middle, so I figured the procurement might run into delays,”
Chris said with a sly smile.
“Besides, this way, your guild gets to officially earn favor with the Dark Demonic House. I’d say that’s not a bad outcome for you—especially considering your real ‘goal.’”
Ruina immediately shut her mouth.
She realized that Chris, in his own twisted way, was being considerate by extorting her like this.
Up until now, her relationship with Chris had been strictly person-to-person.
But if her merchant guild were to offer official aid to the Dark Demonic House at Chris’s request, that would elevate their connection to a formal alliance between her merchant guild and the Grand Duke of the Dark Demonic House.
That meant Chris would be able to protect her from the standpoint of the Grand Duke of the House.
Considering her true “goal,” she definitely needed powerful figures in her corner. In fact, this was something she should have proposed first.
“Ugh!! Why does this still feel like I’m being extorted?! That bastard! That devilish bastard!”
Her pride was in shambles.
She wasn’t even sure if it was because she was such a money-grubber… or if Chris was just that irritating.
Chris, acting even more smugly, handed over a document.
“Here. Stamp it.”
“…What is this?”
“This is still a formal transaction between your merchant guild and a noble house. We need a proper contract. Wouldn’t you prefer having things documented properly? Of course, if you don’t want to, that’s fine too.”
Ruina stamped it with the face of someone chewing on dung.
“Good. Here’s the list of required supplies. It’s urgent, so send them immediately. If there’s a delay, I’ll be claiming damages.”
“Aaargh! What kind of man claims damages over this?! Fine, it won’t be late! Just get out already! I can’t stand your face another second!”
Every time she spoke to Chris, it felt like she shaved months off her lifespan from sheer stress.
Once Chris was gone and she had calmed herself, Ruina looked over the item list he had left behind.
“Are you insane?!”
Tucked away in small text at the bottom of the page were absurdly expensive items that made no sense at all.
“You rotten, demonic bastard!!”
* * *
Now that it was time to depart for the western territory, Chris was assigned attendants as befitted his position as Grand Duke.
“I’ve been assigned to accompany you. My name is Randol.”
A face Chris didn’t recognize.
‘A demon from Marquis Langham’s faction.’
Chris, thanks to Marie—who controlled the ghosts residing in his family’s main estate—was well-informed of covert information others didn’t know.
According to that intelligence, this Randol was secretly loyal to Marquis Langham.
‘So he’s been planted to sabotage me.’
Normally, it would have been right to dismiss him.
But Chris smirked.
‘Perfect. I’ll use this bastard.’
He was already laying out a plan to use Randol as a pawn to strike back at both Marquis Langham and Marquis Goras.
“Understood. I’ll be counting on you. Go ahead and prepare for departure.”
After casually dismissing Randol, Chris turned to the others—his usual companions who followed him like magnets: Melin, Alros, and Jupien.
“Let’s move. My heart’s racing at the thought of cutting down those Venomous Demonic House bastards alongside the Grand Duke.”
“…U-Um, can I… not go?! I still need to train, and I’m not very smart, so I probably won’t be much help in this…!!”
“Come on, let’s go. I’m bored.”
Each of them made their case, but to their surprise, Chris shook his head.
“Melin, you’re not coming.”
“Huh?”
“You’re not going to be much help in uncovering the truth behind this incident anyway.”
“But there might be bloodshed, right?”
As expected of a battle maniac, Melin looked like she was itching for a fight with the Venomous Demonic House.
“I’ve got something else I need you to do.”
“What is it?”
“It’s important.”
Chris lowered his voice so no one else could hear.
Melin’s eyes widened as she listened to his whisper.
“Wait, you mean… Master?”
“Yeah. It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”
Chris had no intention of just exposing the truth behind this incident and calling it done.
He was planning something far bigger—something that would cause a serious upheaval.
And for that, he intended to use Melin to lay the groundwork in advance.
“Ahhh… as expected of the Master I chose to serve. This is beyond anything I hoped for. I’ll carry out your command with a pounding heart.”
Melin licked her lips, trembling with excitement.
“Jupien, you’re not coming either.”
“Why not? I’m smart. I’ll be helpful in figuring things out.”
“…You? The hot-blooded fool?”
“I am smart.”
Jupien replied with confidence.
Though she often came off as airheaded, there was a sharp edge to her at times—so it wasn’t entirely untrue.
“You’ve got something else to do, too.”
“What is it?”
“Take this.”
Chris handed her a stone, which she looked at quizzically.
“A phantasm stone?”
A magical artifact imbued with illusions.
“It contains training illusions that will help with your phantom sword arts. Drill them thoroughly and get stronger.”
“!!”
“Because with your current strength, you’re no help to me at all.”
It was a blunt statement—but a truthful one.
Of course, Jupien wasn’t lacking in potential.
She had unmatched perseverance, and if she continued on her path, she could one day rise to the rank of a high-class demon of 7-star or above. But the problem was the present.
At the very least, she needed to reach 5-star to be of use to Chris.
‘The one good thing is that Jupien has already built a solid foundation.’
What’s needed to grow stronger is a strong foundational "vessel" and the right "realization."
In Chris’s case, he had found realization before his vessel was ready. But Jupien was the opposite.
She had the most solid foundational vessel in the entire Dark Demonic House.
She was, without question, the top training fanatic of the entire house.
Except for when she was eating or sleeping—or even while eating and sleeping—Jupien trained relentlessly in her own way. Her dedication was so extreme that it had given her one of the most solid foundations among anyone.
The issue was enlightenment.
‘Thankfully, illusion arts make it relatively easier to indirectly experience enlightenment.’
The phantasm stone Chris had handed her was packed with realizations Jupien would need to climb to the next level.
‘Of course, that doesn’t guarantee rapid success.’
Even with simulated experiences, the actual realization had to be achieved and internalized by Jupien herself.
But Chris believed she could do it.
Because even in his previous life, it had been rare to find someone with Jupien’s level of persistence.
“…Why are you giving me something like this?”
Jupien, fully aware of just how immense a blessing this was, looked momentarily at a loss for words.
“To squeeze more value out of you, of course.”
Chris raised the corner of his mouth with an irritating smirk.
“Don’t forget. I’m the Grand Duke now. That makes you a pawn who works for me.”
And it wasn’t just Jupien.
Everyone in the Dark Demonic House had become Chris’s pawns in one way or another.
Jupien scoffed and snorted.
“I’ll get stronger and crush you one day.”
“Sure, sure. The higher the goal, the better. Now hurry up and go.”
Finally, it was Alros’s turn.
“I-I don’t have to go either, right? I can just stay behind and do something for the House?”
“Stay behind? Not a chance. You’re coming with me.”
“W-What?! But I’m dumb and not good at anything! It’s not the poison that I’m afraid of, I just… I’m scared I’ll be dead weight to you, Your Grace!”
Alros flailed in panic, clearly more terrified of heading to the poison-ridden western territory than of disappointing Chris.
“Don’t worry. You’re sturdy enough, right? You think you’d die that easily from poison?”
“Wh-What are you saying?! That sounds like you expect me to get poisoned!”
“Yeah. That’s the plan. You need to be poisoned.”
Not “might get poisoned”—Chris said Alros had to be.
That subtle shift in phrasing hinted that Chris was plotting something involving Alros.
“I-I think I misheard something just now?”
“Oh, no, I’m not intentionally trying to poison you or anything… Well, actually, the end result might be similar?”
“W-What? What?! Y-Your Grace?! That’s a joke, right? Haha, you’re so funny! What a hilarious joke!”
“It’s neither a joke nor a lie, so listen carefully.”
“W-What…?”
Chris lowered his voice.
“There’s something you’ll need to do once we reach the western territory.”
“What is it…?”
Alros gulped in fear.
And once he heard the full details of Chris’s “operation”—
“T-That kind of plan could get me killed, you know?!”