Translator: Wan ED/PR: Fan
“It’s that bastard, that bastard.”
The nobles gathered in the banquet hall made faces of horror the moment the boy appeared.
A young noble lady couldn’t help but be confused by the suddenly gloomy atmosphere at the banquet.
“Son of the Cronia family, Lucion Cronia. That’s the bastard they are talking about.”
A noble young master, holding a glass of red wine beside the young lady, secretly approached her and pointed with his finger.
According to the noble etiquette, it was rude to point a finger at someone, but he was very open about it as if Lucion was an exception.
The young lady’s face turned curious at Lucion’s attire, which had a deeply pressed hood, which was not suitable for a banquet hall.
“Why ‘that bastard’…?”
The young lady carefully asked.
No matter who you asked, they would know that the Cronia family was the count family protecting the border.
It was the son of the Cronia family, who she heard held a power equal to a marquis family, so why did he appear like this?
“He is crazy.”
The young noble replied without even a little bit of worry.
“Yes…?”
The young lady urgently covered her mouth in surprise.
“Not only do they say he’s crazy, but they also say that he even killed his own mother.”
“Re-Really?”
A plate that the young lady was holding in her hand shook slightly, as if out of fear.
“Ah, you don’t know? Isn’t it quite a famous story?”
The young noble let out a laugh.
“There is a rumor that the countess couldn’t accept that her son is crazy and committed suicide.”
The young lady’s gaze turned towards Lucion again.
She didn’t know which count family it was, but there was quite a famous story about a countess who committed suicide.
Even she, who just entered the social circles, heard about it.
“Then… why is that bastard crazy?”
The young lady lowered her voice and asked.
“It seems that even the count family doesn’t know the reason. Otherwise, would they allow him to be sent to the banquet with such an appearance?”
The young noble approached the young lady even closer as he boldly opened his mouth.
Since he had attracted her interest, it was a time to take the next step.
“Personally, I’m more interested in the young lady rather than the reason behind the countess’ suicide.”
The noble young master smiled slyly and asked, “Why don’t we move somewhere else first, young lady?”
“… With pleasure.”
As expected, the young lady didn’t seem to hate it.
The two quietly headed to the corner where the door was to sneak out of the central banquet hall.
Bang!
However, a wine bottle suddenly flew from somewhere and hit the young noble’s head.
When he staggered and couldn’t come back to his senses, the sharp voice pierced the young noble’s ears.
“Shouldn’t you act properly even if you’re in rut?”
The music that filled the banquet hall stopped at the sound of the wine bottle breaking.
Crunch.
The sound of someone’s footsteps walking towards the young noble was heard very loudly.
“… Lucion.”
In an instant, Lucion’s gaze shoot towards the noble who mentioned him.
The noble hurriedly turned his head away.
“I-I met his eyes. They say they transmit curses. Curses…!”
At the words of the noble who believed the unspeakable nonsense, Lucion let out a sneer.
Soon, there were murmurs circulating around the room saying that if you look into his eyes, you will be cursed or get ill.
Lucion stared at the young noble again, raising up a wine bottle he was holding in his other hand.
“You blather about other families’ stories while picking up on young ladies? Even a dog in rut doesn’t to that, you fucker!”
With that, Lucion brought down the wine bottle on the young noble’s head with full force.
Bang!
When the hood slipped down, the people at the banquet held their breaths.
It really was Lucion Cronia.
He was called all kinds of names like crazy bastard or cursed bastard, but among them, the one used the most was this:
Vile cur.
Once he bites, he won’t let go.
Thud!
After Lucion’s hands ended up empty, he continued to kick the young noble who already collapsed and groaned without any mercy.
“Would you!”
Kick!
“Like if I mentioned your bastard’s shit-like family history.”
Kiick!
“While picking up on a lady?”
Kick!
“Would you like it!?”
At the sudden disturbance, the guards of the count family holding the banquet rushed to the banquet hall.
The guards were at loss for words at the scene of Lucion, who forgot about his dignity as a noble, repeatedly bashing the already knocked down opponent with his foot.
“Young master. Such a thing….”
“Please don’t stop me, sir! I’ll kill this fucker today!”
Lucion seemed to talk to some nonexistent person.
At Lucion’s formal speech, the guards, and naturally the people who were observing it, started to whisper.
“They said he was crazy… It seems to be true.”
The people’s gazes towards Lucion gradually became sharp.
[You mean you’re going to dirty your hands because of that bastard?]
The man standing beside Lucion swept a hand over his face.
[Your father told you to just quietly come and then go, remember?]
“I already said he is being too noisy!”
Lucion shouted while glaring at the man.
The people’s gazes followed him in that direction.
However, there was nothing there.
People started to feel frightened by Lucion’s gaze which stared into the air.
[Okay. I’m a crazy bastard, right?]
The man pulled his hair and cursed himself.
‘Aigo, you stupid Russell. Why are you foolishly speaking up when you know what kind of child your disciple is?’
Russell saw fear in the eyes of people watching Lucion.
It was natural.
They couldn’t see a ghost like him, so they couldn’t help but fear Lucion.
The only ones who could see ghosts were those who received the blessing of Darkness.
His disciple Lucion was a person who received the blessing of Darkness.
[Lucion. That’s enough.]
Russell tried to stop Lucion again.
Even though it was but a month since he met Lucion, he knew how he was harassed by ghosts.
However, today’s matter was too big.
Lucion looked at the guards who surrounded him.
“If you dare touch even the hem of my clothes, I’ll treat it as an offense against my dignity and cut off your bastard heads!”
Snap.
When Russell snapped his fingers, the rage filling Lucion’s eyes calmed down a bit.
[Calm down, Lucion. That bastard is a person, not a ghost who harassed you.]
For the people who received the blessing of Darkness, their mana was replaced with Darkness instead.
Darkness was greatly influenced by negative emotions.
Even if it wasn’t particularly emotional, if they engage in negative acts like merciless violence or cruel words, they would be corrupted and became the ruthless and merciless corrupt warlocks that people were familiar with.
[If you don’t want to become a corrupted warlock, take a deep breath right now.]
Russell sternly looked at Lucion.
Lucion became a warlock a short time ago.
He was unstable right now.
Lucion took deep breaths to calm down his emotions as Russell said.
Then he at last felt the gazes pouring down on him.
Lucion knew those gazes.
The cold and wicked gazes that ghosts always glared at him with when they cursed him.
— You can’t be happy. You can see us because the god granted our wish to torment you, a noble, until you die.
— Hey, it would be unfortunate to lose your head and heart like us, right? Go die quickly, abandoned by society and people.
— Go die! I said die! Die! Please die!
Lucion, who could still hear the voices of the ghosts who harassed him haunting his head, unknowingly gritted his teeth.
For a dozen years of his life they didn’t permit him even a minute of freedom.
He had to fight because he couldn’t lose himself to those always jabbering voices of ghosts.
[… Lucion! In front!]
Peuk!
A fist flew from somewhere, punching Lucion’s face.
“You fucker dare to touch my dongsaeng…!”
A noble with bloodshot eyes grabbed Lucion by his collar.
He had no idea where that guy jumped from, but Lucion couldn’t resist the noble’s strength and was gradually pushed against the wall.
‘What is that strength…!’
No matter how he looked, it seemed that that noble was a knight.
However, Lucion wasn’t one to suffer like this.
“How dare this bastard touch my dongsaeng… ack!”
Aiming for the timing when the noble pulled his collar, Lucion bit the noble’s ear.
Lucion’s sudden attack only ignited the rage of the noble whose reason had already disappeared even more.
Bang!
The noble grabbed Lucion’s neck and smashed him into the wall.
Because of the shock, the decoration installed on the wall dropped on Lucion’s head.
Bang!
— Bang!
In Lucion’s ears, similar but somewhat different sounds were heard.
— Swishhh!
A rainy scene flashed in his eyes like an afterimage.
‘Rain… there is no way it’s raining.’
Like now, without any strength, his knees touched the floor, and the things that dropped around him were things that couldn’t have never been seen in this world.
Smartphone, credit card.
‘Ah…’
Lucion recalled a memory.
Lee Haram.
That was the name he used before he was born as Lucion.
Thud.
When Lucion collapsed, a deadly silence engulfed the banquet hall.
In the end, a great incident broke out.
No matter how crazy Lucion was said to be, he was the son of the border protector.
There was no one of a higher status than Lucion in that banquet hall right now.
***
“… ou.”
Lucion grabbed his throbbing head and opened his eyes.
[Hm. Don’t they say that puberty is an age to cause an incident at least once?]
Lucion felt that Russell’s sarcasm, which was the same as usual, was different today.
The scenery of his room that he always looked at also felt unfamiliar.
‘Shit.’
Lucion tightly closed his eyes.
It wasn’t like usual. It wasn’t his everyday beggar-like life.
‘… Lee Haram.’
The moment Lucion was hit on the head, he experienced something indescribable.
The 29 years’ worth of memories as the Korean Lee Haram flashed like a kaleidoscope.
He couldn’t tell if it was real, or a hallucination brought upon him by someone’s magic.
However, those memories were too clear.
‘Assuming it was real…’
Lucion frowned.
‘Then who am I?’
Lucion looked at his hand with feelings of confusion.
This place was similar to the world of the novel ‘Clutches of Darkness’ that Lee Haram read.
From the world setting where Light was worshipped and Darkness was eradicated, to the Teseal Empire, which he belonged to, and his family, Border Protector Cronia.
And him, Lucion Cronia.
All of it was mentioned in the novel.
[… Lucion?]
As Lucion’s reaction was different from usual, Russell looked at him with eyes full of worry.
The decoration was pretty heavy and some blood spilled, but didn’t the doctor say he would be fine?
[Do you perhaps not know who I am?]
Russell asked carefully.
Lucion stared at Russell.
At the gaze of Lucion which, unlike the usual sharp look, was only filled with confusion, Russell hesitated.
[Why are you like this? Are you hurt?]
‘I’m… a villain?’
Lucion smiled bitterly.
The corrupt warlock who lost his only friend and master Russell, Lucion Cronia.
He appeared as a mid-boss in the novel.
His hyung Carson, who hid his identity to kill him, and the main character.
He met a miserable end at those two’s hands and his life ended.
‘Why me?’
Lucion felt dejected.
‘Why do I have to be miserable even in the novel?’
It wasn’t like he wanted to see ghosts.
He was taught that when a person dies, they would go to the God of Light’s side, so there could never be a ghost.
So, he had no idea they were ghosts and just asked who they were.
With that one question, his life changed.
People ridiculed him as a crazy person, and the ghosts who died to nobles relieved their grudges on him.
‘Why would I want to live such a life?’
It was only after Russell chased away ghosts that he felt what a so-called ‘normal life’ was like for the first time in a dozen years.
He could barely start to live like a human being now.
Lucion took a deep breath.
‘Those memories were given to me. It’s a chance not to repeat that life!’
Screeech.
At that moment, Lucion’s breath stopped together with an unpleasant sound.
— You have recognized Yourself as the mid-boss ‘Lucion Cronia’.
Text floating in the air.
Lucion quietly moved his eyes.
The world stopped.
Thud-thud.
Suddenly, his heart began to race.
— Do You wish to resist Your fate?
‘Resist…?’
— If not, will You accept it?
Two choices were given to Lucion.
As if saying there are no other choices, the ‘tick-tock’ sound of a clock rang out together with the shaking of the writing.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
With each tick and tock of the clock, the writing crumbled.
“I”
Lucion put strength into his eyes.
Was there any reason to hesitate?
The mundane life that he barely got his hands on.
The happiness that he felt at last.
He didn’t want to lose it.
To no one.
“I’ll resist!”
At that moment, numerous red threads wrapped around Lucion.
— You chose to resist.
The writing rose again.
— Please find all red threads connected to You and cut them.
“… Red threads?”
— Several kinds of fates that You would suffer in the future will appear as red threads and blue threads. Red threads are the fates that You must cut to resist Your fate. Blue threads signify fates of relatively lower importance.
“So?”
— Just like a change in small things can someday become an important thing, if You cut blue thread, You may find a red thread.
Before Lucion could ask, the writing made a new sentence on its own.
— You, who are caught by fate. If You resist Your fate, the fate will lose its power and be cut off. Good luck then.
“Wa-Wait…”
[Lucion…?]
At the anxiety-filled voice of Russell, Lucion at last examined his surrounding with surprised eyes.
The stopped time returned to normal.
The threads wrapping around him disappeared.
‘Resist fate? Does that mean I don’t have to follow the content of the novel?’
Excellent.
Lucion didn’t want to live as a final or mid-boss.
‘I’ll hold my happiness in my own hands.’
Lucion took a deep breath and then quietly called out to Russell.
“… Master-nim.”
Ting!
Was it because it was something he didn’t do until now?
Lucion saw a blue thread connecting him and Russell.
‘First of all.’
With the taut appearance of the thread, Lucion confirmed that he could break this thread.
“I’ll learn black magic.”
Something he didn’t attempt before, and the first step that was probably different from the novel.
Snap.
One thread was cut.
*~*~*
Translator’s note:
As requested, I present you…. Okay, wait. So actually this novel title is ‘Count Family Young Master (is a) Warlock’. I have no idea from where Readhive pulled ‘Youngest Son’, but I guess Count Family Young Master indeed sounds a bit awkward, so I’ll just roll with it as it’s correct story wise.
A few things of note about this translation:
1) I never saw Readhive’s work, so the names I’m using may be completely different as romanization is black magic (pun unintended) and I frankly had no idea what was going in author-nim’s brain when they were coming up with some of them…
2) You will see me capitalize things like ‘You, He, She, They, Person, etc’ to signal that either a polite/formal tone is used, or a person is using an honorific word to refer to someone.
3) Please get yourself comfortable and enjoy your read~
Schedule note: We will publish one chapter every day until chapter 10th, then we will start publishing two chapter a week, on Tuesday and Thursday.
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