TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 3
“Why are you pretending not to know? Between us? I know very well that you raised me since I was born. In some sense, that’s why we’re bound together.”
To Kraush, Aliod was both a father figure and someone precious who had raised him.
However, the butlers of the Balheim Family were subject to one terrible rule.
That rule dictated that their success was determined by how firmly they established their position within the direct line they served.
They were bound to follow the direct line they served for their entire lives.
Even if that direct line was sent to the Green Pine Mansion.
There was only one way for them to escape this cursed structure.
It was when the direct line they served died.
Of course, when the direct line they served died, it was common for them to retire as well.
However, in Aliod’s case, the story was different.
This was because Kraush’s Third Brother had made him a certain proposal.
That one condition was none other than the poisoning of Kraush.
He promised Aliod a new place to live and a large sum of money if he poisoned Kraush.
‘Our Third Brother despised me to an extreme degree.’
The fundamental reason the Third Brother hated him lay with the Fourth Sister.
The direct line of the Balheim Family consisted of five members.
Among them, two were actually only half-related to the rest of the siblings.
From the First Brother to the Third Brother, they were children of the former wife.
After that, the Fourth Sister and the youngest, Kraush, were children of the current wife brought into the Balheim Family.
And among them, Kraush’s Fourth Sister, Charlotte Balheim, was the biggest issue.
‘The greatest genius born of Balheim.’
Charlotte, who possessed an extraordinary talent that might appear once in a thousand years even in Balheim.
Using that talent, Charlotte Balheim overturned the hierarchy within the Balheim direct line in an instant.
As a result, not only the Third Brother but even the Second Sister had their ranks in the direct line stolen by Charlotte.
This left the Third Brother harboring a misplaced fury in his heart.
Since even the family openly supported Charlotte, the Third Brother was treated like an outcast.
‘And the target of that Third Brother’s furious gaze was none other than me.’
The youngest sibling, who shared the same bloodline as Charlotte but had utterly inferior abilities.
Even Kraush’s mother, who had newly married into the family, was originally despised by the Third Brother.
When Charlotte’s growth pushed him down the direct line ranks, he poured all his misplaced anger onto Kraush.
To the point where he genuinely wanted to kill Kraush.
‘Since he couldn’t do anything to Charlotte, he probably vented it all on me, who at least resembled her a bit.’
From Kraush’s perspective, it was an absurd situation, but he lacked the strength to resist.
Even the butler who was supposed to serve him eventually agreed to the Third Brother’s deal.
“Well, fine. If you’re going to pretend you don’t know, I won’t bother with it.”
Kraush didn’t particularly reprimand Aliod further.
After all, the butler siding with the Third Brother was because Kraush was a half-penny.
Kraush was alive in the first place because the poisoning attempt had failed.
That much was obvious.
On the day Aliod decided to carry out the assassination.
‘That guy committed suicide right in front of me.’
Aliod snatched the poisoned stew away just before Kraush could eat it and drank it himself.
[I am sorry, Young Master. I have committed an unforgivable sin. You are as precious to me as my own child, so how could I…]
The image of Aliod apologizing as he lay dying from the poison that day was still vividly etched in Kraush’s memory.
“Instead, follow me.”
However, that was that, and Kraush had something else to ask of him.
“…Yes.”
Had something changed in his mindset?
Aliod answered quite obediently.
Kraush paid no attention to Aliod and continued walking.
‘If it’s this time, it should definitely be there.’
Hoping his memory was correct, Kraush headed toward none other than the Green Pine Mansion’s Library.
The library, filled with countless books, was, in truth, more for show.
Kraush, who had actually read books there, knew well that there weren’t many useful ones.
The Green Pine Mansion wasn’t just a place for those abandoned by Balheim.
There was nothing useful in the Green Pine Mansion.
Except for one thing.
“Young Master Kraush, are you looking for a specific book?”
Kraush, who had suddenly entered the library.
Seeing him, Aliod expressed his doubt, but Kraush walked on without answering.
Then he stood directly in front of a bookshelf.
“Aliod.”
“Yes.”
“Move this.”
Aliod showed a hint of doubt.
However, Kraush’s command carried an air that made it difficult to refuse.
‘Where have I felt this before?’
The Family Head.
It was the Balheim Family Head.
But he quickly brushed off the thought.
Comparing Kraush to the Family Head was still far too premature.
Aliod removed all the books from the shelf and then moved the shelf itself.
What appeared was an ordinary library wall.
“This wall, cut it.”
“What?”
First, he had him move the bookshelf, and now he wanted the wall cut?
It was an utterly incomprehensible request.
But Aliod was Kraush’s butler.
Unable to refuse his master’s orders, Aliod drew his sword.
As he did, a bluish aura began to emanate from his blade.
A butler of Balheim must possess the skills of a Senior Knight.
Only then could they properly assist the direct line of Balheim.
“I will cut it.”
With his sword aura flaring, Aliod slashed the wall cleanly.
The moment he completed the precise cut, a rumbling sound echoed.
Shortly after, the wall’s outer section fell backward in a rectangular shape.
At that moment, Aliod realized.
There was a space beyond the library wall.
Had Kraush known about this place beforehand?
Even Aliod, who had been assigned to the Green Pine Mansion, was unaware of this location.
As Aliod stared blankly at the space, Kraush stepped over the cut wall.
“Well done.”
Kraush briefly praised Aliod and walked inside.
Aliod, as if entranced, followed Kraush inside.
Soon, they were confronted by a massive lock.
Larger than a human hand, the lock was firmly secured on the door.
Kraush stood before the dusty door with the lock attached.
“Should I cut the lock as well?”
“No, that’s not necessary.”
Beyond the wall of the Green Pine Mansion’s library.
When I came here before, this place had already burned down, rendering it meaningless.
But now, it was different.
That was something far off in the future.
‘The Green Pine Mansion is undoubtedly a place where those abandoned by Balheim are sent.’
That’s why even a Half-Penny like Kraush was sent here.
Kraush wasted his time here.
However, the original purpose of building the Green Pine Mansion wasn’t for such malicious reasons.
Though now, after so much time has passed since Balheim’s establishment, its meaning has faded.
The original purpose of the Green Pine Mansion was to help those born without abilities in Balheim to see the light again.
But that Green Pine Mansion had its original meaning twisted due to a single incident.
The greatest disgrace and demon raised in the Green Pine Mansion by the Balheim Family.
The one who tried to annihilate Balheim.
That was Demaris Balheim.
‘Because of that, this place ended up being hidden.’
Someone like Demaris must never be born again.
That’s why this place was concealed.
The Secret Library of the Green Pine Mansion.
It was a place for Balheim’s Half-Pennies.
Unless one was the Patriarch of Balheim, even the direct descendants of Balheim didn’t know about this place.
Kraush, who had arrived there, placed his hand on the massive lock.
Normally, the lock was made in such a way that even a Senior Knight like Aliod couldn’t cut through it.
But Kraush was different.
What’s the first thing one must do to steal something?
It’s lock picking, of course.
For Kraush, who had picked countless locks until now, the lock of the Green Pine Mansion’s Secret Library was an easy task.
‘Shall I show off my skills as a professional?’
Kraush immediately activated Black Hood.
Black Hood, the ability to steal what the target possesses.
Naturally, this applied to objects as well.
The difference was that, unlike living beings, objects didn’t require value judgment.
Especially if it was an item that had been without an owner for a long time.
Clink!
At that moment, the shackle of the lock was in Kraush’s grasp.
Thud!
The massive lock, now without its shackle, fell to the ground.
Witnessing the situation unfold in an instant, Aliod’s eyes widened.
Meanwhile, Kraush casually tossed the shackle onto the floor.
“……Young Master Kraush, have you perhaps made a contract with a god?”
Aliod, with astonished eyes, asked if Kraush had made a contract with a god.
The ability Kraush had just displayed was clearly a Skill.
Skills defy common sense and exert extraordinary power.
That’s why, when Aliod asked, Kraush glanced at him.
It seemed that, at this point in time, Kraush had not yet made a contract with a god.
“Well, it’s just a minor god. If you want to report it to Father, go ahead. The library doesn’t matter either.”
All matters concerning the butler were reported to the Patriarch, Kraush’s father.
Knowing this, Kraush spoke, and Aliod, after a moment of silence, bowed his head and replied.
“At the very least, I will keep silent until Young Master Kraush finishes what he intends to do.”
The response was quite unexpected.
In Kraush’s memory, Aliod was a man driven by ambition for success.
And the reason for that ambition was none other than his daughter, who suffered from an incurable disease.
All the salary he earned from Balheim was spent on his daughter’s treatment.
Yet, even that money wasn’t enough.
Because of this, he needed even more money.
That’s why he accepted the assassination proposal from Kraush’s Third Brother.
In the end, he poisoned the stew.
And the fact that Kraush ended up eating that stew himself was also because of Aliod’s daughter.
That day, seeing his daughter in critical condition, Aliod lost his composure.
Ultimately, on the day he planned to carry out the assassination in exchange for better treatment from the Third Brother,
his daughter succumbed to her incurable disease.
After his daughter’s death, Aliod finally came to his senses and ate the poisoned stew himself, dying in Kraush’s place.
His final act of apology was filled with guilt for failing to nurture Kraush as his butler.
To someone like Kraush, who was born a Half-Penny.
Yet now, Aliod was behaving differently.
‘Did he perhaps see some kind of vision regarding me in the meantime?’
Kraush, who had changed overnight.
Normally, this situation would be incomprehensible.
But if it was due to a contract with a god, the story changed.
Even a Half-Penny could change overnight, depending on which god they made a contract with.
The Skills granted by a contract with a god were that valuable.
Thus, Aliod changed his perspective.
If it was the Kraush standing before him now, perhaps he could see the light once more.
‘At this point, Aliod has only received the proposal from the Third Brother and hasn’t acted on it yet.’
Strictly speaking, he hadn’t betrayed Kraush yet.
If Kraush didn’t dwell on right and wrong, it was something that could be overlooked.
‘So this is the downside of regression.’
Kraush vaguely understood why Arthur had come to despise regression.
The Aliod of now and the Aliod who drank the poisoned stew were different people.
And the two would undoubtedly move in different directions.
Because Kraush, as a person, had changed.
Arthur must have been unable to endure this sense of dissonance and ultimately had his regression stolen by Kraush.
‘The issue lies with Aliod’s daughter.’
Aliod was useful.
His ability to assist was excellent enough to serve as the butler for Balheim’s direct line.
At least until they left the Green Pine Mansion, it was better to keep Aliod by his side.
Moreover, Kraush knew what incurable disease afflicted Aliod’s daughter.
And he also knew how to cure it.
‘This can be dealt with gradually.’
For now, the Secret Library came first.
Kraush felt a slight thrill in his heart for the first time in a long while.
And with that feeling, he opened the door to the Secret Library.
Whoosh-
A gust of dusty wind blew out from inside.
Having roamed through the World Erosion for so long, this level of dust didn’t bother him.
Thus, Kraush strode inside without hesitation.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the interior began to come into focus.
The first thing that caught his eye was the books lined up on the old shelves.
The books here were Secret Technique Books containing the knowledge of his ancestors.
For a natural-born genius like Balheim, Secret Technique Books were essentially meaningless.
From the moment they were born, they were already imbued with all the blessings of Balheim.
Then why did such Secret Technique Books exist in Balheim’s library?
The answer is simple.
“This place exists solely for the Half-Pennies.”
The creators of Balheim’s Secret Technique Books were the Half-Pennies of Balheim.