TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 39
“If you pour out your emotions like that, at least the world won’t look so gray.”
Facing me at the broken engagement meeting caused by the incident in Hardenhartz, she said those words.
Hearing that at the time, Kraush felt utterly dumbfounded.
“What kind of nonsense is that? It’s better not to have these damned emotions. Do you even know how screwed up it gets when you do?”
What’s the use of freely expressing emotions?
In this messed-up world, there’s no use for them except to curse it.
“Is that so.”
“Is that so, my ass.”
Kraush clicked his tongue.
Then he looked at Bianca with a disapproving expression.
“Isn’t it convenient for you? This broken engagement— even I think it’s unfair. The incident in your family wasn’t even your fault. If it were me, I’d have been so pissed I’d died.”
The recent incident in Hardenhartz.
It was the event where Douglakan Hardenhartz, the patriarch of the family, went mad.
Suddenly, he went insane, beating his family members to death with a club.
He even killed his eldest son and second daughter, Jenica, with his own hands.
The sole survivor of that ordeal was Bianca.
The only reason she survived was that her sister, Jenica, had hidden her in the basement and diverted attention.
After such a harrowing experience, what followed was a broken engagement.
From Balheim’s perspective, there was no reason to accept the ruined Bianca from the destroyed Hardenhartz family.
“Damn those rotten nobles. They act like they’ve built eternal ties with engagements and whatnot, but the moment something happens, this is how it ends.”
That matter annoyed Kraush as well.
From the start, there were countless suspicious aspects to Douglakan’s madness.
Even though Balheim knew this, they immediately cut ties with Bianca after Hardenhartz’s downfall.
Bianca slowly fiddled with the teacup filled with steaming hot tea.
“If you want to drink it, go ahead.”
Hearing those words, Bianca slowly shook her head.
“I can’t drink hot things. I have a cat’s tongue.”
Oh, really.
Kraush, who originally had little interest in Bianca, simply accepted it at face value.
“…Then, how about this? If I gain emotions and experience them myself, won’t I be able to figure out which is more painful?”
At that moment, Bianca made a counterproposal.
It was an absurd suggestion.
“If you regain your emotions, you’ll get so pissed you might bite your tongue and die.”
So Kraush frowned and warned her.
It wasn’t that he had any particular affection for her, but as her former fiancé, it was the least he could do.
However, Bianca tilted her head.
“Mr. Kraush, you don’t care whether I live or die, do you? We’re strangers now.”
A wave of irritation surged instantly.
He realized Bianca was deliberately provoking him.
“I’m just curious. What’s more painful?”
Even as she said that, Bianca remained expressionless.
“Tch.”
Hearing that, Kraush raised his hand.
“If you’re so keen to find out, go ahead and feel it.”
Didn’t she say she wanted to experience it herself?
Kraush stole Bianca’s Doll’s Eye using Black Hood.
Since she offered to hand it over, he could easily steal her curse without the need for a dial.
However, the curse of the Doll’s Eye, which had transferred to Kraush, was neutralized by another curse.
A mid-to-lower-tier curse like the Doll’s Eye was simply consumed by the myriad of top-tier curses Kraush carried.
“So, how does it feel?”
“….”
Kraush still remembers that day vividly.
And he knows now that he should have stopped her then.
“The world truly is cruel.”
That was the day she became the White Ghost.
Three years after she became the White Ghost.
The Poison King, one of the Ten Strongest Under the Heavens, was killed by her hand.
The news spread across the world, and the full story of the Hardenhartz incident was finally revealed.
It had been a scheme by the Empire to annihilate Hardenhartz.
“Ha, this idiot… what a fool….”
Upon hearing the news, Kraush covered his face with his hands.
The reason was all too simple.
The second prince, Siphon Ephania, who had sought asylum in Hardenhartz, had disclosed information so devastating that it shook the very foundations of the Empire.
As a result, the Empire quickly dispatched someone to silence both Hardenhartz and the second prince.
A person who could handle all poisons.
One of the Ten Strongest Under the Heavens.
The Poison King.
The poison he injected into Douglakan Hardenhartz was his specially modified Mad Spring Poison.
The Mad Spring Poison made his family and household appear as monsters in his eyes.
Terrified of those monsters, Douglakan killed everyone with his own hands, sparing only Bianca.
And when the effects of the poison wore off completely.
He couldn’t bear the horror of his actions and hanged himself.
This was the tragic full story of the Hardenhartz incident.
When the truth was revealed, relations between the Empire and Starlon deteriorated to their worst.
Unable to endure the Empire’s tyranny any longer, war broke out, killing countless people in the process.
Amid this war.
Naturally, Kraush was also swept into the chaos.
This was because the Skyborne Generation moved to end the war between the Empire and Starlon.
The Skyborne Generation sided with neither the Empire nor Starlon.
As a result, they began clashing, using force to suppress both sides.
The Skyborne Generation, who was supposed to confront the World Erosion, was now using force against people.
It was truly an absurd situation.
And of course, even the Skyborne Generation wasn’t entirely safe in the war.
“Damn it, you idiots! At least someone ought to defend the supply line!”
Kraush, who was in charge of supplies for the Skyborne Generation, shouted as he raced through the snowy forest.
Covered in wounds, he passed by the burnt ruins of Hardenhartz.
Being closest to the Empire, Hardenhartz had become a complete frontline.
Especially because Bianca had killed the Poison King.
After killing the Poison King, Bianca stayed in the North Sea Ice Hotel, the main estate of Hardenhartz.
Because of this, both the Empire and Starlon relentlessly attacked the North Sea Ice Hotel.
“The North Sea Ice Hotel….”
Kraush’s eyes caught sight of the half-collapsed North Sea Ice Hotel.
“There he is!”
“That guy is also a member of the Skyborne Generation! Don’t let your guard down—kill him!”
At that moment, the shouts of pursuing Imperial knights echoed behind him.
Gritting his teeth, Kraush dashed toward the North Sea Ice Hotel.
Arriving at the frozen entrance of the North Sea Ice Hotel, Kraush, with his battered hands, knocked on the door.
“Hey! Bianca! Are you in there?”
Despite his shouting, no response came.
Damn it, what the hell am I even doing here now?
Kraush clenched his fists tightly and began to turn around.
But the knights were faster.
They had already closed in on Kraush’s back without him realizing it.
Their eyes, filled with venom, exuded a murderous aura they could no longer contain.
At this point, it was impossible to tell who was human and who was a World Erosion Being.
Clicking his tongue, Kraush rolled up his sleeves.
There was no other choice.
It seemed he would have to use a curse to escape for now.
He figured he could somehow rely on the Saintess to handle the aftermath.
It was at that moment.
Creeaakk!
As the door of the North Sea Ice Hotel opened, ice spikes shot out from behind Kraush.
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
[Aaaaargh?!]
[Ugh, cough!]
The flying spikes pierced through their bodies in an instant.
Even though they had protected themselves with aura, they couldn’t stop it.
As he stared blankly, Kraush caught sight of the now-open door of the North Sea Ice Hotel.
Kraush stepped inside and hurriedly pushed the door shut behind him.
Looking around, he saw the frozen interior of the North Sea Ice Hotel.
Kraush felt the cold seeping into his body as he took a step forward.
[Bianca.]
He called her name, but no response came back.
With no other choice, Kraush decided to venture further inside.
After wandering through various parts of the North Sea Ice Hotel, Kraush eventually stopped in front of a certain room.
Inside the shattered doorway.
He saw a woman whose two frozen legs and chest were pierced by a sword.
Drip—
A drop of blood slid down the blade of the sword.
Kraush’s eyes widened as he took in the sight.
[…Bianca.]
It was none other than Bianca.
[…It’s been a while, Kraush.]
At that moment, Bianca’s voice reached his ears.
Hearing her voice, so weak it was barely audible, Kraush realized she didn’t have much time left.
[You rampaged until you looked like this, and yet… why are you in this state?]
The sword embedded in her chest was one Kraush recognized.
Poison oozed heavily from the blade.
It was the poison of the Poison Phoenix, the Poison King’s daughter.
It seemed she had come all the way here from the Empire to avenge her father.
And clearly, the sword had been lodged in her for quite some time now.
The poison had spread deep throughout her body, to the point where even the Saintess wouldn’t be able to save her.
[Indeed. Why am I like this?]
Despite having regained her emotions, her face was startlingly expressionless.
As if she didn’t even know how to make a facial expression.
Seeing this, Kraush bit his lip.
It had only been long after their engagement was broken that Kraush learned about Bianca’s situation.
Feeling a sense of frustration, Kraush shouted at her, almost out of spite.
[You could’ve just told me! That it was the Empire and the Poison King’s doing, that your family did nothing wrong!]
Bianca had known at the time of their broken engagement that it was the Empire and the Poison King’s scheme.
Yet she hadn’t revealed that truth to Kraush.
[Would it have changed anything if I had told you?]
At her words, Kraush found himself unable to say anything.
Even if she had told him, nothing would have changed.
After all, he was nothing more than a scavenger clinging to the Skyborne Generation by stealing curses.
Kraush didn’t have the power to change Bianca’s life.
Bianca let out a faint laugh.
Then, her eyes seemed to drift into memories of the past.
[Come to think of it, we once talked about whether it was harder to live without emotions or with them.]
Bianca, coughing up blood, began to recount the events of three years ago, around the time of their broken engagement.
Kraush could feel her life force slipping away.
[What do you think? Would you care to hear my opinion now?]
This was the end.
This would be their last conversation.
[…Go ahead.]
Bianca had once saved his life.
Listening to her opinion now wasn’t too much to ask.