Chapter 4

I thought I was dead when I fell off the cliff. My sense of rhythm was paralyzed by the fear of the fall, causing me to react half a beat too late. Yet, the reason I survived was incredibly simple.

“One second invincible!”

Bang!

[Impact detected.]

[One second invincibility trait activated.]

[Cooldown for one second invincibility: 59 seconds.]

“Seriously… if it’s a passive trait, they should at least mention it.”

Anyway, I didn’t want to stay in that eerie thicket, so I struggled to find my way up. My destination was that house swarming with the people who tried to kill me.

It might seem crazy to walk there on my own, but I had no choice. Could the dangers of the mansion compare to those outside? If I left with this body, I wouldn’t last long before starving to death or being sold at a slave market. With only one second of invincibility, I wouldn’t survive long enough to find any means of livelihood. Even if I learned swordsmanship and became a mercenary or explored the demon realm, I’d die quickly. If they discovered I was alive, the mistress would have me killed since my survival would keep the succession rights intact.

Thus, returning to the mansion was the best way to reduce my chances of dying. With the information I gained from conquering hundreds of characters and my one second of invincibility, I could manage somehow.

With this thought in mind, I arrived at the front gate late at night.

But what’s this?

“The dead don’t speak. Even if you babble that the mistress ordered it before your execution, it’ll be ignored. We just need to look after our own interests.”

“I just hope it works out.”

The despicable guys who watched when I was pushed off the cliff were now the gatekeepers.

“But, Mr. Jack, you know, right? It’s fifty-fifty.”

Hearing this and the mention of fifty-fifty, I got a hunch. They were planning to betray the kid and pocket the money.

Thud-thud, click-clack, click-clack.

I approached with a weary gait. Just then, the ‘Noble Blood’s Embers’ activated, causing my back to straighten gradually, and I began walking with the characteristic stride of a noble.

“Fifty-fifty, huh…”

As I arrogantly raised my chin and muttered, the faces of the two men turned ghostly pale as they looked at me.

“Which one of you wants the first 50?”

I asked the two detestable men irritably. The young man still couldn’t utter a sound, frozen stiff like a mute who’d eaten honey, but the middle-aged man was different. His complexion returned to normal as if nothing had happened, and he emanated a killing intent.

He reached for the longsword at his waist.

‘Damn…’

Of course, they wouldn’t let me live. This is right in front of the mansion. I foolishly thought they wouldn’t kill me here because if I screamed, the servants would rush out. That’s why the middle-aged man hurried to slit my throat. If he finished me off quickly, there would be no time for my screams to escape.

Ping!

Before I could grasp the situation, a flash of light appeared. In an instant, his sword was at my neck.

Clang!

[Physical attack detected.]

[The trait activates.]

[One second invincibility: Cooldown: 59 seconds.]

Naturally, the passive trait activated, so I wasn’t hurt. Instead, my body was so tough that it broke his sword. As his strike failed, the middle-aged man’s face filled with shock.

“Wh-what is this…”

I straightened my chest as if nothing had happened. Although my heart was pounding, I tried to appear composed.

Wow, that really scared me. Even with one second of invincibility, who wouldn’t be terrified of a sword coming at their neck?

By the way, this guy is scary. No matter how flea-like Hersel is, not even seeing him draw his sword is astonishing. He must be no ordinary person to be chosen as a guard for the Tenest family.

But now is not the time to be dazed. If I don’t do something quickly, a follow-up attack will come. In my urgency, I blurted out some bravado that came to mind.

“Swinging a sword without warning…”

At times like this, it’s necessary to raise your defenses high enough that no one dares to touch you. As I leisurely approached, his eyebrows twitched. I prayed inwardly that he wouldn’t attack.

Click-clack, thud-

As I stopped right in front of him, the middle-aged man’s shoulders twitched. He seemed quite scared. Surviving a cliff fall and breaking his sword with my body, approaching nonchalantly, anyone would be terrified.

Seizing the moment, I decided to use my momentum and spoke while intensifying the ‘Noble Blood’s Embers’ to the maximum.

“There’s still half a sword left. Why not try swinging it again?”

“I’ve already given you two chances, one at the cliff and one here. You should brace yourself for the third.”

Seeing him drop the broken sword and staring blankly at the ground, it seemed he had no intention of attacking further.

Things were looking good. Although the text on my retina still signaled danger.

[One second invincibility: Cooldown: 32 seconds]

Thank goodness for my quick talk. If he had attacked again during the cooldown, what would I have done?

Now, there was only the young man who had fallen on his butt in surprise. Even if one sword was broken, his sword was still intact.

Hoping desperately that he wouldn’t do anything, I glared at him.

“What about you?”

“He-hek!”

He shrieked and backed away. As I continued to glare at him, he pressed his sword to the ground and hurriedly bowed his head.

“I-I’ve committed a grave sin, young master!”

Good.

It seemed he also had no will to fight.

I took my gaze off him and placed my hand on the shoulder of the middle-aged man, as if dealing with a subordinate.

“?!”

He flinched slightly, and I felt him stiffen like a wooden puppet. I twisted my lips into a sardonic smile.

Now I could finally say what I hadn’t been able to due to the surprise attack from the beginning.

“Do you know why I arrived so late at night? I could have easily caught up with you.”

“Wh-what do you mean, sir?”

“I stopped by the village on the way here.”

Of course, this was a lie. I was sweating bullets just to get here, and I didn’t even know the way to the village.

Even so, the lie had a clear effect, as the middle-aged man’s face twisted in fear.

“C-could it be… Did you report our actions?”

The middle-aged man’s face turned pale as if he were on the brink of death. No wonder he was scared. Killing a noble means execution, and aiding and abetting carries the same penalty.

If this fact leaked out, it would go to the chief magistrate who enforces the law, and they wouldn’t escape execution.

“Do you understand if I say it’s a will?”

He would understand with just that. I stopped by the village and wrote about today’s events in a will. But it hasn’t been disclosed yet. It will be revealed the moment I die. That’s what a will is.

And the moment it’s revealed, we all die. You, me, him, and Selly.

Of course, it’s all a lie.

“Do you expect us to believe that?”

“Well… Do you?”

The middle-aged guard’s expression grew complicated. I looked at him steadily and gave him a deliberately meaningful smile.

As if I had someone backing me up. As if I had plotted some scheme in the village. The soldiers’ expressions grew complicated. They must be imagining all sorts of scenarios in their heads.

Of course, as I said before, it’s all a bluff.

“Let’s leave it at that. If anything happens to me again, your lives will not remain intact.”

“…..”

Upon driving the point home, the middle-aged soldier let out a heavy sigh. This lessened the chances of them assassinating me. I had also instilled a sense of shared fate, which might help in the future.

“So… are you saying you’ll spare us for now?”

In my heart, I wanted to send them to hell. But yes, I’ll spare them.

And me…

Even if they fought me with one hand, I’d get beaten. Wow, look at those forearms. They look like they could crush watermelons with a headlock.

I imagined my head being squeezed by those forearms. My temples throbbed. I hurriedly walked towards the dark garden path, not looking back, and said,

“Are your lives worth me taking with my own hands?”

Anyway, with this, the crisis was averted.

As the ‘Noble Blood’s Embers’ effect faded, a wave of relief and embarrassment washed over me, making me squirm for a while.

Look at these lines.

Ugh, my hands and feet.

***

Jack sat down, reflecting on the unknown phenomenon.

They had thoroughly checked the bottom of the cliff beforehand. It was a sheer cliff with no branches to grab or footholds.

Before he could even think about how he survived, he quickly drew his sword, but the mystery was soon solved. It must have been one day in his youth. After finishing his mercenary work, he entered a tavern.

An old veteran, who had taught him many things, was always there, downing strong liquor and babbling.

“There is an extreme level. The level where one can cut through even the hardest diamond stone in the world, and the level where one can block all attacks with their bare body. A swordsman of this level can split the ocean, and a warrior of this level can withstand a storm of arrows without spilling a drop of blood.”

“So that’s what it was…”

Jack had to admit it. He had made a mistake in thinking Hersel was just an ordinary scoundrel.

Outwardly, Hersel had only spent his time in debauchery, but he must have been secretly training.

Jack clicked his tongue, thinking life was unfair. The person who had achieved the level he had longed for was a madman who spent two-thirds of his day drinking, sleeping, and tormenting the people in the mansion.

“Indeed, he must have inherited that talent too.”

He must have had such a different quality of talent that what took others a hundred hours of effort, he could achieve in just one. Even if he spent most of his life meaninglessly, he could still reach the level of invincibility.

And when he brought up the will, it made Jack question if this was the same empty-headed fool he had known.

Historically, many of the strongest people of their time had died from poisons or diseases. Hersel knew this and used the will to block any assassination attempts from various angles.

“Living with such skills hidden…”

Who will be the first to kill Hersel and claim the reward?

He had thought it was a simple game about who would do it first.

But now it wasn’t.

The festival, which he thought would go smoothly, was now experiencing a terrifying upheaval.

***

This is so damn scary. As I pass through the garden path, the night guards keep glancing at me. They won’t try to kill me like that middle-aged guy earlier, right? I pretended to be calm and headed toward my lodgings.

I was getting closer to a familiar building, glancing at the first-floor windows as I walked by.

“There, there it is!”

I stopped in front of one of the windows that didn’t have the curtains drawn. Thanks to my height, I could see the face of that wretched kid sound asleep on the bed.

Thud.

I pressed my fingers against the window so hard that my fingerprints were left behind. Hugging a big doll, she looked just like an innocent kid, but it was all an act. No matter how much you hold a grudge, do you push someone off a cliff?

How can she sleep so soundly after doing that?

“Doesn’t she feel any guilt? She’s definitely a psychopath…”

She’s so infuriating. I want to barge in and give her a piece of my mind right now, but it’s not the right time.

I want to see her face twist in utter despair when she thinks she’s hit the jackpot the next day, only for me to show up and drag her to the depths of hell. Just like how rice tastes best when you let it steam for a while.

And right now, I just want a drink and a shower. My sweaty, damp back from getting here felt unpleasant. I quietly entered the building and approached a maid on night duty.

“I want to bathe right away. Prepare some water. Oh, and bring me something to drink too.”

“Eek!”

Her eyes widened in shock. Part of it must have been due to my filthy appearance, but it seems that brat Selly had been bragging about killing me.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“My apologies, sir. I’ll prepare the bathwater immediately. Should I bring the drink you usually enjoy?”

A drink?

I don’t usually drink, but today was a terrible day. Just for today, it should be fine. I nodded.

“One more thing.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. What is it, sir?”

I raised my index finger to my lips. Smiling gently, I signaled to her.

“Shh—make sure Selly doesn’t know I’m here.”

“Yes, sir. I-I’ll keep it a secret even if I die.”

I was trying to appear friendly, but why is she trembling so much? Is it because it’s chilly at night?

As I walked through the mansion, I repeated the same smile and words to each night staff member I encountered. Each time, they reacted with surprise and fear, their bodies trembling.

Then, standing in front of a window with a clear reflection, I realized why.

The smile I was wearing looked like the smile of a devilishly handsome villain. Combined with my refined demeanor, I looked like a high-level boss.

They say if you live badly, your face follows suit.

I should avoid smiling like this for a while. It looks too suspicious.