I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

13

The future of traveling together with him later flashed through Arpel’s mind. Unlike now, when he was always in human form, by then there would likely be days when he accompanied him as a sword. It felt somewhat overwhelming.

If Arpel didn’t leave Rohan’s side even after arriving at the temple, there were two possible futures:

Being sealed by the temple as described in the novel, or… proving that he could help the child without losing his sanity despite having the power of wraiths, and remaining by his side.

The latter had a very low probability. Arpel knew this well.

But if a life of wandering alone after parting with Rohan no longer felt meaningful…

“We’ve arrived! You can enter with these people.”

The chain of thoughts that had been linking together was suddenly cut off. The merchants, whose silhouettes had barely been visible from afar until just now, were right in front of him.

“I’ll go ahead and wait inside. When you enter the castle, please follow this friend here. He will guide you to where I am.”

The young-looking boy flinched when he made eye contact with Arpel. When Arpel stared at him, the boy’s face began to redden. The distinct change in color caught Arpel’s attention.

“…Rohan?”

And Rohan, who was embracing Arpel, tightened his grip. Worried that something might be wrong, Arpel slightly lifted the robe and called his name, revealing Rohan’s sulky face.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

There was no answer, but the pouting expression spoke for Rohan’s mood. Only after patting his back a few times while keeping his gaze on the child did the furrowed brow smooth out.

When Arpel looked up again, Louis had already gone inside. After brushing Rohan’s nape once with his hand so the child could comfortably rest his head, Arpel nodded to the boy opposite them.

Only after the two had finished their preparations did the merchants start to move. Judging by the lack of complaints, these people must have been called by the Countess. Arpel took a position in the middle of the group and pretended to push a cart.

There were guards protecting the castle at the back gate too. The guard who briefly glanced at the face of the merchant at the front calmly let the group pass. It seemed to be a merchant group that had traded here several times before.

“Now you can just follow me.”

The boy who had been sticking close by throughout their entry whispered from beside them.

Taking advantage of the moment when attention was diverted, Arpel followed the boy and left the merchant group. They walked on well-maintained grass, passing through the back path of the garden. Despite being some distance away, brightly blooming flowers could be seen. Although the weather was on the cool side, it wasn’t so cold that plants and animals couldn’t grow properly.

When Arpel gently tapped Rohan, who had his face buried against him, the child lifted his head.

“The flowers are blooming.”

“…Wow.”

Rohan, peeking his head out from the robe, sparkled his eyes. While not extremely lavish, it wasn’t a garden you could commonly see around. It was clear that the person tending it had put in considerable effort.

“It’s here.”

The place the boy introduced was a small back door. Seeing that the inside led to the kitchen, it seemed to be a back path frequently used by the servants.

Similar to the grand exterior of the lord’s castle, once they left the area where servants mainly stayed, a corridor decorated in an antique style came into view.

Having grown up in a rural village all along, and having only traveled as far as the villages he had recently visited with Arpel, Rohan seemed to find this scene fascinating. Arpel could feel him peeking out his head and looking around in all directions.

After walking down the sparsely populated corridor for a short while, Louis came into view. He had been leaning against one side of the corridor with an anxious look, but his face brightened as soon as he saw Arpel.

“I’ve been waiting!”

The sight of the large man in armor smiling broadly and spreading his arms in welcome was objectively not very appealing. Arpel turned his head without hesitation.

Louis cleared his throat briefly and lowered his arms, then nodded to the boy beside him.

The boy who had been guiding them until now disappeared, and Louis immediately led the two to the reception room in his place. It seemed he had taken measures to keep people from walking around, as not even an ant was visible on the way.

“Madam, I’ve brought Sir Arpel.”

“Come in.”

Shortly after knocking on the closed door, a gentle woman’s voice was heard from inside. Unlike the expectation of seeing someone dressed quite lavishly, the woman who appeared when the door opened was dressed modestly.

“I know it’s impolite to make such a sudden request, but the situation was urgent, so I sent Louis. I am Betia Esse.”

“…I am Arpel. Please speak less formally.”

“How could I treat someone who might save my daughter’s life casually?”

Arpel, who had been looking at the Countess with curious eyes, sat opposite her. After lifting the robe that had been covering Rohan all along, he seated the child next to him.

“Oh my, what a cute child.”

“…Hello.”

Although Rohan was quite guarded, keeping his mouth shut, he didn’t forget to greet her. The Countess, who found even his wary gaze cute, smiled gently.

Although Arpel had come to the castle after hearing Louis’s story and agreeing to take on the request, he was prepared to leave immediately if the Countess acted forcefully using her status. If anyone tried to stop him in the process, he would wield his sword without hesitation.

But the woman before him didn’t do that. She did stare, but it was closer to an exploratory gaze rather than one evaluating the other person.

Arpel couldn’t deny that his internal evaluation of her went up slightly at her voice complimenting Rohan as cute.

“Did Sir Louis convey the general story to you?”

“If you mean about your daughter and the priest, I heard it.”

“That’s right. Sigh… That damn bastard even imprisoned my precious daughter who he had thoroughly bewitched!”

Louis, standing nearby, flinched. He seemed surprised by the blunt expression “damn bastard.”

Various emotions could be felt from the Countess. While hatred and dislike were clearly evident, there was also affection that she hadn’t managed to hide completely.

It would be correct to call this “love-hate.”

“It seems your husband was a good person.”

“…That’s right. He was devoted to the family and took good care of the domain’s people. Although it was a political marriage, I never once regretted marrying him.”

The Countess closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. Traces of long anguish were visible.

“Now it’s all useless. If this matter is resolved well and my daughter recovers, I’m going to take her and divorce him. To think he would abandon his daughter after being manipulated by a con artist.”

Arpel narrowed his eyes slightly for a moment. His deliberation was brief. Having already decided to accept the request, it was natural to help the other party wholeheartedly for the price to be paid.

There were no feelings of sympathy or pity. Arpel knew that except for Rohan, he was incapable of feeling such emotions towards others.

Treating the restoration of this family as a straightforward extension of the request, Arpel opened his mouth.

“I can help you with this matter. However, please promise that all processes will be thoroughly concealed.”

“Alright. I’ll do anything as long as I can save my daughter.”

While taking a sip of the tea placed in front of him, he noticed Rohan frowning at the bitter taste after mimicking the action. He used small tongs to drop a couple of sugar cubes from a separate bowl on the table into the warm tea. While keeping his gaze firmly on Rohan, he continued speaking without pause.

“This matter is related to wraiths.”

“…W-wraiths. Did you just say wraiths?”

The face that had maintained a calm demeanor all along suddenly turned pale.

To ordinary people, wraiths are a disaster. This applied to the Countess as well.

“The request I received was to catch a beast attacking animals. That beast clearly used the power of wraiths.”

“That… that’s impossible. Then how did you kill that beast?”

Without a word, he drew up magical power and condensed it in his hand. If one could handle magical power, they would think he was a priest even if he wasn’t. As expected, the Countess, who had been moving her lips without uttering a word, let out a sigh of grief.

“A priest… So you were a priest. That’s why.”

“Yes. The black spots that appeared on your daughter are due to the power of wraiths. The cause is that maid who died with blood on her.”

“…Really. Can you really cure her?”

“Yes.”

The Countess bowed her head repeatedly, expressing her gratitude right there. Even Louis, who had been guarding the room all along, showed an uneasy attitude.

She cared for her daughter very much. Far more than her own pride.

“The priest is a fraud. It’s difficult to remove the power of wraiths alone, but if three or four work together, the power of wraiths can be purified within an hour.”

“That…!”

Clear anger was evident on her face as she suddenly raised her head. It was an expression that looked like she wanted to grind up and drink the person who had committed the fraud right away.

“And your husband has likely been subjected to mental manipulation.”

“What do you mean!”

This time she even jumped up from her seat. The love-hate emotion that had been visible earlier was nowhere to be seen, and now worry was dripping heavily. She also seemed strangely relieved. The Countess was still in love with the Count.

“That, rotten…!”

“Madam!”

“…Hah. I got too excited.”

Arpel glanced at Rohan once, confirmed that the child wasn’t startled, and shook his head. If the child wasn’t scared, it didn’t matter.

“Just what kind of person is he?”

“There are cultists who claim wraiths are the will of god. I recommend not digging too deeply into it. Such incidents probably won’t happen again.”

“…I see. Is there a way to return him to normal?”

“Yes.”

Only then, having seemingly sorted out her confused thoughts, the Countess, much calmer than before, was informed about what needed to be done next. There were mainly two things: treating the daughter contaminated by the power of wraiths, and dealing with the priest who had brainwashed a civilian.

Arpel planned to kill that priest first. While there were ways to undo brainwashing without killing the caster, it took much more time and was troublesome.