An Unexpected Invitation

“Hey tell me, Wilhelm………why did you do all this? Why go this far?”

I finally asked the one question I had in my mind ever since I recalled the memories of my previous life.

It’s precisely because I was the sole human that knew the future that was originally meant to be that I simply had to know the reason why.

“Why, you ask……..?”

Wilhelm looked at me, and for some reason seemed to have a strange confused expression.

“Eh, no way, you, surely had some legitimate reason to go this far right? What kind of reaction is that then?”

“ah, yeah………..that’s right. I do want to destroy this country. Both the Imperials…….including the Svalier family, I want to erase it all from the face of these lands. That’s certainly true……..however..”

Saying that, Wilhelm, exhaled……..and then showed a smile.

No no no, seriously this guy, just what was going on with him? You are supposed to be our great enemy you know? Surely you’re not planning to have some kind of change of heart after all this time right?

I’m saying this right now, neither Liz nor me are going to accept that nonsense.

“………hey Rudolf. I’m being serious, won’t you join hands with me instead?”

“WHAT……….?”

Seeing Wilhelm say that completely dead serious, I couldn’t help but exclaim in a dumbfounded manner.

This guy, everything he says and actually does seems to contradict with each other.

He tried to kill both me and Liz, yet had lingering feelings for Liz, and after trying to cut me down just a moment ago, he was now trying to invite me to his side with that expression?

Is he losing his head because he’s realizing that his life is coming to an end……..?

“Then let me ask you this. You, hated forever as the ‘dirty pig’ inside the Imperial Palace, ostracized by everyone around you, you have suffered all this while. Are you saying that you have no hatred or resentment towards them?”

“…………………………..”

To be honest, I had both hatred as well as bitterness still filled in my heart.

Just because I was that Beatrice’s bastard, I had been treated like shit since the day I was born.

The people who did that to me deserved to have their comeuppance. I had thought that more times than I can count.

“You don’t deny it, then you do right? That’s why, what I’m trying to do………to make those bastards feel true despair should be something that we both want to see. Don’t you think so too?”

“Maybe….so………..”

I averted my face, as I muttered slowly.

What this man said was right. If I wanted to satisfy the deep dark urges that were still within me, the best way would be to join hands with him and destroy everything and everyone that had wronged me in the past.

After all, no matter how rotten, this man was still the hero, Wilhelm Von Svalier after all.

Meaning, the future he sought would indeed become a reality if I let him.

Because I read it, lived in that future, the one told in the [War Records of Wilhelm].

“Rudolf……..do you know the truth?”

“……..about what?”

“The vile deed that Yoran Von Svalier, our father committed.”

While Liz and Maya clashed with the Rujian woman to our side, Wilhelm slowly began to tell his story.

.

.

*Wilhelm POV*

My existence within the Svalier family was that of but a mere spare……..no, it was worse than that.

My father Yoran had no expectations of me, and all his love was given to Patrick, my older brother by three years.

And for Patrick, that soon became a matter of great pride.

Every little thing I did was treated as an annoyance, and the moment our eyes met, he would instantly resort to violence.

Furthermore, he was sly enough to only hurt me where the clothes would hide the wounds.

After being unable to endure it any longer, just once, I decided to retaliate against Patrick.

That man, even though he always acted so superior, was in truth weaker than his own younger brother.

Just why did I have to fear a man this pathetic?

While overcome with such thoughts, I tormented Patrick to my heart’s content.

Repaying for all the pain he had caused me until now, again and again and again.

But, I was a fool.

If I did this, I should have known what fate awaited me next, but I still forgot it in the moment.

After that, once Yoran saw the wounds I gave Patrick, what he did to me made me doubt if I ever even was his son at all………it was closer to torture than punishment.

My body was covered in wounds, swellings all over, and I was wrought with high fever due to the pain.

“Will I, die here………?”

The moment I thought that, I think I went mad from frustration and bitterness.

Why did I have to suffer such a fate?

Why did I need to endure all this pain?

When I thought that, something swelled within me, a deep hatred towards Patrick and Yoran……and the entire Svalier household.

So first, I decided to completely break Patrick.

That man………Yoran was making a lot of shady deals in the background, as the Svalier household was littered with things that wouldn’t normally be found in a normal noble home.

Among those, there wasn’t just the Apium you’ve already seen. There was also another drug that had a slower effect, that spread over time.

At times, seeing Patrick eat all his delicious looking food with glee completely unaware, made my almost burst out in laughter.

After all, as long as he continued eating his food, he was slowly heading towards an early death.

Why did I not instantly kill him?

If I did, he would escape the fate of having to suffer the same pain that I did. I wasn’t going to give Patrick a easy and quick death.

I needed him to suffer. In return for the ten years since I was born that I had to suffer, he was going to experience the same pain for the same amount of time as well.

Previous Chapter I ToC I Next Chapter