Reincarnated Devil's Strongest Hero Training Plan ~The baby he picked up has grown up so well that his father is confused~ - Chapter 86

Reincarnated Devil’s Strongest Hero Training Plan ~The baby he picked up has grown up so well that his father is confused~

Chapter 86   Those who bear the burden of guilt

“Still nothing!? No word from that merchant yet!?”

“My apologies, Marquis Frankel! It appears the merchant has realized that Her Imperial Highness has evidence of his wrongdoing. He hasn’t shown up despite our attempts to contact him… In fact, there’s even a possibility he has already fled the country.”

It was several weeks after Saint Isha had her mysterious encounter with the informant.

In a port town in the southeast of the Calamiera Church, a hub for trade with the southern continent, stood the marquisate governed by Marquis Frankel. His mansion, grand enough to be mistaken for a castle, was located here.

The location, a central point for trade with other continents, allowed for the easy acquisition of various goods and facilitated smuggling by ship. However, these same conditions made it an ideal place for someone to escape from.

The merchant who had earned a fortune from the Marquis had likely deemed it too dangerous to continue, having made an enemy of the Princess. The Marquis’s men understood clearly that the merchant had taken this as his cue to disappear.

“Damn it!! There is no time left! We have less than a month before the malevolent magic of the Immortal Disease spreads completely… If we don’t act now, what will happen to my wife and daughter!? This is no time to be concerned with minor issues like corruption or anything else!”

Marquis Galeria Frankel threw the failed potion he was holding to the floor, his expression marked by desperation. He directed his hatred towards the fleeing merchant and the saint who had cornered him.

All his actions—buying illegal herbs in collusion with a crooked merchant, imposing heavy taxes on the people to amass the exorbitant funds needed for the transactions—had been for the sake of saving his family from the Immortal Disease.

Indeed.

From this, it is clear that although Marquis Galeria Frankel had resorted to corruption and descended into evil, the goodness inherent in his nature had not been entirely extinguished.

“I understand your feelings…”

“No, it’s fine… Sorry for losing my composure. You’ve been working hard. I appreciate that you’ve stayed with me despite my disgraceful behavior, taking my frustrations out on you when things didn’t go as planned…”

Besides, Her Imperial Highness is not to blame; the fault lies with me.

The marquis muttered this as he sank into his chair, exhausted.

He knew.

As the one responsible for his subjects, imposing heavy taxes to protect his family was an unforgivable act.

He understood.

Colluding with a crooked merchant to obtain illegal herbs degraded the very values that a noble, a beacon of the law, should uphold.

No matter the reason, even for the sake of his family, wrong was wrong. The marquis knew better than anyone that he could not be forgiven.

“But I cannot stop here. I have no choice. My wife and daughter stood up to save the subjects, the victims of the Immortal Disease who were rightfully abandoned, and they are the ones sacrificing themselves! I cannot end it here…”

The Immortal Disease.

It is a terrifying incurable illness that turns the living into the dead. Once afflicted, the symptoms progress gradually, and over the course of about a year, one transforms completely into an undead—a rare and extreme magical affliction.

Of course, it is not easy to contract this magical disease.

The Immortal Disease is a malady based on negative magic, and unless one’s immune system is significantly weakened, it does not transmit from person to person, even if one is in close proximity to an afflicted individual.

However, out of their goodness, the marquis’s wife and daughter took it upon themselves to help the subjects suffering from this strange disease. They conducted magical experiments by the patients’ sides throughout the night, searching for any possible method to cure them, or at least to find previously undiscovered improvements, even if a complete cure was not feasible.

As a result, their daily use of magic left them exhausted, lowering their immune systems, and the negative magic from the Immortal Disease patients seeped into their bodies.

This happened about a year ago.

“Yet, both my wife and daughter, who were excellent as both magicians and researchers, left me with hope in the end. Although it was truly a last resort, they provided me with a breakthrough for this incurable disease, one that even the saintly princess could not treat…”

The marquis’s gaze fell on a magic circle known as a forbidden spell.

In his wife’s research notes was the nearly completed formula for a cure for the Immortal Disease. However, the marquis, who was a brilliant magician but a mediocre researcher, could not complete the cure in time, failing to meet the critical one-year deadline.

Anticipating failure, the marquis had searched for any clues and discovered in a corner of the research notes that a last resort might be the use of a forbidden spell found somewhere in this world.

Thus, the marquis had already obtained the necessary magic circle for recreating the forbidden spell from that merchant.

“Marquis Frankel, is that…?”

“Don’t say it. I know. If I use this, I will become a criminal of the church… no, the worst criminal in human history.”

Even so, this forbidden spell holds value.

Concluding with this, the marquis gave orders to his knight, preparing to welcome the saint who had found evidence of his wrongdoing and was heading their way.

“Escort Her Imperial Highness to the designated location and treat her with the utmost respect. Even if I am denounced and apprehended by the royal guards or the church’s strongest swordmaster, Ein, you must not intervene.”

“But, that means…! …Understood. I will arrange everything without fail.”

The marquis, having made his decision, quelled his subordinate’s attempt to protest with a stern gaze, ensuring his orders would be carried out. Watching his loyal retainer leave with a heavy heart, the marquis, now deflated, began to confess his sins to the empty room.

“…I know. The notion that only the bare minimum should be sacrificed is nothing but hypocritical nonsense. No matter what I do, from another’s perspective, it will still result in the worst possible outcome.”

There are two conditions necessary to activate the forbidden spell that can cure the Immortal Disease.

One is the magic of a person with powerful holy energy.

The other is the sacrifice of lives equal to the number of people to be cured, including the person with the holy energy.

In other words, to save his wife and daughter from the incurable disease, the marquis would have to sacrifice at least the saint’s life and his own.

This is why the forbidden spell is forbidden. It is an abomination to the living, an act never to be attempted, not only for its moral implications but also for its severe costs and consequences.

“My wife and daughter will hate me for doing this. I don’t ask for forgiveness. This is my selfish desire… But even so…”

Without finishing his thought, Marquis Frankel clenched his fist, awaiting judgment in a corner of his mansion. His downcast figure seemed to betray a wish for his plan to fail.

Yet, there was no one present to witness his inner turmoil.

Except for a certain low-ranking demon, determined to see the marquis’s resolve and the saint’s conviction play out to the end…