The Man’s 101st Bad Ending – Chapter 102

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Silence hung in the air.

It was likely the aftereffect of me summoning Yuria, but Renold, who was gauging the surroundings, seemed to find the situation quite unsettling.

In contrast, I was rather calm, knowing that Yuria couldn’t do anything.

Even if she came out and expressed displeasure, nothing would change.

Rather, it would be proof that she still hadn’t grasped reality, essentially revealing a weakness to me.

It would be even better if she showed such signs.

However, wasn’t the probability of that low?

At the very least, Yuria would likely appear composed in this situation.

So, I waited.

She would probably appear only after she collected herself.

As I spent a little more time, I sensed a presence in the distance.

Any person would possess mana, but Yuria’s was always cold and sharp.

It was like an icy air that seemed to pierce through a person.

I could easily recognize Yuria even from afar.

The sound of footsteps reaching my ears was no different from usual and her expression as she looked at me was, if anything, even softer than usual.

It was the reaction I expected.

Wouldn’t it be disappointing if she showed an emotional side in this situation?

Yuria, who was walking slowly towards me, stopped when the distance closed enough for our voices to reach each other.

She had perfectly concealed her emotions.

Although I had provoked her slightly to see her reaction, I couldn’t sense even a shred of anger from her.

Looking at Yuria, I slowly opened my mouth.

“It’s been a while, Acting Head.”

“…Yes, it has been a while. A lot has changed. You’re not the same as before.”

“I felt the need to change. If I hadn’t, wouldn’t you have tried to kill me by now?”

I had already experienced the reality where I hadn’t changed countless times.

To Yuria, my existence was nothing more than an obstacle to her becoming the head.

A person who was better off dead, a mere hindrance to his sibling.

That was why she had focused on destroying me since childhood, but in the end, I didn’t break.

I had lived, died, and come back to life again, eventually reaching this point.

Nothing would change what Yuria did to me.

Perhaps if fate existed, it was destined for me to eventually confront Yuria and in the end, only one of us would survive.

“I never thought you’d grow the audacity to summon me. Are you that confident?”

“If someone like you would come personally after hearing those words, I assume things aren’t going well. Am I wrong?”

“Nonsense. I am the head of House Taylor. It doesn’t matter if you covet this position now.”

“You were living in a delusion. I never thought you’d be that kind of person.”

Yuria’s eyes narrowed at my words.

I realized she was already shaken by me calling myself the head.

She needed the title of head to maintain the support of the nobles she currently held.

In reality, she was nothing more than an acting head, but if she couldn’t even hold onto that, Yuria was in a precarious position.

I smiled slightly.

It was a small smile that Yuria would notice, and when she couldn’t utter a word, I chuckled.

It was different from before.

Unlike those days when I lived cautiously, constantly being misunderstood and tortured to death, now, it was clear that I held the upper hand.

However, I had no intention of pushing her further at this point.

In the slightly chilly atmosphere, I was the one who raised both hands.

There was no need to make the atmosphere here hostile.

I thought we’d have a proper conversation inside anyway.

Besides, Renold was here, and there was no need for a useless fight.

“I apologize if that was disrespectful. I heard you were directly appointed by His Majesty, so you’re the acting head for now, aren’t you?”

“Think what you want. That’s not what’s important right now. Won’t Father make a decision soon?”

I was a little surprised by her compliant response, but Yuria just smiled quietly and gestured to her attendant.

It seemed she had no intention of talking in this garden.

Perhaps she thought there were too many ears listening to a conversation about the head.

Following her lead, I started walking, then grabbed Renold’s arm as he followed behind.

“What is it?”

“I’m going inside the mansion alone. You’re not needed to decide the head.”

“Then what if it’s dangerous?”

Dangerous? Well, who knows what might happen?

The reason I was sending Renold out was that I didn’t know what was inside.

I had decided to take him with me to the end because I deemed him useful.

I patted Renold’s shoulder and opened my mouth.

“It won’t be as dangerous as what you did to me before.”

“…I understand.”

I chuckled at his pale face, which was as pale as before.

He may have found my words chilling, considering what happened in the past.

I had no intention of holding it against him, but he wouldn’t listen unless I said it like this.

It was better for me to enter the mansion alone.

In the end, only either Yuria or I would remain in the process of deciding the head.

It would only be troublesome for Renold if Yuria somehow ended up staying.

Although I thought the possibility was low, there was still a chance.

I had always experienced failure when I didn’t eliminate even the slightest possibility.

If there was even a sliver of a chance, it was better to consider it.

When I sent Renold away, Yuria looked at me curiously but it was brief.

She turned and walked ahead, following her attendants.

“There are many new attendants. Did Father do this?”

“Either they were incompetent and let go, or Father killed them. One of the two.”

“How unfortunate. He was still quite sharp when I last saw him.”

Yuria didn’t know I had met Father.

I had met him without hesitation, expecting Father wouldn’t mention it, but to think she would immediately frame him for senility.

Logically, Father becoming senile?

That was absurd.

Wouldn’t the nobles notice as well?

They would think it preposterous that Arthur Taylor, of all people, would be afflicted with senility, but the succession of the Taylor family head had always been like this.

An absurd justification, and successors who would make that justification a reality.

There might be reason for suspicion, but it was the successors of the Taylor family who had always made such things possible.

She must have thought it would happen again this time.

He wasn’t truly senile, but most people would believe that Yuria had driven Father to such a state and it was probably Yuria who had killed the servants in the mansion.

That was the kind of madness Yuria possessed.

She had probably killed them without hesitation and then came up with the idea of blaming it all on Father.

To put it nicely, it was just like Yuria.

I had anticipated this kind of behavior and acted accordingly, but her move was bolder than I expected.

She probably thought she could instill fear in others through such actions, but the problem was that she had crossed the line.

Didn’t she know that even a cornered rat will bite a cat?

The more severe Yuria’s madness became, the more resistance there would be, and that would lead to the collapse of her power base.

The back of Yuria walking ahead seemed even more pathetic than before.

“By the way, where is Father? I need to hear about the succession from him.”

“He’s not in the right state of mind. It’s pointless to talk to him now. I’ll let you see him when the time is right, but not now.”

“I see.”

Thump-

I knew that this hallway led to the basement.

Whether the structure of the mansion had changed significantly since my time or not, this hallway-like space had transformed into a passage to the basement.

Yuria, who was staring at me as I looked around, slowly parted her lips.

“You’ve been busy going to the North and South.”

“I told you, didn’t I? I’m going to be the head. I was expecting some kind of preparation, but this is disappointing.”

“I haven’t shown you everything yet. It’s too early to be disappointed, don’t you think?”

She was right.

She must have thought a lot about how to deal with me while I was away.

Burying me politically was no longer an option, considering my current reputation, and framing me for something wouldn’t work because the outer territories wouldn’t be easily swayed.

Didn’t Yuria already know about my connection to the Princess?

Spreading rumors wouldn’t be effective, and the support of the North and the Saint was a power that even Yuria couldn’t touch.

The once good-for-nothing had become a formidable successor who threatened her authority.

Perhaps she couldn’t do anything, even after securing the position of acting head from Father.

That anxiety wasn’t outwardly visible, but I could easily sense Yuria’s inner turmoil.

She was anxious.

The more time passed, the more unfavorable the situation became, and she would want to see the end of this fight as soon as possible.

As we got closer to the basement, I smelled a strange scent.

I smiled slightly at the smell.

It was a fragrance I had already encountered in a past life.

It wasn’t a poison that could kill instantly like when ingested, but it was potent enough to kill if exposed for long periods.

Considering the people around us were fine, had she already taken an antidote?

I noticed, but continued walking without any reaction.

I coughed deliberately, rubbed my forehead, and let out a small breath.

“Are you uncomfortable somewhere? You look pale.”

I saw a faint smile form on her lips.

I knew exactly what she had decided to do with me.

In short, she was going to kill me.

It wasn’t a bad idea.

If I were in Yuria’s shoes, the only way to get rid of me cleanly was to kill me.

She would also know from the news from the North that I possessed mana, so weakening me with poison was an excellent method.

If I were an ordinary person, my physical abilities would have deteriorated significantly with each breath.

Soon, walking would become difficult, and I would become unable to dodge even Yuria’s sword.

I tilted my head slightly and looked at the large door that appeared.

The basement door hadn’t changed, and as I stared at it, Yuria, who had turned her back, spoke.

“You’ve worked hard coming all the way here.”

Thud.

I heard the door behind me close.

Did she eliminate even the possibility of escape?

Even though the place was already filled with attendants, I chuckled bitterly at how thoroughly she was handling this.

Yuria didn’t know.

That she had played right into my hands.

That I wasn’t an ordinary person, that I had died and lived a hundred times to see this end.

“I had the interior of the mansion magically remodeled before you arrived. The path you’ve walked so far was all part of the stairs leading to the basement and this door… well, you know it well, right? It’s the place you used to visit often as a child.”

With that, Yuria took a few steps towards me.

Now she was smiling openly, chuckling as she looked at me faltering.

Cold sweat ran down my pale face.

It was also controlled by magic, but as the distance between us narrowed, I looked around.

There were about ten attendants.

I knew they were all armed with swords.

I almost burst out laughing at the thought of what Yuria was thinking.

But I held it in and deliberately stepped back towards the wall as Yuria approached.

The gap closed.

Close enough to hear each other’s breaths, Yuria, who had come close to me, whispered in my ear.

“Goodbye, Robert. You’ve always been a fool, my dear brother.”

Then she turned her back again and gestured to the attendants.

Only then did I smile.

Releasing the act of a sickly young man, I laughed out loud as I looked at Yuria.

I had been waiting for this moment all along.

The reason I sent Renold away was to create this situation.

The bait had been taken.

That much was certain.

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