I Just Raised Men for Revenge - Chapter 53

“It was a member of the royal family!!! A newborn baby with blonde hair and golden eyes…… The task was to change that baby’s hair color.”

Seeing him shouting angrily, both the Archmage and Sesenia shifted their gaze to Teddy.

Only Teddy remained calm in this situation, staring at that man impassively.

Ignoring the gazes directed at him, he didn’t even blink, as if instinctively needing to engrave this story in his ears.

“Why did you do such a thing?”

“…Well… That is…”

“Can’t remember because it was long ago? Shall I help you remember? I can make 20 years’ worth of memories flash back all at once.”

“I, I was commissioned by a nobleman. For a huge sum of money… They said this child must never be revealed as royalty.”

“Man or woman.”

“Pardon?”

“The person who said that.”

The man who had been speaking continuously, Gelox, twitched his cheek.

“It, it was a man.”

“Who was it? Name or appearance.”

“I don’t know for sure since he perfectly concealed his face.”

“Is there anything to infer about that person?”

Gelox was about to shake his head without hesitation but started sweating profusely upon seeing the Archmage’s unpleasant expression.

He could vividly imagine his future if he claimed ignorance here.

He would suffer the same fate as before.

Or perhaps even worse. The mere thought was terrifying.

He racked his brain, employing all his senses to recall that time.

“Say anything. Based on that, I’ll decide whether to mitigate or aggravate what you’ll endure from now on. The more direct evidence you provide about the culprit who commissioned you, the more your crime will be reduced, by a tiny bit, as small as an ant’s dropping.”

“…What? As small as an ant’s dropping?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, isn’t that hardly any change?”

“No, no. Listen carefully. The difference of one ant dropping could determine whether you’ll be begging to be killed or face a comfortable death.”

What is this? Sesenia almost blurted out those words.

“Ah…”

“So think hard. Actually, I prefer the former. To just cut off the head of a human begging to be killed…”

“I, I think I’m starting to remember! Your notoriety, Archmage! No, not that, but the story from 20 years ago…”

“Good. Let’s hear it.”

The Archmage, smoothly glossing over the mention of his notoriety, looked at him with interest.

“Actually, there wasn’t much I could recall. Of course, there was something strange. It was common to change the hair or eye color of children born similar to royalty and sell them to the imperial family. I’d heard of other magicians doing such work too. Since we were just in a position to do the job and get paid, everyone became indifferent at some point.”

“And so?”

“So it was extremely bizarre. Anyone could see the child was royalty, yet we were told to conceal it… But that man was adamant. He said even the child’s mother asked to abandon it. Despite knowing it was the descendant of the imperial family, the Emperor’s child, they asked to abandon it.”

Sesenia was worried about Teddy beside her.

Even without explicitly saying it was his story, Teddy would have instinctively realized.

Or even if he hadn’t noticed, he might be shocked later when he learns that this story is about him.

So Sesenia tightly held his hand, but Teddy seemed a bit strange.

He appeared unfazed, as if he already knew this was his story and had anticipated all of this.

Meanwhile, the Archmage urged Gelox again.

“But it’s strange. In such a situation, couldn’t they just abandon the child? Why spend enormous money to change the hair color?”

“The mother, the child’s mother, was said to despise the child terribly. She absolutely didn’t want the imperial family, where bloodlines are precious, to know… That’s why they did it…”

“And you accepted just hearing that?”

“Yes…”

“So is there nothing to infer about the man? Anything new besides the fact that the mother intensely hated the child and knew the child was already born into the imperial family?”

Like someone with obsessive tendencies, the Archmage kept seeking something new, something new.

“That… Well…”

Seeing Gelox hesitating, the Archmage exclaimed joyfully.

“Is there something you remember!”

“I… Out of curiosity, I did look into that child afterwards…”

“And?”

“I heard the child, who was supposed to be abandoned, was handed over to slave traders. While there aren’t many slave traders now, there were many back then, so I didn’t know where…”

This was a story already known.

“How disappointing.”

“Pardon? Disappointing?”

“I already know all of that. That the child grew up with slave traders. So there was no new information after all.”

“That… That… Isn’t it strange?”

“What is?”

“That they specifically sent the child to slave traders, not an orphanage. Unlike orphanages where children can be adopted within the empire or abroad, slave traders don’t allow that, right?”

At that moment, both Sesenia and the Archmage let out a deep sigh of realization. A subtle oddity noticed only by someone backed into a corner.

“I see. Yes. That’s right. When they could have sent the child to an orphanage, they deliberately kept it inside…”

“They must have intended to use the child later.”

At this moment, something became certain.

The man who claimed to have rescued Teddy from the slave traders and brought him to the imperial family… He didn’t rescue him.

That man was clearly the one who put Teddy there, intending to raise him in the slave traders’ den to be easily used.

The man who was said to be Teddy’s sponsor in the past was undoubtedly the one who had placed Teddy there from the beginning.

Through Gelox, who was desperately struggling to survive, we reached this conclusion.

“I see. So… So that’s why they placed him with the slave traders.”

“Maybe, just maybe, we might be able to find out who that man is.”

“How?”

The Archmage’s gaze, which had been looking at Gelox with interest, turned to Sesenia.

“That person must have been in constant contact with the slave traders.”

“Hmm… That could be possible. But if we make all these assumptions… Then why did the slave traders hand that child over to you?”

“It must not have been profitable anymore. The money I offered was probably much larger than what they were receiving or expected to receive from that side. Somehow… That’s why the slave traders kept trying to raise the price when dealing with me.”

Thinking about it that way, things started to make sense.

The reason they put expensive restraints on Teddy despite him being a slave. The reason they had been abusing Teddy.

‘At first, I thought they did those things to make him obedient, but that wasn’t it. Rather, they had to do it that way so Teddy would see ‘that man’ as his savior.’

The fact that Teddy rushed to kill that man as soon as he was freed from the slave traders’ prison. The fact that he had been abused to the point of having scars all over his body.

“I see.”

“They must have been keeping a close watch. So we just need to find the slave traders.”

“Sounds like an easy problem.”

“It might not be that easy. There’s a high chance they’ve left since they sold the ‘slave’ who was the reason for them to stay there.”

In the past, it wasn’t like that.

Or even if it was, Sesenia had no way of knowing.

The issue of whether slave traders fled or not was one of the things Sesenia didn’t care about. She didn’t even pay attention to them.

“So now we just need to find them?”

“I’ll try to do this. It’s not something that can be done with magic. But thank you for helping us get this far.”

“No need for thanks. So what shall we do with that fellow?”

The Archmage stroked his chin while looking at Gelox.

“You know what? That person’s crime is that he ruined someone’s life.”

“That’s right.”

“But even if this fact comes to light, he won’t receive the punishment we want.”

Gelox wore a desperate expression, perhaps hoping this situation would somehow pass, but Sesenia showed not a shred of mercy.

“I want people who have done wrong to receive appropriate punishment. If someone has ruined a person’s life, I’d like to see their life ruined equally. If someone has stolen someone else’s possessions, I’d like to see the thief also deprived of their belongings.”

“Hmm…”

“Even if they receive such punishment, the victim isn’t saved. That time, that life. All the tangled mess. So I want to at least mete out proper punishment. But if we make this public… That fellow would just live in a comfortable prison… A prison that provides three meals a day, with only a bit of freedom taken away. For ten years, or twenty years.”

That’s why revenge was necessary.

“For, forgiveness is ultimately necessary, isn’t it?”

“Forgiveness…”

To ruin someone’s life and then ask for forgiveness.

“Forgiveness is for the victim to give, not the perpetrator. Not someone like you. You’re truly shameless and selfish. Not even thinking of apologizing to the victim.”

“Who do you think you are to…! Ah… Yes, I’ll help you find that royal descendant. So please spare my life. I’ll do anything… Isn’t that enough to atone for my sins? Archmage, you seem angry because I’ve disgraced the honor of the Magic Tower by doing this… So…”

Whether he had found composure or lost his mind, Gelox blinked his eyes.

“If you had a brain, you’d think, and if you thought, you’d understand.”

Sesenia felt sorry for the utterly foolish man in front of her. Even in an extreme situation facing death, how could someone be this stupid?

“Help find the royal descendant…”

Sesenia tightly held Teddy’s hand.

“Why do you think we didn’t ask about that?”

“That’s…”

“The reason we didn’t need to ask that question is because that royal descendant, the one who had to have their bloodline denied as soon as they were born, is right here. The victim of your crime… is present in this very room.”

Gelox’s complexion turned deathly pale. There was a world of difference between confessing to a crime and meeting the victim of that crime. He twitched his cheek.

“That… What… What do you mean…”

“Teddy. Are you alright?”

“I want to pretend I don’t know, I want to pretend I’m fine…”

Teddy smiled awkwardly in response to Sesenia’s question.

“This whole situation is revealing the answer. That I… am that royal descendant. Isn’t that right, Master?”