Translator: Nox

19 - Marquis Maron

Episode 19

If you wanted to help Hayley, you should have abandoned the Order.

How much did she get hurt because of you? How many times did she hate the Order but couldn't bring herself to confront it and ran away because you were there?

And yet, you testified that Hayley was evil, just like those bastards. You babbled about how she should have her magic taken away so she couldn't commit evil deeds again.

"Listen carefully."

The Magical Energy dispersed, clearing my vision. Reikart, Fatima, and I stood side by side, glaring at Eugene and the Order knights.

The Contamination boundary. I stepped firmly onto it with one foot and said,

"From here on, this is my land. If you cross it, I'll kill you all."

"Hayley!"

"Whether you're God's representatives or whatever, I'm just an evil wizard anyway."

It didn't matter if it was just me venting on behalf of the real Hayley. I was a reader who had become so immersed in the villain that I cried so much and deleted the main story.

On the way back to Maron Keep, Fatima cried and laughed, then cried and laughed again.

She thanked me for saving her about ten times, and when I got annoyed, she burst into laughter. Then she thanked me for saving her again, and when I covered my ears, she burst into laughter.

It was the same even after returning to Maron Keep.

"Thank you so much for saving me. Being involved with that evil wizard and the heir to the Winter Dukedom all of a sudden, I feel like I've been caught up in something huge...."

"I'll take you to a city in another direction."

"Um, can't I just live here?"

"Why would you live here!"

I yelled, and Doraji covered her ears with both hands. Reikart shrugged and went to build a duck coop.

"I can't go back to Selbon. That cardinal or whatever he is, he seemed like he would never give up until he found you, Wizard. The inn was my entire fortune, and now that's gone too...."

"You can start over. I'll give you a few gold coins, so take them and go get a job."

"What if I get caught? I escaped from an inquisition, so if I get caught again, it'll be the death penalty."

"......"

Fatima rubbed her tears away with her sleeve and pointed at Maron Keep.

"This place needs people, doesn't it? Who's going to do the work in this big keep? You don't know how to do anything, Wizard, and all the Dukedom's young master knows is swordsmanship, and don't even mention that cute fairy."

"We're good at our jobs."

"Don't lie. Nothing's done properly. The kitchen or the storage room, it's a mess...."

"Ugh, fine! I'm an evil wizard, she's a wanted fugitive from a ruined family, and she's a hundred-year-old Doraji. We're all outcasts who can't reveal our identities anywhere with dignity."

"That goes for me too...."

"Do you know how awful it is to live in hiding? Do you really want to live here?"

"That's why you need someone like me even more. It might sound like bragging, but I'm really good at cooking, you know? Didn't you know our inn was famous among the lumberjacks for its delicious food?"

"Fatima."

"My home, my shop, my hometown, they're all gone.... Starting over from scratch somewhere else is too scary. I think I'll be lonely and sad. I feel lost on my own."

I hadn't thought that far. Fatima was a woman living alone, but she must have had her neighbors in Selbon.

As I hesitated, Fatima took my hand and smiled brightly.

"And you were really cool when you declared your territory, Wizard. I'm not very interested in worldly affairs, so I don't know what kind of person Hayley Maron is. I just know that you're the benefactor who saved my life."

"What? Territory declaration...."

"You said, 'From here on, this is my land,' didn't you? Isn't that a territory declaration?"

"No, that's...."

I only said that because that's where the Contaminated Zone started.

"Then you're the lord."

Fatima cried and laughed again.

That evening, Fatima came into our keep, where we were out of butter and sugar, and made delicious food with only duck eggs, vegetables, salt, and herbs.

I felt a little jealous that my fairy seemed to love Fatima more than me, but as I sat in front of the steaming plate, my heart grew as wide as the Pacific Ocean.

"Lord, please enjoy your meal."

It's not like I was swayed by that "Lord" title.

Really.

That night, Reikart came to me again.

"Hayley."

"What is it now?"

"Do you know about the history of the Contaminated Zone?"

"Do I need to know?"

I didn't know anything about the history of Maron Keep.

That's because it didn't appear in the original story or the side stories. It was probably a setting that only the author knew.

It was already strange that there was a side story from the villain's point of view, which hardly appeared in the main story, so why would they explain the history of the Contaminated Zone, which was the background?

But now Reikart was telling me about it.

"There are differing opinions about the identity of the first head of this keep, Marquis Maron. Some say he was a scholar obsessed with demonology, and others say he was the first Black Wizard to successfully summon a demon."

"What do you think?"

"I don't know."

Reikart said that what he thought wasn't that important.

What we needed to know now was that this land had been left contaminated for a long time. Also, under the leadership of the Order, people who had committed crimes were given the Maron name, fitted with invisible shackles, and abandoned here.

"The ones who abandon people here are mainly the Order. The Three Kingdoms have traditionally preferred hanging or beheading."

"Why does the Order do that?"

"To convince people that God loves all humans equally and is compassionate towards them, the priests of the Order, who are God's representatives, cannot directly commit murder."

So priests can't be executioners.

As I nodded as if I understood, Reikart sighed and said,

"You're also a criminal who was thrown away by the Order."

"I know that."

"The funny thing is, this land belongs to Maron, whether it was before or after it was contaminated, not the Order."

"Huh?"

I only knew that it didn't belong to any of the Three Kingdoms, but this was the first time I'd heard that this land was Maron's private property.

Reikart gestured at me with his chin.

"If you're the only Maron alive in the Contaminated Zone, you can insist that this high keep, the lake, the forest, and the canyons are all your private property."

"I thought you were going to say something else."

I said with a laugh.

"That's a plausible cover. It's only because this is a Contaminated Zone that no one visits, but if the Three Kingdoms find out that I'm purifying it from the inside, that kind of wordplay won't be of any use."

Who would acknowledge it? They would send armies from all over to take it away.

But Reikart said that wasn't the case.

"That's exactly why."

"Why?"

"Because this land is a buffer zone that subtly borders the Three Kingdoms."

Suddenly, my head spun.

Remembering how fiercely the Three Kingdoms had been checking each other and engaging in behind-the-scenes maneuvers in the original story, I immediately understood why this land had remained Maron's private property.

"If one of them tries to touch it, the other two get angry?"

"The central government has subtly maintained the balance of power all along."

"Then...."

"I know that it's not only been documented by those who have been trying to prevent war, but it's also been notarized by the Order. The Contaminated Zone is Maron's private property, so no one can claim ownership."

"Wow."

Humans were cleverly stupid.

I laughed. In the original story, Maron Keep was just a cradle of demons, and the demons born here broke through the Contaminated Zone and went out into the human world to commit evil deeds.

Even the side story was so busy introducing the story of why the real Hayley had to accumulate so much evil that the contents about Maron Keep and its background were almost omitted.

"I'm Hayley Maron."

Even this is clearly recorded in the Three Kingdoms and the Order. I was given the Maron name when I was abandoned here.

I was Hayley Maron, recognized by all of them.

"The lord of Maron Keep was a Marquis."

"Wow."

"If I had to say, you're the only heir...."

"I'm a Marquis?"

"You could say that."

Wow.

Jackpot.