WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 115: The Butler
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“Come closer. Now.”
Mapheltan crooked a finger as he looked into the prison.
Verdan, bound in chains, showed no reaction.
His expression remained calm, though his body had gone a little stiff.
Mapheltan’s lips curled with interest.
Verdan was Johan himself.
Beyond his appearance, even the way he reacted when shocked matched Johan exactly.
Johan had always tried to hide his emotions. No matter the crisis, he rarely showed any sign of agitation.
The false Johan before him was the same.
Even after suddenly coming face-to-face with a demon, Verdan was doing his best to remain calm.
That was because the Mimic Authority absorbed even the target’s personality.
The false Johan, Verdan, slowly opened his mouth.
“...I understand now. Why the Baron ordered me to leave the estate at night.”
Mapheltan gave a short laugh.
“Go on, then. Let’s hear your guess.”
The false Johan spoke evenly.
“Watcher of Narak, you are a demon disguised as a human. Once a certain condition is met, you return to being a demon. I believe that condition is sunset.”
Johan had always told them to leave the estate once the sun went down.
Until now, Verdan had not known why.
But things were different now.
Before Verdan’s eyes, Johan had transformed into a demon.
The moment the sun set, he had revealed his true nature.
Verdan could not know the precise time, but he could make a rough guess.
It had been early evening when the knight arrested him. By now, the sun had surely set.
If that guess was right, there was only one answer.
Johan became a demon at night.
To keep anyone from seeing that form, he had driven the servants out of the estate every night.
Mapheltan nodded.
“Well, you got most of it right.”
The one thing Verdan had missed was that Johan was a Half-Demon.
Of course, that was not something he could have figured out through deduction.
No mixed-blood capable of changing races between day and night existed in this world.
The false Johan calmly replied.
“So I was wrong about something as well.”
“I’m a Half-Demon.”
“A Half-Demon...”
Mapheltan cut him off.
“We’ll discuss that later. First, I have a few questions for you.”
The false Johan studied Mapheltan’s expression, then spoke in a low voice, as though he had made up his mind.
“I will answer honestly. In return, I ask only one thing. Permit me to serve you from now on.”
Mapheltan let out a dry laugh.
The false Johan had begun working a scheme.
Mapheltan could not have failed to notice it.
Verdan now had the same inclinations as Mapheltan.
Mapheltan felt as though he were looking at himself in a mirror.
‘Well, look at that.’
The false Johan had clearly noticed that Mapheltan was interested in the Mimic Authority.
Therefore, the false Johan would not die.
Rather, Mapheltan would make Verdan his subordinate.
Verdan had already calculated that far.
With his survival assured, what came next mattered.
Verdan did not want to live as Mapheltan’s slave.
He wanted better treatment.
If he offered himself as a bondservant, Mapheltan would surely take him as an underling rather than a slave.
He might even grant him a certain degree of freedom.
After securing the bare minimum of status, Verdan intended to plan for the future.
‘What an irritating bastard.’
He struggled desperately for every possible advantage, wore masks while working petty schemes, and played games of wits with others.
There was no one more unpleasant.
‘Is this what it feels like to spit in my own face?’
Clicking his tongue, Mapheltan said,
“Deactivate your Authority.”
He no longer wished to speak with “Johan.”
The false Johan hesitated briefly.
“If I offended you, I apologize.”
Mapheltan’s expression darkened.
“This is your last chance. Deactivate it.”
His voice was cold enough to chill.
His red eyes flickered.
The false Johan swallowed a groan.
“...Understood.”
He pulled at the skin of his face.
The Mimic was immediately released.
A bald young man with a treacherous look appeared.
Verdan threw himself flat onto the floor.
Mapheltan’s rigid expression eased somewhat.
His displeasure vanished.
Mapheltan opened his mouth.
“Now we can finally talk. I have a few questions.”
Verdan could not even meet his eyes.
His voice trembled.
“I-I’ll cooperate faithfully, sir.”
“Is House Leonar truly behind you?”
House Leonar was the Kingdom’s oldest knightly house.
“Yes, sir. They approached me first and gave me jobs. They said they would pay for any kind of information on House Myatro.”
Mapheltan fell silent in thought.
The House Leonar he knew despised underhanded schemes.
They valued nobility and justice above all else, and rarely engaged in political plotting.
The Kingdom’s Shield, unwavering as stone. That was both House Leonar’s epithet and its public reputation.
Yet the Kingdom’s shield had played tricks on Johan.
Mapheltan could not understand why.
He spoke.
“Was Marquis Leonar personally involved?”
Verdan replied without rising from the floor.
“I don’t know, sir. That noble Marquis would never meet someone like me. Honestly, I’ve never even seen the Marquis’s face.”
Marquis Leonar deeply despised those of the underworld.
The Marquis did not even spare the back alleys a glance.
“Who gave you the jobs directly?”
“I don’t know his name or identity. He was only a masked man, sir.”
Mapheltan frowned.
“Fool. Could he not have been someone impersonating the marquis’s house?”
Verdan quickly shook his head.
“H-He showed me House Leonar’s Aura as proof, sir. As you know, that distinctive silver Aura is a power only the house’s knights can use.”
The Aura wielded by House Leonar’s knights was unique even in color.
Silver ripples. They were unmistakable proof that someone belonged to House Leonar.
Mapheltan clicked his tongue.
“Whatever the case, you know nothing useful about this matter.”
Trembling, Verdan lowered his head deeply.
“I-I’m sorry, sir. Please spare my life.”
He possessed no useful information.
Aside from the Mimic Authority, there was no reason to keep him alive.
Mapheltan looked down at Verdan with annoyance.
“One last question. Why did you send those thugs to the estate?”
Not long ago, a group of amateur thieves had infiltrated the estate under cover of night.
“To find out what happened at the estate at night, sir. I sent some riffraff in first as a test.”
Verdan had planned to infiltrate the estate once he observed the situation and confirmed it was safe.
But the thugs he had sent ahead never returned.
They had completely vanished from this world.
The estate had swallowed them.
Something was clearly happening there.
Now, the secret had been revealed.
A demon lived in the estate.
Mapheltan sighed.
“Every answer was exactly as expected. Other than your Authority, there is nothing remarkable about you.”
Verdan shrank back.
“I-I am useful, sir. If you just spare me, I can be useful somehow...”
Mapheltan interrupted him.
“Quiet. Stay here and keep your mouth shut for the time being. Your treatment will be decided later.”
Because of Verdan, all information about the estate had become public.
Just like last night, more absurd riffraff might target the estate.
Mapheltan found it extremely irritating.
Verdan would have to pay the price.
One way or another.
Mapheltan turned away.
Night had come. He had to defend the estate.
‘What a damned situation.’
Mapheltan left the underground prison.
Verdan continued to tremble as he stared at the floor.
* * *
Haman woke to the sound of rustling.
“Ghk.”
The moment he awoke, intense pain assailed him.
His entire body ached as though it had been torn apart.
Every muscle screamed, and he could barely open his eyes.
His side throbbed as well, as though one of his ribs had cracked.
It was because of Verdan’s beating.
The moment Haman remembered Verdan’s face, he screamed.
“N-No! No! Don’t do it!”
Severe trauma consumed his mind.
He began to struggle desperately.
His screams and the sound of his flailing echoed through the estate.
A group heard the commotion.
“What the hell? You said nobody was here!”
“Let’s get out of here! Now!”
“Grab everything! Move!”
“You there! What are you dawdling for?!”
Numerous voices erupted at once.
Hurried footsteps rang out.
An unexpected disturbance spread through the once-quiet estate.
Only then did Haman come to his senses.
He emerged from his trauma.
His eyes flew open.
An unfamiliar ceiling... No, it was not.
He had visited this place several times.
After being hired by the Count, Haman had spent over a month repairing and cleaning this old estate.
Even the guest room where he now lay was familiar to him.
Memories of the previous day slowly returned.
“Baron Myatro sent me here. You are the butler, Haman?”
A knight had appeared, arrested Verdan, and saved Haman.
Haman had then been taken straight to Baron Myatro’s estate.
After that, he had lost consciousness.
Haman groaned.
“I-I survived...”
His words abruptly stopped.
“What are you dawdling for?!”
“If you’ve got everything, let’s get out of here already!”
“You idiots! Move faster!”
Urgent voices and running footsteps overlapped.
Haman’s eyes widened.
“Could it be!”
Thieves had broken in.
A group was looting the estate.
There were countless manuals for situations like this.
As Yebinwon’s top graduate, Haman had memorized them all by heart.
Now, he could remember nothing.
His mind had gone blank.
Only one sentence remained in his head.
“A butler’s duty is to preserve the master’s property with their life and uphold their authority without wavering.”
Haman sprang from the bed.
Dragging his battered body along, he left the guest room.
He began to run.
Dark figures entered his sight.
Haman shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Stop! Stop right there!”
The fleeing thieves immediately turned around.
They exchanged looks.
“Just one little shit?”
“Looks like it.”
“Should we slit him and loot a little more?”
The thieves had not searched the entire estate yet.
A few of them stopped.
Haman charged at them, shouting.
“How dare you! Do you know where you are? Put down what you stole and get out of here!”
The thieves gave nasty smiles.
One of them pulled a dagger from his clothes.
“Come here. I’ll give you a nice, clean stab.”
He suddenly grabbed Haman and held him from behind.
He intended to stab Haman in the stomach several times while holding him there.
Haman struggled.
“Let go! Let go and get out!”
The thief raised his arm.
The menacing blade drew closer to Haman’s stomach.
Just before it touched his skin, a thunderous boom rang out.
The arm gripping Haman fell limp.
Haman turned around.
The thief had no head.
A fountain of blood surged from where it had been.
The remaining thieves staggered backward.
“W-What...?!”
“What is it?! What the hell is that?!”
Another boom rang out.
Someone’s head burst in an instant.
Blood bubbled from the severed neck.
The same thing continued.
All six thieves lost their heads.
Haman stared blankly at the sight.
He collapsed onto the floor.
His eyes were wide open.
“W-What in the world...”
A chilling voice spoke.
“You’re quite an amusing fellow.”
Haman quickly turned toward the voice.
Nothing was there.
Overwhelming fear began to rise within him.
“Huh... uhh...”
Something struck his back with a sharp smack.
“Your first mission. Hang every corpse from the front gate.”
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