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Early BBYW Vol. 4 Chapter 64 (WN)
🕑 Added 2024-12-09 14:42:11 +0000 UTCFull title: I’m a Bastard But You’re Worse!
Note: This chapter has not been TLCed yet, and might slightly differ from the public version. If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.
Translator: Dario
Note 2: This is the web novel version
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Chapter 64 - The Other Mastermind
“Well then…any last words, Viscount Massab?”
“Y-You are Dyngir Maxwell…? Why are you here!?”
Before me lay a fat white pig…more precisely, the “native noble” Nahib Massab, shaking like a leaf.
I shot the man a cold glare and tapped the handle of the sword at my waist.
“To be honest…I don’t want to believe that a pitiful man like you orchestrated this whole ordeal by yourself. Because of scum like you, Valon was killed, the western province was messed up, and those two had to cry so much. I don’t even want to consider it.”
The image of Naam and Mist surfaced in my mind, tensing my expression even more.
The man before me looked nothing more than a small-time scumbag. He did not have the presence of someone capable of coming up with such a large-scale plot.
“At the very least…I hoped to face someone worthy of being my enemy. The rumors were greatly exaggerated, it seems…it’s a real shame.”
“P-Please wait!! Dyngir Maxwell!!”
The man probably understood that I was going to draw my sword, and hurriedly tried to stop me.
“Y-You’re not really thinking of killing me, are you!? I’ll pay!! I’ll give you as much money as you want, just spare me!! Please!!”
“Money, huh…unfortunately for you, I just found a pretty huge piggy bank, so I’m feeling pretty cushy for now.”
House Sphinx had already begun collecting the treasures left at the “Undead Capital”.
Going there from Thebes was a few days’ trip, no matter how fast you traveled, so it would take some time before that vast fortune was retrieved.
Even so, half of it was destined to House Maxwell, so I could safely treat the pig’s savings as chump change.
“Even if I was looking for money, I could just kill you and take it myself. It’s not enough reason to spare a pig that betrayed his lord, is there?”
“N-No, please…!!”
“If you want to live longer, you better offer something better. If you don’t have anything, then I’ll send you to your grave.”
“I-I do!! I’ll talk!! Confess everything!! This whole plot wasn’t my idea!! I was instigated by central nobles, that’s why everything happened!!”
Nahib, still squirming on the ground, looked up at me with a pleading smile.
The meek half grin on the man’s face made my urge to kill him spike for a moment, but I decided to let him continue.
“This was meant to be the first step of the central nobles’ westward expansion!! If you make this public, they will surely be sentenced!! Their momentum will weaken, and they won’t be able to threaten the western province…nor the eastern, or any other local nobles, no more!!”
“Hmm…”
“If you so wish, I will appear in court and testify!! Do you not think it will be more useful than to just kill me here!?”
Just what you’d expect from someone who opposed House Sphinx, yet managed to use his political skills and tongue to survive. He quickly came up with material to negotiate with, and used it to cut a deal.
I could take any physical material, such as money or valuables, by brute force if I wanted; but if I wanted a “public testimony”, I surely could not kill him.
I reflected for a moment, then made my decision and nodded.
“I see, I suppose there’s no other way. It’s a shame I can’t butcher you here and now, but I guess you’ll be able to live a bit longer.”
“T-Thank you very much!!”
“In exchange, I’m delivering you to House Sphinx. You had the Margrave’s only son killed, so…I can’t guarantee they won’t do anything to you.”
“Eek…”
Nahib went blue in the face. There was no assurance that the Margrave was going to leave him alive long enough to testify, after all.
I scoffed, then ordered the “Fangs of Steel” members who accompanied me to take the pig away. The man who immobilized Nahib and another one behind him picked up the man from the armpits and forced him back on his feet.
That was enough punishment for Nahib Massab, for the moment. I was planning to let Vert take care of the trouble of denouncing the central nobles.
I turned my back to the pig, ready to leave, but…the unexpected happened.
“Bwonk…!?”
“What?”
Behind me, Nahib made a very pig-like grunt. I turned around, and saw his barrel of a body slouch forward.
“What the…”
“This…this can’t be! What the hell happened…!?”
A blade was thrust through Nahib’s back. It was almost like it had always been there: it had appeared without a trace.
The two men holding up Nahib reacted with sheer surprise and looked around, but there was no other presence in the circle light illuminated by the lantern.
“Stay alert! There’s someone here!”
“Ye…yes!!”
I yelled an order at the two and drew my sword. The two “Fangs of Steel” members too drew their weapons and scanned the surroundings.
There was nothing but darkness around us. Not a silhouette could be seen. From the dark, however — a clear voice reached us.
“It would be a bit of a problem to have that man testify, so I took the liberty of disposing of him. To betray his allies so easily, just to save himself…did he not have any pride, I wonder?”
“You’re…”
It had to be a joke. The man appeared from behind the tree I was leaning against, just minutes ago.
The man, armed with a sword at his waist, walked towards me with a pleasant smile.
Eventually, he stopped — just one step before reaching the range of my blade — and waved at me, as if greeting an old friend.
“It’s been a…short while, I guess. We meet again, Sir Dyngir.”
“...Benamis Saverne. It’s really you.”
The man who stepped out of the shadows was the young Sword Saint.
Benamis Saverne, the man I had shared a meal with during my last visit to the capital, just some days ago.
