I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 81

Vincent was incredibly thorough.

As he carefully dissected each part, ensuring the opponent didn’t die in the process, even Ariel, who was watching, was impressed.

Perhaps due to his long experience on the battlefield, he had a solid understanding of how much a person could withstand before succumbing to death.

Under the influence of magic, the man felt the pain of his skin being cut and his eyes being gouged out, yet he couldn’t make a single move in resistance.

With the gag in place, the only things escaping his mouth were drool and pain-filled moans, which revealed his grim situation.

Ariel, with an act of kindness, cast a recovery spell, forcefully delaying the death of the man who had already lost nine fingers.

“Cough, it’s already been 15 years…!”

Thanks to that, Vincent successfully removed the man’s ten fingers, both ears, and three toes.

The only reason he didn’t gouge out the eyes was that he was genuinely worried about the man dying; it wasn’t out of any moral concern.

If he had felt any guilt from the start, he wouldn’t have continued with such a horrific deed.

“You’re going to keep your promise, right?”

Vincent flashed a sinister smile towards Ariel, who was observing the scene from behind the bars, as he reiterated his earlier statement.

She responded with an exceptionally bright smile.

“Of course. Do I look like someone who would say one thing and mean another?”

“That’s good. Very good.”

After all, he had already bought himself fifteen years of life.

Considering Vincent’s age, it wouldn’t be wrong to say he had plenty of time before reaching the end of his life.

Still, not wanting to take any chances, he began to cut off the man’s toes, aiming to buy an additional five years.

If that wasn’t enough, the last target would undoubtedly be those bloodshot eyes, looking like they could burst at any moment.

“By the way, do you feel no guilt?”

“Is there anything in this world more important than my own life? You seem too young to understand the ways of the world.”

Vincent, who had surprisingly gained a sense of mental ease, began to provoke Ariel instead.

However, she didn’t respond much, simply watching the scene with a joyful smile.

“Ugh…!”

“It’s impressive you haven’t fainted yet.”

With only two toes left on the man, Vincent was amazed that, despite the excruciating agony he felt as skin was being peeled off, he still managed to remain conscious and scream in pain.

It would have been easier for him to lose consciousness.

Perhaps Ariel was using some trick to ensure he wouldn’t faint to amplify his guilt, but that was of no concern to him.

After all, how many times had he taken the lives of strangers?

If he regarded this as merely a process of interrogating an enemy for information, it was almost trivial.

He was even curious about what kind of thoughts would run through her mind, having imposed such simple conditions.

‘This should be enough.’

Once he had cut off the man’s fingers and toes, and taken his ears, he lightly brushed his hands off as he looked at the flesh and pools of blood that had fallen to the ground.

Having already exceeded sixty, he would only live another twenty years at most.

At this point, it could be deemed that he had bought time until his death, and there was no longer any reason to dirty his hands further.

“Is it over? Vincent.”

“Heh heh, yes. This should be sufficient.”

As he rose with a chilling smile, Ariel opened the bars and slowly approached.

Now, the man lay on the floor, emitting sounds that were either screams or cries, barely recognizable as human.

The way his fingers and toes had been cut off in various slightly different shapes made it unmistakably clear that this was the work of a person, adding to the horrendous sight.

“Now, don’t you think it’s time to keep your promise, my lady?”

“Of course I must. But before that, don’t you find this curious?”

“What do you mean?”

Vincent expressed doubt as Ariel suddenly threw a counter-question.

He had no intention of engaging in a Q&A session; he just wanted her to get him out of this cold cage.

But considering the thought that aggravating her might cost him the time he had so painstakingly obtained, he decided to go along with it.

“Have you never thought it strange? Why I offered you such good conditions?”

“That would….”

There was no way she hadn’t considered it.

She had simply rationalized it, thinking she was underestimating Vincent.

Noticing the hesitation in his speech, Ariel smirked and leaned forward slightly.

Her hand reached toward the man lying cold on the bare ground, trembling.

Whether he had wet himself was unclear, but bright yellow liquid was trickling from his pants.

“This face, do you truly not remember?”

“I’m not foolish enough to forget a friend just because they have aged.”

“Oh really? Then this might be a bit different.”

Ariel grabbed the man by the hair, untied the gag herself, and snapped her fingers lightly.

Worried it might be some form of magic, Vincent glanced around, but nothing in particular occurred.

“What the…?”

As Vincent, who was looking around the cage, turned back to face Ariel and the man she was holding, his eyes began to widen.

Eyes, nose, mouth.

That face, smeared with various fluids from its three parts, was ugly, but it was still recognizable.

The person had somewhat slanted eyes, a blunt nose, and a sharp jawline.

Moreover, the hair was a light brown that reminded him of his younger self.

Realizing the identity of the man before him, Vincent couldn’t utter a word, only repeating, “Ugh, uh….”

“How is it? Do you remember now?”

“Y-You bastard…!”

Crash!

Vincent, who lunged at Ariel with a bright smile, stumbled and fell to the ground, having evidently run into something.

It was clearly a result of Ariel’s foresight in casting an invisible wall before this event occurred.

“Aidan…! How could you…!”

The name of the man escaped from Vincent’s lips.

There was no chance he wouldn’t know. After all, the man before him was his beloved son whom he had raised like a treasure.

“I thought that even though you’ve aged a bit, your magical resistance would still be intact. So, I cast an anti-recognition spell directly on your son.”

The anti-recognition spell cast directly on a person is a kind of illusion.

That means individuals with robust mental strength or strong magical resistance often don’t fall for such tricks, making it highly perilous.

However, Ariel conceived a counter-strategy.

Instead of casting the anti-recognition spell on Vincent, she would cast it on his son so that his appearance wouldn’t be directly changed, but Vincent would mistake him for someone else.

As you can see, it was a complete success.

She had extracted the man’s fingers and toes, even taking his sense of hearing, all while making him endure this agony for thirty years.

“What do you think? Vincent Roland.”

Thud.

“Ugh, Aidan….”

No matter how wicked one might be, it’s hard to feel normal upon realizing they’ve personally desecrated the body of their own family.

Vincent slumped down, muttering his son’s name over and over again.

Yet, Aidan had already lost consciousness from the pain, and without his ears, there was no way for him to hear his father’s aching voice.

Tears and snot streaming down his face, Vincent pounded the ground in frustration, and Ariel watched with a satisfied smile.

That was the expression she had been aiming for.

She had vowed to make anyone who dared disturb her precious ones wear such a face, planning everything meticulously to achieve it.

And now, to see that plan come to fruition was exceedingly exhilarating.

What was even better was that there was still despair left to gift to that man.

“Why are you already crying so much? This is just the beginning.”

“W-What kind of vile act is this…! Is it still not enough?!”

“Vile?”

Ariel shrugged, unable to understand what the old man was babbling about.

“Vile” is a term used to describe actions that weigh on one’s conscience, or those one commits out of guilt.

No one claims to be vile for ripping apart a dog that bit its master.

Such was Ariel’s understanding of her actions.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t make the decision to target Ed despite being aware of this?”

“Shut your mouth…! You think I’d go crazy over a useless bloodline like that? I never thought… ugh!”

Crack.

His words didn’t get to finish as Ariel grasped Vincent’s neck, her strength seeming like it would snap his spine at any moment.

Moreover, considering she had cast physical enhancement magic just in case, her current strength was beyond imagination.

“You worthless piece of trash… How dare you speak of anyone?”

While she wanted to snap his neck there and then, her revenge wasn’t over yet.

The crimes of this old man were far too vast and deep to be repaid with mere death.

Besides, Ariel had no intention of getting her hands dirty herself.

Even the thought of her hands stained with the disgusting blood of this man before embracing Edgar again the next day sickened her.

“Cough…! Cough! Cough!”

As she angrily released his neck, she threw his body down and moved toward a corner, where she picked up a crystal ball.

It was an item with a remarkably neat impression, which didn’t match the desolate cage.

Holding it, she approached Vincent again, who was filled with fear, backing away involuntarily.

He had no time to guess what that object was or the desire to find out.

The shock of having carved up his beloved son was still consuming his mind.

As if to explain it to him directly, Ariel placed the crystal ball wrapped in cloth before Vincent.

Then, snapping her fingers again, soft light began to glow from the crystal ball, showing him a disturbing vision.

“M-Mari…! Even my wife…!”

Although the image was slightly blurry, it was clear enough for him to recognize the face he had seen for decades.

Inside the crystal ball, there were his family members, including Aidan, in a pitiful state, just like his son.

How could this have happened?

Had they already extended their claws to his family as well? Vincent’s consciousness could barely keep up.

“I completely forgot to mention this, but as you can see, your wife and daughter have been subjected to the same torture you inflicted on your son.”

Ariel casually expressed remorse for being late to mention this, as if she had forgotten dinner time.

Even in the shocking revelation, there was not a single scream or cry from Vincent.

In reality, he couldn’t muster the strength to do so.

When one exceeds the limits of the mental shock they can handle, they find themselves unable to express anything.

Instead, as matters escalated, Vincent could finally make a calm judgment.

There was no point in trying to keep his life at this point.

What he must protect was not his insignificant life but the lives of his children, who had their futures ahead of them.

“Please, I beg you. Please, spare my wife and children…!”

Even if all his fingers and toes were cut off and both ears were gone, there could be no more miserable end than that.

If he could somehow keep his life, with the power of House Roland, there might still be a way to recover the lost limbs.

Therefore, Vincent begged earnestly.

Please keep his family safe.

However, Ariel tilted her head questioningly, fixing his misunderstanding about the reality of the situation.

“You don’t think they’re alive, do you?”

“W-What…?”

“With that much blood loss, how could they be alive? You seem to forget, but it was only because of the recovery magic I cast on your son that he is still alive.”

His last hope, to keep his family safe, crashed down mercilessly before the cold truth.

That’s right.

The recovery magic that Ariel used on Aidan, who was being tortured, was merely the groundwork for leading the other two purposely to their demise.

In case of a half-hearted ending, there was a chance they might survive.

While she had hoped for the removal of one or two eyeballs or perhaps some other minor detail, thanks to this, Aidan would have been able to witness his father’s horrifying torture from start to finish, which might not be a bad outcome after all.

“In any case, congratulations. You’ve efficiently cut off 18 fingers and toes in total, and with the ears added, that makes 20. I promise not to touch you for the next 20 years.”

“….”

Vincent couldn’t utter a single word in response to Ariel, who was even applauding his achievement.

What could he possibly say?

Had he been willing to forgo even five years, or better yet three, his wife and daughter might still have been alive.

His actions, in a desperate attempt to extend even a bit of his life in this extreme situation, had led everything to ruin.

In silence, he picked up the dagger lying on the ground, bowed his head before Ariel, and humbly offered it to her.

She fully understood the meaning of that action.

“You achieved the result you desired. Now what?”

“If you won’t, I will do it myself.”

“Hmm… that doesn’t sit well with me.”

At that, it seemed as if he was repenting for all his sins and accepting his death, which left Ariel feeling quite uneasy.

A villain should meet their end as a villain.

There had to be a fitting resolution for him.

‘Oh.’

Just then, she caught a glimpse of Aidan’s form, sprawled out on the ground.

As if she had come up with an amusing idea, she leaned down, cast recovery magic on Aidan to awaken his consciousness, and casually tossed the dagger before him.

Left with all his fingers and toes cut off, Aidan simply looked blankly at the dagger before him and his father, alternating his gaze.

“I’ll leave the judgment to your son. Until then.”

With that, Ariel locked the cage and walked away gracefully.

What actions would the man who witnessed his father being mutilated take?

Just as she was about to turn around out of curiosity, the feeble, old man’s sighs reached her ears.

Only then did Ariel smile with satisfaction, resuming her steps.

According to traitorous fables, one is always skewered by the sword of their most cherished friend or loved one.

It’s a common theme found in fictional stories, yet it’s also a classic tale, which made her feel fulfilled.

Although she would have liked to observe Lux’s end as well, she gave that up as it was someone else’s wish.

All that remained for her now was to enjoy her life with her beloved starting tomorrow.

Just that.