My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 289

“I will wait.”

Stella decided to become a maid of the Todiah Family. However, she presented me with one condition in return.

“If all the revenge is over, and when Lord Praus has finished his work… will you take me in once again?”

“If you wish for me to take you in at that time.”

“That answer is enough.”

Our conversation wasn’t very long.

*

Years flew by swiftly.

The heroes sought out the artifacts hidden throughout the Empire, made contracts with the Spirit Kings, and engaged in fierce battles with numerous demon tribes.

They built relationships with the dukes and faced conflicts with the royal family while tackling countless tasks.

In the midst of that, the Pretéum Empire and the Aioum Kingdom collaborated to bring down the Mens Trading Company, successfully thwarting KyouKyou’s plans.

I even heard that Soro and Ter succeeded in killing KyouKyou. Thanks to that, the humans brainwashed by KyouKyou were able to return to their normal lives safely.

However, the very person at the center of all the events, Marquis Lector, remained missing.

There were stories that he fled, abandoning his family to survive, and that he had yet to be found.

But that wasn’t the truth.

Because he wasn’t missing; we had kidnapped him.

When I heard that the operation had officially begun, I snuck into the Aioum Kingdom with the heroes. To rescue Marquis Lector, of course.

And currently, we stood at the edge of a cliff in the Beastmen’s Forest. We had left Marquis Lector tied up, in a spot where a misstep could send him tumbling into the sea.

“Wh-what the hell are… are you trying to do…? I must… I must go back to my family…”

“Don’t worry. Your family is probably already dead.”

I whispered into his ear.

Lector turned his head sharply toward me. Even though his eyes were covered and he was tied up, he couldn’t see me.

“Y-you! Who the hell are you?!”

“You don’t need to know who I am. What you need to learn now is the fate of those who conspire with the demon tribes.”

“What? What are you…!”

“Marquis Lector, it makes no difference where your corpse is found. Whoever kills you, no one will hold them accountable.”

“No! I…!”

“Now is not the time for lies. You better stop, or I might just cut your neck before someone you have business with arrives.”

As Lector bit his lower lip and made a pained sound,

“Master, I brought him!”

I turned as I heard Maria’s voice. There stood Stella wearing a maid outfit, staring blankly between me and the tied-up Marquis Lector.

“Lord Praus…?”

“Welcome, Stella.”

“Stella…? Could it be Stella Forna?!”

A sense of foreboding arose, and Lector raised his voice.

Stella, staring at his back, seemed to ponder who he was, looking on silently.

“Lord Praus, who is this…?”

“Marquis Lector.”

“Marquis Lector…!”

Only then did Stella’s lips quiver, her expression turning fierce as a killing intent began to rise in her eyes.

Seeing Stella’s fury, I spoke to the approaching heroes.

“Maria.”

“Yes?”

“Set up soundproof magic, and take Tina and Iris back to Pretéum.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Come back in an hour.”

I didn’t want the heroes, who were still not adults, to witness what might transpire.

The heroes exchanged glances, nodding as if they understood my intentions.

“Understood. We will return in an hour.”

With that, Maria cast soundproof magic around the area.

“If anything happens, tear the scroll.”

“Master, would I do such a thing? You’d just tear it apart!”

After the heroes left, I looked at Stella.

Her breathing was ragged, as if she were about to dash forward and strangle him at any moment.

“Stella.”

“Yes, Lord Praus.”

She barely regulated her breath, regaining her composure. I handed her the dagger I had kept hidden in my coat.

“What is this…?”

“It’s not enough to cut off his head in one strike, but it should suffice for you to wield. Considering the grudge you hold, it wouldn’t feel right to kill him in one blow, would it?”

She looked down at the dagger.

Eventually, having made up her mind, she drew the blade. The cold blade gleamed as it caught the moonlight.

“I know nothing about what I’m about to do, and if anyone discovers it, I will take full responsibility. So do as you wish.”

I nudged her forward. Now it was only her choice that remained.

Whatever choice she made, I would respect it—even if it meant sparing Lector’s life.

Of course, if that were to happen, I would personally sever his neck later on.

Stella took a step toward the bound Lector.

The sound of weeds brushing past her feet echoed as she approached. The closer she got, the more Lector struggled violently.

Then he fell over with a small yelp. “Kuh.”

“Marquis Lector. No, Lector. Why… why did you do that to us?”

“I’m, I’m sorry! I had no choice back then…! I had to do it to survive!”

“…Y-you had no choice, you say?”

In a fit of rage at his untenable excuse, Stella plunged the dagger into Lector’s thigh.

“Gaaah!!”

“Don’t play games, you bastard!”

“Guh…! Ahhh!!”

She moved the dagger lodged in his thigh, keeping the pain constant as she tore at the wound.

“You had no choice? You had no choice!? Is that why you exterminated my family and sold me as a slave? You piece of trash…!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Ugh! I’ll apologize like this! Please forgive me…”

He hurriedly begged for forgiveness from Stella, tears streaming down from beneath the cloth covering his eyes.

“It was you who conspired with the demon tribes…! It was you who blackmailed my father…!”

“I’m sorry! P-please let me live… Ahh! Let me live!!”

“Shut up!!”

When she withdrew the dagger from his thigh, blood sprayed up, splattering onto her maid outfit. But Stella paid it no mind and stabbed his thigh once more.

Fwoosh—!

“Gaaah!!”

Tears streamed down Stella’s face with each stab of the blade into his thigh. Perhaps her rage burned away her sanity, for all she could think of was continuing to stab his thigh without redirecting.

“If you truly regret it, tell me to let you go. Let me go!!”

Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

“Guh…”

“If that can’t happen… then pay with your life…!”

As the blood trickled down and formed puddles on the dirt ground, her hands finally stopped.

No longer could Lector move.

Perhaps he had severed an artery in his thigh, bleeding out to his death.

“Hah… Hah…”

Stella, panting atop the pool of blood, didn’t show her expression. She had been bowing her head, but blood and sweat clung her hair to her face.

“Lord Praus…”

“…Yeah.”

Slowly, she lifted her face.

Stella’s expression was a mix of weeping and smiling, tears of blood streaming down her cheeks.

“I did it. I got my revenge… I did it…”

“…”

“But why… why does it hurt so much?”

Eventually, she must have realized that revenge is a hollow thing.

Killing the murderer of her family wouldn’t bring her family back to life.

Thus, a person who has lived solely for revenge would find it impossible to fill the emptiness in their heart, even if they succeeded in that revenge.

Revenge leaves nothing behind.

It wasn’t without reason that those who completed their revenge take their own lives.

“What… how am I supposed to live now? I have nothing left…”

Her question was one of pure resignation.

I silently observed Stella.

Even with the justification of revenge, she could not escape the guilt of having killed a person. I pondered what kind of comfort I could offer to her.

As I remained silent for a while, Stella’s head began to droop.

At that moment, I slowly opened my mouth.

“…I am still here.”

As Stella looked up, the shadow draped over her was lifted by the moonlight.

I walked over to her and helped her out of the pool of blood.

“Stella, I will not abandon you. Didn’t you ask me to take care of you?”

“!”

“You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

“I haven’t forgotten… I haven’t.”

Life gradually returned to her blue eyes, and soon she began to cry. She clung to me, wailing.

Desperately holding onto me, she wept, and I didn’t care about the blood staining me. I could just ask Maria to use cleaning magic later.

I patted her back until she calmed down. There was nothing more I could say to her at this moment.

Before long, the heroes returned. It seemed an hour had already passed.

Upon seeing the deceased Lector, they let out an unimpressed snort and turned away.

“Are we leaving the corpse here?”

At Maria’s question, I nodded.

“They might want to investigate later, so wouldn’t it be better to handle this?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Even though the Demon King was still alive, they would want Lector’s information, but any investigation here would yield no meaning.

They couldn’t conduct scientific inquiries like in modern times.

“Is that so? If you say so, Master.”

“Let’s head back. To our home.”

“To our home…”

Stella quietly murmured, still nestled in my arms.

The heroes seemed displeased with her being in my embrace, but they didn’t say anything. They were probably trying to understand her feelings.

Stella’s revenge was over.

It could be said that it was a disappointingly clean conclusion, but our journey was far from over.

The Demon King still stood strong, and there were countless demon tribes left to take down.

From now on, the heroes and I had to defeat those monsters. So that this world wouldn’t perish.

That was the fate of the heroes.

– Side Story End –