169. monster (1)

It was in the late summer of the year he turned nine that Leon Benning faced the monster that lurked in his heart. Leon Benning was usually a quiet kid. When he held the sword, he trained with concentration, and when he held the pen, he became a meditating young scholar. An instrument that will lead the Beninga to become the kingdom’s strongest martial artist in the future. Under the attention of the family head and all his retainers, Leon Benning grew up.

“He’s going to do big things in the future.”

The former head of the household, Clovis Benning, used to say that like a habit.

“The sword is a vessel that only comes out once every 30 years, and it’s smart enough to understand scholars’ lessons. I have no doubt that that child is the future of this family.”

Praise never ran out of the head of the household. If expectations and praise are poured on oneself like that, one would tend to shrink from the pressure or look down on the world with conceit, but Leon Benning’s attitude did not change no matter what people around him said. Leon Benning looked at the world with infinitely deep eyes. He, who has not yet found the meaning of his existence, was always searching for something.

Again – the summer of 40 years ago.

It rained very little that year. One day, when everyone was exhausted from worry and heat, one of the Beninga’s maids spilled water while serving Leon Benning and ruined his clothes.

“I’m sorry, Bocchan.”

The maid was a middle-class maid who had been working at Beninga’s mansion for about four years. Embarrassed and blushing, the lady-in-waiting hurriedly brought a clean towel and began cleaning up. The other servants became contemplative and reprimanded the maid, but Leon Benning held them back with a smile on his lips.

“It’s okay, everyone makes mistakes. Also, don’t be too pushy.”

Then, lying on the floor, she put her hand on the shoulder of the maid who was wiping up spills. The servants, including the maid, were delighted with Leon Benning’s generous treatment, and the vassals who heard the story admired Leon Benning’s mature behavior. The householder was proud of this and called Leon Benning directly to praise him. The next family head was already in his mind.

“You already realized what tolerance is at a young age. Sometimes you should know how to be strict, but it’s not good to be consistent with strict rules for people far below you, such as servants. You already have the qualities of a great leader.”

“It’s overrated, Father.”

“I know how to be humble. It makes me wonder if you are of the same blood as me.”

An inorganic smile hung over Leon Benning’s mouth as he bowed his head, not knowing what to do with his father’s praise. The child’s eyes glistened in the shadows. Pure, unintentional, shining eyes. Clovis Benning did not know that the emotion that light reveals is curiosity.

“Yes, well done, Leon. Go now.”

“All right.”

Clovis Benning smiled heartily as he looked at Leon Benning, who stepped back confidently.

After a week, the maid was fired. It was caught stealing tea leaves from an underground warehouse and selling them. The maid protested, saying that she had never stolen and that it was unfair, but the head maid kicked her out. Without receiving severance pay, the maid was kicked out of the Beninga mansion with only the things she had brought with her.

“What happened… .”

“Yes, such a young lady.”

After another three days, a corpse floated in the lake of the estate. It was the body of a young woman. Beninga, who launched an investigation without any trauma, concluded the case as a suicide. Rumors had always circulated that the dead woman had been working as a servant at the Beninga mansion, but it was soon forgotten.

The monster watched the entire process. It was sheer coincidence that the maid spilled water on him. Leon Benning was not particularly indignant. It wasn’t even a bad feeling. And it didn’t mean that the thunderbolt awakened the demonic nature that had been dormant inside Leon Benning. Everything was just a coincidence. The monster castle that lurked deep in Leon Benning’s mind. The fact that the first test subject became a middle-aged maid.

“I guess I was out of luck.”

Leon Benning murmured as he watched the people clamoring on the edge of the lake. Unleashing the monster for the first time, Leon Benning was not pleased. As if his emotions had been castrated, the nine-year-old laughed dryly.

I just did it because I could. Killing the maid was not proof of monstrous nature to him. Even without proof, Leon Benning knew very well that he was strange. curiosity. I felt like I could climb an old tree, so it was like a child trying to climb.

“… It’s boring.”

Leon Benning murmured. It wasn’t something I did to have fun. Leon Benning’s heart, which had been empty from the beginning, could not be satisfied with anything. I didn’t even want to satisfy him in the first place.

The dirty mat was wet with water, revealing the shape of the person covered. The crowd that had murmured in front of the corpse was chased away by a private from the estate brought by Clovis Benning. Clovis Benning, who came out to check the scene, looked at his son standing in front of him and said in a low voice.

“Forget it. It’s a pity, but she is not our family’s maid.”

Clovis Benning coldly evaluated the maid who was expelled for committing a crime. It was to comfort Leon Benning, thinking that he felt sorry for himself.

“It happened, but she should have been fired.”

Leon Benning nodded. Clovis sighed at his son’s calm reaction. I had no intention of making you feel the weight of the seat already. With his head down, Leon Benning seemed already weighed down by responsibility.

“You go back. I don’t think it’s good to stay at the site of someone’s death for too long.”

Leon Benning nodded and went back to the mansion with a young knight. The knight, who seemed to have just arrived, glanced down at Leon Benning all the way to the mansion, keeping his eyes on him. It was because the young knight’s head could not comprehend the child’s composure.

‘Is it just that I didn’t understand the concept of death properly?’

I heard it’s pretty clever to do that. The knight frowned. Wasn’t the head of the household not at all aware of the fact that this child was strange? Did you think that just the fact that you have excellent qualities is important? The restless knight, Leon Benning, did not care at all.

“I… Are you okay?”

The article, unable to shake off the feeling of uneasiness, asked. Leon Benning turned his head. The knight swallowed dry saliva. Beninga’s eyes were gray for generations. In the case of Clovis Benning, it was mild and dark gray, and the portrait of the previous patriarch showed gray eyes full of keen insight.

“What do you mean?”

The eyes of Leon Benning who asked the knight back were inorganic. Even after seeing that terrible scene, there was no sign of change in the complexion. The knight unknowingly distanced himself from Leon Benning. Leon Benning observed the article with interest. The knight’s eyes rolled along the tilting head of the child.

“That, that.”

You can’t ask if it’s okay to look at the scene where a person died and look fine like this. Even if it was Beninga’s son, the opponent was a nine-year-old child. Looking at the puzzled knight, Leon Benning tilted his head the other way.

“What is your name?”

Leon Benning’s words were forceful. There was no respect. If all humanity were excluded from the aristocratic language, it seemed that it would be like that. I felt a strange power that I had no choice but to follow. At the same time, it was also very empty. The thought of pity, the involuntary curiosity. The knight looked down at Leon Benning and spoke his name.

“Bernardo… This is Bernardo Lennon.”

“Yes, Bernardo. How long has it been since you took office?”

Bernardo nodded. The words of a nine-year-old child were heavier than those of a ninety-year-old man. Without even thinking about what attitude to take, the words flowed from Bernardo’s lips.

“Yes… It’s been a little over a month now.”

“Why did you ask if I was okay?”

Are you testing yourself now? Bernardo suddenly had an idea. It was only a nine-year-old child who was testing himself. Do I need to take that seriously?

“Aren’t you going to answer me?”

Looking at Leon Benning asking again, Bernardo had no such thoughts left in his head. Bernardo shook his head vigorously and opened his mouth quickly.

“Bocchan, I was worried. You might be shocked by the sight… .”

“Did I look frightened?”

The question that came back was neither a joke nor a blunder disguised as a question. Bernardo guessed that Leon Benning had asked such a question out of genuine curiosity.

“… Nope. Not at all.”

Leon Benning let out a small breath. Hmmm, a thought-like sound also leaked out. Her eyes, which had sunken to gray-white, had a dazed light, wondering what she was looking at.

“Right.”

Leon Benning replied as if he had lost interest, and walked forward, leaving Bernardo who had frozen. Bernardo Lennon interpreted in his own language the incomprehensibility he felt in the child, but no words were far enough to explain the unknown. Leon Benning, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned his head to Bernardo. Bernardo then realized that he was not moving and moved on.

“sorry.”

Leon Benning waved his hand as he listened to Bernardo’s apology and stood in front of the mansion’s door. Bernardo was intrigued by the appearance of Leon Benning. And as soon as he realized his curiosity, he frowned slightly. myself? What do you want to know about that kid?

“Ah, the drowned girl.”

As if recalling something he had forgotten for a while, Leon Benning said so calmly.

“I killed him.”

rattle.

In front of Bernardo’s eyes, the door to the mansion opened. The servant at the door was looking at him strangely, but Bernardo was not even aware of the servant’s existence. Leon Benning’s innocent face stared intently at Bernardo’s face. Bernardo involuntarily raised his hand and felt his face. The sensations felt through his fingertips let him know that he was smiling tightly.

—

It was 15 years later that Leon Bening became the owner of Beninga. Clovis Benning, who thought he would live 40 years more righteously, suffered from anxiety, and then one day suddenly collapsed and passed away. Everyone around Leon Benning worried about Leon Benning, who lost his father at an early age and rose to the position of head of the household.

“Good job.”

Clovis Benning’s body was transported to the cemetery. The weather was somehow similar to that day. Another thing is that it rained a lot this summer. The humidity was high, so the weather was perfect for decaying corpses. The corpse of Clovis Benning, lying beneath a marble sarcophagus, must already be rotting away, giving off a stench that makes you have to cover your nose.

Leon Benning looked at Bernardo Lennon standing behind him. Since that day, Bernardo Lennon, who had become his own knight, had followed Leon Benning’s orders without a word. Even though Leon Benning was openly planning to kill the housekeeper, Bernardo thoroughly condoned him.

“Go back.”

Leon Benning took a step back. Just do it because you can. Poisoning Clovis very slowly and ascending to the throne was no exception. Bernardo followed Leon Benning in the same mood as that day. After walking along the road that had followed him so many times, the huge Beninga mansion came into view.

There was no need to knock on the door. As soon as Leon Benning reached the entrance of the mansion, as if he had been waiting for his return, the door burst open. Leon Benning calmly walked into it.

“Are you here, Bocchan?”

A trembling voice was heard. Leon Benning looked at the man who opened the door. It was a maid with a face that looked just like the middle-aged maid from 15 years ago. He was said to be her younger brother. Fifteen years ago, Clovis Benning was the child she picked up because she felt sorry for her. Did you say your name was Fleur? There were worry-filled eyes on her face, which hadn’t yet cast off all of the youthful girlish traits.

“Yes, it was hot.”

“… Please don’t overdo it.”

Leon Benning met the maid’s eyes as he looked at him. A very small ember lurking beyond that worry. Leon Benning did not miss him. Leon Benning nodded, holding the hand of the maid who was approaching him.

“Thank you for your concern.”

Bernardo looked at the corner of Leon Benning’s mouth, which was slightly rising. The owner’s curiosity seemed to arouse.