Chapter 9 - Inheritance of Rage

 As I lay on the bed, I reflected on my meeting with Amon.

The conversation had developed in ways I didn't expect. While I anticipated some bumps along the road, I didn't think it would turn out this bad.

'What should I do now?'

Speaking with Amon was the only clue the voice gave me. But since I failed...

To my last question, 'You want to believe me, am I wrong?', Amon did not respond. Instead, he informed me that he would contact me soon and shared his name and address. Without offering any words that would give me hope.

‘If everything ends like this, will I be unable to return to my world? Or will I have to catch the culprit alone? Will I be able to return after that?'

As I gazed at the ceiling and pondered, I suddenly felt a surge of anger. Weren't the instructions from the voice too vague to begin with?

If its intention was to reveal the true culprit, wouldn't it be more efficient to simply disclose their identity instead of beating around the bush?

'Either the voice doesn't know who the culprit is, or there's a reason why it can't tell me.'

As I pondered over the times in which I had heard the voice so far, I came upon a realization. The voice had never foreseen the future.

When I invaded Knights Templar, the voice provided information about the area in real-time and instructed me where to hide. When it instructed me to hold onto Amon, it never let me know how he would be of aid to me.

If the voice were to have read the novel The "Trap and the Swamp" as I had initially thought, it would have narrated events that had already occurred in the past, rather than the present.

My head was pounding. I wasn't sure about anything regarding the voice.

At that moment, a knock was heard against the door. I was startled and jumped out of bed. No one in this world would come looking for me.

I heard a knock on the door. The sudden commotion startled me, causing me to jump out of bed. It was unlikely for anyone to come looking for me in this world.

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

The moment I heard the voice outside the door, I felt a sense of relief. It was Amon Spencer, the only person whose voice I could recognize in this world.

However, my body tensed up again when I realized it was almost midnight. I couldn't help but wonder why Amon had come to visit me at such a late hour. Was he here to arrest me?

“…What is it?”

"I can't speak here."

He spoke in a firm tone. I put my ear to the door to make sure there wasn't another person accompanying him and let him in.

Amon entered my cramped inn room. I stood by the door and watched him quietly. There was no desk for him to sit in the first place, so he simply kept standing.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t I say I would call you back? I came myself.”

I carefully scrutinized Amon to see whether he had brought positive or negative news, but his usual indifferent expression gave me no indication.

My only clue was the crumpled pieces of paper he held in his hand. Perhaps it was because he noticed my gaze was fixed on the thing, or perhaps it was his intention from the beginning. Amon handed the paper to me.

"What's this?"

As I looked at him with wary eyes, Amon introduced himself.

“I am the knight commander of the Blue Knights.”

"Pardon?"

“I mean to say it is not uncommon for suspicious persons to be investigated as part of a case.”

What are you talking about?

“Nevertheless… I'd like to apologize first. I didn't mean to find out the sad memories in this way. I'm sorry."

It was only then that I turned over the thick wad of paper. There was a portrait of me, or Julia Reitz, to be exact.

“This can’t be…”

Amon signaled for me to continue reading, prompting me to quickly flip over the paper. The document contained dense blocks of text filling the pages of information regarding Julia Reitz.

‘You made a background check on me. Because I'm suspicious.'

Perhaps if this had occurred on a normal day, I would have been displeased at the blatant investigation, but this situation was different.

Since I arrived in this world, I have been attempting to uncover information about Julia Reitz. Unfortunately, my efforts have only led me to discover that the Reitz family was not among the central aristocrats of the system.

So this was an unexpected harvest.

I skimmed through the paper as fast as I could so Amon wouldn't take them from me. At one point, I stopped breathing.

I began to understand why Amon bothered to apologize for the background investigation that he had done solely for the investigation.

The paper contained detailed information regarding the Reitz family. How the simple and peaceful Reitz family collapsed, and how my parents died.

Including the root cause of the issue which could be attributed to a single individual, Russell Bolev.

It all started with a single flower. A single red flower the same color as Pamilla's hair.

Russell stumbled upon a flower while returning to the ducal residence from a village on the outskirts of the empire. Russell didn't think much of it either. He simply thought that if Pamilla had those flowers in her room, she would seem lovely.

He plucked a bouquet and presented it to Pamilla. And one day, he witnessed her smiling as she gazed upon the flowers alone in her room.

Perhaps Pamilla would have smiled even if it wasn't for that certain flower. She would have reacted the same whether the flower was of an unknown species scattered in the garden of the duke's residence, or a dirty wildflower blooming on the roadside. After all, she was imprisoned by Russell and longed for any form of freedom.

But Russell didn't think so. He wanted to see her smile once more, and he thought he required the flower to do so.

Russell soon discovered that the flower was a species that only bloomed in one area. That area belonged to the small estate of Baron Reitz.

If he had requested Baron Reitz, the old man would have been overjoyed to present a few flowers from his garden, but Russell was a man who did not know what a request was. He was the kind of person whose intellect was only fulfilled when he forced his way into what he wanted.

He may have been resentful of the fact that the flower that caused Pamilla's smile grew on the Reitz family's estate, not his own. Perhaps it felt like he couldn't hold onto Pamilla forever.

So Russell took away the Reitz family's estate. He ruined everything and killed the baron couple. It was as simple as plucking a single flower.

...When I reached that far, I realized that the letters appeared to be moving about the page. But upon closer inspection, it was actually my hand that was quivering as I held the paper.

My eyes were clouded with anger. The information regarding Julia Reitz came to me as more than just words.

I wanted to kill Russell Bolev right away. I wanted to dig up the ground and take out his corpse. I wanted revenge. I wanted to cut off his limbs to make him feel pain.

…Have I gone crazy?

“Ha, haa—”

I struggled to catch my breath and realized that I had momentarily forgotten to inhale. A powerful sensation of murderous intent coursed through my body, unlike any I had ever experienced before.

'Why am I acting like this?'

This was probably Julia Reitz's reaction, not mine. It was Julia's family that fell, and Julia's parents who died.

Of course, it was unfortunate and exasperating, but it was strange for me to feel such uncontrollable anger.

“…Are you alright?"

Amon patiently waited until I finished reading the documents before asking his question. I responded with a nod, avoiding direct eye contact.

It shouldn't be like this. I wasn't Julia, and I was learning of this past for the first time in my life.

"I'm alright, it's just..."

Despite my efforts to maintain composure, I found myself unable to speak. Amon, who had been observing me, left the room and soon returned with a glass of water in hand.

“…Thank you."

As I gulped down the cold water, I felt like I my mind was clearing a bit. I attempted to analyze the situation in an impartial manner.

Julia Reitz lost everything because of Russell. Therefore, she had enough motive to kill.

‘Of course, she would have wanted to kill him. She must have only seen revenge.'

So was I the true culprit? Nothing was certain now. Unlike before, when I thought it was cruel and non-partial to be accused of being a criminal, it didn't seem as far-fetched anymore.

I would rather have found it unfair that someone else took the opportunity to kill Russell Bolev instead of me.

I didn't even feel the desire to make excuses. Was the killing of Russell even a sin? What did Russell do to not deserve it?

The paper I was holding crumpled in my trembling fist. I took a deep breath.

‘These emotions do not belong to me, but Julia. I am not Julia.'

While repeating obvious statements inside my head.

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