12

Fwahahaha!

Power is awesome.

I finally got to punish a jerk who reminded me of my old boss.

It's so satisfying to get revenge on that scum from my past life.

Sure, it's probably not the same guy, just the same face.

But that's enough to make him guilty in my book.

He's fair game.

I told Camilla to dig up all the dirt on Viscount Hagenau.

At the party, I bluffed, "I know a bigger secret than your wig," but honestly, I didn't know anything yet.

Still, I'm sure a guy like that's done plenty of shady stuff.

No one with that face is a decent person.

If we dig around, we'll find plenty of filth.

Then I'll crush him in society.

That's how I'll get my revenge.

I don't hate Hagenau personally; he just has my old boss's face.

Hahaha!

Power is fantastic!

This is gonna be fun!

◇　◇　◇

Camilla followed Arc's orders and investigated Viscount Hagenau with the spy unit.

They found a mountain of evidence.

So many crimes, it was ridiculous.

He's finished.

Haha!

Feels great!

I stormed into his mansion with the proof.

"Why are you interfering with me?!" he shouted.

I replied,

"Do you know how many people suffered because of your 'misconduct'?!"

"Is this about your sense of justice?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Hah! Justice is nothing but a lie!"

"No, you're wrong. Justice is just what serves one's own interests. Waving justice around means forcing your desires on others."

"Then why stop me—?!"

"Because I want to see you drown in despair. That's all there is to it."

Fwahahaha!

The look on Hagenau's face was priceless!

That's exactly what I wanted.

I'm so satisfied!

And I found something else interesting in his house.

Beastfolk!

Well, not real beastfolk.

In this fantasy world, there aren't any normal beastfolk races.

But in Hagenau's underground cells, I found girls turned into chimeras.

I love beastfolk.

Totally love them.

For me, chimeras are basically the same thing.

I said, "You all belong to me now."

No human rights or anything.

I'm an evil noble, after all!

I decided they'd stay with me forever, forced to show me their changed forms.

Hahaha!

Being a wicked noble is the best!

◇　◇　◇

Following Arc's orders, Camilla and her spy unit dug deeper into Viscount Hagenau.

They uncovered something shocking: slaves.

Slavery is illegal here, but many nobles still do it secretly.

Hagenau would buy girls whose families owed him money or kidnap them outright, using them as slaves.

Sometimes he'd destroy entire villages, taking any kids he liked.

But while that was horrible, it was still in the realm of "typical noble depravity."

Of course, that alone is terrifying for the victims.

What made Hagenau truly monstrous was what he did to these slaves.

He collected pretty girls and played with them in horribly sadistic ways.

He made them undergo twisted animal experiments.

Not just mating—something worse and hopeless.

He merged them with animals to create chimeras.

Over 90% died.

Those who survived often went insane, and more than half of them ended their own lives.

A few clung to life and stayed imprisoned in his dungeon, subjected to endless torment.

When Camilla told the government what was going on, the knights quickly stepped in.

They raided Hagenau's mansion and arrested him.

Many younger knights were so horrified by the underground cells that they threw up and later had nightmares.

He was arrested, but there was still the question of what to do with the surviving girls.

That's when Arc said, "I'll take them all."

These girls were called chimeras, but they looked like what you might see as beastfolk in a fantasy.

Arc found them extremely appealing.

That's why he wanted them.

But in this world, everyone else saw chimeras as outcasts.

Even if they pitied them, they didn't want to keep them nearby.

So people started seeing Arc as a generous hero saving these unfortunate souls.

Camilla, especially, was moved to tears by his kindness.

Anyway—

Hagenau lost his title for slave trading, horrifying experiments, and other crimes.

That exposed more people involved in the slave trade, all linked to the Dark Hand.

The Dark Hand made a lot of money from trafficking slaves, turning the strongest ones into their fighters.

They aimed to build up a powerful army.

But Arc unknowingly ruined it all, and the slave trade was quickly shut down.

Because of that, the Dark Hand suffered major losses.

Seeing all this, Camilla was amazed by Arc's foresight and became even more devoted to him.

Meanwhile, Baroness Barrett—who nearly became Hagenau's victim at the party—was originally supposed to be sold to him in the story, paying off her family's debt.

She would have been turned into a chimera, tormented for years, then joined the Dark Hand.

She would have become a magic-gun user in the assassin squad called "Zodiac," fighting the main characters.

But once again, Arc's interference prevented that.

So everyone's fate keeps moving away from the original plot.