The Broken Possessors of the Infinite Regression Academy - Chapter 152



Chapter 152 – Demon King’s Army 1st Corps Commander – 2

The Ghost Knight, Dullahan, commander of the Demon King’s 1st Legion, was once an ordinary human.

That too is far from honorable.

A very long time ago, before the current empire was established. The human nation was divided into several kingdoms, and the demon race was so busy fighting each other that they only fought each other’s races.

Richard was born as an ordinary child of the lower classes during that time.

As always, the life of the lower class could never be good. Yesterday’s friends became enemies as if it were natural today, and their living conditions were such that they would forcibly cut off their noses while keeping their eyes open.

Richard, too, was naturally influenced by his surroundings and grew up to be a child who could not be called good. He was the kind of child who brazenly committed all sorts of dirty deeds.

Fortunately, unlike countless of his peers who died or disappeared while doing similar things, Richard had talent.

From a young age, I was one step ahead of my friends, one step ahead, stronger, and bigger. That power became a great asset in the back alleys where power was law and everything.

Richard, who grew up under tough circumstances after his parents died when he was 11, began his career as a mercenary at the age of just 14.

And he did quite well. It was natural, since all he had done since he was young was kill people, following his talent. It was also from that time that his talent for killing people really blossomed.

It could be seen as a coincidence, or fate. One day, while Richard was living a reckless life as a mercenary, he happened to witness the princess’s procession.

“… … .”

While watching the procession, I happened to open the curtains and saw the princess’s face looking out the window. As is often the case with stories that are told by word of mouth, I fell in love with her right away.

This was possible because the princess was the king’s seventh child, and because she was pushed out without even being able to compete for power due to her extreme superiors, which made her position extremely limited.

If I had encountered your face in the procession of the first, second, or third princes, I would have been immediately caught in a detection spell and had my head blown off.

“I quit being a mercenary. Don’t come looking for me.”

“What? Are you crazy? Hey! Where are you going? Tell me!”

Richard, who was completely smitten with the princess, was in a bad mood for a week before he made a big decision and left the mercenary band.

I’m going to take one of the armored and helmeted knights who guard the princess’s side.

After mobilizing all the money he had accumulated and the connections he had made through threats, Richard was finally able to take the test to become a knight, and the talent that had always supported him did not betray him this time either.

Of course, this was also possible because the princess was outside of power. A normal king would not have chosen a knight to guard the princess through such a simple test, but would have selected a knight from the palace and given him to her.

So, when Richard was 26 years old, he started a new life. Not as a mercenary who killed, robbed, and killed others, but as a knight who protected one person.

“Haaah… … .”

The princess Richard saw was a very sad and pitiful woman, but her sadness was for a reason, and her pitifulness was for a reason.

Even though he was pushed out in the power struggle, his bloodline as the queen’s child did not go anywhere, so even though he was banished to this remote territory, he was still subject to the restraints of the first and second princes.

One of the two biological children of the queen. This must have been an even more unacceptable truth to the two who were merely the children of a concubine.

The king favored the third prince, who was a genius who excelled in all aspects and was also a blood relative of the same queen, much more and paid little attention to the princess, but that did not mean he could not care about her.

If the third prince dies in an ‘unexpected accident’, the next responsibility will naturally fall on the queen’s only remaining daughter.

If the other brothers and sisters had any interest in power, they would have known about it, and that interest soon turned into a ruthless restraint on the Seven Princesses.

The number of escorts, which used to be in the double digits, has been reduced to the point where you can count them on one hand. The residence has changed from a castle to a small mansion. The number of servants has been reduced to barely enough to fill ten.

Fortunately, despite years of such restraint, Richard was one of the ones who stayed rather than left.

“Why… … Why are you still… … .”

But the princess was not at all lucky. Unlike Richard, who stayed by her side with a mixture of loyalty and affection, the remaining people had no loyalty at all to the princess.

They were all talented enough to be chosen to serve the royal family, and so they were unable to adapt to the new environment of having to serve a fallen royal family.

The servants began to leave the princess’ side one by one and began to look for a way to return to the palace. That was the plan of the bloodlines who were keeping the Seven Princesses in check.

When the size of the residence finally increased to a one-story building, Richard was the only one left by the princess’ side, who could not even pay a proper salary and had only the title of royal blood.

If it were the old Richard, he would have jumped for joy at this opportunity. A woman who had nothing left and had to rely on herself. What could be a better opportunity than this?

“… … .”

But the current Richard couldn’t do that. Teasing the opponent’s weaknesses until they die was the back alley way and the way Richard lived, but the current Richard didn’t do that.

Standing next to the person you love and watching them sad, your thoughts changed.

“This is my final order as your lord. Leave me. I understand your intentions. It means that you should no longer remain in vain and disappear from this world. I have no intention of selling my face and body to continue living in vain, so it seems right to do as you wish. I can no longer remain in this world, but you can certainly make a new start on your own.”

“I will stay.”

When the princess, who had been alone for a long time, finally appeared and urged him to leave, Richard chose to stay. The princess just looked at Richard with sad eyes and said nothing.

It was from then on that their relationship began to change.

The princess, having accepted that she no longer had anything left in her hands, began to rely on Richard, who was no longer the king.

The fact that he hasn’t received a single reply to the dozens of letters he’s sent to the King means that there are still people watching him, and if so, it’s clear that this miserable state of affairs will never reach the King.

“… … I think you’re a little sweaty. Would you like me to wipe you off?”

“I am not good at this kind of work because my hands are clumsy. I am sorry, but please do it yourself.”

Richard realized that the princess was trying to keep him by her side, contrary to his previous statement that he had no intention of selling his face and body to survive.

But he willingly pushed it all away. He realized that a dirty, stinking human like Richard was not worthy of being next to someone who shined so noblely even when he fell to the bottom.

From the moment he realized that fact, Richard actually distanced himself. His life goal also changed. To send the princess to the best man she could reach.

So Richard refused the princess’s request to help with the household expenses by doing odd jobs, and instead continued to earn money as a mercenary, as he had done in the past.

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It was of course chosen only for honorable missions so as not to bring shame upon the princess’ name.

This strange relationship lasted for four years. Richard’s first digit had long ago changed to 3, and the princess was now in her mid-twenties.

The power struggle within the kingdom was becoming increasingly fierce. Rumors spread that the fifth princess had died for unknown reasons, and news was also heard that the third prince had died in battle.

Richard had hope again. With the three princes dead, he hoped that the queen’s only remaining daughter, the lord, might return to the royal family.

“Richard. A letter has arrived. It is from the royal family.”

Soon after, the princess received her first letter from the royal family in ten years. It was addressed to the king.

“I will give you five hundred soldiers to stop the monsters that have invaded the Aegis Plains.”

“… … It means to tell me to die.”

Richard realized the true meaning of the letter, and who had sent it.

Don’t live in a jingle-like state, just die. Since the three princes were killed in battle, the only remaining bloodline of the queen, the seventh princess, would have a legitimate claim. Of course, not only Richard but also the other side would know that.

That justification is also a greater threat to a mere collateral line than any political enemy in the world.

The onslaught of demons that was supposed to pass through the Aegis Plains was already well-known. The fact that the three princes were killed was because they tried to stop them before they could pass through the plains.

Moreover, it had now merged with the nearby group of monsters, and was much larger than when it had clashed with the Third Prince. Even if the kingdom fought with all its might, it wouldn’t be enough, so why send only five hundred soldiers?

Even if the intention was obvious, it was still very obvious.

“Let’s go, Richard. To die.”

“I will obey your orders.”

But since it was clear that if they refused, they would be accused of yet another crime, the princess and Richard took the five hundred oldest and sickest soldiers they had received as reinforcements and headed to the Plain of Aegis.

And the demon’s attack was repelled.

The princess wrote a letter to him, simply informing him that the attack had been repelled, without any exaggeration or joy. She knew that the First and Second Princes would not be able to end it in one go.

“Another letter has arrived.”

“I guess you were confused because we didn’t die.”

As expected, another sortie order was given with a hint of urgency.

Richard won again.

A letter arrived that seemed even more urgent.

Richard wins again.

Another letter came, and another victory. The repetition of that extremely simple yet absurd sentence continued seven times.

“You know what? People say I’m the goddess of battle. I win every battle I appear in.”

“That’s a funny nickname.

“That’s right. At first, I was with you because I wanted to die with you, but at some point, the soldiers’ morale went up because I was there.”

Naturally, unlike other royals, the name of the princess who appeared on the battlefield and commanded the battle was bound to be known. Looking back, it was quite ironic that she appeared on the battlefield in order to die.

Even after that, the goddess of the battlefield did not die. Despite participating in a total of seventeen battles, the princess and Richard repelled all of the monsters’ attacks.

“There’s a letter from the palace, Richard. Come to the palace for me.”

“Is this a trap?”

“I don’t know. But if I don’t go, it will be a trap in its own right.”

One day, as the rumor spread among the soldiers, the princess received another letter. This time, it was not a letter informing her of a battle, but a letter telling her to return to the palace.

Not only Richard, but even the princess did not believe those words at face value. She had already felt the bitterness of the world to the extent that she would be jumping for joy over a mere letter telling her to come back.

But what awaited the two was a much crueler truth than they had expected. The First and Second Princes themselves stepped forward and arrested the princess and Richard.

“Let go of this! Treason! Why would we do that!”

The charge was treason.

All sorts of fabricated reasons were recited above the heads of the two kneeling men, and bribed witnesses waggled their tongues, but there was something else that broke Richard’s will the most.

It was his past. Unlike other reasons that could only be fabrications since they had never been done, Richard’s past was the truth without any shortcomings.

The First and Second Princes knew that Richard was a knight chosen through a test a long time ago, and they used all their power and force to bring that past into the present and force it before their eyes.

Richard lowered his head, unable to say anything as he listened to the path his old self had walked.

“The sins of a subject are the sins of his superiors! Do you think you can just let it go by putting such a person in a high position?”

“It doesn’t matter! Richard is my knight! My knight! I will judge whether he is guilty or not!”

And that day, Richard saw the princess get angry for the first time in his life. He saw the princess, who had endured all kinds of humiliation silently, get angry for the first time on his behalf.

Of course, it was a story that would not even make sense. The princess was hit in the chest by the first prince’s kick and fell down with the sound of her bones breaking.

Richard, seeing that, stood up with his eyes lit up and rushed at the prince, but with his limbs all tied up, he was unable to do anything. He was immediately beaten to death by nearby knights and fell to the ground next to the princess.

“… …Call my father.”

“Just look at it. What can a person who is sick and cannot even recognize his own child do?”

1 The prince laughed and took the two to the king, and as he had said, the king, who had grown old, did not recognize the princess.

The princess lowered her head weakly and shed tears. Since the third prince died, he had gradually become a wreck, which meant that he had not shown any interest in the princess from the beginning.

“I will execute the traitor!”

The execution of the woman who was once called the Goddess of Battle and the knight who stood beside her was carried out surprisingly quickly. The two were dragged out to the execution grounds before they could even stay in prison for half a day.

While the First and Second Princes themselves were reciting fabricated charges, such as using civilians as shields or bait to lure demons, the previously planted windcatchers were heckling them in all sorts of ways.

“I’m sorry, Richard. I’m sorry… … If only I had been a little stronger… … .”

In the midst of all this, the princess was endlessly repeating tearful apologies as she watched Richard being laid on the scaffold.

“… … .”

Throughout the execution, Richard did not scream even once as his neck was cut off like a saw with the dullest dagger. Instead, he just stared at the two princes with his blood-soaked eyes wide open.

“That damn b*stard… … !”

“Uh, eight! I’m going back now!”

The first prince broke out in a cold sweat, and the second prince, unable to bear it any longer, kicked his seat and left first. Richard had won in the end.

But it was a very small victory compared to its name.

‘In the next life… … definitely… … .’

As his consciousness gradually faded, Richard made a firm resolution.

If there is a next life, if there is a second chance, then no matter what happens, I will become an honorable knight without a single flaw and stay by my lord’s side.

Even when the headless body that had been carelessly abandoned deep in the mountains began to move again, that determination did not change.