The Mad Dog of the Dukes House - Chapter 1



Only Krnovel

There’s a mad dog living in the duke’s house

Episode 1 Prologue. Friends

One.

Stand on the stairs leading to the Emperor’s palace and look down.

There were already numerous corpses littering the stairs.

The night sky, which should have been dark, was already dyed red by flames rising from the ground.

I looked at this hell indifferently. And I smiled bitterly at my friend who was climbing the stairs through that hell.

Maybe I knew this was going to happen a long time ago.

Even though the rebels had breached the palace, the mood was rather exhilarating.

The fact that I am the last knight guarding this palace and that my friend is the leader of the rebels trying to overthrow the mad emperor makes my mind even clearer.

“Come on.”

He forced the corners of his mouth to rise as he slammed the sword he was holding into the floor.

I think that both of us are suffering equally.

Me, who has no choice but to protect the main palace, and that guy who has to overcome me.

The man climbs the stairs wearing silver armor emblazoned with the blue wolf seal that symbolizes his family.

The face of that guy, who was always playful, was now completely distorted.

The guy spoke to me, trying hard to suppress his emotions.

“Surrender. You know what the Emperor is doing right now, don’t you? Surrender immediately and disarm. Then you will live unconditionally. I guarantee it.”

I can even hear the earnestness in my friend’s voice.

But there is only one answer I can give to my friend’s offer of surrender.

I smiled and waved my hand.

“You know that’s nonsense, don’t you? Let’s not waste each other’s time.”

“… … Cain. Please.”

“What can a dog that can’t even guard its own home do if it survives? This time, you give in.”

As I look at that guy walking straight toward me, I suddenly remember the day I first met him.

Was it the day he first entered the palace at the Emperor’s invitation? It was already ten years ago.

He approached me as I was silently swinging my sword in the Imperial Guard training grounds and said this.

-My name is Halo. I am the eldest son of the Duke of Reston. I would like to taste the sword of the Imperial Family, how could I not? They say you are the best in the Empire among my peers.

What a rude guy he was.

At first I just ignored him, but once I rejected him, he really stuck with me.

What did you say? You were curious about the skills of the guard dog that protects the royal family?

Still, I, a former slave who came here just to eat my fill, and that guy who grew up like a greenhouse flower seemed to have gotten along pretty well.

After fighting each other a few times, we naturally developed a friendship.

“Come to think of it, you were a rebel from back then, Halo. I knew you would eventually succeed in your rebellion, didn’t I?”

“Are you saying something like that even at this very moment?”

“So what? He’s going to die soon anyway, so he should say whatever he wants to say. At least it’s better than telling someone you’re not even close to that he’s a dog.”

“I don’t even expect you to surrender. Then just run away. With your skills, you can break through the encirclement and escape anyway.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why on earth?”

In response to the question from a guy who said he didn’t understand, I nodded and pointed to the main palace where the emperor was.

“The Emperor is still alive, how can that be possible? If you really want to save me, subdue me, enter the palace, and kill the Emperor. That is the only way.”

“Why are you like that… … .”

“Do you think His Majesty the Emperor, who is thoroughgoing, would really trust me? I am a person of humble origins, a slave.”

If you seem to say with our great emperor’s Majesty, let’s truly wear it.

It is said that when he was young, he was called a genius and that he would become the greatest general in the Orias Empire.

When His Majesty the Great Emperor passed away in an unexpected accident and the current Emperor ascended to the throne, the people’s expectations were high.

But this is the ending of the emperor who ascended the throne with everyone’s blessing.

To be deposed and judged by rebels.

The reason for the dethronement was also unprecedented.

“The Emperor has made a pact with the devil and is plotting an evil plot!”

What’s even more surprising is that this unlikely rumor turned out to be true.

How on earth did a genius come up with the idea of ​​making a contract with the devil in exchange for his soul?

Maybe the devil paid a very high price for it because it was the blood of the royal family.

“Your Majesty, you must not trust your subordinates at all to the point where you even played a trick on their souls. You really are quite the brat.”

The black magic the Emperor cast when I first entered the palace was so great that even at this moment, I feel the urge to rip out my close friend’s head.

It also meant that the Emperor was still interfering with my mind through black magic.

I suppressed my murderous impulse and pulled out the sword that was stuck in the ground.

Still, I guess it’s time for the emperor to go.

Originally, I would have stabbed Halo with my sword according to the Emperor’s will, but it is no longer at that level.

It means that the emperor’s power has been greatly weakened.

I can’t escape from this main palace, but… … I think I can choose my end.

That’s why I take my sword and slowly go down the stairs.

I’d rather have an ending like this.

I would rather be the last knight to betray my master and run away.

“I’d rather be a foolish villain who supported his foolish master until the end. Right, Halo?”

It is right for it to be recorded that way.

How fortunate I am to be able to decide my own adjectives to be used in history books!

So I feel better than ever.

“Let’s mix swords one last time.”

blow.

One hit is all it takes.

Suppressing the surging impulses, I move forward with only one thought in mind.

“Do you remember our two fight records so far?”

“1 draw, 9 losses.”

“I gave up on that one dance because you said you had a stomachache.”

“Cain.”

Blue energy flows out from Halo’s body.

The purest form of magical power I ever envied.

Unlike the turbid magic that the Emperor had injected into my body, it was a pure magic that had its origins in my pure bloodline.

The magical power becomes an aura and begins to reach out towards my neck.

Woohoo.

A clear resonance echoed from Halo’s sword, and the sword filled with pure magical power was pointed at me.

“Please. You can be happy too. You can live freely! Do you plan on living your whole life as a guard dog and then dying?”

Halo’s voice cracks at the end.

The guy is pleading with me in a dry voice.

“Your Majesty the Duke is worried about the freedom of his slaves. It is truly an honor.”

I smiled as brightly as I could at the suffering Halo.

“Okay, I’ll be happy.”

With those words, he rushed towards the guy.

It was really a fleeting moment.

The black magic flowing out of my body greedily bit the blue magic of the Halo, and my black Halo pierced through its body.

But that’s it.

Soon a burning pain started in the center of my chest and spread throughout my body.

I looked down at my chest and smiled.

Halo’s sword slashed straight through the center of my chest.

And the black one I stabbed.

“Why are you going to sword at the end, this dog!”

“Ah, mistake. I missed the mark.”

It just pierced Halo’s right shoulder.

Halo glares at me with a frown on his face. Maybe it’s just his mood, but I can almost see tears streaming down his face from this punk.

A clumsy bastard.

“… … Is it okay for a hero to kill a villain and then cry like that? You pathetic bastard.”

Blood surges up inside me.

I spat the blood roughly onto the floor, then barely managed to grab Halo’s sword that had pierced my heart.

The most annoying person in my life, but at the same time, the rascal who comforted my boredom.

Unlike me, who lived my entire life as a slave, ruled by fate, this man took charge of his own fate as a noble.

A guy who was my polar opposite, but strangely enough, we got along well.

No, actually, there is nothing to express it in a grand way.

Just one word will do.

“friend.”

The friendship between the mad dog of the palace and the eldest son of the Duke’s house eventually ended here.

The eldest son of the mangnani became a hero.

The mad dog of the palace is a villain.

Isn’t this a rather excessive ending for a guy who lived his whole life without any intention?

“Cain. You idiot.”

Halo grits his teeth as he glares at me.

I said, smirking at that halo.

“This is the first and last decision that a guy who has lived as someone’s dog for 29 years has made on his own. I hope you will respect it.”

A myriad of emotions can be seen swirling across Halo’s face.

But in the end, what remains on the guy’s face is emptiness.

A dejected voice came out of the guy’s mouth, as if he had expected me to do this.

“Is this really the way to make you happy?”

That question couldn’t be answered easily.

I don’t know if I was speechless because of the blood boiling inside me, or because of that question.

But one thing is certain.

“At least you’re less unhappy. Then you must be happier than before.”

With those words, my vision slowly began to turn dark.

I felt the cursed magical power that had supported my body until now dissipate.

“… … Anything you want to say?”

Halo asked me in a flat voice, and I answered quietly with my eyes closed.

“There’s no way.”

It was the end I chose for myself, having lived my entire life as someone’s slave for 29 years.

2.

I keep hearing that guy’s words ring in my ears.

-Is this really the way to make you happy?

happiness.

What is happiness?

Would the word happiness be suitable for me, an orphan who didn’t even know my parents and who had been a slave my entire life?

……I do not know.

Slaves, guard dogs whose souls were tied to the imperial family, did not even have the freedom to be happy on their own.

Still, there was something I truly wished for.

Live the way you want.

Even if other people call me a loser, I do whatever I want to do.

I wish I could live like that guy, just like Halo.

I’m going to find the family of the master who abused and exploited me as a child, and take revenge on them, and I’m going to cut off the head of that crazy emperor.

What’s so special about happiness? If you achieve everything you want, that’s happiness and freedom.

By the way, what is this now?

I’m definitely dead.

If you’re dead, wouldn’t it be normal for you not to have such random thoughts?

I’ve been feeling really warm since a while ago… … Could it be that these devils are heating up a hell for me?

Honestly, it’s such a shame to go to hell.

The emperor’s son sold my soul to the devil, so why am I going to hell because of the emperor’s son even after I die…

“It’s a natural birth.”

“The third young master finally has a son!”

Suddenly, my vision returns to normal.

A number of people were looking down at me, and among them, a middle-aged man was holding me with tears in his eyes.

“Son. My son… … .”

The man, who had been shedding tears for a long time, soon handed me over to someone.

Then, soon, a very familiar face appears in my sight.

“Our youngest grandson.”

Halo.

I think this is exactly what he’ll feel like when he gets old.

“Haha, how can the eyes of a newborn be so fierce? It’s amazing.”

Youngest grandson?

A newborn?

Are you all possessed by the devil as a group? Why are you all talking so long-windedly… … .

But then.

“Ugh!”

… … Huh?

Why is this coming out of my mouth…?

***

That’s how I was reincarnated.

A lowly guard dog of slave origins, he is the youngest grandson of a duke family led by a hero who saved the empire.

To be more precise.

Halo, my friend’s youngest grandson.

There’s a mad dog living in the duke’s house