The Duchy’s Madman

It was a strange life.

If you go back to the beginning, you’ll find a strange life where you don’t even know where to start.

I was born as the only son of a ducal family, but I was exiled as I was deprived of everything by the people below me.

There aren’t that many options for a noble who is expelled from his family.

The best option among them is, of course to preserve the dignity as a nobleman by committing suicide.

But being the fool that I was, I wandered around the continent without being able to do even that.

Then, by chance, I was able to awaken the power of the duke’s lineage.

A bizarre ability to absorb the talents of others.

Thanks to this, I was able to recover my tired body from these long wanderings, but as a side effect, I had a different way of thinking than others.

I have gone crazy.

It was obvious that I was crazy as I was muttering to myself and my tone had become strange.

Although the incurable disease I had suffered for a long time was cured, I could not return to my family in this mad state.

So after thinking about it, I finally decided to continue wandering.

As I was once again wandering aimlessly across the continent.

A rumor which I overheard shook my resolve.

My family.

It was rumored that the Bavarian duchy had perished.

I hurriedly returned to the duchy to check whether the rumors were true.

There was nothing left to check.

My younger sister was nowhere to be seen, and my mother was now a cold corpse.

Not only that, but everything else in the house was now in the hands of those who killed my mother.

Driven mad by the horror of the situation, I took up the blade for vengeance.

Fortunately, the Duke’s bloodline powers allowed me to make some significant gains.

I cut off the heads of several people who made the duchy like this.

But I couldn’t kill the people who banished me and destroyed my family.

Instead, I was dying at their hands.

“It’s  pathetic until the end.”

With that murmur, I laughed.

Ever since I had gone crazy, sometimes I couldn’t control my laughter.

“Even if I had to die, I would have loved to kill those people  who made my mother and sister like that.”

After licking my lips, I raised my head to look up.

I could see the rainy sky.

Against the dark clouds, I asked

“If I were going to die like this anyway, why didn’t you just kill me with my family, God?”

Instead of answering my prayer-like question, blood poured from my chest.

“… Ah.”

Another wave of pain washed over me.

I finally gave up, unable to overcome the weight of the heavy eyelids that were gradually closing.

Just like that, I thought I was dead.

“……!”

Until a week ago.

* * *

Arthur looked down at his body and thought.

“I’m back in the past, huh?”

A week ago, 30-year-old Arthur Bayern had become 15-year-old Arthur Bayern.

As proof for that, instead of the body of a 30-year-old Arthur with scars on it, I saw the body of a thin boy who hadn’t even finished growing up yet.

However, it wasn’t just the body that got younger.

“Wow… am I back to my senses?”

The world, which had been dyed red ever since I had gone mad, has regained its color.

At this fact, Arthur was genuinely surprised and murmured.

“My mental illness, is it cured?”

A mental illness that no one has ever been able to cure?

So Arthur was able to realize that he had returned to the past.

“Because the only way for a madman to become a normal person is by being reborn.”

The question is, “How did I get back to the past?”

As he was pondering about this, He heard a familiar voice beyond the doorway.

“Master.”

It was the butler, Sebastian.

“It’s time for your medicine.”

I came to my senses and stuttered like an idiot. After all,  At this time I was a stutterer.

“yes….”

“… okay. How are you feeling today? master?”

Sebastian, who understood his stuttering, put  the teacup down and asked a question.

Arthur answered, stuttering just like he had done a moment ago.

“I feel good…”

“I’m glad to hear that. Are you going to take your medicine now?”

“I’ll take them later and get tested.”

Sebastian nodded.

“You must take them, master, as it’s a medicine that was hard to get for your disease.”

Arthur nodded in agreement.

“yes… .”

After hearing the answer, Sebastian left the room.

After confirming that his steps were farther away, Arthur turned his gaze to the medicine which Sebistian had brought.

“hmm… .”

Just like in the past, it indeed looked like an ordinary pill on the surface.

‘It’s a medicine to cure my stuttering due to an unknown disease.’

However, thanks to my future knowledge, I now know the true identity of this pill.

This medicine which I was taking to treat my illness was actually the poison that fueled my illness to grow.

So Arthur picked up the medicine and crushed it with his foot.

Kwajik-!

Powdered medicine flew around the room.

Watching this scene, Arthur stroked his chin.

‘Sebastian, he is the same as ever. If he’s bringing the same poison again, I’m going to believe that he’s the same.’

Well, considering his true identity, it wasn’t too surprising.

He was member of the family that had been in the forefront of destroying duke of Bavaria in the future.

He was Dormund’s triumvirate.

“And Dormund was the most loyal henchman of the second prince, Khan Madrid, who ordered the destruction of Bavaria.”

The past me, who did not know this fact, became a stuttering idiot by taking the medicine given to him by the traitor every day.

Of course, I wont stutter now because I didn’t take the medicine, but the situation wasn’t over.

Sebastian still gave me the poison and checked on my condition every day.

“That’s not strange , it’s going to be a surprise when he finds out I’m not taking the poison.”

‘In other words, i have to get rid of the butler Sebistian before that happens… But How should I do it?’

Shall I go and kill him right now?

Arthur, who was pondering, gasped.

“No. I can’t act like I did in the past anymore.”

Back then, I was insane enough to kill the enemies who destroyed Bavaria without hesitation, but not now.

“I came back to my senses, but there’s no need to do it like that.”

There is no need to kill Sebastian while standing out.

It was best to slit his throat very quietly or use his head to knock him out.

“I’m not a madman anymore, so I’ll have to get revenge like a normal person.Not just  wield a sword as ignorantly as I used to.”

Then Sebastian’s voice was heard again.

“Young master, you have a visitor.The third son of Count Dormund .”

Arthur, lost in thought, shuddered and muttered.

“Bill Dormund came to see me?”

* * *

Bill Dormund is the third son of Count Dormund.

He was one of the enemies that I had failed to kill in my last life.

‘I should have killed him first, but I couldn’t.’

Bill Dormund was less capable than other sons of the count, but he was cunning and perspective.

Bill was the first to disappear as soon as rumors spread that I was out to take revenge on those who destroyed the Bavarian family.

‘He showed up around the time of my death and mocked me. He was so excited at that time.’

 laughing behind the back of his first and second brothers.

However, this guy appeared in front of me on his own.

“Hey dumbass.”

With that face and expression he remembered. Arthur’s expression became ambiguous.

‘Is it an opportunity? Or a trap?’

The enemy whom I had been searching for so long appeared on his own, it was so hard to not kill him.

‘Hadn’t I vowed a while ago that I would no longer act thoughtlessly?’

But if I kill him now, it would be no different from the past.

‘However, that doest mean I won’t kill him’

Arthur stroked his chin in thought

Bill frowned and opened his mouth.

“Where is your sister? I came to see that b*tch, and she’s nowhere to be found. Could it be that you hid her, mute?”

Arthur regained his senses at his words.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been called that.’

Stuttering isn’t the same as being mute, but it’s a nickname deliberately used to belittle oneself.

but Arthur didn’t care much about that.

Not only Bill but, in the past, everyone who looked down on him called himself mute.

‘I was called “mute Confucius” because of my awkward speech.’

So I was able to pass this teasing off as nothing but Irene ,whom Bill mentioned.

My sister was different.

‘Do you dare mention Irene?’

The reason I wanted to kill Bill Dormund was because of my sister.

Bill Dormund always coveted my younger sister, Irene, until the Bavarian family was destroyed.

He was forcibly engaged to my sister.

Five years after that, Irene committed suicide.

‘I don’t know if it was suicide or his handiwork, but rumor has it that she was beaten to death as she was thrown out to the street.’

So Arthur tried to kill Bill.

‘I’m a madman, but I don’t touch the enemy’s family, but this guy crossed the line.’

But now that Bill Dormund has mentioned Irene again after I returned to the past.

I have plenty of reasons to kill him, but he crossed the line again in the middle of it.

“Should I kill him?”

Arthur’s head tilted to one side as he pondered.

A good idea flashed through his head.

“Oh, that’s right.”

“…?”

“If I can’t kill him, I can at least wound him enough so that he won’t die, and it’ll be a lot  easier to clean up afterward.”

Arthur’s murmur startled Bill, who was in front of him.

“You!, How are you not stuttering?”

As he said this, Arthur suddenly kicked Bill’s foot hard.

The unexpected blow sent Bill to the ground.

“…!?”

Bill, dumbfounded, struggled belatedly, but to no avail.

It was because Arthur, who had climbed on top of him at some point, blocked the movement.

“What, what?”

Bill exclaimed in surprise as Arthur lowered his head.

At that moment, a high-pitched voice pierced Bill’s ears.

“I’m going to gouge out your right eyeball Now Please bear with me,Bill.”