Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 161

Jarkoff had known about this secret room from the beginning.

Shortly before his betrayal was revealed, the Marquis had taught him everything about the secret space here and how to enter it.

Of course, it wasn’t unusual for mansions of high nobles like the Bluebeard family or royalty to have a few secret passages.

But this place, where Jeanne resided, was meant to be used only as an absolute last resort, and he had been strictly warned not to enter carelessly before then.

If Jarkoff had been much younger, curiosity might have driven him to enter, but having grown somewhat, he faithfully followed his father’s orders.

Then on that fateful day, when he grew suspicious of the Marquis’s final words to destroy the secret space, all truth shattered to pieces.

That single diary sitting atop the drawer.

That diary, which had existed since before Jarkoff’s birth, contained all of the Marquis’s greatest secrets laid bare.

* * *

‘This must be fate. Jeanne is destined to be my soulmate. If it’s not my destiny, I’ll seize it with my own power.’

‘It’s natural for flies to be drawn to a beautiful flower like Jeanne, but it’s utterly disgusting. They all need to be eliminated. This is what noble power is for.’

‘I’ll never forget this day for the rest of my life. Jeanne is now mine. I won’t give her to anyone. She’s mine. Only mine.’

‘A son was born. Jeanne looked happier than ever before. More than when she was with me.’

‘I can’t stand it. I absolutely cannot stand it. Jeanne is only mine. She should only look at me. Why does she smile like that at that tiny, ugly lump of flesh? Why?’

‘The poison I bought for a fortune proved useful. It was fortunate that I prevented Jeanne from joining the Order. If she had trained to become a higher-ranked hunter, there would have been nothing I could do. Though Jeanne can no longer smile at me now, she’s still mine.’

‘What have I done? Has a curse entered my mind? If only I could turn back time. Oh God, please. Please give Jeanne back. My son Jarkoff, never forgive this foolish father.’

‘Can I trust that strange sorcerer? Will she really bring Jeanne back?’

‘If I die, I will fall into hell. I betrayed everything. My family name, my family, my people. But if I can meet Jeanne again, it’s all a small price to pay. And perhaps, just perhaps, I might not have to die. If I could be with Jeanne and my precious son Jarkoff forever in a world without death…’

* * *

When he read that diary, Jarkoff was shocked.

Shock.

There was no other way to describe it.

Though he couldn’t understand, he could accept that his father had betrayed humanity to revive his mother.

It could be explained simply as doing so because he loved her too much.

But the contents written in this diary…

His father, that respected father, had even seen him as an obstacle to love.

And after taking his mother away from him, he had the audacity to feel regret afterward.

If he hadn’t shown remorse, Jarkoff could have at least felt pure resentment, but this cunning that left even a shred of sympathy…

The pure boy that remained faintly within Jarkoff vanished without a trace from this single diary.

And as Jarkoff raged alone in this basement, Jeanne spoke to him.

No, more precisely, Bari spoke through Jeanne’s corpse.

“Get out! You witch! Everything’s ruined because of you! Everything broke because you existed!”

At that time, Jarkoff screamed and hurled every curse he could think of at his mother’s corpse.

From lips that had only learned proper words since birth, he poured out every vile word he could muster for the first time in his life.

Bari listened quietly to all of it.

And when Jarkoff finally collapsed, gasping for breath, Bari spoke again.

“That’s right. Your life became very unfortunate because of me.”

“Is… is that all you have to say?! Get out of my sight right now!! I said get out forever!!!”

“If I disappear forever from your sight right now, what will remain?”

“What?!”

“What can you do? Will you live on so miserably as the son of a traitor? As a prisoner of the Hunting Order?”

“You… you’re trying to bewitch me too now! Do you think I’ll fall for it like Father?! If I kill you right here…”

Bari snapped her fingers.

Chains with skull heads emerged from the floor, binding Jarkoff completely and forcing him to his knees.

“Ugh?! You, you vile…”

“Hehe…”

“…Fine then. Just kill me. I have nothing left. What’s the point in living so pathetically? Just… kill me now.”

“Is that truly what you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if you really have nothing left.”

“Still trying to mock me…!”

“Hilde Grimm.”

“…!?”

“The Marquis told me many things. The name of the girl you often met in childhood, and how much you love her. He even proudly boasted that his son took after him.”

“If you dare lay a hand on Hilde, I’ll never forgive…”

“And I also know who has her heart.”

“…”

Jarkoff lowered his head.

“Haha… truly a witch through and through. To toy with people like this…”

“My, I have no intention of mocking you. Love is a beautiful human emotion. If anything, I’d like to support it?”

“…If you really heard so much from Father, you must know there’s no chance of Hilde coming to me. Though I tried to separate them, it was completely useless.”

The plan had failed spectacularly.

Moreover, it was becoming increasingly clear that Hilde was falling deeper for Eugene.

Plus what he saw at that hospital…

Hilde had embraced that man with an expression she had never once shown to Jarkoff.

Though jealousy drove Jarkoff to try investigating even the slightest dirt in Eugene’s past, the more he learned, the more he discovered only the man’s nobility and indomitable will.

It was pathetic.

He never imagined he would feel such misery over a mere commoner.

“Yes… He truly was a flawlessly good person. To a nauseating degree… He suited Hilde.”

“Ah, indeed. That human is certainly a difficult opponent. Young, healthy, and moral. Plus an unwavering heart. No wonder that girl fell for him.”

“Haha, are you mocking me? But you’re not wrong. Yes, you’re right. Hilde won’t come to me now… Even a witch like you falls for that man, why would Hilde be any different…”

“Hehehe…”

“What’s so funny?”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something… I don’t particularly like that human.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing, but he’s interfered with my plans several times already. To be hindered by such a weak lower-ranked hunter, I can’t just let that slide… So I was thinking…”

Bari smiled gently.

“Why don’t we kill him?”

“…What?”

“Let’s quietly kill that human. The enemy who stole your Hilde.”

“Kill…? Eugene…?”

“Yes. It’s not even difficult, is it? He’s just a lower-ranked hunter. A simple push from a high place would do it.”

“What are you plotting?”

“Not plotting, but proposing a deal. Help me kill Eugene.”

“…What guarantee is there that Hilde will come to me even then? Besides, if she finds out I did it…”

“I can take all the responsibility. We’re enemies anyway.”

“…Just who are you? Are you really a witch?”

The ‘witch’ Jarkoff referred to wasn’t in the true sense, but merely a derogatory term for women.

Like Red Hood Karen, the mother of Beasts and master of curses.

“Hehe, a witch… Does that matter? Isn’t this your chance? A chance to reclaim your only love, Hilde.”

“Reclaim…”

“Yes. Reclaim her. From that human…”

“Ha, hahaha…”

Jarkoff lowered his head and giggled.

“I see. So this is your scheme? To push me into ruin like this again?”

“What do you mean?”

“I read that diary. Father killed Mother. You want me to do the same thing?”

“…Is that wrong?”

“You think I wouldn’t know after witnessing Father’s end? I’ll surely regret it. And someday…”

“The Marquis simply failed. That’s all. Everyone’s plans go wrong sometimes. And conversely… they can succeed too. If not for that hunter, the plan would have succeeded. Then as the Marquis wished, you, your mother, and the Marquis could have been happy together… That hunter ruined everything at the end.”

“…You want me… to join hands with you…?”

“Yes. Just for killing that hunter. After that, you can do as you wish. It’s not uncommon for nobles, is it? Joining hands with enemies when necessary.”

The skull chains binding Jarkoff fell away.

“…Just this once.”

He stood up and said.

“Just once, I’ll kill that hunter… and free Hilde from him.”

“As you wish.”

* * *

Bari returned her consciousness from Jeanne back to the flower garden where she had been.

This Western Garden had been filled only with black flowers until recently.

But now blue flowers were appearing, and even occasional yellow ones were beginning to show.

It was evidence that the seal placed by the eldest witch sister was breaking and power was returning.

Good news, but at the same time, the same must be true for her other sisters.

There was much to be done.

When competing among equals, using wit rather than force was the way.

Disrupting equilibrium and clouding eyes was a standard move, but equally difficult to achieve.

Their powers and purposes were far too different from each other.

That’s why in the last battle, she had turned her attention to humans.

Humans were the only overlapping domain between them.

Just as Bari led humans to become the dead.

Belle led humans to become hunters.

Margarete led humans to become mirror images.

Rusalka led humans to become Deep Sea Folk.

Vasilisa led humans to become ashes.

Karen led humans to become Beasts.

That was about the extent of what they shared.

But… this time was different.

She had seen it clearly on that mountain.

Margarete and Rusalka fighting over a single human.

And even Belle’s marks on that human’s neck.

“Hehe, hehehehe…”

Though it would have been unbelievable 500 years ago, it was now undeniable reality.

Just claiming this one human could shake three sisters.

She absolutely had to obtain him.

It was certainly that hunter she had met at Spider Castle months ago.

Even the Thumbelina that Bari had created had become bound to that hunter.

Perhaps that hunter had some special mental interference against witches?

If so, that would be frightening but…

“Even then, he’s in the palm of my hand. Mental interference can simply be blocked.”

Bari smiled confidently.

When it came to humans, Bari was confident.

“Yes… In the end, I’ll be the one to claim him…”

Bari unconsciously stroked her arm.

The human warmth she had felt when facing Eugene seemed to linger like an echo, but she didn’t notice as the cool wind blowing from afar covered it.