Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 112: A Twisted Agreement

Before going to sleep that night, Kendrick habitually tidied the room.

His bad reputation was widespread, so he didn’t have any personal servants attending to him closely. Usually, he and Peyton handled small chores themselves. The servants around him were less there to serve him than to watch over him.

His and Peyton’s parents had died early, and the two of them had no property of their own. They relied entirely on the fixed funds given by the family to live.

At present, they occupied only two adjoining rooms in the manor. One empty room served as their living room, and the other as their bedroom. The standard large bed was more than enough, large enough for Peyton to rest together with him.

Right now, Peyton had gone to the bedroom first to pray. Kendrick sorted the results of today’s research, preparing to continue studying magic foundations tomorrow. By the time he finished tidying, night had climbed all over the glass. Kendrick picked up the candlestick and walked to his brother’s seat.

Peyton was an extremely self-disciplined person. His desk was clean even without tidying. Even so, Kendrick still picked up a soft cloth and carefully wiped away a drop of tea stain from the corner of the desk.

Just then, the corner of his eye caught a wisp of faint light. Among the neatly arranged books, something was emitting light on its own.

Could it be a magic device that hadn’t been put away properly?

Kendrick pulled out that book and took out the glowing object. Two opened letters, their envelopes bearing the same scarlet wax seal. Peyton had preserved them very well, without a single crease.

Naturally, Kendrick had no concern for trivial things like “privacy.” He directly opened the envelope and began reading.

The Divine Blood Puppet is an excellent breakthrough point. It allows a person to transfer consciousness and rely on another shell to cast magic.

[Mr. Peyton, you are a true genius. You know the irreversible flaw of a Child of Divine Blood. This is the only solution.

V.O.R]

[Yes, the control principle of the Divine Blood Puppet can likewise be applied to the body of a Child of Divine Blood.

You need only find a completely willing and absolutely cooperative “living sacrifice” and have him exchange consciousness with your brother. I’m willing to help you perfect the relevant magic.

V.O.R]

Peyton had never mentioned these two letters to him.

As for the principle of the Divine Blood Puppet, Peyton had told him about it a few weeks ago. Only, the Divine Blood Puppet technology was controlled by the Stargazers Society, so this path was basically a dead end. Kendrick had little interest in it.

He had thought the Divine Blood Puppet’s use was as a “prosthetic limb,” temporarily attaching consciousness to a magic-device-modified puppet and imitating a normal person’s spellcasting. Now it seemed there was an even more permanent method in the world.

A completely willing and absolutely cooperative living sacrifice… exchanging consciousness…

It sounded perfect.

As for a suitable candidate, Kendrick could only think of Peyton. His older brother was kind to the point of stupidity. If Kendrick pressed him step by step, Peyton might not necessarily refuse.

When it came down to it, Peyton had deliberately kept these two strange letters, so there was probably some consideration in that direction. According to Peyton’s habits, once the timing was right, Peyton might even bring up this matter on his own.

…But compared to a Magibase, Kendrick wanted Peyton to stay alive at his side more.

There was no anger at being hidden from, no hesitant greed. Kendrick gave a cold laugh and, without hesitation, put the envelopes away and returned them between the books. It was as if they weren’t guidance that could change his fate, but two pieces of filthy waste paper.

The instant his fingertips left the envelopes, Kendrick frowned. That strange feeling of being watched had appeared again, like the lick of an icy tongue.

Kendrick’s expression remained normal. He picked up the candlestick piled with candle tears. Firelight danced in those lapis-lazuli eyes, unable to stir even the slightest ripple.

Soon, the time of the End-of-Winter Feast arrived.

Kendrick obediently listened and didn’t stir trouble with anyone. Grandfather allowed him to attend the End-of-Winter Feast, of course, with Peyton accompanying him the entire time.

Kendrick didn’t mention those two strange letters to Peyton, but on the night before the banquet, Peyton brought them up first.

“Ken, at the End-of-Winter Feast, strangers may come speak to you.”

Peyton chose his words carefully. “No matter what they say, don’t spend time with them alone. I will try to stay with you as much as possible. Remember that?”

“No one will speak to me. They will only be interested in you,” Kendrick said indifferently.

Peyton shook his head. “Someone is watching us, Ken. That person is very powerful and knows what we long for. I suspect we have been targeted.”

Only then did Kendrick focus. Thinking of those two strange letters, he couldn’t help saying, “You sound like you’ve hidden something from me.”

“I received some very strange letters.”

After a moment of silence, Peyton spoke frankly. “The manor has strict magical defenses, yet the other party knows our movements clearly and can send letters here out of thin air.”

“The sender is called V.O.R. V.O.R suggested that we exchange bodies, so you could obtain my magic, and I…”

“No.” Kendrick refused decisively. “There is no help without reason. He definitely wants to obtain something from us.”

Peyton nodded.

“However, setting that person aside, this method is feasible. I don’t mind losing all my magic and spending the rest of my life serving the God of Cadence. I…”

“No.” Kendrick refused again, his expression so dark it looked as if water might drip from it. “We’re going to hunt wanted criminals together. Like that, you would drag me down.”

Peyton smiled and sighed, rubbing Kendrick’s black hair.

“In any case, be careful at the banquet,” he said gently.

……

At the start, the dinner was calm.

Kendrick’s bad reputation was widespread. The nobles of Serpentis more or less knew his situation, and those peers who had tried to tease him had more or less tasted his cold gaze and fists. In this kind of setting, Kendrick didn’t need to be responsible for socializing.

Peyton dealt with people in his place. From time to time, he had to carry a wine glass and walk a few steps away, smiling and greeting those unfamiliar faces.

They had only one task tonight. Kendrick was to display his self-control and not behave too frighteningly. Peyton was to establish a connection with a certain Kingdom Archmage’s student and seek an opportunity for his younger brother’s “further studies.”

Kendrick leaned in a corner, eating the fatty foie gras on bread while watching Peyton not far away.

Peyton was already eighteen, more than half a head taller than fifteen-year-old Kendrick.

His figure was straight, his face gentle, and he was also a somewhat famous genius. Many girls secretly cast admiring gazes at him. Only, because of Kendrick, the notorious burden, no one dared approach him to speak.

Kendrick felt no guilt about this at all, much less any sense of wrongdoing. On the contrary, he was extremely satisfied with the current situation, as if the world should have been like this in the first place.

He lifted the cup filled with clear water before his eyes, placing the smiling Peyton inside the cup. Peyton’s figure was distorted by the swaying liquid, as if submerged inside the long, narrow goblet.

After watching for a while, Kendrick withdrew his gaze. He took himself another small plate of offal pudding, tucked it between his teeth, and chewed it slowly, boredly passing the time.

Just then, he smelled a trace of blood.

Kendrick quickly turned his head and discovered a girl standing not far behind him. The maid’s daughter, the one he had almost strangled to death. He had long forgotten her name.

The girl held a medium-sized white cloth bundle in her arms, and deep-red bloodstains seeped from the cloth. She had grown a little since their first encounter, and her eyes stared straight at Kendrick. Then those protruding eyes slowly shifted toward Peyton.

The girl stared fixedly at Peyton and revealed a neurotic smile. She abruptly turned and ran toward a dark corridor. A few drops of blood dripped from the bundle, falling onto the smooth marble.

…Why was she here?

Kendrick had no time to think further. In the next instant, an even more fatal thought struck him.

The way that girl had looked at Peyton was wrong. Those eyes were filled with malice, and Kendrick was more familiar with that than anyone. Every day, he saw his own eyes in the mirror, and that gaze was largely the same as hers.

Something was very wrong.

But it was aimed at Peyton. He couldn’t gamble, even if the probability was only one in ten million.

The girl was about to run out of sight, and Peyton was still talking to important people. It would be too late to find him. Kendrick grabbed a handful of sharp forks and quickly chased after her.

He was only going to take a look, Kendrick emphasized to himself as he jogged. He only planned to chase her a few steps, check the situation, and make sure this girl wouldn’t be a threat to Peyton in the short term.

The girl ahead sensed his presence and walked faster and faster. Kendrick sped up after her and rounded the corner of the corridor. This place seemed to be an unopened corner of the venue. Aside from locked room doors and an empty corridor, there was only a small fountain without running water.

Kendrick hesitantly slowed his steps. This girl didn’t look like she was going to take another path to sneak into the banquet hall, and he was about to leave the servants’ line of sight. He would be better off turning back and telling Peyton the whole situation in detail.

Unfortunately, she didn’t give him the chance.

The instant Kendrick retreated, she split her mouth open in a grin and flung away that bloodstained bundle.

Kendrick subconsciously reached out to block, but there was nothing in that bundle. It merely fell slowly before him, wiping away the world he had seen before.

Where was there any bloodstained cloth bundle, the maid’s daughter? Before him, there was only a completely unfamiliar little girl, who looked not even ten years old.

Facing Kendrick, who held forks in his hand, she was so frightened her face turned deathly pale, unable even to cry. One small hand pressed against the necklace on her chest, and the cute heart-shaped pendant flickered with faint light.

No, Kendrick thought, stunned.

He felt his face itch a little and subconsciously reached up to touch it. He touched warm blood.

“Ken!” The shout behind him drew closer and closer. It was Peyton.

Kendrick relaxed slightly. His feet softened, and he was narrowly caught by Peyton as he arrived. Waves of dizziness and weakness surged up like the sea, nearly smashing his consciousness apart.

A young man had also rushed to the scene. He quickly ran to the little girl and held the sobbing child in his arms. “What happened?”

“That monster chased me with forks!” The little girl burst into tears. “I, I used the protective magic device my brother gave me, sob…”

“A Nebra family curse magic device?” Peyton was frantic.

“It paralyzes a person’s Magibase, makes their whole body weak, and is completely non-lethal.”

The young man holding the girl spoke coldly. “You should manage your brother properly, Peyton Karns. He is now mad enough to attack even a little girl.”

“Fuck you, it’s non-lethal to ‘people with Magibase’!”

Peyton rarely cursed. “Without a Magibase, that curse will burn out his brain!”

Surprise flashed across the young man’s face, but it quickly disappeared. “I’m very sorry, but the main responsibility for this matter does not lie with the Nebra family.”

“I must settle my sister first. After the banquet ends, I will explain the situation to the Karns family.”

After speaking, he carried the utterly shaken little girl and quickly left the dried fountain, leaving the two brothers in this dim corner.

There it was again.

In a daze, Kendrick thought that he once again felt that watchful, stabbing pain. He struggled to turn his head. In his gradually blurring vision, he saw the little girl being carried by her relative. The girl’s face rested on her brother’s shoulder, revealing an unnatural smile, as if the corners of her mouth had been lifted by invisible fingers.

The next instant, she returned to that panicked, confused appearance.

And his own brother was holding him in terror, pulling out bottle after bottle of emergency rescue potions from his pocket. Peyton rapidly chanted something, and pale-blue radiance condensed in his hand, trying to heal the wound he couldn’t see.

…So that was how it was, Kendrick thought.

He had been deceived by some existence and lured away with illusions. That child, because she carried a special protective magic device, had been controlled by some existence and brought here.

This was a damned stage. He and that little girl were nothing but marionettes. And the hand holding the strings wanted only to show all of this to Peyton.

Kendrick Karns went mad again and accidentally provoked the isolated young lady of the Nebra family, a ridiculous and pathetic accident.

…But that wasn’t the truth, Brother. I didn’t attack her.

Kendrick wanted to speak, but his mouth seemed no longer under his control. Potion flowed down the corner of his mouth, and he could not even swallow.

This is a conspiracy, Brother. Don’t do the thing you’re thinking of.

“Ken, Ken.”

Peyton gritted his teeth. “Damn it. I’ll do anything, anything at all, as long as you can live…”

Swish.

Kendrick forced his eyes wide open and watched that familiar envelope drift down onto his chest.

Peyton freed one trembling hand and roughly tore the envelope open.

[Farewell, Mr. Peyton, my dear friend.

Redemption Puppet, we shall meet again in the season of harvest.

—V…]

Before Peyton could finish reading the letter, Kendrick grabbed the paper in one hand. In his gradually vanishing consciousness, he squeezed out his last strength and shook his head hard.

But Peyton laughed, as if Kendrick’s action had given him immense comfort.

He bent down and kissed Kendrick’s forehead. His movement was unbelievably gentle, as if kissing farewell to his closest kin lying inside a coffin.

An even greater dizziness enveloped Kendrick. His head sank and struck something warm. Only in the next instant did he realize that he was holding a body in his arms.

…The body that should have belonged to him.

At the same time, Kendrick sensed the rapidly forming storm inside his body.

That was a power close to a god. It responded to Peyton’s wish, like an embryo rapidly taking shape.

How ironic. The first moment he obtained this divine power, Peyton exchanged their bodies without the slightest hesitation. He wasn’t even willing to wait a few more seconds, to wait until this divine power had fully fused with him.

He knew that it could give him supreme power, allowing him to connect different shells and exchange the souls inside those shells. It would give him an absolute kingdom… but Peyton wouldn’t be in that kingdom.

Kendrick rejected that power without hesitation, preventing it from fully fusing with him.

In the next instant, he called out to his original body. He wanted to switch back. He wanted Peyton to return to this intact and healthy body.

However, he received no response.

Kendrick Karns’s brain was like something that had been stirred apart. Peyton had vanished inside that fragile soft flesh. In another dozen seconds, this body would stop breathing.

Peyton hadn’t had time to heal, hadn’t had time to hesitate, hadn’t had time to say goodbye. All of it was only because of one small mistake. A few short minutes ago, Kendrick had seen someone he shouldn’t have seen and taken a step he shouldn’t have taken.

They shouldn’t have ended up like this, Kendrick thought.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Peyton’s intact body hadn’t given him an intact heart. While furious, Kendrick could actually still think smoothly.

Since V.O.R. had deliberately created this situation, forcing Peyton to exchange bodies and making Kendrick fully receive that strange power… 

Then he would deliberately make him “fail.” At present, it seemed V.O.R. could grant them power close to a god, but couldn’t see through their hearts.

If, during the process of making a wish and obtaining power, the one who made the wish “regretted it,” what would happen?

Peyton had exchanged too early, leaving him a few short seconds that could be used for disguise. Within those dark and long seconds, Kendrick silently made a decision.

While using that surging magic to “heal” Kendrick’s body in a convincing manner, he secretly concentrated and controlled the body that had originally belonged to him.

Controlling a Child of Divine Blood was even simpler than he had imagined controlling a Divine Blood Puppet would be. Kendrick easily controlled it to raise a hand and made that fork stab toward “his” right eye.

“Stop healing me. Give me your body!” He controlled that body and made it roar indistinctly. “You can’t even heal a defensive curse, you useless… useless…”

If V.O.R’s script was for Peyton, who had no ambition, to disappear in his place…

Then he would make it so Peyton hadn’t immediately exchanged but had used his newly obtained divine power to heal him. Then, during the healing, he had been severely injured by the mad Kendrick.

In this way, he would no longer be able to remain firm in that obsession and wholeheartedly make a wish for his younger brother. That divine power would be unable to truly take root.

The mad “Kendrick’s” mind became even more shattered, and he was sent far away by the family. Poor Peyton would lose all hope and go to the monastery for ascetic penance.

…No. He would go to the monastery together with his brother, just as they had agreed.

Next, they would hunt down a wretch who deserved nothing but death, just as they had agreed.

Amid the severe pain, Kendrick touched his shattered right eye.

Blood fell like rain, soaking the signature on the letter.

V.O.R.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Wow I was not expecting this kind of twist. Now I feel kind of bad for Kendrick…

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