TCGNPC c33

The crowd, which had been vocally criticizing the Count, suddenly fell silent at his remark.

A hush descended instantly.

“Yes, of course.”

Though taken aback for a moment, I quickly pulled out a new potion from my pocket.

“C-Count, it’s dangerous!”

One of the servants bravely attempted to dissuade him, but Adam nonchalantly took the bottle from me.

“I am the one who ordered her to eliminate the monster.”

“…”

“So, it’s only right that I prove whether this potion is real or fake.”

“C-Count!”

The aide, not expecting Adam to act this way, discarded his mask of loyalty and showed his true colors.

“This is unacceptable! Don’t you realize who’s safety is in my hands after all this time…?!”

But even mentioning Selena couldn’t stop Adam.

“Aaaah!”

“Count!”

As someone’s feeble scream rang out, the Count, having already uncorked the bottle, poured the ominous liquid over his head.

The transparent water dripped down Adam’s face.

His brilliant golden hair shone like the sun’s rays, not betraying a hint of yellow liquid.

‘He’s really a main character.’

I had expected him to be more of an old-fashioned, stoic sort, both in person and in character.

Yet, with just a splash of water, Adam transformed into a figure of sexy allure, leaving me speechless.

It was all the more surprising since he had always been so impeccably controlled, to the point of being labeled an NPC.

I honestly hadn’t expected him to help me based on his reaction just moments before.

‘It must mean he’s desperate to save Selena.’

My heart felt heavy.

Catching the boss was easy, but I realized I needed to be more serious in dealing with Adam, who was going to such lengths.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing happened!”

“Count! Are you alright?!”

As time passed and nothing happened to Adam, people alternately looked at him, his aide, and me with puzzled expressions.

It was obvious. The potion was not harmful at all.

“Now you see the proof.”

Adam said nonchalantly, throwing the empty potion bottle at the aide’s feet.

Clank, tinkle―!

The sound of marble and glass colliding was loud and attention-grabbing.

“I’m fine as ever, and yet the knight’s death remains a mystery.”

“Ha… How do we know if the Count isn’t in league with that witch?!”

The aide shouted, red-faced, as all eyes turned to him.

‘What a fool. To insult the master of the house.’

The situation was unfolding as I had anticipated, and I felt a great sense of relief.

“Let’s find out whose word is true. Apothecary, distribute the potion among the servants.”

“Oh, there’s no need for that.”

I quickly pulled out my monster tranquilizer gun, the potion already loaded.

“This will do the trick much faster.”

“Th-that…!”

The aide’s face turned pale the moment he recognized what I was holding.

“C-Count! This is unthinkable…!”

“Everyone, please gather around for an easier target.”

Ignoring the man who was desperately shouting at Adam, I asked the servants to come closer.

The servants in the hall split into two distinct groups.

One group approached hesitantly despite their suspicions, while the other trembled and slowly backed away.

With a mischievous smile, I naturally walked towards those who were retreating.

That was when it happened.

“Stop this, Count. Proceeding like this could endanger Miss Selena.”

A new figure appeared in the noisy lobby.

Screeeech…

The sound of rolling, rusty wheels made Adam’s gaze, which had been fixed on the aide, sharply turn.

At the end of his gaze was…

“…Butler.”

An old man pushing a wheelchair with a sleeping Selena.

[Butler Frank Hampston]

It wasn’t surprising that no one had questioned the absence of the man in charge of the house during this commotion.

Instead, my own foreboding feeling of unease about this seemingly insignificant extra was more chilling.

‘…So the butler was a host too.’

Whether he was more strongly exposed to the magical energy or not, it was clear to anyone that the butler’s eyes were darkly stained.

The web-like veins on his eyelids and face were quite sinister.

“Mr. Butler! What are you doing? Why are you bringing out the sick Miss Selena…?”

Someone among the sane ones worriedly confronted the butler about Selena’s condition.

But he resolutely pushed the wheelchair, eventually reaching the center of the lobby as if representing all the hosts.

“What are you doing, butler?”

Startled by Selena’s sudden appearance, Adam gritted his teeth and asked. The butler responded evasively.

“This old man has served the Count closely alongside the aide for many years. I can swear that I have been more devoted to the Count than anyone else.”

“…”

“Recently, however, I could not understand the Count’s actions with my limited insight.”

Pausing for a moment, he looked at Adam with eyes filled with sorrow and despair.

His pupils, darkly dilated, briefly showed despair. It wasn’t an act.

‘Is he completely under control?’

Just when I was pondering about it…

Thud.

Suddenly, the butler knelt in front of Adam and pleaded desperately.

“You have a duty to protect us at all costs, Count.”

“So, have I ever failed in that duty?”

“Then why didn’t you keep a closer eye on the sinner on the tower and suppress them?”

“…”

“It wasn’t just the criminal. You ignored my repeated advice about Bill’s suspicious behavior and other servants, and from a certain point, you took no action!”

People gasped as they watched the butler pointing at the aide and shouting, each showing a surprised expression.

I was no different.

It was the first time I saw someone so clearly articulate their will without losing their mind under the control of the parasitic monster.

‘Could he have been a host from the beginning?’

To confront and accuse the boss like this would require unwavering will and conviction.

Like a punishment for his defiance, black tears began to stream from the butler’s eyes.

“Ugh…”

As if a consequence of his act, the butler groaned in pain, clutching his heart.

The gruesome black veins that had sprouted around his eyes spread across his entire face.

But he continued to speak, gasping for breath but undeterred.

“Is it all for Miss Selena? Are you willing to abandon dozens and hundreds of your people for just one girl, Count?!”

“Shut your mouth, Frank.”

Adam’s expression hardened as he sharply retorted.

“Are you trying to tell me that your life is important, but Selena’s is disposable?”

“What’s the point of living any longer in this old, worn-out body…? But everyone here has families, too!”

“…”

“This is their homeland, cultivated with sweat and blood since ancient times, Count!”

“…”

“Please, I beg you, don’t abandon us.”

With black tears streaming down his face, the butler cried out desperately to Adam.

It seemed almost as if he was shedding tears of blood.

‘So the butler knew it all.’

He knew about the sinner trapped in the tower and Adam’s thoughts.

He knew that Selena would die if she was exposed to sunlight, and that the dark force within her couldn’t be removed by ordinary means.

Of course, there was an easy way out.

It was to abandon her, and the dark force along with its boss could be eradicated.

However…

‘…Who could easily sacrifice their family?’

Adam must have been desperately searching for another way.

“You were the one who first noticed and personally dealt with the few servants who caused dissent. And yet, at some point, you stopped taking any action!”

Perhaps he had already realized the situation before I arrived and desperately sought a way to stop it.

He probably kept searching until he decided to put Selena into a potion-induced sleep.

Hoping that, in the final moments, to spare his young sister any pain.

That was when I had a premonition.

‘…Maybe, just maybe, that the immunity route isn’t the end of it.’

Adam’s strangely calm acceptance of the disaster seemed to confirm my grim suspicion.

As if to prove it, the butler continued to bash his head on the ground in a standoff with Adam.

“Quickly kill all the monsters roaming the mansion, torture the sinner, and save this land, Count!”

“…”

“The late Count, your father, and Miss Selena would have wanted that!”

“I will not abandon you.”

“Then why… Why aren’t you taking any action?!”