The middle-aged High Priest carefully poured holy water over the child's head. The sound of water falling down the fountain and the solemn voice of the High Priest echoed through the garden.
"Under the protection of the World Tree, I baptize you in the name of the Holy Spirit."
Maximilian, his hair soaked, grinning, not knowing anything.
This was the end of the final procedure of the baptismal service.
When the High Priest announced the end of the baptism, the Count took Maximilian from the hand of the assistant priest.
Now that the baptism was over, it was the family's turn to add Maximilian to the Albrecht family's register.
The Count stamped the nib in ink and wrote Maximilian's name on the list.
"Maximilian Paul von Albrecht."
Under the Count's name, next to Fernand.
Mrs. Becker stood in the front row of the servants and looked on with emotion.
'My son is the legitimate heir of the Albrecht family.'
In the end, this day came. Nothing could spoil her overwhelming mood.
Yesterday, the Count had snarled, "I will not marry you," but now Mrs. Becker did not covet the position of the Countess in the slightest.
'If the Count dies, will Maximilian inherit the whole of the family anyway?'
In that case, she would naturally become the Count's Godwife.
He didn't want to give her the position of Countess anymore, which required mixing flesh with the Count.
"Wonderful, Master Max."
Mrs. Becker whispered to the child with emotion.
"Now, wait. Master!"
It was then that she heard a commotion outside the Count's gate.
"Let go, let go! Pathetic bastards who don't even know their owners! That's why you're like a gatekeeper for the rest of your life!"
Mrs. Becker's face was stunned.
'Uh, how could that person be here?'
It was Fernand.
Mrs. Becker, who was standing in front of the fountain, tensed up at the sound of the voice. It was because she knew that something unusual was going to happen.
'Fernand must have been banished?'
Banishment was ordered, and four D-Class Transcendents were told that Fernand had been transported out of the territory in a prison wagon.
It is unclear what trick he had made to escape, but Fernand managed to push the gatekeeper and footmen into the garden.
"..."
Everyone in the room was stunned.
Fernand was a mess.
He had been seriously injured in the Transcendents, and his whole body was covered in blood.
'How did you get here?'
Filled with bewilderment and dismay, no one could open their mouths.
Fernand, who had pushed into the garden, frowned when he saw the High Priest and assistant Priests standing in front of the fountain.
"What? What about them...?"
However, a smile soon flashed through his eyes. He seemed to have grasped the situation by looking at the Count embracing Maximilian and Albrecht's list in front of him.
The list of nobles, the High Priest, the masters, and the bottles with holy water.
"Fuhahahaha! Fuhahahaha!"
Seeing this, Fernand grabbed his stomach and burst into laughter. All the while, blood was dripping from his wounds.
He laughed for a long time and spat out a double-take.
"You...This is how it ended up in the end. I'm abandoned."
Fernand, muttering a double curse, looked at the Count with hateful eyes.
"Father. You said you couldn't help me because of the legal situation? You said you wanted to protect me, but you gave up? Then invite the High Priest?"
"...I am no longer your father. Call me Count."
The Count's voice contained a complicated feeling. But here, he had no choice but to keep the line.
The High Priest, who was invited to the Count's residence, was a man of the Pope, so he couldn't show that he treated Fernand, who was discouraged, like a child.
Fernand paused for a moment and laughed. He looked sarcastic and hurt.
"What's his name?"
No one answered his question.
Feeling uncomfortable being ignored, Fernand pulled the maid closest to him by the bound hair.
"Hey, you tell me."
Then the frightened maid said as if she was going to cry right away.
"Hey, it's Master Maximilian."
Then the smile completely disappeared from his lips. Except for the chirping of birdsong, there was silence.
After a long silence, Fernand's voice was full of anger.
"Maximilian? Maximilian?!!"
It was a complete change from the light voice he had just heard from a moment ago, when he seemed to laugh at all of this.
His voice was full of all-destroying anger.
"How dare you give that illegitimate son a noble name like Maximilian?"
It sounded like a tearing scream, or like the wailing of a wounded animal.
"Father! Does this make sense?! How does that bastard get the name Maximillian ?! How, how!!
"I'm not your father...! What are you doing? Kick him out right away!"
The footmen, who were overwhelmed by the situation and were watching Fernand, rushed over and grabbed his limbs. However, Fernand struggled.
"Father! Not this one! I have to do my best for myself until the end! Does the father have a son just replace the substitute? Like changing your wife?!"
Unable to pull him out, the footmen focused on overpowering Fernand. He had a lot of wounds and was tired, so he was able to kneel on the floor.
"My father abandoned me! Right? Speak from my father's mouth! You abandoned me! You threw me away! If you're going to throw me away, don't throw me away clumsily pretending to be nice, throw me away properly!"
But even though he was forced to kneel, Fernand continued to scream.
"Rolf. It seems that the commoner can't calm down! Splash cold water on his face!"
With that, Rolf quickly picked up the bucket next to the fountain and scooped up the water from the fountain. Then he slammed it into Fernand's face.
Then the sound of evil stopped.
"Don't act like you've been abandoned. You have abandoned the Count! You strangled me. Selling things in the house for gambling. At the time of killing the High Priest!"
Maybe it was because of the cold water or because of the Count's words, Fernand didn't use evil anymore. He just kept muttering something to himself while looking at the floor.
"If I had known this. I should have killed him last year. In that attic."
Hearing this, Mrs. Becker couldn't help but be horrified. Now he knows who that person wants to kill.
"Speaking of which, Rolf interfered with that, didn't he? Really, really. They're all useless. I should have killed them all long ago."
Fernand continued to mutter to himself.
Buzzing somewhere, she began to hear something that made her nerves sharpen, like the flapping of insect wings.
The sound came from above Mrs. Becker's head. She reflexively looked up at the sky. Then, the sight went blank.
All kinds of insects were gathering here from afar.
Bees, wasps, grasshoppers, praying mantises, moths, and ants.
The Count's sky was pitch black.
'How the hell... how...?'
It was not the amount that a D-class transcendent could summon. The insects were gathering around Fernand, as if possessed.
"Mu, step back, everyone. Everyone, step down!"
The High Priest and the assistant Priest screamed. Mrs. Becker, by her mother's instincts, snatched the child from the Count and took him into her arms.
"Fernand, Fernand is now opening up his insanity beyond the limit! I was prepared for a runaway!"
The High Priest, who had finished assessing the situation, stepped back in a panic. Fernand continued to mumble.
"I can't die alone. Do you think I'm going to be taken away by that suckling bastard? Do you think I'm going to die as a commoner? It can't be like that. I can't do that."
Surrounded by worms, it looked like Satan was returning.
"I'm going to take them all to death here. Ues. Let's see if I die alone! I'm going to take you all with me!"
Everyone in the garden ran away in confusion. Mrs. Becker did the same.
"I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you all..."
At that moment, Fernand, who was muttering like crazy, said, "Cough." With a sound, he vomited blood.
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