HLnovel Chapter 544: Killing Someone to Cool Off
Chapter 544: Killing Someone to Cool Off
Dawn arrives, and only a red dress remains in Henwell's arms.It is the dress stained red by Michelle's flesh and blood.
Michelle has taken away the whiteness of the dress and turned into a White Butterfly, flying away in freedom.
A while later, a grief-stricken roar rings through the entire arena.
Then the arena trembles faintly again and again, as if something enormous is raging and pounding at the ground.
In the distance, Chick and the others watch Henwell swing his fists and smash everything around him.
They drink the wine in their bottles dry, shatter the bottles, draw their longswords, and stab them into the stone floor. Then they bow their heads in silence toward the place where Michelle disappeared.
Another of the young gladiators from those days is gone. The last girl from their batch of youths has died.
Like Henwell, everyone is filled with anger, but they do not know where to vent it.
Henwell does not go out for an entire day. In the dormitory where they once lived, he stares blankly at that red dress.
Henwell's feelings for Michelle are complicated. She was the first girl he saw after coming to this world who struck him as truly beautiful.
Those first stirrings of love from back then had been pressed deep into his heart by the daily struggle for survival at Forge Furnace Training Camp.
Later, more than once, he wanted to ask Michelle to come to Peace Haven, but he never opened his mouth.
She was his childhood companion, and she was also a comrade who fought beside him.
Watching Michelle die in his arms makes Henwell lose control of his emotions.
Anger fills his chest.
Henwell hates the church for taking advantage of his crisis. He hates the Veil for its vicious methods.
More than anything, he hates himself. Why was he so calculating? Why was he unwilling to do everything possible to save Michelle?
Henwell does not leave the room for two days. On the third day, he says to Bloodhorn, "From now on, the rooms we once lived in must be kept exactly as they are."
After saying this, Henwell leaves the arena.
That night, the Marquess of Nothing is reviewing documents in his study.
After half an hour, the Marquess of Nothing stretches and looks toward Henwell, who is sitting on the sofa in the room. "Thank you for giving me some time. I assume you have come to kill me."
Henwell rubs the hilt of his sword. "Mm. A couple of days ago, something miserable happened to me, and I have been in a very bad mood."
"I have tried hard to calm myself, but it has not improved. So I decided to kill someone to ease it."
The Marquess of Nothing says calmly, "I assume you have already considered the consequences of killing me."
"Although I know it likely will not help, I still want to try to persuade you. You cannot kill me."
Henwell raises a hand, indicating that he should continue. "It is still early. I am not in a hurry. You have a chance to persuade me. Begin."
"I can cooperate with you on many things. In the Billie Kingdom, my help would be of great value to you."
Henwell wags a finger. "Not enough. That is not enough to cancel out my desire to kill you."
"I can support Catherine and give her more power. She is still a woman in the end. Without my help, it will be very difficult for her to gain a firm foothold."
Henwell shakes his head. "Not enough. Also, you are lying. I already know that Ulysses's real identity."
"You are the former Ulysses. Your so-called genius younger brother actually died in that attack."
"The Veil left you alive because, as the king, your death would cause the royal life tablet to shatter."
"That is why they kept you alive, so that the current King Ulysses could better work for the Veil."
The Marquess of Nothing growls, "He is not the king! I am! I am the king!"
Henwell shrugs. "Who knows? Right now, everyone is certain that the one who died was King Ulysses."
"And you are only Ulysses's younger brother, Lepal, the genius member of the royal family. That is also what everyone is certain of."
After saying this, Henwell grins and adds, "You were the one who told me that. And just as you wished, I told everyone."
The Marquess of Nothing loses control of his emotions somewhat. "I am Ulysses! That is the truth. One day, everyone will know."
Henwell taps the armrest of the chair. "There will be no such day. I came here to bury the truth completely."
"At Sunflower Fortress, I already shattered the king's life tablet. Now no one thinks Ulysses is still alive."
"You also will not help Catherine. You know she is not your child, and you will find a way to get rid of her."
"Ideally, you would use her to the fullest first, just like when you killed Prince Shazo."
The Marquess of Nothing pants heavily. "Henwell, I am now a member of the Billie Royal Council. How will you explain killing me?"
Henwell rolls his eyes. "Explain to whom? What explanation is needed? I am only killing a man everyone despises."
"Who would demand an explanation from me? The church and the empire?"
"Do not forget. Because of your intelligence, they suffered terrible losses. If you had not turned around and joined them, you would already have been cut down."
"Catherine? She has no affection for you. If you die, you die."
"As for the other princes, they are not close to you, and they have no deals of interest with you."
"Naturally, they would be eager for you to die so a council seat opens up and lets them insert someone of their own."
"Then who else is left? The people? What can they do? They do not even know who you are."
"Or is it the Veil? What can they do? Avenge you? If that happens, that would be wonderful."
The Marquess of Nothing stares hard at Henwell. "You are a calm person. Right now, you clearly already hold the absolute advantage."
"If you wanted to kill me, you should have acted the moment you came out of Sunflower Fortress."
"Why wait until now?"
"You clearly know that keeping me alive would be more useful to you. You could use those secrets to restrain me and make me cooperate with you on many things."
"But you are giving up such a good chance. Why are you suddenly so determined to kill me?"
Henwell narrows his eyes. "Because a friend of mine died. I have to kill you to offer her a sacrifice. Also, you killed quite a few people, and they were all outstanding talents I had trained."
The Marquess of Nothing comes to a realization. "Are you talking about that woman named Michelle? She is dead?"
"Oh. Yes, that makes sense. She must have triggered the Veil's restriction. I assume she told you about the Veil's ambush beforehand."
Seeing that Henwell does not speak, the Marquess of Nothing laughs, and his laughter gradually turns mad. "Hahaha... Henwell! Hahaha... you are truly ridiculous."
"I understand. You are blaming yourself. You are looking for an excuse. I just happen to be unlucky enough to become the target for your anger."
"I did not cause her death. The Veil was not even the true murderer. The one who truly killed her was you."
"If you had not hidden your strength like a venomous snake, why would she have risked her life to warn you?"
"With your strength, you could absolutely have survived Sunflower Fortress, but she did not know you were hiding it."
"To make sure you could live, she sacrificed her own life, only to do something completely useless in the end."
"What a foolish woman. She used her life to save you, yet you did not tell her that you were already an Iron Knight."
"Her death was truly worthless. Truly laughable."
"Henwell, tell me. Before she died, did she know you were an Iron Knight? Did she know you could have survived Sunflower Fortress all along?"
Henwell rises with gritted teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. "Shut up!"
The Marquess of Nothing rises as well and spreads his arms. "Come on, then. Kill me. I need to hurry down to hell and tell that poor girl this ridiculous news."