The Duke’s Madness



It was a strange life.

A strange life where you don’t even know where to go if you can go back to the beginning.

He was born as the only son of a ducal family, but he was banished because he was deprived of everything by the people below him.

There aren’t that many options for a noble expelled from his family.

The best option among them is, of course, self-determination.

To preserve the dignity of a nobleman, he committed suicide.

However, being an idiot, I wandered around the continent without being able to do even this.

Then, by chance, he was able to awaken the power of the duke’s lineage.

A bizarre ability to absorb the talents of others.

Thanks to this, he was able to recover his tired body from his long wanderings, but as a side effect, he had a different way of thinking than others.

It sounds like you’ve gone crazy

It was obvious that he was crazy because he muttered to himself and his tone became strange.

Although the incurable disease he suffered for a long time was cured, he could not return to his family in a mad state.

After thinking about it, I finally decided to continue wandering.

It was time to wander the continent again like that.

An accidental rumor shook this resolution.

my crest.

There were rumors that the Bavarian duchy had perished.

I hurriedly returned to the duke’s house to check if the rumors were true.

There was no distance to check.

The younger sister was nowhere to be seen and the mother was a cold corpse.

Not only that, but everything in the family was in the hands of those who killed her mother.

Maddened even more by the harsh reality, I took up the blade of revenge.

Fortunately, thanks to the duchy’s pedigree, they were able to achieve meaningful results.

He cut off the heads of several people who made the duchy like this.

But I couldn’t kill the people who banished me and destroyed my family.

Instead, I was dying by their swords.

“It goes pathetically until the end… .”

With a murmur, I laughed.

After going crazy, sometimes I couldn’t control my laughter.

“Even if I die, I really wanted to kill those who made my mother and sister like that… .”

After licking my lips, I raised my head.

I saw the sky raining.

I asked towards the sky full of dark clouds.

If you were going to die like this, why not kill it with your family, God?

Instead of answering a prayer-like question, blood poured from his chest.

“… ah.”

Another pain overtook me at that moment.

I finally gave up, unable to overcome the weight of the heavy eyelids that were gradually closing.

Like this, I just thought he was dead.

“… … !”

Even until a week ago.

* * *

Arthur looked down at me and thought.

‘Did I return to the past?’

A week ago, 30-year-old Arthur Bayern became 15-year-old Arthur Bayern.

As evidence of that, I saw the body of a thin boy whose growth period had not ended, not the body of a 30-year-old Arthur with scars.

However, it wasn’t just the body that got younger.

“Wow… Are you back to your senses?”

The world, which had been dyed red ever since going mad, regained its color again.

At this fact, Arthur was genuinely surprised and murmured.

“My mental illness… Are you feeling better?”

A mental illness that no one has ever been able to cure?

So Arthur was able to realize that he had returned to the past.

‘Because the only way for a madman to become a normal person is to be reborn.’

The question is, how did you get back to the past?

It was time to fall into trouble again with thoughts.

A familiar voice came through the door.

“young master.”

It was Sebischan, the butler.

“It’s time to take your medicine.”

Arthur came to his senses and stuttered like an idiot.

It was because he was a stutterer at the time.

“yes… to.”

“… is it so. How are you feeling today? young master?”

Sebischan, who managed to understand the stretched pronunciation, put down the teacup and asked a question.

Arthur answered, stuttering just like before.

“I feel good… .”

“I’m glad. Are you going to take your medicine now?”

“I’ll eat later and get tested…” .”

Sebastian nodded.

“You must eat. Bocchan’s… . It’s a medicine that was hard to get for the disease.”

Arthur nodded in the same way.

“yes… .”

After hearing the answer, Sebastian left the room.

After confirming that his steps were farther away, Arthur turned his gaze to the medicine Sebischan had brought.

“hmm… .”

It had been like that in the past, but on the outside it was a very ordinary drug.

‘It’s a medicine to cure my stuttering due to an unknown disease.’

However, thanks to future experiences, I now know the true identity of this drug.

That this medicine I was taking to cure my illness was actually the poison that fueled my illness.

So Arthur picked up the medicine and crushed it with his foot.

Kwajik-!

Powdered medicine flew around the room.

Arthur, who watched the scene, stroked his chin.

“Sebastian, that person is the same as in the past and now. If you see the same poison coming back… .”

Well, considering his true identity, it wasn’t too surprising.

He took the lead in exterminating the family of the future dukes of Bavaria.

It was Dormund’s three works.

‘And Dormund was the most loyal confidant of the second prince, Khan Madrid, who ordered the destruction of Bavaria.’

The past self, who did not know this fact, became a stuttering idiot by taking the medicine given by the traitor every day.

Of course, he didn’t stutter now because he didn’t take the medicine, but the situation wasn’t over.

Sebastian still gave me poison and checked my condition every day.

It is said that it is not strange that he does not take poison at any time.

‘In other words, you have to get rid of the butler Sebischan before that happens… How should I hit it?

Shall I go and kill you right now?

Arthur, who was worried, was startled.

“No. We can’t act like the past anymore.”

At that time, he was insane, and it didn’t matter if he killed the enemies who destroyed Bavaria without hesitation, but not now.

‘I came back to my senses, but there’s no need to do that.’

There is no need to kill Sebastian while standing out.

It was best to slit his throat very quietly, or use your head to slash him.

‘I’m not crazy anymore, so I’ll have to get revenge like a normal person. I don’t need to wield a sword as ignorantly as before.’

Then Sebastian’s voice was heard again.

“young master. A guest has arrived. I am the third son of Count Dormund.”

Arthur, lost in thought, trembled and murmured.

“Bill Dormund came to see you?”

* * *

Bill Dormund, third son of Count Dormund.

He was one of the enemies I couldn’t kill in my last life.

‘I had to kill him first, but I couldn’t.’

Bill Dormund was less capable than the sons of other counts, but he was cunning and quick-witted.

Bill was the first to disappear as soon as rumors spread that he was out to take revenge on those who destroyed the Bavarian family.

‘He showed up around the time of his death and mocked me. I was so excited at that time.’

It was Arthur who still vividly remembered the face of Bill, who laughed behind his older brother and younger brother.

However, this guy appeared in front of me on his own.

“Hey dumb.”

With the face and expression you remember.

Because of that, Arthur’s expression became ambiguous.

‘opportunity? Or a trap?’

The enemy he had been searching for so long appeared on his own, but it was very vague to kill him.

Didn’t you, just a little while ago, promise that you would no longer act thoughtlessly?

But if I killed him now, it would be no different from the past.

‘I can’t kill him because of that.’

It was when Arthur, who was in trouble, stroked his chin.

Bill grinned and opened his mouth.

“Where is your sister? I came to see the dog, but it’s nowhere? Could it be that you hid it, dumb?”

Arthur, who came to his senses at his words, burst into exclamation.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve heard that dumb word?’

Stuttering isn’t dumb, but it’s a nickname deliberately used to demean oneself.

However, Arthur did not care much.

Not only Bill, but in the past, everyone who looked down on him called himself dumb.

‘The stuttering Confucius was called dumb Confucius because he couldn’t understand the language.’

So I was able to pass this teasing off as nothing, but the Irene that Bill mentioned.

My sister was different.

‘Do you dare mention Irene?’

The reason he wanted to kill Bill Dormund was because of his sister.

Bill Dormund always coveted my younger sister, Irene, until the Bavarian family was destroyed.

I was forcibly engaged to my sister.

Five years after that, Irene committed suicide.

‘I don’t know if it was a suicide or because of the guy’s hand cut… Rumor has it that he was beaten while being kicked out on the street… .’

So Arthur tried to kill Bill.

‘I’m a crazy person and I won’t touch my enemy’s family, but this kid has crossed that line.’

But now that Bill Dormund returned to the past, he mentioned Irene again.

He’s a guy with plenty of reasons to kill him, but he crossed the line again in the middle of it.

‘… Should I kill them too?’

It was a time when Arthur’s mind tilted to one side along with his worries.

A good way passes through my head.

“oh… that’s right.”

“… ?”

“If it’s not possible to kill, then you’re saying that you’ll be injured enough to not die, right? Then it will be easier to clean up.”

Arthur’s murmur startled Bill, who was in front of him.

“you? How can you not stutter… !?”

At this, Arthur suddenly kicked Bill’s foot hard.

The unexpected blow sent Bill to the ground.

“… !?”

Dumbfounded, Bill belatedly struggled, but to no avail.

It was because Arthur, who had climbed on top of him at some point, blocked the movement.

“What, what?”

The moment Bill, surprised, shouted in astonishment, Arthur lowered his head.

At that moment, a high-pitched voice pierced Bill’s ears.

“I’m going to gouge out your right eyeball now, Bill. Please bear with me.”