Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 413 (Part 2):

*Crash!* The man’s body slammed into the floor with crushing force.

Unable to resist the assault, the man gritted his teeth as he collapsed.

His limbs pressed to the ground like a dog, he raised only his head, his eyes blazing with hostility.

“He is Lord Michael’s dog. A lowborn mutt, but a loyal one,” Alonzo said in a flat tone. Yet a flicker of vivid disdain passed through his eyes.

A loyal knight would hardly feel fondness for a hound who carried out Michael’s filthy deeds.

Helmut approached the man wordlessly. The man’s bound limbs trembled.

In his eyes, fixed on Helmut, was not merely anger… but fear.

He was a dog terrified of losing his master. But Helmut was not one to show mercy, even to a dog.

*Crunch!* The light stamp of his foot crushed the man’s hand, the sound of breaking bones echoing. Immense pressure shattered the hand’s structure.

“Urghhh!”

To the screaming man, Helmut spat, “Know your place from now on.”

Lifting his foot, he strode forward. Alonzo did not follow.

As if he would turn a blind eye to whatever happened inside.

*Creak, clank.* The sound of the door opening and closing rang unusually loud in the quiet room.

There, directly ahead, in the center of the room, was Michael.

Dressed in white, gazing out the window, the young man—still bearing traces of boyhood—seemed as light and fragile as a feather.

Sunlight, delicate as if it might shatter, illuminated his pale, refined face, and his golden hair shimmered above it.

He looked as though he might melt into the air and vanish.

His appearance was such that harboring enmity toward him felt like it might stir guilt.

Michael, cloaked in an angelic aura, turned his head toward Helmut. His vivid blue eyes met Helmut’s.

The moment their gazes locked, something inside Helmut snapped.

Without hesitation, Helmut lunged forward and struck Michael’s face.

*Thwack!* It was a thread of rationality that kept him from drawing his sword.

*Crash!* Michael, flung back helplessly, collided with a table, blood streaming from his nose. His cheek swelled instantly.

Helmut grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up.

“Michael!”

Before Michael could utter a word, Helmut slapped him. *Slap! Slap! Slap!*

The opponent was too frail to withstand a thorough beating.

Having swung his hand explosively, Helmut released Michael midair.

Michael collapsed limply onto the carpet, coughing and spitting blood. Bruises bloomed swiftly across his cheeks and face.

Frowning, Michael spat with a twisted expression, “…So you came back alive.”

Helmut kicked him in the stomach. *Thud!*

“Guh, urk!”

Even as Michael curled up, groaning, Helmut felt no trace of pity.

“Get up.”

Helmut’s voice was cold. The rage that had flared momentarily subsided with his breath.

Michael shakily rose, barely steadying himself. Yet, strangely, he was smiling.

“Why… are you angry? You, who survived the Forest of Roots—wouldn’t you have lived just fine if you’d been sent back there?”

“Seems like you haven’t had enough, running your mouth like that.”

Helmut grabbed Michael’s collar, pulling him close.

At a distance where their breaths mingled, Michael whispered with a pale face, “I… did nothing wrong. No one would call a monster their brother.”

A sneer spread across his angelic face.

The only one before Helmut to witness Michael reveal his twisted nature so openly was Charlotte.

And Michael always had a reason for doing so.

‘He’s not one to show his true colors without calculation.’

Raised as a precious Grand Duke’s son, he’d likely never been struck like this, yet his defiance was commendable. Coughing, Michael spat out quickly, “Kill me. If you’ve won, I should die. I knew… if you returned, I’d be the one to die.”

“No.”

Helmut gazed down at him, declaring coldly, “Michael, I won’t kill you.”

Before the martial arts tournament, he had thought about what he would do upon returning to Renosa.

Would he kill those who betrayed him and drove him to ruin? Or…

After much deliberation, Helmut had arrived at this answer. The best choice, balancing emotion and reason.

Michael’s expression wavered, as if struck by shock. But he quickly composed himself.

“Why? Was being driven out to the Forest of Roots twice not enough?”

A mocking smile curled on Michael’s face, as if expecting brotherly affection.

But Helmut’s next words cut through him, sharp as if peering into his very soul.

“What you want is death, not a life as a loser.”

Helmut raised the hand gripping Michael’s collar, then released it with a thud.

Falling to the floor, Michael coughed violently, yet glared at Helmut with bloodshot eyes, his pupils trembling in disbelief.

Helmut knew why Michael hadn’t fled, why he remained in this room.

He knew what being Renosa’s heir meant to Michael.

Michael would rather die than lose it.

So let him face a reality worse than death.

If he couldn’t bear it and took his own life, that, too, would be the ultimate humiliation for Michael.

Helmut’s black eyes, gazing down at Michael, were icy.

“I’ll make you live as a loser, serving me beneath me, forever looking up at the position you coveted.”

Michael would live his life drowning in defeat, floundering in shame. That was the punishment he deserved.

Michael’s face trembled. This time, it was an irreparable collapse.

Rage, murderous intent, hatred—a storm of indescribable emotions swirled within him.

“If you don’t kill me…”

Michael whispered, his distorted face trembling as if sobbing, “You’ll regret it. Do you think… I’ll just back down?”

No matter the means, even if it meant rebelling against the Grand Duke.

He would reclaim what was rightfully his. Michael ground his teeth inwardly.

Michael hadn’t acted this way before because building his position slowly was more feasible.

But with nothing left to lose, there was nothing he wouldn’t do.

Helmut looked down at him and said, “Of course, I don’t trust you. There’s no way you’ll stay quiet. That’s why…”

A savage smile curled on Helmut’s lips as he drew something from his cloak.

“I prepared this for you.”

Otaku_Tensei

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