The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 4: Doubt (Part 1)

Why… and how?

Why is Serapia standing right in front of me?

The thoughts kept spiraling, but I couldn’t reach the end of them.

A surge of madness rapidly engulfed my mind.
My sanity turned crimson, and my vision burned bright red.

Flashes of the past swept through my mind.

Comrades from the Allied Forces who were mercilessly slain—by my own sister’s hand.
Serapia, the one who slaughtered pleading innocents without an ounce of pity.
The vile witch who even in death managed to take the left arm of the Hero, Ian.

All those horrific memories and emotions flooded back at once and screamed at me:

—Kill her.

I surrendered myself to the frenzy boiling up inside me.
In an instant, my body lunged forward.
The nearby soldiers had no time to react.

I grabbed Serapia by the neck in a blink.

“Ha-hk!”

Serapia gasped.
I tightened my grip, and her breath was cut off.

Her feet lifted off the ground, kicking in the air.
In her eyes, locked onto mine, was a desperate plea for her life.

…She was far too weak.
This couldn’t be the same Monarch of Frost who had slaughtered countless people and comrades without mercy.

The Serapia struggling in my grasp was not that Monarch.
She was no longer the cruel witch who tore off the Hero’s arm even in her dying moments.

She was small, frail, and helpless—a woman as fragile as one could be.

That was all I held in my hands now.

Which meant, this was the only chance.

“Kh-hk…!”

I had to kill her now.
Before she became the Monarch of Frost, I had to end her.

Just as I was about to twist her neck—

—If I could go back…

Suddenly, Ian’s voice echoed in my head.

Was it an auditory hallucination brought on by the madness? I couldn’t be sure.

But I remembered the final words Ian left me before his death.
As he leaned on me, lifeless, with his heart already gone—

—Don’t hate your sister… too much…

His regret whispered in my ears like a lingering echo.

Adrian’s eyes burned with murderous fury.

That gaze wasn’t one you’d direct at a sibling.
There wasn’t a trace of familial affection.

All Adrian’s eyes held was seething rage directed at Serapia.

‘Brother…’

She had known this for a long time.
That Adrian hated her enough to want her dead.

It had been five years since Serapia was adopted into the House of Whitewolf.
And it was around then that Adrian began to drown in gambling and hedonism.

He blamed her for his ruin.
Believing her very existence had destroyed him, Serapia had taken the blame.
She threw herself into her studies for the sake of the family.
She worked harder than anyone to be of help—to the House and to Adrian.

But her efforts had only driven the knife deeper into Adrian’s heart.

Not long ago, when the head of the family passed and the will was revealed—
It named Serapia, not Adrian, as the heir to everything.

But Serapia had no intention of accepting that inheritance.
Though everyone in the House urged her otherwise, her resolve was firm.

The true heir was Adrian.
But before the misunderstanding could be resolved, Adrian left the House.

And now—

“Because of you…!!”

Adrian roared at her.
His voice overflowed with hatred for everything she had taken from him.

He looked at her not as a sister—but as a demon.

Crack!

The grip on her neck tightened.
The soldiers stood frozen, afraid that intervening might provoke him.

Her vision blurred. Her consciousness dimmed.
Serapia couldn’t resist.

She could smell death approaching—when suddenly—

Slip.

Adrian’s grip slackened.
Her feet touched the ground, and her body collapsed, powerless.

Finally, her blocked airway opened, and a burst of coughing erupted from her throat.

“Kegh…! Cough! Kh-hak…!”
“Lord!”

The soldiers rushed over and shielded her with their bodies.

Ching! Clang!
Their weapons were drawn, pointed directly at Adrian with grim intent.

They were ready to fight, if it came to that.
Panicking, Serapia caught her breath and cried out.

“St-Stop…! Cough! Please stop…!”
“But he attacked you—”
“I said stop!”

Her voice made the soldiers flinch.
But none of them lowered their weapons.

“It’s an order! Put your weapons down immediately!”

Finally, at her command, they reluctantly lowered their blades.

Adrian quietly watched everything unfold.
He showed not the slightest concern at the dozens of weapons pointed at him.

Strangely… he felt like a completely different person from the Adrian she had known.

“Just one question.”

Adrian finally spoke.

“Why did you come looking for me?”

Why had she come after the brother who left the House?

Serapia lowered her gaze slightly and answered.

“Because… it’s obvious.”
“Obvious? What’s obvious?”
“…It’s natural to be worried.”
“Worried?”

For a brief moment, Adrian’s otherwise emotionless expression flickered with confusion.

Serapia bit her lower lip and continued.

“Because we’re… family.”

Adrian’s brow twitched.

His gaze on Serapia brimmed with disgust.

It was as if he was silently saying:

—I don’t consider you my sister.

Adrian said nothing more, turned his back, and slowly walked away.

If I really did return to the past…
Then in the original timeline, I must have been too busy running from the Ice Troll to ever meet Serapia.

But this time, I defeated the Ice Troll, and so we met.

Still, that didn’t matter anymore.

What mattered now was just one thing:

I didn’t kill Serapia.

It wasn’t out of some misguided sympathy like She’s still my sister…
Nor was it some naïve belief that she hasn’t become the Monarch yet…

It definitely wasn’t because I feared the surrounding soldiers.

And to be frank, it wasn’t even because of Ian’s words.
It wasn’t about not hating her too much, or any of that sentimental nonsense.

I didn’t spare her life because of that.

I spared her because—

I couldn’t kill her.

And ironically, it was because of Ian’s words.

—Back then, was there really no other way? Did I have to kill your sister? That’s what I regret the most.

To be precise, it was Ian’s regret.

Ian deeply regretted killing Serapia.
Even more than when he confessed to the Saintess and got rejected.

“Of all things, why did he have to say that?”

Translatin_Otaku

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