Circumstances of a Fallen Lord

Chapter 76

About that snake. Hes the one who brought it onto the boat.

What? Luisen was startled. Cullen was the culprit behind this catastrophe? Wasnt he a poor, young man struggling to take care of his fallen caravan members and running himself ragged to catch the runaway ghoul?

Tell me exactly what you told him, Luisen asked Cullen. It seems that, now that Cullens reason and shame had returned to his body, he didnt particularly want to expand on this topic, but Carlton tapped the man on his back. Immediately, Cullen opened his mouth; apparently, whatever Carlton did was effective.

Cullen had no intent to lie and frankly said, That snake. Actually, its a snake I raised.

When Cullen said something absolutely insane with a clear and steady expression, the young lord began to doubt his ears. You raised it? Like a pet?

Cullen nodded.

Luisen knew of several nobles who made a hobby out of raising vipers. They claimed that the serpents sparkling eyes were cute. Of course, they also felt a thrill from the threat of being bitten. However, this was differentthis thing was definitely a monster.

Even though this snake was more petite, the evil vibe it exuded and its aggression towards humans were at a level that no ordinary person could handle. A sane person would feel instinctively repulsed by the monster and would either run away or kill it. The unexpected answer made Luisen loathe to interrogate this man further; rather, he wanted to distance himself from him. You had no idea it was a monster, right?

Of course, I didnt! If I knew, how could I raise it? But, is it truly a monster? Perhaps youre mistaken? That child is really gentle and beautiful If you look carefully, its eyes sparkle Cullen bragged like a true pet owner. Our child is so pretty. So kind and nice, he cooed indulgently. 1 However, that beautiful and kind pet snake was a monster that bit and killed people.

Crazy. Hes absolutely insane.

Luisen couldnt believe that in all the years of his life, he would come across someone that found a monster to be cute and lovable. Did they really need to continue to talk with this guy? Cullen showed no signs of stopping his boasting about his pet monster.

Why should I listen any further to this story? When Luisen turned to the mercenary, Carlton struck Cullen once more.

Cullen finally returned to his senses and went back to the original topic. Ah. So, I met my baby when

The Allos caravan had gathered in Dubless County. At that time they had arrived in the South early to seek opportunities, for they had expected the South to be embroiled in a warespecially the Anies Duchy. Cullen had been ostracized by the members of the caravan and felt quite lonely; just then, he became acquainted with a man.

Cullen had remembered that the man was easygoing and quite kind, even though he seemed a little strange. That man was the one who gifted Cullen the snake.

Luisen was dumbfounded, Who gives someone a monster? Honestly, even if you didnt know it was a monster, didnt you feel uncomfortable when you received it? You just took it?

At first, I was a little put off by its serpentine appearance, so I refused. But, the person said that, if I had a snake, the others wouldnt harass me and would help me out. Then, he forced me to hold it. Cullen agreed and said that he felt too uncomfortable with the snake at first. However, he was being bullied by his colleagues in a distant land; plus, he couldnt refuse since the man had handed the snake over as a parting gift.

Actually, I was originally going to release it in a forest or someplace like that. I felt a bit repulsed. However, as I continued to raise it, I grew attached. I was caught in a very difficult spot.  Cullen was definitely stuck in a bad situation. The Allos caravan had traveled to the south with all intentions of walking on a golden road, but the situation in the South had exceeded all of their expectations.

All because of the Duke of Anies.

The Duke of Anies had coaxed Carlton into preventing collateral damage with his wise and humble attitude; he had even prevented problems that would have risen with the locust swarms through his surprising foresight. The Southern lords had also surrendered to Carlton, like dominoes falling one after another, because of the swarm; the southern crisis had ended without a single battle.

Luisen coughed and rubbed at his nose. I did pretty well, huh?

Carlton looked at the young lord with admiration in his eyes.

Cullen looked as if he couldnt understand why the people in front of him were acting like this. I dont understand why youre so happy, but Anyway our caravan decided to pack up, cut our losses, and return.

The Allos caravan had been preparing weapons as their main cache for an outbreak of war. However, as there was no battle, they couldnt dispose of all the stock they had brought and were forced to return. This trip had cost the Allos caravan dearly. Not only the owner, but the other caravan members became anxious and tense. In turn, they directed all that stress at Cullen. It was fortunate that only words flew at the handymanusually, a few clubs and fists flew at him as well.

Other than the extra violence that resulted from the caravans setbacks; its members had appeased the boredom of their long journey by mocking and insulting Cullen. It was easy to imagine how worse the return journey would be. Cullen was sure hed be beaten to death on this trip.

In that mess, this baby snake was the one to comfort him. The baby snake didnt bully Cullen and listened to Cullens stories silently. In this lonely and distressing situation, the baby snake was Cullens only friend.

Curiously, if he carried the snake in his embrace, the caravan members wouldnt harass him. Whenever they raised their hands to hit Cullen, the members were suddenly pierced with fear and avoided him. Did the man speak true? Was the snake truly helping Cullen? It was hard to believe that a small snake would have so much power, but Cullen became more and more fond of the snake.

Thats because its a monster. Most people would avoid a monsters presence.

He said that Im different from ordinary peoplehe said that I have talent.

The man who gave you the snake told you that?

Yes.

That man was incredibly suspicious. Luisen looked at Carlton. Without the need to voice anything out loud, Carlton was able to answer the young lords unasked question. Considering his body language, it doesnt sound like a lie.

So you say. But, didnt he cry for us to help him, panicking and saying that were all going to die from an infectious disease?

No, no. I really thought it was an infectious disease! Cullen was terrified to have another sincere conversation with Carlton in the river. He waved his hands in aggressive denial.

I didnt even know my baby was venomous until a little while ago.

How did you not know that?

It has never bitten anyone until now; although, sometimes it goes off to hunt on its own But all snakes are like that, right? Until earlier, Cullen truly believed that an epidemic was about to break out. But, when Luisen observed the Allos caravan members, Cullen also saw the triangular bite mark. It was too particular and unique to deny. That mark matched the tooth of the snake he had been raising.

Only then did Cullen realize that the members had been bitten by his snake and that the symptoms werent caused by a disease.

If you realized that, why didnt you tell us immediately? Why didnt you speak?

ThatsYoure not going to leave my baby alone once you find out, right? Cullen wanted to save his snake. Thats why he secretly snuck down to the basement to find it. He believed that if he took it and hid it well, making it unable to bite others again, the rumors of an infectious disease would disappear and the situation would calm down.

Of course, with no more bite victims, the suspicions of a possible infectious disease would disappearbut is that even possible?

 A monster was a monster, not an animal. A human could not control a monster as they pleased.

Nothere are some people that have the ability to control monsters. A throbbing headache was growing in the young lords brain. Were you going to let all these people die in order to save your snake?

For the caravan membersThats not enough to repay the hurt theyve given me. Cullen clenched his trembling fists. The resentment within him surfaced; his eyes looked distant yet delightedas if he was imagining something pleasant.

Lets stop talking further on this topic.

The young lord wasnt sure if Cullen was originally a normal person that turned insane from the constant bullying or if he was originally such a psycho, but the reality, currently, was that he was struggling to save a monster. It wouldnt be fruitful to debate a crazy person. Even a normal person would become unstable from being around someone like him. You said you came down to capture the snake, correct? So you must know the method to lure him out?

I know how, but ButI cant say. Youll kill it if you catch it NghH!

Slap

Carlton hit Cullen in the back of the head. Cullens neck bent forward as if it had broken.

Do you think were nicely recommending you to do this? Summon the snake. Carlton tyrannized the handyman.

Cullen shook his head, shivering, II dont want to.

Then do you want to die?

But

Or, should I make you suffer more than death? Carlton smiled and pointed toward the river.

Cullen, filled with despair, quivered as he begged Luisen. Revered Pilgrim, merciful pilgrim. Please dont let that vicious bastard harass me.

Was he really trying to garner sympathy in his position? Luisen was dumbfounded. Carlton dragged Cullen by his nape; Cullen cried and struggled. He struggled for a long time considering the mercenary was his opponent.

His affection for the snake was that sincerea friendship between an alienated person and a snake. It was a heartbreaking story, but Luisen felt uncomfortable that a monster with a deadly poison was considered a pet.

Ill speak! The box! Theres a box! No matter how far it goes, itll always come back to the box when the sun comes up!

Where is that box?

O-Over there Cullen sobbed as he pointed to someplace on the ground. The box was rolling around on the floor, disturbed by Cullens stumbling after  Carlton hit him. While Carlton shook the handyman to try and force more potential information from Cullen, Luisen went to pick up the box directly.

The wooden box was painted black; its texture and solidity were so luxurious that even Luisen admired the crate. It wasnt something that a junior caravan member would carry. Luisen opened the box and was struck with terror.

TL: As much as I dont mind snakes, I would NOT want to keep a snake that can turn things into a ghoul as a pet. Like dang. Bro. It can bite you.

I do feel bad though; that snake was his only friend.

1. is the sound-effect/action used in the original novel. Its something you might do to a child or a pet. I used coo, but there are definitely Korean words that fit coo better. I guess the long explanation would be something like baby talk. but that didnt fit as well as I would have liked within the sentence.