Transmigrated into a Fantasy World with No Clue What To Do Chapter 10: Chapter 9: Alastair Investigates / The Consequences of One's Actions

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Chapter 9: Alastair Investigates / The Consequences of One's Actions Present day… Alastair made his way through the manor, stopping for a moment beside a bisected skeleton that still had rotting scraps of cloth and leather remaining on its bones that lay in one of the halls. He said a quiet prayer for the soul of the young man it had been, the first-born son of the ex-count, Aaron Thayne. He had only been trying to protect his father due to blind duty, never questioning if his father was in the wrong, knowing it would likely cost him his life. Alastair remembered when the eighteen-year-old, who had already become an accomplished swordsman for his age, confronted him. He had tried to give Aaron a chance to surrender, not wanting to take the life of one so young, but the young man had come at him with a vengeance. Alastair’s large sword had been less than ideal for facing the boy in such tight quarters, but as Aaron left a wide opening, Alastair was able to strike with a killing blow, cleaving the young man in two. Alastair shook his head at the unpleasant memory, and vowed to give the lad a proper burial before leaving, something he hadn’t been able to do six years before since the second prince had ordered Aaron’s corpse be left to rot for backing his treacherous father. The duke moved on, heading to the upper floors and entered a large bedroom where the countess and her eleven-year-old daughter had been found. That day, the ex-countess had taken her own life and was lying crumpled in a pool of blood, hands still loosely clasping the dagger buried in her chest, her dark purple hair spread around her head like an umbral halo. Her daughter, Brigid, collapsed in a corner, defensive wounds on her arms and a large gash across her belly. When Alastair had found them, he had thought both were dead, but as he had turned to leave the room, the young girl with hair to match her mother’s had twitched. He had rushed to her side and found that the gash in her belly was not as deep as he initially had thought. The young girl had looked up at him, her face bloodied and tears of pain in her deep emerald green eyes. She had tried to say something but passed out before she could. Alastair had ripped a portion of the skirt and hem of her mother’s dress off to make bandages in order to bind the girl’s wounds. Then he had carried her downstairs, leaving her with the nobles who were easily keeping the undead from entering the manor at that point. The decaying remains of the former countess lay where they had been left, like the remains of Aaron. Alastair had always thought it was cruel to leave the bodies of the Thayne family to rot and be picked over by scavengers that could reach their location. When he thought about it, he could somewhat understand the desire of the former countess to take her daughter with her into the afterlife. She would have heard the words of the second prince as he called out to her husband and, knowing what a sentence of exile to Westerroch would likely entail, death would be the preferable option. Sighing, Alastair moved on, continuing to search the upper portion of the manor, but found nothing more than the memories of that day. With the upper and ground floors searched, he moved on to the basement, the location where he had finally found the former count, Thomas Thayne, hiding. On that day six years ago, as he had entered the basement, the count had attacked him before he had even cleared the stairs. Alastair had taken a short fall down the few remaining stairs, his sword was knocked from his grip and fell to the floor a few feet away, clattering against the stone tiles. Before he could recover, the ex-count had kicked him repeatedly in the ribs before stomping on his sword arm, pinning it to the floor. Kneeling, his foot still pinning Alastair’s sword arm, Thomas reached out with his hands which were glowing a sickly green, the color of life force manipulating magics. The ex-count had a smirk on his face as he reached