Chapter 53 : Young Master 2

I confirmed that Aikus nodded and stood up again from my seat. 

Then I began preparations for the examination.

The preparations were simple. 

All I had to do was drag the chair where Aikus was sitting to the center of the room.

After moving the chair to the center, I looked at it with satisfaction. Now, all I had to do was seat him there.

Turning my head, I called out to Bliss.

“Bliss! Over here. Sit him here.”

Bliss nodded and began to move her hands toward the reclining Aikus to lift him up.

Once she managed to seat him here, the examination could proceed.

If Aikus resisted, it might become a bit troublesome, but judging by his current demeanor, he didn’t seem inclined to resist.

In fact, could it be that he was hoping for the examination? 

It made sense since he was lying so comfortably.

I felt optimistic that the examination would progress more smoothly than expected.

However.

“No… no!!!”

Suddenly, Aikus began to thrash his entire body in resistance.

As if sensing a threat to his life, Aikus began flailing wildly.

Bliss tried her best to hold him down, but it seemed to be a struggle.

Time and time again, Aikus twisted his body, shaking off Bliss’s hands as she tried to grab him.

Bliss was utterly flustered, her wide eyes betraying just how startled she was.

She looked at me with a perplexed expression, seeking guidance.

Watching Aikus thrash about like a live fish on a cutting board, I began to contemplate how to resolve the situation.

‘Should I just knock him out?’

The simplest and fastest method immediately came to mind.

But this option wasn’t viable—because he was a person.

If he were a fish, slicing his head off would be the end of it. But, unfortunately, he was human.

With a regretful sigh, I shook my head to dismiss the thought.

Resting my chin on my hand, I pondered. At this rate, it would take forever to proceed with the examination. 

Something needed to be done.

After a moment, a good idea struck me.

I quietly approached the flailing Aikus. He looked up at me while thrashing, his face showing a determined will to resist.

His expression was that of a general prepared to face death.

I gave him a bright smile and silently raised my fist.

As if by magic, his resistance ceased.

Ah, if only he’d been like this from the start.

Satisfied with his reaction, I smiled as I calmly seated the now-docile Aikus in the chair.

As he sat quietly, Aikus spoke with indignation.

“What are you planning to do to me!?”

Oh… was this the pride of a noble?

I shrugged my shoulders and walked behind him.

“Just a simple examination. Right, Bliss?”

“Yes.”

I pried open Aikus’s eyes with my fingers and said,

“Can you use light magic on his eyes now?”

“Light magic…?”

Bliss tilted her head slightly, puzzled by my words. I nodded in response to her questioning expression.

“Yes.”

“But why…?”

The reason was simple and significant.

This method is used to determine whether someone is under mental control.

Have you heard of reflexes? 

The method I’m about to use involves leveraging those reflexes.

Reflexes, known as instinctive reactions, are believed to be uncontrollable by a person.

That’s why they’re often employed in interrogation or situations involving mental magic, like now.

I was planning to use this principle.

Reflexes are typically utilized to uncover hidden information. 

Since instinctive reactions are beyond conscious control, they reveal truth.

The method is straightforward: test specific organs and draw conclusions based on instinctive responses.

Among the organs, I chose the eyes.

The reason I chose the eyes, despite the availability of other organs, is that the eyes are one of the most reflex-sensitive organs.

Eyes provide us with more information than we realize, particularly the pupils.

Pupils change based on emotions, physical state, and external factors. 

Observing them can reveal the owner’s emotional and mental condition.

It’s not for nothing that they say eyes are the windows to the soul.

Using the eyes’ characteristics, I could determine whether Aikus was under mental control.

Under hypnosis or brainwashing, the pupils constrict, becoming smaller than usual.

For some reason, individuals under mental control consistently have maximally constricted pupils.

You might wonder if there are exceptions, but based on my extensive experience, I’ve never encountered one.

Having fought many who were mentally controlled, particularly in the Demon Territory, I was confident in this method.

Thus, the simplest way to check for mental control is to shine light into the eyes.

Under normal circumstances, pupils constrict reflexively when exposed to light.

In contrast, those under mental control show no change in pupil size because their pupils are already constricted.

This was why I intended to shine light into Aikus’s eyes.

I had a long explanation, but I summarized it for Bliss to save time and effort.

“There’s a reason for this. Can you do it, or is it difficult?”

I added a slight provocation for good measure.

“It’s not that I can’t, but…”

Bliss hesitated, looking troubled. 

After a moment of indecision, she appeared to make up her mind and looked at me firmly.

“Even so, I think this request is… difficult. Isn’t there another way? This could strain his eyes, and in the worst-case scenario, cause blindness…”

“Bliss.”

I locked eyes with her.

“This isn’t the time to worry about that. Besides, I trust that you’ll control it well enough to prevent blindness.”

Saying so, I pried open Aikus’s eyes with my fingers again.

“Let go! I said, let go! What are you trying to do to me!?”

Sensing the danger, Aikus began to struggle again. Holding him firmly, I spoke to Bliss.

“Alright, I’ll hold his eyes open. Go ahead.”

“Understood.”

After a moment of hesitation, she nodded slightly.

“Sacred light, grant me strength.”

As her chant ended, a small light appeared at her fingertips.

As the light shone into his eyes, I carefully observed his pupils for any changes.

And his pupils… remained unchanged.

Neither dilating nor contracting.

This result indicated only one thing: Aikus was under mental control.

I let go of his eyes and muttered.

“As expected… he’s under mental control.”

“Mental control? Do you mean the kind I’ve heard of?”

Bliss asked cautiously, her voice tinged with curiosity and concern. I nodded.

“Yes.”

“Then what should we do now?”

Bliss looked at me with a serious expression.

‘Why would she ask something so obvious?’

I answered calmly.

“Now we break it.”

With that, I approached Aikus.

“What… what are you doing? Why are you doing this to me!?”

“Your name is Aikus, correct?”

“Yes!”

Aikus, shouting confidently at me, seemed to muster courage from somewhere. Crossing my arms, I said to him,

“Why didn’t you follow the lord’s orders? The lord specifically told you to donate funds to the Celestial Church.”

“That… that has nothing to do with you!”

“It does. I met with the lord recently.”

I sighed wistfully, looking at the distant mountains.

“When I told him about your misdeeds, he was so heartbroken! It was such a shock that he clutched his neck and fainted!”

“My father… fainted?”

“Yes! He fainted!”

Aikus muttered in disbelief, and I shot him a sharp glare.

Closing my eyes, I clasped my hands together as if in prayer.

“Oh, seeing that sight was like a vice tightening around my heart. At that moment, I couldn’t forgive you. How could you stab your father in the heart like that?”

I spoke in a tone befitting someone recounting a sorrowful tale.

“The lord spoke of you so proudly to me, Aikus. With the brightest smile, he called you his greatest treasure. And yet, you betrayed him? Supporting the End Church that defiles the Empire and nobility?”

Narrowing my eyes as if I’d seen something repulsive, I stared at Aikus.

“Aikus, are you truly human? Not even an animal would support a religion that disgraces its own father. I can’t stand by and let this continue. From now on, I’ll fix you on the lord’s behalf.”

“What right do you have to fix me!?”

“Right? I have more than enough. Because the lord himself requested it.”

I said this confidently, but the truth was, Aikus was correct. I had no right to fix him.

The lord never made such a request because, ever since that day, he’s been unconscious. There’s no way he could have asked me for anything.

So what I just said was a freshly concocted lie to justify what I was about to do.

Still, it wasn’t entirely a lie. 

Judging by his reaction before fainting, the lord would have genuinely wanted me to fix Aikus, even if it meant beating sense into him.

Though he couldn’t express it directly due to fainting, his love for his son was clear.

The intense anger boiling within me whenever I looked at Aikus—wasn’t that the lord’s will manifesting through me?

Could this anger really be my own? Ha, impossible. I’m not a petty person who gets enraged by a few defiant words.

Therefore, this anger must be the lord’s sentiment.

Now that I’ve accepted his precious feelings, it’s time to resolve this situation from his perspective.

I closed my eyes and reflected on what the lord would have done in this situation.

If he truly loved his son, wouldn’t he resort to discipline to set him straight?

When I sought counsel from the burning anger within, it nodded in agreement.

Good. Even the lord’s will concurs.

This means my actions from this point forward align with the lord’s intent.

And if they don’t? Well, there’s nothing I can do about that. Interpreting his will is up to me.

He should’ve conveyed it directly if he wanted otherwise.

Looking down at Aikus, I said,

“There’s an old saying: ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ and ‘The more you love your child, the firmer you must be.’ Do you know what these sayings mean, Aikus?”

“So what if I don’t…”

“It seems you don’t. That’s alright. You’ll learn through experience.”

With those words, I raised my hand.

There are two ways to break mental control: one is through spiritual treatment like magic, and the other is physical therapy involving direct impact to snap the person out of it.

The method I chose was… physical therapy.

“What are you planning to do!?”

Seeing my raised hand, Aikus shouted urgently, his words tripping over themselves in panic.

I smiled at him warmly.

“It’s a rod of love. Accept it gratefully.”

Then, I struck with all my might.

His head tilted slightly to the side, and with a crisp sound…

-Smack!

The sharp sound echoed through the room.