Chương 28: Asher Griffin’s Background

At this point, I've played my part. Now, it's just a matter of waiting to see when the Griffins decide to hand me over to the Church. How can I be so certain that's what will happen? Well, this is my second time carrying the name "Griffin," after all. During my first isekai life, having read far too many transmigration novels, I initially accepted everything as a given.

From the moment I inhabited Asher Griffin's body, I treated his circumstances as "default settings," never bothering to look into the original host's past. I simply did as I pleased. Back then, all I knew was that both of Asher's parents had died young. No one spoke of the cause of death, and frankly, I didn't care to ask. During our conquest, there was a time I helped a destitute village drive off monsters, and the locals thanked me profusely.

The Hero's party had originally deemed the village not worth the effort and planned to bypass it, but after finding no better place to rest nearby, they were forced to turn back. Jullius was displeased to see the villagers showing me gratitude. He got drunk and began hurling insults at me, and in his stupor, he let a few secrets slip. I pieced those drunken curses together into a coherent story. The rightful heir to the Marquis title should have been Asher's grandfather, not Jullius's.

In Averula, titles are passed to the eldest son. Only if the eldest dies without an heir does the title pass to the second son. Jullius's grandfather had concealed the existence of Asher's father—who was born six months after his own father's death—and brazenly usurped the Marquis title. Asher's grandmother was in frail health, and her own family had suddenly declined. She used the last of her strength to ensure her son's survival before passing away.

When Asher's father grew up, he returned to reclaim what was rightfully his, only to be slandered as an illegitimate child. Ultimately, both he and his wife perished in a "carriage accident." Asher, only two years old at the time, narrowly escaped death. News that his father carried Griffin blood had already leaked to the Averulan nobility; not wanting to be branded as child-murderers, the Griffin family was forced to take him in and raise him until now.

Even though I am not the real Asher Griffin, hearing that secret made my skin crawl with disgust. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. So, if you ask me whether Jullius and his father are heartless enough to hand me over to the Church to be harvested for mana? I'd bet my life on it. They'll likely need a day to notify the Church, so I plan to use tonight to prepare backup plans in case things don't go as expected.

I sat down on my bed and pulled up my status window. It had been a while since I last checked my stats. Name Asher Griffin Race Human Health 70/82 Mana 536/??? Strength 61 Intelligence 375 Reputation 12 Rank / Skill Halunar's Eye (Lv.???) · Night Vision (Lv. Max) Mana Siphon (Lv. 7) Swordsmanship (Lv. 10) Martial Arts (Lv. 7) First Aid (Lv. 2) Cooking (Lv. 7) Strategy (Lv. 38) All my stats had increased slightly. My days of physical conditioning hadn't been in vain.

I had even acquired a new skill that couldn't be measured by conventional levels. With over five hundred mana remaining, it should be more than enough to get by. The last time I had topped off my mana was when the Hero candidates were deployed to Marbour. I had returned to the estate under the pretext of fetching extra supplies for Jullius, then took the opportunity to soak my feet in his mana pool. I didn't dare stay too long back then; besides, I didn't need much.

Later, I had "accidentally" siphoned a bit more from my swordsmanship instructor, so my reserves were quite ample. I couldn't help but let out a yawn, suddenly overcome by an intense drowsiness. It was still very early, and I had rested plenty during the afternoon; I shouldn't be this exhausted. No. This sleepiness wasn't normal fatigue. Most likely, I had been drugged. I hadn't been on guard during dinner. I assumed they wouldn't strike during a communal meal with so many people present.

Are they really planning to move against me tonight? If so, I've miscalculated. The reason I chose to reveal my mana aptitude to Jullius today instead of tomorrow was to ensure the Church had enough time to orchestrate my "abduction." We are scheduled to return to the academy the day after tomorrow; if I had waited until tomorrow to reveal the truth, Marius might not have notified the Church in time, potentially forcing them into a plan outside my calculations.

I just didn't expect them to move on me with such decisive ruthlessness within the same day. Now, I can only pray that the Church's method of sacrifice isn't "throat-slitting for the gods", or at least, that they don't bleed me to death tonight. Otherwise, I'll be forced to reset all the way back to the Day of Awakening! That was the last thought I could muster before collapsing onto the bed, sinking into a total slumber.