~Chapter 113~
âDamn it, damn!â
The manâs hand, scratching furiously at his own neck, trembled.
Half of his hand had already turned pitch blackâclearly showing signs of corruption.
âHaa⊠damn it! Damn it!â
Curses and spit poured from his open mouth.
The luxurious office he had maintained was already destroyed.
Several of his subordinates had turned into monsters and run off; the rest had fled.
And it was allâŠ
âThis is your fault!â
âUgh!â
The man took it out on the Temple guy dragged before him.
The guy was tied up tightly with rope, yet still managed to dodge whatever was thrown at himâinfuriating.
The shiny cross on the manâs neck looked like it was mocking him.
âIf it werenât for that damn Temple!â
âWhat are you talking aboutâŠ?â
âNow you pretend you donât know?!â
A wave of deep regret hit him.
From the startâŠ
He wished he had never fallen for the Templeâs bait.
For a man who had spent his life drifting around low positions in the capitalâs back alleys, the Templeâs approach half a year ago had been tempting.
âWould you rather be a snake in the capital, or a dragon in a far-off land?â
Those words had sparked greed in him.
Maybe he could finally score big and become someone important.
So he took the Templeâs hand and moved to Saint-Ports.
The job was easier than expected.
The moment he arrived, monsters began rampaging twice as much.
The Grand Duke, who normally kept an eye on the back alleys, was too busy fighting monsters to pay attention here.
âMake sure you succeed. Handle it with care.â
He enjoyed the profit from selling drug-laced cigarettes, and thatâs when the Temple gave him that.
When the cigarettes became established, they told him to mix it in and sell it.
âWhat is this, exactly?â
âYou donât need to knâ No, actually, better tell you so you donât misuse it.â
Poison made from monsters.
âIf taken for a long time, it could turn you into a monster.â
Ridiculous. Thereâs no way such a thing could exist.
But whatever it did, he didnât care. As long as it made him money.
Then things started going wrong.
âBoss, our cigarette sales have been blocked!â
âAnd someoneâs been messing around in the back alleys!â
He only found out who laterâ
When he was helping with a tailing mission requested by the chief priest.
âA little woman like that? Easy work.â
Even so, she annoyed him.
Arrogant brat.
Blocking his cigarette sales and meddling in his turf.
It wasnât just the woman that was a problem.
Fulfilling the Templeâs demands was getting harder.
Because my men lost all discipline.
Some of them were unhappy that he controlled all the profit.
It was getting harder to keep them in line.
âAh. While weâre talking, give me more of that.â
âThe last amount wasnât enough?â
âI figure itâs more effective than tying them up and dumping them somewhere. I might as well feed it to the troublemakers too.â
So he decided to give the poison to the rebellious ones.
âSince I canât mix it into the cigarettes like plannedâŠâ
It was his way of giving it a use.
Mixing the poison into alcohol worked well.
âWe⊠we drank poison?!â
âYeah. So work properly, unless you want to become monsters!â
He intimidated them with the antidote the Temple had given him.
They didnât truly believe theyâd become monsters, but they thought without the antidote, the poison would kill them.
He thought he was back in controlâuntilâŠ
That damn woman.
The one whoâd blocked the cigarettes and stirred up the alleys became a problem again.
I didnât think sheâd be connected to the Grand Duke.
The assassin he sent after her disappeared.
And then she went into the Grand Dukeâs estate, making it nearly impossible to touch her.
âYou made it sound so easy, but in the end! Useless!â
The chief priest had raged when he heard of the failure.
âFine! If thatâs how youâre gonna be, Iâm done!â
âDidnât you take our money?!â
âHmph! I spent it all on the job you gave me! I canât give it back!â
The priest had only glared at him with fierce eyes.
But if he exposed their orders to the Grand Duke, the Temple would be in trouble, not him.
âŠOr so he thought.
Now he saw why theyâd gone quiet.
He stared down at his trembling hand and cursed.
When did it start?
When had they poisoned him?
Then he rememberedâ
âIf I were devout, would I be in the back alleys? Why donât you bring in the Holy Knights to help look?â
âYouâŠ!â
âWhy? You gonna feed me that stuff too?â
The way the chief priest had looked at him that momentâŠ
And all those fresh, seasonal dishes the Temple kept sending to his officeâŠ
Damn it!
In Saint-Portsâ winter, such luxurious food was something only the Grand Duke could afford.
And even he had restricted his diet for the sake of supplies.
He had thought it meant he had more power than the Grand Dukeâ
But it was all a trap!
No wonder theyâve cut contact lately!
The Temple wanted to get rid of him before he could expose them.
âAntidote! Give me the antidote!â
His supply had run out recently.
He hadnât stored any extra, assuming the Temple would always send it regularly.
Without the antidote, his subordinates began turning into monsters.
And now⊠he was too.
âGive it to me now! Iâll admit everything was my fault!â
âWhat are you talking about?!â
No matter how he yelled, the other man looked genuinely confused.
That fake look of innocence was infuriating.
The Temple must have sent him!
âYou⊠damn it!â
âUgh!â
Unable to control the heat surging through him, he threw a paperweight from his desk.
The bound man dodged instinctivelyâbut then froze.
Some strands from his rope had snagged in the floorboards.
âYou canât dodge now! You bastard!â
The man was searching for his next weapon whenâ
Crack!
âAaaagh!â
His hands and wrists twisted at strange angles.
The corruption spread rapidly through his whole body.
He wanted to screamâ
But he had no mouth anymore.
Screeeech!
A gill-like membrane wailed instead.
It was too late.
His human mind vanished, leaving only a monsterâs instincts.
And his last remaining hatred targeted the Temple man before him.
Die!
Bang!
The moment his foot struck the groundâ
âZeon!â
Bang!
The door burst open.
A blinding flash filled the room.
âAre you okay? Zeon!â
I lowered my gun and rushed inside, breathless.
Iâm not too late, right?!
Iâd hurried here, but the monsterâs sounds earlier had made me nervous.
The eyeball at my waist was glowing fiercely, glaring around the room.
âElaine.â
Karl, who came in a beat later, pulled me back as if to tell me to stay behind.
âCough, cough⊠Elaine?â
I quickly turned toward the corner.
Zeon was there, tied up tightly, looking at me in confusion.
ââŠWait, Milady?â
Ah. Right.
He still doesnât know the difference between the male me and the female me.
I was wondering how to explain whenâ
âYou know him?â Karl asked suddenly.
âHuh?â
âI asked if you know that man.â
Tsk. Look at him opening his eyes like that.
Even the eyeball narrowed its gaze at Karl.
It was almost like I could read what it wanted to say despite not speaking its language.
âIf you mean Milady and me, yes, we know each otherâŠâ Zeon answered hesitantly.
Karl asked sharply, âHow do you know Elaine?â
âYour name is Elaine too, Milady? What a strange coincidenceâŠâ
âDonât call her so casually. Youâll wear it out.â
ââŠWhat?â
âKarl, enoughâŠâ
âSo, how did you meet?â
âWell, Milady saved me onceâŠâ
âElaine, youâve saved someone other than me?â
âEnough!â
Itâs not like I was cheating! Donât look at me like that!
Youâre making me feel guilty!
Itâs all because of that faceâ
Karlâs brows drooping in a sorrowful expression.
I couldnât tell if he was teasing or serious.
âDid you get yourself another lover while you had me?â
Has this guy not only removed his brakes but jammed them into his head?
âI hate to say this, but technically, youâre not even my official husband. Youâre the lover.â
âŠWhy does that sound like something an ancient playboy king with three thousand concubines would say?
Even though it was true, I still felt like trash.
ââŠWait, whatâs going on here?â
Zeonâs mouth hung open at the soap opera unfolding in front of him.
âMistress? Of course, that positionâs all mine, but Iââ
âIs this some kind of surprise event?â Zeon cut in, baffled.
While he was still confused, Karlâs brows drew together sharply.
âIâm your officialââ
âNever mind, duck!â
I shouted, and Karl instantly pulled me down to the floor with him.
Shhhhk!
A sharp attack sliced through the air right where weâd been standing.
I swear he is so annoying đ