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nChapter 73

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nBecause of his tone, Camu coughed a little and carefully chose his words.

n“I mean, if your wife makes a mistake… Damn it, think realistically. I’d be confused, too. Imagine a grilled pig on a table talking to you one day! If she could understand all of their cries, wouldn’t she be disturbed if you were the one who was fighting? Would that not be a problem? What if they look at your wife sitting in the audience and show some strange behaviour?”

nThe metaphor with grilled pig was a bit illogical, but Galar also expressed his agreement.

n“I’m most concerned about that, too, Izek. Even if the Duchess is good at dealing with it, you don’t know what the mad monsters would do. If you’re trying to rush into the auditorium, if it’s impossible, or if you’re trying to send a signal…….”

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n“What do you mean by signal?”

n“Well, I don’t know, body language or something like that.”

nA mysterious silence passed by Galar’s quibbling over whether Izek did not have common sense.

nIzek, who had a fed-up look on his face, finally murmured as if he was sighing, “Who doesn’t know that? That’s why I’m attending.”

n“What?”

nIzek turned away from his colleagues staring blankly at him and watched the sunset burning scarlet.

nThe wild tricks used in the gladiatorial match to tame monsters had grown wild over the months.

nSo, these monsters were reborn as a perfect monster through hunger, torture, stimulation and drug injection.

nAt present, no one could tell what would happen if such monsters detected Rudbeckia.

nThat is why Cardinal Valentino could not be excluded from the stands as he came to take control of the committee.

nSo…

n“I’m the only one who can kill them as quickly as possible without pain before they make a fool of themselves.”

nIt was a serious, unfortunate argument, but there was no pride or arrogance in his slow-flowing voice.

nCamu and Galar did not even feel like refuting for once, because the words that came out were not plain but dry, and a very natural and understandable fact.

n“So that’s why… but what if you lose in the middle?”

n“There’s no losing. I’m the final winner of this tournament.”

n“Are you serious?”

n“I will do my best to save the spirit of the North and give pride to my uncle. Wouldn’t that be enough for me to have my own way if I get found out later on? My wife’s got some quirks, so there’ll be fewer people to question her with a man like me as her husband.”

nCamu turned away and rummaged through his waist pocket for a leaf cigarette.

nMeanwhile Galar dropped his leaf cigarette and spat out, “Then, we’ll have to attend.”

n“What do you mean, ‘we’?”

n“Me and you, Camu. And maybe Ivan and…….”

n“Is this bear crazy, why are you suddenly dragging me in? And don’t you know that foul play is prohibited?”

n“Who said this is foul play? Let’s go on a new adventure.”

n“You talk so easily about this, just what do you think a gladiatorial match is?”

n“You’re not confident, Camu? I’m disappointed.”

n“This man, really…….!”

nIt was then that the sound of hooves getting closer quickly came from the bottom.

nCamu, who became embarrassed, looked away from Galar, who was shaking his head disappointedly.

nIzek was stuck looking at the slow sunset.

n“Ah, f*ck. What is this sh*t.”

n“…What, Ivan, is that you? Where have you been? You only show up now, you insincere b*stard.”

n“Eat sh*t, you a**. Do you want to lose your mouth?”

nAlthough Ivan was always a foul-mouthed man, he rarely talked this way, so Camu became speechless rather than enraged by his unexpected verbal abuse.

nIvan jumped out of the saddle and approached Izek. Camu and Galar were staring at him from afar.

n“Hey, Iz, we need to talk.”

n“Where have you been to show up this late?”

n“…I was at your house. Because of Leah.”

nIvan, who gave a much different answer to the same question, looked very out of shape.

nHe seemed nervous, worried about something, but in a word, he was a mess.

nIzek’s cheerful expression also became serious.

n“Did your sister have an accident?”

n“No, it’s not like that. She was playing well.”

n“Then, why are you pretending to be worried? Oh, did you see the tea party?”

n“……Yes, it was almost ending when I came.”

n“You must have met Ruby, too. Was she having fun?”

nIvan did not answer immediately.

nThere was a moment of silence.

n“Ivan.”

n“Huh?”

n“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you answering? How was my wife?”

nAt Izek’s question, Ivan went silent.

nDamn it, how the hell am I supposed to explain this.

nIvan suddenly thought that it would have been nice to have a spirit in his sword as Rudbeckia had asked one day.

nThen the sword could tell him instead.

n‘I really didn’t do it.….’

n‘Calm down. Do you think I’m here to argue with that?’

nA friendly pat on my cheek, almost soothing.

nIt was a touch of tenderness and affection like caressing a beloved treasure.

nOn the other hand, the hand clutching my hair was so ruthless and barbaric that I couldn’t believe it was on my body.

n‘I heard the atmosphere was ruined. I wish you didn’t make such a fuss and just let it go, and then I could take care of it for you… if you came to me. You don’t trust me that much?’

n‘That’s…’

n‘The more I think about it, the more strange it is. Why do you have so much energy these days?’

nThose deep blue eyes were glowing with dangerous light.

nA warning signal blared in my head.

nMy body trembled like a scared dog.

n‘…Oh, is it because of him, too? You’ve been looking pretty good lately, did he promise you anything?’

nInstead of making use of my frozen tongue, I tried to shake my head.

nHowever, his strong grip on my head kept me stuck.

nSoon a grim whisper sent shivers down my spine.

n‘I guess you forgot who you’re staying in this house for.’

n“……AHHH!”

nI woke up startled by my sleep talking.

nIt took me a while to clearly remember where I was and what I was doing.

nI had fallen to my knees.

nI must have dozed off in an armchair without realizing it.

nI tried to come to my senses, shaking my heavy head.

nWhat time was it now?

n“Madam, are you all right?”

nWith a knock, Ronja appeared. It was a rare tearful face.

nWhile I was just staring blankly, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and dragged her tray cart in.

n“I brought you a meal, mdam. The princess said…. Sniff, I’m sorry.”

n“Ronja, why are you crying?”

n“I’m sorry, madam, madam…… Your Tea Party …….”

nApparently, the disturbance at today’s tea party spread among the servants.

nI didn’t know how Ronja, my maid, heard it, but she seemed pretty upset.

n“It’s not necessarily my tea party. Don’t cry, it’s not a big deal.”

n“Yes, but……Uhnnn……!”

nThe naive Ronja showed no sign of stopping her tears.

nI tried to speak calmly, but I also felt like crying.

nNo, I literally wanted to hit the ground and wail.

nI’m crazy, crazy! What the hell have I done?

nDamn it, I shouldn’t have said anything.

nIf I had just shut up, the situation would have been less serious than it is now.

nWas this how the castle, which had just been laid out with the utmost effort, collapses?

nThis case was different from what happened at the horse riding meeting the other day.

nI thought we had just got a little closer, but now neither Ellenia nor Sir Ivan will ever think of me the same way again.

nAnd Izek…….

nLucille, who followed, buried her face in an apron and threw a cloth at the sniffling Ronja.

n“Can’t you stop whining? What are you doing in front of madam?”

n“B-But the Lord…….”

n“This is why children are so tiresome.”

nLucille started to cook my meal, clicking her tongue.

nShe looked very professional when she rolled up her sleeves and moved diligently.

nI think she was a little excited.

nLucille’s mindset was obvious.

nShe would think I had a chance to bribe her again.

nRonja didn’t know much about the inside of this castle yet, so if everyone starts being as cold-hearted as they used to be, I’ll need her presence.

nAnyway, everyone was always the same.

n“Come on, madam.”

nThe scent of cream cheese and meat salad with thick onion soup, sliced salmon were very stimulating, but it didn’t give me an appetite at all.

nIt seems like my most important humans went away with one shot, so it would be funny if I had an appetite left.

nEllenia knew about my anorexia.

nI didn’t know why she ordered her to bring me a meal, who was stuck in my room having skipped dinner, but I had to eat it for now.

nAnd then I’d throw it up carefully so I didn’t get caught.

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nThis was so depressing that I didn’t even think about blaming Freya.

nWhat was the use of cursing her in my heart?

nLike she said, here she and I were not even comparable, and we knew for a long time that if anything happened, they’d choose her.

nConsidering the truth that the dignity of the childhood friend is everywhere, the cliches of all ages and times gathered to give the zero possibility that I would beat Freya in the fantasy fiction world.

nBut why was my mouth so bitter?

nMaybe I was unconsciously mistaken.

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