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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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At the Erze Hotel.
Tia met Ethan in secret.
“So… you need my help?”
Ethan nodded. He needed the help of Tia’s intermediate-level wind spirit, Silbert.
With Silbert’s invisibility spell, he could monitor Arianna without being detected. He wasn’t sure what she might do to Arthur during their date.
“That’s right.”
“I’ll help if I can. But why are you monitoring Arthur and Arianna?”
Ethan explained his suspicions.
It was strange that Arthur and Arianna were the only survivors from their village. He was suspicious of how they had survived.
“…So, you’re saying you think Arianna might be working with the demons?”
It was easier to talk to Tia.
Sepia would have dismissed his theory as nonsense. But Tia considered all possibilities.
And she also found the situation suspicious.
“It is strange that his childhood friend transferred from Iniros Academy at this time.”
“So, I need your help.”
“Okay. But I have a condition.”
Tia, known for her sharp business acumen, wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.
“Promise me you’ll grant me one wish.”
“A wish? What kind of wish?”
“Any wish. I won’t ask for anything strange. Just promise me you’ll grant me one wish.”
Ethan hesitated. He needed Tia’s help.
“Okay. But I’ll decide whether or not to grant your wish after I hear it.”
“Alright. Should we write a contract?”
“…”
Tia drafted a contract and made Ethan sign it.
“Ethan, do you… like Arthur?”
Tia had heard that some men liked other men.
“We’re good friends. Don’t get any weird ideas. I like women.”
He would rather die than be mistaken for a homosexual.
“Okay. I won’t misunderstand.”
Tia smiled brightly. And so, their covert investigation began.
With Silbert’s help, Ethan and Tia floated through the air, their movements silent and undetectable.
Ethan’s blood boiled as he listened to their conversation.
‘Ethan… he thinks it’s strange that you and I were the only survivors from our village. He thinks… I made a deal with a demon to survive.’
Arianna’s lies had started there.
‘I’m scared… I don’t know what Ethan will do if he finds out…’
She was crazy. She was putting on a tearful act, portraying Ethan as a manipulative villain who preyed on vulnerable women.
‘Well, she is brainwashed, so I guess that makes her crazy…’
But thankfully, Arthur hadn’t fallen for her lies. He had defended Ethan, someone he had only known for six months, over his childhood friend of fifteen years.
Ethan’s anger simmered.
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Arianna stumbled back, clutching her stomach. I didn’t like hitting women, but I had no choice.
‘Can I subdue her with just my fists?’
I had been skeptical at first. She was a fast and agile assassin. She had killed dozens of people.
And she used poisoned daggers and other hidden weapons.
I couldn’t be careless.
That’s why I had drawn my sword. But after punching her in the stomach, I felt like the fight was going to be easier than I had anticipated.
My Combat Intuition told me I could easily defeat her.
“O-ow…”
Arianna crumpled to the ground, groaning.
“Arthur must be heartbroken that you stabbed him.”
I had been thorough. I had even hidden Lien in Arthur’s shadow.
I had done that after our drinking session. I had placed Lien in Arthur’s shadow while he was passed out drunk.
It had been my own decision.
I would tell Arthur that he had blacked out.
Arthur had drunk seven beers and two bottles of whiskey. Even a heavy drinker like him would have a hard time remembering everything.
“When… when did you get here?”
I didn’t answer. I closed the distance between us. She threw a handful of daggers at me.
But the daggers, caught in Silbert’s wind magic, lost their momentum.
I deflected them with my sword.
“What the…?”
Honestly, I wanted to kill her for framing me.
But that would destroy Arthur.
So, I would just knock her unconscious.
“Arthur is mine. He swore he would die for me.”
“You’re crazy.”
She was truly insane.
I lunged at her. She threw something on the ground. A cloud of smoke filled the air.
It was a smoke bomb that contained a paralytic agent. If inhaled, it would paralyze the victim within seven seconds. But Lien was a Chaos Knight. He didn’t need to breathe.
Lien charged into the smoke. And I had Tia’s intermediate-level wind spirit.
“Silbert!”
A gust of wind dispersed the smoke. I covered my nose and mouth with my sleeve and looked around. Arianna was gritting her teeth, her escape plan foiled.
She looked surprised and angry that her techniques had been countered.
“W-wait!”
She might try something else. I had to subdue her now.
Lien grabbed her neck and slammed her to the ground.
“Wait…”
I walked towards her, my black blade gleaming menacingly.
“I should just cut off your hands…”
“I-I’ll do whatever you say! Please…”
“…?”
I thought I was seeing things. But I wasn’t. Her skirt was wet.
She had wet herself out of fear? An assassin?
“I-I’m sorry… Please… don’t come any closer! I’m scared! Master Ethan!”
Her eyes, which had been clouded, were now clear.
The brainwashing had been broken by a beating? Or was this another act?
I couldn’t tell what was real anymore.
“Lien, take care of her.”
“Eek!”
Lien chopped the back of her neck, and she collapsed.
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Arianna’s eyes snapped open. She was wearing a white gown. She quickly checked her body.
‘They’re gone. My daggers, my poison needles… everything…’
They must have stripped her naked and searched her. She had hidden weapons all over her body.
Then she noticed that her ankles were chained.
“Oh, you’re awake!”
A little girl was looking down at her. She had dark blue hair and dark blue eyes.
“Who… who are you…?”
“I’m Hessia.”
“I… I see…”
Hessia reached out and touched Arianna’s forehead.
“Your fever is gone.”
“I see. Where’s Ethan? That crazy bastard! Where is he?!”
The memory of his cold gaze sent shivers down her spine. Hessia smiled sweetly. It was a disarming smile.
“Don’t say bad words! Big sister!”
She looked like a four or five-year-old, but Arianna’s instincts told her that this child was different.
“Big sister, do you remember why you’re here?”
“What…? I don’t…”
“You might have a headache, or your memories might be fuzzy.”
“Are… are you working with Ethan? That lunatic chained me up! Kidnapping and unlawful detention are crimes!”
Hessia held up a glass jar. Something was floating inside. Three worm-like creatures. They were motionless.
“Big sister, think carefully. Why are you here?”
“That lunatic attacked me…! Ah…”
Her memories came flooding back.
Arianna’s eyes widened in horror. Tears streamed down her face.
‘I… I tried to kill Arthur?’
Arthur was her childhood friend, her first love, the man she had promised to marry.
And she remembered everything that had happened after that.
“Those are Kodoku. Parasitic mind control worms.”
They were a particularly nasty form of dark magic. They were illegal, and anyone found with Kodoku was executed. They were rarely seen in public.
“I see…”
“Of course, I removed them. Aren’t I amazing? I found three of them. One in your brain, one in your heart, and one in your stomach.”
Arianna felt nauseous.
Three worms, each the size of her little finger, had been living inside her brain, heart, and stomach.
“The white one was in your brain, the red one was in your heart, and the brown one was…”
“Please… stop.”
“Okay, you looked sad, so I thought I’d tell you so you could forget about it.”
A brief silence followed. Arianna had stopped crying.
The shock therapy seemed to have worked.
But how could a child remove Kodoku?
It was a feat that even skilled mages struggled with.
“How did you remove them?”
“It’s a secret.”
“I see… Where am I?”
“My house.”
A knock echoed. Hessia called out, “Coming!” and the door opened. Ethan entered the room.
His sharp eyes made Arianna flinch.
“How are you feeling?”
“I-I’m fine!”
“Hessia, can you leave us alone for a bit?”
Ethan scratched his cheek. Hessia nodded readily.
“Okay!”
Hessia left the room. Ethan and Arianna were alone.
Arianna gulped, watching Ethan nervously.
“How are you feeling?”
“I-I’m fine!”
“Do you remember everything?”
Arianna nodded. She remembered everything, even the things she didn’t want to remember.
“You… you saved me.”
“That’s right.”
Well, technically, Hessia was the one who had removed the Kodoku.
Hessia, a dragon with immense magical talent, had instinctively known how to remove the parasites, despite her young age.
“Thank you. You saved me.”
She meant it. If it weren’t for Ethan, she would still be trapped in the darkness, unaware of her actions.
“What are you going to do with me now?”
She avoided his gaze, intimidated by his dark eyes.
“First, you’re going to apologize to Arthur.”
“I will.”
“And… I need to know where you’ve been staying.”
Arianna’s eyes wavered.
“W-what are you going to do?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Ethan grinned. His smile sent shivers down her spine.
‘He’s going to kill them all, isn’t he?’
He was planning a massacre.
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