Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 138

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 138
[Ugh….]
My thoughts had become hopelessly tangled. I let out a strange sound and collapsed against the rock, my back sliding down its surface. Only then did I notice the presence of another person beside me.
[Huh?]
Someone moved beside me. I reflexively turned to look, and my eyes met directly with a pair of pitch-black pupils.
[…Gasp!]
It was Soleia Elad—someone I’d completely forgotten about in all the chaos. I swallowed a gasp and flinched backward.
[S-scary unnie…!]
Nonsense tumbled from my lips. I stared at Soleia Elad with my mouth agape. Her condition was equally terrible. Her body was covered in burns from the sacred power, her skin a mottled red. Scratches and tears crisscrossed her everywhere. Yet even in such a state, her face remained beautiful. More than that, she showed no signs of pain. Soleia Elad looked me over with an expression of disbelief.
“What’s with that appearance?”
[….]
But even she seemed to find my condition difficult to look at. For some reason, I felt wronged. I answered sullenly.
[What do you mean, I’m a ghost.]
“A ghost?”
[There are circumstances.]
My indignation quickly transformed into melancholy. I fidgeted and looked down at my translucent, glowing body. Tattered jeans ripped in places, a white shirt stained with blood. I could imagine exactly how spectral I must look. I turned back to Soleia Elad and asked hesitantly.
[Do I… look very much like a ghost…?]
“….”
[My face looks different too, doesn’t it? But… how did you recognize me?]
Soleia Elad’s expression became one of exasperation at my foolish question.
“Get a grip, Princess. You’re asking how I recognized you when you’re wearing your own face? If that man heard this, he’d probably collapse on the spot.”
“Yerenika.”
Right on cue, Auredhian Belgot called my name again. I flinched in surprise and curled myself into a small ball. Something about this situation felt genuinely strange. It made sense that Soleia Elad would hide from Auredhian Belgot, but why were we both crouched behind this small rock together…?
“Don’t forget the promise you made with me, Princess.”
And even in the midst of all this, Soleia Elad turned my insides upside down.
“You won’t purify this place. You won’t issue an immediate execution order. We promised, didn’t we? You have to stop the Emperor properly.”
[….]
Is that really the problem right now? You beautiful, cold unnie. But dealing with Soleia Elad’s demands was less important than figuring out how to appease Auredhian Belgot immediately.
“Why do you keep doing this to me….”
A suppressed sigh echoed through the space. Short gasps followed, accompanied by the sound of deep breathing as if trying to calm himself.
“If you don’t want to watch me lose my mind.”
But it seemed he had failed. His voice still trembled—a voice tangled with anxiety and urgency, completely shattered.
“Come to me. Please.”
It was precisely the kind of voice that left me helpless and defenseless.
“If you don’t come, I will.”
[D-don’t come…!]
I cried out urgently. If I had been wearing a physical body, cold sweat would surely have been pouring down my face. Panicked and at a loss, I rolled my eyes and whispered urgently while gripping Raulus in one hand.
[Lari, what do I look like right now?]
[Like you.]
[This is no time for jokes. Do I look very grotesque right now?]
I was the soul of a body that had died in a car crash—there was no way my condition could be intact. Just looking at the bloodstains scattered across my clothes was proof enough of that.
[Right, well. The face isn’t completely identical, I’ll admit. But it’s similar enough. Not unrecognizable. In fact….]
Raulus stretched his neck forward and scrutinized me.
[It’s quite similar to your ‘body’.]
[…?]
That couldn’t be right. I looked down at my body again in its spiritual form. Blue jeans and a white shirt—the clothes I’d been wearing when death found me. And Eun-seo’s face bore little resemblance to my current one. Yet I remembered that two years ago, Diego had immediately called me “Princess” upon seeing my spiritual form. The connection was undeniable.
Raulus continued.
[It’s your name now, after all. Yerenika.]
[….]
[As your name takes root and the remnants of the dead soul merge with your body, both your physical form and your spiritual essence are transforming together.]
[I see….]
[Besides, crumbs, that one wouldn’t care about such things anyway.]
Would he really? Auredhian had only seen my outward appearance. I was thinking somewhat skeptically when I stiffened at the sound of heavy footsteps approaching steadily toward me.
I felt Soleia quickly step aside from my position. The footsteps drew ever closer. Holiness wrapped around my body—nothing more than a fragment of a soul.
“Your Majesty, are you all right?”
That was when I heard my lifeline—that voice.
“I should probably send the Holy Knights down to the lower levels…. I cannot sense the Princess’s presence, Your Majesty?”
It was Diego’s voice—one I hadn’t heard in exactly two years. Auredhian’s sharp reply cut through the air.
“Send them down. Execute the Dark Mages on the spot. As for the survivors….”
[Wait, wait, just a moment…!]
I blurted out a sound without thinking. Soleia, hidden in the shadows, shot me a piercing glare. She mouthed words at me.
‘Promise.’
I understood! I knew! Executions couldn’t happen. If even one of Soleia’s disciples died in this Underground, that terrifying sister of mine might drag me into a self-destruction. And at this moment, I needed Soleia to be alive….
Diego’s startled voice rang out.
“Wait, did I just hear something? Could it be the Princess?”
I forced strength into my trembling legs and pushed myself upright. My body, devoid of sensation, felt so light it seemed ready to crumble and scatter downward at any moment.
“You found me already? No, wait—this voice is…?”
I wanted to step out of the shadows, but my body wouldn’t obey my will. It must have looked like I was still hesitating. A suppressed voice reached me again.
“Don’t be cruel to me like this, Yerenika.”
“I understand. I won’t ask anything. Just let me see your face and hear your voice properly.”
“I got it. I won’t ask you anything. Just let me see your face and hear your voice properly.”
[….]
“That’s all I need.”
Even in this situation, he says such things. Whether from gratitude or guilt, my chest kept tightening. I barely managed to open my mouth.
[I promise I won’t be startled. No matter what I see.]
“….”
[If you don’t promise, I won’t come out.]
I heard Diego sigh softly from behind. He seemed to have grasped the situation. Well, Diego was the only person who had witnessed my state two years ago in the Imperial Palace.
Auredhian’s answer came a beat late.
“All right. I promise.”
[….]
In the end, I took a step. One foot forward. Then another. I emerged from behind the rock where I’d been hiding, stepping out beneath the still-darkened dawn sky. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to look up. I had no idea what expression he wore as he gazed at me. I mumbled something in a voice barely above a whisper.
[I promised I wouldn’t be startled.]
“….”
The moment I emerged, I wanted to hide again. Unable to find anywhere to look, I wandered aimlessly before simply crouching back down in the same spot. I felt like a criminal, though I’d done nothing wrong.
“….”
Ah, or had I…? Bitterness welled up swiftly. If failing to mention something beforehand was a sin, then yes—I was guilty.
“It seems like it should be you making that promise, not me.”
Auredhian muttered quietly. When I glanced up at him, his face was barely holding itself together.
“May I come closer?”
[….]
It was an unnecessary question. I managed only a nod. If my body—my soul—had obeyed me, I would have approached him first long ago. The moment I nodded, Auredhian strode forward in great steps. He immediately lowered himself before me and reached out his hand. Of course, it passed right through.
[I can’t.]
I mumbled in a dejected voice.
[As you saw just now, I’m not in a state where I can touch or be touched by anything….]
“….”
[I have no body.]
Once I blurted out the conclusion, the rest of my words dried up. I lowered my gaze, avoiding his crimson eyes, and continued mumbling.
[This happens to me sometimes. My body and soul separate like this. Actually, it hasn’t happened in nearly two years….]
“Yerenika.”
[When I’m in this state, I can’t feel anything. Even if you touch me, you won’t feel anything. So the reason this happened is….]
“Yeni, look at me.”
My rambling words were cut short. I looked up blankly. Only then could I see Auredhian’s face clearly. His silver hair slightly disheveled. A long, narrow collar pulled carelessly down past his neck. His complexion pale and rigid.
“You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to.”
His crimson eyes wavered intensely. His voice didn’t sound particularly steady either. Yet the meaning behind his words was calm, and profoundly gentle.
“I can see that you’re not in any condition to be fine.”
[….]
“I thought seeing your face might help….”
His words trailed off. Tears that had pooled at the corners of his eyes fell downward, drop by drop. Those weren’t real teardrops—they shimmered transparently and dissolved into the air.
“How bad is your condition?”
[Somewhat, quite….]
I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I couldn’t afford to ramble meaninglessly after coming this far. Focus. Get yourself together. Your body is somewhere right now, dying, and you don’t even know where or how…!
Finally, I hardened my resolve.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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