Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 139

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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 139
[I have something to—.]
“Where is your body?”
But the person who should have been listening seemed utterly uninterested. The face that had been struggling to remain composed finally twisted into something fierce.
“I’m certain I saw it earlier. You, or rather… no.”
[Wait, just a moment.]
“Something that took your body is using magic. You’re weak to mana… ah, is that why you were separated?”
Even through the dizziness, I couldn’t help but click my tongue inwardly. Without knowing anything, he’d witnessed only my body and soul splitting apart, yet he’d already reached that conclusion. Just how sharp was this man’s intuition? But Auredhian’s final deduction veered off in an entirely unexpected direction.
“Does it have to be that specific body?”
[I’m sorry?]
I asked stupidly. Did it have to be that specific body? I’d never considered that far. But before I could think it through properly, Raulus clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
[Any body won’t do. The soul and flesh must have compatible affinities. And for a spirit like you—one without permission to exist in this land—there’s even less chance of finding a suitable vessel.]
But it was a voice Auredhian couldn’t hear. I sighed and reached for his hand.
[…For now, Your Majesty.]
Of course, my hand simply passed through his, but it had the effect of stopping whatever he was about to say.
[Listen to me first. There are many things I haven’t told you all this time. You’ve probably guessed some of it, but…]
“…”
[You won’t listen?]
“I’m listening.”
Auredhian answered reluctantly. I gazed up at those crimson eyes. Trying to speak words that wouldn’t come felt like wringing out my very soul. It felt as though I were being shaken until not a speck of dust remained.
But what could I do at this point? In the end, I began with a tone of half-resignation.
[The beginning is… well, should I call it an unexpected tragic death?]
“Could you avoid using the word ‘death’?”
Auredhian’s brows furrowed immediately. This time, I let out a truly deep sigh. It seemed this story would take longer to tell properly.
* * *
But contrary to my inner worries, laying bare all those hidden secrets didn’t take nearly as long as I’d feared. The day I first fell into this world. The day I realized this world was from the novel I’d been reading. Thanks to that, I could predict the future to some extent, and while trying to prevent Tezebia’s abduction, I’d ended up being abducted instead. Upon arrival, I discovered that a terrifying woman in the shadows was targeting you. So I went to such lengths to prevent your marriage. Those attempts accumulated, and somehow the scale kept growing, and before I knew it, I was bearing the full brunt of the backlash from all these tangled currents. On top of that, there was Raulus and Hades, Soleia, and me. You, standing apart from the current flow. And everything that happened two years ago.
It took less than ten minutes to tell all of it. These were stories I’d hidden away and struggled to digest alone, yet when I finally spoke them aloud, they amounted to less than ten minutes. I felt a slight sense of emptiness and murmured.
[That’s… all of it.]
“I see.”
And the response came remarkably quickly. Throughout my entire explanation, I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes, but at that immediate reply, my head lifted of its own accord.
I blinked blankly.
[You’re… not surprised.]
“You told me not to be.”
Those crimson eyes continued to scrutinize me from head to toe. His voice remained achingly tender.
“Is there anything else about you that I don’t know?”
[No… this is really all of it.]
“Then that’s enough.”
I felt somewhat confused. Was this story only heavy for me? Or was this man simply not believing what I was telling him? I voiced my suspicion.
[You don’t believe me, do you?]
“How could I not.”
Auredhian Belgot answered with a noticeably calmer tone.
“I believe everything you say. Of course I do—it’s you speaking.”
[….]
“If you ask why I’m not shocked, I’d say there’s nothing more shocking to me than your current state.”
[Ah….]
“I don’t think anything will ever surprise me more than this….”
Auredhian Belgot’s face still bore the expression of someone holding back countless emotions. I gazed at that expression quietly before speaking again.
[I’m sorry.]
“For what?”
[For not telling you beforehand….]
“You haven’t done anything wrong. Why are you apologizing?”
[If I had just laid everything bare from the start, things might not have spiraled this far out of control….]
The words tumbled out incoherently. It was becoming increasingly difficult to think straight. Strangely so.
[But… even if I could go back to before, I think I still wouldn’t have been able to tell you. I’m sorry for that too….]
“Stop.”
I shouldn’t have been able to feel any sensation at all, yet my mind kept spinning. Everything was dizzy. The divine essence wasn’t being absorbed properly—it kept bouncing away.
Only then did I realize I was in a state of extreme overload. In truth, it was strange that I was functioning at all. I’d clawed my way up from the depths, only to lose my body in the process. But there was still more I needed to say. About what we should do going forward.
I squeezed out what little remained of my consciousness and barely managed to speak.
[Below… below, underground…. Nia is there. There are people who haven’t become puppets yet too. Ah, Nia is… the one who helped me….]
“Yerenika.”
[And, about the Dark Mages… there’s more to discuss. Soleia….]
Now my vision was spinning wildly.
[This… is strange.]
In a spiritual state, I shouldn’t be able to feel anything. So why am I so dizzy? I blinked slowly. Auredhian Belgot seemed to quickly notice my condition.
“Yerenika, stop talking now.”
[Yes…?]
A wave of pure, crystalline divine essence wrapped around me. As the essence was absorbed into me, my spinning vision gradually steadied. But it was still slow. Normally, just his presence alone would have restored me quickly…. Auredhian Belgot’s brow furrowed.
“I can’t even hold you. This is truly fatal.”
[….]
“I hate this most of all.”
Me too. I sniffled and habitually reached out my hand to him, but the overwhelming sorrow finally made me shed tears.
[This isn’t the time for this….]
[No. You need to recover, little one.]
Raulus interjected abruptly.
[If you keep going like this and truly lose your mind, you won’t even become a specter—you’ll simply cease to exist. The body may die but the soul remains, but if the soul dies, how can the body endure?]
[….]
So it’s endure again. I have no idea what, when, or how much more I’m supposed to bear.
[Little one, you need to stay conscious.]
Raulus gently bit my finger. Currently, Raulus was the only one who could touch me. I still couldn’t feel the softness of fur or the sting of being bitten, but I could definitely feel the contact.
“What exactly is that wolf…?”
Auredhian Belgot seemed to have noticed it too. Yet he didn’t finish his question, swallowing whatever he meant to say. In truth, among all the stories I’d told him, it seemed Auredhian Belgot distrusted nothing more than tales concerning Raulus.
Raulus grumbled.
[It’s all because this body is far too adorable.]
“….”
I wondered if I’d truly lost my mind, for his words didn’t sound entirely wrong. I forced my trembling lips upward and opened my mouth with effort.
[He can be a bit mischievous, but… he listens well and is quite intelligent. Would you like to see? Come now, Lari, shake.]
[Shake!]
“….”
The atmosphere froze rigid. This wasn’t it at all… I moved reluctantly toward Auredhian Belgot’s side, my head spinning whenever I strayed even slightly from his presence.
“Sigh… I’m losing it.”
I heard Auredhian Belgot exhale deeply. His hand scraped at the ground where mine rested.
“First, let’s focus on your recovery, Yerenika.”
[Yes….]
One more word and I’d vanish entirely as Raulus had said, so I sealed my lips and concentrated solely on absorbing his divine essence. At some point, I drifted into a shallow sleep.
* * *
“Is the Princess well?”
“….”
Diego Schmart asked with concern, but Auredhian Belgot couldn’t answer. Yerenika, her eyes blinking drowsily, lay asleep cradling a small wolf cub in her arms.
“Ah, Your Majesty.”
Diego Schmart ventured to speak again. Sensing he had something to say, Auredhian Belgot reluctantly tore his gaze from Yerenika and looked toward him.
“There’s something I failed to tell you….”

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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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