Celebrity Lady - Chapter 154

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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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Celebrity Lady
Chapter 154
* * *
The Outdoor Execution Ground lay silent.
Leonard gazed down at the two severed heads sprawling at his feet.
“Ah.”
Ren, the Crown Prince’s adjutant, stepped into view with an awkward smile.
“Quite a gruesome sight, isn’t it? I’ll have them cleaned up at once.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I find it satisfactory.”
“I… is that so? Well, you certainly are bold, Duke.”
Leonard chuckled softly, studying the two lifeless heads with deliberate care.
The heads of two criminals who had been tormented by endless hallucinations until they begged for death.
The sorcerer Gale Bert and the attending physician Benjamin Herman.
“She’s here.”
Leonard lifted his head at the sound of Lark’s voice from beside him.
Bound, Molga was dragged by the executioners onto the guillotine platform.
Her eyes were vacant, her legs trembling weakly. The face that had once been beautiful was now blackened and shriveled, a pitiful sight.
“Hh… haah…”
Molga stared up at the gleaming blade, trembling violently.
Blood from the previous executions dripped steadily from the heavy steel blade, not yet dry.
“Lay her down.”
At Lark’s command, the executioner roughly seized Molga’s head and forced her down beneath the blade.
“No, no… I don’t want to. I’m afraid. Please…”
…
Leonard met his daughter’s final gaze head-on.
A week had passed since he lifted the hallucinations—he had hoped she would at least be lucid in her final moment.
In those seven days, Molga had endured three torments:
relief at finally escaping the hallucinations, terror at the approaching execution, and a shameful hunger for survival that she couldn’t suppress.
“I… I was wrong…”
Even as she knew her apology meant nothing to the merciless man before her, Molga wept bitterly.
Fear of death could make a human being so utterly wretched.
“When you meet my wife,”
Leonard spoke slowly, his gaze unwavering.
“tell her I’m sorry I couldn’t protect her.”
…
“Tell her I send the demons’ heads first as a gift, and ask her to receive them gladly.”
“Leonard…”
“And on the day we meet again… tell her that I too will beg her forgiveness for failing to keep her safe.”
Hh…
“See that she knows.”
“Wait, just—”
Whoosh—thunk!
The heavy blade fell swiftly.
Thud.
At the violent sound breaking the silence, the forest birds scattered into the sky without singing.
Everyone turned away—save Leonard alone remained unmoved.
His eyes did not blink once, watching until the light of life faded completely from the severed head rolling across the ground.
The man savored his exquisite revenge.
“…Let’s go.”
Leonard stripped off his gloves and cast them into the pool of blood, then turned to leave.
Biego and Victor followed at his side.
‘Lona.’
Even as he rolled his wife’s name in his mind, his heart found no release.
No answer would come from a dead wife.
Perhaps she would not welcome the demons’ heads he had sent her as a gift.
She was kind, after all. Foolishly kind.
That unanswered question would linger in Leonard’s chest like a splinter for the rest of his life.
“Ruuuby!”
At Victor’s excited call, Leonard looked up.
There stood his daughter, Rubetria Diolus—who had waited at a distance, unwilling to witness the grim finale.
“You came?”
The moment he saw her, Leonard stopped short in surprise.
In the bright sunlight, turning back toward him was his daughter.
The grown woman resembled her mother so strikingly that it struck him anew each time he saw her.
And so Leonard…
could not bring himself to meet her eyes. Her wish to avoid the demons’ final moments felt too much like his wife’s true heart, like a reproach for his late revenge.
As if she did not welcome the delayed retribution, as if she blamed him.
Yet.
…
His daughter approached first, as if she had read his heart, and embraced him.
She pressed her face against his chest for a long moment, then lifted her head.
‘Lona.’
Leonard fell into the illusion of meeting his wife once more.
“Thank you.”
Ah…
“It was a wonderful gift.”
The bright smile of his wife’s face.
Leonard’s lips curved slowly upward. A laugh escaped like a sigh.
“…Yes.”
That splinter which would have lodged in his chest forever, unanswered and uneasy,
had suddenly, impossibly, come free.
* * *
Time passed, and it was mid-March.
On this warm spring day, pink blossoms bloomed abundantly along the streets.
And here—
“Goodness, the Magic Tower Master!”
in Milen, the city of innovation.
In the Magic Tower’s uppermost chamber, Shane’s office.
“Your face… your face…”
“What about my face?”
I was startled the moment I laid eyes on Shane.
He had always been remarkably handsome, blessed with the superior genes of the imperial bloodline.
But in the time since I’d last seen him, even the dark circles that had been Shane’s trademark had vanished entirely, and…
‘Wow, he’s radiant! A top-tier handsome man!’
Even I, who had grown rather immune to pretty men thanks to Lark, was taken aback!
“Your face…”
I was about to gush when I caught the gaze of Lark standing beside me looking down thoughtfully, and I quickly changed course.
“…looks more human now.”
Well, it wouldn’t be proper to praise another man’s appearance in front of your future groom.
“What?”
“Ow!”
Shane strode over and pinched my cheek hard, pulling it outward.
“You hear that tone? When was I not human? Huh?”
“Aaaagh! It hurts, it hurts!”
“Are you insane? Stop it! Why are you pinching so hard!”
Lark swept Shane’s hand away and cupped my cheek gently, examining it.
“Are you all right?”
“Whimper… it hurts…”
Shane rubbed his arm where Lark had struck it, glaring at us both with obvious displeasure.
“Why did you come? Get lost, both of you.”
“Come now, we haven’t seen you in ages—why be so cold? That was a compliment, truly. You look so much healthier than before.”
I sat down on the plush sofa, rubbing my cheek, and let out a low whistle.
Wow, the cushioning on this premium Magic Tower Master’s office sofa really is something else.
“But seriously, what is it? You actually do look more human—no fatigue at all.”
Lark sat beside me and asked. Shane let out a short laugh.
He crossed his legs casually, draped both arms over the back of the sofa, and spoke with arrogant ease.
“I’m doing nothing at the moment.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m earning vast sums of money while doing absolutely nothing.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ah yes, earning money without lifting a finger—truly the dream of all mankind.”
I gazed at him with admiration, eyes full of envy.
“Hahahaha!”
Pleased with my reaction, Shane burst into laughter that seemed to shake the office.
“I no longer have to summon Lumiere. Right now, every light in this empire is maintained by the power of the Spirit King, who was neglecting his duties.”
“What?”
Lark was astonished.
“Jealous? Hahahaha! Hahahaha!”
“How did that happen?”
Shane’s perpetual dark circles were the result of consuming vast reserves of mental energy every second.
Unlike other Spirit Summoners, he had to keep the light Spirit Lumiere constantly summoned at all times.
Otherwise, all the Magical Artifacts created using the Principle of Light would fail to function…
“How it happened? Probably the Spirit King took pity on a wretched man holed up in the Magic Tower making endless sacrifices.”
“That’s wonderful!”
“I hadn’t realized. Either way, I’m relieved. When the Spirit’s protection vanished, Lumiere’s situation was what troubled me most.”
Lark stroked his chin thoughtfully. Shane’s eyes narrowed.
“Why would that trouble you?”
“Any other Spirit disappearing would be manageable, but the light Spirit? That would be catastrophic. I’d hoped you’d suffer like an ox forever.”
“You bastard?”
“Just joking.”
Shane clicked his tongue at Lark’s shameless laugh, but his expression softened into a smile.
“No one knows, of course. They still think I’m running myself ragged with Lumiere. The contract hasn’t been severed, after all.”
Shane’s golden eyes still gleamed with vitality.
“I used to produce only ten Magical Artifacts a month—now I can churn out hundreds without any strain on myself. Starting next month, I’m planning to export to other nations as well. Hahahaha!”
“You really are making money with zero effort. Enviously annoying.”
“Quite so. Hahahaha!”
I teased him with envy in my words, but Shane’s far more human face was genuinely pleasant to look at.
Knowing how punishing his life had been, maintaining constant summoning round the clock…
“But I was enjoying my well-deserved rest when a pair of cockroaches decided to visit and sour my mood. So out with it—what business brings you here this morning?”
Shane’s eyes narrowed once more.
I laughed softly and placed the wedding invitation from its elegant envelope on the table.
“…What’s this?”
“Come May, I finally become a married woman. I’d very much like to have the Magic Tower Master’s blessing at the ceremony.”
“…?”
Shane stared blankly at the invitation, then let out a bitter laugh and clicked his tongue.
“Damn it all. This empire is finished. When a green girl who hasn’t a drop of sense becomes Crown Princess, the country’s done for.”
“My, what a harsh thing to say. The blood’s been dry for ages, I assure you.”
“I should start preparing to flee. This nation has no future.”
“If you’re jealous, just say so.”
Lark snorted. Shane’s expression hardened.
“Me?”
“Now that you’re free, Magic Tower Master, why not find yourself a good match? You ought to experience love at least once before you die.”
“No, absolutely not. I’m afraid if I’m not careful, I’ll end up with a woman like you, so I’ll stay alone forever.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
I bristled, but Lark stopped me.
“Calm down, Rubetria. Don’t you know his manner of speech? He always says the opposite of what he means. Translated: he’d like to find a woman like you, but it seems impossible, so he’ll stay alone.”
“…What?”
Shane’s expression turned utterly flabbergasted.
His face reddened instantly, and he shot to his feet, shouting indignantly.
“Enough of your bullshit! Get out! Get out!”
“Eek!”
“The nerve of him…”
I fled before he could strike me, and Lark followed lazily at my heels.
Shane chased us out with furious shouts.
“Don’t ever come back! You cockroaches!”
* * *
Shane watched the two cockroaches grow distant and small through his office window.
Or more precisely, he watched Rubetria…
“Do you know something?”
Lumiere, Shane’s Spirit—who had become a wealthy layabout overnight alongside his master—spoke to him.
“The Contractor asked the King himself for this. He said you were so pitiful, and asked that you be allowed to rest now.”
Shane scoffed and turned away, muttering under his breath.
“Not pretty at all. Doing things no one asked for.”

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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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