I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 66
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 66
The Dragon Clan lost one of their greatest assets today due to Viscount Soro’s misjudgment.
The mad dragon’s corpse had not rotted due to the immense concentration of demonic energy within it.
The mad dragon’s corpse that the first Duke of Sarkis offered to the Imperial Court became the material for the Dragon Bone Gate after a lengthy purification process.
The Dragon Clan only possessed a few pieces they had barely managed to smuggle out through back channels.
And the mad dragon’s eyeball was the largest piece among them.
“Kuk, uugh…!”
In painful failure, Viscount Soro began banging her forehead against the floor.
Fabron knew better than anyone that it wasn’t just out of loyalty, but also fear of the coming reprimand.
Now it was his turn to mock.
“That’s what I told you, didn’t I.”
Perhaps due to losing quite a bit of blood, his breathing quickly became labored.
But if it was to humiliate Viscount Soro, he could muster any amount of strength.
“Didn’t I say you seemed to be rushing things too much.”
“…Fabron!”
“Tsk, this makes all the blood I shed worthless.”
Viscount Soro’s bloodshot eyes glared at him as if to kill him.
Fabron smiled leisurely and rubbed the corner of his mouth with his rotting fingers.
“It doesn’t seem like it was a wise choice.”
Then he roughly wrapped his bleeding hand with cloth and turned around.
Since he too had a trace of dragon’s blood mixed in, it would heal given time.
Though the wound was too terrible to return to its former state without scars.
“How dare you in front of me…!”
“Father!”
Drury, who had belatedly come to her senses, shouted and supported the collapsing Viscount.
Fabron climbed the underground chamber stairs without looking back.
His legs were trembling, but he desperately hid any sign of limping.
Even though he had been humiliatingly captured and bled earlier, he didn’t want to appear weak until the end.
‘Disgusting bastards.’
Whether human or dragonkin, he felt no affection for either side.
‘I should dig deeper into how the dragonkin make their dolls.’
A manor filled with ornamental dolls that were once human. A quiet and prosperous life thriving on their humiliation as nourishment.
That was the only sweet dream that Fabron, disgusting to both humans and dragons, wished for.
* * *
Not a single ray of light entered the Sarkis Family Underground Prison.
The damp humidity characteristic of places without sunlight lingered, but thanks to torches installed throughout, minimal visibility was secured.
“Keu, uuugh…”
Cassian was watching the demon beast that continuously made ominous howling sounds even while dying.
Originally, when beasts became demon beasts after being corrupted by demonic energy, wounds bitten by them would typically rot black.
But the ones appearing recently were clearly different in some way.
“Keuuuk…”
The beast in the iron cage had the form of a wolf, but appeared twice as large as a normal wolf.
Unlike typical demon beasts that were grotesquely twisted, this one had its entire skeleton uniformly enlarged.
It was as if someone had intentionally bred it.
‘Its intelligence was also abnormally high.’
Cassian recalled those creatures that had surrounded the knight order as if deploying tactics with intelligence beyond that of beasts.
It wasn’t simply hunting instinct or aggression. Something more vivid and terrible could be felt in their eyes and behavior.
It was malice.
Originally, beasts don’t harbor malice. That’s a curse-like emotion that only species with intelligence and reason can possess.
That was the most ominous and certain change Cassian had felt.
‘Moreover, they even bite other individuals to spread infection.’
It was as if evolution had occurred.
If such individuals increased from dozens to hundreds, thousands?
The current methods of subjugation wouldn’t be able to stop them.
Deep furrows formed on Cassian’s brow. Why did such things have to happen again now of all times.
At this point when the curse’s seal had weakened by his generation, and even the previous Duke had died early, leaving him to shoulder the family burden.
“It looks really disgusting even when I see it again.”
Then, a refreshing voice rang out, cutting through the heavily sunken atmosphere.
Cassian barely suppressed the urge to hold his forehead and slowly turned around.
“I told you not to follow me.”
“Hmm…”
“I told you to return to the Viscount’s Manor in the first place. This place is more dangerous for you anyway.”
To avoid openly sighing or scolding her, Cassian desperately summoned his patience.
“When did you say that being with the Young Count was the safest.”
The form of address had subtly returned to the original.
The fact that just that one form of address was most irritating in a situation like this was absurd even to himself.
“…”
“I mean, Cassian-nim.”
As if noticing why Cassian frowned, Damia quickly corrected the form of address.
Even at that trivial action, the corners of his mouth seemed ready to twitch on their own.
Cassian clenched and unclenched his fist, struggling to compose his expression.
It was good that the form of address had returned from the distant-feeling ‘Young Count’ to his own name, but at the same time it felt strangely bitter.
‘I’ve given permission several times to call me by name only.’
His fiancée kept drawing lines whenever she had the chance.
From the moment he realized he was a dangerous element to Damia, he had resolved to keep his distance every time.
But when actually facing the invisible walls Damia had built up layer by layer, instead of feeling relieved, his chest felt stuffily blocked.
Perhaps Damia thought her one-sided love wouldn’t be reciprocated and had prepared defensive mechanisms in advance.
“Ahem, hmm!”
Then, adjutant Alec let out a loud cough.
No matter how weakened, he seemed to have been too absorbed in conversation with Damia for too long in front of a still fierce demon beast.
“You’re saying the demon beast reacts to this handkerchief? Like Ruby did back then.”
Damia spoke, noticing the glass box Alec was holding.
Inside the box with solid magical treatment was Drury’s handkerchief.
That box was a family treasure made long ago before the dragons massacred the mages. Whatever was inside the box would be preserved in its original state.
“If you want to check, by all means.”
When Cassian gestured, Alec carefully opened the box.
As soon as the lid opened, a dense, headache-inducing sweet smell wafted out as if perfume had been poured.
“Ugh…! No, I’ve already seen enough of the demon beast writhing. Could you please put the handkerchief away first?”
No matter how good a fragrance, when this excessive it was no different from a stench.
Damia reflexively covered her nose and frowned.
Cassian felt equally nauseous.
“Is the smell really that repulsive?”
Even while pushing the handkerchief back into the box, Alec asked with apparent puzzlement.
He didn’t seem to find the smell as painful as Cassian or Damia did.
Rather than Alec being particularly insensitive to smell, there seemed to be another reason.
There were no rumors yet in social circles about Drury’s excessively sweet fragrance.
“I think Cassian-nim and I are particularly sensitive to it.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Yes, if I think back to Miss Drury’s coming-of-age ceremony last time… I’m not certain, but Romi seemed the same way too.”
“The component analysis results are indeed suspicious.”
The detailed analysis results commissioned externally had arrived early in the morning.
Rose-scented perfume for women, musk said to enchant others.
Rather explicit components were detected for a lady who had just come of age to use.
But that wasn’t the real problem.
“As you probably already expected… the ratio of magic amplifier was quite high.”
“Ha, as I thought.”
“I heard it’s a drug whose manufacture was banned long ago, so I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Mother wasn’t being unreasonable in finding the Soro Viscount’s house troublesome.”
“Yes. It’s certainly not a fragrance that a noble young lady would spray on her handkerchief or slather all over her body.”
Alec slowly nodded his head. But his expression still held unresolved questions.
He hesitated for a moment, moving his lips slightly, then looked back and forth between Damia and Cassian.
“But there’s one strange thing. According to the report, magic amplifiers are originally…”
Alec gulped.
“They’re said to be odorless.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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