I Thought It Was the Monster Duke's Fake Sedative - Chapter 103

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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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Episode 103
“…Edward!”
Luciana cried out in alarm.
A shattered arrow tore through the solid wings and tumbled uselessly to the ground.
The dragon’s wings, which had been momentarily real, dissolved back into wisps of shimmering golden dust.
Yet the masked figures, unable to forget the sight they had just witnessed, stood transfixed.
A sharp crackle of energy.
Edward’s gaze cut toward them like a blade, laden with killing intent.
Screeeech!
The monster he had deliberately left half-alive in the corner stirred to life at the surge of his magical power and began its rampage.
“Ahhh! The monster’s alive!”
“It’s dying anyway! Grab it! Grab—ahhhhh!”
Screams and the wet sound of tearing flesh erupted from all sides.
Watching the chaos unfold among the masked assassins, Edward’s face turned glacial.
‘How dare they target her.’
He had meant to leave with nothing more than a scoff—these wretches weren’t worth his time.
But if they aimed at Luciana, everything changed.
Any other time, he would have made examples of them personally rather than leave them to the monster.
But now Luciana was with him, and….
“Luciana?”
Only then did he notice how quiet she had gone.
Edward’s gaze dropped to the woman cradled against his chest.
…….
Luciana had grown slightly pale, her eyes fixed on the assassins being torn apart by the monster.
At the sight of her gaze, Edward’s heart sank sharply.
His mind raced, searching for the reason behind that look in her eyes.
‘Could it be.’
Had watching them attacked brought back memories of when she nearly fell victim to the monster herself?
He had deliberately handed them over to the beast precisely so she wouldn’t have to see people die by his hand.
‘Maybe I should go back and save them, then kill them myself.’
Edward found himself genuinely torn.
Luciana swallowed hard as she took in the countless masked figures and Edward’s still-glittering wings.
The fate of the assassins barely registered with her.
‘…There are far too many enemies targeting this man.’
Her mind was consumed with other concerns.
If Edward had so many adversaries, there was no telling when a blade might be turned against him.
Of course, as the protagonist, he wouldn’t fall to ordinary circumstances, but….
‘He died anyway in the original.’
Not by enemy hands, but by the Corruption and Rampage he couldn’t purify.
She had managed his purification so far, but who knew what lay ahead.
Moreover, watching Edward’s wings crumble moments ago had been a shock in itself.
‘That shouldn’t have happened.’
In the original setting, such incarnation relied on the stable magical power of a true dragon.
A complete Divine Incarnation would have maintained wing form throughout.
Not dissolving the instant he finished protecting her.
‘What if someone among them noticed?’
She knew it was excessive worry, yet she couldn’t stop it.
If someone discovered that Edward was an incomplete Divine Incarnation?
If they exploited that weakness and attacked?
Edward already had one weakness—herself—.
‘…I can’t allow that.’
As Luciana watched the monster and assassins locked in their death struggle, her resolve hardened.
Squeeze.
She gripped Edward tightly, and he opened his mouth as if he had been waiting for exactly this.
“Right. No matter how villainous they are, having them torn apart by a monster is rather undignified.”
“Your Grace.”
“I suppose killing them with my own hands would be far more merciful. I was thinking the same thing anyway.”
“I have a request.”
“Understood. I’ll go down and handle them myself—”
Luciana caught his arm again, holding him back from descending.
“Not here. Somewhere else.”
She whispered to Edward, who was regarding her with evident confusion.
“Somewhere with no people, somewhere quiet and secluded.”
“…….”
“Somewhere no one would ever think to go.”
Edward’s eyes flickered with a subtle shift at those words.
* * *
Some time later.
“Here.”
Edward descended slowly toward the ground.
Luciana, cradled in his arms until now, touched earth and gasped softly in wonder.
“Wow.”
Before them lay ruins half-hidden beneath dense forest.
A place so thoroughly concealed that only someone who could fly through the air like Edward would ever discover it—truly isolated, untouched.
The vaulted ceiling had once soared with grandeur, and the intricately carved buildings spoke to their former importance.
Shadows pierced the canopy and pooled light across the floor, while mist rose from a nearby pond in the distance—
‘This is incredibly romantic.’
Caught up in the strangely enchanting atmosphere, Luciana asked with barely concealed delight.
“How on earth did you find a place like this?”
“I passed through the Capital often.”
Edward answered with quiet satisfaction.
He had discovered this place during one of his journeys to the Capital for Purification at the Temple.
It seemed to be an old imperial structure, abandoned when the palace moved elsewhere in ages past.
He hadn’t imagined he’d use it for something like this, but as things had turned out, it suited his purposes well.
He could guess why Luciana wanted such a remote spot.
‘She was planning to ask me to hold her.’
After that frightening scene earlier, she must have wanted to overcome her fear by asking him for an embrace—one laden with meaning.
Luciana did ask him to hold her quite often, after all.
‘Holding her in a place like this wouldn’t be so bad.’
With that rationalization, Edward gently drew her shoulders into an embrace.
First, he would soothe and comfort her, who might well be frightened—
“It’s lovely, Duke.”
The corners of Edward’s mouth lifted slightly as Luciana gripped his shoulders.
When she stepped closer and pressed her lips near his ear, a tremor of anticipation ran through him.
How impishly charming and cunning she could be.
“Alright. I’ll hold you now—”
“I have something I prepared.”
Thump.
With those words, Luciana pulled herself away from him deftly.
She began rummaging through her bag, producing various items.
Several pouches brimmed with finely ground powder.
“Luciana?”
“I’ve given this some thought.”
Luciana, too, wore an air of grim determination.
‘I hadn’t planned to do it so suddenly.’
She was glad she’d taken the pouches Gemini had placed in the final carriage—all of them, just to be safe.
‘Now I can begin the ritual whenever I choose.’
After learning that Gemini had summoned a monster through an ancient rite, Luciana had extracted everything he knew from him.
By combining that knowledge with what she’d learned in the library, she had finally discovered the precise method of the Incarnation Ritual.
She’d even obtained the remaining materials from Gemini and made her preparations complete.
Powder ground from Snow Mountain Beast Tail Bone, Unicorn Bone Powder, Ground Mandrake—
Pat-pat.
After mixing the materials with water from her bottle to create a paint-like substance and producing a protractor, Luciana rolled up her sleeves.
Then, with confidence, she began drawing a Magic Circle on the floor.
A Magic Circle for the Incarnation Ritual.
“…….”
Edward flinched, about to say something—
But Luciana opened her mouth with quiet seriousness.
“I know what you’re going to say.”
“Luciana.”
“I know you don’t like it… but I was hoping you wouldn’t refuse.”
Luciana answered quickly and began laying out the materials.
She understood Edward’s reluctance, but she also wanted to conduct the ritual soon if possible.
‘Originally I’d planned to finish all the cleanup in Teseron first, then perform it at leisure.’
But the Capital had summoned her before the situation was fully resolved, throwing a wrench into those plans.
She’d intended to do it once they returned to Teseron again, but….
‘There’s no telling what might happen in the Capital.’
So out of an abundance of caution, Luciana had Gemini gather all the necessary materials and keep them ready.
Though she never expected they’d be needed so soon.
“Let me be clear about one thing first. I’m not hoping you’ll become a perfect hero and single-handedly capture every monster out there. Nothing like that.”
Luciana explained as she carefully drew the Magic Circle.
“It’s so that when those creatures come after you again, a true Divine Incarnation will be able to defeat them far more decisively.”
“…….”
“And no one will be able to say anything against you.”
Edward drew his brows together slightly before responding.
“They can’t say much now as it is.”

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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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