I Thought It Was the Monster Duke's Fake Sedative - Chapter 113

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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 113
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
It wasn’t their first kiss, and yet Luciana’s heart hammered in her chest as if it were.
‘I’ve done far more scandalous things than this.’
Yet somehow this kiss felt more electric, more thrilling than anything she’d done before.
In the middle of this solemn exhibition hall where romance seemed to have no place, it was as though pink flowers were blooming wildly inside her.
“…Ah.”
When the breathless kiss finally ended, warm sighs spilled from both their lips.
Edward didn’t fully break away; his mouth still hovering over hers, he slowly traced his teeth along her lower lip.
And in that moment, he too laid bare his heart.
“I do.”
…….
“I like you, too.”
“Like what, exactly? You can’t just leave me hanging without finishing the sentence….”
“I like you, Luciana.”
Edward gave the answer readily when pressed, his eyelashes closing slowly.
“I like you.”
His voice grew quietly cautious at the end, but….
That very hesitation made his sincerity unmistakable.
Luciana felt herself melting, a wave of relief washing through her.
‘I told myself it couldn’t be otherwise, but….’
When Edward had gone silent, her breath caught.
What if their feelings, even by one part in a trillion, were different? The thought had terrified her.
Even as she felt reassured by his immediate answer, Luciana whispered softly.
“How much do you like me?”
“Hmm?”
“Tell me. Now.”
Edward’s lips curved into a teasing smile, and he leaned close to whisper.
“Ah, so it’s my turn to flatter you, then.”
“Yes, yes! Go on, quickly.”
“Well….”
Edward put on a thoughtful expression, rolling his eyes before he spoke.
“I could give up the crispy outside and moist center of pancakes, and all the drumsticks from roasted chicken.”
“That much?”
Luciana’s eyes lit up with delight, and Edward, seeming to sink deeper into thought, hummed softly before adding.
“The strawberries from strawberry cake, too.”
“Goodness….”
“The choux part of cream puffs and the filling of meat pies.”
“Wow. I’m so happy.”
Luciana giggled and pulled Edward close, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“But why are all your comparisons about food?”
“Because you should eat more.”
“Honestly, since meeting you, my appetite has gotten enormous. Now I’ll never be able to sneak away for a bite without you noticing.”
“You shouldn’t have any reason to sneak away in the first place.”
Edward kneaded her soft cheek absently, then made an “ah” sound as if remembering something.
“And another thing.”
“Another thing?”
“About how much I like you—”
His whispered words were accompanied by his hand moving slowly downward.
When he drew back, a deeper smile had returned to his face.
“I like you so much that I’d want to do this, even in a place as devoid of romance as this.”
At his fleeting kiss, Luciana’s eyes went wide.
A glance.
Her gaze drifted upward to the ceiling.
There, a dragon-head ornament studded with jewels looked down at them.
Luciana met the gem-like eyes and felt a strange thrall overtake her.
It was as though they were committing some irreverent act before their ancestors—a peculiar, heady sense of transgression.
‘And maybe that’s why it feels so good….’
“My goodness. What am I thinking.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“No, I wasn’t thinking of anything like that.”
“You were thinking something scheming again.”
Edward chuckled low in his throat.
Then, turning from the exhibits he’d regarded with such tedium, he suddenly cast a playful eye across them.
“If you find these exhibits so fascinating…”
“…….”
“Want to try something?”
With that, Edward fixed his gaze on one of the tapestries hanging on the wall.
Luciana turned to follow his stare, her expression growing confused.
“Try what?”
It was a painting of what appeared to be a True Mate riding atop a massive dragon, soaring through the air.
“Surely you don’t mean to carry me on your back and fly through the Capital sky? I find being held much more comfortable than being carried….”
“Not that.”
So murmured Edward, untying the clasp of the cloak fastened at his shoulder.
After spreading it out a few times, he could now lay it down in the precise spot without looking.
The fabric settled with a whisper.
Once the cloak was in place, Edward drew Luciana’s waist close.
“Oh!”
In the blink of an eye, he lay back against the floor and positioned her sitting upon his stomach.
“Ah.”
Unfamiliar with this posture, Luciana found herself tensing instinctively, warmth rising to her cheeks.
Edward gazed at her, then placed her hand upon his chest.
“How is it.”
“…….”
“Want to ride a dragon for once?”
* * *
Some time later.
After a tempestuous interlude had passed, languid sighs mingled with lips intertwined, foreheads damp with perspiration meeting in the haze.
“Hah….”
Within her dreamy gaze, golden light glimmered with laughter.
“Luciana.”
Feeling the warm breath and the body holding her tightly, Luciana found herself thinking suddenly.
Her nose carried the scent of Edward mingled with the staleness of dust; her arms were filled with his warmth; and here they lay, both disheveled, sprawled in this solemn place together—
This truly was the most romantic date imaginable.
Edward had called this place tedious, but she herself, truly….
‘I don’t care about anywhere else.’
She loved it enough for that thought to come to her.
The memories of the Possessed Body that had been subjected to experimentation here had returned completely once she’d arrived, so she hadn’t been able to look properly at the Temple building in the Capital, nor at the underground passages of the Temple where she’d been imprisoned.
Now none of it frightened her.
Because she would be with Edward regardless.
So next time, she should suggest they go anywhere they pleased, without minding what people might think.
Having decided to savor this moment longer, Luciana closed her eyes and held Edward as tightly as she could.
* * *
At that very moment, on the outskirts of the Capital.
“Can’t you walk any faster, trash?”
Tepe glanced about hurriedly, urging Gemini onward.
Not far away, Gorgo likewise wore a grave expression.
“That such a vile facility would remain here in the Capital of all places.”
“Vile, is it? That’s harsh language. It’s merely my personal research facility….”
“Never mind. Just walk faster.”
Their destination was Gemini’s Personal Research Facility, a building ordinarily obscured by the thick forest on the Capital’s outskirts.
“Really, these ignorant knights think they can say whatever they like….”
“Not something I care to hear from trash.”
As Gemini grumbled, he gazed at the building concealed within the undergrowth, his mood somewhat heavy.
Though not heavy because of Tepe, naturally.
‘That she would entertain such thoughts….’
That Gemini, Tepe, and Gorgo had come here was at Luciana’s behest, not Edward’s.
“You said there were documents to report the Temple to His Grace.”
“Yes? Yes. That’s correct.”
After arriving in the Capital.
Luciana wasn’t merely thinking about going to the law office.
She was prepared to do whatever it took to win the trial.
So before visiting Edward’s office, she first sought out Gemini.
Gemini shrugged as he answered.
“Documents? Of course I have them. The most critical ones are still in the Temple, though, so it’ll be difficult to extract them. It’ll take time as well.”
“What about the ones you kept personally? A psychopath scientist like you would definitely have some stashed away.”
“My, my, what flattery from you, madam. Of course, if you visit my personal facility, I do have some materials I’ve kept privately, but….”
At that point, Gemini’s eyes darted toward Luciana, gauging her reaction.
Since the Temple had been systematically confiscating his work, the only personal documents he still possessed were either the oldest ones or the most recent—nothing in between.
And among those, naturally….
“There’d be records on me too, wouldn’t there?”
Luciana had read Gemini’s reaction with uncanny precision, and he flinched.
Luciana glanced around before lowering her voice to a whisper.
“It’s fine. Bring everything. Organize it so I can present it if needed.”
“What? But the Duke said he wouldn’t release that information….”
“I know. But it’s the strongest ammunition we have against the Temple, isn’t it?”
“Still, if that becomes public….”
There would certainly be people who’d tear Luciana apart.
There were those who viewed her unfavorably because of her past as an experimental subject.
But Luciana’s response carried absolute conviction.
“I’m fine with it.”
……
“I won’t spend forever just being protected by him.”
In that moment, it seemed to Gemini that he could hear words Luciana hadn’t even spoken.
I’m going to protect him too.
Luciana opened her mouth again, her expression resolute.
“I’m not planning to release it immediately. I just want to be prepared, just in case.”
“But madam, if the Duke finds out, I might actually die….”
“Oh, that reminds me—my Holy Power has grown quite a bit since I’ve been with the Duke.”
“What? Well, that’s natural….”
“If you succeed, I’ll let you take some of my blood and hair too.”
……
“You really do go crazy for an experimental subject brimming with Holy Power, don’t you?”
That was the reason Gemini had come this far, accompanied by Tepe and Gorgo’s protection.
Of course, Luciana’s final words had been decisive, but they weren’t the whole reason for his resolve.
‘She was so small and frail back then.’
The experimental subject who had accepted the chains he’d placed upon her without resistance, who hadn’t even seemed to possess a sense of self.
That same experimental subject had grown so strong that now she spoke of wanting to protect someone.
Gemini’s feelings toward Luciana began to shift into something warmer.
‘Is this how parents feel when their children graduate from the academy?’
Or like watching a grown daughter get married off?
And with that came an unexpected dissatisfaction.
He couldn’t help resenting that Edward, the Duke of Teseron—and by all rights, the groom—was also an experimental subject, and was hiding that fact from Luciana.
Moreover, unlike Luciana, Edward carried the constant risk of Berserk.
No matter how much Luciana purified him, there was a real possibility he’d eventually reach a fundamental threshold.
It was inevitable—he was far more unstable than the Original Avatar.
Gemini couldn’t take comfort in having a time bomb sitting beside his precious daughter.
‘…But there’s nothing to be done if my girl loves him.’
Gemini chose to suppress his grievance for now.
After all, while scratching his own itch, he could help with something as well.
Of course, the moment he’d heard her resolve, he’d already given her far more than a trifle.
“Madam, take these. This is a Magical Device that inflicts a petty misfortune on the opponent like a paper cut, and this one is….”
“Never mind. Who’d use such things?”
“For self-defense when you enter the courtroom! And this is a Teleportation Device you can use to go anywhere with magical power when in a pinch….”
“I don’t have magical power. Only Holy Power, remember?”
After pawning off all manner of items on a reluctant Luciana, Gemini was still thinking of ways to help her.
For instance, how to reinforce the Sacred Mark that Edward had created for Luciana.
‘It’s a subject I’ve been researching anyway….’
His research wasn’t merely about amplifying Holy Power.
He was also investigating the very origins of the Sacred Mark itself.

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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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