I Thought It Was the Monster Duke's Fake Sedative - Chapter 128

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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 128
Edward whispered those words, his fingertips trembling slightly.
Because he had said nothing, Luciana had stepped between him and Sepina, shielding him with her own body.
Knowing that this wound was the price he paid for his silence made it hurt all the more.
If he had spoken sooner, they wouldn’t have quarreled over the Ritual at all.
Looking back, there were far too many things to regret.
“…Now that you know, don’t do that again.”
Edward spoke the words as though pleading with her.
Hearing this, Luciana puffed out her cheeks slightly and buried her face against his chest.
“You said you were apologizing, and now you’re making requests.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“What else are you sorry for?”
“Everything.”
…….
“For not telling you I was an Experimental Subject, for hurting you….”
“And for trying to keep sending me away without even asking my consent.”
“…Yes.”
I’m sorry for that too.
The moment he whispered those words softly, Luciana pulled him into a tight embrace.
“Is there anything else you need to confess?”
“…What kind of confession? That I love you so madly I’m dying from it?”
“N-not that kind! I mean more secrets you’re hiding!”
Edward looked down at Luciana, whose entire face had turned crimson, and wrapped his arms around her in return.
“There’s nothing more.”
“Really? You said you wouldn’t treat me like that again before, but you didn’t keep that promise.”
…….
“If you truly see me as an equal, then share things like this with me.”
At those words, Edward swallowed slowly.
As though grinding through his own guilt.
Then he opened his mouth gradually.
“From now on, I won’t keep secrets from you.”
Luciana gazed steadily into Edward’s wet, glistening eyes and answered.
“…A few trivial things are fine. Even though you look perfect, your mental strength is actually quite fragile, so you get anxious whenever you can’t see me, or you act like you adore me while secretly thinking indecent thoughts….”
“Those aren’t secrets anymore.”
At Edward’s soft murmur, Luciana tightened her grip on him and spoke.
“Anyway. Since we’re at it, let me tell you a secret of mine too. That way it’s fair.”
“You don’t need to tell me anything….”
“I’m actually very lonely. I hate being alone. And every time I am, old memories come rushing back.”
…….
“The saddest, most painful moments come back to me.”
That instant from my past life when I died with no one to save me, no one to hold my hand.
This time, I didn’t want to end like that.
Even if the world crumbled, I wanted to meet my end with this person’s hand held firmly in mine.
Luciana felt a fresh clarity wash over her as she continued.
“And one more thing.”
…….
“I like you far more than I ever thought I would.”
…….
“You mean so much to me. So very much.”
As the torrent of words poured out, Edward’s ears, which had been downcast just moments before, flushed crimson.
Luciana continued steadily, her voice barely above a whisper.
“So abandon any thoughts of running away, of spiriting me off somewhere—throw them all away.”
“…I understand.”
“Stay with me. Don’t push me away half-heartedly.”
“…I promise.”
And as he answered calmly, she pressed him once more.
“Really? On your honor as a Divine Incarnation—or rather, as an Experimental Subject?”
“Yes. I promise.”
Edward hesitated for a moment.
“So then.”
He knitted his brow again, his expression collapsing like a scolded puppy’s.
“Don’t… don’t tell me we’re breaking up.”
He held onto her earlier words with profound, almost wounded displeasure.
“Then I’ll die twice.”
“Usually people say you die and I die, not—”
“Don’t say such frightening things.”
…Even if I die, I’ll die twice for you.
He whispered it, and his arms tightened around her; Luciana closed her eyes, clinging to him fiercely.
Soon their heated bodies pressed together.
* * *
“Edward of Teseron! You will answer for this!”
“Explain how you could transform into a monster instead of a dragon!”
“Explain the accusations that you’re a fraud!”
While Luciana and Edward were reconciling in body and spirit.
The rabble-rousers hired by the nobility shrieked their accusations across the Square.
It wasn’t that they truly believed Sepina’s claim that Edward was a fake.
Rather, shocked by what Edward had revealed at the Banquet Hall, they saw it as a formidable weapon against him.
The Temple’s voice especially rang out with fury.
“Explain the disappearance of the Saint!”
“Why has the Duchess returned while the Saint, who vanished with her, has not!”
Never mind that it was Sepina who had endangered Luciana and thereby triggered Edward’s Rampage—they brazened through their hypocrisy.
Strangely, the Pope himself did not lodge protests or step forward, but the Temple’s high priests and cardinals raised their voices.
This was their one opportunity to properly suppress and control the sole Dragon Avatar.
There were still many commoners who sided with Edward, but….
“That’s right. Now that I think of it, where is the Saint?”
“I heard the Duchess was jealous of the Saint—maybe it was the Duchess who did the kidnapping, not the Saint.”
“So she killed the Saint in this chaos?”
Some began to fall under the Temple’s propaganda.
“Come to think of it, when the Duke went berserk, didn’t he look quite like a monster?”
“Hey now! Didn’t you just say last week that incarnations going berserk was natural?”
The arrows of this unsteady public opinion began to turn squarely toward Edward.
“Could it be that the sudden surge in monsters lately…?”
“Could it be that the Duke isn’t actually a Dragon Avatar, but a Monster Avatar…?”
On a continent where Corruption now raged beyond all control, the proliferation of monsters was an entirely natural phenomenon.
Yet such reason held no sway over those losing their grip on sanity.
“I thought he was a hero.”
“I thought he would protect us….”
“Why are you all like this? The Duke is still a hero!”
“But…!”
Just as the continent’s opinion roiled and crowds began converging on Edward’s townhouse….
The very next day.
The Capital’s opinion shifted dramatically.
“…Did you see today’s newspaper?”
“Unbelievable. Is all of it really true?”
“The Temple kidnapped people?”
Because exclusive reports appeared across every gossip sheet and newspaper.
[Breaking: The Temple kidnapped people for Holy Power experiments….]
[Mountain Village residents demand the return of our families.]
It was an article featuring the testimony of the Immune Subject village residents.
Of course, had only that appeared, public opinion wouldn’t have swung so violently.
[Shocking: Temple scientist testifies he actually conducted the experiments!]
[The monster summoning in Teseron was also the Temple’s doing, and testimony from a maidservant accomplice present at the time….]
Gemini and Clara’s testimonies were also published in the newspapers.
But most decisive of all was….
[All of this was experimentation to forcibly create Sacred Marks….]
[The Duchess Luciana of Teseron was also among the subjects of said experiments….]
Luciana’s Experimental Records, now laid bare before the world.
[Saint Sepina Returns at Last!]
[This morning at 8 o’clock, Sepina, who had vanished, appeared in the Square and was escorted to the Temple. She testified that the Duchess was indeed an experimental subject of the Temple, and that she herself could corroborate this….]
And it was none other than Sepina’s testimony.
“Good heavens! What has the Temple been doing all this time?”
“The Imperial Court! What about the Imperial Court? They should have been backing the Temple…!”
In an instant, the entire empire began to boil with outrage.
* * *
“Well done, Clara.”
“What about me? What about me, ma’am?”
“You can just pat yourself on the head.”
Luciana answered Gemini coldly, then gently patted Clara’s shoulder.
The day after Edward and she had rolled around and finally come to their senses.
Luciana wasted no more time and dumped all the records into the press.
She bribed journalists drunk on scoops and dopamine, published the testimonies of the Immune Subjects in the newspapers to help the people of that village, and did not hesitate to release the experimental records she had extracted from Gemini as well.
While Edward’s authenticity hung in question, revealing herself as a fake too could have worsened public opinion—but….
‘People might just end up confused instead.’
He’s a fake, and she’s a fake.
Then there must be more fakes out there?
Or can the word “fake” itself even be trusted in the first place?
If opinion fractured like that, Edward would face less scrutiny.
More importantly, having the guilty party herself come forward was the surest way to expose the Temple’s crimes.
Clara, having added her testimony, wore an expression of relief.
“Don’t mention it, ma’am. I came here for this from the start.”
“Still. I only asked for your testimony.”
Luciana praised Clara with genuine sincerity.
It was thanks to her doing quite a significant thing this time.
“Persuading Sepina like that. You pulled off something truly remarkable.”

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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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