I Thought It Was the Monster Duke's Fake Sedative - Chapter 29

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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 29
Edward’s eyes were transfixed on the mark, as though enchanted.
In the moment he reached out without thinking to touch Lucy’s neck—
“Mm.”
……
Perhaps because she’d kicked all the blankets away and grown cold.
Lucy suddenly buried her face against Edward’s hand, seeking warmth.
Then, like a puppy, she nuzzled her cheek against his palm a few times before sinking back into sleep.
In that moment, Edward found himself thinking.
‘Perhaps.’
Perhaps, just as in the dream, this woman too was waiting for him to love her.
Of course, the dream had been closer to the woman loving Edward, if he was being honest.
But a woman who adored him so—it hardly seemed strange to entertain such an assumption.
And should the woman wish it, Edward was more than prepared to reciprocate her affection at any moment.
‘After all, I do need to undergo Purification as well.’
It was, truly, an excellent pretext.
* * *
Yet the woman’s weakness remained unchanged.
‘If she faints from a mere kiss like this—’
There was no way he could truly care for her, nor any way to offer her rewards.
That would be rather inconvenient, wouldn’t it?
‘So first, she must grow stronger.’
Whether the woman wished it or not, Edward’s mind was already brimming with ideas for various rewards to bestow.
A woman who loved him this much—surely a mere kiss wouldn’t satisfy her?
He thought the intensity of her training would need to be increased.
“D-Duke! I’m going to die!”
Whether Edward took his own musings seriously or not, Lucy was far too busy gasping for breath.
Edward smiled sweetly as he replied.
“Shall I show you what real death looks like?”
He was only trying to kindly demonstrate that this level of exertion wouldn’t actually kill her, and what true mortal danger actually entailed.
“No, please!”
At his words alone, Lucy scrambled to her feet, though she stumbled as though about to fall.
He clicked his tongue.
Edward watched her thin, pale legs with a frown.
She appeared to lack even basic muscle tone; he’d need to give her a massage soon, he decided.
Then, covering the distance in just a few long strides, he caught up to her and spoke.
“So how do you intend to continue with your Purification?”
Lucy flinched at his words.
‘…Could that be why he still hasn’t signed the contract?’
…Yes, that was it.
Astonishingly and shockingly, the two of them remained in a state of verbal agreement.
Of course, Lucy hadn’t simply sat idle for these past few days.
“Master! When will you stamp the contract? Hmm?”
Whenever she had the chance, she brought up the contract, fearing he’d forgotten, but each time she asked, his response was lukewarm at best.
“I can’t today—I have an inspection to conduct.”
“I need to spar with the knights. Come back next time.”
“I have to go hunt Demon Beasts today.”
Each time, he’d make some excuse about being busy and simply slip away.
‘…A lie.’
True, she’d thought he must be occupied, having only recently returned to his Territory as lord.
And she’d believed that all his excuses were genuine and not mere pretexts.
Yet still, she honestly thought he couldn’t be so swamped that he couldn’t review a mere handful of contract pages.
‘Otherwise—’
How could a man who claimed to be so breathtakingly busy come to her every morning and evening to put her through physical training?
And it wasn’t as though he only trained her.
‘…He feeds me too, without fail.’
After exercising Lucy, Edward would invariably take her by the waist and accompany her to eat.
He’d insist that one had to eat right after exertion to build muscle.
When Lucy sat trembling, unable even to hold a fork, he wouldn’t hesitate to slice the meat for her and feed it to her himself.
And that wasn’t all.
He even took it upon himself to check whether she was eating, sleeping, and exercising properly—so much so that instead of sending her to the servants’ quarters, he had her sleep in a storage room adjoining his own chambers.
It was called a storage room, but in truth it was far more spacious than the servants’ dormitories and was a private room for her sole use, so she had no real complaints.
Even the bathroom wasn’t a shared facility like the other servants used—she could use Edward’s, which had excellent fixtures and reliably hot water.
“At this rate, I won’t have a moment’s peace.”
“I beg your pardon?”
The image of Edward muttering something incomprehensible flickered through her mind and vanished just as quickly.
‘In any case.’
He spent his time fussing over her care as though it were a hobby, leaving no time for her to review the Contract.
She could simply skim through it while he was watching her run, sign the thing, and be done with it.
Yet it seemed as though there was some other reason he wouldn’t affix his seal to it.
‘That’s it. There’s something that doesn’t sit right with him.’
Perhaps he was reconsidering the Contract because of how she had collapsed that day.
‘…Because he thinks weak health means I can’t perform Purification.’
This grueling fitness regimen was probably for that very reason.
‘What am I going to do?’
Exercise alone wouldn’t suddenly cure her weak constitution overnight.
Lucy’s mind began to race with unusual fervor.
‘Then I need to highlight my other strengths.’
When she thought about it, she hadn’t come here only as a Purifier.
Despite her heaving breath, Lucy forced her lips upward into a smile.
“Your Grace, *gasp*, I wanted to—”
“What is it? Are you leaving a dying message? Come to your senses.”
“Oh no, *gasp*, that’s not—that’s not what I mean at all, sir.”
“Then what?”
“I, *cough*, I wanted to ask if I could use the Library?”
“The Library?”
“Yes, sir!”
Edward seemed to have forgotten about it, but Lucy held another card in her hand.
She was here not merely to aid in his Purification….
“I was hoping to find some materials to make you a complete Avatar!”
That was another reason she was here.
‘A ducal library would certainly have it.’
Whatever materials existed on dragon-related rituals.
She would make this man a complete Avatar if it killed her.
Once he signed the Contract, that is.
‘So hurry up and affix that seal!’
Lucy burned with determination as she looked at Edward, and Edward wore a cryptic smile—when it happened.
“…Your Grace!”
Rosendale, ordinarily so composed, came rushing over with a face gone pale and disheveled, his usual dignity cast aside.
Whatever had occurred was plainly grave.
Edward, sensing the gravity in his butler’s manner, tilted his head slightly.
“What’s the matter?”
“A message has just arrived from the Capital—”
Rosendale halted mid-sentence and fell silent upon noticing Lucy.
“…A moment.”
Edward then withdrew with Rosendale to a corner, where the two spoke in hushed, private tones.
Lucy stood at a distance, watching the pair.
Though she could not hear their words, it was unmistakable that they discussed something of grave import.
Moreover, there was every reason to suspect it involved the Temple.
She had strained her eyes to read their lips and gathered as much.
‘What on earth could it be?’
It made sense that the Temple would not remain idle; some message from them was surely the cause.
At that realization, a creeping sense of unease began to wash over her.
“Your Grace, what’s happening—”
“Gorgo.”
Having finished his conversation with Rosendale, Edward spoke calmly, calling out the name.
Gorgo then emerged from the brush without the slightest hint of surprise.
There was no telling when he had come to be stationed there.
“Yes, Your Grace. What is your command?”
“Take Lucy to the Library—no, first have her bathe.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re going to exercise like that and then head straight to the Library to smear your sweat all over the Teseron House books?”
“…….”
“Every time I walk in there, I’ll catch your scent.”
“…….”
“Do as you like.”
His words said one thing, but his eyes spoke another entirely—’Go ahead, just try.’
Lucy found herself pressing her lips together, reading his expression carefully.
‘No, wait—there’s something else I should ask about….’
By the time she thought to inquire about the Temple, Edward had already withdrawn with Rosendale.
He’d made it clear that she wasn’t meant to know.
‘He could’ve just told me.’
Didn’t she have the right to know if it concerned her?
Lucy sighed, but there was no use sighing—Edward was already gone, and he certainly wasn’t coming back to explain himself.
“Let’s go.”
Lucy followed Gorgo with a shuffling gait, her reluctance plain in every step.
And yet.
“…Is that her?”
In the distance, eyes lingered on Lucy with unmistakable interest.

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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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