I Thought It Was the Monster Duke's Fake Sedative - Chapter 73

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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 73
‘This irritates me.’
Every instinct screamed at me to shove away the arm this man had wrapped around me.
Normally Luciana would have removed that arm of her own accord before coming to me, but the fact that she was leaving it there now felt wrong somehow.
This must be what betrayal felt like.
Yet after the cold silence that had passed between us moments ago, it wasn’t easy for me to interfere.
Of course, if this had been anyone else, I would have acted as I pleased regardless of what they thought.
But I didn’t want to hurt Luciana any further.
All I could manage was to reach out like a fretful child and give her skirt a gentle tug.
A flinch.
Luciana’s arm jerked, but nothing more.
“…….”
“…….”
She deliberately ignored me and said nothing.
Because Edward—all that massive bulk of him—reaching out with just a few fingers in such an uncharacteristically timid gesture to pull at her skirt… she found it endearing, and she was furious with herself for finding it endearing.
‘Endearing, my foot.’
So large, so beautiful.
‘And after asking whether I’d bear his children.’
…treating her like a pet, like a true mate in name only.
‘Who in their right mind imagines bearing children with a pet?’
And yet there stood this bizarre pervert.
While Edward burned with frustration and Luciana churned with anger and sorrow together, Gemini accepted the false address Edward had offered with a pleasant smile.
Then, like a seasoned merchant, he opened his mouth.
“Though I must say, your girlfriend doesn’t seem to be in very good spirits.”
A flinch.
Both Edward and Luciana’s shoulders twitched at those words.
Gemini spoke even more softly now.
“Should you need it, I have a remedy that might lift her mood a little….”
“That’s enough.”
Luciana cut off the dangerous suggestion like a blade and added quickly,
“…That’s not what we are.”
And with that half-declared, she shook off Gemini’s arm and turned on her heel to leave.
She truly believed it.
‘If all he wants is to keep me around for that purpose alone.’
If he saw her not as a person to trust and care for, but merely as something entertaining to have around, something cute enough to indulge—
then they were not ‘that’ kind of couple.
At that thought, disappointment washed over her again.
There had been moments when Edward seemed almost proud when others called them ‘that’ kind of couple.
But now that she suspected even that had been her own delusion, the sadness only deepened.
“Just bring it to the appointed address on time.”
Shaking her head to dispel the rising disappointment, Luciana concluded the transaction and headed toward the tent’s exit.
Watching her receding figure unsettled Edward’s mood once more.
‘…Of course, that’s not what that man meant.’
She was his wife, not his girlfriend.
Yet Edward understood perfectly well that Luciana’s denial carried a different weight than he intended.
Though he’d been the one to misspeak first, having her reject the bond between them with her own words left a bitter taste.
No—bitter didn’t begin to cover it. It felt far worse.
After all, she’d married him, and they’d already crossed that line.
‘It’s not like I can complain now.’
Edward was clicking his tongue lightly and moving to follow Luciana when—
“Pardon me, just a moment, sir.”
Tap.
The innkeeper, who’d been draped across Luciana’s shoulder all this while with such irritating ease, caught hold of Edward.
Edward’s already poor mood darkened further, his eyes turning cold.
Gemini felt a chill run through him at that gaze, yet he held on and smiled.
For him too, this was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to miss.
‘The specimen is important, true, and must be recovered.’
Yet as a researcher who had devoted himself primarily to Holy Power and Dragon’s Magical Power, having a Dragon Avatar within arm’s reach was an opportunity far too valuable to pass up.
‘And he too possesses the excellent qualities of a specimen.’
With any luck, he might even obtain a sample from the Avatar itself.
If that happened, recovering the test subject would be as great an achievement as any.
Gemini smiled at Edward with the same peculiar grin he’d worn for Luciana, and spoke.
“Shall I recommend a magical item that reveals a lover’s heart, just to confirm your girlfriend’s feelings? This orb, for instance—red means passionate love….”
Crack!
The orb he’d thrust forward shattered without mercy in Edward’s grasp.
Gemini, undeterred, produced another orb and pressed it into Edward’s hands with feigned innocence.
“Orange means affectionate love, green means a cooling heart, black means dead love… why don’t you just keep this one for now.”
Of course, it was no such thing—it was actually a sample-collection orb that would change color once a specimen was gathered, which was precisely why he’d been so eager to thrust it into Edward’s possession.
“Get lost.”
“Yelp!”
Edward hurled Gemini to the ground as though discarding him, then strode out of the tent.
In the next moment, his eyes caught Luciana’s slender figure ahead.
Edward closed the distance in just a few long strides.
And he bit out the words:
“So we’re not that kind of couple?”
……
“You’re quite skilled at lying, aren’t you, my lady.”
At those words, Luciana felt a fresh surge of anger rising within her.
“Why do you speak to me that way?”
“What?”
“When you don’t even truly make me your lady, nor do you regard me as one.”
……
Edward’s words caught in his throat.
Of course he….
“We’re merely bound by contract—that’s secondary—but you don’t even look at me as an equal, do you, Master?”
“What are you talking about.”
“Then why did you say you don’t expect anything from me?”
……
“You saw how hard I was working. So why….”
Edward’s words stopped entirely.
It was the sight of tears trembling in Luciana’s eyes that silenced him.
‘…Frustration.’
Luciana herself grew angry at her stinging eyes that wouldn’t stop.
When she thought about it, she felt just as furious at how easily her emotions were swept away by something so obvious, and even angrier that she was angry about that.
“You said you don’t have any expectations.”
“…That’s right.”
And immediately after, his curt reply wounded her deeper still.
“I don’t expect anything.”
Thud.
Hearing the same words again, her heart broke twice over.
The blow hit harder than she’d anticipated, and Luciana found herself biting down on her lip without thinking.
Edward’s mouth twisted as he watched her do it.
But he couldn’t simply tell her he did have expectations—it would only inflate her hopes further.
He didn’t want to see her disappointed.
It wasn’t a matter of whether he believed in Luciana or not.
…It was always his own problem.
‘But.’
How would she react if he brought that up?
Even if he spoke of those days when he was weakest, most worthless—would Luciana still….
“That’s enough.”
Whip.
While Edward hesitated for a moment.
Luciana, unable to bear the weight of her disappointment, turned away from him again.
“Luci—”
She brushed aside Edward’s reaching hand with a sharp, cold gesture.
Crack!
At the same instant, something fell from Edward’s sleeve and shattered.
……
The orb Gemini had secretly slipped into Edward’s sleeve.
Fragments of the utterly black orb scattered across the ground in disarray.
* * *
Crunch. Crack.
Shortly after, at the Estate Outside the Castle.
The sound of teeth grinding—nearly breaking under the force—sliced through the frigid air of the room.
It was the Grand Lady, seated on the sofa, clenching her jaw and tearing at her fingernails.
“How could this… how could this be….”
The servants huddled in the corners didn’t dare try to stop her, trembling as they prostrated themselves on the floor.
They knew all too well what happened when the Grand Lady’s mood turned sour.
And as if on cue, a perfect example of that consequence stumbled into the room, shaking uncontrollably.
“G-G-Grand Lady….”
“…Insolent!”
“Agh!”
Smash!
The cup hurled by the Grand Lady grazed Clara’s face and shattered against the wall just beside her, exploding into fragments.
Startled, Clara dropped her tray.
The sharp clang of metal cut through the air, but the Grand Lady didn’t so much as flinch.
“How dare you! Where did the title ‘Madam’ go?”
“I-I’m so sorry, so sorry…!”
“If only you’d done your job properly from the start!”

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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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