I Thought It Was the Monster Duke's Fake Sedative - Chapter 93

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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 93
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“Haaah.”
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Teseron, far from the Duke’s Castle.
Gemini, riding in a carriage as it left the territory, let out a prolonged yawn.
Outside, the coachmen were conversing anxiously.
“Hey. Did you hear? There was an explosion in the city center where the Duke’s Castle is, broad daylight.”
“Word is a Demon Beast appeared?”
“Come on, who’d believe such nonsense? A Demon Beast in the heart of Teseron, at the Duke’s own residence, no less?”
Not even a full day had passed since the incident.
Thanks to Edward’s swift containment, rumors hadn’t spread far, and people spoke only in uncertain tones.
Gemini used their voices as background music while yawning.
He pulled his Cloak down more deeply over his head.
He’d fled the moment things went sideways, and there were no witnesses who knew his true identity.
If he slipped out of the territory like this, it would be a perfect crime.
All that remained in his heart was regret.
‘I never expected him to suppress it so quickly.’
He would have preferred to watch longer, to study the Demon Beast’s habits and Magical Power more thoroughly.
The Ancient Ritual used to summon Demon Beasts was one of many he’d collected while wandering across the continent.
During his peak years researching extraction of Holy Power from test subjects, he’d studied countless such rituals.
‘Until now it was all theory.’
When the ritual actually succeeded, it was exhilarating.
When what materialized was one of the largest Demon Beasts, he’d thought himself nothing short of a genius.
‘…But I never anticipated he’d kill it with a single Sword Strike hurled from the sky.’
The Duke of Teseron was far more of a monster than he’d expected.
Recalling how he’d swooped down and subdued the Demon Beast in an instant, and how the backflash of Magical Power from the Magic Circle drawn for the ritual had nearly killed him—
A chill.
Even as his skin crawled, Gemini smacked his lips.
‘Still, I’d love to study him.’
The sole remaining Dragon Avatar—truly an excellent specimen, wouldn’t he be.
He regretted having to leave behind his own test subject as well.
‘Such a delightful daughter.’
Thinking of Luciana’s shock, Gemini recalled their last meeting.
How she’d waited at the delivery site in person, wary he might pilfer goods or pull some fraud.
“You know I’ll notice if you pull the bottom card, right? I’m going to inspect everything for anything missing.”
The meticulous, sharp way she’d said it—yes, she certainly seemed to take after him.
Indeed, one needed at least that level of competence to qualify as his test subject.
‘Come to think of it, she must have evacuated safely?’
The Duchess of Teseron was naturally among the most important figures.
She would have been evacuated first without question, so there was no need to worry.
Gemini suppressed the ill foreboding that was quietly rising.
And he recalled Luciana again, meticulously inspecting materials.
‘Hmm.’
Now that he thought about it, the materials she’d sourced were partly the same ones used in the Ancient Ritual he’d employed.
‘What could she have wanted them for?’
Did she, taking after him, have an interest in Ancient Rituals?
Gemini’s curiosity was beginning to bloom.
Flutter.
Wind blew from outside, flapping the carriage curtains open.
“Phew, what kind of wind—”
“It’s like a thunderbird’s wings or… wait? Wings?”
The men outside began to murmur excitedly.
And then—
Crunch.
“…Crunch?”
A sound of something hard and tough being torn away echoed through.
Whoosh.
A sense of emptiness above, and wind rushed into the carriage interior.
Looking up with bewilderment, a massive silhouette appeared in backlighting.
Beyond the torn carriage roof, the shadow of red eyes shining amid golden wings.
“Huh? Wh-what?”
Gemini instinctively understood who this was.
“…The Duke of Teseron?”
Edward, whose name had just been spoken, reached into his garments and produced a heavy purse.
He tossed it casually to the coachman.
“Payment for the broken carriage.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
The bewildered coachman took it and vanished with his companions in an instant.
Gemini was still dazed as he spoke.
“H-how did you…?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice with Demon Beast aura pouring off you like that?”
“…!”
Because he’d performed the ritual to summon the Demon Beast, its aura was leaking from every inch of Gemini’s body.
An aura that an Incarnation like Edward could detect from a great distance.
“A Demon Beast appearing here, of all places, so suddenly out of nowhere—I knew someone had to have deliberately summoned it.”
“….”
“Let me guess. The Temple?”
“Y-yes, that’s correct, but—”
Gemini answered before he could think, still reeling from shock.
“Th-the reconstruction work—shouldn’t you be busy restoring the Duke’s Castle right now?”
“How unfortunate.”
Edward’s lips curled coldly as his fist clenched.
A crack echoed through the air, and his head tilted slightly.
“The fact that someone like you would speak the same way as my wife.”
“…Your wife? Wait—the Duchess is unharmed, isn’t she?”
“And if she weren’t?”
“Pardon?”
Gemini’s face went deathly pale.
“My displeasure on that account would be very, very considerable.”
Edward raised his fist slowly.
“You’ve gone to such lengths trying to cause mischief here. Shall I show you something amusing?”
“Wh-what?”
“A spell that disposes of trash in a single blow.”
“There’s no such—wait, the Duchess, she’s safe, isn’t she—”
Crack.
After that, he remembered nothing.
A fist had flown toward him in a heartbeat, knocking Gemini unconscious.
Edward leapt into the air, still holding the limp form of Gemini.
And he headed toward where chaos was unfolding.
The Evacuation Shelter of the Duke’s household.
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“How could such a disaster befall Teseron, of all places—where an Incarnation dwells!”
Just as he’d predicted, the Evacuation Shelter was in complete uproar.
Edward had swiftly captured the Demon Beast and ended the crisis, but the people remained agitated.
The incident had occurred during a banquet where important guests were present.
Even the allied nobles who would normally shield Teseron looked deeply uneasy.
“With Demon Beasts increasing across the continent as it is, and now one appears in the Duke’s very castle!”
“The Incarnation’s power must be weakening. Or perhaps something else has gone wrong—!”
Those who had long harbored resentment toward Edward seized the moment to voice such sentiments.
“Ha! I’ve suspected the Duke of underhanded tactics from the start!”
The 2nd Prince of Erenta, his legs braced with splints, led their chorus.
‘Damn it, he might not walk properly ever again.’
The prince stared down at his own shattered legs, teeth grinding.
“My crippled state—the Duke bears full responsibility for it!”
This was, of course, entirely false.
When the Demon Beast appeared, Tepe had led the other nobles to safety, but the prince had refused to follow, instead attempting to scale a cliff in desperation.
He’d thought the Duke’s departure was his chance.
But he’d misjudged his grip on the crumbling stone and fallen.
Though he’d survived, his careless tumble had ensured his legs would remain crippled for the rest of his life.
Yet the prince’s resentment, twisted by anguish, had latched onto Edward instead.
“It’s suspicious that the Demon Beast was captured so suddenly! What if this was all a performance by the Duke—a trap to threaten us allies and seize the advantage?”
Edward and Luciana, who might have told that ugly mouth to shut, were not in the room.
In their stead, Rozendale, who remained behind, lodged a forceful protest.
“Your Highness, 2nd Prince! Surely, even as royalty from a foreign land, you cannot level such accusations against our Territory!”
Tepe went further still.
“Hmm. If not for the Duke’s Castle physician, that leg of yours would have needed to come off. Have you never heard it said that ingratitude is a shameful thing?”
“How dare you!”
The 2nd Prince bellowed and thrust his chest forward defiantly.
“Even if that accusation proves false, Teseron cannot escape suspicion of concealing the emergence of a Demon Beast in the heart of its own Territory! And yet you invited us to such a dangerous place!”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If there had been no signs of Demon Beasts in this place! Then how could such an enormous Demon Beast have fallen from the sky—or…”
“…risen from the earth. That’s what happened!”
It was then.
Someone stepped forward and cried out.

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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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