I Thought It Was the Monster Duke's Fake Sedative - Chapter 98

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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 98
The Pope pressed his forehead when he noticed Sepina’s eyes beginning to roll wildly.
“…Sepina.”
“No matter how I think about it, we have to kill that wretched girl first.”
“Sepina.”
“We need to dispose of that irritating obstacle first—!”
“Sepina!”
At the Pope’s raised voice, Sepina flinched and brought her heaving chest under control.
Once he had calmed her, the Pope exhaled deeply and continued.
“There’s no need for that.”
“But—!”
Sepina was about to object.
“Why send assassins all that distance?”
The Pope’s mouth curved into a slow smile.
“Simply have the Duke and Duchess come here instead.”
Sepina’s eyes widened. The Pope tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingertips as he went on.
“By now, the Duke of Teseron must have realized that the one who summoned those monsters was someone we sent. He’s more than clever enough for that.”
……
“He’ll see this as an opportunity and attack us. No matter how much we deny our connection to Gemini, if even a single suspicion is raised against us in the process, things will become tiresome.”
“Indeed?”
“Since matters have come to this, we must move first.”
Soon the Pope rose from his seat and began to walk.
Sepina hurried after him. “So where are you going?”
……
“I shall report to His Imperial Majesty.”
……
“The Duke of Teseron neglected the defense of his domain. We’ll denounce him and have him brought before the Capital’s court.”
At these words, Sepina’s eyes trembled and her body stiffened.
“But if Edward is punished? If he ceases to be the Duke, then my marriage to him would mean—”
“Do not worry. This shall be merely a formal accusation, nothing more.”
……
“The Divine Incarnation must continue to vanquish monsters. His Imperial Majesty will not truly punish the Duke on that account.”
The Pope shook his head slowly.
“What matters is that the Duke stands in the defendant’s box instead of us in the courtroom.”
Understanding the Pope’s intention, Sepina’s eyes brightened with recognition.
‘…So there are such methods?’
She had thought that submission and gentle flattery toward Edward were the only path.
Perhaps dominating and bending him to her will would suit her nature far better.
‘That’s right. After all, the Divine Incarnation must bow and kneel before the Saint.’
Sepina clenched her fists as this new vision opened before her.
“In the meantime, I shall prepare something else for you.”
The Pope turned to Sepina with a sinister smile.
“Something else?”
“It will be possible if we raid Gemini’s research chamber. Surely that village was among what he has studied recently.”
“What? You must tell me clearly what you intend to prepare—”
“Sepina, my daughter.”
The Pope smiled calmly at her question.
“I shall make you into a true Saint.”
* * *
“Please see to that over there.”
“Yes, madam!”
“And that one here.”
A few days later, in the inner courtyard of Teseron Castle—now fully repaired by magic with no trace of monsters remaining—
People moved about busily, loading cargo into a long procession of carriages.
Rosendal, watching the scene unfold, wore an expression clouded with worry.
“I still cannot understand why both of them must travel all the way to the Capital. Truly, this is madness.”
Tepe answered hotly.
“Of course. These fools have stewed common sense and reason into oblivion. There must be some scheme afoot here—”
The summons from the Capital came swiftly—not long after the incident befell Teseron, calling Edward before them.
The pretext was a hearing regarding the Duke of Teseron’s negligence in allowing monsters to enter his domain.
On top of that, there was the matter of whether the Duke had deliberately brought the monster into his domain.
“The Duke brought a monster into his territory! What sort of nonsense is this!”
As the Temple glossed over its own machinations and instead shifted blame onto Edward, those loyal to Teseron and Edward’s own retinue erupted in justified fury.
“These people are absolutely mad.”
“The Duke will likely face no actual punishment, but they mean to waste our time while they slip away scot-free.”
Gorgo, listening to the exchange between Tepe and Rosendal, added a single sentence.
“The dynasty will change.”
“So Gorgo’s saying that if they keep playing these games, the people won’t stay silent—there’ll be revolution, the imperial house will be overturned….”
“Everyone, calm down.”
Luciana composed herself and brought order to the situation.
“What’s done is decided. There’s no changing it now.”
“But why did you agree to something so ridiculous in the first place?!”
The journey to the Capital had been decided precisely because Edward had answered the Emperor’s summons.
Tepe kicked at the ground in disbelief.
“Why not ignore them like you always do? If we accept this, we’re just bowing our heads and backing down!”
“I thought the exact same thing. I was going to try talking the Duke out of it.”
“And?”
“I just thought about it.”
“Why?!”
“Shall I explain from here?”
A soft chuckle.
A dog collar jingled at the neck of Gemini, who approached with his hood drawn low.
While Luciana regarded him calmly, Tepe and Gorgo reacted faster than she did, moving to block his path.
“Get lost, you pervert. You try anything with the lady, and that collar will take your head clean off.”
“Would you like your name in the history books?”
“Gorgo means—if you dare approach the lady and die for it, do you want your name recorded in Teseron’s execution registry?”
“No! I swear my intentions are pure!”
“That’s enough, Tepe, Gorgo.”
Luciana regarded Gemini with an unreadable expression.
She knew who he was now.
Beyond merely being a man sent from the Temple—she knew what he had done to her.
‘Ah. That’s why it felt familiar.’
The night she had lain with Edward and then slept.
When she woke, the memories of the possessed body seeped back in once more.
Among them, the image of Gemini observing her from a distance, chained in the Temple’s dungeons.
Suddenly, all the discomfort and dread made sense.
Yet facing him now stirred no fear in her.
What he had done to Luciana—experimenting on her—had been before the possession, before she arrived.
Above all, the way Gemini looked at her was strange.
Not quite romantic desire, but something special, she could feel it.
Disagreeable as he was, he didn’t seem the type to harm her.
“As I thought. If I couldn’t get it back, keeping it was better….”
He occasionally murmured nonsense like that, gazing at her with the pleased expression of a concubine who’d borne a son—which sent chills down her spine.
Gemini, seeing Luciana’s stern face, broke into a fawning smile.
“Behold that cool, collected countenance. Who could she take after to have such crisp, adorable features?”
“My late parents, perhaps?”
“Ah, of course they had their share, but in my opinion….”
“Or maybe the high priest who sold me to the Temple was just cute enough to pass it on.”
Luciana cut short his babbling with her reply.
“Either way, you don’t need to explain. I already know.”
…….
“Tepe and Gorgo will hear it from the Duke on the way there.”
She understood why they had to go to the Capital.
Edward had told her himself.
It was the morning she’d recovered Gemini’s memories.
“I caught the one who summoned the monster. The man who was peddling you ritual materials and pestering you.”
“I see.”
“Did you know?”
“I only just realized. There was something off about him.”
Edward nodded.
And he recounted to Luciana the conversation he’d had with Gemini.
“That bastard had the audacity to make me a proposal.”
Contrary to his usual distaste for long-winded explanations,
he spoke with meticulous care and unexpected gentleness—as though determined to make Luciana understand.
“He reckons the Temple will summon me to the Capital soon enough.”
“…That’s possible, yes.”
“He wanted me to go to the Capital with him when they do.”
“Why?!”
“He said it would look less suspicious if I went when summoned. The Temple wouldn’t expect him to go along, he claimed.”
“No, but going at all is already a problem…! Why would he want you to go with him?! Isn’t this another trap?”
Luciana recoiled in alarm, as one would expect.
But Edward waved away her concern with a gesture.
“I had the same misgivings, so I fitted him with a lie detector around his neck.”
“What…?”
“It detonates the instant it detects falsehood.”
“No, wait. I didn’t mean for you to go that far….”
“In any case, according to him, he’s left several research journals in the Capital. He claims he can use them to mount a counteroffensive against the Temple.”
“What sort of research journals? If we’re going to strike at the Temple properly, ordinary notes won’t suffice.”
At that question, Edward hesitated in a way that was unlike him, his lips parting and closing without sound.
Then, with a long exhale, he answered.
“You.”
…….
“Journals about you.”

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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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