Let the Whales Fight, This Shrimp is Leaving! - Chapter 14

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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 14
The sound of cold iron scraping against iron split the silence.
Because I wanted to keep Deyan’s presence as hidden as possible, I was tending to his wounds myself.
When I wiped his sweat-drenched body with a wet towel, there was a slight hint of resistance, but he quickly grew docile.
It was because every time he rebelled, I dug my fingernails into his injury.
“This wound looks similar to the injury on your abdomen.”
When I pointed to the spot that had already healed perfectly, leaving only a scar, and asked, Deyan let out a sneer.
“Have you been observing me in the meantime?”
“Sizing up the enemy’s condition is the absolute basic, after all.”
“I am hardly a frog for dissection.”
At his disgruntled murmur, I responded with a smile once more.
“But you are a frog.”
A peerless, magnificent frog for learning, one that wouldn’t even die if its heart were ripped out.
Perhaps at a loss for words by the shameless reply, Deyan closed his mouth again.
Glancing at the silent man, I placed a clean cloth over the disinfected wound and wrapped it securely with a bandage.
“From now on, you only listen to what I say. There is nothing you need to answer. If a situation arises where a response is absolutely necessary, just nod your head.”
“…….”
“Do you understand?”
Grip.
The moment I asked to confirm, I gripped his shoulder as if I were about to gouge it, causing Deyan’s body to stiffen reflexively.
Though he wore a displeased expression, he reluctantly nodded his head, and I flashed a satisfied smile.
“First of all, the situation has become slightly tangled.”
Thanks to Deyan’s blood, I succeeded in summoning the Demon I wanted.
The problem is that the ‘demons’ have lost their strength.
They say the order of Hell or the Demon Realm has been thrown into chaos, but the very culprit behind it is apparently hiding in the Human Realm.
“Beval wishes to find the Demon that formed a contract with you. However, since it seems neither you nor Lord Holdin know anything…… things have become complicated.”
If we can just find that Demon, Beval can kill him, restore the disrupted order, and regain his original power.
Because of this, Beval is in a position where he needs human cooperation to remain in the Human Realm.
In other words, he was the one who needed something from me.
His promise not to take my soul as the price of the contract was likely a massive privilege offered out of desperation.
“Even so, one shouldn’t trust a demon carelessly, right? Just as you said, a contract with a demon is a dangerous thing.”
I cut the end of the fully wrapped bandage evenly and tied it into a neat knot.
“So, I made use of your subordinate a little.”
Although I was the one who summoned the Demon using Deyan’s blood as a medium, Holdin was the one who made the contract.
Since the ‘sin’ the Angel spoke of seems to refer to selling one’s soul to a demon, it does not apply to me.
Of course, if trading with a demon in any form is itself a sin, I would have nothing to say, but……
‘If that were the case, there’s no way the Angel would have healed my hand.’
I chewed over the words Beval and Sariel poured out when they confronted each other.
[Those damn pigeons can’t interfere in human affairs because of their wretched rules.]
Beval asserted that Sariel could not interfere.
Since these were words spat out by a demon confronting an angel, his literal opposite, they could be trusted.
‘At least until those rules are broken, he will do nothing but watch.’
If the Angel’s role is merely to observe and hold humans accountable for their sins when their lives end, it won’t affect my revenge, at least.
‘As long as I can have my revenge.’
Whether my soul turns to dust or burns entirely in Hellfire.
None of that mattered.
In any case, my life right now was no different from Hell.
Living like a queen in this life and a slave in the next didn’t sound too terrible either.
“From now on, your deputy will be helping with my revenge. In exchange, I will do my absolute best to free you from the curse.”
I informed Deyan that Sariel had been summoned from the Angel Statue I happened to have in my possession.
“And this is just my speculation, but since it wasn’t a contract established by your own free will, your soul hasn’t been cursed yet. Which means, if we play our cards right, we might be able to nullify the contract.”
“How could the Lady possibly…… Ugh!”
“I am the only one speaking. You will only listen.”
At the stern warning, Deyan gave a short nod.
‘He’s no fool, so he must have understood.’
I released his shoulder, which I had been gripping, and offered the painkiller I had brought along with some water.
I wasn’t sure if it would be effective on wounds caused by an angel’s punishment, but……
‘There is meaning in the act of taking care of him.’
Taming always requires a carrot and a stick, after all.
“So from now on, you are my hostage. You can just sit back and watch with deep impression as your deputy works diligently for your sake. Understood?”
“…….”
Glancing at me with gloomy eyes, Deyan reluctantly nodded.
I smiled brightly and extended my right hand to him.
“Of course, I can also get cooperation from you, Count, when necessary, so I’ll be in your care then.”
“…….”
“Hurry.”
Only when I gave him a pointed look did Deyan hesitantly take my hand.
The hand of a man who had rolled around the battlefield for half his life was thick and rough.
“This is the Annex. I’ve dismissed everyone except for the essential staff, so please make yourself at home. You may stroll through the rear garden if you wish.”
Adopting a benevolent face, I gathered the bandages and disinfectant before rising from my seat.
“Giselle will bring your meals at set times, so make sure to eat.”
It meant he wouldn’t get a single drop of soup outside of the designated hours.
Deyan, who remarkably caught the underlying meaning in my words, gave another brief nod.
Swallowing my satisfaction, I crinkled my eyes into a smile.
“Wonderful. Rest well, then.”
* * *
The rear garden, baking under the midday sun, was tranquil.
Deyan sat perched on the edge of the bed, blankly staring out at the serene scenery.
He could see a gardener who had climbed up a ladder to trim the trees, and a maid wandering through the well-manicured garden, plucking petals.
Aside from the laborers, there was not a single guest or member of the Grand Ducal family in sight.
‘……What was the composition of the Hubert Grand Ducal family again?’
Even if they were wretched creatures rolling around battlefields at the Emperor’s command, nobles were still nobles.
Deyan likewise knew as much as necessary about other families.
The master of the Plene Grand Duchy, Grand Duke Hubert.
He had three children beneath him.
Among them, the youngest young master died of a fever less than four days after birth.
Excluding the youngest son, who was practically treated as non-existent, there was the eldest daughter, Idir Hubert, and a younger brother three years her junior.
‘Did they say he stays confined to his room?’
The young master refused to show his face, to the extent of declining the coming-of-age ceremony he should have celebrated long ago.
The Grand Duke had also vanished from sight at some point due to personal reasons.
Of course, he seemed to tend to state affairs with all his heart, but the Grand Duke did not make an appearance either.
He even put Idir forward as his proxy for exchanges with foreign nations.
‘When I was tasked with her guard duty, she had also come in the capacity of a representative.’
It was an event from two years ago.
The Empire had hosted a lavish banquet to flaunt their peace and prosperity.
Invitations were sent out to every major figure on the continent, and the Plene Grand Duchy received one as well.
The person the Emperor of Adorif demanded was Grand Duke Hubert, but the one who attended was Idir, not him.
Fortunately, the Emperor of Adorif was pleased with her.
It was because he arbitrarily interpreted the attendance of the Grand Duchy’s sole lady, who had just celebrated her coming-of-age ceremony, at the foundation festival banquet as an expression of utmost goodwill.
Deyan, who already had an assignment handed down to him, took charge of escorting her.
Since Count Nemanic bordered the Plene Grand Duchy and the age gap between the two wasn’t that large, it was a command embedded with the implication to see if things could work out well between them.
“You’ve released ornamental fish into the fountain?”
“Yes.”
“What is the reason?”
“It is difficult to obtain this kind of ornamental fish inland.”
“Aha. For the purpose of showing off, then.”
“…….”
“They are cute. What happens if they get sucked into the fountain pipe?”
“We just pull out the ones that get stuck in the pipe and die.”
“……I see.”
He should have noticed back then, when she blinked her clear, innocent eyes without displaying a shred of sympathy.
“It’s concise, so I like it.”
He should have paid even a little more attention to how she watched the swimming fish as if they were utterly lovely, yet failed to show even a grain of sugar’s worth of compassion.
“The wind is chilly, so you should head back inside.”
“What a shame.”
He had been completely fooled by her compliant appearance as she submissively followed him inside despite expressing her regret.
The result of that was this current plight.

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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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