My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 114

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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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We’d taken rooms at an inn in the Nearby Village. The Lake and Blood Mage Tower were visible in the distance, though the view was hardly a comfort in our current circumstances.
Gai still needed time to arrive. Bella and I waited for Cesare on the terrace.
A coin flipped through the air with a clear, bright ring. Bella tossed a Silver Coin skyward and caught it again, repeating the motion.
It wasn’t her hands that were restless—it was her mind. She spoke with her back against the railing.
“The Guardians must be the ones who keep killing Talia.”
“Most likely. They’re trying to sever her connection to the Blood Lord.”
Killing and erasing is the simplest way. They probably didn’t know Talia was an Immortal.
They must have figured out later that she loses her memory with each death. That’s why they keep doing it—killing her again and again.
“If they’re going to keep killing her, it must be costing them dearly. They wouldn’t take such risks unless Talia was worth that much to them.”
“You’re right. And it bothers me they might still be after her.”
Was Talia’s assassination still ongoing? There was no way to confirm it now.
Bella flicked the coin again, clicking her tongue as she did.
“It’s a shame Rockstone isn’t a Guardian. If he were, I’d have wrung something out of him.”
Rockstone was only someone trying to steal credit for Talia’s accomplishments—at least that’s what the Tower Master told us.
He might actually be a Guardian, but we had no authority to interrogate him as outsiders.
“Still, once Gai arrives, we should have this sorted. Talia agreed to cooperate once we provide his blood.”
I gazed toward the Blood Mage Tower.
“Of course, this might not be what Talia wanted with the Dual Bloodline, but she should at least find it interesting.”
Bella snatched the Silver Coin out of the air. This time, instead of tossing it again, she held it tight in her palm.
“I wish I could learn more about Necromancy. I’d like to know what happened to Hayden too.”
“……I’m sorry.”
The sudden apology made me turn to her. Her silver hair fluttered in the breeze like a veil, half-obscuring her profile.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“If I’d known more about Necromancy, I could have been more helpful.”
The hand holding the coin rose to her lips. I saw her biting her thumbnail.
Only that nail was particularly short—a childhood habit that still lingered. I laid my hand gently over hers.
“Necromancy is hardly known to anyone. There’s nothing to blame yourself for.”
“But I’m a Returnee. I should know everything.”
“I’d rather you didn’t know so much, honestly.”
Bella knew far too much for her age. She always had. It had always troubled me.
“You have no obligation to know everything. What you don’t know now, we can discover together from here on.”
……
“Once Talia examines Gai’s blood, something should come to light. So stop gnawing at those nails.”
I gently stroked the shortened thumbnail.
“Should I paint it with that bitter stuff again, like when you were small?”
At that, Bella let out a soft laugh—the same smile as when she was young.
“Am I a child? I don’t need that kind of thing……”
—Crash!
Just then, a loud noise came from behind. He’d arrived.
Cesare appeared, his face looking sickly and drawn.
He had Gai tucked under his arm. He set him down roughly, saying:
“Phew, I made good time, didn’t I? Not late, right?”
“No, you were quick.”
He seemed to have pushed himself hard to get here—Cesare was drenched in sweat. Gai, by contrast, looked perfectly composed.
He dusted off his clothes and asked:
“Master, I heard you were looking for me? What’s this about? Do you need a corpse?”
“Should I explain briefly or at length?”
“Briefly.”
“I need your blood.”
“Please explain at length.”
I laid out the situation for him. When I finished, Gai nodded.
“Ah, so it’s just a matter of giving some blood and we’re done?”
“That’s right.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
His bright smile seemed like teasing, but underneath was a resistance different from his usual demeanor.
Cesare, who’d been drinking water and steadying his breathing, looked over at us. His brows narrowed sharply.
He stepped forward and loomed over Gai. His shadow fell across the younger man as his height towered above him.
“What’s with the nonsense now? Just give a few drops of blood and it’s over.”
“Excuse me, Cesare.”
Gai spoke from the shadows, his usually tepid voice now sharp and cool.
“Most people don’t give their blood away so easily. Why do you think I should hand it over without question?”
His lips still curved upward, but his eyes fixed on Cesare burned with hostility.
“Why should I give it unconditionally?”
The air in the room sank lower. Bella and Cesare’s movements stiffened subtly.
Gai was refusing in earnest. Cesare seemed deeply displeased by it.
“After what you’ve done to me, you should obviously help. You’re supposed to be loyal to Balanus!”
“I’ve already repaid what I owe. There’s nothing more beyond that.”
A thin, mocking chuckle escaped him.
“Besides, that’s laughable—loyalty? You might give up your liver, your gallbladder, anything for your family……”
Gai tilted his head at an angle, looking up at Cesare without a single blink.
“But I’m not your family, am I?”
“…….”
“Tell me. Am I Balanus?”
Cesare couldn’t answer. What he wanted to say was perfectly clear.
Gai was not family. Neither brother nor disciple. Just a hanger-on wearing Hayden’s skin.
But Cesare never voiced those words. It was Bella who broke the silence.
“Gai, you don’t want the Guardians to kill you either, right? Cooperating benefits us both.”
Bella too had not called him family. She merely laid out the situation coldly.
Gai’s eyes slid toward Bella. His violet irises blinked in the darkness like a cornered beast.
“That threat doesn’t work on me. I won’t drop dead just because I don’t help you.”
He flashed a smug smile with his eyes.
“If there’s nothing in it for me, why would I cooperate?”
I watched in silence. His refusal didn’t surprise me.
By his logic, blood was a precious asset and intelligence both. Hand it over to the Blood Mage Tower?
The secrets of Necromancy could be exposed. Information about bloodlines could leak.
Handing it over freely would be the strange thing. And he was right—we weren’t family.
I let the deadlock persist for a moment, then opened my mouth.
“Cesare, Bella. There’s someone selling Ice Confections in front of the inn. Go get yourselves one each.”
Despite the lingering tension, Cesare caught the hint and pulled Bella by the shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go. I’ll buy you strawberry.”
“Wait. I need to talk to Master about—”
“You won’t listen to Master, and you won’t listen to your brother? Move it.”
Cesare dragged Bella out by force. Their footsteps faded, then vanished entirely.
Now only Gai and I remained in the room. I faced him as though he wore a laughing mask.
“All right. Tell me what you want. What would make you cooperate?”
“I’ve mentioned it before.”
Gai stepped closer. His index finger pressed hard into the center of my collarbone, then slid downward.
As if tracing something. The finger stopped at my sternum.
“Here. Let me cut you open. I’m curious what’s inside your body. A resurrected form must be different, yes?”
“…….”
“Don’t worry—I won’t kill you.”
The finger pressed deeper, as though it would bore through flesh at any moment. Malice oozed from Gai’s laughter.
I placed my hand on the brooch that fastened my cloak.
“Fine. Do it.”
“……What?”
“You must have Paralysis Poison anyway. Do you have Recovery Medicine and Hemostatic Agent?”
I removed my gloves. As I unfastened the sleeve buttons one by one, Gai’s laughter turned discordant. A snort burst out of him.
“Are you sane? You shouldn’t overplay your hand like this.”
“No. There’s no reason to bluff about something like this.”
Our eyes met. His held genuine shock. For the first time, his perpetual smirk seemed to slip.
Living with Gai these past days, I’d come to know him somewhat. He’s a nasty creature. He loves toying with people.
Especially pushing them the wrong way. He makes the other person angry, cursing, alarmed—then he cackles at his own game.
Like a mischievous child handing a dead frog to a friend. This moment was no different.
Gai was savoring the situation, and I had no intention of playing along with his games.
“It’s not like you’ll die, and I’ll even numb you first. Think of it as surgery.”
I’d always planned to let him test his limits. Besides, I wasn’t seeing a madman who wanted to vivisect someone for the first time.
I’ve lived forty years. Those four decades of clawing through the mire have exposed me to all manner of things.
But Gai? By his own account, he’s only twenty-five. The boy’s inexperienced. Has he ever actually cut open a living person’s belly?
A half-madman can’t pull off a convincing act of being completely insane—the seams always show. But with disciples his own age, the pretense might hold.
He was still failing to hide his shock. I unbuttoned my shirt.
“If you figure something out, that’s good for me too. Everyone’s been wanting answers about Resurrection.”
The moment I reached for the turtleneck beneath, Gai’s hand shot up in alarm.
“……!”
His right hand froze awkwardly in mid-air. Frozen, yes—but the intention was unmistakable. He’d been trying to stop me.
Caught red-handed. His eyes wavered as they met mine. I smiled deliberately.
“What? Nervous?”

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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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