The Dutiful Kid Who Saved the Villainous Family - Chapter 168
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 168
Before long, the chandelier’s light glowed red.
Declan closed his eyes once and opened them again.
The red light was filled with magi.
It meant that those planted by the Pope had already naturally infiltrated this place.
However, it seemed only Declan and Airi could sense the red light.
Declan lightly lifted his tequila glass and smirked.
Perhaps due to Declan’s participation, combined with the recent tense atmosphere.
The air in the ballroom felt somewhat stiff.
But to find the ‘humans’ possessed by test subject souls, flexible thinking was essential.
Declan quietly spoke up.
“Don’t ballrooms usually have dance music as standard?”
At Declan’s single remark, the orchestra that had been reading the room hurriedly began to play.
Group discord was understandable.
Though they were excellent musicians, their main role had always been to subtly provide background music.
This was their first experience playing at such a strange ball where the Grand Duke personally designated the orchestra and so many nobles focused their attention on them.
Fortunately, thanks to the conductor’s efforts, the orchestra was soon able to display their true skills.
Just as the beautiful melody began to bring subtle peace to the listeners’ hearts.
Berry, who had been in full guard mode protecting Airi beside Declan, spoke carefully.
“Um, that’s strange.”
“Huh?”
“He’s holding the violin upside down.”
The moment Berry’s words rang out clearly.
The test subject in the center froze stiff.
As if he could no longer play the violin.
His violin dropped to the floor with a thud, and simultaneously the orchestra’s performance stopped.
‘Found the first test subject!’
Declan strode forward.
Magi began seeping out from the panicked body.
Airi’s small Cookie body absorbed all the magi.
‘Thank goodness!’
…Along with such trivial sentiments, the first test subject’s soul orb was easily captured.
The problem was that from the second one onward, it wouldn’t be so easy…
‘I need to be prepared!’
…Or so he thought.
“Easy.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
The Airi and Declan combo succeeded easily this time too.
When the orchestra’s performance ended.
Declan and Airi caught someone clapping with the back of their hands instead of their palms.
Airi quickly tapped Declan’s chest area.
“Father, charge!”
“Char… what?”
“Run over there!”
Airi controlled Declan from inside his pocket like manipulating an avatar.
“If I run over there?”
“It’s fun!”
“…”
Though Declan rolled his eyes mischievously, Airi just blinked seriously.
“You can’t tease Father.”
Just as Declan whispered softly, Airi’s eyes widened as she stretched out her hand with a “Hey!”
“Over there, dumpling ears!”
“Dumpling ears?”
Airi whispered energetically while looking at traces of magi.
“Dumpling ears like Yelshanad Grandmother!”
After catching even the person who had become ‘dumpling ears’ from being consumed by magi.
Airi enthusiastically controlled Declan.
“Left turn left!”
“…Left face left, you mean.”
“Left!”
Declan swallowed a sigh inwardly and followed Airi’s words.
…And so three, then four people.
As Airi and Declan roamed around every corner of the ballroom like this, the nobles present finally realized why this ball was held.
“What on earth is this…”
“It seems His Highness Declan Ortejo is hunting.”
“…It must mean the Pope’s lackeys have infiltrated here too.”
As a result, they all realized they had become extras at this event, or to put it somewhat dramatically, ‘bait to lure out the test subjects.’
But even while hearing them murmur in confusion, Declan remained calm.
He slowly looked around.
No more strange phenomena were being observed.
From what Declan had seen so far, the ‘strange phenomena’ always deviated slightly from the norm.
A human blatantly holding a violin upside down while trembling.
A human clapping with the backs of their hands.
And even a human taking strange dance steps…
As if…
‘It looks like they’re gradually trying to learn what humans look like.’
If so, catching the next test subject might be a bit more difficult.
Declan’s expression momentarily darkened.
Just then, Airi chattered.
“We just need to find and save one more person! Then I can become human!”
Though Cookie-state Airi was nice too.
When he thought of Airi’s warm cheeks, still…
“There seems to be a test subject still remaining here.”
Because…
‘This is Cookie body intuition!’
Hearing the whispering from inside his jacket pocket, Declan stroked his chin.
“Right, there’s probably about one test subject left. If it’s the Pope we’re talking about.”
Though everyone in the ballroom was becoming fearful, Airi remained quite composed and calm.
Because to Airi now, Father was no longer a scary existence no matter how intimidating he acted.
Airi, who had stopped paying attention to Declan, thought carefully.
‘Then, if we catch just one more…’
Airi could become human.
However, Airi’s expression darkened somewhat as she surveyed the surroundings. Because it had become harder to find them now.
After carefully examining and re-examining the surroundings, Airi soon whispered toward Declan.
“Over there!”
“Huh?”
A small child’s eyesight is sometimes more remarkable than an adult’s.
The person Airi’s gaze reached was none other than Bellian Benedict.
But she was…
“There are two people with the same face.”
Declan frowned.
“Two of them. Twins?”
“…They look exactly the same.”
At those words, Serafin quietly murmured.
“There’s only one Lady Bellian. She’s not a twin, she’s an only child.”
And as Serafin’s words echoed through the extremely quiet ballroom, those who had been near the two Bellians hurriedly moved away.
While muttering with puzzled expressions.
“Be, Bellian wasn’t originally two, right?”
“Did she suddenly appear?”
“What the hell is this?”
Declan furrowed his brow and muttered as if to himself.
“She’s even bewitching the people around her. How vicious.”
His expression seemed to say it would be difficult to get proper information from those idiots.
Declan leisurely walked toward the two Lady Bellians.
“That means… one of you two must be a ‘fake Bellian.'”
Both Bellian Benedict’s faces turned pale simultaneously.
The two women wore the same clothes, stood in the same posture, and even made the same surprised gasps.
However, one would be real, and one would be a fake meticulously crafted by the Pope’s hand.
‘Not content with infiltrating human subconsciousness, now using test subjects to insert replicas. How clever.’
He had collected eleven test subject souls, including Pierre and Melissa Marquess.
‘Pierre and Grandmother aren’t included in the ten souls I need to save.’
Seeing how sophisticated the Pope’s schemes had become in the meantime, he was indeed no ordinary opponent.
But there was no surprise in Declan’s expression.
His face remained consistently indifferent.
“I just need to check which one of you is using shapeshifting.”
Airi thought to herself.
‘Calling them “one.” They’re ladies though…’
Sure enough, ‘both’ Bellians’ expressions became slightly cold.
Airi desperately racked her brain but…
‘I don’t know!’
Whether the magi was completely blocked or some other method was used, no black smoke was leaking out at all.
‘In that case…’
Airi looked up at Declan from inside the pocket.
She could see his clean chin, beard neatly trimmed.
Declan whispered low.
“You trust Father, right?”
Even as he said this, his expression as he drew the sword from his waist was quite menacing.
It was a face someone might describe as ‘absolutely untrustworthy!’
But Airi was different.
Airi nodded Cookie’s head repeatedly.
‘I trust Father!’
As someone in the older class, she couldn’t bring herself to say such embarrassing words out loud.
But still…
‘Father is Father!’
She could think it to herself, right!
Airi thought with sparkling eyes.
‘Until I become human! Only one left now!’
And that one is…!
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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