The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me - Chapter 212

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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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Side Story Episode 2

 

Imperial Palace Conference Hall.

 

A meeting was in full swing.

 

“Those bastards from the western continent have finally broken the ‘treaty’.”

 

“The Western Alliance has blocked the trade routes at the border. It appears they intend to prohibit the export of magic stones!”

 

Within the Empire, magic stones were a resource deeply embedded in all aspects of life.

 

They were essential not only for lighting and heating, but also for crafting various weapons and equipment.

 

“If the supply of magic stones is cut off, magical tools will be nothing more than useless scrap metal!”

 

Most of the nobility depended on magic stones for their livelihood. The moment the supply was blocked, the Empire would fall into great chaos.

 

“…Additionally, reports have come in that the western continent is gathering mercenary groups and knights at the border regions. There are signs they’re preparing for war.”

 

As signs of diplomatic disaster began to appear, the faces of the nobles gathered in the conference hall visibly paled.

 

“Damn it! The emerging religion alone is enough of a headache! What kind of mess is this supposed to be!”

 

…The ‘incident’ that occurred just a year and a half ago still hadn’t been resolved.

 

The emerging religion born from the appearance of the Savior, Oserack.

 

They were currently the most troublesome nuisance within the Empire.

 

“…What about the pursuit of the former Paladin Commander? Is it still ongoing?”

 

The assembly fell silent as if cold water had been poured over them.

 

A name everyone knew but no one dared to speak aloud.

 

The Paladin Commander, Rihardt.

 

A year ago, he had caused a major problem. The rampage of a transcendent.

 

“Prime Minister! He was the ‘disaster’ that nearly destroyed the Empire a year and a half ago. Are you suggesting we bring that mad beast back into the Imperial Palace?”

 

“Then do you have another alternative?”

 

At that moment, silence descended upon the conference hall.

 

The marquis who had been objecting closed his mouth at the Prime Minister’s cold rebuke.

 

“You’ll remember the Battle of Haberack four years ago.”

 

A battlefield shrouded in the dark colors of defeat.

 

In the midst of that hell where allied flags fell and Imperial knights were slaughtered one by one, Rihardt appeared.

 

Single-handedly annihilating the enemy cavalry, beheading the enemy commander, and instantly reversing the tide of battle with overwhelming force.

 

It was from that moment that the war truly began to turn in their favor.

 

Within the Empire, Rihardt’s existence had once become an object of near-religious devotion.

 

…If only he hadn’t suddenly gone berserk two years ago.

 

“…But the former Paladin Commander’s whereabouts remain unknown.”

 

“That’s right. There’s simply no way to find him…”

 

It was while the nobles were lost in worry.

 

“Well now.”

 

A leisurely voice drifted into the conference hall.

 

It was a handsome man with blonde hair and green eyes. Unlike his softly shining hair, his eyes were coldly sunken.

 

Count Arzen Evantes.

 

Just by sitting there, one could feel a presence that strangely tensed those around him.

 

“What if I had a way? What would you do then?”

 

Arzen wore his characteristic cold smile.

 

* * *

 

Arzen left the conference hall.

 

“Your Excellency, is it true that you’re dispatching Evantes soldiers to the Borderland?”

 

“The deployment costs won’t be insignificant. Above all, that place is a wasteland teeming with malevolent energy. There’s no need for Evantes to bear such an unreasonable burden!”

 

His retainers rushed to Arzen’s side like moths to flame, trying to dissuade him.

 

Despite his retainers’ attempts to stop him, Arzen’s pace didn’t slow in the slightest.

 

“Profit and loss.”

 

He muttered lowly and let out a sneer.

 

Then one retainer made a face as if he had realized something.

 

Arzen was never one to make a losing deal.

 

‘Could it be that he intends to strengthen Evantes’ influence over the Borderland territory!’

 

The Borderland was the poorest frontier in the Empire. Because it bordered the Cursed Land, terrible malevolent energy spread there constantly.

 

But at the same time, rare blood stones were hidden there that could yield enormous profits even if secured in small quantities.

 

If he took control of public order under the pretext of dispatching soldiers, he could naturally gain substantial control over that land as well.

 

The retainers understood it that way.

 

But to Arzen, all of that was merely a superficial reason.

 

His real purpose for blockading that dust pit of a land lay somewhere entirely different.

 

‘Because they’ll be there.’

 

The place where Rihardt’s traces had been completely cut off.

 

And a region that no one would readily set foot in due to its notorious reputation as the ‘Cursed Land’.

 

There was no more perfect place for a monster who had turned his back on the world and the woman who held that monster’s leash to hide away.

 

Arzen leaned against a pillar in the corridor and gazed at the sky stretching far into the distance.

 

In his mind, memories from two years ago were…

 

Coming back to life with bone-piercing clarity.

 

【Do you perhaps like me?】

 

A mirage-like voice brushed past his ear.

 

The arrogance of daring to ask such a question to him, the Master of Evantes, was laughable.

 

But…

 

【Do you think you can have me by forcing me like that?】

 

The voice soon returned sharp as a blade. It felt like an awl boring into his chest.

 

It was a sensation he had never felt before in his life.

 

【…Then what should I do?】

 

Bowing to someone was a first for him.

 

But in the end, she had deceived him and fled.

 

“…Ah.”

 

A twisted smile flickered across Arzen’s lips as he recalled the distant past.

 

He would find them before long.

 

* * *

 

I had a dream.

 

It was a dream of that day when I fell to this land again.

 

【Come in after 5 minutes.】

 

Fine cracks began to appear on Sian’s porcelain-white skin as he said those words.

 

Like invisible fissures spreading, he was slowly crumbling.

 

The sight of him scattering soundlessly seemed more like a mirage than reality.

 

Soon Sian opened the door and went inside.

 

I watched his back, unable to move a single step.

 

That must have been when it happened.

 

When that strangely vivid premonition seeped in.

 

And when I opened the door and went inside…

 

“Rose, wake up.”

 

Rihardt woke me up.

 

‘…Uh, huh?’

 

My mind was hazy. Still not fully emerged from sleep, I blinked my eyes.

 

The light coming through the window wasn’t… dazzling at all.

 

The Cursed Land was always dark and gloomy. No matter how bright it got, it maintained about the light of early evening.

 

“Did you have a nightmare? You were groaning in distress.”

 

Rihardt wiped away the cold sweat on my forehead with his thumb. His touch was excessively tender and delicate.

 

I looked at the clock.

 

7 AM.

 

“Why at this hour…”

 

“We agreed to go down to the village today, remember? Are you very tired?”

 

Right, we did.

 

There wasn’t a trace of sleepiness on the man’s face.

 

I got up from the bed with disheveled hair.

 

“Want to sleep more? I could carry you there.”

 

“No, I’ll get up.”

 

…Of course, there had been a few times like that when I was too tired.

 

We had to move early to go down to the village. By the time we arrived, it would be night at the earliest.

 

“Get ready and come out.”

 

“Yes…”

 

The mornings when he woke me up had become almost routine now.

 

Rihardt, whom I’d observed for 2 years, was truly… diligent.

 

When I was left alone in the room, I recalled Sian whom I’d seen in my dream earlier.

 

A year ago, when I opened the door and went in, Sian had disappeared.

 

In the ruined temple, there were only Rihardt and me.

 

‘Did that child die…’

 

When Sian disappeared, I asked Rihardt in surprise, but he… knew nothing.

 

He said his memory wasn’t intact because he had been on the verge of going berserk.

 

At the time, I was wary of Rihardt, so I thought he might have harmed Sian.

 

So I was on guard, and I even considered fleeing from Rihardt in this land.

 

But making those days seem meaningless, we had already been living together for a year and 6 months.

 

‘Sieoni is probably…’

 

I wanted to believe he was living well somewhere, but I had a bad feeling. His body had been breaking down.

 

So he might have disappeared.

 

It was a fact I was finally coming to accept after 2 years had passed.

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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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