The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 19

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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 19

“This should be it… Found it.”
I double-checked the address before knocking on the gate.
“Is anyone home?”
Footsteps drew near, and the door swung open to reveal Robert, his face swollen like an overinflated balloon.
“Who… You!”
“Hello.”
I offered a harmless smile and gave a little wave.
“May I come in for a moment?”
“…Why are you looking for me at my home?”
Squeak, squeak!
The moment Robert caught sight of Golsun-i waddling at my feet, all the color drained from his face. Yesterday’s trauma came rushing back, and his body trembled violently before he abruptly turned his gaze away.
“Golsun-i wants to come in too….”
Squeak?
Flinch.
“Would that be all right?”
Squeak squeak?
“…Ah, fine. Just move that stone.”
“Yes, then I’ll gladly accept.”
The instant Robert stepped aside, I scooped up Golsun-i and slipped into the house. Even as we settled onto the parlor sofa, he remained planted by the doorway, watching us warily.
“What brings you here?”
Looking at him now, I noticed his face wasn’t the only thing swollen—he had a splint on one arm.
Well, the man did go flying through the air. It would be strange if he weren’t injured.
Though it’s odd he’s still speaking to me so casually.
“Please, sit down.”
I set the basket I’d been carrying onto the table.
“After what happened yesterday, I was so worried I couldn’t sleep all night. So I came to check on your condition and offer my apologies.”
“Ha, apologies? After you’ve left me in this state?”
Robert’s face flushed red, then purple. His mouth opened as if to shout, but the moment he glanced at Golsun-i beside me, his lips pressed shut.
“Save it. Are you here to beg forgiveness now? I hear those golems don’t harm people, so you brought them along? What do you think will happen if I report this to His Grace? Hmm?”
Robert made a show of waving his splinted arm about. A thin, twisted smile crept across his lips.
Squeak, squeak….
You’ve made our little one sad because of this.
What a terrible man.
“Actually, I have something to say about that very matter.”
I folded my hands neatly in my lap and straightened my posture with due respect.
“I do apologize for yesterday. Even with His Grace’s permission, I shouldn’t have requisitioned soldiers without your approval. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
Squeak, squeak…?
At my sudden apology, Robert blinked stupidly before bursting into laughter a beat later.
“So you’ve finally grasped the situation?”
He looked us over triumphantly—first Golsun-i, who was growing more restless, then me.
“What does a Retainer rank matter? You relied on these lumps of stone and tarnished my honor quite well.”
“You’re right. I wonder why I ever said such things?”
“Tsk, now you’re making some sense. But let’s be clear—you’re just a Black Mage. I’m the Security Chief who’s served here for eight years. Do you know how much His Grace trusts me? Say one word from me and you’re done for. Know your place.”
“You speak the truth.”
I answered obediently and lowered my head.
“So please, would you keep this secret from His Grace?”
I smiled shamefully and pulled away the cloth draped over the basket.
“It’s nothing much, but this is a token of my sincerity.”
“…What’s this now?”
“You’ve likely heard that the Magic Potions I’ve been making have become quite popular among the Territory Residents lately. They work as antidotes and nutritional supplements.”
I pushed the basket full of medicine bottles toward him.
“You go outside the Territory often on Security Chief business, don’t you? Within the Territory, I distribute them freely, but there’s no reason to do the same beyond our borders. Since this medicine isn’t available on the open market, it’ll sell at a premium.”
As I spoke in a low, coaxing voice, Robert’s eyes widened notably. It was the reaction of someone who’d already heard something about the Magic Potions.
“If you need more, I’ll provide them.”
“Hem, well… something like this.”
“So you’ll keep it secret for me?”
He cleared his throat and made a show of trying to compose himself, but it was pointless. His lips were already twitching upward.
So money is his weakness, is it?
“You’ve never tried one yourself, have you? Here, let me give you one. Go on, have a taste.”
“No, what—”
“It’s fine. Please.”
Faced with my repeated insistence, Robert pretended to give in and accepted the medicine bottle I offered him.
“Well, when you put it like that, how can I refuse….”
“Of course, of course.”
He swallowed it readily enough.
Once I confirmed Robert had swallowed the medicine, I asked sweetly, “By the way, I had something I wanted to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“How much did you receive when you sold the Territory information to that Black Mage?”
“You mean that bastard who attacked before? He said he’d give me 500 Gold Coins, so I jumped at it and—oh, wait—”
Robert froze in alarm, clamping his hand over his own mouth. His expression was one of pure shock at his own words.
“What, what is this?”
Perfect.
It’s working beautifully.
I smiled with satisfaction.
“So that’s how it was.”
I snickered and snapped my fingers. The medicine bottles that had been piled in the basket vanished at once, revealing straw beneath. The only real medicine bottle remaining was the one Robert held in his hand.
Fooled you.
They were all fake.
Robert went rigid, his eyes darting back and forth in confusion between the bottle in his grip and my face.
Then he leaped from his seat and hurled the bottle onto the table with a clatter.
“What—what in the name of—what did you do to me?!”
I burst into laughter.
“The Truth Spell. It’s commonly used to extract confessions from criminals.”
“Why would you use this on me—!”
“Exactly. You should never accept food from strangers without thinking. I suppose you didn’t know that.”
Chirp!
Idiot.
“So tell me—how long have you been doing this? This isn’t the first time, is it?”
“The first time? Of course not. Every Black Mage that’s invaded has gotten information through me, and—oh no, my mouth! I can’t stop it!”
Robert began clawing at his own lips in desperation. They swelled red from his assault, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seal them shut.
“I wish you’d been dismissed yesterday. Since the Grand Duke despises Black Mages so intensely, there’s no hope of leniency for you.”
I stood up, struggling to hold back my laughter.
“Golsun-i, take him away. Tie him up.”
Chirp!
Golsun-i bounded forward and rammed him hard in the back of the head with a headbutt.

“If you’re going to interrogate me, please keep it under five minutes. The potion’s effects won’t last much longer.”
Kaius let out an incredulous laugh. He clearly still had no idea what was happening.
I pulled out a pocket watch from my jacket and added, “If you don’t believe me, you can test it. Right now, I can only speak the truth.”
Don’t just stare at me like that. It’s unsettling.
And time keeps ticking while you gawk at me.
“This is ridiculous.”
Kaius rubbed his forehead.
Robert, bound hand and foot and kneeling before him, looked just as baffled as I did—the one now counting down seconds beside him.
“Four minutes and thirty-two seconds remaining.”
Kaius’s eyes narrowed. He tore his gaze from me and fixed it on Robert instead.
His voice carried a note of half-disbelief. “…So you really did betray me?”
“No!”
Well, look at that.
Just as doubt began to cross Kaius’s face, Robert spoke.
“Betrayal is when someone loyal to you has a change of heart—that’s betrayal. But I came here from the start with nothing but ambitions of advancement. How is that a betrayal? If only you’d stopped wasting your efforts chasing after Black Mages and the like and reclaimed the throne sooner, I wouldn’t have had to rot away here for all this time, would I? I backed the wrong horse. What a wretched destiny I have! Ugh.”

“Ah.”
A smile bloomed across Kaius’s face as he listened to Robert’s confession pouring out in an endless stream.
I know that look.
He’s furious.
What do I do….
You’re dead to Kaius now.
Since Kaius looked ready to draw his sword at any moment, I quickly wedged myself between them.
“He took money from the Black Mage too. Looks like he was planning to save it all up and run.”
“No, why would you say that!”
“Where did he hide it?”
“Ha! You think I’m going to confess how I pried up the floorboards beneath the dining table and buried all the Gold Coins I’ve collected down there? Good heavens, my own mouth!”
“So that’s where it is?”
“You cunning, vicious witch! Cursed woman!”
Robert’s face flushed red and purple as he bellowed. I quietly covered my ears.
Meanwhile, an increasingly radiant smile was spreading across Kaius’s face.
Terrifying.
His eyes aren’t smiling, just his mouth.
“Basel.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Verify it.”
A short while later, Basel returned to the Office carrying a sack as large as a torso, brimming with Gold Coins.
Kaius’s narrow eyes curved in an arc as they closed. Even though he wasn’t smiling at me, the fine hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
He won’t die easy.
Kaius despised internal enemies most of all. Ever since he lost his family in an instant, he showed no mercy to anyone who betrayed him. But not only did Robert stab him in the back—he’d also become entangled with the Black Mage in his crimes.
I offered Robert my sincere condolences.
“Take him away.”
Basel seized Robert by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him up. His face, sensing his end, turned as pale as a blank sheet of paper.
“No, this can’t be!”
He thrashed about desperately.
“Please, forgive me just this once! If you show mercy, I swear I’ll mend my ways and swiftly gather what wealth remains before fleeing under cover of night! You glittering narcissist of a tyrant, Your Highness!”
…What do I do.
You’re really dead now.

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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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