The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 37

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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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Episode 37

…Fabian?
Why on earth is Fabian showing up here?
Kaius fixed his gaze on me immediately.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Neither did I.”
But staring at me like that while we both deny it only makes our thoughts transparent anyway.
The butler, sensing the heavy atmosphere, bowed his head and handed over a letter.
Kaius’s expression grew quite grave as he read through it.
“…He wishes to visit the fiefdom, it seems.”
“What? Why?”
So suddenly?
Without warning or reason?
He fluttered the letter at me as though to say “see for yourself.” I shot to my feet and scanned the contents. It was true. Beneath formal pleasantries of inquiry, there lay a question: might he call upon the fiefdom soon? But really, this was no question at all—it was a royal directive, the kind that meant *I’m coming soon, so prepare yourself.*
In truth, it was only question in form; in substance, it was a proclamation.
Kaius smiled with a knowing edge.
“My cousin seems rather keen to learn of your recent circumstances.”
Mm.
I had a feeling…
He’s coming because of me, isn’t he?
Regrettably, I had no way to argue against it.
Fabian’s visit to the Lucifenia Fiefdom at this time was not part of the original story.
In the proper sequence of events, the trial would drag on inconclusively until Charlotte’s head rolled, and the two leads would be granted their tearful reunion.
But I chose exile over execution, and given Fabian’s nature, he must have been fuming ever since the brainwashing broke. Still, I never imagined he’d actually take it this far and come find me himself. My male lead, I think every time—he’s a veritable bulldozer.
That explains why things have been flowing so smoothly lately. I’m no protagonist like Leoni; there’s no reason flowers should bloom naturally beneath my feet.
What a wretched fate.
What a wretched fate indeed.
“What are you thinking?”
“That my lot in life is truly savage, sir.”
“Is that so.”
“Just to ask—there’s no possibility of sending word that he shouldn’t come, is there?”
“He is the Crown Prince, and I am a Grand Duke.”
“Still, Your Highness outranks me—in any case, he’s my elder brother.”
“You’re not ignorant of the Imperial Succession Order, are you?”
He asked as if checking, but his tone was rather pointed.
“Hm….”
As I thought, it won’t work.
Nothing is ever simple.
I voluntarily withdrew to the very edge of the continent, and yet he’s stubbornly bent on finding me. Can’t we each just live our own lives? Let him be happy with Leoni. Just erase someone like me from his mind.
“When you were so ardently desperate for the Crown Prince that you wielded Black Magic to seduce him, but now you’re putting on this act….”
“Ardently desperate? Don’t say such frightening things. This could be a disaster.”
I startled and rebuked Kaius sharply.
Why would he say something so terrifying?
Neither I nor Charlotte ever yearned for the Crown Prince, not for a single moment.
At my vehement denial, Kaius’s eyes narrowed to slits.
“…You truly have no lingering affection for the Crown Prince?”
‘Lingering’ implies there was something to begin with. I never cared for him from the start.”
Now that I thought about it, Kaius probably didn’t know the full picture.
He only knew that Charlotte had fed an Enchanted Potion to Fabian to seize the position of Crown Princess through Brainwashing.
But appearances are rarely the whole truth.
“Truly. If Charlotte had cared for the Crown Prince, she wouldn’t have simply used an Enchanted Potion and Brainwashing—she’d have seduced him deliberately from the start. And if we’re being honest, Charlotte’s aesthetic preference lay more with the Grand Duke than with the Crown Prince….”
“More with?”
Kaius rested his chin on his hand with evident interest.
Belatedly realizing my slip, I clamped my mouth shut and looked away.
“…How irritating.”
“Ah, I see.”
I desperately pretended not to hear his knowing exhale.
In any case, Fabian’s direct visit to the Lucifenia Fiefdom was an ill omen. I’d barely managed to persuade Kaius and carve out a way to survive, and now here came an unexpected assault from Fabian himself.
The life of a villainess is suffering.
It’s unbearable.
After a deep sigh, anxiety suddenly reared its head.
I pressed my lips together and fixed Kaius with a suspicious stare.
“Your eyes look particularly dangerous.”
“Your Highness.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Aren’t we bound by a contractual relationship on paper?”
“What nonsense now.”
“I believe you would never be so cold-blooded as to hand over a capable and loyal servant to someone else without a shred of sentiment.”
A criminal exiled from the Capital legally becomes a resident of that fiefdom. Which meant, strictly speaking, I was currently a Fiefdom Resident of Kaius’s domain.
Since I’d already paid the price for the Enchanted Potion incident with my banishment, not even the Crown Prince had the right to execute me without Kaius surrendering me first.
“Isn’t that so?”
Kaius let out a dry laugh.
A crooked smile played at the corner of his mouth.
“Why, wouldn’t you prefer the less disagreeable Crown Prince to this disagreeable wretch?”
“Disagreeable? How dare anyone speak so irreverently of the Grand Duke.”
“You did. Just now.”
“Me? Surely not. Wouldn’t I have said there’s no one in this empire who could match your grace?”
“Do something about that impious gaze of yours before you speak.”
“Could there be a kinder expression than this?”
I drained the tension from my wide-open eyes and blinked rapidly. Kaius let out a hollow laugh as if exasperated.
“I’m serious. What will you do about the Golem Fortress Walls without me, and what of the Griffin Knights? Even if you tried to face the Vulcan Family alone, you’d be rejected before you could even attempt reconciliation. You need me.”
So hold onto me.
Don’t hand me over to him.
It’s death for both of us.
“Is this a threat or an inducement?”
“Both. Didn’t I tell you? My only goal is to stay quiet and cross the border. You have to help me.”
I smiled faintly.
“And soon you’ll miss me too. In my homeland, there’s a saying: ‘He who has never lost doesn’t know; he who has lost knows well.’ There’s also: ‘Treat well while you have.'”
“How intriguing.”
He answered pleasantly enough, though his face showed not a grain of actual interest.
“In any case, you’ll trust me, won’t you?”
“Well….”
Kaius let his words trail off as he stared at me intently.
Why is he looking at me like that.
I turned my head away from his unsettling gaze.
After he’d been studying me for what felt like an eternity, Kaius suddenly snatched the letter from Fabian out of my hand.
“I’ll read it.”

***

“It has been a long time, brother.”
“I hope you have been well, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
He’s here.
He’s really here.
I crouched among the servants assembled at attention, trying to make myself as small as possible.
All this pointless ceremony. As if there were only one person he came to see, why did every innocent servant have to line up too.
“It’s been exactly five years since the Crown Prince Enthronement Ceremony—the first time I’ve seen you since then.”
Fabian, seen now just a month ago, was still handsome, though somehow more alive than before. A person’s complexion changes entirely depending on whether or not they’re under Brainwashing.
The truth was, I couldn’t decide whether to see Fabian as my beloved male lead or as the Crown Prince who threatened my life.
I’m happy to see him, but I’m afraid.
I’m afraid, but I’m happy.
What does my heart really want?
While I was stealing glances without fully knowing my own mind, Fabian’s gaze suddenly met mine.
Oh no.
…….
We didn’t just make eye contact, did we.
“What is it?”
“…I thought I was seeing things, but it seems I wasn’t.”
So that’s what’s happening.
I’m done for.
Maybe I should’ve hidden instead of waiting around—protagonist or not, none of that matters now.
The killing intent that flooded the air in an instant made me avert my eyes desperately, my throat dry as I swallowed hard.
Only Kaius, who actually knew the reason, remained perfectly composed, his expression betraying nothing.
“Is something the matter?”
Fabian, whose mouth had been opening and closing, swallowed his words as if forcibly holding something back.
“…Perhaps we should discuss this inside.”
“Of course.”
I survived.
In that moment, I felt nothing but profound gratitude that Fabian was not quite as relentlessly unhinged as Kaius.
Fabian’s gaze, which had lingered on me for so long, finally lifted, and the two of them turned toward the building.
The moment I confirmed that both their figures had vanished, I bolted—faster than I’d ever moved.
I had to stay invisible today, no matter what.
Legs, please—carry me to safety.

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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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