The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 4

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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 4.

In my novel, there was one unfilial child.
Kaiyerus Lucifenia, Grand Duke.
The second son of the Former Emperor, he had renounced his claim to the throne and descended to his duchy after the Former Emperor, his consort, and the Crown Prince all met mysterious deaths. In short, he was the current Emperor’s nephew and Fabian’s cousin.
As for why he was an unfilial child.
It was simple.
He was more popular than the male protagonist.
Why did readers fixate so obsessively on the dark-haired sociopath?
Kaiyerus wasn’t even a supporting male character, let alone a secondary lead with significant screen time. He was merely a figure connected to the hidden mastermind, appearing in passing a few times before assisting the protagonists in disposing of him.
Yet whenever Kaiyerus appeared, the comment section without fail erupted into chaos.
Readers demanding why he wasn’t the male lead.
Begging for him to appear as a supporting character at least.
I’ll admit it—he was a compelling character in many respects. There was something rather pitiful about him, different from Charlotte.
Still, a supporting role more popular than the protagonist? Was such a thing even possible?
And at this very moment, Kaiyerus was proving himself a most filial son in an entirely different sense.
“Excuse me, would you mind putting the sword away?”
“No.”
A groan escaped my lips.
This wretch of a man—drawing a blade to my throat without warning? I wasn’t his parent, true, but I was the author who’d created him.
The audacity of this creature!
So I thought, keeping it to myself.
I couldn’t afford to lose my head at my only safe haven. I was, after all, an ordinary person who valued her life.
“When I heard that the Capital’s most notorious witch had chosen my domain as her place of exile, I rather thought you’d finally developed a death wish. But judging by that expression, it seems you’re not quite ready to die?”
Of course not!
I came this far to survive!
I shot him an aggrieved look, clamped my lips shut, and shook my head frantically.
Kaiyerus tilted his head slightly, his pale yellow eyes sweeping over me with deliberate slowness before he lowered the sword as if doing me a favor.
A breath.
I exhaled the air I’d been holding.
I was alive.
I was terrified.
I’d thought I was dying the moment I arrived.
In the midst of it all, the sword had grazed my neck. When I touched it carefully with my hand, blood came away on my fingers.
“Insane….”
I’d nearly died.
This bastard—however much he despises Black Magic, this is beyond any sense of decency. Where’s your honor?
I brooded over the injustice for a moment, then abandoned it.
From the moment I became Charlotte, I had no right to judge anyone else’s honor.
Sigh.
How could I fault anyone when I was Charlotte?
“That was… wise thinking, actually. His Majesty imposed your exile personally, so you shouldn’t be wielding a sword the instant you arrive. That wouldn’t do at all.”
“Your words ring true. It is the Emperor’s will, so I shall exercise restraint for now.”
Which sounded very much like he was saying he’d kill me eventually.
I stepped back from him.
“So, um… since you’ve spared my life, might I ask for one small favor?”
“No.”
At least hear me out before you refuse.
I carefully extended my wrist, the one bound by the Control Restraint.
“I can’t move my hands with this on. If you could just help me with this one thing….”
Four days of wearing the restraint had left my skin chafed and torn in places, and every movement sent sharp, throbbing pain through my wrists. They had swollen to nearly twice their normal size.
I hadn’t fully grasped how bad it was while locked in the darkness of the Underground Dungeon, but under natural light, it was quite severe. I’d reached my limit.
“I genuinely can’t use my hands right now. Though I’m mentioning it just in case—I won’t cause any trouble even if you remove it. After being banished this far, I’m not that reckless.”
Fearing another refusal, I piled on explanations, making sure to regard him with the most harmless expression I could muster.
What happened next was instantaneous.
Slash. Clang!
A sharp, brilliant arc flashed before my eyes, and the Control Restraint on both wrists shattered cleanly in half, tumbling to the ground.
…Huh?
What just passed in front of me?
I stood dazed for a moment, unable to grasp what had happened, when Kaiyerus slid his sword back into its sheath with a laugh.
“Good grief, I nearly took your wrist off with it.”
I… just almost had my wrist sliced clean away?
The absurdity of it left me standing awkwardly with my hand still outstretched, even after the Control Restraint had been removed.
“Be careful. As you can see, I’m not exactly brimming with chivalry.”
Kaiyerus’s eyes narrowed into a sharp arc.
His pale golden irises gleamed beneath the sunlight, luminous and cold.
I saw madness dancing in them.
“And feel free to use Black Magic whenever you like. It will only…”
He leaned close, his voice dropping to a whisper near my ear.
“…give me proper justification to kill you. Wouldn’t that be perfect?”
This man wasn’t simply an Unfilial Child.
He was a thoroughly rotten one.

***

When a noble is convicted of a crime and sentenced to exile, all their rights are stripped away immediately upon transfer.
Typically, they are then driven by the lord of their exile destination toward the most barren regions, forced into the life of a peasant by circumstance.
Which meant that by rights, I should have been building a hovel somewhere in the mountains of the Lucifenia Duchy by now.
“So then, explain yourself.”
I glanced once at Kaiyerus, seated on the sofa across from me, then surveyed the comfortable reception chamber of the Grand Duke Castle.
“Why am I here?”
It was the question I’d been burning to ask.
I’d assumed that upon arrival, he’d remove my restraints and have me construct shelters with magic in some forsaken place. Instead, here I was, dragged into his castle without explanation.
I hesitated, weighing my words carefully before answering.
“Because it’s… furthest from the Capital?”
“Your tone suggests you didn’t come here seeking death. I’m curious what scheme you’re cooking up.”
He wasn’t listening.
“The truth is, the Black Magic I cast on His Highness the Crown Prince was designed to unravel only at a distance. So I chose the farthest domain available.”
“Or perhaps you simply enjoy games with your life on the line?”
Why ask if you won’t hear the answer?
“And why exactly did you bring me all the way here, Your Grace?”
“Do you object?”
“It’s not so much an objection as… surely it’s improper for an exile to be residing in the lord’s castle?”
“Ah, you’re the exception.”
Kaiyerus smiled, that unsettling curve of his lips.
“You’re a witch.”
His pale golden eyes glinted with a sinister light beneath the graceful arch of his brows.
He was measuring me for a coffin again.
“If I let you roam my domain untethered, who knows what might occur.”
Untethered.
I wished he wouldn’t speak of me as though I were a wild animal. Regardless of how thoroughly I’d destroyed myself socially or how far I’d fallen, I was still a person with rights.
“So there’s nothing for it. I have no choice but to keep you close and watch.”
I averted my gaze from Kaiyerus, who smiled with shameless confidence.
Eight years ago, the Former Emperor and his consort, along with the Crown Prince, had been murdered under mysterious circumstances. It was an unprecedented tragedy—not only did the imperial family die simultaneously, but portions of their remains had vanished without trace.
Regrettably, the perpetrator was never caught. They had left not even the faintest trace of evidence.
Kaiyerus was convinced that whoever had killed his parents and his brother was a Black Mage.
In simpler terms, as long as I wielded Black Magic, I remained a prime suspect in his eyes.
“If I may point out an oversight, Your Grace—I lack the nerve required for murder. Of course, I am a natural genius at wielding both White Magic and Black Magic simultaneously, even though neither is particularly easy for most people to handle properly.”
“Thanks for the unsolicited information.”
A complete waste of breath.
“What matters is that you’re capable of wielding Black Magic at a considerable level.”
“I was eleven years old then.”
“Didn’t you just call yourself a born genius?”
He never let a single word slide past without turning it against you.
I pressed my lips shut and fixed him with an openly hostile stare, as if sheer force of will could make him listen.
Of course, it didn’t work.
“Charlotte.”
He reclined against the sofa’s backrest and looked down at me at an angle, as though studying something beneath his notice.
“I’m not known for my patience.”
“…….”
“If you won’t tell me the reason you’ve set foot in my territory, I’ll have no choice but to treat you as an intruder and take your head. What do you think?”
A chill ran down my spine.
Just moments ago, he’d said he’d bear with it for the time being.
And now he was saying this?
“Sigh.”
I couldn’t help it.
Truth be told, from the moment I was dragged into the reception hall, I’d anticipated Kaiyerus would play his hand like this. The man was so suspicious that there weren’t many in the Empire who could rival him.
For my part, this was actually fortunate. My original plan was to find some suitable spot, build a modest shelter, and then approach him discreetly with my proposal. Now I could skip straight to business.
I placed both hands demurely on my lap and spoke with utmost courtesy.
“Might I inquire—do you have need of a contract mage on a fixed term?”

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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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