The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 47

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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 47.

The weather was perfect. The sky was an unusually vivid blue. Clouds drifted white and pristine, and sunlight fell crisp and bright. Beneath the clear expanse, Seldwich’s flags snapped and fluttered in the breeze.
So we’re actually doing this.
I caught sight of the checkpoint standing proud in the distance and exhaled a long, heavy sigh.
“This is ridiculous.”
“I wish the ground would swallow me whole.”
Then at least I could slip back to Lusiphenia without all this fuss.
“…And you’re really going through with it looking like that?”
“Yes.”
I answered without a shred of shame, pulling the black cloth wound tightly around my face higher until it sat just beneath my eyes. Kaiyers’ disapproving gaze swept over me.
Look, I know what you’re thinking.
If it embarrasses me that much, I can leave it behind.
“Why don’t you use magic instead?”
“Polymorph Magic is exhausting to maintain unless you’re a dragon. Do you know how much power it costs to alter your appearance? You’re literally twisting your facial bones and muscles using pure magical energy. I’d probably be unconscious for a week afterward. Besides, I’ve already changed my hair and eye color.”
I tapped the blonde locks barely visible beneath the cloth.
Not the rich, honeyed blonde that Fabian had—the kind that looked tempting and lustrous—but a dull brown-blonde that you saw everywhere.
My eyes had long since been changed to common blue.
“And Your Grace, you should hurry and put on a hat too.”
“Do I have to look like this as well?”
“Do you want to go around bragging that you’re the Grand Duke of Lusiphenia? If a lord or one of his close associates spots you, there’s nothing good about drawing attention.”
“I understand your concern, but I don’t have such distinctive silver hair like you do.”
“Your face is distinctive enough.”
As if that kind of appearance were common anywhere.
“Fair point.”
Kaiyers conceded gracefully and pressed a hunting cap firmly onto his head.
What was that.
Something about that response rubbed me the wrong way.
“The line’s long.”
“It’s almost summer. Seldwich is famous as a summer resort destination.”
That was true enough.
Apart from the two of us, the queue at the checkpoint consisted mostly of couples and families on holiday. Occasionally, I spotted nobles riding in carriages.
“Hmm… now that I think about it, I’m starting to worry. What if they don’t let us through because we look suspicious?”
“And you’re only thinking about that now?”
Seldwich’s inspection was relatively strict this time of year. It made sense—the summer holiday season meant an endless flood of outsiders.
They wouldn’t actually ask me to remove it, would they? It’d be inconvenient if they recognized my face.
While I was lost in thought, our turn came.
“…What brings you here?”
As expected, the guard swept me with a gaze full of suspicion.
Instead of me, who kept my mouth firmly shut, Kaiyers answered.
“We’ve come to spend a holiday in Seldwich.”
“In that outfit?”
His expression said: Does that make sense?
Admittedly, no one wrapped their face in cloth on the way to a vacation.
Actually, this might work out.
If they asked me to show my face, I’d just bolt. Then I’d get turned away and Kaiyers could go in alone.
In that moment, Kaiyers suddenly wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me close.
“My wife has a sun allergy. So she spends most of the summer indoors normally, but this time she absolutely insisted on seeing the sea. She’s never seen the ocean before, and I wanted to show her—that’s why I was bold enough to bring her here. Would it be possible for you to let us through?”
What was that.
Where did he even come up with that story just now.
I stared at Kaiyers, dumbfounded. But rather than release me, he actually tightened his grip around my waist for emphasis.
“Isn’t that right, dear?”
…Was he out of his mind?
A chill ran down my spine at the gentle tone he delivered while staring straight through me.
“Ah, why didn’t you say so from the start? Go on in, go on!”
And it actually worked.
The guard did an abrupt about-face, regarding me with sympathy as he stepped aside to let us through.
“The sun in Seldwich is fierce—you’d do well to use a parasol. There are plenty of shops in the commercial district, so do stop by!”
“Thank you.”
Kaiyers bowed respectfully and led me through the checkpoint.
“You’ve made an excellent match with your husband!”
A loud, brassy voice rang out from behind us. I felt the weight of dozens of eyes turning our way.
“So they say.”
Kaiyers smirked infuriatingly.
I bit my tongue rather than curse at him aloud.

***

As expected, Seldwich was teeming with tourists. Adults and children alike wandered the bustling streets in resort wear.
It occurred to me that wandering around with cloth wound tightly across my face would draw far more attention here.
The moment we cleared the checkpoint, I ducked into a clothing shop and purchased a blue dress and a wide-brimmed hat.
The hat’s shadow obscured my features so thoroughly that no one glancing casually would be able to discern my appearance.
I should have dressed like this from the start.
“Ah, much better.”
“I recognized you even before you changed.”
Ignoring Kaiyers as he geared up to tease me again, I pressed the hat firmly onto my head.
Seldwich’s harbor lay on the opposite side of the checkpoint. If we walked briskly from here, we could arrive within an hour.
Leoni wouldn’t discover the crystal until deep in the night, so if we hurried back to the estate before then, we’d avoid crossing paths.
I led Kaiyers straight toward the harbor.
“It’s quite deserted around here.”
“The harbor isn’t a tourist attraction. Besides, in the height of summer like this, fishing only happens at night. There’s no reason anyone would be out and about now.”
“You seem to know all manner of things. Have you been here before?”
“I created it.”
“What did you eat this morning that’s given you such ideas?”
“I’m being serious.”
“Right, how impressive.”
What would you know.
I snorted dismissively and quickened my pace. Behind me, Kaiyers stifled his laughter and followed along.
“So, do you know where we are now?”
“Yes, this way.”
We walked along the beach.
Small fishing boats, nets, breakwaters.
Objects bearing romantic names passed swiftly at the edge of my vision.
At some point, the boats vanished from sight, leaving only the horizon stretching endlessly across my field of view. A salt-tinged wind blew across us.
I gripped my hat with one hand and savored the ocean breeze. Kaiyers walked beside me with both hands in his pockets, taking his time.
Mm, Seldwich isn’t so bad after all.
It had been a long time since I’d seen the sea, and the thought arose that I’d like to linger and play a little while I was here.
“Don’t even think about it. Get your head straight!”
“…Charlotte Schmidt?”
“I had a momentary lapse.”
With Leoni potentially appearing at any moment, what was I doing entertaining such carefree thoughts?
Hurry up and finish what we came for, then leave.
The sea will always be there.
Eventually we reached a stretch of beach where black rocks were stacked in layers, and we came to a halt.
The waves were so calm that it resembled a shallow tidal flat more than the open sea.
“…Is this the place?”
“Yes.”
Looking at it now, it seemed so peaceful.
Who could have guessed that when night fell, this place would become the Black Mages’ slave transport route.
I found myself recalling a scene from the novel.
In the depths of night, wandering the beach alone, Leoni chances upon a mineral emanating an ominous light from between the rocks.
It was a Dark Magic Crystal that the Black Mages had dropped while transporting “merchandise” purchased from the Slave Market.
Sensing something amiss by instinct, Leoni searches the surrounding area and discovers the corpse of a slave who had died while attempting to escape the auction house.
After that, true to her nature as the protagonist, she infiltrates Seldwich’s Slave Market, frees the captives, and destroys every Dark Magic Crystal stacked in the warehouse—that was the heart of this episode.
My heroine, indeed.
Absolutely magnificent.
“But it’s none of my concern.”
Dismantling the illegal Slave Market, destroying the Dark Magic Crystals, recognizing the existence of the Dark Crow and reporting it to Fabian—all of that was Leoni’s role, not something we needed to involve ourselves with.
She’s the protagonist, I’m the villainess, and he’s a supporting character.
My plan was simple: stay quiet in the Grand Duchy, wait for the Final Boss to strike, steal the Stone of Desires when the moment comes, and slip back to my original world.
That’s the kind of narrative coherence any author would permit.
So I needed to leave this place before getting tangled up in anything. The last thing I needed was to linger carelessly in Seldwich, run into Leoni, or catch sight of some escaped slave.
I didn’t even want to think about it.
“Your Highness, your pocket, please.”
I took the Dark Magic Crystal from Kaiyers and tucked it into a crevice between the rocks.
At this depth, Leoni should have no trouble finding it—not far from the beach at all.
“Is that everything?”
“Yes, we can leave now.”
My task was finished.
Back to Lusiphenia.
Back to a proper meal.
Maybe I’d ask Pepe to make a green tangerine tart. I’d heard early summer tangerines were absolutely delicious.
I was turning to go, already savoring the thought, when—
“Excuse me!”
A small shadow burst from between the rocks.
“Please, help me!”

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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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