The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 61

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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 61.

“Charlotte.”
“Yes?”
“You’re a mage who belongs to my territory. More precisely, you’re my mage.”
“I know.”
How many times was that now?
I’d heard the same thing at least three times today alone.
The weight of his gaze trailing the back of my head since earlier made it hard to breathe.
Ever since Elion left, Kaius had been repeating the same words to me like some kind of incantation, as if trying to drill it into my skull.
Was this a study, or a bed of nails?
I’d never intended to leave in the first place, so what was his problem?
The Stone of Desire had appeared in this territory, and I had absolutely no intention of moving until I claimed it—real Charlotte’s return or not.
“If you really don’t trust me, we could always draw up a new contract.”
“Would you like that?”
“…No.”
He’d taken the bait too eagerly. That scared me.
I slipped my gaze away from his.
There was a time when he’d act as though he’d slit my throat the moment I stepped out of line, but now if I so much as tried to run, it was clear he’d go after Elion first.
Hmm, I really am quite capable, aren’t I?
Me, who’d managed to win over even Kaius of Lucifenia—a man who despises mages. I deserve to pat myself on the back.
People really do need to prove their worth. If I’d still been a useless mage, I’d probably be buried somewhere in the back hills of Lucifenia by now.
“What are you thinking about, grinning to yourself like that again?”
“Goodness!”
Thud!
As his voice suddenly drew close, I reflexively drove my elbow into Kaius’s ribs.
“Ugh.”
…Wait?
Why was he reacting like that?
The man who normally wouldn’t flinch even if someone body-slammed him was now hunched over, letting out pained groans.
I hastily set down the stack of books I’d been holding and rushed to check on him.
“Are you all right? Did I hit something I shouldn’t have? Surely you didn’t get injured somewhere besides your arm that day?”
I was in a nervous fluster, asking him to at least lift his head, when suddenly I heard a soft chuckle. Kaius straightened up and broke into genuine laughter.
It wasn’t his usual smirk, nor the quiet wheeze of an airless laugh. The corners of his eyes curved into arcs, and I could see the deep cavern of his mouth open.
Because it was such an unfamiliar sight, I stood there frozen, unable to process what was happening.
And then, the next moment, I realized he’d tricked me.
“You startled me!”
“Surely you haven’t forgotten? You healed me with your own hands.”
“It’s because you suddenly started acting hurt in a way that doesn’t suit you!”
Wow, that was something.
Why had he laughed so suddenly like that?
Was he even capable of laughing like that?
My heart lurched.
Combined with the shock on top of my exhaustion, it seemed I was heading toward heart palpitations.
As I was settling my startled heart, he suddenly leaned toward me. Without thinking, I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut.
“What are you doing?”
“…Pardon?”
“Weren’t you trying to move those books?”
“Oh.”
Kaius had picked up the stack of books I’d left on the floor. My muddled mind suddenly cleared.
“Why are you the one carrying them, Your Grace? Give them here.”
“You clearly won’t be able to reach, so you should learn to accept kindness when it’s offered.”
So much for not being short.
Not that I was particularly short in the first place.
People like Leoni were actually short; by comparison, my height was above average. It was just that Kaius was absurdly, unreasonably tall.
Though I felt a bit unfairly treated, the truth was I did need a ladder to reach the top shelf, so I simply nodded and pointed upward.
“I was going to put them up there.”
“Raising the height, I see.”
Without so much as rising onto my toes, I watched him slide the books onto the shelf with effortless ease.
I felt a faint sense of deprivation.
“But what is all this?”
“I thought I might need to consult them.”
Around me lay stacks of Spellbooks that Charlotte had withdrawn from her Pocket Dimension. Even after selecting only the most essential ones, they filled an entire shelf.
“Do you study Spellbooks as well?”
“That doesn’t mean I’ve mastered every spell. There are some I’ve forgotten.”
“That’s unexpected.”
“When I was with the Count’s Family, I was so focused on Curse Magic that I never had the chance to explore other branches. I thought I’d use this time to properly review them.”
Kaius turned his gaze toward me and stared intently.
He had been looking at me like this quite often lately, but his eyes held no emotion whatsoever, making it impossible to discern what he was thinking.
“Charlotte.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you want to take revenge on the Count’s Family?”
I stopped shelving the book and faced him, then fell into thought for a moment.
I understood what Kaius was implying.
He had already completed his investigation into Charlotte long ago. After my encounter with Leoni at Sandvice, he would have seen clear as day what relationship I had with them.
Kaius spoke again.
“If you wish it, I could help you with a lawsuit.”
Under Imperial Law, it was strictly forbidden for a noble to adopt a child for impure purposes and raise them as such. In essence, it was no different from keeping a slave.
And if one added the fact that the adopted child had been abused, the severity of the crime became immeasurable.
Depending on the sentence, not only possessions but even noble title could be forfeited.
Of course, since Leoni was the Crown Prince’s betrothed, the process would not be easy. But Kaius certainly had the power to make it happen.
This was no idle promise. That’s why I needed to answer carefully.
“No, I don’t want revenge.”
“Why not?”
“Because I am guilty too.”
Even if the Count’s Family was the true instigator, my actions—threatening nobles with Black Magic and sowing chaos in the Capital—could not be justified.
Charlotte understood this well.
She knew, and yet she followed their will.
Because she wanted to be part of their family.
“The Count’s Family used you. It was no different from what those slave traders at Sandvice did.”
“I know.”
“And yet you harbor no resentment?”
Kaius asked as though he could not comprehend it.
I shelved the book I was holding in plain sight and took a step back.
Resentment.
I deliberated on how to put this into words.
It would be untrue to say Charlotte harbored no resentment toward them. To be precise, among the many emotions directed at them, ‘resentment’ was certainly one.
But at this point, to dredge up such feelings….
“I’m too pitiful for that. I am.”
“What?”
Charlotte destroyed herself purely for the sake of revenge.
She brainwashed the Crown Prince, deceived the Count and Countess, and mocked Leoni—all while knowing that one day she would be captured by the Emperor and lose her head.
When her head finally fell on the Execution Ground, what Charlotte felt was not anger, nor injustice, nor even sorrow.
A person worn down and hollowed out could not feel such things.
That’s why Charlotte laughed.
More brightly than anyone.
She poured all the emotions she possessed toward those she once called family, and in doing so, she let herself go and walked into death.
In truth, while writing this, I tried countless times to change Charlotte’s ending. Yet somehow, each attempt failed.
As though Charlotte herself desired it.
“I got tired of living shackled to the past. I have so many days ahead of me—why would I want to remain trapped by them and be miserable?”
Destroying the Count’s Family, cursing them—whatever I did, it would only be Charlotte’s own heart that would rot and fester in the end.
That’s why I didn’t want to meet Leoni again.
I hoped that she and Charlotte would inhabit completely different worlds from this point forward. I had begun to think—what if Charlotte, as a human and not as a villainess, could find happiness outside the original story?
“You are….”
Kaius spoke.
“Far softer than you appear.”
This man.
I tell him, and he repays me with insults.
“It’s almost a waste of that notorious reputation as the Capital’s worst witch.”
“I didn’t even coin that nickname myself, so what.”
I laughed, deliberately shameless about it.
“I’m really fine with it.”
Kaius said nothing more to me after that.
Instead, he placed all the books on shelves beyond my reach.

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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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