The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 74

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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 74.

I left the Knight Commander to his compliant nod and returned to the Study Room.
I’d barely begun sorting the scattered papers on the desk when Kaius set down his pen and fixed me with a steady gaze.
I answered before he could ask.
“I think I need to meet with Schmidt.”
“So you’ve decided on that?”
“It seems better than leaving a corpse at the gates of Archduke’s Castle.”
“I could handle it quietly.”
“…It’s not about method. His Grace will be the one hauling the body around, won’t he?”
The poor soul left with cleanup duty didn’t deserve that burden.
Kaius considered this for a moment, then nodded in agreement—transporting a corpse without magic was indeed a tedious affair, he remarked.
I couldn’t help thinking it was callous how easily we discussed matters of life and death, but I decided not to waste energy empathizing with him.
“I’ll be gone from my domain for half a day. A full day at most.”
“You’re not thinking of going to the Capital, are you?”
“Am I insane?”
I wouldn’t set foot there if they paid me.
I’d sooner walk barefoot across a minefield.
“To be honest, I simply don’t want Schmidt’s feet touching Lusiphenia.”
It was only natural to keep a distasteful outsider away from my own doorstep. So I’d instructed the Knight Commander to meet in Sandvich instead of Lusiphenia.
As I was tidying away my pen, a thought suddenly occurred to me and I paused.
“…I am allowed to return, aren’t I?”
“Isn’t it rather late to be asking that?”
“I only just remembered that my life belongs to His Grace.”
“Quick to recall, aren’t you.”
Kaius let out an amused laugh at my belated realization.
So, do I go or not?
If you don’t give me permission, I’ll be trapped at Archduke’s Castle meeting that man. Tell me quickly.
Kaius tilted his head slightly, cradling it in his hand as he watched me. Lately, he’d taken to looking at me this way with increasing frequency, but his expression was always so ambiguous I could never decipher what he was thinking.
Finally, instead of answering, he posed a different question.
“Would it trouble you if I didn’t accompany you?”
Normally he would have already decided everything on his own before even asking, but this time his tone carried an unusual consideration, as if he were actually deferring to me.
What is this?
Is he being cautious because my companion is a count?
Caught off guard, I shook my head casually.
“It’s fine. I’ll go alone.”
“Then I’ll lend you an Identity Pass for official Lusiphenia business.”
“Wow, really? You’re giving me that?”
An Identity Pass usable only during official assignments—the fact that he was offering it so readily suggested my solitary journey to Sandvich weighed on him more than I’d expected.
Security at the checkpoints had certainly grown stricter since the Slave Auction House collapsed.
“I appreciate it, but I’ll decline the offer.”
I would have accepted it without hesitation if I needed to pass through a checkpoint, but this time it genuinely wasn’t necessary.
I was planning to use the Magic Tower Coordinates.
What I didn’t know until recently was that the Magic Tower had already installed transit coordinates in numerous cities and was quietly moving through them. I’d wondered why Elion seemed to navigate Alhalba so freely, so I’d casually asked him last time—and sure enough, Sandvich was no exception.
Originally, only those belonging to the Magic Tower could use the coordinates, but Elion had graciously granted me permission to access them.
My patron was pure gold.
After finishing my desk arrangements, I shut the drawer with a decisive click.
Then I flashed Kaius a bright smile, meeting his unbroken gaze.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Kaius smiled back at me.
“Yes, come back safely.”

***

“Getting into Sandvich was surprisingly easy.”
How long had those Magic Tower people been living this sweet life?
As expected, Sandvich housed a Magic Tower branch disguised as an inn. When I’d asked why they’d chosen an inn of all places, Elion had explained that no one would think it odd if different people came and went every day. Clever bastard.
Clever, indeed.
The innkeeper guided me to the top floor as if expecting me. Since this place was an inn in name only and never actually took guests, they readily leased out the entire floor to me.
Before long, the Knight Commander and Schmidt arrived at the Inn.
The Schmidt I remembered had a distinctly savage and arrogant air about him, but in the months since we’d last met, he’d grown visibly gaunt and haggard.
To think I’d witness him whimpering with my own eyes. Reading about it was one thing, but seeing it in person felt oddly strange.
Then again, no matter how rotten a person’s character is, sickness brings everyone to heel. He’s no different from Charlotte’s father in that regard.
I didn’t bother offering him a seat, yet the Count naturally settled himself into the highest-ranked spot on the sofa.
The Knight Commander didn’t leave the room; he simply stood some distance away, watching me intently.
The Knight Commander was something else entirely. Four days and nights on his knees, and yet he still stands perfectly upright—the stamina was genuinely impressive.
“Heal me at once.”
I was still marveling at this when an imperious voice cut through the air.
I turned my gaze from the Knight Commander to the Count. He sprawled across the sofa, breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on me.
The moment I saw him like that, I couldn’t help but laugh.
This is rich.
Rejected by every renowned physician and mage in the Capital, and now I’m the only one he can rely on—yet here he is, still treating me like this from the moment we meet. He should be groveling, begging forgiveness, and instead…
Does he not understand the situation?
“You must be suffering terribly. Skipping pleasantries and getting straight to the point—that tells me everything.”
“Were we ever meant to exchange pleasantries?”
“I only assumed so because you haven’t revoked the Schmidt name from me.”
“Insolent girl. Do you have any idea how much time I’ve wasted because you dragged me all the way here?”
That’s not my fault.
“After humoring you this far, the least you can do is fulfill your part of the bargain.”
Hmm.
Scratch what I said about him looking haggard.
The Count was exactly as he’d always been—nothing had changed.
“What are you standing there gaping at? Come here this instant!”
Finally, the Count barked at me.
My face twisted without my meaning to.
That look in his eyes, as if I were an insect beneath his notice.
That bullying, violent tone.
This was the scene Charlotte had endured for ten years in that castle, and it was equally the nightmare I’d lived through countless times while staying with my aunt.
I didn’t need him dragging up those old memories again.
I stared at him for a long moment, then slowly pushed myself to my feet.
“Tsk, disgusting vermin. So you only listen when voices are raised, is that it?”
While he sneered at me, I gathered magical power in my fingertips. A blue light rippled and coalesced into the form of Healing.
Just before that warm light could seep into his body, I clenched my fist, scattered the magical power, and spoke.
“I won’t do it.”
“…What?”
“I said I won’t. I don’t want to.”
The Count, who had been staring at me blankly, suddenly snapped his eyes wide open. Bloodshot veins spread across his blue irises.
“What nonsense is this! Gasp… gasp…”
“Your Excellency!”
The Knight Commander rushed over frantically, steadying the Count.
What a pathetic show.
He doesn’t look like he’s about to die at all.
“On second thought, I don’t have the leisure to heal others. I’m already swamped with work in the Archduke’s territory, and I’m exhausted.”
“What? You impertinent little—!”
“This isn’t what we agreed upon!”
The Knight Commander, pushed to his limit, raised his voice at me on the Count’s behalf.
“What agreement? What agreement did I make?”
“You clearly…!”
“I told you to come find me. I never said I’d heal you.”
You jumped to that conclusion all on your own.
I conveyed this with nothing but a look.
The Knight Commander’s expression faltered, his mouth opening and closing uselessly—and then his eyes narrowed dangerously, fixing on me.
Oh.
Look at that gaze.
He looks ready to strike.
I’d never had any intention of healing the Count from the start.
I was simply curious. I wanted to see how cowardly and pathetic the Count would become once he found himself in need—him who had used Charlotte like a tool and discarded her so callously. That’s the only reason I summoned him here.
But now that I’m seeing him in person, one thing is perfectly clear. I was gravely mistaken.
The Count never had the option of requesting anything from Charlotte. He’d been operating under the delusion that Charlotte would obey without question whenever he commanded, just as she had for the past ten years.
The countess’s family was Charlotte’s whole world—she’d desperately wanted to belong to them, to become one of them. To prove she was useful, she’d been willing to devour herself entirely.
That’s how she’d incinerated herself.
I thought I’d feel angry, but the moment I understood that truth, my head went cold instead.
I extended my index finger and slowly unfurled a mist of deep purple, not blue light.
Then I smiled at the Count.
“Aren’t you curious what I’m about to do?”
After all, Leoni could heal it anyway, so I figured I could afford a little spite.

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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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