MLCDF 72

~Chapter 72~

“What?”

Leonard’s face twisted instantly.

He stepped closer threateningly, glaring at Damien with a vicious look.

“You’re just an insect who can’t even use a single magic or miracle—how dare you act so high and mighty?”

For the first time, I sensed real murderous intent from Leonard, not just slyness.

Damien had touched on Leonard’s deepest secret and biggest insecurity.

Feeling the situation was getting dangerous, I lightly grabbed Damien’s arm.

“Damien.”

I looked up at him as I called softly.

But Damien wasn’t shaken at all. He stared at Leonard with his usual calm face.

His cool amethyst-colored eyes were like ice, sharply scanning Leonard.

“Judging from your reaction, it must be true that you’re lacking.”

Leonard’s pupils widened.

By reacting angrily, he had just confirmed that he had less magic power than Leonie.

Leonard trembled, his golden eyes glaring, temples bulging, and right leg shaking harder than usual.

Then suddenly, those murderous golden eyes turned to me.

“It’s you, isn’t it? The one who told him.”

I immediately knew what he meant.

The secret I noticed at the victory banquet—
That he limped and used magic to hide it from the entire empire.
That he had to use magic constantly, making his power lower than his brothers’.

Leonard reached roughly toward me.

I flinched in surprise and stepped back.

“Damn it!”

But his hand was blocked by Damien.

“You two… together!!”

Blinded by rage, Leonard gritted his teeth, trying to break Damien’s defense to grab me.

The angrier he got, the redder his face became, and the tighter his temples swelled.

But that only made it easier for Damien to push him back with his strength.

Holding back Leonard’s trembling hand with one hand, Damien leaned in and looked straight at him.

“Then what if I reveal that secret you desperately want to hide, right here and now?”

Leonard froze.

“Do you think Leonie would send me to prison for insulting a royal? This would be the perfect chance to bury you and secure the crown prince title.”

“….”

“If that truth comes out, do you think the royal family will still protect you?”

Leonard’s eyes shook. He knew it too—
If people learned of his weakness, they would push Leonie as the next crown prince without hesitation.

In the end, strength left Leonard’s arm.

Damien pulled me close and warned him.

“Don’t forget. I, and my wife you just tried to attack, can tell everyone your secret anytime we want.”

“You… you’re threatening—”

“Oh, and don’t forget—I have nothing left to lose.”

Damien’s eyes suddenly turned icy cold.

“If I die, you know you’ll become the next Maledictus candidate, right?”

Leonard stared blankly, as if his soul had left him.
The thought of becoming the Maledictus he despised was unthinkable.

Leaving him behind, Damien turned without hesitation.

“Let’s go home.”

He calmly led me through the crowd to the carriage.

“Aaaaah!”

“Spare me…!”

Bang!

The screams in the underground prison stopped at once.

“Huff… huff…”

Leonard, who had swung the blade himself, panted with wild eyes.

Fresh, warm blood still splattered his cheek.

Standing in the middle of a pool of blood, he caught his breath.

A servant, unable to watch, closed his eyes tightly and reported.

“Your Highness, we have few test subjects left. Please stop.”

“….”

Leonard wiped the blood from his face with his bare hand, then turned to the servant with his golden eyes.

“Did you collect the fear?”

“It was collected properly.”

In a large glass jar, the fear wriggled, taken from those who had just struggled in vain.

[Save… me…]

The fear’s faint voice clung to the jar’s wall.

“Your Highness, let’s stop for today. You know we can’t bring more people for now.”

A few days ago, the Maledictus family’s newspaper ran articles about missing people near the capital. The impact was so big they couldn’t bring in more humans to make fear.

“…Right.”

Leonard dropped the tool in his hand.

Clang—one after another, the tools fell to the floor.

‘That woman…’

Grinding his teeth, Leonard thought of the humiliation earlier that day.

Ever since she arrived, Damien—who had always obeyed the royals—started openly defying them.
And because she learned the secret of his limp, Damien could guess his magic was weak.

“And I was already running short on material.”

Damien had said Rubiana’s fear was far greater than anyone else’s.

If that was true, then if Leonard learned what she feared most, he could easily get the fear needed for Damien’s curse.

“Well, even if I can’t find out… I can just create it.”

Leonard smirked.

He didn’t like how she kept her head high like a noble despite her lowborn roots.

And she was Damien’s weakness.

‘If I capture her, Damien won’t know what to do.’

He wouldn’t kill her. If she died, Damien might kill himself and ruin the royal family entirely.

Instead, Leonard would keep her alive, threaten her, extract fear, and tell Damien to obey if he wanted her to live.

And if he could watch the two of them break apart in the process… how satisfying would that be?

‘Yes, I needed one last blow.’

Leonard had one reason for personally extracting fear from people.

While studying forbidden magic and curses to beat Leonie, he found an old banned book.

From it, he learned—if the Maledictus absorbed a curse fed with directly extracted fear, it wouldn’t boost the whole royal family’s magic, only the royal who took part in the extraction.

‘She already has plenty of fear. If I add new fear, its size will be huge.’

Thinking of the glorious future where he ruled with that power, Leonard grinned darkly.

“Bielle.”

“Yes.”

“I have a job for you. No matter how long it takes.”

He gave his servant the order with a mad smile.

Three days later, Bielle carried out Leonard’s command.

From his palace, Leonard looked down at his personally trained soldiers lined up in front of the portal he always used.

‘Why didn’t I think of this before?’

It wouldn’t be easy—Damien guarded the woman like a treasure.

But it was worth the gamble.

If it worked, not only could he control Damien, but he could also feed the curse with the fear he extracted, tipping the game in his favor.

“Go now. You know today’s target, right?”

Even if Damien’s mansion was full of curses, trained soldiers could still break in.

And just in case they couldn’t win, he gave them small amounts of the fear he had extracted.

‘Even if they fail, I still gain magic power.’

Some of them were disposable pawns, and only those got the fear.

He told them to use it in danger—
Not knowing it would actually make the curse stronger and swallow them whole.

‘Not my problem.’

Watching the soldiers by the portal, Leonard smiled wickedly.

Then he gave today’s clear order.

“Bring me Rubiana Maledictus.”