CHAPTER 74……………………………………………………………………
He wasn’t even wearing priest’s robes.
“Suspicious person!”
I stepped forward in front of Sertina and blocked him.
“What brings an outsider here?”
Sertina, standing beside me, spoke.
“He’s my guest.”
“Huh?”
“Uh, well… I called a merchant because I needed some items, but I guess he came to my room since I arrived late. It’s fine, so you should go back.”
It wasn’t wrong to summon a merchant to buy things, but wasn’t it too late at night? Moreover, I had never heard that a merchant would be coming.
“If you want to bring a merchant inside the temple, you need to inform a senior priest. At least tell me.”
I felt my mood drop, sensing that she had ignored me even while breaking protocol. I had thought we were getting a bit closer recently, so my disappointment was even greater.
“Hmm, I didn’t mean to ignore you. I… I’m just not used to reporting to the military… I forgot…”
Sertina stammered, clearly flustered.
“I didn’t realize you’d care this much. I’m sorry.”
Her apology felt sincere, so I couldn’t stay angry. I sighed and looked at the merchant.
But something about him seemed off. Even as I spoke, he kept staring fixedly at Sertina’s door.
Seeing his abnormal behavior, I had an idea of where he might have come from. There must be a place where only lunatics gather.
“Related to the Magic Tower, perhaps?”
Since Sertina had gone against the rules to summon him, my guess seemed correct. I inclined my head toward Sertina and whispered quietly.
“Are you someone from the Magic Tower?”
Sertina didn’t answer, but her silence seemed like confirmation.
“…I remembered because you mentioned making medicine at the Magic Tower before.”
Sertina glanced at me, as if aware of her mistake.
“Don’t drive him out. The medicine is almost finished, so just check the items and let him leave.”
Thankfully, it seemed she wasn’t going to take that strange medicine right now.
This seemed like the perfect opportunity to speak up.
“This medicine is essential for Her Highness. It’s only right to inspect it. I’ll tell the knights he’s an ordinary merchant.”
Her expression brightened.
“Thank you for understanding.”
Seeing her so happy made me hope the medicine brought by the Magic Tower would really heal her leg.
Unfortunately, in the original story, the heroine suffered side effects from taking the Magic Tower Lord’s medicine.
It absolutely shouldn’t be taken.
“No problem. Since His Highness the prince has already seen the effects of the Magic Tower’s medicine firsthand, it should work just as well.”
Sertina frowned.
“What? Where did you hear that?”
“When I visited the empire and attended a party.”
Of course, I didn’t hear it directly, but since I stayed close to Cassius, I did catch a few stories about the prince and the emperor.
In the original story, the Magic Tower Lord told Sertina:
“I only make contracts with Her Highness the princess. I refused all requests from the prince to avoid causing trouble.”
He clearly knew the prince and princess weren’t on good terms. Taking both requests might let one side leak information. So, to maintain security, he only accepted Sertina’s request, earning her trust.
“I’ll shatter all that trust,” I thought.
Sertina, seemingly flustered by my words, quickly collected herself and spoke.
“It’s late. Can you explain in detail tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course.”
Using the wheelchair still affected by the Wind Sacred Stone, she approached the merchant, then spoke loud enough for me to hear.
“I’m not feeling well today. Come again another time.”
The merchant nodded once in acknowledgment and kept staring at me.
The distance was quite far, and since I had whispered, he probably couldn’t hear me clearly. But the way he glanced at me left me uneasy.
To handle the matter properly, I left the merchant with the nearby knights and returned to my room.
“Phew, that’s one thing settled.”
I had wondered how to manage the situation between Sertina and the Magic Tower, but it seemed easier than expected.
I reviewed the points I needed to discuss with Sertina tomorrow.
The medicine Shane bought from the Magic Tower was a stimulant for horses.
Horses given the stimulant became faster and more enduring, making them advantageous for hunting or competitions.
The Magic Tower’s medicine was effective, but frequent use caused severe side effects.
Even knowing this, Shane kept giving it to the horses. Naturally, horses that suffered side effects were discarded under the pretext of illness.
If I subtly hinted to Sertina to examine the horses he owned, she would realize the side effects of the Magic Tower Lord’s medicine.
Ding— ding— ding!
A bell rang nearby, signaling bedtime.
With the uneasy transaction between Sertina and the Magic Tower resolved, I could finally sleep peacefully.
“Huh?”
I woke up, sensing a strange presence. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but the room was very dark, with no moonlight entering.
The door was locked, so no one should have been inside. Shivering, I turned on the lamp beside my bed.
I wanted to dismiss it as my imagination—but there really was someone there.
“Who are you?”
Seeing his face made me feel like my breath had stopped. It was the strange merchant who had been staring at Sertina’s door.
“I left him with the knights, didn’t I?”
He must have pretended to leave but then hidden somewhere.
There was no need to try talking to the man who had entered through a locked door.
All I could think of was summoning the knights.
The Sacred Stone for calling the knights was inside my priest’s robes. I lunged for my robes, but the merchant was faster. He grabbed my jaw and pushed me to the floor.
I found myself facing him. Looking into his unfocused eyes sent chills down my spine.
“This person is really strange!”
I struggled to break free, but he was so heavy it felt like a boulder was pressing down on me. I couldn’t move. My arms were pinned, so I couldn’t even activate my sleep-inducing power.
His previously blank eyes suddenly lit up as if a signal had come, becoming sharp and focused.
Finally, he spoke.
“I smelled pheromones and wondered, but you’re really an Omega? How are you alive?”
Is this person an Alpha?
Apparently, when he briefly met me at Sertina’s door, he had smelled my Omega pheromones. The strength in his hands made my jaw ache.
“Answer me. My calculations were perfect. How did you survive?”
“Calculations…?”
He turned my face from side to side, inspecting it.
“Yes, I calculated so that only the Omega would die. Tell me, how did you survive my perfect formula?”
His words left me dazed, as if I’d been hit on the head.
“This is the person.”
The one who created and spread the Omega fever.
Finally, in the vast ocean of questions, I felt like I had found a clue.
I had to extract as much information as possible from him.
“Who… are you?”
“Me? You might faint if you hear my name.”
“Tell me now!”
“Fine, I’ll tell you. I’m the Red Dragon.”
Some might be confused hearing that, but I wasn’t. In the original story, a man went by the alias Red Dragon.
It was Lloyd Ripellence, the Magic Tower Lord, the last obsessive madman from Predators’ Domain.
The person who came to see Sertina was the Magic Tower Lord himself?
I naturally assumed he would send a subordinate or a merchant familiar with the Tower. I glared at the man holding me.
“He doesn’t look like I remember.”
He was described as a handsome man with red hair and blue eyes. But the man holding my jaw had brown hair, and frankly, wasn’t very attractive.
I could easily figure out the truth.
“Lloyd’s ability is in the mind.”
Specifically, he excels at invading another person’s mind and taking over their body.
Since Lloyd couldn’t leave the Magic Tower without permission from the Holy Empire, he always possessed someone else’s body when meeting Lancelot.
“I didn’t know what preferences you might have, so I prepared a variety!”
The men who lent their bodies varied depending on physique.
Apparently, he had once again possessed someone else to enter the Holy Empire.
“Is he crazy? Does he even know where this is?”
The Empire already despises the Magic Tower. If they learned that the Tower Lord himself had invaded, they might call for the destruction of the Tower immediately.
Yet, he came all this way, risking everyone in the Magic Tower, just to finalize a single deal.
“The original Lloyd was crazy, they said!”
He was supposedly not sane because of suppressing his powers—and he exceeded even that expectation.
It was shocking enough that Lloyd had come to the Empire, but an even more astonishing fact hit me.
“Lloyd was the one who created the Omega fever!”
