IBWMD 113

~Chapter 113~

“Damn it, damn!”

The man’s hand, scratching furiously at his own neck, trembled.
Half of his hand had already turned pitch black—clearly showing signs of corruption.

“Haa… damn it! Damn it!”

Curses and spit poured from his open mouth.

The luxurious office he had maintained was already destroyed.
Several of his subordinates had turned into monsters and run off; the rest had fled.

And it was all…

“This is your fault!”

“Ugh!”

The man took it out on the Temple guy dragged before him.
The guy was tied up tightly with rope, yet still managed to dodge whatever was thrown at him—infuriating.

The shiny cross on the man’s neck looked like it was mocking him.

“If it weren’t for that damn Temple!”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Now you pretend you don’t know?!”

A wave of deep regret hit him.

From the start…
He wished he had never fallen for the Temple’s bait.

For a man who had spent his life drifting around low positions in the capital’s back alleys, the Temple’s approach half a year ago had been tempting.

“Would you rather be a snake in the capital, or a dragon in a far-off land?”

Those words had sparked greed in him.
Maybe he could finally score big and become someone important.

So he took the Temple’s hand and moved to Saint-Ports.

The job was easier than expected.

The moment he arrived, monsters began rampaging twice as much.

The Grand Duke, who normally kept an eye on the back alleys, was too busy fighting monsters to pay attention here.

“Make sure you succeed. Handle it with care.”

He enjoyed the profit from selling drug-laced cigarettes, and that’s when the Temple gave him that.

When the cigarettes became established, they told him to mix it in and sell it.

“What is this, exactly?”
“You don’t need to kn— No, actually, better tell you so you don’t misuse it.”

Poison made from monsters.

“If taken for a long time, it could turn you into a monster.”

Ridiculous. There’s no way such a thing could exist.

But whatever it did, he didn’t care. As long as it made him money.

Then things started going wrong.

“Boss, our cigarette sales have been blocked!”
“And someone’s been messing around in the back alleys!”

He only found out who later—
When he was helping with a tailing mission requested by the chief priest.

“A little woman like that? Easy work.”

Even so, she annoyed him.

Arrogant brat.

Blocking his cigarette sales and meddling in his turf.

It wasn’t just the woman that was a problem.
Fulfilling the Temple’s demands was getting harder.

Because my men lost all discipline.

Some of them were unhappy that he controlled all the profit.

It was getting harder to keep them in line.

“Ah. While we’re talking, give me more of that.”
“The last amount wasn’t enough?”
“I figure it’s more effective than tying them up and dumping them somewhere. I might as well feed it to the troublemakers too.”

So he decided to give the poison to the rebellious ones.

“Since I can’t mix it into the cigarettes like planned…”

It was his way of giving it a use.

Mixing the poison into alcohol worked well.

“We… we drank poison?!”
“Yeah. So work properly, unless you want to become monsters!”

He intimidated them with the antidote the Temple had given him.

They didn’t truly believe they’d become monsters, but they thought without the antidote, the poison would kill them.

He thought he was back in control—until…

That damn woman.

The one who’d blocked the cigarettes and stirred up the alleys became a problem again.

I didn’t think she’d be connected to the Grand Duke.

The assassin he sent after her disappeared.
And then she went into the Grand Duke’s estate, making it nearly impossible to touch her.

“You made it sound so easy, but in the end! Useless!”

The chief priest had raged when he heard of the failure.

“Fine! If that’s how you’re gonna be, I’m done!”
“Didn’t you take our money?!”
“Hmph! I spent it all on the job you gave me! I can’t give it back!”

The priest had only glared at him with fierce eyes.

But if he exposed their orders to the Grand Duke, the Temple would be in trouble, not him.

…Or so he thought.

Now he saw why they’d gone quiet.

He stared down at his trembling hand and cursed.

When did it start?
When had they poisoned him?

Then he remembered—

“If I were devout, would I be in the back alleys? Why don’t you bring in the Holy Knights to help look?”
“You…!”
“Why? You gonna feed me that stuff too?”

The way the chief priest had looked at him that moment…
And all those fresh, seasonal dishes the Temple kept sending to his office…

Damn it!

In Saint-Ports’ winter, such luxurious food was something only the Grand Duke could afford.
And even he had restricted his diet for the sake of supplies.

He had thought it meant he had more power than the Grand Duke—

But it was all a trap!

No wonder they’ve cut contact lately!

The Temple wanted to get rid of him before he could expose them.

“Antidote! Give me the antidote!”

His supply had run out recently.
He hadn’t stored any extra, assuming the Temple would always send it regularly.

Without the antidote, his subordinates began turning into monsters.

And now… he was too.

“Give it to me now! I’ll admit everything was my fault!”

“What are you talking about?!”

No matter how he yelled, the other man looked genuinely confused.
That fake look of innocence was infuriating.

The Temple must have sent him!

“You… damn it!”

“Ugh!”

Unable to control the heat surging through him, he threw a paperweight from his desk.

The bound man dodged instinctively—but then froze.
Some strands from his rope had snagged in the floorboards.

“You can’t dodge now! You bastard!”

The man was searching for his next weapon when—

Crack!

“Aaaagh!”

His hands and wrists twisted at strange angles.

The corruption spread rapidly through his whole body.

He wanted to scream—
But he had no mouth anymore.

Screeeech!

A gill-like membrane wailed instead.

It was too late.

His human mind vanished, leaving only a monster’s instincts.

And his last remaining hatred targeted the Temple man before him.

Die!

Bang!

The moment his foot struck the ground—

“Zeon!”

Bang!

The door burst open.
A blinding flash filled the room.

“Are you okay? Zeon!”

I lowered my gun and rushed inside, breathless.

I’m not too late, right?!

I’d hurried here, but the monster’s sounds earlier had made me nervous.

The eyeball at my waist was glowing fiercely, glaring around the room.

“Elaine.”

Karl, who came in a beat later, pulled me back as if to tell me to stay behind.

“Cough, cough… Elaine?”

I quickly turned toward the corner.

Zeon was there, tied up tightly, looking at me in confusion.

“…Wait, Milady?”

Ah. Right.

He still doesn’t know the difference between the male me and the female me.

I was wondering how to explain when—

“You know him?” Karl asked suddenly.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you know that man.”

Tsk. Look at him opening his eyes like that.

Even the eyeball narrowed its gaze at Karl.
It was almost like I could read what it wanted to say despite not speaking its language.

“If you mean Milady and me, yes, we know each other…” Zeon answered hesitantly.

Karl asked sharply, “How do you know Elaine?”

“Your name is Elaine too, Milady? What a strange coincidence…”

“Don’t call her so casually. You’ll wear it out.”

“…What?”

“Karl, enough…”

“So, how did you meet?”

“Well, Milady saved me once…”

“Elaine, you’ve saved someone other than me?”

“Enough!”

It’s not like I was cheating! Don’t look at me like that!

You’re making me feel guilty!

It’s all because of that face—
Karl’s brows drooping in a sorrowful expression.

I couldn’t tell if he was teasing or serious.

“Did you get yourself another lover while you had me?”

Has this guy not only removed his brakes but jammed them into his head?

“I hate to say this, but technically, you’re not even my official husband. You’re the lover.”

…Why does that sound like something an ancient playboy king with three thousand concubines would say?

Even though it was true, I still felt like trash.

“…Wait, what’s going on here?”

Zeon’s mouth hung open at the soap opera unfolding in front of him.

“Mistress? Of course, that position’s all mine, but I—”

“Is this some kind of surprise event?” Zeon cut in, baffled.

While he was still confused, Karl’s brows drew together sharply.

“I’m your official—”

“Never mind, duck!”

I shouted, and Karl instantly pulled me down to the floor with him.

Shhhhk!

A sharp attack sliced through the air right where we’d been standing.