🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 19
“Should be around here… found it.”
After checking the address again, I knocked on the front gate.
“Anyone home?”
Footsteps approached, and Robert opened the door—his face swollen like it had been beaten up.
“Who… you, you are—!”
“Hello.”
I waved gently with a harmless smile.
“May I come in for a moment?”
“…Why did you come to my house?”
[Kkyu, kkyu!]
Robert noticed Golsuni waddling around by my feet, and his face turned pale. As if yesterday’s trauma resurfaced, his body shuddered before he sharply turned his gaze away.
“Golsuni wants to come in too….”
[Kkyu?]
He flinched.
“Is that not okay?”
[Kkyuu?]
“…F-fine, just move that stone.”
“Yes~ then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
The moment Robert stepped aside, I scooped up Golsuni and slipped inside. Even while we sat on the living-room sofa, he remained by the doorway, staring at us warily.
“What business do you have here?”
Looking closely, it wasn’t just his face—one of his arms was in a splint too.
Well, anyone who got flung through the air wouldn’t come out unscathed.
And this old man is still speaking casually to me.
“Please, have a seat.”
I placed the basket I was carrying onto the table.
“After what happened yesterday, I was so worried I couldn’t sleep. So I came to visit you in the hospital—well, a get-well visit.”
“Ha! A get-well visit? After you left me like this?”
Robert’s face flushed red, then blue. He opened his mouth as if to shout, but when he saw Golsuni beside me, he snapped it shut.
“Hah, whatever. Did you come now to beg for forgiveness? I hear you brought those golems claiming they don’t hurt people. What do you think would happen if I reported this to His Grace the Grand Duke, huh?”
He waved his splinted arm conspicuously, the corner of his thin lips twisting upward.
[Kkyu, kkyuu….]
You scared our kid.
You bastard.
“I actually came to talk about that.”
I folded my hands neatly on my knees and straightened my posture.
“I apologize for what happened yesterday. Even with His Grace’s permission, I shouldn’t have requisitioned soldiers without your consent. I acted thoughtlessly.”
[Kkyu, kkyu…?]
At my sudden apology, Robert blinked in a daze—then a beat later burst into laughter.
“So you finally understand the situation?”
He scanned me and the fidgeting Golsuni with smug eyes.
“Talking about escort ranks and all that—trusting these rocks, you sure dragged my honor through the mud.”
“You’re right. Why did I ever say something like that?”
“Tsk, now you’re finally speaking sense. But you’re still just a dark mage. I’m the chief of security who’s worked here for eight years. Do you know how much His Grace trusts me? One word from me and you’d be executed—know your place.”
“That’s true.”
I bowed my head obediently.
“So please, could you keep this a secret from His Grace?”
I smiled humbly and removed the cloth covering the basket.
“It’s nothing special, but please accept this as a token of my sincerity.”
“…What’s this now?”
“You may have heard—these days, the potions I make are quite popular among the territory’s residents. They’re used as antidotes and as nutritional supplements.”
I pushed the basket full of potion bottles toward him.
“You often go outside on patrol, don’t you, Sir Gale? Within the territory we distribute them for free, but outside there’s no need to do that. You can’t get these on the market—they’ll sell for a good price.”
When I lowered my voice and spoke gently, Robert’s eyes widened. He’d clearly heard about the potions before.
“I can give you more if you need them.”
“Ahem… well, you really didn’t have to….”
“So you’ll keep it secret.”
He cleared his throat, trying desperately to hide his expression, but it was useless. The corners of his mouth were already twitching upward.
So he really can’t resist money.
“You haven’t tried one yet, right? Here—have one.”
“Well, I—”
“It’s fine. Go ahead.”
Unable to resist my repeated urging, Robert took the potion and swallowed it.
“Well, if you insist this much, how can I refuse….”
“Exactly, exactly.”
He swallowed nicely.
After confirming he’d taken it, I asked softly,
“By the way, Sir. There was something I wanted to ask.”
“What is it?”
“How much did you get paid this time for selling territorial information to a dark mage?”
“The one who attacked before? He said he’d give me 500 gold, so I quickly—ugh, what?”
Robert jolted, clamping a hand over his mouth. He looked horrified at his own words.
“Wh-what is this?”
Good.
It activated properly.
I smiled in satisfaction.
“I see.”
Grinning widely, I snapped my fingers. The potions piled in the basket vanished, revealing straw underneath. The only remaining bottle was the one in Robert’s hand.
Heh. Fooled you.
They were all fake.
Frozen stiff, Robert looked back and forth between the bottle and my face in confusion.
Then he sprang up and flung the bottle onto the table.
“W-what did you just do to me?!”
I laughed lightly.
“A truth spell. It’s commonly used to extract confessions from criminals.”
“Why would you use that on me?!”
“Well, you shouldn’t just swallow things people give you. Didn’t you know that?”
[Kkyu!]
Idiot.
“So then, how many times have you done this? This isn’t the first time, is it?”
“First time? Of course not! Every dark mage who infiltrated so far came through me for information—agh! This mouth! Why won’t it behave?!”
In desperation, Robert even pretended to claw at his own mouth. His lips swelled red, but sadly for him, they still wouldn’t stay shut.
“It would’ve been nice if you’d been dismissed yesterday. His Grace hates dark mages with a passion, so there’s no leniency for this.”
Suppressing my laughter, I stood up.
“Golsuni, let’s take him. Lay him down.”
[Kkyu!]
Golsuni leapt up and slammed headfirst into the back of Robert’s skull.
“…Is this the result of your fieldwork?”
“If you’re going to interrogate him, please do it within five minutes. The potion won’t last much longer.”
Kairos let out a hollow laugh, clearly still trying to process the situation.
As I pulled out a pocket watch from my chest, I added,
“If you don’t believe me, you can test it. For now, he can only tell the truth.”
And stop staring only at me—it’s uncomfortable.
Time’s still ticking, you know?
“This is ridiculous.”
Kairos rubbed his forehead.
Robert, bound tightly with rope and kneeling on the floor, and me, calmly timing everything beside him—both must have looked utterly incomprehensible.
“Four minutes and thirty-two seconds left.”
Kairos narrowed his eyes and finally shifted his gaze from me to Robert.
In a doubtful tone, he asked,
“…So. Did you really betray me?”
“No!”
Oh? Look at this guy.
Just as doubt flickered again across Kairos’s face, Robert continued,
“Betrayal is when someone who was loyal changes sides. I came here from the start only aiming for a rise in status—how is that betrayal? If His Grace had reclaimed the throne long ago instead of wasting time hunting dark mages, I wouldn’t have been rotting here all this time. I backed the wrong horse. Ah, my miserable fate!”
“Ah.”
As Kairos listened to the confession pouring out of Robert’s mouth, a smile bloomed on his face.
I know that expression.
He’s furious.
Oh no….
You’re dead now.
Kairos looked ready to draw his sword at any moment, so I quickly stepped between them.
“He also took money from dark mages. Looks like he was planning to stash it and run.”
“Why would you say that?!”
“Where did you hide it?”
“Hah! Under the dining table, I pried up the floorboards and hid all the gold I’ve received—do you really think I’d confess that honestly?! Damn this mouth!”
“That’s what he says.”
“You sly, wicked witch! You damned woman!”
Robert shouted in rage, his face turning beet red. I quietly covered my ears.
Meanwhile, Kairos’s smile only grew brighter.
Terrifying.
His eyes aren’t smiling at all—only his mouth is.
“Vasel.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Check.”
A moment later, Vasel returned to the office carrying a torso-sized sack stuffed full of gold coins.
Kairos’s long eyes curved into crescents. He wasn’t even smiling at me, yet the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
He won’t die peacefully.
Kairos despised enemies within more than anything. Ever since losing his family in an instant, he showed no mercy to anyone who betrayed him. And this wasn’t just betrayal—dark mages were involved too.
I offered Robert my silent condolences.
“Take him away.”
Vasel grabbed Robert by the back of the neck and hauled him up. Realizing his end, Robert’s face turned sheet white.
“N-no!”
He struggled desperately.
“Please forgive me just once! If you show mercy, I swear I won’t repent at all—I’ll grab what’s left of my fortune and flee in the dead of night! You handsome narcissistic tyrant Grand Duke!”
…Oh dear.
You’re really, truly dead.
