Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 62

Chapter 62

"I need to change the plan. I've changed my mind."

"My lord...!"

"Don't kill Czerban Caelius—bring him to me. I want that body."

The man kneeling beneath the sofa looked up with wide eyes. His trembling gaze revealed his shock.

"This body is annoyingly fragile."

"That can easily be controlled with dark magic, can't it?"

"Are you telling me to keep breaking and mending it? And day by day, the compatibility is dropping. The soul of this body is waking up without my permission more and more often!!"

At the thunderous scolding, the man, drenched in cold sweat, quickly lowered his head.

"But we haven't found proof that he is Czerban Caelius!"

"Circumstantial evidence is enough. If he's Czerban, good—if not, it doesn't matter. For someone that young to have that level of mana... even if I can't take his body, there's plenty to extract from it."

The man gritted his teeth, suppressing his frustration to avoid upsetting the person on the sofa.

Don't kill Czerban Caelius? This wasn't part of the plan!

"Why? You want to kill him right now—do you have a problem with that?"

"N-no, my lord."

"Heh heh, don't worry. Your position won't be threatened. Right now, he's staying with the Algenprina ducal house, isn't he?"

"Yes. That's correct."

"Algenprina... a troublesome opponent. Not just the Duke, but the Duchess and her sons—all of them are vexing."

The hand that had been tapping the armrest stopped. The one lost in thought looked down at the kneeling man and grinned.

"What should we do? They're people magic doesn't work on."

"There is one. That girl with the unremarkable unique magic."

The tapping stopped, and his eyes began to move strangely.

"Right. The Duke's youngest daughter, the one he doted on. Hmm... what's her ability?"

"Summoning a hideous club, I believe. I heard she hated it so much she refused to even bring it out."

"Past tense?"

"For some reason, she seems to summon it often lately, but it doesn't appear to have any notable ability."

Hearing this, the figure nodded with satisfaction. Red hair cascaded over his shoulders.

"Then let's set the stage—a scheme to isolate Algenprina and get our hands on Czerban Caelius."

"Eliza! I'm not going, I told you? Go alone if you want!"

"What? Pudding! You're really not coming?"

"I've told you several times since yesterday. And stop calling me Pudding!"

Eliza stared at Fudiche with her mouth agape. He'd been saying since yesterday that he wouldn't participate in the hunting competition—and he really meant it?

"B-but Lady Shimota said we should attend."

"Do I have to do everything Lady Shimota says?"

Eliza quickly reached out and covered Fudiche's mouth. She understood his feelings, but the Shimota family's influence was different now.

There were even jokes about them swallowing the Algenprina.

"Shh! Shh! Pudding!"

"How long are you going to grovel to the Shimotas? Following around a nouveau riche family that's all money?"

"I don't want to either! ...But what can I do? My father bows to the Shimotas."

Eliza clutched her skirt and lowered her head. Fudiche sighed heavily.

"Haah... Fine, I get it. I'll go with you."

"Really?! Thank you, Pudding!"

"Don't call me Pudding."

Fudiche had no desire to wander through the forest hunting mutant beasts on such a fine day. And not just with Eliza—they had to join the Shimota group?

Just imagining it was dreadful. Standing around the Shimotas, praising her magic and flattering her—he'd rather die.

"Just look at that noble posture, as if she doesn't care about any of you. I just... want to crush her."

Fudiche thought: Noble posture? No, the princess just looks bored.

"How could she not greet Lady Shimota first?"

Technically, since Shimota was a marquis, it was Shimota who should greet the princess first—not the other way around.

"Ha! With all that talk, they're nothing special."

"Lady Shimota, I heard the Algenprina will be attending the hunting competition. Including the princess."

"Oh, really?"

"My sources say the princess's unique magic is hideous and worthless. That's probably why she's been hiding."

Watching her burn with envy and inferiority toward the Algenprina princess only made her look worse.

Fudiche decided he'd just nod along and stick by Eliza's side.

...If he'd known it would be this childish, he would have locked Eliza up to keep her from coming.

"I'm Shimota Grace of the Marquis Shimota."

"I'm Algenprina Hariella. Nice to meet you."

The Algenprina princess, her pink hair tied back in a neat ponytail, smiled and greeted her. As she did, snickers erupted from all sides—they were trying to intimidate her from the start.

Fudiche stepped back to watch the situation unfold. The princess's pale skin and gentle eyes stirred a sense of pity in him.

"By the way... it's been thirty minutes since the hunt started, and it looks like you haven't caught a single mutant beast."

Shimota Grace pointed openly at the princess's empty waist. The prey for this hunt was a small mutant beast that resembled a cross between a wolf and a fox.

Points were determined by the number of blue ribbons tied to the mutant beasts' hind legs. Shimota had at least five ribbons dangling from her waist. Four of them had been handed over by her followers, but Shimota bragged as if she'd hunted them herself.

"Ah, the mutant beasts are quite fast. So I was just considering a different approach."

The princess remained unfazed by Shimota's mockery. Anyone would shrink back when surrounded by a group of eight or more pressuring them, but she just exchanged casual conversation with Shimota.

"Pfft, they're just small mutant beasts. Wasting this much time on catching just one..."

It was blatant disrespect. Fudiche frowned and swallowed a sigh. He hadn't expected such open provocation.

Fudiche pulled Eliza's arm as she fidgeted nervously.

"Just stay quiet."

Fudiche whispered to Eliza.

"I heard you're frail—why don't you leave the forest? If you end up with nothing and embarrass yourself, what will happen to the Algenprina's standing?"

"Lady Shimota, why don't you give one to her?"

"Oh my, shall I? Just say the word—I'll give you one."

As the Shimota group giggled and whispered among themselves, the princess tilted her head slightly in apparent confusion. Her expression was pitifully innocent.

'Is the princess oblivious? It'd be better to just leave this place.'

The princess's green-tinged eyes blinked slowly.

"Lady Shimota, how many more do you want to catch?"

"Pardon?"

This wasn't the reaction Shimota Grace wanted. She'd expected the princess to whimper, ask to join them, or beg for help—so she could condescendingly toss her a ribbon.

"I asked how many more ribbons you plan to collect."

"Wh-why would you ask that?"

Shimota Grace had no intention of hunting more mutant beasts. She hated getting her clothes dirty and didn't want to wander through overgrown thickets. She'd planned to collect ribbons brought by those seeking her favor and leave—so why ask how many more she wanted?

"If you want to catch more, I thought I might help."

The princess smiled at the Shimota group. Fudiche swallowed dryly at the almost painted-on, artificial expression on her face.

Something was turning strange.

"Ha!! You're going to help me? Do you even have the ability?"

At Shimota's sarcasm, the princess widened her eyes.

"Lady Shimota, do you know what my unique magic is?"

Shimota's lips moved. Fudiche wanted to rush behind her and cover her mouth.

Surely she wasn't stupid enough to repeat that it was hideous and worthless?

No matter how fragile she looked, the princess was still a princess. Insulting her was insulting the Algenprina ducal house...!

"You don't know, do you? So how can you tell whether I have the ability or not?"

Far from shrinking back, the princess stood tall and confident—Shimota bit her lip.

"Anyway, if you plan to collect more ribbons, you're welcome to stay here. But if not, you'd be better off leaving."

The message was clear: get out, not the princess. Shimota's clenched fist trembled.

"Because the real hunt is about to begin."

Back   Next