READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 120
Roxanne having a favorable view of me didn’t change the fact that it was uncomfortable.
If she had cleared up her grudges, it would have been different, but that wasn’t the case at all.
All in all, just the very existence of Roxanne felt awkward.
“Huh? Don’t you want to come with me?”
Certainly, in the Seven Lairs, Rosha had a deep connection with Roxanne.
After all, didn’t she seek help from Roxanne even when her unique magic was sealed?
You could say they had quite a special relationship.
“Looks like the conflicts from the meeting have been resolved.”
She was the one who clashed with Roxanne over my sister-in-law.
I was just probing to see if there were any lingering grudges about that.
To my surprise, she seemed utterly unconcerned.
Well, she really was a woman without a grudge.
“Well… even if it was the old man’s scheming, in the end, I was saved, right? Plus, she came to see me later, too, as an apology….”
She paused her words, and Rosha subtly raised the corners of her mouth.
What was that smile?
For some reason, it sent shivers down my spine.
“Anyway, I’m worried, so I thought I’d check. Has the old man been getting too familiar with you recently?”
“…?”
I froze internally, wondering how she knew that.
Recalling, Roxanne had once gone to see her under the pretense of an apology.
Maybe she mentioned something about me at that time.
“I know everything. That’s why I asked. Even if you didn’t get along in the past, things have changed, right? Wouldn’t it be good to go see her? I’m sure the old man would welcome you.”
“I don’t think he would.”
Roxanne was a proud one.
There was no way she would expose her weakened state to other Lords.
Just like Rosha kept her real form tightly hidden.
If Roxanne was anything, she was certainly no less cautious.
Rosha seemed to think the same, nodding her head in agreement.
“Still, it would be a bit insensitive to just do nothing, right? Sending a letter alone feels too impersonal. Even if we’re turned away, we should at least show some effort by visiting.”
Looking at it from a different perspective, it was a sound decision for managing connections.
If we wanted to fully recruit her as an ally in the future.
‘Sara has probably fallen under the Old One’s influence.’
In the situation where we might have to confront the Old One someday, having Sara allied with him made things even worse.
As for Hermit, I considered him an ally.
Daron and Ren had only shown goodwill toward me, but there was still quite a distance between us.
And getting Roxanne on our side would be much easier than those two.
‘No matter how weakened she is, Roxanne is still Roxanne.’
What could have caused her to fall to the seventh rank?
In a way, if it was the same situation as with Rosha, it would be ‘rather good.’
‘I hope it turns out that way.’
Of course, it would be greedy to wish for things to resolve that easily.
But with the mere possibility, it was worth checking out. After all, it wasn’t going to be hard.
“Can’t you come with me? I feel lonely going alone. Please?”
Rosha held onto my arm, pulling me toward her chest.
The closeness was a little too much; luckily, I didn’t have a certain appendage.
If I did, my instincts would have reacted without hesitation.
Plus, Rosha had the insight to perceive the desires of living beings.
If she weren’t undead, she’d have devoured me in a different sense long ago.
“Can you open a portal?”
Part of me worried about Charlotte; I couldn’t be gone for too long.
“There’s a doll near the Abyssal 10th Layer. If it’s just a quick visit, it won’t take half a day.”
“Got it. Let’s leave right now.”
Rosha’s face brightened even more, which had already been smiling.
Opening the portal took less than three seconds.
Just as Rosha was about to step in first, she paused and turned her body.
Following her gaze, I involuntarily flinched.
Her gaze landed on Hermit, who was pretending to be a rock.
…Could it be that she knows?
“I’m trying to ignore you for the sake of appearance, but it’s so irritating I can’t help it. You there, stop hiding, I know all about it.”
“….”
“Yeah, keep hiding. If you’d like to die like that, go ahead.”
Bam!
Hermit instantly returned to his original form from being a stone.
To make things worse, he rushed over to Rosha and prostrated himself.
“I-I-I humbly greet the esteemed Lord….”
His stuttering voice matched his trembling body.
Looking down at Hermit, Rosha’s glare was icy cold.
Even I felt a shiver down my spine.
“Sigh… Sheesh, it’s always women like this.”
Rosha shot a sidelong glance at me.
Her eyes radiated intimidation.
“Have you grown again? Did you grow even more? And this time you’re a nine-tailed fox?”
“….”
“How many are you charming while being undead? Are you sure you’re a Death Knight? Not an Incubus King? How come it seems like you’re more than I am?”
Rosha crossed her arms and glared at me.
I was aware of her affection for me, but I felt unjustly accused from my perspective.
After all, it’s clear that Rosha and I aren’t… well, that kind of relationship.
It’s just because I’m undead, but still.
I wanted to tell her to mind her own business, but I feared the consequences more.
I kept my mouth shut and averted my gaze, feeling like a criminal.
“Sigh… alright. I’ve been good at spotting men. Of course, there are plenty of women like me. But still, isn’t this a bit excessive?”
“Hermit is just a subordinate.”
It wasn’t a lie; I had just recruited Hermit as an ally.
Even though his level had a pink tint, it was mixed with green.
Yet for some reason, due to being a nine-tailed fox, Rosha was more sensitive than ever.
“You might think it so, but that sly girl wouldn’t.”
“I-I don’t care about anything….”
Hermit replied in a voice that was barely audible.
With a shiver, like a fox caught in the rain from Rosha’s glare, he quivered.
Rosha clicked her tongue and pointed to her eyes.
“I can see all your desires. How could I not notice you with your kind of eyes?”
“…oh.”
“Heh, a fox should be seducing a male with a certain… attribute, right? Unaware of your own situation to desire someone.”
Rosha’s insight is well-known, but that seems unbelievable.
Hermit’s pink level doesn’t stem from desire; it’s merely a rational liking.
After all, it’s Hermit, right? This shy nine-tailed fox─
‘…well, he is a nine-tailed fox.’
Thinking back, it wouldn’t be strange if he had lewd fantasies despite his personality.
In reality, Hermit was soaked in cold sweat already. He must feel guilty or something.
“Aah… th-that, um, you’re looking at it wrong…?”
“What do you mean looking at it wrong? You’re clearly visible right now, aren’t you? You have a subordinate, right? If we’re talking about desire, he’s even more than that girl.”
That meant even Charlotte had feelings for me.
Crazy necrophilia boneheads.
“I haven’t felt this kind of desire in a long time. Is it really a nine-tailed fox?”
“I-I’m absolutely, really not….”
His eyes filled with tears reflected me.
His desperate denial seemed sincere.
But Rosha’s insight would probably be more accurate than mine.
“It’s true. I’m really not….”
“Stop pretending to be innocent. Where did you get such a sly girl?”
“Enough. That’s it.”
If I pressed any further, Hermit would likely burst into tears.
Sniffling, Hermit eventually became a rock again, conscious of me.
He seemed averse to showing his unappealing face to me.
“I’m only holding back for your sake. If you seduce one more girl, I won’t be able to hold back. I might just kill that girl.”
Rosha wasn’t joking; her warnings were serious.
“It wouldn’t be a girl I couldn’t kill. You’re not trying to seduce Lin, are you?”
“….”
That is a no-go.
Lin was practically a child, and I’d never pursue her.
In the first place, how could an undead seduce a woman?
“I heard the new top five half-breeds are female. Coincidentally, you even have a half-breed under you, right? Even if she’s the fifth rank, do you intend to try to charm her─”
“That’s something you don’t need to worry about.”
There wasn’t an ounce of worry regarding that, really.
If there were any concerns, it should be about whether she’d try to kill me instead.
Rosha chewed her lower lip, then sighed dramatically.
“You know well how I feel about you, right? If you’re trying to provoke my jealousy, throw it away immediately.”
“That’s never been the case. Let’s just go.”
After cutting off the conversation, I stepped into the portal.
I wanted to get away from Hermit and Rosha quickly. Who knows what might happen if I stayed longer?
***
Creeeak- Thud.
All eyes turned to Selina, who had just come out of the room.
“What happened?”
Isabella asked on behalf of everyone, and Selina shook her head.
“She’s in a lot of pain. Even when I tried to be there for her, she told me to leave.”
“Ugh….”
“This is all Cecilia’s fault. Why did you have to get so worked up all of a sudden?!”
“….”
Cecilia covered the back of her neck with her hand, appearing embarrassed.
Selina gestured to calm Isabella down.
“What good comes from pointing fingers now….”
I had known this would happen someday, but now that it was here, the world felt dark.
No comfort seemed helpful right now; Selina’s worry was palpable.
I should have given some warning in advance, though. The late remorse began to flood in.
Tap tap tap─
Urgent footsteps approached from a distance.
Soon, Estizel stopped in front of everyone and unfolded a newspaper.
“Everyone, look at this!”
Suddenly?
What she showed was the daily newspaper of the Duke of Sanjiba.
Surprised, everyone’s attention was fixated on the newspaper.
Isabella read the headline aloud.
“Duke Sanjiba… assassinated!?”
Everyone at this gathering knew who the Duke Sanjiba was; he was the Duke who shamed the Boss.
But suddenly hearing he was assassinated? A power comparable to the 72 Lords?
“V-View this too!”
Estizel pointed to various parts with her fingers.
Starting with Duke Sanjiba, high-ranking officials from the magic realm, and even dozens of the 72 Lords were reported to have been assassinated.
The scale of this was clearly nothing short of a covert purge.
Setting aside social statuses, their common denominator was clear.
The high-ranking officials had criticized Barugore, and dozens of Lords belonged to Calandas’s faction.
They all had a historic antipathy toward Barugore.
According to the breaking news, the suspect was unknown, and the prevailing theory was that it was commissioned by Barugore.
Conversely, there was a minority opinion that it was a conspiracy against Barugore, but it was in the minority.
In an instant, everyone’s gaze focused on one person.
Cecilia, who had been in the spotlight, pointed to herself with her fingertip.
“Why me?”
“…not you, right?”
“It’s not me. I’ve been here the whole time; how could it have been me?”
“Then what about Charlotte? Were you venting your anger this time….”
“Oh, come on now. My lieutenant wouldn’t do that.”
At Isabella’s suspicion, Estizel shook her head rapidly.
“Then who the heck did this?”
For a while, silence fell among them.
Naturally, one particular suspicion arose in everyone’s mind.
Could it really be that the Boss did this…?