Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: I'm the Real One
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She thrashed against the ropes binding her limbs until blood seeped from the raw skin, but it was no use.
Even when she secretly fashioned a saw from ice to gnaw through the fabric, that black-haired man somehow caused the freezing to unravel in midair every single time.
*Why.*
Why was she the fake? This was a conspiracy, a plot.
*They’re going to parade that fake as me to solidify their position as head of the family.*
And kill her here?
The sight of Adelrian approaching with a recovery potion and dagger in hand lent more weight to her suspicions.
“Ugh, mmph.”
He spouted nonsense about how fear would negate the potion’s effects, but that couldn’t possibly be true.
The others must have realized his ravings were absurd too, because after some discussion among themselves, one man stepped forward.
His build was sturdy enough, but his face was unexpectedly gentle.
Ash-gray hair and green gemstone eyes that shifted color oddly in the light.
*Hurry and remove the gag.*
The approach of this frail-faced man named Zero probably meant he’d ungag her and try talking again.
Her eyes flickered with faint hope as she looked at him.
One step, another.
With each step he took, she felt as if her toes were dipping into ice water.
No, not her body’s chill—it was her soul freezing over.
He winced slightly at the corners of his eyes, as if embarrassed or reluctant, his large hand approaching slowly while his mouth twisted into something like a smile or a grimace.
A terror as if he’d rip out her heart with those fingers and crunch it between his teeth right then and there.
“Hoo, haa.”
Her breath came in gasps. She tried to struggle, but her body wouldn’t obey.
Like prey caught by a predator.
That hand, advancing so slowly, gripped her shoulder and tilted his head down—was it to tear into her throat even now?
She was going to die.
…No.
She was going to be devoured.
Her existence consumed, melted, broken down until she ceased to be, her self dissolving, her ego collapsing.
She had to keep repeating who she was. To keep from losing herself. She was Gadia, the proud daughter of Kruger…
That’s right, she was Gadia, and Adelrian was her little brother, no. No no no no no, she was the proud Kruger’s… Kruger’s Gadia, she was… so she was the one being eaten, she was, she had to remember her name, her existence, not scatter, not crumble, who was she, she was, she couldn’t forget her name, she’d be eaten, devour devour devour devour devour devour devour—
I am.
* * *
For some reason, I pushed Cain away with my fingertips as he blocked my path.
“Stop picking up dangerous strays.”
“What’re you talking about.”
I thought of Rachel for a moment, then stood from my seat.
“Guhk, cough!”
She vomited up everything in her stomach onto the floor, her limbs convulsing.
Zero’s killing intent was this intense?
I tamped down the rising questions and looked at the woman with the curly orange hair.
Maybe a bit older than Gadia. Her face looked mature, but her frame was gaunt.
Brown eyes that didn’t match her hair color rolled in different directions before losing focus.
“Name.”
“Grk. Hk.”
“Name.”
I asked, but she couldn’t seem to get a grip, drool spilling from her mouth as her body slumped. I glanced sidelong at Zero.
“What’d you do.”
“…Pardon?”
“What’d you do to make her like this.”
“Nothing much…”
The guy who claimed it was nothing much had a face like that? I’d grill him later.
I pulled out the codex and ran Cleanse and Purify once each, then spoke.
“Now we just need Professor Lianna to show up.”
“I’ll go get her!”
Zero bolted off like a dog with its tail on fire. I eyed his retreating back with deep suspicion before turning to Cain.
“Explain it so I can understand.”
“There aren’t many civilians around, so he couldn’t hold back.”
Ah, right. Considering Bahadi and Gamur had awakened traits, and the one sparring with Zero was Cain—not to mention Rachel—it made sense.
He might’ve failed to control his strength. Sure.
I nodded once, then greeted the bewildered Professor Lianna—who’d arrived with Zero—with a smile.
“This woman… who is she?”
“Judging by her clothes, the ribbon in her hair…”
I grinned as I said it, and Professor Lianna’s lips twitched a few times.
She probably thought she was the real Professor Lianna right now, so no issue there.
*The church goons hiding around here must be pretty shocked.*
Wondering how I’d distinguished real from fake. How I’d nullified the potion’s effects.
That shock would serve as my weapon, even if just for a moment.
“Then let’s leave the rest of the investigation to the academy. I need to go see my big sis.”
I brushed past Lianna. To the next room over, where the real Gadia was imprisoned.
Cain placed his hand on the handle—locked by magic, apparently.
The door creaked open slowly, revealing Gadia’s slightly pale face.
“…I’m the real one.”
“I know, sis.”
Her eyes were red, like she’d been crying. For someone with her pride, being treated as a fake wasn’t enough—it must’ve been a shock that she’d lost control and tried to kill someone.
I left Cain outside the door and brought only Zero inside, approaching Gadia to remove what looked like mana-restraining cuffs.
“What in the world… is he?”
She still couldn’t make sense of her own actions, hesitating a bit as she asked about Cain. I brushed her disheveled hair behind her ear and spoke.
“Before I explain, I’ve got a question for you, sis.”
“What?”
I’d pushed Rachel hardest, sure, but I’d bought plenty of Gadia coins back in the day.
“The first time you saw him, did you feel a shiver run through you? Heart pounding, dizzy, all that?”
She thought for a moment at my words, then answered with a dubious look.
“If you put it that way… kinda, yeah.”
As expected. Love at first sight. Electric jolt. Heh. My investments never failed.
Luna and Leaf started off rocky, and Rachel was a mess from the get-go, but Gadia? She’d been like that right from the first glance.
The forums nailed it. Gadia, with her distrust of men, fell for Cain on sight but couldn’t admit it, so she lashed out.
“Sis, that’s love.”
She shot me a filthy look as I grinned.
“What kinda bullshit is that.”
She cursed with her mouth too.
But I stood tall. She seemed calmer now, so they could face each other again.
I called Cain, and Gadia flinched at his reappearance.
“So, how’s it now? Your breathing’s quickened, at least.”
“…My heart feels like it’ll burst, and my body’s gone weak, like all the blood drained out.”
She looked ready to collapse any second.
I smiled knowingly, as if I had all the answers, and Gadia alternated confused glances between Cain and me.
“If I may, Lord Adelrian. That reaction sounds awfully familiar…”
“You crushing on someone too?”
I whispered, and Zero startled me. Wait, when did Zero ever…?
“No, not that—it’s just completely…”
“No way. Now that you know I’m real, get lost.”
Gadia, entering full denial-of-love-at-first-sight mode, glared murderously and shooed us out. I shrugged.
“I’ll be in the capital for a bit, so call me if you need me for any follow-up investigation.”
She wouldn’t admit it now, but Gadia would eventually.
In the original story, she’d even taken down Kaiman for Cain’s sake.
To Cain, Luna was obedience, Leaf was trust, Rachel was vitality, the others rest and tension.
But Gadia? Blind devotion.
Truth be told, the others seemed like they could live without him, but not her.
So, hope things go well.
And they had to—for my neck’s safety too…
He didn’t even appear in the original, so less worry there, but in the Innocent Saga, Gadia cuts Adelrian’s head off.
For the sake of extending my lifeline, Cain and Gadia needed to get along.
I prayed silently for a moment.
* * *
“Not to bring it up or anything, but…”
“Then don’t.”
Rachel started sulkily, and Luna cut her off with a laugh. Leaf smiled faintly, and Rachel pouted.
“Ugh, why’s everyone picking on me?”
“How dare I? All I’m good for is cooking and washing clothes.”
Rachel clenched her fists, eyeing Luna, who barely reached her chest.
*Why’s she a bunnykin? Gotta check her lineage. Bet there’s catkin blood mixed in.*
Beastkin could breed across types anyway, so why not.
“Hey, just hear me out, senpais.”
Rachel flailed her arms dramatically, drawing Luna’s pink eyes and Leaf’s yellow ones to her.
“No guys around right now. Perfect chance! Let’s do what girls love most. Yeah?”
Heart-pounding gambling! Gut-twisting booze!
Rachel’s eyes sparkled as she mimed chugging from a glass, but Luna and Leaf’s gazes scattered like *of course*.
“Anyway, we’ve got lodging, so wanna brush the horses, split some carrots?”
[I’ll head to the library.]
“No, what’re you talking about—library or horse duty at a golden opportunity like this? We’re gonna have fun!”
Rachel thumped her chest in frustration.
Adelrian looked the part of a total wastrel, the type to die in some back alley to a jealous hooker’s knife after chasing drugs, booze, and debauchery.
Yet his travels were so straight-laced. Wondering what joy he got from life, it was downright boring.
*‘Course, the flavor of ogre or cyclops meat is unforgettable.’
Dragon, no.
No one lives on one kind of bread alone. Beating flavor is its own thing. Dice-rolling flavor is its own.
“Wanna go have some fun that bad?”
“No, it’s the capital! After that monster border wasteland, don’t you wanna sightsee, eat good stuff in a place packed with people and wonders?”
Luna stroked her ear at Rachel’s words.
Rachel looked human and imposing, so she’d never felt those crushing stares.
She and Leaf didn’t know how gazes could hurt worse than fists sometimes.
Only beastkin truly knew that pain.
—Well, it’s the flashiest place we’ve seen so far.
Leaf’s expressionless face had a spark in her eyes. Luna couldn’t quite put it into words, but she always understood.
Leaf was curious, Rachel had been buzzing like a broken toy since earlier…
Luna thought of the siren Adelrian had gotten from Cain and left with her, fiddling with the cape draped over her shoulders.
Rachel and Leaf looked perfectly human.
Add the Kruger crest on the cape…
“Then just a little sightseeing.”
“Sweet!”
Rachel jumped for joy despite her height. Leaf smiled faintly with curiosity, and Luna gripped the totem-like siren in her pocket tight.
“Where first?”
“Casino!”
Rachel bared her white teeth in an ecstatic grin.