Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Piyan's Doubts
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‘That bastard, no…….’
Once you’ve decided to pledge loyalty, you have to change even the way you refer to him in your private thoughts. It’s the little things that shift your mindset first, and that’s how the other person starts to notice.
Piyan muttered to himself as he bit his nails.
‘What kind of person is the Boss, really?’
In all his life, Piyan had never actually met someone with a Trait similar to his own. Of course, he knew intellectually that such things existed.
But what even was a Trait? Talent, right? Things like exceptional eloquence or robust physique were rare enough, but a Trait that directly influenced someone’s emotions? No way that was common.
‘And yet, he understands my Trait better than I do?’
At first, when he heard that it worked on same-sex people too, not just the opposite sex, Piyan had scoffed.
He figured anyone it worked on must just have peculiar tastes.
‘People weaker in mental fortitude than me, or with at least a minimal sexual attraction to me, or who don’t guard against me at all…….’
The reason it hadn’t worked on same-sex people before was probably because he’d been working as a mercenary since childhood.
The mercenary band he’d joined as a kid often doubled as bandits, full of rough-looking thugs. No matter how young and fragile Piyan appeared, none of the women would have let their guard down.
Even after growing up and going independent, he’d strutted around acting tough to avoid being underestimated. By the time he was using the alias Ruby, he’d already concluded it didn’t work on women and stopped trying altogether.
‘But apparently not.’
That made things too easy. On top of that, the concept he’d adopted this time to hunt newbies was pure lily.
All white and innocent-looking, utterly harmless. Just in case, he’d sniffled and begged several women for help while casting Enchantment, and they’d all fallen for it.
The key point was that the affection boosted by Enchantment faded if you didn’t maintain it.
So, you had to genuinely win their hearts to the same degree, ensuring the relationship wouldn’t sour even if you didn’t see them for a while.
‘Truth be told, I’d love to gain affection from the Boss and his party members too.’
Excluding Adelian, they were all stronger than Piyan himself. And Adelian, who looked fragile, had never once fallen to Enchantment from their first meeting until now. It was a pipe dream.
‘Such a shame.’
Piyan chuckled as he surveyed the hideout he’d built by selling all the jewels and magic stones he’d received.
Thanks to his knack for profiting off connections and talent acquired through Enchantment in a short time, his small organization was solidly built.
He’d also secured decent fighters by rooting them firmly in the group before the Enchantment wore off, while offloading potential bombs to other organizations using its power.
In a few more years like this, it could grow into a notorious underworld force not just in the capital, but across the Empire.
Provided his power caught up a bit.
‘Enchantment doesn’t work on those stronger than me.’
For it to work, they had to trust him completely without a shred of doubt. But at that level of relationship, Enchantment was unnecessary anyway. And experts of a certain caliber were always wary of others.
So, no quick way to scale up the organization further.
‘Absorb smaller factions piecemeal, or…….’
“Piyan.”
“Eek!”
Piyan jolted from his chair. A ghost had appeared in the deepest office of his small but cozy hideout.
“C-Cain?”
Black hair, golden eyes. And an inexplicable chill, like being cast out into a winter night.
‘Annoy him, and you die.’
As Piyan slowly lowered his gaze, Cain held out a neatly folded letter right in front of his face.
“This is…….”
“Adelian said to deliver it.”
Why him, of all people? Piyan forced an awkward smile. His boss Adelian always acted like he knew everything—and he probably did know a lot.
Just one thing.
He truly knew nothing about his own party members.
More precisely.
“Hurry up.”
‘He has no idea how terrifying his party members are.’
Blatant, subtle killing intent. The only reason it was bearable was that Piyan himself was a yoma clan half-blood, not fully human.
Even Piyan, who didn’t see him often, knew Cain never properly hid his disdain for humans.
He never said it outright.
But those eyes, that killing intent.
Eyes that neither trusted nor cared about the other person at all, utterly indifferent.
Ordinary folk couldn’t sense the subtle menace, and those who could usually bowed to his overwhelming power and striking beauty, offering smiles instead.
But Adelian didn’t know that. That’s why he sent Cain out alone like this.
‘And now.’
Use this Cain to whittle down other organizations’ forces?
“What does it say?”
“H-Haha…….”
Piyan kept alternating between the parchment and Cain’s face, which seemed to irk him. Cain snatched the letter and read it.
Crumple—
The parchment crumpled in his hand.
With annoyance written all over his face—no, even before that, the beastly aura suggested he wouldn’t listen to Piyan anyway. Sweat trickled down Piyan's back for the first time in ages.
Then.
“I’m off.”
“Huh? What?”
Piyan gaped as Cain vanished in an instant, like teleporting with magic.
“What are you gonna do?”
And that day, Piyan received word from Cain that all three of the capital’s largest, strongest organizations—with the most shops—had their leaders and most executives beheaded.
* * *
“Miss… Shall I brush your hair?”
“No, it’s fine. No classes today, so I’ll handle the simple grooming myself.”
“Th-Then how about a massage?”
Terrified eyes. Trembling shoulders. Gadia let out a soft sigh as she looked at Rize, who gazed at her with damp, watery eyes.
“…Very well.”
“Yes! Miss!”
After the doppelganger fiasco, had it shocked Rize that she couldn’t distinguish Gadia, whom she’d served for over ten years?
‘Well, we’ve been together longer than family, and that fool Adelian could tell them apart.’
Whether out of guilt or some other reason, she kept watching Gadia closely, trying to cater to her. Like rolling her tongue inside her mouth.
‘But it doesn’t sit right.’
Gadia brushed back her ice-blue hair.
Rize’s hands flinched at the gesture.
‘If it’s not guilt…….’
Then maybe fear.
Well, considering Adelian’s reputation, it wasn’t strange.
Perhaps she even thought Gadia had used magic to make her real appearance ordinary, passed her off as fake and dealt with her, then turned the fake into real.
So Rize kept doubting her long-time mistress, then regretting it, then doubting again.
And only Rize herself could resolve that faith. Gadia couldn’t do a thing.
She’d already cross-checked past memories several times before Adelian arrived.
“I want to rest a bit.”
“Yes, Miss!”
Whether thrilled to be dismissed or just glad for a break.
‘This is troubling.’
She only struggled with dealing with men; otherwise, Gadia saw no flaws in her.
But fostering suspicion over trust like this wouldn’t let her rise above others.
‘Should I bring in a new child from the main house?’
Or from outside?
And could Gadia fully open her heart to such a child?
Wouldn’t she suspect them of being a spy planted by Adelian to check on her?
‘Tricky.’
She couldn’t cast aside Rize, who eyed her warily, nor did she know how to dispel the doubt. Time just passed.
Tap tap—
A tiny knock.
Gadia paused while pouring wine into a glass and looked up.
“Miss… A guest has arrived.”
“A guest?”
The Academy was a place for education. On a weekday that wasn’t even the weekend, someone coming to Gadia’s own lodging?
Moreover, who would come looking for her……
“Sister, that’s love.”
Gadia’s spine chilled instantly. If it was Adelian.
That wastrel might have sent him to force her submission.
The mere sight of him made knees buckle involuntarily; even thinking of him now raised the hairs on her arms.
“Come in.”
She donned a frost veil that blurred her vision, planted her feet firmly, floated ice spikes around her body.
She also picked up the ice dragon bow—carved from eternal snow and fixed in shape by magic—and slowly formed an ice arrow on its empty bowstring.
‘If he tries anything funny, aim straight for the head in one shot…….’
“Hello, Miss……?”
Her tension melted away.
The spikes hovering in the air. The arrow on the taut bowstring. All vanished like heat haze under spring sun.
Except for the one thing: the frost veil obscuring her sight.
‘Blurry, but gray hair.’
Not the black-haired man with intense golden eyes Gadia had expected.
Before her stood a tall man with gray hair and a gentle, docile face that might spill tears if pushed a little.
Yet beneath that neat skin, he wore a primal fear that pierced like the instincts of living chaos itself.
“H-Have I done something wrong……?”
“Nothing like that. State your business.”
Through the hazy veil, she saw the gray-haired man scratching his head.
“Adelian told me to deliver this.”
“How impertinent.”
Well, at least he hadn’t sent a command through the main house. Should she be grateful for that?
Gadia’s cold, pale hand took the letter from Zero.
“The gall.”
Daring to order her around?
Utterly insolent. A command.
If you don’t come, I’ll send him.
And make him your guard forever.
“This halfwit.”
Too frail for labor, too dim for even ink-making in the territory.
The nerve.
Gadia glared coldly at Zero through the frost veil, fury rising.
“Sending you was probably to irk me too.”
“That’s… not it.”
She guessed he’d been uneasy sending beastkin Luna, who couldn’t hold a conversation with Gadia, or simple hothead Raychel.
Zero couldn’t muster a defense against Gadia’s frosty rage and just smiled awkwardly.
* * *
“What did it say?”
No use pretending not to hear.
I grinned as I looked at Gadia.
“Send Rize back and take that kid as your maid?”
“You’ve lost your mind completely. Daring to say you’ll plant a spy in my presence.”
I could tell how low her opinion of me was.
“As if. If I wanted to know how Sister lives at the Academy, I could just ask Alkai without attaching the kid.”
Her lips mumbled under the veil, as if conceding the point.
“Rize is obviously going to break if you keep her by your side anyway.”
“That’s…….”
Just look at Piyan. I, buoyed by euphoria, hadn’t noticed, but ordinary folk felt immense terror from the doppelganger potion.
From a very young age, serving her mistress—always doubting if she was real, feeling guilty for the suspicion, trying even harder.
Yet if this person touching my hand was fake, hadn’t she betrayed the real one?
If this one was deceiving everyone, was the real one trapped miserably somewhere? Or.
Killed by this fake?
Such confusion and mental torment.
“Gadia, you have a rough idea too, right? So send her back to the main house. And.”
I looked at Piyan and slowly raised the corner of my mouth.
“Piyan, you’re going to the Academy. I’ve got work for you to do in my place.”
From what I’d heard, Verbut was the Academy’s queen, covertly or not?
What if I slipped in a queen of her own, Piyan?
“Huh? Don’t I need to expand things more here?”
I grinned widely, and Piyan shuddered.