Chapter 93
Chapter 93
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Mind Destruction
The weekend passed, and the day arrived when I had to head back to work.
"Yawn..."
As I walked down the corridor of the Grand Duchess's palace toward my office, I spotted a familiar face.
"Oh? Sir Aiden."
"Sir Raoul, it's been a while."
A wandering knight... and he was still hanging around here.
I had no idea why he was sticking around if he wasn't scheming to seduce Luna.
At least he was keeping a low profile compared to Taylor, so that was something.
He bowed his head in greeting.
"Yes. I hope you've been well."
"I've been doing great."
"Sorry about the other day."
"The other day...?"
"Didn't you get an earful from Her Highness the Grand Duchess because of me?"
The night Raoul had come.
I'd run into Luna while strolling with him.
I remembered how she'd grilled him with a pretty menacing aura.
Back then... it was because she was mad I wouldn't sleep with her.
He must have misunderstood it completely, so I hurriedly replied,
"Nothing like that happened."
At my words, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Good to hear. I felt bad thinking you'd gotten chewed out because of me, so I couldn't even say hello."
Probably because of Luna?
He seemed to have jumped to the conclusion that she'd scolded me.
In reality, I'd passed her a few times but pretended not to notice.
"Haha, don't worry about it."
Raoul gave a faint smile at my response.
He turned his head and spoke in a listless voice.
"I'm leaving this weekend."
Ah... so he'd come to say goodbye before heading out?
For a moment, I thought he had some nerve.
But seeing his forlorn vibe, I reflected a bit.
He wasn't in love with Luna—it was just for his honor—but he seemed like a pretty genuine guy.
Come to think of it... romance in this world wasn't easy.
"I see."
Raoul nodded weakly at my reply.
"I figured I wouldn't have time to see you before I go, so I came to say farewell like this."
His bittersweet expression tugged at me.
I wished he'd live a life not bogged down by the past... one that was truly his own.
From my chats with the Black Knight, I'd realized he was actually a decent fellow.
Who knows... maybe he'd find a good match somewhere.
With those thoughts, I bid him farewell.
"I hope your remaining time here is filled with good fortune."
"Thank you for the kind words."
And just like that, we parted ways.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Taylor disguised herself as a man and headed to Aiden's house.
It was the perfect spot to set her plan in motion.
Standing in front of the fairly spacious house, she extended her hand and called out softly.
"Open." -Rattle... click.
As soon as Taylor finished speaking, a small metallic click echoed from the keyhole, and the door swung open.
-Creak.
She surveyed the empty house.
"So this place existed, huh?"
Grinning wickedly, she looked around the rooms.
"Lure Aiden and that creep here..."
Taylor smirked lecherously as she toured the house.
She reviewed the devious plan she'd been mulling over for days.
"Perfect. This'll do nicely."
As she wandered, lost in thought,
"But how do I get Aiden to come here?"
She gnawed at her nails.
If she could just lure him here, everything would fall into place...
But he was sharp and avoided being alone with her, blocking any chance.
Considering their power gap, Aiden wasn't even a match for her in one hit, but kidnapping him from the Grand Duchess's palace struck her as too risky.
"Looks like I need more dirt on Aiden."
She stepped outside to gather rumors about him.
Aiden was quite famous in Vain City.
After all, he'd wiped out the underworld while in the guard.
After canvassing the city streets and piecing together info from various spots, Taylor felt genuinely annoyed.
'Tch, the ignorant masses...'
In her eyes, Aiden had just gotten lucky.
Surviving the knights she'd sent? Luck. Becoming guard captain? Luck.
And it was no wonder.
After all, he'd stolen Luna—whom she saw as hers—so harboring good feelings for him was impossible.
To Taylor, Luna was an object of admiration and love.
She could never forgive Aiden for taking her.
She roamed Vain until afternoon.
With scant gains, she grew anxious.
Her time here was limited.
'Tch, I thought shaking the crown prince would make this easy...'
The reason she'd come all this way was simple.
With the crown prince out of the picture...
Raoul was her only rival.
She'd planned to take out both Aiden and Raoul at once to claim Luna.
"Hah, that mangy mutt won't budge."
Taylor sighed deeply.
She decided to dig deeper into the house and headed to a nearby real estate office.
"Welcome."
A man in his forties, the real estate agent.
He treated the visiting Taylor with utmost courtesy.
"Could you tell me about that house up front?"
Taylor asked about Aiden's place without much hope.
But the agent grinned and replied,
"Oh? That one? It's up for sale."
"Pardon?"
"Aiden bought it dirt cheap a while back, and it's been listed for ages."
"Ah...?"
'Jackpot. Got a way to lure you out...'
"I'll buy it! Triple the market price—no, five times over!"
Taylor's face bloomed with a smile as she spoke.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next morning.
I was working in my office when...
-Knock knock.
Someone rapped on my door.
"Who is it?"
I opened it to find a maid bowing.
"Sir Aiden. Someone from the Vain City real estate office is here."
"Real estate?"
I'd listed the house to check its value, but since Luna liked it, I was considering pulling it.
'Forgot to delist it.'
Still, it felt awkward to turn away a visitor who'd come from afar.
I figured I'd pretend to sell but balk at the price.
"Bring them in."
At my words to the maid, a man approached.
It was the same real estate agent I'd met before.
"Hello? Sir Aiden."
"Ah, good to see you. Been a while, Mr. Philo."
The man in his forties nodded at my greeting.
"Right. About the house you listed."
He glanced around, then whispered,
"They offered five times the market price."
"What?!"
Philo's unexpected words startled me.
At this rate, maybe I should sell.
The value had skyrocketed since I bought it.
Five times that...?
Enough to quit this secretary gig and live off the fat forever.
But...
"Can you give me a moment?"
Luna weighed on my mind.
She really liked that house.
But he shook his head.
"The buyer's in a rush, so it's now or never. Structures like that are rare around here, as you know."
Philo paused briefly.
I intuited what he meant.
Damn... rare, but not nonexistent.
No time to talk to Luna.
"Right now?"
He nodded.
"Yes. Might not get this chance again."
I hadn't planned to sell... but five times the price...?
Honestly, passing it up would be idiotic.
"I'll sell."
After that, we borrowed a carriage from the palace and headed to the real estate office.
Philo beamed.
"Congratulations in advance, Sir Aiden."
"Haha, just got lucky."
Lucky indeed.
Someone buying an already pricey house for five times the value.
What a sucker.
Or maybe not—a developer?
Curiosity piqued, I asked Philo,
"What's the buyer like?"
"Heard they're tearing it down to build something new."
"Ah..."
"Planning a magic shop."
His words lifted my mood.
The duchy sorely lacked magic shops—it was inconvenient as hell.
We had to buy scrolls from traveling merchants.
A magic shop in the territory? Great news.
"Haha! That's wonderful. Absolutely."
As we chatted with Philo, we arrived at the office.
"Come on in. The buyer's been waiting."
Following him as he hurried from the carriage into the office...
My blood ran cold.
There...
A familiar blue-haired man regarded me with a sly smile.
"Gotcha, you little rat."
"Ah..."
The instant I spun to flee,
"Close." -Bang!
The door slammed shut with force.
"Tay... Taylor?"
Philo's face twisted in fear and confusion at the sudden turn.
Taylor extended her hand toward him and muttered,
"Sleep!" -Thud.
Fear gripped me as he collapsed limply from her magic.
Bust... the door!
I kicked the door with all my might.
-Thud!
-Thud!
"Hehe, trying to run, Aiden? Not so easy."
-Grab!
"Uwak!"
Something seized my clothes in an instant...
-Slam!
And smashed me onto the desk.
"Argh..."
Pain like nothing I'd felt before shot from my spine to my skull, electric and searing.
I wanted to scream, but it hurt too much for even a whimper.
"Hehe, time for your punishment, Aiden."
Taylor loomed over me with chilling blue eyes and pressed her hand firmly to my forehead.
"Mind Destruction!" ⟨ Mind Destruction ⟩
With her words, a purple glow enveloped us.