Chapter 89
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Those Two Are Just Troublemakers
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In the first few days, Levi gritted her teeth and toughed it out, determined to save every single penny.
But every time, my various fees came flying in.
Skipping meals? Nutrition deficiency management fee. Not resting on time? Recovery delay penalty. Overexerting herself unnecessarily? Health maintenance cost.
And if it seemed like she was skimping on even one, it got added to that day's settlement sheet without fail.
It was a nonstop barrage of nitpicking—force-fitting charges no matter what.
Once, Levi snapped and threw a fit.
Why couldn't she do whatever she wanted with her own body?
But even then...
"Because I'm your master."
"!!"
I bought you, your body belongs to me, and if you get hurt or broken, I'm the one who takes the loss.
In medieval times, slaves weren't people—they were property.
Objects closer to assets that lost value if damaged.
I didn't need to spell that out to Levi, but that's how reality worked.
So for a slave who dared mouth off like that, I doubled down on the original nitpicks...
Stomach growling even once? Meal non-compliance violation.
Drowsy look? Sleep management negligence.
Trying to move with a slight fever right after recovery? Gross negligence applied.
Just the intent to wreck her body was damaging her master's property value, so I teased Levi right up to the brink of tears with that logic.
Day by day, her pay got docked, and docked again, and again—until she finally caved and turned subservient.
After a week, she stopped holding out at the table.
Now, whenever we ate together, she was a pretty decent demon maid who sliced her steak with skill.
"Levi, you're eating well now."
"Hehe. Right? I was worried there for a bit, but I'm glad you're eating properly these days."
"Munch munch... Ah, no! It's not that I'm eating well... I'm just forcing myself to replenish stamina so they dock less money!"
Even as she said that, the meat on her plate vanished cleanly.
"By the way, meals in our annex are buffet-style. Refills don't cost extra, no matter how many. So if you want more, eat your fill."
"I-I will! I'll keep eating until Master tells me to stop!"
She clearly wanted more.
Anyway.
Levi immediately turned to Aira.
"Um, could I have a little more steak...?"
After that, she really let loose.
Watching her, a thought suddenly struck me—
'Ah, so this is the feeling.'
That peculiar emotion a father feels when his little daughter eats well.
When I snapped out of it, all three of us had our hands on Levi's head.
Pat pat pat.
"Waaah?! W-Why are you all doing this out of nowhere...!"
"Hehe. Because Levi's too cute."
"Yeah! Everyone hates demons, but I like Levi! She helps super hard when we mop together."
"Th-That's just doing what's expected...!"
"Eating well, sleeping well, regular bowel movements. From a doctor's perspective, there's no better sign."
"Uuuu...!"
That's when our peaceful lunch was in full swing.
"Lord Lucas Argent, are you present?!"
A voice echoed from outside the annex.
Just a few months ago, it would've been some rude shout like 'Lucas Argent, come out!'
Looking out the window, a messenger who'd run from the manor to this remote annex stood there panting but ramrod straight.
'They must drill posture into them hard.'
I waved lightly.
"Yeah, I'm here. What is it?"
"Yes! Regarding the task you requested of the 'errand boys'! I've come to report that the mission is complete!"
The air at the table shifted, ever so subtly.
"Errand boys...?"
Aira asked cautiously.
"Don't tell me—"
"Yeah. Exactly what you're thinking. The fixers who live in Argent's shadows."
That one sentence summed it up.
Errand boys.
To outsiders, just hired hands for dirty jobs.
But in Argent, the word meant something entirely different.
Errands handed down by the Argent bloodline.
No matter what it was, the moment the order dropped, they staked their lives to deliver results.
Failure wasn't allowed. Refusal didn't exist.
Normally, they moved only on the Family Head's command.
Not even direct heirs could touch them without permission—they were the secret shadow force, the ultimate card.
Much less a bastard like me.
...Or so it used to be.
"Can I borrow the errand boys?"
"The errand boys? You, Lucas Argent? ...Why?"
"It's woman trouble."
"Do as you like."
And just like that, it was settled.
Even legitimate heirs had to jump through hoops for permission, but for me, they became a unit I could borrow freely for anything woman-related.
All thanks to Family Head Allaine's absurd quip: "Women flock to that kid." A ridiculous privilege born from it.
And the task I'd given those errand boys—
"Looks like they found your grandma and grandpa's bodies, Levi."
"...!"
Levi, at the far end of the table, swallowed hard.
The bodies of the elderly doctor couple the Papal Court had been using for heresy interrogations.
They were finally in my hands.
"R-Really? Really... I can see Grandma and Grandpa again?"
"Of course."
I paused, then added,
"But before sending them off for good, can I check their condition first?"
"...Condition?"
Levi's voice grew quieter.
"Even if... they're already..."
Her words trailed off.
The joy faded, and harsh reality reared its head.
Even if reunited, they wouldn't move. This was truly the end.
And next, they'd go into the ground.
Levi bowed her head, clutching her skirt tight.
A face on the verge of tears.
Thud.
I quietly placed my hand on her head.
"It's still the road they're taking to the end."
A faint tremor transmitted through my palm.
"Gotta make sure there's no part of them left unscarred."
"...Master."
"An undertaker's a kind of doctor too."
I said calmly,
"If a doctor's job is saving those who can be saved, then seeing off the dead properly is one too."
Honestly, undertakers and doctors are totally different fields.
But facing life and death from either side makes them distant cousins, at least.
Besides.
If the Papal Court preserved them unrotted for interrogations, no one knew their state until seen firsthand.
So I resolved.
If they were coming to see their granddaughter one last time, I'd at least send them off without a scratch on the faces etched in her memory.
The best gift I could give now.
I turned toward the window.
"So. Where are the two bodies?"
"...W-Well, about that."
But.
The messenger avoided my gaze.
His breathing had steadied, but cold sweat still beaded his forehead.
He hesitated, then spoke.
"The bodies are in cold storage to prevent decay for now. However..."
"However?"
"In the process..."
The messenger swallowed.
"A cardinal from the Papal Court who was managing that heretic's body entered the territory with them."
"...What?"
No matter that it was a Papal Court cardinal, direct contact with Argent—which gripped the continent's shadows—was sheer nonsense.
No, it was the worst possible move.
The Papal Court symbolized justice in this world.
Argent, meanwhile, rose from slave trading and countless unethical crimes—a blatant axis of evil.
The moment light seeks darkness, the light itself gets tainted.
Yet Julius stepped into Argent territory, ignoring even pleas from his own faction.
He had his excuse.
The bodies of the heretic elderly couple.
A formal claim on their 'ownership.'
But his real aim was elsewhere.
Crisis is opportunity.
Old sayings don't stick around for nothing.
When he heard Argent suddenly wanted the heretic bodies back, Julius didn't get it at first.
But soon, he realized.
This wasn't mere sentiment. It smelled like 'business.'
He wasn't headed to the bastard's annex who wanted the bodies.
Argent's third son.
And the most profane place in this territory.
Walter Argent's research lab.
The iron door opened, filling the air with rotten blood, chemicals, and screams of life.
Limbs writhing in tanks.
Forced-grafted organs.
Forms unrecognizable as their original species.
And the pinnacle of forbidden human experiments: chimeras.
"Hoo..."
A subtle smile curled Julius's lips.
"I wondered where Cardinal Valerian sourced monsters to train his holy knights."
He slowly shifted his gaze and said,
"Hiding a facility like this. Most impressive, Lord Walter Argent."
"Hahaha!"
Walter laughed without a hint of concealment.
"Had to! Who do you think made them?"
He spread his arms proudly.
"Every chimera here is a masterpiece by yours truly, Walter Argent!"
Cardinal Valerian.
One of the Papal Court's five cardinals, vying for the next pope by bolstering his holy knight order's might.
His direct holy knights and nuns trained daily against mystery monsters.
Officially, their source was unknown, but among the Papal Court's higher-ups, it was common knowledge.
Valerian was one of the biggest funders of Argent's research lab.
In exchange for monthly infusions, he demanded one thing.
'Stronger chimeras.'
For that, he commanded the Papal Court's strongest holy knight order, rallying public support with their power.
A place where light and darkness clasped hands.
Julius gazed at the scene, convinced inwardly.
Prodding Argent this time wasn't a gamble—it was an 'investment.'
"So, about supporting me with some chimeras too...!"
"Ah, that... We can't make any right now 'cause the key ingredient got stolen..."
"Eh?"