NOVEL WEB [Translator – Peptobismol]
Chapter 90 – Recruitment
“Did you just say Holy Blood?”
Feigning ignorance, I kept a blank expression.
I tried to look as innocent as possible, but inside, I was burning with anxiety.
I swallowed hard, my throat feeling as rough as sandpaper.
‘Did they already find out?’
The Duke had demanded the immediate return of the stolen Holy Blood.
This was no surprise; I had anticipated such a scenario.
Even though I had swapped it with a counterfeit, a fake is still a fake.
It was only a matter of time before the Duke noticed the subtle differences.
Yes, this was bound to happen eventually.
But…
‘This soon?’
It was too quick, far too quick.
The Duke wasn’t supposed to realize the switch until after I had crossed dimensions.
I had solid reasoning for this.
In the main storyline of the original work, the Duke only opened the vault when the family faced annihilation.
So why did he suddenly decide to check the depths of the vault now?
‘There’s only one possibility.’
Either the family was already in the same dire situation as in the original, or someone had leaked the information.
I glanced around surreptitiously.
Winfred’s knights were blocking the path, their numbers overwhelming.
Then, at that moment,
“Kyle?”
Luna stepped down from the carriage.
A crack appeared in the Duke’s calm facade, a deep-seated malice flickering in his eyes.
It was not the look a parent should give their child.
“Luna Winfred.”
Despite the Duke calling her name, Luna remained silent, glaring at her father with pure contempt.
The Duke let out a slight chuckle, then spoke in his usual tone.
“Perfect timing. Join Kyle and come over here.”
“Are you seriously talking to me right now?”
“I heard you’re being chased by the Royal Family. There’s still a way out, so stop wandering and come back to the estate.”
Luna’s eyes hardened.
She murmured softly.
“Ha, Father.”
“I’m listening.”
“I appreciate the concern, but could you first get rid of the killing intent?”
Luna had noticed it too.
The Duke’s murderous aura was unmistakable.
The Royal Family must have pressured him.
Including the incident where Luna had drawn her sword on the Princess, all her past deeds were now catching up to her.
“Surprising, though. I didn’t expect you to come looking for me, Father.”
“What?”
“Did the Royal Family offer you a deal? Hand me over and they won’t touch the family?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Disappointing. I can’t believe you fell for such sweet talk.”
“Enough nonsense, Luna Winfred.”
The Duke’s voice rose momentarily, but he clenched his teeth and swallowed his words.
“If what they wanted was your life.”
He spoke with a voice full of cracks.
“I would have drawn my sword and beheaded you without hesitation.”
He was right.
While Luna’s combat abilities were among the best in this world, she was not strong enough to overpower the Duke of Winfred.
Luna’s eyes narrowed, shooting a sharp gaze at him.
“So, what did the Royal Family propose?”
“They demanded the Holy Blood.”
“…Holy Blood?”
“Yes, they threatened annihilation of the family if we don’t hand it over.”
Ah, so that’s it.
It seemed Winfred was also in a critical situation.
“However, the Holy Blood stored in our family vault was swapped at some point.”
Of course it was.
Luna and I had switched it.
And the Duke had realized everything.
“Where is the original Holy Blood?”
The Duke exuded a menacing aura, demanding an answer, but I couldn’t easily respond.
Because…
‘How am I supposed to give back something that’s inside me?’
The Duke had no idea that the Holy Blood he sought had already been used and was gone.
There was no way to recreate and return something that had been absorbed into my body.
I barely managed to straighten my crumpled expression and looked at the Duke.
“Answer me.”
The Duke’s voice was filled with suppressed anger, his eyes deadly.
“This is your final warning.”
My mind went blank for a moment.
Sparks flew from the Duke’s eyes as he glared at me.
I slowly looked around.
Was there any chance of escaping this place safely? No. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Was there any way to hand over the Holy Blood to him? Also no.
[Translator – Peptobismol]
There was only one option left.
To deceive the Duke and buy some time.
“Haha.”
I intentionally burst out laughing.
The Duke’s fingers twitched at the sound of my lighthearted laugh.
“Is my warning so amusing?”
“You said the Royal Family demanded the Holy Blood from you?”
“Do I need to repeat myself?”
“In that case, I don’t understand something.”
“What do you mean?”
The Duke’s expression turned ferocious as I twisted my lips into a smirk.
“The Holy Blood is already in their hands.”
“What?”
“Have you never once wondered how I, confined to the estate, knew the exact location of the Holy Blood that was lost thousands of years ago? And why I bothered to deliver it to you, only to later steal it at great risk? Have you never found that strange?”
I hid my true feelings behind a calm smile.
I pieced together scattered information from the past to create a plausible story.
The Duke, as expected, was struck dumb by the enormous confusion.
I waited a moment before continuing.
“It’s simple. I was also under the Royal Family’s orders.”
“…”
“On the day I stole the Holy Blood, I handed it over to the Royal Family. That was the deal from the beginning. In exchange for putting a leash on Winfred, the Royal Family offered me a small reward.”
“A small reward? What was that?”
“Is that important now? The Royal Family already has the Holy Blood. Why would they tell you to bring it to them?”
The Royal Family already had the Holy Blood.
Despite that, they demanded it from the Duke as a condition to avoid annihilation.
The conclusion was clear.
The Royal Family never intended to spare Winfred. They only needed an excuse.
Though it was just a wild guess, the Duke couldn’t easily dismiss it.
The relationship between Winfred and the Royal Family was terrible in many ways.
This wasn’t a baseless assumption.
In a certain route of the original story, the Duke plotted a rebellion against the Royal Family.
“From the beginning…”
The Duke’s eyes grew harsher, a cold blue light flashing fiercely.
“Of course. The Royal Family never intended to spare the Winfred.”
“…..”
“Telling you to bring the Holy Blood was just a pretext. How could you retrieve something that’s already in their possession? They never expected you to succeed. They only planned to use it as an excuse to destroy Winfred.”
The Duke did not respond.
Instead, he looked back and forth between Luna and me with beastly eyes.
“This is strange.”
The Duke frowned.
“Why confess to me now?”
He asked why I was revealing everything all of a sudden.
“It’s nothing much.”
I pretended to be calm, as if I had anticipated his suspicion.
“The Royal Family didn’t uphold their end of the bargain.”
The Duke scrutinized my face.
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Without any further questions, he closed his eyes tightly.
When he opened them again, his piercing blue gaze cut through me.
“So, you’re trying to use me for your personal revenge?”
Got him.
From here on, it was easy.
“Exactly.”
“…..”
“Do you have a problem with that? You don’t have a choice, do you? If you delay any longer, you’ll never get the Holy Blood, and Winfred will be crushed under the Royal Family’s wrath. Is that what you want? You’re the kind of person who’d do anything for your family, right?”
I slowly walked towards the Duke.
The knights drew their swords, but the Duke, with a chilling expression, held them back.
“There’s no choice. Either get annihilated for no reason or rebel and seize the throne. If it’s the latter, time is running out. With the current chaos due to the absence of the Papal See and the war with the Eastern Continent, now is the perfect time to strike the Royal Family.”
I taunted him with a cold voice.
But the Duke only glared at me without responding.
“You’ve already thought about this, haven’t you?”
I was now right in front of the Duke.
Bending down, I whispered coldly.
“You might need some help…”
I smirked devilishly.
“Want to hear my offer?”
The Duke’s blue eyes froze, an icy glare piercing through me.
He lowered his head and laughed menacingly.
“Interesting.”
I watched him with a calm gaze.
And after a moment,
“Let’s hear it, then.”
Srrrng—
The Duke drew his sword, pointing the tip at my neck.
His answer was clear.
“Speak.”
Ah, as expected.
I barely suppressed my laughter.
[Translator – Peptobismol]