CH 156

Estin Conler Collapsed.

Protecting his only daughter.

All the people of the Grand Duchy who were trying to take Estin to the Grand Duchy, disappeared.

It was funny to see people who always handled things quickly and well, even if something unexpected happened, being so bewildered.

And then there was Mary, stuck in the middle.

‘You’re braver than I thought.’

The young girl directed the arrow at the snake that was aiming for her despite being unable to conceal the slight tremor in her voice.

All their preparation would have been in vain if the kid had actually fired the arrow. For the first time, X became impatient.

It was amusing that his master thought of her as a helpless young woman.

He believes the young woman in the present shares the same personality as the one woman from his previous life.

Is she not a different person now?’

At some point, X had such a question.

The “woman” of whom his owner occasionally spoke with loving eyes and the Mary of the present time were slightly different.

He didn’t know because he had never experienced reincarnation.

He had never properly witnessed someone’s reincarnation. But he wanted to believe, even just a little.

‘I will not forget your sacrifice.’

For Yor, whose head and body were split in the forest where all the people from the Duchy disappeared.

Yor consumed a poisonous mushroom as part of this scheme, transforming it into a cursed beast that Estin was to kill.

X crouched down and examined the body of what had once been his brother. He marveled at the neat sword skill. All he could say was, “Impressive, truly impressive.”

They had no choice but to resort to such a deadly method. While his master found Estin to be quite annoying, X had a different opinion.

He thought that since Estin was a responsible and loving father, this method would work.

Mary may have had a sneaking suspicion that the beast in front of her was going after her. She most likely made a hasty decision to sacrifice herself.

But in an instant, Estin burst through.

Perhaps his master will be pleased to learn that this plan has succeeded. And he would regard Yor’s passing as a necessary price to pay for victory. X stood in silence .

“Pfft…”

As he bowed his head in front of the divided body, X’s shoulders started to tremble.

“Pfft, hahaha!”

X, who tried to cover his mouth and suppress the laughter that was about to come out, eventually raised his head and burst into laughter. The empty forest was filled with X’s laughter.

He tried to suppress it, but he was unsuccessful.

‘Oh, it’s funny.’

He couldn’t help but laugh when he thought of Mary’s face full of despair earlier.

Cameron and Bruno were both funny, but the one who exuded the strongest sense of despair was the funniest.

That’s Mary Conler.

After Estin collapsed she appeared to be dazed.

He found Mary standing still in the middle of the busy people.

When X made eye contact with her, he stuck out his bottom lip and gave her a sympathetic look.

Mary used to turn her head and couldn’t help but look perplexed whenever she saw X, who always greeted or smiled at her. She even looked uncomfortable.

This time, however, she didn’t turn her head; she didn’t have the energy. Mary’s ethereally pale face was devoid of any expressions of irritation, confusion, or anything besides emptiness.

That’s when he tried to hold back his laughter that was about to come out.

X, who only smiled kindly without saying a word to seem friendly, pronounced the word ‘curse’ as accurately as possible for Mary to see.

Mary collapsed to the ground from where she had been standing helplessly, as if she had noticed the form of X’s mouth.

Demimore rushed to Mary, who was so dejected.

With trembling hands, Demimore hugged her tightly. How could such a small amount of warmth ease her despair?

If his Master had seen it, he would have been offended, but for the moment, he was only amused by it.

“Why should I obey you?”

Cameron vented his frustration to X before leaving the hunting area. But X wasn’t the kind of person who would put up with his annoyances and outbursts.

Only Cameron’s aide was fidgeting around. X pricked his ears as Cameron’s words poured out like a stream.

“You’re the one who failed.”

“What?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about that, but it slipped out of my mouth.”

Sorry.

Cameron looked at X, who was smiling with a light apology, in a bewildered way.

Actually, X couldn’t care less about whether Cameron triumphed or failed. Cameron most likely was aware of that.

Maybe it was better that he lost like this, considering how smug Cameron would have been if he’d won the hunting bet?

“It’s because you showed up late!”

Still having a lot to say, Cameron snapped.

X, who had gone above and beyond by bringing a beast to aid Cameron in winning, was growing impatient.

Should I just kill him?

It doesn’t matter if that immature and weak being dies right now as long as he has already achieved his master’s purpose.

Since he is so frail, all he needs to do to kill him is grab him by the scruff of his neck and give it a slight twist. It would be easy compared to killing Estin.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

X hid the coldness in his eyes and simply smiled, feeling unnecessarily sorry for the squirming person in front of him.

“Ugh. Creepy.”

X got goosebumps after realizing that he had smiled with his eyes bent.

His master had become fixated on imitating Demimore’s smile these days.

He didn’t like the fact that Demimore and Mary were officially engaged and that Mary secretly cared about Demimore.

When X saw him grinning like that, he questioned whether his master had to go to that extent, but he soon realized he had also learned that smile.

“Demimore.”

He had believed that he was the least of his worries, but this time, for Mary’s sake, he was prepared to be the bait in Gruda’s sting.

He wondered if he was the kind of person who, if kept alive too long, would interfere with his master’s wishes?

“I can’t believe I lost to Mary Conler again. I’ve been telling everyone that I’m going to win this time!”

“Then why did you go to Demimore and tell him?”

“What?”

“The existence of Gruda.”

Cameron continued to lash out at X, so X made the decision to divert his attention.

Cameron glared at Max as X blurted out a question.

“Max, did you tell Demimore about it?”

“Your Highness!”

Max knelt to the ground.

“My prince, I want you to be the man you deserve to be, and I can’t bear to see you further ruined!”

“Shut up.”

Cameron’s response was cold despite Max’s desperate plea.

Max sensed the nearby knights looking over at him as he knelt down.

Cameron sighed heavily as he felt the gaze.

“I’ll take care of this when I get back to the palace.”

He gave the command to vacate the hunting area. When the knights inquired about Demimore, he simply told them to let him come on his own.

Everyone was forced to leave the place in a cold atmosphere.

“Don’t sway the first prince any further.”

Before leaving, Max warned X.

Hmm.

Looking behind Max, X couldn’t help but feel sorry for the talented but unfortunate assistant. With Demimore, he would have shone more.

As much as he felt sorry for him, it was better to get rid of the loyalist who was saying the right things by Cameron’s side now.

Grand Duke Estin collapsed.

Protecting his one and only daughter.

He was cursed, so no one knows when he’ll wake up.

How delighted the Emperor will be to learn. He trembles with dignity as he sits on the throne, but he can see that Cameron and he both harbor inferiority complexes.

X only met him once, but he could tell how lucky they were that both the emperor and Cameron were fools.

Now there will be a huge crisis for Conler.

The Emperor was dreaming of strengthening his imperial power, and the other nobles, who were secretly jealous of Conler, might be toasting themselves with relief.

At the thought of it, X couldn’t help but laugh again.

They had no idea a new Conler would emerge