Sitting in front of the fire, Cameron hunched over, shivering from the cold wind that blew.
Despite his relaxed demeanor, Cameron felt a chill run down his spine. His face, stained red, was frozen in a tense expression.
It reminded him of Conler’s forest, where he’d made a hunting bet with Mary Conler.
And the place where he was currently sitting bore a striking resemblance to that forest. The thought of that forest brought a sense of unease, making Cameron’s throat constrict.
“But they said they had dealt with the monsters in this forest recently…”
He had heard that the Conler family had dealt with the monsters in this forest while their Lord was still incapacitated.
He didn’t know what methods they used, but considering how their Lord had been rendered in such a state and the disappearance of their only young lady, they couldn’t simply leave the forest, which had caused those incidents, as it was.
He heard that when Grand Duke Conler woke up he took care of everything but someone must have been handling things before he woke up.”
There was also talk that the poisonous mushrooms found in that forest created cursed monsters, and that research was yielding significant results. However, this information was kept highly confidential.
Cameron’s father, the Emperor, was most curious about the story.
The emperor, who already had reverence for the power possessed by the Conler family, had been trying to establish contact with them in any way possible, but the Coer family politely refused, using the excuse that the current head of the family was not in good health.
The emperor became increasingly irate as a result and began sending the Conler family a variety of herbal medicines and renowned physicians.
The sight of it made Cameron cringe.
The circumstances that led to the Conler family handling the monsters and learning the secret of the poisonous mushrooms creating cursed creatures were all events that were made possible because Cameron had proposed the hunting bet.
Would any of those things have been possible if he hadn’t proposed the bet? But the emperor only scolded him and was at the mercy of the Conler family.
‘So when will this guy show up?’
He hadn’t heard from X, who had disappeared since the hunting bet, for quite some time.
At first, Cameron thought he was a slightly annoying guy, but still, among all the troublemakers Cameron had encountered so far, he was the most capable and intelligent. They had worked together quite well.
After all, he’s the one who took down Estin Conler. It would be a waste to let him go like this.
Cameron was convinced that this time, that guy might be the culprit behind Mary Conler’s disappearance. But why didn’t he consult with Cameron? He felt uncomfortable.
Cameron stared at the blazing fire and made up his mind that today he would definitely bring X under his command.
It would be far better for X to be under the First Prince, who would one day be Emperor, than under the god of the underworld.
X would be second only to the Emperor in power in this empire.
At that moment, Cameron heard rustling sounds from behind the trees. He was too startled to get up and run, so he remained seated and pushed his butt back.
His heart was pounding so hard he wondered if he should be running.
If this forest he was in was indeed the same forest as Conler’s, then what was behind him was undoubtedly a monster.
“Tsk.”
Perhaps because of Cameron’s trembling figure, a distinct mocking laughter was heard from behind.
“Wh, who is it?”
Cameron shouted, unable to contain his anger. His outcry also carried a desperate hope that the one behind him was X.
“It’s been a while.”
“You are…”
However, the one who appeared was not X, whom Cameron had been eagerly awaiting, but Rex Bluea.
“What are you doing here!”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Rex rolled his big eyes. The movement was like two clear glass balls rolling over each other.
If Mary had seen them, she would have said they were the eyes of an angel, but unfortunately for Cameron, who is in front of Rex right now, they just look eerie.
“You slept well.”
“You’re the one who brought me here!”
Furious, Cameron stood up abruptly, trying to rush towards Rex. But Rex stopped him and drew a dagger from his pocket.
Cameron froze in place, looking at the blade of the dagger that was glowing in the darkness.
“Do you remember this?”
“P, put that down.”
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the same thing.”
“Hey! If you stab me, it’s the death penalty!”
Unfortunately, Cameron couldn’t answer Rex’s questions because he was too afraid that Rex would turn around and stab him with the dagger in his hand.
Observing Cameron, who was trembling with fear, Rex let out a frustrated sigh. What a foolish human.
“I’m not going to stab you, so shut up!”
“…….”
Rex finally lowered the dagger in his hand. Only then did Cameron, who had been filled with anxiety, fall silent.
An awkward silence hung between the two.
Rex waited for Cameron to calm down completely, while Cameron was currently thinking about Rex in front of him.
“You, you bastard… How did you bring me here!”
Now, he was curious.
Rex let out a sigh and drew the dagger from his pocket once again. Cameron flinched, as if expecting something bad. However, Rex didn’t show any malicious intent as he did when they first met.
“Do you remember what you did to Mary Conler when she was nine?”
Rex slowly twirled the dagger in his hand between his fingers.
As Cameron stared blankly at the act, he suddenly recalled something he had completely forgotten—the incident when he framed Mary Conler after she won the hunting bet.
“The day when you became my enemy…”
“Just because of that one incident?”
Rex’s pretty brow furrowed. What on earth was wrong with the human in front of him?
“But from then on, yes.”
“What!”
“That’s when I started to despise you.”
After learning about what happened to Mary, Rex had made extensive preparations to seek revenge against Cameron.
The first thing he studied was magic spells. He continued studying magic spells to ensure that he could manifest his ability effectively.
At first, Logan was nervous about Rex’s interest in magic spells, but later he asked if he could share some of his passion for spells with Mary.
‘Magic spell patterns are like constellations.’
Studying and researching magic spells was complicated and difficult, but Rex enjoyed the process, especially when he realized that they resembled the “constellations” that Mary had mentioned one night under the sky.
Would the constellation she mentioned resemble this shape?
Even though his intention behind studying wasn’t entirely pure.
“You, you said you’re not going to stab me, you promised.”
“Oh, I’m not going to stab you.”
Rex replied a bit irritably. Although Rex had repeatedly assured him that he wouldn’t stab him, Cameron still seemed frightened.
Observing Cameron’s expression, Rex leisurely rotated the dagger with his finger once again.
The reason Rex drew the dagger in front of Cameron was to make him recall every single thing he had done to Mary Conler.
However, Cameron seemed too preoccupied with the worry that Rex might stab him to spare any thoughts for Mary Conler.
That part pissed Rex off, but when he thought about it, Cameron being that scared wasn’t a bad thing at this point.
Rex leisurely approached Cameron.
“From now on, you must answer all my questions honestly.”
“Oh, okay!”
How could someone so cowardly commit such significant acts until now? It was clear that he had relied on the people behind him and acted so boldly.
Right now, there wasn’t a single person who could protect Cameron, so it was understandable that he was trembling like that.
“But think carefully. If I go down, you’ll go down too!”
Hmm, he’s trembling, but his pride is still intact.
“But prince, think about it. Dead men tell no tales.”
“You!”
“Oh, should I let you speak?”
Was he always like this?
Cameron had never faced Rex before.
He had only thought of him as a worthless guy, abandoned even in his own family, with nothing but brute strength. He had followed after Mary Conler like a mindless fool.
Did Mary Conler know he was like this so she kept him around? Perhaps when Mary Conler returned, this guy could become her greatest strength.
“Now, then, let me ask you a question.”
“……what is it?”
“Where is Mary Conler?”
“I don’t know.”
Cameron felt frustrated by the sudden curt response, but he held back and answered.
He couldn’t believe Rex Bluea had gone to all this trouble just to find out where Mary was.
“You have to answer honestly.”
“I said I don’t know…”
“I don’t want to harm the Prince, but I can’t say the same for the others.”
Before Cameron could even process what Rex meant, the ground around him began to vibrate frantically, as if there had been an earthquake.
