CH 92

༺ Cleaning Up Trash ༻

“Uek…”

I watched Roswyn hurriedly exit the room while covering her mouth as I stood up and fixed my confused expression.

“…Crazy.”

I was already feeling somewhat perturbed due to Clana’s abnormal reaction, but I was really about to lose my mind with Roswyn acting like this.

She previously rejected all my gifts and advances, yet now, she accepted all of it and even claimed she would take care of it.

Her face used to cramp up in disgust at least once every minute whenever I was in her vicinity. Yet now, she was trying to drunkenly seduce me.

She also came in contact with the flower cursed by Kania without any repercussions.

‘As usual, none of my plans ever go as intended…’

I was going to commit an evil deed and gift Clana with a flower imbued with a weak curse. It would have provided her with both the evidence and justification to break off our engagement within a year’s timespan.

But the plan was ruined when she noticed the curse.

Kania put her heart and soul into it and even I was unable to detect the dark mana emanating from the flower. So just how did Clana manage to sense it?

Not to mention, Roswyn was completely unaffected even after coming in direct contact with it.

The curse was supposed to activate the moment it was touched, so I wonder why?

– Creak…

I was in the middle of my thoughts when the door opened and Roswyn entered.

“R-Roswyn… Where did you go…?”

I sighed inwardly as I swiftly assumed a confused expression and muttered.

‘Since it’s already come to this, I can only try to manipulate this situation.’

I noticed something when I went along with Roswyn’s plan and acted as if I was in heat from the aphrodisiac she had spiked my drink with. Unfortunately for her though, my high mental strength left me unaffected by the drug.

I also noticed the magic device on her body that was recording the events within the room.

I was also aware of the faint source of solar mana from the veranda behind the room.

Taking all these factors into consideration, this was likely a trap either Roswyn or Clana designed to falsely accuse me.

Therefore, even though my plans for today resulted in failure, I went along with their trap.

“Uek…”

“…Roswyn?”

Roswyn began stumbling around as I was deep in thought.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, yes… I’m fine.”

When I inquired with a worried face, Roswyn struggled to reply with a smile.

“Uh, then… I should probably apologize for what happened just now…”

“Heuguk…!”

“…..?”

I tried to apologize with a hesitant look, but Roswyn suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

“I-I’m sorry… Frey. My condition suddenly worsened… s-so I’ll see you… at another time.”

“I-I see. I’ll see you later then.”

Roswyn left the room in a hurry after explaining with a trembling voice.

“…Whew.”

Unexpected situations like these have become commonplace, so I downed the drugged cocktail and called out with narrowed eyes.

“Kania, was it you?”

“What are you talking about?”

Kania peeked her head out from behind the wide open doorway that Roswyn didn’t close on her way out.

“Since when have you been there?”

“Since a while back.”

“…Then, were you watching everything that unfolded in this room?”

When I questioned her with a frown, Kania averted her gaze.

“Kania… Earlier, Roswyn grabbed the flower, but the curse didn’t activate. Don’t you think there’s something wrong?”

“…I think I may have made a mistake which caused the curse to fail. My apologies.”

“What if a curse had already been placed on her hand?”

Kania replied with her head lowered when I continued to question her.

“Now that I think about it, I remember Roswyn received a jolt of electric shock through her finger when she previously attempted to fix my collar…”

Kania averted her gaze even more so upon hearing my words.

“Kania, just what did you do for Roswyn to run off like that?”

When I questioned her after feeling she had done something, Kania replied with a low voice.

“It won’t kill her so please don’t worry.”

I felt chills down my spine when I heard Kania reply with a chilling frown.

Perhaps, if Kania hadn’t discovered my true identity, every day might have been a living nightmare.

“Young Master, I have something to report.”

“…Yes?”

“Yes, it’s regarding Princess Clana’s current condition.”

While I was cowering in such thoughts, Kania retrieved her notepad and began explaining.

“Apparently, her condition isn’t looking good.”

“How so?”

“Psychologically.”

I frowned upon hearing news of Clana’s deteriorating mental state, but Kania wasn’t finished.

“They say in addition to becoming very listless, she also seems to be very anxious.”

“Clana is listless? I guess the sun’s rising from the west tomorrow.”

“Even the court physicians don’t understand the reasons for it. Of course, the political foundation she painstakingly raised to increase her authority won’t be so easily shaken. If her current condition persists however, I believe it may become detrimental to her current standing. “

“…Hah.”

I gazed into the distance before standing up with a sigh.

“Where are you heading?”

“I’m going to go visit the girls in the room next door. There’s something I have to do.”

I made my way out the door, but Kania grabbed onto my arm with a stern expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Before you leave, please tell me about Roswyn.”

“Right now?”

“Yes, I don’t know a single thing about her. Even some basic information will suffice, so please.”

Seeing Kania twirl her fountain pen around while getting ready to jot notes down on her notepad, a sigh escaped my mouth before I began recounting.

“Well, off the top of my head… she always accepts profitable commissions. In addition, she despises the Imperial family due to her tendency to enjoy having an advantage over her adversaries. That’s about it.”

“Is that all the information that comes to mind?”

“She also has solar mana, though it’s weaker than Clana’s.”

After informing Kania of Roswyn’s characteristics, I frowned as I warned her.

“So you have to be careful, alright Kania?”

“…Please take care.”

Kania bent her waist in a bow as she sent me off.

– Shaaaa…

I then headed towards the room where Lulu and the girls were staying. The entire time, I turned a blind eye to the absurd quantity of dark mana emanating from Kania’s body.

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“What the, where did Lulu go?”

When I asked the girls since I couldn’t locate Lulu anywhere in the room, they began stuttering in fear.

“S-She went to the restroom…”

“She suddenly left with a pale face… but I don’t why.”

Once my expression turned grave, all the girls began kneeling in front of me.

“P-Please forgive us.”

“We’re sorry, please forgive just this once.”

I merely asked about Lulu and slightly creased my eyebrows, but the girls were all either shivering in fear, wrapping their arms around themselves or staring at me with dim eyes as if they’ve given up on their lives.

Seeing their reactions, I came to the realization that these girls must’ve been abused for the simplest and pettiest of reasons.

“…Who’s the youngest here?”

When I questioned them quietly while seating myself on a chair, a lone girl came forward as the other girls stared at her.

“How old are you?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?

“The room my owner gave me was dark… so I don’t know how many years have passed. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

I forgot my thoughts as I listened to her explain with a quivering voice.

““……….””

The fact that there were kids clearly younger than the girl who came forth with trembling eyes only made me feel more complicated.

‘…She must have come forth as their representative.’

I silently observed the girl, whose fearful eyes contrasted her calm facade. I sharply glared at the door when I heard it suddenly open.

“Ah, ah… Lord Frey.”

“Hey, Lulu. Come on over.”

After beckoning Lulu to come sit by my side with a smile, I gave an order to the girls who looked absent-minded.

“Starting now, try servicing me the way you have your previous owners.”

“Yes.”

They answered as if they were waiting for my order and began stripping.

“That’s enough. Not typical, boring stuff like that. I want something different and new.”

I stopped them after being taken-aback by their actions, but the girls only stared at each other and spoke up with a trembling voice.

“I-If you want, you can hit me…”

“I’ll do whatever you desire, so please just don’t kill me… I want to live…”

I could only stare at them with complicated feelings as they made their earnest pleas. I turned to question Lulu, who was seated beside me with a pale face.

“Lulu, where did you go earlier?”

“T-The r-r-r-restroom…”

Seeing her reply with a stutter, I gently stroked her head and asked again.

“Why the restroom?”

“T-That’s… my stomach was feeling queasy…”

“Was it because of the spectacle you bore witness to?”

In an instant, Lulu produced a myriad of expressions when she heard my question.

I let out a sigh as I read her expressions, then turned my gaze towards the other girls.

“Do you all have families?”

After a brief moment of silence, I questioned them in the hopes that they would respond positively. Unfortunately, all the girls shook their heads in denial.

“How many meals do you usually eat per day?”

“…One.”

“Only when my owner permits.”

“Once every three days.”

When I discovered the reason why they were all on the brink of fainting prior, I stood with a frown on my face.

“P-Please don’t kill me.”

“I’m sorry, please forgive me.”

“Be quiet. I’m going out for a moment, so play with Lulu.”

After frigidly ordering the girls who were begging in fear again, I left the room with a sigh.

“Sigh, they’re carelessly partying while drinking again.”

I mumbled with a scowl when I entered the adjacent room and noticed the bastards I had kicked out earlier casually drinking and playing.

“Everyone, stop and pay attention.”

I stopped scowling and donned an arrogant look on my face as I slammed my hands on the desk.

“Mm… Lord Frey? Did you finish your date with the Imperial Princesses?”

“Who was better? According to the rumors, the First Imperial Princess is said to be very…”

“Puhup… Lord Frey probably performed the best.”

The drunken bastards started spewing bullshit when I demanded their attention.

“It’ll only be all of you who have anything to lose if you don’t get your shit together and listen to me.”

After warning them with a smirk, they all ceased their joking and focused on my words.

“I’ll be direct. Sell me all of your pets.”

““…What!?””

After hearing my shocking demand, the greedy bastards began speaking again with a troubled expression.

“W-What do you mean… suddenly demanding us to sell our pets?”

“They’re of the highest quality, lacking any families or thoughts on disobeying us… It would take several years to get our hands on them again.”

“Silence.”

After ending their complaints with my hand, I lifted the corners of my lips and offered them a deal that they wouldn’t be able to refuse.

“In exchange, I’ll provide you information on the Demon King’s Army.”

When I stated my offer, the bastards all froze before stammering.

“D-Do… Do you mean that, Lord Frey?”

“Yes, I’m serious. It’s also why I came to meet you guys today.”

Their eyes sparkled as they glanced at one another after I affirmed my offer.

‘How laughable.’

I sighed inwardly while watching these fools. These names were all on the list of nobles who’ve requested to secretly meet with the Demon King’s Army at the previous meeting with the Demon King’s Executives.

It was clear they were planning on selling out their families and defecting to the Demon King’s Army. I simply provided some bait and as expected, they took the bait immediately.

“I’ll also offer the sex slaves in my basement as service. How about it? Isn’t this quite the good deal?”

I crossed my legs and offered more bait, and the aristocrats began to look dumbfounded.

“Uh… Lord Frey, aren’t these conditions a bit too much in our favor… in exchange for mere pets?”

Seeing as how everyone started staring at the man who seemed to question me carefully, they must be worried I might retract my offer.

“Relax, it’s fine. I wasn’t trying to make a profit from this.”

I continued with a smile as they tilted their heads.

“It’s just, I wanted to say we’re now on the same boat.”

When I raised my glass after expressing my intent, these bastards raised theirs in a toast and began noisily chattering away.

‘Though… it’s a sinking boat.’

The sex slaves they’re receiving from me are, in fact, succubi from the Demon King’s army. In a few month’s time, all their energy will have been drained and the role of master and slave will be reversed.

When that time arrives, I’ll use these bastards that have completely surrendered themselves to the succubi as planned. I’ll have them face the consequences for all the heinous deeds they have performed.

In other words, their fates have been sealed with this deal.

“Lord Frey! Please receive a glass!”

“Please accept a drink from me first!”

“Nono, start with the penalty shot!”

As I observed the drunken aristocrat teeter his way over to pour me a drink, I thought about the other corrupted force.

‘After this main scenario, I should also steadily bring down the Church.’

There are still many things to do in order to cleanse this rotten empire.

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“Uuu… Why am I suddenly like this…”

While Frey was receiving drinks from the aristocrats with a content smile, Roswyn staggered out of the restroom with an exhausted face.

“I swear… nothing good ever comes from getting involved with that loser of a bastard… Aeuugh…”

The pain in her stomach reignited for no reason right as she swore at Frey. Although she tried to return to the restroom with a tear ridden face…

“Guuul!!”

“Hiek!”

An owl appeared out of nowhere and began assaulting her head with its wings. She dropped to the ground while in a state of shock.

“Stop it! I said sto… huh?”

As Roswyn tried to defend herself from the owl unsuccessfully, she noticed someone approaching her from the distance.

“Y-You… why are you already he…”

“Oh my, Roswyn…”

Roswyn’s face became deathly pale as the person spoke.

“…Seems like you grew up a lot?”

When the approaching girl eventually closed the distance between them nonchalantly and whispered in a chilling voice, Roswyn choked up in fear and began hiccupping.

“…….Hic.”

Serena, the person Roswyn despised the most in the world, was looking down at her with an icy gaze while chuckling.