Chapter 107
‘Does the White Spider truly desire death?’
There was a time when Reina herself had wanted to die. And only after being saved by Kaiden did she realize that she wanted to live.
But could a divine beast even die?
The moment such a doubt arose.
“Ah.”
Reina suddenly realized something and examined the White Spider.
Around the White Spider, the shadow of death was cast thickly.
The aura of a mortal, which should not exist in an immortal being.
Reina said.
“You’re already dying, aren’t you? The reason your presence is faint isn’t to hide your body from enemies, but because it’s an unavoidable state.”
– …….
“Anyway, you’ve become so weak that you can’t even lift Jeffrey’s restrictions. In the end, even if I lead you to death, there’d be nothing I could gain.”
– ……You’re smart.
The White Spider nodded its head as if deflating.
– Yes. I’ve already lost that kind of power. Just maintaining this body now consumes a lot of energy. The only thing I can do for you is give you this egg.
“You can give me the egg?”
– Of course, to purify it, a holy relic is needed. You’ll have to obtain that yourself.
The White Spider annoyingly extended the egg toward Reina.
“If I take this, won’t the master notice?”
– I can manage that level of deception.
“What’s the price for giving this? I can’t accept it without any price.”
When trading with a divine beast, a deal with no price was the most dangerous.
Because later, you’d have to pay an even greater price.
Not knowing this, in her previous life, she had recklessly used her powers and damaged her body.
The White Spider let out a surprised snort of laughter.
– You know quite a bit about divine beasts. Yes. As the price for giving this, share some of your life force with me. Just as much as what you used to make my eyes visible now.
“Is that really enough?”
As Reina was about to accept immediately, Kaiden blocked her.
“Reina.”
It was because he didn’t want her life force to be used.
“Would mine be fine too?”
– Anything. Crencia’s life force would be exceptionally excellent. I’ve been curious about what aura tastes like for a long time.
The White Spider nodded indifferently. Reina looked at Kaiden disapprovingly.
“Kaiden.”
“I’m sturdier than you.”
“…….”
“This is what I’ve been saving my stamina for, to use at times like this. Don’t worry about it.”
Kaiden stepped closer to the White Spider, gathered aura at his fingertips, and shot it toward the White Spider.
The White Spider accepted and ate it.
Crunch crunch.
With the chewing sound, a purple aura briefly swirled in the White Spider’s glass-like eyes and disappeared.
A moment later, the White Spider’s energy felt stronger than before.
– Now I can see a bit more clearly. The taste is very good.
The White Spider smacked its lips satisfyingly. Soon after, the egg dropped from the web.
Ritsi quickly burned the egg and sealed the evil energy.
– I’ll keep this.
Ritsi swallowed the egg. The White Spider chuckled like a full predator.
– It was an excellent deal.
Although it wasn’t said to be an item needed for Mikael, just in case, they looked around the surroundings a bit more.
However, Mikael’s energy was not felt.
“We have to go now. We’ve delayed too much time.”
At Kaiden’s urging, Reina lightly bid farewell to the White Spider.
“Take care.”
– Farewell.
The White Spider erased its presence as if it had no more business.
Reina stared at the empty room for a moment and quietly left the room.
* * *
While Reina and Kaiden went to the banquet hall.
Jeffrey secretly infiltrated the duke couple’s bedroom.
The room, which he thought would have strict security, was unexpectedly easy to infiltrate.
Jeffrey quietly looked down at the vial in his hand.
“This is…… an aphrodisiac. Moreover, odorless, tasteless, and highly addictive.”
“Yes. That person wishes for a child to be born from the duke couple as soon as possible.”
“Aphrodisiacs accumulate in the body. If a child is born weak because of that…….”
“As long as it’s born, it doesn’t matter.”
The emperor’s order was absolute.
Jeffrey didn’t even need to know why the emperor desired the duke couple’s child so much.
Nevertheless, he hesitated. Had he grown attached to Reina in just a few days?
As it was an aphrodisiac with strong toxicity, it was something that maximized sexual desire.
Even a small dose had an effect strong enough to cause immediate change, and the side effects were considerable.
If unlucky, it could even paralyze the body.
It was the moment Jeffrey tried to retreat for now.
A strong headache surged, and Jeffrey collapsed to the floor.
“Ugh.”
Jeffrey gasped roughly and clutched his head.
– Carry it out.
A voice of unknown origin echoed loudly in his mind.
It was the pain and auditory hallucination he felt whenever he tried to disobey the emperor’s order.
A moment later, as the headache stopped, Jeffrey’s pupils became empty and void.
He slowly rose like a puppet whose soul had fled.
And he mixed the aphrodisiac into the tea placed in the bedroom.
Only after safely returning to his room did light return to Jeffrey’s pupils.
“Why am I here…….”
The memory from that brief time had flown away.
Seeing only an empty bottle in his hand, Jeffrey was startled.
‘When on earth…….’
Occasionally feeling like his body wasn’t his own.
Jeffrey trembled as if chilled.
He tried to go back to the duke couple’s bedroom, but by then, the couple had already arrived.
* * *
Reina and Kaiden, who returned to the banquet hall, acted naturally.
Fortunately, no one suspected the two.
Rather, the emperor, concerned for her health, even sent medicinal herbs to the Crencia mansion.
The emperor continued awkward questions throughout the banquet, but Reina cleverly answered advantageously.
After several exchanges of questions and answers, Reina gained confidence.
The current emperor was utterly sloppy compared to the emperor of the past.
Thanks to her information being far superior to the information the emperor had.
Thanks to that, this banquet became an opportunity to break Reina’s fear.
Ben reported to Reina, who safely finished the banquet and returned to the mansion.
“Sir Jeffrey secretly visited the bedroom. He seemed to hesitate for a while, then suddenly clutched his head and collapsed.”
They had attached surveillance to Jeffrey while they were away from the mansion.
They were also tolerating the surveillance around Jeffrey that the emperor had placed.
Secretly showing a vulnerability to make the opponent let their guard down.
Reina’s expression mixed joy and sorrow at Ben’s report.
She felt hope at the words that Jeffrey hesitated, and fear at the words that he collapsed.
“Collapsed?”
“It seems that disobeying the emperor’s order puts strain on the body. It appeared to be a form of brainwashing.”
“So what did Jeffrey do?”
At Kaiden’s pressing question, Ben presented the tea.
“It seems he put something in this. We’ll know the ingredients after analysis, but presumed to be poison…….”
Before Ben could finish speaking, Kaiden drank the tea without hesitation.
“Your Excellency……!”
As the startled Ben shouted, Kaiden stopped him. A moment later, he frowned.
“It’s an aphrodisiac. Moreover, a very low-quality illegal drug.”
“I almost had a heart attack.”
“When are we supposed to sit and wait for analysis?”
Kaiden answered nonchalantly while brushing his hair back.
Seeing this, Reina asked worriedly.
“Are you really okay?”
“Of course. By the way, the emperor is making unnecessary moves. Anyway, even without this kind of aphrodisiac, it’s more than enough.”
“You’re right.”
As Reina replied nonchalantly, the surprised one was Ben.
“Ahem! Cough! Y-You two…… what is this, right now?”
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