Please join our discord to get fast update and assistance for purrpoins
Ian didn’t say anything for a while.
Just staring at me with eyes as cold as the middle of winter.
A few seconds after that, he spoke.
“Do you know?”
A low, deep, cold voice.
For a moment, goosebumps came over my spine, but I barely showed it.
Making up a calm expression, I nodded slowly.
“Yes. I know. At that time, God Elune said he didn’t tell me except where the remains of His Majesty the Emperor were buried, but he actually showed me more.”
“……Ha.”
Ian raised an eyebrow.
“Is that so? You know that too.”
He took one small step towards me. I held back the fact that I almost stepped backwards without realizing it.
Ian came right up to me and whispered something in my ear.
“That my brother is the killer.”
My body stiffened at the low, insidious whisper. I turned my head and looked up at Ian, who was getting closer.
Even being this close, Ian’s eyes could not be read at all. Like a well-crafted jewel, the deep blue eyes did not like the eyes of a person.
“…… Yes.”
I opened my mouth and spoke in a voice that had managed to clear the tremors.
“I already knew.”
“From the very beginning?”
“I don’t think we’re really that close.”
“No, we are not.”
I gave a little sigh.
“You do know about Dark Guild Nine, right?”
Ian looked down at me with hard eyes. I spoke.
“The guild actually has a weakness for me.”
It’s a clever way to say the truth, but the truth is still real.
I had no intention of revealing that I was Nine’s slave. If that happens, it will be revealed that I, who first appeared on Ian’s bed, disappeared as a guild member, and there is a high probability that I will be found out about not being a saintess.
Ian narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Weakness?”
“From that point on, it’s a personal story, so I won’t bother explaining it. Anyway, what I want to say is that I am one of those people who wants Nine to fall more than anyone else.”
A scrutiny of his eyes scanned me.
After a while, Ian opened his mouth as if he had finished searching.
“Nine has a weakness, Ha.”
“…….”
“I’m very curious about what weakness it is, but…That’s great. It sounds good. For now. So, what is the connection between that and this story?”
“Your brother.”
I looked straight up at Ian and said.
“His Majesty Emperor Rashid joined forces with Nine.”
Ian’s expression hardened for a moment, but there was no sign of great agitation. I asked implicitly.
“I guess you already knew?”
“Not really.”
Ian narrowed his brows.
“My brother is making a modest effort to take over the underworld. That’s why he’s letting the underground ball go. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had connections with Nine.”
“Your Majesty didn’t join hands with Nine just for that reason.”
“What does it mean?”
“He wants to get his hands on you.”
Even though Rashid had a terrible inferiority complex to Ian, he needed him just as much.
On the surface, Ian was a loyal subordinate and blood relative to the Emperor. His existence was a great addition to Rashid’s imperial authority.
Rashid could not say that he was an absolute holy man. In the second half, when the original story had progressed quite a bit, a lot of tyranny was unfolded. Nevertheless, Ian’s contribution to his imperial power was great.
So Rashid couldn’t get rid of Ian no matter how much he hated him.
If there was a way to turn Ian into a selfless puppet and control it, Rashid would try to get his hands on it at all costs.
That was the tactic Nine seduced Rashid.
“Even by using forbidden spells, I mean.”
“The spell?”
Ian let out a laugh.
“Are you saying that my older brother is working with Nine to cast spells on me?”
“Yes. Does it sound ridiculous?”
“I heard there is a spell that can take control of people’s minds and turn them into puppets.”
Ian, lost in thought for a moment, shook his head.
“My brother wouldn’t be that stupid. I am a trained person. I don’t think I’ll be controlled by such superficial tricks.”
Okay. That’s what I thought. I smiled wryly.
Ian is a knight who is said to be the strongest in history. He wasn’t a weak being who was easily affected by spells. If they hastily attempted to put a spell on him, there would be a high probability that the practitioner would be defeated.
Neither Nine nor Rashid were that stupid. So, they put a lot of thought into this plan.
“I will be honest.”
I didn’t know what their plans were, and that was the problem. Unfortunately, it was not described that far in the original storyline.
“I don’t know what exactly Nine is planning to enchant you. But what I can say for sure is that there are definitely plans in the works.”
Having said that, I took a deep breath and spoke vigorously.
“And at this rate, they will surely succeed.”
Ian looked down at me with a strange expression.
“Are you sure? You underestimate me too much.”
“No. I believe in your strength more than anyone else in this empire. I’ll bet on that.”
Of course, I know.
Ian succeeded in rebellion by leading an elite group of holy knights to seize the imperial palace, and after being stained with spells, he is the person who destroyed the world system in half and turned it into a terrible mess.
Knowing all of that, I couldn’t dare underestimate Ian.
At my confident tone, Ian furrowed his eyes as if wondering.
“Sometimes I think about it. There are times when you speak as if you have known me for a long time.”
“…….”
Ghost-like person. [1]
I got goosebumps at his sharp point, but I tried my best to pretend nothing was wrong.
“This is the most important thing. That there is a conspiracy going on to get Ian into spells. The emperor and Nine are both involved in this huge plot. And most of all. That I’ll help you bring them down.”
Ian, who was quietly listening to me, raised one eyebrow.
“The reason is?”
“There is a plot going on, and Nine is putting the fate of the guild at risk. If this doesn’t work, the guild will fall apart. Also, I want you to destroy Nine completely.”
“You and I can help each other, is this it?”
“Exactly.”
I, who nodded loudly, continued.
“The problem is that I don’t know exactly what the plan is…….”
Nine is a thorough group. They wouldn’t have put all his expectations on me alone.
They must have prepared another trump card. And it will probably be fatal.
“Shall we put our heads together from there and get to know each other?”
“Suddenly, the countermeasures are gone.”
“Yeah, what. If I had a countermeasure, you would have asked me to hire you as a schemer, right?”
Ian didn’t answer for a moment after I said it impudently.
He just looks at me with strange eyes.
‘……Is it not going to work?’
It felt like it was going to rain.
But in order to help Ian the right way, I had to earn his trust, and to do that, I had to disclose this amount of information.
After a while, Ian opened his mouth.
“No matter how big your power is, I don’t think you’ll lie about this. ……Well. All right.”
As soon as I heard the answer, my whole body relaxed.
“It’s the second contract.”
“Please take care of me.”
Feeling more at ease, I smiled and held out my hand.
Instead of holding his outstretched hand, Ian said.
“Instead, there are some conditions.”
“What’s that?”
“The commandment is forbidden to use.”
“Why!”
I asked in bewilderment.
Haven’t I explained it enough? That Ian is in danger.
But you’re not going to use a high-quality human resource called a person who has the ability to commandment?
Ian replied with a shrug.
“I don’t want to have a scribe who falls down.”
“If you’re going to call me a bookkeeper, at least give me a salary!”
When I shouted in bewilderment, Ian turned his back as if he had nothing more to say.
“Actually, I came here without finishing the sparring properly. Enough then.”
“Wait, I’d like to dispute the terms!”
“I’m not willing to bend under those conditions.”
Ian cast an annoyed glance at me. It was the same bad attitude I had always seen.
“Because I have no intention of paying the invoice in my room.”
“How can I help Sir Ian if I can’t use the commandment?”
“Are you not my wife?”
Ian spoke in a perverse tone.
“There will be an infinite number of schemes that can be created with just that position. I’ll come back, and we’ll talk again.”
Ian glanced at the watch and left the bedroom, leaving me alone as if he were really busy.
It was a very nasty move, but his last words inspired me.
‘It’s not wrong.’
The well-known Irene Grace is the beloved wife of Ian Esteban.
Rashid also wouldn’t have had any doubts about that. Nine have ambitions to strike Rashid in the back and devour the empire, so they probably didn’t even share the fact that I was an agent they planted.
When I thought about it, Ian was right.
Aside from being a saintess, I also had a great weapon. The status itself as Ian’s wife was a weapon.
‘If I roll my head well…’
I might come up with a useful plan.
As I crossed the bedroom, I fell into deep thought.
***
Rashid stroked his chin at the words of Charlotte, the orange-haired attendant, who bowed her head.
“Yes. I don’t see any strange things happening. If I missed it because I wasn’t old enough, know that there will be no life.”
Instead of answering, Charlotte bowed her head deeper.
The man’s figure came out of the darkness.
“That’s impossible, isn’t it? Your Majesty, we are proud of our elite.”
“What number are you?”
“Number 38.”
The man smiled brightly.
“By the way, it’s good if what number 38 said is true. Ian cares about our slaves a lot.”
“Yes.”
Charlotte said in her dry voice as she bowed her head.
“Sincere worries and concerns are among the easiest emotions to read.”
“Good. That’s good, That’s good.”
The man murmured as if lost in thought.
“Then things will be easier. If the person you really care about breaks down, even if it’s Sir Ian, there will be a hole in your heart. It is a perfect condition for the spell to be completed.”
Notes:
[1] someone who knows everything without anyone telling them about it.