Chapter 140
When Myers had still been Crown Prince, the single item he had personally placed inside the treasury as his own achievement had been the monsters’ lethal poison.
No one disputed its value. Though he never shared the method of refinement, the Crown Prince had secretly produced vast quantities of the poison on his own. Most of it had been stored deep within the imperial treasury. It was never taken out except during wartime.
Even if small amounts occasionally leaked through corrupt knights, the Emperor never so much as blinked. As long as the stockpile in the treasury remained untouched. Above all, as long as the formula remained secret, the Empire would never face collapse.
The poison’s refinement was both his greatest achievement and his most grotesque crime. And because the secret of its production had never been exposed, the public saw only the former. To them, it was proof of his brilliance. The perfect fuel for hero worship.
There was no chance the Emperor kept it carelessly.
“The kingdom’s relics and the poison aren’t even stored in the same place. The treasury isn’t just one floor.”
She had entered it once.
Four years ago, in spring. Myers—then still Crown Prince—had invited her to the palace to show her the treasures she had surrendered from her homeland.
She had cried in front of him.
‘What a beautiful painting. I wonder if monsters live in that palace now. What a pity.’
He had patted her shoulder as she wiped her tears, saying it almost jokingly.
The words still pierced her like a blade.
He had not meant to mock her. He had been trying, in his own way, to comfort her. But she had felt no comfort, only a chill. He had seemed utterly devoid of empathy.
Now that he possessed absolute power, he no longer even bothered to conceal his cruelty.
Her husband’s plan—no, the monster’s plan—was reckless. If it failed, he would become the most pitiful monster in the world.
The Emperor would make certain of that.
Whether a monster lived or died had nothing to do with her. And yet, strangely, she found herself wanting to stop him.
She could simply pretend to cooperate, secure her own advantage, and escape.
That had always been the plan. But something in her resisted. She tried to hold her tongue. Failed. Her lips moved on their own.
He had been watching her closely. Suddenly, he let out a small laugh.
“So what you’re saying is—”
“Are you worried?”
The blatant excitement in his voice steadied her wavering thoughts at once.
It sounded like a provocation.
‘Worried? About him?’
She had only offered advice out of basic human decency. She was selfish, she cared only about her family and herself. Certainly not him.
Worried? Hardly. She had merely thrown him a warning so he wouldn’t die a pointless death like an idiot. If he insisted on walking into hell, she had no intention of stopping him further.
Sylvia stopped abruptly. A breeze brushed the back of her neck, making her shoulders tighten slightly.
He looked at her as though he wanted to devour her alive.
“…I’ll help you enter the treasury. But I have conditions.”
A woman who had lost her homeland to monsters was so easily turning her back on humanity. A former royal, no less.
It was not a decision most people could make in seconds. But Sylvia had already changed both mind and body. Her moral compass had narrowed to only those close to her.
“If monsters win the war entirely, the humans in the regions I name must never be harmed.”
He had infiltrated human society with purpose. The moment he revealed his objective, she realized how crucial this mission was for his kind.
And how important she had become.
“Hmm… that’s it?”
As expected, he accepted the condition far too easily, as though it cost him nothing.
She didn’t stop there.
“Stop monitoring my every move. Withdraw those unknown things you’ve stationed around me. The ones that bite my ankle whenever they please.”
Sylvia no longer flinched when something slipped from the shadows and sank its teeth into her ankle. She disliked it.
Her courage was one thing, but the neat rows of fang marks along her skin were unsightly. Embarrassing.
His excessive possessiveness had already driven away most attendants. But ankles were difficult to conceal especially indoors. When she encountered servants, distant though they were, she wanted to preserve at least a shred of dignity.
“…Then you’ll run away.”
“I won’t.”
She answered without hesitation. Her lie was flawless. Even a monster might have envied her composure.
He let out a low hum, then bent down abruptly, lowering himself to her eye level. He scrutinized her expression carefully.
Inside, Sylvia was tense enough. But outwardly, she was perfectly calm.
And for now he seemed to believe her.
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