Tamed Monster - Chapter 32

His rude manner only deepened the Duke’s grin—like a demon’s smile. Before losing his memory, he had never smiled like that; it was strange.

Ripping open the smooth cloth wrapping, twisting the ties, the contents were revealed.

The Crown Prince was unconsciously impressed. His eyes lit up like an excited boy as he stared at the object inside, then, noticing the Duke and Duchess and knights watching, quickly composed himself.

His body faced the door; the others had their backs to it, so only the Crown Prince saw the contents. Of course, the giver knew what it was.

“…Thank you.”

For the first time today, the Crown Prince treated the Duke politely. Though he had accused the Duke of losing manners while behaving like a thug himself, upon receiving the gift, he briefly softened his tone to nod at the Duke.

The Duke puffed up proudly and exhaled sharply. The Duchess’s dazed gaze turned to him; she looked overwhelmed with worry that her husband might bring ruin to their entire family.

Both the Crown Prince and the Duke regained composure.

“Impressive. Even you, Lancart, would’ve had a hard time getting this.”

The Crown Prince, now even using a friendly tone, rubbed the surface of the box gently, like a treasured item. This item, bought by the monster Kuinan for just ten shillings, was treated like precious treasure by the Crown Prince.

It was linked to the Crown Prince’s fifth depraved hobby.

His first and second hobbies—torturing and experimenting on monsters—were cruel enough, but his perverse desires truly shone in the last three, especially the final one, which was most inhumane. Even the Emperor could not tolerate it.

In fact, one major reason the Crown Prince attempted to poison the Emperor was fear this twisted hobby would be discovered.

Despite the Emperor’s piggish greed for power and his relentless struggle to keep the throne, the Crown Prince had completely turned his back on his father upon sensing a spy planted in his palace.

After all, Lancart was his only true brother.

No matter how much of a psycho he was, it couldn’t have been easy to bring this item into the palace and present it as a gift. The box showed signs it had been opened before. When entering the palace, knights had inspected the item. They likely failed to discern its nature.

They probably thought it was just a chunk of flesh—some beast’s. Suspecting it might be a monster’s corpse, they likely glanced and reassured themselves. Although they might have noticed blood-stained, crushed meat inside the neat black box, they were not in a position to question the Duke.

“It wasn’t particularly hard to get.”

It was neither beast nor monster flesh.

Then what was it?

It was carefully selected human flesh—taken from specifically chosen parts.

The Crown Prince was a man of great virility, famed far beyond the Empire’s borders. His s****l and murderous urges far exceeded common understanding. His monstrous desires were not merely innate but cultivated by his own efforts.

Though he longed to taste that special flesh immediately, he refrained—mindful of the Duchess and knights’ watchful eyes.

He felt no need to gauge Lancart’s reaction; Lancart’s expectant gaze seemed to urge him to lose reason and consume it. Curious if Lancart had procured it from the street or black market, he suddenly desired a private talk.

“Everyone out. Including the Duchess.”

The Crown Prince crossed his long legs leisurely. His interest in the Duchess had already faded. After all, she was a woman who had lost her virginity. Later, he’d just sample her once and keep her quiet.

Those present looked puzzled but soon began to leave.

“How did you get this, Lancart?”

Once everyone except Lancart had gone, the Crown Prince’s eyes burned with excitement as he bombarded his half-brother with questions.