Tamed Monster - Chapter 47

Sylvia, the wife of Duke Alexander who had suffered a major accident some time ago, suddenly withdrew from society.

Though her limbs were intact and she had no illness, she stayed secluded inside their home for over a month. Naturally, rumors began to circulate around the capital.

Some whispered that Duke Alexander, having regained his memory, was now strictly controlling her so she couldn’t leave the house.

Others speculated that Lady Rossa, jealous of the Duke’s recent intense attention toward Sylvia, had caused her harm.

The gossip spread wildly among the noblewomen of the social circle, but no one guessed the truth.

The only fact that matched was that Duke Alexander was indeed the cause of Sylvia’s seclusion. After her third intercourse with her husband, she had been ill for ten days straight.

Only on the eleventh day was she able to stagger around her room like a toddler, yet her body was far from fully recovered. Because of this, Lancart had no choice but to visit the Crown Prince alone today.

Unlike before, the Crown Prince greeted his half-brother—now practically a simpleton—with a broad smile.

“So you’ve come, my brother.”

Even when Lancart was the captain of the hunting knights and the two had close cooperation, the Crown Prince had never greeted him so warmly. The guards standing nearby exchanged confused glances.

Lancart merely gave a slight nod, indifferent to the Crown Prince’s enthusiastic welcome.

“Let’s discuss inside. By the way, you came empty-handed?”

The Crown Prince glanced at Lancart’s empty hands, clearly expecting a gift. Lancart shrugged in reply.

“I overslept yesterday and had no time to go out.”

The item the Crown Prince desired had to be fresh, recently acquired to be effective. To present a gift, Lancart would have had to sneak out late last night or early this morning, but as he said, he’d been sleeping.

A deeper wrinkle formed on the Crown Prince’s smooth brow.

“…I see.”

He answered briefly and led the way inside. His smile vanished instantly, replaced by a chilling coldness. Regardless of this, Lancart yawned and stretched his long legs without concern.

As soon as they sat facing each other in the study, Lancart received an unexpected proposal.

“I need you to return to the swamp again.”

Though he’d expected such an offer, the timing was earlier than anticipated. Lancart forced a look of surprise. Seeing his raised eyebrows, the Crown Prince, assuming he was startled, explained solemnly.

“This is the perfect time. The swamp’s leader monsters are said to be off guard. We tortured more than a dozen of them to get this intel—it’s reliable. This time, you’ll be supplied with weapons coated with poison three times as potent. Take a small team, strike at the leader, and return.”

Was the ‘leader’ Hector? Lancart wasn’t sure if the Crown Prince was targeting him or the replacement who filled his position.

“What kind of leader?”

Lancart asked as if accepting the proposal, and the Crown Prince unusually brightened.

“The black-hair one.”

Hector was red-haired, meaning that the reference was to him since his body had natural black hair. Lancart smirked inside.

“Oh? Is he supposed to be the strongest?”

“Cleverest, they say. No one, including you, has actually seen him.”

One of Lancart’s original missions as a human was exactly this: to slay the leader-class monster living in the swamp and weaken its horde. His other mission was to deliver as many living creatures as possible to the Crown Prince to produce potent poison.

Not monsters, but other living creatures. The younger, fresher, and purer the souls, the poison would be better.

“Well… I can’t guarantee no one’s seen him.”

Lancart quietly responded, breaking the Crown Prince’s pleasant thoughts. The Crown Prince, unaware of Lancart’s true identity, took the remark as mere insolence and dismissed it.

“Well, neither you nor I have seen him, right?”

Lancart—the black-haired monster who had long been mistaken for the Duke—smirked easily.

“Maybe so.”

“You’re talking nonsense more than usual today. So, will you obey my order?”

Before issuing an official decree, the Crown Prince quietly made this offer to Lancart: whether to go on a mission to the swamp or not. Few knew that Lancart had become a fool after being utterly defeated by monsters there, so issuing the order repeatedly was easy.

Although the knights who accompanied him had been wiped out, monster hunts always required considerable sacrifice. No one would accuse the Crown Prince of being ruthless, so persuading Lancart alone was sufficient.