Tamed Monster - Chapter 97

As he felt himself slowly getting hard, he smiled brightly to himself. He still wanted this woman. If he ever had to kill her, he thought, he’d at least have a taste of her before doing so.

Sylvia, with head bowed and oblivious to his ruthless thoughts, spoke up.

“…No, Your Majesty. I have nothing to say.”

Sylvia had just thrown away her best chance to expose her husband, and inside, she was writhing with regret. All the way here, she’d been agonizing over how to kill him, so why had she just denied everything so easily? If she’d confessed to the Emperor, surely he would have used his absolute power to drag the monster out of here and keep her safe.

“Hm…”

Her husband, or rather, the creature wearing her husband’s face, looked at Sylvia with a curious expression, surprised she hadn’t said anything. Lancart watched her with cold, slanted eyes. Sylvia bit her lip and tried desperately to hide her guilt.

The Emperor, who had been watching her like a hawk, finally turned his gaze away. Sylvia’s rigid shoulders finally relaxed.

With a flick of the Emperor’s chin, the knight at his side descended from the platform, picked up the monster’s arm—still wrapped in cloth—and carried it up to lay at the Emperor’s feet. He unwrapped the cloth to reveal exactly what everyone expected.

The remains of a monster that must have lived for centuries.

“Wow, must’ve been quite a fight to kill this thing.”

Just months ago, Lancart had been utterly defeated by monsters—whether it was one or several, no one could say for sure. Now he’d managed to kill the head monster and bring back part of its body.

It was big news. Myers was secretly amazed that Lancart had come back to the palace alive and well.

“Hahaha! It still looks like it’s twitching.”

Kuinan barely resisted the urge to answer, “That’s because it really is.”

Sylvia also stayed silent, even though she knew the arm was still alive. She’d seen its owner turn it into a beast and confront Kuinan. She almost blurted out the truth again but held herself back, remembering her husband’s warning glance.

‘If you open your mouth, both that guy and you are dead.’

Apparently, he didn’t love her enough to tolerate betrayal. Sylvia realized she was still siding with her monster husband, not the human Emperor. Even if he hadn’t warned her, she doubted she could have said anything just yet.

‘Maybe later… if I can get him alone.’

She wondered why she felt so hesitant.

Was it because she thought the Emperor wouldn’t believe her? That was part of it, but the real reason was harder to name. Even though she was repulsed by her husband, something about turning him in felt… wrong. It frustrated her to no end.

She glanced over at her husband’s calm face.

“Killing it was no easy task. I suffered a serious injury to my arm.”

He touted his accomplishment—something he’d never done before.

Until now, he’d never once bragged to the Emperor about his hard work, never asked for anything, not even after his mind was damaged. But today, he spoke up directly.

“Isn’t there a reward you could give me?”

The elite knights around the Emperor looked shocked. Sylvia’s eyes widened as if she might faint. Only Kuinan himself remained completely unfazed.

Even Myers was taken aback by his shameless request, but then he burst out laughing.

“You lunatic! You’re just my crazy little brother.”

Myers had executed most of his half-brothers and loyalists the moment he became Emperor. He was in no position to call anyone crazy. But there he was, pointing at Kuinan and laughing.

“…Ha, haha.”

After laughing so hard he nearly doubled over, the Emperor wiped away a tear. With hands more suited to playing the harp than to killing, he had recently butchered a hundred men. Now, with nothing else to boast about except his charming mask, he suddenly said,

“Grand Duke.”

The room fell silent—no one even dared to clear their throat.

Even after the Emperor’s shocking offer, Lancart just stood there, showing no reaction at all.

“Is that not enough for you? What, do you want a treasure mine on top of that?”

The Ducal family wasn’t even old. Compared to minor Barons or Viscounts, the Lancart family had barely any history. He was the founding Duke; his mother had seduced his father and won him the title.

“If I ask… would you really give it to me?”