What I Gained by Giving My Body - Chapter 1.8

“Yes.”

Caitlyn no longer cared about her pride. The only thing important to her was the man’s identity. The one who would tell her the root of her existence.

Archduke Akbar scanned Caitlyn’s features with a soft gaze.

“I’ll give you one hint. Once, you were a priestess who served me.”

“……Are you saying you are a god?”

“Humans called me that.”

The Archduke did not deny it.

“And you must know it as well. That the foresight you have is not a human power.”

Caitlyn hesitated. Archduke Akbar’s words seemed to make sense at a glance, but it was difficult to accept the fact that he was a god. All those in the Britannia Empire received baptism at a young age and also frequented the church, but Caitlyn had no great faith in God. Because if there were a god, her existence could not possibly be explained.

When a priest once preached and dismissed all ‘those who have power that is not human power’ as demons and witches, her repulsion toward God grew even more. At the very least, she was neither a demon nor a witch. If so, did the God the priest believed in so much even exist?

“The priests call it the power of a demon.”

The Archduke snorted.

“They are people who know nothing.”

Caitlyn had no choice but to agree with that statement. The priests say such things because they don’t know. Since they are completely ignorant of an existence like her who possessed unwanted power from birth, they must be spouting such easy words that she must be killed because she is a demon.

“If you get the power back, what do you plan to do then?”

Caitlyn had an intuition. If the power that was only a curse to her were to pass into this man’s hands, it wouldn’t end as simple foresight. It might really be possible to kill and save people. Perhaps it might even be possible to take this whole world into his hands.

“I have to leave.”

Archduke Akbar replied immediately.

“All my brothers and sisters have already left this world. But I alone am held back on this earth.”

“…….”

“It’s all because of this power I bestowed upon you.”

Archduke Akbar looked straight at her.

“It’s an opportunity I’ve finally found after thousands of years. I will never miss it.”

Caitlyn swallowed hard. Her hands were soaked with sweat. It was because she had noticed the fact that she had no choice.

‘This person…… is not lying.’

The intuition that had told her only the truth all this time was screaming. All of this person’s words are true, and whether she likes it or not, he will never give her up. That he might follow her not just in this life but until the next life.

If so, it was better to quickly give him what he wanted. She would also be able to take a small bit of profit in that process. If that were her brother’s life…… Caitlyn could offer a body like this as much as he wanted.

“……If you truly get that power back in your hands, can you really cure my brother’s illness?”

Caitlyn couldn’t bring herself to say the words ‘by tangling our bodies together.’

“Of course.”

Archduke Akbar nodded.

“It is as easy as breathing.”

As Caitlyn looked at him, his wild golden eyes and her transparent red eyes collided. Even though she knew she was looking directly at a god, Caitlyn did not back down in the slightest.

“Then please swear upon your name. That in exchange for taking the power from me…… you will make it so my brother can enjoy a full natural lifespan.”

“I swear it.”

The Archduke opened his mouth.

“Upon all the names humans have given me.”

Caitlyn took several deep breaths. Now, only the task of believing Roxias Akbar and following his command remained. She could believe him. But would following his command really be an easy task? While she hesitated, the Archduke flicked his finger.

“Come here.”

It was a voice placed somewhere between curiosity and hatred.

“Just like back then.”

She felt a chill at the gaze that seemed to see someone else, not herself. But Caitlyn tried not to tremble. Repeating to herself that it was just…… a body.

Caitlyn approached Archduke Akbar closely. Before she knew it, the distance between them wasn’t even a span’s length.

“Strip.”