The Young Male Protagonist Who is Destined for Ruin Fell for Me - Chapter 76

As soon as I heard that Kyle, who hadn’t left his quarters for several days, was heading to the Imperial Palace to meet Vered, I eagerly stepped out of my room.

“Is it finally time to face that rat?”

The news that Count Gargoyle, who was held in Chaield’s underground facility, was on the verge of death made me anxious.

To figure out what had happened between him and Marabas, Count Gargoyle had to remain alive.

“Vanessa, come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the underground chamber where Count Gargoyle is being held.”

“That’s probably a waste of time. I overheard the head physician reporting to His Grace, the Duke, that Count Gargoyle has completely lost his ability to communicate. He can’t speak, and he can’t even write.”

“That’s fine. I don’t intend to talk to him anyway.”

Vanessa, catching on to the meaning behind my words, gasped and shook her head in disbelief.

“Madam, your Arete ability really seems like cheating. Being able to read someone’s innermost thoughts just by touching them? You’d be more effective than a hundred agents from Chaield’s intelligence division.”

“Did I tell you? It’s no longer just hearing their thoughts; I can see them now.”

“Wow… If that ability became public knowledge among the Arete users, you’d be a guaranteed candidate for their leader.”

“Why would I want to be the leader there? That sounds like a job for someone like you, Vanessa.”

Vanessa’s eyes widened in surprise, probably not expecting such a statement. But I meant it. Once things settled down around me, I planned to recommend her as their leader.

“Your skills are too good to waste on just being my bodyguard.”

“But I don’t have an Arete, Madam.”

“You mentioned earning ten times the usual fee during the hunting festival, didn’t you? Save that up. Even though large Arete crystals are expensive, if we pool our money, we might be able to afford something the size of a grain of sand.”

“Madam…”

Vanessa looked at me with a face full of emotion. Her radiant beauty, as always, was dazzling.

While discussing how to acquire an Arete crystal and its potential cost, we reached the vicinity of the underground chamber, only to encounter an unexpected obstacle.

“Sir Hild?”

“As His Grace predicted, it seems Madam was planning to come here. He instructed me to guard this place.”

Damn it. It felt as though Kyle had read my every move. I had anticipated the possibility of being blocked from entering here but didn’t expect it to be this direct.

However, with the certainty that Count Gargoyle had been in contact with Marabas, retreating now would mean losing valuable information. I spoke nonchalantly.

“Surely, Kyle didn’t order this to restrict my movements.”

“Ahem… Cough…”

So that was it. Lately, our male lead’s obsessive tendencies had seemed to wane a little.

“I assume it’s for my safety, correct? If that’s the case, the former knight commander, Steward Hild, can accompany me inside to resolve that concern.”

Offering a harmless smile, I emphasized my good intentions. Steward Hild hesitated for a moment before finally opening the door to the underground chamber for me.

“Thank you. I promise I’ll just take a quick look.”

Thanks to the improved performance of my Arete, I could gather a lot of information in a short time—provided Count Gargoyle was still alive, of course.

I watched Steward Hild stride ahead with a lantern in hand. He moved through the dark and complicated underground chamber without hesitation, as expected of someone of his caliber.

“Madam, give me your hand. The floor is uneven, and you might trip.”

“Thank you.”

I placed my left hand over Vanessa’s extended one, prompting her delicate brows to furrow.

“What’s wrong?”

“Madam, your engagement ring looks a bit different.”

Glancing at my left ring finger, I noticed that the ring’s hue had indeed changed slightly. Specifically, the large Arete crystal in the center glowed more vividly than usual.

“It’s reacting to the surrounding Arete. This underground chamber used to be a storage facility for Arete crystals. Chaield once monopolized their trade.”

“Ah…”

Steward Hild’s explanation left me speechless. Just how wealthy was Chaield to stockpile the most valuable treasure in the world and sell it at will?

Meanwhile, Vanessa’s eyes sparkled with growing ambition, as though she was already planning to demand an Arete crystal as her next payment.

But—

“The sale of Arete crystals has been discontinued, so curb your expectations, Miss Vanessa.”

“What? Why stop selling something so valuable? Monopolizing it must have fetched sky-high prices!”

“We’re here. This is the room.”

Hild dismissed Vanessa’s grumbling and grabbed the door handle. However, instead of opening the door, he hesitated and spoke in a reluctant tone.

“Madam, if I may speak out of concern, Count Gargoyle is in poor condition. He’s elderly and…”

“Don’t worry. No matter what state Count Gargoyle is in, I’m not afraid of His Grace, the Duke. You know I’ve suffered plenty at Count Gargoyle’s hands myself.”

Hild finally opened the door, albeit hesitantly. What caught my eye first weren’t the count himself but the numerous magical devices and medical equipment keeping him alive.

It was evident how much effort Chaield had put into keeping Count Gargoyle alive, likely to use him as a resource.

“Of course, that was back when they thought he might still be useful.”

Now that he was deemed worthless, it wouldn’t be surprising if he passed away at any moment. In fact, it was a wonder he was still alive.

As I stared at his skeletal frame and exposed bones, an unpleasant feeling crept over me. I frowned and reached out, placing my fingertips on the back of his hand.

Suddenly, Count Gargoyle’s eyelids twitched, and his cloudy eyes moved sluggishly in my direction.

Both Hild and Vanessa immediately drew their daggers, ready to sever my hand. Raising my own hand to stop them, I began speaking.

“I thought you were unconscious. But it seems you lack the strength to resist, don’t you?”

“…”

“Count Gargoyle, if you want to ease even a little of your resentment, think about it. Recall what happened after the Harmonia necklace incident. When did you last contact Marabas?”

Perhaps he didn’t want to hear me, as he closed his eyes again. However, controlling his thoughts seemed beyond him, as he soon began recalling the scenes I wanted to see.

“This… is the dawn of his execution day?”

After escaping miraculously with the help of a bribed accomplice, Count Gargoyle suffered greatly as he made his way to the Hild-Keltman border.

As Count Gargoyle crossed the border, I wondered how he managed it. But when Marabas appeared and handed him a teleportation scroll, everything became clear.

“Given the timing, Marabas must already have the Harmonia necklace,” I thought.

Although I wasn’t a royal alchemist, it was obvious that the teleportation scroll had been enchanted with a spell allowing Marabas to use Gargoyle’s body like a puppet.

Unaware of this, Count Gargoyle eagerly used the scroll, still clueless about why he had lost consciousness or how his body had been taken over.

“The only question left is what information Gargoyle leaked to Gedima…”

Just as I tried to delve deeper into his memories—

“Khuhk, kuh…!”

The vision blurred abruptly as Count Gargoyle began coughing up bl00d and convulsing violently. If Vanessa hadn’t stepped in, my clothes would have been splattered.

“Madam, we should leave. It seems his time has come.”

“Ah…”

Almost dragged out by Vanessa, I left the underground chamber. Even as we entered the duke’s lobby, my heart pounded wildly.

It wasn’t shocking that he had passed away—he had been clinging to life for far too long. Besides, Count Gargoyle had tried to harm me.

So why did I feel so unsettled?

Vanessa helped me into a chair and handed me a cup. The warmth of the water gradually calmed me. Judging by how the staff moved about busily in the lobby, the count must have truly passed.

“…May you rest in peace,” I thought.

Witnessing death for the first time chilled me to the core. It was just one person—a man who had mocked me—but I hadn’t expected it to affect me so deeply.

As I mulled over the thought that perhaps I had been placed in this world by divine will to prevent a war, the hand holding mine changed.

“Are you all right, Sister?”

It was Kyle, who had just returned from the Imperial Palace. His gentle eyes didn’t seem capable of igniting a war, but circumstances shape people, after all.

“The Keltman Empire and Chaield must never engage in direct conflict,” I resolved.

Yet the two powers were already at odds. The best way to avoid war would be to extinguish Keltman’s will to fight.

Kyle likely had plans of his own; he must have returned to the empire before completing his schedule because he had something up his sleeve.

“How convenient,” I thought. “I was planning to give this to him today anyway.”

I told Kyle, who looked at me with concern, that I wanted to speak with him privately. Without hesitation, he led me toward the bedroom.

“Not the bedroom, Kyle. Let’s go to the study.”

“…The study it is.”

Kyle, whose eyes had sparkled with anticipation, carried me into the study. Once we were alone, he lifted me onto the desk, pushing the chair aside.

Looking at him standing in front of me, the horrifying scene I had just witnessed seemed to fade away.

“Kyle, I just came from the underground chamber.”

“…”

The sensuality in his relaxed eyes disappeared, replaced by the startled gaze of a rabbit. His hands, unsure of where to go, clenched tightly in mine.

“He must think I’m cruel.”

“I don’t want her to hate me.”

“Kyle, I know why you didn’t ask for my help, even knowing my Arete abilities. But obtaining information from Count Gargoyle was crucial, wasn’t it?”

“It was too dangerous.”

“High risk, high reward. The greater the risk, the greater the potential gain.”

As Kyle opened his mouth to protest, I touched his lips and began recounting the memories I had glimpsed, including the mention of Marabas. At that, Kyle’s expression changed.

“If we want to take down Marabas, resolving the immediate issue with Keltman should be the priority. Would evidence that Gedima tried to harm you be useful?”

I handed Kyle a small wooden figurine—an item I had instructed Vanessa to purchase from a Traiha merchant while Kyle was away during the hunting festival.

It was a device created through a combination of advanced alchemical elixirs and magic, and I knew from the original story that it functioned like a recorder.

“I have a proposal. Whether the Lady accepts or declines depends on how much she values the life of Duke Chaield.”

“…Speak, my Lord.”

“If I do everything in my power to bring Duke Chaield back safely, will the Lady leave his side for good?”

The conversation between Gedima and a certain party was stored within the figurine. Despite knowing Kyle was in danger, Gedima had used it as leverage to negotiate with me.

I explained the figurine’s backstory and its contents to Kyle in a grave tone, but his expression softened into a gentle smile.

“It might be unpleasant to hear, Kyle, but this will help. The Traiha merchant even provided a performance guarantee.”

Kyle looked at me as though I had given him the greatest gift. What was this reaction?

“Thank you for thinking of me, Sister. But I’ll keep this tool for myself.”

“But this could ethically damage Gedima. If the Haile Empire learns how they treated you as an envoy, they’d be enraged.”

“True, but I won’t use it.”

“…But isn’t that unfair? Gedima is pinning all the blame on you.”

I couldn’t understand him. If someone were slandering and undermining me, I’d want the truth to come out. But Kyle seemed unbothered by being treated like a monster, his serene smile unwavering.

“Sister’s voice is probably recorded too. It’s a shame, but if I use it, the blame could shift to her.”

“…I’ll just listen to her voice during my trips.”

“When did she prepare this? My fiancée is brilliant.”

“She’s worrying too much about Chaield’s safety…”

Though he kept all these thoughts to himself, Kyle met my gaze and gently caressed my cheek.

“Don’t worry. Your future husband isn’t as powerless as you think.”