Translator: Haru Honeyshiki
Proofreader: Opheodrys
Thanks for helping me out, Ophe~!
By all means, please don"t reupload/posting it anywhere (especially on wattpad /asianovel/Instagram/Twitter) and don"t re-translate it to your own language!
Note: I don"t accept any retranslation ^^
BGM:
Wizards held the power of G.o.d.
But they were imperfect beings who could not become one themselves.
It was because the limits were clear.
The consequences for abusing their power without the usage of purifiers were beyond description. It seemed necessary to do this, as the scenes described in the novel were graphically brutal.
It was akin to hallucinations, where the evil voices, one after another, kept building up inside his head. When I read it, I felt like I was going crazy.
But the moment the suffering-wizard met the purifier, the agony disappeared, and he returned to good. Meeting the purifier was supposed to feel like snuggling into a warm blanket after suffering from a cold winter snowstorm. It was like getting all the happiest things in the world. A perfect peace of mind that could never be achieved normally.
While it was called a purifier, the way it was described in the novel revealed that it was actually more like a drug.
Wizards were bound to be addicted to it.
The protagonist didn"t want to be swayed by purifiers, so he had sealed away his power.
However, since he now met me before the other wizards, he is now very likely to monopolize myself.
It was fortunate that the protagonist was unaware that he could eat the purifier.
Not after he ate Ertha in the original novel.
But other than that, there were countless other bad scenarios that I faced as a purifier.
I was imagining the worst case scenarios of what the protagonist could do to me.
Of course, I still followed the hero obediently without any fuss.
We headed for a quieter place.
It was a luxurious room, despite the shabby exterior, as if it were a place to greet guests. I was left alone with the protagonist in the room.
Unlike me, who was nervous, he was already leaning against the soft sofa and beckoning me over.
I sat opposite him.
“Duke.”
He frowned slightly when I called his name.
“You know everything."
“We"re going to be intimate in the future, so call me by my name.”
I hesitated and carefully called his name.
“…….Yes, Sir Zahid.”
I saw the name hundreds of times while reading the novel, but actually saying it out loud was a completely different feeling.
My lips trembled for no reason.
Zahid seemed amused by the fact that I knew his t.i.tle and even his name. He leaned forward and asked in a husky voice.
“What"s your name?”
Zahid knew the power of his beauty, and he knew how to use it. That was the case even now. It was how he seduced people, dragging them anywhere he pleased.
While trying not to fall for the seductive look, I replied.
“Ertha Arles.”
“Ertha.”
He grinned when he learned my name. His smiling face was so pretty, and his dark purple eyes complemented it even further. Even in this situation, I couldn"t help but think that he was handsome. While I watched his face, Zahid went straight to the point.
[Haru: GDI, DON"T YOU DARE SEDUCED ME.]
"I am willing to pay you 5 billion Marcas. Are there any other conditions? "
I asked him,
"Would you listen to any condition if I tell you?"
Zahid laughed silently.
There was no verbal response, but the answer was clear. He would only listen to the conditions he liked.
I rolled my head quickly, cracking the joints. It"s not like you would let go of the purifier, and I wouldn"t give you any conditions that would make you want to throw me out in a few years anyways. After a short consideration, I put out a condition that would be acceptable to him.
“Please feed and take care of my siblings and I.”
The protagonist was a man who wouldn"t go back from his words. I had no doubt that he would take care of me very well.
When Zahid accepted the term, I carefully added another one.
“And… don"t kill me.”
Zahid"s eyes widened slightly. He frowned, a little disconcerted, before asking.
“Why would I?”
Didn"t you come here knowing your worth, he said.
Clearly the development of the novel had changed. However, the original novels influence could not be ignored. Even though it was useless, I still wanted to guarantee the lives of my siblings and myself.
While he waited for an answer without saying anything, he narrowed his eyes.
“I won"t kill you.”
Zahid was right.
Because living was often more painful than dying, I came to the protagonist to survive. But even though it seemed like a flowery road at first glance, there were pointed thorns beneath it.
The protagonist wanted to monopolize the purifier to himself. If I wasn"t eaten, he would try to get rid of his rivals, Charles and Ethan. I had to get away before I was stabbed all over. Five years later, Charles and Ethan would be 15 years old. By then I would take my younger siblings and run far away.
"………"
Zahid stared at me in silence for a moment.
I was a little scared. The clear purple eyes seemed to pierce my heart.
Knowing that the protagonist couldn"t read minds, I had to come up with a different excuse.
“I"ll try to talk about my terms again sooner or later"
Zahid slowly bit back his words. Leaning deeply against the sofa"s back, he said,
“You have to think about what it means to tie you up.”
I can"t just pour 5 billion Marcas down the drain, can I?
Zahid smiled back and I nodded.
He didn"t ask me anything about my personal life. From the moment I spoke to him on the first floor, the investigation of me would have begun. Before the end of the day, Zahid would receive a full report on ‘Ertha Arles."
Blinking up at him, I asked slowly,
“Who would dare betray you?”
“Well, I have a feeling that…"
Zahid"s lips curled into a smile as he whispered,
“You could hit me from behind and run away."
“Thank you.”
I decided to take it as a compliment, and Zahid gave a low laugh. For now, the sense of relief from safely surviving washed over me. With a more relaxed mindset, I looked at him with a bright expression.
Zahid grinned as he asked,
“Was there anything else you wanted?”
I was waiting for this question, and I smiled widely and impudently.
“Could I take home some of the stew boiling downstairs?”
***
BGM:
It was nice to see the old shack again.
While bringing in a heavy stew pot, my eyes widened when I saw how the lights were still on.
“Charles, Ethan!”
“Sister!”
“Si, sis…”
The two children came running and hugged me. I put down the pot and hugged them back.
“It"s so late, but you still haven"t slept.”
“I was worried about you, so I waited. If anything had happened, I would"ve run to the guards.”
Charles answered clearly.
While holding my leg and rubbing his face, Ethan trembled as he added,
“Sis, I was afraid something"s happened to you…”
It was a smart plan for young children, but the guards didn"t care about anyone living in the slums. If I hadn"t returned home today, and if Charles and Ethan had run to the guards, I would"ve received no help. I"d be lucky if I was just beaten and kicked out. However, instead of telling them the ugly truth, I hugged the children one more time.
“Nothing happened. Look, do you know what I"ve brought here?"
I opened the lid of the pot slightly, and the mouth-watering smell wafted throughout the room.
It was a stew with lots of vegetables such as sugar cane, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and onions. There were also thick slices of chicken in it, as well as snow crab.
After eating, the twins fell asleep while happily holding their bellies. I felt good because, after a long time, I could give proper food to my younger siblings.
But when I went to bed, the memories of the day"s events rose up.
A meeting with the protagonist.
It was one of the most intense moments of my 18 years of life, ever since I came into the novel and went through all this work.
By now, Zahid would have found out that I was in debt. He"d be very curious about how I came to find the information guild, and how I even knew that the owner of the guild was a duke. I couldn"t answer the question, since that would give me a headache.
However, there was one problem.
I didn"t know everything about the future,because I didn"t finish reading the novel.
Since it was male oriented and rated 19+, the contents were extremely explicit and violent. Sometimes, there were even uncensored scenes of the carnage.
I couldn"t bear it anymore and stopped in the middle of the novel.
At least, I still remembered all the main characters and important events.
But …. I couldn"t help but feel a little scared.
I clung to my younger siblings who fell asleep.
“At least now. I can feed you good warm food every day…”
The quiet murmur to myself dispersed in the cool night air.
The next morning, it was like being struck by lightning from the sky. It was just when I was about to leave early in the morning.
“Are you Ms. Ertha Arles?”
A well-dressed old gentleman came to the house. The well polished shoes seemed out of place in the shabby place.
I answered him quietly, to not wake my siblings.
“Yes, but…”
“I came to see you under the orders of the Duke of Carnor.”
It was Zahid who sent him.
I took the paper from the old gentleman. After skimming through the contents for a long while, I looked at the old man with a shocked expression.
“No, pardon me. What is the meaning of..”
The old gentleman smiled affectionately to me, who couldn"t speak properly, and answered,
“It"s a marriage contract.”
TL Note: So what do you think? Our leads finally sealed the deals and their dangerous relationship will start now! Ufufu. Speaking of the bgm, nah i just think those 2 songs match this chapter well. If not, just think of it as me being biased lol