WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 120: Roderic (2)
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“Your Majesty’s shadow is visible to me. What in the world are you harboring within it?”
Johan, or rather Ilea, had spotted the shadow King Roderic had concealed.
To a Witch’s eyes, Roderic’s ghostly energy was plainly visible.
The king was currently tainted by some form of malice.
It was faint, but Demonic Energy was definitely flowing through his body.
The instant Johan finished speaking, the king’s eyes began rolling wildly.
It was deeply unsettling, but the ministers felt no fear.
An ordinary human eye could not follow the speed at which his pupils moved.
In this Great Hall, only Ilea had noticed the king’s strange behavior.
Johan, Ilea, smiled with his eyes as Ilea often did.
His gaze met the king’s in midair.
Roderic stopped his odd movements and opened his mouth.
“...A shadow. Watcher of Narak, what exactly is this shadow of mine that you speak of?”
His restless eyes had already settled into calm.
The king had managed to maintain his composure in his own way.
Someone was likely advising him behind the scenes.
According to public opinion, King Roderic had never been someone capable of controlling his emotions.
Johan spoke with a relaxed expression.
“A parasite that burrows into a weak mind, a treacherous courtier seeking to exploit foolishness, a wicked entity that stirs the malice inherent in humanity. It could be any of those things.”
The moment he finished, the ministers erupted.
Some were so shocked that they stammered, while others shouted at him.
“S-Sir Johan, what kind of outrageous remark is that?”
“Even if His Majesty misunderstood you...”
“Will you not take back those irreverent words at once?!”
“Retract that nonsense and apologize to His Majesty immediately!”
The Great Hall descended into chaos.
The king raised an arm to stop them.
Silence returned.
Roderic slowly opened his mouth.
“Watcher of Narak, are you saying that I have been bewitched by something?”
His ice-cold gaze turned toward Johan.
Johan’s expression remained calm.
“That is precisely what I am saying, Your Majesty.”
Roderic slammed the armrest.
“Do you dare mock the king?! Bind that insolent wretch at once!”
Knight Mamon forced Johan fully to his knees.
Johan did not care.
He only looked up at the throne and spoke calmly.
“Your Majesty, not long ago, a wicked group invaded the Royal Capital.”
The king’s expression tightened slightly.
At the mention of the attack on the Royal Capital, Roderic began revealing his emotions.
Noticing the king’s displeasure, Mamon glared at Johan.
“Sir Johan, shut your mouth at once.”
Johan ignored him and continued.
“On the day of the attack, the barrier protecting the Royal Capital was broken, if only briefly.”
Roderic’s pupils shook for an instant.
Knight Mamon pressed down on Johan’s shoulder as he spoke to the king.
“Your Majesty, I shall take this man to the dungeon at once. Please grant permission.”
The king could not bring himself to allow it.
The Watcher of Narak clearly knew something.
He had to find out just how much Johan had noticed.
Roderic gripped the armrest tightly and spoke.
“...It appears the Watcher of Narak has something to say to me. Mamon, release him.”
As though he had never displayed hostility, Mamon immediately stepped away from Johan.
“I obey the king’s command.”
He was only carrying out the king’s orders. He held no particular ill will toward Johan.
Johan looked at the king.
“Your Majesty, please dismiss those around us for a moment.”
If what he was about to say became public, even the king of a nation would be unable to keep his position.
The throne would change hands.
Roderic vaguely understood that as well.
He waved his hand at the ministers.
“That will be all for today. I will send word for you separately.”
The king’s sudden change in attitude left the ministers no choice but to be puzzled.
Murmurs spread through the hall again.
Johan rose from his kneeling position.
“I sincerely thank Your Majesty for your consideration.”
The king stared at Johan, then snapped irritably at the ministers.
“What are you waiting for? I said leave.”
One by one, the ministers began to leave the Great Hall.
The knights followed.
Before long, only Johan and Roderic remained in the vast chamber.
Johan had been quietly looking up at Roderic when he suddenly frowned.
He spoke in an indifferent voice.
“How long do you intend to look down on me?”
He was speaking casually to the king.
Roderic’s eyes widened.
He was so taken aback that he could not speak.
Not even Count Staviana had treated Roderic in such a way.
* * *
Ilea briefly fell into thought.
‘What would Johan have done?’
She had found the shadow the king was concealing.
She had caught hold of the king’s weakness.
In a situation like this, Johan would surely seize that weakness and never let go.
Johan had always been that way.
When they first met, he had used Gaf, her weakness, to pressure her relentlessly.
His relationship with Count Staviana had been no different.
The moment Johan found something he could use, he did not hesitate.
He laid every card on the table, then crushed his opponent beneath him.
Johan’s methods were always the same, and Ilea was Johan now.
She had to act like Johan.
He would surely use the king’s weakness to first establish the relationship between sovereign and subject.
A conversation could proceed more smoothly only when they stood at the same level.
Ilea immediately addressed the king casually.
“How long do you intend to look down on me?”
King Roderic could not hide his agitation. He doubted his own ears.
Even if he was only a puppet king, he was still the supreme ruler of a nation.
No one had ever dared utter such words before the king’s throne.
Roderic’s eyes went wide.
He spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
“W-What did you say? Say it again.”
Johan, Ilea, replied evenly.
“I asked when you planned to withdraw that arrogant gaze.”
Roderic shot to his feet from the throne.
His aged muscles trembled. The deep wrinkles on his face twisted hideously.
He shouted furiously.
“How dare you spout such nonsense before me?!”
His voice cracked, becoming metallic.
Johan snickered.
“Don’t overexert yourself. You’ll exhaust all the vigor you received from the demon.”
Roderic’s expression froze stiffly.
The word demon had paralyzed him.
“Y-You, what are you...”
Johan shook his head.
“No, no. Don’t deny it like that. We don’t have enough time to lay everything bare. Please, let’s not waste strength and time on pointless matters. I already know that you made a contract with a demon.”
Roderic trembled.
Anger, shock, panic, anxiety, confusion. Every sort of emotion was striking him at once.
“What evidence do you have to spew such bullshit?!”
Johan let out a deep sigh, as if resigned.
“I have no choice, then. Fine. Let me show you some evidence.”
Johan held out his palm.
The king flinched.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Johan smiled with his eyes as Ilea did.
“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt much.”
At that moment, some unknown force pried Roderic’s mouth wide open.
His wrinkled throat squirmed.
An unpleasant foreign sensation climbed up his esophagus.
“Cough... hhk!”
Roderic could not even resist. All he could do was groan.
Just as he was about to thrash about, Ilea clenched her palm.
Pale smoke burst from Roderic’s mouth.
It was Demonic Energy.
Yet it was not black at all.
Johan let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Amazing. So that is how you concealed your identity.”
Ilea had unconsciously spoken in her usual manner.
She was genuinely impressed and had briefly forgotten her role-playing.
Pure white Demonic Energy was an extraordinarily rare substance.
No malice or foul stench could be felt from that Demonic Energy.
Not even a high-ranking priest would be able to detect a trace of Demonic Energy from Roderic.
Only now was it clear why the king had not been discovered despite making a contract with a demon.
As long as no trace of Demonic Energy existed, no one could suspect the king.
After expelling the Demonic Energy, Roderic collapsed into the throne.
His eyes lost their strength.
His entire body drooped.
All the vigor supporting his old body had drained away.
Roderic had returned to being a dying old man.
He slowly raised a gaunt arm.
“...Give it back. Please.”
A terrible lethargy swept over him.
He could not even speak properly.
Roderic found this sensation unbearably painful.
Johan wiggled his fingers. The pure white Demonic Energy fluttered in the air with the motion.
“If I give it back, will you tell me everything honestly?”
Roderic nodded with difficulty.
“I will do anything. So please, please give it to me.”
Johan smiled with his eyes.
“Very well. I will trust you.”
He snapped his fingers.
The Demonic Energy drifting through the air all returned to Roderic’s body at once.
Roderic’s eyes flew open.
A sharp glint returned to them.
As he rose from the throne, he spoke.
“Watcher of Narak, what are you? Are you a Mage?”
Johan frowned.
“Don’t compare me to those crude things.”
It sounded like the kind of thing Johan would say.
“Then...”
Johan abruptly cut him off.
“From now on, I ask the questions. Roderic, you only need to answer.”
Roderic’s pupils began rolling wildly again.
Johan watched the sight closely.
The king was surely concentrating on something at that moment.
He murmured softly.
“...I see. Understood.”
Johan spoke in a low voice.
“Who are you answering? Are you perhaps speaking with the demon you contracted with?”
Roderic replied calmly.
“Precisely. It says to bring you to it immediately.”
Johan’s brow narrowed slightly.
“What does that mean?”
Roderic gave a meaningful smile.
He touched his ring.
“You will understand when you experience it.”
The next instant, a flash burst before Johan’s eyes.
A mass of pure white light flooded his vision.
Johan covered his eyes with an arm and curved his lips into a smile.
“It is quite a useful spell formula.”
A Witch’s eyes could see every spell formula sustaining the magic.
A spell of considerable rank was being cast.
Of course, Ilea could have immediately disrupted or altered the spell’s structure.
But she did not act.
It was purely out of curiosity.
She gave herself over to the pouring light.
Johan’s figure vanished in an instant.
Left alone, Roderic burst into loud laughter.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! You acted so high and mighty, and look at you now! You will be offered as a sacrifice to Muel!”
His voice rang through the Great Hall.
Amid his booming laughter, another voice cut in.
“Roderic, what has you so amused?”
Roderic felt something unfamiliar on his shoulder.
He immediately turned around.
His pupils widened.
Eyes redder than blood were looking at him.
“Ghk!”
Mapheltan pulled the corners of his mouth into a long smile.
“Let me laugh with you. Will you not tell me about it as well?”
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