Chapter 73
The rough sack made of coarse hemp scraped back and forth, making a harsh sound.
“Mmph-! Mmph-!”
Every time the man inside the sack writhed, letting out muffled screams that sounded like groans, the harsh rustling sound intensified. The problem was that even these sounds were drowned out by another, much louder noise.
“Ah-, uah-, aah-.”
It was a strange sound. It was clearly a person humming, but it was nothing more than mixing inhuman noises rather than language.
“Euah-, uuh-.”
It seemed like he was trying to sing with lyrics, but as if his tongue was paralyzed, it just felt like he was mumbling. Despite this, his voice was so loud that it completely drowned out the sounds from the sack and its contents.
The large man, who was advancing while singing with a menacing axe on his back, casually dropped the sack he had been carrying on one shoulder deep into the cave. Due to the careless way he put it down, the ‘mmph mmph’ sounds of pain from inside the sack burst out even louder.
The large man, who had been singing with a smiling face while repeatedly opening and closing his mouth, began to roughly open the tightly tied mouth of the sack. As he opened the tightly knotted opening and lowered the sack, a middle-aged man wearing rather luxurious clothes appeared inside. He was tightly bound with ropes and even had a gag in his mouth.
While it was good that the stuffy sack had been removed, it was so dark that he couldn’t see an inch in front of him. As if considering this, the large man took out a portable brazier that he had attached to his belt. He quickly lit it using a flint and placed it between himself and the bound man.
“Mmph-! Mmph-!”
The large man illuminated by the brazier’s fire was truly terrifying. With a physique far superior to that of an ordinary human and a ferocious face, especially around his grinning mouth, there were numerous scars from various cuts, and near his temples, there were clear marks of burns. Moreover, with his eyes slanted upwards to a savage degree, the term ‘ferocious’ suited him perfectly.
The large man, who had been scanning the frightened middle-aged man with his eyes, smiled more deeply. He suddenly took something out and held it out to the man. In the light of the brazier, it appeared to be a piece of black, tough-looking jerky.
“Eou? Eou?”
Whether he hadn’t learned language or his tongue was strange, the large man kept trying to say something, but it was incomprehensible. The middle-aged man could only guess what he was offering by looking at the jerky held out in front of him.
‘How could I eat in this state after being kidnapped?’
With a surge of anger, he contorted his eyes and made inhuman noises imitating the large man. The large man shrugged, put the jerky in his mouth, and chewed it slowly. Then, after opening and closing his mouth a few times, he took something out of his pocket and started writing with a stick.
‘What on earth does he want from me?’
If his mouth were free, he could at least speak, but this man had left the gag on while offering jerky, with no intention of removing it.
‘Just wait until I’m free…’
As he gritted his teeth inwardly and glared, the paper the man had been writing on was held out in front of him. The content that the large man had scrawled down on a small wooden board was enough to make the man flinch.
<I’ll remove the gag, so eat whatever I give you. If you’re picky, you’ll be the next meal.>
If it were someone else, they might have snorted and resisted, but for some reason, the ferocious man in front of him seemed like he could eat him with a smile and still have room for more.
The man’s eyes were, though it’s odd to express it this way, truly pure. They were so pure that the content he had written didn’t feel like idle talk at all.
As soon as he saw the large man reaching out his hand after putting away the memo, rather than being terrified, he froze stiff. If he upset him, it felt like his neck would be snapped instantly by those thick, rough hands.
When the large man removed the gag, he belatedly felt a stinging sensation around his mouth and even his teeth felt sore. Nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut and just rolled his eyes around, looking scared. He quickly accepted the jerky that came close to his mouth, put it in, and chewed, pretending not to feel the pain in his teeth. Having only eaten fine foods before, chewing on jerky as hard as a rock made his jaw feel like it would dislocate, but he chewed as best he could without showing it.
While he was chewing the jerky, the man started writing again. During this time, the middle-aged man surveyed the outside that was faintly visible behind the man’s back, trying to gauge where he was.
The cave wasn’t very deep. It was just a straight, deep cave, and even from his position sitting with his back against the far end, he could see outside to some extent. He could tell that it was bright daylight and that the cave was in a deep part of the forest where the road wasn’t visible.
‘How long was I unconscious? No, I was in my bedroom to begin with…’
His head was still throbbing. He thought it might be because blood had rushed to his head from being carried upside down, but more than that, it seemed like there had been some drug in what he had eaten before.
‘I don’t know what kind of drug it was, but somehow my heart hurts and my whole body… It’s like I’ve been beaten up.’
Given his status, he had almost no experience of being hit by anyone, but he thought that if he were beaten up, it might feel like this, with everything aching and bones feeling dislocated.
He tried to recall what had happened to him just before he lost consciousness, and if there had been anything strange.
Though it was vague, he seemed to have lost consciousness during breakfast, feeling his vision go dark and his body stiffen. Then when he opened his eyes, he was being treated like this in a sack he had never been close to before. He wondered what on earth the guards had been doing, feeling utterly dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, the large man showed him a new piece of writing.
<Do you know that you almost died?>
The man’s face suddenly crumpled. The rough jerky he had been chewing went down his throat, causing a scratching pain, but he ignored it and opened his mouth.
“Almost died? You guys were trying to kill me, weren’t you?! No, looking at this situation, it seems you didn’t have the guts to kill me?”
He didn’t know how they had dragged him out of the castle, but he thought they were trying to negotiate rather than kill him. Judging by the man’s all-black attire except for his face, he thought he might be an assassin.
“I don’t know whose orders you’re following, but you’ve made a good decision. It would be more beneficial for you to negotiate with me rather than kill me. No matter who your employer is, I can give you a better reward.”
As he spoke confidently, the large man snorted as if mocking him.
<Alright. Let’s have the negotiation you want so badly.>
After showing this content, the large man took out a different paper. As soon as he saw it, the middle-aged man flinched and his eyes widened.
“That’s…!”
The familiar item was a ‘Divine Command Contract’. Moreover, it was Canael’s, whom he had considered a dirty sewer rat.
The large man bared his teeth and showed another memo.
<Shall I slit your throat here, or will you make a new contract?>
The Divine Command Contract, filled with someone’s writing, flickered in the light of the brazier.
* * *
The food placed on the table remained untouched for over an hour. The one-handed servant who had stayed in the room during that time without going out, eventually took it away.
Three hours passed after that.
‘There should be about 2 hours left until the next meal.’
Considering the meal schedule of the prison, Sethian expected that the same servant would bring new food in about 2 hours, and he was mentally organizing what he needed to do until then. Although the pieces he had set in motion would be moving on their own, he couldn’t just wait for them to resolve everything. Moreover, he had to end it with his own hands.
‘Ending this without killing anyone will be the most difficult task.’
It would be easier to just kill them all.
Previously, it had felt like a cute stimulus to his boring daily life, but now even that had become bothersome. After this matter is resolved, should he kill off all his household members and relatives? Although there was a Divine Command Contract, what was specified in the contract was only the ‘position of Crown Prince’.
If he becomes Emperor instead of Crown Prince, the content wouldn’t apply.
While it’s true that the Divine Command Contract is an absolute contract, Sethian had intentionally created small loopholes when writing such things. Like when he contracted Fair, the Guild Master of Canael.
‘After becoming Emperor, I can kill them all.’
Their machinations were no longer interesting or stimulating like before. Since they were just annoying now, there was no need to tolerate them anymore.
‘Yi-Gyeol is all I need.’
A simple and straightforward thought.
Since meeting and deeply embracing him, nothing else had been stimulating anymore. If there was anything that still moved him, Yi-Gyeol was always at the end of it.
So Yi-Gyeol was all he needed. If only he stayed by his side, no one else was necessary.
Sethian didn’t reject or turn away from this thought. He simply accepted it comfortably.
Trying to deny emotions and turn one’s gaze elsewhere would just be a foolish act. It’s better to accept it quickly and dig a trap to ensnare him. So that he can never escape and only look at him forever.
A small but cruel smile appeared on Sethian’s lips as he looked out the small window. At the end of his gaze, far away, he felt a familiar presence. Even though nothing was visible in the empty air, it felt as if that area was rippling.
Yi-Gyeol’s presence.
Yi-Gyeol searching for him.
Yi-Gyeol thinking only of him even when apart.
Somewhere deep inside, he felt a pleasant chill.
While it was Zair who had set the trap, it was Sethian who had set an even greater trap within it. To complete his own trap, he had deliberately walked into the grasp that Zair had designed.
All to bind Yi-Gyeol even more tightly to himself.
“Mmph-! Mmph-!”
Every time the man inside the sack writhed, letting out muffled screams that sounded like groans, the harsh rustling sound intensified. The problem was that even these sounds were drowned out by another, much louder noise.
“Ah-, uah-, aah-.”
It was a strange sound. It was clearly a person humming, but it was nothing more than mixing inhuman noises rather than language.
“Euah-, uuh-.”
It seemed like he was trying to sing with lyrics, but as if his tongue was paralyzed, it just felt like he was mumbling. Despite this, his voice was so loud that it completely drowned out the sounds from the sack and its contents.
The large man, who was advancing while singing with a menacing axe on his back, casually dropped the sack he had been carrying on one shoulder deep into the cave. Due to the careless way he put it down, the ‘mmph mmph’ sounds of pain from inside the sack burst out even louder.
The large man, who had been singing with a smiling face while repeatedly opening and closing his mouth, began to roughly open the tightly tied mouth of the sack. As he opened the tightly knotted opening and lowered the sack, a middle-aged man wearing rather luxurious clothes appeared inside. He was tightly bound with ropes and even had a gag in his mouth.
While it was good that the stuffy sack had been removed, it was so dark that he couldn’t see an inch in front of him. As if considering this, the large man took out a portable brazier that he had attached to his belt. He quickly lit it using a flint and placed it between himself and the bound man.
“Mmph-! Mmph-!”
The large man illuminated by the brazier’s fire was truly terrifying. With a physique far superior to that of an ordinary human and a ferocious face, especially around his grinning mouth, there were numerous scars from various cuts, and near his temples, there were clear marks of burns. Moreover, with his eyes slanted upwards to a savage degree, the term ‘ferocious’ suited him perfectly.
The large man, who had been scanning the frightened middle-aged man with his eyes, smiled more deeply. He suddenly took something out and held it out to the man. In the light of the brazier, it appeared to be a piece of black, tough-looking jerky.
“Eou? Eou?”
Whether he hadn’t learned language or his tongue was strange, the large man kept trying to say something, but it was incomprehensible. The middle-aged man could only guess what he was offering by looking at the jerky held out in front of him.
‘How could I eat in this state after being kidnapped?’
With a surge of anger, he contorted his eyes and made inhuman noises imitating the large man. The large man shrugged, put the jerky in his mouth, and chewed it slowly. Then, after opening and closing his mouth a few times, he took something out of his pocket and started writing with a stick.
‘What on earth does he want from me?’
If his mouth were free, he could at least speak, but this man had left the gag on while offering jerky, with no intention of removing it.
‘Just wait until I’m free…’
As he gritted his teeth inwardly and glared, the paper the man had been writing on was held out in front of him. The content that the large man had scrawled down on a small wooden board was enough to make the man flinch.
<I’ll remove the gag, so eat whatever I give you. If you’re picky, you’ll be the next meal.>
If it were someone else, they might have snorted and resisted, but for some reason, the ferocious man in front of him seemed like he could eat him with a smile and still have room for more.
The man’s eyes were, though it’s odd to express it this way, truly pure. They were so pure that the content he had written didn’t feel like idle talk at all.
As soon as he saw the large man reaching out his hand after putting away the memo, rather than being terrified, he froze stiff. If he upset him, it felt like his neck would be snapped instantly by those thick, rough hands.
When the large man removed the gag, he belatedly felt a stinging sensation around his mouth and even his teeth felt sore. Nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut and just rolled his eyes around, looking scared. He quickly accepted the jerky that came close to his mouth, put it in, and chewed, pretending not to feel the pain in his teeth. Having only eaten fine foods before, chewing on jerky as hard as a rock made his jaw feel like it would dislocate, but he chewed as best he could without showing it.
While he was chewing the jerky, the man started writing again. During this time, the middle-aged man surveyed the outside that was faintly visible behind the man’s back, trying to gauge where he was.
The cave wasn’t very deep. It was just a straight, deep cave, and even from his position sitting with his back against the far end, he could see outside to some extent. He could tell that it was bright daylight and that the cave was in a deep part of the forest where the road wasn’t visible.
‘How long was I unconscious? No, I was in my bedroom to begin with…’
His head was still throbbing. He thought it might be because blood had rushed to his head from being carried upside down, but more than that, it seemed like there had been some drug in what he had eaten before.
‘I don’t know what kind of drug it was, but somehow my heart hurts and my whole body… It’s like I’ve been beaten up.’
Given his status, he had almost no experience of being hit by anyone, but he thought that if he were beaten up, it might feel like this, with everything aching and bones feeling dislocated.
He tried to recall what had happened to him just before he lost consciousness, and if there had been anything strange.
Though it was vague, he seemed to have lost consciousness during breakfast, feeling his vision go dark and his body stiffen. Then when he opened his eyes, he was being treated like this in a sack he had never been close to before. He wondered what on earth the guards had been doing, feeling utterly dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, the large man showed him a new piece of writing.
<Do you know that you almost died?>
The man’s face suddenly crumpled. The rough jerky he had been chewing went down his throat, causing a scratching pain, but he ignored it and opened his mouth.
“Almost died? You guys were trying to kill me, weren’t you?! No, looking at this situation, it seems you didn’t have the guts to kill me?”
He didn’t know how they had dragged him out of the castle, but he thought they were trying to negotiate rather than kill him. Judging by the man’s all-black attire except for his face, he thought he might be an assassin.
“I don’t know whose orders you’re following, but you’ve made a good decision. It would be more beneficial for you to negotiate with me rather than kill me. No matter who your employer is, I can give you a better reward.”
As he spoke confidently, the large man snorted as if mocking him.
<Alright. Let’s have the negotiation you want so badly.>
After showing this content, the large man took out a different paper. As soon as he saw it, the middle-aged man flinched and his eyes widened.
“That’s…!”
The familiar item was a ‘Divine Command Contract’. Moreover, it was Canael’s, whom he had considered a dirty sewer rat.
The large man bared his teeth and showed another memo.
<Shall I slit your throat here, or will you make a new contract?>
The Divine Command Contract, filled with someone’s writing, flickered in the light of the brazier.
* * *
The food placed on the table remained untouched for over an hour. The one-handed servant who had stayed in the room during that time without going out, eventually took it away.
Three hours passed after that.
‘There should be about 2 hours left until the next meal.’
Considering the meal schedule of the prison, Sethian expected that the same servant would bring new food in about 2 hours, and he was mentally organizing what he needed to do until then. Although the pieces he had set in motion would be moving on their own, he couldn’t just wait for them to resolve everything. Moreover, he had to end it with his own hands.
‘Ending this without killing anyone will be the most difficult task.’
It would be easier to just kill them all.
Previously, it had felt like a cute stimulus to his boring daily life, but now even that had become bothersome. After this matter is resolved, should he kill off all his household members and relatives? Although there was a Divine Command Contract, what was specified in the contract was only the ‘position of Crown Prince’.
If he becomes Emperor instead of Crown Prince, the content wouldn’t apply.
While it’s true that the Divine Command Contract is an absolute contract, Sethian had intentionally created small loopholes when writing such things. Like when he contracted Fair, the Guild Master of Canael.
‘After becoming Emperor, I can kill them all.’
Their machinations were no longer interesting or stimulating like before. Since they were just annoying now, there was no need to tolerate them anymore.
‘Yi-Gyeol is all I need.’
A simple and straightforward thought.
Since meeting and deeply embracing him, nothing else had been stimulating anymore. If there was anything that still moved him, Yi-Gyeol was always at the end of it.
So Yi-Gyeol was all he needed. If only he stayed by his side, no one else was necessary.
Sethian didn’t reject or turn away from this thought. He simply accepted it comfortably.
Trying to deny emotions and turn one’s gaze elsewhere would just be a foolish act. It’s better to accept it quickly and dig a trap to ensnare him. So that he can never escape and only look at him forever.
A small but cruel smile appeared on Sethian’s lips as he looked out the small window. At the end of his gaze, far away, he felt a familiar presence. Even though nothing was visible in the empty air, it felt as if that area was rippling.
Yi-Gyeol’s presence.
Yi-Gyeol searching for him.
Yi-Gyeol thinking only of him even when apart.
Somewhere deep inside, he felt a pleasant chill.
While it was Zair who had set the trap, it was Sethian who had set an even greater trap within it. To complete his own trap, he had deliberately walked into the grasp that Zair had designed.
All to bind Yi-Gyeol even more tightly to himself.
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