I Unintentionally Cured the Grand Duke’s Insomnia - Chapter 112

56. — Mountain of Sacrifices (2)

“Yeah, but isn’t that the same for you? Rather than handing the position of head of the family to you, who appeared out of nowhere, he would rather pass it on to a child of an unknown lineage.”

Million laughed at Evelyn, who stood up straight and shot him a look. Her eyes were so filled with tension that they seemed ready to ignite at any moment. Then, he raised both hands to her shoulders as he met her gaze before wiping the smile from his face and parting his lips.

“But you know, Evelyn. It doesn’t matter to me who becomes the head of this family. In fact, I don’t even care.”

“….”

“As you said, I’m just a byproduct of failed dark magic.”

“….”

“But even so, I’d rather see you as the head of the family than some stranger whose face and name I don’t even know.”

After those words, his previously stern face softened playfully.

Watching him swiftly change his expression, Evelyn burst into a bitter laugh.

“Do you expect me to believe you now?”

“Well, it’s up to you to believe me or not, but considering even your maids are dead, do you have any other options?”

“….”

“So, why not cooperate with me, Evelyn?”

“What?”

“If you cooperate with me, I’ll get rid of your father, who humiliates you, and make you the head of the family.”

Evelyn narrowed her eyes as she listened to Million’s low voice.

His eyes gleamed with determination as if they were sincere.

“I just want to restore my messed-up creation back to the way it was.”

̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊

A missing person case?

My mind raced at the Note’s words. There was only one missing person case I had set up in this novel—the living human sacrifice used by Marquis Black to assassinate Emperor Joan through dark magic.

Note looked at my bewildered face and immediately waved his hand as if it was no big deal and spoke.

“Well, for now, it’s just that he might be missing. We don’t know for sure.”

“But, but there’s a reason for you to think that, right?”

“…Well, there is a reason, but looking back, I think I might have been overly worried because there have always been ominous rumors.”

“….”

“Anyway, it’s probably nothing serious. I’m just feeling uneasy for no reason since I received that person’s manuscript.”

“….”

“I think it’s best to inform the guards for now. Actually, they might not be very diligent in searching since it’s just a commoner disappearing, not a noble.”

Note, after nodding briefly at my stern expression, he hurriedly resumed walking.

I gnawed at my lips as I watched his retreating figure.

It definitely felt like the incident happened a bit earlier than I remembered. Despite the fact that there was never an explicit mention of the exact time in the original story, one thing was certain was that all events began after Irene returned since she was the protagonist of this novel. Then, did it mean that the disappearances that were happening now weren’t disappearances where people were victims of black magic?

As I let out an involuntary sigh, something slipped into my mouth. I accepted it reflexively and blinked at Cain, who was smiling mischievously.

“W-What is it?”

“It looks like you have a lot on your mind.”

“….?”

“I was told it’s good to eat sweets when you’re stressed.”

What Cain put into my mouth was a sweet caramel.

I rolled my eyes while chewing the caramel he gave me.

“Is it good?”

I nodded slowly in response to his warm question. The corner of his mouth then slowly curved up as I looked at him, rolling my eyes here and there.

“Do you want more?”

“Oh, no. I’ll eat this one!”

I hurriedly shook my head as I glanced at Cain, who was pointing to the dessert plate, before I quickly picked up my teacup to avoid his persistent gaze.

I pretended to drink tea and glanced at Cain.

The first mention of the disappearance incident in my original story was during the episode where Irene returned to Aren and faced the Emperor. She asked the Emperor to investigate several cases of the disappearances she had witnessed on her way back to Aren, and he recognized the similarities between the strange occurrences and the mysterious corpses that had been appearing throughout the empire.

Although this part was also in the early stages of the novel, it was much earlier than that now.

This was before Cain returned from the Winder Village and met Irene, which was only a few lines in the original story. So, did the mention of the disappearance incidents in the novel suggest that such events would be happening around this time in reality?

Or should I ask Cain?

Should I ask if he knew anything about the missing people that Note was talking about? And when the bodies were found, their hair was grey…

As soon as I recalled that fact, my strength left my hands. Even as I watched the glass I was holding fall to the floor and shatter, my frozen body didn’t move.

“Lia!”

Just as the sun was obscured by clouds behind Cain’s worried voice, Adelia Blaise’s white hair was visible beneath the darkening sky.

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