novelraw Chapter 120 : Chapter 120
Chapter 120 : Chapter 120
Chapter 120. Roderick (2)
“I see a shadow hanging over Your Majesty. Just what are you hiding within it?”
Yohan (Ilea) had caught sight of the shadow King Roderick was concealing.
Through the eyes of the witch, Roderick’s eerie aura was clearly visible.
The king was now tainted with a certain malice.
Faint though it was, there was undeniably miasma flowing through his body.
The moment Yohan finished speaking, the king’s eyes began to roll wildly.
It was a disturbing sight, but the ministers felt no fear.
With an ordinary human’s eyesight, it was nearly impossible to follow the speed at which his eyes rotated.
In this great hall, only Ilea had managed to capture the king’s strange behavior.
Yohan (Ilea) smiled with his eyes, just as Ilea would.
His gaze and the king’s intertwined mid-air.
Roderick ceased his strange behavior and opened his mouth.
“…A shadow, you say. Watcher of the Abyss, what is this shadow of mine you speak of?”
His once chaotic eyes had now settled into calmness.
The king managed to maintain a degree of composure.
Surely someone behind the scenes was advising him.
According to public opinion, King Roderick was not someone known for emotional control.
Yohan spoke with a composed expression.
“Something parasitic that worms into a weak mind, a sly courtier seeking to exploit your ignorance, a vile entity that stirs the innate malice of man. It could be all of these.”
The moment he finished, the ministers grew agitated.
Some stammered in shock, others shouted in protest.
“L-Lord Yohan, what in the world is that outrageous remark?!”
“Even if His Majesty has misunderstood something…”
“Will you not cease this blasphemous speech at once?!”
“Retract your slander and apologize to His Majesty immediately!”
A commotion spread across the great hall.
The king raised one arm to silence them.
Silence returned.
Roderick slowly began to speak.
“Watcher of the Abyss, are you implying I am under some sort of spell?”
His gaze toward Yohan was bitterly cold.
Yohan’s expression remained composed.
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
Roderick slammed down on the armrest.
“Do you dare mock the king?! Seize that insolent wretch at once!”
Knight Mamon forced Yohan fully to his knees.
But Yohan didn’t care.
He simply looked up at the throne and spoke with a calm face.
“Your Majesty, not long ago, a wicked group invaded the capital.”
The king’s expression twisted slightly.
As soon as the attack on the capital was mentioned, Roderick began to show emotion.
Noticing the king’s discomfort, Mamon glared at Yohan.
“Lord Yohan, silence yourself at once.”
But Yohan continued speaking undeterred.
“On the day of the attack, the barrier protecting the capital was momentarily shattered.”
Roderick’s pupils trembled for a brief moment.
Mamon pressed down on Yohan’s shoulder and spoke to the king.
“Your Majesty, I shall escort this man to the dungeon immediately. Grant me your leave.”
But the king could not give permission.
The Watcher of the Abyss clearly knew something.
As king, Roderick had to find out just how much he had uncovered.
He gripped the armrest tightly and opened his mouth.
“…It seems the Watcher of the Abyss has something to tell me. Mamon, release him.”
As if his hostility had never existed, Mamon immediately stepped back from Yohan.
“I obey the king’s command.”
He was simply carrying out royal orders. He held no personal resentment toward Yohan.
Yohan looked up at the king and spoke.
“Your Majesty, please clear the room for a moment.”
If what he was about to say became public knowledge, even the king would not be able to retain his throne.
The ruler of the throne would surely change.
Roderick seemed to sense this, even if only faintly.
He waved his hand toward the ministers.
“That will be all for today. I shall summon you separately.”
The sudden shift in the king’s attitude was striking.
The ministers couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
Murmurs spread again.
Yohan lifted his knees from the floor and said,
“I sincerely thank Your Majesty for your consideration.”
The king stared intently at Yohan, then spoke to the ministers with a voice full of irritation.
“What are you waiting for? I said leave.”
The ministers began to file out one by one.
The knights also took their leave.
Before long, the vast hall held only Yohan and Roderick.
Yohan quietly looked up at the king, then suddenly furrowed his brow.
He spoke in a bored voice.
“How long do you plan on looking down on me?”
He was speaking informally—daring to lower himself before the king.
Roderick’s eyes opened wide.
He was so flustered he couldn’t speak.
Even Count of Staviana had never treated Roderick this way.
***
Ilea paused in thought.
‘What would Yohan have done?’
She had discovered the shadow the king had been hiding.
She had spotted his weakness.
In this situation, Yohan would never have let go of such a weakness.
That was always how he operated.
Even when they first met, he had used ‘Gaf’ as a weakness to press her hard.
It had been the same with Count of Staviana.
The moment he found something he could exploit, Yohan never hesitated.
He would lay all his cards on the table and crush his opponent.
His methods never changed—and right now, Ilea was Yohan.
She had to act like him.
He would surely have used the king’s weakness to redefine their relationship—as sovereign and vassal.
They needed to be on equal footing for proper conversation to occur.
Ilea immediately addressed the king informally.
“How long do you plan on looking down on me?”
King Roderick couldn’t hide his agitation. He couldn’t believe his ears.
Though he was nothing more than a puppet king, he was still the ruler of the realm.
No one dared to speak such words beneath the throne.
Roderick’s eyes widened.
He spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
“W-What did you say? Say that again.”
Yohan (Ilea) replied in a calm tone.
“I asked when you’d lower that arrogant gaze.”
Roderick shot up from the throne.
His aged muscles trembled. His deep wrinkles contorted grotesquely.
He shouted in fury.
“How dare you speak such madness?!”
His voice cracked, leaking a metallic rasp.
Yohan let out a dry chuckle.
“Don’t push yourself. The strength you got from the demon might all leak out.”
Roderick’s face hardened.
The word demon had paralyzed him.
“You bastard, what are you—”
Yohan shook his head.
“No, that’s not it. You mustn’t deny it like that. We don’t even have time to talk through everything. Don’t waste your strength or mine. I already know you made a pact with a demon.”
Roderick trembled violently.
Rage, shock, confusion, anxiety, suspicion… A storm of emotions assaulted him.
“What proof do you have to spew such nonsense?!”
Yohan sighed deeply, as if resigned.
“Can’t be helped. Fine. Let me show you some proof.”
He stretched his palm forward.
The king flinched.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Yohan smiled with his eyes like Ilea.
“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt that much.”
At that moment, a mysterious force pried Roderick’s mouth wide open.
His wrinkled throat squirmed grotesquely.
A disgusting foreign sensation rose up from his esophagus.
“Kh… huhh!”
He could only groan, powerless to resist.
Just as he was about to panic, Ilea clenched her palm.
A white puff of smoke burst from Roderick’s mouth.
It was miasma.
But it wasn’t dark at all.
Yohan let out a note of admiration.
“Amazing. So that’s how you managed to hide your identity.”
Ilea had slipped into her usual tone without realizing it.
She had been genuinely impressed and momentarily forgotten the act.
‘White miasma’ was an incredibly rare substance.
There was no trace of malice or stench from that miasma.
Even a high-ranking priest would fail to sense any lingering taint of miasma from Roderick.
Now the reason behind the king’s undetected contract with a demon was clear.
Without a trace of miasma, no one could ever suspect him.
Having vomited up the miasma, Roderick collapsed into his throne.
The light drained from his eyes.
His whole body drooped.
The strength that had been sustaining his old body was entirely gone.
He had returned to being a dying old man.
He slowly raised his withered arm.
“…Give it back. Please.”
An overwhelming powerlessness swept over him.
He could barely speak.
The sensation was agonizing.
Yohan wiggled his fingers. In response, the white miasma fluttered in the air.
“If I give it back, will you speak to me with complete honesty?”
Roderick weakly nodded.
“Anything. Just please… please, return it to me.”
Yohan smiled with his eyes.
“Very well. I’ll trust you.”
He snapped his fingers.
The miasma floating in the air rushed back into Roderick’s body.
Roderick’s eyes snapped open.
A sharp glint returned to them.
He rose from the throne and spoke.
“Watcher of the Abyss, what are you? A sorcerer?”
Yohan frowned.
“Don’t compare me to such crude things.”
That was how Yohan would’ve said it.
“In that case…”
Yohan cut him off.
“From here on, I’ll be the one asking questions. Roderick, you just answer.”
Roderick’s eyes began rolling again.
Yohan stared at the sight.
Surely, the king was focusing on something right now.
He muttered quietly,
“…I see. Understood.”
Yohan spoke in a low voice.
“Who are you answering to? Are you perhaps conversing with the demon you made a pact with?”
Roderick replied calmly.
“Correct. It says to bring you immediately.”
Yohan’s brows furrowed slightly.
“What do you mean?”
Roderick smiled meaningfully.
He stroked his ring.
“You’ll understand once you experience it.”
Right then, a blinding flash erupted before Yohan’s eyes.
A pure white light struck his retina.
Yohan shielded his eyes with an arm and drew a slight arc with his lips.
“Quite the useful incantation.”
Through the witch’s eyes, the entire spell structure was visible.
A high-tier spell was unfolding.
Of course, if she wanted to, Ilea could immediately disrupt or alter the spell.
But she didn’t act.
Pure curiosity held her back.
She surrendered herself to the showering light.
In an instant, Yohan’s figure vanished without a trace.
Left alone, Roderick burst into mad laughter.
“Ahahahahaha! All that arrogance, and look at you now! You’ll be offered as a sacrifice to Muel!”
His voice echoed through the great hall.
Amid the booming laughter, another voice intruded.
“Roderick, what’s so funny?”
Roderick suddenly felt a strange sensation on his shoulder.
He turned around immediately.
His pupils dilated.
Eyes redder than blood were staring at him.
“Wh-What?!”
Mapheltan curled his lips into a long grin.
“Let me in on the laughter. Why don’t you tell me the joke too?”