Chapter 125

An inexplicable terror instantly gripped his entire body. Igrid shot to his feet.

“You… since when…”

“I’ve been here since before you started throwing things. Hah, I was getting bored of waiting.”

“If you were here, you should have said something! Hiding like a rat with no dignity! And you call yourself royalty?”

“Since when have you ever treated me like royalty?”

“Th-that’s…”

Igrid, who had always been ashamed to share the same bloodline as Dante, was at a loss for words.

As Dante slowly approached the hesitating man, Igrid shouted.

“D-don’t come any closer! Say what you have to say from there!”

“I’d rather not.”

“I told you not to come closer!”

He wanted to run, but the bed was behind him. Igrid collapsed onto it, screaming.

“Is anyone out there! There’s an intruder! Drag this man out of here!”

No matter how loud he screamed, not a stir could be heard from outside.

‘Wh-what’s going on?’

Dante stood tall before Igrid and smiled gently. Then he reached out and playfully patted Igrid’s cheek.

“Brother, why so tense? Are you scared, perhaps?”

A cold sweat trickled down Igrid’s temple.

The memory of Dante nearly crushing his face was still vivid. He had no desire to experience that horrifying, humiliating pain again.

“L-little brother. What did I do to deserve this…? I didn’t do anything. R-really!”

“You don’t even know what you’ve done. Hah, what am I going to do with such a foolish brother?”

“Y-you can just tell me. What did I do wrong… ugh!”

Dante grabbed Igrid’s jaw as he rambled on. He then brought his face so close their cheeks nearly touched.

“I warned you last time. Don’t touch the Princess.”

Igrid, who had squeezed his eyes shut expecting a blow, shot them wide open.

“…You’re doing this over something so trivial? Because I slapped the Princess’s cheek?”

“Trivial?”

The smile vanished from Dante’s beautiful face without a trace.

In that same instant, the gentle atmosphere froze solid.

Goosebumps erupted on Igrid’s skin. Dante was simply not smiling, yet an inexplicable fear seized him.

“W-wait! Do you think I’m crazy enough to hit your lover for no reason? I had my reasons! Just listen to me! Please?”

“Hmm…”

Dante considered it for a moment, then sat on the sofa and crossed his legs.

He seemed to have calmed down, but that was far from the truth. He was like a cat toying with a mouse just before killing it.

“Speak.”

“The Princess fabricated a video. Made me look like some pervert with a penchant for cross-dressing… You’re a Hunter, you must have seen it, right?”

“And?”

“My guild members were in an uproar after seeing it. Think about it. Who would be pleased to see their leader humiliated like that? They were clamoring to charge the Princess with the crime of insulting royalty.”

“So.”

“I couldn’t just let it slide. So I calmed the guild members down and went to see the Princess.”

“So you couldn’t punish the Princess, which is why you hit her?”

“Th-that’s right! I really didn’t want to hit her! To lay a hand on my little brother’s lover. It’s horrible!”

Igrid pleaded, glancing nervously at Dante.

“But what was I supposed to do when my guild members were ready to riot? I had no choice…”

Igrid held out a trembling hand.

“Your brother was protecting your lover. For you. You understand my heart, don’t you?”

“Hmm…”

Dante tilted his head.

“Who was it again that said he’d propose to his brother’s lover to tame her?”

“…Y-you heard that, too?”

“I told you, I’ve been waiting. Since before you and that woman started your ridiculous little act.”

“W-w-wait a minute! There’s a reason for that, too!”

“I can’t listen to any more of this. My ears are starting to rot.”

Dante cut off Igrid’s excuses and drew his sword.

*Sshhring—*

Igrid’s horrified face was reflected on the blade’s pristine, shining surface.

“Y-you, why the sword…”

“I’ll just take your right hand.”

“A-are you crazy? Get that away from me! You monster! I told you to put that sword away!”

“Don’t be a nuisance.”

Igrid scrambled across the bed and fled to the other side.

“Guards! Chamberlain! Is anyone out there? Where the hell did they all go! That monster is trying to kill me! Get in here now!”

“No one can enter.”

“What? Don’t lie to me!”

“Then by all means, keep screaming.”

Glancing back at Dante, Igrid made a desperate dash for the bedroom door. The cold of the doorknob met his palm.

‘I made it!’

A triumphant smile spread across Igrid’s face as he pushed the handle down.

*Click… Clank, clank, clank!*

“The door? Why won’t the door open! Hey! Is anyone out there? Chamberlain! Guards!”

*Bang! Bang!*

Igrid shook the handle hard enough to break it, then pounded on the door until it seemed it would shatter.

But the silence outside remained. It was as if a massive wall separated the bedroom from the world.

Igrid spun around and glared at Dante.

“You… You did this? What did you do?”

Dante, who had been quietly observing Igrid’s struggle, simply shrugged.

“I’ve made your bedroom my domain. No one gets out without my permission. Not even sound.”

“…”

“Satisfied your curiosity? Now, can I cut off your arm?”

This wasn’t going to end with a simple threat like usual.

‘That madman! He’s really going to cut off my arm!’

A man who was not whole could never become emperor.

He had to survive this crisis, no matter what it took. Even if he had to crawl like a dog.

‘Just you wait! I’ll kill you with my own two hands!’

Igrid seethed inwardly, but he dropped to his knees.

“I’m sorry! I was wrong! I’ll even kneel before the Princess if you want. Please, can’t you just forgive me this once?”

Igrid begged shamelessly. He squeezed out tears and clasped his hands together in supplication.

But Dante merely stared at him, his expression unreadable.

Igrid swallowed hard. It felt like he was facing the grim reaper himself. His back was drenched in cold sweat.

“You damn monster! Do you think you can get away with cutting off my arm? If Father finds out, he’ll lock you in the Red Room for life! Ahhh… get away! Aaack!”

Consumed by terror, Igrid shot back to his feet.

But that was as far as he got. His feet wouldn’t move, as if they were glued to the floor.

“Ugh! Why can’t I move my feet?”

That wasn’t all.

His legs began to move on their own, striding forward step by step.

Igrid grabbed at his legs with both hands, but he couldn’t stop walking. His body was out of his control, as if possessed.

“Ugh! My body… something’s wrong with my body!”

“It’s because you’re inside my shadow.”

“What?”

Now that he mentioned it, Dante’s shadow, cast by the light, stretched long across the floor, all the way to Igrid’s feet.

‘Does that mean he can control anyone who steps into his shadow?’

This was neither the ability of a Sword Master nor that of a Hunter.

“To think you were hiding a power like this… Why didn’t you say anything?”

He couldn’t understand it. Why hadn’t Dante used this power to avoid the emperor’s abuse?

“If I had, do you think you would have left me alone? You would have thought it best to eliminate the monster before it grew any stronger.”

Dante said, and then he smiled.

It was a chilling smile. A shiver ran down Igrid’s spine.

His legs were trembling so violently he could hardly stand. Yet, Igrid couldn’t even collapse. His body wouldn’t obey him.

Igrid parted his chattering lips.

“You really are a demon! A filthy, wicked demon! The prophecy was true!”

Despite the vicious outburst, Dante’s expression remained indifferent.

“This is getting old.”

“O-old…? What do you mean?”

“I’ve cut off your arm a total of five times now. It’s getting a bit boring hearing the same thing every time.”

Igrid stared at Dante with a dumbfounded look.

“…Are you on drugs or something?”

The next moment.

*Swish— Thud.*

A flash of light, and then something heavy fell to the floor with a dull thud. Blood immediately gushed out like a fountain.

Igrid clutched his severed right arm and screamed.

“Uh… uh… Aaaaaaaah!”

The bedroom was splattered with blood.

Dante, who stood still as he was showered in it, pulled a potion from his coat.

If you reattached a severed limb to the stump and used a high-grade potion, the arm could be restored to its original state.

But if you healed the stump itself, the limb could never be reattached.

Igrid’s eyes widened in horror and disbelief.

“No! D-don’t do it! Don’t heal it! Please! You can’t heal it!”

“So you can reattach it like last time?”

“Y-you madman… Are you really on something? Last time! What the hell are you talking about!”

“Don’t try to understand. Just accept it. Like I have.”

Dante poured the potion onto Igrid’s arm. The stump emitted a white light as it slowly healed over.

“Noooooo!”

Igrid’s shriek filled the bedroom.

Only after emptying the entire bottle did Dante stand up.

His gaze lingered for a moment on Igrid, who had fainted from the struggle, but not for long.

Turning away with an expression of utter boredom, Dante’s eyes suddenly widened.

“!”

Outside the window, on the terrace, stood Astell.