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Join the Server“I’m full, so I think I’ll be getting up now.”
“It seems the food didn’t suit your taste. I’ll have some snacks brought in.”
“The food was perfectly fine. It’s just that what I ate this morning hasn’t settled yet.”
“If you’re unwell, shall I call a physician?”
“It’s alright. Please continue your meal. I’ll excuse myself first.”
Afraid they might try to stop him, Kebel hurried away.
****
“P-Please spare me!”
The man’s face was pale, as though he had seen the Grim Reaper himself. Watching him kneel and beg for his life, Osh’s brow twitched.
He had expected the Count to send someone, but he had not expected him to send someone this foolish.
Silently, Osh looked down at him.
“…I only came to deliver a message from the Count.”
Osh tilted his chin, signaling him to continue.
The man immediately pulled a sheet of paper from his coat and held it out.
As if he found it too disgusting to touch, Osh merely stared at it.
Thinking he was being ignored, the man hurriedly blurted out:
“His Highness the Crown Prince has sent Young Duke Kebel to the Kingdom of Beal.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
“It’s true! I haven’t told a single lie-”
“Doni.”
“H-How do you know my name?!”
A freezing voice escaped Osh’s lips.
The pressure radiating from him felt as though it would crush the man’s throat at any moment.
Panicking, the man slammed his forehead to the ground.
Acting on instinct, he grabbed Osh’s ankle.
Only for Osh to step on his wrist.
The man screamed in pain, but Osh’s expression remained unchanged.
“Did you really think I knew nothing?”
“P-Please… just spare my life…”
His voice was soft, almost gentle.
That only made the man tremble harder.
Then, in a flash, Osh grabbed the back of his head and forced it backward.
The man blinked in confusion, unable to process what had happened.
“Didn’t the Count teach you?”
A chilling smile spread across Osh’s lips.
“A dog should obey only its master’s orders.”
“The Count…?”
“Then you should have done exactly what the Count told you.”
As though he already knew every detail of the man’s mission, Osh smiled.
The sight terrified him.
His face drained of all color.
The pressure pouring from Osh made it difficult to breathe.
“Ghk-”
The man’s eyes rolled back.
Blood vessels bulged across his face, foam gathering at the corners of his mouth.
His hand weakly reached out, seeking salvation.
Osh stared down at him with complete indifference.
“Reeking of sewer filth like this…”
“Hh…”
“And yet you thought you could deceive me?”
“P-Please… believe me…!”
The man desperately shook his head.
In panic, he pulled a small vial from his pocket.
The Count had ordered him to make Osh drink its contents.
Instead, he tried to throw it.
But Osh instantly stopped him.
The bottle slipped from his hand and shattered.
“It was far too obvious.”
“P-Please… spare me…!”
“Why should I?”
Osh tilted his head as though he genuinely didn’t understand.
His innocent expression only made him more terrifying.
Then he slammed the man’s head into the ground.
The man collapsed face-first, bloodied and bruised.
Even so, he gasped in relief simply because Osh had let go.
Tears and mucus streamed down his face as he begged.
Osh remained unmoved.
Then the man accidentally uttered a certain name.
“K-Kebel…!”
Immediately, Osh’s expression turned icy.
His hand shot forward and seized the man’s throat again.
“I never gave you permission to speak that name.”
A warning colder than ice.
Osh’s lips twisted.
His grip tightened further.
With his free hand, he snatched the letter.
After silently reading it, he crushed it in his fist.
The paper crumpled beyond recognition.
“Go back and tell him.”
“Things won’t go the way he wants.”
There was no subject in the sentence, yet the man understood.
Osh threw him aside.
The man scrambled away without looking back.
Osh watched him coldly.
The man was doomed anyway.
There was no reason for Osh to dirty his own hands.
The only reason he had spared him at all was because of Kebel.
Osh had suspected for a long time that Kebel possessed divine power.
When they first met at the duke’s estate at age eleven, Kebel carried a faint scent that no one else seemed able to perceive.
It was still immature then.
But it teased Osh’s senses like the aroma of a warm soup.
A scent only he could detect.
From that moment on, he had lingered around Kebel.
Unlike the nauseating smell emitted by priests, Kebel’s fragrance was pure, refreshing, and irresistible.
It made him want to swallow every last trace of that holy power.
The darkness writhing inside him constantly whispered,
Taste it.
A noble scent that only those with strong magical power could perceive.
Just as a flower attracts countless bees, Kebel possessed a power that tempted darkness itself.
“Kebel truly never does what I want.”
A short laugh escaped him.
The war he had once intended to observe from afar.
It was time to end it with his own hands.
Jealousy clouded his reason.
Osh opened and closed his fist.
Black mana condensed within his palm, growing denser and denser.
Satisfied, he smiled coldly.
“Wait for me, Kebel.”
****
The Full Moon Festival was being held in Ella Village, located near the capital of the Kingdom of Beal.
Since Cinnamon would be joining later, Kebel attended with Kapu instead.
Kapu looked excited, as though he had been waiting for this day all year.
Butterfly-shaped ornaments glowed softly.
The village sparkled with so many lights that it resembled a Christmas celebration in the middle of May.
Between the green leaves, countless butterfly decorations shimmered.
Kebel watched them with fascination.
“Do you like them?”
With a cheerful smile, Kapu plucked one of the decorations down.
It looked like an important symbol of the village, making Kebel hesitate.
Kapu simply placed it in his hand.
“It’s fine. They’re all thrown away after the festival anyway.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to keep and reuse them? Why throw them away?”
“Because they’ve been touched by impure energy. The next day, they’re burned.”
Kebel tilted his head.
Enjoying something during a festival only to destroy it afterward made little sense to him.
Still, he chose not to ask further.
He simply stared at the ornament.
Kapu stepped closer.
As if changing the mood, he grinned playfully.
“You would’ve been disappointed if I hadn’t given you one, right?”
“I suppose so. I’ve never thought butterflies looked this beautiful before.”
“Everything born and raised by nature is beautiful.”
His gaze lowered slightly.
“Problems only arise during the process of growing.”
For a brief moment, loneliness crossed his face.
Then it vanished beneath a smile.
Kapu gently placed a hand on Kebel’s shoulder.
“Now then, shall we start enjoying ourselves properly?”
Without waiting for an answer, he nudged Kebel forward.
They spent hours wandering the festival before finally completing a full tour of the village.
Exhausted, Kebel searched for somewhere to sit.
Kapu led him to a fountain in the center of town.
“Let’s rest here for a bit.”
“Okay.”
Kebel sat down on a bench and caught his breath.
Kapu, however, remained standing.
When Kebel asked why he wasn’t sitting, Kapu waved him off.
He seemed content simply watching the festival.
His face was bright with excitement.
“There’s really so much to see.”
“Right? It’s one of my favorite festivals.”
Kapu looked genuinely pleased that Kebel was enjoying himself.
As though he had been born and raised in this village.
The sight made Kebel chuckle.
For something called the Full Moon Festival, there were surprisingly few moon decorations.
Instead, butterflies were everywhere.
Curious, Kebel finally asked,
“I noticed something earlier. Almost all the decorations in this village use butterfly designs.”
“Curious?”
“…Yes.”
Kapu’s grin widened mischievously.
Kebel answered a little more stiffly than intended.
As if warning him not to dodge the question now, he fixed him with a stare.
Laughing softly, Kapu dropped down onto the bench beside him.
You’ve got to see this next! Run! This Saint Is a Monster! will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : Run! This Saint Is a Monster!
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