I Captured the Enemy Who Tried to Kill Me - Chapter 3
“Your Grace, that was exhilarating! You were magnificent today as well.”
“How wicked of him to deliberately spread such malicious energy. And knowing full well that you were waiting, Your Grace!”
“Even with all that intimidation, our Master wasn’t affected in the slightest. Hehe, beasts trying to suppress a magician!”
What the heck, what kind of misunderstanding is this? I was nearly scared to death.
I felt suddenly exhausted, but my body still wouldn’t move according to my will.
As I began walking somewhere, people who stuck to me like goldfish droppings kept adding flattering remarks.
Their constant chattering seemed quite energetic.
From what I gathered, these people were magicians, and the relationship between that man from earlier and the people here seemed to be terrible.
I was getting more and more creeped out.
So this is similar to the setting in “I Imprinted the Tyrant Emperor’s Heart”.
In “Tyrant Emperor,” magicians and Espers have the worst relationship possible.
If that man earlier was the Emperor, the male protagonist of “Tyrant Emperor,” then Hillaria the Duke, his political rival and villain, was…
That’s saying it’s me.
This can’t be happening.
I got caught in a Gate rampage and was killed by a monster, but when I opened my eyes, I’m inside a novel?
Haha, is that even possible?
The cheering of these unknown people continued until we walked somewhere and stood in front of an ornate door.
“Please rest well, Your Grace!”
“We’ll come visit you in the afternoon!”
With a thud, I closed the door and entered a large but seriously austere room.
It looked like someone’s office.
And finally.
“Phew!”
My body regained control.
I immediately slumped down to the floor.
“Is this really inside a novel? Am I dead?”
Recalling that moment, my teeth chattered and my shoulders trembled.
That pain was definitely not an illusion. I had died horribly.
But…
I remembered the dreamlike memory.
Those keyword selections I saw before suddenly opening my eyes here.
Wasn’t it like a game?
Ah, yes, there was that status window.
I needed to check.
I needed to confirm whether what I saw earlier was real or not.
“…Status window.”
Aaaargh, how embarrassing.
I silently screamed.
When protagonists in novels said it, it seemed fine, but reality was different.
How do they say this every day?
Fortunately, it wasn’t in vain.
The window I saw earlier appeared before my eyes, this time in black letters.
[Welcome to the world of “I Imprinted the Tyrant Emperor’s Heart” that you selected.]
Damn, I hadn’t seen wrong.
“I really died and woke up inside a novel.”
Favorite novels are only fun when you’re reading them. Imagine falling into one.
Should I laugh or cry?
Below, there was the word “Character.” Everything else had ??? marks, as if they hadn’t been unlocked yet.
When I pressed on “Character,” the text changed.
[Duke Hillaria Daen La Ariel (21)]
My information.
Ah, damn it. I clutched my head.
Fine, I’ll accept living after being transmigrated into a novel, whatever.
But what’s the intention behind possessing a villain character who dies around the middle of the novel?
I want to live. I definitely prayed to live, so what is this?
Should I escape from the original story and run away right now?
At that moment, mockingly interrupting my thoughts, the status window changed.
[Achievement unlocked!
You’ve checked the status window.
Reward will be given.
Reward: Original story entry initiated. You cannot escape from the domain of the original story.]
Clearly indicating I couldn’t run away.
[Sudden quest activated!
You are Duke Ariel, the respected leader of magicians and one of the important pillars of the novel.
So don’t let anyone find out that you’re not the real Duke Ariel until you earn the qualification of ????.
Success: Stable happiness
Failure: Death of the soul]
My face crumpled.
What the hell?
***
—CRASH!
“It’s a Level 2 monster, Your Majesty! Moving to the front! We’ll incinerate the monsters at the rear!”
As the knight shouted and he slowly summoned his power, a hatefully familiar headache arose.
‘Ha.’
Emperor Kaisis drove an ice spear down with an expression that didn’t look like someone suffering from head-splitting pain.
“KEEEEEK!”
Green blood splattered.
“WAAAH!”
“Attack the legs!”
After piercing the heart of the screaming, mantis-like giant monster, the waiting Awakened knights attacked the monster’s arms and legs according to his orders.
All sorts of abilities were displayed brilliantly.
The monster, helplessly overwhelmed, lost its balance and toppled to the right.
With a thud, dirty dust filled the cave and spread out.
In front of Kaisis, who had blocked the dust with an ice shield, the Awakened ones were smiling brightly despite being covered in dirt.
His knights. The Emperor’s blades, who never knew when that inhuman power might erupt and lead to death.
“Your Majesty, all other monsters have been dealt with as well. Shall we prepare to retreat?”
Seeing those who bowed their heads in loyalty, he nodded slowly.
Perhaps they wouldn’t know.
That having a rampaging power feels like sharp ice fragments freezing your lungs with every breath.
The Awakened power flowing through his blood always gave him this kind of pain, as if carving out his heart and flesh.
This was because he was an exceptionally strong Awakened One, and also because he had no suitable Indoja.
Awakened Ones who kill monsters with mysterious abilities, and Indojas who can calm those raging powers.
There were many Indojas, but none could give him eternal rest and peace.
Their abilities always left him tantalizingly thirsty, and no one could soothe the burning pain and freezing agony.
Kaisis sneered.
He wondered if his personality was so bad because he had to endure this flesh-tearing pain just by breathing.
And soon the limit would come.
“Um, Your Majesty. An A-class Indoja is waiting. One of the three who calmed Your Majesty last time. Shall I call them?”
The captain of the knights carefully spoke while watching his reaction.
He felt quite displeased thinking about the three Indojas who had fainted after pouring their power into him last time.
When other Awakened Ones found their Indojas, held hands, and shared power, they smiled brightly as if they’d found a cradle. It was simply ridiculous to him.
Most Indojas who held his hand either fainted or rolled their eyes and screamed.
That’s why Indojas who approached the Emperor were always terrified.
It made him feel extremely unpleasant, like he was some kind of monster.
That’s why…
‘That woman.’
There was exactly one person Kaisis could refer to as “that woman.”
Hillaria Daen La Ariel.
The woman who was his political rival and adversary.
The young leader of the magic tower, who had maintained a relationship of bad blood with the royal family, had led Awakened Ones for a long time.
She was an annoying and disgusting opponent, but at least she wasn’t afraid of him, which didn’t bother him.
But today something was different.
Like a thorn stuck in his throat, he recalled what happened earlier.
‘She dared to grab my collar.’
It wasn’t like that woman at all.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, Kaisis was quite surprised at that moment too.
Especially because those shaking red eyes, which seemed more surprised than he was, were terribly unfamiliar.
‘It’s not even funny. Why am I thinking about that woman?’
Habitual irritation surged up.
“Your Majesty! Someone, quickly bring the waiting Indoja! Your Majesty, please sit down. Would you like some water?”
His ears rang. As he covered his ears irritably and frowned, he could feel the knights becoming restless.
“I’m, I’m sorry.”
With a whoosh, the coldness spreading with his heartbeat froze his blood vessels.
His power, affected by emotions, brought more piercing pain.
His head felt like it was splitting.
“Ugh.”
“Your Majesty, you mustn’t lose consciousness. What’s taking the Indoja so long!”
He could clearly see the tension around him as they watched his reaction contort horribly.
And the thin Indoja approaching through the parting crowd, stiff with fear.
“Y-Your Majesty. I-I’ll calm you down…”
The figure carefully approaching to hold his hand was trembling like a leaf in the wind.
It was clear they were afraid, uncomfortable, and wanting to run away.
His lips twisted.
The power seeping in only worsened his parched thirst.
It couldn’t warm the cold that cracked and dug into his heart.
“Ugh, hnngh, ugh! I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Just a little more… Hnngh!”
While Kaisis was suffering from that tantalizing power, the Indoja was also straining with bulging veins.
As if enduring something painful and disgusting.
Because their compatibility was the worst.
Bitter laughter welled up.
What could he do? This was Kaisis’s situation.
Today again, like a hungry beast, he craved the rest that never came.
The salvation that must exist somewhere.
But cruelly, it never approached him.
***
Somehow, a week has passed to the present.
Today, I’ve grown accustomed to acting like that unpleasant Duke to avoid losing control of my body.
I decided to pull myself together while looking in the mirror after collapsing from the meeting with the Emperor.
“What kind of noble council meets every three days?”
During this week, I sorted things out.
Indeed, I…
wanted to live.
