I Thought I Was the Monster Duke's Fake Tranquilizer - Chapter 21
It was an old habit.
The longer the explanation, the more time was wasted. And the more time was wasted, the less time he had to save those wretched humans.
‘Damned troublesome lot.’
Save us, help us, aren’t you a hero?
They all wanted so much, yet they always demanded endless explanations.
“These are the guards protecting us nobles! Why must we send them elsewhere?”
“Why must we high priests move to the danger zone?”
“Pardon? Jump from here? I refuse! I won’t move until you tell me why!”
The time they wasted demanding reasons and explanations was time he could have spent outside, saving even one more person.
So one day, he had simply started throwing anyone who wouldn’t listen, regardless of their rank.
Action was faster than words, after all.
Amusingly enough, things had become far easier for Edward after that.
“They say this generation’s dragon incarnation fears nothing.”
“He’s that beautiful, and yet so dangerous?”
“Well, his instincts are those of a dragon. Why would mere humans even register in his eyes?”
“Still, they say he protects lives without fail. That viscount who got thrown and broke his arm last time, his life was saved, apparently…”
None of them dared say it to his face, but he could see they all regarded him as a madman.
And generally, no one wanted to provoke a madman.
There were also scarcely any people who could say a word against Edward, the dragon incarnation.
Even if they harbored resentment, they either came to terms with it over time, or simply hated him in silence. And that was the end of it.
Edward was not wounded by such misunderstandings, nor did he feel the need to explain himself.
‘This woman will come to terms with it on her own too.’
Even if he advised her to stop breathing, a woman so busy chattering away didn’t seem likely to listen.
So he had decided to personally extend his kindness and help her himself.
Meanwhile, Lucy’s mind had gone completely blank.
‘Was I talking too much? Did I annoy him?’
Her thoughts inevitably veered toward the extreme.
‘…He’s going to kill me because I annoyed him!’
Lucy knew all too well.
That crossing the male leadâthe strongest being in this world, a complete bastard, and capricious to bootâwas utterly hopeless.
No matter that she was a precious bearer of holy power and a purifier.
‘I’m scared!’
Contrary to Edward’s intent, Lucy’s entire body trembled of its own accord.
Even as his brow furrowed faintly, Lucy forced strength into her throat.
Even so, this was a life she had newly obtained.
‘I can’t die like this!’
“1…”
Smack!
The moment the count dropped to 1 in an instant.
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and clasped the hand that covered her mouth.
It looked rather like a little mouse clinging to an almond offered as a treat.
“…”
Edward flinched and pulled his hand away from her face.
Even then, Lucy’s hands remained clasped around his, as if clinging to a treat.
‘What is this?’
Edward was staring down, motionless, at the small hands clutching his own, whenâ
Tepe and Gorgo, who had been watching them the entire time, reacted first.
“Your Grace!”
“Woman! Get away from His Grace this instâ Urk!”
And as they moved to seize Lucy, they flinched and halted, stopped short by the pressure shot at them through a single glare.
Cold sweat trickled unbidden down their backs.
‘That’s a clear signal not to interfere.’
‘Is he that annoyed? Does he intend to deal with her himself?’
Tepe and Gorgo gritted their teeth at the ominous atmosphere.
Amidst all this, Lucy, her eyes still shut and utterly oblivious to the situation, cried out desperatelyâ
Not even realizing her hiccups had stopped.
“Dukeâ no, Master!”
“…”
Then, slowly opening her eyes, she looked Edward straight in the face.
“I take back what I said about being useless.”
“…You take it back?”
“Yes! Being small and adorable isn’t all there is to me.”
“…”
“I’m also absolutely phenomenal at purification!”
So don’t kill me, and just take me with you this instant!
Edward’s lips loosened as he listened to her emphatic words.
He was already satisfied just that her hiccups had stopped.
But this tiny little thing was now saying something entertaining on top of that.
“How are you phenomenal?”
“I can hold hands very well!”
“And kisses?”
“Why would we need to do kisâ I mean! Yes, of course!”
Lucy cried out desperately and flashed another smile.
To Lucy, this felt like yet another test question.
‘He might be trying to gauge just how far I’m willing to sacrifice for purification.’
The Edward Lucy knew was also an extreme efficiency fanatic.
So wasn’t it possible he was measuring how far she was prepared to go, how useful she truly was?
Desperate for a passing grade, Lucy swiftly shifted gears.
“Do you think I’d stop at just kisses?”
And without knowing how drastically these words would alter her life from this point on, she shouted,
“This purifier can do it all!”
